We had a great Easter! Peyton was so excited with every egg she found and Grant was busy eating what was inside every egg he found. Nana and the Easter Bunny spoiled them rotten as they each found to Easter baskets filled with more goodies. 

 

My mom and dad took a random quick visit to Rupert, not on Easter, but Peyton was so excited to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa. She really has a great bond with them.

Easter

We kicked Easter off with an Easter Egg hunt with our play group. Peyton was so excited and sweet about her hunt for eggs; Smiling the whole time and posing for her picture to be taken. Grant figured out quickly that their were good things inside the eggs and figured out how to open them on his own too.

Good little buds, these two are becoming!

We got together with a few friends to dye Easter eggs too. These little handsome dudes were chilling out together eating goodies. They are only a few months apart, all of them.

This was our easter egg dying crew. They had a blast.

Family Birthday Fun

Megan, Mike, and Tiffany came up on Peyton's birthday weekend for a little more birthday fun for the kiddos! They are spoiled - yes for sure, but it so fun! Megan and Tiffany are quite the amazing aunts. They gave the kids stuffed animals from Megan's trip to Africa, play food, adorable GAP clothes, puzzle games ... They are so generous and treat Peyton and Grant so amazingly!

Petyon got a princess scooter from Mommy and Daddy that she was pretty thrilled about.

Peyton's favorite birthday present was her barbie house from Nana and Papa! She was so excited to set it up and has fun putting her barbies and princesses to bed in it every night. What a birthday!

Our sweet little three your old! Oh how we adore her!

Blowing out the candles on her PINK rice krispie treats.

It was a great family weekend and a wonderful birthday month of fun!

Peyton's Pink Birthday Adventure

Pretty in pink, our little girl celebrated her 3rd birthday. Our party consisted of lunch, cupcakes, games, goody bags, lots of pink, and 15 friends to share it with! It was so fun!

Our first game: We played princess music while the kids danced and when the music stopped they had to get on a plate with a pink shape. Whoever was on the shape that was picked got to pick a treat.

We had cupcakes and opened presents. The girls gathered round, so excited for Peyton to open their present. It was adorable! Peyton has such amazing friends.

We finished the party with a Dora adventure. I got out a map for the kids to follow in order to find their goody bags. They had three stops along the way. Their first stop was to cross the river. Lilly pads were found in Peyton's backpack so they didn't get wet.

The 2nd stop was to go under a waterfall. Princess umbrellas were found in the backpack to go under the waterfall successfully! The 3rd stop was to crawl through the rainbow tunnel. At the end of the tunnel was a treasure chest with their goody bags in it.

 

The party was a fun success. We were so happy so many of our wonderful friends were able to celebrate our little girl's special day with us. Our princess is growing up too quickly. She is such a good girl! We are so blessed! We love her dearly!

  

How many kids can fit on/in a toy car? Grant's birthday present is a hit!

Grant's 1st Birthday

 

Grant is 1 years old! Oh how time flies. I remember so clearly the moment this little boy was placed in my arms for the first time. We love him so much and are so grateful for the smiles he brings to our lives daily. He has a super mellow temperament and looks just like his Dad!  He loves food although he is starting to get picky and slow down in that area. He loves his sister. He gets excited and crawls toward her or her room when he hears her wake up in the morning. She tackles him when he tries to get close to her "special" babies and toys, but the laughs and smiles they have together far outweigh the sibling troubles! He loves his mommy and daddy. He reaches up for Daddy when he comes home and sometimes even crawls after him in the morning when he is leaving for work which melts Taylor's heart. His favorite toys are balls and anything with a wheel including driving Daddy's truck. He picks up any ball and holds it so pridefully or throws it and tries to walk after it and pick it up again. He loves baths - you can't fill up the tub without him in it because he cries until he's in. He took his first steps a week before his birthday but is still not totally walking. He takes steps many times a day, but still resorts to mainly crawling. He is a people person. He loves to watch and be apart and will fight sleep unless he is at home, then he is a jewel to put to bed. Grant is a boy - he climbs into cabinets and unloads them, climbs on the dishwasher and unloads that too, eats dirt, b-lines it for the toilet every chance he gets just in case he can get his hands in that fun bowl before mom snatches him up, drops food over the side of his high chair or smears it on his head. He is a little dare devil too. He stands up on the little car or four wheeler. He points to things and jabbers all the time, waves, blows kisses, says mama and dada and ba for ball or balloon. He is has a great laugh and smile and he is a good boy! We are so blessed to have him in our family. 

Grant's birthday present from Nana and Papa was a huge hit. Grant got his first truck and it even has a lift on it. We spend lots of time with the vehicle each day. It is so cute and so fun!

For his birthday we gave him his own cake! The cake portion that you see missing is mostly on the floor, but the frosting was definitely loved. Peyton although had her own cupcake would reach over and take a like of Grants frosting too. They learn too quickly that Sugar is good!

Florida/Cruise Winter Getaway

Taylor and I had the opportunity to go on a cruise to the Western Caribbean. It was our first time leaving our children for more than 1 night which was super difficult, especially for me, but we really did have a great time. We brought our kids with us to Florida and my parents met us there to watch them at our condo while we were gone. It worked out perfectly as we were able to vacation with our kids for a few days, go on a cruise with our kids in the hands of Grandma and Grandpa who were overjoyed to get to spend quality time with grandchildren, and I got to see my parents! The kids did great, got spoiled and were well taken care of. My parents are wonderful. I am so grateful it was a positive experience for all! There is definitely something special about the Grandparent/Grandchild relationships and something special about watching your children bond with your parents.

Peyton wheeling her backpack around the airport was so adorable to watch. We got to Florida Friday night and on our way up to the condo Peyton said, "This is my favorite place." We went up to the Ritz Carleton Hotel to take a walk shortly after we arrived and Peyton was so giddy and excited. She told Taylor all about memories from our previous "Harvest trip" there and said, "This is crazy fun!" 

We spent Saturday in the pool and on the beach. Peyton after about two minutes in the pool swam comfortably with floaties for the first time. She loved them and is able to float on her back and totally relax. Sunday we enjoyed the park with Grandma and Grandpa.

Both of these cuties were pretty excited to see Grandma and Grandpa. Peyton was especially Grandma's little buddy from the moment they were reunited and of course loved her moments with Grandpa too, especially him feeding her chocolate or strawberry ice cream on a nightly basis. Grant did awesome with both of them too. He enjoyed his sunrise walks with Grandpa and cuddles with Grandma at sleep time.

Peyton crashed at the condo Sunday afternoon, chilling on the balcony on the pelican, eating her ice cream before bed, and happily swinging.

Taylor and I departed on our cruise Monday after having a morning at the pool and beach with our children and my parents and going to breakfast at the Dune Deck.

Our first stop on the cruise was home of the Atlantis hotel in the Bahamas. Taylor and I saw the city a bit as we walked to Atlantis. We looked into tickets for their water park, but after finding out that they were $130 a person, we opted to just explore instead. We went to the beach and then saw as much of the hotel as we were allowed to. The shark observatory and private pools and beaches were all pretty unbelievable.

The food on our cruise was a little too good. We both ate way more than needed! 

Our second stop was The Royal Caribbean private island in the Bahamas. Although a bit cool and windy in the morning it shaped up to be a beautiful beach day.

Our third and final cruise stop was to the Florida Keys. We walked around the shops which there were tons of! Taylor went to Ridleys Imagine That, while I continued to browse the shops. In the afternoon we went para-sailing, a definite highlight of our cruise. It was beautiful and so fun. We chose to get dipped adding to our adventure! We saw dolphins while in our para-sailing boat too.

I love my husband so much and am so grateful for him. He is such a huge blessing in my life and adds so much joy, comfort, and stability to my life. It was wonderful to spend time together!

 Our reunion with our kids was awesome. Grant even greeted us with smiles.We enjoyed the next 24 hours playing again at the beach and pool and drinking pina coladas! We are spoiled for sure!

The Idaho winds followed us to Florida so we enjoyed some time in the hot tub too!

Playing with her new bubbles with Grandma and Daddy! Quite a hit!

Grant loved the sand, but didn't mind the taste either. A bad combo.

 I have such a fabulous family and am so grateful for the fun trip we had together and for Grandma and Grandpa for helping make it possible taking care of two loves of my life!