"Now this is how Royals eat!" says Princess Kylie as I hand her strawberries in a Styrofoam bowl. Fast forward 30 minutes and I hear her proclaim to Brandt and Aden, "I am your queen, now treat me nicely!"

Luke Wicket Ewok Skywalker Thompson

The newest member of our family is a cute little Shorkie (Shih Tzu yorkie) who was born on February 7th and came to live with us on April 7th. He came from a family in Randolph; his mom is a Shih Tzu and his dad is a Shorkie. He is the softest, sweetest, cutest little thing-with the sharpest little teeth. He is mostly for Kylie since Mollie is already mostly Brandt's, so she got the honor of naming him. She picked Luke and then Brandt helped with the middle names-Wicket Ewok Skywalker. They are obviously into Star Wars these days.

It doesn't matter how big she gets or how sassy and moody she acts, Kylie is still the most likely one to find her dad's soft side and wrap him around her little finger. Our family has been facing some tough trials lately, including Bryce being off work with some health problems during the last half of February and most of March. Thankfully he has been able to go back to work the last couple sets of shifts, but there have been days when he has had recurring symptoms such as headaches and dizziness. Today he drove part way to work and ended up coming back home and sleeping most of of the day to try to feel better. It's hard to be patient and be a parent when you don't feel well , so I was thankful to see him try tonight even though I knew he didn't feel well and really wasn't in the mood at all to deal with a cranky little girl who was up past her bedtime. When he had her go into our bed and cuddle with him, she calmed right down and went to sleep quickly. It melted my heart when I went in and found them snuggled up together holding hands and sound asleep. 

Deathosaurus vs. Sparklesaurus

Brandt and Aden worked hard at creating a new dinosaur tonight. Apparently it's a Deathosaurus and it lived during the Jurassic period. It ate everything in its path except for paper, which was it's weakness. It survived until people were on the Earth.  Kylie wanted to make it into a Sparklesaurus, but the boys vetoed that idea pretty fast lol. Fun times passing off cub scout requirements.

I never know what I'll find when I reach between the couch cushions.  Among recent findings was a half eaten container of frosting.  I assumed it was Brandt who had hidden it, but I didn't say anything to him about it.  My suspicions were later confirmed when he came to me and said, "so I guess you found my frosting, huh?"  Apparently he had gone to get a little snack and noticed it was missing. Haha

Swim Lessons= Life Lessons

This winter has been a little more exciting than most because my kids got to take swimming lessons for 8 Saturdays.  Kylie says the best thing she learned was to swim from the deep end to the shallow end without being scared. She also learned that if she ever gets scared or tired she just needs to flip over to her back and float. Her confidence level soared by her last lesson today! Brandt says he is a much stronger swimmer than he was last year and isn't as scared of the deep end or putting his face in the water.  Both kids loved their little swimming classes. Buddy was especially happy about getting to hang out with Abby Humpherys and Kylie loved that her little sister McKinley was in her class.  Today was the last class and was super fun because Jessica brought chocolate as a prize and she brought coins that they could dive for and keep.  A huge part of the reason that my kids have excelled over the past few years of swimming classes is because they LOVE and trust their teacher. She makes them work hard and get it right, but she never leaves them alone in the water. They know that she always has their back and that she wants them to succeed, even if it isn't always fun or easy. She is very up front in teaching them the rules and giving them the tools they need to learn, and she rewards them with positive attention and sometimes even chocolate ;). This is the same kind of relationship I try to build with my children and the same kind of relationship that I try to teach them is available with their Heavenly Father. As His children we face hard things, but He has given us clear direction and He never leaves us alone. He blesses us constantly as we heed His Word, and our eternal reward will be worth it!