Lloyd Family

T oday was the big one for Hanna- she turned 11!  W e started out the day right with a dozen donuts fresh from Ridley's. In our house we take a day off of school for birthdays, so the kids got to relax all day. (The only school-age children with birthdays during the school year are Hanna and Zane. Last year their b-days were both on Sunday, so we didn't "have to" miss any school. Ha- ha ha ha!) Dinner was nachos, followed by her strawberry poke cake that she made mostly by herself, and Butterfinger ice cream. We could barely handle all these sweets just one day after Easter! S aturday we took a trip to Twin Falls where she got her first gift: PIERCED EARS!! She was really excited, only a little nervous, and totally brave. We took her cousin Ali with us to lend moral support and make it a party. The girls got frozen yogurt sundaes afterward. H er other gifts were a cute hat, two books, a candy bar and a digital camera. She really wanted a camera, but I had given her...

I was just yesterday telling someone how I am perfectly happy that Joziah is not crawling yet, since we'd have to keep so much cleaner when he does. S hould have knocked on wood. W e are very excited to announce that Joziah started crawling today! Here is a long video we took; don't give up, he really does crawl near the end! And, yes, he has already gotten into Ezra's Legos more than once, but he is so much more content now that he can get where he wants.   My last baby, working his way out of babyhood.

I love April Fools Day! We don't do any mean pranks around here, just try to "get" each other some. This year I TP'd the kids' room while they were sleeping. They were pretty surprised in the morning- especially since they didn't remember what day it was! These picture don't do it much justice, but they do show how we have all 5 older kids sleeping in one small room! Every time I think Joziah is doing really well, he has a bad night and I remember why he still needs his own room. But the kids mostly love the continuous slumber party, anyway. B ack to the topic at hand, Hanna put a fake beetle in Kory's lunch, and I found a rubber snake in my bed during the middle of the night. I also used a washable marker to draw a pair of eyes and the words "Peek-a-boo" under the toilet lid. This made them laugh, but it also inspired Ezra to get a brown marker and scribble all over the other toilet lid and seat. Oh well- that's what Ajax is for! M ...

E zra turned 3 on the 16th of March, and enjoyed a great birthday. We thought he'd insist on opening his presents first thing in the morning, but he waited clear until after dinner. In our family one exciting part about birthdays is the kids get to choose a special breakfast and dinner. Ezra would only say "potato soup" when I asked him in advance what breakfast he wanted, so when he woke up on his birthday I asked him again and he chose cereal. Dinner was homemade pepperoni and olive pizza. His cake was a layer of chocolate "crazy" cake, then a layer of ice cream sandwiches, then frosted with cool whip. I drizzled a number 3 on with caramel syrup, which was messy looking but yummy. O ne of Ezra's gifts had been ordered from Amazon and we left it in the original packaging. He was so excited when he opened the box and saw a strip of those air-filled thingies that are put in to cushion the contents of a box. He shouted, "Poppies!", quickly laid th...

This short haircut will be much easier to manage. Hanna's hair is SO thick, lucky girl! Ezra's Before shot After- Ez is always happy to get his picture taken! Zac Before Trying not to smile Zane would have preferred much longer hair than this. Trust me, it's cut! But Zane REALLY didn't want an After shot. Sara and Joziah did not get haircuts, but they're cute anyway!

Hanna and Zane, playing "old woman and old man"

O kay, I am a huge popcorn fan. Well, not so much with the braces, but they won't be on forever. (Right??) So I was excited to read on one of my favorite blogs, Our Best Bites , that you can make your own microwave popcorn! I have never before thought of this possibility! So we tried it out today.   I t's as simple as this: get a small paper bag. Put a few tablespoons of popcorn kernels into the bag. Fold the top over twice, press out the air, and tape it down. Then treat it just like store-bought popcorn: into the microwave for 2-3 minutes. Presto! A t this point you can drizzle in melted butter and shake in a bit of salt. However, we dumped ours into a bowl to make the world's best popcorn recipe. Ever. (If you like peanut butter treats, which I do.) The recipe is a Jensen family classic; here it is for the rest of you! P eanut B utter P opcorn 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup corn syrup 1/2 cup peanut butter 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2 quarts popped popcorn Cook sugar and corn ...