Easter 2015

 Happy Easter 2015!  Liz is 6, Julie 4, and Penny 1 years old!  They were all very excited about the eggs and the candy!  The Easter egg hunts were super fun and prompted me to actually pull out my camera, but there was so much more to this Easter season than the egg hunts.   I wish I had photos of all our activities!  We had some guests who were down on their luck, staying in our home the week before Easter so things were a bit hectic this year.  However, we were able to find a home for them to move into just before Holy Week started.  Our Holy Week celebration this year was the best Holiday ever.  We participated in the Lamb of God performance and Dave sang the solo part of John!  (He was spectacular!)  We went all out with our daily remembrance of the events leading up to the resurrection and the depth of feeling that accompanied this season was breath taking.  All the personal details are written in my personal journal, but we kicked off the celebration by remembering the day Mary of Bethany anointed Christ, on Saturday.  (Women's General Conference meeting was that night)  Then, we followed it with Palm Sunday, the Last Supper, Garden of Gethsemane, Good Friday, The Crucifixion, Missionary Work in the Spirit World/BOM appearance, and the Resurrection. I left out some other events/stories in this list but you get the idea.  Each day the girls opened an Easter box with a little present that represented the teachings for the day.  They loved it!  Anyways, so on to all the pictures and the egg hunts!

 Oh, the excitement of hunting for eggs stuffed full of candy!

 Papa put on a great hunt, as usual.  Its a fun tradition we have!

 Penny knew what was happening and did a good job looking AND eating the candy.

 Papa really made these grandkids happy!

 Grammy and Papa's house is always full of exciting events and SUGAR!

Later that day we had ANOTHER egg hunt with friends!  It wouldnt be a proper Easter egg hunt without the McGiffs!

Disneyland 2015!

 We went to Disneyland this last May and Grandma and Grandpa came with us!!!  It was everything a little girl's heart could dream of!  ;-)

 They are the perfect age to be completely taken with all the characters!  Mickey and Minnie Mouse are always the favorite!

 Penny was really curious about the characters and excited.  Not an ounce of fear in this child...ever.

 After a long exhausting day in Disneyland we took a little rest before having dinner at Red Robin!

 Penny and i ended up spending alot of time here while the others went on big rides like Space Mountain!  She loved this big, wet, spinning ball.

The best part about this trip was spending it with Grandma and Grandpa!  It made the whole experience so special.  We were so glad they came.  Eventually, we had to part ways though!  They took off and we headed to the Marston Home!

Not before stopping for lunch at Portillo's though!  Yes, we are obsessed with this place.  And yes, we brought some of it home with us to keep in our freezer.  

 Ok, just a few more Disney pics from instagram...

....Then we headed to play with cousins and more family!  We just adore these guys and they are so fun to visit!  The kids are in heaven with their cousins in the CA weather.  Swimming and playing together all day!

 We packed in a lot of good times within a couple days and even headed to the beach despite the weather being on the cooler side.  It was so great to spend time with Steph and Blake and fam!  We love those guys!

Shellfie Winner!

This face won us a $100 gift card to Ivar's!  We entered it into the "shellfie" contest and totally won! Way to earn your keep, little bean!

 This child.  She is a CLIMBER.  She is our first climber.  And hopefully the last...lol.  We are so busy running behind her and catching her all the time. Good thing she is so dang cute.  And I could probably use the exercise.  ;-)

Valentine's Day 2015

I love this guy. I still wake up every morning and wonder how I got to be so lucky!  Soul mates are for real.  We were meant to be! 

Highlighted moments with my love:  We were pretty lucky this year that we got to go on a cruise to celebrate my 30th  birthday!!  That is our favorite way to get away from it all! We did so much reading, eating, and sleeping. A little segway tour, won a free facial, got a massage on the beach, authentic Mexican nacho moments, and shopping.  Just the two of us.  It was pretty insane.  

Skiing down the mountain side is always a rush.  Enjoying the opportunity to ski at Mt. Bachelor together.

Easter 2015

Easter this year was the BEST!  I really mean the best season our family has EVER had.  We really tuned into the true meaning of Easter and spent a lot of time teaching the girls about the significance of the holiday. Dave and I participated in the "Lamb of God" production.  Dave sang the part of John and he did an amaaazing job. It was stunning to hear him sing all those solos that well.  The spirit that we felt as we sang praises for our Lord and Savior added so much to the season.  We added even more on to our now traditional celebration of Holy week.  Each night we taught the girls a little lesson about that day of Christ's life, sang some songs, and did a fun activity.  The Easter boxes each day added to the excitement and highlighted an important part of that particular day.  (like an I am a child of God necklace, etc)  I don't have any pictures of those moments- they are in our hearts.  BUT I do have some really great and super fun Easter egg hunt photos with the family!  

Papa's egg hunts are the best! The kids had crazy fun!

 Penny "got it" this year and ate soooo much chocolate!

 She love her Grammy!  (even if she is a little shy sometimes)

Then, we did another Easter Egg hunt with the McGiffins!  Spoiled children...I tell ya.

Merry Christmas 2014!

Christmas was such a dream this year.  We put extra focus on the true meaning of Christmas and we  tried to teach the girls the reason for the season by doing lots and lots of service and Christmas surprises for people!  They really enjoyed it all.  We did all that fun Santa stuff too! Penny was the cutest Santa though. 

We put the tree in the living room for the first time this year and it was definitely the way to go!  The little train running around the bottom of it kept the girls entertained for days! 

We were heavily involved with putting on the Ward Christmas party this year and it turned out great!  The Santa visit and pictures were definitely a hit!

Penny is One!

 Penny, when you look back and notice that there just aren't as many blog posts since you've been born....just know that it's because I'm spending all my time MAKING memories with you and your sisters!  We are so busy creating fun memories as a family all day long that there's hardly a chance to take a picture, let alone blog!  Plus, the new trend of these days has moved away from blogging as it takes sooo long to do.  I am all about being present for you in the moment and so I often forget to pick up the camera.  You are a cutie and I  love you! I had to add this birthday blog.

 Your sisters love you too!  They want to hug and squeeze you all day long. When you are not around they say things like, "Where is Penny?  We miss her!"  And, "Nothing is funny when Penny is not here."  You are the entertainment for the family.  You are good at listening.  You are always trying to be like your Mama and "help" me with whatever I'm doing.

This is your favorite book so I made that cake for you!  I think you recognized and "got it" when I showed the book and the cake to you at the same time.  You are a little bit of cake but were more concerned about getting messy than getting the sugar in your mouth.  You are my cleanly little one!

 This riding toy was certainly an exciting gift for you!  You have used it a ton!  You and cousin Wade always push each other around on it.  So cute!