The other morning I called up to the boys that it was time to leave to run some errands. Xander came right down but I couldn't figure out why Noah was so slow coming down the stairs...until I saw him.
Check out the shoes!!!
I know how hard it is to walk in these shoes...I was highly impressed that he actually made it down the stairs in them.
It was a typical spring morning in the Pierce household. We all went downstairs to the kitchen to have a little breakfast. I was getting cereal boxes out of the pantry when I heard the screams. Savannah and Xander started pointing at all the ants crawling along our kitchen wall and half-wall divider and Noah was shouting, "EWWW! EWWW!" Next thing I know, both my boys have toy hammers in their hands and are taking out as many ants as they can. It's nice to know that my sons were prepared for the battle and didn't hesitate when we were attacked.
I have been trying for weeks to capture Noah's face when he says the word "Ewww" because it is so dang cute. Success at last!
And now for my political contribution of the day: this transcript came Tuesday from Fox News Contributor Brit Hume who I really like.
"There is good reason to believe that President Obama did not want the renewal of the bitter controversy over CIA interrogation techniques that is now upon us.
He may have a deep and abiding belief in the ability of an improved national image not to mention his own sparkling image to make us safer. But he seems aware that reopening these old wounds will further poison the political atmosphere here at home and deepen the divisions he was elected to mend.
He must also be aware that an intelligence community made timid by the fear of being investigated in the calm of the future for actions taken in an emergency of the present will not make us safer. He must have thought that when he went against the advice of his intelligence advisers and released those legal memos detailing the CIA rough stuff after 9/11, that would be enough. His base on the left would be placated and a new inquisition into intelligence methods would be avoided.
But the left and its many adherents in his party were not placated. And when two of his top aides said on Sunday and Monday that there would be no prosecutions of either intelligence agents who relied on those legal memos or of the Bush administration lawyers who wrote them, the pressure mounted. Overnight: presto-chango. As unambiguous a flip-flop as you'll ever see, raising anew the question of whether this president will ever buck his political base.
— Brit Hume
You cannot help the poor by destroying the rich. You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong. You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift. You cannot lift the wage earner up by pulling the wage payer down. You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred. You cannot build character and courage by taking away people' s initiative and independence. You cannot help people permanently by doing for them, what they could and should do for themselves. ......Abraham Lincoln
David and I LOVE sports!!! Pretty much the only time our TV is ever on is when I'm watching the news or when there's a good game on...which is quite often. Basketball, football, soccer, baseball...we know all about these sports and enjoy watching and playing them. But lacrosse??? Not so much. Both David and I are from the West where lacrosse is not that popular so we have absolutely NO idea how it's played. Saturday Savannah had her first lacrosse game and I think she was as clueless as I was...and the poor girl was out there playing. It's only clinic so no one was keeping score, thank goodness, because the other team was killing us! Our girls just did not know what they were doing. Oh, well...hopefully as the weeks go by and she has some more practices and games, we'll all know more about this particular sport. It does look fun!
Savannah is number 6.
Savannah and one of her best friends, Mackenzie. We signed them up together so they could be on the same team.
On Friday Noah celebrated his second birthday. It's amazing how quickly these past two years have gone by. Although Noah was an extremely easy infant, he is entering his toddler years as a bit of a terror. He has a wicked temper and is not adverse to throwing multiple temper tantrums a day when he doesn't get what he wants. No one can take anything away from him because he's extremely tough and will fight for what he wants...literally. We're doing our best to teach him not to throw punches. Despite his Irish temper he is a fun little boy. He is very social, giving smiles freely to all. He loves to play, especially any sport that has a ball. I'm always telling David that Noah is going to be his ballplayer. He loves to play toys and has joined Xander in the Star Wars and Pirates fan clubs. Noah has been known to carry around a sword or two just like his big brother. He loves to sing and dance and wants to do anything Savannah and Xander are doing. He said his first sentence the day before his birthday: "I want gum." Noah loves gum and I have found him several times with a whole pack of gum in his mouth that he stole out of my purse. Yes, we have been very blessed to have our little Noah as a part of our family.
Noah was very excited to wake up Friday and find his birthday balloons.
We stopped at Target to get him his very own Count Dooku Star Wars figurine; he and Xander have fought way too many times over this particular character so I figured it would make a great birthday present. Noah kept shouting, "Dooku! Dooku!"
Noah picked out Spider man plates for his birthday party and, as you can probably tell, he was quite possessive about them.
He enjoyed opening his presents, especially his train ones. He LOVES choo-choos!
Here is Noah blowing out his candles...only problem for him was that they were trick candles. All the kids got a kick out of that.
Happy Birthday, sweet little Noah!
Yes, as the saying goes, "all good things must come to an end". Savannah returned to school today after having a week off for spring break. Although we didn't go anywhere fantastic for her school break, we tried to stay busy doing fun things and spending time together. Our various activities included playing super heroes;
making Easter crafts;
making Easter gummy candy;
seeing the 3D movie Monsters vs Aliens;
playing with mom's camera;
playing with friends, watching movies, going to the library, reading many, many books, laughing, and having a great time together.
Friday night we gathered to color our Easter eggs and prepare for a visit from the Easter Bunny.
Even Noah got into the action...for a few seconds, at least.
Saturday morning the kids came downstairs to discover that the Easter Bunny had indeed paid us a visit. Each of the kids got a new toy plus a basket filled with candy. After playing for a few minutes with their new toys, the egg hunt began. Unfortunately it was raining pretty hard so there were no eggs to find outside but there were plenty hidden throughout the main level.
Noah's favorite part was all the candy. He wasn't even satisfied with his own...he had to steal Savannah's and Xander's as well. I saw him take this chocolate egg of Savannah's, hide it behind his back, and say, "Mine!" He shoved at least 10 chocolates in his mouth before we even realized what he was doing.
Another fun Easter!
All week we have been reviewing with the kids the events that were taking place in the Savior's life leading up to that wonderful Easter morning so long ago. Thursday evening was when Jesus Christ participated in what is known as The Last Supper in which he and his Apostles ate the Passover meal together. I thought it would be a neat experience to have our own Passover meal, with foods that Jesus and his Apostles would have eaten. We sat on the floor, tried not to use utensils, and dressed up in some "homemade" New Testament clothing (except for Xander). Throughout the dinner we talked to the kids about the Savior and the importance of the sacrament which he instituted during this meal. The missionaries joined us for our meal and were great sports about dressing up and sharing their testimonies of our Savior.
Noah enjoying some of our unleavened bread.
For our first try at a Passover meal, it turned out pretty well.
Much to David's disappointment, Savannah decided to cut her hair. Unfortunately it was not long enough this time to donate but Savannah didn't want to wait any longer. Short hair...long hair...I still think she's the cutest girl around.
This is what happens when someone decides to go down the slide the wrong way...a face-plant on the patio! Poor little guy...it looks like we beat him. His whole eye was swollen!
Yes! Savannah has finally started piano lessons. She has a wonderful teacher and as we left the lesson, Savannah turned to me and said, "Mom, playing the piano really IS fun!" I just hope that this excitement stays with her for a long time.
Oh, how I LOVE General Conference! I love hearing the wise counsel, encouragement, and direction from the beloved prophet and apostles. The talks are all so good but my favorites this time were President Uchtdorf's message Sunday morning as well as Elder Holland's. I feel so loved hearing these men speak and I know the messages they are delivering are what our Heavenly Father wants us to hear. It truly is a spiritual feast! Sunday morning I gathered the kids around to read in Mosiah about King Benjamin and his address to the Nephites. I explained that the people set up their tents with their doors facing the temple so they could hear him. Since we were going to be listening to the prophet and apostles, we also decided to build a tent. The kids thought this was great! We got it all set up and settled in to listen. 
I had printed up some conference packets for the kids to work on while the sessions were going on. As you can see, Savannah got right to work on hers.
Unfortunately the tent only made it through half of the Sunday morning session. Noah came in, got excited about it, and as Noah likes to do, started to destroy it. He tore off the blankets, knocked over the chairs, and basically put an end to our great idea. Oh, well...we still enjoyed this wonderful conference!
I was able to attend Xander's Spring Party on Friday and, as usual, we had a great time. The party always starts off with a program by the kids; they show off all the songs and poems they have learned.
This one was pretty impressive...the teachers got the kids to all pretend to be sleeping bunnies and they laid there for a couple minutes. It's not too often you see a bunch of 3 and 4 year old kids willing to do that!
I was able to catch Xander mid-air without the picture blurring too much.
Xander's beautiful spring sticker scene he made.
The kids got to play Easter twister...I assured them that they would enjoy it a lot more when they were older.
Xander enjoyed painting his very own flower pot.
And what Easter party would be complete without an Easter Egg Hunt?
Xander and his very special friend Emma.
