Easter 2009

We had a wonderful Easter this year. It started with our Ward Campout at Pedernales Falls State Park. (sorry no pics of that, I forgot our camera!) We spent Friday - Saturday at the campout with many of the families in our ward. It was so fun letting the kids play with their friends, while we relaxed and ATE lots with our friends! The weather was perfect, hot enough during the day for the kids to play in the water, and nice and cool at night to keep the bugs away. :) We sang camp songs around a big campfire, then had a devotional by our Bishop, followed up with dessert on Friday night. Then Saturday morning the High Priests cooked breakfast tacos for everyone, then there was the tug-of-war. After that they had a huge egg hunt for all the kids. They loved it!

Since we have church at 9am we kept Easter morning pretty low-key. (interpretation-I didn't take any pics) The kids loved their new games - Natalie got a princess leapster game, Nathan got a fishing game, and Tyler got toy drums. I was trying to get things that would occupy them for the long drive to Florida. So far so good!

We had great lessons at church and I felt priveleged to teach our primary class the Easter lesson. Like most lessons I've taught, I really think I learn more than those I teach. I absolutely love being in primary and getting to teach/learn with the children each week. I also love being able to watch Natalie and Nathan in there. I must say Nathan is one of the cutest Sunbeams! (and we have like 20 of them!!)

After church we came home and played a bit before heading over to my parents house for our annual Egg Hunt in their backyard. The kids get so excited about this every year, especially since the grandparent's have been known to hide eggs with money in them! The older kids really got into it, and you may not be able to tell it from the pictures but Tyler was awfully curious about what was going on. He did find one egg and held onto it while he watched. I'm sure he'll be able to manage the big hill next year for the egg hunt.

We really enjoyed the time we got to spend with everyone this Easter and the wonderful memories we made. We hope you all had a blessed Easter and can feel our Heavenly Father's love at this joyous time. Remembering why we celebrate Easter, that Jesus lived and died and was resurrected - and that He lives.

Happy Easter!

An Unexpected Trip

So we all managed to get sick a week ago with a lovely virus that I won't go into any details about. Poor Nathan got it the worst though, running a fever for over 5 days. The nice thing about it was that we all got sick at pretty much the same time so it came and left as fast as possible. The bad thing was that it was over the weekend (which was good in some ways) so we didn't get anything done that we had planned.

Therefore we were really excited about this past weekend - I had big ideas for things we might do! Like finish cleaning out our garage, and perhaps unpack the last of our boxes. Maybe even finish painting!

But none of that happened. Apparently our agenda was too full.

Saturday morning we got up early for Nathan's FIRST T-ball game. Oh man, was he cute!!! I forgot my camera as we were rushing to get to his 8:30am game so no pics (sorry!). He had missed his first game the week before due to the aforementioned lovely virus. So we were all really excited about this game. Nathan did great! It was so fun watching all these little guys play t-ball together.

Afterwards we went with my mom to Cracker Barrel for brunch. If you've never been there, I highly recommend it!! The kids love going through their store and looking at all the fun toys and candy. Of course we never leave empty handed (thanks, mom!!!). So while we were enjoying the best biscuits ever with homemade apple butter, Dan mentions to me that his vision is weird - he's seeing lights and can't focus his eyes.

It doesn't go away as we finish up, so I drive Mom home and then we go home. By the time we got home Dan was not doing well at all. His head was in intense pain around his eyes and he still couldn't focus them. Dan grudgingly allowed me to call the doctor to find out what we should do. The response was to go to the ER and have it checked out.

Now if you know my husband (or any other man for that matter) you won't be surprised that he did NOT think going to the hospital was the right answer. He thought we should "wait and see if it gets better." So we waited. It got worse. I convinced him to go to the ER.

Fortunately for us, Dan's parents were not too far when I called them and they agreed to come watch the kids so I could take Dan in. I can't thank them enough for spending their entire Saturday watching our kids - they took them out and had so much fun (at least the kids did!). Thank you, thank you Carla & Richard!!!!!!!!

Wow I really didn't mean to make this post so long so I'll cut it short. We waited an hour in the waiting room at the ER before getting in, then another hour before the doctor saw Dan. After blood tests, eye exams, and a CT scan (all which took a couple hours), we got to wait another hour for the results. During all of this they gave Dan some meds which made him feel a lot better, so Dan slept. I got to sit in a chair next to him and worry.

Finally, the doctor came in and told us that everything looked normal from the tests and that Dan had experienced an "atypical migraine." Meaning, a migraine unlike the ones he normally has. Wow. We paid $100 bucks for that?! No, I'm glad we did - it put my mind at ease to know that he is OK. He's healthy and now feeling much better.

So there you have it - another fun weekend! This one will be much better, as long as we can all stay well and avoid the ER.

"Oh what a beautiful morning..."

"Oh, what a beautiful day,

I've got a wonderful feeling,

Everything's going my way."

It may be cloudy and overcast outside but this morning I feel like singing! For some reason the world looks so much more beautiful when I've gotten a good night's sleep. That's right - I went to sleep last night and didn't wake up at all until 8am this morning. My wish finally came true! We moved Tyler out of our bedroom two nights ago and now he's sleeping through the night (or at least through one night), but already it is so much better!!

Today is going to be a great day... I can just feel it. :)

Utah Trip - February 2009

I recently had the wonderful opportunity to go to Utah and visit my SIL Karin, her husband, Chris, and their adorable son, Arthur. I only took Tyler with me and left Natalie and Nathan at home with Dan. Let me tell you... the week I spent in Utah was AWESOME!!!!

We walked around Temple Square one evening. I had never seen the temple at night - it was so beautiful all lit up against the evening sky.

Tyler got some quality cousin-time with Arthur. It was so fun watching the boys play together, especially since they're only one week apart in age! Although I fear Arthur was a bit overwhelmed by Tyler - in size and demeanor (what can I say? Tyler is used to having older siblings) but I think they became good friends once they got used to each other.

As for us moms, we lived it up! We ate so much good food, relaxed, took walks, took naps, went shopping, talked and talked, and ate some more!! It felt a little weird for me to only have one child to care for while I was there, but I took advantage of it - I tried to relax and just enjoy some one-on-one time with Tyler. I feel like we became a lot closer on our trip (which I didn't think was possible since we're already very attached!)

Everyday we walked to some nearby shops and got...gelato!! (YUM)

Of course I had to get my Winger's fix

I got to spend some time with Dan's brother, Matt as well as his grandparents, David & Betty. It was so good seeing everyone, we really enjoyed it.

While there, Tyler got his first haircut! I'm so happy that Grandma Betty was willing to give Tyler his first ever haircut - while he may never remember it, I will. :)

Words cannot describe how thankful I am that I got to spend some quality time out in Utah with our family. I am so glad that Tyler and I were able to go, and I want to thank all my family/friends who helped with Natalie & Nathan while I was gone. And a huge THANK YOU to Karin & Chris for letting me come stay with them and for making the time we had there so enjoyable. You guys are the BEST!!!