Once there was a snowman

I meant to post these photos a couple weeks ago, when it was snowy. It's been so beautiful this week that winter seems like a long-forgotten memory. Of course, it's Utah, and will probably snow tomorrow.

Anyway...it snowed one Friday morning. The kids ran out before breakfast to play with their cousins, who happened to be sleeping over. They built a good-sized snowman. But it was spring snow (one of my favorite weather days) which means the snow melted by mid-afternoon. It was fun to watch the snowman melt.

Once there was a snowman, snowman, snowman...

Once there was a snowman

Tall

tall

tall!

In the sun, it melted, melted, melted.

In the sun, it melted

small,

small,

small!

Officer Friendly

Nathan played on the phone. I don't know if he was trying to call his daddy or if he was just playing or if he purposely dialed emergency. So, the 911 operator called back and said, "We received a hang-up call from this number. Is everything alright?"

My mom had answered, so she said, "Everything is fine here, but there may be a problem when I finish disciplining."

That's not a funny joke to a 911 operator.

We had a hard time finding a child to confess to the deed. I went downstairs and asked, "Nathan, did you call someone on the phone?"

He said, "It wasn't me!"

Then, in unison, Beth and my 3-year-old nephew, Boyce, said, "Yes he did!"

And another nephew, Jacob (12-years-old) called out, "It was Nathan!"

Next thing we know, a nice policeman was pulling up in the driveway. Mom thought she was in trouble for that joke about discipline, so she hid in the corner. I picked up Nathan and took him outside to meet the police officer. He was very nice. I apologized for wasting his time and told Nathan that he shouldn't call 911 because it wasted the police's time. The officer said, "Oh, we want you to call us when you need us. Nathan, make sure to call us only when it's an emergency."

My sister-in-law took this photo of the exchange and I stole it off her blog. Nathan is so embarrassed, so he's trying to hide. After the policeman left, Nathan said, "Freakin' aye! That was sooo scary!"

The other one.

My last post was about three of the children. So, this post is about the other one. Ammon is funny. His humor is not always spontaneous, but it is well-thought-out. Sometimes he tells jokes that I have to think about before I understand why or if they are funny. He reminds me of some, but not all, of my brothers.

Here are his best from today:

Mom, I've got three words for you: BEAR! (pause) You know, bear (pantomimes growling), bear your testimony, and bare (pantomimes covering himself fig-leaf style).

Q: What is a grizzly's favorite thing to do?
A: Bear his testimony!

Mom, I've got three words for you: TWO!! (Must I explain the homophone humor?)

A few random things

While doing her math, Sarah dramatically yelled, "What is 8+7??" I said, "15." She said, "15? Now, that's a surprise!" BOO!

On Wednesday, I told Beth it was time to go to the bathroom. She said, "I already went!" (in her meanest voice). I said, "When did you go?" She shouted, "ON SUNDAY!!" Well then, she should be good.

Nathan went to use a new flavor of toothpaste. Toothpaste. He said, "Hmm. This smells like onioins and cinnamon." Huh?

The other day, the high was a whoppin' 48 degrees Fahrenheit (almost 9 degrees Celsius). Sarah and Nathan decided to go swimming. I was just doing the dishes, I don't know how they got by me, but there they were. Outside. In their swimming suits. Making puddles with bottled water so they could splash. They are so weird.

And then, on Monday, Sarah, Nathan, and Beth spent several hours preparing a show. They performed it for Family Home Evening. Sarah had choreographed and practiced each dance. Nathan danced freeform and also showed us some sweet ninja skillz. Bethie sang "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "I am a Child of God." It was quite an event. It lasted for about 30 minutes, and they would have gone longer, but we were freezing and hungry, so we had to cut it off.

It rained yesterday. I was excited that it was rain, not snow. So were the children. We showed our excitement in different ways. Sarah and Nathan wanted to put on their swimming suits. I was not an absentee mother this time. I said no! But they went outside anyway. Now that I think of it, I shouldn't say it rained. It kind of drizzled. There was a little, tiny, half-puddle on the sidewalk. Sarah, Nathan, and Beth took turns sitting in it and then lying on their tummies in it and pretending to swim. I have got to get these kids to a beach!

There is never a dull moment with creative Sarah around. Yes, these were all her ideas (except for the funny remarks by Beth and Nathan).