Girly girl...

Sophia is a hoot lately. She has been so much fun. The last time she had to say a prayer for a meal Rob caught her pointing at each item in her plate as she asked it all to be blessed. She said "and bless that, that, that, that, that and that, that, that and that...". We just all laughed. She has also picked up on laughing like the cartoon character "Goofy", she is so cute! Also, we have this game we play in the car to keep the kids from fighting about silly stuff...we call it the "Spelling game". Rob asks them questions about math, animals, spelling and whatever else he can think of. For Sophia the questions are like spell "I" and she says "I", or this one..."who is in charge of our family?" her response was "ME". How much truth is there to her answer? He also asked her "how she was like?" and she answered..."I am like ME". She is so smart. She is definitely the queen of attention and drama in our house. She has topped her two older sisters and is the center of attention and much love in our home.

Cub Scouts Blue and Gold Dinner...

This year's theme was "Chinese New Year's". James decided to have a soccer with Chinese writing on his cake. Rob managed to do a great job with the Chinese lettering, hopefully he didn't spell some kind of bad word J/K. We had a fun time. There were a lot of creative cakes to choose from for dessert after dinner.

Indoor Basketball-Father/Son Game...

These are the boys being boys on the weekend. I hate having any kind of ball playing in the house. The kids end up breaking things or hurting someone when they play ball. But, we made this one an exception. James and Rob love having the father/son time to goof off and get competitive. Rob always does the funniest things to distract James. They love this time together.

Bathtime when Rob is in charge...

This is what happens when Rob is in charge of Bathtime. Sophia and Juliette always end up crying because shampoo gets in their eyes, or they get tired of Rob taking pictures and making hair-do's...

Tobler News...

Congratulations! Uncle Matt has received his mission call to Veracruz, Mexico. He will be serving for two years, and he leaves June 23rd. We are so very excited for him and Rob is so very jealous. Rob is hoping he'll get to serve a Senior mission in Mexico someday after we retire. Matt gets to eat authentic Mexican food every day and that is golden for Rob and James, SPICY CHILLIES. Maybe he can learn to cook some authentic dishes and cook them for us when he comes home. We are all very proud and honored to know him. He will be a magnificent missionary and he will work hard at doing the Lord's work and serving Him. We love you Matty!

Valentine's day Tri-Ward's Family dance...

We went to a Tri-ward Valentine's Day family dance last night and we all had a good time. I was the one sick with a fever, but I enjoyed watching everyone dancing. I took loads of pictures, here are some. Aunt Wendy put make-up on the girls. Check out the red lips...

Enjoying nature with Aunt Wendy...

On a rainy day the kids and Aunt Wendy decided to take a walk down our trail by the Lake. They took some fun pictures and had a great time. It is an absolutely beautiful walk/run down this trail. It is all along Lake Whatcom which is in front of our house. We truly love living in Bellingham. We feel we are meant to be here and our lives have been just wonderful.

Family Home Evening Entertainment...

Sophia found some self-entertainment during our F.H.E last Sunday. Rob had on some old socks with nasty holes (which are now in the garbage, thank you!) and Sophia decided to sniff and lick dad's toes. We were all disgustingly laughing. She didn't care at all where those feet had been. YUCK!!!

Rob and Wendy arrived....

Rob and Aunt Wendy got home just in time to watch James (#10) play soccer, and witness an amazing goal. We were all so relieved to see them. The weather was brutal, but our prayers were answered for a safe drive home. We have been busy with lots of little things, it seems. We have also passed around a "cold bug". Sophia is on her second round within two weeks, I have it now and James. Rob and Wendy are staying healthy. I can vouch that Sophia has been using my toothbrush, I think that is why I have this nasty cold now. She uses any toothbrush she finds in the drawer.

While Rob is away...

While Rob is away we have been decluttering, cleaning, and trashing the house, eating mushrooms with onions and spinach for dinner with little variations, eating PB&J's for lunch and oatmeal for breakfast. Wearing the same clothes, and not showering. Going to bed later than normal and waking up earlier than anticipated. Where is the order? We are a house of chaos and abnormality...hahahahahahahahaha! Where is our Rob/Daddy? We just miss him so much and we are desperately keeping busy. For example Sophia has gotten into more trouble the last few days than she has ever before, so has Juliette (who is a sweetheart 80% of her daily life). Now, Eliza has surprised us with being my extra helper and hug giver. She made my bed this morning and fed Sophia breakfast. James has been attempting to keep order in the home, but he just has a rough way of going about it, and the girls just cry and scream at the sight of him. HAHAHAHAHA! I did catch Sophia doing one mischief that I thought I had nipped months ago. She is writing on the walls again, on herself and on furniture. Now, how come she is at it again? I am speechless. I have no idea why kids go thru the same phases over and over again sometimes. Yeah, it is to test us, but seriously, we stick our guns each time, and remain firm. How come they test us every time on the same things? I guess it makes us better parents, tired but better, and it let's our kids know that mom and dad mean what they say and do. Sophia did do a lot of apologizing when she got caught and sweetly accepted to clean up after herself. But, then hours later she was at it again. I took pictures of course.

Then, in order to have a sense of humor and deal with the many distractions that come Eliza's way during homework time, I decided to make her a HAT. It is a funnell-shaped hat, well it was actually our puppies funnell to keep her from biting her injured leg. Anyhow, the kids have been wearing it as a hat. Alright, LAUGH!!!! Back to having a sense of humor...I then proceeded to add two sheets of paper (stuck them to the sides to block her view) and on one I wrote "HOMEWORK HAT" and the other "HELPS ME FOCUS". I told her she was to wear it during her homework time in order to get a snack and also to help her focus. She was a good sport about it and laughed with me. But, here is the funnier part...she had no clue that I had written stuff on the papers, and when she found out, she just about became a teenager. She was outraged and simply embarrased that I had taken pictures of her with those things I wrote, and then she looked at me and said "I bet you are going to put those pictures on our family blog and show your friends and our family? Aren't ya? You better not?". I just couldn't resist, I am posting her pictures. I bet if she truly was a teenager, she would tell me that she would "die if her friends saw these pictures". I love her dramatic personality. I guess you just had to be there to have seen her face and reaction when she discovered what I had done. TOO CUTE!!! Life just stays interesting at the Tobler house.