Easter

We had a beautiful Easter.  I love Easter.  I love the focus it brings into our home on our Savior Jesus Christ and I love that celebrating Spring, new life and flowers always seems to give me a little lift.  Thanks to a simple activity in the Friend magazine, we got to do a little devotional every morning reading a scripture about the life of Jesus Christ, sing a song and paste a picture in the correct place. The boys enjoyed it and it kept our focus all week on what Easter is all about.

Friday we had a little egg hunt with some friends at the park.

Saturday we went to the Ranch for a delicious lunch and the huge Ranch Easter Egg Hunt.  I have so many memories of the massive egg hunts with cousins at the ranch when I was a kid.  It was fun to see my boys experience it with their cousins.

There were eggs to find everywhere thanks to Uncle Dave and Uncle Brian for hiding all those eggs!

The kids had a blast going through all their loot.

Then they just played and played and played outside.  The ranch is such a fun place to play and having cousins to play with makes it even more fun!  They didn't even care when it started raining, they just kept on playing.

Easter Sunday was a beautiful day!  Brian gave a talk in Primary and did a great job.  He talked about the Sacrament and about the last days of Christ's life and the Resurrection.  Having him practice helped him and Timmy learn the Easter story even better.

Another thing that brought the Spirit of Easter into our home and and church was the song Gethsemane, by Melanie and Roger Hoffman.  The older primary girls sang it in Sacrament Meeting and then they helped me teach it to the rest of the Primary during Singing Time and we sang along with this video.  Brian and Timmy love this song and it was such a perfect way to end Primary on Easter.  (Thanks Emily for introducing it to me!)

After church we took a little rest and then the Hsiao family came over for a delicious Easter dinner, the highlight being Mark's amazing steak!

It was a bright sunny day making it fun to be outside.

Camping Misadventure

We headed out as a family to take our new Scamp trailer on it's maiden voyage a few weekends ago.  The plan was to go to the St. George area for two nights of camping, hiking, and General Conference listening.  Plans changed when my car broke down and we barely limped into Cedar City.

This was a picture from our happy rest stop on the way there, before we had any idea the car would not even make it to our destination.

When we made it to a mechanic shop in Cedar and told the kids that we may not be going to St. George after all, Brian broke down in huge sad sobs.  He just kept saying, "I wanted to to go to St. George to play in the sand."  I felt so bad for him.  So while Mark and the mechanic were driving my car around and checking it out to figure out the problem, I did my best to make a gravel parking lot as enticing as the sand in St. George.

Luckily for us, sand toys, bubbles, rocks and a little dirt tend to bring the happiness right out with Brian and Timmy.

 Also lucky for us, there was a KOA Campground directly across the street from the mechanic shop we made it to.  The car was able to slowly take us across the street to the campground even on a completely broken transmission.

We booked a night there next to empty RV's being stored for the winter, and I again turned my attentions to making this all seem like a super fun camping trip with the boys, while Mark tried to figure out what the best plan of action was for us next.  The campground had a nice playground for the kids which made staying there so much better.

They did like the playground and found a little patch of dirt by the tree to dig in.  The experience reconfirmed my thoughts that we are not a KOA type of camping family.  We definitely prefer solitude and a sandy place to stay over grass and amenities.  But, we were very grateful for that KOA on this day!

I am also grateful we got to try the Scamp trailer.  We love it!  I forgot to snap any pictures until we were packed up and ready to leave, but here is a picture of the bunk beds that easily turn into just a sitting bench.  Brian sleeps on the top and Timmy sleeps on the bottom.  Mark made a little rail to keep Brian from falling off in the middle of the night.  It all worked superbly well.  The boys love to hang a sheet over both beds, which make their beds seem like little caves.

In the middle is a stove, sink, refrigerator, heater and cabinets.  On the other side of the trailer is the dinette that turns into a lovely bed for Mark and me.  The trailer stayed warm and quiet all night.

Mark spent hours looking up and discussing many different options for the plan of action as well as calling towing companies, shops, etc.  Fixing the car in Cedar City was not a good option - too expensive and way too much time.  There was the option of just selling the car there for a little bit of money and Mark taking the shuttle home to get his car and then coming to pick up the rest of us and the trailer.  Finally we decided on getting a AAA membership to tow the car home and to avoid insanely expensive towing fees. We thought I would be staying with the kids in the KOA until Mark could get back down here a day later with his car to bring us and the Scamp home.  It wasn't until the next morning that we found out they could tow the car and fit all of us in the cab and pull the trailer at the same time.  So that is what we did.  The car went on the truck, the trailer hooked on to be towed behind and we all crammed into the tow truck cab for our 4 hour drive home.  The trailer only got to go 100 miles for free, so we dropped it at a rest stop, went the rest of the way home, and then Mark drove back down to pick it up with his car.

The kids actually thought it was the coolest thing in the world to ride in a tow truck.

They were so incredibly good and quiet the entire ride home.  They ate a few snacks, took a nice nap and watched a few shows on the tablet.  They were so quiet, the tow truck driver kept forgetting we were there in the back.

We made in home to watch General Conference, rest, and eat the leftover camping snacks, while Mark was driving to pick up the trailer.

Mark fixed the old car and is going to sell it, because we went and bought ourselves a newer Sienna.  This one has all-wheel drive and has significantly fewer miles on it and many more fabulous additions.  I love my new car!

Brian's Birthday Bash

Brian's birthday began with him helping to make his cake.  Then he decorated it almost all by himself.  I helped with the frosting and he did all the candy.  Brian said decorating his cake was one of his favorite birthday activities. Timmy was always close at hand to help eat the extra candy.

He asked for an airplane/helicopter themed birthday.

 Brian wanted to have his cousins over for a party, so all that could come obliged and we had the Evans cousins and Hsiao cousins that are in town come for a birthday lunch party.  Brian also requested his favorite meal in the world, so we ordered Panda Express Walnut Shrimp and Orange Chicken for everyone!

After filling up on Panda Express the kids headed outside for some backyard/zipline fun!  They had a blast!

They would cram as many cousins as they could on that thing.

And then they would usually lose someone on the way down. Luckily no one was really hurt.

After lots of fun in the yard we went in for the birthday song, presents and cake!

We had so many family members there to celebrate Brian's sixth birthday.  He is one blessed boy and we are so grateful for all those who love him so much!

He loved opening presents and he keeps them all in a special place in his room.

Brian told me it was the best day ever!

Happy Sixth Birthday Kiddo!

Brian - Age 6

My baby boy Brian has turned six years old!  I cannot believe it!  He's six, and getting so big, and he's already lost one of his front top teeth, and where did the time go?  It feels like he got so old this last year.  He has done a lot of growing and changing.  Oh how I love this boy!

I love being around Brian.  He is easy to talk to and he always has interesting questions and insights.  Most of the time he has a great attitude about everything.

He has been loving Kindergarten.  He is always happy to go to school.  He loves seeing his friends and I think he loves the structure at school.   He seems to thrive on the routine of it all.  He is starting to get the reading down and enjoys math and art the most.

Brian is currently taking piano lessons and gymnastics.  He is doing well with both.  He loves being in the boys class at the gym.  He says he is so strong and so fast.

At home Brian enjoys putting together Lego kits, playing outside and playing with Timmy.  Those boys get pretty wild sometimes. He has gotten really good on his bike and can ride for a long time without getting tired.

Brian is almost 44 inches tall and he weighs 36.5 pounds.  He is still in the 25% for height and 5% for weight.  I feel like he is growing like a weed!

He has lost 3 teeth on the bottom, but only two have grown in.  Brian has a small mouth like me.  I don't know how all those new teeth are going to fit in that mouth of his.  He lost one of his top teeth a few days after his birthday and the remaining front top is loose and has now moved over almost into the middle of the gap.  It is amazing how fast his smile has changed! He certainly is growing up.

Birthday Interview

Favorite color:  green

Favorite Food:  walnut shrimp from Panda Express

Favorite toy:  Legos

Favorite thing to do:  play with Timmy

Favorite animal:  panda

Friends:  Cousins, Marley, Soren, William, Zander from school

Favorite book:  loves all books

Favorite TV show:  PAW Patrol

Favorite Thing to do with Mommy:  do the dishes

Favorite thing to do with Daddy:  wrestle

Favorite Primary Song:  He Sent His Son

Favorite Holiday:  Christmas

Something he likes to do with Timmy:  play animals

Something he wants to do as a 6 year old:  to run faster

Favorite gymnastics activity:  trampoline

March 2014

I cannot remember everything that happened in March, but I want to record the things I do remember before I forget those too.

The first day of March brought my nephew Jordan's baptism.  We love seeing nieces and nephews baptized! Not to mention the delicious food and fun that happen afterward.  Brian is starting to think about his own baptism in 2 more years.  His cousins have been such great examples.  Good work Jordan!

A few days later we got together with the Hsiao family to celebrate a niece's 4th birthday!  We have missed the Hsiao parents so much since then.  They've been on a six week trip to China and Taiwan.

During March we spent time in the backyard!  While the boys played, we raked and cleaned and filled a huge trailer full of pine needles, branches and leaves to haul away to the dump.  The boys love the zipline as much as ever!

We also put new sand in the sandbox, which the kids still enjoy when they aren't digging holes in their "construction site".  Because Brian was wearing a brown shirt, he really thought he was so camouflaged that no one could see him when he got in the hole.  I didn't have the heart to tell him he was still very visible.

I took the boys to Brian's school fundraiser where we bought his piece of art that was for sale.  His favorite part of school is Meet The Masters, where they learn about an artist and produce their own piece of work after the artist's style.

 We had a great trip to the Hogle Zoo.  We hope to get back really soon with our new zoo passes!

 This was a month of birthday parties for us.  My niece Ellie turned 1 and Mandy and Big Brian threw a celebration for her!  My kids loved the party and playing outside with their cousins.

They had so much fun they were totally worn out by the time we got home.  Brian couldn't even get his party hat off his face before he fell asleep in the car.

Towards the end of March, Mark participated in a multi-business ping pong tournament.  And you guessed it, he won!  It was actually a really big deal.  It went for two days and there were lots of companies and people that participated.  He represented his company well and brought home the title.  I love this guy!  He is so good at so many things!  Check out that championship belt!

March ended with the beginning of Spring Break, a BBQ with some neighbors, Brian's birthday and the purchase of this beauty!

Mark sold the motorhome for a profit and drove to Montana to bring home this Scamp fiberglass trailer.  It is light enough to be towed by almost anything and sleeps all four of us!  I love love love it!  More on our Scamp adventures to come.