Cornelius Chronicles

Despite my best efforts, it appears that Diana is bound and determined to become an accomplished thumb sucker.  I guess I just couldn't win for trying.  At least she is super cute with that little pudgy finger curled over her tiny little nose.  

This week was dinosaur week at preschool.  We all know what that means...VOLCANOS!!!  Volcano day is one of the most exciting days of preschool and oh so much fun to bring home and show off to big brothers and sisters with repeat experiments filled with the smell of baking soda and vinegar.  Science is so much fun! All this snow has us stuck inside.  No fear, magna tiles to the rescue!  While the big kids are all busy at school, John has been busy building impressive skyscrapers and working on his reading skills.  This little guy is so imaginative and fun.  He sure is fun to spend my days with.  

Echo Reservoir on the way to Coalville, UT We've gotten quite a bit of snow this winter, and an extra large helping this end of February.  When God sends snow we take pictures and then huddle inside by the toasty fireplace.  Oh, and we also find fun indoor community swimming pools to pretend we remember summer.  :)  Pictures of our house after the plows, snow blowers, and snow shovels have done some work. Pictures from Grandma Phillps' home, covered all in white.  

  Loyd's Epic Birthday Candle I can't get over how great this video of Loyd watching his birthday candle is!  He's 15 years old and totally trying to maintain a cool and calm exterior where nothing can surprise or crack his cool-kid exterior.  However, this candle was so epic he couldn't resist showing the joy he felt inside while watching it and knowing it was all for him!  I just love this video!

This handsome young man turned 15!  I can't believe that my Loyd has been my right hand man for 15 wonderful years.  Loyd is filled with light and love.  He is compassionate and kind.  He has a testimony of our Savior, Jesus Christ, and he loves the things of the Spirit.  I am so proud of this young man and the person he is growing to become.  I love you, Loyd! As you can see, I'm not the only one who loves Loyd.  He's an awesome big brother and a great example to his brothers and sisters.  Loyd is awesome! Loyd tried to maintain an aura of cool since he is a cool teenager, but I got him an epic birthday cake candle that he couldn't resist!  It spun, sparked, and sang "Happy Birthday, to You"!  What more could you want to celebrate! To top off a spectacular day of birthday celebrations, Loyd and Xavier performed in the school winter band concert.  They both did an awesome job and it was fun to see them grow and share their musical talents.  We couldn't con

How can Diana possibly be 2 months old already!  She's such a light in our home.  We love you, Baby Diana!

It appears that the big boys have a new roommate.  The deer have decided they are going to get as close as possible to living inside the house.  This gall's favorite spot to sleep seems to be just outside the window to Loyd and Xavier's room.  What a crazy year for deer! Just another lazy Sunday afternoon in my backyard for the deer of Morgan County...

 I turned the big 40 this year and to celebrate I thought it would be fun to dress Baby Diana in an outfit my mom saved from when I was a baby.  I think Diana rocked my '80s wear better than I probably did 4 decades ago.  Thanks Mom for saving some fun baby clothes from when I was this cute. :D 

Weeks are made up of days and the days are made of of small magic moments.  Here are a few of the small moments I enjoyed this week.   I think it is utterly delightful to see our pet bunny, CiCi, take such interest in our tiniest family member.  If Diana is in the front room then CiCi is nearby watching over her, or even grooming her soft baby hair.  I think CiCi enjoys babies as much as I do.   Diana has that magnetic pull to play that all my babies seem to have.  If she is playing on her mat it doesn't take long for interested and loving siblings to join in on the fun.  I love these simple moments of connection and affection.   Maeve had a fun school fieldtrip to the Utah State Capitol and to the Utah Museum of Natural History.  I was so excited for her!  Museums are the best sort of fun! 

The deer are out in force this winter, roaming the neighborhood and eating my yard!  I use to think deer were beautiful, magical creatures.  I no longer suffer from this delusion.  They are nothing but bottomless pits of eating mayhem.  They are the worst kind of garden visitor because once they come you no longer have a garden!  They brazenly patrol the neighborhood streets creating a nuisance for traffic and a hazard for children walking to and from school.   I won't be sad if I never see another deer in my yard again.  

Last Saturday we were gifted a weekend full of unexpected carrot themed cooking.  The neighbors planted lots and lots of carrots last Fall. They then banked them under a thick layer of leaf mulch to be harvested this winter.  Well, harvest day came last Saturday.  They called Saturday morning to see if Dustin and Loyd would mind helping them pull some of the crop before the upcoming dip of cold temperatures predicted to come this week.  Dustin and Loyd happily agreed to be of service and unexpectedly came home with a 5 gallon bucket of freshly harv ested, muddy carrots as payment for their service.   (This is what everyone's yards and gardens currently look like in Morgan) Well, you guessed it.  I spent the rest of my Saturday washing and drying carrots, dehydrating carrots, figuring out how to make pickled carrots (I sure hope they taste good.  I've never had pickled carrots before), and simmering a triple batch of carrot intensive Finish Soup.  After all that work I used up o