Easter!!

This year, we had a busy and fabulous Easter weekend. By a stroke of luck, Jeff was off Easter Sunday, so he even got to be part of most of our festivities!

We started Saturday morning, going up the canyon with the Radcliffes, and everyone made an appearance (except Jaimie and Grandma.) Mom brought cinnamon rolls, we brought juice, and then we cooked ham, eggs and breakfast burritos over the fire-and it was all very good! We had a bit of a struggle getting the fire going, I think cause nothing was quite dried out with the weather we've been having. (A little lighter fluid did the trick! OK, a lot.)
We also did an Easter egg hunt for the kiddies up there, which I thought was super fun for them and went really well! They each got 16 eggs, which translates to loads of candy. Amelie just went around, in love with her cousins and aunts. Poor Lisie was sooo tired, but after daddy took her for a sleepy ride, she woke up in a splendid mood. My girls L-O-V-E being outdoors! It was a mite chilly, but I had a blast and I can't wait to get up there more this summer! (Though my car still smells like campfire...)

A few shots, courtesy of Melissa:

Alisa's ever-popular scrunchy face. My fave!

Sat. night, the girls and I went to BBQ with Jeff's immediate family (while he was at work.) We had some good burgers, colored eggs, hunted for their special egg, had strawberry shortcake, and lots of other fun activities. My girls took turns being terrible, but in all fairness, they've been sick and exhausted. They both seemed to have fun, despite. Us big kids also got our special eggs, yum!





Sunday morning, we gave the girls their Easter baskets (modestly stocked, and yet somehow they still ended up with 3 buckets of candy, ugh...) The little girls donned their beautiful new Easter dresses for church, and I even curled Amie's hair. (whoa!) They were beautiful! Church was a little rough with the girls not feeling well, but Jeff and I hadn't actually been to an entire block of Church for 4 weeks, so we just stayed. We took turns in the nursery, and they were fine. From there, we headed out to Grandma Barbie's for celebration with Jeff's extended family. We've actually missed this every year because Jeff has always worked Easter Sunday, so it was great to be a part! We had a huge meal, and quite the Easter egg hunt! They do it up with candy, toys and money. The girls got SOO much candy, some bubbles, necklaces and over $9. Amelie was again in heaven chasing around her girl cousins... well, when they paid attention to her, at least! She'd been talking about coming to the Easter party for 2 days, and she had a great time. She started out sad, but as soon as Hannah walked in the door, she lit up and I rarely saw her again! There was a funny incident where all the kids were downstairs and they found a mouse - it's still a mystery to me as to whether it was dead or alive - and all the kids came screaming up the stairs. Amie did NOT like this, and she kept talking about Grandpa Vern being "journey" (germy) because he carried the mouse out.








Here are a few last shots from Amie's cousin's ward Easter party. She made some cute crafts and got, of course, more candy!

Hello, how adorable are they?!

One weekend in January... And one in April...

Back in January, we went up to one of our condos in Wolf Creek with a bunch of our friends-Amos and Jessica, Bryan, Tami and Taylor, and Melissa, Kevin and Nathan. We got going a little late on Friday night, but went out to eat at a cute little place, where we got seated by the fireplace, which I loved until it roasted us. Dinner was good, then we went back to our place to just hang out and stay up much later than this mommy would at home!
The next day was our only full day there and we tried to pack it all in! After breakfast, we child-laiden folk tried to go sledding on a not-so-steep hill while A&J went cross country skiing. We had a good time, but we'll definitely look for a more prime spot if ever we go back. We ate lunch out at a fun Mexican restaurant where Jeff had a burrito as big as his head! Then we headed out to our sleigh ride... which was really just a hay ride on a flat bed with sleigh runners. It was actually very beautiful scenery, just not the sleigh we were expecting. On the way back (sort of) we stopped in to see a Catholic Monastery where they make creamed honey. It was cool but a little bit sad because they were incredibly dwindled in numbers and said they'd have to keep decreasing their honeys among other things if they didn't get more people and soon.
That night, we BBQ'd dinner in, and then played a game while (most of) the kids slept. I can't remember the name of the game, but it was very fun! The last day, we basically just packed up and headed out. It went by really quickly, but I had a blast! I love getting away with friends, where you know you don't have to worry one bit about the normal stuff. Gotta be honest, it was tough juggling our 4 little kids' nap times and still getting to go out, but I can't wait to go again!

Here are a few pictures I totally scavenged from friends:

AND THEN-we did the same thing this past weekend with my family, just took a weekend to be in Wolf Creek. It was more leisurely, but I thouroughly enjoyed it. We all split up meal and associated chore duties, and ate out Sat. night for Mark's birthday. We forgot and missed out on the salsa class they did, but we went to yoga, played many games, watched movies, went in the hot tub (awesome!) and ate innumerable treaty foods. Yeah, we ate well. (I also gained 2 pounds! Over the last 2 weeks, anyway.) We were very sad not to have the Martins there, and Reed couldn't stay either, but I personally had a blast! (Until my girls got sick all over everything right before checkout... bah.) And I have no pictures of that weekend! My camera woes are almost as bad as my phone woes. (Another phone broke at the condo, actually.)

Sotto Voce

Just wanted to drop a line about a new choir I auditioned for. It is called Sotto Voce and it is just starting up, headed by a guy from one of my past singles' wards who is a talented composer. It's a small ensemble with a broad range of styles, where members will rotate conducting and also with a focus on service. I was excited to hear about it, but as my audition drew near I grew apprehensive. I hadn't really had time to properly prepare and I had been sick. I almost lamed-out, but I went and my audition went pretty well. I heard back that I was accepted, and we have since begun rehearsals at a private school in the Sugarhouse area. (This is the rehearsal I mentioned in my last post.) It's just beginning and I think the ball may roll slowly, but I have really enjoyed being able to sing with capable musicians again! I love the group and feel very comfortable with the members this far. They've been very supportive and even sent me flowers while I was recovering last week. I'm so glad I took the plunge and I'll keep you all posted about future performances!

PS-we are scheduled to do 1-2 numbers at the SLCC concert April 14 and 15 if you're interested.