A typical Sunday...

...usually includes the following (keep in mind church starts at 9am):

-me waking up before everyone else and getting myself completely ready (except I stay in my p.j.s until right before we head out the door because more than likely I'll be slobbered on ...or worse... by the time we're through) before waking anyone else up

-then I wake up everyone else and get breakfast (which Cash usually never eats because he's too grumpy from being woken up so we pack cereal, etc. for church snacks)

-following breakfast, the kids jump in the shower with Daddy and he gets them washed up

-then I take them one by one to get them dressed and prettied up...these are the results:

What a stud in his new little suit!

Head to toe...beautiful!

Usually we're all a little grumpy by the time we get to church (which, despite my best efforts, is always RIGHT when church is starting) because we've had a rushed morning and the kids are still tired. BUT...yesterday was different. I slept in an extra half hour yet we still got to church about 10 minutes early - AND the kids were happy. It was magic - I'm sure I can't pull it off again.

Of course the rest of church was still a bit of a struggle (that just comes natural with two little ones: one who can walk and just wants down to explore and who fights her morning nap for the whole 3 hrs.; and one who just loves to pester the other) but I learned a long time ago that although it can be rough sometimes, church is where we need to be on Sunday. I believe our kids will learn that and I hope, through our example, they will always have a desire to attend church, to partake of the Sacrament, to feel of the Spirit that can be there, to learn and grow, and to worship our Heavenly Father and Savior, Jesus Christ - because it's the right thing to do.

Vanna's First

Vanna had her 1st birthday on Friday, April 17th! I can't believe that much time has flown by so quickly. She's still my baby and to say she's a year old now sounds crazy! Because it worked out better with Daddy's work schedule, we celebrated on Sunday. Here's some pix of Vanna on her actual b-day, Friday.

She's walking all over the place now. Only a week ago she was pretty chicken and if she took a couple steps it was because we begged her to. Now it's all her idea and she's really getting around. She's so cute with her "baby-steps".

Vanna's party had a flower theme. "Come celebrate with me, among flowers so pretty, and you will soon see, I'm no longer itty-bitty" was written on the flower invitiations I made. We decorated with colorful pink flowers.

We had a few friends over to play a couple games which included: pin the bee on the flower, a guess how many jelly beans were in the floral glass jar game, a guess what flower is pinned on your back game, a balloon race game, and a flower pinata. I think the pinata was a hit. Even Vanna got a turn (sorry my pictures didn't turn out real great - I'll have to steal some from the cute ones my friends got of her).

We had cake and ice cream. Of course the cake and cupcakes were decorated with flowers too. Vanna was so cute with her cake - she was so dainty and ate it so carefully. As you can see, she loved it.

We bought her a front facing carseat, several pair of p.j.'s and I made her some hair clips (mainly just things she needed anyway-lame I know but you gotta do it while you can get away with it right?). We're buying her and Cash a swingset for the backyard for their birthdays so we didn't go too over board yesterday. We thought we'd get more of a reaction from Cash with it too so we're waiting to "present" it until his birthday - but don't tell him - it's a secret. :)These are the clips I made. I'll have to practice more, but I thought they turned out pretty cute - for a 1st timer.

We all had a great time. It was so fun celebrating our little doll. Vanna is such a sweet spirit and such a joy to have in our family. We wouldn't be complete without her. We love her to death.

Vanna's birthday also serves as a reminder to us of the so many acts of kindness we were recipients of when we had her a year ago. We struggled a bit and don't believe we could have made it without our dear family and friends - so thank you again, for your love and support in our times of need and always. We love you!

Easter Trip Highlights

We went down to Rigby to spend our Easter weekend with Ty's family. We left early Thursday and got back home last night. We had a great time - here are some highlights:

1. Family. We got to see and spend time with every member of Ty's family. This doesn't happen very often-his brother Trevor lives in Nevada and they hadn't even seen Vanna yet (who turns 1 this week)-so it's been a while.

2. Cousins. The cousins had crazy fun together. It is so entertaining to watch them chase eachother around and crack eachother up over the silliest things.

3. Announcement. Dixie is having another baby.

4. Kites. Grandma and Grandpa Bazil gave Cash a kite and he and his cousins had a good time flying their kites. It was Cash's first time.

5. Blastoff. The whole family went to Blastoff to play miniature golf and let the kids play in their fun playground. Vanna loved the ball pit.

6. Dinner. After fun at Blastoff, we were treated to dinner at Sizzler which was yummy. Thank you James and Orillia. Vanna got her first sucker there (she was in 7th heaven) and it turned her mouth completely green. Cash loved his ice cream cone too.

7. Traditions. An adorable store in rigby that has the cutest home decor items. I bought a wreath holder, two wall sconces, and a sofa table to put in my entry way. I'm so excited to add them to our house.

8. Easter Egg hunt. It was adorable to watch Cash search for the eggs on Saturday that Ty...I mean...the Easter bunny hid. It was Vanna's first egg hunt and I don't think she knew quite what to think but she loved playing with the eggs-of course only after Cash had emptied and eaten the candy out of them first and they no longer entertained him.

9. Cows. The kids always love seeing the cows and calves when we go to Grandma and Grandpa's.

10. Date. Grandma and Grandpa Bazil offered to watch the kids while Ty and I (and Trevor and Dixie) went on a date. We went to the movies and watched Knowing-it's okay but it was fantastic to spend some time together-just us.

11. Cash and Vanna's Easter. Vanna got a new Easter dress and Cash got some new church shoes. They also got several bath toys (they love their bath and I thought this would be a lot of fun for them since they didn't really have much to play with in the tub) and a movie to share. Ty got some ties for work, a back scratcher (to replace me :)) and some candy. He let me do my hair - I had it darkened - it was darker than I expected but I actually really like it now that I'm used to it, and he got me some of my favorite candy too.

12. Baby blessing. Yesterday we went to Blackfoot to see my brother, Travis, and his wife, Stacey, bless their new little girl-Lucy Kay. She's beautiful and reminds me a lot of her older sister McKaydee.

13. More family. At the blessing we also got to see and spend time with every member of my family (minus my dad and step-mom and step-sisters on the other side). This also doesn't happen very often and it was wonderful. Cash also loved seeing his cousins on this side of the family. Here's some pix of the group.

Tab, Mom, Me, Josh, Natalie, Travis, Jason

Siblings - Me, Josh, Natalie, Travis, Jason

Cousins - Lucy, Jenna, Vanna, Avery, Mitchell, Roger,

Dawson, Colton, Sophia, Cash, McKaydee

Vanna loved her new little babysitter her older cousin, Avery. The kids had a great time with their cousins. The whole trip was just awesome because we got to spend so much time with so many of our family members. Happy Easter!

Oh, and I forgot to mention that Ty's brother, Nick, graduated from college and we celebrate that too-and saw their new house which is beautiful. Congrats!

Family Home Evening

We had a fun Family Home Evening last night. We colored eggs and then talked about how each color of egg can represent something to help us remember Jesus (Yellow: Sunshine-the radiance of Jesus; Red-the blood of Jesus; Purple: Jesus' royalty; Green: Nature-Life; Black: our sins; White: Light-Purity and Joy). We went into a little detail with each color and then we talked about what Easter is really about.

Whether or not Cash got much from the lesson I'm not sure but he sure loved coloring the eggs. He was very good at stirring them to make sure they were evenly colored. He was also good at putting stickers on the eggs and cracking them when they were all done because he just had to hold them-and inevitably he would drop them and crack them. Oh well. Good fun!

Welcome Visitors and Happy Easter too!

We had a wonderful week! On Tuesday my sister, Natalie, and her family came to stay a few days with us for their Spring Break. We gave them a tour of Payette and the surrounding area, took my nephews to story time, went out for pizza and played at the arcade, watched Ty's Pinewood Derby race (which he actually won as chamion-what a hoot), went shopping, and drove out to Hell's Canyon. On our drive(which was one of the most beautiful drives I've ever been on by the way) we saw wild turkeys, mountain goats, pheasants, deer, elk and watched as fish were transplanted and dropped into the Snake from fish hatchery semi-trailers. My nephews were so thrilled to see those fish and even caught and helped several back into the water as they'd swim right up to them onto the dock-not knowing where to go once they were released. We also just played, visited and enjoyed one another's company. I know Cash especially loved playing with his three cousins. My poor kids were both a little sick with colds but Vanna came down with her second ear infection so she wasn't herself much until the day our visitors left. It felt so lonely when they left Friday. We absolutely loved having them. Silly me...I didn't take any pictures of all the above - I swear I never take my camera when I really need to.

On another note...about a month ago, we took the kids to a hatchery in Caldwell where they had hundreds of baby chicks and baby ducks for sale. They are kind enough there to just let kids come in and hold/pet the little darlings so we made the trip. Cash was very good to be gentle and soft with the babies and enjoyed it big time. Vanna preferred to look at the chicks from a distance but was very entertained. I thought they'd be some cute pictures to share to get us in the Easter spirit.

HAPPY EASTER!!!