IT'S GREAT TO BE 8

 Jane and Liz are 8!  We have LOVED having each of them a part of our family.  They are both such good examples and take good care of each other.  I can't believe how much they have matured this year.  I have really enjoyed having them at home with me so I could watch their progress in school and in spiritual things.

 We had a really fun day which started off with a scavenger hunt in the morning.  Jason and I hid their presents all around the house with clues.  The girls had fun running around screaming as they found each new package.  (I made the mistake of hiding one in the drawer where the wii remotes and games go.  They found that one before they should have.)  Daddy was able to stay a little late that morning and have breakfast with us.  Then we pulled out the video we took of the girls when they were newborns in the hospital.  There's about an hour of footage and I couldn't stop watching it, even though I got a serious headache and nauseous stomach from the moving camera.  They were such pretty little babies!  We always enjoy pulling out the video on their birthday. 

Grandma Tregaskis came over and took the girls to lunch.  When they got home, they decided to play with friends for a few hours.  We then packed everyone up (after a traditional birthday meltdown accompanied by our two toddlers screaming accompaniments-this particular meltdown was because of birthday cake) and headed to the BYU games center for bowling. 

The first 5 frames were perfect family bliss.  Seriously, you could have taken a snapshot at any moment and gone, "Awwwww.  How SWEET.  Aren't they just perfect?"  Then, they ran around the center pretending to play the arcade games.  We called them as their turns came up.  By the ninth frame, however, the golden moments were completely gone.  Eli was hungry and MAD.  He had a HOLE IN HIS SOCK.  And he wanted to shoot the guns in an arcade game that some guy was playing.  Time to go.

I took the first four who were done out to the car but had to wait for Jason because he had the keys.  Lige screamed the entire 5 minutes that we waited. All the BYU students looked at the kids with pity and at me with confusion.  I was very happy to see Jason coming down those steps with the key.  Inside the car we had a binky and MOVIES.   On the way home we stopped for a birthday cake from Harmons and pizza.  It was a glorious day.  More on why I love my girls SO MUCH in their baptism post.

Natalie loves bowling.

Birthday girl.

NOTHER one birthday girl.

Right after this picture he fist pumped and yelled "I got a STRIKE!"

Someone eat me please.

The rule was to stay behind the silver line if it wasn't your turn to bowl.

Sweet sisters

I think the girls were trying to get one of each color of balls.

The winner.  (But I must say that Jas and I shared our turns with Natalie and Eli.  We'll see you in the rematch, Ben)

Waiting for Daddy and Ben to finish their games.  While I took this, several co-eds walked by and seemed horrified that I was completely ignoring the screaming baby sitting next to the 3 kids in the photo.  One even stopped and asked if I wanted her to take a picture so we could ALL be in it.  I already got one of the crying kid, thanks.   See:

No one likes to leave the BYU games center. 

Our hero!