Dance recital May 2015

Carly and Abigail danced their little hearts out at their recital. 

 I loved their cute outfits.

 Hailey didn't dance, but she wanted to dress up anyways

 They are the two on the left.

 Ike drenched himself with a water bottle, but we randomly had an extra shirt of Luke's with us.  Luke thought he looked like a little warlock.   So that's what he got to wear for the rest of the night... which was a pretty long night.  The kids were troopers for sitting that long.

We had a fun dance year, but the girls have decided to move on to different things.  

So this was our last recital.

April 2015

Whenever one of us ladies have a birthday, we all get together and go to dinner.  This was for Shannon's birthday which is the second of the year in April.  Shelley's is in March, but we'll have to do hers later since they're so far away :(  It's funny because we each have one a month until Lisa's birthday ends it in August.  The best part is that Blake just got engaged to April and her birthday is in February....so it's perfect, they're still all in a row and next year we get to start our birthday dinners in February.  I am so lucky that all my brothers picked out such great wives.  My mom and Jess are pretty great too :)

 Hailey drew a picture of me and her as adorable little bugs

 The kids had their spring pictures at school

 We went shopping with Grandma Sharla and stopped for some lunch

 I found the girls doing this... so random.

This boy is getting so big!  He's so much fun.  

The older kids still follow him around all day, we just can't get enough of him.

 Isaac had his cousin, Noah, over to play.  Which they did most of the time.  The other part was spent yelling at each other and pointing.  I think they were tattling on each other.

April field trips

Luke's 4th grade class took a trip to the Rocks and Minerals show at the fairgrounds.  I couldn't believe how quickly time went by because we were all so interested in the rocks.  After seeing everything at the show, Luke is rethinking his decision to be a cop.  He thinks geology would be fun.  I keep telling him that he has tons of time to decide.  The boys had a hard time deciding on what to spend their money on.

Carly's kindergarten class took a trip to the Heritage Center in Logan.   She didn't want to milk the goat until her friend did it, but by then we were out of time.  She told me later that she was glad they ran out of time, because she didn't really want to do it.  

Abigail's 2nd grade class went to the Dinosaur park.  Although this is my least favorite place to go in the world of field trips, Ab and I had a great time together.  I love watching my kids interact with their school friends.

Easter weekend

I liked that Easter and conference fell on the same weekend this year.  It was pretty laid back, and we ate our weight in sugar.  Ike took naps during all four sessions and I was pretty amazed at how good the kids were.  I think it helped on Sunday that they had a basket full of candy to keep them quiet.

 Hailey made a little pulpit for Sister Wixom to stand at



I love every conference... but I felt especially touched during April's.  I don't know if it was because the kids were being such gems and I could listen so well, or the speakers were all just extra amazing, or I was trying to have the Spirit with me.  Maybe all of the above.  I tried to pick a favorite talk, but there are too many.  
Linda K. Burton talked so much about how women should treat their husbands.  Sometimes I feel that Dad and Husbands don't get the respect they deserve.  I loved her talk.

L. Tom Perry spoke about how our voices must be heard concerning traditional families.  I think that we as Christians are sometimes too afraid of offending others, that we don't stand up for our beliefs.

 Russell M. Nelson asked what we are going to change in our lives after listening to conference.  He also asked if our Sabbath day is a delight to God, and what sign are we giving God by how we spend our Sabbath day?  Sometimes I get discouraged when asked a question that really makes me take a look at how I am living my life and if my behavior is a delight to God... but I only felt uplifted and excited to do better.  At the end of his talk he asked "what sign do I want to give God?"  Hailey turned to me and said,  "I want to give God the I love you sign".  It reminded me that kids are paying attention even when you think they're not, and that striving to live better is just like telling God that we love him.

 I was so touched by Dieter F. Uchtdorf''s talk on Easter.  One thing stuck out to me in particular.  "The Savior's atonement cannot become common place". Sometimes I forget the greatness of His sacrifice.  Sometimes I go through the motions during the sacrament, without even one thought towards Christ and the Atonement.  I am too busy making sure no one sticks their fingers in the other water cups or takes too many pieces of bread.  But I know I can do both... and I am trying harder to do so.

 We had Easter dinner at G & G  Jenkins.  

My Mom had buckets for them to decorate for the egg hunt.

 digging into the Easter spoils