Easter 2013

Since I was in Utah for Easter, Mike carried the responsibility of the holiday :)

I left him with some supplies and a few instructions, but he took care of everything and did a great job!

The weather in Utah was gorgeous, but unfortunately, it was rainy and gloomy here. Everything still worked out fine though, Mike just had the kids look for Easter eggs in the basement.

I love that our table has extra legs in that picture :)

Of course the most important thing about Easter is remembering the sacrifice and resurrection of the Savior. I'm so thankful for the Atonement and the pathway that it creates for me and my family to be able to be together forever!

Trip to St. Lucia Day 4, Easter Sunday

We went to church early to help get everything set up.

My Dad is serving as the Branch President (President Bush, he he.)

It was nice to meet the saints there and to worship with them.

Here I am with one of the young woman in the branch named Brittany
She was so sweet.

Mom and I sang a duet and then I also sang a solo. It was a different experience for me because we had to sing a capella.....yikes! It went well though and I enjoyed doing it, I really do love to sing and I feel blessed to have opportunities to share my talent (if I may be so bold as to call it that)

After sacrament meeting, Mom and I went to help in the Primary. 

I loved doing that! The Primary President does everything on her own, there aren't any counselors or teachers really. She was thankful for the help.

Mike went to Sunday school and Priesthood and enjoyed those meetings.

Here I am with a few of the primary kids. The one leaning on my lap is Krisshona, she and I have the same birthday :)

It was a wonderful experience to go to church there.

Right after church we went to visit Brother and Sister Joe. That was such a humbling spiritual experience. The purpose of our visit was to bring the sacrament to Sister Joe, and to bring her a picture of the Savior to hang on her wall in front of her bed. Brother and Sister Joe had joined the church and then they had saved up their money to go to the temple to be sealed. They went and right after they got back Sister Joe had a stroke and now she is bedridden and can only move her mouth, her head a little bit and her left arm and hand. The Spirit was so strong in their small humble home, and Brother Joe would not let us leave without having some ice cream and giving my Mom a bag of guavas from his tree.

When we got back to our apartment we had dinner and we were able to Skype the kids and hear all about their day.

They made it to church on time and were good...so they said :)

Noah took on the role of Easter Bunny after church and set up an egg hunt for the other kids.

Some Easter pics

White House Easter Egg Roll

We had the opportunity to attend the White House Easter Egg Roll this year. This is something that we have never done even though we have lived in this area for over 4 years.

Here are the kids waiting patiently to get in.

In addition to the traditional egg roll (which I have video of, but still need to upload to my computer)there were a lot of other things to see and do.

The kids got to make their own jump ropes. They also enjoyed seeing all the characters walking around. They signed a big thank you banner for injured service men and women that will be sent to Walter Reed. Here are the kids in front of the Obama girls' play set. You can see the Oval Office as well. I guess it's good that the President can watch his kids play while he's at work :)

As we left they handed each kid a wooden souvenir egg.

The kids also loved that they got to ride the metro.

It was a great experience and a memorable day, I'm glad we got to go, it's something that I've always wanted to do.

Easter Sunday and Isaac's 6th Birthday

I love Easter Sunday. I love shopping for new outfits for the kids. I love going to church and hearing talks focused on the Atonement and Resurrection, and Easter hymns always get me more in tune with the Spirit. I really enjoyed directing the choir in two selections and I'm so thankful for those who come out to choir and support me in that calling. You all sounded beautiful on Sunday.

After church we let the kids hunt for some eggs outside, they had a great time.

Easter was extra special for us this year because it was also Isaac's 6th birthday. I think he had a great day and loved being the center of attention. Some of his birthday wishes were...

breakfast in Noah's bed playing Simon Says

He also wished to stay up and play his new Wii game, light his candles, and of course the ever popular special game day!

For dinner he chose pizza, so we didn't have our traditional Easter ham and company potatoes.

His cake this year was a Wii Mario Kart wheel. I had a tough time with this one, but in the end he was happy with it and that's all that mattered.

He got some fun presents and cards. He is such a great kid. He is truly unique and our family wouldn't be the same with him and his silliness and his sweetness.

We love you Isaac!

I can't forget about Mike though. We were in Georgia on his birthday and so we celebrated it with Isaac's... his cake looks like it is about to catch on fire, yes honey you are getting older! We love you too!

Spring Break 2009

We had such a great time last year that I decided once again to head to Georgia for Spring Break. I must have forgotten how much I didn't love the long drive. It was worth it though. We had a wonderful time. We stayed the first few days with Bob and Dresden and their kids...what fun we had... playing games, lipsyncing, talking, arts and crafts, going to the park.

Then on Thursday we drove down to my mom and dad's place and spent the rest of our trip there. We did more playing and chatting along with some other fun activities including an Easter egg hunt for the kids. Grandma also showed them how to make their own edible nests.

Jan and I snuck away for a little bit of sister time and went out and bought some fabulous cheese slicers...seriously, I can't wait to use mine!

My mom "let" the kids wash their own dishes after they ate. They thought this was the coolest thing, in fact Anna begged me to let her wash mine and when I said she could she jumped up and down saying yahoo!

Isaac helped Grandma make some delicious bread that was devoured after it came out of the oven. Grandpa taught Noah how to check the oil in our truck and then put some oil in.

Isaac got a pre-birthday cupcake with a candle on it. Then Grandma and Grandpa gave him his present, they became his favorite people! You can't miss with MarioKart!

We ended our time together by watching Bedtime Stories.

It was nice to spend so much time with family. We were sad that Mike couldn't come with us, maybe next time! A big thank you to Bob and Dresden and my Mom and Dad and Jan, Dale and Titus for helping us make some great memories.