April Showers...

Of pictures - that is!! It was a VERY busy month and we've got the pictures to prove it!! Enjoy!

We started the month with a family gathering for Braydon's birthday. Lynn had over 100 filled eggs and the big kids hid them all over our backyard. The girl's had a BLAST finding eggs! Luckily we had nice weather for a day!
Eden has begun to sing the cutest songs! She won't let anyone else sing (she covers her ears and says, "SHHHH!"), but she sings the cutest, nonsense songs! And she loves to use the microphone so we can ALL hear her!
Dan brought me a couple of James Christensen puzzles. I spent a Sunday afternoon getting this far. All that was left was a lot of black edges. The girls had fun helping me out with a piece here or there. I still like puzzles, but I have a lot less patience and a lot less time for them.
Eden's favorite outfit, favorite character and favorite thing to do!
We tended Jill and Dave's kids while they went to Stake Conference. I love when they take a break from running crazy together to watch a video!
Steve purchased a digital SLR camera and was SO proud of it! He got a pretty good deal since he purchased it used. He's been a shutterbug lately (which is another reason why we have so many pictures). Hopefully he'll find some time to learn more about photography and photoshopping.
SPRING BREAK! We were a busy family this year! I filled a gift bag each day with things we would do each day. The girls LOVED waking up each day, opening the bag and discovering what fun things I had planned! Some activities included a birthday party at Chuck E. Cheese, breakfast at McDonalds, afternoon at Jungle Jims (pics below), birthday party at a bowling alley, trip to Hobby Lobby to buy jewelry making supplies, painting projects, sleepover at Lynn's - a HUGE hit, swimming, and more!) We actually didn't get through all the activities I had planned. I kept moving them from bag to bag and didn't get to them until the next week!
Lynn was nice enough to keep the kids on Thursday until we got packed up for our weekend trip and we could just pick up the girls on the way. Steve had been sick all week, but still working, so he took of Thursday as well and was very helpful with shopping, packing and loading up! I was glad I didn't have to do it all myself! The girls were very good in the car and watched movies and Eden got a little nap in. We were able to get to St. George by 6:00. Chris and Krissy had some evening activities already planned, so we headed out to get dinner at IHOP. I was excited that it was kids eat free month. However, they had the SLOWEST service ever. So luckily we only had to pay for one adult meal! We got up early on Friday and headed to Las Vegas! Somehow we rated over school for Sloane and she came with us. We started out at the Silverton hotel to see the mermaids, but learned they don't come until afternoon. So we went to a fun park for a picnic lunch. It was a darling park and we had a great time! The weather was just perfect and we even got a little sun! There was a small splash pad and the girls had a blast getting their arms and feet wet! After that we tried to find the Disney outlet store Krissy had told us about. We got a little lost, but eventually found it. The girls each picked a Little Mermaid cup and Sloane picked a T-shirt that matched her mom. She was excited to surprise her mom with it. We drove to the strip afterwords at started at a Ross store because Emily's shoes were hurting so bad. I was surprised to see a Ross on the strip! It was packed! We walked from there to the M&M store. We had a fun time looking at all 4 floors of M&M merchandise! There was a short 3D movie we got to watch. The girls each smashed a penny while we were there. As we walked down the strip a bit, we counted 27 dressed up characters! Everyone from Hello Kitty to Spiderman to Michael Jackson were there accepting money for a picture with them. I like that kind of begging rather than a straggly looking man with a cup! It was a fun adventure. Trying to turn around and get off the strip was a bit harder though! Luckily Steve has a great sense of direction and found our way back to the Silverton hotel again. We drove under the airport in a HUGE tunnel! We screamed our little hearts out! Unfortunately we missed the mermaids again, but found out they'd be there in an hour. Just enough time to find a Subway and eat some dinner. We got back just in time to get a front row view of the mermaid as she entered the water and interacted with all the kids watching her. She blew kisses, made heart bubbles, played rock/paper/scissors, peek-a-boo and more. I thought she did a great job and was amazed how long she could hold her breath between turns on the air mask! Emily had a great audience in Sloane on the way home and talked her ear off! We were glad she could come!!

(Pics are a little out of order because we were using two cameras).

As we were walking through the Silverton hotel outdoor shop for the 6th time, we stopped to let the kids shoot at the targets. Emily and Ella used up their shots in about 10 seconds while careful Sloanie took about 5 minutes! And after looking longingly at a flag shirt 6 times, Steve decided to buy it. He'll definitely be patriotic this summer!
Saturday morning, Krissy was nice enough to take me yard-saling! I was so excited! It was fun to see more of St. George as well.
Later that afternoon we headed to a splash pad. The kids all had a ball! I finally had to go sit under the playground since it was so hot and sunny!
On Sunday, we got to go listen to Chris speak as a High Council speaker. He wasn't left much time, but I enjoyed his talk. He inserted some personal stories that were fun to hear. Chris had to stay at the ward, but Krissy took us to the temple and G&G Gibson's grave site. Eden was so upset that we weren't taking her to nursery! It was cute. Here are the kids squinting in the St. George sunlight by the super white temple!
They loved seeing the Christus.
We tried to get Holden in the picture, but he was off climbing a tree somewhere!
Oh, here's Holden - somehow he found his way to the other side of the fountain! :):)
It was a great trip and the kids also just loved hanging out with Sloanie. Thanks for having us, C&K!

Monday was back to school. We had our annual Easter story lesson for FHE and then painted Easter Eggs. I had purchased a LOT of eggs because they were so cheap that week! We all got to dye a lot of eggs!
We dye our eggs raw and we ended up with our fair share of cracked eggs! We enjoyed scrambled eggs for a few days!!
Here's the unbroken eggs!!
Emily occasionally likes to come sing when I'm playing. She loved the Easter song we sang for FHE. I'm still attempting to teach her to play, but we have to schedule and I never remember to have her practice. Maybe we can do more in the summer.
Eden's babysitter's son is potty trained (and younger!) So she's gotten more interested in the potty lately. She likes that we'll sit and talk to her or read her her potty book. No successes yet!
I like having a reader in the house to help me out!
Emily was chosen as one of the top readers in her class and got the chance to slime the principal and assistant principal. I think she got them both on their backs. She was so excited to do it!
Steve's been wanting a shed for years now to alleviate the garage congestion. He wanted a nice plastic shed or Tuff shed, but when we realized the price difference between those and a metal shed, there was no going back. We decided the best place for it is in the garden spot (I think there used to be a shed there before and so there were no sprinklers in the way.) It turned out to be a cold and drizzly day, but with the help of a nice neighbor, we were able to get as far as getting the roof on. He's still got some trim, the doors and then needs to buy lumber to make a floor. I'm trying to convince him to make it into a playhouse instead!! :)
He was POOPED!
EASTER:
The girls waited patiently for us to come get them Easter morning.
They found their labeled strings and knew just what to do. Even Eden got the hang of it.
The found eggs all over the house (and for the next few days as well!) Emily discovered they had lots of her favorite candy inside - Tootsie rolls! She ate her fair share. They each have a very full quart-sized bag of candy they work on every now and again!
They looked cute for Easter Sunday, but I neglected to take a picture!!! So sad. Here's Ella helping to spread the pretzel crust for the jello/pretzel salad. I decided I wanted Cafe Rio-style tacos for Easter dinner. I found a copy cat recipe on the web and ventured out to find limes, tomatillos, buttermilk, cilantro, pork ribs and other special ingredients for the first time. I had to ask where to find the tomatillos! Steve got all excited about gourmet cooking and helped me make it. It was a very yummy pulled pork taco with lime/ranch/cilantro sauce! Probably won't be making that again very soon!
Ella's homemade kite at preschool.
These are the handouts I made for my temple lesson on Sunday. The lesson went well and the girls all loved their white hankie temple dress.
We really enjoyed General Conference last month. The girls sat and make flower bows with me. Here's two types of Zipper bows I recently tried out.
Playing tea party. And did you notice the frying pan Emily was holding above? They love to run around like Rapunzel with their play frying pans! That's their favorite movie now and they watch/act out the movie all the time!
Eden has been loving the bits of warmer weather we've been having. She's an outside girl!
Steve was testing out his SLR on some action shots of playing Frisbee. Here's a shot when Emily actually caught it. Steve decided that he should be a photographer of sports, not a participator AND photographer, as he managed to drop his camera once.
Eden's such a character! However, she's learned the power of the bathroom stool. She'll drag that thing around all day just to get into higher things. I seriously cannot keep up with the messes she (and her sisters) make.
Eden has also developed a darling evil laugh. She knows when to use it too. When she shuts the door on her sisters or takes something she's not supposed to, we'll hear a, "HA HA HA HA!" (insert evil laughter.) It cracks us up everytime.
She lets Ella do her hair occasionally. Unfortunately this time Ella did a number on her hair and got a round brush REALLY stuck in her hair!! Luckily I got it out without having to cut it. However, Eden took care of that a few days later when she chopped a small chunk of hair right off the top of her head! She's starting to love cutting things just like Ella did, guess I'll have to watch her more carefully!
Steve eventually finished his essay for one of his classes. I enjoyed both versions - you can check them out on his blog. (And learn exactly what Megos are.) He's in a 6 credit business law and ethics class now. He's hoping to finish that up this week so that he can enroll in one more 2 or 3 credit class before the semester ends at the end of June. He wants to be ahead of schedule so he can finish faster. (And it's Business Management/Accounting he's studying, Mark.) He's also been busy at work as the other clerk has been out for medical reasons the last 3 weeks. Overtime here we come (I hope.)

I'm crazy getting the last month of preschool things ready. SO much to do. However, I really wanted to get my monthly blog in as well. I've been trying to find the best (cheapest) location for graduation this year. And schedule a guest speaker, two fieldtrips, plan/prepare for graduation, end of year assessments, etc. Housework will have to wait! Classes for fall are filling up. I've got 4 spots left and that's with no children or cousins enrolling next year. I'm getting nervous about my summer camps though, seems no one has the money for those this year! I continue to scout out the best deals and can't wait for yard sale season to start!

We were happy to hear the news that Osama Bin Laden was found and killed last night. It's a good day for many people. Ella helped me put the flag out today.

And a BIG Happy Birthday to mom!! We love you as do so many others around the world. Thanks for all the good you do and for teaching us all the power of one.