Festival Fun

Yesterday was the annual Spring Festival fundraiser at Provost. Although I was not officially in charge of it this year, I was still highly involved. I helped get donations, wrap baskets, and get volunteers in the months leading up to the Festival. And last night I spent my time running around making sure that all of the booths were staffed and the prizes were well-stocked.

Ryan went with the kids, and so he would be better to tell you what they did and how they enjoyed it. But for now, we can just look at the pictures he took, and see that everyone seemed to have a lot of fun!

Benjamin on the rock wall. Both he and Nathan spent a lot of the 3 hours here!

Elizabeth loved the 3 bounce houses!

Because of the weather, most of the games and all of the food were inside the school this year.

dancing with Red

We had a great turnout!

Happy Birthday, Ryan!

Today is Ryan's birthday! We celebrated with Nathan's baseball practice :). Ryan and I will go out for dinner this weekend, and tonight he did get to open his presents.

The hardest part for me is always figuring out what to get Ryan. He is very low-maintenance, and rarely expresses a desire for anything! So what should we get for him? The dilemma! Luckily, I think I stumbled on a few things he will enjoy.

 no, that is not a body wrapped in that blanket!

It's a BYU camping chair!

Ryan got a couple of games from his siblings

Down and Derby

Tonight was Nathan's last cub scout Pinewood Derby, and Benjamin's first! The boys and Ryan worked hard on the cars . . . the boys on the shape and paint, and Ryan on the little details that might help them go faster. The last two derbys, Nathan has not done too well, and Ryan really wanted to help him have a car fast enough to get in the top 3!

Benjamin's car is the green/yellow #77, Nathan's is the solid red one

Nathan's red car is in the lead, and you can see him standing there watching

 Benjamin's car is on the right, in 4th place

Elizabeth insisted on wearing her cheerleader dress-ups! "Go brothers!"

Benjamin came in last place overall, and Nathan came in 4th -- he missed 3rd place by about 3 thousandths of a second. (The track is all automated and times the cars and averages out all of the races.) Ironically, it was Benjamin smiling at the end, and Nathan was in tears for a few minutes when he learned he was not in the top 3. I found it funny that Ryan helped both boys with their cars using the tips he had learned, and they worked for one car and not the other! The good news is that Nathan ended on a high note, and Benjamin still has two years . . . and he can only improve!

Fun with Friends

Last night we had our friends, the Myers, over for dinner. Ryan and I have gotten to know them well through church assignments, and our kids LOVE them both! They are so sweet and playful with the kids. We had a great time after dinner with the games they brought over!

Angry Bird Birthday

Six years ago Joshua joined our family! We are so grateful for his fun, happy, boisterous personality!

To celebrate, we had an Angry Birds party. I'm not necessarily the most creative person, but I can copy other people's great ideas!

decorations

Angry Birds coloring pages

the brothers were excited they could participate

We spent a lot of time playing Angry Birds in real life in the backyard. We used cardboard boxes, green balloons for the pigs, and a red playground ball for the bird. I divided the kids into two teams, and they took turns: one team threw the bird and the other team was in charge of setting up the boxes into whatever configuration they wanted.

 treat bags, filled with plastic eggs and other goodies

the cake

 presents

After the friend party we had dinner and then family presents.

 I love his enthusiasm!

Legos!

ready for baseball with a lefty glove

A Visit with Granny

This week has been Spring Break for both our family and for my brother Sam (BYU Idaho). He came to visit, and overall it was an enjoyable yet low-key week. On Wednesday we all drove up to visit Granny (my grandma) in Logan. It had been way too long since we'd seen Granny, so I am glad that we were able to go up there!

We went to her place at the assisted living facility and visited with her for a while. Nathan brought his blow-up tiger and a wheat-bag he had made, both of which he loves a lot. I was so impressed that he gave both of them to Granny for her to keep! When the kids got a little bored of talking to Granny, they went down the hall and entertained themselves at the pool table. Then we took Granny out to lunch at Chili's. The kids were so cooperative (most of the time) and did really well considering all of the time they spent driving back and forth in the car!

Easter Sunday

They may not look ready for a magazine cover or anything, but the kids looked good by our standards for church today. It is a miracle that all 3 boys are wearing ties!

And I LOVE Elizabeth's Easter dress!

silly girl!

We had a delicious Easter dinner with ham and cheesy potatoes, of course. I didn't get a picture of dinner, but here is how our Easter eggs turned out:

Most importantly, we enjoyed remembering our Savior today. He lives! He suffered for us, and through Him we can be made whole. I am grateful for this knowledge, and for the chance I've had today to reflect on the true meaning of Easter.