stairs and stuff

There are the most beautiful blossoms and flowers everywhere here, it smells so wonderful outside. I found some lilacs in our neighborhood and I had to bring some home, they remind me of spring at my parents house when I was young, we used to pick them for my mom all the time. Last night we were walking and there were white blossom petals all over the ground, covering the sidewalks and the grass, Mae was excited and said "No!". It really did look like snow.

We have a two story apartment and the kids have the best time playing on the stairs, it's kind of like having a built in jungle gym. I don't know why these stairs are so much more exciting than any other stairs but they love it. The stairs are open so Wes can slide in between them, which kind of scares me a little but he is pretty careful.

Yesterday we went to our ward here and it was Mae's first time in nursery, she did great, my kids don't really care if I'm there or not which makes my life pretty easy as far as church goes. She was a little sad toward the end because she hadn't had her nap yet but it went pretty good. I think it's so cute that Wes and Mae will be in nursery together for the rest of the year, although I don't think Wes pays any attention to Mae while he is there. This is the sixth nursery that Wes has been in since he started and he will probably be in at least one or two more before the end of the year, kind of sad but he doesn't seem to mind, he looks forward to nursery all week.

Chicostco

We are here and it's beautiful and its spring! Wes was getting confused as to whether we were going to Chicago or Costco. We went to Chicago, and then when we got here we went to Costco. We drove for about 2.5 days, stopped in Denver to see Nathan and got to drive through all the beautiful farm country. John drove the van with the trailer and the kids and I drove the Acura ... poor John. Really though, the kids did pretty good and the weather was great.

I pretty much listened to Apologize by OneRepublic the whole way. Am I the only one who thinks he sounds like George Micheal, when I firsts heard it I thought is was his comeback. John thinks Im crazy.

Play Time

John has been letting me run errands a lot lately by myself since his schedule has been pretty flexible. I came home from the grocery store and I found him and the kids playing on the playground that is right outside our door. It is funny because Mae loves slides and will go down the ones that Wes won't go down, she is our dare devil.

Also my favorite words of Mae's:

Bobbie = Bottle
Robbie = Strawberry

Reference of our Food Habits

I really like having a big salad for dinner with any veggies, fruit, cheese and nuts I can find, but the kids won't eat salad. So this is what they have when we have a salad. I really liked using the muffin tins for plates for the kids but I wanted to get a whole set and they were expensive. I found these little plates for a dollar and got a bunch of them, they are great. Wes ate all his dinner except his nuts and most of Mae's ended up in her lap.

So I have been looking for a good home made salad dressing recipe but all the ones I have tried were not impressive. I found this one and have really liked it, much better than store bought and goes with every kind of salad, definitely a keeper.

Vinaigrette

1/2 T honey
1 T dijon
2 T red wine vinegar
1/4 c canola/olive oil (or less for stronger flavor)
salt and pepper

Wes insisted that his feet be in this picture

Egg Hunt

Our ward had a little Easter party with an egg hunt and treats for the kids, Wes did really well for his first time, we are having to ration out his candy from all the eggs he found.

Mixa Time

My parents came into town last week for Neals Blessing and we did a little birthday evening for Wes. Really it was some brownies and a few presents. He loved every minute even though he kept acting like it wasn't that cool. Every year for his birthday we give him books, this year I got Blueberries for Sal, Harry and the Lady Next Door, and Danny and the Dinosaur, some of my favorites from growing up. While everyone was here we went four wheeling, Mae had a fun ride but Wes wouldn't get on. The kids also had fun feeding the ducks with Grandpa while the Moms went shopping. Neal's blessing was beautiful and he was a handsome little baby boy, we love him.

Shower

Hill is having her baby next month, and I am so excited for her, there is something so special about spring babies! I was invited to a little surprise shower for her, it was darling, delicious and full of beautiful home made gifts, so pretty.