Easter Weekend 2011

Happy Easter!  This year we had a great Easter!  We started on Weds. with an amazing party at our Neighbors home.  Our Neighbor, Erica, is simply an amazing person.  She makes everything beautiful and brings a smile to any one's face.  I am blessed to have her in my life-- and her kids and family in my kids and family lives as well.   

The Saturday before Easter we were treated to our FIRST DAY OVER 70!  It was amazing to see all the people out and about that day.  We, of course, were thrilled and made the very most of it that we could.  We started the day with an Egg hunt at my Sister Amy's Ward.  It was a blast- and our kids did pretty good in the egg hunting department.  Kathryn was content on finding an egg and then sitting down and opening it and then eating it.  She didn't seem to understand that quantity is what matters in the egg hunting department.  Luckily, we were not lacking for candy.

Sunday was a fun-filled Family Day! 

We Brunched with the Conser's at our place, which included another Egg Hunt.  We feasted on Tamara's yummy french toast, and Krispy Kreme's yummy bunny shaped doughnuts. 

We headed off to church, and then ran out to Hillsboro to have Easter Dinner with the Fredericks, and ANOTHER EGG HUNT!  My kids were getting good at egg hunting by now.... but Kathryn still just wanted to sit down and open each egg and eat the contents before moving on. 

We ended the day with my singing in a special Easter Fireside at Church.  Leila came with me and we listened to music that was prepared for this special day.  It brought up the real feelings of what Easter is all about and I am glad to have ended my busy weekend on such a spiritual note.

His Sacred Name - An Easter Declaration

Simply Beautiful

Kathryn Ella - 04/20/2011

Thanks Erica for capturing my little beauty. 

Providence will not be collecting our first born... or our third!

And Happy Tax Day, By the way--- except you have until Monday to file because of some silly holiday that isn't really a holiday.  This would mean in my life as a tax preparer wannabe we would have had one more weekend of crazy stress. 

So we got our taxes back and paid off our providence bill-- this was the bill for Kathryn's birth from TWO FLIPPIN' YEARS AGO!  We still have her surgery hanging over our heads, which we paid with a 0% card so we could get the tax benefit on this years return, but it sure feels good to get one item off of our list.  I had spent the tax return in my mind in many different forms:  a new couch, a new bed, a weekend away... but getting free of debt is better than all of that!  Yahoo!

Once we get her surgery paid off(Maybe after next years taxes?), maybe we can actually start saving up for a vacation?  Won't that be amazing!  Where should I go?  Immediately I think Hawaii, but Europe would so fun to go back to... but  maybe I need a completely new adventure and head down under Aussi Style?  We will probably end up going to the beach. 

You know those yogurt places

You know... the ones that are completely self-serve.  You could spend $10 on a cup of yogurt?  I have been avoiding them like the plague!  Mostly for fear of spending $10 on a cup of yogurt.

A friend gave me advice on the best one around-- uu yogurt on Hillsdale Hwy-- really good quality and actually less expensive.  But I found mango tango a bit closer to home.

Ok, so I went there three times last week.  Tuesday- after a girl scout meeting.  Thursday with the Grandma and Grandpa Conser(However I must admit I showed incredible self-control and did not partake).  Saturday with a girlfriend for lunch.  Yum.

Every once in a while...

...I seem to get a day I never want to forget.

Spring Break Pics

fMarch 21-25 was Spring Break!  I was looking forward to it!  Not only was I looking forward to the sleeping in(which we never did), but I was excited to have my kids all day.

The kids enjoyed their time at home.  However, they got bored and got on each others nerves.  A rainy week didn't help since it kept us inside.  We did eat out a lot, we met with a lot of friends, overall, it was an amazing week off of school.  Neither kid wanted to go back to school on Monday, but they came home pretty happy they were able to see their friends again. 

A few pics of our week:

Monday was a family day.  We went to lunch at Wendy's.  We went to the Park.  We went the library.  We were not fighting as much this day.

Tuesday was ZOO Day with the Oyama's!  They are our dear friends and x-neighbors(I still haven't quite forgiven them for moving away) who have family in the area so we still get to see them once in a while.  We went to the Zoo and got a bit wet with our typical spring like weather.  Then we dined at McD's and played some more on the indoor play structure.  It was fun for the kids to play together again, and I was so happy to play with Mandy!

Wednesday took us down to Salem to play with our dear friend Dominic.  This was actually a very nice day weather wise, so we played outside on our scooters and Kathryn had fun trying to kick the ball down the street.  We went to lunch at 5 Guys- a family favorite which we just had to go to since they had one really close by.  My friend Jeanette(Dominic's Mom) is just amazing- she and I don't get to see each other very often, but when we do, our friendship is strong.  I am so grateful for her friendship!

(Both these pictures cracked me up, I had to post them up)

Thursday was a Cousin Switch-a-roo day.  Leila went to Annalina's to play, and Joseph came here to play with Nathan.  It was a much needed day of cousin bonding and a great break for my kids to have some time apart.  (No pics, too bad)

Friday I had lunch plans, so my kiddos got to go play with Keegan and Oliver(Thanks Lyndee), and I got spoiled for a birthday  lunch with my Sister Amy and my Niece Adrienne.  What a treat!  That night Jeremy had plans after work and didn't come home until bedtime, so we made the best of it.  We headed out to Deseret Book to buy Leila her very own scriptures that have her name engraved on them(This is a typical gift for age 8, but she has been wanting them for a long while now, so we went for it).  We also stopped and walked the temple grounds and touched the temple walls.  That night, we made a pizza and had a movie night. 

My kids were really tired of each other by the end of the week, but they had had countless hours of playing with each other and even though they were quick to make eachother angry, I do believe the bonds of siblings were made stronger.  I enjoyed being with my kids and we had fun!  What a blessed life I lead!