Easter Weekend!

We had a fun filled busy weekend. With my brother and his family here from out of town we tried to have as much fun as possible. We tried to color eggs at the park and have a picnic but it was too cold and windy for that. We ended up moving our picnic to the church gym. The kids had a blast coloring eggs and then we had a egg hunt. We went swimming and then out to dinner. Then the next day we went to the " I am a Child of God" exhibit downtown. With 25 of us and 15 kids under 11we were quite the crowd. It doesn't matter what we do we always have so much fun together. We were sad to see the Anderson family go but had lots of fun with them.


Easter Sunday was a great day! Todd had to work so me and Belle woke up to find that the Easter Bunny had left a basket filled with goodies. We also went on another egg hunt through the house. That Bunny is pretty tricky:) I had the opportunity to teach in Relief Society on how we have so many reasons to rejoice. We are so lucky that we have the gospel in our lives and what a great gift our Savior gave us that through the Atonement we can live with him again! I usually complain that I have to teach but this month I felt so lucky. Preparing this lesson really strengthen my own testimony and I really enjoyed giving it. Through out all of our meetings the spirit was strong and it set a great mood for the rest of the day.



When Todd got off work we planned to go out and have a dutch oven Easter dinner. My parents went with us and we had a great meal. Todd is quite the dutch oven chef. It was a such a beautiful and relaxing day. I love this time of year, when it is starting to get warm, flowers are starting to bloom, and it feels like a new beginning. We had a great weekend and I hope everyone else did too!

Girl Sleepover!!

Isabelle has a lot of cousins, but most of them are boys. She has 3 other girl cousins but they are all a lot older than her. She does have one girl cousin that is just 8 months younger than her. The hard thing is that she lives out of state. This last week my brother and his family were here to visit. While my brother and their older kids went skiing I brought Rachel home with me. It was so fun to have Rachel play with Belle. They played so good together and it actually made things easier for me as I didn't have to entertain Belle. It was so funny to watch them play. They each had a pretend cell phone and each had a little purse. Then this was their conversation.
Rachel: "Bisabelle, will you come pick me up at 10:30?"
Isabelle: " I will pick you up but I am stuck in traffic!"
Rachel: " Ok I will see you in a minute, bye!"
Isabelle: "Ok bye"
It was so funny to watch them, they have such good imaginations. They played and played and played. At bedtime they wanted to sleep in the same bed but I didn't think that would work very well. We had treats, read stories and said good night. I think they played to hard because the next morning I had to wake both of them up. They had matching outfits that day and they thought it was so cool that they were twins. We got lots of pictures of them being silly. We are so glad that we were able to have a sleep over with cousin Rachel! I hope that they will always be close, even if they live far away from each other.

Answers!

Alright, at the end of my last entry I had a little guessing game about me. Here are the fun answers. Good job to every one who made an educated guess!

1. True. I have been stuck in an elevator. When I was in high school I attended EFY up at Ricks College (now BYU Idaho). When we were going to an activity we were using the elevator and while going down we got stuck. Luckily it was a glass elevator and so people knew right away that we weren't moving. It took about 20 or more minutes to get us out and we had to climb up and out of the ceiling. There were about 20 people in the elevator and one girl passed out because of heat or anxiety or something. What an experience, and how many people can say that they have actually been stuck in an elevator before?
2. False. I am not allergic to an epidural. When I went into labor with Isabelle I was luckily enough to get an epidural early but then the bad thing was that it wore off when I started pushing. Since I was at a small town hospital they didn't have an anesthesiologist there at all times. It took him quite awhile to get back to the hospital and to drug me again. But when I had the epidural it worked great! I don't know how people survive labor with out it!
3. False. I don't like seafood. I am not a big fan of the fishy taste and texture.
4. True. I do want to ride on an elephant someday. My favorite animals are elephants. I have always been amazed at how large they are. This might be a childish dream but I will ride on an elephant someday! I think it would be very fun!
5. False. I have not performed on Broadway. I have been to many Broadway shows and I think it would be the greatest/ funnest thing to do. It looks very challenging and the life style is very different but I think it would be great. Of course you have to have some kind of talent! I guess I will just enjoy from the audience:)

Katie and Crystal you guys got all of them right! Chandi you missed one and Turia you missed two. Great Job! I thought this was a fun tag so anybody feel free to copy!

Another Tag!

I have seen quite a few of these tags going around so I thought I would join in. I think it is so fun to read everyone's entries and find out more about them. I would usually prefer to write about something else besides me but I thought it would be fun to come back in 10 years from now and see what I wrote. So here goes a tag about me, hopefully you find something out that you didn't already know.

10 years ago: In February of 1998, I was enjoying my freshman year Eisenhower Jr. High. I was involved in Student Government and was loving being involved. I had a group of girl friends that we did everything together and had so much fun. I wasn't really into boys before this but I had a huge crush on this boy and all I wanted was to dance with him at the promotion dance at the end of the year. (Wow, weren't our lives complicated and stressful back then?) I also had just tried out for the Sophomore cheer leading team at our high school and made it. Those were awkward times but I had so much fun!

5 years ago: February of 2003, I was in my last semester at Snow College. I had started dating Todd a few months before and things were going well with us. I was on institute council and was very involved with that. I had gone on a 2 week vacation with my parents to Hawaii and had a blast. Me and Todd weren't that serious before I left but being away from each other for two weeks made us both realize some things. When I got home things moved fast and we were engaged a month later. I was busy planning a wedding and trying to do the best that I could in my classes. Lets just say that I got a little distracted and that wasn't my best semester.

5 Things that were on my "to-do" list for today:
1. Mail bills
2. Take back Belle's present to Toys R Us
3. Clean bathrooms
4. Finish craft project that I am in the middle of
5. Call and make doctor appointment for Belle

I Enjoy:
Being a mom- spending time with Belle
Reading
Scrapbooking
Taking pictures
Shopping
Rock Climbing
Coloring-especially with Belle
Chocolate covered strawberries
Skittles
Cafe Rio pork salad
Being around other people
Keeping busy
And more...

What would I do if I suddenly became a MILLIONAIRE?:

Pay off loans, get a house, travel to someplace warm, go on a summer shopping spree, and of course save

5 Jobs that I have had:

1. Mother
2. Receptionist at an Optometrist office
3. College Recruiter
4. Photographer at Kiddie Kandids
5. Smoothie and Sandwhich maker at Mayberries

Things I would like to be better at:
Cooking, Sewing, being self motivated, and snowboarding

A Movie that I could watch over and over: Enchanted, How to Lose a Guy in 10 days, Wedding Planner

Embarrassing moment: At a formal dance in High School, me and my date were waiting in line to get our pictures taken. I had to leave the line for a moment and when I came back I was running and I tripped and fell flat on my face in front of the whole line in my dress! This doesn't sound that bad but imagine being a senior in high school and doing this in front of your date and all of your friends!

True or False- Make a guess and then I will post the answers later

1. I have been stuck in an elevator with more than 20 people for longer than 20 min.
2. When I had Isabelle I found out that I am allergic to the epidural
3. I absolutely love sea food- crab is my favorite
4. I have a dream to ride on an elephant some day
5. I have performed on a Broadway stage before

That is a little about me. Hope some of you will join in on this tag!

Birthday Girl!

Last weekend my little girl turned 3! I can't believe how fast time has gone. It seemed like not very long ago I was pregnant and thought that she would never come out. This was her first year celebrating her birthday in Utah surrounded by family. Her birthday was on Saturday so we had planned to go swimming at the indoor Lehi pool. She invited all of her cousins and couldn't wait to have her party. I had asked her what she wanted for her birthday and all she would say was that she wanted a white and purple ball. I don't know why she wanted this but she had seen a white and purple ball at Old Navy a month ago and couldn't get it out of her mind.
We all went swimming and when Belle saw the water she got a little nervous. She doesn't like to get her face wet and she is not the biggest fan of water, but she is the one that wanted to go swimming. She had a fun time after she got in. There was a big bucket that filled with water and then dumped out. As long as we stayed away from the bucket she was alright. All of the other kids had a blast.
She had a Mickey Mouse birthday cake and then opened presents. She got lots of fun games and toys and her white and purple ball! The weekend before we celebrated with the Brown family in Ephraim and we had a party then too. She got a baby that gets sick and a couple more games.We are so grateful for our beautiful little girl and that she is in our family.



She was happy to get out!











Happy Birthday to Isabelle!


This morning when Isabelle woke up she said to me, "Mom, am I still 3?" Wouldn't it be great to be 3 again?

HAPPY VALENTINES!

Another thing I LOVE....is my wonderful husband! We have been married for almost 5 years and I can't remember what it was like to not have him in my life. We have had so much fun together and have been through so much. I LOVE that is he so smart and that he always wants to keep learning. He is so good to me and always supports me in whatever I do or say. I LOVE that he is such a great dad to Isabelle. I LOVE that he works so hard for us and that he works extra so that I don't have to work. I LOVE that I can trust him with anything and that I can tell him anything. I know that 5 years is only the beginning of a marriage but I am so glad that I have been able to spend the last 5 years with him and I look forward to spending the rest of eternity with him. I LOVE you Todd!

I LOVE....Isabelle! She is the light of my life. I LOVE how she makes me laugh, teaches me patience, and is always so loving and forgiving. I LOVE how this morning when I said, " Happy Valentines!" she looked up at me with big blue eyes and said, " I"m so excited!" I LOVE how she thought that my attempt at heart pancakes this morning was the coolest thing ever. And I LOVE how in the middle of the day for no reason she will come up to me and say, " Mom, I Love you!" I LOVE you too, Isabelle!

I LOVE.....my family! I LOVE how my family is close and that we all get along and want to spend time with each other. I LOVE that my parents are not the greatest parents but they are wonderful grandparents too. I LOVE how my parents have always supported me in my life. I LOVE and appreciate them so much! I LOVE my two sisters and brother and their families and the great examples they are to me. I LOVE that we live close to my family so that we can see them often. I LOVE you Mom and Dad!

I LOVE....Todd's family! I LOVE that I have great in-laws. I LOVE that they are always so generous to us and that they support us. I LOVE that they raised a great man that I choose to marry. I LOVE that they are great grandparents. I LOVE their example and am so glad that we get along and that I am comfortable when I am with them. I LOVE that even when life gets tough they are always an example of strength. I LOVE you Steve and Penny!

HAPPY VALENTINES EVERYONE!

I LOVE...

Another thing that I absolutely LOVE is where I live. I LOVE living in Utah. After living out of the state for a few years and then coming back I realize how much I LOVE where we live. I do have to admit that there are other great and beautiful places in the world, but I LOVE it here. Some people would probably want to argue with me but I think this is one of the most beautiful places. I LOVE how we have all four seasons. I LOVE how in the winter it feels so good to stay at home, eat a good bowl of hot soup and relax. I LOVE looking at untouched snow and how it sparkles. I LOVE the spring time when trees are blossoming and new animals are being born. I LOVE how when you can go outside with just a light jacket on. I LOVE summer! I LOVE summer nights and listening to the crickets chirp. I LOVE going camping and doing all the fun things outside. I LOVE to open my windows and feel the summer breeze. I LOVE fall and seeing the rainbow of colors on the mountain side. I LOVE when it is just cold enough that a little bomb fire will keep you warm. I LOVE the smell and sound of leaves falling to the ground. I LOVE having the beautiful majestic mountains that surround us. I LOVE that we have such easy access to the mountains.
I LOVE that I live in a free country and that I am able to live the way that I do. I LOVE that people sacrifice for me everyday so that I can live this way. I LOVE that fact that so many people have fought and are still fighting for our freedom. I LOVE that!
There are a few things that I might complain about every once in a while but I could never say that I don't like living here. I LOVE IT!