girls

Let me just start out by saying that I love my boys.  Like I am completely head over heels in love with them.  That being said, it just breaks my heart that my little Lily doesn't have a sister.  I grew up surrounded by women: an amazing mother and sisters, wonderful aunts and cousins. 

 Such support.  Such love.  The more I watch Lily grow up and reminisce back to my childhood to determine any similarities or differences, the more I realize how incredibly blessed I was.  It's the biggest temptation to move to St. George - family! 

We were in St. George for two weeks in April.  The first week Liz was there with her family, along with Amanda and her kids.  So. Awesome.  Cousins all over the place.  Amanda and I took our kids to the crack and I decided to try to get Lily and Jack to do it.  Jack was too scared; I gave up on him.  Lily was quite nervous as well but I picked her up and told her to be brave like Rapunzel and sometimes when we do scary things they end up being fun.  So Lily, Brooklyn and I ended up going up and down, and Lily loved it and was so excited when we finished.

I also got to bike with Liz and Jared in Snow Canyon.  Here we are at the top.  So gorgeous!  I love that ride, it feels so good to finish. 
Amanda and I met up with Amy and Meg for a birthday lunch, where we decided to go get Dixie Nutrition frozen yogurt for old time's sake.  On the way we decided to go check out Grandma and Grandpa's property in Middleton.  We laughed so hard we cried remembering how we would spend all of our time in Grandpa's irrigation ditch, the "Pond", which was a concrete structure covered in moss and crawdads, but we were thrilled to have a place to go swimming.  So crazy!  Mostly we laughed at what our parents were thinking, as we don't remember showering very often. 

Here we are in the grapevines that Uncle Steve still cares for.  I lived on this property during my 8th grade school year and would spend a lot of time hiking the red hills, listening to Jon Schmidt and John Lennon on my walkman.  Now most of that land is developed, and the (real) pond I would sit by and pick cattails at has been turned into a park that I plan on taking my kids to. 
I feel so renewed after a month filled with time with my mom, sisters, sister-in-laws, aunts and cousins.  Even though Lily doesn't have any sisters now, I hope she realizes the strength that comes from sisterhood with those around her. 

spring breaks for everyone!

(Waking up Grandpa - following in our footsteps.  Poor Dad.  He probably thought he was done with being jumped on in the morning on the weekend.)

A few weeks before the kids had spring break, Mom mentioned that she was wondering why I never sent the kids down to St. George without us to stay with her.  Bingo!  Everything came together and much to Mom's surprise she got what she asked for!  Janet and Terrel came and picked them up on their way home from Idaho, and had them the first few days of the week before dropping them off at my parents.  In the meantime Adam and I got the chance to relive, for a week, having only one baby to take care of.  WOW.  Kids are a lot of work!  I didn't fully realize until I was at home without them.  We went on lots of dates and lots of drives (absent Lily whining about how BORING car rides are), and I was able to get a ton of stuff done, plus a lot of little projects that I have put off for a long time.  It was an amazing spring break for me, and pretty much I am eternally grateful for our parents, who are so supportive and know that those breaks help us be better parents.  :)  Hopefully we can do that every year, although I think Mom is still reeling.  hehe  Adam and I have been struggling with our wanna-be teenager/5 yr old girl, so it came at such a good time for us to take some time and figure out some things we need to change at home.  It was so fun to drive up to the house and see Jackson outside digging and come running over to give me a big hug.  Both kids were super-sun kissed from hours in the pool, and their hair all tangled and sandy from playing outside.  Mom described Lily as a little lost Indian.  It reminded me of how much happy time I spent in St. George with my grandparents when I was young.  Hopefully Lily and Jack are creating wonderful memories to look back on.  And we know now that Jackson likes his house and Ogden, and Lily wants to move to St. George because it is FUN and home is BORING.  The night before we were planning to leave, Jackson was so upset that we weren't going home immediately; Lily on the other hand said that I could leave her there for a few weeks (we were coming back the end of April) because she had gotten to see me and was okay and didn't want to go home.

a long time coming

 I thought about post dating things but decided against it.  February and March were so. busy. 
A ton of Lily and Jack's friends have birthdays in those months.  Pretty much if we're not planning a party Lily is BORED.  Hard to live up to that girl's expectations. 

Jackson had his first Primary assignment of saying the 2nd Article of Faith.  He did such a good job repeating every word.  When he got his first invitation for a birthday party it was the neatest thing to see - he was SO excited!  He kept on asking me to read it over and over again. 

He also had a Parent Teacher Conference.  His school and teachers have been such a blessing.  We definitely are in the right place. 

Lily had a PTC as well - on track for kindergarten!  We have LOVED that school as well.  Both kids got much needed haircuts.  Adam was upset about Jackson like always. 

Isaac passed his 4 month mark and is just the cutest little guy.  Big smiles for anyone who talks to him (unless he's tired).  We lucked out with another very nice baby!  It's so fun to see him interact with the family. 
Adam has been working working working, and with school and the CPA done has found extra time to golf and bike a bit more than usual (as long as he gets in all of his fantasy reading - the current phase he's focusing on since he dropped computer games). 
As for me, I am sustaining a 7 month old who detests solids and am trying to find ways to deal with the guilt of letting him cry at night because he is STILL WAKING UP.  We got a new bishop that is more organized than I am.  And with more organization comes more work to do!  I'm not sure if it's spring or what but for those two months I felt like it was just meetings and more meetings with visit after visit to go to.  It has been a growing experience.  I seriously don't know how I got away with morning sickness last year. 
We are looking forward to summer and being schedule free for a while.