An Excuse for Ebelskivers

Twice a year all my mother's children demand one thing from her. We don't demand things often. But twice a year, we have one simple demand. And that demand comes in the form of little pancake puffs called Ebelskivers.

The Ebelskiver request comes twice a year because we like to enjoy our danish pastries paired with the inspiring words of General Conference. Jeff and I packed up the kids to spend the night at my parents' house to ensure we would not miss out on the butter dipped, powdered sugar rolled pancake bite delicacy that always result in a belly ache no matter how few I eat. But the belly ache is worth it. And this year my kids were in on the Ebelskiver cooking process.

I gave Carson a bowl to dip his Ebelskivers in, and he immediately picked the bowl up and proudly said, "duuuuuuuuump it" as he dumped the powdered sugar all over his Ebelskivers. That boy knows what he's doing!

With the smell of Ebelskivers in the air, it didn't take the Goldens long to make their appearance. Eli was eager to dote on his new cousin Madison. When he requested to hold her, I was anxious to see how he would react with a baby in his arms.

He completely surprised me! He was so calm and sweet and loving and adorable with his little tiny cousin. She fussed a few times while he was holding her, and I asked if he wanted me to take her, but he looked at me like I was crazy and calmly replied, "No." while gently giving Madison her binky. It was the cutest.

He loves his little cousin! It makes me feel a little less anxious about the future siblings that will enter our family.

Conference started, so the note taking/puzzling/drawing began.

I tried to get a picture of all the kids playing so cute, but this is the best I got. I had to lure Brooke over by asking questions about ponies. She eagerly answered all my inquiries. Then as I told her I had to go watch conference, she said, "Okay. If you have any more questions about ponies, you can just call me. My number is 6."

Spencer and Eli have not always gotten along as well as we would have expected two little boys with similar interests to get along, but they were awesome over the weekend! Those boys love their cars.

The gracious hosts of the chaos.

I made the mistake of thinking the boys would go to bed no problem in the same room on Saturday night. No. That was a horrible idea. They got so hyper being in the same room and it took two hours to finally get them calmed down and asleep. Then Carson woke up at 5:00 in the morning! So by the 2:00 session, the little tyke fell asleep in my arms. Melted my heart.

Then my sister said, "Conference takes another victim."

Meanwhile...Eli was just eating pretzels with his toes. Toe-tally normal.

My view on Sunday afternoon.

See. Spence and Eli. Buddies.

We ended the night with popcorn.

Then it was time to go. Carson loves Ben, and was eager to give him lip kisses, but Ben always managed to give him the cheek just in time.

Hugs for all!

We had a fun mini vacation. Thanks for having us, Mom and Dad!