For Jessie...

I think Brody is in L.O.V.E.... despite Clara's mustache, bed head, and random clothes :) Cooking up a late night snack.

Bath time!

We REALLY want to play outside!

Rascals.

We are loving our Brody time. Jess and Tay - feel free to stay in Boston as long as you want!

Tulip Festival

I have lived in Utah all my life and this was my first visit to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving Point -- it was beautiful!!!

Jack and Clara loved the fish... (pishy; in clara's terms).

We stopped at the gas station and let the kids pick out a treat to eat while we walked around. It took Clara a while to realize that she could actually eat the candy necklace.

We went with the Millers... their family is always a favorite of ours ;)

Jack loved splashing in the water.My (sometimes) sweet Clara Rose.Us. The waterfalls were beautiful! Although Clara was a little scared.

Me and Clara.

Love Birds.

The kids were constantly rotating strollers. I think Brody was happiest in ours, right next to his big buddy Jackson. Trying to get a picture... but obviously failing.

The kids loved running down the hils.

Another one of us... this time with the Tulips.

How fun was it? When we left we asked Jackson if he liked The Gardens better than Sea World.... let's just say - it took him a while to answer :)

In-laws

Scott's dad came out with his wife Catherine to drop off her son CJ at the MTC. He was called to the Concepcion Chile Mission. Scott served in Vina del Mar Chile - it was so fun for Scott to talk to CJ about it! He got out all of his mission stuff and reminisced, it was so cute to see him look back on such an important and special time in his life!


They dropped him off on Wednesday, but decided to stay until Friday. So we had some time to hang out and relax.


We went to the Red Iguana for dinner one night. Scotts family loves good Mexican food.

Katie. Blaine. Jack. Catherine. Clara loves her Papa Randall.

One night I pulled out my wax pot to wax everyones eyebrows. Scott mentioned that you can wax your nose. Blaine decided to give it a try... but was VERY surprised when I put the wax inside his nose and not on top of the nose! It was funny - and we were all histarical. But the wax was there and he had no option of turning back - so I ripped! He was brave and hardly flinched. But I have done it to myself and know that its definetly not a walk in the park - - it is painful!

It was a fun week with their family in town. Hopefully it won't be too long until we see them again :)

Jack is so big...

This week has been amazng. Its been 70's and we have been enjoying every minute of it.


This little guy has been loving the warm weather! Check him out -- riding a bike without training wheels. He is soooo big!

Clara loves playing at the park... and of course wandering off to wherever she shouldn't be... the street... construction workers... peoples houses...

And this is what happends at the end of the day. I love it when he crashes. Its rare.

Loving the Camo De-Lite

Clara and Jack love this drink. Jack is my healthy eater. He calls it the shake with the lettuce leaves. I don't think most kids would drink it if they knew about the "leaves".

Camo De-lite

When we were in Denver my sister made us this super yummy healthy shake. I came home and made it for my mom and sister -- they loved it -- and we came up with the name "Camo De-lite"... mostly because the color is somewhat camoflauge like, and it is delightfully delish! I also made it for my neighbor and once again, it was a big hit.

So here is the recipe for the rest of you to give a try:

2 c. spinach
1 c. berries (you choice)
1 banana
1 c. almond milk OR water
agave to sweeten
*you can find this in your natural health food section, it is a syrup, and the darker in color the better.

Blend in blender - you can use a frozen banana to make it more creamy, or add ice to make it more icey. You can vary the types of fruit used.

Let me know what you think!
*Thanks Melissa for sharring this yummy recipe.

Easter In Denver

My sister lives in Denver. They just moved into a new house and since we are moving to CA for school we figured now would be the best time to get out there and spend some time with them. It is about a 9 hour drive with kids and all the many many stops we always seem to make. But the 9 hour drive was well worth our weekend of fun!


We went to Dinosaur Ridge. It was really windy but the kids still had a blast. Our tour guide was a little interesting. Old and way into dinosaurs... typical. Henry was totally in his element and loving every bit of it! This picture shows the dinosaur prints in the rock.

Clara was a disaster. She wanted nothing to do with the tour and at one point was throwing a fit on the ground while she rolled around in the dirt. I love my little girl. Ha.

On the bus. The kids were quite excited to not have to be in car seats!

The kids. Eating. Playing. The Park.

EASTER MORNING!

I told Melissa the night before that Clara would probley only care about the candy in the basket. I nailed it.

Henry.

Dave and Jetta.

Their backyard is a dream. The kids were out there 24/7 !!! As cute as Clara can be -- this was her face most of the time. She was a tired little girl.

Henry pushing Clara.

Henry loved correcting Scott whenever he would do something wrong.

S: (talking to the adults) That is so stupid!

H: We don't say stupid Uncle Scott.

*The best part about it, Henry has a slight English accent. Love it.

Sista's. Our one and only shot. Probley because all the others were of us chasing after our slightly out of control children. Gotta love the life of a busy momma!

EASTER EGG HUNT....

The kids had so much fun looking for eggs. We did it twice.

Action shot of Jack jumping to reach the egg.

Henry climbing to reach an egg.

Jetta on the run!

This was the best I could do of all of them with their baskets.

We left Monday morning. We were a little worried about the weather for our drive home. Thankfully it was dry up until the last 2 hours and even then it was just wet snow. I think we were about 1 hour ahead of the storm. It was a pure blessing for me... I am a little paranoid about driving in bad weather. Not kidding.

This was the best part of our drive. Peace.

This was the worst part of our drive.

As for this kid; he is a dream to travel with!

Thank you Dave and Melissa for having us! We had so much fun and can't wait for you to be our visitors in CA.

Reasons I Loved Our Weekend
-Although Clara screamed for 90% of the car ride, I loved being with just us.

- Henry has soooo much personality. He is hilarious. (Peta Peta Peta Peta).

- I love my sister. We both love food, especially GOOD food. But, we can also keep it simple. Veggies and dip for lunch. Glazed ham with mango chutney and orange zest for dinner. Wow.

- My sister and I love to get out and do fun things with our kids. But sitting around the house all day is just as good.

- Modern Family anyone?

- Jackson loved it. He did not want to come home. And now he keeps asking if we can live in Colorado.

- Clara sleeping in the closet.

- Conference. Although we were not able to listen to much... kids make that part difficult... at times it seems more like background music compared to the screaming outside or downstairs... I love it. I love listening to our prophet and the apostles. How lucky we are. Now I just have to wait for the Ensign to come out to read the rest :)

- All the candy. Although now I am on a full fledge veggie diet until I feel semi normal again. Darn all that Easter Candy!

Miles' Mission Call...

My little brother turned 19 this month. One week before his mission he turned in his papers to serve a mission. One and a half weeks later... he got this in the mail:We planned a big party. Everyone went up to my parents house... lots of yummy food... and Melissa,Dave, and the kids joined us on skype!

Clara loves her Uncle Mimo.

I went up early that afternoon to hang out with Miles and my mom. But Miles had to wait to open the call until all the guys were off work. It was a long!!! wait for Miles. Pretty sure if no one was there to supervise - he would have ripped the envelope open without any hesitation!

Clara calls Cami... Mani. Everyone loves Cami. She is such a fun aunt.FINALLY -- time to open. Trying to gather himself... trying not to read ahead... And then he reads it....

BRISBANE, AUSTRAILIA!

No way! This is a dream for Miles. This was exactly where he WANTED to go. Seriously! We have pictures of him pointing to Austrailia before the call is opened! OH MY!
He continues to read. The proof. The Date. His name. The location. CONGRATULATIONS!!!Pointing to his mission. Slightly emossional.... okay, maybe a little more than slightly?!?A proud father. Our family, with my little brother. Poor Judd was sick but of course wanted to be there to celebrate this big event! He came wearing a mask. What a trooper.We then celebrated Miles turning 19. Jack helped blow out the candles. Miles works at the Chocolate Factory and brought home lots of goodies for us to induldge and celebrate with. DELISH.And of course I have to end this post with pictures of where Miles will be spending his 2 years....

This is the Brisbane Temple. How lucky he will have a temple in his mission!Another shot of the city.

Miles,

We are so proud! We are so excited. I can't wait for this exciting adventure of yours. Believe me when I say - I will be saving my pennies to come and pick you up! Congratulations little brother!