Love this Girl!

It makes me sad to see that Halle isn't a baby anymore, she's a little girl. Isn't she just a little cutie though?

Idaho

We went to Idaho this weekend, and this is the only picture that I took. Jarren thought it was great having a boy to play with (thanks Tregan for being Jarren's buddy). This picture was taken outside of Big Jud's, it is our favorite place to eat when we go to Idaho. Being a germ nut, I can't think about the way the place looks and just enjoy the food. Our family enjoyed a 1 lb. burger, fries, tator tots, onion rings, mini corn dogs and ice cream (I know, pretty healthy, but very yummy).

The weather wasn't the best, but we had a great time. Jason and I were able to visit the new Rexburg temple. It was so pretty. It reminded us a lot of the Winter Quarters temple we got to go to when we lived in South Dakota.

The kids all had fun making beaded necklaces and bracelets; even Jarren thought this was great. Thanks Diana for the fun and for sharing your beads!

I'm not sure how many times the girls went to visit the horses next door. I hope the horses didn't get sick from all the grass and weeds they fed them.

Karli's Preschool Graduation

Karli had her preschool graduation last week. It was so cute to watch her sing the songs with her class. She loves to sing. I can't believe it's Kindergarten in a few months. Seriously, where does the time go?

Pinewood Derby

Jarren was so excited about the Pinewood Derby. My dad and little brother helped him get his car just right. And I actually think my dad was as excited as Jarren was. It was cute to see them get so excited about it. Jarren was disappointed that he didn't win, but he was pretty proud that his car took 2nd, 1st, and then 1st in the different races.

What We've Been Doing

So... as you can tell I have been a complete slacker in my blog lately. I apologize. Let me give you a brief overview of the last month a half.

Easter
The kids were excited about their new Spring pajamas. It would be nice if it were actually warm enough to wear them.

Hey Jarren, nice Easter basket on your head.

Maya loves zebras, so the Easter Bunny picked out a good pair.

Annual Easter Egg Hunt

My brother and his wife are awesome about putting on an Easter egg hunt every year in their backyard. It is something we look forward to for many months before Easter. There are so many eggs that the older kids always end up with full baskets and the younger kids always get enough to satisfy their candy cravings.

You can totally tell that this girl is mine. Look at all the good chocolate in her hands.

Mother's Day

This was the picture we used for our Mother's Day project for our wonderful grandmas. Aren't I the luckiest mom ever to have these little cuties?

Dance Recital

Maya had her Spring dance recital a few weeks ago. She did such a good job! I was so proud of her.

Sorry for the funny spacing. I can't get it figured out.

Culver's

Can I just say that I LOVE Culver's custard. Jason and I initially fell in love with Culver's when we moved to South Dakota. However, when we moved back home, no Culver's. Well, recently a Culver's opened up about 2 minutes from our house and let's just say it's probably a little too close. I went tonight with my kids and my parents, and I think Black Forest is another favorite!

Girl Cruise

This past week I was able to go on a cruise with my mom and sister. It was great!!! We left Monday morning bright and early (4:45 am). We then got to spend 4 hours in the fabulous Long Beach airport (if you've ever been to this airport you will understand my sarcasm). We then were able to head to our "Paradise" (the name of our ship, but it truly was paradise to have just a few days where I only had to take care of myself).

We had a great time in Catalina Island. We rented some beach cruisers and headed out to see the island. We saw some pretty things, and we made sure to play a little too. Jessica and I had fun at a local park. We had fun racing down the slide, and acting like kids. We enjoyed sharing a yummy caramel apple and just watching the people around us. We got some sun as you'll see from the picture of us in the dining room later on that evening.

Wednesday was spent in Ensenada, Mexico. We spent the morning shopping like tourists. I found my girls some cute handmade dresses and Jarren a fun puppet. After lunch we went horseback riding in the hills around Ensendada. It was so much fun. I've never been horseback riding before and so I was a little bit nervous, and aside from the fact that my helmet wasn't tight enough and so every time my horse moved, so did my helmet; I had a great time. All 3 of us complained for a few days that our back ends hurt, but it was totally worth it.

Thursday was a "Day at Sea", so we spent the day on the ship. It was nice to just relax a little bit. We had fun eating, playing games, reading, and eating some more.

Friday we left our "Paradise" and headed back to the Long Beach airport for another long wait. What was supposed to be a 4 1/2 hour wait, turned into a 6 hour wait. And of course it was in an airport the size of my house. Thank goodness for Jessica buying me a Milky Way, chocolate makes everything better. Thanks Jess!!!

When we finally made it home I was very excited to see the kids, but they quickly put me in my place. Karli told me she didn't want me to come home because she liked playing with daddy (who took the week off work, so he could take care of them) and Halle hardly acknowledged that I had walked in the door. Oh well, I still missed them.

It was a great week. Thanks mom and Jess for being such fun people to travel with and thanks Jason for being so fun for the kids that they didn't want me to come home.