family photos 2017

Way back in October, we dressed the whole family up in matching outfits that I had spent hours shopping for and tried to make sure that they matched without being to matchy. We waited for a weekend that the weather would cooperate with us. We drove to a gorgeous little garden 40 minutes away, and then we tortured our children.  Oh wait, not tortured.  We just asked them to sit close to one another and smile.  But if you would have been watching the whole thing unfold, you would have thought maybe we were torturing them, based on the amount of complaining that could be heard, as well as the pained expressions on their faces that did not come close to resembling smiles.  Why do they have to make family pictures seem like such a terrible thing we are asking of them??

We asked Bart's sister Sadie to come along to take our pictures, or at least help me take them with the tripod and timer feature on my camera.  We're glad she was there to help.  At least she could be a witness to verify that what we were asking our children to do was reasonable and not child-abuse like they might claim it was.  Sheesh!!

 Despite the complaining, and bad attitudes, we were still able to coax a few good photos out of them.  At least enough to put on last December's Christmas card, and a few to print and frame for our walls.

I love these kiddos!

 Next time I think we are just going to do crazy photos because these are the only ones that my kids don't complain about.

(Look at that green grass!  It's the end of April and we are still so far away from having green grass this year.  I'm getting tired of waiting!)

I just love the way she is looking at me in this photo.  It inspires me to always try to be the best mom I can be for her!

easter 2018

Easter this year fell during one of our unusually cold and snowy weeks of this ridiculously cold, snowy spring.  So, once again, the Easter bunny hid all the eggs inside our house.  My favorite part of the Easter egg hunt was the fact that the Easter Bunny hid some eggs in some super tricky places, and the kids have been finding candy-filled eggs every few days for a couple of weeks!

This set of bird puzzles that the Easter Bunny brought Krew are amazing.  They combine Krew's love for birds with his recent obsession with puzzles, and since there are 15 puzzles in that box, the whole family got in on the puzzle fun.

New shades from the Easter Bunny

After our fun egg hunt, we spent the rest of the day relaxing, eating candy and listening to the words of the prophets and apostles and celebrating that our Savior lives!

my little ballerina

Everly took her first dance class this year, and to say we both loved it would be an understatement.

From the time we went shopping for leotards, tights, tap shoes and ballet slippers, both us girls were excited and happy.

Since it was her first class of any kind, I wasn't sure how she would be listening to the teacher and participating.  She walked right in the first day, danced the entire class time, and loved it from the beginning.  It was so cute to watch as she waited for the teacher to help one of the other girls, she would stay on her spot but keep dancing.  And of course, she smiled the whole entire time.  She just beamed!!

She would often tell others (anyone who would listen, actually), all about her pizza feet (first position), or show them some new dance steps she was learning.  It was adorable!

In March, she had her recital and it was the cutest thing ever!  Watching her was like watching all my wildest dreams come true!

She had so much fun up on the stage, that her joy was infectious.  In fact, after the recital was over, she wanted to keep dancing on the little stage that was in the foyer.  She didn't want to stop.

I hope that she continues to love dancing and that I get to watch her recitals for years to come!