Happy Easter

Happy Easter! We've been enjoying such a beautiful Easter day. The sun was shining and the flowers were a'bloom! I love this picture of my two treasures.

















































We went on an Easter walk before church. We found some things that helped represent the Savior's crucifixion and resurrection.














































Yesterday we had some Easter fun with our friends Sarah, Cam, Lucy and Nora.






















Easter Egg Hunt time...














































Again, a beautiful day and a beautiful girl
















































Lucy is so adorable. My kids love her. Cam and Sarah have been our 2nd family out here.


























They have the perfect backyard with a rope swing and all. I love Em's pure joy on this swing!




















The Easter eggs even had water guns in them...





















Get Uncle Jon (Jon is an Uncle to pretty much every kid he meets)



















Luke wanted to ride Cam's motorcycle. He was making the sounds and everything :)




































































We dyed Easter eggs and painted pictures.






























Later that night we dyed some more eggs at our house. The kit came with little paint brushes which was a huge hit for the kids.


















Random pic of our gigantic grapefruit from the Asian market.





















When I went to check on the kids at night, I saw that Luke had crawled into Em's bed and had fallen asleep there. It was very cute.



















The HUGE highlight of this week was a visit from SHELBY!! I love this picture. It is my favorite picture of the whole blog post. I can't describe my emotions when we first saw Shelby. She came with her high school choir to tour DC and sing at different places. They were singing at Mt. Vernon so we decided to meet her there. The minute we saw her, we all started running (well, picture an 9 month preggo lady pushing a stroller up a hill and a 4 year old booking it to see her aunt). It was awesome. We all just lost it crying because we were so happy. Em just hugged and hugged her auntie!














It was the best.






























My kids also absolutely adore Shelby's friend Bree who also came with the choir. They missed their aunt Hannah and kept asking for her. She is always with Bree and Shelby but was not in choir so she didn't come on the trip. My kids couldn't believe that Shelby and Bree would be somewhere without Hannah. We can't wait until Hannah can come visit us :)

















We went on the tour of Mt. Vernon with the high school group (I did pay for a pass even though Shelb's choir teacher suspected that I snuck in with the group) It is such a gorgeous place. I can't wait to go back and learn more about George Washington. The Potomac River is behind the girls.

















Where's Shelby?




















I also got to see some good friends from my ward in Bountiful. Madi was one of my young women that I love and miss!





















I also had the amazing opportunity to go to the temple with one of my friends, Amy, from the Bountiful ward who came as a chaperone on the BHS trip as well. It was the sweetest experience. I love the temple and it was so good to go with Amy.




















Shelby's choir sang at the visitor's center at the temple, so we took the whole fam to see her there. These kiddos were being so cute so Jon got a few pics.




























I think this is my favorite picture of my kids. They love each other so much (even though they call each other "stinker" and it drives me crazy). I also love the DC temple and it was fun to show the kids this beautiful place. It was their first time seeing it. They couldn't believe how big it is.
























The flowers were so pretty. The kids had some great poses...
















































My little sweet Luke (I know he's not little anymore but he can still be my baby for 2 more weeks)



















The lighting was just perfect and everything was so beautiful. We got to take Shelby out for dinner after their performance at the temple. Our good friends, Jenn and Dave (our other 2nd family out here) took us all to the Cheesecake Factory. It was a lot of fun. When we dropped Shelby off at her hotel that night and drove away, we all felt a void. The next day when Emmie asked if she could see Shelby again, we all felt our hearts sink. It is so hard to say goodbye. We love you Shelby!
























I am so grateful we live just 30 minutes away from this beautiful refuge. I have felt so blessed to have attended the temple several times since we moved here. It is such a holy place that lifts me up and brings me peace and direction no matter how confusing and hard life can seem at times.





















More happenings of the week.......I took the kids back to the farm by our house. They were fascinated by the pigs (I am too. We loved hearing them snort. I think it is one of the only animal sounds that can be imitated almost exactly)

















After seeing this, Luke turned to me one day and said "When the baby comes out mom, we are going to "milk" her!"





















I love horses. I have such fond memories of riding them when I was younger at my Uncle Bob's farm





















I love this girl! She lives life very passionately. There are a lot of ups and downs in her moods, but the ups are SO good that I have to tell myself it is worth the downs!























And this little boy is exactly what his shirt says....



























We have still been loving Joy School. When the kids came to my house, we made one of our favorite snacks: apple mouths. My mom used to make them as an after school snack for us: Apple, peanut butter and marshmellow teeth. YUM





















"You are Special" crowns
























We enjoyed watching General Conference last weekend. I can't wait to reread all the talks (thank goodness I can since it is so hard to hear everything and help the kids enjoy it too). Our new tradition we started this year was making GrandMare's yummy cinnamon rolls. They turned out the best they have yet!
















We made so many rolls so we got to enjoy them for days. We couldn't complain.






















I took the kids to a fun place this week. It was a playground equipment store. They had a big room with outdoor playground sets, trampolines, basketball hoops, air hockey tables, etc. They have free play hours each week to supposedly bring in business (I wonder if that actually works). We just enjoyed all the fun toys. The kids loved it.










































































































Jon took some amazing pictures of the kids. We have been loving our little area. It is so beautiful and the kids have made a lot of new friends.










































































This is another favorite. I think those flowers are my two favorite colors for flowers. Then my kids just make it look perfect :) Thank you Moms for sending such fun Easter packages. The kids were SO excited about everything you sent. It is like Christmas around here when we get a package from Utah.


















I saved this picture for last because it makes me happy! When I look at these beautiful purple flowers, I think of why we celebrate Easter. I think of the new life that Jesus Christ offers each of us. I think of the hope and light he brings to our lives. I am still seeking that light and trying to learn more about Christ every day. I know that the more I come to know Him, the more I will understand my purpose here, and the happier I will be. Have a wonderful week!