Easter egg hunts

On Saturday we had two fun Easter egg hunts! The first was at our church Easter activity and there was a ton of kids! It was fun to watch all of the kids running around like crazy trying the find their different colored eggs. The kids each collected six eggs in different colors. The eggs were empty, but when they took them to the six different rooms in the church they could exchange them for a cup of candy (talk about sugar overload!) and learn about the events that lead up to our Savior's sacrifice. It was such a fun activity and so different from any other Easter activities we have participated in. I absolutely loved the pure expressions of joy on the kid's faces, during both the hunt and as they listened to the stories!

let the hunt begin!

she looks so little next to her basket (which really isn't that big!)

so sweet!

determining which colors she still needed...

our cute kids with their daddy

pure joy!
Later on in the day we got together with some friends at the park by our home and had our own Easter egg hunt. It was such a beautiful day and the kids were so excited (even though they had probably all eaten a good month's worth of sugar earlier in the day!)

They're off!

Daddy helping little Lainey bug!

Rockin' the bunny ears!

Found one!

More eggs! More candy!!!

Fun with friends!
(Boo, Macey, Skye, Delanie, Emma, Corbin, Porter, Leecy, Lainey and Lennon)

Leecy T and Mr. Lennon at the end of the festivities!

We had so much fun and this was just the beginning of our Easter adventures!

Multiple posts

We had so many fun Easter activities this year, thus leading to many, many pictures! So there will be multiple posts to document all of the fun we had! Enjoy!

Standing a little taller

(just after bath time!)

This is pretty much a daily occurance in our home now! Lennon has been pulling himself up in his crib and Lainey has been trying to climb in to join him! Mr. Lennon is getting so big and once he gets standing, he is usually jumping! We had to lower the crib another level this week! Below are a couple of video's of Mr. Lennon that I took a couple of weeks ago. Being in the hospital set my blogging back a bit---he is moving around even better now! Enjoy!

(watch and he will wave hi!)

(going after a toy)

(going after Sully's toy)

(still going after Sully's toy)

Talking

Lainey bug has been talking like crazy lately! She is so darn cute, even with that mischevious twinkle that she always has in her eye! Just today she responded to my call that it was lunch time with "Okay! Just a second, I'll be right there Mommy!" :) She is very friendly and is always introducing herself to people ("I'm Lainey!") and she literally never stops moving! She picks up on so much and I can't help but laugh when I hear her say "Oh my goodness" or even "what the heck?" We pulled up to Walmart the other day to run in for a few things and she looked at Val and said, "Oh no, we're not going to Walmart!" It really is hard to keep a straight face with her sometimes! She befriended the nurses while we were in the hospital and I haven't met anyone who can resist her charm! When she gives you that big grin, infectious laugh and say's "please?" it's impossible to say no!

Soccer star!

Princess Leecy T played in her first soccer game just 3 days after getting out of the hospital. (We pretty much kept her quarantined those three days so that she could go to her game!) She was amazing at the game and even scored 2 goals! I wish I had gotten a picture of her after she scored that first goal. The smile on her face was absolutely priceless. She is so sweet!

Mommy and her soccer star!

Her team is the Shockers!

She is #12. When they called to find out which number she wanted, she first told me 1000. I guess I left that question too open-ended! I informed her that only 2 numbers would fit on her shirt and she settled for 12!

We are so proud of her and all of the hard work she is putting into being such a great little soccer player! It is definitely a lot of fun for us to watch her! Way to go Leecy!

Lessons learned from our most recent hospital stay...

Not all nurses are sweet and caring like Cinderella,

sometimes you get the evil stepmother!

(some even look like Quasi Moto,

without the lovable personality!)

Ambulance rides are scary for children--there are way to many intimidating instruments and medications present....but receiving a stuffed animal from the paramedics definitely helps!

Hospital food in Memphis isn't too bad...it's not your typical hospital food. They serve things here like juicy chicken tenders, pizza, and chocolate mousse pie! It's actually edible and somewhat appealing to kids.

Hospitals make two year olds and babies stir-crazy! Except for maybe the playroom in pediatrics. That they enjoy!

IV's can make three kids cry in surround sound, even though only one is getting the needle put in their hand! However the crying only lasts for a few seconds fortunately and then everyone is happy again.

Wagon rides in the hospital are extra cool......except when you see a corpse being wheeled down the hallway. Whose bright idea was it to place pediatrics and hospice in the same wing of the hospital???

Breathing treatments, although noisy, sometimes offer the most peaceful hospital moments. You don't have a nurse in your room every 5 seconds!

Parking is always inconvenient in the hospital.....unless you get rock star parking, which is highly unlikely. That place is always busy!

Sleeping in the hospital is near impossible. Shocker, I know! Not only is the couch/bed ridiculously hard, but with people coming in and out of the room all night long it's hard to not sleep with one eye open!

Family is AMAZING! This we already knew, but it's always nice to know that they are there for you no matter what. Prayers, gifts, constant support.......amazing. Thanks my cute family!

(cute cookie bouquet from Aunt Katchie and Uncle Jeff)

Friends make life so much easier! Homemade dinners, watching kids, helping with blessings.....thank you all so much!

Sick Leecy T

Our sweet Leecy T is in the hospital after being diagnosed with pnuemonia yesterday. She literally gets sick faster than anyone else I know! Saturday night she was fine, Sunday morning she complained of not feeling very well and had a mild cough, by Monday afternoon she was taken by ambulance from our pediatrician's office to the hospital. I had noticed some wheezing and so I took her into the doctor Monday at 2:45pm. After the doctor checked her they administered two rounds of albuterol through breathing treatments and rechecked her vitals. Her oxygen levels were still not good and so they gave her another breathing treatment with a different medication and some steroids, and kept her on oxygen for a good 45 minutes. They tried to wean her off of the O2 and when they did her oxygen levels again dropped dramatically and that is when the ambulance was called. It was a first for both Aleece and I, as I had never been in an ambulance before! Daddy was kind enough to leave his master's class and follow behind the ambulance with Lainey and Lennon. We spent some time in the pediatric ER and Aleece recieved a chest x-ray and they officially diagnosed her with pnuemonia.

Then she got this IV. She was a very big girl and only cried for a second (although we did have it in surround sound, because Lainey and Lennon chimed in when they heard her cry! Sympathetic crying I guess?!)

Beautiful even when sick!!!

Hospitals are a little boring for two year olds......but they can also make just about anything into a "toy"......curtains, doors, rocking chairs, beds, trash cans, you name it! ;)

Daddy and Lennon chillin' in Leecy's hospital room.

Such sweet kids! And the best of friends!!!

Sisters!

Cute little Lainey bug has been so concerned for her big sister! When we were at the doctors office and Leecy T was recieving her treatments, Lainey would say "I need my Leecy T" and she would sit next to Leecy and help hold her oxygen mask for her! It was so cute! She would say "Breathe Leecy!" just like the doctor had!

Aleece is doing much better today than she was yesterday. She had a rough night--from about 12:30 to 3:30 am we had a nurse in our room about every 10 minutes because her oxygen levels were not good. They have been better today and they are currently trying to wean her off of the oxygen. We are hoping for a better night!

She is on steroids, antibiotics, breathing treatments and who knows what else! Kidding! She is being really good throughout all of this!

We are so grateful for a our loving family and friends! Aleece is sending some big thank you's to Granny and Grampy for the adorable puppy, blanket and balloon, and to her aunts and uncles for all of their love and support. We are lucky to have such a great ward family as well and are grateful for the friends who have helped bring food, offered their services and helped give Leecy a blessing! We are very, very grateful to everyone!

We will keep ya'll posted about how she is doing! Thanks for all of the prayers, love and concern! It makes this whole situation much, much easier!

Spring break

We had such a fun spring break this week! Not only did we get to enjoy having Val home all week, we also got a visit from Granny and Grampy! We took walks, went to the park, enjoyed a soccer practice, saw some good movies, visited, went to the playground, ate good food and reveled in being together! The week went by far too quickly, but we created some awesome memories! We were sad to see Granny and Grampy head home and Val head back to work! We can't wait till we can all be together again!

Mr. Lennon watching Leecy T play soccer

Granny and Lainey enjoying soccer practice

Grampy and Lainey kicking the ball around

busy as ever!

Grampy and Lainey on one of our walks

Lennon enjoying the beautiful weather

Granny, Grampy, Leecy and Lainey bug at the "dog park"

Feeding the horses at Shelby Farms

She has no fear!

Enjoying every moment with Granny and Grampy!

Shelby Farms with Granny

It's official....

I'm a soccer mom! Aleece just started playing soccer and she seems to have a natural talent for it! She has always been our shy girl when we are out and about and we weren't sure how she would handle everyone watching her play, but she did amazing! We are so proud of her!


Holding her own!

She shoots...she scores!!!

Having a blast!

Future soccer pro!!!

Drop and give me 20!

As mentioned in a previous post, Lennon is learning to crawl. He gets around pretty well now and has taken to standing on his hands and feet. He often looks like he is about to start doing pushups!

He is getting so big and he will be 8 months old this week! Where does the time go? We have a couple of pairs of Baby legs (kind of like leg warmers for babies!) and we thought we would document a couple of photos for your viewing pleasure! He is just too cute!

Seriously, how can you resist this sweet face?!

"You say it's your birthday!!!"

Happy 33rd Birthday to my amazing hubby! In honor of his 33rd birthday I thought I would share 33 things that I love about my man (in no particular order)! (Although this list could go on and on!)

1. His compassion.
2. His love for the gospel.
3. His musical talents.
4. His smile.
5. His ability to make me laugh/his sense of humor.
6. His love for our family.
7. His faith.
8. His desire to always be better.
9. How he takes such good care of us.
10. His way with words.
11. His ability to love unconditionally.
12. His randomness.
13. His leadership abilities.
14. His worthiness.
15. His constant desire to learn more.
16. His determination.
17. His excellent work ethic.
18. His love of music.
19. His passion for teaching.
20. His committment to anything he participates in.
21. His being strong enough to overcome less than favorable experiences in his life.
22. His honoring the priesthood.
23. His beautiful blue eyes.
24. His ability to make music come to life.
25. His unconditional love for his children.
26. His quick wit.
27. His being my eternal companion.
28. His selflessness.
29. His ability to sit at a piano and play anything anyone asks of him.
30. His spirituality.
31. His sensitivity.
32. His desire to make our home a heaven on earth.
33. His treating me like a princess.

Happy 33rd Birthday Val!

New blog

As many of you know I consider myself the queen of cheap! I thought I would start a blog posting some of the great freebies out there, so that others can reap the benefits as well! The blog address is http://myfrugalfindings.blogspot.com/ I hope you enjoy it!

Daylight Savings

Apparently daylight savings has not only affected me, but my cute kids as well. As we were driving home from some errands this evening, I informed them that we would be eating dinner when we got home. Well, obviously, because of us losing an hour, it was still light out. This puzzled Aleece and she exclaimed, "WHAT?!" (imagine this being said in as shocked voice as possible), "We're eating dinner during the daytime?! What?! That is so silly." I guess eating dinner when the sun is still shining brightly over head is a little mind boggling for a four year old! She would much rather be outside still enjoying every moment of daylight possible!

This and that...

Sometimes my thoughts get so jumbled and it's hard to remember everything I want to blog about....so I thought I would jot down a few stories that came to mind in a list type format to let ya'll know what's been going on!

----Lainey had just woken up from a nap, and she wasn't in a stellar mood as she was waking up. She had pretty much had it, I guess, with Val and I, and she climbed up into Aleece's lap and just sat there cuddling with her and giving her this tight little squeeze as if Leecy T could protect her from anything! It was so sweet!

----Leecy T was talking to Lennon about teething last night. She said to him, "It's okay. I remember when I was little and I got my first tooth. It really hurt and I cried a little to." Seriously, she is an amazing big sister.

----Aleece loves the opportunity to play on the computer, usually sites like pbs kids or nick junior. Well, she didn't want to wait around for me to type in the website address for her on the computer earlier this week and typed it in herself and I was seriously amazed at how close she got for a four year old! She typed in nicjoonyr.com. I mean phonetically that is pretty darn close! She is so stinking smart! We also had a dr. appt. earlier this week and she loves to write on the chalkboards, so I like to give her a word and see if she can write and spell it. She is getting pretty good! She is really good at sounding out the words and figuring out what letters come next!

----We like to give options in our house, but now I'm beginning to wonder if we do this a little too frequently. If one of the girls asks for something that may not be as nutritious, etc. as we think they should have, say soda, for example, we will say, "how about chocolate milk or water?" Well apparently Lainey now thinks this is a bargaining tool. Because whenever she wants something she now starts out with "how about...." followed by her suggestion. I have to admit, it makes me smile everytime!

----Mr. Lennon now has 2 teeth! His first tooth broke through last week and his second tooth is almost all the way through! The poor kid has had a rough go of it though! It is obvious that it hurts and so we've now purchased stock in infant Tylenol! Kidding! He has had a tough time sleeping, but I love his sweet toothy grin! He is such a handsome boy!

----U2 came out with a new album this past week and Lainey already has some of the music memorized! :) Her favorite song is "Get on your boots". U2 has been the house band on Letterman this week also, and Val, of course, has made sure these episodes are recorded. The girls like to sit and watch it with him the next day. And with out fail, Lainey know's exactly who they are. She always shouts out "Bono!" and sings along!

----We have been working really hard on making sure we are reading our scriptures every night. We have been doing really well and decided we needed to add to it. Music, as you all now, is a staple in our home. If there isn't music playing somewhere, one of the girls is usually singing something. We decided to add the song "Love at Home" to our evening ritual of scripture and prayer time. I love the lyrics to this hymn. They say so perfectly what love at home can offer. It brings a special spirit to our home when this is sung and I hope tthat his is a song our children and our children's children will be singing for many years to come in their homes as well.