Jadyn's Birthday

Jadyn's birthday was a rough one for our family this year. Each of us took our turn with the stomach flu during the week and Jadyn had her turn ON HER BIRTHDAY!! (doesn't make for a very fun day) We had to postpone her party and everything fun for the weekend, but we still wanted her to get her gifts from us on her birthday.

Jadyn's BIG surprise was a red mustang. It was too big to wrap so we covered it with a sheet. I don't know who was more excited about it- Jadyn or Colt? They couldn't wait to get it outside and go for a spin but the weather wasn't cooperating for us either so it took a few days to get the mustang outside. She also got a littlest pet shop from her siblings and an outfit from her parents. We just had a small family party for Jadyn after lunch at the place of her choice (McDonald's) and our wards primary activity. She also got a mermaid barbie, more littlest pet shops, princess polly pockets, and another outfit with sandals from the Atkinsons and Grandma and Grandpa. Spoiled girl!I made a giant cupcake for Jadyn this year. After cake and ice cream Jadyn took everyone outside to show off her new ride. It was cold and windy but she loved it. Jadyn almost crashed her car and took off her brother's head- but she missed the bumper of Brian's truck by inches!!

I can't believe how fast Jadyn has grown up. She is such a fun, sweet girl and we are so glad she is in our family. Happy Birthday Jade!

Easter

We had a busy Easter weekend this year. On Friday night we dyed Easter eggs.

Before

During

(I told the kids to put on their tie dye shirts and they all came back without pants!)

After

On Saturday morning, in freezing temperatures with snow on the ground, the girls did the Gate City Real Estate Easter egg hunt. Colt wanted to join in but it was cold and we were running a little late so he stayed (cried) with me in the car. I finally gave in and got him out of the car but the hunt was over so he checked out the Easter bunny instead and the girls shared their loot with him (their baskets were full!). Because of the snow on the ground, many of the eggs ended up with snow inside of them. It was a little messy.

Colt checking out the Easter Bunny.

The girls- freezing- but happy with full baskets.

That afternoon, we joined Tracy and her inlaws for a little lunch and another Easter egg hunt. Our kids got way too much candy this year! All the while we were trying to watch conference.

Sunday morning the Easter bunny came to our house. The kids each got a small toy, more eggs full of goodies, and the movie 'Alice in Wonderland' to share.

I have also made it a family tradition to get new Easter outfits for Easter Sunday. Since conference fell on Easter, the kids wore their outfits the Sunday before. Check out the poses:

I made my first turkey dinner for our family on Easter Sunday. It was a little stressful for me but it turned out delicious. However, there was more turkey than I knew what to do with. We gave some away, I made 2 other meals with the leftovers, and we still had some left. I am probably turkeyed out until Thanksgiving! All in all it was a very Happy Easter.

Spring Break 2010

This year our family took a little vacation down to Salt Lake City for Spring Break. Jason scored some tickets to the NCAA basketball tournament- front row on the second level. We took our brother in law, Brian and nephew, Christian with us to the games. They were great seats and we saw some great games. Butler knocked off #1 seated Syracuse and then Kansas St. beat Xavier in double overtime.

Tracy and Connor "volunteered" to stay at the hotel and watch our kiddos. They ordered pizza and we bought 'The Princess and the Frog' to entertain them while we were gone. Only problem was we were about 1 1/2 hours later than we had anticipated and Colt was able to squeak in a cat nap so he wanted to stay up until the wee hours of the morning.

The next day it was only fair to take the kids somewhere fun. We were planning the zoo but the weather was not cooperating so we chose the Living Planet Aquarium. It is full of exhibits about all sorts of fish and sea creatures. Our favorite part were the penguins. I couldn't get any great pictures because they were all on my phone and there were far too many people in front of the glass- but they were a sight to see.

After the aquarium I tried to squeeze in a little shopping. It was a horrible experience. We didn't buy much, our kids were cranky, and it made us get home later than I had wanted that night. I've learned my lesson- no shopping on Spring Break. :)