Craziest April

So much happened in April, and I have so many pictures to document it all. Only problem was, they were all stuck on my phone! I've been having serious issues getting the pictures off my phone and onto my computer. The Picasa uploads stopped working in December, and now Gmail - that I've been using since - is having issues emailing them to myself. Needless to say, I have been very frustrated and I am far behind! But I'll try to get it all in here because I have so many memories of this last month I need to preserve.

First of all, we bought a house.

April Fools! Hahaha. Just kidding. First thing for April is April Fools, of course! Probably one of my most favorite days of the whole year. I just love pulling pranks on people (as long as they are relatively harmless) and nothing held me back this year. I had many victims since I live at my parents and have brothers running around.

I froze a bowl of cereal with milk in it so that when my sister, and the girl I watch in the morning, went to dig their spoon in for a bite, they hit rock solid food. The look on their faces was priceless. Then, because my kids get up later to eat, I was able to use the same trick on them as well. Lydia started to cry because she thought I was going to make her eat it anyway, hahahahaha!

I also stuffed newspaper in everyone's shoes, put plastic wrap 

over the opening of every bottle of shampoo/soap in the house (except mine of course) and then screwed the caps back on, put applesauce on Brigham's sandwich for lunch instead of jam, and switched out the granola bars so that he got a different kind than he expected when he opened it up, turned my sister's backpack wrong-side out, taped down all the light-switches, and put blue food coloring on Brigham's and my brother's toothbrushes. Unfortunately, they all spotted it and washed it out before brushing their teeth. I was mad because that was the one I wanted to work the most. Can you imagine them walking around with blue teeth all day? Hilarious! Everything else went off like a charm :)

It was also my day to cook dinner and I had a couple classics thrown in as well. I had a special "juice" for dinner, which was really just jello in cups. And also dessert was grilled cheese sandwiches.....or were they....? :)  I don't know why I love April Fools so much, but I really do. The kids really got into it and kept trying to April Fool each other too. I think it's mostly fun for them. They really get a kick out of things like trying to drink juice and finding out that it's really jello to eat.

Spring break was also in April and the kids took full advantage of the good weather outside. We even had a blossom shower!

We also had fun going to the zoo during spring break.

Lydia was obsessed with the zoo map and leading us around, we got some one-on-one time with the orangutan up close and personal, and saw lots of other sweet animals.

Classic zoo picture that everyone has to take if they go here. We have multiple pics in front of these monkeys in our family album.

Lydia has a fun preschool field trip to the Children's Museum where Ammon and I joined her. They had so many fun things for the kids and we could have stayed all day.

Although, it's been sunny off and on, mostly it's just rained. That's spring in Maple Valley for you. So when it does turn nice, we soak in every moment of it. Lunch outside is one of our favorites. Gotta get the Vitamin D when we can!

The main events of April though, were during the week and a half that we took for a trip to Utah where I had a brother AND a sister get married, and another brother graduate from BYU all within three days. Easter was also smack-dab in the middle of that trip. So before we left for Utah, we had a couple Easter celebrations so the kids would get a good taste of it, since we would be gone for the actual holiday.

First we had the Primary Easter Party where they were able to find Easter eggs and meet the Easter bunny (it was actually my brother Ryan in the suit, which was awesome!)

The kids scored tons of candy and had a blast. After the egg hunt, my aunt came to color Easter eggs with us since my mom is anti-egg-coloring.

I personally love coloring Easter eggs, and enjoyed it this time as well, though I felt that my creative juices were for some reason lacking this year. Later that night, we did a trial run for some wedding food for the open house that was going to be up here in Seattle.

After our Easter celebration in Washington, we left for Utah that next week.

Here are the kids, headed off to Utah the second morning of our trip (we broke it up into two days on the way down). They were excited to head to Utah to see their family they've been missing.

The very first day after we arrived in Utah, I threw a bridal shower for Polyana (my brother's fiance), and then went to her and Sadie's Endowment in the temple that night. It was so wonderful to be in the temple with both of them and the rest of my family as they made special covenants. Always one of the best parts of wedding week!

After Saturday we had Easter at my Aunt's house in Pleasant Grove. The kids and I were staying with my brother in Provo and we drove over early that moving to my Aunt Raquel's house to see what the Easter Bunny left.

Of course the Easter Bunny left lots of eggs to find and baskets full of goodies, toys, and Easter outfits. The kids were so excited since they were worried the Easter Bunny wouldn't be able to find them because we weren't where we live.

That night we had another Easter egg hunt that my Aunt Raquel put on for her grandkids that came over and my kids were also able to participate in it. This time there were pennies in the eggs, and if someone found an egg with a quarter, dime, or nickel in it, then that person got a special prize.

Lydia ended up finding the one with the nickel in it and won some new sidewalk chalk. Somehow my kids always end up with three egg hunts each Easter, and this year was no exception. It was a great Easter.

One of the best things about Easter is celebrating the resurrection of Jesus Christ. I was especially grateful to celebrate that this year as I went to two different temple weddings, where my siblings were able to be sealed for all eternity to the person they love. Without the Atonement and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, that wouldn't have been possible. I'm so grateful to celebrate the even that made everything good in my life possible, lasting, and blessed.

After Easter Sunday, I moved from my brother's house to my in-laws so my kids and I could spend some time with the other side of the family we've been missing. We got to spend lots of time with grandparents and cousins and aunts and uncles. It was wonderful. My kids caught up with their cousins like time hadn't even passed and they were giddy with happiness. The only cloud in the sky was that not all of their cousins were able to be there. I wish I had taken pictures, but alas, I did not.

After a couple days hanging out, and Brigham finally arriving in Utah to join us (he was trying not to take too many days off work), it was finally wedding day number one! Scott and Polyana were married in the Draper temple on a windy, but sunny Thursday.

Here's our family with the beautiful couple. You can't tell but it was super windy and cold! 

I was a bridesmaid and spoke at the luncheon and we had a fantastic day with the family and Scott and Polyana both raved about how the day was everything they could have hoped for. It was special in the temple because, although Polyana wasn't able to have any family here (she's from Brazil and her family couldn't make it), I could feel the spirit of her family members in the temple with us. She wasn't alone and it was touching to all of us.

Later that night we had a reception at my uncle's house in Mapleton and took a couple more pictures there.

This is my favorite because it's everyone in my family and now you can see how big we are getting! One big happy family that I love!!!

The day after Scott and Polyana's wedding was Kyle's graduation. It was very special because Kyle was graduating with honors with a double bachelors as valedictorian. Whew! He has worked so hard and we all kind of expected it with his brains and will. He was selected to speak at the graduation and we were honored to be there and listen. After he spoke, it was special when my uncle (who is dean of one the departments in Kyle's area of study) was able to step down and give him a hug.

My phone couldn't take very good pictures so he looks like he's pretty angelic while giving his speech (it was fantastic by the way), and then when we went out to dinner to celebrate, the picture was back-lit so we just looked like shadows. After some messing around with editing, you can kind of get the outline of my bro and me together. How I love him. We have spent much time with Kyle and Katrina and they are some of our best friends and how he have missed them! Now they are moving to Texas where Kyle can keep on being the man and we will miss them even more. Congrats brother! You deserved all your honors and we were so happy and proud to be with you on your big day.

After the graduation I captured my sister Sadie, who was to be married the next morning, and we had ourselves a mini bachelorette party. I was bummed because I wasn't able to be at her bridal shower or when she tried on wedding dresses, and I was determined to be a part of something as her sister besides just a bridesmaid at her wedding the next day.

So we went to Walmart and picked out some nail polish, and then had literally a half hour before her fiance came to pick her up, to paint our toenails. It was a whirlwind of a party, and you'll never know exactly what kind of trouble we got into. But it was fast, fabulous, and fantastic ;)

The next morning dawned bright and early and started out somewhat dismally with Ammon, after getting all dressed up in his wedding attire, having diarrhea and then, while trying to get some pepto-bismal in him, puking everywhere. Oh boy. Luckily nothing got on Ammon, as we already had him wrapped in a towel so he wouldn't spill medicine on himself. We knew it might be coming considering poor Katrina had spent her husband's graduation puking and curled up in a ball, but we had hoped to avoid whatever was going around. Still, there was nothing to be done but pack extra clothes and be on our way.

Sadie's wedding was beautiful as well and it felt calm, still, peaceful, and bright in the temple despite the pouring rain and dark clouds outside.

Sadie did great for a bride who has to take picture in the pouring rain, and it worked out because you can hardly tell in the pictures. All I can say is that my shoes were made of material and did not dry out the rest of the day. Soggy wet feet, all day. Blech.

Bridesmaids and Groomsmen

I was a bridesmaid for Sadie's wedding as well, and also gave a speech at her luncheon. (Although Ammon had an accident during the middle of my speech, so I had no idea what I said for most of it because I was too busy worrying about the poor kid. He did well with his tummy troubles although he was in the bathroom every half hour that day. At least he only threw up that one time in the morning.).

I love this picture of my siblings and I with Sadie and Taylor. We're lined up oldest to youngest, and it fits just perfect with Sadie being right in the middle. I know I'm biased, but we're just the best. 

That night was Sadie and Taylor's reception and it was set up so cute by the decorator.

And we were able to get a picture taken with the lovely couple and our little family.

Brigham's family that lives in Utah were all able to come to Sadie's reception and we enjoyed a final night with them before we left back for home the next day.  

We drove all day the next day, Sunday, so that people could get back to work on Monday. Lets just say we had a long week of recovery.

However, not to be forgotten was Brigham's and mine seventh anniversary on Monday. It's kinda cool that now three of us siblings have our anniversaries two days apart: April 24th, April 26th, and April 28th. Brigham and I didn't do much that Monday because we were wiped out, but later went out to dinner and a movie that weekend.

Our plates of food look disgusting in this picture, but it was DELICIOUS, and we look really creepy because of the lighting of the place, but we aren't :) It was nice to be out, just us, to celebrate the last seven years and reminisce on our own wedding day. We kept it simple and it was exactly what we needed after all the wedding shennanigans and to wrap up our busy, crazy month.

So there you have our craziest April. So much packed in, so much to enjoy. I hope you guys that love wedding stuff got your fill of pictures - I tried to include lots - and that you're all up to speed on what's been happening. Hopefully I can figure out my phone so I can stay up to date better, and hopefully my months won't be so crazy so I can post things besides updates!