Girls' Night with alllll seven of us? Best nights ever! We love when Nicole is in town so that we feel whole again (and all our love to Marco Polo for keeping us all connected in the meantime).
Oh man, Relief Society this month was basically a bonus girls' night. This table was slightly out of control and could. not. stop laughing! Love it.
Pinewood Derby for Willy Boy!
Alas, the first time an Izatt didn't make it onto the the award stand. Not our preferred way to say goodbye to Pinewood Derbies, but that's all right ;). (I was going to write something like, 'at least we're saying goodbye!' but that didn't sound very loyal... or kind.... but it was definitely honest haha!)
Will's loyal fans in the audience:
Okay, when I saw Carma's and Andy's shirts I had to pull them into the hallway for a quick photoshoot. Instagram caption: Legit can’t handle the cuteness of these two best friends and their accidental coordinating outfits tonight 👧🏻👦🏼🖤
Sweet boy and his car! This was Will's last hurrah in Cub Scouts before he turned 11 in a couple weeks, so it was pretty fun!
Sometimes you stick your younger two kids in the car and head south to visit your brothers for no real reason besides feeling stir crazy haha. Hence a quick weekend trip to Utah!
Fit in time to see Nicole and get Carma's hair cut. Nicole's house is a Mecca for adults to look around in wonder, and her yard is a Mecca for kids - the landscaping isn't in yet, so it's dirt and rocks as far as the eye can see!
Nice spring day? Time to bust out Yoshi 1.0, the original Yoshi, Yoshi the Elder, etc, etc. aka Sam's scooter that I copied when I bought mine haha.
We caravanned via bike, scooter, actual scooter, and cars over to a park for a lovely afternoon of cousin bonding.
Isaac found a wee snake in the grass and delighted in freaking me out with it haha.
On this occasion Sam proved to be the 'weak link' aka the adult unable to resist the children's pleas for a someone to accelerate them a bit. Sucker ;).
That evening we merrily abandoned Carma and Leila for a sleepover with the girl cousins and then met up again the next morning at Sam's ward. I was more than happy to go to nursery with Sam and Sammy!
And then we piled back into the car for a pretty chill drive home (traveling with only a couple kids at a time? Heaven).
And yes, it was St. Patrick's Day that Sunday, so in honor of that here is one of my favorite Adrienne Hedger cartoons haha. "Not the time for teal." Oh, I love her.
Also a couple years ago Chuck mastered corned beef and cabbage, alas at the same time I discovered a non-liking of this traditional Irish fare. So this year Chuck made it for all his work buddies who were much more appreciative!
One of my favorite things about working allll the days is that doctor's appointments get set up for Chuck's days off and fall under his jurisdiction (okay, that's somewhat been the case for a while). Adventures with Dad include Costco trips with pizza and check-ups! Please enjoy the close-up of the bottom of Jack's sock ;).
Marvel Universe movie time! Captain Marvel with Dad, the three boys, and Grandma Pam.
I mean, blessedly Clyde wouldn't get me a blackout on this... but definitely bingos a couple different directions haha.
Instagram caption: I’m feeling extra spiritual today... probably because I broke my fast with an entire sleeve of Thin Mint cookies and it was divine 🙏🏼... but here are some lyrics from stake choir practice tonight that I can’t sing very well because my voice is still sketchy but I love nonetheless. Life is hard and sometimes things just suck and so often we feel overwhelmed with what’s in front of us - but ultimately it’s completely manageable and we will come out stronger on the other side and I testify of a loving father in heaven snd Savior Jesus Christ who are there every step of the way 🙌🏼
Politics aside, this is freaking hilarious:
I honestly don't know why this meme makes me laugh SO hard but it does.
I also don't know why we call this area "Mom's side" of the bed. At any given time there's an Izatt child curled up there.... day or night, siiiiigh:
We are a very hands-on family. And legs-on. Why sit next to someone when you can drape yourself over them?
I mean, I'm mostly a mature, responsible adult but also this kind of hits home haha:
Yessss. Reminds me of the classic "Closing Time" - you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here!
Couple more memes that I deemed important and hilarious enough to screenshot:
I need a cheer section.
Carma June continued to live her best life in March, with lots of time at Grandma Pam's house! This day she enjoyed some dress-up fun:
Still figuring out make-up, but she's pretty sure glittery cheeks are always in style.
Okay, this was an absolute ambush, they literally called for me to come in the boys' room haha.
Instagram caption: Carma created this amazing “I Am a Brave Girl” book with Grandma Pam and it’s basically the coolest thing ever 📔😍👧🏻🤩🚺💪🏼 I’m wayyy late for #internationalwomensday (this full time working thing might be killing me; I’m late to everything right now. Don’t ask about the current laundry situation 😂😭) but I love watching Carma June be her little yahoo self and I’m so grateful for all of the incredible women in her life who take the time to love and teach and guide her 👵🏻👩🏼⚕️👩🏻🍳👩🏻🏫👩🏻💻👩🏼🌾👩🏼🎨👩🏻🔬💇🏼♀️👯♀️💃🏻
Daffodil (I think? I'm terrible with flowers...) from Grandpa Braden! Carma has to check on it every time we leave or come home haha.
Two sweet friends in our ward created an early Easter hunt and Carma and Jack were invited - so fun!
Legos! Picture credit: Jack Izatt
Okay, somehow it took us this long to get a kid threatening to run away - isn't she just the cutest, saddest little thing? I don't remember in what way we offended her, but she was prepared with plenty of her 'stuffies' to live out on her own somewhere ;). Still no idea where she gets her dramatic side from...
Random Sunday pictures. Clyde's church socks made me laugh.
THIS IS WHY I CAN NEVER JUST POST ONE PICTURE OF MY FOUR CHILDREN. Because they each choose a different click of the camera to be a yahoo for! Why is Will yawning/yelling in one? Why is Will off to the side in one? Why is Jack fake sleeping in one? Why is jack pretending his balloons are the reigns to a team of horses in one? Why is Clyde so stoic in like two of them? Why is Carma covering her mouth and looking to the side in the ONLY freaking picture that all three boys are looking nice and smiling? Whew. Deep breaths.
Okay, I love the airport area where people come and are reunited with their loved ones. I could sit there for hours and just watch people walk through the doors and hug whoever came to pick them up. It seriously gets me. Which means that when the day came for K to get back from deployment, I was absolutely on board to be part of his welcoming crew and take a million pictures for Emily. (Nycole and Brandon were both on video duty; we're an all encompassing volunteer documentation crew). So, so sweet. The girls dropping their sign and running for him? Tears. The sweet hug with all five of them? All the tears. Some of my favorite people, and I'm so glad they're together again!
Okay... Imma level with you; I have no idea the significance of this picture. Why I took it in the first place? Why I selected it for this post? Not a clue. But it's fun to see the tulips and the day lillies in their original green, non flowery form... so that's cool.
Onto Spring Break, aka the last week in March. Spring break always means Will's birthday, hooray! Here is my very large and smart and darling and grown up 11 year old:
I love his face. And that cupcake.
Will invited his buddies over for the afternoon and a great time was definitely had by all. They did legos...
and board games and trampoline games and decorated and ate cupcakes and it just warmed my heart. I love watching Will laugh and have fun with friends.
Mommy and me selfie for his birthday. Instagram caption: My favorite brace face turned 11 today😍😍😍. I pulled a Vernon Dursley and hid Will’s letter from Hogwarts so he can’t leave and has to stay with me foreverrrrrr 🤗👩👦👫😎
More Spring Break activities - helping Grandma Pam with lunch over at the shelter! My mama is amazing and these kids are rockstars for jumping in and helping.
Ugh, some working out may have occurred. Definitely worth it to yell for my girl Karlina on the stage though!!
A beautiful rainbow on our way to the temple for a long overdue date there.
In my 34 year existence on the earth, I've never had fake nails... until now. My girls extolled the virtues of Kiss brand iMPress press-on nails (like seriously, $6-7 and no glue and super easy) so I bought some and feigned incompetence until Chuck agreed to stick them on for me and then I fell in love... with Chuck again, obviously, but also with these nails!! They started out longer but for my maiden voyage I opted to shorten them a bit. But seriously. So amazing.
And finally, Chuck hosted an awesome afternoon Nerf battle for Clyde and Will and some of their school friends. It was epic and amazing and hilarious and intense and super fun.
He's cute, yo.
Carma is always hilarious in battle.
Sideline selfie from those who prefer to watch.
Some action shots:
Aaaand a few more. Super fun to have the space and resources and good weather and day off to be able to facilitate stuff like this. Yayyyyy for spring break!
