Happy Easter

We had a very nice Easter Sunday. This year the Easter bunny brought books and we had an inside egg hunt. Maggie did great finding lots of eggs. Benjamin found the hard ones that were up high, he really enjoyed that.

Maggie mostly enjoyed the candy. She LOVES candy and asks for it all the time, especially since she knows the sign for candy, she says it pretty well too.

It turned out to be a very nice day so after church the kids spent some time in the backyard.

We made our traditional Easter bunny cake. Benj helped put the face on.

Seth loves this tradition of carving/decapitating a cute little bunny. This year was especially morbid because it was the first time I have ever made a red velvet cake. I didn't have a cake mix so I looked up some recipes from scratch and thought I would try it, it turned out pretty tasty!

A Perfect Wedding Day

We had a wonderful weekend in St. George for Aunt Samantha and Barry's wedding. She was a beautiful bride, it was a beautiful sealing, and the weather was amazing. It really was a perfect wedding day. Here are a few of my favorites...

Who Knew?

Who on earth knew that brussel sprouts were so tasty?! I don't think I have ever had them before. My mother was a very good mother and did not make us eat many vegetables. She even made separate dishes without onions and peppers for us kids!! I know, we were spoiled. So at the grocery store I saw them and wondered what do those taste like? I was really excited about making them too! I checked with trusty Alton Brown and he suggested a simple steam with Kosher salt. Amazing! It looks like they can also be sauted, roasted, grilled, and wrapped with bacon. I can't wait! What do you do with brussel sprouts?

On the topic of learning something new... I saw the coolest video on YouTube about darning socks!!! Usually we throw holey socks away, but Seth has a nice pair of wool socks he's been wanting me to repair. I honestly didn't know how to darn socks. It is very fascinating, you should check it out!

The Year of the Elephant

So we painted an elephant on his wall, he was an elephant for Halloween, and so it was pretty easy to decide what kind of cake to make. Once again, I got the idea from my favorite website (coolest-birthday-cakes.com) I was pretty happy with how it turned out, except for the dry frosting. I tried a new recipe and must not have added enough milk. Oh well. The best part was seeing Benjamin's face when he saw it. In this picture he is making the elephant noise.

We had his party at a bowling alley and it went pretty well for his first time bowling. He certainly didn't last a whole game, but he had fun.

The best invention for kid bowling, it was the only way he knocked pins down.

Aunt Samantha came and Uncle Jeff and Rose too!

Plenty of presents.

And blowing out the candles.

Happy 4th Birthday Benjamin!!! WE LOVE YOU!!!

Warning: Several Pictures Ahead

It's been a while since the Grandparents have seen the kids, so I thought I would post a few of my favorite recent pictures. Such a good little Mommy! She always knows where her baby is and takes such good care of her.

I love how much she loves her Daddy. She gives great kisses too.

Jeff and Rose reading Maggie a book on Sunday night. She loves books and will sit on your lap and let you read them over and over. I love it!

This is one of my favorite pictures of Benjamin in the last couple of months. He is such a boy!

When I was at school Seth told me how Benjamin saw him reading a book in the bathroom. Personally I just get in and out, why spend leisurely time in there? Anyway, I guess he thought it was a good idea so Seth was able to get a few pictures. I think I'll be scrapbooking this one.

Since I bought a fun box of bandaids he's been obsessed with using them whenever he gets hurt, or where ever he gets hurt. I didn't let him put one on his tongue, but I did let him learn the hard way with the bandaid getting stuck in his hair.

Sneaking out of his room when it's suppose to be bed time! Too cute to get mad.

Well, I guess I'm all caught up. I'm sure I'll post again in about a month.

Christmas at Home

We had a very nice and relaxing Christmas in our new home. It was the first time I was the host! Grandma Stephenson and Samantha came to spend the week with us. And Gretel too, Maggie was very happy about that. On Christmas morning she by passed her presents and went straight to Gretel and said "puppy!"

Santa brought Maggie her first baby doll and buggy. She's been such a good Mommy. Benjamin got his first Nerf gun. Dad got one too. I have to admit they are a lot of fun.

We even got Grandma in on the fun!

Aunt Samantha gave Benj this awesome lion! He loves it and it goes great in his jungle room. Thanks Sam!

Thanksgiving Trip

We spent Thanksgiving in Las Vegas where Seth's side of the family gathers every year. Before the kids came it was easy to zip right down. Since the two munchkins we have not been, so after four years we knew it was time to make the trek. Luckily Melissa decided to come along too so we had extra help and it was just really nice to have her with us. We first spent a day in St. George and went to this new park because it was like 70 degrees! My new goal in life is to become a sun bird ASAP!

Maggie's new best friend...Gretel. Seriously, she spent the whole trip pointing at her and saying, "puppy, puppy, puppy" It was so cute I might have to post a video.

Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful. Benjamin especially enjoyed his Turkey M&M. He did eat some traditional foods too.

Mom slaughtered everyone at Tribond.

You can't go to Las Vegas without hitting the strip. So Melissa and I took off. We found what is apparently the largest chocolate fountain. It was a little underwhelming, but we had some descent chocolate ice cream. We also met up with my good friend Shelley who was visiting another friend in Las Vegas for the week. We got all caught up on teaching stories and getting to work on our masters projects.

Then we caught a show of the dancing waters (seen below). We did some shopping AND some random guy asked us if we wanted to go clubbing!!! I only wish I could see the terrified face I gave him, I don't even remember what I said as we walked on.

And the highlight of Seth's trip...In and Out came to St. George. He got to go twice. On our way home we waited in line for a little while. It reminded me of when Krispie Kreme was huge in Orem around 2001. It was worth the wait. Pretty tasty hamburgers for the low price.