mission call

drum roll please.....
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uncle tyler is going to:the mexico torreon mission!!!
congratulations tyler! we are so very excited for you!
we love you!

dance party

what better thing to do at 8:30 in the morning, when we are grumpy....have a dance party of course! blast the music and let them run wild. sometimes that's all i can do to keep my kids happy! brooklyn got her self all dolled up and brody even joined in for a bit. he is so nice to his sister. he even let her do his hair last night before bed. and when brooklyn does hair it hurts, to say the least. she puts in clips and brushes it and then puts on multiple headbands. one day she was doing my hair and she got knots in it that took me forever to get out. anyways, back to the dance party...we jumped on the couches, danced around the kitchen and the family room. we had a blast and afterward my kids were happy yet again. i promise to get those grumpy faces to turn around have a dance party. oh, and dont forget to bring along doggie and rapunzel.

all dressed in our sunday best

easter sunday was a wonderful day. we dont have church until 1 pm. so the morning was wonderful. we were woken up to the kids on our bed bright and early....so ready to go see where their baskets were and find all the eggs. after our little hunt we went to aunt patti and uncle john's for another egg hunt with (90+ eggs just for brody, brooklyn and mason) and for some yummy cinnamon rolls. of course, aunt patti and uncle john spoiled them to pieces as they both recieved three easter baskets each full of clothes, toys, candy, you name it--they got it! after the fun we came home to get dinner ready for after church and headed off to church. after church we spent our night over at aunt patti and uncle johns for easter dinner. they are our family here and we love them to pieces. all in all easter was wonderful and i am so grateful for our to know that our Savior lives! He has broken the bands of death and because of Him we can all live again with our Heavenly Father! I am so grateful for that knowledge. I love my Brother and I cannot wait to kneel at His feet and thank Him for His atonement. He died so we might live again!!! Happy Easter!

p.s. i cannot wait to get a picture with brody leaving on his mission walking away with his scriptures in his hand...someday!

easter baskets and toys

the easter bunny left fun beach toys to share

brody's basket was funn of candy, a scripture bag for his scriptures, a new wii game (star wars of course), sidewalk chalk, stickers, and of course, books!

brooklyn got Goldilicious (to go with her Pinkalicious book...which I read to her almost everyday and usually two or three times a day, she loves it), the little mermaid movie, little mermaid swimsuit (if you cant tell her favorite princess is Ariel), princess stickers, pink play dough, her own scriptures, and more books for mommy to read

the easter bunny at our house leaves a note each year and the kids have to play hot and cold to find their baskets. this year brody's was hidden in the downstairs bathroom and brooklyn's was under the side table in the family room. i think they enjoyed easter.

coloring eggs just in time for easter

we colored eggs the day before easter this year. this is the first time we have let the kids use the dye to color eggs. usually the easter bunny just hides candy-filled plastic ones. brody loved making superhero ones including superman and batman. brooklyn loved dying hers all different colors which mainly turned brown. her favorite one though was pink....all pink! it is so funny to me how very opposite my children are on cleanliness. brody hates to get his fingers dirty, rarely spills his food or drink, is always cleaning up his toys after he is done, and is just a neat clean boy. brooklyn, on the other hand, cant go through a meal without spilling her juice, milk, food on the ground, spilling food on her shirt, doesnt care if she is all dirty, hates to clean up after herself, etc. she is my messy girl but i love her to pieces even if i am constantly wiping up her messes. i love my babies!

baby shower for elise

i seem to be throwing lots of baby showers lately for friends in med school and for friends in church. this one i threw for my friend elise, was by far the most fun to create. she only wanted us med school girls, so including me that makes six people. it was so fun to be able to use real plates and my shiny silverware. i loved spending the week before making crafts as thank yous for each of my friends. rachel came over to help me the day before cook all the yummy food. we had a blast talking and cooking together. thank you rachel for all your help. i have made the cupcake lollipops a couple years ago and they were so good, i had time so i made them again. and you know what....they are still SOOO GOOD!!! the baby shower was a lot of fun and we enjoyed spoiling elise. since the shower elise had baby cameron and he is a beautiful baby! congratulations!

brody school easter egg hunt

brody's preschool put on a easter egg hunt for all the kids and their siblings. there were so many eggs it was incredible. brody and brooklyn lined up with his class and when they were let go to get eggs, it was chaos. the kids got a lot of candy and enjoyed cookies and juice with brody's classmates and teachers. it was a fun afternoon.

brody school easter program

brody had a easter program at his school the sunday before easter sunday. he is just so cute. i love watching him with his little class. they sang church songs and helped us all remember the reason we celebrate easter. the two little girls on either side of brody like brody and so it funny to watch as brody gets a little shy around them. brody's first year of preschool is done this next week and we are going to miss all these cute faces in his class, the friends we have made, and most importantly his teachers. they have been amazing.

conference yumminess

as always we enjoy cinnamon rolls as we watch conference together as a family. one of our favorite traditions!

when mommy isn't paying attention...

spring break: part two continued

after so much fun at busch gardens we spent the next day at a slower pace. we took taylor to see williamsburg, jamestown and yorktown. we toured jamestown with my parents and spent time in the museum which josh and i hadnt done before. it was such a beautiful day compared to the previous ones we had been having. we headed home late that night and spent the next few days playing with the kids and getting spoiled by my parents. it was such a treat to have them here. thank you for coming. i miss you already.

spring break: part two

the second part of our spring break we were lucky to spend it with my parents. my mom and taylor had asked if they could come...of course! but when i asked if my dad could come, i was told that he had to work because all the other physical therapists had taken spring break off to spend with their families. well to my wonderful surprise...my dad came!!! i was more than thrilled. it was a great surprise that made me cry. i guess i am still a daddy's girl. the fun filled week with them was spent the first few days in williamsburg. i took them on the scenic route to get them there (which ended up being quite not scenic since i missed a turn). but the kids enjoyed the boat ride and feeding the birds. we ate at our favorite place...the cheese shop. but the most fun of all was busch gardens. we ALL had a blast! the weather was a little chilly, and rainy at some times but it was still so much fun. brody and brooklyn loved all the rides and we wiped them out. brooklyn fell asleep midway through the day. my mom and dad were so nice to watch the kids while taylor, josh and i went on rides together. we went on all the big rides and the biggest ride of all multiple times. the best part of the whole trip was the Griffon ride with my dad. I will never forget his face. I had begged my parents to go on a ride all day. my mom wimped out because of her back (its okay mom i understand). my dad said he didnt want to get sick. finally after much convincing we told him that he had to do this ride. he gave in. it was so funny to hear him before he got on the ride. he told us to look around at all the people in line. he was the oldest and said look all the other guys my age aren't stupid enough to do this. "i'm going to die of a heart attack!" he made it and we all had a blast. i love you dad! it was truly a fun day full of laughter, and great memories that will last forever!