Backyard Baseball

In between our Spring snowstorms we practice our baseball in the backyard. Luke has outgrown the backyard for batting practice, but we still make it work. Myles loves to attempt whatever Luke is up to and Emma checks in on her fairy garden.

According to Myles, he matches, "stripes and stripes!"

Myles lives for his pajamas. I can't say that I blame him.

While the Cat's Away...

We so appreciated Bryan's parents extending their trip to watch our kids while we escaped for a few nights. The kids had a great time and other than Myles' giving everyone a scare in the middle of the night with some nasty coughing, I don't think they noticed us being gone (well, the kids at least)! I just feel bad that I don't have many pics from when they were here!

They even invited one of Luke's friends over for a hot dog roast. :)

Grandma and Grandpa Nielson are probably still trying to recover from their nights with us!

Spring Getaway

Bryan and I left the kids with his parents and headed to some warmth, Arizona! While we there we caught up with my favorite sister missionary, Sister Kotter (my niece), and took her  and her companion out for dinner, lounged at our hotel, caught a baseball game with delicious burritos beforehand, visited the Grand Canyon and Sedona. It was a relaxing getaway with some fun and adventurous activities mixed in--the perfect combo. 

I realized about halfway through the game that this night was more for me than Bryan. :) I love going to the ballpark. That's kind of ironic after all the hours I spent watching my brothers play baseball when I was growing up or going on vacations to MLB baseball games, ha! 

The Grand Canyon was stunning. It was my first time visiting and we lucked out with a beautiful evening and gorgeous sunset. We hiked a little and managed to get off the beaten path. That isn't too difficult with my husband. I may have reminded my husband of recent tourists falling to their deaths and that I wasn't as young as I once was!

Pinewood Derby

Luke worked hard on his Pinewood Derby car with little help from the adults, with the exception of carving it. We were out of town for the actual event, but Grandma and Grandpa Nielson ran our three ring circus like pros and even documented for us.

Tea Party

I asked a friend to help me decorate for a tea party that I was hosting for the YW of the ward. Two hours later and it looked like a wedding reception! She has a skill set that I greatly appreciate! It was fun to see the expressions on the YW's faces when they showed up that night. Elizabeth kindly reminded the YW of a few pointers of etiquette before we let them enjoy the rest of the night. Whether or not any of those reminders sunk in is yet to be determined, but it was a good starting point, ha!

Miss Emma really wanted to be part of the evening. Bryan helped her change into tea party attire and I loved watching her practice her manners. I think she might be able to teach a few of the older girls a thing or two! :)

Loveland Ski Trip--Final Hoorah!

Colorado is experiencing a l-o-o-o-o-n-g Winter, but it does make for some great Spring skiing! Elizabeth, Kelly and I each pulled our oldest children out of school and headed from Loveland Ski Resort. My only sadness was not taking Myles. I still think it was the right call, but he was so sad to be left behind. Hopefully in the next year or two it will be easier to ski with all three kids at the same time. It was the last hoorah ski trip before the Cramers leave the country. It was a beautiful day. In the afternoon storm clouds rolled in with impressive thunder that accompanied. As we rode the chair lift up we heard a startling clap of thunder. Yikes! Once we were off the lifts, they shut everything down due to the thunder. A first time for everything!

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday was a nice day. Our Easter Bunny has caught onto the idea of coming a day early and we love that tradition around here. It keeps Sunday more low key and reminds us of the true reason for Easter.

 We invited the Cramers to join us for Easter Dinner. I tried a new ham recipe and didn't love it, but I made up for it with those homemade rolls. It's my go to recipe that never fails. Well, the only time it let me down was at Christmas and it was due to a sheet of foil on the bottom of the oven and the bottom of the pan wasn't baking.

Easter Eggs

We decorated sugar cookies in the shape of eggs as well as the traditional hard boiled eggs. I think I was more partial for the sugar cookie eggs this year.