Graceful Kai

Kai and Miss Gay, her teacher.

Kai had her ballet recital tonight. She was so excited about her costume and her hair it is a wonder that she remembered any of the dances.

Before any judgements are made about her level of grace - let me just remind all of you that I was the clumsiest kid on the block - or so my mother tells me. I think Kai does remarkably well for a 95 percentile in height ballerina.

She could work on smiling though! I am telling you that she loved every minute of it, but it is hard to tell in the pictures. Hope you enjoy the show below.

Kai is in the back row - center. The only one with black ballet shoes.

Lovin' my Lilacs

My mom always called them "Lilox" and she ALWAYS pointed them out. Sorry mom, I never appreciated it. I now love my Lilacs and can't get enough of them in my house.

I think we have at least 5 varieties on our property. From white to purple to pink.

Clip a few - there are more than enough to go around - at least in Colorado. In fact, I don't mind if you come by my house for some.

Happy Spring Everyone.

Mommy's Helpers

Maybe this is why "dog pile" is a favorite phrase for the twins. Just your typical Monday morning distraction. I guess it is better than doing your chores.

Because I mentioned chores, I should throw in a few pics I took tonight where the bulk of the family decided to pitch in. This is Ben. For some reason he loves the vacuum and the broom. So, when Kai decided to help sweep up, he was all in. Dane couldn't help but follow suit. The irony is that I had to sweep after they were done and then pick up the brooms/etc. too. It was fun to watch, though.

How to be Cool.

Benjamin says: "Mom - Please tell me cuz I gotta know so I can be 'cool' like the rest of the kids. What should I do with my hands when we take pictures? Should I throw a sign?"

Cody is all over this one. "Oh I got it Ben. Let me show you how to be cool. This is how you throw the sign 'word'.....Now you can be cool like me."

The real story is that when I went to take this picture over Saturday Grilled Cheese sandwiches, Cody held up his hand and said "word". What does that even mean? I have a long way to go to learn to be cool.

DogPile

"DOGPILE"

I never thought that would be one of Ben's first words. "Dog Pile!" - not Juice, banana, or even Mama consistently. I guess I'll just have to go with it.

I caught it on video one morning. Check it out.

Kai Turns Five

Kai Cassidy

"Big Sweetus"

Can she really be 5?

Kai turned 5 and she was ready. She counted down the days for - ev - er. I keep thinking, "How can she already be five? She was my sweet little angel baby with black, curly hair. Now she is this smiley, silly, stretched out little girl with blond hair and an irrepressible sense of enthusiasm for EVERYTHING!"

Alas it is true. Kindergarten and tween angst looms largely in the distance. For now a "dirt cake" made of Crushed Cookies, Chocolate Pudding and Gummy Bugs is the light of her life

(Besides her Dad) - But soon, many other things will be sparking one of her patented bursts of excitement.

She has changed so much in the last year. She's grown at least a foot; she loves riding her bike, scooter and other things at mach 10 all while wearing a "fancy" skirt; she loves playing sports, including pushing Cody's buttons, but lacks the grace that her mom had (Ha!); ballet and violin round out the list but most of all she loves her brothers and sister who is currently "en route". I swear she thinks that baby #5 is her own special present that we decided to give her.

We love her too. She brings so much love and laughter into our house. She is definitely a dreamer - Last year she reminded me that we needed at least 3 more cars for when she and the twins turn 16. Yikes! Dream on, Kai.

I hope you had a wonderful birthday. Thanks everyone for all the lovely presents. She loves them all!

Happy Easter :)

Happy Easter everyone. It was a beautiful day in our neck of the woods. I hope it was where you were too. Sorry to hear about the earthquake in Mexico and Southern California. Seems like the earth is shifting a lot recently. I finally made an Easter Dress for Kai. It isn't as fancy as the ones I've seen in the store and it probably cost more money to make, but I did it! Yay.

We got to go to an Easter Egg Hunt in our Neighborhood. The twins discovered treats! They like chocolate a lot.

On Sunday we went to Brett's parents house and had a great time with family. Cousins are big to our kids. They never miss an opportunity to spend with their cousins.

We had fun and played a little baseball.

We did watch most of General Conference, but really it was hard for me to hear anything being said. Its just that stage of our lives. But I thought it was a beautiful Easter weekend. Brett was out of town and we missed him a lot. Hopefully he'll get home safe tomorrow.

We hope you are all happy and safe. Love you much!

The Larsens