They Make a Mom Proud!

I had one of those moments this week where you see a glimmer of hope that you haven't totally failed as a parent and that maybe your children are going to grow up to be the kind of person you hope they will be. 

It all started last Saturday when my parents held their annual Easter Egg Hunt. (Yes, I never posted anything about Easter or Spring Break, but we've all been sick around here and I decided NOT to play catch-up!)
So anyway, back to the hunt.

One of our Easter egg hunt traditions, started long ago by my dad, is to hide money in the Easter eggs.  Each grandchild was allowed to find three green eggs which had money hidden inside.  The amounts ranged anywhere from a few quarters up to $20.  And so when all was said and done, Madeline and Janie came out on top, while Megan did okay, but didn't rake in a huge loot like her sisters.

Fast forward to Thursday morning.    First, I need to tell you that my kids have a new fascination with Build -A-Bear.  Maddie got an elephant for her birthday and Janie got a bear for her birthday, so poor little Megan is told she needs to wait until her birthday. . . in June!

So Thursday morning, I was woken up by three very excited little girls who had come up with a brilliant plan!  Madeline and Janie had decided that it wasn't fair for Megan to have to wait until June to go to Build-A-Bear.  So they wanted my permission to put their egg money with Megan's egg money, so that she could have enough money to buy an animal and an outfit.    Madeline had already gone online and  priced the animal Megan wanted and the cost of the outfit!

My first thought was, no way!  I know my kids and an hour or two after they had given up their money up they would be coming to me crying and I would be dealing with major meltdowns.  

But then I quickly realized that this was actually a wonderful opportunity for my kids to show their love for one another.  So after asking Madeline and Janie if they knew that they would each be giving up A LOT of their own money and that they couldn't have it back-they still wanted to do it.  

Even though I was so super sick, I knew this was a moment for the record books!  I dragged myself out of the house and over to the mall.  

The result:  THREE VERY HAPPY LITTLE GIRLS, a lesson learned in charity, and a new addition to the Norris Family: a stuffed puppy named Scruffles!

Conference Weekend!

I so enjoyed watching General Conference this past weekend!  

(If you aren't a member of the LDS church and have no idea what I'm talking about, you can click here and then click on General Conference to feel a little more in the loop or you can click on the button that says This I Know right there on the side of my blog.) 

It's always exciting when there is a new call to the Twelve and I think the call of our newest Apostle was very inspired. During the Saturday in between session break, Elder Andersen answered questions from the press and it was fun learning more about him.  

I always feel such a great spirit in my home during conference and lately I have just loved Elder Holland's talks.  They are so powerful and his talk this conference was no exception.  It's one of my most favorite of all the talks he's given.

He gave so many insights into Christ's final hours.  It'll be so great to ponder on those this Easter week.  If you missed it be sure to watch or read it before Easter!  

While looking through my past posts, I found this from October Conference.  I'd totally forgotten to post it, so I figured now would be as good as time as any.  I think it struck me so funny because we had just moved from California and I wasn't used to seeing commercials like this on TV.  They're more than a little cheesy, but they gave me a good laugh!   

Fabulous Friends, Family Fun, and Fantastic New Adventures!

The past few weeks have been full of fabulous friends, family fun, and fantastic new adventures!

FABULOUS FRIENDS!

Last week one of my most favorite friends Marlo stopped by to see me!  She had been in town giving her sister a baby shower and decided to come and say Hi!   I was so excited to see her!!  Although I'm beginning to adjust to life here in Utah a little more each day, I REALLY MISS all my Bakersfield Buddies. It was so fun to sit and visit with her. Visiting with Marlo was just like the old days! We sat and talked for hours!! (That's kind of our thing, we talk so much we lose track of time!)  I was finally able to see her new little guy Jace.  He is one cute, solid kid!

 And it was fun to see Janie and Marlo's little boy Kyler playing together again. Marlo is one of those people who will always be a treasured and fabulous friend!   Thanks for stopping by!

FAMILY FUN

My mom had one of her fun filled FHE's the other night!  She always has a yummy dinner and a great lesson planned.  (Ang, I stole this picture off your bog, hope you don't mind--I have to remember to take my camera to all these family things!)

The kids have sooo much fun just playing and hanging out together, but I think we adults have even more fun!  And, there is always, ALWAYS singing!  It's kind of a Sullivan thing!   I just sat there watching my brothers tease my dad, seeing the kids dancing around, and just relished the moment.  

We also have had a few birthday parties on Jared's side of the family and we had everybody over the other night for dinner.  The kids were so excited when Grandma got a Wii for her birthday!

It's all that crazy family stuff we moved home for and those moments are so worth any hard times that have come our way this past year! 

FANTASTIC NEW ADVENTURES

So, even though it's STILL snowing, Spring has officially arrived and apparently at our house this year Spring means Sports!! 

Maddie and Megan started their soccer season last week! They are on the same team (YEA!!) and have already had so much fun playing in their first two games.

I did have a slight panic attack when Megan was put in as Goalie, but she did an awesome job and had a couple of great stops!

Maddie has great ball control and has already taken the ball up the field a couple of times! 

 Logan had baseball tryouts last Saturday and did really well!  He can't wait for the season to start!!  

Luckily his games and the girls games will only overlap for a few weeks----I'm thinking it's going to be a very busy couple of months!

Do you SEE what I see?

Well I don't know about everybody else, but Logan can now see what I see.

This morning we picked up his new GLASSES!  

When he first put them on, a HUGE grin appeared on his face!  And when we walked outside he told me, "I can see that flag over there!  I guess I really did need glasses!"

I think my oldest child looks downright handsome in his new specks!

I told him, "You definitely look like a History Professor now!" (For those of you who don't know-that's what he wants to be when he gets older).

His response, with another HUGE grin, was "I KNOW!"

Let Those Neon Lights Shine!

In order for you to really get into the spirit of this post I'll need you to click here first.

 

Did you click on it?  Seriously, you'll enjoy my post so much more if  you click-  you don't have to watch the whole thing  just the first 20 seconds or so will get you in the mood!

Okay!!  Now that I've taken you back to what has got to be the  BEST roller skating movie of all time, I hopefully have you thinking about the days of skating and roller rinks!

A few weeks ago our primary had their activity at . .  . a place, where nobody dared to go!  They called it. Xana. . . (Well, we actually called it Classic Skating)!

I was completely dreading going to this and I knew I'd be solo since Jared was working.  Trying to balance myself on skates, while helping my little girl stay up, and pushing a baby in a stroller wasn't my idea of a good time!!  But my luck started changing when Jared's parents said they'd come and help me keep an eye on Chloe.  HOW GREAT ARE THEY!      

But when we got there,  lady luck was on my side AGAIN and Janie didn't want my help at all! Can I just say--THANK YOU!  Embarrassing myself on skates in front of our new ward members wasn't necessarily at the top of my list!  

So as much as I was dreading taking my kids, I ended up having a great time just watching my kids have fun.

So here's the recap:
Janie braved the rink all by herself, you roll girl!!

And our kids had an added bonus to this primary activity--it was also a family outing. Their cousins are in our ward too!

Here's Janie and Jenna!

Madeline and Kate whizzing on by!

Cute Anna and Megan posing for the camera.

Logan had fun just hanging out with some friends and cruising around on the scooter.

Of course Chloe needed her turn!  I was actually BEGGED several times to let them push her in her stroller around the rink!

And to top it all off--Jared's mom braved the slippery rink and went out there and did the hokey pokey with her granddaughters!!  Go Grandma, go Grandma, go Grandma!!

And for those of you who would enjoy this:

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

(Sorry!  I hit the camera button off, but here's the grand finale!  I have to say-I LOVE it that the worker kid is going to give Sharon (Jared's mom) a piece of candy!)

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Janie's Big Day

I've been absent for awhile, but I've had a few projects going on and last week I was down for the count with a horrible cough and cold.  Hopefully that's on its way out and I can get back to being a mom who feeds her kids dinner again and not just a piece of bread or a bowl of cereal.

First of all our 3 year old turned 4!  

On Monday school was out so we decided to throw Janie's birthday party that day because all the cousins could come, but her actual birthday wasn't until Tuesday.   She decided break down the days the following way:  Monday was her "fake birthday" and Tuesday was her "real birthday". She did tell us before the big days that "on my real birthday and even on my fake birthday I don't have to do any jobs or pick up anything.  And I can be rude to whoever I want, BUT everybody has to be nice to me!"  It's nice to know your kids are sweet and caring.

But here's the birthday girl who was actual very nice on her big days.  (Although I did get a look when I asked her to take a toy up to her room and a comment like "Hello!  Didn't you remember that on my fake birthday I don't have to do anything!) 
This is the only time Janie wanted to go near her cake.  We discovered she has a fear of fire.  As soon as Jared lit the candle she bolted off the chair as fast as she could.  A few days before her birthday I was broiling something in the oven and the smoke detectors went off.   She was very concerned about smoke and fire the entire day, so I'm pretty sure that's where her new found fear began.  Oh well if my 4 year old is going to be scared of something, fire seems like a good thing.  So we sang her happy birthday with a flameless candle.  

On her REAL birthday I took her over to Build a Bear.   Despite my best efforts of trying to persuade her for a different choice she chose the WHITE, Hannah Montana bear.  I just kept telling myself "It'll be okay.  It may be a black bear by the end of summer, but hey what a birthday girl wants, a birthday girl gets" (at least according to Janie)! 

Ice Fishing with the Guys

A few weekends ago my brother Shane asked Jared and Logan if they wanted to go ice fishing with him and my dad. Of course Logan was thrilled! Jared debated for a while and decided to go and spend some quality time with his son (Jared went ice fishing with a friend from work when we were dating and didn't enjoy his experience very much!) But when they returned home from their chilly morning fishing Jared said it was nothing like last time and that he had a good time!

They didn't catch any fish, but they had a lot of fun. I'm so glad that my brothers invite Logan and Jared on their many manly adventures. It's just one of the great things we've enjoyed since moving home.