Dave's Family

We had a really fun week with Dave's family. They came on Tuesday and stopped through on their way through to stay in Mesquite. The next day they came back and the kids and I hiked Snow Canyon with them. The kids had so much fun. It is always an adventure when you go somewhere with Dave. I had forgotten how much fun he is. His kids and wife are great. They are really helpful with the kids. We went to Samurai 21 for dinner and enjoyed a Japanese dinner with our own personal chef! It was a unique experience for them. They stayed with us and we enjoyed that. The next day we went to Zion's and hiked. It is beautiful and I am looking forward to going back this summer. The weather was nice and their are lots of hikes that are kid friendly. Ryan disturbed some bug watcher by stamping on their stink bug accidentally (he was carrying Lauren). They were circled around the bug and Alan came by and kicked the bug Ryan had squashed. They were then told they needed to learn to "respect animals." We got a good laugh out of the whole experience. I think they would have been fine We came back and met up with Jerry to go to Famous Dave's for dinner. It was so nice to not have to cook. The next morning Jerry went with the family to do baptisms at the St George temple. They were also able to see an exhibit of beautiful sculptures at the visitors center right now. Jerry really enjoyed being in the temple with them. We went to the aquatic center in the afternoon and had a good time. Abby had some swimsuit issues but other than that we did great. Jerry, Ryan and the older girls all raced in the big pool. They definitely got a workout. We came home and had a BBQ on the grill and enjoyed the evening. Anne, the girls and I went shopping for a bit and the guys watched movies. Dave and Anne generously replenished (plus so much more) our pantry. Thanks so much! They left on Saturday morning so Anne and the girls could go to the YW broadcast in SLC and Dave could be back for church on Sunday. We had an awesome time and hope they will come back again soon!

Easter Outfits

These are the cute easter outfits Grandma and Grandpa got for the kids!

Easter

We were so happy to have family here for Easter. We went on an Easter egg hunt with our neighborhood on Saturday morning. The kids had a great time. Ellie won the golden egg which was an awesome bubble blower the kids really enjoyed. Jerry was giving Nate a haircut so he missed the hunt but Nate's hair looks great. It was really fun to hear Nate play the guitar and sing. He is very talented. He is looking forward to playing football this year. I can't believe he is a senior! Teresa's fiance, Doug and his daughter Maddie were staying in Coral Canyon. We hooked up with them and went to the aquatic center on Saturday. It was really fun. Last year Landon was really scared of the water slide but this year both he and Lauren were going down on their own. They really had fun. Unfortunately, Lauren came down with the stomach flu so Jerry was unable to take the older kids to Las Vegas. He just didn't want to leave me with a sick toddler and the baby. Poor Daniel ended up with mop duty and was a great sport about cleaning up after Lauren. Between Avery's spit up and Lauren's illness, Jerry changed his clothes many times. I am so glad he stayed. He is such a great help with the kids. I got an awesome new purse the the help of Jess and Kenzie. I got lots of compliments on it from my young women. They love shopping at Rue 21 so they were able to go there with their Mom. Jerry colored Easter eggs with the kids and they turned out great. We made the resurrection rolls again on Easter morning and the Easter bunny came. Lauren was feeling better and looked for her Easter eggs in her cute Easter dress. Teresa and the kids went to sacrament with Landon and I and then they took off for home. All the kids were so helpful with Landon, Lauren and Avery. Landon started crying when he got home from church and realized they were not here! Landon gave his first talk in Primary (besides the one he gave the first week with no preparation). I asked him if I could come and help and initially said his teachers (the Sanders) would help him but finally agreed I could come and hold the picture. I helped him read a scripture and then he gave his "Easter lesson." That morning he had given us all a lesson about Christ and his resurrection. I assumed this was the Easter lesson he planned on giving in Primary. When he started out with, "this morning, I woke up and came downstairs and there were Easter eggs everywhere!" I knew this lesson was not the one he had previously rehearsed. I was trying so hard not to laugh. He did add a few comments about Christ and the real reason for Easter at the end. He did a great job and is not scared to be in front of people at all. Lauren, Avery and I stayed home and slept for a few hours. The Wright's had Jerry and Landon over for dinner. Landon had a great time playing with their son, Luke. They are a wonderful family and so generous. This is the second Easter we have been with Gary's family. I think we are making it an annual tradition!

Jerry's Birthday

Jerry is 32 now. This means I can't boss him around anymore. Supposedly he lets me boss him around from February 7th (my birthday) until his birthday. I guess my reign as "Queen" is over. The girls and I went to Crowshaw's and got Jerry a lemon cheesecake and then to Deseret Book and bought him the new Glenn Beck book. He had a really busy day at work so we just dropped it off to him. Teresa called and she and the kids came down to stay the weekend with us. They brought their friend Daniel from Germany. He and I had fun talking in German and discussing the culture. It made me want to visit Germany again soon. I hope I can take Jerry their someday. Jerry cooked for us and we had BBQ with his new grill he got for his birthday. It was really great. The kids brought their rock band game and Jerry loves that so they spent the rest of the night playing that. The little kids loved watching and the older kids let them play a little bit. We sure missed having Gary here but enjoyed spending time with his family.

The Week

We had another great week. Sometimes the days seem really long but the weeks go by fast. Landon didn't have preschool this week because of spring break so we went to Highland park with friends on those mornings. The kids love this park and it has been really fun to let them play there. Avery has been a good sport. She has been sick this week with a cold and a bad cough. I hope she will start to improve this week. She turned three months old and is growing and changing each day. Her highlight of the week has been a new binky which she seems to be liking. Landon has said a few funny things this week. He told me the reason Avery cries is because she doesn't have any teeth. He also said four year olds don't go to time out because they are too big. On Friday, we took a futon that has been in his room to a yard sale for a family in need in our ward. Landon was broken hearted and I tried to explain to him this family needed help because their Daddy got hurt in an accident. After thinking about it for a while he said, "You mean they don't have any toys to play with while their Mommy makes dinner?" I said yes and he quit crying. He said "I am really going to miss my bed." He is such a good kid. In church today Jerry heard him talking and realized he was reciting the articles of faith to the family sitting behind us. He holds up the articles of faith card so it looks like he is reading and says them from memory. At dinner tonight he insisted we all talk like cowboys and refer to him as "Big Jake" and Lauren as "Annie Oakley." If we did not use the cowboy voice when talking we were asked to repeat what we had said. Jerry and I were also given cowboy names. It was quite the entertaining meal. Lauren is growing up and talking so much. She is working on potty training. She likes to wear panties but is not concerned if she has to keep changing them. She actually likes it. At least she is not blatantly telling me no. She and her Dad are becoming pals. She keeps telling him he is nice and the best Dad. She loves nursery and I hope they love her. They brought her to me today during church with no diaper on. Apparently she had to go potty and told them to take the diaper and throw it in the trash. She loves lip gloss, getting her hair done and wearing dresses. At the end of each day she always ends up wearing a princess dress or the cowgirl dress Grandma and Grandpa gave her. She is looking forward to her birthday in May and wants a Dora cake. We had our friends the Carpenters over for dinner on Friday. Jerry grilled steaks and made some excellent side dishes. Last night Jerry had some boys from the ward over to play video games. I spent the majority of the time shopping at Walmart. It takes so long to grocery shop but I was glad to do it without the kids. We had a very peaceful sabbath. We played with the kids and Jerry made meatball subs for dinner. He is an excellent cook. I am so lucky he enjoys it! We had a nice visit with the Robb's in Texas. We miss them and hope to see them soon.

Smile

Avery's Dad got her ready for church and made her smile! She is such a sweet baby and so happy.

Lauren

This is Lauren's new dress that Grandma Schiess bought her. She also got a new haircut and I just think she is so cute I had to post her picture.

Weekend

We had a really fun weekend. On Friday, a friend from Rexburg, Tiffany Alleman and her cute baby Reagan met us at the park. The kids had lots of fun playing on the toys and in the sandbox. Then we walked back over here and let the kids play a little longer. Her daughter is so cute. It was really fun to catch up. I am so glad she came to visit. Jerry made dinner for the kids while I went to an appointment for BBBS. I am happy to say I gave my notice this week so I just have two more weeks of trying to work. It has just been too difficult and I am grateful I am able to quit. On Saturday morning I went to the gym. I have a long ways to go but it feels really good to workout. We have a membership at Gold's gym which is really close to our house. We met some friends at Highland Park in Washington. It is a beautiful park. We brought kites for the kids. It was so fun to fly them together. Landon had a Diego kite and Lauren a Dora kite. Lauren would not let go of her kite and insisted on holding on to it while she was playing on the toys. She did a really good job for a while but eventually Dora flew away down in the canyon. Lauren was one sad little girl. We were having a great time until a huge wind came up so we had to pack up and leave. We spent the rest of the afternoon doing errands and then came home and had dinner. The kids have been going to bed early (the older two) so it is nice to have some time in the evening with just Avery. Jerry and I prepared our lessons for Sunday and went to bed. It was a great weekend.

Lauren

This morning I woke up to Lauren in the shower singing, "Shake, Shake, Shake Shake your body" over and over again. When I asked her about it she said. "Teletubbies are weird!" I am just having a hard time picturing the teletubbies singing this song because they don't even speak in words. I am just warning you that you may want to monitor what your kids watch :>

Grandma and Grandpa

We had a fun visit from Grandma and Grandpa. They were on their way back from Yuma. We had a really fun time. They got here on Friday night and stayed in a hotel that Jerry had won at a business expo. We ate dinner together and the kids had so much fun playing with Grandma and Grandpa. We were able to go and swim at the hotel. The kids are so good in the water thanks to their summer swimming with their Dad. Jerry and Grandpa went golfing at Sun River and we stayed at the hotel and got the kids ready. Then my Mom and I went on shopping trips for the rest of the day. We had a great time and hope they come back to visit again really soon.