Jason's Birthday

We had a small, rather uneventful birthday for Jason this year even though he hit a big milestone (Mid 30's!!). He had been working in Boise for a few days before his big day, so the kids and I snuck over to his office and left a little surprise for him. Turned out the kids couldn't keep it a surprise but it was fun anyways. The candy gram said, "Hey Big Hunk- We know it's stwinkie to work on your birthday but your hot wife and cute kids wanted to Take 5 minutes and give you a Riesen to have a very Happy birthday." We left balloons and a mess with confetti as well.

Jason and I went to dinner at Texas Roadhouse and then shared a chocolate sheetcake with our babysitters (my parents). (thought I had taken pictures of the cake and birthday boy but it was so long ago I can't find them!!) Hope you had a great birthday anyways Jason!

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. :)

Happy BELATED Birthday

Because of our move and a broken computer, this is from a looong time ago but I still wanted to post Hallee's birthday pictures. We moved into our Elviston house in Nampa the day before Jadyn's 2nd birthday. When we moved out of that house, it was the day after Hallee's 5th birthday so we really have had some crazy busy birthdays in that house.

For Hallee's birthday, we had a water party with a blow-up water slide, a slip and slide, water balloons and lots of fun! (Jason and I think it was one of the best parties we have ever put on). I missed a lot of great pictures because I was on the video camera again but here are a few.

Hallee at the top of the water slide.

A view from the backyard.


Hallee with her presents.

Hallee's big gift was a scooter. It took her about a week to master it but now that girl can cruise!

Hallee also wanted a strawberry party so we made pink cupcakes with strawberry gummies on top served with vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberries for a topping and strawberry kool-aid. Yummy!

Because none of our Pocatello family made it Hallee's birthday party, Hallee wanted to have another party at Grandma Cindy's. This is the rainbow cake we made for party #2.

I cannot believe how fast our little girl is growing up. Hallee is so much fun and we are so glad that she is in our family. Happy Belated Birthday Hallee Girl!

Our Temporary Home

"This is our temporary home

It's not where we belong

Windows and rooms that we're passing through

This is just a stop on the way to where we we're going"

-Carrie Underwood

Yesterday, our rental house was put back on the market. I am already getting anxiety thinking about having to move- AGAIN! We feel very lucky to have found the house that we are in and I can't believe we have already spent 7 months here.

Some things that I have liked about our rental house:
Plenty of room for our family

Each bathroom has a linen closet

Granite counter tops

A water softener and hot water quickly

Right next to the bus stop for Hallee

4 car garage

Some things that I have not liked about our rental house:
The floorplan/ layout- especially the basement

The return air is in the family room and when it comes on you can't hear anything

No counterspace in the laundry room

MICE (we killed 9 but haven't seen any for months now- it was disgusting)

I had a ton of cleaning, cleaning, and more cleaing to do

Small master bedroom

Right on the corner of a busy road

We have had many temporary homes. Growing up, I never moved. Now that I am married, I think we have moved 7 times (that is including our summer moves and a short term move to Montana). Plus, move number 8 is quickly approaching. AAHH! Yesterday we also found out the first house we built and sold in Nampa is in foreclosure. It was a rough real estate day.

Remember When

I recently got these pictures from Cortney's wedding this summer so I thought I would post them. It has only been about 7 months or so ago and I can already see how much our kiddos have grown. Life is going way to fast!! (It was very hot and we were all sweaty and a few were a little grouchy by the time we got done taking pictures at the temple. I don't know why, but I don't have any pictures of us at the reception. Bummer.)

This was the only picture I had on my camera. All 3 kids fell fast asleep on the way to the reception. We were all exhausted!