Tender Heart

Today I watched "Where The Red Fern Grows" with the boys. I thought they would like it because they are anxiously awaiting the puppy they have been promised when we move. I also have fond memories of reading the book as a kid.

I forgot how sad it was though. As we watched Old Dan die, I was watching the reaction on Connor's face. He was so taken back by it. He just quietly sat there. He asked if Dan would die. I told him yes. Then tears rolled down his face. He hid his head in my lap and said, "I don't like this show!" He had just about recovered when Little Ann past away. And then he got mad. "She died because no one would feed her!"

What I thought was a touching movie my kids would like turned out to be very poignant to me. I saw that gentle, yet masculine side of my, to this point, very tough little boy. The red fern and its symbolism just didn't sooth him. He said he would never watch that again.

Later, I tried to coax him to tell Kyle about it. He said, "It is too sad to talk about." He had the same reaction when I tried to get him to tell Grandma.

I hope I didn't scar him for life! I love my Connor!

Tulip Festival

Last week Teriann and I braved the hour drive, the rain threatening sky and the fact that we had four kids between us and went to the Tulip Festival. It was well worth the trip. What a photo-op! I was in heaven with so many things to take pictures of! My boys were not in cooperative moods for picture taking unless they came up with the shot. Surprisingly, I still got a few good ones. The highlight was find the geese and their babies, and the huge fish. We just had so much fun letting the kids discover as we snapped shot after shot. Here are a few of my favorites.


















Don't you love how Connor can howl? I'm not sure what that was for.

Just plain cute

Well, it seems I have been posting about Easter for a long time, but what can I say, these pictures are too adorable to pass up. We had a moch Easter egg hunt the Sunday after because cousins were together again. They had so much fun! I think Easter egg hunts could last all year!
I was trying to make the most of the photo opportunity. Julian my nephew was dressed up so cute and he was trying to be a little gentleman. So I asked him to give Ryleigh a kiss. This was her reaction.






How about a hug instead?

Little ones are just so cute!
Here are a few more pics from the day.


She just couldn't wait another minute when she lucked out and one of the eggs was open and filled with jellybeans!


This was our more advanced egg hunters. I have a few pictures of them but nothing great. They were moving fast and in it for the candy!

Little Girls

Teriann (my sister) and I took the little girls to have their pictures taken in their Easter dresses. Ryleigh was so cute. She was quite proud of her dress. Braeyln (Teriann's little one) is only 2 and 1/2 months younger than Ryleigh. They play together so well and it is so fun to see them together.
I grew up with two cousins and my sister being inseperatable from the age of about 7 to 12years old. I remember playing dressup at Grandmother's and swimming at the Dolphin swim club. Memories I will always cherish.
I am so glad that we have been able to offset the pain of having Kyle gone by the joy of my kids getting to know their cousins!

Easter At Papa's

We went to Papa's house for Easter weekend. My sister Traci brought her girls down for part of the weekend and we had so much fun. Traci is the athlete in the family and she took us for a 10 and 1/2 mile bike ride! I was so proud that Brennan made it the whole way! I was shocked that I made it the whole way! ( I was also pulling two little ones in a trailer behind me.) We hiked, had Easter egg hunts, went to Art exhibits, walked around the temple, colored Easter eggs, did crafts and I went to a Quilting Bizaar with my grandmother. ( I wish I had a picture of the two of us!) Lets just say we stayed busy. Traci left on Saturday afternoon and we stayed to attend church with Papa.
At church, we sat down in the pew and just before Sacrament started Connor looked up at Papa and said, "WE go to the TRUE church!" Dad looked at him and said, "So do I. This is the same church, just a different building." Connor was not convinced and reiterated that He went to the True church. He is just to cute at this stage. At least you know he is getting some of the information you teach him.

Tape? Who knew that scotch tape could keep the kids busy for so long. They had Papa guessing what is was they were mumbling with their moths taped shut. Too bad this would be looked down on if I chose to tape their mouths shut!




Since Connor had just mastered riding without training wheels the previous week we didn't think he would be up to traveling so long on his own. Traci brought down her tag a long and helped him to feel like a Big Kid. Thanks again, Aunt Traci!


This is from our hiking. The kids climbed up through a cave and then wanted their picture taken. I then had to shimmy up that cave!




Papa took Aslynn and Brennan to the arts and crafts section at the Art show. They came home all decked out! Everyone had fun trying on the silly hats and glasses.

Ryleigh found some reading glasses and was hamming it up for Papa!

Donald Trump

I was watching Celebrity Apprentice the other night and Connor asked me, "why does that man look like that?" I hadn't thought anything about how he looked and then he stood up there and did this impression!

Many Faces of Ryleigh

I thought this might be fun. Ryleigh is a typical girl. She has her extreme ups and downs and no one can predict when the change might occur. This was all in about a minute!