a boy and his worm

Billy wishes he could have a pet dog, cat, bird, bunny, even chicken. But right now, since we are still apartment dwellers, he has to settle for things like goldfish (dead x 3) and... worms. Is that the longest worm you've EVER seen?!

spring's a comin!

We visited the Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens today and the plants were about to explode into blossom!

Thanks, Mother, for watching Grace so we could share this special adventure with just the boys.

family scriptorian

We've been reading through the scripture readers as a family and the story of Alma the younger struck Billy this time around. He woke up this morning excited to make a list of all the scriptures he wanted to read on his own.

Then he proceeded to read them (with a little help) from his Book of Mormon.

His diligence and desire inspires me.

after the rain, all the critters come out

It rained all day. Kids (and moms) go stir-crazy in the house after about 3 hours. So when Grace finally escaped outside she headed straight for the puddles, and of course, found the biggest one around!

Soon Seth joined in, never wanting to miss the action...

...and within minutes it was a party in the puddle!

Unexpected Bliss.

There's an old saying that "cleanliness is next to godliness," and I believe it! For about 10 minutes this evening it was more like "attempting cleanliness feels like heavenness!" Somehow the stars aligned at just the right moment, and the entire family was happily (at least I didn't hear any grumbling, so I'm assuming everyone was happy) cleaning up: Billy was washing a sink full of dinner dishes, I was folding a 6-load mountain of laundry, Billy E was organizing his closet, Seth was "hunting for crumbs" with the vacuum, and Grace was... quiet (not sure what she was up to)! Why was it such a great moment for me? Perhaps it was because it hearkened back to my highschool and college housecleaning days- when I got cash for transforming a messy house into a haven. Maybe it was the relief, albeit brief, of knowing that I wasn't alone in the black hole of domesticity and chores. But I think it was the fact that we were all working together to bless our little home. Whatever it was for everyone else, it was my bliss for the day!

Let the practical jokes begin!

Does anything look odd about this chest of drawers?
This was Seth's handiwork while Billy was at school today. And when I asked him about the missing knobs, he just snickered and said "I'm playing a trick on Billy!" I wonder what Billy will think up as payback? Aren't younger siblings fun?!

Best years of my life!

What a great day we had at the beach today! It started out when we discovered that the high would be in the low 80's (yep, in January) So we dusted off the beach gear and headed to Carpinteria State Beach. As I was unloading the kids and gear, an older lady sat in the car parked beside us, watching. Her window was down and we started to chat. Her comments stuck with me all day, enhancing it and prodding me to BE PRESENT! "These will be the best years of your life!" she said, with a reminiscent smile. Ahhh, the best!