Springtime Baseball

Grey started baseball for the spring again. We have stayed with the same coach and most of the same team for three seasons. He is the best coach ever. We have some friends who have three kids the same ages as ours and they are just the best of friends.

Elise & Ella

 Cole & Drew looking for ants & bugs

 Grey, Cole & Ethan

32

Apparently I am 32 now. Not sure how that happened. Maybe I am still young enough, but I definitely think the good things about getting older outweigh the bad. I love this stage of life for so many reasons. But I especially love that I feel like I actually know a little something about life now. And more importantly I know I have a lot left to learn and I look forward to that!

My only celebration was with the Wandry girls because I was flying to Mexico on my birthday which made it just fine.

The birthday girls (and boy)

Colin, Jodie, Brooklynn, Christina

Nuts

Jared & I were going to look at homes (to buy--more on that later). It was a snowy day and I was rushing from one thing to the next. Cole was crying so I gave him a bite of Elise's Larabar. Right away he started coughing and screaming but I was in a hurry so I threw him in the car thinking he just swallowed too big of a piece. As I was driving down the freeway, he threw up ALL over the car twice. He was sounding kind of hoarse, but he was still breathing fine. Ugh. I got to one of the houses and took his shirt off noticing hives on his chest. I still wasn't really sure and my mom and Jared said to just watch it. As soon as I got home, I took his clothes off and realized he was covered head to toe in awful hives and his face was bright red. I called the doctor and they said to bring him right in and that he was having a very severe reaction. I felt so guilty that I waited and waited not really knowing how bad it needed to get. Now he gets to carry around an Epipen. I had him tested and he is allergic to dates (an odd one), dogs and cashews. Severely allergic to cashews... Luckily that is the only one of nuts that showed up. It was interesting keeping him still twice for the whole 15 minutes. We will get him tested again next year. But they say with a severe reaction, it is unlikely he will grow out of it. 

My sweet boy

Let's Go Fly a Kite

I hate the wind that comes with springtime, but I adore the way my kids' faces light up when we get that kite flying way up high. It is well worth the windy days... Plus there is nothing funnier than watching all three kids run in circles after that kite.

Easter!!

What a fabulous Easter we had. The kids had two egg hunts on Saturday at the athletic club and in our neighborhood and then we did our little family egg hunt in addition to Jared's family celebration. We may have overdone just a bit. I am still recovering...

And the lame video of the morning egg hunt--I am not a videographer. And don't mind Grey. He has always liked sleeping in his underwear.

I am so grateful for a holiday to reflect and focus on our Savior's Resurrection and gift of life to each of us. I get to be with these cute kiddos FOREVER!

Easter Eggs

We barely squeezed dyeing Easter Eggs into the schedule. If Grey hadn't kept asking, it would have silently passed by... It was a long day. I am glad we did it.

Road Trip to St. George

My mom & I drove the kids over to St. George over Spring Break to visit my grandparents. I absolutely love being there. Poor Cole was on a mission to ruin the trip from the start. It all began when he threw up all over himself an hour into the drive. I should have known... That first night we stayed in a hotel partway and Cole woke up screaming every couple hours and I could not calm him down. I heard some people in the hallway talking about the crying baby. It was a low point. I was mortified! Then he pretty much struggled sleeping and would throw his food at my face or around my grandparents clean and beautiful home the rest of the time. Which led to more screaming and crying. Even with all of that, it was so worth it. I love my grandparents so much and appreciate any time I can have with them.

The view from near my grandparent's home. They have a view that makes me relax instantly! I love the red rocks. St. George is a beautiful place.

One of those mornings.... I was able to get an extra hour of sleep with Cole sprawled across me. I will take it!

For some reason, he liked to "pretend sleep" in Grey & Elise's beds but not his own.

We spent Sunday afternoon at the temple trying to burn off energy and enjoying the beautiful weather. The St. George Temple is one of my favorites.

They all wanted to touch the doors of the temple. Grey wanted to do a ninja pose.

And Elise of course wanted to dance!

We went on walks in the morning with my grandpa and his friend Budd. They walk 3 miles every morning. Budd is in his 90's!! What an example.

After an evening of hamburgers and chocolate malts we took the traditional family photos. As you can tell, my kids were awesome. They just do not understand the importance of a nice family photo--obviously.

 FOUR GENERATIONS! The oldest daughter (my mom), the oldest grand-daughter (me) and the oldest great-grand-daughter (Elise). What an incredible legacy!!

Jared missed us a lot! We got home and he had cleaned the house and surprised me with flowers, pizza and chocolate. He bought each of the kids a little chocolate bunny too. What a sweet hubby. Maybe I should leave him to fend for himself more often. :)

My name is Christina. I have a problem. When I was unpacking I noticed I had packed SIX pairs of shoes for a 6-day trip. No wonder my suitcase was so heavy.