Thank you, Spring!

First of all for coming. We wondered if you would ever arrive there for a while. Secondly, thank you for being warm enough to put shorts on Joshua so that I have access to those legs all day long.

Benny's Birthday and Spring Break - Part II

Congratulations for making it to part II! Wednesday last week, we headed down south to see Brennan's family. We hadn't been there for way too long so it was wonderful to see Brennan's step-sister, Emily and kids, Sheldon and Maya, and meet her fiance and his kids. The kids love Sheldon and loved being with him again and we all fell in love with cute spunky Maya. We had a great visit with his Grandma Ena and her husband Wayne, she just ate the kids right up. We really enjoyed just hanging with Jamie (Brennan's Mom), John (her husband) and Brett (Brennan's brother). They're such good sports about being totally overrun by our motley crew. Brett is such a fun uncle and the kids just adore him. They spent hours hunting for lizards in the backyard.

Jamie joined us for a beautiful hike through Snow Canyon to the Petrified Sand Dunes. It was a blast.

We got to visit a good friend, Jed, and his kids and try out their fun go-carts. Brennan put Benny on and before he could finish explaining what to do he took off. Fortunately he steered it in a perfect circle and came right back to us. Scared us to death!!!

We had a little family photoshoot so pray they turn out! The photographer did a great job and it was actually pretty painless. She was so kind to work us in last minute I'm so excited to get the results back. After pictures, the kids were anxious to change into their summer clothes and run through this beautiful water feature. What a fabulous change from the snow we left behind!

It really was a much needed wonderful get-away for our family. Thank you so much John and Jamie for hosting! We drove home on Saturday and Monday we had Ben's official birthday party. We were lucky enough to have my brother and his family from NM in town so we had most of us his cousins there which made it extra special. With the cousins, my kids and a few neighbor kids we had a total of 17 kids there. Perhaps you'll understand why I lacked hands and time for photos. It was a fun little party with a jungle theme. We had a snake cake and played pin the tail on the giraffe, and feed the monkey and whacked at an alligator pinata. Good times!

Lastly, it was Ben's very first soccer game last night. His uniform is, of course, gigantic, but he doesn't mind. He also felt like a headband would be a great addition. When we asked him if he wanted to sign up for soccer he told me, "I uhzackly (exactly) know how to play soccer, Mom." So, he's already a pro.



The end!

Benny's Birthday and Spring Break - Part I

There has to be another word to describe how I feel other than "tired". It just doesn't begin to express my current state. Writing about my favorite subjects is cathartic for me so I decided to give it a go, but I can't guarantee it will be at all intelligible. It's been a fun filled, action-packed, chaotic week. There's lots to tell so get comfy :).

Just look at that round little face and tell me you're not smiling right now.

We started April with one of my favorite events - General Conference. We get to set aside our regular church responsibilities for a day and leave the 3-ring circus at home. Don't get me wrong I love going to church, but twice a year to have a break from the normal routine and to curl up on the couch in jammies to listen to some amazing and inspired men and women is just heavenly. It was especially inspiring to hear pretty much every speaker talk about the importance of teaching our kids the Gospel in our home. We've got some improving to do, but I'm just so grateful to have something to shoot for. It was also Easter which was especially nice. I love Easter and I love that it corresponds with Spring and that everywhere you look (aside from a few rogue snowstorms) there are a million visual reminders of rebirth. That thanks to our Savior death and sin like Winter do not have to be permanent.

Saturday night while the guys went to the Priesthood session my mom and sister and the kids and I went to my Mom's where the kids helped make breakfast for dinner. It was very nice and very mellow. We reconvened at my parents' home after the Sunday sessions for a great dinner and more cousin/grandparent time.

My beautiful mom with Belle and my little man, all in a happy daze

The next day was the beginning of an entire week off school for the kids! Here's what it looked like:

There's just something wrong about sledding for spring break

That Tuesday, April 6th, was Benjamin's 4th birthday! Wow, how did this happen? Funny, I remember driving through a pretty major snow storm to the hospital when he was born. I guess snow on April 6th isn't all that rare around here. Ben had a great birthday it was pretty low key, just opened presents in the morning and had cupcakes and ice cream that night while we got ready to leave for a little trip down south the next day. Ben is such a sweet, happy boy. He's a funny combination of really scrappy, independent and outgoing while also sweet, sensitive and introverted. It's amazing how you wonder how on earth after 3 unique strong personalities a 4th child can possibly find a niche in the family. Well, that has not been a problem for Ben. We love our big 4 year old so very much. Happy, happy birthday Benny boy!

That night Anna and Nate had some friends over. I'm so grateful all my kids have such cute, sweet friends.

It was a nice beginning to our Spring Break.

Happy Easter

We've had several lessons about what Easter is really all about. I guess it's all kind of a lot for Ben to absorb, but I think, thanks to Abigail, he gets some of it because this morning he crawled into bed with me and said, "Mom, did you know we get to see Great Grandma again?" Not totally sure where he was going with that I said, "when?" "When we die and go to heaven we get to see her!" "Where did you learn that, Ben?" "Abby told me."

Later this morning I asked Abigail about and she told me that when I was out of town they were drawing pictures for me to welcome me home and were using some colored pencils we got from my Grandma's house (who passed a way a few months ago). Abby said Benny got really sad and said, "We're never going to see Great Grandma again!" This sweet sister of his explained that we would see her again in heaven when we die. Isn't that sweet? I love that he's clearly been thinking about it for the last week and is so happy about it. I'm so grateful my kids can know these things and have some hope in this often sad and difficult world. Happy Easter.

Women's Conference - III

Joshua and I got to go to the 3rd Annual Bell Women's Conference. This year it was my aunt Melanie's turn to host and she happens to be the one aunt who lives out of state. So 16 of my aunts and adult female cousins and Joshy and I flew to San Fransisco to Nate and Melanie's beautiful home. It was a blast. The past two women's conferences have been just one night but since we traveled a lot further we extended it.

Most of us arrived Thursday morning where we were picked up in two Suburbans (my aunt traded a friend of hers a smaller car for her big car). When we all went places it took both Suburbans plus a car. Anyway, after arriving everyone but me and baby love took off for Stinson Beach for a hike and then to a campground where they cooked dinner around a campfire. Joshy and I stayed behind and settled him in for a good nap. I got to chat with my cousins who live there and loved getting to know them a little better. When the group returned we chatted for a bit and then headed to bed.

Kristin, Brittany, Ashley,Kristen, Eliza, Brynn, Mandolin, Tiff, Tasha, Ally, Melanie and Megan

Friday morning we got up and after breakfast and 16 women showered and got ready headed off to the Oakland Temple. 3 of my cousins haven't been through the temple yet so they volunteered to watch Joshy for me so I could go. We were a little late getting to the temple and discovered we had missed the session which was only every hour on the hour. Melanie asked if there was anyway they could do a special session for us and guess what - they did! They were so kind and the 13 of us got to do our own session, it was so neat. Thank you so much Megan, Brittany and Ashley for taking care of Joshua for me!

Kristen, Brittany, Tiffanie, Tasha, Kristin

After the Temple we headed into town for some shopping in Chinatown. We had a fun lunch there and then walked around and got some souvenirs for our kids. We then headed back to Mel's house where her sister-in-law came to teach us a class on marriage. It was wonderful, she was a great speaker and had tons of great information. We also had a great dinner and stayed up late, late, late (or should I say early?) chatting and laughing. Great times.

Liza, Allyson, Melanie

Saturday Melanie's son, Jackson, who recently returned from a 2 year LDS mission in Madagascar showed us tons of pictures and told us all about his mission. It was fascinating! We then headed to a nearby town for lunch and more shopping. My Mom, my aunt Jan and I were flying out that late afternoon and the rest of the group was staying til Sunday. After lunch we said goodbye and Melanie took us to the airport. We went through the whole checking in, security, boarding and then after taxiing out to the runway we were told there was some maintenance issue so we'd have to wait for a few minutes. Then we were told we would be de-planing and then we were told that that was the last flight out and we would be spending another night in San Fransisco. Huh. We felt fortunate that we had great company and accommodations waiting for us so we dealt with our disappointment of missing our families for one more day and went to settle up with Delta at the ticket counter. 3 HOURS LATER, we had a shuttle ride to my aunt's and a $50 flight voucher. That wait was NOT awesome. Fortunately I was in excellent company and my Mom and Jan were amazingly cheerful and helpful with Joshy. We took turns standing in line. If they hadn't been with me I'm pretty sure I would have just sat down on the floor and cried. We finally made it back to my aunt's house where we were greeted with lots of love and sympathy. Our husbands were wonderful sports about the extra day, my kids burst into tears but pulled it together and hung in there one more day. We had another really really late great fun night chatting and laughing. Sunday morning we got up and re-packed and hopped aboard our shuttle, jumped back through all the airport hoops (got another $50 flight voucher - yay, Mom) and finally made it home!!!

Tammy, Brynn, Mom, Megan, Mandolin, Ashley

Sadly, Brennan had to go out of town about an hour after I got home, but only for one night. It was great to see them all again. I missed them so much but the trip was perfect. Joshua was an ANGEL, and there were always lots of willing hands to help me with him. The women I got to be with are just plain amazing and I love them so much. I feel so blessed to be able to rub shoulders with some of the finest, brightest, strongest, most righteous women in the world. These women are phenomenal women, wives and mothers and I came away determined to be better.

Thank you so much Brennan for taking time off work to run things at home. The house was clean and the kids were happy. They had a great time with him. I'm so grateful I was able to leave things in such capable, willing hands. Thank you all my aunts and cousins who made the trip so much fun, especially Melanie! To all my sisters-in-law and cousins and aunts who didn't come, we missed you so much. Can't wait for next year!

Joshua

Lately Joshy has been laughing a lot and hard. Anna got him going the other night and we got some footage. In fact, he was laughing so hard he kept almost tipping over. Enjoy.

Untitled from Andrea W. on Vimeo.

Check it Out

My sister in law is a Demarle rep. and is offering a giveaway for a Silpat. Check it out here if you're interested.