The ZOO!

While my Mom and Dad were down visiting Grandpa Jensen and Grandma Bea  in Utah, Kariesa and her kids and me and my kids went down to meet up with them.  We first got to go to McDonalds to eat an play.  (Yes, I sad GOT to, because when you live 100 miles to the nearest McDonalds it is a treat to go.)  We played there for quite some time and the girls  had a blast!  One little girl had pinched Shelby's cheek and so my Dad stood guard over the playground. Yeah...I wouldn't want to mess with him.  I have seen that look when it was directed at me while growing up (although, not very often). 

After lunch we all drove over to Hogle Zoo.  The girls love the zoo and love to see all of the animals.  It was so much fun to share this day with Mom and Dad and to listen to the girls yelling "Grandma, look at this!' or "Grandpa, that monkey is silly!"  I wish I could live closer to my parents so my children could spend more time with them...but then, every moment we do have is a special memory.  Because it was still chilly, not all of the animals were out, but all of the "cats" were.  That was the most active I have ever seen Cougers, Tigers, Cheetahs act at the zoo.

  Larlee, of course, had to take a picture with the Couger...wonder why?

The giraffes were the favorite of the girls this time.  We got to get up pretty close to them and they thought it was pretty interesting!  After the giraffes we went on to the tigers...Mom decided to run to the car to get another jacket and while I was not looking for that second, Karlee decided to run after her and go with her.  Well, of course, my heart failed there for a second when she wasn't with us.  Luckily Kariesa was there and she practically ran around the whole zoo in 2 seconds.  Me, well, I was out of breath after about 20 yards.  Mom called while we were looking and said Karlee was with her...thankfully!  The feeling of losing someone is the worst feeling possible!

We went in to see the monkeys and gorilla.  The gorilla was pretty feisty!  He was eating cardboard, picking his nose and eating it, and the grossest thing...pooping and eating that.  Blugh!  Like Dad said, you would only have to feed him once!

It was such a fun day.  The zoo wasn't busy at all, so it was nice to see everything and read everything and not get pushed out o the way so quickly.  The best things, though, was spending the time with mom and dad.  I am so grateful for them and all they do for us! 

Easter Dresses

Since Easter fell on conference weekend, the girls were not able to wear their Easter dresses until the week after. They were so excited to put on their dresses, sweaters and the sparkly shoes the Easter bunny gave them. (We are still having discussions on whether the Easter Bunny is a boy or a girl...) I normally don't let them put on their sunday clothes until right before we leave, since my girls do not know how to stand still for more then, oh, a second, but this sunday they were so excited I let them put them on earlier. They were so careful and acted like little princesses!

NYC Subway

Came across this and thought this was great! 

My girls wanted to know why nobody was singing like that when they were on the subway!

Shelby

Our little Shelby has got the sweetest little personality and is full of wit! Here are some of the funny things she has said the last few days:

-I put her in time out and as she sat down she said, "It seems I have been on time out all the days of my life!"

-I told her we were going to get to dye Easter eggs and she immediately began crying, saying we must not dye the eggs!...thinking that I meant "kill" the eggs.

-I asked her to please get dressed, and she ignored me, so I asked again.  She said, "I am sorry, I am Snow White...maybe if you ask nicely, "Snow White, will you please get dressed", I will get dressed."

-We were explaining that Karlee came down from heaven first and she burst into tears saying, "See, I never get to be first!"

-The day after Easter, she woke up and grabbed her Easter basket, and asked if she could have some candy. I told her she needed to wait until after lunch before she could have any more and she said, "I really don't think I had enough sugar yesterday."

Shelby makes us laugh every day...couldn't imagine our lives without her!

New baby Gavin!

I never quite understood what was sooo special about Spring Break until this year.  I couldn't wait for Spring Break and the chance for a week to not have to be on a schedule!  So, during spring break, we decided to take a trip to Idaho Falls to see Aunt Kariesa, Uncle Jared, Addie and Baby Gavin. 

The girls were so excited to play with their cousin and hold the new baby.  (So was I!)  I think every time someone was holding Gavin, Karlee would run to them and ask if she could hold Gavin.  She was completely infatuated with him!  She loved to sit and hold him...of course we had to sit right next to her, because she liked to bounce him around like she does with her baby dolls...I think she only made him really cry once. 

Gavin is so cute!  His little smile and his coos were just too cute.  He loves to be held, so it was fun to cuddle him and hold him.  He sure likes his bottle too!  I can't believe how much he drank and then would still be hungry. 

We had lots of fun, of course.  Kariesa is always the best hostess and makes yummy meals.  We love her! 

"Saints" Patricks Day

Both girls say "Saints" Patricks Day and have been excited for this day all week.  Since green is not a favorite color, (Shelby asked "Can we wear blue instead, I don't really like green") it took us a little bit to come up with some green.  Luckily Karlee had a shirt and I had some hair pretties that Shelby could wear...so it all worked out.  I think the thing they were looking forward to the most though, was the green food.  I got a little carried away last year with the green food coloring and the girls pooped green for a few days, so I used the food coloring a little more sparingly.  I colored the sugar green for their cereal this morning and then for dinner we had green juice, green pancakes and green eggs.  Shelby asked if she would turn green tomorrow. (We have been reading "Pinkalicious" ALOT this week where a little girl turns pink after eating too many pink cupcakes).  Anyways..a fun day and the girls are already talking about what kind of green food they get to eat next Saints Patricks Day. :)

Feeding the Cows

My in-laws went out of town to watch the state basketball games, so GP, the girls and I helped feed the cows and check the cows for calves.  The girls had so much fun riding in the tractor and then helped their daddy pull out the hay from the feeder.  They felt like they were helping so much and were "cowgirls".  I was a little worried Shelby would run after the cows, especially the ones with calves...since she has no fear and she also thought the mommy cows would definitely like to play with her and show her their babies, but she did really good. ( I have a really good reason for this fear because I have been chased by momma cows, not because I wasn't afraid of them, but because I was kind of stupid...luckily I was 12 years younger and much skinnier...but thats another story.)

They were always worried that the tractor would run over the cows and would try to scare them off.  Poor girls, in some ways, their mommy has kind of made them into "dudes"  Basically I just rode in the tractor and took some pictures, and opened and closed gates...

Later on the girls helped GP check the cows and got to see a calf be born.  They thought that was pretty neat...I am just glad they have not asked yet how the calf got into the mommy cow's belly.  Not ready for that conversation yet! :/  This is actually my favorite season as far as cows are concerned.  The little calves are so dang cute and it is fun to see them run around. Sherri and her kids were out helping too...but I think Tanner mostly worked on how many mud puddles he could run the 4 wheeler through.