Spring Has Sprung!

It's hard to believe that we only have about 5 weeks of school left.  Andy finished his 2nd semester of graduate school...only 3 more to go!  He has a 2-week break before the summer semester starts up so we're going to take advantage of that extra time with Dad!

Here are some photos of our cutie patooties:

Some nights, you just need to make dinnertime fun--making bagel pizzas!

Bath time is always a hoot!

Ben had a bunch of people over for a crawfish boil/feast.

Abby could care less about the crawfish...she loved playing with the moose.

 Dig in!

family hike

The nice weather means more time on the playset.

 reading time before school

Last Friday, Andy was presented with the Excellent Educator award for our school.  It was great to see the shock on his face when his mom, dad, Ben, Abigail, Emma, school board members, the superintendent, about 6 members of the high school band, and many more walked into his classroom.

with our superintendent

Andy with his class

This is the picture that was in the paper.

 Our caterpillars finally changed into their chrysalides so we moved them to their new habitat.

"C" is for Camping (and Car Rides)

Well, this post is long overdue.  A few weeks ago, for our Spring Break, we ventured down to do a little desert camping with some friends.  Emma had had a cough prior to going but, was on the mend, so we still went.  Fast forward to 2:30 a.m.  We wake up to Abby and a croupy cough.  (Insert big sigh here.)  Luckily, both girls have had it before so we didn't totally freak out when it sounded like she was having a hard time breathing.  So outside we went.  Abby and I sat under the stars for about 15 minutes before going back into the tent and, eventually, falling asleep.  After a nice breakfast in the morning, we packed everything back up and headed back home.

We were pretty bummed but knew it was the best choice for the kids.  So here are minimal photos of our 20 hours down in the desert:

Hanksville, Utah has this fun little shop that is build into the rock.

playing with Adam

our set-up

We made homemade ice cream!  Thanks for the ice cream ball, Whitney!

tent lights!

glow-in-the-dark bubbles

On our way home, we did stop to do a little hiking around.

Stay tuned, because we're headed back down to the same spot this weekend to do what we initially had planned to do.  

Life Lately...

It's hard to believe it is already April.  It is the season for birthday extravaganzas, beautiful spring weather, and camping!

They have yet to sleep in it for the night, but they sure do like playing in the ladybug tent.

Andy and I had one last day of skiing on my birthday.  We even got to watch a little of a moguls competition.  

That afternoon, we met some friends for a birthday bowling bash.  

Emma decorated my birthday cake all by herself.

We have had some beautiful weather lately.  Sidewalk chalk is always a must after school.

And a little shoveling, just to make sure all of the snow is off the driveway.

We may live at 7,000 feet, but that hasn't stopped our tulips from starting to come up.  

I had to take my car in for a little maintenance.  Thank goodness for the popcorn!

 More sidewalk chalk...

I got to sneak away from work for a bit to watch Emma at ice skating lessons.

 doing their exercises...

Somebody is ready to start skiing next year!

We did the Easter egg hunt at Wheeler Farm, again, this year.  I am impressed with how organized it is.  

There must be one of these photos, right?  Abby wanted nothing to do with the Easter bunny.

 taking a wagon ride

We got to see 2 sets of twin lambs.  So cute!

Andy and I took Emma out to dinner and then to Mummenchanz at the Eccles Theatre.  It is like a giant puppet show.  

Of course, we had to have our own Easter egg hunt at home on Easter morning.

The Easter bunny brought some very practical things this year!