Mother's Day

This year, Dan really out did himself with Mother's Day. It was exceptional. On Saturday, he made me take the whole day off. He kicked me out of the house and noon and wouldn't let me come back until after dinner. So, I went to lunch with my good friend, Jeanette, and then we shopped for a while downtown. That was a lot of fun. It's always nice to just sit and chat and do some girly things. After I dropped her off, I went to the px and wandered around for a bit, bought myself some sandals, and then got a pedicure. My friend, heather, met up with me afterwards and we had dinner. Love her. That was also so much fun cause we just sat and talked without any kid interruptions. When I did finally come home, the kids were already bathed and in bed and Dan was baking brownies. No joke. 

Here's the story about the brownies:

In every ward/branch we've ever been in, the elders quorum does something great for Mother's Day, but this branch wasn't doing anything, so Dan took it upon himself to make food for all the women. He enlisted to help of the young men and Tim wood, so together they made lots of yummy treats and hanji crafts to hand out to the mothers. It was super sweet of them and we all loved being able to be together for relief society and enjoy food that was prepared for us. 

Seriously, I have the sweetest husband in the world. 

On Sunday, evie and Dan brought me breakfast in bed and Dan did EVERYTHING to get the kids ready so that I could just relax. I took a long shower and did my hair fancy and everything. It was glorious. After church, he took the kids on a walk so I could take a nap and then he made dinner. 

I don't know what I ever did to deserve him, but I'm sure happy he chose me. 

I am so blessed to be a mother to two amazing children. I could not be happier that Heavenly Father trusted me to raise these sweet spirits, and I'm trying my best everyday to make sure they know how much they are loved. 

128/365

Happy Mother's Day to everyone. I cannot believe how blessed I am. 

107/365

 Today was a big day for us. In the morning, we went to the Evergreen club on camp walker and did their Eggstravaganza activity. Evie got to do an Easter egg hunt, and there were bubbles and crafts, and the Easter bunny paid a visit. Unfortunately, there weren't enough eggs for all the kids, so Evie only ended up with 3, I think, and it was super cold, but overall, I think she had fun.

Emmett "hunting" for eggs

After it was all over

bubbles!

This was actually the best out of the ones I took. Yikes.

Emmett got a haircut today! We used Dan's clippers and buzzed his whole head. What a handsome fella.

 before and after

Before dinner, we dyed Easter eggs, which was a whole lot of fun. Evie couldn't get enough of it, and was pretty sad when they were all done. But, I think she did a pretty good job! 

mother's day (i'm bragging a little)

This mother's day was pretty great, and it was all thanks to my wonderful husband. He took me to see Iron Man 3 yesterday, which was great because it's the first date we've had since Emmett was born. Plus, it was a really great movie. Then, this morning he made me breakfast in bed and gave me some gifts. To understand the significance of these two presents, we have to venture back in time a couple months.

A couple months ago, we went to Virginia Beach hoping to play some putt putt golf. The golfing didn't last very long because Evie got bored of it, so we walked around this souvenir shop for a while instead. While we were there, I found this super cute VA Beach picture frame and told Dan that eventually I wanted to buy one of those and take a picture at the beach to put in it, that way we would always remember that we lived here. Then, I promptly forgot about it. After that, I saw this super cute dress and commented on how much I liked it, but since I was pregnant I would never fit in it. Then I promptly forgot about that, too.

So, back to this morning. I open my presents and what should I find? That picture frame and that same dress. Well remembered, sir. It was touching to see how much thought he put into getting me something, but most especially it was touching to see that he really listens when I say things. Even meaningless, passing comments.

this is the dress. it's SUPER soft. wish you could feel it.

Dan also gave a talk in church today about mothers, which was just outstanding. I had to go out to the car and re-do my make up because I cried so much. I swear I was glowing from the inside out because I was so proud that he was my husband. Everyone should be jealous. He said some wonderful things about me and about his mother, and the whole thing was just phenomenal.

After Sacrament meeting, the young men went around and gave all the women some Godiva dark chocolate truffles. Yum. Then, all of relief society was spent chatting and eating yummy snacks.Not too shabby.

We ended the day by Dan making dinner and promising me a massage later.

Seriously, I could not feel more pampered or loved. What a wonderful day. I wanted to document it, in case I ever forget. What a great man I married, and what great children I have. I am so blessed.

I am also blessed to have such an amazing mother of my own. I wouldn't be who I am today without my mom, and words cannot express how much I love and appreciate her.

Alongside my mother, is my mother-in-law. Boy, did I win the lottery with her. I am so lucky to have a woman like her in my life and I love her more than I can say.

Happy mother's day to all you mothers and future mothers. It's the greatest job in the world. 

St. Patty's

 You may not know this about me, but St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays. It probably stems from how awesome my mom made it when I was growing up. She would put a trail of gold glitter, that the leprechaun left, and it would lead to a basket of "gold" with other fun stuff inside. Then, we would have green food and wear green, and I absolutely loved it. In an effort to continue this tradition with my family, we did something similar, but not quite as awesome. Maybe as Evie gets older we will get a little more creative with it.

Leprechaun feet leading to her basket

starting at the door, cause the leprechaun broke in. Obviously.

She loved this

All her loot

We had corned beef and cabbage for dinner. Very Irish. Thanks, mom!

And key lime pie for dessert.

Following the footprints was Evie's favorite part by far. She loved it so much that she went back and did it again at least 5 times. Then, we had to switch where they went so she could do it some more. The basket of goodies was second place. 

 

catch up

This Thanksgiving Evie and I went to Wichita to spend some time with my family. Unfortunately, Dan couldn't come with us because he had to work, but he played football, basketball, and went fishing, so he did okay without us. It was so fun to be able to see everyone and spend some quality time with my family, especially since we will be living overseas next year and there's no guarantee we will be able to come home for holidays.My only regret is that Evie wasn't feeling well the whole time we were there, which made her super grumpy and a bad sleeper, and as you can imagine, in turn made me grumpy and zombie-like. I wish things had gone a little smoother for us because I think we would have had more fun, but overall it was a good trip. On my first night there, I got to go to a movie with Jill and my mom. That was a lot of fun because I definitely needed a break from Evie, and I got to have some quality time with my oldest sister and my mom. The next day we went to Red Lobster for lunch, where Evie threw the world's biggest tantrum about who knows what, wouldn't eat anything, and then fell asleep in my lap. Seriously Evie, what was that about? I felt terrible because she is seriously NEVER like that, especially not in public. She loves going out to eat and she loves people, so this was super out of character and I didn't know what to do about it. Oh well. That night, Justin and Melissa got there with their girls, as well as Lianne, Derek, and Calvyn. It was super funny and cute to see Evie's reaction to seeing Justin, because she was so excited to see him for some reason. I don't know if she remembered him from when we were in SLC over the summer or what, but it was pretty adorable. As you can imagine, with that many people in one house, things got pretty chaotic and crazy, but fun. On Wednesday, us girls went shopping for fabric for Blaire's baby blanket and started getting ready for her baby shower. We wanted to do a little something over Skype for Blaire even though she wasn't there. That afternoon we went to the zoo, and later that night everyone except my parents and me went to see a movie. Evie by this time was crazy grumpy and sick, so I didn't feel comfortable leaving her with my parents when they had 4 other kids to take care of. Sei la vie. Thursday involved lots of cooking, eating delicious food, and taking a family picture. Let me tell you, trying to get yourself and a whiny toddler ready for a picture is SUPER stressful. My life is so much easier when Dan is around. But overall, I think the picture turned out pretty well. And that was the end of our trip, unfortunately. We were sad to leave, but excited to see Dan. I wish we could have stayed longer and maybe did a couple more things, but Evelyn was a stinker, so I'm happy that I was able to do the things I did.

On the way home, we flew threw Atlanta. I noticed on the flight from Wichita to Atlanta that Evie was starting to feel really warm, but I didn't think much of it. She slept the whole flight, so I just counted myself lucky. I started to get a little concerned when she didn't want to eat anything and her breathing sounded funny, but we were still doing okay. Then, out of nowhere, she started throwing up all over everything. So, I ran to the bathroom and tried to clean her and the stroller as best I could, but there really wasn't much I could do. I called Dan in a complete panic, and he managed to calm me down somewhat. So, I went to one of the gift shops, bought a couple little shirts and a blanket, and changed her clothes. I had to throw her blanket away cause it was just covered in vomit and I had no idea what to do with it. Poor girl. She spent the rest of the time in the airport with no pants on, trying to sleep in my arms. I remember just praying that she would make it through our next flight without throwing up, and she did! She made it all the way to the car when we got to Norfolk before she threw up again, so it could have been worse. Not my favorite.

Needless to say, our weekend didn't go exactly the way we planned, but she's feeling better now, so that's all that matters really. Hopefully our trip to Utah goes better.

p.s. anyone know why blogger won't let me upload any photos? Annoying. 

Easter

We sort of forgot about Easter since it was the day after Evie's birthday, but we tried. Evie wore a new dress that her Grandma Nelson bought her, and later that evening we dyed some easter eggs and then ate them for dinner. We did manage to remember to get Evie an Easter basket, so that was pretty good. She really liked those plastic eggs. Cute girl. Happy Easter!

Utah

 Dan and I finally made it up to Utah last week. It was so much fun! We just wished we could have stayed longer. Dan hasn't seen his family in a really long time, so he was ecstatic. We got there on Monday and as far as I can remember, we didn't really do anything. Dan got to go fly fishing with his dad on Tuesday, so Diane, me, and Evie had a girls day. We went shopping, and then later that night, all the girls went and saw the Hunger Games together. Fun fun. On Wednesday, Dan and I ventured down to SLC and had lunch with my grandparents, my aunt Jana, and my awesome cousin Jessica. Let's see, Thursday, Dan and I got to go to the temple in the morning and then after that, we had a birthday party for Evelyn, Sarah, and Ariel. Evie had her first chocolate cupcake, and she was not shy. Devoured that sucker. That was the first time all four little girl cousins were in the same place at the same time. It was pretty dang cute. On Friday morning, we took Evie to the Bean Museum because Dan really wanted to take her. Nostalgia and all that. I think after that, Dan spent the rest of the day with the boys playing games. Saturday afternoon, Dan and I got to go to a session of conference! It was so amazing! That was something I have always wanted to be able to do, and Dan made it happen. Just another reason why I love him. Being in the same building as the prophet was unbelievable and I loved every moment of it. Saturday night everyone played root beer pong while I packed and went to bed. All in all, it was a pretty amazing trip, I just wish we could have stayed longer.

Evie getting reacquainted with her cousin Jori

Evelyn and Evie, second cousins!

this is the closest I got to them looking at me and smiling. Not great.

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Race!

 Evie loved playing the piano.

Playing with grandpa and Elena

provo temple

went to the temple! yay us!

all for baby girls born in the same years. And their moms. Me and Evie, Ariel and Jori, Sarah and Miriam, Chantale and Elena

 Evelyn had an early birthday celebration while we were there. She devoured that cupcake

 At the bean Museum. Dan was really excited to take her

Got to go to a session of conference!! First time for me!!

Root beer pong on the last night we were there

I have no clue who won because I went to bed. I had to get up at 4am, I mean, come on.