Easter Weekend

We had such a wonderful weekend in Utah.  Dave and Jackson had Friday off, so on Thursday evening we headed to my parents house.  It was an easy short flight compared to our last two.  Mariah is getting tough on the plane, so it is much harder to fly long.   We spent Thursday evening talking and catching up with my parent.  The kids love their house and ALL their toys and games and puzzles.  Jackson was so angry he had to go to sleep (Thus he woke up at 4AM!! so he could get back to playing.  Unfortunately, I wasn't able to go back to sleep so it was a long day for me too). 

Friday Dave, my dad and I played racquetball.  I wish we had somewhere to play in AZ, I really like it!  We cleaned up and headed to BYU to see the Carl Bloch Art exhibit (Sacred Gifts).  I am SO happy we did this.  I felt the spirit and I felt close to the Savior through the art pieces.  It was a perfect beginning to Easter week, to turn our minds to Christ. 

 We then toured BYU campus. We bought books and shirts at the bookstore and then ate at the cougareat.  I have so many memories there and loved sharing them with my family.
We went to a small egg hunt in Lehi (by small I mean that each of our kids got 2 eggs).  Mariah was anxious to walk everywhere.  She is really getting it.  I'm so glad my sister came to hang out all day.  She is a great mommy and it is fun to see her with 2 little kids.
My mom spoiled us with a 7 course dinner and appetizers and dessert to boot.  They really treat us well when we come.

Saturday we woke up early to meet some friends for breakfast.  Dave and Joe were good friends in college and actually were with us on our first blind date.  Emily and I became fast friends and probably know more about each other because of social  media than our husbands do, but they pick up right where they left off (basketball) when they get together.  Our 3 kids are very close in age, so we have a lot in common.  The Morins came to Lehi for Egg dying (and painting and coloring and hiding) and lunch.  Once again, my parents spoiled us with amazing food and company.

We packed up and left for Bountiful and spent a wonderful evening with the Harpers.   There were 9 cousins all together (missing 5 out of state) and they had a blast searching for hundreds of eggs and running wild basically.  It was chaotic and Bethany and Tom were such gracious hosts.  Their home is so warm and inviting, we just love being there.  

Sunday morning the kids enjoyed new Easter clothes.  Shopping with Hallie was the highlight of my week.  She carefully chose her favorite, stuck with her choice and wanted to surprise everyone she knew with her beautiful sparkly dress. It was so fun!  I can see why mothers and daughters like to shop.  Jackson got in his handsome suit and asked if he looked like a sacrament passer.... Yes, yes you do... please don't grow up too fast!

We spent the morning watching Easter videos and eating an amazing breakfast and lunch (Thanks again Tom and Bethany!) 

Church filled my soul with gratitude and thanks to the Savior.  The music and the talks inspired me to live more like him and praise him with my life.  My life is what it is all because of Him.  Every blessing I have is because he lived, loved and taught me how to create a good life.  He helps me to try again and not give up.  He gives me hope for a better me and brighter future and a forever family.  I am so thankful for my Savior and His sacrifice in my behalf.  

So thankful for a wonderful life, good friends, amazing family and all that we have that blesses and enriches us.  

Conference in Virginia

Visiting Rich and Ashley is always a pleasure, but this time we had the added benefit of visiting Dave's parents who are serving a mission in the Washington DC temple.   

I made this new toy for Mariah to play with on the plane.  It is a combination of a ribbon pull, milk lid drop in and I also threw straws and popcicle sticks in because our baby likes to hold as many long items in her hands as she can and I didn't care how many of these got lost.  She didn't pull the ribbons like I was hoping, but liked the lid and the other items inside.  

This trip started off with another "will-we-get-on???" trip to the airport.  I was already all packed and had the girls locked in the car when Dave told me not to come because the flight was full.  When I saw that one more seat was added and I thought Mariah could be a lap baby, I decided we would risk wasting time and going through security to see if we could make it.  According to the website, there were not enough seats for us.  BUT when we arrived at the gate, all 5 of us had tickets and after boarding there were 9 empty seats on the plane!  Including one right next to me!  Crazy!  

Mariah is getting much more difficult to travel with.  She wants to walk, to explore and NOT to be held.  Restraining her in the carseat only lasts so long these days.  

Rich was kind enough to come get us at the airport although it was late and FAR.  Hallie fell asleep immediately (and snored the whole way home).  My kids were so excited to see Roxy (the dog) and their cousin Breckin.  Mariah was terrified of the dog and was shaking, but also a little intrigued, so I knew it wouldn't be long before she liked her. 

 We visited with Dave's parents on Friday morning and when they went to their shift at the temple, we headed to the national Zoo.  It was chilly, but we survived.  We saw most of the animals and Mariah was even able to spot them and watch them.

 Zebras

 Orangutans

 Then we spent Saturday watching Conference.  Thanks to our Aunt Lori, Jackson went to bed saying "Conference is going to be the best day of my life!" So I couldn't disappoint him!  We got snacks and prizes as well as coloring pages and activities to do during conference and Jackson was an angel!  He worked so hard on his pages, was quiet and could even tell us several stories after the talks.  I was so thankful to be able to listen to the prophets and feel of the truth of their words.  

Here are the silly boys headed to the priesthood session together.  Their dad went too, but declined the bowtie.

 Jackson also enjoyed our travel-sized conference board and was able to find most of the speakers and learned the names of all the apostles.

With flights not looking promising and knowing how quickly flights fill up around these parts, we opted to head home early on Sunday to get back to school and work by Monday.  Hallie immediately fell asleep on the flight (at 11 am... so odd for her.  She slept for 3 hours.  The annoying part is the flight attendants made us move her off the floor (she has slept on the floor MANY times before with noproblems).  We had less room and Mariah was so difficult on the flight.  She did fall asleep a couple of times (after fighting it for a while) but then only slept for 30 mins.  It was rough with her and after 5 hours of flying, Dave and I were pretty exhausted.  

Luckily, we came home to 2 more sessions of conference.  Jackson's enthusiasm was going strong, but this time Mariah kept interfering with his plans, which caused us to not be able to listen quite as well.  Still, I was uplifted, inspired and motivated to do and be better.  I know these men and women speak the words God wants us to hear.  I want to follow them.  If everyone in the church (or better yet, THE WORLD) tried to implement their teachings, we would have a much better place to live).  

Thank you Rich and Ashley for hosting us!  Thanks to Mom and Dad for serving a mission and being examples of sacrificing for the service of God! 

12 on the 12th April

a snapshot (or 12) of my life on a Saturday, April 12.

1. Dave helped Jackson make paper airplanes (my attempt was a complete failure... spacial understanding is a major weakness of mine).  Jackson was thrilled all day to play and fly planes created at 'his' hands.  We love having Daddy home all day on Saturdays!

2. Bath time.  These kids act like they hate baths then they get in an love it.  It only takes me getting one kid in before they all want a piece of the action.  They really do hate being 'cold' after the bath though.

3. I took Jackson to a friend in his school class' birthday party.  The kids got wet, had a big bouncy slide and watched "frozen".  It was nice to get to know a few parents of Jacksons friends, but mostly I felt like I wasted 3 hours that I wanted to be doing other things.

4.  I came home to re-realize that I married the best guy.  He spent the 3 hours I was out chit-chatting and being bored at the party, doing my cleaning to -do list.  The house was spotless!  Amazing feeling!  I am so lucky to have him! I ended up feel like I didn't know what to do with myself for the next few hours!

5.  Today's game was Guess Who?  The kids love games and that is my go-to when things are getting out of control and I have time to spend with them.

6. Hallie got new Jelly shoes (as did Mariah) Summer season has officially begun.  She was fun to take shopping the other day because she really likes shoes and trying them on was heaven for her!

7. Mariah... this ended up being the first of 4 baths today.  She was sick and with it coming out boths ends.  So sad, and yet she is still a happy loveable sweet-heart.  Laundry and changing sheets was common today.  She is taking 3-10 steps consistently now and it wont be long until she is walking (I am done with the crawling stage... she is ruining her shoes, getting so dirty and crawling on her summer dresses... I want her to walk!)

8.  Jackson found this book in my 'gift' closet and begged... and I caved.  I really didn't think he could read it since it seems to be written for 10 year old boys, but he LOVES a challenge so he read several sections (thus the paper airplanes) and now he is convinced I am buying arrowheads to make a bow and arrow....

9.  We got a babysitter and headed out to dinner with many friends in our ward/neighborhood.  We ate at Souper Salad and were the youngest people there by 30 years.  So funny!  I really enjoy my friends here and had a great time playing with them and my husband.   I over ate as always, but luckily it didn't affect my run later :)

10.  After dinner we went to North Scottsdale for the Blacklight Run.  Before the race we decked out in glow gear.  We walked a long way to the start line and waited even longer to start the race.  We were in the very last wave and started running at 8:30.  Nearly everyone on the course was walking (slowly) so it was an obstacle course to dodge people, trees, bushes, holes all in the dark with bright lights shining in your eyes periodically.  It was fun to keep a fast pace with Dave.

11. We don't go out together enough.  Dave would rather go alone the two of us and I am always up for big groups... so this night was all about my preferences.  He was a great sport and had fun... even when I wanted to go dancing.

12.  We ended up covered from head to toe in glow powder that shone in the black lights.  We danced a bit and enjoyed being with friends.  Such a fun night, we came home exhausted and dirty.  It was fun to have a multi-colored shower :)

Sea World San Diego

We got a ffantastic deal on season passes to Sea World and we wanted to make sure we at least got our value out of them.  The night before we wanted to go the flight filled up so we made other plans for our Saturday.  Mariah woke up crying at 5:30 so I gave her a binky and on a whim checked the flight.  It had SEATS!  We really wanted to go, but still hadn't resolved our broken stroller from our last flight.  Luckily, a friend was up and let me into her garage to borrow her double stroller, so in 20 mins we packed rented a car and made breakfast and lunch for the day.  

Jackson was so disappointed last night, so it was exciting to wake him up and tell him we were going.  I don't think he knew what to expect, but it did not disappoint!  The kids loved the shows, the rides, the exhibits (except the shark tunnel that terrified Jackson). and especially the Sesame Street Bay of Play.  We had such a good time wandering the park and seeing amazing things.  

 Jackson went on the Atlantis ride and was purely terrified (although brave).  I think it will be awhile before he enjoys the scary rides.

 Mariah learned to walk while waiting in line for these little rides... just in time too. the requirement for the ride was that the child had to be able to 'walk' (take 3 steps) so she got to come on as soon as she proved it to the attendant :)

Luckily Hallie and Mariah napped and Jackson fell asleep on the way to the airport for our late flight home.  It was easy with all the kids sleeping the whole way.  What a fun day!  We hope we get to do it again frequently!

Camping at Lake Livingston in Houston

We wanted to do something fun for spring break and Lori had just the solution... come camping with them in Houston!  She made it easy since she packed all our camping gear and food, all we had to do was fly from phx (which ended up that we landed at 2 am and a broken stroller and slow rental car process later, we crashed at her house at 4 am!!  I felt so young again!)  We headed up after a slow morning letting the kids play in their amazing toy room.  I just loved being outdoors!  It wasn't too rugged, but still plenty dirty with a crawler around.  

We played card games together.

The girls hiked around the lake.

 Mariah took a nap in a tent without complaint (have I mentioned she is easy?)

  The boys went fishing with live worms...yuck!

Mariah was drawn to the chairs that tipped over, buckets of water, the fire and dirt.  It was quite a feat to keep her alive and safe... I gave up on the clean part.

 TWINS!  Thanks to Lori having 2 girls in a row, we get matching hand-me-downs for my girls and I love it!  Obviously Mariah is not loving this moment, but I hope someday they will be friends.

Megan had a birthday and we had the most amazing cake I have EVER had!  Then the kids blew bubbles to their hearts content.

This cousin, Cameron is SO sweet to Mariah.  She laughs SO much at him.  She really loved him!

There was even a park with the old-school long slide and tall swings.

The laughs from this baby are SO fun.  Her brother and cousins really know how to get her giggling!  Almost to the point of not being able to breathe!

Mariah fell asleep in the open air at night and we moved her into the tent later, she fell right back asleep and only woke up once. 

Hallie was up really early begging to wear her pretty pink dress (which I had not packed) We promised she could and she went back to sleep!  Then in the morning she was devastated she had to wear pants again, but she had already worn pants yesterday!!  camping was a huge sacrifice for that little girl!

 We literally had JUST packed up all the stuff and jumped in the car when an amazing hail and rain storm pounded the camp.  We were so glad we were leaving!

 Saying goodbye to cousins.   SO happy we get to have family love!  Thank you Lori and Jim for all you do to make our get-togethers fun and possible!  We love our family!

Snow Day

When we realized Jackson didn't have school on Monday (after I returned to the land of the living from my sickness) we wondered where to go.  The usual location is Utah, so we made a run for it.  We decided to go Fri at 9 and the flight left at 2.  That meant lots of packing and cleaning for me (and an hour at the park to pass out Hallie's valentines.  

**Travel advice: Don't put lotion on your hand before security!  I walked through the metal detector with MAriah in my arms and then they swipe my hands and detected "explosives" on my hands.  Then I wasn't allowed to touch any of our bags, my shoes or help my kids.  Luckily Dave was there to put everything together as I sat and watched (still holding Mariah).  They did allow me to buckle her into her seat.  Dave took the kids to the gate as I got an intense pat down, my bags rifled through and my shoes tested.  Turns out mother-of-three was NOT a terrorist, so they let me go (Running as fast as my body could to the gate to be let on moments before they shut the door!)

We stayed with the Harper's on Friday night and Saturday.  They were getting ready to leave for their mission in the DC temple on MONDAY, yet they were gracious enough to host us!  They also watched our kids so we could go out for a minute on Valentine's day.  Somehow we missed getting a photo before they left.  It is definitely easier to say goodbye knowing we will probably visit DC in a few short months.  We are so grateful for their example of service and sacrifice to serve the Lord and the people of the DC area.  

We took our kids WAY up the canyon to get a taste of the snow (the weather in the valley was pretty gorgeous).  The kids loved riding the sleds as we pulled them.  Mariah smiled and waved at everyone.  Jackson and Hallie loves sledding on a small hill and digging in big drifts (accidentally stepping in river water.)

 Mariah got pretty fussy when I laid her in the snow, so we just propped her in the seat and she sat for an hour without moving and fell asleep on our way down the mountain.  She is such a good girl!

Grandma and Grandpa Ahlstrom are so fun with our kids.  I swear they have more energy with the kids than I do!  Amazing!

 My mom helped Jackson make this lion out of clay and then he wanted to make a horse too.  It took over and hour and he did not get bored or distracted all all.  He read all the instructions and did most of the work!  This kid is amazing when he puts his mind to something!

Grandpa is so fun! 

I got to play a game of racquetball against my dad which was fun.  I flew home with all 3 kids alone.  None of them fell asleep as planned so there was no need for the double jogger stroller we toted there and back.  The flight landed at 10 pm and EVERYONE was still awake.  Luckily, the leappad, kindle and ipod were helpful parents since there was only 1 of me.  Dave picked us up and helped me unpack everything.

12 on 12th March

1. Jackson is on spring break, so we are having a bunch of fun with him.  He rode his bike to the park while I ran the girls in the double stroller.  We are loving the weather right now, although I can feel it getting a bit hotter... summer is coming!  I loved watching my big boy peddle his heart out ahead of my racing to the park.

2.  Mariah is officially into the mess making stage.  She loved opening cupboards and drawers and pulling everything out!

3. reading books.  We went to the library yesterday.  Jackson has already read 2 chapter books (2nd grade level) and Hallie has turned through the pictures of all 33 books.  These kids love books.  I try to read to them at nap time since bedtime has gotten so long we tend not to read then.

4.  Dave working on the laptop.  It seems he works almost every night from home.  He is a hard worker and has too much to do right now.  The Merger is coming up and keeping him busy.

5.  Jackson loves to play with Mariah.  We let him be the horse tonight and she giggled as she rode on his back.

6. We made Chex muddy buddies for a snack.  Jackson loves to read the back of the cereal boxes and all the chex boxes have recipes.  It was my first time so it was fun to share it with the kids.  Jackson is able to do so much of the work, so it is nice to actually feel that we are doing it together.

7.  Hallie's playgroup.  I love that she has friends she loves to be with weekly.  Today she ran around singing and doing the moves to "Let it go".

8.  The night ended with me packing for a camping trip in Houston with our cousins.  I hope we are able to get there and get home without incident :)

9.   LAST month on the 12th I had a pic of life... Well, Jackson talked me into it again today.  He set it all up and wanted to be the banker.  Luckily, about half way through Mariah had a melt down and we counted our fortunes early :)  Jackson knows I am a sucker for games.  I love that he can actually PLAY many games.  Yesterday he seriously KILLED me in ticket to ride.  Smart kiddo!

10. Mariah still takes 2 naps which means we are home between 9-10:30 and sometime in the afternoon.  I love that she is happy and content even if we push her naps around a bit, but I also love that I don't have to worry about timing since I don't have to get Jackson from school.  It makes it easy to do 2 naps.  Hallie and I take a quiet time during her second nap and frequently I even get a nap!

11.  writing in the kids journals.  I still try to write daily in Hallie and Mariahs journals.  I have started writing monthly on my personal journal blog about Jackson.  I hope the kids value these someday.  I certainly like going back and reading them (especially when comparing kids at different stages.)

12. I didn't get 12 photos today.  I WISH I had a photo of Dave playing "rough" with the kids.  The kids love it and I love the sound of happiness and fun in the house.  Mariah always tries to get involved too now.  Tonight she threw fits when Hallie took her toy she was playing with.  She is getting more fiesty, curious and strong minded.