March Madness

March kept us pretty busy.  In fact, I regret to say, we rarely took out the camera.  We were kept VERY busy on Easter, Barry's birthday and not to mention, the endless basketball......

I did, however, manage to snap a few pics of some of the kids right after their baths, just hanging out in our room.  You can never get enough pictures of kids since they change SO much, SO quickly. Here's a few shots of Koen.....he was very snuggly. So we just hung out, exchanging hugs and snuggles for a while...

Here is Kael.  He's in a lovely phase where he doesn't like getting his picture taken and makes scowling or scrunchi faces in every one.

....except when you catch him off guard.....

Kael giving the "hand"

Hannah, all clean and smellin' good!

Seeing how Easter was on Conference weekend the kids didn't get to wear their Easter outfits.  Besides candy and a few toys, the Easter Bunny throws a new church outfit in the mix.  Hannah got pretty lucky and scored 2 dresses this year.

The following week, Barry's birthday, they got a chance to show off their new threads.  So on our way to church I snapped this shot which is one of my new favorite pics of the kids since it shows each one's personality. 

There's Dallin, happy, content, easy going and lovable.

Kael, the little stinker who feels every shot deserves a pirate scowl. He's very smart and takes care of his "little" brother. He's our adventurer, ladies man and loves a good challenge.

Koen is our sweet, snuggly guy whose shy yet loves to goof off.  He lately, loves to make goofy faces in his pictures.

Hannah, the only girl among 4 boys.  You'd figure she would have some tom-boy attributes, but no.  She is a diva in every way!  Through all the noise and messiness of her brothers, she manages to stay clean, collected, sweet, polite and yet can still hang with the boys.

Since it was  Barry's birthday I reminded the Primary president and gave permission to embarrass him.  And they did just that.  They called him up to the front and he got to hold a picture while everyone sang "Zippity-A and Heidy-Ho!"  :)

Later, when Barry returned from dropping off the kids he came back to a house full of friends and LOTS of yummy authentic Mexican food!  We had a good time hanging out and playing volleyball....

Happy Birthday Honey!

Hannah's Birthday

Hannah is now 7 years old!  Seeing how we had a big party last year AND I had to work, we celebrated and had our birthday festivities before I left for work. 

The birthday girl woke up VERY excited.  We gave her a crown to wear for the occasion.  First order of business, she ate her birthday breakfast of blueberry pancakes with whipped cream and choice of sprinkles....after she made everyone's beds of course!  Hannah is our little bed maker.  She also holds the titles of assistant cook, duster, vaccummer, and dish washer.  I always love the help and we always have a great time working together.

Breakfast time!

A big purple cake with cream cheese frosting and a raspberry filling.  I need to work on my cake writing though :)

We took the kids to Mc Pukes (Mc Donalds) where they played to their hearts content, climbing on everything climbable and stuffed themselves with greasy fast food!  Afterwards we went back to the house for cake and presents.

Group shot (Dallin, Kael, Koen, and Hannah). 

Hannah getting sung to.  You can tell by the look on her face that we're probably not the most talented bunch of singers.....Barry excluded.

Blowing out the candles......

.......still blowing out the candles........

....what Hannah didn't know is that we put trick candles on her cake and she was pretty confused when they kept re-lighting.  She was very concerned before the blowing started that one of her brothers would blow out her candles so after Hannah and the boys got their fair share of candle blowing we let her in on the tricky candles and put them out for good.

Boys hitching a ride to the present opening festivities.

We packed 2 gift bags full of presents and she was concerned at first because there were only 2.....  she was soon surprised to find much more.

Koen and Dad

Our Anniversary !!!

We celebrated our 4 year anniversary!  Since we take turns planning.....this year was Barry's turn.  Our original plans to spend the weekend in St. George at the condo fell through (which is OK since I wasn't sure I could go one night without seeing my boys, since I still have not spent one night without them yet).  

We ended up going to a bar in Park City to see my friend's band perform, which was fun and great to see him.  We got stuck in a terrible snow storm coming back home.  I don't think we went more than 25mph.  There were all kinds of vehicles and semis that couldn't make it up Parley's Summit, and we were fish tailing and spinning our wheels just to summit so we can continue home.  Let's just say we had a great night with a LONG ride home.  The next day we took the twins out and saw ALICE IN WONDERLAND in 3D!   We went out to lunch and spent a great day hanging out.  And to top it off, Barry took me to my FAVORITE restaurant, Bombay House!   I haven't eaten there in years and we can't wait to go back again.  Thank you Barry!

Dear Hubby,

This time every year I look back and reflect on the beautiful life we have together. I want to let you know how much I appreciate EVERYTHING you do. I couldn’t be who I am without you. You have stood by my side through unimaginable trials. Not a day goes by that you don’t tell me how much you love me. Like I’ve said before…every day spent with you makes my life rich and meaningful. You are my best friend AND my husband which makes me a pretty lucky gal!


I love how you always sing to me and write beautiful music for me.
I love how we can have an intimate conversation just by looking in each other’s eyes.
I love your sweet kisses that scream you love me and whisper serenity.
I love raising a family with you. We’re just a bunch of kids, learning and growing together.


You make me feel beautiful and young, but most of all…..loved.


Je’temme
XOxoXO