Violin Graduation

Avery was able to participate in the Nevada School of the Arts Spring Suzuki Awards concerts last weekend. They have been working hard all year in their group classes, and were finally able to perform together. It was a fun evening, and we especially liked hearing the older groups perform to get an idea of what it will be like if she continues to play at NSA. They were so good, and fun to watch perform.

She received a trophy for graduating to the next book, but she actually hasn't done her official book review yet. She is ready, but her teacher needs to schedule time with other teachers at the studio to officially pass off the book. Avery will play her favorite song in the book, pick a random song out of a hat, and perform the last piece in the book to officially get her trophy. She amazes me that she can remember all of the pieces so well, and performs in front of others with such ease.

Aliza had to sneek into the picture too. It was a fun afternoon watching her perform. Way to go Avery!

Surprise!

Found this surprise in my dryer a few days ago. These little creatures still freak me out every time I see one. I was told that I would get used to having them around, but whomever told me that was WRONG.

I did see this scorpion when I started doing laundry. When I left the room to find something to catch it in it disappeared. I looked and looked, but came to the conclusion that it went under the washer, and Micah would have to search for it when he got home. When I opened the dryer it was right here stuck in the vent. So disgusting!

Easter 2012

This is the first year that I actually took all three girls with me dress shopping for Easter dresses. I usually just pick something out by myself that matches each other, or I get what I think they will like.

While I was in the store frantically trying to keep track of everyone, and in the dressing room trying to see everyone at the same time I thought I was going to go crazy. We made it through though, and what a great outcome. They looked beautiful, and everyone was so happy with their dress.

They each picked a dress that was their style, and I also realized how grown up they are getting to have different taste in clothing/styles. They each picked something so very different, but perfect for them.

So my crazy dress experience turned out to be a wonderful one.

I love having girls!!!

Egg Hunt

We were able to meet up with Micah, and his side of the family Easter weekend in St. George. It worked out perfect for us because we were headed that way to come home after Spring break in Salt Lake. Micah drove up after work on Thursday and we stayed in a beautiful new condo until Saturday evening. It was so new that the appliances were delivered a few days before we stayed there. The condo had a beautiful, huge, heated pool and spa. It also had tennis and basketball courts for the kids to play on. It was perfect!

Each year Micah's parents put on a well anticipated Easter Egg Hunt. Usually, we all scramble around their back yard for eggs, but this year we took over a small park by his brothers home. There were plenty of bushes/plants to hide the eggs in.

Aliza got a head start with the younger kids group, so she ended up with a lot of easter eggs.

Grammie also brought silly string for a silly string fight after the egg hunting. The kids had a blast.

Avery kept grabbing pieces off the grass to add to her messy clothes and hair.

One of the things my kids love the most, is being with their cousins. We all really enjoyed time to shop, play, swim, and just be with the family in St. George. We left Saturday evening so we could be home for Easter morning. It was a great weekend!

Coloring Easter Eggs

We were at my parents home this year to dye eggs which worked out nicely considering we don't ever really eat the hard boiled eggs at our house. We left them there for them to enjoy. :) My mom was kind enough to even take on this messy project while my dad and I went to a movie together.

Abbie was in charge of taking the pictures this year, and she did a great job.

Abbie came up with the idea of a Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum eggs days before we even dyed them. Super cute!

These are Avery's beautiful eggs.

Last, but not least Aliza's wonderful eggs.

Spring Break 2012

We headed to Utah for Spring Break this year. The only thing that could have made it better was if Micah could have joined us. The girls and I were able to listen to General Conference on the radio heading to Utah which was wonderful. Conference weekend is always one of my favorite weekend, and I'm always sad when it is over.

We were able to see a movie and dinner with my sister one night, then went to the new City Creek Center in Salt Lake the next day to meet up with my cousins Gina for lunch. It was fun to see the new City Creek, but it was crazy busy with it being brand new. It was beautiful, and I would love to go visit it again when it calms down a little bit.

The girls really wanted to ride trax, so we braved a short trip up and down the street just for fun. We were seated right where the train bends which was kind of scary.

Abbie was holding on for dear life on the turns.

We were able to visit the Church History Museums new children's area. It was packed full of fun activities for the kids. They first were able to pull a handcart which was a fun experience even if it was just in a little circle.

Abbie loved the dancing. They had screen's with instruction on how to do the dance, so they could just follow along to the music. Such a fun idea.

Aliza waited, and waited for a turn to fish off Nephi's boat. She wasn't very aggressive, which is good, but kids kept coming up and butting right in front of her. After waiting a very long time I finally had to just tell two girls that my daughter would like a turn, and asked them to share. It was busy there too.

They loved trying to copy the writing's as if they were abridging the plates.

We had a wonderful week in Utah. I wasn't the best about taking pictures all week, but we kept very busy. One afternoon Abbie and Avery went fishing with my dad which is something they always look forward to doing when we visit. In between conference session we played a lot of games, and the girls took turns driving around my dads golf cart which they look forward to also. We even spent one day in our old neighborhood playing with old friends, and me being able to catch up with friends. It was a great vacation.

Aliza's Friend Birthday Party

Aliza had her friend birthday party a few days after her real birthday. It was a fun princess party with a few of her favorite "prince" friends too. We made these fun princess hats which I thought turned out cute.

She was really funny because she would continue to tell me no to every idea I had for her party. Believe me, it was a joke because she didn't want to do anything. Finally she decided that it would be fun to have a tea party and a few games. She hated all the games, but I made her do them anyway. We had to entertain these kids somehow.

We started out with musical "princess" chairs, and pinning the kiss on the frog. I thought it was cute, but Aliza will tell you otherwise.

She did love the Ariel fishing pond and keeps asking me to set it up for her again. It was great having my older girls as much needed helpers for some of these games.

Here is our tea party. It was so cute, and fun to watch them all drinking lemonade out of tea cups with fun little treats. I explained to them how at a tea party you need to have good manners, and say "please pass" or "thank you" a lot. They were so stinking cute to watch with their best manners.

We finished it off with a pinata and opening presents. We are lucky that she has so many wonderful friends that she enjoys so much.