Finally Spring!

Well, spring is finally here, supposedly. Even though we've had a few late snow storms, around here we're getting ready for the warm weather.
We got Thysie a swing because he couldn't quite stay on the others, and I have a feeling we will be spending A LOT of time outside the next six months. We also are equipped with kites, if you look at Mel in the background. (You've got to love a 3 1/2 year old's taste in outfits!)
Here is one of the few signs that spring really is here. We love all our tulips!!! These were the first to bloom. This pic was last Saturday, but today almost the whole bed is in bloom!

Easter

We had a great Easter. Saturday we went to Opa Ray's for his annual Easter egg hunt, then Sunday we had a hunt and Grandma and Grandpa Jorgensen's with all the cousins. We colored eggs at the crack of dawn on Saturday because Anna couldn't wait, and Thys thought the colors looked like great drinks. He is not at a particularly good age for that part of Easter, but he loved the Easter egg hunts. He figured out very quickly what was inside the eggs, and he only needed to find one before he ripped th e egg open to find the candy. Then he realized he only had a few eggs after he'd eaten the candy and decided to "borrow" some candy from the other kids. I don't think they missed it! Everyone had plenty. Easter egg hunt at G & G's

Our cute Annie in her Easter dress.

Again, the Easter clothes, but how do you get a good picture with an 18-month old!?!?!!

Thys's first Easter egg hunt at Opa Ray's

Annie at Opa Ray's

Mel's Big Day

This wasn't on Mel's birthday, but I love this picture. You can see how much Anna loves her Papa. She was waiting for him to talk to his parents, I think, and she fell alseep. Papa just let her sleep there for a while.
I'm running a bit behind, but here is Mel on his birthday with his new office chair (which you can't see because he is sitting in it, but how interesting is an office chair to look at?!?!) and his new Crocs, which are on Anna's feet. You can also see his fancy truffle cake he loves that I really messed up on, but it tasted good anyway. So what if the filling and the outside ganache mixed together?!!?

Happy Birthday, Mel!

Newborn Mellie
One-year-old Mel (on the left) with his cousin's child? I'm not sure. It is one of my favorites!!
Three-year-old Mel. Cute kid!!!
Twelve-year old Mel
This picture is of Mel's sixth birthday party, I think. It is one of the slides he's been scanning, and it was cracked--hence the line down the middle.

I'm a bit late, but still would like to share some of Mel's good years with you! We are sure grateful for such a good husband and father. He is always happy and loves to spend time with us. He works hard and takes good care of us. We love you!!

Sunny St. George

The first stop on our long weekend was St. George. We stopped at the temple, then we let the kids play at the park. I think it was 74 degrees. The kids had a blast, then we ate at Pizza Factory and headed to Zions. One of the sisters at the visitor's center insisted on taking our picture with the Christus. Bless her heart.
Annie was the best. She wanted to run barefoot in the grass, then she laid down on the grass to watch the clouds. She knows how to enjoy the warmth! (Is that inappropriate on temple grounds?!?!?)

The "Dream" Weekend

A few weeks ago I decided I really wanted to get out of town, and Mel agreed, especially since he could drive the new car. I planned the perfect weekend in sunny, clean-aired southern Utah. I thought the kids would love to hike, play in the sun, and Mel and I could catch up on sleep and reading while the kids napped and slept (in a hotel room, kids' bedtime is everyone's bedtime).
So here we are--the happy family on the Emerald Pools trail.
Here is Annie having fun playing in the mud with her "walking stick."
We had a nice hotel room that was decorated in the log-pole pine furniture, and we had a deck that looked out at the big red rocks (as Anna called them). Annie took the picture of Thys. They are both out of the deck.

The Real Deal

So after a long night of coughing and crying because Thys came down with a cold, we went to breakfast. We just got our food, and Thys started coughing and threw up all over the place. Then we finally go rounded up and cleaned up and went to Emerald Pools. Anna did great for a while, but her idea of "hiking" was "climbing" (as seen above). Her feet were "asleep" (read tired) before we ever made it to the lower pool and waterfall, and she wanted to be carried. Poor Thys was also tired, as you can see below. We did make it to the lower pool, but we did a little shifting of Thys to my back and Anna to Mel's neck so we could make it. As you can see, later in the afternoon, we did find a place for Anna to "hike" her way.
We took Thys back to the hotel to sleep, but of course Anna didn't want to--or couldn't--fall asleep. That is, until we put her in the car to go see the tunnel after Thys woke up. Well, here's how she saw it the first time through. Luckily on the way back, she did wake up before we got to the tunnel.

This is Anna's picture of her favorite (okay, I'm kidding a little, I hope) thing from the trip. Never-ending DVD's.

We really did have a good time; however, I did learn a lesson (as if I didn't already know, but I guess I'm an optimist--or don't travel enough with the kids): Things never go as planned, and kids will be kids!