Sunday, May 6, 2018

April 2018

Another fun month has come and gone!  We have done a lot of fun things and are excited about the warmer weather we've been having. 

Our good friends the Gertchs' will be moving this next month - sad! But my kids are loving any and all the time they get to spend with their friends. 
 The kids were out of school the first 2 weeks of April so we played some late night volleyball at the church a few times. Good thing the kids behaved and let us play - Griffin even fell asleep.
 Cooking class date night with Ryan -so fun to learn new recipes and make them together.
 A lady in the ward buys bunnies and baby ducks each Easter so we went over to them one morning before church. The kids were in heaven!

 Griffin loves to help me cook/bake in the kitchen. He especially likes to help taste test the result.
 Jaxson is loving to build with legos lately - he is so creative and we love his imagination!
 The kids have loved spending time at the Children's Museum - we bought a year pass month and they are excited to go many more times this year. Avery & Griffin in a giant bubble.
 In the recyling/building area.
 Painting in the carft area.
 Making cereal necklaces before church
 At the children's museum with Daddy while I play in a volleyball tournament.
 Avery had her first forgery this month. I  think the star will give her away though! Love her innocence - she had no idea what she was doing wasn't ok.
 My main 3 year old squeeze
 We had a weekend with lots of wet snow that dissappered fast, but not before we went out and played in it a bit. Griffin's favorite part is eating it.
 Snow angel by Avery.
This girl can't wait until she is old enough to wear Mommy's red shoes 
 We had a spontaneous trip to San Diego this month. I found really cheap tickets and then 1.5 weeks later we went! The first day we enjoyed exploring around La Jolla & Newport Beach. The kids favorite thing was loved in the sand and looking for shells.








 Early morning flight = everyone naps in the car.



 Ryan was a popular man with the seagulls.

 The second day we did Disney!! At the beginning of the school year I promised Avery a trip to Disneyland if she behaved well all year. I figured she wouln't make it because she had many days in preschool with poor behavior. Well she proved me wrong (yay!!) and has been doing awesome in Kinder this year - so to Disney we went!

We found storm troopers in tomorrowland.
 We shoot a lot of aliens on the buzz lightyear ride. I think Ryan definitely proved his dominance in shooting accuracy that day.
 Mickey shaped beignets in the New Orleans area.
 Getting ready to ride thunder mountain. Griffin was just barely 40" which worked out perfect because he rode all the rides (except for 2 he was too short for) with us and wasn't scared. He did amazing!! We also didn't need a stroller, got the max fast pass thing ... made for an amazing day of us riding almost 20 rides and loving it!!
 Standing in line to ride the rocket ship.
 Avery got to drive her own car. Lets just say she isn't ready to be on the roads alone. We also discovered Jaxson might never be good enough to own a drivers licence ... wowee!!
 After riding space mountain, Avery & Jaxson declared it their favorite ride.
 I, however, declare splash mountain as my favorite - especially when it is really hot outside.
 Love this family of mine!
 Playing around in Mickey's toon town

 On the river boat
 This was our only princess experience for the day and Avery loved it.

 Griffin's favorite ride - It's a small world! Definitly a nice relaxing ride :)
 Loved our full day at Disney - it was magical for us all!
This is how you sleep after a full day at Disney. Like a boss. 
The kids had a lot of fun popping huge bubbles at a park while we waited on our delayed flight.  It was a fun trip that I would do again in a heartbeat! 

Sunday, April 8, 2018

March 2018

March is always one of our favorite months because we have 3 birthdays to celebrate! This month was a fun one - lots of treats, going out to eat, fun activities, Easter, etc. 

Avery & me before sacrament meeting one Sunday. 
And Griffy all dressed up and handsome for church. 
 I turned 31 this month so I decided to make my own cake - chocolate chip oatmeal cake with cinnamon peanut butter frosting - yum!
It was a lovely birthday and I definitely felt the love from family and friends!
The weekend of my birthday week we headed down to Colorado Springs to eat at tucanos. We stopped at this really cool park in Castle Rock on the way first. We climbed up these stairs and the view was so pretty - we'll need to come back up here when it is nice and green outside! 
 Love that Jaxson is old enough to take photos now and he usually can get a good one too.
 This is how everynight looks at our house - wrestling and tackling Daddy. Every. Night. The kids love it.
 I was able to slip away for another quick girls trip - this time with my girls from Colorado. We stayed in a cabin in the moutains and it was heavenly. Love these ladies!
 Ryan turned 34 this month. No cake for him, he prefers pie - Happy birthday Hunny!
 He is the fun parent, everyone's hero, and he let the kids blow out his candles - best daddy around!
 AND... he destroyed us in bowling.

 Avery Jo turned 6 this month -- We sure love her spunk & sweet spririt! She started out her day as requested -- cereal with sprinkles & a bit of ice cream.


 She opened 5 new cupcake dolls to add to her collection - she was one happy girl!
 Avery had a birthday party with 3 of her church friends. They had pizza & donuts, played pin the horn on the unicorn, and then enjoyed carnival rides at lolipop park. Avery loved it!!




 We enjoyed a couple quick trips to the zoo this month before our membership expired. Seeing the polar bear up close was so cool!
 The peacocks walk all around the zoo here.
 Feeding the lorakeets - Avery loved it except for when the red bird tried to bite her. Griffin loved getting handed the lorakeet food and immediately drinking it ... thinking it was like a sample at costco. Oops!
The Brinkerhoff family came to visit us the last week of the month. We all had a blast playing with cousins and doing all sorts of fun activities. This is everyone all smiles after the easter egg hunt. 
 Dying Easter eggs
 Easter bunny crafts

 Shopping trip to target
 A quick stop at the park before heading to...
 GREAT WOLF LODGE!!! The kids had so much fun - swimming 10+ hours over 2 days.


 This boy loved the blue slide - he probably went on it 70 times.

 Bright eyed and ready for another day of swimming.
 Playing dress up. We loved our cousin time!!
 The saturday before Easter we went to the neighborhood Easter Egg hunt. These kids were ready!

 Making edible bunny crafts. The kids really enjoyed making & eating that one.
 Easter morning - the Easter bunny found us! The kids were super excited to find their baskets filled with goodies & toys.


Easter Sunday was also General Conference. It was so nice to listen to our Prophet and the other leaders of our church - I know this church is true! I know that Jesus is the Christ. He is my Savior. He came to earth to show us how to live and then he atoned for my sins so that I can be resurrected & forgiven of my sins when I repent. That gift is the most amazing I can imagine. I am so grateful to him and my Heavely Father for this plan of happiness that shows us mercy when we mess up. Because of him, I can live with my family forever! The best promised Easter gift!