We're back!

Neil and I just got back from a two week vacation in Australia. It was absolutely lovely. Being able to do adult things and not worry about packing diapers or nap schedules is a rare treat. Not doing it for two whole weeks was kind of crazy! We're very glad to be home again with all of our little kids though. I missed them much more than I expected to.

We flew in Saturday morning and dropped off our luggage at the hotel. Then we walked through the Botanic Gardens where you can stop at Mrs. Macquarrie's chair for beautiful views of the harbor.

 The actual "chair" is just to the left here, but the Japanese tourists wouldn't go away.

 We thought Madoc would like seeing the cool rocks that Neil was climbing.

 Neil thought this sign was awesome.

 We had a noon tour of the Sydney Opera House. I've toured it before but loved it again. Neil thought it was much better than he had expected. The Opera House has a very interesting history and a must see if you like history or architecture. Apparently it's one of the most recognizable buildings in the world.
On Sunday we took a nice long train/bus ride to get to church. I got to go to classes for the first time since Christmas! Half the ward was made up of Korean students. Relief Society was interesting - trying to figure out all of the accents.
When we finally made it back to downtown we went out to the Gap - the entrance to the harbor. We spent the afternoon walking all of the trails and seeing the harbor and landmarks from all the different look outs.

Crazy Hair

 I don't know why I took these - probably just the fact that his hair was sticking out everywhere and he was happy.

A Family Movie Night Last Month

Here are my three big kids, absolutely glued to the tv. This was on a Friday family movie night. Nothing can distract them if the tv is on. Good thing it only happens on Friday and Saturday morning.

 Micah chose to sit on the side chair. He doesn't really care about movies but he liked getting his picture taken. Here he is in all of his dirty, crazy hair, eczema covered glory.

Micah's First Hair Cut

Two weeks ago I finally got hair cuts for me and the babies. It was Micah's first. His hair naturally curls but it was a little long and he was always rubbing it against things and frizzing it all up.

 Here is his pre-hair cut, curly, frizzy, static-y mess right after getting out of bed that morning.

He did really well but I had to start helping him sit still a little bit so there's no official after picture but you can see him in the previous blog posts. He looks so much more grown up but I miss his little curls at the back of his neck - it's just too short now.

I hope he knows he was loved

Now that I have four (almost five) kids, I don't take very many pictures. It's just too hard. I used to jump up from the floor where the kids and I were playing to grab the camera. Now I prefer to stay and enjoy the moment. I'm more present with my kids when I leave the camera at home instead of taking it to the zoo, picnic, museum, etc. But that translates to a lot fewer pictures of Micah. I hope he doesn't look back at the lack of baby pictures and think no body loved him.

But then I downloaded my new pictures from my new camera and found that many days I only took pictures of him. Hopefully the baby pictures won't be completely lacking.

 I had chocolate cake from a baby shower I threw. Micah enjoyed eating the leftovers.

 My kids have had a fever running through them. Last week when it was Charlotte's turn to be sick, she convinced me to get her little chocolate donuts at the store. Micah didn't actually eat them but he was still really cute.

 He's my child who has lasted the longest on the bottle. Consequence of being the fourth. For awhile it was because he refused milk from anything but the bottle. Now it's more laziness on my part because I hate washing milk from sippy cups more than bottles.

Hey, I had a Birthday

It was my birthday last week. It started nice and early at midnight when Micah woke up with a fever. The kids were also out of school that day so I took all four kids (including the sick baby) to Sadie's hair cut and then to Target. We spent the rest of the day cleaning up the house for the benefit of the babysitter. Neil and I were headed for the Gaslight Theatre that evening so we quickly had a little cake with a single candle before we left, mostly for the benefit of the kids. They were so excited for that cake. Charlotte was yelling "CAKE!!!" the whole way home from the store where we picked it up. I got lots of lovely gifts, most of them to be used on our upcoming vacation. Then we went and saw one of the funniest shows we've seen at the Gaslight - The Belle of Tombstone! So, so good. I haven't laughed that much in a long time. The pizza was scrumptious and Neil got me a free ice cream cone by telling them it was my birthday. It was a lovely way to end the day.

There is a book in this room and Micah must read it

I finally have a working camera and computer and the two will talk to each other so I have pictures to share.

 Micah has an obsessive love of books. As in if he sees a book you must read it to him now and he will not take 'no' for an answer. Oh, and if you thought just a few books would be enough you were mistaken because you are never going to be able to stop reading books or else he will throw a tantrum, push you back down, and force the book into your hands. I've never actually reached his limit - I'm always the one who ends the reading session. So in an effort to get a little bit of work done, I've started recruiting substitute readers. Madoc volunteered to read to Micah the other day. Charlotte couldn't resist the temptation to join in. Then Sadie hopped up there once she realized I was taking pictures.

I think they're reading The Going to Bed Book by Sandra Boynton - a current favorite. Charlotte always yells out, "TO EXERCISE!" at just the right moment.