Easter Day

In preparation for Easter we colored some sweet eggs...we got creative with glitter and tie-dye effects this year!! It's just too bad that me and Karlee are the only ones who will eat these eggs after they are cooked!





The Big Morning was great...baskets, candy, flip-flops! The eggs were even hidden outside this year!!




Everyone was sufficiently spoiled and we pulled the BBQ out of the garage for a yummy Easter dinner after church. What a great day!

Spring Break!

Monday- Aunt Sarah, Aunt Holly and Grandma Clark all joined us at Thanksgiving Point for a day at the farms! It was a warm and fun adventure that included pony rides, a hay ride, baby animals, peacocks and ice cream cones! What a fun day!



Tuesday- We headed down to St. George!! Grandma GiGi and Grandpa met us down there to hang out too! We swam in the pool, did some shopping and met my Uncle Dave and Aunt Karen for dinner!


Wednesday- Dad took the day off work to hang out with us!! We went golfing (Karlee is getting better than Mom!). Then we had lunch and hit the hot tub (it wasn't very warm outside that day!). That night we had dinner with my Grandma GiGi and Grandpa, Great-Grandma Brown and Aunt Jenny's family. The kids LOVED the giant pancakes for dinner...yum! Then we spent some time hanging out at Great-Grandma's house and meeting her dogs...the kids had a blast!



Thursday- Dad had to head back to work...dang it! We did find a new place in town to enjoy...it had fountains, a carousel, and a stream to play in! We hung out and Grandma GiGi and Grandpa met us there! Dad and his work partner met us for lunch too. While Dad finished up his work the rest of us drove out to Enterprise to meet my Uncle Jim at his house. We had fun checking out his "theater room", eating his yummy homemade cookies, chasing chickens and riding in his tractor!

Friday- We swam in the morning and then headed back home. What a fun week! Spring Break is such a blast and we are so glad that Dad takes us to St. George to play!

What a week!!

Jake has been telling me for years that I need to have LASIK surgery to correct my vision...I always thought that it cost too much and after 20 years of wearing glasses and contacts it wasn't a big deal! But after hearing about so many people who loved the results and after the prices became more reasonable...I gave in. So, this past week I had it done! This ever-so-flattering photo of me sleeping in Rylee's bed (it's dark in there...much nicer for my newly traumatized eyes!) is right after the surgery. The day I had it done was rough...wow...nobody really tells you about that part! It's been 5 days now and I am feeling TONS better and enjoying the results...20/15 vision in both eyes! The stars have never looked so clear! Anyways, to ensure that you don't rub your eyes in your sleep you have to wear these glorious clear covers over your eyes...I know you're jealous...3 more nights sleeping in those and them I'm done with that part! OH, and 2 weeks without make-up...that might be the hardest part of all!


The day after the surgery was the elementary school talent show. This year all 3 of my girls participated! Audree played "It's a Small World" on the piano...I was SO impressed (nothing terrifys me like playing the piano in front of people!)...she did fantastic! Then Karlee and Rylee performed a dance/gymnastics routine (which I helped choreograph with them!)...they did wonderful too! I was struggling to see and my eyes still hurt that day, so I just took this picture at home later that day of all of them in their "performance"outifts. Great job kiddos!


Later that day Rylee played in her new spring soccer league game! She has been BEGGING to play soccer, so when I heard there was a spring league...I signed her right up. She is LOVING it and is so aggressive...I love to watch her play! Even though this is her first time playing soccer...you would never know it, she just goes into attack/strategize mode!! You go girl!


These are my boys...Spencer saw these shorts at the store and HAD to have them because they look like Daddy's! He absolutely idolizes his Daddy...alright, the feeling is mutual! Anyways, these guys are 2 peas in a pod!

Spencer is a Bike-Rider!

Spencer has had a 2-wheeler bike for a couple years now...but just hasn't been tall enough to ride it without training wheels! But recently he had a growth spurt and the spring sunshine came out and we decided it was time for him to learn to ride a 2-wheeler! I worked with him and he would get scared and I would get mad and it would turn ugly...that was for about a week...but finally after several tries, he told me I could let go and off he went! Hooray!!! Jake has been showing him the all-important steps of how to stop, get on and off by himself and how to hop on and and get going! Of course, as soon as he learned he LOVES it and told me, "I really am a 5 year old!". Also, the day he learned to ride all by himself he was wearing his "Stong Like Daddy" shirt and the next day he put it back on...when I said we should put on a different clean shirt he cried and said he couldn't ride his bike without his "Stong Like Daddy" shirt...so, let's just say he wore a dirty shirt, but was a happy kid!


I don't know why, but it makes me feel like a good parent that all 4 of my kids can ride a bike! That somehow feels like a big accomplishment and it just makes my heart happy to see them out riding bikes on a warm sunny day!


What do you think...does he look excited about his newest accomplishment?

Girls Night Out!

Well, Karlee has been reading the "Anne of Green Gables" books this year and after she read the books, she watched the movie (an old VHS that I have!!) and loved them both. So, when I saw that a production of "Anne of Green Gables" was coming to Provo I knew I had to take her...and then I thought it would be fun if I just took all the girls and made it a Girls Night Out...so we did!

We got all dressed up (and talked about how being dressed up shows respect to the people in the production)...of course, we were pretty much the only people dressed up there...oh well! We went out to dinner at Wingers and then headed to the Covey Center for the production.


*I am wearing glasses because I am getting LASIK surgery next week and you can't wear your contacts for 2 weeks before the surgery!

I didn't realize how small this show would be...literally the room the performance was in was the size of my family room!! There were 7 people in the production (several of them playing more than one role) and the stage was pretty much the only prop they used. But somehow it was just fantastic (I found myself teary-eyed and laughing through the whole thing) and my girls kept leaning over and saying "This is the BEST movie EVER!"...which I found funny since it wasn't a movie! It was also a pretty short production (about an hour and a half)which worked out great for us. The girls loved meeting "Anne" and "Diana" after the show ended and simply raved about the whole thing for the next 2 days!


*This is the girls sitting on the stage during intermission...just being silly girls!

It was such a fun night and I LOVED hanging out with my girls...they are the best! By the way...the boys had a fun night too! Dinner at McDonald's and then they headed over to Jake's soccer game...Spencer loved watching daddy and got to run around on the field during half time!

Nationals!

This weekend was Karlee's cheerleading Nationals! It's always a big deal...a whole year's worth of work really comes down to this one big performance! I get SO nervous for her...she's cool as a cucumber and did her routine with perfection! We were so excited because Aunt Sarah and Sadie came to cheer her on too, which made it extra special! Grandma GiGi was going to come, but had an emergency and couldn't make it...hopefully next time! Anyways, they took 3rd place and considering the great competition and that this is their first year competing at this level...we were super excited (oh and they beat their cross-town rivals!!). I love going with Karlee to her competitions, they are fun Mommy-daughter days and I am always a little bummed when the season ends...but Karlee had a blast this year and I think she wants to do it again next year! Can't wait to see what she does next!

P.S. Karlee was awarded the team "MVP" this year! We think that's pretty awesome and are so proud of her!

Artists in the House!

Spencer and Audree have been quite the little artists lately! It's surprising because Spencer used to hate to color...but now his drawings bring a smile to my face everyday! He just draws unexpected things...the girls always draw beautiful girls in a dress surrounded by flowers and a tree (which is fantastic, but predictable). Spencer draws all sorts of different things and surprises us with his creativity! He has also been working on writing his name and does a great job!

This one is a drawing of Daddy!


This is a drawing of a kitty standing in the grass.



This one is a tree...with roots and all!!



Audree brought home this note from her art teacher and this fabulous drawing of the sun today. She is very creative and LOVES to draw and color. She tells me all of the time that she wants to paint murals for a job one day!