kite flying

after the egg hunt we moved on to kite flying. the kids (and adults) enjoyed this activity. owen was THRILLED when he got the transformers kite.


owen and bumblebee

with all those kids running around with kites who would have guessed it would be aunt natty that got hers stuck in the tree FIRST! so funny.

wesley flying the kite

more egg hunt

halle

alyssa

carter, jarom, and kate

more egg hunt

carter and his eggs

the "big kids" getting a little competitive

some of the eggs took a little creativity to retrieve

anna and kate

more egg hunt

kate

eli...oh this kid LOVED finding the eggs.

owen and his eggs

kate mid-cheese. darn wind! (;

collin's baby blessing

the day you bless your baby is such a FANTASTIC DAY! especially when you have family there to enjoy it with you. we were so glad we were able to spend the day with emily and brandon. and celebrate little collin with them.

collin looked so handsome in his white little outfit (that his aunts gave me to him...SWEET!). and he was such a good boy during his entire blessing.


emily, brandon, and collin

emily and brandon filled us full of good food and then filled us full of ice cream cake before we hit the road (emily's birthday was the next day). thanks guys!

after dinner, grandma manwaring prepared an easter egg hunt and then gave each family a kite to fly. the weather was perfect for both activities so the kids had a great time.


wesley and his eggs

we did the egg hunt in three different groups. so fun!

owen and ogden

making a weekend out of it

last sunday emily and brandon blessed their little baby. so, we decided to make a weekend out of the trip and stay a couple nights in spanish fork with kevin's sisters.

we arrived LATE friday night (more like saturday morning) and went straight to bed. then, saturday afternoon we took laura and rosanne to how to train your dragon in 3d for laura's birthday. the boys have been wanting to see this movie since they saw the previews and kevin contributed to the excitement by getting them dragon t-shirts to wear to the movie, dragon pj's to wear that night, and a few toy dragons to play with. they loved it!


we arrived REALLY early and had to wait in line outside the theater.


rosanne, laura, and wesley


me and madalyn

madalyn ready for the show to begin

8 months

the beginning of this month madalyn turned 8 months old. she has officially entered the "FUN" stage. when she crawls around, gets excited, smiles, and giggles.

she has been such a different experience for me when i compare her to the boys. she still wakes up most nights for a late night snack...and i am totally okay with it.

the other day she was doing her best to follow me around the house and when she finally made it into my bedroom i SWEAR she said "mama". AHH! it melted my heart.



the boys love to play with her and talk so cute with her...calling her princess and sweetheart and asking her how her nap was. i love it!

and, when madalyn wakes up from a nap and i start carrying her out of her bedroom she instantly gets giddy and starts looking around for her brothers. she loves them!

swinging

oh, the weather this week has been FANTASTIC! we have had so much fun going to the park and playing in the mud...i mean our yard.

anyway, yesterday i decided i would put up a baby swing for madalyn. i thought she might enjoy it. and BOY was i RIGHT!

happy st. patricks day

while i started my st. patricks day in a dentist chair (wearing a green shirt of course), kevin helped the boys kick the day off right with green waffles.

and he even documented it with pictures (he's learning what is important when you are married to a blogger).


green waffle batter


kevin: "owen, look at your waffle?" LOL

happy st. patricks day!

second dinner

kevin works late. NO FUN!

so, most nights we eat dinner without him. NO FUN!

i eat with the kids and when kevin gets home he can always find his plate ready to go in the microwave.

and that's about when the boys are ready for their second dinner. poor kevin usually has to fight for his food.



THAT'S FUN!

spaghetti and meatballs

the other night i fed madalyn spaghetti and meatballs. one of her last "baby food" entrees.

and...SHE LOVED IT!

collin b.

so, the day after we returned from the cabin emily gave birth to little collin b. from the second i heard he was born i had one foot pracitically out the door. i HAD to get my hands on that new little guy!

so monday morning i took off (with my three little ones) for logan, ut. grabbed my sister katie and we were off to american fork, ut to meet baby collin and congratulate em and brandon!


collin b.

isn't he so precious! i loved holding him, kissing him, and smelling him! brand new babies are such a beautiful thing!

me and collin

mom, melissa, katie, emily, collin, and me


wesley loved holding collin. he acted like he was an old pro.

congratulations emily and brandon!