Spring break - Friday

At the beginning of Spring break, I was sooo hoping we could just drop everything and drive to California to see the beach, feel the warmth, and enjoy a change of scenery. I was just slightly devastated that the weather was suppose to be cold and rainy here and I wanted out. I survived not heading west and on Friday I got my dose of each of those things I was craving. We enjoyed going to Antelope Island and letting the boys explore to their hearts content, which was a close second.

This is the very first time in my thirty-three years of living that I have been this close to the Great Salt Lake. It's quite beautiful. My favorite is seeing all the mountains in the background. And we only scratched the surface on what can be explored on this big island. We'll go back for sure.

They loved searching for the Bison. We found a fun hike that had so many places to explore and have quite an adventure on. Then we made the long trek across the sandy beach to finally touch the Salt Lake and skip rocks. It was pure happiness.

 :: Levi was feeling a bit sad and did not want to continue on the hike and of course his amazing daddy finds a way to cheer him right up. They played a game of only walking on the rocks all the way to the top :) ::

 :: Goodness gracious I love these boys!! ::

 :: They were just exhausted by the end of the day ::

As we came to the end of spring break we asked each of the boys what was their favorite. Justin and I were thrilled to hear that they each loved something different. Corbin loved going to The Classic Fun Center, Taylor loved Antelope Island, Levi loved going swimming, and Rudger loved having his boysies with him for all of our adventures. And I'm pretty certain Adeline loved being held by mommy a majority of the time :) I would have to say that made for a very successful Spring Break Staycation!

Spring Break - Thursday

We didn't get a ton of pictures from this day, but that's probably because we were having too much fun. We... of course...slept in, ate at In and Out, and went swimming. Not much, but we created happy memories.

The boys thought it was great because we got shakes with our hamburgers. We got plenty of swimming in, but towards the end, Rudger was tired and decided the pool was much too loud. On the way home, we finished reading the second book in our Peter series. (seriously loving this series so far!) Then we went home, kicked back on the couch and watched another movie :)

Spring Break - Wednesday

 The goal for spring break was to sleep in, stay up late, and not have me cook. Sounds like perfection...it was. 

Wednesday we went out to eat at one of Corbin and Justin's favorite places...not mine...but it's never as bad as I think it is going to be :)  Then I dropped off all the boys at the Classic Fun Center, while Adeline and I picked up movies at the library and donuts at Krispy Kreme then we went back to watch all those boysies play to their hearts content. It was so fun to see them laughing and playing together. They spent nearly five hours there. We were THE last people to leave that place.

Then we went home and watched Home Alone because our boys have never seen that show and that seemed like a terrible thing. It is a Christmas show, but we didn't worry about that :)

spring break - day 1 and 2 (really day 4 and 5)

Spring break really started the Friday before since it was a teacher prep day. Friday was spent just sleeping in and playing.

Saturday we headed outside to help our much neglected yard, then we went on our Saturday adventure. This time we went on another bike ride and on our way back the boys gave us the official tour of their beloved play area, 'The Hill Place'. They have spent hours upon hours playing here. They have created games based off of Harry Potter, Star Wars, Percy Jackson, Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Each day is a new episode to their game. (and they have been known to end their day with a cliff hanger). So many times we have dropped them off or picked them up here, but I have never explored it. I can now see why they love it there! I know they will look back on their childhood and this will be a big part of it. It's amazing what some big piles of dirt with weeds and plants growing on it can do to a child and their imagination. I was so happy I could see through their eyes the joy of this place.

Sunday was a lovely Easter day.

Monday we had a lego building day and played with friends. Very chill.

Tuesday night we kicked off our official spring break (daddy had Wed-Fri off). We met Grandma at Temple Square, where she took the four younger kids back home to play, and Corbin and I met daddy at the Temple to do Baptisms. It was so very tender. That night we were all cuddled together anticipating the coming days. The boys were giving suggestions and writing out schedules and getting incredibly excited for the Stay-Cation!!

:: It kind of stinks that we were wearing coats on our spring break. ::

back to real life

Spring break is over. {insert the tears}

With a week of staying up late and sleeping in, I was very impressed with how well the boys did at getting up and out the door for school yesterday morning. I was dreading it, and luckily they were not. I think they were excited to see their friends again! (and I am certain to get back to learning)

I plan on posting what we did this week, but first, we bought some new shoes over the break. We were really at the shoe store to buy mom a pair of running shoes, but as we looked down at our boys feet, we cringed at what we saw. We couldn't believe we were sending the boys to school in those shoes! They did last 7 months though :)  It was a tough decision, but here is what they ended up with...black was the winner (And Levi quickly learned how to tie his own shoes!)

Now we are back to real life. Yesterday, I felt super motivated to get LOTS done. I did manage to exercise and get grocery shopping in and then a major headache set in. So, we were lazy instead. (I do feel so grateful that no one was sick over the break!) Today I feel a million times better and so Rudger, Adeline, and I are getting our home back in order and then it's back to nagging to get homework done. Thank goodness we only have 2 months left!

easter 2016

 

 Happy Easter!!

:: the first sign of spring in our yard...in about a week or two this tree will be FULL of beautiful white blossoms, and I will definitely take another picture ::

:: Easter baskets and Easter clothes! And my incredibly sweet Visiting Teacher gave us this Gethsemane book, that song is just perfect ::

 :: her first Easter and she was so HAPPY! ::

 :: It is essential that Corbin now wear ties every week to church, so we bought him some for Easter...he asked for a purple tie and that made my day :) Daddy with his bowless daughter :) ::

 :: Corbin is totally into jumping into pictures and pulling these faces ::

 :: She is ALWAYS wanting to be holding something ::

 :: colored eggs make me happy ::

 :: I wanted to make a lovely ham dinner, but I was outvoted by five boys (they said at least hamburgers has the word ham in it) ::

:: sorting through the treasure ::

We had a beautiful Easter here at home. The weather ended up being pretty beautiful after all and our hearts were very happy!

I was grateful for the opportunity to teach about the Atonement and the Resurrection in Relief Society. I loved studying about our Savior throughout the week. I was so uplifted by all the beautiful words our prophets and apostles taught us.  Last night after the kids were in bed, I propped up my feet and scrolled through Instagram. Again, I was so uplifted by all the wonderful quotes friends were sharing. I love when social media is a happy place! (and I loved seeing all the family and kid pictures!)  

My testimony of our Savior has never been stronger. I love Him!!

this kid

I love this boy. He is a genuinely good kid.

First, life has been crazy, to say the least, with five kids. So many schedules to keep up with and way too much nagging to get things accomplished. A couple of weeks ago, Justin and I were talking and I realized that Taylor was never getting nagged. I asked him once and it was taken care of. Homework and piano got done without constantly reminding him. When it was time to go to bed, he went right away (probably has something to do with his love of reading Harry Potter and he was excited to get back to his book, he's on #4), but still.

Sadly, it took me sitting down and reflecting on the last couple of weeks to realize, 'goodness, Taylor is making life easy right now!'. He definitely needed a reward. So Justin took him on a special outing and Taylor was in heaven! 

Second, the other day Taylor and I were talking, I don't even remember what it was about, but I told him I needed help from everyone so that I would have more time to play with them. He said, 'you never play with us.' :'(   Even though I am the mom and I shouldn't be their entertainer, it still broke my heart.  The next day, Taylor and I happened to be outside and so I told him we ought to go jump on the trampoline. So we did. While we were jumping I asked him what were the hardest and best parts of his day. He said, 'This is the best part!' 

It really doesn't take a lot to make someone's day. When you think of something kind to do for someone, just stop what you're doing and do it. It can make that person feel like the most special person on earth. That's what I have learned from Taylor recently!