Treehouse Play

We love the Treehouse! We have an family membership and have loved our random trips to this childrens paradise. Often when Chloe wakes up it's one of the first places she asks to go that day, and if going is ever mentioned as a possibility, she takes that as a firm promise and will remember the exact date and time you told her a trip would be made. Here are some pictures from our visit there today.

I took a few pictures just of what the Treehouse museum looks like. Appropriately named, a large tree sits in the middle of the building and has stairs inside that lead to the second floor.

Today, Noah's favorite activity was playing in the music area. He loves all the different noises the instruments make. Don't tell Joe but he also loved playing on the fire truck!Chloe loves "playing doctor". As long as she keeps that game confined to baby dolls, we will be alright. I love Chloe's serious expression as she "listens" to the baby's heartbeat. She also loved the drums and the trains.What do you do when a trip to the Treehouse just isn't in the cards? Give the kids a box. They played together outside with this box for well over an hour. Sometimes it doesn't take much!

Sunday Dress

I always love how cute my kids look when we are ready to go to church - especially if they kind of match. Chloe sometimes isn't very cooperative with pictures - she is happy to smile, but getting her to look at the camera is a completely different issue. Her top picture is way cute, and the bottom one I used because I thought Noah's face was priceless! I love getting my kids all dressed up for church on Sundays! They are the cutest things ever!

Yum

Noah had his first sucker all to himself. We put him in the high chair for his own protection as well as ours - let alone to protect the entire house from what would become a sticky mess!

First taste... Mmmm, yum...
Sugar High!!

Hadlee Kate Larsen

Hadlee Kate Larsen was born to my littlest sister, Christa, yesterday April 15, 2009. She is absolutely adorable and I LOVE her to pieces already!Christa started a blog (she is my only other family member to have one) and plans to update it soon (there is only one post so far) with pictures and more information about this cute little addition! Her blog is www.mikeandchrista.blogspot.com.

Welcome to the world little Hadlee!

30 Rocks and Easter Thoughts

Yesterday I got to celebrate Easter and turn 30 on the same day! Pretty exciting, huh? I had a great day, and though I can say that for some reason I expected to feel "grown up" I still feel as immature as ever! (See the picture below where I used a tutu as a scrunchie and ran around helping the kids find eggs) What is strange to me is that I have memories of my parents in their 30's and I always remember thinking they were old (in a good way), responsible, and mature - like they had their act together. I was pretty sure they knew everything and always made the right choices. To now be in the same place I remember them is very surreal, hopefully my kids think I have it together like I thought of my parents.

Chloe really enjoyed Easter festivities this year. In fact, when it was all over, Monday morning she woke up and asked if it could be Easter again! Too cute. The celebrating began when we got together with our friends, the Carpenters, to dye Easter eggs and just hang out. Chloe and Christian are great little pals and now Noah and Isabel are starting to enjoy playing together too!

Saturday, Joe's police department held an Easter egg hunt for the officer's families followed by two on Sunday afternoon. Chloe kept wondering how she missed the Easter bunny! The kids ended the day with more candy than they would need for an entire year!

Not helping the candy situation, the "Easter bunny" also left some candy in baskets too. Silly bunny should have known family, friends, and Grandma's would have supplied them with more than enough. The two loved their new toys and books for church and play!

I love when my kids match! I think it is one of the cutest things ever! This year I found Chloe's dress first and I knew that Noah could wear the vest he wore for Christmas to match her but I really wanted to tie in the pink to match as well. A wonderful neighbor, Hilma, suggested I add food coloring to the detergent and wash a white shirt to turn it pink! This worked out so well, I will now forever be able to match Chloe's outfit's just by dying his shirts! Next time I will add a little more food coloring to make the color brighter, but I loved it. I just wish my kids loved cooperating for pictures as much as they loved their little outifts!

There are many times in my life when things I have always known hit me more profoundly then before. Sunday afternoon as I was looking for ways to help explain to Chloe the reasons we celebrate Easter, I came across this story in the Friend, (http://lds.org/churchmagazines/FR_2009_04_00___04264_000_000.pdf - sorry I don't know how to make this link look better) that made me cry. The story tells of a little girl who, in giving a talk in Primary, spoke of her little brother who passed away soon after birth. I was struck strongly with gratitude to my Savior for his willingness to live and give his life, atoning for our sins and sharing his perfect example, so that we could have the opportunity to be eternal families. We have fun on Easter with talk of bunnies and candy and spring, but I was grateful this Easter to once again reflect on the love my Heavenly Father and elder brother Jesus Christ have for me and each of us in creating a plan where I can have joy in knowing that I can be eternally happy with my family forever!

Temple Talk

We are so blessed to be living in an area where we can be so close to so many temples. The other day we (Joe, the kids, and I) were driving around town and passed the Ogden temple. Our conversation as we passed went as follows:

Chloe: "Look Mom! There's the temple!"
Me: "I know, isn't that so cool?!"
Chloe: "People get married there, huh Mom?"
Me: "Yep. Are you going to going to get married there someday?"
Chloe: "Yes (as in duh - she then put her hands up and shakes her head a little, as if to back up her following statement) - but I don't have a prince."

Oh my goodness it was so cute! Joe, driving, said it was so cute he felt like crying. I loved that she knows what the temple is, that she wants to get married there, and that she assumes, thanks to Disney movies, that whoever she marries will be a prince. She's not wrong though, she followed with this cute statement: "Mom, you married your prince - you married Daddy." Priceless. Bountiful LDS Temple

Sisters

So I feel a little bad not making this brother and sisters, but it has been a while since we have all taken a picture together and anyway there is just something special about a sister. Growing up our relationship was love-hate, a lot of times leaning more towards hate. I hate to say that, but it is true. Not that we didn't love each other, but when you get that many girls so close in age in the same house and fireworks were sometimes the result. Over the years, as we have grown up (literally and figuratively) and I am so glad that my sisters are also my best friends. I have many friends and many close friendships, but these faces below are those of the friends I love more than any other.

Most of my sisters hate this picture because it was taken spur of the moment after a spur of the moment lunch and they don't think they were fully prepared for a photo-op. Oh well. I think my sisters look beautiful, primped or not.

If the above picture does not reflect it, Christa and Heather are both pregnant, due about six weeks apart. I can't wait to meet little girl Hadlee (Christa and Mike) and little boy Jack (Heather and Brady) in April and May. This picture was at a joint baby shower for the pregnant girlies. I am the one that hates this picture, it had been a long day and I didn't feel very cute (and I had three people ask me if I looked pregnant that day - good times), but if I will post pictures others don't love, I have to post ones I don't love either - it's only fair. I love my sisters!