Easter at Our House!

Sunday morning all spiffed up! Ellie was extra ready to pose, but the boys had a hard time holding still!

Coloring eggs is always a party!

Make sure you put a good message on yours!

Easter Morning brought fun surprises! The Easter Bunny hid their baskets for the first time and the kids had a fun time finding them. He brought each of them a little CD Player in hopes that it will make bedtime a little smoother with a new baby on the way! And a wagon to share!

Don't forget Flames...He needs to guard Jens's eggs!

Easter Picnic & Baby Blessing

My brother, Ben, and his wife Tanelle blessed their cute new baby, Carson Deane, on Saturday morning at my parents' home. Ben was in town for 2 weeks from Medical School in Grenada. Ben arrived in town on Wednesday, March 12th. On Friday, March 14th, Carson was delivered C-Section. Then, they blessed him on Saturday morning, March 22nd, at 10:00 a.m. and he returned to school on Tuesday night, March 25th. What a crazy time for them!

And here are all my brothers & sisters! They had to restrain me to get a pregnant photo!



(L to R, Alicia-#1, Jeanell-#5, Tres-#3, Mom, Jodi-#6, Dad, Matt-#7, me-#2 and Ben-#4)

Every year, my parents put on a huge Easter Egg Hunt in their yard. They live on a hollow and so there is lots of scrub oak to hide them in. And the Easter Bunny shows NO MERCY! He is very tricky. They hide around 250 eggs filled with candy, money and 5 numbers that represent bigger prizes. This is not just for their 11 grandkids. Sometimes I think that the adults get more into it than the kids! Cousins with their kids are invited to join the fun, too. Tim had Tate & Ellie chanting through the woods, "We're going on an egg hunt!" over and over. It was hilarious! We have a great time!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It is a tradition at our house to eat green eggs with ham every St. Patrick's Day morning and read the infamous Dr. Suess book "Green Eggs and Ham." By the end of the book, Sam I Am did convince him to like green eggs and ham. However, Tate could not be convinced to try it this year. "I do not like green eggs and ham!" he emphatically demanded. He would not try them with a mouse or with a fox! We later enjoyed a green dinner of broccoli-noodle casserole and green jello salad. Tim did not dress in green so the kids insisted he keep the green shamrock napkin on to stay pinch-free! We had shamrock sugar cookies for FHE dessert after an Easter lesson. Chalk one up for another successful holiday!

Happy Valentine's Day!

We had so much fun heart attacking the kids' rooms. They woke up the next morning to rooms full of love! We then enjoyed a yummy breakfast made by Dad! The kids opened little Valentine's prizes and Jens went off to school. Ellie had a fun day at gymnastics and they all enjoyed their Valentines they had received from their parties they had on Wednesday. The kids also enjoyed the Valentine cookies they made with Grandma Smith and Great-Grandma Sanders on their visit on Tuesday. Dad spoiled his 2 girls with beautiful flowers, a new surprise for Ellie. Aren't we lucky!

Mom & Dad spoiled themselves the most with a new bedroom this winter. We moved our queen bed downstairs for Jens to get ready for the new baby in Tate's room and we went out and bought ourselves a King Bed! Happy 12th Anniversary to us on Feb. 22nd!

Our Family

Jens is now 8 years old and just got baptized in January. He loves being involved in cub scouts and is always excited to get a new badge or belt loop to add to his uniform. He is taking piano lessons and also enjoys playing with all the little boys in the neighborhood, trading Pokemon cards, and building legos. He brings his bearded dragon, Flames, with him whenever he can. (Tim likes the lizard, too! He brings him into his home office while he is working to keep him company:)

Ellie is now 5 years old. She is a sweetheart. She is always excited to help and to learn. She is really enjoying learning gymnastics and is very limber. She has also started to read as she prepares for kindergarten and she is doing awesome!

Tate is growing up more and more each day. He is following in his brother's footsteps with an excitement for legos and Pokemon cards, too. He really loves preschool and playing with Ellie. They are constantly mistaken for twins and they play great! We were overwhelmed when they were babies, but their closeness has been a real source of fun and happiness in our home.

Our family is growing again after a 4 year break. We are so excited to have a new baby boy joining our family mid-April. I am soooooo ready for the pregnancy to be over, but we have many projects in the works that we are trying to complete before he arrives. one of which is getting a family blog up and working to share photos and experiences with friends and family.

I have been staying busy keeping everything going and drumming up lots of new projects to keep my mind off of pregnancy discomfort. I just stopped tutoring math which I've been doing 2 afternoons a week. I am really excited for the new baby, but can't seem to come up with a name that Tim and I can agree on. If you have any suggestions, please send them along!

Tim has been really busy with my honey-do list, being in the bishopric and work. He has been doing a fair amount of travel throughout this winter which takes its toll on the whole family. But his work has paid off as he has won a couple of contests through work for some outstanding results. One very exciting reward was a week-long all expense-paid trip to the Carribean for both of us, however it is scheduled for the week the baby is due! Oops! Guess that won't be happening! Maybe next time:)