Butterflies and Easter

We had been observing caterpillars transform to butterflies over that last few weeks for school. It was such a fascinating process to see them grow, transform and eventually fly out of the cage. The girls started naming them but it was hard to keep track because they looked so much alike. All of them emerged except one which struggled for days. We wanted so badly to help it. Another one had a bad wing and never flew out of the cage so it died. It was a neat experience to release them on Easter. I would love to do that every year!

We had our annual candy hunt on Saturday and the children had plenty of candy. They had a lot of fun searching for the eggs and candy and we hid some king sized candy bars in hard places for them to find. Jason is starting to remember all our good hiding places and finds them too easily. Easter Sunday started with Lauren telling me she was not going to church, or putting her Easter dress on, or giving her scripture in Primary. Seeing as I had to be at church 40 mins early to practice with the choir, I decided I needed her to be at church but it didn't matter what dress she wore or if she gave her scripture. Five minutes before we needed to leave, she still wasn't dressed so I had to threaten her Easter candy. That seemed to give her the incentive she needed. I was already stressed because I had to give a talk in Sacrament Meeting and this was not helping the spirit of the morning. We made it to church, practiced with the choir, and then the organist didn't show up. So, I sat down, tried to push a bunch of buttons and get some sound to come out of the organ. Lance said the ones I pushed were a little odd together but at least we had a little prelude. The thought of having to play the organ was more than I wanted to do that particular meeting. Thank heavens for our Relief Society President who came up and offered to play as the meeting was starting. She saved my day. After that, having to give my talk and play for the choir was no big deal! It has taken me a week to recover from my "spring break."

Yesterday, I planted a few flowers and it had made such a huge difference to me. I love to see color around the house. We had such a beautiful day and the girls were in the sprinklers all afternoon. Lance has been sick a good part of this week. He had to be at church today because the Bishop and first counselor were gone and he needed to hold down the fort. The children have their testing for school this week and it just seems like school should almost be over once their testing is done. Time is going by so quickly!

Bodega Bay

We had a great weekend get-away at Bodega Bay. It was a last minute decision to escape for Saturday and part of Sunday. The beauty of conference weekend is it can travel with us on the internet and downloaded on MP-3 players as we drive. We left Saturday morning and traveled west to the coast. After stopping at our hotel, we tried to make it to Dillions's beach. We missed the turn and ended up at Bodega Bay. It turned out to be the perfect spot. There was the ocean, which is perfect in itself, small little pools of water, perfect for little ones and much warmer, tide pools ( we saw mussels covering huge rocks, sand crabs, and held a star fish that someone had found and was putting back), and large sand hills. The sand hills were fun to climb, slide down, and jump off. Everyone was entertained for hours and we can't wait to go back. We were able to swim at the hotel and enjoy the hot tub. On Sunday, the boys favorite is the complimentary breakfast and we listened to conference. It is such beautiful countryside to drive through and fun to see a new place.

More wedding pics

Amy and Geoff's Wedding

We spent last weekend in Salt Lake for my sister, Amy's wedding. It was absolutely beautiful. Geoff is the perfect compliment for her and I couldn's be happier for them! We had some fun with cousins at a dinner the night before where 2 year old Chloe make sure to tackle her big boy cousins. The wedding ceremony was performed by my Uncle Bob in the Salt Lake temple. It was wonderful. I loved seeing aunts, uncles, cousins and friends that I haven't seen for many years! The wedding dinner was at the Old Meeting House and it was beautifully decorated with white tulips and the dinner was delicious. The weekend went way to fast so we were glad it snowed and stayed an extra day for my dad's birthday and my nephew's ordination to be a priest. Once in a while, the snow works in our favor!

Four down and one to go!

The girls and friends made their own fort. Notice the separate rooms, flowers and tablecloth. A little different from the boy's fort!

Lauren can now ride a bike. Lance took the training wheels off and spent all of two minutes holding on to her bike. She was flying around on her own in no time! Four down and one to go!

Happy Birthday, Dr. Seuss! We read our favorite books, made a "Cat in the Hat" hat and watched "Horton Hears a Who" to celebrate!

Happy 4th Birthday Maddie!

Maddie is now four! She has been acting like it since she was two but now she if official. She choose cheese pizza, strawberries, grapes and chocolate cupcakes with pink frosting for her dinner. She and her sisters decorated them. We are so lucky to have Maddie in our family. I love watching her dance and listening to her make believe world as she plays. She is so animated. I feel like she is on stage a lot of the time! I love her and I am so glad she is part of our family.

Another Week

The last week of February has come and gone. We were so lucky to have Grandpa Gordon here visiting. He drives his camper here and entertains the kids all week. They love watching movies in his camper and they all had a sleepover in it one night. Grandpa helped Lance put mouldings around some windows, fix the door on the fence, as well as other little projects around the house. It even motivated me to paint the back doors to match the trim. Tuesday night, Jason had a court of honor and is advancing nicely. He is really motivated to get his eagle. I hope it lasts! Thursday, we had our Cub Scout Blue and Gold Dinner and all the boys and their dads made cakes. The theme was America ABC. Devon wanted to do his own thing and make a castle with tootsie roll and gumdrop warriors with spears. We just called it Sutter's Fort at the last minute. Friday, Devon woke up not feeling well. We cancelled co-op and had a much needed quiet day. I accomplished some things that have been waiting for weeks. Lance had a terrible day at work as a "crisis" developed. He came home late and worked that night except for a run to the church for a skit he was in for a ward dinner. It was a "talent" show. He and a few other guys did a Synchronized swimming skit that was really funny. Saturday, we celebrated Maddie's birthday! My little one is now four and not so little. Lance had to work all day and night except when he was coaching the Deacons in basketball. It is raining again but the blossoms are out and signs of spring are all around. We watched hundreds of geese fly north the other day. It was fun to hear them honking all above us and see their formations in the sky.