Easter Sunday!!

We had a really nice Easter Sunday. The kids had fun searching for their baskets and then eating lots of chocolate. We got them all dressed up for church. I am glad that it was warm enough to enjoy being outside.

Halle looked so cute all dressed up. I blow dried her hair straight and then curled the ends. It is amazing how much longer it is when I straighten it.

I thought this picture of the boys was really cute. It is too bad that Parker has his eyes closed.

Here is a picture of all the kids ready for the annual Easter egg hunt. We had the Easter egg hunt at the park by my Dad's house. We were really glad that it wasn't raining.

Mckenna reaching the eggs high up on the rocks where no one else could.

This was Hayden's first year experiencing the egg hunt. I think he enjoyed eating the chocolate more than the hunt. We let him eat the candy for about 20 minutes and then put his bucket away. He was not happy about that. He would keep coming up to us and whining for "treat".

Parker making a mad dash for the Easter eggs. He had the fullest basket of all the kids.

We drove up to Midway to see the Foster side of the family. The kids had fun seeing their cousins. They had fun playing the piano with Grandpa Ken. We had a really nice day. It was great to spend it with family.

Spring break in Escalante!!

We drove to Escalante during the kids spring break. We always enjoy camping at this time of year where it is not so hot during the day. We camped at a place called calf creek. This was the view from our campsite. We were surrounded by red rock canyons and had a river nearby.

Our neighbor used to live in Escalante and told us some cool sites to go see. We hiked to see the hundred hands pictograph. The Fremont Indians created these hand prints hundreds of years ago.

We came across this cool petroglyph as we hiked along. It is sad to see that someone tried to carve it out of the rock. The kids really enjoyed looking for the hidden pictures.

The next day we stopped to see the devils garden. We climbed the hoodos to see the great views. I liked this one of Kev and the boys.

Here is another picture that I took from the ground looking up through an arch.

Mckenna had a great time climbing around, up and through the rock formations.

We drove the hole in the rock road to see the sites that the pioneers stopped at during their trek. We stopped at dance hall rock to have lunch. We just ate right out of the cooler in the back of our car. We were all enjoying strawberries in this picture.

Hayden woke up from a nap and wanted to run around. He was so happy to be out of his carseat for awhile. You can see dance hall rock right behind him.

We stopped to read this monument on the side of the road. It is a memorial for the people who were killed in a truck rollover. They were on a scouting activity. My Uncle Wayne's brother Lynn was killed in this accident. He was fifteen years old.

We drove about three hours to see the hole in the rock site. Kev and I both read the book "the undaunted" by Gerald Lund. We learned so much about these pioneers. We wanted to see the place that they took their wagons down. It is amazing when you think that the pioneers made a road and took their wagons down such a steep incline.

We started to climb down the hole with our four kids. You can climb down the hole to reach Lake Powell at the bottom. We got about halfway down and realized it would take a lot of time and energy trying to get all four kids back up.

So we decided the responsible thing would be to turn around. Mckenna was very disappointed that we didn't make it all they way to the lake. Here is a picture of Kev and Hayden hiking back up to the top.

Parker and Mckenna enjoying the view of Lake Powell from up top. It made Kev really homesick for Lake Powell. He said the next time we come to hole in the rock we are coming across Lake Powell by boat and then hiking up to the top.

We did our big hike the next day to lower calf creek falls. The trailhead starts right above our campsite. It was three miles there and another three back. It was quite the hike. Mckenna and Parker did great. Halle had a hard time and whined most of the way back. We were proud that we did it and got to cool off by the falls.

The water from the falls was ice cold. Mckenna was the only one brave enough to roll up her pants and play in it.

We were sunburned and exhausted by the time we got back to camp. We spent the rest of the day just relaxing. The kids loved playing on this bridge right by our campsite. They found plenty of rocks and sticks to through into the river.

We tried a new dutch oven recipe for chicken pot pie. Mckenna and Kev were eyeing the food. It turned out really good. The kids ate it up veggies and all. We will be making this one again.

The next day we drove to Capitol reef. We hiked to hickman bridge. It was a shorter hike and we got there earlier in the day so it wasn't too hot.

We sat under the bridge and had a snack. Hayden was giving Kenna kisses in this picture. He was such a happy little guy the whole trip. We are glad that he still likes hiking around in the backpack.

Our last stop was to Goblin valley. It is natures giant playground for kids. We got there and they were off.

It was like playing hide and seek with all three kids. They were running from rock to rock and hiding from us. It was a great way to get all their energy out before the long ride home. We had a great time. I was really glad to come home and have a shower. Five days of camping really made me grateful for the comforts of home!

The year of the big 30!!

One of my best friends Kathleen turned 30 on Friday! We went to lunch at Maglebys to celebrate. I had never been to the one in Springville. It was right on main street. The building had vaulted ceilings and was decorated classy. The food was delicious! I had the barbecue beef special and had plenty of food. They brought out a big piece of chocolate cake with raspberry sauce. I am so glad to have such a beautiful friend.

We got together with a bunch of our friends at Danielle's house later on. Our friend Liz was in town for conference. It was really great to see everyone and catch up. It was such a nice day and it really felt like spring. It was great being outside in 70 degree weather. It has been so much fun celebrating all our 30th birthdays together. We still have two more to go!