Easters

Saturday:
I love to host our annual Easter Egg Hunt on the Saturday before Easter because my yard offers so many good hiding places.
Here we go! Little kids got a headstart and Miss B wasted NO time

She's a natural

The men were very creative and anxious to not only wear the kids out, but keep them occupied for as long as possible

I love this pic of Koby because he's already opening up an egg to eat the treat inside! Atta Boy!

Little Camryn (with 3 big brothers) will NOT be left out!

The hiding places were never ending

And progressively harder

Baby Gavin got in on the action too, but he was not thrilled with the drizzle

Sunday:

I LOVE new Easter dresses! It's my favorite thing about having little girls. Can't wait to buy 3 next year! And matching ties for the boys is fun too

How sweet. Who's jealous of me? You totally should be

The Jonas family. Check out John's scruff he's growing for hockey play-offs.

My mom hosted a beautiful Sunday dinner for us to perfect the holiday!

Six (Teen?)

Nope, Just 6! My girl Adeline April turned 6 on March 27th and these days, I'd be a horrible mother if I didn't blog it. Blogging was unheard of when this beautiful girl was forced into this world 5 weeks early, so I will recap the story for those of you out of the loop... Easter Sunday 2005, Pre-eclampsia, emergency induction, lots of pitocin, no action, broken water, 45 minutes later (sans epidural) perfect baby girl arrived weighing in at 5 lb. 14 oz. Even though she was 5 weeks premature, she never went to the NICU! I took her home with me. She was the PERFECT baby doll.

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6I adore this child. She is my sassy spitfire that I wouldn't trade for meatball pockets (sorry, inside joke). So glad you're part of this family my Addie Girl!

New Orleans

Only a day after getting home from Florida, John and I hopped a plane to New Orleans to see BYU in the Sweet 16. Eating at LUKE on our way to the game Slurping oysters- YUM!

So sad to see BYU lose:(

The next day we had beignets at Cafe Du Mond for breakfast

This is city is a party non-stop. We saw several parades goings by at any given time of day on any old street and bands blocking traffic to perform

Then we took the trolley to the Garden District to check out the old, swanky homes and a wander a cemetery. All the crypts are above ground because of the water level in New Orleans. Super cool

Our last day I put together a walking tour of the French Quarter that including seeing the home where the Louisiana Purchase was signed, the home of the most famous New Orleans architect, a walk through the French Market, and a visit to the Voodoo Museum

That afternoon we went to the Elite 8 game, even though it wasn't BYU (we still had tickets to it) and after dinner we hurried home before dark to miss the partying that was sure to turn ugly! We must be old and boring! It was a great trip and a fun city to check off my list.

Our Last Week in Boca

We were graced with the presence of my PARENTS! Bailey counted down for weeks for the day they came. And it was so great to have them here and see them relax... Actually, my mom doesn't really relax. She rocked and did everything!

Addie's Beauty Salon (call for appointment) services offered:

Manis Pedis and lipgloss

Best part of the week was spending hours across the street...at the beach...

Bailey and Gram cuddling in the sun. Such a sweet moment I had to capture it Life sized game of candyland. Melt. My. Heart.

Treasure hunting in the tide pools

Lovers on the beach Bailey wins the prize for best swimmer

She could charm anyone away from their book in the sunshine and into the cool waves

Adeline wins the prize for best "teenager"

All she wanted to do was pose in the sand, lay out, and maybe touch her toes to the water

This is my dad...and how I will always picture him..."swim trunks" on, mask and snorkel in hand, walking into the ocean

Of course, my mom and I got a little shopping in too!

A perfect week to end the perfect trip. Love you Boca. Miss you.

The Intracoastal

A close business asscosiate of John's lives here in South Florida and offered to take us for a ride through the intracoastal (a canal system that weaves by homes offering easy boat access to the ocean).
We went from his home in Hollywood, Fl to downtown Miami. Chris was a great captain! He even let the little kids drive

Downtown Miami from the water

The whole trip took about 4 hours. I parked it on a cozy chair and didn't move much. It was perfectly relaxing. I reluctantly got up for a group shot.

Side note: Sorry this trip has not been blogged like last years to the Philippines. It's been pretty unintersting. Just lazy days full of golden sunshine, glassy pool and crystal beach. I didn't say boring, I just said uninteresting!

Fan Boat

The day after we said sad good byes to our dear Jolleys, we said a happy hello to the wonderful Thatchers.
On a day that seemed a little stormy, we decided to head out to the Everglades and take a fan boat ride through the swamps to check out the crocs.
Bailey found herself a big feather that she is pretty proud of As we waited for the boat, we wandered this little "museum" on site

Austin is funny

and brave

The boat

How we love the Thatchers! Not pictured: their 6 month old Finn. We found out just before getting on that he wasn't aloud, so I stayed off with him. (Steve, Tate, Charis)

Croc sitings

And beautiful scenery Check out the storm that came in. Glad we weren't at the beach!

Such a fun time for all!