Sister time!

This week my sister and her family came to visit.  She has three boys, and my kids loved their company!  Elsie adored her oldest, who is 12, and Peter was her 10 year old's shadow, and Kimball just ran hard, trying to keep up with everyone.  I loved their company and seeing her family grow.  We ate good food, hiked, and enjoyed a fire in our backyard, as well as fit in the late night chatting.
On the hike, someone found a leg of a deer.  Mike was the only one brave enough to touch it.  Yuck.  The boys ran ahead, blazing the already formed trail most of the time.  They really enjoyed each other.  Elsie was at her finest!  I've never seen that girl walk so far in my life.  She had a purpose though, to impress and keep up with her oldest cousin.  She hiked a ways, and through some rough, steep parts.  I was proud!  Anna slept the whole way up.  It's amazing what babies can sleep through and the comfort levels they can withstand.

This little guy was a great hiker as well!  It was a big hike for a little guy!

Friendships were forged.  What a great example my Peter has to look up to!

  It was perfect sister time.  Mike was good to indulge and support me.  He and my brother-in-law made some great dutch-oven potatoes!  They were only here for two nights and a day, but we fit in some great memories! Thanks for coming down Lanita and family!

We tried roasting some peeps over the fire.  Fun experiment.

Easter!

I figured I'd better create a post about Easter before it gets embarrassingly late.  We had a nice time preparing for it this year.  We tried to have a simple devotional every morning where we talked about where Jesus was that day almost 2000 years ago and what he did.  Then I tried to find a picture that correlated with the story and we posted them on our wall.  It was a good reminder, and I think the kids really learned.  However, Saturday almost came and went before I remembered we needed to dye some hard boiled eggs!  It was fun, but it's easy for kids to forget from year to year how long one has to wait for the eggs as they sit in the dye.  It was quite a conflict for Elsie - did she want to wait and enjoy the brightly colored egg or should she burn through the whole process and move on to something else.  I couldn't help but relate to her struggle.

Sunday was great.  It was a tight squeeze, but we managed to fit in the easter baskets before 9:00 church, so the kids went wearing their new ties and necklace.  Anna managed to get one bite of a peep down her.  It was really cute.  So I took a picture.  Sharing time was a great hit - the Primary Secretary and chorister worked together and created a wonderful lesson.  I was happy the kids were going home knowing the story of Christ and his atonement and sacrifice for each of us.  It was the most pivotal moment in history.  I'm glad we have one Christian holiday that we can keep on Sunday, always.

Afterwards we headed to Aunt Camille's for a yummy big family dinner and an awesome Easter Egg Hunt.  Camille really knows how to organize and good hunt!  The kids had a blast and got too much candy.  It was another great Easter!

The girls in purple!

Let the hunt begin!!

Good reach Elsie!

Couldn't stop from taking this picture - I love Crocus' in the spring!

Smores

For our Family Home Evening before Easter, I was getting things ready for our traditional Easter Egg Hunt where the kids find eggs that are filled with symbols of Jesus the last week of his life.  Elsie had this great idea to have Smores for dessert.  She called her dad to see if he could pick up fixings on the way home from work.  She was so excited, he couldn't help but accommodate her wishes.  It was a hit!  The weather even cooperated, barely.  I love taking smores pictures - they are such an ooey gooey mess.

Orange Week

Last week was Orange Food Lunch week at our home.  We had lots of mangoes, cantelope, carrots, sweet potato muffins, peach smoothies, and orange juice.  The kids seemed to appreciate the consistency, and they loved the muffins.  We took a break from themed lunches this week because I started feeling stressed and overwhelmed.  We enjoyed a week off of school and everything.  The weather has been very agreeable and the kids have enjoyed the outside and parks! I think we all needed Spring Break!