April Wrap Up!

It is time again for the cell phone dump.  Here are some of the things we did in April.

London tried out the swing.  At 3 months old, she wasn't into it.

 Harper was into it enough for the both of them.

 Harper continues to love the park.

 And London experiences total relaxation.

 Harper started to climb the big kid toys, and dad was close by to catch her if she fell.

 London was a champ during tummy time... as long as she had a singing, dancing and flashing toy in front of her.

 London also tried out the little Horse.  Her face is saying "Mom, I'm still little remember?!"

 Now she is saying "This is more like it!"

April was a super super fun month of adventures.  Our girls just keep getting cuter and cuter!

Utah Trip for a Farewell

Living close to utah is nice.  We have a lot of family and friends there so we can visit often.  But this time we went for a bitter sweet reason.  It was to say farewell to some of our favorite friends.  Kelly and Arvid Carlson.  We became close with them while living in Budapest.  They are two of the most wonderful people we know. It was a farewell because they were leaving to serve a mission at the BYU Jerusalem Center.

Last time we visited them was in 2011 and we looked like this.

How things can change!  A mere 4 years later and we are a little older and have added a few to the family.  The lighting was not as kind to us.

 I always worry that it might be weird after so much time but it was like putting on your favorite pair of jeans.  It was fun visiting, catching up, and just being with people who have such a wonderful outlook and handle on life.  Only days before leaving the Carlsons were called to Salt Lake and asked to re-open the the Liberia Mission as a mission president!  They won't leave until July but have a lot more to prep for now!

We always love visiting my Aunt Pattie and Uncle Bob but Pattie was out of town. We missed her dearly but we got to meet this little guy!  Carter Evans.

 He is Taylor and Sam's little guy and just SO adorable.  I can tell he is spirited and I bet he and London will be friends soon enough.  He isn't super sold on what she is quite yet...

It was such a fun and relaxing trip.  The car ride was a little dicey but we made it. I am so grateful to have such amazing family and friends.  We still missed checking in with a lot of family and other close friends so we will be making another trip shortly!

EASTER!

Am I the only one who forgets about Holidays other than Christmas?  The day before Easter Brent and I were scrambling. We are so grateful for a time to remember the Savior but since we try to do that daily the official holiday usually slips my mind.  We love being able to go to church and remember what he has done for us.  With General Conference happening on Easter we got to listen to all the Prophets and Apostles great words of wisdom... We also made sure the Easter Bunny made and appearance.

I have a feeling next Christmas is going to be REALLY REALLY exciting

One of Harper's favorite gifts was the ball we got for a dollar on a wimb.

She also loved her stretchy lizard. Is anyone noticing the potty?  She was super interested in the toilet for a few weeks so we thought this would be good but she couldn't care less.

She did love her bunny ears!

London loved her new binkis and ducky bath!

Harper loved her ears and wore then most of the morning.

After a long morning of eating and opening presents she just had to relax in her sisters swing!

Later that day we had Toren, Audrey, Austin and Jack Jack come over to help us celebrate.  I made up some fun games to make sure Austin was entertained.  Here he is finding paper egg halves I hid around the house.  It took all 6 of us to find them all!

After a delicious dinner it was time for an Easter egg hunt!  We weren't sure if Harper would get it but she did!

Austin was so sweet and he stayed out of Harpers way while he went and gather 7/8 of the eggs.  I only put out about 65!

Harper really really enjoyed it.

Even with the really difficult ones to find.

She then got bored and just wanted to chill in her car and look at her loot.

The eggs were plastic and didn't take long for Harper to figure out there was candy inside.

After the egg hunt it was time to color some eggs.  I know Austin could handle a whole lot more but this kid is just the best and really enjoys just about anything you throw at him.

Although Austin was a little old for this, pushing a button made Harpers day!  She was on a candy high of monumental proportions. 

Aunt Audrey checking out the action.

Look at the fun these cousins have together.  Soon this will be Jack Jack and London!

The slinky was Austins prize for finding all the egg halves and Harper wasn't ready to let him enjoy it in peace.

Look at that face?  Holidays are quickly becoming her favorite.

Easter was so much fun.  We LOVE having family close to celebrate such wonderful holidays together!

Random March Fun!

Although I like to think I do a decent job documenting our lives, most of the time I don't have the camera handy so our phones take the pictures.  I've decided that although these photos don't tell a story they still deserve a place in the world of blogging.

Mom and daughter getting ready for church

 This was probably the best day of Harpers life. She was so upset that I wouldn't let her push London around.

 This is most nights.  Brent would love to cuddle one of the girls but Harper won't have it.

 But she will play with dad at the park nonstop.

 This girl LOVES LOVES shoes

 She is growing to fast and has become so so expressive.

 This is most mornings.  I love these girls.

 Along with this.  About twenty seconds later, Harper has taking to smacking London.

 My hoes, Brent shoes... it doesn't matter as long as they are shoes.

 They are going to be best friends.

I am so glad that we have phones and tablets that take these candid photos.  It really makes your realize how lucky I am day to day.

Date Night: Dinner and High Roller

One of the hardest parts of having a new baby is having my schedule interrupted.  I love the excitement, the new addition and the visitors but once all that has died down I am ready to get back to life.  One of my favorite activities that was on hold was date night.  We are pretty good about getting out together at least twice a month, so after a two month dry spell it was time! 

Since London is still little, we let her tag a long to ride the High Roller on the Strip.

The High Roller is attached to the Linq, which is a pretty cool outdoor shopping area. After an AMAZING dinner at Guy Feriers Burger Restuarant I needed a little sweet treat.

We usually do date night on a week night.  It breaks up the week and then we still have the weekend to spend as a family.  The other nice thing about doing it on a week night is the Strip is EMPTY!  After a 3 minute wait we boarded out pod.

The pods never stopped moving so you had to board as its rotation continued.

We had some pretty amazing views.  Brent and I have also been on the London Eye, which is another huge ferris wheel in London.  We debated which one we would like better.  The lights from the strip were absolutely amazing so I think that is why it won for Brent.

London was pretty mesmerized by the lights.

This is near the top/

Brent had to edit the photo's quite a bit so that we can even be seen.  He kept trying to figure out how to get the windows to open.  I am pretty sure that they don't even make it possible when you are 500 feet off the ground.

As we approached the top the Bellagio fountain show began.

It was pretty cool to watch it all lit up.

Brent with his littlest bear.

It was a little weird being out for the first time in two months but I am so glad we did, and that we had such a fun activity to do together.  Let the date nights commence!