Easter...finally.

My sister has been anxiously watching for Easter posts from family. This should make your day, Laurel, because there are a plethora of pictures in this bad boy.

Our Easter started with the kids searching for their hidden Easter baskets. (We don't pretend the whole "Easter Bunny" thing. They fully know that us parents are the ones giving the goods...not some giant bunny. I think the whole story is odd.) Anyway, after baskets we drove up to my parents' house where we had an egg hunt, family trivia game, and a yummy dinner. My brother and his family were in town from Oregon. We almost had the whole family together, however Laurel and her family were sad and lonely in California. We missed you!!! Here are some pictures of our holiday. (WARNING: Many pictures to follow (and there were many weeded out). And I fully admit that there are way more pictures of McKenna than of the boys. But they weren't wearing cute little Easter dresses!) McKenna's cute little look of shock when she saw her basket.

Cute Daddy/Daughter shot!!

Our first attempt at a family picture, however the boys complained that the sun was too bright, so we moved locations. Wimps. :)

Ahhh...that's better. Not as nice of a background though.

McKenna loves flowers. She stands and points and gently touches them. Girls are definitely different than boys!

The egg hunt! My mom numbered the eggs 1-6 and each grandkid found an egg with each number on it. She used to assign a color to each child, but she's got too many grandkids for that now.

She Should Enter the Lottery!

Wow! Tara is on a roll. She guessed that we viewed 32 homes in our search and she was dead on. Sorry, no prize. Pat yourself on the back! I started looking online and recording house prices a year ago and we started driving past homes and checking out neighborhoods last Fall. So yes, this whole thing has been consuming my thoughts for quite some time now. I have to admit that I did a house search online today...it's hard to break old habits.

And can I just add a big "Thank You" to Janene, Devin, Stephanie, Leon, and Lindsay for all the babysitting while we were looking through these homes. We really appreciate it. And I'm sure we'll still need you again for all the paperwork appointments....so "thank you" in advance as well. :)

A Pet Cobra??

I just thought this was sweet. Last night, after hearing that we got the house, Derek drew this picture. It's our family playing in the backyard. Derek is on top of the slide, Dave and "T dog" (couldn't spell Taylor) are in the pool (apparently we will own one), and McKenna and I are on the swings. He wrote "ha" next to McKenna because "she is laughing". In the front yard is our pet "cobra snake" that we will "train to be nice". How cute that this is how he expressed his excitement.

It's a...

We have very exciting news to share! No, we are not pregnant...but I have felt similarities in FINDING A HOME!! We've been actively searching for a home for a month and a half. Last night we found the PERFECT home for us and wrote an offer. Well, we found out today at 4:30 that they accepted! Hopefully all inspections and financing will work out and we'll move in less than a month to Spanish Fork. After 10 1/2 years of living in an apartment, I am excited to learn the ways of home ownership. Here's a photo of the front. We'll post plenty more pictures when we do the home inspection.
Just for fun...Make a comment and guess how many homes we walked through (not including the ones we drove past) in the month and a half of searching. Closest person wins...the pride of being a winner. :) (Stephanie is not allowed to answer.)

Dye Eggs!...Die!

The night before Easter we ...(meaning the little boys and I) colored eggs.

But the coloring was merely a preliminary for the main event.....EGG WARS! Man, those eggs we demolished in minutes. I have to say that it is great fun.

Dave is not a fan of boiled eggs. He wouldn't even come in the kitchen while we were dying them due to the smell. I challenged him to an egg war and this is how he protected himself from the dreaded boiled egg.

Birthday Celebration

Here's an oldie but a goodie. I forgot about these pictures on my camera. Dave and our sis-in-law, Meaja, have birthdays a couple days apart. So 3 weeks ago the "Utah siblings" had a little birthday get together. We met for lunch at a yummy little Mongolian/Chinese restaurant. After lunch we spent a few hours at a nearby park while the men played frisbee golf, the women chatted, and the kids released energy on the playground. It was wonderful. Later, Jason and Meaja kindly came back to our place for cake and games. I love spending time with family! Here are some pictures of the day:

The beautiful Aunt Lindsay (Dave's sister) with McKenna.
This picture made us laugh. Can you tell the sun was in their eyes? :)

The gorgeous Janene (Dave's sister) with her son, Clayton.

The always lovely Meaja with her daughter, M'li.

Cousin M'li

Will I Ever Forgive Myself?

That answer is definitely up for debate. Derek began his soccer career last Fall and they've just started the Spring season. He's a very timid player and the more aggressive kids get the big plays. I've sat through every practice and watched every game just waiting to witness Derek's first goal. Would it ever come??

Last Saturday's game was at 8:00 am on a very cold Spring morning. I decided to stay home with McKenna, but sent Derek with Dave and Taylor. Literally, as Derek was walking out the door, I warned him, "Do not score a goal. No goals, you hear me!". He thought it was funny, but I was half-serious.

I knew that when they arrived back home that they would have planned a story about how Derek scored a goal. I was prepared when Derek found me in the kitchen and very calmly says "Mommy, I scored a goal". I laughed and said "yeah, right. Daddy told you to say that." He again says with little emotion (which made me feel even more correct in my reasoning) "no, really. I did." Dave comes in with the camera and I laughed "Oh you probably videoed him, after the game, kicking the ball into the goal". Dave plugged the camera into the TV (which you can do Stephanie) and sure enough...real footage of Derek kicking his first goal!!! Not only one, but two goals. It was bittersweet. I was so so happy for him, but was so mad at myself for missing it! Never again!! I'm just so thankful that Dave got it on camera. Apparently this first goal was after a long breakaway. Way to go Derek!!! (I love the excitement in Dave's voice in this clip.)

Derek had another game on Tuesday and scored two more goals. The kid is on fire! I did get to see these goals and went "Soccer Mom crazy" on him. I screamed and yelled and, after the game, spun him around until he was dizzy. I am so proud of my little guy! And he loves soccer!