Easter Photos

I love Easter! It's the first sign that winter is coming to a close. We had fun dressing in our bright colors and short sleeves, even if it was 38 degrees outside. Lucky for my kids, I did put coats on them. Too bad I couldn't talk myself into it. I took the kids to the Herriman City event on Saturday morning wearing capris, a short-sleeved T, and flip flops. I opted to carry Aeris rather than push around the stroller, which kept me pretty warm. The kids had egg hunts at preschool, my parent's house, the city, and the neighborhood. There's no shortage of jellybeans and marshmallow bunnies at our house! Sunday morning was so freezing cold that I didn't take many photos of the kids in their cute new clothes (thanks Grandma Hansen!). And the yard looks pretty dead still (because it IS dead still). We enjoyed visiting with my sister and her family who came out for the break.

Happy 8 Months!

I love this baby so much. Maybe it's knowing she's our last. I savor every miniature moment. This month has brought many exciting discoveries for my little babe. Her tongue! She absolutely LOVES it! When I come in to pick her up in the morning, when Jade comes home, when Logan sings to her, out goes the tongue. I never thought I'd love having someone stick their tongue out at me. I laugh and laugh, and she rewards me with the world's biggest smiles!

Just yesterday she decided she had places to go. She spent all day practicing her roll. Back to front, front to back, all with me cheering wildly from the sideline. Two days ago she was completely stationary, today I have to clear an entire room if I'm going to put her down. How quickly things change.

Aeris knows what she wants... anything she can reach. Last week she grabbed right onto the fish I had on my dinner plate. I literally had to pry it out of her tiny vice-like fingers. Boy was she unhappy with me.

Aeris really adores her family. She saves her best smiles for us, expecially Jade and Logan. I think one of the very best gifts I've been given in this life is to have children who truly love each other.

I've Been Elected!

I guess it's old age. I've decided to be more involved in the political scene. I figure I don't have any room to complain about the issues and our government's flaws unless I put forth the effort to make changes. So I have gotten to know some political figures in my area and as a result was given a personal invitation to attend my precinct caucus (No invitations are required. Everyone in the precinct is welcome... and should come so everyone has a say in who represents our area). It was held at a neighbor's house and was quite worthwhile. They even respected my opinion enough to elect me as a county delegate, which means I get to attend the county convention and vote for candidates hoping to make it onto the ballet in November. What a great opportunity.

My Travels

A quick note about the template change...
I placed this map on the other template and half of it was hidden. It won't be a permanent change.


This was fun! Surprisingly, as filled in as this map appears, I've only been to 64% of the states. I'm sure it's because of all those tiny ones up on the east coast that I haven't had the pleasure of seeing first-hand.

create your own personalized map of the USA
or check out ourCalifornia travel guide

A Picture's Worth...

Jade completed her first science fair project last month. She came up with the idea completely on her own. She was thrilled! She wants to be a scientist when she grows up.

After the science fair I found some science experiment books I'd been saving to give me some ideas when I had kids doing science fair projects. Nice that it was after the fact. Oh well. Jade has been loving them. She wanted to make these telephones. She and Logan had a great time trying them out.

I can't believe this little sweetie is already 7 months old. She still isn't mobile yet. I don't know whether I should be concerned or just grateful. She sure is a chatterbox though. I'm not at all concerned about her development there.

Have you played Rock Band? Surely you've heard of it. This was Nate's tax refund splurge. He's been pretty excited about it. He said it would be a fun family activity. I guess the pictures say it all. It certainly has been fun. Jade and Logan have a great time adding in their own instruments to the band.

Celebrating 4 Years With Logan

We celebrated Logan's 1st birthday on Friday. He's 4 years old, of course, but this is the first year he's actually had a birthday, thanks to being born on the 29th of February. He doesn't understand it at all yet, but we hope he'll love having such a unique birthday. It's just one of the many reasons he's special!

We continued a little tradition we started a couple of years ago with Jade by leaving his presents out for him to find first thing in the morning. He was thrilled with cars, cars, and more cars. We invited four of his friends from the neighborhood for a Thomas the Train themed party in the afternoon and then had grandparents over for dinner that evening. It was a great day!

The next morning (2:30 am) he woke up with an ear ache, so we made an early trip to the instacare confirming the ear infection we already knew he had so we could start him on an antibiotic. He's feeling great again today.