Happy Easter

Last Tuesday I decided to color eggs with the kids. I know it was early in the week but I knew it would be the only chance we had before Anthon and I left to go to Nauvoo. Anyway, here are some pictures.

The kids had a blast! They LOVED it!

I thought ten eggs would be enough but the kids didn't seem to think so.

The next day was my turn to do preschool so we had an Easter party.

Here are the kids decorating little foam Easter eggs.

We also made these little bunnies with spoons. I thought they turned out pretty cute.
The night before preschool I made these cookies (for snack time) and they turned out cute but then the next day....

They totally shriveled up! The kids loved them anyway.

We had story time while they had their cookies and milk and then we went to the park in front of my house for an Easter egg hunt. We used the eggs we had colored the night before and then some plastic ones. There was still a little bit of time left before preschool ended so they just played until their came to pick them up. It was fun.

General Conference weekend

We had been planning on going to Thatcher for General Conference but I decided to head down early. I left on Wednesday and then Anthon met up with us on Friday. It was a very good extended weekend.

Aubrey, Makenna and McKay getting ready for a cold ride on the Arctic Cat to go rent a movie.

Mason and Brooklee were so cute together. We had them facing each other and they both just kept smiling so big. It was really cute!

Mason and Brooklee

Aunt Allison reading the kids a book.

Good friends

Makenna and Aubrey just LOVE each other! Makenna is always talking about how Aubrey is her best friend. I'm glad she has a cousin so close in age to play with. They wanted to do EVERYTHING together! Sarah and I got them matching outfits and I did their hair the same and Sarah took them out to do a photo shoot. As soon as I get those pictures I will post them. They are really cute.

Twins

It was a very good weekend and I was sad to leave. The girls did NOT want to part! They both got teary eyed and begged for Makenna to stay. I could have said yes since the kids will be back at my mom's house on Wednesday while Anthon and I celebrate our anniversary, but I want to spend time with her before we leave. A three day seperation seemed a little too much for them to bear. It'll go by quickly though :o)

Our eventful weekend

We had lots going on this weekend! One of Anthon's old mission buddies emailed him over a month ago and said they were going on vacation and wanted to come to AZ. Anthon told him he was welcome to stay at our house if he didn't mind staying in house with three kids. Anyway, he emailed Anthon a couple of weeks ago and said they were coming down this weekend which happened to be the weekend we were blessing Mason.
We picked them up from the airport Friday night and went out to eat. The rest of the night was pretty uneventful :o). The next morning we had a piano delivered to our house. A friend of ours needed someone to keep it for about a year and we volunteered.

This is the piano. I didn't expect it to be so old but hey...a piano is a piano!

It's been nice being able to play again. It took about an hour to get back to being able to play though. I haven't played a single song in over five years. Sad, I know.
Anyway, after the piano came we had a ginormous breakfast and then got ready for the day. Well, Scott and Megan (our guests) told us they wanted to go on a walk. So while they were gone we went out to get stuff for our luncheon we were going to have on Sunday after the blessing. When we got back I noticed that they had bought Rock Band 2 for the Wii and had set it up. I was so happy to be able to play again since I had only played it once before. Anyway, they told us that they bought it for us!! Can you believe that?! How nice is that?! I just couldn't believe it. How do you thank someone for a gift like that?
Anyway, we played for a while and it was so much fun!!

Guess where McKay is...yup, you guessed it. He is throwing a fit. He didn't want Anthon to help him with the drums.

Anthon has another companion buddy that lives here in the valley so we invited him and his wife over for dinner and games. I made a brazilian dish called Feijoada and Elder Wilson brought Guarana which is like the best drink EVER! We played Rock Band for a while and then we played Curses. It was lots of fun!

Megan, Scott, Anthon, Jessica, John and baby Ethan

Sunday morning we blessed Mason. It was a wonderful blessing we were glad to have so much family there to share the special day with us.

Please excuse the crooked pants.

His outfit has a little vest underneath the jacket and a tie too. It was really cute.
We had a luncheon at our house afterwards and of course I forgot to take pictures. I was so busy making sure there was enough food and drinks that I totally forgot to take pictures :o(. Anyway, it was a fun weekend with friends and family.

St. Patrick's Day

I hope everyone had a great St. Patrick's Day! I know it's not a big holiday but I like to celebrate anything and everything I can. It helps pass the time. Anyway, the kids got dressed up in green except Makenna. I didn't find a green shirt of hers until today :o(. She wore a skirt that had SOME green in it...does that count?
Anyway, we got ready for the day and did some cleaning and then we went to Wal-Mart to get stuff for green rice krispy treats. Here are some pictures of us making them.

All ready to make the treats. (Lately, I haven't been able to get a picture of McKay with his eyes open!)

Mixing the marshmallows

Posing in their green outfits while we waited for the rice krispy treats to set. See what I mean about McKay's eyes being closed :o(The finished product

McKay looks like he's liking his chops

We went for a walk and took plates of the green rice krispy treats to neighbors and then went home to make us some green dinner. We had green steamed rice, green chicken, green beans, and green Kool Aid. The kids really enjoyed it.

Our green meal

We ate and then took the kids to the park for a little bit and then came back and finished off the rice krispy treats for dessert. I was a good day :o)

Mr. Smiley

First off, When are they going to make these for grown ups?!?!

I can't tell you how many times I have looked at him in his swing and wrapped in his blanket taking a nap and thought 'Man, I really wish that was me right now!'

Anyway, this is the reason I am doing a post. Mason is such a happy little boy despite everything he has been through in his short life. He is such a GOOD baby, I love it! Here are just a couple of smiley pictures of him.

He had been smiling at me for a couple of minutes in this picture

Another smile :o)

One more thing. So, like I said, when Mason was born, he was the spitting image of McKay. I can't even tell you how weird it was. Now that he has changed and is getting older, he is exactly like Makenna. He has the skinny face with the pointy chin. He just looks more like Makenna every day. We are also having the same problem with him fitting into his clothes as we had with Makenna. She was so long that we had to put her in bigger clothes but she never filled them out because she was skinny and they always fell off of her. It's the same thing with Mason. The outfit he is wearing in this next picture fit McKay perfectly at 2 months. He filled it out and everything. With Mason, it is falling off of him because he doesn't fill it out but it is the perfect length.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

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Hair cut

Since Makenna was born she has only had her hair trimmed. I wanted something different for her because her hair was starting to become impossible to do and she kept asking if I could cut her hair so....I did.

Before

After

I should have taken the after pictures right after I did her hair. It's kinda messy in these pics. Oh well :o)

Randomness and WAY late posts

When Anthon got back from his first day of work after paternity leave he walked into the house with a GINORMOUS gift! A lady that he works with (that he said he barely even knows) gave it to us.

There were two of these bears and they had a dollar bill around each leg. There were toy cars tied to the top of the box too.

Inside the box there were 6 outfits, diapers, hangers, pacifiers, toys, onesies, socks, a brush and comb and a piggy bank with a bunch of change in it. With the way the box was decorated, you could tell she put a lot of time into it. What a sweet lady!

Now for the Superbowl. Some friends of ours invited us and another couple in our ward over to their house for a BBQ and to watch the game. We had a lot of fun and so did the kids.

Makenna loved the little bouncy house they had in their backyard. She was out there all night playing with other kids!

A couple of my friends threw me a diapers and wipes shower after Mason was born. I forgot to take my camera so I have no photos :o(. I got TONS of diapers and wipes and I am so thankful for that! It will really helps us a lot! Thank you Carly and Carrie for putting that together for me!
Right after the baby shower, we had a get together at my house for Makenna's birthday since my family was in town. The poor little girl never had a birthday party with her friends though because Mason was in the hospital. Is it too late to have one still?
Anyway, she turned 4!!! I can't believe I have a 4 year old! She had lots of fun and got lots of coloring books and markers. She LOVES coloring and drawing!

Blowin' out the candles

This one is kinda random. We had been so busy getting things back in order after Mason got home from the hospital that we decided to take it easy and just relax. We went to the redbox and rented Kung Fu Panda (or as Makenna calls it, Kung Poo Panda :o)) and ordered a pizza. It was so nice being home with everyone again and feeling like things were finally getting back to normal.

Makenna and Mason went to the doctor the next week for their well visits and they both got shots. Poor Makenna got 5 shots for kindergarten which she doesn't start for a whole year. Anyway, it was the saddest thing ever! Makenna sat there smiling while the lady was getting the shots ready. She had no idea what was coming. The nurse told her that it was going to hurt a little but not to move and just say ow, ow, ow. The first shot went in and Makenna looked shocked. She said ow, ow, ow and then kinda gave a nervous laugh. Her eyes started tearing up and her bottom lip quivered but she smiled at me and tried to be happy. It was the same with the rest of the shots. She just smiled and bit her bottom lip to keep it from quivering.....until the last shot. She cried with that one and lady said that that was why she saved it for last. She said it burns really bad and it always makes the kids cry :o(. She cried for a little bit but then got to pick a sucker and sticker and she was fine after that.
The next day, Makenna was getting changed into her pj's and I noticed her arm was really red. I looked at it and it was totally swollen and hot to the touch. I took her into the doctors the next day and they said it was nothing. I felt like such a paranoid mom but after what happened with Mason, I'm not taking any more chances.

Next are just a couple of pictures of the children holding Mason. They love him so much....a little too much actually and can't leave him alone! I finally let them hold him the other day and they loved it. I have been trying to keep them away from him because I am so scared of him getting sick again.

McKay did OK for a while but then started smothering him a little too much. He got really mad when I took Mason away from him.

Makenna does such a great job with him. She is a little mommy. She just holds him and looks at him and says how cute he is.

Last but not least....an update on Mason
He is doing a lot better now. He is sleeping better and eating better. He still seems a little restless to me though. I feel so paranoid now and freak out any time he coughs cause I keep thinking he is getting sick again. Anytime he breathes too loudly or too fast I freak out and I am constantly checking him while he is asleep to make sure that he is still breathing. I hope I get over it soon :o)