Yesterday when I was in the school room with the older kids Eliza rushed in.

"Mom! Our house is, is, is (searching for the right word) a dump."

It turns out Derek was destroying Styrofoam packaging and making a huge mess - one of Nate's less favorite things. Recently I've been asking Derek and Eliza if they want to live in a palace or a dump to motivate them to pick up after themselves. I guess it is working and it was so cute to hear her say.

Just in case anyone out there reads this blog I want to do my part to spread the word. Nate, Philip, Michael and Chris Baugh made a rifftrax to this movie. It's like MST3k.

So if you're interested in a cheap, at-home date night: pop some popcorn, grab a pack of root beer, and settle down with Ominous Project's version of "10,000 BC."

Info: In ages past the world was a hostile place where mankind eked out an existence in constant fear of giant birds and monstrous shag-carpet elephants. But among these troglodytes arose a man whose destiny would lead him to unite the various tribes, tame the hordes of furry beasts, and establish a new way of life among his people. That man was Jim Henson, and this unfortunately is not his story. Instead, Ominous Projects invites you to join us for a commentary that makes watching 10,000 BC marginally less painful.

I copied this from Carrie's blog (thanks Care!)

Norah has been starting to say words. For some reason her first was dog. Nate was reading a book to Eliza while he was holding Norah and she pointed to a picture of a dog and said it. She has also said Megan, Emma, Merian and very clearly: Mike.

She loves playing pat-a-cake. She's a happy happy girl and very independent.

Derek's Thoughts

"Was I born on my birthday? Sometimes people are born on their birthdays."

"Is Nephi still alive?"

"No, Derek, he died a long time ago."

"But he came to our church after Christmas." (He was remembering when Bishop Pierce came as Nephi and talked to the kids at a primary activity. We had a great discussion about Nephi's story after that.)

With the kids getting older and involved in more activities, we decided to move scripture study to morning. When someone was complaining about getting up early, Michael told them to trust Mom and Dad. How awesome is that? He is excited about giving his first talk in Sacrament meeting this week. Coincidently, Uncle Mike is also speaking. Michael has also been enjoying going on Scout camp outs.

Eliza has Pinkalicious memorized. I need to record her "reading" it. She loves pre-school. She loves going to her locker and getting out her work books. She is so cute!

Derek is doing well in math. He teaches himself! The other day he found out that if he entered in math problems into Google, it would compute them for him.

Merian is quite the climber. We were impressed when she was four and could quickly climb to the top of the rope in the Tarzan Tree House at Disneyland. This week she climbed to the top of the rope at school. She said everyone was chanting her name and after P.E. she heard people in line talking about it. She is such a fun, cute, exciting, loving little girl. I'm happy for her talent and wish we had a rope for her to climb at home since she thinks it is so fun!

Merian is always ready for school on time with out me reminding her to get her stuff done. This week she has asked to make her own lunches! She is very responsible when it comes to doing her homework and getting ready for school on time without being told. I know she is always striving to do her best.

She wants to go on an adventure like the Box Car Children. When it gets a little bit warmer, we'll have to see what we can do about that.

To have the self image of a three year old. Two of the things Eliza said this week were: "I love being cute," and "I was cute in the bathtub."

I like our new laundry system. I do one person's laundry per day plus a tub of something else. Then they help me fold and put the laundry away. Since I don't want to miss out on that one on one time I don't often have a pile of laundry in my hallway. But I've been behind since we went to the lodge so there are three loads there now. When I went to check on Derek tonight he wasn't in his bed. I couldn't find him anywhere! Finally he popped out of the laundry. I must have walked past and over him at least three times. I can't believe he stayed so still and quiet. If he had waited any longer to reveal himself I would have found him when I started folding!