It was and all-in-one kind of day

WARNING: This is going to be a long post. Too many things happened in one day.

So, April 10th was what I would term an "All-in-One" day. Lucas was blessed. There was a luncheon afterwards which was great. Then we had our monthly get-together with an Easter Egg Hunt. It was crazy. People coming and going. Brian and Brett both surprised us and were there at the festivities. It was wonderful!!

Here's the group after the blessing. Too many people to list and some faces are hiding (not on purpose...I think).

I caught this cute picture of Neens with Lucas. She kept him in his whites for awhile afterwards. Gutsy to say the least but there were not any mishaps so it all worked out.

Look that furrow. She's looking at the camera as if to say, "What  you looking at fool?" Still cute though. You just have to smile!

 It was a cold day. Joni (our little St. Georgian) was not prepared for it. She had left her coat at her place in St. George. Somehow she conned Cory's suit coat off of him. She wrapped up in it and was good. Joni's friend Beth came up with her for a weekend away. Look at Brittney. She looks like she is freezing as well.

Spencer was showing me his little flower he found. Really, there is one there. Isn't he such a handsome little man?

Look at this other handsome man. He kept hiding from everyone by going around this little pillar. Both Lincoln and Spencer are such great big brothers.

This was right as we returned from Church. Micah, Spencer, and Sam were all out playing on the rocks in front of Mom's house. Micah is wearing her "Tangled" dress.

 Lincoln loves to talk on the phone now...real or play. I think during this call he was talking to Joni, even though Joni was sitting right there.

 Little Lucas asleep in his white blessing outfit.

 Check out beautiful Becky! Kambry really was having a good time. I must have caught her mid-blinking.

Look at this handsome couple. Brett had surprised us all by coming for the party. He had just flown in from Florida where he had been for training. It was unbelievable to have them all with us.

Janine had planned an Easter Egg Hunt for the kids. She had a ton of eggs all filled with various candies, toys, and other items. To distract them while we set up the hunt (i.e. throwing the eggs around the backyard), I put "Tangled" on my iPad and gave it to Micah and Spencer to watch in the other room. It was so cute to watch them cuddle up on the sofa. One thing was certain: Micah knows "Tangled" by heart. She was saying the lines right before they were said in the movie. It was so cute.

Here's Bri with his new toy. He has bought a new camera. He was poised and ready to get a picture of the kids coming out. I decided to get a picture of that. He ended up turning the tables on me. Drat my slow camera.

The next few pics are of the hunt. There were a ton of eggs all over the backyard.

I took a ton of pictures while we were out there. It's hard to really describe but these kids were going crazy! They were running all over sometimes passing eggs just in the frenzy of it all. Look at Spencer's basket. It was full and not all the eggs were up yet. I think Janine went in and grabbed him another bag.

Even Zachary got into it. Joni had put a few eggs together that sounded like baby rattles. They were filled with loose Nerd candies.

Lincoln saw others shaking their eggs and started to check it out for himself. I love this photo. At least my camera caught it. I would have been sad if I had missed it. He walked around the backyard crouching down, picking up eggs, and shaking them.

Look at the haul!!

A good time was had by all, including the adults who snitched some of the candy as the eggs were being opened and emptied. Thanks Neens for the fun time.

March Party

Since Kevin and Tenille were in charge of dinner, Kevin did what Kevin does best...BBQ! We all headed over to their place to party it up! We played a fun game called, "What's Yours Like?" It was a lot of fun!! We sure missed Brian and his family, Brett and his family, and Joni though. 

Lincoln was so sick but it didn't get him down. Look at those eyes...

Cute family photo. We don't usually get them all together because usually Neens has a camera in her hands. But I caught them. Wahoo!!!

Here's Kev and Tenille. I promise, they really were having a good time...although looking that this picture it looks like someone just gave them shocking news off camera.

Kevin got a new awesome camera last fall!!! He seems to love it. We decided to take a picture of each other.

Here's cute little Kambry. She's 4.5 months here. Look at those beautiful eyes. She has the best smile!!

 Since I was holding Kambry, I told Spencer that he could take a couple of pictures with my camera. Here is one that he snapped of Mom. 

OK, so no...Kambry does not have a big head. It's just her shadow on the wall behind us. She loves to be held standing up which suits me fine since I am good to stand.

Little Lucas! He's changing so fast. I always forget how fast they change!

February's Monthly Party

Last posting for the night and I think I will be relatively caught up.

Just this last Sunday, we had our monthly party to celebrate February's birthdays. Everyone was there with the exception of Brett, Becky, and Micah. We missed you guys!!! Here's a few pictures from around the room. Yes, I know they are dark but they're all I have.

Look at Joni's amazing eyes!!! I thought this picture was going to be one of those goofy pictures. It definitely is not. It's beautiful!!!

We decided to put the two babies together and take some pictures. Aren't they so cute together. Can you believe that Kambry is three months older than Lucas. They are so cute together.

Look at them holding hands. Isn't it cute?? Can you say "Ohhhhhhh?"

Now look at the linked arms. Lincoln looks like a giant next to the two little ones.

Then add Spencer and you realize how fast they change. I wonder what Spencer's looking at. Maybe next time Mom will make sure to get the bubbles out before putting Lucas down on the floor. Spit-up alert!!



Cute kiddies!!!! I love each and every one of them!!

A Long-Awaited Visit

So this post should have been before the post about Mom's birthday. Oh well...I never said I was a blogging expert.

Having teenage nieces and nephews makes it a bit harder to find time to have them over. I got very lucky. The last weekend that the temple was closed for maintenance I struck GOLD!! The stars aligned!! Brittney, Cory, and Zachary come and spent the weekend with me. I had such a great time. They met me at my office and we left from there.

OK, let me explain a short story...As I was waiting for them to make their way from the Joseph Smith building to the Administration Building, I looked out the window and what did I see? Yes indeed, Cory wearing this hat making his way to my building. I hurried and dialed Brittney's number. Cory took it off before coming in. Phew!!!

This picture is great of the three of them!! They were gathered around my computer looking at all the pictures I have taken throughout the years. I would hear things like, "I don't remember that!" and "I remember line dancing at Grandma's." "Look how young you are!" "When was this taken??" It was so funny!

That night, we watched movies and had a great time. The next day, Joni came over around Noon to pick up some shoes from the stuff she's storing here and spend some time with us. We hung out a bit, went to lunch at Sampan, and then came back and played "Loaded Questions."

Joni gave Brittney a fancy hairdo. It was beautiful. The end result was a hairdo that looked like it was straight out of a Jane Austen novel.

I had a few of concerts during the day. It is impressive to watch each of them play the piano. That is all thanks to Tena!!

Here's us at Sampan. Joni and I love this restaurant and we had fun introducing it to the teenagers!!

Joni and Cory decided they would play "Uncle." Guess who won...If you think Cory did, you are wrong. Joni took him down! I think the amount Cory was laughing probably didn't help his efforts! Or maybe, just maybe, he let Joni win to be nice to his aunt. We'll never know.

Here's the group playing "Loaded Questions." Brittney is on the other end of the couch from Zachary. Look how deep in thought Cory is. He's trying to pick up on clues from Joni's and Zachary's reactions. Needless-to-say I don't think he guessed everyone's answers correctly. Zachary liked to put his finger over his lips like that. I think he was trying to hold them still. It didn't work. Zachary has no poker face.

Later that night, we were listening to some music. Cory felt like dancing with someone and poor Zachary was the closest. He became the victim. Check out his face.

After dancing, Cory and Brittney decided to start singing into their imaginary microphones. It was the funniest thing ever. I think it was a bit late and we were all a little punchy!!

It was a great weekend. Thanks Brittney, Cory, and Zachary for coming down. We'll have to do it again very soon! I loved our time together!!

Mom's Birthday

So the Sunday after Lucas was born we all got together "randomly" and celebrated Mom's birthday which was the next day. It was wonderful to see the family all together. I love being with my siblings and their families. It's crazy and it's hard to talk with everyone, but it is so much fun. The strangest stories, the worst jokes, etc. are all shared during this time. Well, here are some pictures from the gathering. Here's our newest addition having a very tough day...

See...he's even doing the "poor woe is me" face. It's so tough to be held and loved on all day! If you're wondering who's holding him, it's Bri. He was having a great time holding one so small. After all, he's very experienced. He's now a grandpa of 4 (almost 5). 

Kambry is starting to be so alert and interacting with everyone. When she smiles, she smiles with her entire face and ears and it lights up the room. She is so cute! Kev was thinking that Kambry was getting annoyed with her overalls. I thought they looked good on her.

Here's Zachary looking so cute!

Tena's turn to love on Lucas!

I finally was able to get a picture of Brian. He's warning me I better not though. Oh well.

Look at Micah. She loves to have her hair straightened. I can't believe how much she changes so fast!! Notice the clips in her hair? She gave a couple to Mom for her birthday. Mom wore them all night. It was so cute!

I know the picture is dark but you can see the clips in Mom's hair!

After everyone left, we took these picture of the three brothers. It was a bit hard being that it was the end of the night but they are so darn cute!

Look at the feet. Lincoln's being on top of each other is classic. If he is standing still, or sitting with his feet in front of him, he always has one foot on the other, so it's funny to see it in this photo. Look how red Lucas' legs and feet are.