Meet Oscar

He's a neighborhood cat.

My kids adore him.

He comes and goes as he pleases.

And I don't have to feed him.

Or take care of him.

And the kids get their fill.

Now we don't need that pet they keep asking for.

*sigh* of relief!

FMN

Problem: No power for Family Movie Night (FMN)


Solution: Use the car battery.

Warm Weekend

We had some amazingly beautiful weather this past weekend. It was so nice to have some warm weather and be able to go outside without a coat--Caleb doesn't realize that you can actually go outside without one! The kids and I had a lot of fun playing together and talking to our neighbor. We got out the balls, bubbles, bikes, scooters, and sidewalk chalk. Kelsie, our artist, couldn't wait to cover the sidewalk with original artwork.

We went on our first family bike ride of the season over to the YMCA to celebrate Healthy Kids Day on Saturday. We had lots of fun running around and answering questions to win prizes. They each got a new water bottle, a couple of balls, frisbees and new balloons. We came home a while later and planted our garden. Wally was kind enough to prepare the soil for us the night before, and Kelsie did all the planting this year. We were able to plant peas, radishes, and lettuce growing in the garden. We're going to plant some carrots and flowers later this week. We're so excited for our crop to come in! Brandon and Caleb had more fun digging in the dirt and throwing it at each other. Boys will be boys I guess!

It truly is amazing the difference it makes to have a couple of nice days thrown into all these not-so-nice-days we've been having. We are excited and ready for summer! We were outside all day on Friday and Saturday throwing balls, playing frisbee, and planting the garden. I can't think of a better way to spend a warm weekend!

Easter

Our Easter weekend was great! On Saturday, we went to our church for the nursery egg hunt. It was so much fun! They had all the little kids (3 and under) look for eggs outside on the lawn, while the older kids each had a bag of goodies with their name on it. Caleb loved looking for the eggs, but wasn't as fast as some of the older kids. He was happy with what he got and finally decided that it was more fun to open and eat the candy than find more eggs. Kelsie and Brandon had fun searching for their bags and couldn't wait to break into them and see what surprises they got. It really was so much fun! Later that night, we dyed our eggs for the Easter Bunny and then sent the kiddos to bed.

Brandon couldn't wait for Easter and all that candy. He woke up really really early. He found his basket, ate some candy, looked for his eggs, then came in and woke me up. When I realized what time it was, I told him to go watch Veggie Tales until 7:00. He came in a couple more times before 7 and even woke up Caleb and brought him into me. Caleb, as it turned out, had a fever and wasn't feeling very good, so he got in bed with me and went back to sleep. By the time Kelsie woke up and Brandon came in to wake us up 3 more times, we were up. Kelsie and Brandon were more than excited to find their eggs and eat their candy. Caleb didn't want anything to do with finding his eggs or his candy. He just wanted to be held and would drift off to sleep until something woke him up again. Poor little guy.

After a quick breakfast and showers, we headed off to Stake Conference where we were able to hear from President Monson and Elder Oaks during a regional broadcast. It really was nice to hear from them on Easter. We then came home, took some naps, watched Finding Faith in Christ, roasted a chicken for dinner and called it a night. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get those pictures of the kids I wanted in their nice new clothes since Caleb wasn't feeling well and Brandon was bouncing off the walls from the sugar rush he had from eating candy all day (and I made them take off their clothes to keep them from getting stained with chocolate). I'll try to get those pictures taken soon though!

Kelsie helping Caleb check out his candy!

So proud of his goody-bag!

Caleb just wanting to be held instead of searching for eggs.

Those eggs have to be around here somewhere!

What a goofy kid!

This is how Caleb spent most of the day.

These are the pillows I made for Easter. They were a big hit!

I also wanted to add that Easter, for us, is so much more than candy and plastic eggs. We are grateful for the atoning sacrifice that was made by our Savior, Jesus Christ. It is through him and his resurrection that we are able to be together forever. This is the real reason why we celebrate Easter. I loved Elder Holland's talk from General Conference about the Savior. If you didn't get a chance to hear it, or don't know what I'm talking about, click here.

Good News!

It's been a happy day out here (despite the cold weather).

Wally's paper was accepted and is going to be published in the near future.

This is very good news for us!

He even got the special plate for dinner.

Way to go!

Cousins

A few weeks ago, my sister and her family came out to visit us for a few days. After a 20+ hour drive, they rolled into town just in time for pizza night (I think they were coming more for the pizza than us!). We were all so excited for them to come since we don't get to see them very often, let alone spend any lengthy amount of time together. The kids were especially excited to have some live-in playmates for a few days!

Being the ultimate tour guide that I am, we drove down to Chicago one day and walked around the city. It wasn't a particularly warm day, so we ended up in the LEGO store for a while and then had some lunch before walking back to the car. We also spent some time at a children's museum not far from here, played with some dry ice and liquid nitrogen with Wally up on campus, and just hung out together. We introduced them to a Philly Cheese Steak--at least the best one that we have been able to find outside of Philadephia. We even watched Bolt the night before they left.

We had such a fun time and my kids were spoiled by all the fruit snacks they got from their super nice aunt! We were sad to see them go, but all good things must come to an end. We loved having them here and can't wait to see them again!

Anyone in need of a jedi and a knight/police/swordsman?

Such pretty girls!

Just hangin'

Can you tell we're related?

Playing at the lego store

Pumping up the tires on the stroller.

Aren't they cute little monkeys?

Riding in style

Banana, anyone?

She loved the scooter!

Liquid nitrogen is so cool!

Say cheese!

Feeling Crafty

I have finally let myself explore out into the blogosphere beyond my family and friends. Did you know there are some incredibly talented and crafty people out there? These people come up with these great ideas on a daily basis, something that would take me a lifetime to do. When I found these tutorials for a twirly skirt and little boy's tie, I knew what direction to head in for Easter. I had a lot of fun making these for my kids and I love how they turned out. I wouldn't call myself an expert seamstress by any stretch of the imagination (I won't tell you how many times I still have to call my mom with questions), but the end result was a whole lot better than I thought it was going to be! I can't wait to take pictures of my kids all dressed up tomorrow! I can't wait to show the other project I've been working on too--but you'll have to wait until tomorrow, after our visit from the Easter Bunny! Happy Easter!