Spring Has Sprung

Oh the beautiful weather of spring!  It has been great to get out of the house and have some fun together as a family.  The warm weather showed up just in time for Easter and Spring Break.

We started our Easter celebration the Saturday before Easter at our neighborhood Easter hunt and breakfast.  Above, Kayden and Josh are all set to go.

McKay helping Kayden find Easter Eggs.

Josh all set after finding all his Easter Eggs.

Sunday morning the kids were anxious to see what the Easter Bunny had left for them.

Josh happy to have found some eggs as his older brothers were way too fast in finding them!

Kayden proud of his find.  He wanted us to take his picture with each egg found.  Silly boy.

The two older monkeys have a little Easter fun....only I am not sure they are both having fun.

The boys out hunting for their eggs finding the ones with the letters of their name on them.  It was especially fun for Kayden has this year he knows how to read and spell his name without help.

McKay and Kayden searching together.

After all the goods were found they got jacked-up on sugar--just in time for church!

The week after Easter was our spring break.  We had a great time having a "stay-cation" and did things close to home.  On Sunday night the boys slept over at Grandma Haacke's house and then spent the next day at Trafalga.  Tuesday we went to the zoo with some friends--a Spring Break tradition.

 

The kids outside of the ape house.  It has become tradition to take a picture here each year.  Only this year Kayden didn't want to participate as he didn't get to stand where he wanted to.  (See him behind the tree?)

Here is a better view of him behind that tree.

McKay, Kayden and Jaxon outside the elephant and rhino encounter.

Josh loved pulling the wagon around.  I liked it too.

Kayden showing me his best imitation of a giraffe.  The giraffes were definitely a highlight of his day.

McKay still enjoys going to the zoo (thankfully) and was a huge help by having fun with and entertaining the kids.

Kayden and Josh at the Tiger encounter.  Why are the tigers always sleeping?  They are boring to look at.  All the other animals were active and fun to watch.

Jaxon and his good friend JD riding the carousel.  Crazy kids.

On Wednesday we met Jeremy for lunch and went to the movie The Croods along with Grandma and Grandpa.  It was a fun movie and everyone enjoyed it.
On Thursday, we were supposed to stay home and clean the house, but we were invited at the last minute to go to some hot springs near Utah Lake.  We hustled to get everything done and enjoyed the afternoon with some friends at the hot springs:

I enjoyed the view from the shore.  Once the boys moved off the log, my friend and I sat on the log and put our feet in.  The water was 109 degrees--nice for a cool spring day.

Josh, Kayden and Jaxon enjoying the springs.

Friday and Saturday Jeremy took McKay and Jaxon along with the rest of the scouts in the ward on a camp out to the Volcano Caves/Lava Tubes near Fillmore.  They had a great time and are already wanting to go back.

There are also hot springs close by the lava tubes.  This hot spring's water was much clearer than the one that we had gone to earlier in the week.

Everyone had a great time enjoying the water and being together.

Our week was a great way to welcome in the warmer weather.  We are looking forward to more warm weather activities to come!

Suki's Haunted House

We watched the movie Hotel Transylvania for a family movie night. They next day, Kayden and Josh decided that they needed to make Suki (our dog) her own haunted house. I must say, it was very creative.

Josh and Kayden at the entrance of the haunted house.

 

 The sign at the entrance warning you of what lies ahead.  It reads: "Beware Sookies Haunted House!"

The haunted house even was equipped with it's own spider hanging from a web.

 

Kayden decided he wanted to take a turn touring the haunted house.  He doesn't look too scared.

Josh showing off their creation.

Kayden tunneling his way through the exit.

Suki getting ready to take a tour of her new place.  She looks scared, no?

There she goes through the first tunnel.

The boys had a great time creating and playing in and on Suki's haunted house.  It proved to be a great start to their day!

Basketball Season 2013

I love basketball season. I love watching my boys play.  It was a great season and the boys did well and they learned a lot.

McKay played for Jr. Jazz in Cedar Hills.  It was a new league for us.  McKay was on a team where he didn't know anyone.  He did well and he was the team's top rebounder and he also had some good swats during the season.

A little game action for McKay.

Josh played in two leagues this year.  One league played before Christmas and his Jr. Jazz league played after Christmas.  For how much Josh loves basketball (and I mean he REALLY loves it), it was perfect.  He was able to play on a team with most of the kids that are on his soccer team.

Josh was the scoring machine.  Then once he thought he scored enough points, he started passing the ball around more so that the rest of his team could score.  Josh sure knows how to handle the ball and was able to easily lay it up and in.  We were given lots of complements about his basketball skills.

Jaxon played in a new league this year too.  It is the Bantam league and is a more competitive league.  Jaxon had a great coach (that is a friend of ours) and he learned a lot.  Above he is at the free throw line during the championship semi-finals.

Jaxon on defense (right under the basket).

Jaxon with his team huddling up during a timeout.  Jaxon's team went all the way to the championship.  They had a heartbreak loss in double overtime.  Jaxon loved the league and is hoping to play with his same team again next year.

First Tooth Lost

He is my baby you know. Sometimes it is unbelievable when he makes a milestone such as losing a tooth.  Isn't he too young for this stuff?  Well, his tooth needed to come out.  It was quite wiggly and his permanent tooth was trying to come in behind it.  Last night Jeremy asked Kayden if he could look at his wiggly tooth.  Kayden kept yelling, "Don't touch it!  Don't touch it!"  Finally, after Jeremy reminded him that he IS a dentist and that he does this kind of stuff every day, Kayden consented to let Jeremy take a look.  They both decided to get some floss and pull the tooth out.  Once the floss was looped around the tooth it came out with a small tug.

One tooth gone.  He won't look like this for long though as his permanent tooth is already coming in.

Kayden is happy his tooth is out so that the Tooth Fairy could come and visit him during the night.  (He is holding his tooth, but you can't really see it.)  The Tooth Fairy took his tooth and left him $1.00 under his pillow.  Another milestone gone.

Studio C

There is this great show on BYUTV called Studio C.  It is a sketch comedy show that is hilarious and clean.  We went to a live taping last night down on BYU campus and had a great time.  We had to show up quite early to make sure we got a seat in the studio so we played cards while we waited in line.  I also had to talk McKay and Jaxon into taking a photo with the life-size cardboard cut-out of Mallory:

They were embarrassed and blushing--mostly because I told them to pretend to kiss her.  They refused.

Here are Jaxon and McKay inside Studio C waiting for the taping to begin.

Watching the taping was really fun.  We were laughing so hard we were crying.  It was a great night.  We are hoping that we can go again sometime soon.  If you haven't had a chance to check out Studio C on TV, I highly recommend it.  It airs every Monday night on BYUTV and the new season will begin April 1.

Give Kids A Smile

Remember that bowling night? It made this happen:

Jeremy and his assistant Halsie volunteering at the Give Kids A Smile Saturday Event.  The day is dedicated to taking care of the dental needs of kids.  What a great way to spend a Saturday.

A First

Guess who had their first gray hair pulled on Sunday? (He wanted it pulled ASAP!  We were at church to say the least.)

Jaxon!

Jeremy told him he has no hope as Jeremy pulled his first gray hair when he was 14.  Don't you think 11 is a little young to be getting gray hairs?  Poor kid.