First Camping Trip with our New Trailer

 We kicked off our spring break with an over night trial run with our new camper. We just drove south west about an hour, pulled off the road a bit and camped.It was out in the middle of nowhere, but we had so much fun. We set up next to this really big hill that was obviously a popular shooting location. There were bullet shells everywhere.

 Here is a picture from the top of that big hill. We started off with a short hike to explore the surrounding land a bit. We saw a lot of red ant hills and a few jack rabbits, but not much else.

 After our hike, Danny taught the girls how to shoot his 22 rifle. They loved it. Even Tyler got to try it out (with a lot of help from Daddy). This was one of our targets.

 Danny wasn't too happy that the girls shot at his Mt. Dew can.

We had a hot dog dinner and than did more shooting until it got too dark and cold. Then Danny, Tyler, Alyssa, and Ashley played Yahtzee while I put Camden to bed.
The next morning we tried a family bike ride. The girls had fun learning to ride a bike on dirt. We explored this little dried up river bed a bit.

We also did some more shooting before heading back home. It was fun to try out our camper and we look forward to many more camping trips in the months to come.

Easter Fun

We enjoyed our Easter celebration this year. We dyed Easter Eggs on the Friday before Easter.

 We went to Easter Eggstream at Thanksgiving Point on Saturday where the kids got to do 6 different Easter Egg Hunts.

 (they also got to ride on this cow train and play on some inflatables)

 

Camden slept for part of it. He was the keeper of the empty eggs. We had filled up that stroller basket by the time we were done.

 We tried to get a nice picture of the kids in their new Easter clothes, but Tyler wouldn't cooperate so Mommy got to stand in the picture too.

After church, Shannon and her family came over for dinner and another egg hunt. Here are the kids right before they went outside to hunt for their eggs.

 I love Easter because it reminds us of our Savior and his Atonement. I'm so grateful that he loves us and that he was willing to sacrifice himself so that we can have the opportunity to return to our Father in Heaven. I also love that Easter always comes in the Spring and that it is finally getting warmer.

Danny's Birthday.

 I know this is from almost two months ago, but Danny had his 35th birthday. We had a lot of fun wrapping and giving him this really big present. The funniest part being that the kids and I were not at home when he got home from work and he wondered if we were inside of the box. It was a new outdoor grill.

 Alyssa really wanted to make him this ice cream caramel cake that she came up with on her own.

 I made him some Mt. Dew cupcakes that I have been wanting to make for him for a year. He said they were good, but they were still cake-not a favorite treat in our household.

We sure love this Daddy of ours and had so much fun celebrating his birthday.

The Big Outdoors Expo

 We went to a Big Outdoors Expo a few weeks ago. The girls learned how to shoot a bow and arrow.

 They got to ride on a little train(we decided this would be so fun to have at home).

The kids also got to see some animals from the scales and tails group (snakes, alligators, birds, etc) This was a white parrot looking bird. There was also a magician doing balloon animals that you can see both girls holding in this picture.

 And here are some cute pictures of Camden from the last couple of months. We love this water table at the Children's Museum.

 Trying out the red car. I think I took this one at the beginning of Feb, when he was just learning how to crawl.

Alyssa

Alyssa made this rainbow fruit platter for dinner one night and it was so pretty, and delicious.

She had her devotional at school a few weeks ago where her grade had the opportunity to share some of the things they've been learning in school. They were all supposed to dress in pioneer clothing for the devotional, so I made this dress and bonnet for her. She was so nervous about saying her one line and being in front of people, but she did great. She was so glad to have it over with.

Heidi Celebration

Ashley's class finished reading the book "Heidi" a few weeks ago and they had a celebration in honor of the book. She got to dress up like one of the characters from the book so she chose Heidi. They spent the morning watching the movie and then in the afternoon they got to do some different activities. One of the activities was a wheelchair race.

Another activity was an obstacle course that they got to lead their goats through. I didn't see Ashley do it, but here she is with her little goat.

 

They concluded their celebration with some food inspired from the book, including goat cheese. Ashley was not a fan of the goat cheese, but she liked the other food. It was fun to be there and help with it.

Ashley's Special Day

Ashley was baptized on the morning of Feb. 6. Because her cousin, Kyree, was getting baptized on the same day, we decided to do the baptisms together. We decided to do it in Kyree's Stake, where the two girls would be the only one's getting baptized and where we would be allowed to plan the whole program. We felt very blessed to be able to have a more personal baptism for Ashley, but it was a lot more stressful planning it than it was for Alyssa. Here are my favorite pictures.

 Ashley and Danny before the baptism.

Ashley and Kyree. They were both glowing with excitement that morning and loved sharing their special day.

The girls with their dads.

And here are the family shots that we got after the baptism.

 Alyssa gave the baptism talk and was so nervous beforehand. She did a wonderful job and got numerous compliments afterwards. We are so happy that Ashley chose to be baptized. She is such a special girl with a heart of gold and we look forward to watching her grow into a young woman.

Indian Day

 This happened a few weeks ago, but Ashley had an Indian Celebration at school. They got to dress up as Indians that day which is pretty exciting for a girl who wears uniforms every day. I was able to go and help out for it. The first thing they got to do was watch some Indian dancers. Here is a picture of her class with the dancers.

Next, they got to go and play some games. This game was throwing a spear at the moving animal(a rolling hula hoop).

The next thing they did was make this key chain design out of beads and strings. They also got their faces painted. Here is Ashley with her best friend at school.

 The last thing they did was eat some yummy Indian themed food. It was a lot of fun to be there for it.