Birthdays, birthdays, and more birthdays!

We've just been partying around here and loving every minute of it! Monday was Trevor's birthday and yesterday was my birthday. What a fun way to start off our spring break.

Yesterday was a great day and the best birthday present of all was the fact that Jeremiah took the day off and was home with the kids and I.

I started off my birthday by going to the gym to workout and then came home and played a few games of tennis with the kids. We are really loving our new wii!

Jeremiah and I then went out to breakfast without kids! I love having an at home babysitter. After breakfast we decided to pack a little picnic lunch and go for a walk on the Rail Trail. Emersynne loved riding in the wagon and we all loved enjoying the beautiful spring day.





I even got a nap while the little ones were napping and then Jeremiah got out the BBQ for the first time this season and we had delicious hamburgers for an early dinner before Michaela had to head out to mutual for the youth temple trip.

The evening was a little hectic with Michaela needing to be up at the church so early to get her ride to the temple and then Natalie and Anthony needing to go up later in the evening for Activity Days and Cub scouts. Jeremiah took the kids up and after I got the little ones into bed I played with wii fitness that I got for my birthday. We've already had lots of fun trying it out and now the kids are excited to get set up so they can try to beat daddy and mommy's best scores on the games.

I almost forgot to mention my triple chocolate-chocolate cake that we ate last night. The last of the cake is still sitting in the fridge tempting me.

It was a wonderful day!

Happy Birthday Trevor!

It's hard to believe that my little guy is not so little anymore. Today Trevor is six years old and after coming so close to losing him to the river when he was seventeen months old makes me really stop and realize how blessed we are to have Trevor in our family.

Here is a look at Trevor through the years!








Trevor had a great birthday and I think the highlight of his day was knowing he didn't have to do his chores!

Arrrrr matey!

Today was the day Trevor had been waiting for. His first "friend" birthday party.

We decided on a pirate theme and had a great time decorating, making the cake, and planning games. The party was a big success even with our wet weather that forced us to have an indoor treasure hunt.

Here's the group of pirates in front of our Jolly Roger flag.

The kids had a great time trying to pin the eye patch on the pirate. Michaela spent a lot of time putting this pirate together and I had to laugh when one of the boys at the party said, "Hey, that looks like a leprechaun pirate!"

Jeremiah did a great job converting our buried treasure game into an indoor scavenger hunt. The kids had clues that lead them to different areas of the house and pieces to add to their treasure map. When the treasure map was full it would lead them to the treasure. At one point I had 8 little kids in my tiny downstairs bathroom looking for the clue. I never would have guessed they would all fit in there at the same time!

Trevor officially invited Abigail to his party and she was so excited to be included with the big kids! She really had a great time.


Yummy! Yummy!

It was a great morning but also a relief to have it done. We've spend the last few months shopping around for ideas and supplies. I have to say that the biggest hit of all were the pirate sticker books my sister saw when we were at the dollar store. I grabbed a stack to use for party favors and handed them out at the end of the party. Several of the boys sat down right where they were and started working in their books. Thanks Julia for noticing those!

Utah trip

So I'm a little late in getting this post up but I still wanted to write about my trip to Utah last month. Better late than never right?

When my sister's baby died the end of January it was very hard being so far away from my family. I really wanted to be there but knew I couldn’t leave my own family. Jeremiah encouraged me to go out for a visit and rearranged his work schedule and took vacation days so he would be home when the kids got home from school during the week I was gone. I know it was a long hard week for Jeremiah and the kids but it was really great to spend time with Julia. Since Emersynne still flies for free she came along with me. We spend a lot of time with my sister and Bridgett and Aaron but also got to see Grandma and Grandpa Christensen, Grandma Vicki, Nannie and Papa, Grandma Wendel, and my parents.

Grandma Vicki coaxed Emersynne onto her lap with the big bucket of animal crackers. When nothing else works food will usually get Emersynne away from mommy.

Emersynne was a trooper during our trip. She didn't really like being around all the people and was extra clingy but as long as mommy was around she did great.

Our visit with Grandma Wendel

Towards the end of our trip Emersynne was starting to get used to being around Nannie and Papa and even sat briefly so I could take these pictures. I had to be quick though because she wasn't going to stay there long. I think she was afraid I would walk out of the room!

When we first arrived in Utah my mom was out of town but Emersynne quickly warmed up to her Grandpa when she saw Aaron and Bridgett playing with him. These next few pictures of my dad and Emersynne are definitely keepers!

Emersynne never really had a chance to warm up to Grandma Cindy because we left two days after my mom got home but she sure did like being with Aaron and Bridgett!

While my sister and I spend a lot of time doing the normal mommy things that come along with taking care of kids we were able to have some great talks, cries, and bonding time during nap time and when the kids were in bed for the night.

Emersynne was happiest when she was with her cousins Aaron and Bridgett.

We had a cleaning day and all three of the kids were great helpers.

We took flowers to Colette’s grave, picked out silk flowers to make an arrangement for her grave, and looked over Colette’s memorabilia. It has only been two months since Colette’s birth and death and I know my sister still has many hard times ahead of her but it has been amazing for me to see her strength as she has fought for the peace and comfort in dealing with this loss. What an amazing blessing it is to have the gospel in our lives and know that we can be families forever!



Last session...

...right here on Eastern Blog Country!

Truly, He is risen!

My children all wanted to congregate in Mommy and Daddy's room this morning, so we checked out some videos on youtube. Here's some of what we found.







Happy Easter, friends. May the love of Christ and the glory of His resurrection fill you with wonder and joy.