A Recital and a Party

This past Saturday, Megan and Samantha had their Spring Piano Recital. They both did a great job. I love listening to them both play the piano, and to hear the progress that they are making. 

Later that afternoon we went to a Pioneer themed party that was put on by 4 families in our ward for 3 other families in the ward. It started out as a very mysterious event. We received an invitation in the mail a few weeks ago inviting us to a summer party, but giving very few details. It turns out that it is a tradition for one of the families to do this each year, and to invite a few different families to attend each time. Those families will then help put the party on the next year. It was a lot of fun. So much time and effort was put into the event. We are truly grateful to each of those families for all of their hard work, and for providing us with such a fun afternoon.

When we arrived at the party, we were greeted with a handcart.  We had to load our kids into the handcart, and then pull them down one hill and up another to get to the "Old Wild West"

There was lots of food and drinks.  

We were served goat (not kidding), 

"Mormon" beans, baked potatoes, and corn bread

We played games like the sack race

The 3 legged race

The egg race

The egg throw

Bobbing for donuts

Bobbing for apples

Got it!

And a pie eating contest!

What do you do on a Rainy Memorial Day?

You go bowling!

The Small Things

Sometimes it's the small things in life that bring joy:

The first watermelon of the season

The first swim of the season

The Evolution of Us

Today is our 17th anniversary. Being married that long makes us feel really old. It's amazing how that much time can pass, yet it only seems like a few years. Last Sunday in Young Women the lesson was on Temple Marriage. It was neat for me to be able to reminisce over our dating, wedding, and then years since as I prepared that lesson. I brought a wedding picture to display, and the girls seemed to think it was amusing to see us in our younger days. So I decided that in honor of our anniversary, I would share some pictures that would show an evolution of us.

This is when we had been dating just a couple of weeks.

7 months later - happily married!

1 year after marriage

4 years after marriage - we are a family of 3

10 years after marriage - family of 4

After 12 years - our family is complete!

(I think it's time for a new family picture)

April Highlights

April seemed to be a busy month. Here are some the highlights:

T-ball games started! Noah is on the Giants. So far, he has been loving it. They play a double-header every Saturday, so by the middle of the second game he is ready to be done. I think it is kind of long for 4 & 5 year olds. It's been fun to watch him play.

Megan and I ran in the Race for the Cure. I've never done a 5k before, and I loved it! There was something like 17,000 people in it. It was a great event - so well-organized and set up. It was fun to be able to do it with Megan. She also brought a friend, and I did it with a couple of my friends. I was worried about what kind of shape I was in, but ended up doing much better than I thought I would. I can't wait to do it again next year.

Noah lost his first 2 teeth! I can't believe my baby has already hit this milestone. He's not even 5 yet! Unfortunately, he didn't actually have either tooth to leave for the tooth fairy. We're guessing he must have swallowed them or something. He didn't even know when they were gone, I just noticed it when I was brushing his teeth. He was excited that the tooth fairy still left him with $1 each time. It didn't take him very long to spend it on a Hot Wheels car.

So now we're on to May! Hopefully it will bring more sunshine, and less rain!!

The Easter That Almost Wasn't

I decided it was about time for me to post about our Easter. I've been dragging my feet on doing it because I have been looking at everyone else's blogs telling about the wonderful Easter weekend they had, and to be honest, our's kind of stunk. It was pretty much my fault, or actually my mouth's fault. I went to the dentist last Thursday to have a tooth checked that was kind of bothering me. It turned out to be abscessed. He sent me away with an antibiotic, a pain killer, and an upcoming date for a root canal. It didn't seem like too big of a deal. But by Thursday night, I was in pain. This was a pain that kept me in bed for 2 days. A pain that not even pain killers would help. A pain that kept me awake all night for 3 nights. A pain that was the worst pain I have had in my life, childbirth included. Not only that, but the left side of my face swelled up to where I looked deformed. Fortunately, by Sunday morning it was finally feeling better, other than the swelling. Thankfully I have a great husband and kids who stepped in to get things done. I hadn't gotten my Easter shopping done yet, so Mike went out Saturday morning to pick up the things we needed. Megan hardboiled the eggs, and with Mike's help they dyed them. We got out late Saturday afternoon and did a little Easter egg hunt. We were glad we did it on Saturday because on Sunday it rained most of the day. The Easter Bunny did remember to stop by our house, and the kids were excited about their candy and treats. They all looked so great going to church in their Easter clothes. Because it was raining I had to take pictures of them inside, which never works out very well. I'll have to try again on a Sunday when it is nice outside. Our Easter dinner that night was omelettes. We had actually done our Easter ham dinner the previous Sunday after General Conference. It seemed easier to do that since our church doesn't get out until 5:00. Glad we did it because I don't think I could have prepared or eaten ham on Easter. All was not lost though. For Family Home Evening on Monday we had an awesome lesson on Christ's life (taught by Mike). The kids really paid attention, and I think learned a lot. Mike is a great teacher, and has such a good understanding and knowledge of the gospel. It was a great way to end a not so great weekend.

Back to the Future

This past week, Megan's Young Women's activity was a mother/daughter Back to the Future night. The moms were to come dressed like their daughter would today, and the daughter dressed like the mom would back when they were their daughter's age (confused?). Anyway, Megan took her own liberties in deciding how she thought I would dress since she didn't like any of my suggestions. I even have my Jr. High graduation dress that she could have worn, but she refused. Anyway, this is how we looked:

They also had us bring pictures from when we were both a baby, as well as a picture of our daughter now, and us when we were a teenager. I'm not sure why I am doing this to myself, but please enjoy a good laugh at my expense. 

Me - started out cute

Megan

Me at Megan's age - not cute.

Mike said I look like a tomboy.

Megan was impressed that I was wearing Lacoste, 

although we called it Izod back then.

Megan now.  

Why are kids so much cuter now?

Not fair.

This is the picture I brought to the activity.  

I think I was a junior in high school.  

How about those bangs and shoulder pads?