Growing Girls

Gracie is at an age that she loves to help with whatever Im doing. She has become a pro at emptying the dishwasher and folding towels. She is a master assistant when it comes to baking and also loved this past week learning how to vacuum. She is getting better at making her bed herself and has a real interest  in doing her own hair. I don't know who told her she could grow up but she is doing it anyways.

We have been doing a few exercises with Em to try to help her have the desire to crawl. One of them is to help build her core strength. This little chair the girls got for Christmas is perfect for that. She thinks she is so big sitting in it and only occasionally, usually when she wants out, decides to get out herself. Im also grateful that we put in awesome carpet so she doesn't hurt when she does that. She is such a sweet little joy to have in our house. She loves to roll everywhere and at times tries to crawl on her back. And for now we are enjoying that she isn't to mobile.

Oh How We Missed Our Cousins

Nic has been in Vegas for the last couple of weeks visiting my mom. Now that she was back we were anxious to get together so Wed when they didn't need me to work extra she came up. The kids were so excited to see each other and played so great. It was nice since Hallie only had half day that she got to come home and play as well. I love my sisters I don't think I realized growing up how much they meant to me. I love feeling like I have best friends that the lord also made part of my family. Im looking forward to next week with spring break getting to do more fun stuff with Nic. Im so grateful that she is willing to take time out of her schedule to come and visit us.

Blankies & More Snow

With all the snow we got last week it seemed like a fitting time to finish the girls blankets that I had started before we moved. They turned out so cute now all I have to do is get them tied. The girls are also very excited for them. I love soft new blankies and they really did turn out so cute

Snow & Strawberries?

Over Easter weekend I found a great deal on strawberries(88 cents a lb) I had been watching for a good deal to make jam since we moved in. I called Ashlee to see if she wanted some as well and the plan was put into motion.

I had to work Monday so Tuesday we started the jam. With the weather looking like this it was a great excuse to stay inside and be productive.

Here we are in the thick of it. Ashlee had to run to the store to get more pectin since we used all I had bought.

I ended up with 60 jars! I hope this means we will have jam for a while. I like feeling productive and like we are getting our food storage re-establish after moving a couple times in the last year.

Easter Sunday

Our Easter bunny came on Sunday this year due to scheduling conflicts. Hallie was so excited and I think is really at the age that holidays are the most fun. Hallie left this "carrot" for the bunny.

Here is what the bunny left us...I don't think we will need candy until Halloween.

Hallie started talking about the "bunny trail" weeks ago. She said it was her favorite thing about Easter.

Easter morning...so excited 

Sunday after church we hurried home and got everything done for dinner. About 330 our guests started to arrive. By 5 we were starving but Matt's parents were running late and they had the ham but we didn't care we started eating without them. Dinner was so good. I tried a few new recipes that went over awesome. We had a ton of food and everyone was so full we really didn't even eat dessert. After we visited and the kids played and enjoyed testing out the girls new sand toys. It was a fun afternoon/evening.

That night both of the girls wanted a piggy back ride to bed and Matt was happy to oblige. This daddy loves his girls

It was a fun Easter spent remembering our savior and his sacrifice for us. I love any excuse to get together with family and I love that we have the space for everyone to feel comfortable. Happy Easter.

Ward Easter Party & Manor Care Easter Egg Hunt

Our new ward has a tradition of having an Easter party so on Friday night we headed over to that. They had an Easter egg hunt, then dinner, then egg games. It was a lot of fun but it was freezing. Luckily we came dressed like it was winter so it wasn't so bad. For the egg games they had us throw eggs back and forth Matt and I did really well until I didn't account for the cushion and cracked the egg all in my hair and on my coat...it was a bummer.

Saturday morning we headed to our traditional Manor Care Easter egg hunt...its the best! We love it and it didn't disappoint this year at all. We invites Nick and the kids to join us since Brit was out of town with the older 2 kids. I love this Easter egg hunt...have I mentioned that?

Em loved watching all the action form the stroller

I love this little family of mine

This was some of the haul of stuff we got

Hallie found the golden egg again this year and she couldn't have been happier. Gracie was a little sad but luckily Hallie is an amazing sharer

I love the couple times a year that we get to go to the nursing home and interact with the older people while having a good time. I want my kids to be exposed to stuff like this so they aren't afraid of older people.

Kick off of Easter Celebrations

Hallie had a bunny party at school on Thursday since there was no school on Friday. They took small treats or surprises to share with their class mates. She made a bunny bag and they had a great time.

That night we dyed easter eggs. I had bought 2 kits mistakenly but it ended up being awesome since the girls could each have their own set to dye their eggs as long as they wanted

By the time we dyed eggs Em decided she was tired so she slept and Matt had run to the neighbors to help and since the girls were done waiting we did it with just us girls. We also painted everyone's nails before calling it a night.

Princess Easter Egg Hunt

On Friday I found out about a Princess Easter Egg hunt that was happening for a fundraiser for a little girls with some medical issues. I talked to Matt and we decided to take the girls and do something fun since he had been gone so much in the past couple of weeks. It did not disappoint. Although the lines were not so fun the girls were thrilled to meet the princesses.

It was quite chilly so Matt kept the kids in the sun while I waited in line

And the highlight was definitely Anna & Elsa

Just as we finished with the princesses we heard the countdown for the easter egg hunt. Matt ran with the 2 older girls while I walked over with Em. Hallie luckily got there just in time to get some eggs and was so nice and shared with Gracie. Here they are with all of their eggs

Afterwards we went to test out playgrounds for the backyard and grabbed some lunch before heading back home. It was a fun way to start our easter activities.