Drawing the Line

Today I told the kids that they were sitting too close to the TV. Sometimes I can be so unreasonable.

Jesus Said Love Everyone

I adore these kids:


Which is why it bothers me so much when they're mean to each other. I've tried to get creative in punishing them for fighting, when I suddenly remembered stories my dad used to tell us. He said that Grandpa Rice used to make him and whichever sibling sit in the middle of the room, holding hands, perhaps singing "Love at Home," even with company over. Well, Will and Anna don't know "Love at Home" right now, but nursery has taught them "Jesus Said Love Everyone." That produced this treasure:

And this:
And later, Will decided that the baby dolls were fighting. He made them hold hands, and he sang to them.

Hopefully this will all result in more sweet scenes like this:

Weekend with Cousins

We got to play with Dallin, Sophie, and Baby Violet all weekend while Ethan and Lindsay were out of town. Here is how we spent our time.

Reading books

Playing games

Making cookies

Nerf gun war (naturally)

Relaxing before bedtime

More games

Singing to Baby Violet ("Ring Around the Rosey," specifically)

Things we forgot to catch on camera: Playing outside on the swing set, drawing pictures with sidewalk chalk, tackling/wrestling Daddy (Uncle Larkin), Will and Anna calling Daddy "Uncle Larkin," lots of snuggling Sweet Violet, making silly faces at Violet to help her smile, playing Wii Fit and watching Dallin and Sophie break our long-standing records, etc.

We had a blast with all the kids! Poor Will and Anna's hearts were broken when Ethan and Lindsay came to pick up their kids. They still call our guest bedroom "Dallin and Sophie's room." I think we're going to have to take advantage of Larkin's summer vacation to have lots more sleepovers. Who else wants to join us?