Easter and spring break 2013

Spring break and Easter were the same weekend this year, so the kids and I drove to Utah to hang out with Kim and Monte and their kids.  We all went to Tara and Nat's condo to color eggs.

Sophia had fun, but since she was using her hands she got super messy!

Sara and the other older kids colored eggs by putting food coloring in shaving cream and rolled the eggs around in it, then let them sit for about 10 minutes before washing them off.  It actually worked great and they had a lot of fun playing in the shaving cream.

I had wanted to go to St. George for spring break, but since I waited too long to book a hotel they were all completely booked!  I had no idea it was that popular, but I should have known there were other people looking for warmer temperatures.  Instead we went to the zoo, Goblin Valley and Arches.  The kids all had fun at the zoo and really liked the new exhibits!  We will probably go back again this summer.

Kim has been telling me about Goblin Valley for years and how much fun her kids had there playing in the dirt and climbing on the rocks.  Since we didn't go to St. George we left early and drove to Goblin Valley and Arches in one day.  CRAZY!!  We drove over 600 miles in one day, but all the kids did great!

Goblin Valley was amazing and the kids didn't want to leave!  They had fun running around with their cousins, playing in the dirt, climbing on the rocks and finding little crevices to hide in.  The weather was perfect and now we need to go back, so we can take Ben with us!  Maybe we will camp there sometime........ 

Sophia was not interested in having her picture taken.

We ate lunch at Goblin Valley then packed up and drove to Arches.  We stopped at the visitor's center and picked a few things to see.  If I remember right we saw Balanced Rock,  North and South Window and the Delicate Arch viewpoint.

Sophia and Brandon both picked a rock to take home with us.

It was a super long day and we barely made it back to Kim's house, but the kids slept most of the way and had a lot of fun!

February 2013

Winter is long up here in Idaho, and we were experiencing some cabin fever and boredom.  Tired of the few indoor play places here in town we needed something else to do, so I started working with Sophia writing her letters and her name.   I printed a paper for each letter and once she gets the hang of it I put dots on a lined piece of paper for her to write her own letter instead of tracing it.

She does well for 5-10 minutes, then just wants to color. 

Zurie puts up with a lot from Sophia!

Sophia's new favorite meal- homemade lunchables!  I get turkey from the deli cut thick and Sophia gets to pick a star, flower or heart small cookie cutter.  She eats this everyday for lunch and sometimes for dinner too.

Kids Valentines 2013

Surprisingly Sara wanted to do Valentine's this year and this is what she came up with.  The nice thing is she did everything herself. She designed them on the computer, colored them and cut them out. 

There were three different sayings:

I saw you and I was hooked!

You're "FIN"tastic!

You are the only fish in the see for me!

Brandon's were pretty simple.  I found a printable online for game Valentine's and he really liked them. When I asked him what kind of candy he wanted he said not chocolate. Easy peasy!

I didn't take pictures of Sophia's actual Valentine's, but here is what we did.  They said "So glad we're in the same school."  

This is the first year I have not done store bought Valentine's and they were pretty fun! 

Zurie and Sophia

I am always looking for toys and things for Zurie to chew on that will last longer than a few hours.  A huge thank you to Lizz for suggesting a hoof. I went to Petco that day and bought one.  Zurie loves it and we have had it for about a month now.

Sophia and Zurie have become best friends and by the end of the day Zurie is worn out!  I love it!

She drags Zurie around the house for hours on the leash.  So funny!

Snow adventures

Ben was itching to go snowboarding after we got a bunch of new snow, so he took Sara and Brandon to Kelly Canyon one Saturday morning.  From what I heard they all had a great time!  Brandon likes to speed down the hill, but he stayed by Sara a lot to keep her company.

 I picked up Sara and Brandon early from school and we went sledding with some friends.  Sophia was a little cautious at first, but once she got comfortable with the hill she wanted to go all by herself.

L to R: Dallin, Parker, Brandon and Jaydn

                                      

Our friends brought a tube and Sophia loved it!  Probably because it was a much smoother ride than our sleds.

 We went to Utah for a friends wedding and while we were gone there was a huge snow storm.  In fact we stayed in Utah an extra day because the roads were so bad.  When we got home we had at least 2 feet of snow on our driveway.  There was no way we could have shoveled all that snow.  Luckily a friend around the corner let Ben borrow his snowmobile with a plow.  It was hard enough just shoveling the front walk, so I was super grateful we didn't have to attempt shoveling the entire driveway.

Ahhh the joys of living in an area that gets a lot of snow.  We have to enjoy it somehow I guess :)

Chrismas 2012

*Warning-  Picture overload!*

We went to Utah the weekend before Christmas and we were so busy!  First was the Walker family Christmas party at Grandma Walkers' house.  It was so much fun seeing all of my cousins and letting all the kids play.  Santa even made an appearance with candy canes and presents.

The next night was the Esau family party at Grandma Esau's new house.  We had dinner and opened presents.  Once again the cousins had lots of fun playing with each other.

 Of course Ben had to hold Charlotte- the newest (and cutest) baby in our family.

I must say Grandma did a great job this year!

We came home for Christmas which I love!  It is so nice and relaxing spending Christmas at home with nowhere to be.

Zurie got a new toy which she promptly pulled all the stuffing out of.

Zurie also got a super long bone.  It was halfway gone in about an hour.

Next came the stockings.  Sophia made us take a picture of every little thing she pulled out.  

Brandon got a ripstick that he has been wanting for months!

 Ben is so hard to buy for, so I usually just get him clothes.  He also got a couple of books and video games. 

Disneyland Adventures for the Kinect.  Sophia loves this game and plays it everyday.

Sara and Brandon each got a Kindle Fire. They use them everyday and are always asking to get new apps.  Pretty soon they are going to run out of memory.  Ben installed kindle free time, so they can only play games for two hours a day with unlimited reading.  I love it!

Spontaneous dancing with Dad in the kitchen.

My new baby!  I love it!  Ben asked me if it was really that much bigger than my old one.  Two quarts makes a big difference babe!  I can now do a triple or quadruple batch of frosting instead of struggling to make a double batch in my older, smaller mixer.

Brandon asked us to move the van outside so he could practice riding his new ripstik.  It was freezing cold, but he stayed out there for a long time.  Now that the snow is melting he is outside almost every day and getting a lot better!

Sophia got an Innotab with a Jake and the Neverland Pirates game. She likes playing the Kindle Fire better because it has all the apps she likes, but she still plays her Innotab a lot and especially in the van on long drives.  Sara and I both got tickets in our stockings to go see Les Miserables Christmas day, so after presents we got ready and met our friends at the theatre.  It was such a great movie!  I have seen it twice now and am going again this weekend.  It just gets better and better!

I love Christmas, but am always glad when it's over.  It's a lot of work and we are always so busy! It has been nice to settle back into our routine.