Happy Easter!

We spent Easter weekend at Bill's grandparent's ranch near Yosemite. We had a GREAT time! The girls were in HEAVEN b/c they could roam free outside, ride in the red wagon, chase the dogs around, and they had all kinds of people to give them attention! We went on Jeep rides, hiked, painted pictures & Easter eggs, went fishing, and more! We have more fun pictures to come- stay tuned. I didn't take very many on my camera- I left that to the family photographer, Christy. So when they all come in we will share!

A weekend in Panguitch, etc.

Last weekend we made a quick trip to Panguitch for my Aunt's surprise 50th birthday party! Before the party we drove out to show the girls my grandpa's farm. Madisen loved looking at the cows & horses from the car, but Caitlyn got to see them up a little closer. Isn't my dad quite the animal charmer!

It was no small task for a family of our size (My aunt has 2 parents, 6 siblings & spouses, 30 + nieces, nephews & spouses, and great-nieces & nephews) to keep the party a surprise, but we did! She was TRULY surprised! It's always fun to do something nice for someone & have them appreciate it. The nieces & nephews all wrote a tribute to her & one of my other aunt's complied them in a book- a memorable gift I'm sure.

After we wore the girls out on the tramp, swings & playing with cousins, we headed home for our ward's Untalented Show. I don't have the best pictures b/c of the lighting & distance, but you'll get the idea. Bill is in the top pictures with the bishopric. They did a fantastic rendition of 'Jesus Wants Me for a Sunbeam', kid style. Then Bill & I played "Don't Worry, Be Happy" on some homemade kazoos. I was in 2 acts with the primary presidency- one called 'Raindrops' shown below, and another skit where we had some Achievement Day girls sitting behind us while we acted out a presidency mtg. Bill forgot to take pictures of that, but you can see a video of it here if you'd like.

Some of the other highlights of the evening: synchronized swimming (yes, it can be done on stage), our Bishop singing "Book of Mormon Stories" wholeheartedly, the relief society presidency cheering, dancing to rap AND the bagpipes, storytelling, Rubik's cube solving, and MUCH more. If you're looking for a funny activity- give this one a try!

Clever Girls & Pretty Flowers

Yesterday this is how we found Madisen & Makayla. They thought there wasn't going to be room for both of them in the car so they figured out an alternative. They are pretty clever- seatbelt and all! (Note: Lest you think I'm an illegal mother, I should tell you that they didn't ride this way- we cleared some things off the seat.)





Here are the beautiful flowers that are in bloom in our yard right now. I LOVE the Gerbera Daisies- they are my favorite flower!

Friday's Festivities

Today we got to have 2 friends over- Sadie & Rebecca. We have all had so much fun! The weather cooperated so we were able to play outside for a LONG time! We played in the sand box, the egg relay game, duck-duck-goose, London Bridges, and later watched the trash man. My favorite part was watching Caitlyn getting into duck-duck-goose; she loved walking around patting people on the heads saying 'du'. Here are the girls 'racing'. Madisen's getting good at balancing the egg, I'm pleased.

Then we came inside for toys, lunch, and painting. They each painted a rock and then tried to cover a whole paper with green paint- I told them that I'd cut them into shamrocks when they are dry. The green picture didn't turn out so great... Picasa automatically crops pictures when you create a grid, so you can't really see any of the girls.

Hope you all have had a Fabulous Friday!!

Spring Things

This week the weather has been ideal! We went for a walk yesterday, and as you can see we were quite a sight! Oh, and I have some flowers in bloom, pictures to come later.

Here is Madisen shwoing off her treasures from her first Primary Quarterly Activity. It was a lot of crazy fun! We made milk carton bunnies, had an egg hunt, planted flower seeds (which she washed down the drain today), played some relay games, and got to hold real bunnies!

I made this GREAT purchase at Target the other day. It's been fun to play inside & out! It's a fun twist on the traditional spoon on an egg relay. The eggs inside are beanbags & the wide spoons make it easier for young kids to use.

The Reaction

The problem: Last Friday Caitlyn had her 15 month well check with our pediatrician. All was well and she received 2 shots- one in each leg. She didn't have one minute of problem with them last week, so I thought it was strange that she had a red bump on her leg yesterday morning when I was changing her diaper. I KNEW it wasn't normal to have a reaction to a shot 1 week later, so I was a little concerned. Promptly at 8 a.m. I called the doctor's office & they assured me the doctor would call me back soon. By 11:30 I hadn't heard from them & I was headed out on some errands so I decided to drop by. Hoping that they'd just glance & say whether or not I needed to make an appointment. They said I should probably get it checked out to be safe, & if I waited a few minutes they could work me in. Well... of course they were backed up so a few minutes turned in to A LOT longer than I thought we'd be there. We waited to see the Nurse Practitioner who was a competent & knowledgeable lady. After her diagnosis, she wanted to confirm it with the doctor.

The outcome: I spent 1 1/2 hours and $25 to find out that she has a bug bite on her leg.
Hmmmmm, it seems as though I'm the one who had the 'reaction' here!

Side note: I told them both how embarrassed that I was and that I'm really not this paranoid. The doctor was reassuring when she said, "I know you're not. Let's put it this way; if she hadn't had shots last week, you wouldn't be here." That made me feel a little better.

Food Coloring Craze

Around Valentine's day I started letting Madisen help me make pink pancakes for breakfast. I thought this was a fun way to include her and be 'festive'. Well that soon turned into pink oatmeal and pink eggs. A few days ago we hit to bottom of the red food coloring so now we're on to new colors. Her new thing is to mix colors. Yesterday she was delighted to discover that blue & yellow make green. Here she is explaining this morning's breakfast.

Red Rock Marathon

We had an incredible weekend, I'm just a little sad that it's taken me so long to share about it with all of you! Bill ran is ONE and ONLY marathon on Saturday! He and a few guys from work were able to get their company to sponsor them. For those of you who don't know, training for a marathon is intense! It requires a few months of dedicated running a few times a week. Bill ran 2-3 times a week in the evenings and then he used Saturday's to build up his long runs (16, then 18, then 20, etc. miles). Needless to say, our past 2 months have been dedicated to the marathon. BUT it all paid off!! Running a marathon was on Bill's life long 'to do' list and now he's accomplished it.

We kicked off the weekend by hosting his co-workers/fellow runners and their families for a pasta dinner on Friday night. It was a relaxing way for the girls and I to get to know these people. We had a great time! Boun (the single one of the bunch) brought little Easter treats for all of the kids and a flower for me- such a thoughtful guy. Caitlyn was enamored with him and didn't give him much of a break that evening. (Of course I couldn't catch her smiley/ flirty face on camera.)

{The pre-race pasta dinner}

{He did it!!!
He crossed the finished line in
4 hours 57 minutes and 4 seconds!}

(FYI: When Bill & his buddies were riding the shuttle bus to the race, they learned that this is a race for 'die hard' marathoners. It's a rigorous course- the entire 13 mile Red Rock loop, run 2x. For those of you who don't know, this includes is a 2000 foot elevation change. Hmmm, maybe not ideal for a one and only.... There were only 76 people that competed in the full marathon.)

The girls and I enjoyed driving 'the loop' to find Bill running on the trail and were so proud to cheer him on to the finish line! We (luckily) didn't blow away, either! It was an INCREDIBLY windy day here in the windy city (which added an element of difficulty to the race)- I'm sure that's no secret when you look at the pictures. The girls had a 'goody' bag for daddy, complete with some Gatorade, fruits, veggies and of course a Snickers bar.

(There is one random picture of Madisen playing w/ something at the table, we went to lunch after with everyone & they gave the kids some pizza dough to play with while we waited for our food.)