We've had really great weather lately and have been to the park several times. My tulips are starting to bloom, we have our house on the market again, and the kids are on spring break. That's the past month for us in a nutshell. Happy Spring!

Spencer pushing someone on the tire swing (just in case

you were wondering why in the world he's standing like that)

Hero

Sometimes my kids surprise, even shock me. This evening was one of those times. You may know from past blogs or even our most recent Christmas letter that for years now Dallin's least favorite time of day has been dinner time. No matter what I've fixed for the past two to three years, if it had the title "dinner," Dallin despised it. He much prefers "kid" food, like chicken nuggets, french fries, ramen noodles, PB&J, macaroni and cheese-you get the picture. We've had many dinners that involved crying, gagging and even the occassional throwing up. But we've stuck to our guns and had a hard and fast rule that he is given a little bit of everything and then must finish his plate, especially if he wants anything else to eat later [like ice cream, one of his very favorites along with donuts, cookies, fruity candy and all other sugar-laden anti-health foods. To his defense, he also loves fruit (could it be the sweetness?), especially apples.] On a few occassions his big sister Alexis has felt so bad for him that she's come to his rescue and finished his dinner for him just so he wouldn't have to miss out on a special treat. However, dinner time has gotten a little bit easier for Dallin lately--I think he's finally realized he was fighting a losing battle--and he has recently begun to finish his dinner without much complaint.

Dallin, standing next to Trista's plate of unfinished food.

This evening was like most others. Tonight I served spaghetti, and Dallin was having a bit of a hard time finishing his plate. Trista was having an even harder time, and the rest of us were finished and up doing dishes while the two of them were still at the table. Finally Dallin finished, and as he rinsed his plate I told him that he could have an ice cream sandwich for dessert. Trista's ears perked up at that, but still, she just couldn't make herself finish. She was whining and crying about how she couldn't eat but she wanted ice cream and so on. I was quite successfully tuning her out. Dallin ate his ice cream sandwich, and then to my amazement walked over to the table and began eating Trista's dinner for her! When he finished he said, "There Trista! You can have an ice cream sandwich now!" My heart just melted. What a sacrifice for Dallin, who could barely choke down his own dinner, to finish his little sister's for her so she could have the ice cream sandwich she wanted. And what an example Alexis has been in the past to do the same for Dallin. It's nice to see signs that they actually do love each other--a lot! What sweet kids! I'm so grateful for moments like these.

HIS and HERS

I thought this was an appropriate tag since Valentine's Day is this week.

HIS and HERS
This is just like 25 things about me,except there are pre-decided questions and it's about you AND your spouse!! And of course,tag people!!!

1. What are your middle names? Arlene and K. (just the initial, no actual name)
2. How long have you been together? We'll celebrate 10 years of wedded bliss April 24th! We dated for six months before that.
3. How long did you know each other before you started dating? 4 days--we talked on the phone a few times and I loved his sense of humor. I couldn't wait to get to know him better and see him in person!
4. Who asked who out? Jordan invited me to a hockey game but I had to work. In the same conversation he mentioned a football game and I had to REALLY hint to him that I wanted to go before he finally asked, "Oh, would you wanna go?" Duhhh!
5. How old are each of you? I'm 31, he's 34. I always tease him that he's an old man because he's soooo much older than me. Especially now that he's becoming more distinguished (aka--getting gray hair).
6. Whose siblings do you see the most? Mine. His live further away.
7. Do you have any children together? Yes, two girls, two boys.
8. What about pets? No way! And we're both in agreement about that!
9. Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple? Making enough time for just us while having four young children.
10. Did you go to the same school? High school, no. University, yes.
11. Are you from the same town? No. I grew up in Missouri, Jordan in California.
12. Who is the smartest? Since I consistently score higher (by one point!) on the online IQ tests, I'd definitely say I am. But he applies himself more.
13. Who is the most sensitive? Probably me.
14. Where do you eat out most as a couple? Chili's--it's cheap and it has bottomless chips and salsa for my frugal husband.
15. Where is the farthest you have travelled as a couple? Cancun.
16. Who has the craziest exes? I guess me.
17. Who has the worst temper? Hmmm, that's a toss-up. We both get worked up about different things.
18. Who does the cooking? Definitely me, but I don't mind. He brings home the bacon and does a lot of other stuff around the house.
19. Who is more social? Some might think Jordan is because he's so funny and makes people laugh and feel comfortable. But I think I am because I like to go out more and be around people and he'd really rather just stay home.
20. Who is the neat freak? Neither of us. We're both pretty clean, but having four kids has made me less of a freak about things--I just accept now that messes happen.
21. Who is more stubborn? We both are--it's so hard to be humble, to be the first to say "I'm sorry." Especially when I KNOW I'm always right!
22. Who hogs the bed? Jordan, he usually ends up in the middle, which is fine in our king-sized bed, but not so great when we go somewhere and end up sharing something smaller.
23. Who wakes up earlier? Jordan. He usually wakes up around 5:30 to workout before work.
24. Where was your first date? A BYU football game.
25. Who has the bigger family? Neither. He has three sibblings and I have three sibblings. This made it pretty easy to decide to have four children of our own.
26. Do you get flowers often? No. I used to think I wanted them, but now I'd rather spend the money on other stuff, and he knows that.
27. How do you spend the holidays? Usually with my family, because they live closer. But if his family would hurry up and move here, we'd split the time with them as well!
28. Who is more jealous? I am.
29. How long did it take to get serious? Not long. After the first couple of weeks we were together everyday, and we were engaged within three months of our first date.
30. Who eats more? I depends on which of us is trying to "be good" at the moment. Right now, I do.
31. Who does the laundry? When we got married Jordan told me, "I like to clean bathrooms and do laundry." It's great! I usually wash and dry the loads, but he's great about folding everything while watching TV.
32. Who is better with the computer? Jordan, by far, especially the technical parts like setting it up and programming and stuff. And I really don't want to learn. I tell him that's the reason I keep him around:)
33. Who drives when you are together? Usually Jordan, but sometimes I do--especially if I don't feel like giving turn-by-turn directions to somewhere we've been before. He's not good with directions, and he's the first to admit it. He's good at a lot of other things though!

Now I'm tagging Angie, Becca, Carley, Kim, Aimee, and Crystal!

Ice, Ice Baby

Since we're iced in with no school today and no place to go, I figured it's a good time to catch up on my blog. We started getting freezing rain yesterday afternoon. School got out an hour early, and by last night they had already closed school for today. We just found out it's cancelled tomorrow as well, since the rain is supposed to continue and temperatures are staying in the teens at least until noon tomorrow.

I've been wanting to do an update on the kids, so maybe I'll go from youngest to oldest.

Trista is into dressing up and Dora lately. Here she is with an army hat on with her Dora slippers and Dora panties (not sure what happened to the rest of her clothes). She loves to watch Dora, answering questions and dancing along with the show. She found her two Dora swimsuits from last summer and has been dragging them around along with her Dora blanket. Today she was carrying them around in the toy baby carrier as though they were her baby dolls. She's also very attached to the little wooden necklace that Angie's family gave her for Christmas and has been wearing it day and night for a week now. She calls it "Zoey's necklace" and often tells me she misses Zoey. The other day she found Alexis' play makeup.

She came in my room with Alexis' purse full of makeup thrown over her shoulder and said, "Where's Lexis, Mommy? I very pretty!"

Apparently she thinks all cosmetics should be applied in the general area of her mouth.

Dallin makes me laugh a lot lately with all the crazy things he says and does. Here he is holding the photo album full of pictures of him as a baby. He's been getting it out everyday in order to admire himself and show everyone that he "was the cutest, happiest baby!"

Also in Dallin news, I'm making a prediction right now that he will grow up to marry a blonde. He seems to be very partial to pretty, blonde ladies. We watch The Biggest Loser together, and every week when he sees Tara (a blonde contestant who was a plus-size model) he reminds me very adamantly that she's his favorite. Then we were in Target the other day when two cute college-age girls walked by. Dallin blurted out (definitely loudly enough for the girl to hear him), "I like that girl right there, Mom. That girl in the green, I like her a lot!"

Spencer loves playing the video game Austin brought him at Christmas. It's just an old Super Mario game that he plays on our Nintendo 64 (I know, we're a little out of date in the video game dept., but that's the way we prefer it), but Spencer has really been enjoying it. He likes school, especially playing soccer at recess, and he's looking forward to hopefully playing on a baseball team this spring.

Each night (well, most nights) we read scriptures together as a family, and I've been really surprised lately at how much Spencer actually learns and remembers from what we read and talk about. Half the time he's messing around and doesn't seem to be listening at all, but it's nice to know that he is retaining some of what he hears. He keeps telling me that all he has left to do is learn to cook, then he'll be ready to go on a mission.

Alexis..., well, Alexis has been, ummm, what I'd call quite cranky lately. She seems to oscilate between very happy and excited, and crabby. Isn't this happening a little early? She is still very helpful at times though, especially with Trista. She loves babies and can't wait to be old enough to babysit on her own. Today Carley, Chuck, and Nate are here since their power is out, and she's been helping to entertain Nate. She and Carley also had a short hairdressing session together.

All in all we're well and happy and looking forward to some warmer weather. Until then I'll just be happy that at least we still have electricity!

Christmas

We enjoyed a really fabulous Christmas season! I thought I'd share some pictures of all the festivities!

Our home teacher (actually his wife) made us this huge sugar cookie gingerbread man. It was sooooo yummy (I absolutely LOVE sugar cookies)!!! They brought it after the kids were in bed and I couldn't resist eating some of it immediately. Jordan was afraid that at the rate I was going the kids wouldn't even get to see it, so he took this picture just after I ate the first arm. The kids did get to see it the next morning, but between the beginning and end of school that day I managed to eat the rest of him from the neck down. I'm not kidding. I can't believe how little self-control I have. I even put the whole cookie sheet in the oven to "hide" it so I wouldn't see it everytime I walked through the kitchen, but as it turns out, it's not that hard to open the oven door and break off another piece. Thanks Ashley--it's your fault I've had to hit the gym so hard this week!

Angie and her crew got here on Friday before Christmas and stayed with us until Tuesday. Isabella, Alexis, and Kaylee "hanging out."

Before we went up to my parents' for Christmas we opened gifts over the phone with Grandma and Grandpa Post. Thanks for the books and the $$$!

Dallin (with his new book from G&G) and Trista.

We travelled to my parents' house Christmas Eve day to spend a few days eating, playing, and celebrating Christmas.

Becca with Jacob dressed as a shepherd for their family's part in the Christmas Eve Program.

Alexis, Kaylee and Bella doing their song and dance for the program.

Alexis wrote a Christmas story that included everyone at the house as one of the characters.

Trista, Grandpa Smith (who had dermatitis on his nose just in time to look like Rudolph for the Christmas season!), and Grandma Smith.

All of the grandkids gathered in front of the tree for a picture.

Dallin(4), Spencer(6), Jacob(2), Kaylee(9), Isabella(6), Alexis(8), Trista(2), Braden(11), Zoey(2), Nate(1), and Austin(12)

All the kids on the stairs at 6:00 Christmas morning, waiting to be told they could come up and see what Santa brought them.

Everyone looking at their new stuff!

Zoey and Trista each got a new stroller to push thier babies around in.

Trista

Dallin, Jordan and Vicky

Angie and Dustin

Carley, Chuck and Nate

Mom making cranberry salad for Christmas dinner.

Jordan (pronounced JERDEN, very loudly, in a low scratchy voice) and Jacob

Trista and Aunt Becca

The Prizewinner of Rogers, Arkansas

Those of you who've read the book will know that I stole the title for this blog from The Prizewinner of Defiance, Ohio which I read a few months ago.

Anyway, just wanted to mention that I've become the prizewinner of Rogers, Arkansas; more exactly, the radio prizewinner of Rogers, Arkansas. I'm an avid radio-listener, my radio is on ALL the time when I'm in the car or kitchen, and over the past two weeks my listening has paid off!

On Black Friday I was at a stoplight in between stores when I flipped radio stations and heard "Be the 9th caller right now and win a $20 gift certificate to Old Navy!" I thought, "What the heck, I'm stopped at a light anyway," and dialed the number. Busy. Dialed again. Busy. Dialed one more time, and what d'ya know? "You're the 9th caller, congratulations!"

Then this past Tuesday morning I was listening as I cleaned the kitchen when the radio station decided to have a contest for listeners to call in for Christmas Karaoke. They wanted people to sing their favorite Christmas Carol--the funnier the better. Since I really have no shame when it comes to competition, I decided to call. I must have been desperate, because I kept getting voice mail or a busy signal, but continued trying off and on for about an hour. Finally I got through and was able to sing the most nasally version of "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas" that I could muster. I was able to save my family and friends a little bit of embarrassment by only giving my first name (let me tell you, Jordan was PROUD when I told him about it), but I guess thats all down the drain now that I'm telling YOU! At the end of the competition I was named one of three winners for the day--yahoo! a $10 restaurant gift certificate and a Christmas CD! (I would have thought my dignity was worth at least $20, but I guess I overestimated.)

All of this winning lately reminded me of the previous prizes I've won from radio stations--that's right, these are not the first of my radio triumphs. The winning began in high school when I won some pizzas and soda for being the correct caller. And a few years ago I won a small prize pack and had my name entered for a trip to the final four. But the VERY BEST radio victory came about nine years ago when I lived in San Jose. Who Wants To Be A Millionaire had just become really popular and so, of course, the radio station I listened to began their own version of the game. One day I was the lucky caller. I answered the first two question correctly and opted out of the third to win $300--that's right $300!!!!

And so, my advice to all of you who think that you're just not lucky enough to win, is that if you listen to the radio enough, push redial enough, and really, really want it bad enough, you too can be a Prizewinner. BEST OF LUCK!

Thankful

I know I'm over a week late since Thanksgiving was more than a week ago, but this morning I'm feeling thankful for my kids and wanted to mention two thing in particular.

I'm thankful for Trista, because she's always so thankful! I was reminded of this a few minutes ago when after getting her dressed I helped her into the chair and covered her with her favorite blanket, ready to watch Dora, and she said, "Thank you, Mommy." Most of you know that as a Mom you don't really get all the "thanks" you deserve. But from Trista I get a lot of thanks. Some of them are for such little things--like simply answering a question. One example--this morning, after dropping off Alexis and Spencer at school, Trista asked, "We going my house, Mommy?"

"Yup, we're going back home now."

"Oh! Thank you, Mommy!"

The second thing I wanted to mention is how great it feels when my kids get along well or do something nice for each other without being asked to. This was the case recently with Alexis and Spencer when they decided to write a love note to each other. I was really touched by Spencer's note to Alexis, and while it doesn't really seem to be true most of the time, I'll definately save it and treasure it, and use it to embarrass/hold against him when he's older.

In case you can't read it it says:

Thank you for everything. I love you with all my might. You are my best friend. I will never hate you and you will never hate me. Because I love you. I would never ever hate you. I have to say this again. I love you and I will always love you.