Grandma goes it alone

Check out the snowball in his hand. :) 

Nov 14 I headed to Justin and Kenzee's to babysit so mom and dad could have a little time to themselves and take advantage of a business trip Justin had to Coronado. I was bringing a week old sinus infection with me so was nervous about getting the kids sick so I tried to be careful but it's hard not to eat them alive cuz they are so darn cute! That night Nolan made pancakes for dinner. I want his recipe. They were honestly the best I've ever tasted. The secret it turns out is Almond extract! Saturday, it had snowed a tiny bit so Ezra was determined to make a snowball. It took about 15 minutes to get ready, about 1 1/2 minutes outside and then another 5 minutes to get all the gear back off. Ha. It reminded me of the stories my mom has told me about going through that with Karen and I when we were little, over and over and over!

Nolan was very easy as long as he was glued to the computer and "minecraft." Turns out that it is a much better babysitter than grandma k. He is just so smart and it brought back memories of raising his daddy who was also very curious and wanted to learn about everything by figuring it out. Before I even knew what was happening he had combined two packages of jello thinking it would be great to mix orange with lime until it turned into a brownish sludge. The boys wanted to save some for mom and dad but I convinced them it was too delicious but I really didn't want mom finding out. Nolan also succeeded in making his own candle and actually lighting it using fire from the gas stove. When he got out the "science set" I began to panic and insisted that he could only make experiments when daddy was home. He was sure it was safe but when he was hunting for "boric acid" I knew I needed another plan.  He was not to be distracted. Finally I decided a little baking soda/vinegar volcano couldn't hurt. I'd just let him do it and get it over with. It went fine the first time but he insisted he needed to try again as the first time there wasn't even "pressure." This time he quickly corked it until the pressure inside the tube popped the cork sending the "lava" shooting over the dining room table. It seemed to have satisfied him for the time being and he settled into more minecraft. Whew!

Lucy playing the prelude music

Lucy was just perfect the entire time and we became great friends. Nights didn't go quite so well though as she caught a cold forcing her to have to choose between sucking on her binkie or breathing. We were both miserable together.

Ezra bearing his testimony

On Sunday I didn't have the gumption to get us all to church and since me and Lucy were sick anyway I decided we would have our own fast and testimony meeting. A squash was turned into a microphone. Ezra made sure we held it the "right way." Ha. Lucy played the prelude music on the piano,

I conducted, Nolan played the opening song and Ezra bore his testimony. It was the cutest thing. He was motioning for Nolan to tell him what to say. "I know the church is true." I told him to just say what was in his heart and what he was thankful for. He said he was thankful for his belly button. Who isn't? Lucy knew where to find hers and was pleased to demonstrate this skill. When it came time for the sacrament Nolan served mine. It was a cup of concentrated lemon juice! He thought it was hysterical. The spirit had pretty much left by that point. Back to Mine craft.

Nolan loved putting bows in Lucy's hair. She seemed to love it too!

Monday Nolan went to school and Ezra had preschool. Lucy and I did the laundry and cleaned up the house a little bit.

Lucy at almost 17 months loves bows in her hair, bracelets and knows what clothes she wants to wear. 

 Kenzee's dad took over for me Monday evening and I spent the night at Jon's. We went to a group counseling session for couples of different religions. Preventative maintenance I guess. There was only one other couple. It was entertaining.