Easter...

Easter Saturday, we enjoyed our Ward's Easter Egg hunt.  The missionaries put it on, and did a great job.  Our kids walked away with lots of loot and had fun playing games, winning raffle prizes and eating all the yummy food.

 

Sunday we had some friends and the Elders come over for the traditional Ham and cheesy potatoes.  I ate way too much, but actually felt like I finally made a "Janner" meal, so I couldn't stop.  It was delicious.  The Easter bunny was fun and generous to our three little ones, and the day was perfect.  Happy Easter everyone (only a month late).

 

Easter Weekend...

Our last weekend as California residents, was Easter weekend.  It ended up being one of the best we've had in a while.  Pizza in the park, tennis tourney with friends, Easter Sunday pot luck in the park, and perfect weather. I was super emotional knowing we'd be leaving, and all the fun just made the move even harder.

 Dieter and his little gal-pal Ally

Finnley has been wanting to wear matching clothes with Remmy since she was born, so for Easter Sunday we found them matching dresses.  She was in heaven, and they looked adorable (if I do say so myself).  The Easter bunny brought Finnley a kite, so we took it to Garfield Park after church and let it fly.  Unfortunately, there was no wind, so our kids ran it around and around to keep it in the air.

Happy Easter to you All!

Eddie Park Easter Egg Hunt...

Each year our friends have gotten together for a little Easter Egg hunt at one of our favorites, Eddie Park.  It is something we love and look forward to each spring.  This year was no different.  We pulled out our Easter baskets in anticipation, and the kids had fun filling up the eggs that we would hide.  

All the kids lined up and it was 1-2-3...GO!  Dieter was more concerned with eating the mini muffins he had snuck off the snack table, than pick up eggs.  (I looked in his basket and he literally had 12 mini muffins in there!) I pretty much had to force him to run and not stop and eat.  Luckily, Finnley picked up enough for the both of them and was happy to share.

Most of the group....we have been blessed to be a part of this amazing group of friends.  We are going to miss them and all the fun activities we do almost weekly!

A little more Easter...

Easter Sunday...we missed our daddy, who was still down in Belize.

On Monday night my parents threw their Easter party and egg hunt. Unfortunately, it started hailing outside, so the kids picked up the eggs as fast as they could and headed inside to check out their loot. It was so much fun being in Utah for Easter. We hadn't been home for Easter since moving out to California, so it was great little treat (even if it did feel like winter).

Kringlen Cousins...

On Easter Sunday, me and the kids headed up to Mitch's sister Dayna's house for a yummy Easter Dinner. Afterwards, we wanted to get some cute pictures of the cousins playing together. Why is it so hard to get four kids under 4 to look in the same direction at the same time? Sheesh! Carter's face below absolutely kills me. I die laughing every time I look at it. These four are such good buddies and they are lucky to have each other.

Finnley, Reese, Dieter, and Carter

Eggs to Dye for...

We've never attempted colored eggs before...before today, that is. Even though it was one of my favorite traditions growing up, I just imagined it would be more trouble than it was worth with a sub-three year old. Now that Finnley is the ripe old age of four, I thought we'd give it a go. It was a hit! She loved picking the colors, rotating them so they dyed nice and even, and then decorating them. It was COM-PLETE torture for the forty-five minutes it took for the eggs to dry enough to be decorated. Not for Finnley, but for me. She asked me about a billion times when they would be done. I won't lie, I finally threatened to chuck them in the trash if she asked again. She didn't.

She took her time and meticulously created each egg. Putting them in their holders, picking out their eyes, painting on their hair, adding accessories, and then naming them. She made an egg of Mitch, me, her teacher Miss Jenn, and one of herself. She was so concerned, and still is, about eating them. She kept asking, "Mom, do we eat the cheerleader fings? The pon pons? Do we eat the eyes? What about the glitter; do we eat that?" I told her time and time again that we peel them and only eat what's inside. She came to the conclusion that we wouldn't eat these eggs because she doesn't think they will taste very good.

All her cute little creations.

On a side note, last night Finnley said "Love you Mom!" I, of course, asked "How much?" She responded "So much! Like as much as how old your are! Thats a TON!" Lovely.

Easter...

We had a fun Easter down in Newport hanging out with our DeHart cousins and Grandma and Grandpa Sansom.

It was very eventful! Not only did we watch an amazing conference, but we spent hours outside, and even experienced an earthquake!

Isn't this how you usually dress for your Easter egg hunts?

These two are little buddies...and they are gonna be trouble!
I mean...Hoyt is already going for Tuscan's food and water. YUCK! Man has Amy changed. If Hoyt was her 1st instead of her 5th, she probably would have rushed him to the ER after this. Instead, she just watched and laughed.

Finn and Saylor could have played with the Rocket for hours. They almost did, and grandpa was such a good sport helping them out!

I love Finnley's face in this picture. She really wanted to catch that rocket!
Happy Easter (a little late) everyone!

Night on the Beach...

I think this picture pretty much sums up our weekend.

Pure Joy.

Pure Happiness.

Pure Fun.

I mean, a weekend spent with cousins playing on the beach, at the park, and at Disneyland.

Pure HEAVEN!


This guy can make Finnley laugh with the snap of his little fingers. Not just a giggle, or a courtesy laugh, but a full-out belly laugh.

Rye, you are the best!


This little lady is the sweetest, bum-crack and all. She and Miss Finn played non-stop and got along so well. Finn is already counting down the days to their next play date.

Saylor, we love you!


Ok...need I say more? This little one is the most handsome guy. I am so excited for him and Dieter to grow up being best buddies. Dieter couldn't be luckier to have such a great cousin his age.

Hoyt, you are a stud! (Even with a chipped front tooth!)


Mitch had a busy weekend with school, so I have to give a big "THANK YOU" to my mom and dad for stepping in and helping me out. They are amazing (as I'm sure most of your parents are) but mine are even better. :)


Dieter was loving the sand. He was picking it up and letting it run through his fingers, getting nice and sandy, and just loving crawling all over the beach.


I get to fly to Utah in less than two weeks and watch all seven of these gorgeous kiddos for about a week while their parents discover another land.

Are you jealous? You actually should be...these are some pretty amazing kids!


My sister Amy and her little guy. So glad you guys came to California, and thanks for letting me hang out for a couple of days!

Find Those Eggs...

Last Friday we had a little Easter egg hunt with our friends at Eddie Park. The kids loved it, and it was such a great way to kick off the weekend!

We all brought twelve filled eggs, and spread them out across the park. Then on the count of three they were off! Finnley was hilarious. Rather than going for all the eggs she could find, she preferred to go for the pink and purple eggs. Soon she realized any color would do!

Dieter was in heaven. He has recently taken off and is crawling everywhere and getting into everything. Oh, the days of him sitting still. When he saw the eggs open and the loose candy fall into the grass, well, he was all over that. I kept pulling jelly beans, chocolate eggs, leaves, bark, grass, and whatever else he could grab, out of his mouth.

I love this picture of all the moms snapping away at their kids.

Happy Easter everyone. We are celebrating with grandparents and cousins...does it get better?