Lots of Easter Fun

Our...well Zoe's Easter started early this year. I took her to the library for story time and afterward the Easter bunny came to give treats and take pictures with the kids. It was so cute. She was very timid and unsure, but she really wanted the treat sack so she mustered up all her courage and went for it. She wouldn't look at the bunny or the camera's for the pictures. She's just being Zoe.

We went to Provo on the Friday before Easter so we could be a part of the birthday celebration for Starr. We had a fun dinner with the family. Then on Saturday we got to decorate eggs with the cousins. Mandi, Sadie, Maggie, Camille and Grandma did most of the decorating. Zoe got to have a nap during egg dying time so she missed out on that fun.

Easter morning. We hadn't really said anything about the Easter bunny coming so neither of the girls were expecting anything. They were excited to see what he had brought for them . Of course he brought Maggie a basket full of Hannah Montana stuff and Zoe got a Hello Kitty basket. Lots of fun!

Zoe's haul

Since Mom and Dad's ward was having their Stake Conference we decided to avoid that two hour nightmare with the girls and did something naughty instead. We took the girls to IHOP for Easter breakfast. They had a good time and I don't really even feel guilty about ditching church for some yummy pancakes.

This picture will need some explaining...

This is the contents of Glenn's wallet and his disassembled cell phone. What is the deal you may be asking? Up the street from Mom and Dad's house there is this awesome park. They have play equipment, picnic areas, a fountain (that you're not really supposed to play in, but the kids do anyway), walking paths and a pond that you can fish in. Since we brought the girls bikes down with us this trip Glenn decided to take the girls (and Camille) to the park to ride for a while before we did the egg hunt and had dinner. Landon rode Glenn's bike up later to play and see what they were up to.

Those of us left at home were working on dinner preparations when Landon came in and told us fabulous story. I knew I married Glenn for some reason :)! While Maggie and Camille were riding their bikes on the path that goes around the pond Glenn was standing near the pond watching. Some of the kids that were there had been throwing rocks in the pond to see how big they could make them splash. Not a big deal. While Glenn was watching the girls he kept hearing splashes, but at one point heard a pretty large splash and he turned to see what had caused it. Apparently at little boy with Downs Syndrome had decided to jump in the pond. One small problem...he couldn't swim. The kids parents were not around and no one else seemed to be doing anything so Glenn walked as far down the rocks as he felt comfortable and while holding onto a fence he grabbed the boy and pulled him out of the water. As it turns out the parents had taken a couple of kids to get loaded in the car and the older siblings were working on packing up their picnic supplies and such. The little on just slipped out of their view. But, thanks to Glenn he is still alive and hopefully they will watch him just a little bit closer next time.

Since I wasn't there I didn't get to take pictures of the daring rescue or the hero of the day.

After the drama at the park it was time to hunt for eggs. Everyone had such a good time. The Easter bunny is a tricky little guy. We had to look high and low to find all the eggs, but we were successful!

Maggie and the other kids were too quick in the hunt and I wasn't able to get pictures of them. I did manage to get a picture of Maggie, but it just got deleted so I'll add it later.

So that was our fun, eventful and drama filled Easter.

Princess Party

Mandi called me a couple of days before we were to head down for the weekend and asked if I would be interested in getting tickets for the girls to attend a Princess Party at the Covey Art Center in Provo. It sounded like lots of fun and something that I would have totally adored doing as a kid so I said yes and got more excited as time went by.

When we got there they had several stations set up in a dance studio with young ladies at each station to help the girls with the projects. Our first stop was at the "wand making" station. Each girl got a dowel, ribbon and a flower then took them to the helper who then assembled them with instructions from the girls as to how they wanted them. Maggie and Zoe chose two colors of ribbon for their wands. They turned out really cute and Zoe's flower actually made it through the party, but only because I ended up taking it away from her so she could do the other stations.

Maggie giving her instructions to the helper princess...
Everyone watching and patiently waiting their turn...

After the wand making we went to the "decorate a princess hat" station. They had waffle sugar cones that they turned upside down and then had the girls decorate them with pink icing and sprinkles...

After the messy hats we got to visit the "beauty" station. Both girls got their nails done and then Maggie was lucky enough to get some make-up also...

Zoe was a little less than patient and tried to take over Sadie's nail session...

After nails we headed to the "Tea Party". They were listening to instructions and being taught how to act like princesses. Then they were given some pink drinks and a waiter came around and asked them very politely if they would like some crackers and cheese. The princesses were to respond with a "Yes, please" or a "No, thank you". Maggie and Camille did great, but Zoe responded with a "yeah". Not exactly princess manners, but hey, she's two.

They never said it was not proper to dip you fingers in your pretty pink drink...

At the conclusion of the tea party the girls got to line up and take stroll down the runway. They showed off their pretty princess dresses and got much applause from the crowd...

Zoe had fun with this little girl and the mirror. They were giving themselves kisses and then laughing at each other...

All the pretty princess all in a row!

I still have lots of catching up to do on my blogging, but for today I am catching up on housework. I am logging onto my playlist, cranking it up and putting my nose to the grindstone! Zoe may not appreciate it seeing how her jungle gym will be unavailable to hang on today, but so it goes. She will get over it and I will have a neat house by the time Glenn gets home from his adventurous day. Don't worry. It won't be nearly as adventurous as the day he gave us a few weeks ago. He is just going to be out on sites all day. He won't be able to come home for lunch. Sigh! Zoe enjoys it when Dad comes home for lunch. I must admit that I kind of like it too!

Time to get down and dirty!

A Week of Loss and Illness

This post is mainly for Mandi and Justin.

Just a quick note to give our sympathy and support. Justin's Grandpa Beck passed away Monday morning. We are sorry for your loss Justin. We know he will be missed.

Our Great Uncle Harold Brown passed away Wednesday afternoon. Mom, Mandi and I helped him with house work and such during the last few months of his wife's life. She was battling cancer and he stayed by her side until she passed.

A few days ago Mandi took Kinley to the Dr. where they discovered she had RSV. She was admitted to the hospital and will hopefully be released today.

We are thinking about your guys and hoping things turn around soon. You're in our prayers! We love y'all.

Washer & Dryer Update

So in previous posts I have explained our situation with Sears. Well folks here's a new development. I just don't get it! They, or rather the computer, called us to let us know that our washer and dryer were no longer available. Fine! It said that we would be reimbursed in the same manner in which we paid. Excellent! So off to Home Depot (or the man store as we call it) we go. We find a set that we like and is just a little more expensive than the Sears set. We make our purchase. Four days later we are called and informed that our set was in and we could pick it up. Fabulous! Four days from The Man Store vs. four MONTHS from Sears. I'm a happy camper. We drive to Park City to pick them up and hustle back home to get them installed. I think I'm in heaven because I no longer have to go to the laundromat or haul every item of clothing to Provo to do laundry. A few minor adjustments to the washer so it will stop "walking" out of the laundry room and we are all set. Last Friday as I am getting ready to head down to Mom and Dad's I check the mail. What kind of excitement is waiting for me in the mail box? I love getting the mail. However, on this particular day it almost pushed me over the edge. There was a check from Sears. What? Yeah, a check. A big check. For the amount of our washer and dryer that we never received or even paid for. I am so confused! I know this for sure...I will not be making any large purchases from Sears anytime soon.

Aren't they pretty?

The Evolution of My Record Keeping

I have been thinking a lot about Family History and record keeping for the past few months. Since working on the video for Mom and Dad I have searched through and scanned hundreds of photos. Many have brought back great memories. Some have brought back feelings of loss and sadness of missing those that have passed away. Through this process I have shed many tears and shared moments of laughter and joy with my family. I love learning about my ancestors and hearing stories about when my parents were young. I have always known, but now have a greater understanding and appreciation for the fact that I am responsible for keeping my records. I am also responsible for keeping the records of my family. My girls will someday want to know about my childhood and about things we did as a family when they were young. I started keeping a journal when I was about eight years old. I wasn't really dedicated to it at that time, but later during my years in Young Women I started making almost daily entries. I kept this up for several years. However, during some of the most important years (dating, wedding, having kids, etc.) my journaling came to a halt. I have no written record of the early years of Glenn and I dating and being married. I have put together a scrapbook of Maggie's first year and then dropped the ball again. So I have gone from dedicated journaler to occasional scrapbooker to a somewhat obsessed blogger. I now have a creative, inexpensive and less time consuming way of keeping my families records.

Although some of the things I write about are not very interesting to others who may be reading it these are the things we have done and enjoy doing. Things that interest us, hobbies, activities, our hopes and dreams. I am thankful for this new form of journaling that we all know as blogging! How else could I have known about or participated in such a fun "service project" as the Pay if Forward tag? I have had so much fun working on these projects as well as receiving gifts from others.

Items I've received:

Delicious homemade strawberry jam from Lindy

Although Mom was not a participant in the Pay It Forward craze she did give me a loaf of her homemade wheat bread to go along with Lindy's jam. I know you're jealous!

Yummy, yummy, yummy cookie dough from Mandi

Which was very quickly made up and is now being enjoyed by us all!

A fun and pretty ring from Kimbra

I have not been able to wear my fabulous ring out anywhere yet. It's a little more high class and probably wouldn't go too well with my usual outfit that consists of my pajamas to take Maggie to school. It will have it's day soon!

Items I am giving:

Three scrapbooks for Mandi

Why does she get three items you ask? I don't know! I just felt generous I guess. My first attempt at these books was not quite what I was hoping for so I made the next two which I think turned out better. I gave Mandi the opportunity to pick two of these. She chose the first and third books. I am also making her a larger one with a black and white theme that she can use for wedding photos. It's not completed yet. The only scrapbook store here is in the process of moving and does not have much inventory. I bought them out of their black and white paper. I was unable to find the same paper at any store in the Provo/Orem area. I am hoping that the store here gets more soon so I can finish.

A tutu for Gigi (you still need to tell me what you want, Sam!)

I am still working on Lindy's project
she has asked me to help her make a blessing dress for her baby girl that will be here in June


I have had so much fun being a part of paying it forward that I have decided to make this an annual challenge for myself. The challenge being remembering to do it!

p.s. the second scrapbook is available if anyone wants it and is willing to pay for it :)! I need money! I don't know how much. Make an offer!

Trying to Catch Up

Our Internet service has been down for the last two days and I feel very behind...in everything. I'm not sure how not having Internet gets me behind in my homemaking duties, but I am. So between loads of laundry and dishes and playing with Zoe I am going to attempt to update my blog. I have been slacking for a while here so it could take some time. We'll see how the day goes and how much I actually get done. A load of laundry is the first task. I will return!