Spring?

Welcome to "Spring" in Colorado. The weather report said rain this morning with no mention of snow, but this is what we woke up to. This is what Elise looked like as we were leaving for school. This girl doesn't mess around. It was really pretty this morning as I was driving her to school. I just love how the snow makes everything all white. Elise even said that it looked like a Christmas card. We really needed the moisture too. We've been lucky this winter, it's been very mild. The good thing is that it's almost all melted and it will leave everything nice and green. And this is certainly a fair trade off for the great summer weather we will be enjoying soon.

My 3 Wishes. By Elise

I just had to share this. I thought it was so cute. This is a writing assignment that Elise had at school. 1. I wish my home was so clen. What? Do we live in the same house? Do you not know your own mother? I can assure you that our house is clean. So of course I asked her about it. "What do you mean you wish our house was so clean?" And she responded with, "well you know there are stains on the couch." and I responded with, "yea from you". Too funny. 2. I wish I had a big screen tv in my room. She must be her father's daughter. Not only does she want a tv she wants a "big screen". 3. I wish my Grandma livd with me. This was the only one that didn't surprise me. Elise is a Grandma's girl at heart.

Rockies Fever

Since Uncle Alan and family were out of town for the weekend we were the very lucky recipients of their season tickets to the Rockies game last night. Free tickets are pretty much the only way we get to a Rockies game these days. After purchasing tickets for four, paying for parking, and buying anything to eat, you are looking at close to $75 bucks. A pretty steep night out for a little family. But with free tickets, dinner eaten before hand and buying our own goodies at Target, all we had to pay for was parking, $10 a way better deal! We got there early, a first, and were able to sit and enjoy the pre-game fun and were even able to enjoy the National Anthem this time. It was a little chilly, but we had a great time. After the 2nd inning we took the kids over to the play area to let them run around and warm up. I think we made it about 2 hours leaving around 9 and they were only in the 4th inning. Thanks Uncle Alan we had a blast!

Potty Training 101

Lesson #1: Dress the part! Don't be afraid to add accessories.

Easter

Here are a couple of pictures from Easter with the kids in their cute outfits. My Mom bought the girls their pretty dresses. I gave up after not being able to find anything modest and have decided to have my Mom make their dresses from now on. But she did a great job and the girls were so excited to have new dresses to wear to church on Sunday. After church we headed over to Alan and DeAnne's for an Easter egg hunt with the Allen's and an amazing dinner. I was so busy with the egg hunt that I forgot to take pictures, but the kids had a blast hunting for eggs. Dinner was delicious as it always is. We dined on ham, potatoes, asparagus (that the kids loved), deviled eggs, frog eyed salad and slushies. For dessert my Mom made a really cute bunny jello cake that I also forgot to take a picture of and Amber made yummy rice krispie treats. It was such a fun day. It was also the 6 year anniversary of my Dad's death and I thought it was so remarkable how I was thinking about my Dad and then pondering the miracle of the Resurrection. At the end of the day I felt so grateful for my Savior and his victory over the grave that guarantees that I will live with my Dad again. It was such a neat feeling.

Pre-Easter Fun

Friday we took the kids to the Village Ctr. to meet the Easter Bunny. Last year Easton and Ella were scared, but not this year. Easton walked right up to the Easter Bunny cutting in front of another family and said, "Hi Easter Bunny". They did great and loved that they got a little treat too. The next morning we braved the snow for the annual Grant Ranch Easter Egg Hunt that Uncle Alan sponsors. It really was a hunt to find the eggs and other goodies in the snow this year. I think we are really settling into life as Coloradans now that we have ventured outside in the snow for candy. Luckily it didn't last that long and we were soon back in our warm home.

A sledding we will go

Last Friday after it snowed we took the girls just down the street where there is a big hill and did some sledding. We only stayed out for about an hour, but it was so fun. Corbin and I took turns going down the hill with Elise and Ella and Elise was even brave enough to go by herself. She went really fast a couple of times. The funniest part is watching all the teen boys go really fast and than totally lose control and crash. We had fun watching and laughing at them.

When Grandma comes to town

We were extra lucky that we got to see Grandma Smith in Ut and then a few days later she came to Denver to spend a week with us. We packed a lot in in just a few days and had the most fun. We loved being able to celebrate Grandma's birthday while she was here with yummy cake. We decided to celebrate Easter a little early so that we could include Grandma in baking and decorating cookies and coloring eggs. We also treated Grandma to a snow storm and kept her busy making strawberry jam and homemade bread. I know the kids had so much fun making memories with Grandma that they will never forget. Thanks Mom we loved having you hang out with us and appreciated you watching the kids so that Corbin and I could speak in church (so glad that's over).

UT Trip

A couple of weeks ago we traveled to UT. for Corbin's Grandpa's funeral. On Friday we took the kids to Gateway Children's Museum to pass the time while we were waiting for the rest of the family to arrive. I didn't take many pictures of the weekend, it felt kinda weird to be taking pictures. The funeral was very nice. After the graveside ceremony we went back to the church for lunch. I love the way the Relief Society works. To have complete strangers feeding you was so nice. The food was really good and it just strengthened my testimony of the Relief Society and of giving service. It was a long day and it was just nice to sit down and talk and not have to worry about what to eat. I took this picture of Jazmin and Easton because I thought it was so cute the way they matched. Anyway, Saturday night I took Elise over to my dear friend Trista's house so that she could spend the night at Brynlee's. It was so good to see Trista and I was so happy that Elise got to see her friend. We both really miss our sweet friends. I also came away from the weekend feeling so grateful for the family that I married into. I really hit the jackpot. They are so fun to be with and I always go away with a greater knowledge of the Gospel from the amazing examples that they are in my life. I just click with all of Corbin's cousins. I could seriously just sit and talk with them for hours. Which is what we did when we weren't playing "Dancing with the Stars", on Wii. Now those would have been good pictures.