Easter Sunday

I guess it doesn't surprise me that the boys buy the Easter Bunny story, since they were also so clueless as to accompany me to Target, help me pick out the candy, didn't notice when I tucked little toys and things into the cart, and never seemed to question when said items wound up in their baskets this morning. Poor kids. I almost feel guilty pulling the wool over their eyes--but they make it so easy!

I like the candy, I like the egg hunts, I like dying the eggs, but by far my favorite thing about the holiday is the excuse to order a set of matching ties and dress the boys up for church. What a handsome bunch of boys!

As I studied Easter messages from the Ensign, read talks on the atonement and resurrection by our prophet and apostles, and shared the meaning of Easter with the boys through scripture and Bible video during FHE, I felt a new appreciation and understanding of the significance to me of this special celebration. Jesus Christ suffered all--betrayal, accusation, scorn, humilation, being scourged, beated, crucified, and, ultimately forsaken--and gave His life freely and willingly. Through our Heavenly Father's great plan, Jesus did not die, but was resurrected and lives! Because our Savior endured all, and overcame death, I know that in Him, I too can overcome my own earthly challenges. Today, I celebrate His victory and the hope that His triumph over death gives me that I may have eternal life with my family, too.

Masterpeices

Check out these artists and their egg-masterpeices:

 

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

When Aaron found out that the Mariners were playing an exhibition game in Salt Lake, you can bet he jumped on buying those tickets. All week long, the boys couldn't stop talking about going to the game. The morning of the big day, the boys woke up and straight away put on their Mariner's outfits. The boys had a blast...the first inning...until they ran out of snacks and began to complain that it was too hot. I entertained the boys taking them on walks around the stadium so Aaron could enjoy his game in peace and finally just let the boys lay on the ground where it was cooler and watch cartoons on my phone. Needless to say, Aaron was a little bummed that the boys' Mariner's loyalty ran out so fast, but it was still fun to spend the afternoon at the ballpark and root for our home team.

You Snooze You Lose

Max, describing the Easter egg hunt that we took the boys to yesterday morning, said, "if you snooze, you lose--and we won!" Exactly! I think all of Draper showed up to the Easter egg hunt--the sidewalks were flooded with people walking to the event from a mile away. Luckily, we enjoyed VIP status, thanks to Benny, and had front-row position in a field that we had nearly to ourselves. While Hank and Max filled their baskets, Benny was startled by the loud firetruck siren signaling the start of the race, and needed a good hug before he was ready to hunt for eggs. Everyone went home happy with their baskets full of chocolate bunnies, rubber duckies, and tootsie-roll-filled eggs.

Good Man

Just a few recent examples of the many ways that Aaron proves over and over what a great husband, amazing dad, and good man he is:

* He spends his Saturday morning pitching in on chores, scrubbing our carpets with the Rug Doctor....and his Saturday night cuddling and tenderly caring for our throwing-up Benny boy.

* He comes home from early-morning church meetings, gathers up the pack of wild boys, shoos them out of our bedroom, closes the door behind him, and says, "Enjoy your shower, honey."

*He makes the time to take the boys on individual Daddy/Son dates and makes them each feel special and loved.

Max's Daddy Date consisted of breakfast at McDonald's, a morning spent in the office with Dad, and then a round of golf--Max even got to drive the cart!

For his Daddy Date, Hank got to go to a Jazz game....staying up super late on a school night and eating all sorts of candy and treats.

Perfect Report Card!

Aaron and I made this special candy-gram for Hank to show him how proud we are of his perfect, straight-4s (the elementary school equivalent of straight-A's), report card!

The card reads:

Dear 'Big Hank,' 'Look!' "U-No' that your perfect report card brings us 'Mounds' of pride and 'Joy.' Don't 'Snicker' because today is your 'Payday.' We wanted to get you something really specail, like a fancy gift from '5th Avenue,' '100 Grand,' or 'Whatchamacallit,' but instead we decided to just give you lots of 'Kisses.' You 'Rock' Hank! Love you all the way to the 'Milky Way' and back! Love, Mom and Dad

Spring has Sprung!

Max, Ben, and Joey were such good sports to pause here and there on our morning bike ride to let me snap a few quick pictures of their cute mugs and our perfect spring morning together.

Life is Good!

Yesterday it felt like spring...the sky was blue, the sun was warm on my skin, the neighborhood was alive with bikers and runners, and we even turned on the A/C in the van. I just couldn't bear to spend the day indoors--off to the park we went (for the first of hopefully many more park days to come)!

Silly as it may sound, I felt like prayers had been answered. For the first time ever (ever!), Ben walked from the parking lot to the park by himself without insisting (crying and going wet-noodle limp) on riding in the stroller. He walked along the sidewalk, holding my hand, like a big kid! After getting his fill of the swings Benny pointed to the slides and said, "ride!" I couldn't believe his confidence and independence when he climbed up the stairs all by himself and slid down the big kid slide all by himself--over and over, and over, again! What unbelievable progress over last summer when I had to bring a bucket of toys with us to entertain Ben at the park because he refused to get out of the safety of his stroller to do anything. I'm ecstatic that he not only has the ability, but the willingness, to play and explore at the playground. It may not seem like a big deal, but I can't put in to words how life-changing it feels to me to have Ben demonstrate a little bit of independence and a desire to participate in activities. It made my heart happy to watch him peek through the plexi-glass window and stomp over the mini-bridge--just like every other kid.

It won't be long before I'm chasing little Jobot all over the playground, so it's kind of nice to be able to contain him in the swing for a bit.

Check it out! He's climbing up those stairs all by himself!

What spring day is complete without a nice bike ride?

Oh how I love the sunshine! Life is better when the sun is shining. What a sweet glimpse into all of the outdoor fun that awaits this summer!

Sneakster

I took my eyes off of this little rascal for one minute, and here is what I found:

Can my little baby really be big enough to climb stairs already? When I discovered him half-way up the stairs, I called out "Joey!" in my surprised/stern voice, and that little monkey went stiff as a board and slid right down on his tummy as though he had been practicing his stair-climbing behind my back all along. Lesson learned: I've got my eye on that sneaky one!