Easter fun begins!

I haven't posted in a while. It has been a crazy week, or should I say a crazy month. It seems like it has been one thing after another. I am a worrier, anyway, but my worry has been in overload. It has been hard to think about blogging all week.

But, here we are to Easter weekend. The kids have been looking forward to Easter all week. Paisley keeps asking when the Easter bunny is coming. Of course, we have talked about the real meaning a couple of times with them. But, that darned ol' Easter Bunny steals the thunder at this age. Oh well, as long as they know the meaning, I am all about them having fun.

Last night when Dave got home from work we went through the whole bedtime routine and then sent Avery to bed. That smart little girl knew something was up! She didn't want to go to bed. We were letting Easton and Paisley stay up to color Easter eggs. I really wanted Dave to help this year. He somehow "gets out of it" every year. So, we waited until he got home. But, by then it was 8:00 and bedtime. Plus, Avery is Avery and I am guessing that Avery + egg dye = mess and disaster! :) Next year...

I bought "glitter egg dye". Basically, it is like any other egg coloring kit. But, at the end, you can add glitter. That part was a bit messy and didn't turn out as good as planned, so we only did a few eggs. But, the kids had a ton of fun dying them.




Dave and I had fun, too. (Can't you tell that Dave LOVES to dye eggs?)




It was fun for them to mix the colors and see what they got. It was interesting that out of 6 colors and 18 eggs, they were pretty much all different.




After the kids went to bed, I got all the eggs filled and the baskets made up. We are having a busy day today and going out on a date tonight, so I didn't want to be doing them at midnight tonight. That is another task that Dave hasn't been involved with before. So, I asked him to help me. I got out all the eggs and candy. He said that he would be right back. Well, that turned into 10 minutes or so, and by then, most the eggs were filled. :) Oh well...next year I guess... But, we got out the girls' Easter dresses and they really needed to be ironed. So, Dave was very nice to iron them for them. I can't wait to see the girls in their dresses! I love them!

Today, Paisley starts soccer. Easton has already had 2 weeks of practice. She has never played. She is really excited. I am a little worried about how her asthma might act up. I was telling Dave that we might find that soccer isn't a great sport for asthmatics. We will see. But, she sure looks cute in her soccer uniform! ;)

4 a.m. ...are you kidding me?

Well, we did succeed in having a pretty low key weekend. Friday night was quiet, just the kids and I at home. Dave and I watched a movie when he got home.

Saturday morning we slept in a bit and then hurried to get ready before conference started. The kids and I watched the first session. They did pretty well. (Dave was cleaning the garage, but listened to it on the radio.) My friend, Haley, had sent us a Conference packet for the kids on my email. It had all kinds of activities for them to do during conference. They had to write down the speakers, color the ties they wore, write the names of the songs that the choir sang, etc. It really did keep them busy most of the time.

After the first session we went to Geraldine's for lunch. Avery for some reason was SOOOO cranky. We got her a bowl of soup, she doesn't eat sandwiches too well. But, it was hot and I didn't want her to make a total mess with it. So, I fed her. But, she wasn't having that. She did not want me to feed her, but she FOR SURE did not want Dave to feed her. She wanted to do it herself. And, she wanted the bowl right in front of her. Anyway, finally, finally, after some major tantrums, she let me feed her. I swear, I had visions of myself leaving her there in the restaurant! :) No kidding! But, I decided I had better not do that and I took her with us. :)

That evening, Dave went to the Priesthood session. Afterwards, our friends, Trevor and Krista, came over to play games. We played games until about 12:30 a.m. Then, we just sat around the kitchen table talking and the next thing we knew it was 3:15! So, we walked them to the door and ended up talking there for another half hour. By the time we got in bed it was 4 a.m.!! Dave and I are getting old :) and we have not been up that late in YEARS! I knew the next day was going to be rough. But, we had so much fun talking and playing games that it made it worth it. ;)

Sunday morning the kids got up at 7:30. So, yea, we had gotten 3 1/2 hours sleep by then. Easton and Paisley are good about going downstairs and playing quietly until breakfast. Avery can not get out of her room, so she just played also. But, I didn't hear Avery up until about 8:30. Dave got up about 9 or 9:15 and let me sleep a while longer. When I got up, he had waffles and bacon going! That was sooo nice of him. We were definately dragging! But, as the day went on and we woke up a bit more, it wasn't too bad. We both got in afternoon naps while Avery napped. We will definately be going to bed a little earlier tonight.

It is funny how when we were teenagers or dating after his mission, we would stay up really late and not be affected too much. When you are 30, you don't snap back quite as easy! :) There is a big difference now, also, that we have kids. Back then, if we were tired, we slept. Now, we don't have that option readily available to us. I think we will be "catching up" for another couple days!

It was a fun night, though!

And, it FINALLY was a warm day today! We took the kids our between sessions and let them ride bikes and play. Dave raised Easton and Paisley's seats on their bikes and filled the tires and got them all set for the summer. Avery loves playing on her new tricycle we got her for her birthday, and Paisley's old 3-wheeled scooter. It was so beautiful outside. I just soaked it up!

We went out into the backyard today and tried to decide exactly where and how we were going to do our garden. I am really excited about the upcoming garden project for our family. We have been told to plant gardens and we are finally going to do it. I am a little overwhelmed because I don't know anything about gardening. But, through trial and error and some advice from others, I am sure it will be fine. The kids are excited about helping us with that. (I hope that excitement keeps up when they are out there weeding during the summer!)

Yea, my tiredness is kind of hitting me now. I think I may go to bed...

We love spaghetti!!

My friend, Brandy, recently blogged about a night they had spaghetti and how messy her kids were. Well, here is our version...




Yea, it was pretty bad! She was a TOTAL mess! She looked like a clown with the red all around her mouth! But, she ate her dinner really well. My kids LOVE spaghetti. I think that they get that from their mom! It is one of my favorites, too. So, I enjoy when we have it because the kids just eat it up and don't complain a bit!

And, on a more sad note, this is what we woke up to...



It never ends. Yesterday it snowed a bunch, but melted by afternoon. Today is like a blizzard! Not too much wind, but TONS of snow! It is April! I know I complain about the weather a lot on here. But, I have 3 kids and myself who have a serious case of CABIN FEVER! We need to get out of this house!! AHHHH!!

Anyway, enough of that. We are looking forward to a really good weekend. Just a lazy weekend for a change. Conference is this weekend and I am looking forward to hopefully getting a few sessions in. Other than that, not too many plans. Looking forward to being LAZY!

Baking with the girls...

Easton had soccer practice tonight. Our neighbor's son is on the same team. So, they took Easton to practice. Dave is still working, of course, so it was just the girls and I. I wanted to do something fun with them. I have really been craving homemade cookies, so we put on our aprons and went to work.



They each got to dump some ingredients into the mixer. They thought that was great! Of course they had to taste test, and Avery said, "mmmm".



They turned out really yummy and filled my craving! :) (Not so good for the biggest loser contest, however!)



Today we went to a play place with my sister-in-law and her kids. The kids had a lot of fun. I meant to bring my camera and unfortunately, I forgot. But, they had a good time playing with the cousins. Even Avery had a great time. And, when she got home she took a nice long nap, which I was so grateful for.

The kids go back to school tomorrow. I am kind of glad to get back to "normal" routine. But, it was fun to have them home for a few days. I am actually looking forward to summer. A while back I was kind of dreading summer because I didn't know what I would do with them all day. But, now I am totally ready for it! Bring on the SUN!!!

Spring Break

I had really high hopes for the kids' spring break this year. After our wonderfully relaxing and warm trip to the park a week ago, I was pretty excited for a repeat of that day. But, NOPE! The weather has been so cold! Sunday it snowed quite a bit. We still have snow on the ground and it is bitter cold out in the wind. And, I guess that it is supposed to snow again tonight! :(

So, what to do with 3 kids who want to be outside or doing something fun all the time? Yesterday Dave worked half a day, so we took the kids to lunch. That evening I took the kids to see the 3D version of Monsters vs. Aliens. Okay, so I didn't stay and watch. My brother-in-law took his kids and was kind enough to let me drop off Easton and Paisley so that I wouldn't have to sit through it with Avery. The kids really liked it and thought that the 3D was awesome!



Today we went to lunch at a restaurant with a nice play area with my friend, Heather, and her 3 kids. That was nice. Avery is at a good age to be able to finally go play a bit by herself. It was nice to sit and have some adult conversation while the kids played and had fun. This afternoon Easton and Paisley have dentist appointments and then Easton has soccer practice.

So, I guess we are staying busy. But, just not in the ways that I had hoped and planned.

Oh, and after we ate lunch today, Avery fell asleep in the car. I love that because then I lay her in her crib and enjoy the next couple hours. As soon as we pulled in the garage today, though, she woke up. She had been asleep for about 10 minutes. I hurried her in and laid her down. But, to my dismay....

POWER NAP!!!

Totally! She was wide awake and even though I tried very hard to get her back to sleep, she is now up playing with a 10 minute nap under her belt. NICE!! She must not realize just how much I look forward to and NEED her naps! Oh well, she will go to bed early tonight for sure!



One last item...I just wanted to post how much fun I had this weekend with my sister-in-law and my mom on our trip to Utah! It was very relaxing, and tiring at the same time. We did a lot of shopping and I got some really good deals. The kids are pretty much ready to go for summer.

We had a fun time in Park City. We went clear downtown, away from the outlets, for lunch. I had never been to that part of Park City before. It is such a cute little place with lots of little shops and restaurants. We found a fun little candy store where I bought some really tasty chocolates, and ate lunch at a little pizzeria. Very fun. I wish we had had more time to look around there, but we had to get back to the outlets for round 2 of shopping! :)

Thank you, Dave, for so willingly staying home with the kids so that I could go. I really had a great time and loved that I didn't have to worry about anything because I knew the kids were well taken care of! Thank you, hon, I love ya!!!

Okay, one FINAL tidbit. I just wanted to share this about Dave...he is all of a sudden a facebook addict! I have had a facebook account for a while and once in a while he would get on mine and play around. But, he thought as a whole that it was dumb. Then, he decided to get his own account and realize he LOVES facebook. He has been reconnecting with a bunch of people from his past and just thinks it is the greatest thing! I just think it is funny. Personally, I think facebook is pretty boring and that blogging is way more fun. Apparently, Dave doesn't agree.



He is going to need to start going to FAA, Facebook Addicts Anonymous, if there is such a thing...

I had to steal it...

My sister-in-law, Stephanie, started a new blog recently. She is currently posting about things that she would have a while ago if she'd had a blog. Today she posted about her wedding to my youngest brother. She posted a picture of herself with Easton and Paisley. I thought it was so cute! I hadn't seen it before. They both look so little. So, I had to steal it and post it on my blog! Thanks, Steph!

I am really excited because Stephanie and my mom and I are heading out to Park City tonight for a weekend of shopping!! :) It will be fun! We went last year, too, and had a great time. So, Dave will be on his own for tomorrow. (We will be home late tomorrow night.) I am sure he is not really excited, but he will do fine. He is a good dad.

And, Jackie...I so wish you were coming!!!! Next time!!!

One more thing...

I was wondering if anyone knew of a good pediatric dentist...we seem to have some teeth problems...




Have a great weekend!!!

When is it going to END?!?!?!?

So here is the way it looked last night...




WHAT?!?!? I just posted about how Friday afternoon and Saturday we played outside without jackets and the kids were SWEATY!! TODAY the kids went to school with BOOTS!!!

Oh well...

Just a couple other random things to change the mood...

Avery loves setting up their little chairs and putting her babies in them to watch a movie with her. So cute!



And, I realized I didn't post any pictures of Avery's birthday parties...



Opening presents...



Blowing out candles with her cousin, Braylon...



I wasn't super good at taking pictures during her two family parties, it was always kind of crazy. But, we are very thankful for all the fun presents she got and for everyone helping to celebrate 2 fun filled years of our baby's life! :)

That's all for today! Let's hope for spring tomorrow!

Parent Teacher Conferences

Dave and I attended parent teacher conferences last night. Since Paisley started the preschool through the school district a couple months ago, we get to go to two conferences.

It was kind of funny, it was like we went to the exact conference twice. Both teachers told us that Easton and Paisley are doing very well academically. No problems there. And, both teachers told us that our children like to be the class clowns. :) I really don't know where they get this. I am pretty shy in group settings, and Dave is pretty funny, but not like the "class clown." The teachers were saying it wasn't necessarily bad. Paisley is really good about being quiet and still when she needs to be, then silly when she can be. Easton is working on that. :) He and the teacher have a little sign that she does to warn him that it is time to settle down. She said that works pretty well.

I am glad my kids are social and have friends. No parent wants the opposite. But, sometimes it just goes a bit overboard.

One "funny" story that Paisley's teacher told, I put funny in quotes because although I find it funny, I am not sure I should. :) But, her teacher laughed as she told it. One day, Paisley when in to use the bathroom. When she had been in there a couple minutes too long the teacher went in to check on her. She found Paisley crawling out from under the stall. She asked her what she was doing, and Paisley looked very guilty. The teacher tried the door and saw it was locked. So, she told Paisley she would need to crawl underneath again to unlock it. Just then another girl came in to use the bathroom and started trying to get in a stall, ALL of which were locked. So, she had locked one stall and crawled under to the next and so on until they were all locked! SERIOUSLY!! Who thinks of that??? Paisley does, that's who! What a mischievous little girl!

I was thankful to hear positive comments, for the most part. We are really proud of them and thankful to be their parents, even if we are a little embarrassed by stories we hear every now and again!

Weekend fun...

Another weekend has come and gone. They always go much too fast. But, it was another good weekend and we had some fun.

Friday the kids had a half day of school. As soon as they got home we had to go to Target. It was a BEAUTIFUL day and I told them that if they were good we would go get some lunch and eat it at the park. They were good, of course they were when there is a fun reward involved. So, we went to McDonald's, or they did, I got a sandwich at Jimmy John's. (So good!) We went to a little park that is usually not too busy. It was so nice that the kids didn't have to wear their jackets. We ate our lunch. Then they went to play and I had the luxury of just sitting in the sun reading my magazine and watching the kids play. It was really nice. I love that is Avery is getting to a good age for playing at the park. She was so content to go up the stairs and down the slide. This toy had 4 slides, so she would go up and pick a slide and do it over and over. She loved it. By the time we left she had little curls poking out all around her face which happens when she gets sweaty. She fell asleep immediately in the car, she was so worn out. But, it was a great afternoon!

That night Dave and I attended a work party. It was an event that they do about every 6 months with dinner, awards, and entertainment. It is a dressy occasion so I "had" to get a new dress. :) That was fun. We always have a good time at these events, and what is better than free entertainment and food??? Afterwards we went with our friends, Mike and Kalli, to a restaurant for a little more dessert and visiting. We had a good time.

Dave's parents were in town from Washington this weekend. So, Saturday morning we all met at Dave's brothers house for breakfast. It is always fun to get together with Dave's family. Always crazy with all the little kids, but fun. It worked out well that we had another BEAUTIFUL day on Saturday so all the kids could play outside.

Saturday afternoon, Easton had a birthday party to go to. So, while he was gone and Avery and Dave napped, Paisley and I went to a play that our stake put on. It was Esther and the King. They have put a lot of work into this play and it was very well done. Paisley really enjoyed it. She paid attention really well and understood the story of Esther pretty well when it was over. It was really fun for me to have a chance to be alone with my sweetie.

Saturday night we went out with Dave's parents and siblings for dinner without all the kids. That is always really enjoyable to just sit and visit. After the dinner we went back to brother's house to visit some more. We talked for a couple hours. A lot of it was the 3 brothers that were there reminiscing about their crazy childhood stories. They came out with some pretty funny stories that had us rolling with laughter and surprised even their parents. Good times!!

Today we attended church and had a relaxing afternoon. We had dinner and family home evening. We are going through the gospel art kit pictures. We are doing the Old Testament and do one or two pictures/stories each week. Tonight we learned about Moses liberating the Israelite people. The kids really enjoy learning the stories. They really look forward to it.

That was it. Nothing too exciting. Like I always say, it went too fast. But, it was fun. Monday is here again. Don't we all love Mondays???

I forgot to say that after the wonderful, wonderful weather Friday and Saturday, today it SNOWED!!!! It even stuck for a while. The rest of the day was rainy. I tell ya, I am sick of these teaser days! We just think spring is here, and then the snow comes. Oh well. Spring will come to stay soon enough...I hope!