April is off to a great start. We've enjoyed beautiful weather and have loved playing outside. Clayton is such a crazy little guy and SO FAST! We went to a sports store in the mall the other night and he was CRAZY! He could run so quickly through the racks of clothes. My big, cumbersome body couldn't keep up with him. We'd blink and he'd suddenly be out of the store. Fortunately, Blake can catch up to him quickly, tackle him, and wrangle him back to where we are. Many people walking the mall were laughing as they watched. Warren and I just had to laugh.
A few months ago in church, we were sitting in the second row on the left side of the chapel where the handicap ramp is. During the opening prayer, Clayton crawled under the seat in front of us and started running up the ramp. Blake said, "I'll get him," and he ran up the ramp and tackled him. Blake grabbed Clayton by both ankles and dragged him down the ramp, around the front row and into the row we were sitting. Clayton didn't fight his brother as he was dragged back to the pew, but he was definitely dead weight. They made it back just as the congregation said, "Amen."
We've found that when he's too wild, we can just stick him in this tree and he can't go anywhere or harm anything!
Just kidding! (Although, I can't say I haven't thought about it;)
We enjoyed listening to Saturday General Conference on the radio while the kids played in the sand box together.
Fun on the carousel at the Provo mall.
I love Easter and especially our family's little Easter traditions. This year we dyed a bunch of eggs and then we made our Easter Eve cookies.
Our lovely eggs
I LOVE making the Easter cookies together as a family, even though it is a trial of my patience while we try to cook and read Easter scriptures together. Every ingredient has a scripture that goes along with it about the Easter story. For example, we put in a tsp. of vinegar and let the kids smell/taste the vinegar. Then we read the scripture about how Jesus was given vinegar when he was thirsty on the cross. By the end, each mound of dough represents the rocky tomb the Savior's body was placed in. We seal the oven with tape and then leave them in overnight. In the morning, we read the account of Jesus' resurrection and take out our cookies. They are hollow! Unfortunately, there are no pictures of us making these because the kids are so grabby while we are cooking and trying to read/discuss the scriptures that I didn't have enough hands!
The Easter Bunny brought lots of goodies and new shoes for the boys
We were very excited and surprised to see that all the plastic eggs were hidden outside!
Clayton really understood the hunt this year...although I did have to encourage him to put the eggs in his basket and see what's inside at the end or else his brother would get them all!
Blake scored a few dollar coins inside the eggs and he was very excited.
I had the honor of singing for the Easter program in church. I sang, Jesus the very Thought of Thee, arranged for voice, piano, organ, and flute. It was a little tricky and frustrating to breathe with my big belly. The pulpit mic couldn't pick up my voice very well because I couldn't get close enough! We set up a stand mic and that worked great. This was my first time singing in this ward, so it was fun to get a big reaction. It was so beautiful with the organ and flute that I felt overwhelmed with emotion. It took all I had to make it through the song without crying. My eyes filled with tears as I released the last note. I haven't ever paid close attention to the words of this beautiful song, so I was grateful to have the opportunity to get to know it better. I can't think of sweeter words to sing on Easter Sunday.
Jesus the very thought of thee, with sweetness fills my breast.
But sweeter far, thy face to see, and in thy presence rest.
Nor voice can sing, nor heart can frame.
Nor can the memory find a sweeter sound than thy blessed name,
O Savior of mankind.
O hope of every contrite heart. O joy of all the meek.
To those who fall, how kind thou art.
How good to those who seek.
Jesus our only joy be thou, as thou our prize wilt be.
Jesus be thou our glory now, and through eternity.
After church, we went to Granny and Papa's for a wonderful meal and egg hunt.
The eggs were really hidden well, so the kids had to get their hands dirty in order to retrieve some of them.
Blake found the ultimate jackpot of the afternoon! He found $16!!! He was saying, "Cha-ching!" In this picture.
At 35 weeks, we are counting down the days until baby #3 arrives.
I love how excited Warren looks in this picture.
After dinner, Warren took all the kids outside to play games in the grass. I love that he finds so much joy playing games with the kids.
Clayton and Sarah enjoyed running and jumping on the tramp.
Clayton is hard to watch in Papa's yard because there are so many things to get into. He loved climbing the big piles of dirt.
Lately, Clayton sings a lot of songs. My favorite is of course, "I love you, Mommy," those are the only lyrics and he usually ends with a loud, high finish. He also sings, "I such a busy boy," and "I love you, Daddy." It was a highlight of my Easter to get this serenade at the end of the night.
I wish I were there to hear your sing... I am sure they are all amazed. Be ready to sign often. I am sure they will use your talent as often as they can :) you look cute prego. You are a lot smaller than when you are with Claydog. so, I see your boys wear hats in UT, too. I guess UT sun is too strong for them as well?
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