Easter Joy!

Easter is such a sweet holiday. The beginning of spring, flowers, warmth, and the end of winter are all so perfectly timed with Easter. The hope offered to us through the Atonement and Resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ allow us to feel the joy of starting fresh. I'm so thankful to have a personal testimony of the Gospel and all the joy that accompanies it.

Children bring such an exciting element to every holiday and Easter in no exception. For FHE before Easter, we died Easter eggs and talked about what Easter really is about. I love that Kayla is getting old enough to grasp the deeper meaning to things and it brings me a lot of satisfaction to watch her own little testimony bud and grow.

On Saturday, we headed to Porter Park for the city Easter Egg hunt. The kids had a lot of fun even though it only lasted about five minutes. Tyson even dove right in and got those eggs!

We came home and while the kids took their naps, the Easter Bunny hopped on by our house, leaving goodies and eggs for the kids! We appreciated that he came a little early so that our Sunday could be all about the Savior. The kids woke up to not only their Easter loot, but Grandpa Kelly, Aunt Haley, and Uncle Jon! They all got to help out with the egg hunt we had here at home. We didn't get a photo of the baskets before they kids went through them, but Kayla got a kid cleaning kit, chapsticks, an Easter book, and lots of candy. Tyson also got his fair share of candy along with an Easter book, bubbles, and a Mickey Mouse backpack. They both seem pretty happy with their new treasures. 

 

Grandpa brough silly string and we had some fun with it in the front yard after the eggs. Kayla loved it. Tyson didn't know what to think!

I also was so happy to be able to attend the Women's broadcast with Haley. I've loved attending the Women's Conferences in the past with friends, but it was so special to be with my sister. We attended at the BYU-I center and it was such a wonderful evening! I'm just sad we didn't get a picture taken with everyone!

Kayla learned the art of making egg salad sandwiches. She had fun making it but took one bite and pushed her plate across the table and asked for peanut butter - haha!

We took a few family photos after church. I had to bribe Kayla with a piece of her candy to smile for the photos. She's been a bit of a stinker lately. 

Grandma Betsy got Kayla this pretty spring dress and Kayla loved it!

I sure love this lady of mine! 

Tyson didn't quite understand the candy bribe so he wasn't nearly as cooperative for the pictures. 

Kayla especially loved the bubbles! She'd be outside blowing bubbles all day long if we'd let her!

It was a fun and peaceful holiday! I'm so thankful for all that Easter truly means. 

Our Journey to Idahome

The last couple of weeks have been somewhat of a whirlwind! Here we are in Idaho and loving it! But lets rewind and recap, shall we?

On Monday, October 5, the movers let us know they were going to pack and load all our stuff the next day, when the original plan had been to do it over two days, allowing us to stay one more night in the house. I was suddenly overwhelmed with the knowledge that it was the last night in the house that I loved so dearly! When we got the new, Chelsea was over and she saved us by offering to let us stay at her house on Tuesday night before we headed out Wednesday morning. 

Early Tuesday morning, the movers arrived. Its sort of strange having strangers go through and pack all of your personal belongings. I also felt awkward just sitting there while they worked. I loaded up the kids and we went to one last story time. I will forever love the Edinburg library. Their story time is wonderful and we miss it. I then took Kayla over to Amber's house for the day and picked up pizza for the moving crew.

When the house was all packed, I made a run through to clean it up quickly and then all of a sudden, we were all loaded up in the car and leaving our house for the last time. Cassie came by to say goodbye and that got me going a little bit and saying goodbye to the house and reliving all the special memories we made there. 

 

We had delicious dinner at the Bray's and stayed the night at the Skidmores. We got up early the next morning and headed off, but not before getting our beloved Stripes breakfast tacos one last time! 

We drove the 10 hours to Lubbock and stayed a few days with Rebecca, Wyatt and Rosie. We had an awesome time with all of them. Rebecca and I stayed up talking late a few nights and it was confirmed to me how much I love her! We get along so well and can talk about anything. I'm so blessed to have her as my sister in law! The kids also had a great time playing, dancing, laughing, and singing together. 

We took the kids to the science center and they had a great time exploring all they had to offer. 

 

 

 

The last night we were in Lubbock, we took an unexpected trip to the Urgent Care for me. I had a fever for a couple days and was feeling awful, worse than I had felt in years. Brett had been diagnosed with pneumonia a few days before we left and I was worried I had gotten it as well. Since our insurance ran out that day, we headed in and the clinic didn't have an x-ray machine, but the PA was confident I had pneumonia as well. I got a few shots and a prescription and was feeling better by the next day, thankfully. (Although my cough is still here 1.5 weeks later and now getting worse).

On Sunday after church, we drove from Lubbock to Colorado Springs, where we were staying a couple days with Melissa and Alan. One little challenge we had on the drive was after we stopped for lunch. We had sandwiches at a park and then pused the kids on the swings for awhile. We soon got back on the road and after twenty minutes, Kayla said her tummy hurt. I turned around to look at her in time to see her vomit all over herself. It was the first time she'd ever thrown up and it was so sad (and stinky!) We pulled her over and got her all cleaned up an she immediately said she was hungry. I figured it must have been the swings. She's been fine since then.

It was so fun being able to catch up with Alan and Melissa! Melissa has been my best friend since we were little tikes and has been through almost everything with me! We were also able to see a lot of her family while we there. Kayla had a blast playing with Melissa's nieces and nephews. 

She took us to Garden of the Gods and it was one of the coolest places I've ever been in my life!! The weather was perfect and it was so much fun wandering around and exploring!

 

 

 

On Tuesday morning, we got up early and headed to Idaho! It was a long drive that got pretty ugly the second we hit the Wyoming border, but we made it to my mom's house and had a great visit! It was short and I forgot to take any pics, but we'll be back soon! Hooray for being close to family again!

We stopped in Pocatello for a day and saw Tom, Haley, Jon, Dad and Sheryl. We had a good time visiting everyone and again, I was so happy to know we were going to be close to family!! 

Thursday morning, we left at 6:30 from Dad's house to make it to Rexburg on time. The moving truck arrived the same time and they unloaded all our stuff. My good friend Michelle offered to watch Kayla for the day, which was a huge help! We also live right across from my good friend and old roommate Jackie! We got almost completely unpacked in a couple days and I love our new place! I'll post pics of it in another post. We're so excited to be starting our new adventure in Rexburg!!