Easter 2011

We had a simple, but wonderful Easter this year.  Our bishopric's wives spoke in sacrament meeting and did a wonderful job.  I left church feeling even more hope and peace in our current situation.

The easter bunny came after church and left our kids more than they usually get in their baskets, but he couldn't pass up those $6 Harry Potter movies at Target.

I made Justin (basket on the right) a "Peep Plushie" using this pattern. As a fellow crafter, I felt an ethical obligation to make it, since someone went to all the trouble to figure it out and post it online for free.

We divided into teams (boys against girl) and tried to make as many words as we could using the letters from EASTER SUNDAY.  The girl (me) won by a landslide :o)

Nate and Erin came to dinner, and we ate a spiral-cut ham, twice baked potatoes, steamed carrots, deviled eggs, Jell-O eggs, rolls, and carrot cake.

Sometimes a thousand words are worth more than the picture...

Todd does not like to be the center of attention.  Especially if it involves taking pictures. In public.

While in St. George for Spring Break, we stopped to visit our friend Bruce, who used to work at the ranch with Todd.  Bruce was at a scout meeting when we got to his apartment, so we had ten minutes or so to play on the lawn in his yard while we waited.

Since my boys were all wearing their superman shirts on the same day (including Todd), I decided it was a perfect time to take pictures.  Due to a group of people outside the complex across the street, Todd didn't want any part of it.  

I begged and pleaded with him, and explained that those people would think it was sweet that he was playing with his kids.

After an insane amount of coaxing, he finally laid down in the grass.  And wouldn't you know it, just as I was about to take the picture, a school bus full of high school students turned the corner and drove past our little photo shoot...laughing all the way.

Now I'm afraid Todd will never participate in one of my lifelong dreams--to be driving down the freeway and have each family member stick their arms out of the van windows and flap like a bird.


I live for little moments like that.

*Justin is wearing the sunglasses that Dillon bought for his Build-a-Bear.  They're a perfect fit!

Pinewood Derby

Brayden and Caleb's Pinewood Derby fell on the same day as my gallbladder surgery, so Todd and I had to miss it.  Thankfully, Grandma came to our rescue once again.  She drove down the day before my surgery, helped me finish getting the house ready to show, and then stayed with the boys while I was in the hospital.

The boys were thrilled to have Grandma in charge.  She not only let them play Wii before 3:00, but she also brought potato chips, Chips Ahoy, Oreo's, and a sack full of Hostess treats.  

Brayden won first place in the Webelos division!
The secret is to have Grandma put graphite on the wheels.

My mom never ceases to amaze me. When she is called upon to do something, she always rises to the occasion. She jumped right in to our craziness, and carried on with Piano lessons, Falcon Friday, and even got Justin to take a bottle...eventually.  She left me with a clean house, and folded laundry. I can't thank her enough.  

The boys love to play hangman on Grandma's Kindle

Todd was on-call and had to go to work after Sacrament Meeting,
but Grandma braved church with the boys by herself

My surgery went flawlessly, and I am feeling great, although I'm running out of organs!  I'm now missing my tonsils, my appendix, and my gallbladder.  But, after nine years of gallbladder trouble, it was time to see it go. I'm not supposed to lift Justin for another couple weeks, but when I've had to, it hasn't been a problem.

Eight Months

This month, Justin:

-lets us know when he's not happy by taking his pacifier out of his mouth and throwing it!
-weighs at least 18 pounds and moved to a new carseat (which he loves because he can see "his boys" better)
-cut his first tooth!
-sat in the grass for the first time (it's green in St. George...)
-Still army crawls wherever he wants to go.  He rocks back and forth all the time, but can't get his right leg "in the groove" (and I'm not about to help him...)
-loves to blow raspberries...especially during feeding time :o)
-wears 6-9 and some 12 mos. clothes
-went swimming for the first time
-continues to melt our hearts daily

General Conference Favorites

I'm way behind on posting my semi-annual "Conference Favorites".  I thoroughly enjoyed general conference this year, but when it was over I had a hard time remembering who said what.  I've reviewed some of the talks, but it will take awhile to go back through all of them.


I am vowing here and now to TAKE NOTES next time!


Favorite talk:  The ones that stick out to me were by  Elder Christofferson, Elder Bednar, and Elder Holland.


Favorite Quote:  Apparently, the gospel is “to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the [comfortable].”  -Elder Holland quoting Harold B. Lee


Favorite tie:  It seemed like there were A LOT of red ties...I liked L. Tom Perry's red/white polka dot tie :o)


Favorite Hymn: Have I Done Any Good?

Theme(s) I noticed:  Service, and Faith

Best Idea:  Elder Quentin L. Cook's talk had my mind spinning a million miles an hour with idea's for RS activities. I probably won't get to use them since I will likely be moving, and our activity topics are now planned through August thanks to the new unemployment rate in our community (22%).

Caleb's Lego Party

Caleb chose a lego party for his birthday this year.  I was so excited for this one, but it ended up taking a backseat to our craziness right now.  I didn't make it to Walmart beforehand, so I had to make do with what I had on hand.  I'm glad I bought lego candy the last time we went to Cache Valley!

The boys made a number 9 out of legos for the centerpiece (surrounded by all their one-legged lego guys).
I made "lego head marshmallow pops" and for a game we had to guess how many lego candies were in a jar.

Since his birthday was on General Conference Sunday and we were home, we made a traditional Thanksgiving Dinner with turkey, potatoes and gravy, yams, stuffing, and cranberry sauce.  Nate and Erin came over for dinner, as well as our next door neighbor.

I was so proud of Caleb when he got this Harry Potter Wii game.  He knows we don't play Wii on Sunday, and he never even asked.  He just waited until the next day to play his new game.  Honestly, if he'd pestered me I probably would have let him play since it was his birthday, but I'm so glad he didn't.

This lego cake has got to be the worst looking cake I've ever created...and that's saying something, 'cause I've made some doozies.  I think it needed a couple more minutes in the oven, because it fell in the middle, and when I tried to dump it out it broke in half (even though the pan was lined with wax paper).  I ended up leaving it in the pan just so it would stay together.  I used OREO cakesters for the "nubs" on top of the lego.  My homemade frosting was too thin, and there wasn't quite enough to go around so we got this:

It should have been the easiest cake ever.  Leave it to me to mess it up.  Cake decorating is so...NOT MY THING!

We used up all the candles for Todd's 37th, so we didn't even have candles.  I think I might try again on the lego cake since Caleb got shafted last year because of my morning sickness and our basement remodel.  His cake was a "starfish" made from five twinkies.

Caleb is a huge help to me these days.  He is the only brother who has attempted to change a diaper, and he is always willing to keep Justin happy while I'm trying to get dinner ready. When I need a can of soup from the basement, I always ask Caleb because he is so quick to obey.

We love you Caleb!

My bad

I ate six snickerdoodles yesterday.

I knew better, but I didn't care.  Emotional eating, I guess.

So here I am at 4:30 AM blogging, since I can't digest them thanks to my obnoxious gallbladder.

Did I mention I'm having surgery in a couple weeks?  My gall bladder and I simply cannot get along any more, and I need to get rid of it before we lose our health insurance.

It's been an interesting week (and a half).

Oh, how I wish I could go back to the beginning of last week and be wondering which color to paint our master bedroom.

Instead, we are trying to sell our house and look for jobs.

The boys are taking it pretty well.  Brayden is the most upset.  He's worried about running out of food, and leaving his best friend, Tanner.  Caleb hasn't said too much, although he always remembers our situation in his prayers.  Dillon is convinced that we should move, along with Tanner and his family, to a place where we can build houses that are attached.

We've assured Brayden that we have lots of food storage, and that if we have to move away from Tanner he can keep in touch through e-mail. I'm just letting Dillon believe it would be a good idea to build a house attached to Tanner's because it's easier than arguing with him.

Todd has been sending out resume's, and I have been taking pictures of the house and eating snickerdoodles.

I have moments of worry, but overall things here are calm...more calm than usual.  I know it's because of the many prayers being offered in our behalf and the tender mercies of a Heavenly Father who is watching out for us, and carefully guiding us down a path we wouldn't have chosen for ourselves.

Thankfully, we know that He knows what is best.

(wish I had been thinking of that when I ate all those cookies...)