Spring(ish) weather

It’s been pretty decent temperature wise the last few weeks, probably about 10 degrees above average.  Problem is it’s been windy, rainy, overcast, etc., we haven’t been able to enjoy it as much as we’d like.

But the last few days have been really nice weather, so we’ve taken advantage of it as much as possible.

IMG_2751

Playing hoops
Playing hoops
Lucas riding his new bike. It's a little big and took him a bit to get used to, but now he's riding like a champ.
Lucas riding his new bike. It’s a little big and took him a bit to get used to, but now he’s riding like a champ. And don’t worry, he usually has a helmet on.

Last Saturday, we were going to go to a Home & Garden show, but decided instead to just go walk around the greenbelt. So we stopped at Smitty’s first, for breakfast (best pancakes ever, IMO) and then went over to the greenbelt. It was a little cold, as it was early still, but it was fun to be out and about. Later in the day I actually got my grill out and cleaned up, then grilled up some hamburgers for lunch, which was great.

1958569_10100497513068554_99525119_n 1795570_10100497513103484_2039029476_n 1510593_10100497512963764_1430688410_n

Can't feed the ducks anymore, which is sad.
Can’t feed the ducks anymore, which is sad.

1256483_10100497513512664_2067054933_n 1904156_10100497513432824_118230047_n 1912347_10100497512993704_706956102_n

Pizza time

During one of our FHE’s a while back, we talked about what we could do to have fun together as a family. Lucas wanted to make pizzas for dinner at some point, which was a great idea. So I made some dough and Kryssi helped the kids each make their own little pizza, which they loved.

Spreading on some sauce.
Spreading on some sauce.
Add some cheese (or a lot)
Add some cheese (or a lot)
Enjoying the fruits of his labor
Enjoying the fruits of his labor
Yum!
Yum!

William trying to crawl

IMG_2727

William lately has been getting closer and closer to crawling.  It seems like both Lucas and McKinley were already crawling by this point, so we’ve been waiting for him to make some progress.  He gets up on his hands and rocks back and forth, and even goes backwards some.  But as of yet hasn’t quite gotten the full crawling mastered.

IMG_2726

William’s hair is getting a lot longer, especially on top.  It kind of sticks up and then curls backwards, reminds me of Tin Tin (good movie on Netflix, for those interested).

In other updates, we’ve been dealing with a lot of sickness lately, so we are definitely ready for winter to be done.  Both Lucas and William had bad colds that weren’t going away, so we brought them to the doctor and he diagnosed both with sinus infections, so they had some medicine they had to take, which is always a challenge with Will.

William wasn’t getting better and was probably getting worse, so Kryssi ended up bringing him in to Redicare one night and his oxygen levels were lower then they should be.  So she ended up over at the hospital with him for 3 hours or so that night, while they ran tests and got his oxygen back up.  So they ended up finding out he had bronchitis, so that’s been a challenge to deal with, as he hasn’t slept good and hasn’t been able to eat well either.

Through all this McKinley has stayed fairly healthy.  She’s had a runny nose and a cough, but not too bad.  Kryssi started feeling sick and eventually her throat was hurting so bad she went to the doctor and got some medicine to help with a throat infection.

But I think we are all on the mend and on the tail end of things, so we are hoping no more bouts of sickness for awhile!

FHE

For FHE a couple Mondays back I taught about Ammon and how he protected the kings flocks and eventually cutting off some of the robbers arms.  You could tell they were more interested in this story then some of my other lessons, which I can’t blame them, Ammon’s pretty awesome.

But we did a craft after, making our own sheep, which the kids loved.  For anyone else interested, the craft (and lesson I followed) can be found here.

IMG_2694 IMG_2700 IMG_2701

Christmas 2013

We had a great Christmas this year, other then the fact we had some sickness move (and still moving) through our house.  McKinley wasn’t feeling the best on Christmas Eve or Christmas day.  She actually went back to sleep at like 9 am, so I ended up staying with her while Kryssi went and visited family.  William got a cold and has had a hard time sleeping, so that’s been fun.  And then I ended up getting shingles, which I didn’t think someone my age could even get but it’s not something I ever want to experience again.

But in spite of all that, we had a great time.  The kids were happy with everything they got and we had lots of fun with family.

Sitting in mom and dad's bed, waiting to go see what Santa brought.
Sitting in mom and dad’s bed, waiting to go see what Santa brought.
William playing with one of his presents.
William playing with one of his presents.
"Whoa, Hot Wheels!"
“Whoa, Hot Wheels!”
She wasn't feeling the best but she was happy with everything she got.
She wasn’t feeling the best but she was happy with everything she got.
Lots of presents!
Lots of presents!

Christmas Eve musical performance

We always have a recital on Christmas Eve.  There’s lots of talent in the Kotters/Fieldings and it’s nice to be able to enjoy that at least once a year.  The kids sang I Am A Child of God, which Lucas didn’t want to but he did a great job.  I think the favorite this year though was Jordan and Cahlin singing Nobody Likes Me, Everybody Hates Me.  I’ve heard both Lucas and McKinley singing that since then, which I think qualifies as a success on Jordan and Cahlin’s part.

Christmas Eve 2013

Note: I’ve mentioned this before but just to reiterate: the thumbnails above can be clicked on to open larger images, which you can then navigate through.

Christmas crafts

We decided to do a couple Christmas crafts, as part of FHE this week.  We decorated Christmas trees (ice cream cones, frosting, candy) and make reindeer ornaments.  The ornament was one I made when I was younger, and the kids saw it when we decorated our tree and wanted to make one for themselves.

Frosting the 'tree'.
Frosting the ‘tree’.
Putting some candy on the tree. William sucking on my sweater string, his favorite thing to do.
Putting some candy on the tree. William sucking on my sweater string, his favorite thing to do.
Frosting the 'tree'.
Frosting the ‘tree’.
Putting the reindeer ornament together.
Putting the reindeer ornament together.
The final trees and ornaments.
The final trees and ornaments.