Fun in the Sun with Friends

Spring has sprung here in Provo and it's getting hot, well maybe not hot but definitely pretty warm. Today one of the dads in the quad got out a sprinkler and a baby swimming pool. The quad kids had a BLAST splashing around the pool and running through the sprinkler.
Will was first in the sprinkler and first in the pool. He really loves the water!

 Wyatt really wants to go in the water!

 

 Naomi Nielson, just hanging out, trying to get a tan :)

 Friend Samuel Barnes running through the sprinkler.

 Splashing fun!

  Friends playing in the kiddie pool.

 Will and Indee playing in the sprinkler.

 Daniel is NOT a happy camper, he didn't really like the water.

Will and Samuel!

 Back in the pool!

 Indee doesn't look happy.

 The Nielson family, this is a great picture of them.

 Indee Rae, a girl among all the boys!

 Samuel, such a cutie!

 Will and his friend, Samuel Barnes.

 Wyatt, he didn't get in the water and he wasn't happy about it :)

 Will still LOVES the grass!

 My dear friend Charlotte Barnes with her son, Daniel.

It was such a fun time! I can't wait for summer and more fun days like this!

Contemplation on Trials

I'm not sure why I feel the need to blog about hard things. Perhaps it's that I feel freer putting things out there where anyone can read them. It is almost like releasing a huge held breath. I also feel it is important to document my trials for my children because this is the only journal I have.

It has not been an easy year for our little family, mostly in regards to my health and how it affects my boys. You can read about some of them here. I try not to feel guilty about how much slack Stephen has taken up with Will and the housework but often times when I see how tired he is, I can't help but feel guilty. He tells me not to but most times I can't help it.I feel bad that sometimes dinner isn't made, the house isn't clean and Will is most definitely not powder fresh when Stephen gets home from school. 

But things are looking up. Not because my trials are going away but because I'm changing my attitude towards them. Often times when I have bad things going on in my life I feel like I'm the only one going through trials, that everyone else's life is great and they have no problems. I get SO selfish when bad things happen to me. A few weeks ago we had an amazing lesson at church about trials, why we have them, and how we can deal with them and still be happy. All of the things the teacher said, I already knew to some degree but I needed to hear them again and recommit myself to be a happier person. Since then I have been a happier person and I know that both Stephen and Will have noticed a difference.

I found out last weekend that I have 2 hernias in my abdomen and that I'm going to have surgery tomorrow to fix them. That means no lifting at all for a month, including Will, which will be really hard but we put him in a toddler bed last night for the first time, I'll blog about that later though :)

Happy Easter!

We have been having a great Easter week! My parents and younger brother and sister were in town this past week and we've been celebrating with them non-stop :)

It all culminated Friday night when we had a grand Easter feast. We had ham, scalloped potatoes, carrot cake, green beans, and rolls. It was so yummy! It was also so fun to hang out and chat with the family. Even though I have a brother and sister in Provo it's hard to get together with everyone's school and work schedules being so crazy.

We had some yummy, yummy food!

 My cousin, Brandon, my brother Jordan and niece Annalise. Brandon lives in Draper and he came down for our "Easter" dinner. It was great to see him!

 Cam, my brother, Stevie and Will. They are all HUNKS!!

 Nick and baby Annalise! I love that I caught them both smiling!

 My baby sister Anne chose all the decorations to help make the D-Basement more festive!

 On Saturday morning before my Mommy and Daddy had to leave we had an Easter egg hunt and we died Easter eggs. 

This was Will's first Easter egg hunt. He didn't really understand the concept of finding the eggs but once he realized they had jelly bellies in the he started picking eggs up like crazy! 

I love his face in this picture. 

 Ella, our niece, is and egg hunt champion!

 My mommy, yes that is a dog in her shirt. My parents picked up a new puppy while in Utah. I think that makes 6 dogs for them. Oh and she LOVES jelly bellies but doesn't eat them much because they give her insane road rage, true story.

 All of Ella's eggs. I told you she was an egg hunt champion!

 Will broke an egg open before the hunt was over, he couldn't wait :)

Ella, Brooke and Nick searching for eggs.

 Yeah, there are not so many eggs in Will's bucket.

 He kept cracking the eggs open, dumping the jelly bellies in his bucket and chucking the eggs back on the grass.

 Ahhh, satisfaction!

 YUM!

 My sister, Brooke, bought Ella this hat a few weeks ago and I don't know if Ella's taken it off, well, maybe on Sunday. She sure is cute though.

 Anne was sweet enough to make sure Will got some more eggs.

 The end result. Note Will's hand in his bucket, getting more jelly bellies.

 Aren't they cute?

 One thing I love about dying Easter eggs is the beautiful, vibrant colors.

 

 

 My brother, Jordan and Annalise looking all suave. I'm not sure girls can look suave but whatever.

 Will and my daddy, his papa. Looking at this picture makes me cry. Will loves my dad and loves to sit by him, walk by him, and do anything with him when we see him.

 Our finished products, they are SO vibrant!

Saturday night I hurt my back and really couldn't move so Sunday was a quiet day at our house. We read an Easter book to Will and tried to explain why it is so important. I really enjoyed my Easter week with family.