Pleasantly Surprised!

Natalie was invited to a birthday party at the local Aquarium. I have been curious about this strange aquarium out in the middle of the desert. (o: We have been used to the beautiful Newport aquarium right by the ocean and the Hatfield Marine Science Center. I wondered how a Utah aquarium could hold up. Because it was Priesthood session night for spring General Conference, I asked Isabella's mom (Isabella was the birthday girl) if she would mind me bringing the other two girls and paying for ourselves and keeping our distance so as not to disrupt the party. It sounded like a fun outing for all of us while daddy attended his meeting. (With his dad and brother this time! A fun perk to being in Utah!) Isabella's mom was so sweet and insisted we all join the party as they had lots of extra tickets. As we parked in the parking lot of the aquarium - which is in a building that used to be an old Zurchers craft store if I remember right, I was not expecting anything that exciting. But I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised! It was a very nice aquarium and seemed much bigger than I would have guessed. I have always been fascinated by marine life and still am. I enjoyed every minute of our time there. They really had some neat displays including a little petting area where the kids could pet rays. We saw all kinds of unusual creatures and fun displays.

Natalie and Angela hiding in a cave with Jane and Audrey.

Sarah snuggling with a starfish.

I LOVED the jellyfish room. They are such beautiful creatures.

I have to say, I was very surprised how much I enjoyed the aquarium and even want to go back. The girls and I decided we have to bring daddy to see it. It sounds like they will continue to expand, which is exciting to me. I felt so at home near all the ocean life. It was like a little piece of Oregon to me. I sure miss being close to the beautiful ocean.

After our birthday adventure, we met up with my mom, Chrissy and Tina and her kiddos for dinner at a fun bakery. We had a girls night while the men were gone. In Utah it is a little trickier doing this because there are so many other ladies with the same idea! There were several other groups of women doing the same thing. After a fun dinner, we headed to grandma's for our traditional painting of our nails. It was fun to include cousins and aunt Chrissy in this tradition we've always had when daddy went to the Priesthood session.

Later, we somehow ended up watching silly commercials on YouTube and laughing our heads off. Good times.

More Fooling Around

Once again, a favorite resource, my Family Fun magazines, inspired this one. I always wanted to do it. I think it turned out pretty cute! Chocoloate Rice Krispie meatloaf and candy peas and carrots. (Those flavored Tootsie rolls did the trick.)

Angela was my little accomplist and helped make the veggies. She was so excited to trick the girls when it was time for snack!

Funny random story. Kassee - Sarah's friend on the left - ate the green peas and they actually pulled out one of her mollars that had been loose! It was so funny. The darn mollar had been bugging Kassee for days, so she was very grateful that she ate her peas that afternoon!

Jacqueline and natalie liked their tricky food!

April Fools Fun

This is a simple enough joke to play, but the girls got a kick out of it. When I made their lunches for them the morning of April Fool's I mixed up what was in the packaging. So in the granola bar package they found teddy grahams. In their chips, they found a different flavor than it was labeled.

Then you sneak in a little message and glue the packaging back together! (O:

Spring Tease

At the end of March, we got a little tease of good weather. I always fall for it! (O: At least we took advantage of it! Ang was having a playdate with Abbi and I decided we should go on a little bike ride to a nearby park. We had a blast and I wore the girls out riding a "long ways". I felt so bad when it turned out both the girls got sunburned. I never learn. Every year I forget the first sunny, warm day to sunblock the girls.

I "Heart" my Oregon friends!

Since we moved here almost six months ago (wow!), we have been so lucky to have visits from wonderful friends. The good thing about moving to Utah is that a lot of people come here to visit family or to pass through. I can't wait to see more of you! And hope to get some repeat visits as well. (Lots of hint dropping here!) Our first Oregon friend came just before Christmas. I was so thrilled to hear from Kelly and find a time that she could come. (Though, I missed Tylin )o: her daughter, who was one of my YW.) We love Kelly - the girls were almost as excited as I was that she was stopping by. It was fun to take her on the official new house tour, but we got side-tracked a lot just talking. I loved hearing about the ward and how everyone was doing. It was weird saying goodbye and not seeing her just walk home. (We lived just around the corner from each other.) It was a quick visit, but it was so great to hang out for a little bit and catch up. It felt so comfortable and easy having an old friend to talk to. Thanks so much for coming Kelly! Love ya lots! Shortly after Christmas, we got to see the Halls! Natalie was so excited to see Lydia. These were our wonderful "backyard" neighbors and good friends. Natalie and Lydia were best buds and all our kids got along so well. It is such a weird feeling not having them right behind us. I miss Shannan's incredible pies she used to pass over the fence to us. How my stomach aches for those pies! (o: It was so fun to hang out and show the house and try to talk them into buying the house behind us here. (o: We got to go out to lunch all together and had such a fun time. We laughed a lot and talked about getting together again in the summer. It was so nice to have Shannan and Matt and the kids visit. We miss them lots! Cute Shannan - It felt just like "old times" hanging out again! These two made plans for a sleepover in the summer! In February I got a text from Kaitlyn that she was going to be in our neck of the woods over President's Day weekend. Yahoo! Monday night she and Alan (her dad) came over after a day of exploring the BYU campus. Again, the girls were so excited (they loved my young women) - we had a fantastical time talking, eating homemade ice cream. Love ya Katie!! I love hanging out with you! (Man, this post is making me homesick . . . ) And just last week we were so excited to see Tina and Tori! Angela has had a picture of Tori on her dresser in a cute "Friends" frame that Tori gave her before we left. Whenever my girls have a "sleepover" on the weekends, Angela brings her pillow, her blanket, a doll and the picture of her and Tori. (o: They had fun playing just like old times, while Tina and I talked. A tradition that Tina and I had through every one of our kids. I still remember hanging out while Sarah and Taylor crawled around on our living room floors. Tina always had the best advice, listening ear and fun ideas. I can't believe how fast time goes by. Look how color coordinated we are! I miss you tons Tina! Thanks soooo much for coming! You're the best!

And just recently, I finally got to visit Kirstin, who happens to be a fellow Utahn (for now). I never would have guessed that when she and Jeff came to get an MBA at BYU that we would be following them here a year later. I'm so glad our paths crossed before they graduate and head to California. The girls and I headed down to Provo on one of their days off at school and we spent an afternoon with Kirstin and Lia, who has grown up so much!

I loved getting to see Kirstin's home and talk about her new adventures coming up. We always have the best talks and Kirstin always makes me want to be a better person. (o: She is awesome. It was a wonderful Friday afternoon together!

My amazing Oregon friends will always be near and dear to my heart. They taught me so much and took such good care of my little family during the decade we spent far away from our extended family. They were our surrogate extended family and mean the world to us - and ALWAYS will. Hugs and Kisses to all you Oregonians reading this post. Love you all - and I'm working on catching up on the blog from January so you can see what we've been up to!