This Past Month (A Catch Up Post)

And... I can hardly believe that it has been a month since I last updated the blog.  Let's play catch up:

Random little cut and color change this month-- totally unrelated to the rest of this post.

We've been busy doing A LOT  of yard work.  Brandon has been trimming our trees and hauling the branches off to the local green waste.  I spent hours digging up old mulch, bagging up yard debris and leaves, and together we laid new mulch and playground bark (no more sand pit for the neighborhood cats to use as a litter box).  We still want to plant some flowers, start the vegetable garden, fix the vegetable garden trellis, and possibly paint the fence.  But we've made tons of progress and it feels fresh and beautiful for spring.  Slowly, but surely we're making this house into the home we dreamed it could be.

Wyatt dressed up for Disney on Ice

In the beginning of March my grandma and I took Ruby and Wyatt to see Disney on Ice.  When I was little Grandma used to take me and my brother every year, so it brings back lots of good childhood memories for me.  We don't take our kids every year, but when I saw an advertisement for it this spring I called Grandma and asked her if she wanted to go.  I thought the kids were the perfect age and since it was princess themed I knew my kids would be really excited about it.  By the time we got around to ordering our tickets the only good seats left were the last 2 on aisle 7 and the last 2 on aisle 8, so we snatched them up; and I have to admit that it was a much better seating configuration  for us than if we had found 4 in the same row.

Ruby wore her princess Tiana dress (and her pink mouse ears came on and off through out the night).

Ruby was very attentive and sat super still with saucer eyes.  Wyatt, on the other hand, was very vocal-- "mouse!" "horse!" etc.  He clapped along to the music and even grabbed my hands and made me clap along.  Both of them had a great time.  I loved the show and spending time with my beloved grandma, but I especially loved watching my children experience something so magical.  Childhood is precious.

At the ballet with Aunt Chelsea and Grandma-- not our best picture, but literally the only picture of our little crew.

Me and my little man at Peter Pan.

Then 2 weekends ago  I invited my mother-in-law to accompany us to see Utah Regional Ballet perform Peter Pan.  My kids are truly obsessed with pirates and dancing, so I knew that they'd love it.  In a lot of ways it was a repeat of our experience at Disney on Ice-- Ruby somberly enjoying every minute and Wyatt exuberantly enjoying every minute.  At intermission my mother-in-law bought Ruby a Tinkerbell neckless and Wyatt a Peter Pan fedora.  Luckily the second half was very short, because Wyatt insisted on wearing the hat while sitting on my lap and I spent most of the time trying to keep the ever moving feather out of my face.

Of course, we also celebrated Easter this last week.  We usually don't do much to celebrate other than go to church and have a family lunch, but it's always so restful and springy that it's one of my favorite holidays.

Ruby Doo and her Easter loot

My baby bunnies

 The night before the kids set their Easter baskets by the window (so that the Easter bunny would see them when he was hopping by) and while they were asleep he filled them with goodies and hid plastic eggs around the house for them to discover in the morning.  Both Ruby and Wyatt had a great time hunting for the eggs first thing in the morning.  Occasionally Wyatt would stop to open an egg and enjoy a treat while Ruby continued on.  Ruby was very good at grabbing the eggs and then handing some over to Wyatt to share with him.  Their goodness and kindness warms my heart.

Ready for church

Easter dress press

Baby grump is presh, too.

Easter dinner at the grown-up table.  Yes, my napkins are folded like bunnies.  Eat your heart out, Brookie!

Thankfully church was at 11, so we had plenty of time to play with the kids in the morning before needing to shower and get out the door.  After church we had lunch with my mom and grandma and Brandon's cousin Katie.  The food was good, but the company was what made the afternoon delightful and fun. 

We are blessed to have so many wonderful family members close by.  As the day progressed we enjoyed the beautiful afternoon by going for a walk and blowing bubbles on the porch.  It really was a great Easter.