Our own mad scientist

Really he is not a mad scientist at all, he is really a very nice one. Nate has been putting in very long days at work in order to finish his first draft of his dissertation by March 1st. I have tried to read it but really don't understand about Vapor-liquid-equilibrium, or polymer solutions, or any of the equations and theories. Despite the fact that there is so much i don't understand it seems like good writing to me. He has the amazing gift of being good at both writing and science/math. I am so proud of him for working so hard for so long on his research and writing. It has been five years in the making to get his PhD in Chemical Engineering. It is exciting to have the end in sight.
The most amazing thing though, is that he comes home late feeling tired and hungry but still manages to be a fun and loving father and a sweet, helpful, considerate husband. He notices all the little things i do during the day and makes me feel special.
I know that we have been extremely blessed in our little family during this tough time. We have been blessed with a sweet spirit and lots of love in our home. We appreciate all of you who are supporting us and praying for us. The prayers are definitely being heard and answered. Thank you!

Ants can Swim

I must confess we have had a recent ant infestation at our house. Not so good for us. But on the plus side it provides lots of entertainment for the kids. Last week they built an ant trap in the kitchen complete with storage totes, lots of big and little balls, a jar of water, a rope and a knitted afghan covering the whole thing. Today the excitement was in the bathroom. The kids were yelling about the ants and trying to catch them with small pieces of toilet paper. Morgan dropped one of his captive into the toilet then came running out to tell me, "Ants can swim! Mom, ants can swim!" Then he ran back in, looked at the ant again and said "Good job, Ant!" Back out to me "She waves her arms and her legs. Mom, you should come see. No, Gotta see, cause it is so cool!" Oh, the joy of children.

Waterworks

Do all women get more weepy as we grow older or is it just my family? On Sunday i made the mistake of actually listening to the words we were singing in the opening song. This made me start to cry. I was trying to get the tears turned off during the prayer (unsucessfully) then right after the prayer I was released from my calling. I think it appeared that i was heartbroken at being released. I got several "knowing" sympathetic smiles from the bishopric and others who turned to see me standing. I sat down feeling very embarrassed and heard the Bishop announce "we will now be pleased to hear a testimony from Leslie King." What!! I was so surprised. I am pretty sure i said something when i got up to the pulpit but i am not sure if it was of any worth. I think my crying state and the release and my testimony convinced many people that we are moving immediately even though we are not going for another two months. It was all pretty funny.

Oh My, Up To His Thigh

We ran a few errands today and when we got home i asked the kids to get ready for lunch by washing their hands. Morgan was very obedient and ran right in to the bathroom to do so. The lights were off and he stepped up onto the toilet so he could reach the soap. The only problem was the toilet lid was open and so he stepped right into the toilet water up to his thigh.

I thought it was hilarious. To Morgan though it was very un-funny so i tried not to laugh too much. At least not while he was looking. He took off his pants quickly and wouldn't let me take a picture with him in them. I am sure that someday he will look back and laugh at himself.

posted by leslie

On the Road

I got back from California yesterday. We pulled in at about 3:30 am. It was a fun trip with way too little sleep. We drove all night Friday to get there in the wee hours of Saturday morning, played that day, went to church on Sunday and drove through Sunday night to get home Monday morning. Whew, what a whirlwind. I am glad i went. I drove with my parents and my two younger sisters. It was fun to arrive at my older sisters house and have all four sisters together. I loved meeting my new nephew, William. He is a very handsome baby. Saturday morning we got to watch my niece's 5-year-old soccer practice. That is some great entertainment. We enjoyed the beautiful southern California weather and even walked to the beach to watch the sunset. It was a great trip. Thanks to all my family.
Nate watched the kids while i was gone. He is such a sweet husband. I was worried about him because he has his dissertation completion looming over his head and we started potty training Emma this week. I was worried it would be a stressful experience for him but now i am thinking maybe i should leave them more often. He did great and the kids had tons of fun. They built forts and watched late night movies and went out to dinner. Nate is so amazing. I love him.

Here it is.

Blue-footed Boobie pinata

Last weekend we had no car to go anywhere and i was tired of watching movies and so i came up with the idea of making a pinata. The kids enjoyed the balloons before and liked the messy paper mache glue. They did a wonderful job of ripping the newspaper into strips. We ended up making a blue-footed boobie (their new favorite bird thanks to the Willises) It was a fun thing to do as a family and turned out looking pretty good.
On Sunday we broke it open at the King family cousins dinner. There wasn't room to swing a stick in our living room so we let the kids just punch it. Morgan and Emma were very impressed when little Aunt Ruth gave a powerful punch that opened up his belly. Morgan got the final punch that brought all the candy down. He was very proud.
I think we will definitely make more pinatas in the future. In fact thinking about it just now i already have a great idea for the next one, maybe a spice bush caterpillar.