Someone Special Picnic

At the kids' school today they had a picnic for all the students and their families or "special" person they wanted to picnic with.  Rylee picked Sean (surprise!) and Tayler was stuck with the rest of us :)  Luckily, Sean was able to make it from work and have a picnic with us.  It was awesome and the weather was perfect.  I can't believe the school year is almost over. 1 more week!  Hooray.

 The sun was really REALLY bright.. I promise Tay isn't crying.

 Bring on Memorial Day weekend!

St. George

Saturday we left to St. George for a few days.  Our family loves to go down there.  This time we went with our friends, the B* family and had a wonderful time.  Our kids get along so great.  It was fun to just play and relax with no real agenda.

We headed out Saturday after Rylee's last soccer game.  We got down there, checked into our condos, and headed to Chili's to eat dinner.

While we were waiting for a table, a man walked by and said "that is the best behaved group of kids I have seen in a long time"  We laughed because they were all sitting there quiet as could be all in a row, but prior to that they were running all over the place!  

After dinner, we went grocery shopping, and bought a banana stroller for Jackson.  The kids wanted to go swimming so bad, so I took them for a little while.  Jackson was tired and ornery so Sean put him to bed. Sunday we found an 11:00 ward to go to and then came back to the condo and grilled hamburgers and hot dogs.  Afterwards we took naps and then headed over to the temple and visitor center.  The kids loved it.

Sunday night Anna and I made a Roast dinner.  It was so good.  It is so nice to have a place that you can cook in.

Monday the kids were dying to go swimming again so we ate breakfast and then headed to the pool.  Jeff and Sean went golfing (despite Sean's aching back!).  He said it wasn't too bad.

 Jackson was not a fan of the water at first, but later he warmed up to the idea.

 Jake just had tubes put in so we had to make sure he didn't go under water or get splashed.

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We swam pretty much the whole day. We had breaks for lunch and dinner, but other than that we spent a lot of time in the pool. Anna and I snuck off to get massages after lunch.

Tuesday morning we had to check out and drive home.  After we loaded up everything we headed to the Fiesta Fun Center to play for a while.  The kids did mini golf, kiddie go-karts, big go karts, arcades, and played in the bounce house. We had lunch at Iceberg and then headed out.

Jackson was ready for a nap.  Luckily for us, he slept all the way to Nephi on the trip home. Bonus! It was nice to be home, but so nice to enjoy some sun in St. George.  Thankfully, we escaped the rain for a few days. Thank you B* family for letting us tag along.  Love you guys!

I love you

Tonight, I was trying to teach Jackson some sign language and it was so cute I had to share. He didn't get the "I" sign, but he kept saying it.. then would sign "Love" and "You"! This little one melts my heart. I can't believe he will be 16 months in a few days. He is so fun.

p.s. don't judge me because he has a strawberry shortcake pillowcase.  It is the only one that fits his little pillow. (and the video is a bit wobbly.  I was trying to record it and sign it at the same time)

Dance Recital

Rylee and Tayler had their Dance Recital last Thursday night and did such a great job.  I was so impressed watching them both. They really knew their dances inside and out. I love to see how much they both enjoy dancing.  We love the lady that is the owner of the dance academy.  She lived in our old neighborhood and is truly one of the best people I know.  She adores the kids and they adore her.

Getting ready.  They LOVED putting make-up on and curling their hair. Such girls.

 They danced their little hearts out. Each class did 2 dances. At the end Alana gave each of the girls a flower and then daddy brought them some too. So sweet!

Grandma and Grandpa surprised us by coming to watch the girls dance.  Thank you so much for supporting them. We are grateful to both of you for taking the time to come.  Love you!

Our cute little neighbor/babysitter also wanted to come and see the girls dance so we took her along with us.  How cute is that?!

 Jessica, Rylee, Ashley, and Tay (the are such cute little friends). We love them!

Afterwards, we went and had ice cream to celebrate.  Great job girls. Until next time....

Mother's Day Extravaganza

This weekend pretty much rocked.  Friday, Sean came home early (which he rarely does) and took us out to lunch and then told me I had an 80 minute massage set up.  It was fantastic!  Rylee brought his cute card home from school.  I loved it so much! It is a picture of her with BIG arms that says I LOVE YOU THIS MUCH.  She said, "mom, whenever I"m gone and you need a hug just pretend this is me and give yourself a hug."

We had a relaxing night.  Sean made yummy pizza and we chilled!  Perfect evening.

Saturday we woke up early for soccer games.  Tayler always plays at 8:00 every Saturday morning.  Their team did awesome!  They tied 3 to 3.  This is a huge accomplishment that goals were scored.  The first goal they kicked in I jumped out of my chair (it was a huge deal). I was so proud of them.

Rylee's game came next at 10:30.  She played her heart out and scored a goal right off.  I love the way she claps for herself afterwards. It was adorable.  

After Rylee's game was over, I raced off to meet up with my mom and spend a Mothers Day afternoon with her.  We started out at the Cheesecake Factory for lunch and then hit IKEA. 

We split a meal since the portions are so huge, but had our own piece of cheesecake!  Mom chose the Coconut one and I chose the chocolate.  YUM!  We got to sit out on the patio too.  It was such a beautiful day and perfect in every way.

This was my first time ever going to an IKEA.  I must admit that I am a big fan and will return soon.

We laughed a lot.  I love hanging out with this lady.  It was a wonderful afternoon.  Thanks Mom for spending your day with me. I am so grateful for the amazing person you are and for all that you have taught me over the years.  I LOVE you!!  It was fun to see all the mothers/daughters together yesterday and was happy to be with mine.

After we left IKEA I said goodbye to my mom and headed up to dinner with Sean's mom and the rest of their family.  She is such a wonderful woman and fantastic mother-in-law.  I have loved her and felt welcomed into their family since the beginning.  She is always so willing to help us out anytime we need her. Love you Shayla!

Unfortunately, I was still stuffed from lunch so I shared Sean's salad that he got with his meal.  After dinner we came home, bathed the kids and went to bed.

Today for Mother's Day, I woke up to crepes.  I love crepes and they tasted so good for breakfast.  Since we have 9:00 church there isn't much time to do anything else.  The kids gave me a card that had their little voices recorded in it.  It was so cute. 

Friday I told Sean that I wanted to go on a picnic for Mother's Day!  There is this beautiful park that we have gone to before that I wanted to revisit.  Sadly, the weather turned rainy today so I thought the picnic wouldn't happen, but my awesome husband still made it happen.  When we came home from Church he had everything ready and 2 big blankets spread out on the living room floor.  So we still had a picnic.  It was so fun!  I also requested chicken salad sandwiches on croissants and he made the best chicken salad.  Have I mentioned how lucky I am that he can cook.  Well, it's awesome.

 oh yeah, he even pulled out the coolers and everything.  It was so adorable. He had chips, cantaloupe, sandwiches, drinks and desserts.

Tayler also gave me this cute flower she made at school with a card.

I feel spoiled.  It was an excellent weekend.  I loved all the cards, crafts, kisses, hugs, etc. that I received.  I am so grateful to be a mother to four beautiful children.  I hope I don't mess them up too bad in life.  I am also grateful for sisters, sisters-in- laws, and friends that are such wonderful mothers, aunts, and women.  I am grateful for their example to me and also for their help on this journey.  I am grateful for their love and friendship.  I truly am surrounded by amazing people. 

Happy Mother's Day to all you beautiful people!  Love from all of us.

Washington DC

This last week, Sean and I were able to go to Washington D.C. for 5 fabulous days!  That would not have been possible without the wonderful family that watched our kiddos.  I know it was no easy feat, but they agreed to do it and selflessly gave there time to do so.  I am grateful from the bottom of my heart for each one of them.  Asking someone to watch your 4 little kids is a lot to ask, but they all did it without hesitation.  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!  We love you all so very much!  Sean's mom and dad came up Tuesday morning and stayed until Friday when my mom and sister, Julie came.  The kids had a wonderful time and didn't seem to miss a beat.  I am so glad that everything went smoothly (at least they aren't telling me if it didn't). 

Sean and I left at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday morning and arrived at 4:30 in D.C.  We almost missed our flight!  We thought the flight didn't leave until 10:30 (per email Sean received), but when we printed our boarding passes Sean noticed that it said 10:00 and they were actually boarding as we were checking in.  Security was super busy.  We were getting a little nervous, but made it with 55 seconds to spare. Yep. Close call.

When we landed it was so warm.  This was awesome since we had just left a full on blizzard hours before.  We took a cab to our hotel and checked in.  It was an awesome hotel, the Sofitel.  That evening we had a reception for all the Brokers/IHC/SelectHealth employees.  That night we went and walked around D.C.  Our hotel was only a block and a half away from the White House.

Every day the guys had meetings from 8-12 so the spouses were able to do whatever we wanted.  It was nice. 

DAY 2:
Wednesday they had arranged for the spouses to take a tour of the State Department. It was a secured building so you couldn't take any pictures outside. We toured the rooms that host foreign Dignitaries. The rooms have been remodeled to certain time periods and they were truly amazing! So many antiques of every kind. These pictures really don't do it justice.

We arrived back at the hotel just in time to meet the boys for lunch and then had a free afternoon. Sean and I decided to go walk around the White House and then headed to the Holocaust Museum.

It is amazing how long each Museum takes to get through.  You could literally spend a whole day in each one. The Holocaust Museum was a sobering experience.  I had to choke back the tears several times as we walked through.  I ached for those people that experienced that awfulness. When I saw the pictures of the little children I really had a hard time.  Especially since I was missing my own kids. 

DAY 3:

Thursday we left to Mt. Vernon as soon as the meeting were over. They had chartered 2 buses to take us there.  The drive was beautiful. The day had been rainy and a little cooler that morning, but then the afternoon was perfect.  It was fun to walk around the estate of President George Washington.  There is so much history at every corner in D.C.  We toured the mansion and then walked around the grounds. We also watched several films about Washington's life.  Fascinating.

I could get use to a view like that off my back porch!

 I thought these were the funniest little rides.  One chair. 

 This was President Washington's coach

 Tomb of George and Martha

The estate was incredible!  He sure picked a great piece of land to live on.  They wouldn't let us take any picutres inside the mansion.  We ate dinner at the quaint little restaurant there.  It was great home cookin.

DAY 4:

This was our last day in D.C. so we went to Fords Theatre, The Museum of Natural History, and the Air and Space Museum.  We tried to go to the National Archives museum but the line was SO long! Maybe next time.

This was the gun John Wilkes Booth used to kill President Lincoln

We went to the Museum of Natural History to take pictures of dinosaurs for Jayson and the Air and Space Museum to take pictures for the girls.  Their school is modeled around the planets.  It was neat to walk around both museums. My kids would have loved these 2 as well!  It was a fun afternoon to walk around and see more history.  I loved every part of D.C. It was a fun city to visit.  I can't wait to go back some day. I really think you could spend a month there and still not see everything.  That night we split into smaller groups for dinner.  We took the metro to a Mexican Restaurant that was the best I have ever had. 

DAY 5:

We woke up early to head to the airport.  Our flight left at 8:30 with one layover in Minneapolis.  We arrived home a little after 2.  I was so excited to see my kids.  They had made all sorts of fun things for us.  They were all doing great.  Tayler and Rylee both had their soccer games that morning and everyone froze! Dang weather.  Since Julie had come in from Denver we hang out with her and mom for the afternoon. 

Sunday was our Stake Conference and Sean had to leave on another business trip!  We took him to the airport at 1:30 and then went to Chruch to take Julie to the aiport.  Love them!

After church.. Julie with my kids.  Thanks Jayson for once again looking away. Seriously!

 We made Reese's bars and put 6 candles on one side and 2 on the other.  Can you believe she is 62? She looks amazing!

Happy May everyone!  I think we may be getting some Spring weather finally!  Keep your fingers crossed :)

xoxox