Happy Easter!

We had a great Easter this year.

It started with the girls coming into our room giddy with excitement because the Easter bunny had come. It was so precious- I love this age when the joy of Easter baskets have them dancing happily off the walls.

They got their baskets before church, but had to wait until after church for the Easter egg hunt.

At church I was in charge of most of primary- I did sharing and singing time in both Junior and Senior primary. I put together a "sing-a-story" where we went through the week leading up to the resurrection of Christ. I had pictures hanging around the room and we sang a song for each day leading up to Easter Sunday. It went incredibly well. I learned a lot while preparing it, too- an added bonus!

We came home and the kids hunted for eggs. Then we went to my cousin's house for Easter dinner- her husband roasts lamb and it is always so, so delicious (and yet seems wrong as well)!

It was a great day to celebrate our Savior and enjoy time in worship as well as with family. We truly are blessed!

 They were running around so fast looking for eggs that a lot of the pictures turned out blurry, as you can see here- but look at how happy that face is:

 I have no idea why Ben has his hoodie with the hat up- it was quite warm:

Even though Audra refused to smile, we actually got a decent family picture- at least for us it is decent:

Easter Party!

I decided to do a little Easter party for the girls this year. I haven't done a party for them in awhile and it sounded like fun as we definitely need some fun things to do during spring break.

Unfortunately, I assumed that because it is spring break most people wouldn't be able to come so I invited lots and lots of people. And everybody said YES- except one person. That means we had 15 kids! It was crazy- and awesome. Thankfully a lot of moms stayed to help and we really had a great time.

For about three days I could get Audra to do anything I wanted simply by saying, "to get ready for the party" at the end of it. For example, "you need to clean the basement- to get ready for the party." Or, "you need to take a bath- to get ready for the party." My favorite was when I said, "You need to clean your bedroom- to get ready for the party." Audra replied, "But they won't be going up to my bedroom." So I came back with, "I know, but they might try to sneak up here so you'd better clean it." And it got clean. She was so super excited- which, in the end, is why I do these parties.

We did lots of different activities. We made bunny ears:

 We ate Go-Gurt:

 We played "Put The Egg In The Basket":

 Claire didn't want to be blindfolded so she closed her eyes tight (and peeked once she got close):

 We decorated sugar cookies:

 And, of course, dyed Easter eggs:

 Thankfully Camille napped pretty much the entire party. Here she is after eating some banana all by herself.  You can't tell too well, but she has banana all over her- in her hair, all over her face- everywhere. It was awesome- and required an immediate bath.

Overall I'm glad we had the party, even though it was a lot of work. Before I used to just invite Audra's friends because Claire was so little. This time I needed to invite Claire's friends, and that makes for a lot more kids- which was tough. If other moms didn't stay to help I really would have been in trouble. I think next year if I decide to do an Easter party I'll do it at a park and require moms to stay. That way I can invite as many people as possible and it won't make a mess of my house.

But it was a great time. And the best part: There's lots of sugar cookies leftover!

Natural History Museum

My friend has a season pass to the Natural History Museum and was kind enough to take us with her today. Good thing, because it is only day two of spring break and already the kids are driving me bonkers.

I was a little worried about whether or not the kids would like the museum. Turns out, I had no need to fear- they LOVED it! I was surprised at how well they behaved, and how much they LOVED the museum! What a great treat- thank you, Kelly!

 They had these huge blocks to stack, and I think Claire's face is hilarious- she was so worried it would fall:

 As we were leaving, Camille  looked so cute with her legs propped up and her lounging in the stroller:

On the way home we wanted to stop at a restaurant, but Claire kept falling asleep. I said, "Claire! Wake up!" and she said, "But my eyes just keep closing!" So cute!

Benihana For Ben's Birthday

Last night Ben and I were lying in bed and he says,

Ben: So, how old will I be tomorrow?

Me: 35.

Ben: Wow. That's old.

Yes, Ben is old. I get to enjoy that for six months until my Birthday comes and we are the same age! HA!

It's not that 35 is old, because it really isn't. But aren't we supposed to be mature by 35? Aren't we supposed to have at least SOME answers to life and have our act together at least a little bit?

Well, I wouldn't say we have accomplished any of those things, but we try.

And today we celebrated. Ben wanted to go to Benihana's for lunch, so we loaded up the troops and headed out.

 It's not easy taking 3 little ones to a nice restaurant- even one that involves fire at your table- especially when you have a 3-year-old who thinks she is a baby and refuses to feed herself.

 His receding hairline definitely makes him look older, but his braces help to counteract his natural aging processes:

 I asked him what kind of cake he wanted, and he said he wanted my chocolate cake. It is a yummy cake, and I have to say that it turned out exceptionally well today. I used the high altitude directions and it made a huge difference. I might eat the rest of the cake by myself while nobody is looking.

 I really liked these pictures of Claire- she looks deceptively sweet

Happy Birthday, Ben! We sure do love you!

Spotlight Letters

This year in primary (the kids' program at church) the leaders asked us to write letters about our kids. They asked us several questions such as why our kids are special, what talents they have, a funny story about them, etc. Both the girls have now been spotlighted, so I thought I would share the letters I wrote for them:

Dear Primary,

Brother Marriott and I sure love having Audra in our family. Audra is very special in many ways. She loves learning and she loves helping others. She wants to be a friend to everybody and she is a great big sister. She loves helping her baby sisters.

When Audra was a baby she loved having her mom sing "I Am A Child of God" to her. Once while Audra and her mom were at a store Audra was very upset. She was about 18 months old. Her mom started singing "I Am A Child of God" to her in the store and Audra calmed down and didn't cry anymore.

One of Audra's best talents is her love for other people. She has a very big heart, and we love her very much.

Sincerely,
Sister Marriott
Now for Claire:

Dear Primary,

Claire joined our family and has brought us a lot of laughter. She is a silly girl and loves to make us laugh. She also if very tough and feisty- don't try and push her around or you will regret it! She is very smart and can already count to 10 and is learning her letters. She likes to do whatever her big sister Audra is doing.

Claire thinks things through and asks lots of questions. Once while she and her mom were at the park she started playing with a worm. Her mom told her to put the worm down because the worm would want to dig into the ground. Very quickly Claire said, "But them don't have hands." Her mom thought that was a very smart answer for a 2-year-old.

One of Claire's greatest talents is coloring. She colors very well and will sit and color for hours at a time. Her mom and dad love her pictures, and love her very, very much.

Sincerely,
Sister Marriott

Dinosaur Ridge

On Saturday we loaded up the troops and headed to Dinosaur Ridge- about a 20 minute drive, so nothing too extraordinary. Dinosaur Ridge is a road that goes along the mountain and has evidences of dinosaurs along the road.

By far, the coolest thing was the actual dinosaur tracks, but there were other things as well: fossils, an imprint of a brontosaurus and her babies steps, geological things (that's the technical term), and great views as well. You can take a bus tour, but at $5/person we opted for the walking tour instead- and I am glad we did. It was a fantastic hike, and it was great to go at our own pace (which was very slow) and just enjoy the scenery. The road is closed, and only tour buses are allowed on the road, so it was pretty safe.

I wouldn't say that this is the most amazing tourist spot in the world, but it really was a lot of fun- AND it wore the girls out! A true plus!

 We brought up the umbrella stroller thinking the girls might get tired. But really, they mostly just fought over whose turn it was to push it.

 Above: Tabatha, Claire, Audra, Alicia, and Olivia
Below: Audra with her hand on one of the tracks

For perspective, you can see Alicia below compared to the mountain of tracks:

 I swear we like each other, but this is the best we could do for a family picture:

 Grandma with 6 of her many granddaughters:

 On the way down, Claire refused to let Olivia in the stroller, and insisted that Olivia sit in her lap instead of the other way around:

 I love this one of Alicia and  Audra: