April Recap

I realized I have neglected my blog this month. My batteries went dead on my camera and I was very lazy about replacing them so I could download all my pictures and take more. I've stolen some pictures from Emily's blog because my camera didn't work at Audrey's wedding. (I hope that's OK)

I know Easter was weeks ago and it's kind of pathetic that I'm finally writing about it. The kids were very excited this year. The Easter Bunny found some really good deals so the kids actually got toys this year to go along with their candy.

Halle got the Wonder Pets Schoolhouse.

Caden got a Toy Story sleeping bag. I think he was more excited about the flashlight and compass that came with it.



The next weekend we had the Hendrickson family Easter party. Everyone was excited to find their eggs!






Norma gave a very good lesson about the Resurrection.



I went with Malorie and Emily to Wendover to see the hotties from Emerson Drive perform. It was a very fun girls night out!
We stopped on the way to see the fake tree. This was my first trip to Wendover and I must say it was quite the experience. (It was a little windy)



My sister Audrey got married on Tuesday. A couple days before the wedding, we went and got pedicures. This was my first time having one. I could never justify spending money on my feet, but I can honestly say that my feet had never looked better. It was fun spending time with my sisters and my mom.


Audrey and Jason looked so cute!

Caden was so excited to see them when they came out of the temple. I asked him what his favorite part of the day was and he said when Audrey changed her name to Nielson. (Um, OK)






The whole day turned out perfect! I hope they have fun on their cruise. I am very jealous!

I'm sorry for the picture overload. I'll try and stay on top of things and change my batteries more often.

April Fools dinner

Caden thought it would be silly to have Green Eggs and Ham for dinner on April Fools. Doesn't that look appetizing?

Of course Caden and Halle wouldn't eat the eggs and ham so they had green pancakes. They were pretty excited. Caden thought we would really fool daddy.


We were watching the weather and they showed the map and there was a big, red blob over Syracuse. (is that the technical term?) I looked outside and saw all this hail. There was a lot of thunder and lightening too. It was pretty exciting!

I had the door open for 5 seconds and made a huge mess.

Easter clothes and other stuff

The kids got to wear their Easter clothes to church on Sunday. (they are also doubling as the clothes for Audrey's wedding) They were very excited to wear them. Halle calls it her "Cindyella" dress. She didn't want to take it off. Caden loves his "big boy" suit!



Here is some sibling bonding time. They go through phases where they love to play with eachother and other times they fight constantly. I'm sure that trend will continue through their childhood.

Halle has been a handful lately. I don't think the terrible twos will ever end. She knows how to throw a good tantrum and she will throw one anywhere-church, the store, the library, visiting teaching...It's driving me crazy!!
Doesn't she look so innocent in this picture...


She still loves to play in the closet. Anything to make her happy.

She also loves the dress up clothes. Here she said she was a pirate. She kept saying "Arrrr!"


Caden has turned into a really good artist. He will find any scrap piece of paper and draw on it. He likes me to take pictures of his drawings so he can look at them on the computer. Here's some of his masterpieces...

He said this was a picture of me. He even put lipstick on me. Do you see the resemblance?


This is a picture of a sail boat...

This is a submarine...

This is his interpretation of Harry Potter flying in the clouds...


He also likes to write words. You'll have to start at the bottom to read this..

I am grateful

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled across a website that you can read about families that have loved ones living with cancer. The link is www.colesfoundation.com This one little story touched me. (www.laylagrace.org) This family had a little girl named Layla and she was in the last stage of cancer. This story touched me so much because she was born 2 weeks after Halle so it really hit close to home. I started to read about her life and one thing I read really made me think. This is what her mom wrote:
"The house is quiet. I am able to go through the motions of laundry, dishes, cooking and picking up without interruptions. But I WANT interruptions. I WANT Layla to be under my feet asking for cookies. I WANT to hear her playing with her toys. I WANT to take 45 minutes to unload the dishwasher because she keeps trying to help. For every time I uttered the words “I just can’t get anything done with these kids under my feet all day” I am eternally regretful. The days that I looked forward to naptime so I could get a grocery list made, or finally fold all the piles of laundry…I regret those days too. If I could do it all again, I’d enjoy EVERY SINGLE WAKING MOMENT I had with her. I would never wish for her to sit still or take a nap or go to bed early. I would never look forward to the days when she could sit through an entire episode of Dora silently. I would treasure every second with her."
Even as I type this it makes me cry. Yesterday I was very sad when I got on her website and found out that she had died early yesterday morning. It makes me want to cherish every day I have with my family. I have been guilty of just wanting my kids to take a nap or go to bed early or even sit down and watch TV while I try to get things done. I am so glad that they are healthy and they are there to "help" me around the house. I am so glad that they are here to enrich my life and to make me a better person.

I can't post anything without adding pictures so here's some cute pictures....
Halle and Caden go crazy when I get the shop vac out. They follow me around the whole house. They love it when the air blows in their face. (strange, but cute)





Caden drew a picture of Monsters Inc. This is Sully waiting at the door. I thought it was a really good picture.

I love my kids!!!!

Mini Vacation

We had a free hotel voucher that we had to use before March. We talked about going to St. George, but we didn't want to drive all the way down there and stay just one night and we didn't want to pay for extra hotel nights. We decided it would be fun to go stay in Logan for the night. The kids don't know the difference. They could have fun anywhere.
While we were up there we decided to take the kids to a movie. This was the very first movie they had ever been too. I think they are way overpriced and I always thought the kids were way too young to enjoy it anyways. We went to the really cheap theater and saw The Princess and the Frog. The kids loved it! They were mesmerized by the huge TV screen. After that we went to see where my brother Jer lived. The kids really wanted to see Cooper also. Then it was onto Blue Bird! We had a hard time deciding where to eat because there are so many good places to choose from. I really wanted Blue Bird chicken and Iron Port and Cherry. It was yummy!!

Here's some pictures from our fun night in the hotel room. I always feel bad for the people that sleep in the rooms next to us. Our kids don't know how to be quiet.

You can still see all the ketchup on Halle's face. I think she enjoyed that more than the fries.

Crazy kids!!


Caden even tucked in Buzz and Woody for the night.

The next moring we went up on Campus. They were in the middle of elections so they had signs everywhere. I thought this sign was pretty cool because it had a cut out for your head so you could take your picture. Very clever!



Old Main

The Famous A




Here's some picture out takes. My kids can't sit still...



Take the picture please!
Here's my Family Life building

Here's the Business building for Lucas

Of course our vacation wouldn't be complete without some Aggie ice cream!




Lucas and I decided we should do this more often. It was a lot of fun!