Easter in Idaho

 We got to spend Easter at Grandma & Grandpa Ricks's house.  It was wonderful to be with family on a special holiday like that.

 We decorated eggs and Grandma had some fun bunny crafts the kids make out of mini pots.

 My Mom and I, I love her so much.

It was such a fun spring break.  We enjoyed seeing so many family members and having more time to spend with each of them.  Happy Easter!

Our "Get Away"

 Jeff and I very much in need of a Get Away, by ourselves.

 So, we decided to take a rocket into outer space and take a walk on the Moon, then headed over to Mars!

 Actually we stayed on Earth, but we did have a very nice, relaxing and enjoyed couple of days together.  Thanks so much to my parents for taking all four of the kids for us.  They had as much fun as we did.

 We went to Salt Lake and enjoyed skiing, shopping, museums, and just relaxing!

 We were also able to do a session at the Salt Lake Temple which was really neat because it is live.  The grounds were so beautiful, spring has sprung on Temple Square.

Spring Break in Idaho

 We had a great time at Grandma & Grandpas house in Shelly.  Grandma had the game monopoly, which our kids had never played.  They have played monopoly deal a lot, and are pretty good at it. They like the real game just as much and stayed with it to the end.

 Alyssa played with play-do while we played monopoly. Then Dallin decided to join in on the fun and do both at the same time.

 Grandma was the banker/entertainer during monopoly.  She played candy land with the little girls.  What a fun Grandma, we are glad she is willing to play games.

 Fishing!  Grandma and Grandpa took us to a beautiful stocked fishing pond in Idaho Falls.  Dallin was really excited to catch some fish.

 We had a nice picnic lunch and then got the poles ready.  The kids had already practiced casting in at Grandmas house before we came, so they were anxious to try in in the water.

 Even Alyssa tried her hand at fishing.  The only problem, there were no fish in the pond.  They were going to stock it that weekend, but it had not been done yet.  Later that week, after it had been stocked, Jeff took Dallin, Corey, and Grandpa Ricks back to try again.  They still had no luck, but Grandpa Pirtle was able to catch two, after our guys had left.

 It was a really nice pond and a fun place to hang out for a couple of hours.  Hopefully we can try again this summer and have better luck.  Even without good luck, it was still fun.

 Thanks Grandma & Grandpa for a great couple of days with you.  We really enjoyed it.

Gateway Discover Center

We decided to lengthen our Spring Break trip by a day.  We left a day early, in order to miss a storm coming to Colorado (which is a good thing we did).  With that extra day we were able to visit Matt & Susie and spend some time in Salt Lake City.  We went to the Children Discovery Center in downtown Salt Lake.  It was a fun place, the best time was right after it opened because we had the place to ourselves.  By noon it was really crowded and harder to play, but still fun.

 Brea got on top of the full size horse, she was hesitant and didn't stay long, but she did get up.

 Dallin climbed the rock wall to the top in less than a minute!

 You can see by her face that Alyssa enjoyed shopping at the minute grocery store.  It was really cute, they had shelves of play food to put into your cart.  Then you took it to the cash register were someone could check you out.  Alyssa played there the longest.

 This was a stage area with different backdrops you cold change and curtains that opened and closed.  The kids put on a play for us.

 This was my favorite part.  They had a whole news station area.  You could be the anchor and read the news from the prompt.  Then you could be the weather man with a green wall and a screen to report the weather.  They had many different screens that you could change and a big screen where you could see yourself on TV.

Brea dressed up like a mermaid for one of their skits.  It didn't last long as she could move hardly at all.  But she did make a cute mermaid.
We had lunch afterword at the Gateway.  It was a pizza parlor that made thin crust brick oven pizza, it was good.  Then we were off to visit more family.  It was fun to have that extra day and to spend time with cousins we don't see very often.  Plus, Matt and Susie have made an incredible castle in their playroom.  It was amazing, the kids played there most the night.

Easter Egg Hunt

 It was a bit chilly, but that didn't stop us from finding eggs.  Alyssa filled her little basket up fast.

 From start to finish, the Easter Egg Hunt lasted about 2 minutes, those kids are fast.

 Jackie was with the older kids, but she still managed to get a lot of eggs.

 This Easter Egg Hunt was in Utah.  We stayed with my brother Matt's family the weekend before Easter.  They had an Easter Egg Hunt at their local grocery store.  It was fun because inside the eggs were vouchers for string cheese, soda pop, fruit roll up, ect.  The kids got to go inside and get real food and do some fun activities.

 Brea made and then ate a delicious sugar cookie egg.

 Our kids got to see the Easter Bunny twice!  The first time was at the grocery store, and then the bunny must have hopped all over.  The next week, the day before Easter, he hopped right into Granda and Granpa Ricks house.

 And yet another Easter Egg Hunt in Newdale.  Jackie was at the park with the big kids.

 Brea & Dallin were together and both ran fast and found lots of candy.

Alyssa was in her own area, so Granpa graciously helped her find some candy.

 
As soon as they came home - DUMP!  That is the funnest part, seeing what you have and trading.

Craft Time

 Dad took the kids to Home Depot one Saturday to make a "project".  They all had a great time putting together wood with nails.  They were not able to paint them there, so they painted them at home.  Plus, they each got to bring home an extra "project" to make at home.  We were very impressed with these little kits.  The kids were very proud of what they had made themselves.  They are good quality too, real wood, that doesn't fall apart after playing with it a day!

 Alyssa didn't have a kit, but she still painted.  She is all grown up, at least that is what she thinks.

 I took pictures of each of the kids with what they had made.  Alyssa wanted to hold Dallins truck in her picture.

 Dallin wanted to jump off the stairs in his picture!

 Then he held still so we could see his fine workmanship.  He made a Penske truck just like the ones Dad always drives.  (Jeff rents trucks to pick up machines and he usually gets Penske.  The kids enjoy riding inside with him when he needs to return it.)

 Brea made a boat, then filled up the bathroom sink to see if it would float, and it sort of did.

 Jackie made a helicopter, complete with jewels on the top.

Lots of fun, thanks to Home Depot.  The amazing part is that these kits are free, and they do it every month! We will be returning to Home Depot for some fun kid projects.