Easter 2017

Isaac and Amber invited us to take part in their annual Easter Egg hunt. We've never been able to attend before but have heard great things about it. And when we showed up (late, unfortunately) we were in for a real treat! Amber and her family sure know how to put on a good time! There was a hunt for the little kids, and then areas designated for each family to search on their own. There was also egg dying inside and because Uncle Tophe's birthday was coming up, Amber and Isaac hid special eggs across the street and had the kids help him find them after the other eggs had been found. Inside each egg was a trait or characteristic that we family members admire about Uncle Tophe. Amber gathered that information and then filled 30 eggs with 30 things we love about Tophe for his 30th birthday.

Grandpa Blackhurst helped us out because he'd gotten to hide most of our eggs. And it was a good thing he did! The girls were amazing seekers, but we probably would have missed a few without Grandpa's help. Grandma Blackhurst helped the girls dye some eggs. I had no idea they'd enjoy that so much! Looks like I need to step up my game next year.

Then on Sunday the girls woke up to their Easter baskets. They were sweet and so grateful. They're excited to use their watering cans to help Dad out in the yard. Something they love to do in the Spring. And because it was Stake Conference they took their new coloring books and crayons with them to church.

We also captured some great pictures of these gorgeous girls in their Spring dresses from Grandma Frazier. It was fun watching them pose, but seeing Mia's face light up when we asked her to say, "chocolate!" or "candy!" was my favorite. That girl and her 16 sweet teeth!

This year was a little different. I've been missing Grandpa Andrus a lot since his passing (it hits me really hard at times) but it's also made this Easter a little more special because even though I know that we'll see our loved ones who have passed on again, I really needed that assurance this year. I know that I'll see Grandpa again. And this is because I know that our Savior lives and because He lives and conquered death we can all live again too. I can't imagine what life would be like without this knowledge. I love these ladies and love knowing that we can be a forever family because of Him.

35, happy birthday to me!

Birthdays are lot of fun when they're not yours. And especially when they're you're kids. I don't think about my birthday a whole a lot these days, but thanks to my sweet hubby and thoughtful girls, this years was awesome!

I made the girls pancakes for breakfast and then dropped them off at our neighbors (they also have three adorable girls and they line up pretty well with our girls) while I went on an eight mile run. So nice! The weather was beautiful, the girls were in good hands and I just enjoyed myself.

Lydia made me a homemade card and cake at school and when I went to volunteer she gave them to me. It was fun to be in the classroom and I took Sophie and Mia with me too. They're so well behaved when we're there that I could bring them each week and it wouldn't be a problem. I love being in Kindergarten and I think it's great that Soph gets to get a sneak peak at what she'll be experiencing in a year and a half.

We'll be gone from church on Sunday so my neighbor (who kindly accepted my request that she sub for me) stopped by so that I could give her some singing time tips. It's funny to think about how far I've come from being terrified to lead music to begin with to actually enjoying it quite a  bit. I love being in there with the kids.

About five years ago Jon's company gave him some gift cards to the Anniversary Inn. With little kids and nursing babies they've just sat and gathered dust. Well, thanks to Isaac 's and Amber for getting the idea rolling we ended up using one of them on my birthday. The girls got to sleep over at Aunt Cathy and Uncle Caleb's and play with their cousins. They were so excited! And when we went to pick them up they asked us to go back to our hotel so that they could stay another night. They got to watch Trolls and play with Roxie. They loved the doll house and playing outside. Mia was our biggest concern, but she had a great time!

And while the girls were having the time of their life we were enjoying Olive Garden and Romeo's Retreat at the Anniversary Inn. This was the longest stretch of time we've ever spent together with no kids. It was a good little getaway and we definitely enjoyed ourselves (uninterrupted conversations and no worries about who was going to wake up in the night) but I'm glad that we enjoy making memories with our girls as much as we do!

 Also, General Conference weekend is always around my birthday. I love spending the day with both families and watching Conference (or looking forward to watching or reading the addresses later) together. Jon's mom and I celebrate our birthdays together at lunch Conference Sunday and Jon always makes me an awesome cake that we take to the Blackhurst side. It's perfect, and a tradition we really like. At least I really like it!

Just after my birthday we drove to Provo to meet up with Nate for ice cream (a tradition the girls say needs to happen WAY MORE OFTEN!!) and got to spend some time with him and Jarom and Brittany and their cute kiddos. It was so fun to be on campus and catch up with family especially since Nate is leaving us once again this summer. Hopefully we'll get to see Jarom and Brittany and company more this summer, but I'm glad for the time we had on this trip. And since Grandpa's house is officially not in the family anymore we decided we'd better go take some pictures in front of it. Lydia was a great photographer and I'm sure Sophie would have been too had she not crashed hard after leaving BYU.

I love this house. I've known it longer than any other place or home I've claimed in my life. So many amazing memories and good times.

Happy birthday Sophie!! You're finally four!!

Have I mentioned that birthdays are kind of a big deal at our house? Because they are. Like a really big deal. Discussing birthday themes and ideas has become such a hot topic that we felt compelled to make a rule about it. In essence, the rule is that if your birthday isn't the next anticipated birthday you need to wait until it is before you brainstorm ideas. At least publicly. Are we too harsh? Probably. But if you were listening to little girls switch from Trolls to Moana to Hound Dogs to Kitties and back to Moana again over and over and over you might understand a little better why such a rule exists. And so, ever since Christmas Sophie Soph has been dreaming of her birthday and talking about turning four and wanting to know the exact minute she'll go from being a three year old to becoming a four year old. Will she wake up four? Or will she have to wait until later in the day? Such fabulous questions! But the cake request didn't change too much. Sophie fell in love with penguins at Sea World and that was what she decided she wanted for her birthday. She hesitated for a moment and switched to panda bears, but only for a moment. Penguins it was!

We know that Sophie loves her extended family. And when we were making plans for celebrating her big day we discovered that both Grandma Frazier and Aunt Amber would be working in the temple during her party and wouldn't be able to make it. So Grandma and Grandpa Frazier took Sophie out shopping for her birthday on Wednesday. Just the three of them. Sophie came home extremely happy and wouldn't breathe a word about what they'd done, telling us we'd just have to wait until her birthday to find out! And Uncle Isaac and Aunt Amber stopped by on the eve of her birthday to sing in beautiful harmony and drop off a gift and chat with the birthday girl for a few minutes. Isaac had some church obligations and wouldn't be able to attend the party either. So Sophie answered the door and was very grateful for the movie treat mix and card from her Aunt and Uncle. I loved how everyone made Soph feel so loved and special. We have the best family!! Lydia made her famous homemade wrapping paper and requested that Dad take her shopping to find something special for Sophie. She was so giddy excited about it!

The day before her birthday I asked Sophie what she wanted for her birthday meals. Why not? I'd love to be making meals that at least someone is excited for. ;) Breakfast would be waffles, lunch egg salad sandwiches, and for dinner Sophie wanted Tortellini and ham toss. Because our entire house would smell of garlic we opted to do pizza (often a Friday night pick anyway because it goes so well with our movie tradition) instead. And Sophie didn't seem to mind. We'd save tortellini for another day.

And her birthday went pretty much according to plan. We typically do two cakes because attempt number one never seems to take. :( And this year was no different.

But otherwise, Sophie had a great day! She and her sisters danced to Moana. She and Lydia went out and jumped on the tramp for a while so that Jon and could finish up the cake decorating. While Lyds was at school Sophie was super cute with Mia. They went flying around the house with the barstools and giggled like crazy. One of my favorite sounds. Jon measured Soph to see how much she'd grown since last year. 3 inches. Quite a bit! Despite that, she's still little. But all who know her know that this girl has a dynamite personality.

The girls loved waiting for guests to arrive. Sophie shared her balloons with her sisters. Mia really liked having hers floating above her highchair. Once everyone was here Sophie opened her gifts. She was so cute about it and thanked everyone for her presents.

Then we sang to her, she made a wish, and blew out her candle. The penguin cake, cupcakes and ice cream were devoured pretty quickly.

And after that Sophie busted out Thin Ice, an awesome game from Uncle Tophe that everyone really enjoyed. Seriously, what a hit! Some kids caught on to the idea and carefully placed their wet marble on the thin Kleenex-like ice rink. Others, however, sort of shot their marble out of the tweezers in the
hopes of busting though the "ice". And no matter how you played, everyone had a really great time.

The Troll dolls (that Sophie kept quiet from her special outing with Grandma and Grandpa) were oooed and ahhhhhed over, and Sophie has kindly let her sisters play with them since her birthday. And the pink windmill flower. So Sophie!!!! Her own packet of Sweethearts (a favorite treat) from Grandma Blackhurst was quickly shared and enjoyed by the ladies. She loved the pink sea horse from Lydia. And Aunt Cathy gave her a pink piggy purse that she'd made herself (amazing!!) as well as a Minnie Mouse camera and some chap stick. Sophie LOVED all of it! She's constantly filling bags and purses with her special things, so this was perfect. But that wasn't all. Cathy made Lydia a puppy purse and Mia a bunny purse. So generous! And each purse is a work of art. Lucky little nieces! And the scooter from Mom and Dad is going to be lots and lots of fun! As will the movie Trolls, and her little pink penguin.

And before bed I let Sophie know that she was officially four! Right before her birthday she was asked if she was turning five. She's so mature and so eloquent that I can see why people might think she's older than she is, but we're glad she's only turning four. No need to rush this growing up business!! And also, hard to believe that this little lady has been with us that long. We love her, and all that she adds to our family. When she prayed that night she thanked Heavenly Father for all her birthday gifts. I love her thoughtful and detailed prayers.

Thanks to wonderful Aunts and Uncles Sophie had several texts rolling in on her birthday. Even after her birthday the love kept flowing in. She got to talk to her Heiselt cousins about favorite MLP episodes and which Pony was the best. Aunt Stacey and the Pynes gave her her gift a few days after her birthday (it took much longer to arrive than anticipated) and Sophie loves it! It's a battery powered sea horse that swims in a tank or the bathtub. She was entertained for hours and hours once everything was set up and would carry the little blue sea horse around with her too.

She says she loved the cupcakes, the ice cream and the cake. Which totally makes all our crazy baking and decorating worth it!