Splash Pad and More

More St George fun included an afternoon at Antigravity (trampoline gym)

 

 lots of swimming, roaming in the yard and going for walks

  crafting fun making paper plate chicks, foam sticker pictures and homemade play dough

 

 and a visit to the fabulous splash pad on Main Street

With the Allens

My little sis and her 2 adorable kids came all the way to St George from Minnesota! It was a long travel day for her (driving from Rochester to Minneapolis, flying to Vegas and then driving up to SG) but we got a whole week together out of it which was so much fun.

Even though our kids don't match up by exact ages, they played together really well. Little Sadie just turned 2 and Cares wanted to become her second mom. In turn, Sadie fell completely in love with baby Luke and was the most excited to see him and squeal his name whenever he woke from a nap.

Max (almost 4) was the perfect little "cousin brother" for my Bentley. Bentley loved having a buddy who thought every single thing he did was awesome or funny—who wouldn't right? On our first day together we managed an outing to Target, playtime at the park while Sadie napped at the house with my mom, and lots of outdoor and indoor play. While we were at Target, I had Max with me while Heidi took Sadie over to a different part of the store. By the looks I got I'm pretty sure people thought all 5 kids were mine and in theory they could be! That would be one crazy life I tell you—fun for the kiddos but crazy :)

 

Easter Sunday

Such a lovely morning at the St George temple, and I loved being there with my dear family. A happy Easter indeed knowing our Savior made resurrection and eternal life possible for us all.

Sunny G

Weekend in sunny St George:

 

 

 

Hiking in Snow Canyon between conference sessions:

 

 and a sweet shot of my Livvy Lous

The kids and I are still here playing with my mom, little sis and her 2 darlings. I am loving all the cousin bonding going on—there is always a new Lego, ball, scooter, or doll/baby game going on. So cute how they can enjoy playing together ALL day. Lots more to come from the south...

Older and Wiser

Another birthday come and gone. Older, yes. Wiser? Yes, please. It was a beautiful spring morning around here with the sunshine in full force and birds chirping and singing like crazy. My birthday certainly began early as Luke decided to prep for a growth spurt (I'm assuming anyway) and was up and hungry, off and on all through the night. I don't think I slept for more than 2 hours in a row at any given point. When Joseph brought the traditional breakfast-in-bed to me I'm fairly certain I looked like a zombie. But my breakfast was delicious and so pretty. My hubby has an eye for arranging cut fruit and other crepe toppings just so—wish I had snagged a picture.

The rest of the day was rather laid back and normal with the exception of fun phone calls, emails and facebook messages keeping me company all day. I do like knowing my friends and family are thinking of me on my special day—making a birthday less ordinary and more bright.

After school I took the big kids to my sister's house and then met my mom at Nordy's. I have had my eye on some TOMS for a while now and she kindly treated me to a pair. We wandered and shopped and stopped for a nursing break before she had to head out. I re-realized that shopping with just one little babe is quite a luxury, especially because it's so quiet! And driving in the car with just baby Luke? Such a treat. I listened to my very own music and sang along all the way through each song like back in the day. I am a nerd, but that truly feels like stolen time to me. Simple pleasures in this chaotic life of mine :)

Joseph and the kids met me for dinner at CPK and then gave me gorgeous flowers when we got home. I'm such a lucky lady! It was a good day.

I have to add that my sweet Caroline had 6 gifts for me all carefully drawn or handcrafted and tucked safely away in her "secret" dresser drawer for several days in anticipation of my birthday. That girl is such a darling—I am so thankful for her and all her thoughtfulness.

Random Old Pics

We cleaned out the garage today and it looks so much better—ready for my busy kids to get to their bikes and scooters and sidewalk chalk on a regular basis. I finally sorted through an old tupperware my mom just discovered in her basement—it was filled with a lot of my old schoolwork and tons of letters and cards from grandparents and cousins. And then there were some random, old pictures too. So funny to see those again and think back on old times.

I posted these on Facebook but they are kind of classic and wanted them here too:

summer of 1999—roommate group date night 

(no idea who the lone boy on the bottom left is...)

 spring of 1993—sleepover in the BYU dorms with my freshman sis

My high-waisted jeans kill me in this pic!

 summer of 1988 (I think) with my brother Tye, tiny blonde sis Heidi, and best friend Lindsay

3 Months

 I'm in love with this chubby boy! He is steadily recovering from his nasty cold but on Sunday and Monday his eyes suddenly seemed pretty crusty and weepie so we popped him over to the doctor. Luckily, his eyes were nothing serious, and we discovered that our tiny weighs in at a whopping 16+ pounds. Caroline was 18.5 when she was 1 year old! Love it.

Today Olivia and I caught a smile on camera from our happy bear:

 

Followed by some adorable cooing. I'm pretty sure Luke was telling me about his best friend, the ceiling fan, and how much he loves to drink milk and snooze in the car: