SpRiNg!!!!

If you know me at all you know I LoVe, LOVE, love Springtime!  I love the warming up...I love the greening up...I love the flowering trees...the treats...the holidays...conference time...all of it!  Here's what's been going on at our house this spring.  {Be patient...lots of things I want to remember}

 First things first...THE BLOSSOMS!!!  This little miracle is my very most favorite things about spring.  I love the smell!  They are so cute on the trees!  I actually took these myself at the park the other day.  These are real St. George Blossoms.  Aren't they cute?!?

 Speaking of the park, we have spent a lot of time there the past few weeks.  The weather has been unbelievable!  Perfect park weather.  The kids are in heaven!

 Zeke is finally big enough to do what he wants to by himself.  This is major if you know him.  He is a "do it yourselfer".  I have no idea where he gets that from!?! ;-)

Zeke is a dare devil...he LOVES the BIG slide at the spin park.  Deacon his little friend behind him wasn't so sure.  I even think its scary!  The think shoots straight down and practically spits you out at the end.  Good thing Zeke was right there to catch him.  Sheesh!

 Let's go Fly a Kite!  The boys all got out their kites {from last years Easter Baskets ;-)} on a perfectly blustery warm night and we flew them till dark.  It was so fun!  They were ecstatic!  

 All four...in the sky...not tangled! Can you believe it?

 Spring brings the perfect Hot Air Balloon weather!  Sense we are at the top of the hill and can pretty much see from Kanab to Mesquite we have the unique opportunity to see all the cool Hot air Balloons!  I know I've posted on this in the past, but I think they are so neat!  This one was especially close to the house.  They usually fly early in the morning and it's fun the hear the kids getting ready for school and yelling like someone has broke their arm that they see one!  Usually sends me into a panic before I can figure out what the problem is, but it's fun none the less.  So pretty.  There is just something tranquil and relaxing about them.

 Still loving my cute little kiddos during the day.  We've spent hours at the park, playing outside and eating Popsicles.  They are a hoot!

{Funny things they say:  Alyssa - Flowder (flower), "Amy git your Clamra (camera) and take a pitcher!".  Zeke- Cock-A-Doo!  Cock-A-Doo! (He usually ends up being the rooster waking everybody up when they play house...Hilarious!).  Peyton - "C'mon son, let's go to Wal-Mart!"  (She's always the Mom). Cheyann - "Amy, he hurt my feelin's!" 

 I love the cute plants the kids bring home from school in the spring.  Do you remember doing this in school?  I do.  We grew our seeds in a plastic baggie though.  Just reminds me of elementary school.  I should have plenty of peas this year!

 Our backyard is coming along.  Dustin is working hard every spare second to get it all in.  We are to the sprinkler stage.  He was out there all day last weekend.  At one point I looked out the window and saw at least 15 neighborhood kids huddled around him trying to help/see what he was up to.  He is their favorite.  They love it when he's out doing things.

 Alex LOVES to help...with anything/everything.  He loves to help his dad...loves to help cook. He's always watching trying to figure out how we do things.  He's growing up.

 Again...life of the party. Dustin decided to get out the metal detector one afternoon and you can bet the flies came to the honey.  Every neighborhood kid and their dog {literally} were out there looking for treasure!  He is always a good sport to get out there and play with the kids.  They think it's the best!

The best toy we've ever had is the big pile of dirt we had dumped in the lot next door to use for the back yard!  The kids have spent endless hours out there digging, sliding, and playing.  Zeke and his little buddy Kevin can always be found out there in the dirt...especially when it's been raining.  Why do boys like mud so much?  I don't get the fascination?

 Zeke in his muddy, dirty, holy clothes!  Happy as can be!
{If you look close you can see his toe poking through his shoe from dragging on the ground as he rides his bike...seriously?!?}

 You guessed it!  He didn't make it in the house with that muddy mess on.  I made him strip in the garage down to his nothin's and chuck in all the the garbage.  He thought this was awesome!

 One of the treasures they found with the metal detector...A really old doll.  Kind of cool eh'?

 Alex harvested an old knife that he now affectionately calls his pocket knife.  He was very proud.

 One of the best "Spring Time" things for me is conference!  I loved this year!  We had a great conference weekend.  It was relaxing and enjoyable.  I loved all the talks!  Above are some of the pictures Dallin drew of the speakers.  I thought they were so cute Pres. Monson is the first one he said.  Can you see a resemblance?

 These were our attempt at a "quiet" project during conference.  They got to make their own puppets unsupervised while Dustin and I snoozed/listened on the couch.  Here's what they came up with..... :)

I hope you are all enjoying spring as much as I am!
Happy Spring everyone!

I want to be a missionary now!

This week we had the fun opportunity to help get ready to welcome home our neighbor Elder Mathew Smith off his mission.  The kids have made a great friend out of Matt's mom whom they affectionately call "Aunt Annette" or "Aunt Ganette" as Zeke puts it.  She gives them popcicles and suckers and they love her to pieces.  She moved here after Matt had left on his mission from Alaska and has been telling the boys stories about him getting them excited to meet him and welcome him home.  They were so excited to see him.  They made a cute poster and we hung balloons and signs...

 They were so excited to color a banner of their own to put in the yard.  I loved what they drew... they all colored a picture of what they thought Elder Matthew would look like sense they had never met him before.  Dallin drew a Book of Mormon and you can't see it, but he wrote, "How was it?!?" across the bottom.  Hilarius!  He really wanted all the details.  He couldn't wait to get down there and talk to Matt and find out all about what a mission is really like.  Not just what his mom {that's a girl and hasn't been on one} has told him, or what his dad, who's apparently too old to remember tells him of going to serve our Heavenly Father.   

All ready for Elder Smith!

A funny side note:  Derrick asked when we had finished decorating the yard what you get when you come home and I said, "THIS! a yard full of cool balloons and a big sign!"  He said, "That's it?  Really?"  I said, "Yep!  and a good feeling you served your Father in Heaven!"  He said, "Well...can I have my own bag of candy too?"  I said, "Sure!  I guess." He said, "O.k.  I guess I'll go then...IF I get my own bag of candy!"  So funny!  He makes me smile every day.

Blue Angles!

The Blue Angles came to town and it was awesome!  They flew around town for four days and the boys loved it!  Saturday Dustin took us all to lunch and then we found ourselves on top of the hill watching them up close.  Brings back memories of going to air shows with my dad and spending Saturdays at the old airport #2.  Fun day!

A New Line Of Work...

Life is moving right along...after much thought...prayer..and tossing and turning at night to know what to do I decided to try to slow things down a bit.  I've been feeling lately like I was just watching my life instead of living it.  After the cruise and a little time to think I decided to quit my my job a Jo-Ann's and just stay home.  It's been a real leap of faith for me.  The turning point was when I read this quote I found on line about mothers...

"Mothers who know do less. They permit less of what will not bear good fruit eternally. They allow less media in their homes, less distraction, less activity that draws their children away from their home. Mothers who know are willing to live on less and consume less of the world’s goods in order to spend more time with their children—more time eating together, more time working together, more time reading together, more time talking, laughing, singing, and exemplifying. These mothers choose carefully and do not try to choose it all. Their goal is to prepare a rising generation of children who will take the gospel of Jesus Christ into the entire world"

Julie B. Beck the General RS Pres said that and it was like a light went on in my head.  I decided to try a different path.  To do a little less for the world and a little more for my family and I.  I can tell you already that it's been a blessing.  It's been tight, but I don't feel like i'm sacrificing as much as we are all being blessed.  It's been hard some days, but worth it.  I feel better being home.  I feel like I'm doing a greater work.

That being said here are the changes so far...

I'm babysitting at home full time now and loving every minute!  I've decided three year olds are my favorite!

I am sewing like crazy!  Helping Dustin get his business to become even more of a success and making a few extra bucks on Etsy :)

I was just released from my primary calling that I LOVED and put in as the RS monthly meeting coordinator.  {I thought that was weird...Heavenly Father must have known I couldn't do that until I had a little more time not working.  I am excited to do something new, but admit that today was my first day out of primary and in RS in a VERY LONG time and I was having withdrawals.}

This change came at a great time and I admit that baseball was also a deciding factor...the season is starting off with a bang and three of my four cute boys are signed up and can't wait to get out there and PLAY Ball!!!

 Here's a few of my favorite pictures of my "New Job"...one of my favorite things is all the girl hair I get to do!  I LOVE it!  I love that they love me to do it.  The first thing Alyssa says when she gets here is "Amy, will you make my hair?"  It's so fun!  I've been buying bows and clips and barrettes and dress-up clothes like crazy!  They are so funny to listen to.  They LOVE to eat or "snack" as they call it.  Logan is such a good baby.  It's fun having one to cuddle again.  I haven't minded the mess one bit.  Actually to be truthful I feel like my house is cleaner because I'm always here.  It's a HUGE change for me being home all day, but I love it!  I love just being home.

These kids are so fun.  They are all giggles and get along pretty darn good for a pack of three year olds.  They stay very busy.  Alyssa says "Flowder" for flower and Zeke is always in the mix playing the boy aka {Santa Clause, or the rooster waking everybody up, or Peter Pan or the Prince} He's very boy, but they love it that he's the leader.  Peyton is a doll...she's a total GIRL!  Loves her long hair and very dainty.  She straps on the princess dresses the second she gets here and screams like a girl!  So funny!  Their conversations crack me up.  I am having a blast!