My kid has talent, doesn't he!
Oh look. He's peeled his eyes away from the TV to look at the sticks!
But alas, back to the TV. Maybe we need to turn it off more often :)
Sadly, I didn't even mention Eme, who was sitting on the couch, playing the game boy... and watching TV. Yes, I know, my parenting skills are somewhat lacking at some times :)
Check out how adorable my boys are in their new sweaters! We found them at Wal-Mart. Not bad for only $3.00 a piece. And they all match. We even got Eme a nice blue polo to match them.
Here's Joe. What an adorable face he has. He can bring a smile to my face instantly. No matter how naughty he has been ! 
Here's Tom, Joe, and Jake, posing for my picture. I must tell you. They really didn't want to do this. Especially Tom. Just when he thought that it was over, I wanted another picture. I think I even had to threaten a spanking to get him to smile. Come on people. Pictures are FUN!
Here's Jake, Jim, Joe, and Tom, posing on the top bunk of Jake and Tom's bunk beds. Would be perfect, but Joe's hands are in his face. I had to show him how to pose his hands, but by then, Jim was done with taking picture, and thinking about jumping off the bed. Not so much a good choice! 
So after I couldn't get a good group shot on the bed, I setteled for a nice shot of Joe and Tom. I think it turned out very nicely, don't you?
Here's the picture of my new niece. Isn't she lovely. Tiny babies are so much fun. I'm jealous Madi!
My kids thought she looked cute. Tom, of course, had the most in-depth thoughts on the picture.
"Well, Mom." he said. "She has her fathers nose". Nice Tom.
Welcome Ella Mae! My sister, Madi, had her baby! Way to go!
Elizabeth Mae McShinsky was born at 6 something MT in Utah. She weighed 8 lbs 10 oz. Thats all I know right now. My kids were so excited to get a new cousin!
Lesson learned. Don't leave the baby at the table with a plate of cottage cheese while you go do something else. At least not this one. He at it so nicely with his spoon and fingers for a while. Then, when he was done, he took the paper plate, and tried to pass it off to someone (?). And paper plates do what they do best. Fold and fall. So the cottage cheese when all down his leg, food, chair, chair leg, and floor. Nice. 
Why is it that kids always think that we're dumb. Or that we're not looking. Do they really think that we don't notice what they're doing.
Like how Eme just now snuck into her bedroom with the gameboy, and it's bedtime. Sure, I haven't techinaclly put her to bed yet, but does she really think that I didn't see her go in there.
And during Family Home Evening, when an unnamed kid picked his nose, and sneak-ily ate it. Gross. Did you really think that we didn't see that!
Or when Joe sneaks food from the kitchen, and creeps it into the living room. And I'm in the living room. Hello. Don't you see me sitting right there!
Or when they try and tell you that they did clean their room, when they didn't. At least if your gonna tell a fib, make sure it isn't that easy to tell if your lying.
The joys of motherhood!
OK, so Im exaggerating a bit. Tom and Eme bumped heads somehow. His eye made contact with her forehead, and, well.... Black eye. Poor Tom. He was so embarassed. 
OK, i like snow as much as the other guy, but this is crazy. You can't have snow AND 4 degree weather. Thats not fair. One or the other people! It's really coming down out there. I'm definately gonna go get the boys today. The poor things would be kidcicles by the time they go home! When Eme looked out the window and saw that it was snowing, got all excited and wanted to know if it was Christmas again. 
We really need to go grocery shopping. We're almost out of food. Jacob asked today, "Mom, are we off the menu". Yes, I said. "Good", he said. "Then can I go and find something to eat". See, we have this menu that tells us what to eat, and when to eat it. They think it's so cool to go in the kitchen and pick out their own stuff. Anyway, Eme was eating the last of the grown 
-up cereal. Have you tried it. Yah, not the best. But high in fiber and protein, if you like that kind of thing. So she eats her cereal, and goes in the other room. I come in to check on her later, and she says "Mom, you know that cereal that I ate". "Yah", I tell her. "Well, they needed to work on it some". Hysterical.
Ok, Derby and Race together are redundant, but I don't care. Isn't this track lovely. We made it out of some old hardwood flooring that Brig and Alicia Marriott gave us when they moved to Utah. By we, I mean that I offered my great service of moral support to Brent! It's 2 sections of hardwood flooring, with dowlrods glued/nailed into 3 separate lanes. It worked really well, and the cars went fast!
I'm not quite sure why the worried face, but Joe sure seems concerned about something in the picture, doesn't he?
