Chicago

Spencer I got back from Utah and a day later we took a quick trip with the kids to Chicago.  It was the last thing on my bucket list for our time here in the midwest.  We spent the first night swimming in the hotel and eating Chicago pizza (well, the kids ate McDonalds and Spencer and I enjoyed the pizza!).  Swimming is always a hit for our family.  The kids had a blast with Spencer while I held baby Kate! Tanner held on tight onto Spencer's back while he threw the ball to Reece and Benson while they jumped in the pool.  They also used Spencer as a surf board which was hilarious to watch.

The second day we went to the Shedd aquarium. It was a rainy day so we were fortunate to get there early and not have to wait in line for admittance.  The kids LOVED the different kinds of fish, animals, and reptiles.  They were soaking it all in trying to read as much information as possible.  After 3 hours we were all exhausted and went to our hotel to have some quite time.  We got a hotel off of priceline.com and ended up at a fancy hotel-- we stuck out like a soar thumb.  After some quite time we walked to Millennial Park and visited the "Bean".  Reece and Benson thought it was the coolest thing! My favorite part was walking around with my beautiful family enjoying the big city and beautiful scenery.

Our last day we visited the Science and Industry Museum which was one of the coolest museums I have ever been to.  We only covered 1/3 of the museum and would have loved to come back another day.  There was a train section which stole all of Tanner's attention.  The weather section and mirror maze had Reece and Benson entertained.  And to be honest-- Spencer was just as giddy.  He would find something cool and tell the boys all about it.  After 3 hours in that museum we decided to drive by the Chicago Temple and then head home.

It was a wonderful trip-- we were able to see a lot in a short amount of time without feeling overly exhausted and tired.  Just like any trip we had some minor health hiccups (Benson had a bad site, Tanner had an asthma attack, and Reece had a reaction to his Cold Stone ice cream).  We felt blessed and protected during the trip and that's all we could ask for.  Love this family of mine!

April 2015

April was a great month for our family.  We started the month with General Conference and Easter and ended it with some fun trips to Utah and Chicago.  Spencer had a great schedule and was around the home a lot which always makes things more fun and exciting!

 *Spencer is currently reading the Narnia series to the boys.  It's the highlight of their night.  The boys usually play a card game, legos, or lay on the big pillow pets while listening to Spencer read. 

*We also got a Vitamix for making shakes. It's been a huge hit for the boys and especially for Spencer.  It's been a dream of his for a couple of years.  He was shocked when we were walking through Costco and I told him he could buy one.  It was on sale because they were getting rid of their older models. I thought it was my chance to get a good deal on one.  The real kicker was when Tanner tasted one of the smoothies and liked it! I couldn't resist at that point-- we will do ANYTHING to get new food in that kid.  

*BIKE ramp--- the boys got some wood for Christmas so they could use their tools to make something.    The kids and Spencer came up with the brilliant idea to make a ramp for their bikes.  It was an instant success!

Here are some pictures!

This sight never gets old. 

Spencer and Reece making Tomato Soup

The happiest baby on the block! Love this girl and her chubby legs!

These boys are so much fun. They walk to and from school together everyday.  Max and Benson are the first kids up the hill and Reece and Adam are the last--- literally.  We are lucky to have such great friends.  One of my favorite sights is watching them run out the door headed to school for the day. They are happy, energetic, and excited for the day!

Kate has started taking baths with Tanner.  Tanner is a big helper and lets her lay on his lap while I wash her hair and then holds on to her while I grab a towel. Sibling love!

OH goodness--- could she be any cuter? 

Easter and General Conference

Happy Easter!

The boys were excited to see that the Easter bunny stopped by our house and left them some goodies.  This year they had to follow the scavenger hunt to find their eggs-- it was a fun and successful adventure.  Seeing them run around the house with such excitement and anticipation made this little mommy smile! And then to find their eggs--- oh the joy.  Reece could hardly believe he got his own flash drive! So Cool! He is in a special class with a couple of his buddies and they put together presentations and so having a flash drive is fun because they can take their research and power points from home to school and vise versa.  Benson was stoked to receive M&M's and a minecraft figurine.  And Tanner loved his smarties and coloring book.  Spencer and I gave them a book called "Who's your hero".  It's a great book that teaches kids the stories from the Book of Mormon and helps them apply them into their lives.  The boys love reading it! They have started to read their scriptures and say their personal prayers and so this was a fun addition to their scripture collection.

EASTER BASKET SCAVENGER HUNT

Tradition: Big family breakfast before conference

(Mom forgot we were out of ketchup--kind of ruined the hash browns!)

Tradition: Family Easter Egg hunt in the back yard.  Spencer hide them and the boys went crazy finding them.  Some of them even had money in them----so fun!

OH, what a doll face.  She is the most chill and content baby.  She's happy hanging around watching the family.  If you look at her-- she'll give you a great big smile.  Such a doll.

Spencer was outside watching the boys ride their bikes between general conference sessions while I prepared the egg-dye for coloring eggs.  After a little while this little peanut was cold and a football got stuck on the roof so Spencer came in a put her on the floor.  She immediately fell asleep.  Typical Kate-- she can sleep anywhere-- doesn't matter the noise or comfort level.

Tanner LOVES playing on the elliptical.  I'm pretty sure it gets used more as a jungle gym more than anything else.  He puts his soy in the cup holder and goes around and around.  It looks kind of fun!

Reece got a game called "Sleeping Queens" for Easter.  By the last session on Sunday we were all spent, and so we played a couple rounds of this game. It's super fun-- and maybe even more fun then the game was spending time and laughing with these great boys while Kate slept next to me and Tanner ran around playing with his cars.  This family of ours is special--- love them tons!

We later found Tanner playing with the leftover dye and eggs.  

Conclusion: Conference weekend and Easter weekend are two of my favorite weekends.  This year they were on the same day-- which may have made it more special.  I love all our family traditions and the special spirit that is present in our home during conference.  The talks given in conference are so uplifting-- they make me want to be a better person.  They give me a clearer perspective on life and teach me how I can be a better Mother to these special children of mine.  I am grateful for the time we get to spend together watching conference.  The kids play quietly (most of the time!) in the basement while we all listen and discuss things we hear that touch us (having older children makes conference fun-- we pause when we hear great lines or quotes and discuss them quickly).  I hope my children have a special place in their hearts for conference by the time they leave our home and grow into young adults.  I am also grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ and the atonement.  We were able to study the atonement and the last week of our Saviors life as a family this past week and some special conversations took place with the kids.  I am grateful to know that we can be forgiven, that can receive strength from our Savior, and that we can live together as a family with perfect bodies if we choose to keep the commandments and honor the covenants we make a baptism and in the Temple.  We are a blessed family to have the gospel in our lives.  Love, Mom