The honesty of children...

I could probably relate many times that I have found Addison's honesty pretty hilarious... like in the grocery store when he has said (loudly) "Mom, that woman is going to have a baby too!"...and I say "shhh! (very quietly) not exactly..."

But, this moment of honesty is my favorite of late-- We were all sitting around the table doing our breakfast scripture reading and we happen to be in 2 Nephi right now. For those of you who may not be up on your Book of Mormon references, many of these chapters consist of Nephi quoting Isaiah. After reading a few verses and finishing a chapter, I shut the Book of Mormon and look at Addison who stares back at me and says very seriously "Mom, what the heck are you talking about?" I couldn't help but laugh...especially when Kelly repeated "Yeah, what the heck ARE you talking about?" I guess sometimes it's children who say the things we are all thinking!

Happy Easter!

Easter snuck up on me this year...we usually (for the past 3 years) have an Easter egg hunt the day before Easter at our house for everyone we know, but this year...I don't know what happened! We just didn't do it. So instead, we had our friends the Hanson's over for Saturday's dinner, complete with bunny-shaped pasta and jello eggs!

Here is Addison Easter morning "reading" the clues from the Easter bunny Easter morning!

Laynie's excited face after finding her basket! Too bad I hid the baskets in the laundry closet, and then left it open for the pictures! Now the world knows how far behind I am in my ironing pile.


This is actually Play Group on Friday. Thanks to Connie who has had the Easter Play Group at her house for years now, and always makes it SUPER fun! Plus, her back yard is perfect for an Easter Egg hunt. No matter that it was only 40 something degrees, the kids had a great time.


Addison filling his basket with goodies....

Laynie getting right to the important part of an easter Egg hunt...eating the treats!

I don't have any pictures of the kids in their new Easter outfits :( But they looked great... Of course, Laynie ripped her pony tails out on the way home from chuurch, so she was back to ragga-muffin look before we could get home to the camera... but we had a great Easter day, complete with wonderful lessons on the Atonement and reminders of the Savior. What a great Holiday!

Adventures in New England!

This past weekend I did something I've been meaning to do for 2+ years...I went to Boston to visit Amberli! I have always wanted to see Boston, and circumstances being as they are (34 weeks pregnant) I figured it was now or...in the far distant future; so I opted for now! Thank you Kelly and kids for missing me for a few days!! I had a wonderful time!!

I drove to NYC Thursday night and stayed with Jaime-- THANK YOU JAIME! This broke up the 6 hour trip very nicely, not to mention I got to catch up with Jaime and Jack!

And Friday morning I was off to Boston!

Make Way for the Ducklings!!

This was one of my favorite books as a kid and here is the statue to memorialize them! I was so happy to see that the park where they "live" looks JUST LIKE the park in the book!

Where everyone knows your name!

Here is the Cheers bar...a very popular place to take pictures!

Here is a picture of me on the FREEDOM TRAIL in front of Paul Revere's house. The freedom Trail was a great way to see the famous parts of the city!

Me and Amberli in fornt of the Charles River...kind of a gray day, but I was just happy that it wasn't snowing on us!!

I love subways!! They remind me of the mission! Of course Boston's subway is a little less complex than Munich's or Stuttgart's...but a fun reminder anyway!!

Ode to Amberli...

You know the friends that you don't see for a LONG time, and when you're finally together again, it's like you were never a part...that is Amberli. I love her!! She and I just couldn't stop talking until absolutely necessary (12:30am for example). Thank you for a PERFECT weekend Amberli and Darek!! I loved Boston and I loved seeing you!!

AND THE WINNER IS....

Sorry it has taken longer than expected to post the winner of my little contest...I tried most all of the recipes, unless they were already a part of my normal repertoire, or if they included nutella on a hamburger bun (sorry Nick). So, with votes from me and the family, the winner is...DEENA DITTO!! for her delicious recipe of sweet and sour meatballs. She was one that sent an email, so I will post her recipe now for everyone to try. Look for your package in the mail Deena, and thanks everybody for the GREAT ideas and YUMMY recipes!!

Sweet n' Sour Meatballs

3 eggs

1 med. onion, chopped

1 1/2 c. dry bread crumbs

1 tsp salt

2 lbs ground beef

2 tbsp vegetable oil

Sauce: 3 1/2 c. tomato juice

1 c. packed brown sugar

10 gingersnaps, crushed

1/4 c. white vinegar

1 tsp onion salt

In a bowl combine eggs, onion, bread crumbs and salt. Mix in ground beef. Shape into meatballs and brown in oil. (I just brown the outsides because they'll be cooking in the oven) Transfer to a 9x13 pan. In a saucepan combine the sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil until everything is dissolved. Pour over meatballs. Bake uncovered at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Serve over rice or mashed potatoes.

Tagged again...

What I remember... (thanks Amber for this trip down memory lane)
20 yrs. ago. I was 9 yrs. old, I was in Mrs. Donahue's 4th grade class at Moorlands Elementary in Washington, and I was elected treasurer of the elementry school! That was pretty exciting, although I don't remember having any responsibilities whatsoever. My best frriend was Jodie Hanson, and I had a MAD crush on Josh Carver...I would leave him notes in his coat pockets when I went out to "use the bathroom."
10 yrs. ago. I was 19 and a Sophmore at BYU. I lived with the best roommates EVER- Rachel, Summer, Mindy, Amy, and Andrea. They were the greatest friends I could have asked for! We lived in the Colony and had a SWEET St. Patrick's Day party where all of us wore the same lime-green dress we found at some random store for $4. I was getting ready to be an EFY counselor for the first time (yes, where I met Kelly) and flirting a lot, but not going on many dates.
5 yrs. ago. Kelly and I had been married for about 9 months, I was in my second semester of the Master's program and was 5 months pregnant with Addison. There were some days I thought it wouldn't possibly work to have a baby during college...but it did! I was teaching some undergrad students the general social work lab and trying desperately to figure out statistics from Dr. Spaid! Amberli was my best friend (besides Kelly of course!) and we laughed about how our lives were just the same...right up until I got pregnant...
3 yrs. ago. Our first spring in our "new" house in PA...with project after project that needed to be done! Addison was about 18 months old and was as cute as could be. I think we were trying to get pregnant again. I became fast friends that spring/summer with Tiffany-- the best neighboor ever! and remarkably could always find something to keep me busy.
1 yr. ago. I kept busy by driving Addy to preschool, going to Yoga every Tuesday and Thursday (oh how I miss that!!) and had just started working for LDS Family Services...I was thrilled when I had a night with four or five clients, and now I'm thrilled when I have a night when there are only two :)
So far this year. I continue to have a great pregnancy with number 3, walk Addison to school every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, have battle of the wills with Laynie EVERY day, and am more and more grateful for Kelly as I see couples in counseling every Tuesday night. Went on a fun trip to Utah last month, and recenly survived a major sinus infection!
Yesterday - Went to a baby shower, tried to clean the house a little, hosted a playdate for Addison's best friends: Claire and Ayden, made chocolate chip cookies, and went to a bowling birthday party (all the while missing Kelly like crazy since he is in Spokane this weekend!)
Today -Got the kids ready for church all by myself and was actually there 5 minutes early! Went to mom's house for dinner and hung out until almost bedtime.
Tomorrow - Go grocery shopping!! (no bread, cheese, or fresh anything to be found in the house!) Take Addy to school, survive just one more day without my hubby!
This year - Go to Boston!! (hopefully next weekend!, right Amberli?) Have a baby! Get my figure back, Finish the upstairs bathroom, have a pool pass for the summer, get to Washington sometime this summer, make some more fun memories with our wonderful frieds in PA i.e. Campbells, Barnums, Thomases, etc.