Easter

Easter, like every holiday involving kids, is not just celebrated on THE DAY. It's like a week-long (or at least weekend-long) celebration. I guess that's what's fun! On Saturday, we went to an Easter Egg Hunt and brunch at Corbin and Nikki's house....







Then on Sunday we woke up to Easter baskets filled, and we had a special family Easter lesson after church....




And then off to a Johnson Easter Egg hunt! What a great weekend!





(Adam dropped all of his eggs!)

A Little Frizz

The girls love jumping on their cousins trampoline. We were laughing at Kasidee and her cute, frizzy hair!

Easter Dresses

A few weeks ago, during Spring Break, we decided to take the girls to Temple Square to get pictures of them in their Easter dresses. We spent about an hour there and got over a hundred pictures (it's so nice being married to a good photographer!) Here are just a few of my fave pics:






The girls' dresses each came with a little dress for their dolls - they were thrilled!

Pretty

It's an annual tradition for our little family to color eggs for Easter. I'm not sure why we do it every year, because nobody in our family ever actually eats them. Quentin might eat a couple and the girls might try one (meaning they'll smoosh it and pretend to eat some), and I think eggs are gross. Makenna just wants to keep one as a "pet." Nevertheless, we color the eggs. It's fun.

"New" Bike

Last winter, Kasidee began begging Quentin to fix her "new" bike (which is the bike we bought Makenna several years ago for her birthday, which she has since outgrown.) He told her we would have to wait till Spring - and last Friday it was finally a good day to get it done. He had to fix the spokes, fix the chain, put training wheels on, switch the tires, and put streamers in the handlebars (per Kasidee's request!) After that, the bike - and Kasidee - was ready to go! (P.S. I know her helmet is huge and clunky. But that's the kind Quentin insists are more protective. I say it looks like Kasidee is riding a motorcycle instead of a bike!)

Friends

My BFF Kristin and I have known each other for 23 years. We've always been close, but since we've each gotten married and had kids, it has been harder to get together. There have been times where we've made an effort to get together - and it feels like no time has passed at all - but over the last few years getting together just simply didn't happen as often as we would have liked. A few months ago, an email from Kristin really touched me - I literally cried as I sat at my computer. She told me she really values our relationship and wants to make our friendship more of a priority. I totally agreed. So, even though we live over an hour apart, we have been getting together each month for the last few months. We take turns - we had pizza at their house, pasta and a movie at our house, then we met at a park near their house. Next will be our turn again. I can't tell you how much these visits mean to me - it feels good to catch up on life. Her husband is great too and the 4 of us get along well - and our kids just adore each other! I want to treasure these times we have together - her husband's job most likely will take them out of state in about 3 years.... :(

But check out how cute our kids are:

I Looked Out the Window...

Kasidee looked out our window the other day and practically yelled, "Mommy - look! There's popcorn on our trees!" So I had to grab the camera and I took a few pictures over the course of about a week. I love these trees - they're pretty every time of year, but I especially love them during their brief "popcorn time!"

#14

Today is Quentin's and my (is that how you say it?) 14th anniversary! I can't believe I'm so old, and I can't believe how fast the time has gone! We also met each other 17 years ago on this day - which means I've known Quentin almost exactly HALF of my life!

If you don't like cheese...then you can stop reading here. But I just have to document for future generations that
I
Love
My
Husband!

When we were dating and first married, of course I knew how very much we loved each other, and we looked forward to spending our lives (and eternity!) with each other. But I think I've realized through the years just how very lucky I really am. Quentin is so thoughtful, so genuine, so wise, so hard-working, so sentimental, so involved with our little family. He is just the best husband and daddy! My life is so blessed because of him, and I am so grateful for him. He's my best friend, the one I always want to be around, and he makes my life so happy and comfortable and sweet.

(Okay, the cheese is done.)

Funnies

The other day Kiera asked me why she has never seen a dust bunny. She wondered where they live and how big they are. I think she thought they were real bunnies.

Kasidee and I were looking at some of her baby pictures. We came across one of her with her sisters. She asked where Daddy was in the picture - I told her he wasn't there. She said, "Oh - he wasn't born yet?"

Staycation

Now that we're back from our little jaunt to Lava Hot Springs, we've declared the rest of the week a "Staycation." This morning we slept in, played and puttered around the house. Then early this afternoon we went to Temple Square and got some pictures of the girls in their Easter dresses (I'll make you wait for those though.) Then we went to Banbury Cross, where they make the
Best
Donuts
Ever.

Real healthy, I know. But don't these just look so good?

Lava Hot Springs

Spring Break is this whole week (no school for Kiera and Makenna, no preschool for Kasidee and me, and Quentin even took the whole week off of work.) Yippee!

We left Monday for Lava Hot Springs. Quentin's brother's family joined us and we all had a good time making lots of good memories! I had never been there before and wasn't quite sure what to expect. But I really enjoyed it - the air was cold and crisp, and it felt so good soaking in crystal clear, hot mineral water. We stayed for a couple of hours, got some dinner, then went back after dark. So fun!

We came home yesterday via Logan and stopped off at the Pepperidge Farm outlet, Gossner Cheese Factory, a couple of antique stores, and Cox Honeyland. It was a fun little trip!







When we went to a nearby grocery store, Makenna begged for a little plastic turtle to be her souvenir. The other kids all ended up getting one, and they had fun playing with them in the water and taking them for walks.

Conference

I love General Conference. Not only because we get to hear uplifting, inspiring talks by our leaders, but also because it's a good excuse to stay in our jammies all day and relax. I actually have a very hard time just sitting in front of the TV and watching for 4+ hours (times 2 days.) It makes me tired and I can't concentrate. So our rule is that we have the TV on and anyone can do anything while they listen, as long as it's a quiet activity. So the girls pulled out their My Little Ponies, which they haven't played with for a long time, and set up houses and stores - basically a whole town. It kept them entertained for a few hours.



But in the middle of the last session, we could hear it hailing outside. The girls were so excited and wanted to check it out. They ran around, screaming like banshees - until they got muddy. At least they got some fresh air today and could stretch their legs for a bit!




As for me, I was content organizing pictures on the computer and getting ready to catch up the girls' scrapbooks. Again. It never ends. But it was nice having 4 hours of uninterrupted time where I didn't feel guilty for sitting down!

AF Day

I think April Fool's Day is a dumb "holiday." Who came up with that idea, and why in the world has it stuck around for so long? But.... I've realized that no matter how dumb I think a holiday or a tradition is, I usually go along with it because kids make anything fun.

I usually don't do a whole lot (or anything, really) for April Fool's Day. But last night I was looking online and Parenting magazine had some pretty fun (easy!) ideas. So last night after the girls fell asleep, I tried to switch them in their beds. I successfully moved Makenna over to Kiera's bed but when I moved Kiera to Makenna's bed she woke up and got mad. So that didn't work.

Also last night I filled the girls' hot chocolate mugs half full of water and stuck them in the freezer. This morning I filled them up with hot chocolate - they were baffled when they couldn't stick their straws in all the way.

They also thought it was funny that I had stuck toilet paper in the toes of their shoes before school this morning.

But the funnest part was an idea that my mom had done to me when I was little. I glued a few coins on the garage floor by the door where we come in. When the girls got home from school they were excited to find that someone had dropped their change and raced to grab it. It was hard not to laugh as they tried and tried to pick them up before they realized they couldn't!!

So...this April Fools Day wasn't so bad. Kind of fun, in fact. But I've been on guard all day and nothing happened. I guess that's good!

Park Day

Kasidee and I joined some of our neighbors for a group playdate at the park this morning. What. A. Perfect. Day. We enjoyed our 7 minute walk to "Our Park" - the birds were singing, the air was perfect, and the trees were beginning to get a touch of green on them. I sometimes grumble about Spring because I honestly like "hibernation weather," but once Spring comes I realize how much I've missed it and how wonderful it really is. Welcome Spring!

Doll-ee Part 2

I posted a couple of weeks ago about the cute dolls Kiera has been making out of fabric, holey socks, staples and tape.... Well last Saturday Quentin pulled out the sewing machine that Kiera got for Christmas and the 2 of them figured it out together. It had to take Quentin to do that because I am just not interested in / patient with those kinds of things. So they watched the DVD about the machine and got to work. See how cute our little seamstress is?


After about 5 hours, the two of them had made a doll, exactly how Kiera had imagined in her mind. Not bad, eh?

Peace (I love this thought!!)

peace.
it does not mean to be in a place
where there is no noise, trouble
or hard work. it means to be in
the midst of those things and still
be calm in your heart.
(unknown)

Changes

(Beware this is a long - and potentially boring - post. But it's for my records. Feel free to peek if you dare.)

So…I hate moving furniture. Not because it’s heavy, but because I just hate changes. I like things “just so,” and it takes me a long time to decide on the right spot to put things (furniture or otherwise). Once it’s there I plan on it being there forever – pretty much. I realize that every once in awhile things must change. But I have to gear up for it, and I know I’ll feel unsettled until I find a “new perfect.”

Anyway, that was a lengthy introduction hinting that something has changed at our house. It freaked me out and yet I looked forward to it. It was something I had to think about and plan in my head, but now we're all very happy with it.

For over half of a year, Kiera has been saying she wants her own room. Kiera and Makenna shared bunk beds....




...and had a reading bench and bookshelves on the other side of their room.



Kasidee had her own room...



...with a cute little reading chair and bookshelf as well.


The problem was that Kiera and Makenna's room didn't have a closet. So they had a dresser full of jammies, underwear and socks in their room but their clothes were hung up in Kasidee's room. And for some reason when Kasidee was born, we hung up her clothes on an extra rod in our room but her jammies, underwear and socks were in her room. Confusing, huh?

Anyway, so we began discussing in earnest about Kiera having her own room. But suddenly she timidly said that she might be scared and/or lonely being all alone. She said she wasn't quite ready yet. So we began discussing other options, and somehow we got on the idea of having all 3 girls together. Kind of crazy, but it suddenly seemed to be the best option, and an exciting one too.

So are you reading for the BIG REVEAL? (Sorry the pics are kind of bad - I wish I had a wide-angle lens - and you have to realize that it makes more sense when you can see the whole thing in "real life"....)

So in the room with no closet, we have the girls' 3 beds. That's it. Oh, and a little bookshelf of special things.




And in Kasidee's old room (we call it the Reading Room now) we have the reading bench, Kasidee's reading chair, and all of the books. Oh, and everybody's clothes. Each girl gets 2 drawers (the dresser is now inside the closet) and everything else is hung up.




This set-up just seems to make so much more sense. It functions a whole lot better, and the girls are thrilled to share a room (at least for now.) It's nice having Kiera on ground level instead of way up high on the top bunk - it's easier to kiss her good night, plus it's easier for her to make her bed.

Anyway, I'm just waiting for a few more little things to make the rooms complete: a nightstand ordered from Target, the canopy to be hung above the reading bench, and (maybe) a little door between the 2 rooms - how cool would that be?! Who knows if it will really happen, but that would be so cool!

I thought it seemed funny that, out of 6 bedrooms in the house, 5 people took up just 2 of them at night. But I've always been intrigued by "Kids Suites," and I feel like we almost have one. The girls have a bedroom, a reading room, and their own bathroom - all in one corner of our house. Kind of fun. But I'm sure things will change again down the road and we'll be rearranging again!