Went to the Beach

There was a heat wave this week and we decided to take the kids to the beach to enjoy it. It was certainly not as hot there....the sun never really came through the clouds but the kids have fun there, sun or no sun!

Carissa

I took Carissa in for her Kindergarten shots yesterday. She had to get five shots in her legs and one TB test. She was quite the trooper. The only tears she had was as the last shot went into her thigh.
Here is a little conversation she and I had while we were waiting for the nurse to come in and give her the shots:

Me: "Don't worry. It will be okay. The nurse will go really fast so it will be over with faster."
Carissa: ...a nervous giggle and a smile
Me: "Are you nervous?"
Carissa: "Yes. (LONG PAUSE) Mom?"
Me: "Yes?"
Carissa: "What is 'nervous'?"
Me: "Well, it's when you are a little scared and worried about something that is going to happen."
Carissa: "Oh......then no, I am not nervous."

More Easter Pictures

We went to Mike's family brunch and enjoyed yummy food and the kids had a little egg hunt. After brunch we went to my Grandma's house for dinner. That was yummy too! The kids had a second egg hunt and then we called it a night. We had a great day with our families!

Easter Morning

Even though I am trying to teach my kids that Easter is a very important holiday, (not all about eggs, bunnies and candy!) we do have a little fun on Easter morning. This year the Easter bunny left a card and a clue to the kids Easter baskets.
Mike and I tied a different color string at the end of each of the kids' baskets and then went through the house every which way and ended at the bottom of the stairs. When the kids came downstairs, they saw the note and had to follow the string to find their baskets.

It was really fun! The kids had fun and thought it was really cool.

Our Trip to Zion

Every year my family goes to Zion National Park for a week. It is so much fun catching up with all of the family. This year there were 13 kids a couple of the days we were there. Camden, Carissa and Addison and a BLAST! They played non-stop with all their cousins. Here are just a few of my favorite pictures.

Happy Birthday Camden!

My little St. Patty's Day baby! I can't believe how fast these last 6 years have gone. Here is Camden, just minutes old. It is hard to remember him that small. It seems so long ago but just like yesterday....does that make any sense?

I had wanted to post a picture of Camden from birth and then every year from then until today but I am having a little difficulty with my computer so here is Camden at one year old. That is all I could get to work! His beautiful blue eyes are now green and I say that's because he was born on St. Patrick's Day! I love this little boy with all my heart and he is such a joy to us.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Camden & Ryan

1. Ryan and Camden's birthday's are four days apart, so on Sunday we got together with the family and celebrated both their birthdays. Even though they are five years apart, they love each other. They get along really well and I am pretty sure besides Mike, Ryan is Camden's favorite person. I love that Ryan treats him so good and not like an annoying cousin (that I am sure he is sometimes!) I know Ryan is getting older and the days are numbered where they will be hanging out with each other like they do now. I think they feel like brothers since they each have only sisters!

Both Ryan and Camden wanted tacos for their birthday dinner and they both wanted brownies for dessert. They are alike in so many ways! It certainly made it easy for us too!

What a goof-ball!!

They seem to really like what Ryan got! I am sure they will be playing it together soon!

My Girls

Camden goes to school two times a week, Mondays and Wednesdays. Mondays, Mike works, so I have the two girls home alone with me. They play really well together and I just love that they have each other. I never knew what it was like going up with a sister, so it makes me so happy that they will get to experience the joys (and pains!) of having a sister.

Tortillas!

My friend Hailee and I both homeschool our boys, so we try and come up with some fun Life Skills to teach them. (That is one of the categories that we are required to teach) We thought it would be fun to make tortillas! I called my grandmother, who has been making tortillas for about 70 years or so, and asked her for a receipe and hints for making them. She gladly shared her knowledge of tortilla making and so it was pretty easy. The kids had fun. It was like rolling out playdough and then getting to eat it! They each had their own rolling pins which made it easy for everyone to participate at the same time.

Here is Addison trying to get a quick bite of raw tortilla....don't worry, I stopped her in time!
Hailee and I ended up rolling out most of them. The kids each did two and then went outside to play. I think they turned out pretty good, just a little too stiff from too much flour. Next time I will try them with whole wheat flour so that they are healthier!

Garret and Carissa are showing their hard work of rolling out the dough while they waited for their turn to cook their tortilla. These pictures are pretty bad quality because I grabbed my camera and snapped a few pictures without looking at the results so I didn't realize that it was on a completely different setting then it should be!

Planting Flowers

I have had empty pots outside my front door on my porch for a while now and decided that it would be fun for the kids to pick out plants of their own to plant and take care of.

The kids had lots of fun planting and playing with the dirt. It made the porch look cute and ready for spring.