May update

Where has the time gone??? Okay, first I have to say that John and I just returned from an AMAZING vacation to the Dominican Republic. It was simply awesome! I will blog about it soon.

I also have to say that my heart has been so heavy the past few weeks as I've remembered the events of last year. It's been a year now since my friend Molly lost her little Lucy. I still get very emotional when I write about it. And on the eve of the anniversary of her death I sobbed like it was yesterday. Oh Molly...how could life be so unfair?! How can the rest of us have it so easy in comparison? My heart aches for her and Vic. And I want them to know (and the few of you who read this blog) that when I blog about the fun things I'm doing in my life with my children, I am always just a little torn because I know it sounds so trite, especially when one of my very closest friends is enduring the unimaginable sorrow of losing a child. This Thursday would have been Lucy's 3rd birthday. I pray that Molly and Vic can endure this week and feel the love of so many people who continue to grieve with them and pray (and fast) for them.

As for my little family...all is well. My kids did great while we were out of town (it was the first time we have ever left them!!). And yesterday I did the Little Red Riding Hood Ride for Cancer in Wellsville. It was SO fun. It was my first time on my bike this year and I did 45 miles... Oh my legs were TIRED when I finished! It was a great ride.

Here are some pictures from May...

Jack & Ellie helping Daddy in the yard

We had a FUN sleepover with cousins Cece, Clayson, & Lucy...and Harrison along with his Dad Joe came over to watch some cartoons on Saturday morning. Joe couldn't get enough of Heman! (No, we don't watch it...but Cece & Clayson LOVE it!! They're so cute)
COULD HE BE ANY CUTER??? (Nice pea on your neck, buddy!) HOW ABOUT NOW?! :)

And what about this little sweetpea?!

Outing at Thanksgiving Point

Ellie and cousin Harrison (who lives across the street) along with Bailey (the next door neighbor). Yes, Bailey is dressed...Ellie & Harry are playing in their jammies.

Jack loves to crawl into Montana's cage in the garage...apparently Montana likes it too.

Eventually Jack kicks Montana out of her cage. Funny, crazy boy!!

spring days

Last week when it was beautiful weather, my kids and I took full advantage. We went to Wheeler Farm, the Zoo, and two different parks.

Then this week we took a little jaunt down to St. George with my mom and sister Liz and her daughter Lilly. A girls only trip...but we made an exception for Jack :). It was delightful! The weather couldn't have been more beautiful - 80 without a cloud in the sky. And of course it was so fun to hang out with my mom & Liz...two of my favorite people! My Ellie was glued to Nana's hip - poor Nana was probably worn out by the end of our vacation!. Here are pictures from our adventures.

Wheeler Farm

The Zoo...

Jackson playing a game with a box. He thought it was SO funny to put it on his head and then pull it off really fast.

St. George has an awesome park with some water features for kids to play in. My kids LOVED it and we stayed for hours. It's just perfect for kids their ages.

My darling neice Lilly was so happy in the water! She would just sit there and flap her arms and laugh. It was so adorable!

Easter

I'm so slow at posting my thoughts on Easter...so I won't say much, but Easter has been my favorite holiday since I was a little girl. I think as a child I loved it because it meant going to Snow Canyon with a group of families in the neighborhood. We'd come home on Saturday every year and on Sunday we'd have dinner at my Granny's after church. I also think I liked that it meant spring was here.

As an adult I love Easter because of what it represents. To me it has the most beautiful significance of all the holidays we celebrate. The tomb was empty! My favorite talk in general conference this session was Elder Hollands about the last week of the Savior's life. I felt the spirit stronger than I have in so long. (It was one of those rare moments when my children were being quiet!) I was grateful to reflect on Elder Hollands words last week as Easter approached. I am so grateful for my Savior who has made it possible for us all to live again. I love knowing that my friends the Jacksons will be with Lucy again because of the Atonement and resurrection. I love that my friends the Hoffmans will have their daughter Kate for eternity and know that she will one day be able to have all the blessings of a normal body and mind. All that Easter represents is beautiful!

Girls Only vacation

Last week Ellie and I went to Disneyland. It was such a sweet time. Ellie's been going through a rough phase lately (that's a very nice way of saying that she's been a total brat!). So, it was nice to spend some one-on-one time at the "happiest place on Earth". We had beautiful warm weather (while it was freezing and snowy in Utah), which was good for my soul. And no demands...just spending time doing whatever Ellie wanted. Her favorite rides were the roller coaster in ToonTown (she puts her hands up the whole time and wants to go on it over and over), and the StoryBook Boat ride because she likes to see all the tiny houses and castles. But the funniest thing to me was her reaction to Goofy. I'm not sure if I've blogged about her crush on Goofy, but yes, my daughter's very first crush in her life is on Goofy! WHAT??!! It is so funny! Should I be worried? What is Goofy?! Anyway, it's so funny. John and I laugh so hard about it, and for Easter she's even getting a Goofy & Max movie...yes, I'm pretty sure it's harmless, so I'm not afraid of allowing her to be in love with him...or his son Max (whom she also loves). Anyway, so the very first character we saw was Goofy and immediately Ellie got all silly and shy. She wanted more than anything to watch him, but wouldn't go get her picture with him. So, being the nice mom I am :) I went up to him and told him about Ellie's crush so he started blowing kisses at her. I'm so bummed I didn't catch her reaction on video! She buried her face in her stroller and tried to hide, but kept peeking out and smiling. It was so cute (okay, more funny than cute). I had to call John and tell him about it right after because I was laughing at her so hard. We subsequently saw Goofy a bunch of times, but Ellie never would go up to him. So I got a couple of pictures of her with him 20 feet in the background, which she LOVES to look at. Oh my! Anyway, Disneyland was charming (as always!). We had a fabulous time. I'm so grateful that I have the opportunity to do fun things like this with my kids.

Notice Goofy in the back ground...this is the picture that Ellie loves!

And....Of course I can't end this post without a mention of what happens when I'm away :)! John and Jack had a great time with the girls away! And Jackson got into LOTS of good stuff! This picture was taken at about 11 am, and it was already his 4th outfit of the day! Thank goodness the markers were washable!! He had also dumped an entire carton of yogurt on himself and had a huge blow-out that morning! Fun times for John :)!

My princess...a work in progress :)

My funny Ellie- We have to make cookies about once a week, and last week, she turned the mixer on full blast. This is what we ended up with :)

My freaking funny nephew walked over to our house last week with this awesome outfit on :).

So Ellie has a princess costume that she wears almost every day. It's totally worn out, but she loves it anyway. So last night I told her I have a princess costume too. John got out my wedding dress, and we played dress up. Ellie LOVED my dress. She said it was a 'real' princess dress, and that I was Cinderella. I said, "Yes, sweetpea, I sure am Cinderella. I cook and clean and answer to everyones' whims every single day." Yes, my wedding dress is blue. Sort of an ice-blue...so I can actually see why Ellie thinks it looks like a Cinderella dress. It was really fun to play dress up with my Ellie. She really is my princess. Last week I called her my princess and she got all mad and said, "I'm not a princess!...I'm a queen." That's my girl! I just have to work on her femininity. :)

Monumental moment

Yesterday Jackson had his first haircut! It was a first for him...and a first for me :). At 3 1/2 years old, Ellie doesn't have enough hair to cut, so yesterday was a first for me as a mommy! And yes, I took a ton of pictures...and kept a couple of locks of his hair. Last week I was at lunch at my Granny & Gramps and my Granny pulled out an envelope from when I was 16 months old with some of my hair in it and it was fun to see the color and texture...even if it is a little gross :). So, some day maybe Jack will care to see his hair...probably not, but just in case...


Anyway, Jackson absolutely loved getting his hair cut! As Kelly combed through the back of his hair, Jackson would sort of lean into it...He was really serious and had the same look on his face the entire time, but he was super relaxed. It was so funny! He is so cute!! Thanks Kelly!

Yes, he had a mullet...John kind of liked it because it reminded him of himself about 20 years ago :)! Oh he looks SO cute with his hair cut!

Old Friends are the best!

Two nights ago I went to a baby shower for my dear friend Molly in Park City. It was a ward shower, but they were kind enough to invite me back for it. It was so wonderful for me! I miss my friends in PC so much...I have so much in common with them. So it was SO fun to see them and get caught up. The Kimball ward women are just awesome. I got talking to a group of women at the shower about the uniqueness of the ward women. There are NO cliques, and it's not like just the 30 somethings all hang out - no, it's EVERYONE. The women in their 20's up to the women who are empty nesters in their 60's all are one and all enjoy each other and are interested in each other. We are all pretty independent women and have all had unique experiences in our lives, so maybe that's why we enjoy each other so much. Well, at least I enjoy their company and miss them very much. ALL of them.

And then yesterday, my dear mission companion Tammy (Soeur Steimle) brought her boys over to play. It was so delightful! Tammy knows me so well...we were companions for 6 months...which is a long time when your mission is only 18 months...and I loved every (well almost!) minute of it. We laughed SO hard when we were companions! And we really knew each other so well. There's such a deep depth of friendship with someone when you've shared such sacred experiences together - and so much time together. Our mission was very unique in that there were only 14 missionaries on the island and only 6 sisters. We all knew each other very well. Anyway, it was so fun to see her! No matter how much time passes in between us getting together, we can pick up right where we left off.

And one other blast from the past...one of my very oldest and best childhood friends is my neice's 5th grade teacher, so last week I took my kids and dropped in on her. She is amazing! She was like a breath of fresh air. She is so upbeat and happy...and it's real. Not her just being superficial - she really is a delightfully happy person. And so pretty! I told her she's in the wrong field. She should be a model. She has her master's degree and will be called up to be a principal any time now.

It was so refreshing and such a blessing to see all of these old friends. It really has been an answer to my prayers. I have been so blessed in my life to have amazing life-long friends! And they are such amazing women. I'm not sure why they've chosen to be my friend :).