Hoppy Easter

Happy Easter!  Not only did we have a great week leading up to the Easter weekend talking about Jesus and His life, but we also had visitors over the weekend!  Oriah came down with her boys, and brought my mom with her!  So that was a lot of fun, but we'll get into the details of what we did later.  After church on Sunday my mom took a picture of us in our Easter clothes.

Heading to the backyard again, work continues on the garden.  Digging up grass is not the simplest of tasks.  That said, our grass doesn't go very deep, so it's also not the worst grass rip up I've ever done either.  Brooke likes to help out, and Grayson's doing his best.

There's the garden layout plan.  The tools are permanent fixtures now.

Somehow we "rediscovered" piggy back rides this past week.  We never really do them, but Winry's been loving them recently.  This is the renaissance happening in the backyard.

Grayson and Brooke went to lunch with Winry on Friday.  Grayson had some... interesting clothing choices.  You might think the buff over his shirt is the main topic here, but my attention was drawn to those lovely tinker bell shoes.

Friday night we had a little fun with my VR headset.  I forgot to mention this story.  That's the problem with things you don't take pictures of, it's like they never happened...  Anyway, I went to an eye doctor for double vision and they did a bunch of testing, etc.  I haven't started therapy yet, but I asked about VR for helping, and they said they actually use VR headsets for a lot of things, and have apps I can use at home to help too, so now I have a Quest 3.  I haven't done much of it, until Jonathan got here and was very excited about it.  We got Grandma involved as well, and it looks like she's having a good time.

On Saturday we went out to see the bluebonnets while everyone was here.  We also tried to go the park, but it was fenced off, so we had to try another one.

While walking back to the car, Grayson wanted to walk on the parking stops, as he loves doing, and asked Grandma for a hand to help him along!  Buddies through and through.  I know Grayson was really loving their time together, and I also know a Grandma can't not love spending time with her grandkids!

After the park we did the only thing that makes sense, went for ice cream!  I mean, technically frozen custard, but it was SO good!  I love frozen custard, and writing about this, I'm feeling like it's time to go back!  Grayson loved it so much he did a little ice cream boogey!

Speaking of boogey.  I went to check on Winry after she'd been in bed for a bit, and when I came in she had tissues in her nose!  I was worried she had a bloody nose, but she said it was just runny.  Honestly, in hind site I'm just glad she took care of it all on her own.

On Saturday there was a big stake activity for all the girls 8 and up.  Monica and Brooke were a little late because of Brooke's volleyball game, but were there from about 9-3.  They had a good time and the highlight was Brooke being able to perform in 2 musical numbers and Monica 1. The activity included an almost 3 mile walk, but they didn't even get too tired.

Sunday morning we made Easter pancakes!  We had eggs and bunnies and caterpillars and footballs and even a Texas!  Many a request was made, and everyone seemed to enjoy it.

There was even an empty tomb request by Oriah.  A really good idea that turned out pretty well I think.  We also had an Easter egg hunt in the morning.  We do have a video, but not really a great picture of it.

At church ALL the kids got up to sing!  What!?!  Yup, Grayson sings with primary now.  He's on the left side of the pulpit, the girls are on the far right of the image.

Our visitors took off for home after church, and we were sad to see them go.  We had a lot of fun together and I'm really glad they came!  We spent quite a bit of our afternoon playing with Grayson's hot wheels track.  There's a picture in the manual of a jump you can get, and he's really wanted a jump lately, so we launched them into an Easter basket!

And what a better way to end the week than with Jelly, stretched out on the back of the couch and relaxed!  I think we could all learn a lesson about finding joy in the simpler things.  Thanks Jelly.

And that rounds out our weekly activities.  With it being Easter it seems an appropriate moment to bear my testimony of the Savior, and of his resurrection.  I am so grateful for the sacrifice He made for our sins.  I am so grateful that we can repent, improve, and ultimately progress.  I am grateful for the resurrection and that we we will all be able to live again.  I know that Jesus Christ lives.  In the name of Jesus Christ, amen.
 

Calming Back Down

After our exciting week of vacation, it was time to get back to life as usual.  That's not to say the week was boring by any means, sometimes you just need a more relaxed week at home.  Monica made a trip to Goodwill this week, and Grayson was pretty excited to see a car his size!  They didn't get it, but it reminded me that when I was a kid I always super wanted a Power Wheel car, but I never actually told anyone because I thought they were just way too expensive.  I never got one, but maybe Grayson will?...  No clue if it's still even there though.

The weather was nice this past week and Monica and the kids spent quite a bit of time in the backyard.  You can see the hose which is the line to tear up grass for a garden.  The kids love tearing up grass, because you find lots of rolly pollies!

Jelly is always on the hunt for the most comfortable bed possible.  This week that was Grayson's folded laundry.  Not like we were doing anything with it...  Speaking of Jelly, we recently got out a lion stuffed animal that's about the same size as Jelly, and I think sometimes she gets a little nervous about it.  I played with her with it once and she seemed a bit nervous approaching it.

Monica took the kids to the park for gym.  It looks like they had a lot of fun together, and Grayson just looks SOO happy swinging!

Winry made a habitat for her turtle toy she picked up on Louisiana.  Looks like a pretty sweet place to live.

This picture just tells it's own story.  It's a good think the Target list was full of soft items, or else I don't think Grayson's bed would have ended up very comfortable!

On Saturday our ward had their Easter activity with an Easter egg hunt.  Brooke was a little late because of her volleyball game, but they all found a fair number of eggs, and we all had a great time.

We took off from the activity right over to a local high school for the district art show.  Winry had a picture selected!  Here she is with her wonderful art!  Pretty cool.

And that's a wrap.  I hope everyone is doing well.
 

Spring Break in Louisiana

Vacay Y'all!!  We headed over to New Orleans for spring break this year and had a great time.  Even better we headed off with the Ellers.  We had a lot of fun together, but also split our separate ways when we had different things we wanted to do.  I think one of the best parts was that when the kids needed some down time around the hotel they had a LOT more fun having friends around (and things were much more peaceful for Monica and me)!  Here's a picture of us all in downtown listening to some sweet sweet jazz. 

Our first day we went to see downtown.  We spent most of the time wandering and finding all sorts of fun things.  Here's the group all together as we first set off.

There was a nice place to look out over the river and relax.  There was a public transit trolley that came right next to this, and a church just across the street.  Also, super cool bridge out yonder!

We headed over to the church next and looked around inside for a little.  I don't know if our kids have been inside a cathedral before.  Everyone (even Grayson) did a good job being quiet and respectful, phew!

There was some grumbling for a snack when we left the church, so we went on the hunt for beignets.  We came to Cafe Du Monde and there was a super long line. Fortunately Winry needed to go to the bathroom so Monica took her inside to find one and discovered the line outside was just for to go orders and we actually could be seated right away! So we ended up getting in real quick.

The key to a good beignet is equal parts powdered sugar on top and pastry.  Yes, they were very tasty, and they were pretty messy too.  I'm actually surprised Grayson wasn't more coated in the end, but then again, he also never drips his ice cream.  The kid is a dessert pro.

After the beignets, we wandered the town and saw a bunch of cool buildings.  We also saw a puppeteer that was painting with their puppet.  We also found some street performers playing jazz music and stopped for a bit to dance.  My eyes were going insane (double vision) and I had a pretty bad headache at this point, so a lot of the city exploring is a blur to me, but if I missed anything I hope Monica will add it here.  Oh, we stopped in a gift shop to get quarters for penny pressing, and went to a market as well.

At the end of our city walking we found ourselves back on those steps, figuring out lunch plans.  While there, we also saw a super sweet paddle steam boat.  After some online poking once I saw it, it turns out it's one of a few that still operate in the US, so personally I think it's too bad we didn't think of this before seeing it as it would have been a really fun place to have lunch. We ended up having lunch back at a restaurant near our hotel in Slidell rather than in New Orleans. But we got some delicious Cajun food. Monica especially loved the jambalaya pasta and Winry loved the crab claws!

On our way back to the hotel we went the wrong way on the fork on an off ramp and ended up in Mississippi.  Yup, we had to go to the next state over to turn around.  It was only 6 minutes.  We also drove by an apollo rocket.  Sadly, that place was closed until Thursday, so we didn't get to see it up close.

When we made it to the hotel, the girls really wanted to go swimming, so we let them hop in the pool for a little while before bed. But the water was very cold!

Grayson still enjoys having his own "room."  Here he is sleeping in the closet.

On Tuesday we went for a hike.  There were a few places were the trail was flooded a bit, but there were logs to help us not have to walk through the mud, and I think everyone made it through (kind of) clean.

Here's a cool tree we saw.  There were a bunch with spanish moss hanging all over off of them.  We walked through a park that had a bunch which looked super cool, but I picked this picture because we're all in it.

After our hike, we hopped in the car and drove to Mississippi, on purpose this time, to go to the beach.  We had a fun time playing in the sand.  I don't think anyone other than Winry went in the water much, just the occasional dip of the toes, etc.  Grayson has been loving a Clifford book where they go to the beach and one of the dogs builds a sand castle, so we built our own.

Grayson had a lot of fun in the sand, and definitely got comfortable in it by the end...like, really comfortable.

The beach we went to was in Biloxi.  It wasn't the closest, but it did have the most giant shark head stores.

And the kids got eaten alive!  Thanks Roadside America for helping us find these gems.

And of course, a giant alligator head too!  We went into this store as well and did some souvenir searching.  Grayson got a puka shell necklace, and Grayson and Winry got some VERY breakable turtles that I had to glue back together as soon as we got home.

On our way back to the hotel we stopped at this umbrella street!  Monica's always wanted to go to the one in Spain, but this one filled in nicely in the mean time. They look more spread out in this picture than they actually did in person.

Here's a panorama in the middle of the street.

We again went to the pool that evening, and the Ellers joined us as well.  I ran over to a grocery store next door and grabbed some ice cream and cones, and we all shared a treat together, which was fun.

Wednesday  morning Grayson was very focused on hygiene and efficiency and went down all 4 flights of stairs to breakfast like a penguin.

We had a little time in the morning before we needed to head to our main activity for the day, so we ran over to this giant cat fish.  It might not have whiskers any more, but we all still did.

And then we went to a park so the kids could play on the playground.  It was a little wet, but we had towels.  That said, the kids didn't do much playing.  Like most things in Slidell it was next to water/swamp.

We got bagels for lunch, and then went to an alligator ranch!  This is actually a nile crocodile behind the girls that they had there.  This guy was MUCH meaner than an alligator, and it was pretty obvious when you saw it in this tank with an alligator next to it.  We got to walk through a "growing pen" or whatever they called it, and fed the alligators marshmallows!  Essentially they'll just snap at anything they see move by their faces.

And then at the end we got to hold alligators!  They were all babies, thankfully, and their mouths were taped shut.  Turns out the proper way to hold them is by their tail and throat, because their ribs are so small/fragile that you'll likely break them holding them by their stomachs.  Everyone was able to catch some while we were there.

Here's Brooke wrestling a gator.  At this point she was still winning the fight.

It was a lot of fun, and a really cool experience.

We drove to Baton Rouge from the alligator ranch, and the hotel happened to have soup and salad that night, so we just ate there.  I think it was a good call, as the kids were all pretty tired by this point.  So instead of finding a restaurant and a thing to do we just had a relaxing night at the hotel.

When we got in our room, Grayson was not interested in peeing in the toilet, so Monica let him stand in the tub and pee, and then rinsed it out.  Later, while it was just Grayson and me, he ran back to the bathroom and climbed into the tub to go potty again... though not quite pee this time...  Fortunately our room had two bathrooms this night, so we didn't have to use this tub.

It ended up being just a little more to get a 2 bedroom room, so we took the opportunity.  The girls had a room with a double queen, and Monica and I had a king bed.  This means that Grayson finally got a real bed... er... a couch bed if that's real.  He actually did a good job staying on the bed and not wandering the room when he was supposed to go to bed.

Thursday we drove home.  Nothing really eventful happened, but it was pi day, so I ran to the store and bought a piece of pie in the evening.

We didn't make it home in time to make a pie on Thursday... and Friday ended up being pretty crazy and we baked it but didn't have time for it to cool... so Saturday we all had pie!  Yay pi day!

Sunday was St. Patrick's day, and the girls prepared a leprechaun trap.  They didn't quite catch the bugger, but they got rewarded with chocolate coins for their effort.

We had shamrock waffles for breakfast. Yum.

What a fantastic week.  There were definitely hard moments, but even when I think back to Monday when I was having a rough time with my head, it was still a super fun vacation.  I'm glad we went and were able to find so many fun things to do!  Thanks so much Monica for all the planning!