Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday was no doubt, lots of fun. Nick was sick, so I was flying solo at church with the girls. I think they were a little antsy because the Easter Bunny hadn't come yet. He decided that it's best for him to come after church to we don't have to fight over taking any candy or toys with us. We reminded Emma all day Sunday and a couple days before that Easter isn't about the easter bunny, candy or easter egg hunts, it's about the Resurrection and the life of Jesus Christ. She was very good to remember and to listen. Maggie is still too young to get it. She just loves the suckers in her easter basket. Hence the reason her mouth is all blue. Love those blue suckers!! We were able to enjoy a little time together as a family and then my parents, Mari & her room mate Rebecca, Grandma Holyoak, and of course Cole, came over for dinner. Aly was on Choir Tour in California and we missed her a whole lot, that's why we invited Cole, to have a little piece of Aly with us (that's her man). Grandma & Grandpa Cook came with a few more gifts for the family, books for the girls & Enchanted! Nick and I got a FHE box. My smart mom knows me all too well. I always need help there. I made pumpkin rice soup, nobody was too sure about it at first, but they all liked it and there wasn't a single drop left over. Even Cole, the pumpkin-anything-hater enjoyed it. We played some games and tried to eat dessert, but no doubt, I screwed it up. It was an eclair type dessert w/vanilla pudding, but I bought the wrong kind...the cook & serve, not the instant....my bad. Oh well, we had enough candy to fill up every one's sugar needs. But most importantly, we got to spend time together as a family and remember the great importance of Easter & the sacrifice made for us to be an eternal family and return to our Father in Heaven and Savior. Hope you all enjoyed your day!

Easter Egg Hunt

We usually do the Easter Egg Hunt at our house, so we did this year again. We thought it would be a miserable day, but the weather worked out perfectly. We had my brother Chris' kids (Garrett, Keaton, Maysen & Jaycie), my girls, & our sister in law Kelly's (Garrett & Averie). Aunt Mari, Uncle James & Aunt Jerrica came to supervise the events as well as Grandma & Grandpa Cook, Grandma & Grandpa Powell & Grandma Holyoak. Maysen, Garrett C, Averie, Garrett P, Jaycie, Chris, Emma, Keaton & Maggie (left to right)

Maggie's favorite part, no doubt, all of the candy. Notice a sucker in each hand!

Emma with her stash of eggs & candy.

Maggie got first dibs on the front yard, she made out pretty good.

We also do a money egg. Usually there's a quarter or a dollar for each kid. Well I have to say all of the kids made bank this year. Uncle James & Aunt Jerrica brought a $2 bill for every kid. Grandma & Grandpa Cook did 18 money eggs, 9 $1 & 9 50Cent eggs. Grandma & Grandpa Powell also threw in a dollar for each kid. No doubt they loved the extra money. If you notice in the first picture, Garrett P is holding up his money. He was the most excited. It was so fun to have everyone over and to be able to enjoy each other's company. We all hung out for a while and just enjoyed the nice day.

What are sisters for right??

I have to say, Emma & Maggie make a great combo. Emma enjoys doing Maggie's hair and Maggie enjoys letting Emma do it. Of course Emma did have to put on one of her favorite Baby Einstein movies to get her to sit still. I love seeing the girls spend time together, I know Maggie won't remember this but Emma probably will and luckily we have the pictures for it. Aren't girls just so much fun???

This was such a cute picture, I just couldn't help but post it. Maggie and I had just dropped Emma off at Grandma & Grandpa Powell's for a sleep over. We headed home around 5 and I thought she might fall asleep so I gave her a book to read to help entertain her...pointless. She fell asleep while reading this book. Luckily I had my camera with me so I pulled over and snagged a couple of pictures of her. I'm not suprised she's so exhausted...she keeps us all up every night. She'll usually wake up and cry for about an hour or two every night. This has been going on for a month, so I took her into the dr just to make sure there's nothing physically wrong. No, she's fine. Who knows why she wakes up. Nick and I never go in, we just let her cry it out. I'm afraid that until it stops there will be no convincing Nick to expand our family. In fact, during one of these crying episodes, I did hear him say "And she wants to have 3 kids!" I sure hope it gets better! Any suggestions??

Another St. George get-a-way

Lately it seems that when we talk about going on vacation, we actually mean just going to St. George. So we decided that we should go down again. We headed down with The Budges on wednesday & The Ruttenburs came down on thursday. Hawkens joined us friday. Poor Josh...7 little girls running around screaming. Maggie discovered on the way down she has a hidden talent, she can successfully suck on two binki's at one time...as is demonstrated here. We alll had a lot of fun. The weather was beautiful. mid 70's the whole time we were there. Nick and Justin got to golf a couple of days and the girls got to shop. The kids even got to go to the park 4 times in 3 days, not too bad. Monte decided on their little trip to Vegas that they'd grab a cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory. It was SOOO good. But it was so big that between 7 adults we couldn't finish it. It was so nice to get away and be able to enjoy our own "spring break" and get some spring fever going. Now that we're back in the cold I'm dying! I watch the weather for St George and want to go back. But oh well...such is life right?

Open for Business

Emma recently decided she was going to open her own grocery store. So she cleaned out my pantry (note the empty shelves behind her) and now I do all my grocery shopping from her. The only problem is she's a little pricey. Like her sign says, "All Items Are Only $55" That is from the horses mouth. I tried to buy a can of cream of mushroom soup and that was her response. So anyone who needs to borrow a little something, we're open for business, but it's going to cost you.
This is Maggie's response to Emma's store.....

I've been tagged....

Shelly just tagged me and although I'm still not sure about half my answers, here it goes. I do have to tag 3 people at the end of this, and then I'll post a comment on your blog. I think there's one other rule, but I can't remember what it was...oh well. Here it goes.

Ten Years Ago:
So specifically, I don't remember & I didn't write down what I was doing on this very day 10 years ago. I pulled out my journal and found nothing...sorry. But in February of 1998, I was a Sr at Hillcrest High school and ready to be done. I really could list all of my classes for you, but you don't care. I'm pretty sure that there was a dance right around then and my geek boyfriend went with another girl. Not because I didn't want to go, but because his loser best friend wouldn't cover his shift at work so I could go. But he did work for him so he could go with another girl....jerk. Never really did like him.

5 Things On My To Do List:
Only five huh?
1. Get my laundry done already!
2. Get my lesson planned for Sunday
3. Get my house cleaned
4. Clean my car
5. Kick Nick off of his XBox 360...yes he finally got one...uggghhhh!!

I Enjoy:
I enjoy lots of things, but here's a couple. I lately have started working out in the morning with my friend Megan, we go to the aerobic/spinning classes together and I've really enjoyed getting my butt kicked into shape. I enjoy bowling once a week, again, with Megan. I enjoy bedtime for my girls, it's finally quiet. I enjoy reading a good book. And most of all, I enjoy my family.

What would I do if we were suddenly billionaires:
Truly, I would stop stressing about money. Really though, I'd make sure that I save for my kids college educations/missions/weddings. I would either move or knock down my house & build a new one....ahh... Decorate my house, something I have yet to do. Make sure that Nick can golf whenever he wants (as long as I approve :) And don't think I wouldn't do lots and lots of shopping.

3 Bad Habits:
1. I talk way too much...ask Nick.
2. Lose my temper too fast
3. I love watching TV.

5 Places I've lived:
1. Idaho, for 2 weeks after I was born.
2. West Jordan, UT
3. Sandy, UT
4. Murray, UT
5. Riverton, UT

5 Jobs I've Had:
1. Classic Skating....loved it.
2. Crossland Mortgage
3. RMIC
4. Associated Mortgage
5. Chevron Credit Bank

5 Things You May Not Know About Me:
Hmm....
1. I'm a total sap. I cry whenever someone else is crying....no matter what they're crying about. Testimony meetings on fast sundays KILL ME!
2. I was a competitive speed skater. Some people think it's a totally lame thing, but I got to travel a lot and met so many wonderful people. I'll never regret it. I started skating when I was 11 and stopped when I was 16. I learned how competitive I truly am and that I am good at something. I also learned a lot about who I am, the things in my life worth working for and how good it feels to work hard and see it pay off. I got to compete against my sister, and that truly was a blast. We had so much fun together and we were always relay partners. I learned how to work well with other people and how to function in a team setting and on my own.
3. I absolutely love to read. I will put almost anything aside to finish a good book. I stay up late just to finish a chapter or hopefully the whole book. I love reading to my girls and hope that I get to teach them something valuable.
4. I'm terrified of water. I don't mind swimming pools so much, but they still scare me. I hate the ocean and bridges. I tense up whenever we drive over a bridge (fortunately not that often). And no matter how hard I try I can not learn how to tread water or swim. I totally panic when I get into the deep end of a pool. I try not to let it cripple me, I have been snorkeling in the middle of the ocean, which was awesome. But it took a lot to get me out of that boat. I'm also not a big fan of boats....a houseboat...no way! You can't pay me to sleep on a houseboat. And because I'm such a bad swimmer it terrifies me even more to think of taking my kids on one.
5. I'm becoming a compulsive blogger. I can't believe how badly I want to check my own and others blogs every day. I love the stories and the pictures, especially those of you I don't see very often. I love reading the comments and all that fun stuff. I truly blame this on Jamie....you got me started.....


WHEW! I'm done. That was a lot harder than I thought and took a lot longer. I hope you all aren't bored out of your minds. But here's who I'm going to tag....Jerrica (because you need to get some more posts on your blog :), Jamie and Lindsey. And really, if you want, tag yourself if I didn't. Good luck and happy blogging!!!