THE EVERETT FAMILY

March

March in a nutshell: new sod, broken elbow, boys who needed lots of baths because of dirt from the backyard work and, in Graham's case, from crawling army-style all over our tile floors.

Truman has turned four. He is the cutest little boy, and the funniest person. Todd and I have to laugh at him, even when we shouldn't. Watching him try to find his place in the world and become a force to be reckoned with has mostly been very entertaining. Sometimes, lately, he crosses the 'naughty line' and even his cuteness can't save him. Truman is very independent. He helps himself. He has some strong opinions. ("I hate that backpack" - said about a random girl walking outside of the elementary school. And, "I'm not going to Primary ever again.") But, he is also a lot of fun. He was giggling so hard playing a game earlier this week that he fell over backwards. He loves when he gets to choose the activity for Family Home Evening; it's usually dodgeball. He has always been a very good builder, constructing marble runs, train tracks, and castles that look like they were built by someone twice his age. Truman has started taking a speech class at the elementary school, and we're hopeful that this will help others (and us!) be able to understand all that he says.

For his birthday "party," Todd took Truman and his friend, Jeremiah, for a round of fun at Mulligan's. They bowled, played miniature golf, rode the bumper cars and tiny trains, and apparently enjoyed some Ring Pops.

The only two pictures we took of our days away together:

February

February was nice and full. Grandma and Grandpa Rudd came to visit us, and so did my sister, Janelle, and her family. These beach/park pictures are from a day the three kids spent with Grandpa Rudd watching the sea lions and playing at La Jolla. It was a little shocking to me that my dad can just hop in the car with three kids and few granola bars to be gone for the whole day. I am so used to packing and preparing for every contingency: jackets in case it's cold, swimsuits in case it's hot, sand buckets, hats, chairs, etc. They had a great day.

It was nice to have a sister in little kid mode, too, to pass the time with.

Todd and I spent a wonderful 3 days in Los Angeles. We stayed in Beverly Hills and went to Knotts', the Getty Center, a Jazz/Clippers game. It was so fun to have fun, without keeping track of anyone. The folks at home held FHE without us.

Parker's 6th birthday!

He wanted those (I think) icky pink-frosted "Lofthouse" sugar cookies instead of birthday cake. But he agreed to also have cupcakes so the rest of us could choose which we preferred.

With his birthday money from Grandma and Grandpa Everett, Parker wanted to go to Build-A-Bear. He walked in, knew exactly what he wanted, and was back out in around five minutes. I admire decisivesness like that. He named his bear, Sporty, and dressed him in karate clothes because he was taking karate at the time.

My favorite bikers.

Why is it so entertaining to watch two babies together?

Graham and Daisy

Christmas

Here is the best photo to help us remember Christmas 2009. Emma followed my family's tradition of sleeping by the Christmas tree on the night before Christmas Eve. Except she got hit with the flu in the middle of the night, which is why the slipcover is off of the couch; it was being cleaned. So, the flu bug got in the way of our planned Christmas Eve party. The two families we had invited were left in the lurch, but were gracious about it. Our Christmas Eve was very quiet.

These pictures are in backwards order.

Graham's first Christmas, but not his first "re-gift". What is the point of buying MOre baby toys? In fact, this toy was even a hand-me-down when Emma received it. I'm guessing it was purchased in 1993.