Pretty Pretty Princess

I had just started to fold the laundry this morning when I heard a disturbance down the hall. Jackson was chasing Alexia around and pulling on her blue Cinderella tutu yelling "That's MY princess!"

I'm sure that a better mom would say "don't worry son, we have more manly things like some trucks or GI Joe guys over here for you to play with" instead of "don't worry son, here is another tutu, and don't forget your pink tiara!".

Jackson and the girls had a great time playing "pretty, pretty princess". However, we could not convince him to put on the pink tiara.

Apparently the boy has his limits.

Oh and if he is mad at me when he is older for letting him wear a tutu and then taking a picture of it, I am going to kindly point out that at least his tutu matches his shirt. A non-matching tutu and shirt...........now that should be a crime.

Freedom

I have to say I'm surprised. Pleasantly surprised though. I didn't think that in a liberal state like Illinois, they would let you sing songs with words such as freedom, liberty, or even God in a school program. So, it was nice to go to the first grade music program and see all of the first graders dressed up in red, white and blue, singing wonderfully patriotic songs.

A Whetten FHE

Now I know that all of YOUR kids sit quietly on the couch during family home evening. They raise their hands when they have something to say. They share their testimonies. You sing hymns together as a family. You pass around your scriptures each taking a turn reading a verse. You take turns giving a wonderful lesson. And this is exactly how our family home evenings are.........YEAH RIGHT!

This Monday's FHE was a little more typical for us. We finally got all 5 kids calm (well at least Jackson was in the same room with us and quiet) and we were reading a story out of The Friend together about a little boy named Caleb who was the new kid in school (does that ring a bell or what??). Suddenly Conal says "Um, Monique, we have a problem here. Jackson broke the mirror in here and his foot is cut." Oh boy. Jackson had this large dark red spot on the back of his pj's on his ankle. I looked down at the carpet and noticed that he had been walking around with the cut for a while because there were blood spots all over the carpet. Not good. So, Conal took Jackson in the bathroom to clean it up and see how bad the cut was while Garrison, Hailey and I quickly cleaned up the carpet (it all came out=)). Jackson didn't make one peep about the cut......until we tried to put a bandaid on it. Doesn't that generally make kids feel better? He was seriously ticked about the bandaid.

After we got all of that cleaned up and everyone was taken care of and calm, we decided to go back to our story about poor little Caleb. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of leaving the magazine next to Macy and well....she ate the second page of the story. I guess we will never know what happens to poor Caleb, the new kid at school.

I wish that I could say that this is an atypical FHE for the Whettens. Unfortunately it is more the norm. No, blood isn't spilled every Monday night, but there is always something exciting to look forward to.

4, 34, 7

No these are not the Lost numbers. Sorry to disappoint you Dad. February 7th was Alexia's 4th birthday, Conal's 34th birthday and Macy's 7 month birthday.

Alexia was happy to play with her cousins and be queen for the day at Burger King:

Conal was happy to be in nice weather in Nauvoo:

and to see his brother Craig and his wife Jaclyn who met us in Nauvoo:

Macy was just happy to be held:

Happy Birthday you 3!

PAR-TAY in Chi-town!

An awesome week in pictures:

Playing at the house: Hmmm I wonder where my kids got the idea to throw a ball from here

to there.Lincoln Park Zoo:
The caravan to Nauvoo:

The final resting place for Joseph and Hyrum:

The Nauvoo House:The Mansion House Where Joseph and Emma lived:

All of the kids LOVED the horses and the wagon ride:

OKAY----not all of the kids:
The Blacksmith:
The Temple:

Bald Eagles near the Mississippi River (they are only in Nauvoo in the winter):

Carthage Jail:
This picture needs no explaination...........or rather it needs a GOOD explaination. By the way, Rachael, you still owe me $1.53 for getting on that horse.

You can't leave Chicago without going to Portillos:

Oh and did I mention that it was 70 degrees in Nauvoo? I wore flip flops. My feet were so happy. It was also a nice week in Plainfield. My family will never believe me that it was so cold a couple of weeks prior to them coming.

Thanks for coming guys! We miss you already!