Random April

April showers have meant lots of fun time playing indoors - and we also had some nice weather to afford us some fun outings!  Here are a bunch of random shots from this past month:

Dressing up is always fun to do! (And fun to see!)

FHE lesson about putting on the "armor of God"

Grins got really into "Clown Day" at school....although he chickened out and removed his wig as soon as we got to school!

Wiggles took her first ride on the 'tagalong' bike - and hated every minute of it (we only tortured her for a minute or two before finally giving up and putting her back in the bike trailer.)

The Mr. worked a lot of over nights, and worked 29 out of the 30 days in April, so, needless to say, he was in high demand when he was home!

And, as always, Angel has been hard at work on her arts and crafts.  She will only ever clean up / put away her creations if I first preserve them through photograph, so I end up with LOTS of pictures like this on my camera!

East End Beach

Halfway through our bike trip, we decided to take a detour and bike to a nearby beach, since it was such a beautiful day!  It couldn't have been more perfect!

I take far too many pictures of Wiggles in a bathing suit because I love everything about her adorable little body - I just can't get enough!  The bulging belly, the pudgy legs...seeing her in a swimsuit reminds me how little she is, and I love it!

Wiggles wanted to go down in the hole...

Of course, the hour long baseball game we played earlier at the park wasn't nearly long enough for Grins....

 The water was FREEZING!

.....and yet, the Mr. and Angel still dove right in!  I'm glad the Mr. was there to indulge Angel - I wasn't about to take her in!

Wiggles kept wanting to get 'buried' in a hole - so we finally put her in, and she then immediately wanted out!

She did allow me to take a picture first, though!

 While the older two were down at the water, Wiggles carried buckets of sand back and forth.  My busy little girl!

The 2 days of 80 degree weather got us really looking forward to summer!  We hope to have many more days like this in the near future! :)

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

While bicycling around the back cove, we decided to stop for a little family game of baseball.  The children enjoyed the obstacle course while the Mr. and I set up the game.

Angel climbed up one side, over the top, and down the other...

 Wiggles stripped down to her swimsuit and played in the sand.

When we were finally 'set up', we told each of the children to grab a mitt.  I had to take a picture of Wiggles with her mitt on the wrong hand.  SO cute!

I know I take too many pics of this little gal, but can you blame me?

And Wiggles is ready to go!

Angel struts her stuff!

Grins doesn't waste time posing - he's just anxious to start playing!

 It's not hard to get action shots of this boy - he's always on the go!

 I took a break from pitching to snap a photo - look at those cute little outfielders!

It was getting hot, so Angel decided she'd rather pose for pictures than play....

 So the girls sat and enjoyed a snack break while the Mr., Grins and I played on.  It's amazing how much easier it is to play with the Mr. - when it's just me and the children, things don't run nearly as smoothly!  We all love having the Mr. around!

Piano Lessons

I read a story in the Friend magazine a couple of weeks ago about some young children (ages 8 to 11) who played the piano for their church music program!  The article said their ward (church congregation) lacked a piano player, at least for the Primary (children's organization), so one of the adult leaders came up with the idea to have some of the children each learn to play one or two songs.  Each child told of how they practiced and practiced, and were able to perform it for their musical program at the end of the year!

It really inspired me to get my children started on piano lessons!  Of course we have always planned to put all of our children in piano lessons in a few years when we have the financial means.  We had initially decided to start them when they were 8 years old.  But reading the article just sort of inspired me and helped me realize that I have the knowledge I need to teach them the basics to get started.  So I decided to start now and see where it took us.  So we did!

Of course, we are still in the very early stages, so it's still very thrilling and exciting for the children.  But we are enjoying it immensely!

Grins was SO excited after his first lesson that he begged me to let him stay and listen to Angel's lesson too, so he could 'help teach her' and hear it all again.  He was literally jumping up and down listening to her lesson, he was so excited!  Every day they've asked if they could practice (I've never had to remind them!), and they have both already learned and mastered a song (right hand only so far...but good nonetheless!)  I LOVE watching them work together on it as I prepare dinner (and Wiggles sits in her little chair and reads)!  I keep thinking to myself, "It just doesn't get any better than this!"

Ice Skating

As a child, it never occurred to me that people still actually skate on ponds.  Growing up in Oregon, I never experienced a winter cold enough to freeze a pond, so I assumed it was something the pioneers did 'way back when'.  So last year, our first New England winter, I was shocked to see the pond near our house frozen SOLID!  How exciting and novel!  So, we collected some hand-me-down ice skates and hit the pond.

Last year, Wiggles only lasted about 10 seconds before she'd decided she had had enough skating. Ever.  And wouldn't even allow us to put her skates back on her.  This year, though, she was right out there with the rest of them.  It was a bit 'warm' (in the 30s) so the ice was a bit soft, but we will had a lot of fun - and stayed for 4 HOURS!!!  This may very well be the ONLY benefit to sub-freezing temperatures but hey, we've got to take whatever advantage we can get! :)

I loathe pictures of myself but am including this one 1- so my children will know I do things with them!  and 2 - because I love Wiggles' expression!

This girl didn't stop!  She just kept going and going, despite several face plants (as evidenced by the wet legs)

Grins doesn't skate - he RUNS on the ice.  It's so much fun to watch!

Angel takes her time but was certainly more adventurous than last year!

Of course, everyone prefers skating with Daddy, because he goes much faster than Mom! :)

Family Pictures

I am lucky enough to know one of the most amazing photographers EVER!  She did an incredible job on our family pictures this year!  I wanted to capture our family in the beautiful New England fall colors - and she did just that!  I can't decide on a favorite....so here are a few of my top choices!  (Oh, and just so you know - Wiggles had an ear infection that day {we didn't know it at the time} so she was not very smiley or cooperative...usually she is full of smiles!)  I posted the color ones so you can see the fall colors, but the black and white ones are incredible too!

Isn't this the most precious little girl you've ever laid eyes on?

Jessica, thanks for all of your great work!!!  And Maine (and Utah) friends, if you want me to hook you up with her awesome photography skills, let me know!  She does amazing work! :)

Westward Ho - Sunriver

So, as I mentioned previously, in our big trip out "West", we flew to Utah and spent some time with the Buchanans,  then drove (12 hours!) to Oregon to spend some time with the Stouts.  Uncle Daniel was kind enough to drive us! (And Aunt Amy, his sweet wife, so graciously let him go without her for a week since we took up all the seats in their car!  We owe them big time!)  Miraculously, we all fit in his car!  And, aside from the typical quarrels and "are we there YET??!" complaints, the kids did fairly well. (Although, I'm pretty sure Daniel swore off ever having children, and I did swear I would NEVER do that drive again!!!) Then, once we got to the Stout house, we took another drive (4 hours this time!) to Sunriver Resort.  I wondered if all that driving would be worth it.  It was!

First of all, it was truly a treasure to be able to spend time with "GG" and "GG-Pa", my sweet grandparents.  They are wonderful and, even though Grandma is in the late stages of Alzheimer's disease and keeps wondering "Whose kids are these?", she is very loving and gentle with the children.  While I'm sad that my kids don't get to know the Grandma I knew as a child, it is wonderful watching them with her, and seeing them build a relationship with her.  And it is neat to see that, though she doesn't remember anything or anybody, she has still maintained her nurturing nature, and deep love of children.  It seems to be one of her most primitive instincts.  And Grandpa is as wonderful as ever.  I have always looked up to him - even as a child - and my love and respect for him has only deepened and increased over the years.  Especially over these past 10 years, as I've watched his patience and the tender, loving care he continues to offer Grandma, despite the tremendous physical and emotional burdens it places on him.  He is one of my greatest heros, and I miss him SO much!  It is so hard to be so far from these sweet loved ones, when I know their time on earth is limited, so I was very grateful indeed for the time we had together!

Grandma looks alarmed, but it's probably just because she doesn't know why I'm taking a picture of her...

I love seeing them like this - after 60+ years, they are still holding hands!

 And, of course, we enjoyed other loved ones as well!  (Excuse the pics out of order...such a pain to rearrange!)

These girls LOVE snuggling with their Aunt Abbie!  And matching PJs just sealed the deal!

 Even though it was still a couple of weeks away, we celebrated Grins' 5th birthday at Sunriver!  Complete with Grandma's Famous Lime Cake! (YUM! and ridiculously sweet!)  Grins was thrilled with his new Plasma Car and Whac-a-mole game!

Wiggles adores her Grandpa!

Angel and Abbie and their culinary creations!

All the Cousins!  When these 4 get together, it is non-stop silliness! :)

Fort Rock Playground offered hours of fun in the sun!

Abbie and Grandpa enjoyed some Tetherball!

Wiggles had fun, of course!

The kids spent hours with this merry-go-round!

Aunt Abbie with the 4 nieces and nephews!

Group shot with Aunt Hannah, Aunt Abbie, Grandma & Grandpa

I wish I'd taken a picture of all of us at our cabin!  It was so much fun!  The pool table and wii were both a big hit with the kids, but they loved the hot tub most of all!  I think we spent every night out there!  During the day, though, most of our time was spent at the pool!!!

Wiggles LOVED this tunnel slide!  She went down again and again and again....until the time that I tried to take her picture.  I was waiting at the end with the camera.  She didn't want me to take a picture, so she said "Put the camera down!" so I put it to the side where she couldn't see it.  Then, as she slid down, I moved it in front of her, but she slipped to the other side and, since I was holding the camera, I caught her awkwardly with one hand....and after that, she would only go down the slide if I held BOTH hands right up in front of her.  So I never got a picture. Sigh.

Here's Wiggles, refusing to go down the slide because I'm holding the camera. So funny!

This was one of Angel's only turns down the tunnel slide!  After that they told her she was too tall!    She was so sad! And I couldn't believe that my little baby is TOO TALL for something!!  STOP GROWING, ANGEL! :)

Grins loved the slide, camera or not! :)

The big, twirly slide was SO much fun!  Wiggles and Grins were hesitant at first, but once they started going, they never wanted to stop!  Wiggles went down with Abbie quite a few times, and after that, insisted on going alone!

Ryan

Rachel

Angel

Grins

Wiggles and Abbie

Wait! What's this? A picture of Wiggles going down the slide!!

My little water baby!  Even though it was cold for much of our trip, she never wanted to leave the pool!

Unless it meant snuggling with Abbie, that is.

She loves her Aunt Abbie!

I love the way my kids look in goggles! Hahaha!

Oh, and of course, the kids weren't the only ones who liked the slide!

Grandpa had fun!

Again!

And again!

Of course, these 2 would have fun wherever they were!


It was so wonderful to have the opportunity to just relax and spend time with our Oregon family!   Treasured memories like these make the long travel all worth it!


We left Sunriver directly to head back to Utah.  We hoped that driving at night would make it cooler since it was HOT and our A/C wasn't working....but it was still HOT!!  On the way, we stopped at WinCo Foods to use the restroom and cool off for a moment.  Grins was playing in the drinking fountain at the front of the store, making it spray all over (meaning that it was making a big puddle on the ground!)  I immediately told him to stop - that someone could slip on that puddle.  I then helped Wiggles and Angel in the restroom and when I came out, Daniel was filling up his water bottle at the drinking fountain.  I went around to fill mine up, when I slipped on the puddle Grins had created, and fell fast and hard.  Somehow, on my way down, I grabbed hold of Daniel's jogging shorts, and - you guessed it - pulled them all the way down with me (completely by accident, of course).  Everything happened so fast, that neither one of us realized what had happened for a second or two.  I looked over, saw Daniel's shorts in my hand (around his ankles) and looked over to see Daniel standing next to me in his underwear (thank heaven I didn't grab that too!) and I laughed until I cried.  Poor Daniel had no idea what he was getting himself into when he offered to take the kids and I!  He definitely went above and beyond, and wins the Best Brother and Greatest Uncle award for putting up with us for those LONG 25+ hours of driving!!!