This Easter the boys LOVED dying eggs, hiding eggs and eating eggs!
Jared is the creative one who gets in there and does the fancy stuff with the kids....


We met the Easter bunny (and his wife??) on our quick trip to the grocery store between Conference sessions! Sadly, Michael was not a fan- but here's Jordan and Tessa..

29 years- Surprise!

Here are a few photos of the surprise birthday celebration we had for Jared. It was really nice to have some of his associations there from school and Church. We have learned a lot from this group and when we don't have family nearby we can rely on them.

Little boy heaven

The boys went on the Father/Sons campout a few weeks ago. When they came in the door, I stripped off their clothes and immediately filled the bathtub. They were very happy and very dirty!


We also got to go to a cookout at Jared's Great Aunt's house a few weeks ago. The boys real love definitely involves building the fire and poking things in it....

Last week over Jared's Easter Break (actually on his birthday!) we took a quick overnight trip to a nearby state park. I got to enjoy the camping fun and dirt with them this time.

After we got set up and explored for a bit, Jared started the fire for dinner. Jordan was adding lots of exclamation marks to his sentences and using words like "fantastic!" We had some very happy boys!


Tessa enjoyed the fun too!


Early morning hot cocoa :) It was a cold night!



a tortoise in her nest

When Irishs Eyes Are Smiling

Susie and Teresa trained me to do photo shoots (all it takes is a holiday or a cute outfit, and of course an adorable girl...).
-Lots of fun!!!
Thank goodness the little ones usually cooperate!

For the holiday we enjoyed some corned beef, red potatoes and cabbage and a Saturday parade... Our city is pretty good at having parades for nearly every holiday. --The boys will be disappointed someday to learn that not all parades throw candy.

Family Photo and Family Thoughts

Michael told me today that his favorite place is the temple. I never thought of it before, but I have to agree with him completely!
After our last visit to the temple, I decided that since I don't get to be there often enough- I need to try to make our home more like the temple. To me this means: raising my standard of cleanliness (Yes mom, "Cleanliness is next to Godliness"); simplifying/getting rid of needless junk; and including more uplifting and beautiful things in our days.
This thought has been really motivating for me every day, because I can recall the perfect peace and perspective I had when I was just in the temple.
On a side note about Jordan-- The other day after our temple trip we were in the car taking Michael to school. I told the boys about my goal and asked them for ideas. They understood pretty well and wanted to help. When we said goodbye to Michael and started home Jordan said, "Can we keep talking about Jesus, mom?" I am thrilled that he is getting more sensitive to the spirit too and he is even able to sit and listen for a few minutes during family scripture time!

So here's the family photo from the Sea World half of our temple trip:
(I was wearing glasses and still recovering from a wonderful bit of pink eye...)

We made it to the Everglades

Here are some photos of Everglades National Park:
It's a little over an hour from our home. And it is the largest National Park in the U.S.. --(probably because it's full of swamps and it's not useful for much except providing an amazing habitat for thousands of species....)
I have to thank my dad for making National and State Parks part of our family vacations growing up. Those trips always seemed to include lots of driving and walking and peace and quiet. But they brought us an appreciation and awareness of the world around us.

p.s. Of course our camera doesn't do justice to the sights we saw in our corner of the park- but you can imagine.































It is always so much more fun to go places when Jared is with us. He is a fun Dad and a great husband! We really enjoyed our time with him last week when he was off of school for spring break!