Art Day

It being a cold and rainy/hail day off of school today,
we declared ART DAY.

A day of expression, messiness, and creativity.
And a day to watch Bob Ross clips off of youtube.
Kyler and I are both enthralled by that man with the fro
who makes happy little clouds and trees and mountains appear.
Kacin whined about watching more clips.

But between good ol' Bob

and the books we read about color, shape, and artists

we were sufficiently inspired

to create a magnificent art gallery by the end of the day.

We worked with watercolor, stamps, acrylic on canvas, and wood. 

Kacin's canvas: "Waterfall of Colors"

Kyler's canvas: "The Planets"

Kyler's wood scuplture: "The Fairy House"

One of my project's is now hanging on the wall, too.

Mighty Fine Eyebrows

"Mommy, I put gel on my eyebrows so they look even better."

Coinage

Now this is a profile

that should be on coinage.

3 Brothers, 2 Families

And a happily ever after.

Two years ago this month we received a call about 2 cute, little boys who needed a safe, loving, forever home. We were also told about their older brother who, for the best interest of all 3 boys, 

would be moved to a different home.

We contempleted A LOT about whether or not we should just try it and take all three boys together and make it work no matter the challenges.

Of course, ideally, it is hoped to keep biological children together. 

But it never felt right.

Our adoption was finalized 8 months later, and older brothers was not.

We prayed for him and worried about him.

We visited and called.

His adoption journey was a little a bit of moving around

and a lot of waiting,

but I'm pretty sure he would say it was worth it.

As of this weekend,

He is now legally and officially adopted

 into a committed and loving family perfect for him.

We feel excitement, joy, relief for him and his family.

It was a beautiful day at the courthouse

for the judge, caseworkers, and all others involved these last 2 1/2 years

 to see all 3 boys doing so well.

Not a week goes by in our house without mention of older brother.

I'm soo glad that we're able to keep contact and continue to foster the relationship of

3 brothers, and 2 different families.

A Trip Back

Only 14 hours in a car and we were back in Utah.

Just for the weekend.

And we were blessed with no snow.

Yippee!

We got to see a few of our good friends and family

(but didn't get pictures with everyone).

We peeked through the upstairs window of our friends' house

to check out the changes to the backyard of our old blue house.

We visited the dinosaur museum and Farm Country.

 We almost ate at all of our favorite restuarants you can't find in WA.

We stayed at the best Bed and Breakfast I've ever been to.

And played Killer Bunnies and ate graffitied Baked Alaska.

We went to the old ward.

I walked around the old neighborhood with a good friend.

We witnessed the adoption of older brother.

We played with toe jam, ear wax, cat pee, and a black light.

It was a pleasant trip to AF. 

Cleaning Up

About an hour before some friends came over
for a game of Ticket to Ride on Saturday night,
Eric left with Kacin to buy some beverages.

Kyler man opted to stay behind and help me clean.

That crazy cleaner.

As I worked on putting my Cricut and papers away,

 he asked to wipe the kitchen table, put the toys away, and vacuum.
Of course, clean whatever you'd like to, dear child!

He proceeded to point out the books and shoes
that he insisted Eric and I needed to put away.
My goodness what messy parents he has.

I love that my son is so willing to help out and is so good at it.

He notices when something is out of place.
I hope someday he'll rub off on other members of the family.
As part of our morning routinue, the boys check their House Help charts.

They understand this job is their responsibility
 before they head off to school.
They rotate through 4 lists of jobs. One job each day (minus Sunday).
Much of the time, the job requires me to be alongside them,
guiding and spraying the cleaning stuff
(this is how you scrub the bathtub, sweep the floor),
and sometimes they do a beautiful job on their own
(emptying the dishwasher, folding the laundrey).

My mom thinks I'm really good at getting out of cleaning the bathrooms.
I think I'm just smart (to mostly get out of cleaning the bathrooms).
And my boys are learning hard work and the joy of a clean home
(and how fun it is to clean mirrors with your mom).
Besides, why in the world would I tell the child "
No, you can not scrub the toilets!" when he asks?!

Lost a Tooth

Goodbye baby tooth!

Kacin has been wiggling it, and Eric has been pulling at it, for days.
It finally came out last night!

 

Whidbey Island

A morning on the Island:

We enjoyed the ferry ride, lunch, glassblowing, and a walk along the beach.

Butterflies and Gigantic Table

A grumpy family took a trip to the science museum

 and saw butterflies and a gigantic table and chairs.

And who can be grumpy after that?