Cousin Heaven

We all loved having Julie and the kids stay with us.  I loved to see the kids playing together.  They played games, watched movies, played capture the flag, went on scooter rides, played video games and laughed a lot!

The girls loved having Ashley here.  She is so much fun.

Ammon fits right in with Rockwell and Wyatt.

After church on Sunday we went over to grandma's house and hung out all afternoon/evening. 

On Monday we hung out and visited at my house.  Mom and Mel came down and Tiff and Rockwell came over.  After dinner they went and played pickleball.  It was cold and windy so I stayed home and got the house cleaned up from dinner. Tiff took Hallee with them and she had fun playing at the park with Tessa and Damon.

After pickleball we went to Leatherby's. 

I can't even stand how cute this picture is!

Tiff moved over by Jonah so she could be across from me and Julie.  Jonah looked at her and said, "hey bestie," so obviously I had to take a picture.

Caitlyn had to work that night, but she got off in time to join us.

Hallee was very happy with her play dough ice cream.

The sisters were happy to be together too!

My boys skipped school Monday and Tuesday, I just don't have the heart to send them to school when cousins are in town visiting.  Hallee went to school on Monday, but stayed home on Tuesday because she wanted to go to Lowes with everyone.

It was so nice to be there during school because they almost had the place to themselves.

The kids all jumped for 2 1/2 hours! 

Jonah had a track meet that afternoon, I don't know how he did it after 2 1/2 hours of jumping.  Luckily the track meet was at Provo, so he was only gone a couple of hours.

Tuesday mom and dad came down and went to dinner with me, Mel, Julie and Tiff.  It was nice to be able and sit down and visit without being interrupted by kids. After that we went and saw Bright Star at the Orem Hale Theater.  It was my fourth time seeing it and I would see it again, I just love it. It is an emotional one, but such a beautiful story. 

Amarie and Ataiya came down with Mel and the girls all went to The Wash.  Caitlyn was so excited to take them to her favorite place. 

When we got home the girls were laying on the couch laughing hysterically. 

It looked like they had a fun night! Wednesday morning Julie and the kids left for Idaho to go visit Caleb.  It doesn't seem like they were here very long, time flies when you are having fun! We were all sad to see them go. 

March Birthdays

Caitlyn was excited to celebrate her birthday at grandma's.  She loves spending time with her cousins at grandma's house.  It was fun to have Julie and the kids in town this year.

Grandma and grandpa wrote Caitlyn a very thoughtful, long card and she loved it.  Things like that mean so much to her.  I know she will keep it and read it often.

Caitlyn loves Jack Weyland books.  She asked grandma and grandpa for a few of her favorite ones.

It's still weird to have EJ gone.  Fifteen years of them celebrating their birthdays together went by so fast!

At least she can still celebrate her birthday with grandpa. 

Skiing

 Julie and the kids had Spring Break this week so they came to visit.  They got here really late Friday night.  My kids were so excited to have them stay with us. On Saturday Kyle came over and took Jonah, Jacob and Ashley to the Rec Center.  After that we had a very early dinner because we were going skiing that afternoon/evening. 

Jacob said that he and Jonah looked like ketchup and mustard with their pants, Ha!  Jonah was so excited to go skiing.  He has only gone once with the 4th graders.

Kyle and Paige like to ski and they were good about working with us and teaching us.  Ammon, Ashley and Wyatt have never been skiing and I've only been twice and it was about 20 years ago.

Skiing is so expensive! Kyle and Paige were able to get us half off the lift passes and we just did half a day so that made it cheaper.  

I have been wanting to take the kids skiing for a few years, so when Julie asked if we wanted to go I said yes! It was great to have Kyle help us know where to go and how to get everything we needed.

I didn't realize that Sundance is so close to us.  Hallee went with the fourth grade a couple of weeks ago.  She said it was good, but she didn't want to go back.  Caitlyn was working, so it was just me and the boys.  I was excited until we got there and then I got really nervous.  It was a warm day and we had all of our snow clothes on so by the time we got all of our equipment and up to the hill I was so hot and a bit cranky! I had to sit down for a few minutes and take of my coat and just cool off and destress and then I was ready to go.

Wyatt and Ammon stayed together most of the day and had a great time.  

We started out on the bunny hill.  It had three magic carpets, which are basically moving sidewalks.  If you went up all three sidewalks it was a good size hill, at least I thought so.  You can see Jonah coming down in his red pants.  He did awesome and got it down really quickly.  

A lot of Jonah's friends ski and I know Jonah wishes we did too.  He loved it and wants to go back.  I wish it wasn't so expensive! Jonah and Jacob went down the smaller hill a few times and then they were anxious to take the lift up and do the bigger hills.

Julie hadn't been skiing for a long time, but she picked it right up and did great.  She went with the other kids on the lift and I stayed on the bunny hill with Ammon and Wyatt.

Kyle took the boys down a few times and taught them how to do it.  

I was so impressed with Wyatt.  He didn't hesitate and went right up the hill.  Every time he fell he would hop right back up and keep going. 

It didn't take him long to get the hang of it.

I loved watching him ski down the hill and see the huge smile on his face when he made it down without falling.

I watched them go down a few times before I went up myself.  Wyatt was so excited when I came up with him and kept making sure I was okay.  He was so proud of me when I figured it out.

I had fun hanging out with Wyatt and Ammon.  Ammon went up on the lift once and I think he was glad he did it, but once was enough for him.  

Jonah kept trying to talk me and Wyatt into going up on the lift.  We kept telling him that we didn't want to.  Wyatt was nervous about the lift and the bigger hill.  I knew my limits and the top of the bunny hill was good for me.  I stayed on my feet the whole time, which is what I was going for because I was worried I wouldn't be able to get back up if I fell! I squatted when I skied so my thighs were burning by the time I got to the bottom of the hill.

Jonah didn't have any fear, he went to whatever hill everyone was doing and Kyle said he even tried doing some tricks.  He told me he had a couple of bad falls, but it was worth it! He loved skiing and can't wait to go again.

Wyatt and I enjoyed it too.  I'm really glad I went, but I don't think it's something I'm dying to do again. It was the perfect situation to go with Julie and the kids and have Kyle and Paige there to help us.  

We could go bowling!

Every time I ask the kids what we should do Wyatt says, "we could go bowling."  He went with the youth a couple of months ago and he has been dying to go again.  Tonight Caitlyn was at work, Hallee had a birthday party and Jonah was with his friends, so Keith and I decided to take Wyatt out for some one-on-one time.  I knew Wyatt would want to go bowling, so that is what we did.

We picked up Wyatt from break dancing and headed over to Provo Beach where Hallee's birthday party was.  We dropped her off in the party room and then the three of us went upstairs to bowl. Hallee was starting to bowl when we were leaving.  She loved spending the evening with her friends.

It cracked me up to watch Wyatt lift his leg when he bowled.

He got pretty excited when he got a strike.

After bowling we let Wyatt play some arcade games.

This air hokey had a big puck and then lots of little pucks.  It was fun, I helped Wyatt so we could try and beat Keith.

We finished off the night with ice cream. 

It was so fun to have this time with Wyatt, he was so sweet and grateful.  He always asks how much things cost and worries when things are expensive.  Wyatt is such a a fun kid!

Jonah had a track meet on Monday.  It was nice because it was only Provo High and Spanish Fork, so it was nice and quick! He ran the 100M and a 4X100M relay.  He did awesome on both.  He has been struggling with shin splints and a sore ankle so he didn't do the 200 this time.  I'm so impressed with his drive and dedication.  He pushes himself and works hard.  If he doesn't have practice then he will run on his own.  

He was first in his heat, he is in lane 6.  

I took Jackson to the groomers on St. Patrick's Day and they sent him home with a bandana.  The kids hate when I get his hair cut this short, but it is so expensive, so when we pay for a haircut I get it as short as possible.  He looks like a different dog.