Easter

Dying Eggs

 

 And ourselves...

 

 Scavenger Hunts for the Easter Baskets

 

 

 

 

 Easter Dresses

 

 

  Hunting Eggs!

 

 

 

 My Easter Beauties

Here are just a couple more Eastertime Pictures:

I was in charge of throwing Ally's Easter party for Preschool the morning before Mike passed away (I as also in charge of Sami's monthly art project that same week--somehow the two big things I signed up to help with this year ended up on the same week).  Needless to say, it was a VERY long week.  Anyway, we read a couple Easter books, had them decorate a bag to look like an Easter basket, danced to the Easter Bunny Hop with egg shakers, decorated cupcakes to look like bunny faces, and had an Easter egg hunt!  I think the kids had fun.  The first picture is blury because the kids were going to crazy, bouncing and dancing all over the place!  The last picture is just me playing again.  I guess I have a bit of a passion for decorating cupcakes these days... the bunny one is the one the kids did.

He Giveth and He Taketh

Last week, Jeremy's beloved brother, Mike, passed away after a long and painful struggle with leukemia.  We know Mike is where he needs to be now but we love him so much and we will miss him dearly until we get to see him again.

I wanted to share just a few of my favorite photos of Mike.  The first one is from eight years ago, long before he got sick.  He had an amazingly loving heart and desire to serve God, but he also had a humorous side.  He was always joking around and teasing me.  I told him to smile for the camera and this is what I got:

New Daddies

Something kind of fun about Jeremy and Mike is that their oldest children were born within three weeks of each other!  Here is Mike and Jeremy with their first little newborns, Bradly and our very own Sami (September 2003).  Sami was just 24 hours old.

With Francis (his wife), Bradly, and Sami

In Niagara Falls on July 4, 2005, with 22-month-old Sami

Mike never missed meeting one of my girls as soon as possible.  Even when we lived in California, he was there within a week of Ally and Emmys' births. 
His love for my girls was always obvious.

Mike and Ally

Mike and Emmy

Forever Brothers

Jeremy and Mike--March 2008

We love you, Mike

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Just four days after we said farewell to Mike, I had a new nephew come into the world.  This is Max, Shaun and Pennys' new boy.  He was born at 9 lbs and 19 1/2 inches--complete with chubby cheeks and many rolls.  Isn't he just adorable?  The Lord takes spirits home when it's their time, but he also blesses the world with new spirits for us to get to know and love.  I can't wait to meet this little guy!

Four Siblings

Ben, Annie, Alex, and Max

Welcome Max!

A step closer

We've been here 18 months now and I still haven't figured out my living room all the way.  I am getting closer, though.  I've picked colors and I finished my pillows and throw.  Now I just need to figure out what to do with that big bare wall behind the couch...  any ideas???  Sometimes I wish I were an interior designer and just knew what to do... I wanted to be one when I was kid.  For some reason I gave it up for psychology--hmmmm...

St. Paddy's

The girls made another leprechaun trap this year.  They are getting more and more creative but that sneaky leprechaun outsmarted them again.  In the morning, the whole room was tipsy.  Picture frames were askew, pillows and baskets were knocked over, and the trap was a bit of a mess.  The gold coins they had set out as bate were gone but, in return, the girls found chocolate coins scattered.

 Still haven't gotten into the corned beef and cabbage.  Especially this year--with the pregnancy and all--it did not sound good.  So we ate fish because that's what I'm craving. :)  But they had shamrock pancakes for breakfast and shamrock biscuits for dinner.  Good enough, right? 

When Sami gets the Camera...

When Sami gets a hold of my camera, I end up with all kinds of pictures.  Since they are her works of art, I thought I would let her do this post.  So, without further ado, here's a little bit from Sami:

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Our most amazing tower!!

Ally and I took a long time to build this tower.  And we had to rebuild it a lot because Emmy kept knocking it over...

Who doesn't like Angelina Ballerina?

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My world of colors.

Nice mixtures, don't you think?

I took really close up pictures of my orange plaid dress!  :)

Pink, pink,pink!

Wow, is that real gold?

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My perfect pancake. (After many tries.)

Uncle Adam gave me a Cinderella Pancake Skillet for Christmas.

Thanks, Uncle Adam!!

We made special Banana Pancakes

"Go With Tommy"

Emmy LOVES to go on outings with Tommy.  In the last month or so we have been on a few.  But almost every day she asks to see Tommy and "Go with Tommy."  In January, one of our outings with Tommy (and Mary, Millie, and Jeffery) was when we took the front liner to downtown SLC to meet our daddies for lunch!  It was Emmy and Allys' first time on a train!  They had so much fun that Emmy asks to go on trains all the time now.

In February, we went to the Church History Museum by Temple Square and let the kids play for hours in the kids area there which is currently based on the lives of Church Members in Mexico.  They dressed in big skirts and danced, threw tortillas, played with music, watched videos, played games, and pretended to farm, fish, and drive a delivery truck.

We love outings with friends--especially Tommy!

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By  the way, Emmy announced the other day that she intends to take Tommy to the temple with her someday.  :)