April

April 4 - Willow Park Zoo

It was spring break for the kids. We went to Willow Park Zoo and played in the park afterwards. It was a sweater kind of day. The sun was out, but there was still a little bit of a chill. The water, ducks, and other fowl are my favorite. And, I love the reflection of the trees in the water. 

We had the park almost entirely to ourselves, which was nice. The entire county, or so it seemed, was at Baby Animal Days at the American West Heritage Center. We were going to go there, but when we saw the cars parked for miles, we decided to come here instead. I'm glad we did. It was a fun day! 

April 6 - Conference Notes

Last week, I had the kids up for dinner. We also had F.H.E. and made Conference Notes books for General Conference. 

It was a huge success! I took notes and tabbed my favorite talks. I remembered so much more than when I just listen to Conference. I can actually go to any talk I heard, turn to the page, and remember most everything about it. 

Audrey's kids gobbled it up! They asked everyday for the entire week when they could watch conference. When Saturday came, Audrey placed pictures around the room of different gospel topics, such as temple, faith, prophet, etc. When the kids heard someone talk about a topic, that was displayed, they wrote or drew a picture in their note book and got a treat.

Amazing Alia! She watched all four sessions of conference and took very good notes! Emilee showed me Alia's book... can you tell? She was really into it!

This was one activity that was well worth doing. A follow-up F.H.E. will be held on Easter Sunday. Can't wait!

April 10 - Green Smoothie

Audrey came up today and we made green smoothies. Delicious! And so healthy!

Green Smoothie Recipe

Blend: 2 c. spinach, 2 c. water (this is a good base to any smoothie recipe)

Add and blend until smooth: 1 c. frozen fruit (mangoes, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, mixed fruit, etc.), 1 c. fresh pineapple, 2 bananas

Pour into glass and serve. Store remaining mixture in mason jars or airtight containers.

Alia's last skating lesson

It's funny how kids think. Now that ice skating lessons are over Alia said "I know how to ice skate now!" No more ice skating lessons for her! She said that about swimming lessons. I don't think she will object to taking more. 

She is beaming ear to ear with her certificate in hand. And... oh the love! She loves to hug her brother!

April 12 - Dinner with the Mechams

While Audrey and Mike fixed dinner, Emilee entertained me. The rocking horse sits in the corner of the living room. She loves this little horse, and every time she rides it, she has to put her cowboy hat on, too. She gets rocking so hard that her hat slips down in front of her face and often times she ends up going over top. She is so funny to watch. I love being a grandma because I get to just sit and watch and enjoy the play. I don't want to miss out on anything!

Ben sets the table

Audrey asked who wanted to set the table. Ben volunteered right away. He got the dishes out of the dishwasher and set the table mighty fine. I just love how little kids are so eager to help and do things with energy and cheerfulness. Wouldn't it be great to be a kid again!

Peach Blossoms

I got home just as the sun was started to set on Willard Bay. The peach blossoms looked especially brilliant tonight. I never tire of seeing peach trees blossoms, year after year, in the spring. Just beautiful!

April 15 - Little Bird

This little bird has been pecking on the window of the door to the deck for a week now. Almost all day long. I'm thinking he sees a very good spot to build a nest inside the house and is trying to get in. If I opened the door he would surely fly right in to that spot he is so insistent about. Sooner of later he has to give the idea up!

April 16 - Melchor and Elda

Melchor and Elda make a good husband/wife team. I love watching them. They do everything together, side by side! They have been up for the last few days pruning grapes and blackberries.

April 17 - Day with the Mechams

I watched the kiddos while Audrey got her hair done. We walked to get Alia from school. I put Emilee in the stroller and Ben got to choose the way to school. He chose the "crazy way"! as he put it. Alia chose the way back. It was all uphill. My legs hurt like no other for a day or two afterwards. Makes me afraid to go back to Germany and try to keep up with Dave! Oh no... I have only two weeks to train!

Coloring Easter eggs.

Riding bikes. Emilee pushing the stroller.

Alia's frog.

April 18 - Mom's lipstick

Mom's collection of lipstick. Aren't they beautiful! And colorful! Just like her.

I put on mom's beautiful coral sweater. Got out her stash of lipstick. Perfect match! Then, I headed out the door to buy a skirt to match. I found one at Dress Barn. I'm going to look so pretty for my pictures with my kids at Temple Square!

April 20 - Easter

Conference Trivia

We had a follow-up lesson on Conference. Each family wrote up questions related to Conference. The questions were placed in plastic eggs. We took turns reading and answering the questions. Everyone brought their conference notes and could cheat, of course. The point was to take good notes during conference! For each questioned answered correctly, a treat could be chosen from the candy jar. Audrey brought cupcakes, too. 

It was so fun! All the kids participated. I couldn't believe how well everyone took notes and what we all learned. We will definitely make this a tradition for conference! 

Easter Egg Hunt.

The kids hunted for hard-boiled colored eggs and plastic eggs filled with candy. Ben was on the hunt for plastic eggs only! Every time he came upon a real egg, he tossed it away! Emilee was just thrilled with finding any egg! It is so fun watching the kids hunt for eggs.

Rolling the eggs.

You can't have an Easter egg hunt and not roll your eggs down the hill! That's the best part of the day. Makaela threw one of her eggs and it it completely shelled itself. Impressive! Now we know what to do when we want to shell a hard boiled egg!

April 24 - Temple Square

Today, the kids and I met a photographer, J. Richens, from Layton, for pictures at Temple Square. Our photo session was free, thanks to Kelsey! She submiitted our story -- Shaniel's Story to "Images of Hope.", a program that spotlights an inspirational story. After the photographer chooses the story, they provide a free photo shoot for the family and share the story on their web page.

We could not have asked for a more perfect day! The weather was balmy and mild. The skies were overcast, setting the stage for the most beautiful pictures. The tulips on Temple Square were stunning! They were in all colors of the rainbow, in rows as far as the eye could see! Just heavenly! 

The best part of the day... spending it together! We had fun posing for pictures, ate a scrumptious meal at Chili's, and spent the evening joking and laughing our heads off, as usual! It's always a party with these kids! They are so silly. I love them!

Painting of Shaniel

Shaniel's painting is done. I have it in a beautiful frame, hanging in my bedroom. I feel surrounded by her love! I just love her!

I cut away the frame from her picture so you could see her face close up.

I'ts not to her exactness. It's not perfect. But... it is perfect enough for me. I sat in K. Donovan's studio until I was satisfied. With my input, he made Shaniel's face to look more youthful. Her lips and smile just like her! And tweaked her features here and there. But, it wasn't until he put a stroke of highlight, that I knew he had my Shaniel right! And I even burst it out loud... "that's Shaniel!" In fact, I was quite overcome with emotion at that very second and couldn't hold back the tears. I felt Shaniel there and knew she was pleased, as well. She knows what the picture means to me. 

The eyes aren't quite there, but that's ok by me. I didn't expect perfection. When you paint someone without knowing them, or their personality, it makes your work more challenging. Kelly went off photo's only and my input. I am thankful for the beautiful painting he so lovingly did for me. 

Shaniel's favorite necklace and earrings were the perfect final touch to the painting.

I took the painting into Hobby Lobby to get a hanger put on the back. The lady helping me thought the painting was of me... just younger. She said she was beautiful! To me, that was a huge compliment! Not only to me, but to the artist! Because Shaniel is so very beautiful. Inside and out! So.. thank-you, thank-you, thank-you Kelly Donovan! You got her right!

A drawing

This is my first drawing. Free hand! I think it looks pretty good for my first attempt. Kelly Donovan, who I am taking lessons from, is an Old Western artist, so you can see why I would paint a saddle! He has it on a stand in his studio. When he asked me to sit down and draw it, you can imagine how intimidated I felt!

Month in Review