Almost there. . .

If I could describe our weather this last week I would only need 2 words- cold and wet. Clearly it was a perfect week for Britton to have 3 soccer games outside.  Jameson and I froze our way through 1 1/2 of the games, but Adam had to finish the rest out for us.  It was just too cold and windy.

The big news of the week is that we got carpet in the basement.  Jameson felt free as a bird and was running around and laughing. He just couldn't get enough of the wide open space.  Now we only need our counter tops for the bathroom and kitchenette and then the plumber can come back and get the water hooked up.  Saturday was spent going through all of the stuff we squished into our cold storage area and putting things back together.

I love my new built in shelves in the storage room!

 

It has been a big project so it is exciting that the end is in sight.

 

We are entering into the recital/program time of year and the Britton and Jenna got us started with an Orchestra assembly at school. 

 

 

After school it was the first day of "mini-recitals" for the girls.  Here they are with their violins.

 

 

They are both progressing and seem to enjoy it.  This is for the grandparents who couldn't be there.

 

Weekend Update

We are in the middle of spring around which means that some days are absolutely beautiful, and others are cold and/or rainy and/or windy.  For Jameson who LOVES to be outside cold days are a real buzz kill. He doesn't understand why I am so fickle when it comes to letting him go outside.  Some days I do, some days I don't.  Such a confusing thing for a 15 month old with energy to burn. 

Last weekend was a busy weekend.  The Friday night before conference I was able to get together with the infamous K-1 Crew. We started with dinner at The Cheesecake Factory.

 

We ordered 4 different dishes and then ate family style.  It was the perfect way to enjoy the variety of food they have available and the Cheesecake Factory.  Then it was on to Ker-dog's house for foot zones by Heather and the "Dressing Your Truth" personality profiles by Cyd.  Ker-dog is a type 1, Kaylynn is definitely a type 2, Cyd and I were type 3's, Malin was a classic type 4, and Heather was 4,3 mix. What does this mean to you? Probably nothing.  But to us it means we are all completely different which may be why we seem to get along so well. 

 At 2:00 a.m. we finally said goodbye for the night.  Ahh, good times with the K-1 Crew. Can't wait to get together again.

The rest of conference weekend we spent at home hanging with my sister Heather's family who were staying at my parents new house around the corner.  While our basement is nearing completion, it isn't quite there meaning our General Conference viewing situation isn't great.  We have 2 TV's but neither is in a location that accommodates a crowd. So we split up and most of the kids were upstairs in an office we converted to a small family room while work is being done on the basement.  The rest of us were in the exercise room in the basement which is the only room that is finished downstairs.  We didn't have furniture in it (unless you count the treadmill) so we watched conference sitting in lawn chairs.  

Sunday morning Aaron was able to hook up my parent's 55 inch TV to his phone's hotspot to get conference working.

It was a lot more comfortable to watch it in my parent's family room on the big screen but after receiving a bill for $42.00 near the end of the session he realized he had exhausted his data plan for the month and they were charging him for the overage. Oops.  Fortunately he was able to upgrade his plan for the month which reduced it to $10.00 but the lesson was learned and they were back to our house for the afternoon session. 

I didn't get a lot of pictures of the visit, but managed to get a few of the impromptu dance the girls had in our family room.  Jameson loved that they let him "bust a move" with them.

Soccer season is back in swing which complicates our schedule a bit.  It's a good thing for me that Adam is really good about taking care of the soccer stuff.  The season only goes through mid-May, but there is a bit more travel involved than I care for.  I guess it's what happens when your kids get older and play club soccer. 

Easter Sunny

This year Easter was during our Spring Break so we arrived at Gramma and Grampa's down south just in time for the family Easter party.  Aunt Jaclyn hosted and the festivities started with coloring eggs. 

 



Then it was time to gather for the official Easter Egg Hunt.

 

And they're off!

 

There were fun prizes for all.

 

 

 

 

As you can see Gramma and Grampa are always VERY serious.

 

 

The Easter "after party" was moved to Aunt Bethany's house.  After dinner we made smores with America's number one Easter treat. . .

 

Peeps!

 

If you just said, "yuck", I'm right there with you, but it was a hit with the kids.

 

 

At the conclusion of the "wordly" Easter festivities the family gathered for a "Passover Feast" which is Adam's family's version of a meal comparable to what the Jews might have eaten during the time of the crucifixion and resurrection of the Savior.  Adam's Dad talked about the Savior and then each food item, which was symbolic of something about the Savior, was handed out to everyone.  It wasn't the most filling dinner, and most of the foods weren't very popular with the kids (which is why we all ate a real meal beforehand), but they really liked the experience and it helped them think of Easter a little differently.



Cousins getting ready for the Passover meal.

Adam has 4 siblings that live in SG, but on Easter Sunday it was just us at Gramma and Grampa's.  I have found that the more other families go into "holiday overkill" mode, I feel a need to rebel. When it comes to holidays so many are marching up and onward but I'm marching in the opposite direction.  This Easter we didn't do the Easter basket thing at all.  In fact my kids didn't even ask me about it. They had all of their candy and fun the day before and they were cool with it. We got up and got ready for church and then Gramma and Grampa did a fun Easter scripture activity with the kids.  After church we had a lovely dinner with Uncle Stephen and got to walk outside in the great weather. It was a great day. I know, I'm such a rebel, but I think my kids are going to be ok.

How do Adam and his siblings bond?

There is nothing like a "101 Dalmations" puzzle to really get the blood pumping. The puzzle was an easy one so they had it done in no time at all.  They are definitely a "game playing, puzzle putting together" kind of family.

A trip to sunny SG would not be complete without a little swimming.  Jameson was in heaven.

And so were his fishy siblings and their cousins.

 

GiGi's (Great Grandma's) new house is part of an HOA that has a pool.  It was a nice and big pool and the kids had a great time.

 

The Grandmas looking on.

This trip we decided to do something we had never done before so one day we made our way to Zion's National Park.

 

Britton wanted me to let you know that the reason he was wearing a coat is because Jenna took his jacket and it was all he had left. Not sure why that matters, but there you go.

 

I didn't get a lot of pictures because someone who will remain nameless (but whose name starts with a 'J' and ends with an 'ameson') was not having a good day and we had to leave earlier than planned.  He was in meltdown mode, but it was really beautiful and we enjoyed our brief time in the park.

 

Before we knew it it was time to travel back home.  Gramma and Grampa are waiting for a mission call and we hoped it would come while we were there, but it didn't.  They are looking for it to arrive in  the next day or two. Here we are just before getting in the car to come home.

 

 

Before this trip the jury was out on whether or not Jameson was going to be a good traveler.  Well, the jury is back and they have reached a verdict.

 

 

Jameson is NOT a good traveler.

 

We discovered that if you go on a 5 1/2 hour car trip he will spend 1 hour sleeping, 30 minutes sitting quietly (not in a row, of course) and 4 hours screaming. And by screaming we mean ear-splitting, "I'm going to need 800 milligrams of ibuprophen right now" kind of screaming. I wish I was exaggerating, but sadly, I am not.

 

We did get through it, but just barely.

 

Good thing he is so cute.