"Here Comes Peter Cottontail"

We had a very fun week leading up to Easter.  The Monday before Easter, we had an Easter Egg Hunt with a bunch of people from church.  It was Spring Break for our schools and so there were a lot of kids.  We did it at a park and there were two areas, one for younger kids and one for older.  We all brought 12 eggs (per child) and were allowed to take home 12 eggs.  Jocey had fun collecting her eggs.  Then we stayed at the park to play and had a picnic.

My friend took some cute pictures of Jocey in the flower field next to the park.

 
That night for FHE we decorated eggs.  I went with something different this year and probably won't do it again, at least until I have older children.  We did glitter eggs.  You just need Glue Dots and glitter.  Stick on a glue dot and dip in glitter.  They did look really pretty but it was also just a little bit messy.  I'm still seeing glitter around the house.

Dave named this the Gansta' Jew.  That's supposed to be a yamaka on top of his head. 

This is what happens when you start using your hands to decorate.  But she had fun and that's all that matters.

All of our finished eggs.

On Saturday we had another Easter Egg Hunt with our neighbor friends.  The moms hid the eggs in the backyard and then the kids searched high and low for them.

What a cute bunch of kids.

Jocey dug right into her eggs.

Me and my big girl.

Our happy little family.

I made the girls their own tutu baskets and I loved how they turned out.  Jocelyn loved her purple dress basket.

The Easter Bunny came.  Jocey decided it was a girl bunny.  The dresses are from Grandma though.

The night before Easter, I put a bunch of braids in Jocey's hair so that it would be crimpy the next day.

 I love how her hair turned out.

My pretty princess and her matching basket.

My sweet babies.

We went to my father-in-laws for Easter.  We went to church and then headed back to his house and I started dinner.  I volunteered to do to the meal to give my aunt a break who does dinner every holiday and every Sunday.  It turned out great, if I do say so myself.  Anyway, I made some decorations/place settings for everyone.

I stuck with the egg theme for dessert too.  These cupcakes were yummy.

 
We had a wonderful Easter full of fun but also full of the spirit.  Our ward put on a special musical performance that was the perfect way to start off Easter and remind me of what Easter is really about.  I'm so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ and the ultimate sacrifice that he made for us all.  I know he lives and that through Him we can live again and be with our families forever!  Happy Easter!

St. Patty's Day/Southern California Getaway

About a week after we returned from Utah (see previous post) my parents drove out to our house. They were bringing the rest of my stuff that they've been storing at their place and they came to watch the girls while Dave and I went on a trip with some friends. But before the trip, here's what we did while my parents were here.

Since the girls and I were traveling during St. Patrick's Day, I decided we would celebrate when my parents came to visit. So we started the day off right with green food. I made green shamrock blueberry muffins and green eggs.  I also had a little pile of goodies for the girls to wake up to in the morning.  You know things like a light up shamrock ring, silly headbands, etc.

The girls wore their cute outfits.

And I made Corned Beef and Cabbage for the first time and it turned out great!

I also made a yummy pudding dessert though it was WAY TOO MUCH!! It was still tasty.

The next day Dave and I left, and my parents watched the girls for the next three days. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

So now for the Southern California Getaway.

We drove down to Burbank with our friends Matt and Meagan. Once down there, we picked up our other friends from the airport, Steve and Marissa. And then the party began!

We headed to the house we were renting and were not disappointed. It was in a quiet neighborhood but pretty close to most everything we wanted to do. That night we headed out to dinner at a Chinese restaurant. We just ordered a bunch of different items and shared. It was really good and made me wish that Dave and I would branch out and experiment more with new foods.

After dinner we headed back to the van but stopped to buy some delicious crepes. Ours had bananas, strawberries, dulce de leche, and whipped cream! It was amazing!

And the outdoor mall we were at was one of the nicest we had ever seen.

Then we headed to the Observatory. We didn't have a ton of time to spend there as it was closing in less than an hour but they had some cool displays and the view was amazing, even though it was night time. We could even just make out the HOLLYWOOD sign. One of my favorite parts was the Tesla Coil. If you've never seen the movie, The Sorcerer's Apprentice, watch it. It's funny and it will make you love Tesla Coils. Here's a link to the part of the movie I am referring to. Just click HERE.

The next day was Dave and I's favorite. We went to Universal Studios! We got there just after opening and were done by about 3pm. It was a Friday so there were hardly any lines, so we zoomed through everything we wanted to do. It was awesome.

If you know me well, you know that my favorite movie is JURASSIC PARK. So I was really excited about the ride.  And thanks Matt and Steve for being great background dancers.

We also loved the Park Tour. The reason for the 3-D glasses is because they have a part where you go through a King Kong movie scene.

We also went on the Mummy ride, Tranformers ride, Simpsons ride, watched the Shrek 4-D show, an animal show, and the Special Effects show. And we walked through the House of Horrors. I love scary things. So this was really fun but definitely freaky. The worst part was going into a small room with Chucky who then proceeded to chase me. Oh man did I scream. 

The rest of the day we took it easy at the house. We sat in the hot tub and then played games.

The next day we had a slow morning and then headed to the beach. It was freezing so us girls stayed on the dry sand huddled under towels and our jackets.

The boys braved the water and did some skim boarding. And they acted like little kids.

That night we tried out a pizza place that had received a lot of good reviews. It was good but nothing to brag about. It was really cool to watch the whole pizza making and baking process though. After dinner, we saw a movie, Divergent. I liked it a lot and thought it followed the book really well.

Oh and I forgot to mention that almost every day, we headed to a bakery that again had received lots of amazing reviews and you could tell that it lived up to those reviews because it was always full of people. It was good but Dave and I realized we aren't foodies. To us, the goods tasted like any other pastry. But you have to admit that it looks like heaven.  

The next day we headed home and back to reality. Thanks friends for a great little getaway!

It was fun to have Jocey so excited to see us. This is the longest I've ever been away from the girls. But I know they were in good hands. My parents headed home the next day and we said our goodbyes. It will probably be a year and a half before we see then again. That is almost like forever. So thanks mom and dad! We love you and miss you lots!

Mi Casa

At the very end of February, the girls and I went to Utah to visit my parents for 2 1/2 weeks. We went out then because Dave had a training out East for two weeks, and we all know it's no fun to be home alone with the kids for that long. It's hard. So we headed to good ol' Enoch.

The day after we got there, my dad had his last day of work. He is now retired. So we went to his retirement party.

 This is his cubicle.  He loves his planes.

And the rest of the time we played and played some more.

Jocelyn wore out Grandpa.

She read with Grandma.

I'm not really sure how this started but aren't they cute?

And there was an attempt at balloon animal making but it just turned into sword fighting.

My parents are going on a mission in June and so they are trying to get the house together before they leave (sorry I didn't help more). Jocelyn helped grandpa put up some storage shelves in the basement.

And then we got back to playing.

We had a picnic in the living room.

The girls looked cute.

And with all that playing, there was bound to be some of this.

I found Jocelyn like this one morning.  I don't think she remembered rolling off the bed nor did I hear her do it.

If you've been to Enoch, you know that it is a windy place. But of course the day we flew a kite, there wasn't much. Grandpa and Jocey were still able to get it in the air for a little bit though. 

Other things we did were hang out with some of my friends and their boys, go shopping in St. George, enjoy multiple Sunday family dinners, go to my cousin's fiancee's (now wife) bridal shower, take Emma to Urgent Care to see why she'd had a cough for two weeks and didn't seem to be getting any better, read three books, watch movies, and just spend some quality time with my parents before they leave to Kentucky for three years.

On our last day, I made sure to get some pictures of my parents with the girls.  My girls just love my mom and dad, and I know they will miss not seeing them as often as they are used to, once they leave for their mission.

Thanks for the fun trip!