April

It was time to put the Easter eggs away one afternoon, so Taylor, Rylee & I sat on the kitchen floor and opened all the eggs and put the candy in a bowl and the eggs in a bag for next year.  When we were all finished Rylee gave me a huge hug.  Taylor said, "I like hugs from my dad"  Rylee said, "I just love hugs from both of my grown ups."  How adorable is that?!

Taylor said to me the other day, "When I grow up I want to be a mom that drives, cooks and plays the piano."  She is my little mini me.  Rylee piped up, "I don't want to be a mom!"  I asked her why not and she replied, "BECAUSE!!  I don't ever want to be pregnant!"

All of the girls got garden gloves in their Easter baskets.  Rylee is beyond excited to use hers!

Caleb made a cute Easter basket at school.  He looks like such a BOY in this picture!

His school work is one of my very favorite things.

I know it wasn't nice...but I played a little trick on the kids for April Fool's day.  They didn't like it.

 For Spring Break my mom had a room in St. George that no one was able to use - so we were going to pack up and head for some sunshine for a couple of days.  We didn't' have anything big planned...pool time, Children's museum, splash pad - just wanted to get a way for a minute.  I got everyone packed, alarm set for 5 AM and around 1 am I started throwing up.  1:30, Caleb started throwing up.  At one point he was barely able to finish and I would start again.  2:30, Taylor was throwing up.  Needless to say - we didn't go to St. George.  Eventually Luke threw up once, and a couple of days later Casey had it bad. 

 WalMart got new carts.  They are fantastic.  Simple pleasures :)

Guess what got thrown in the garbage after this moment?  Can you guess?  It wasn't the two year olds.

One afternoon a handy man showed up.  Cutest one that I have EVER seen!

We splurged!  I have been saving like a mad woman for quite a while to get a new fridge.  Well - I changed my mind and we got a table that we can all fit at instead.  A new table meant new paint also.  (makes sense to me!)  We went from sage green to a pretty blue!  It's nice to all eat together.  I didn't realize what we were missing I guess.  It always nice to make a bigger purchase with no guilt.  Debt is so scary!

One Sunday afternoon (after a week of everyone puking) I took the kids to the Ogden river walkway.  We needed fresh air.  This picture just captures all of their personalities.  And yes - Luke is crying because I wouldn't' let him come stand by me.

The view from behind is pretty adorable.

You didn't think I would do a monthly post without sleeping little pictures did you?

These 2 are big enough for cereal.  And they love it.  Lexi asks for cereal every single morning.  She's one smart cookie.  She drinks it all down.

I have some good kids.  We put food in front of these two and they both want to dig in, but Casey tells them to wait for the prayer.  And 99% of the time they wait.  And then they close their eyes so tight for the prayer.  I don't shut my eyes when we pray anymore because I just want to look at them instead.

These 2 also hide when it is time for bedtime.  Partners in crime for sure.

Blake was watching movies with Caleb one night while I was a bunco and I came home to this note on the counter.

These ladies got to go see some calves on a field trip for pre-school!

My Caleb Bo Baleb brought me some lilacs one day after school.  He didn't break the branch - he found it on the sidewalk like this.  I love that it isn't' one little stick with lilacs at the end, but the whole freaking branch.  Go big or go home right?

Babies in a box.  They are still babies, right?

Farm Animal Days

What is almost cuter than my kids?  Baby animals :)  (except for baby bison- they are NOT cute)  We headed to Wellsville one afternoon to give the kids a small glimpse of the cuteness which is baby farm animals.  Luke was the spitting image of Caleb at age 2.  Scared to touch anything.  Adorable - but totally afraid.  As you can see, Lexi wasn't very excited when I tried to help her hold a duck either.

Kids + fences.  Adorableness.  Where is Caleb?  Sitting in the wagon that we brought for the 2 year olds.

I think baby goats are adorable.  But mama goats are hideous.  Lex was brave with the goats and got close enough to touch a horn.

Peacocks!!!  Heavenly Father was having a great moment when he invented this awesome creature.

Luke thought that the baby chicks were so cute.  But he wouldn't get much closer than this.  Look at his little smile!  On a totally unrelated note - I love the ladies shoes in the background of this picture.

Caleb, Taylor, Rylee & Lexi got to ride the ponies.  I helped Lex onto her horse and she said, "Giddy up!  I wanna be a cowgirl!"  Luke would shriek with fear every time I walked towards the horses with him - so it was probably a good call to let him sit this one out.  The helmets?  It took every ounce of my restraint to not be completely grossed out by how many heads they have touched.  I'll be carrying my own fork to restaurants before we know it.

Train time!!  It was out of order when we first got there, but they got it fixed up.  Luke's favorite part of the day for sure.

~Supermodel Documentary Hour~

My neighbor works for a trampoline company.  One fall day last year they needed kids, ages 2-5, for some photos for their products.  So - naturally...who do you think she called?  I must have misunderstood her - I swear she said they would be compensated - so I was thinking a free trampoline or something.  But - they each got a box of cracker jacks and a toy from the dollar store. 

 

I was expecting some elaborate outdoor shoot with a professional photographer - but it was in one of their employee's houses, with another employee who had a nice camera.  WAY more low key than I was thinking.  I had my mom come up to help and everything!

 

One night while I was trying to stay awake at work I went to several different websites looking for Skywalker Trampolines seeing if any of my kids were pictured.  I found my little Luke!!

Then I found a couple of miss Taylor....

And then I found 1 of my Rylee Roo.

I couldn't find any of my Lex though!  How could they leave out my baby?!?!  No one puts baby in the corner.  Nobody!

March

Taylor & Rylee got to go on an adventure!  My dad had some twin calves in the corrals and my mom wanted my twins to see the calf twins.  They had so much fun! I guess Rylee was a pro at helping my dad with ear tags.  When my dad feeds, he just puts the truck into gear, opens up his door and swings himself onto the back of the truck to cut the twine.  I guess when he made this move Taylor & Rylee FREAKED out!  My mom was still in the truck with them but they were very concerned.  "This isn't a very good idea!"  When the day was done, they didn't want to leave.  When my mom said it was time to go they said, "Well, what if you take our picture over here.  And what if we got over there & you take our picture over there?"  Future models - for sure!

These girls made cute little leprechaun masks for St Patty's day!  Luke & Alexa looked pretty adorable in them as well.

Trying to stay entertained!  Is it summer yet?!?!

Caleb has started playing soccer this spring and while he is at practice I try to get some walking in and the girls ride their scooters or bikes on the sidewalk.  How adorable are these kids?!?  I grabbed my sunglasses when we were walking out the door, so Lex had to have hers and to make things easier, I just grabbed Luke a pair as well. 

Caleb is into dinosaurs, Batman and Superman lately.  He loves to 'help' decorate.

 The girls helped me put some ingredients into the bread maker one afternoon.  They were so proud of themselves.
Little Miss wants to be a big girl so badly.  This picture she kind of looks like one.  I hate it!

This picture is 100% staged.  Luke has a love for trains.  If you remember, Caleb also loved trains.  BUT - let the panic attacks commence if the train doesn't stay connected to it's cars...or the track breaks...or your baby brother comes to play.  I made Caleb fake the smile for my sake...then he went and found something else to do until Luke took a nap.

Dr Suess week was a hit at preschool!

Just some coloring one evening.  Alexa found the BEST table to use!

Caleb successfully pulled out one of his teeth!  His first tooth fell out while eating a cinnamon roll, the next 2 Casey just couldn't keep his hands away.  This one was all his - he was so proud of himself!!

Brad got a new truck!  It is so nice!  Luke & Lex got to test out the back of it.

Crazy hair day AND pajama day at school!

These two have really started to interact and play with each other.  It's pretty dang cute.

Easter Sunday

We actually made it to Sacrament meeting!  It rarely ever happens.  BUT - the choir was singing and the senior primary got to join in and I didn't want Caleb to miss that opportunity.  They sang "I Wonder When He Comes Again"  It was beautiful!!  I tried to get a quick picture before church.....

...then I tried again after church...

....then I tried again at home.  Truth be told.  I love every single picture.

The Easter bunny came with some surprises while we were gone.  Rylee found her basket first and was so excited!!  Taylor found hers shortly after that.

Alexa loves everything. 

Luke LOVES candy!  He didn't care about the fun stuff in his basket - he just wanted to know what was inside those eggs!  Caleb had a hard time finding his basket.  It was resting on top of the shower head in the bathroom.  Silly rabbit!  He got an awesome bazooka - and now he wants to join the army :(