Happy Easter

We've had a full Easter weekend this season. It started off with Megan bring home her class project of her own little bunny basket. It kind of got both kids all excited for the events to come.

Then on Saturday we head out to Ken and MarGene's and got a surprise invite to a community Easter Egg Hunt. It was a bit rainy but the kids hardly noticed once the hunt began. I'd say there were around 125 kids or so all scrambling around to find little Easter egg treasures. It was great fun. The kids each got to take 12 eggs home and loved it. There was even an Easter Bunny out to visit the site. We didn't get a chance to sit with him as he was swarmed with children and neither kids would want to wait in line. It was still a great event.

After that hunt we headed back to Ken and MarGene's house for another Easter egg hunt by Grandma and Papa.

That was equally as fun as the one before it and much less crowded. I think they both enjoyed the hunt the most and of course getting to eat the rewards. It is always fun to hunt Easter eggs with candy and toys.

A huge thank you to Ken and MarGene for the two Easter Egg hunts. The kids really had a ton of fun. Megan said she had an awesome time and loved it. While we were there we also got a little babysitting so Jeff and I could go out for his belated birthday dinner and a movie. We really appreciate it. We rarely get to get out just the two of us so it was really nice for us.

For Easter morning Jeff made the kids bunny and egg shaped pancakes. Then they headed for a quick bath to wash off all the sticky before the family Easter experience began. It all happened sort of differently then I had planned but worked out for us. While the kids bathed we got everything ready for them. Fresh out of the bath the kids then went on their third Easter egg hunt and had just as much fun as the first time. Then they went on the treasure hunt that Jeff planned out searching for clues to find their baskets. Megan really loved this part. It was truly the thrill of the hunt for her. Andrew just tagged along and smiled the whole time.

The kids are currently checking out their baskets and having a fun morning. In a bit we will begin to get ready for church. It will be nice to go get the spiritual side of Easter and for the kids to learn the true meaning. I think it is the perfect way to end our Easter weekend. I think this is the first time that we've actually done so much so it will be nice to slow things down a little. A big Happy Easter to all our family and friends!!

Parades are fun and free!!

During half time of conference we got a chance to get out and head to the daffodil parade in town. This is the first time we've gone to it so we weren't really sure what to expect. The kids were just excited to have the sun shining and to get outside. As we waited for the parade to begin Andrew decided he was going to be the parade and danced around in the street :} He was a one man show for all.

The whole parade experience wouldn't be complete without some cotton candy treats which we all enjoyed. Not so much Andrew as the texture was a bit weird for him so he got some M&M's I happen to have in my bag. Gotta love the sugar rush for the kids. It helped get them settle in their seats for the big event.

Once the parade got going it captured both kids attention. They loved checking out the bands and floats. Andrew loved to say "Hi" to just about everyone that passes. Megan loved telling me what she wanted me to take a picture of. Basically all the "pretty" floats were a must for her.

I think the big favorite was the pirate ship. It blasted out a cannon and a pirate came up and gave each of the kids a silver pirate coin. They loved it and had the biggest grins on their faces. Andrew wasn't even interested in what was coming next as he watched the pirate ship disappear down the street.

There were tons of school bands playing groovy songs, there were nice floats, clowns, pirates, classic cars, horses, and more. The kids enjoyed themselves and it was a good little outing for the family. It is fun to just be together.

Happy Birthday Jeff!!

A big Happy Birthday to Jeff!! He had to work a half day but got to come home to spend some time with the family. We took him out to Red Robin for a nice lunch which went well considering we had both kids with us.

Now we are all stuffed and the kids are entertaining Jeff by playing the wii. Jeff requested no cake as he is trying to be better about eating healthy so family time will just have to be good enough. Sorry no pictures of candles being blown out.

Jeff has a work potluck tomorrow which he has organized so after the playing he'll be in the kitchen cooking up some yummy appetizers to share. He loves to organize these little events at work and they just gave him a "promotion" as the "events coordinator." He has a lot of fun getting these little potlucks together. I'd say they do something about once a quarter or more. I think he missed his calling in life.

As for what presents you get for the old man. He has requested tickets to a Denver Bronco game. He found out they will be playing in the preseason against Seattle. There is no date just yet so we haven't gotten the tickets yet but as soon as he's got the info those tickets are his. He is very excited to go and plans on going with the "guys."

As the economy is starting to really suck and beginning to catch up with us this birthday is a little low key. I really think as the years go by birthdays kind of become just another day. We did try to make Jeff feel special on his big day.

Happy Birthday!!

A little of this and that

The update on Jeff is that he has recovered nicely from his teeth pulling. He has actually done so well it is almost like he never had it done. Of course he has been on his medication to help with the recovery so he has been able to manage very nicely. He has also shown his stubborn streak a bit in not wanting any help except for that first day. It has kind of been nice to get the whole thing behind us.

Today we took our first step towards Andrew's future in school. I had a meeting with the school counselor who opened another file and has gotten the ball rolling to re-evaluate him. He'll spend some time going through more testing to determine if he is kindergarten ready. I expressed my concerns in the meeting and was told around the end of April or beginning of May we will meet again to discuss the results and what my options will be. She sent me home with one survey and told me she'd be sending more home this week. I'm a bit nervous about this whole issue so I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

When I got home from the meeting I was going through my usual routine and cleaning up when I looked at the counter and saw my bananas were turning brown. This prompted me to make banana bread. I love banana bread and so does Meg so I thought it might be a fun thing to make. Andrew has become my little helper lately. As I get stuff done he is always close at hand to see if there is something he can do to help. He loves taking out the recycling bin and anything cooking related. He helped me make the banana bread today and was very happy.

After the banana bread was in the oven I was picking up stuff and found a note taped to Megan's door.

It says "I am not here I went to the store to buy my kids food please come back later" I think she may have been playing house and left it up. I love to see how grown up she is getting and the stuff that she thinks of. The things her seven year old mind thinks up just make me smile. My family sure does make life fun sometimes. What would I do without them??

No More Wisdom

Today Jeff got five teeth removed. All four wisdom teeth and a bonus tooth that had been having lots of problems. Boy was it fun times. We were up early and thanks to MarGene staying with the kids I was able to go and be there if needed. It took about an hour and there were no problems. Things went well and we were sent home with four different prescriptions to help manage the recovery. Jeff got a chocolate milk shake for lunch and I sent him off to bed to relax. I thought he'd take a nap but of course he didn't. The numbness has worn off and he can feel some of the pain but nothing bad. I'm glad he is a good patient. At least after this he won't have to worry about those darn teeth again.

Thank You CTR ring

So most people know that getting through 3 hours of church on Sunday is pretty much mission impossible with Andrew. We do okay getting through sacrament meeting and then we go down hill from there. It has been a battle ever since we entered the primary program. We often end up taking 2 cars to church where after the 1st hour I take Andrew home.

This Sunday I got to have some help from Jeff and we actually made it through all 3 hours for the first time in about a year and a half!! We've been giving it a try slowly to re-enter primary and stick it out for longer. I've gotten him to stay successfully for opening exercises of primary but no way to lesson time. Today during the lesson Jeff was such a big help in getting Andrew to stick around. Sometimes Dads just have the extra touch. Andrew learned about baptism and Choosing the right. At the end of the lesson each student got a CTR ring and he was so excited. Now he was no angel and was often times out of his seat but the teachers were really patient and just ignored him.

Let's hope that some of lesson was soaked up by him. Not to sure how much he got but at least we were present. Cross your fingers and say a little prayer for us for next Sunday.

Meg's 1st Grade Spring Concert

Megan had her 1st Grade Spring Concert at school last night. She was extremely excited and couldn't wait to perform. Her assignment was to wear something red or orange. They were having a little rainbow theme going and each class was assigned different colors to wear.

They sang eight songs and Megan even had a little solo in one of them. I thought she was pretty dang cute and we had a lot of fun. Of course you'd expect her Mom to say that but she was the only one with a pretty "Auntie Laurie" flower in her hair!! She was truly a spring flower.

We even got Andrew to come in and sit down for the whole thing. At first it was a rough start and Jeff took him straight out to play but as the concert got started he joined me in the seats and he watched all 8 songs. At the end of each one he'd clap and said "Yea Megan!! Yea Megan! It was equally as cute.

Here are 2 short video clips of the evening. I didn't video the whole song as I thought that would be too long just a sample of them to get the idea.

All in all it was a fun night and we are really proud of our Meg. She did an awesome job!!