My brother, Jake...

When my oldest brother, Jake said that he wanted to come to Idaho for a visit over Spring Break, I didn't think he really would at first, but as Spring Break got closer, I realized they were planning the trip and they were really going to come! We were all thrilled as we counted down the days and planned all the fun things we would do. Jake, April (his girlfriend, or "Aunt April") Avery (my neice) & Mariah (April's daughter or "our cousin") arrived on Monday around 4:30 PM. We visited for awhile and then went to Goodwood for dinner. All the kids ordered ribs except Grace and they were gone within minutes! April, Avery, Mariah & I went to Craft Warehouse afterwards, while Trav, Jake and the kids went to Toys R Us. Jake spoiled them with toys and then we met back at the house to get ready for bed. Everyone was tired after a long day of traveling, so after setting up 'camp' in the kids room and getting Jake & April set up on the couch, everyone went to bed. The next morning the boys took the kids to Cabela's, while April & I stayed home with Grace and the baby and did craft projects for hours. After everyone came home, Uncle Jake was pooped, so he took a nap and Trav & I took all the girls to the park for awhile. After that, we all went to the Y and took the kids swimming, They had a blast going off the diving board and down the water slide. Jake, April & I all watched from the side. After showering and getting dressed, we went out for pizza and had the whole back part of the resturant to ourselves. Thank goodness because there were 10 of us! We went home and got the kids ready for bed. I think we all slept well after a long day full of non stop fun. This moring we got ready, finished some projects and then did some more shopping. Uncle Jake & Aunt April spoiled us all with food and toys the entire time. We had lunch and then they were off to drive half of the way home. There were lots of tears saying goodbye, but we reminded each other we would see each other soon in May for Uncle Eli's wedding.
We had a great time and it meant the world to me to have my brother here. Jake & I never had enough time together growing up. He lived with my Dad for awhile, then with my Grandparents and then he was gone, so I never felt as close to him as my younger brothers that I helped raise. Jake is an incredible man, father, brother, son & friend. I am so thankful I had a few days to talk with him, joke around and have fun with. It was a great visit with eveyone. My favorite moment was watching him read: Barbie's Best Friend to Grace. It just melt my heart to watch him lay on her bed and read a silly book about sharing, to her. Jake is always so seroius,so I think a little Barbie did him a lot of good! What a great visit...

When Uncle Jake comes to town...

Jake brought his BB gun with him on his trip and he and Tristin had a blast turning the back yard into a shooting range. They had cans and targets and Tristin LOVED every second of it. I'm sure he will be asking for a gun for his birthday...

At the park...

Trav & I took the girls to the "peacock park" and everyone had a great time. Avery and Mariah thought it was really cool, and Grace and Daisy had fun chasing the birds.

Saying goodbye...

We had a relaxing morning before Jake & the girls had to go. We all slept in, ate breakfast, finished our craft projects, the boys played with the gun, we showered, cleaned up, played outside, went to WalMart, had lunch at Panda Express, and then said goodbye in the parking lot. There were lots of tears (Daisy started it, imagine that!) but we all survived, hugged, kissed and said, "I love you" a 100 times. We had such a wonderful visit with them and it meant the world to me that my big brother took time on his Spring Break, to travel to Idaho and spend time with us. I love hime so much and I am thankful for our time together.

Someone loves rice cereal and pears!

Willow has been loving food these days. She spits a ton out, so it takes forever to feed her, but she's enjoying it! I simply adore her. I was holding her on my chest awhile ago while she was sleeping and I was almost in tears. I just sat there listening to her breathing and feeling her tiny hands and soft skin and thanked my Heavenly father for such a gift. I love my children so much. I am so thankful to be a Mother and I love my husband who is the most amazing help in raising our children.

Ward Chili Cook Off...

So, I have the funniest story to share: (don't let it get too far at church ladies...)
Friday night was our wards annual chili cookoff. Trav signed up to make chili, which I was grateful for, because I was not about to attempt to make it. As the week came closer and his nights quickly filled up with life, church stuff, school- we realized he wasn't going to have time to make the Brazilian chili (or kind of like it) that he was planning. All day Friday I was feeling REALLY guilty for not wanting to make chili. It kept twriling around in my brain, "But I didn't sign up to make it, he did. So why am I feeling guilty for not pulling out my reciepe book and trying something new?"
So, after talking with my friend, she said, "You know Emily, life gets crazy, so if you bring canned chili, who cares, at least you're bringing something." With that, I concluded I would just bring a pot of canned chili and call it good. (Not to be entered in the contest, of course)
About 25 minutes before we had to be at the church, (Trav signed up to be a judge)I threw 6 cans on the stove and statred stirring. Trav came up behind me and started throwing in all kinds of spices, pepper, hot sauce, brown sugar- and who knows what else, because I left and started getting kids out the door. A few minutes later we arrived at the church and found out they had enough judges, so Trav wasn't needed for that. I went to grab us a table and get situated, while Trav entered his chili into the cook off!!! (*** Side note, he DID explain that the base was canned chili, but he made up the rest of the reciepe. After talking it over, they gave him the ok to enter it because he had added/altered it, making it his own.) I had no idea that he entered it until we were going around getting our dinner and I saw a judging number on my brand new pot, so I asked him, "Did you enter the chili?' And he said "yes."
So- can you tell where this long story is going????
Yup, sure enough, Travis won 1st place!!!! We were trying not to die laughing right there in front of everyone, so we all clapped for him as we was awarded the 1st place ribbon. A sweet lady came up to him later and said, "I'll have to get that reciepe from you!" Oh my, we were laughing so hard inside! The funniest part of all is that the chili was bought from the church cannery, of all places!!!

The walrus...

Yesterday afternoon, Daisy drew the cutiest walrus I have ever seen. Don't ask me where her inspiration came from, I just thought it was adorable!

The differences in my girls...

I just realized I didn't post this picture of Grace holding the dead fish. Look at the delight on her face as she gets to hold the bag. Daisy's world was falling apart, and Grace was just glad to be holding the remains...

Dishwasher prayers...

3 years ago, when we were getting ready to move into our house, I found a dishwasher at a yard sale for $ 25.00. (We knew we needed a new one) It worked perfectly until a few days ago, and naturally, it had to stop working while I had a mountain of dishes that were waiting to go into the dishwasher to be cleaned. I've learned that things don't break at a "convient" time, so you just deal with it. Luckily, our AMAZING friends, Michelle & Jon (who own Van Vleet plumbing, and are SUPER, by the way if you have plumbing needs)had an extra dishwasher that they gave us- THANK YOU!!! So, after a few days of washing dishes by hand, I made Trav install the new one, which he did last night. After it was all done, we did a test load. Holy Cow, there was the loudest noise coming from the poor thing. Something was clanking around and I just sat there thinking, Lord, I am so grateful for this dishwasher, don't get me wrong- but if there is anyway to make that awful noise stop, could you please help us out? I tried convincing myself it would be okay, but the longer the cycle went, the more I realized that I would pay A LOT of money for a new one, it was just awful. Trav did some researching on the internet and found that other people had simuliar problems, so after reading their comments, he took a bunch of pieces apart, and found 6 screws, 1 clear marble & a chunck of plastic inside! Well, no wonder it was so loud! After he put things back together, it worked like a charm! Once again I am thankful for friends who care about us and a God that answers dishwasher prayers.

Christy's baby shower...

My lovely friend Christy is expecting her 2nd baby next month, so Chelsea & I went to her baby shower on Saturday. It was an awesome Beatles theme, decorated beautifully with great friends and yummy food. She recieved lots of adorable gifts for the tiny baby- I can't wait until he "pops out of her tummy!" (In Grace's words)
(Sorry for the tummy shot Chelsea!)

Primary activity...

On Saturday, the kids went to their Primary activity and had a great time. They played lots of games and ate yummy muffins & juice. I can't believe how fast they are growing!

Little Miss Willow...

Here's just a few of Willow from the past few days. I love this girl.

I love my husband...

Trav and I have been together for 11 years now and just when I think I couldn't love him anymore, he goes and does something else to prove me wrong. He just makes my heart melt and it helps that he simply adores me! I think everyone has "rough patches" in their marriages, (heaven knows we'vwe had ours)but Trav and I have been doing WONDERFUL for a long time now. It feels so refreshing, and great to just have an awesome relationship. He is so much more intune with my needs and feelings and I feel more valued and loved as a person (not just a wife & mother). I love our time together when the kids are asleep- to just be together, to snuggle, to talk, to eat ice cream & watch our favorite movies. I love watching him rock-a-by the girls before bed (Grace LOVES to be rocked and sung to at night, and she always says,"Daddy, will you rock-a-by me?) SO CUTE. So there is my tall handsome man, rocking our girls while singing # 1- Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star # 2- Love One Another # 3- I Am A Child Of God # 4- ABC's. I love that he is so helpful and willing to help others. Yesterday, on his only day off- he went to the church at 9:30 AM with the 3 girls and set up tables and chairs for our church activity- then, he did yard work for hours, then he went on a walk with the kids & I, then he volenteerd to watch all the kids that came to the church activity that evening. He is a good, good man. I just love him.

Trying to get 1 good picture takes a lot of work...

Trav and I were doing A TON of yard work yesterday, and the girls were playing outside while we worked. They looked really cute on the trampoline, but it was impossible to get a picture where they were all looking half way normal.