A Great Year!!!!

I can't believe that another year of school has come and gone. This one was a little different though. This time I was a teacher at my own school and in my own home. It was fabulous! I LOVED it! I had the amazing opportunity to teaching my own daughter, two of my nieces, and many of my friends' children. How many people are able to start out in such a unique and wonderful way? I truly feel blessed!

Liz and I on the first day of school.

Lizzie and Sophie on the first day of school.

Our morning class at the beginning of the year.

Our afternoon class on the first day of school.

Lizzie and Sophie on the LAST day of school...yup--kinda cried.

The morning class at the end of the year.

The afternoon class on our last day of class.

Planting

"The prophet said to plant a garden..." or three. We planted the garden at Nana and Papa's house, at our house and we helped to plant flowers at the temple. I LOVE SPRING! The kids are starting to really understand and enjoy the whole process.

Owen and Lizzie got to pick up pine cones to beautify temple grounds.

Tori got to plant flowers...she only had to cry a little bit..

And finally the pizza party!

Then we got to plant our own garden! I can't wait to start reaping the rewards!!

Aunt Susie!!!

Ok, so pretty much everybody know, but for those of you that didn't...I HAVE THE BEST IN-LAWS EVER!!!!!!!! After years of trying, I finally got one of them to live with me (ok, so technically she came when I was prego with Liz, but that didn't count 'cause it was desperation, not for fun). Aunt Susie is spending the summer with us, and I could not be more thrilled! She is so great! She is easy to be with, fun, funny, sweet, helpful, and just all together FABULOUS! Yup, you can all be jealous now that you don't have a Susie and your house--suckers!

Cinco de Mayo...yeah--it was fun!

Susie loves my kids and my kids adore her! She plays with them and lets them do make overs--on HER! She cooks with them, plays with them reads with them, and even changes diapers. She is truly the best!

She made us falafel...ever had it? No? You should. It is awesome!

What a Monday

Well, this was my Monday...

The before...

The during...

and the after...

Mother's Day!

Well, the day before Mother's Day kind of put a damper on our weekend. I was packed up and ready to leave the house for my 1:00 MASSAGE. Yeah, that's what I said--MASSAGE. Then Lizzie and Owen went down to the basement to play and Liz slipped on the carpet... I know that Liz has a tendency to be slightly less than graceful, but slipping on the carpet and falling is not a regular on her list of talents. Tom went down to investigate I was a few steps behind. Just close enough to hear his foot slosh on the carpet as he stepped off the stairs. Yup--that is the sound of me cancelling my massage.

Good thing Sunday was better. Tom made my FAVORITE breakfast (ingredients include croissants, ice cream, raspberries, whipping cream...SO GOOD!). I got tickets to South Pacific, which happens to run on my birthday! YAY! My kids actually snuggled me, at least for a minute, and I didn't change a single diaper. It was a good day!

Cinco de Mayo

I have never really been one to celebrate things like Cinco de Mayo, but since Aunt Sue Sue is here things are a little different. Susie is way more fun than I am, and she is a way better sport. She lets the girls do her makeup. It is always interesting, but after she told him about the "Mexicans" it got even better. Tori told Susie that she didn't know what "Mexicans" look like, but she is pretty sure this is it...



Thanks to Susie, after we were all made over, the Cinco de Mayo festivities continued with tacos, burritos, pina coladas (virgin style of course) and homemade churros. DELICIOUS! Thanks Sue Sue!

Easter

Easter was fun for our family this year! We were able to celebrate with our friends at a fun (but very chilly and VERY windy) Easter egg hunt! Owen just went at it! I had to hold him back so that other kids would get a chance. Lizzie was the exact opposite--I had to really push her to actually look for eggs...she definitely marches to her own beat, and I LOVE it! Tori did great. She went with the oldest group and had to actually look for the eggs (not just glance around and pick them up) and she loved it!

Next we got to die eggs with some cousins. They had a blast! I think that everyone's favorite part was the donuts that Aunt Manda brought!

Then, of course, the Easter Bunny came. My favorite part was that this year Tori left a gift for the EB since he "always leaves them presents."

And then of course, the traditional hunt on Easter morning.

This year Easter fell on the first Sunday in April, which was General Conference Sunday, so we had our Easter program the following week. We got the kids all dressed up...OK, so the camera is totally broken, and the pictures are terrible, but the honest truth is...DANG! My kids are ADORABLE!!! Even if they are total goof balls!