Easter

Easter was great this year. The night before Easter we dyed Easter eggs...the kids loved it. Then we sent them to bed so the Easter bunny could come. Easter morning the kids played with their loot from the Easter bunny and then we went to church (where just about everyone was hopped up on sugar...primary was interesting). After church we went to my parent's ward for Matthew's Priesthood ordination and then back to my parents for dinner. After dinner we went to Coulter's family's house for an Easter egg hunt and to visit....Then we went back to my parent's house to celebrate Robby's birthday. Happy Birthday Robby! So it was a busy day but we had a lot of fun. We hope everyone had a great Easter too...

Baby Animal Days...

The American West Heritage Center had their Baby Animal Days this week so I took the kids on Thursday...Matthew and Kaitlin tagged along as well. It rained all morning before we got there so everything was pretty muddy but we still had fun. There were a lot of animals for the kids to see and they also got to go on a pony ride. Rylie's favorite thing was playing with puppies that they had for sale. She was so cute with them that I was slightly tempted to buy one...unfortunately for the kids Coulter and I still can't commit to an actual pet so I bought Ethan and Rylie some water frogs. That will have to do for now...

Kaitlin wanted to go on a pony ride with all of the little kids so they put her on the "big one" as the volunteers called it. It was pretty funny. What a hot helmet!

Ethan was holding on for dear life...

Rylie had a blast and wanted to go again...

Of course Ethan's favorite part was holding the snake.

Look at cool aunt Kaitlin playing with the snake. Every power to her...You wouldn't catch me touching those dirty things...

They had the cutest little turtles. Rylie and Ethan loved holding them.

There was a little bug exhibit where Ethan got to hold a cockroach and a centipede.

Easter Party...

Yesterday my friend Marge had a little Easter party for the kids. It was fun to get together and the kids had a blast. Marge had cupcakes for the kids to decorate, eggs to dye and paper mache eggs they painted (in a cool way with a parachute sheet and paint). After all the crafts the kids had an Easter egg hunt. They all loved this, it was fun watching them. Thanks Marge for everything, it was great!

Ethan and his cupcake

Ethan and Shaylee painting the eggs outside

Rylie helping as well...

Lilly, Averi, Shaylee, Rylie and Ethan

Rylie looking for eggs

The kids with their treasures after the hunt...

Ethan eating his treats

After all of the activities the kids played outside because the weather was so nice (finally). They were all playing good together. I love that my kids are friends with my friends kids...

Happy Birthday Matthew!

My little brother, Matthew, turned 12 yesterday! We went over to my parent's house to have dinner, watch Matt open presents and have cake. The siblings got Matt a guitar so he might start taking lessons...Thanks for sharing your day with us. We hope you had a great birthday...We love you Matt!

Happy Birthday Kaitlin!

My little sister, Kaitlin, turned 18 yesterday! Crazy I know...I still remember her being Rylie's age and being just as moody...Well now she is an adult and apparently she can now buy spray paint and dry ice. Being an adult rocks! We love you Kaitlin! Thanks for being a great sister and aunt...

Here is Ethan pouting because it is not his birthday yet and doesn't quite understand when June will come...His mood quickly changed when he saw the chocolate cake...

When will Rylie grow out of eating cake like this? She got cake in places I didn't think were possible...

Cheap fun...maybe

You might want to sit down before you read this post because we have been up to some pretty freaking exciting stuff...so exciting you may not be able to contain yourself...

We chased some ducks at the park...

Ethan practiced some of his mad skills at the park...

Rylie and I took a swing in the "chubby kid" swing. There is one swing at Riverdale park that is bigger than the other 7=chubby kid swing...

We hung out with some fake bears...

Coulter and I finished our puzzle (no laughing, I know we are exciting people)

We got together with friends. Okay, this one was actually fun. We went over to my friends house to have dinner and go swimming. It was fun to see my friends Denise, Marge, Katie and their families...

This is a little shout out for our great husbands. The dads got in the pool with the kids and let us ladies sit around and talk.
*This is Averi and dad, Jason (they belong to Katie)

Rylie and Lilly (Marge's)

We have been watching ants be ants...Here is Ethan with his ant farm that he LOVES! The ants came in the mail (don't ask) on March 9 and they have been entertaining our little boy ever since...

Who needs a puppy when you have 25 of these bad boys?

We have also been growing grass in a cup (hooray for preschool).

Well maybe our life isn't exciting in the least but we are alive and have a pretty good time most days...

Happy Birthday Rylie!

Rylie turned 3 on Monday (March 9). She pretty much had the best day ever...What does every 3 girl want for her birthday?
-14 hours of sleep the night before?
-Balloons, presents and pancakes when she woke up?
-Playing at Chuck-e-cheeses?
-Favorite food for lunch?
-Got to watch her favorite movie?
-Chocolate dinosaur cake?
-Family over that night to play and open more presents?
That's right...she got it all. It really was a fun day and for the most part she was in a really good mood (those who know our moody little girl know what I am talking about). Happy Birthday Rylie, we love you!

I asked her a couple questions on her special day and these are the responses:

What is your color? orange
What is your favorite animal? horse
What is your favorite food? orange
Who is your best friend? (Ethan whispered his name to her) Ethan
How old are you? 3
What is your favorite toy? Jasmine
What is your favorite movie? Jasmine
Do you love mommy? I love you too much:)

Rylie at Chuck-e-cheeses

Rylie opening presents

Rylie said that she wanted a princess party and a dinosaur cake for her birthday...That's what she got. I was pretty excited on how her cake turned out, I didn't know if I could make one. Rylie was freaking out when she saw it...

Rylie playing with her new dress up clothes. Rylie loved all of her presents!

California 2009...

Last week we headed down to sunny California to go to Disneyland. I was so excited, I felt like a little kid. The kids loved Disneyland! Ethan was tall enough to go on almost all of the rides and he took full advantage of it. Coulter and I thought that he would be scared of the roller coasters but he loved them. His favorite ride was Big Thunder Railroad (that's mine too) and he really liked Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Ethan got cotton candy within the first few hours as promised so he was basically in heaven...Rylie enjoyed herself too. Rylie loved the teacups and the carousel. She wasn't tall enough to go on the roller coasters but there was still plenty for her to do. There was a roller coaster in Toon Town that she could go on and she loved how fast it was...we went on this a few times.

This was the first time any of us have been to California Adventures and we were impressed. There was a bunch of stuff for the kids to do and a lot of stuff that we look forward to doing when the kids are a little older. Coulter and I just loved being there. Disneyland is a fun place to be, the kids loved it and it was really nice to all be together...

After 2 days at Disneyland we headed down to San Diego to go to Sea World and the San Diego Zoo. Sea World was pretty good...expensive, but the kids enjoyed it. Ethan's favorite thing was touching the string rays. Rylie liked touching them too. She would squeal and say how slimy they were each time she touched them. Seeing Shamu was great, Rylie fell asleep right before the show but the rest of us got to see it. Rylie enjoyed chasing the birds at Sea World the most. I guess 2 year olds don't appreciate Sea World like they should...

After Sea World we met my Aunt Kimberley and Uncle Farrell at one of my favorite restuarants in San Diego, La Pinata, and had dinner. It was so good...it brought back a lot of memories...That night we stayed at Farrell and Kimberley's house. It was fun to catch up and see them.

The next day we went to the San Diego Zoo. What a zoo...it puts the Hogle to shame. Rylie loved chasing the birds again and was intrigued by the meerkats. Ethan loved the reptile house and a bug exhibit they had. After the zoo we stopped by the beach so the kids could see the ocean. They were both freaking out! Coulter and I had fun watching them. We rolled up their pants so they could put their feet in the water. This went well for awhile until Ethan fell over and then before we knew it they were both covered with water and sand...I miss having the beach so close...

Well the vacation was great. I can't wait to go back...

Disneyland and San Diego...