Aunt Karina Visits!

K so I'm lagging (a LOT) in my blog posts but I'm getting better! These are events from almost a month ago now! Time FLIES! Here we go!

I found out a month before, that Karina was coming to Philly to visit us for a whole week! She wasn't totally planning on coming so I didn't get my hopes up, but when she told me she was booking a flight I was so excited I screamed and jumped outta my chair to hug Ben (who was the closest person within reach! Karina is not only Ben's sister, but one of my best friends in the wide world! While Ben was serving his mission in Russia for two years Karina & I became really good friends and I would write him about our little sleepovers and fun times we were having in high school without him;) So, when he came back and we got married I always felt like I couldn't just say she's my sister-in-law I but I had to squeeze in...she's more than that!!! I LOVE her so much that I cried when she walked IN my front door! Kinda backwards, but I missed this lady! We lived in Utah together for the past 6 years, so I always took having her so close for granted:( No more! We had a great time and this will be the first post of many of her stay because 1. we squeezed a lot of fun in 7 days and 2. I can't figure out how to post more than 4 pictures in one post...technology doesn't love me! These are pictures of her first day with us, we're so excited! She took a red eye flight so we let her sleep after these pics and then it was time for our favorite treat of caramel eggs and watching Twilight on DVD...pure paradise! hence the extra LARGE Edward Photo LOL!

Here's a Nugget For Ya

We were driving home from Washington D.C. fairly late last week while Karina was visiting so we picked up some good ol' Mickey D's for a quick in-the-car dinner for the long drive. I ordered Claira's usual McDonald's fare: Chicken nuggets with ranch dip. So, we got back on the road and after a few minutes I asked Claira if her chicken nuggets were good. I hear a scratchy half choked "Yes" and some coughing, then she cleared her throat and said clearly this time "Yes. Sorry I couldn't answer, the ranch was spicin' my throat!"

Such a great description isn't it! I soooooo love the things she says! (More to come on the Karina visit soon)

Easter Fun

We had a wonderful Easter this year! I love holidays more & more as the kids grow older, it gets so fun! Dylan REALLY gets the whole Easter bunny thing this year he kept saying the "Eas Bunny breenin' me pwesents!" it's great! We dyed eggs as usual which is one of the funnest Easter traditions! Claira had forgotten how much she enjoys eating hard boiled eggs (we don't make them very often) She was scarfing those puppies faster than I could scarf a chocolate caramel egg! We had to tell her to slow down, she ate like 10 boiled eggs in one day! Brain food right? It was so weird, we were like "don't you want candy?" it was totally backwards! She's such fun, we love her! After some morning hunts and candy highs we made our way to church and had a pretty easy day in nursery, despite the fact that we had 14 kids on sugar highs...we think at that point they were coming down from it because they were all just laying around and spacing out...which NEVER happens! Most importantly we are so grateful for Jesus Christ and the extra chance we had on Easter to celebrate that he LIVES!!

Coloring the eggs

Looking for sugar laced baskets

Heading out the door for church!

Workin' the Weeds

A few weekends ago we decided we were tired of looking at our sad little yard full of weeds so we got busy! We actually were driving up to our house after picking Ben up from the hospital (he volunteers) and we saw our gardening-guru-neighbor outside tending his out-of-this world beauty of a garden. We asked him how in the world to get ours to look like his, so he generously lent us some tools and tips and we got to work! The kids LOVED every minute of it too! We were out there for hours and they cried when we had to go inside! (It was a long winter, they needed that fresh air!) It was a lot of fun! We've still got a lot of work to do, So far all the weeds are out we just need to prep the soil for some seeds, get some mulch, and of course figure out how & what to plant! We're kind of excited:) it's a good start!


Here we go!

Our little helpers!

Pull those weeds girlie!

My hot garden man!

Reunited Friends

I was soooo excited to hear that my good friend Camille was coming all the way out to the east coast on short notice from Utah!!!! I've known this lovely lady since I was pregnant with Claira! It's crazy how time flies! She has always been a great friend to me, always checking up on me, bringing me surprise flowers many times, even surprise diapers! (which are just as cool as flowers in my book ;). We were even next door neighbors for awhile which was the best time of my life! She is just such a blessing to me, I love her. She reached out to me when I needed her the most (pregnancy is HARD:) I love this woman!!!! I always say I want to 'be a Camille' for someone else, I hope I can be like her someday! She's the best!

SUNSHINE!

Spring is finally here and we were able to catch a sunny day in between all the rainy ones to meet some friends at the park and get our legs moving! Dylan popped a squat in that swing and pretty much stayed there the entire time...which was nice for mommy so she could chat it up with friends! I would push him and he would immediately say "go bye bye" aka "go away mom" So I'd wander away and watch from a far while he was a lone swinging babe. When his swing would finally come to a stop he'd yell at the top of his lungs "Mommy! Swing's broken!" and I'd come push him again to 'fix' it. Then away he would send me. Silly boy! Claira ran around everywhere with all the other kids, she LOVES playing with her friends. I'm so glad because she used to be so shy! We had a rough morning that day but a little Spring sunshine, friends, and exercise saved the day! We all had a blast!

Darling's Cheesecake Cafe

Over New Years (so long ago now... time flies!) some of Ben's family came to visit us and we had lots of fun exploring Philly! We accidentally discovered this little gem in Center City, just next to The Franklin. If you live in Philly and haven't tried this place you HAVE to! It's a quaint little place with super friendly employees, incredible food, and even incredibler Cheesecakes! It was the first time I had tried Philly style cheesecake, it's really airy and fluffy, like mousse. Very tasty! One of their cheesecake flavors won a 'Best of Philly' award. YUM! (Thanks for the pictures Kara!)

Philly Pork Sandwich

And my little muffin cake!

Philly Zoo Part 2

Okay this will be the last zoo post, I just took sooo many pictures it's hard not to post them all!

Claira and her cute friend Jayda on a vulture:)

Little chicks in an egg!

Everything was HUGE here, just HUGE! Loved it!

Daddy & Claira

Philly Zoo Part 1

We went to the incredible Philadelphia Zoo twice during Spring Break, and we still haven't seen everything! We split a membership with some friends (Thanks Teresa!) which was sooo worth it, it paid for itself in one visit! Parking was even included! Such a killer deal! It's nice to have something to do on those long days when Ben's away at school or work, or a fun family outing when he's home! It's REALLY huge and there's so much to do! Not only do they have tons of cool wild animals, but also farm animals! Who knew?! you could go in and pet the goats and sheep, the kids really loved that part! We fed the ducks at the duck pond and played at the tree house (play area) it just had a little bit of everything! We are so excited to go again!


Couldn't get enough of these little statues! They're everywhere & the kids couldn't resist sitting on every single one of them! This little Armadillo was my personal favorite! He's squatting on it ha ha!

Inside a frog

Love these little guys!

Riding the train!