5 Years

Last month marked the anniversary of us living in this house for 5 years. It's a big milestone for us as a family, and also a big one for me personally -- this is the longest I've ever lived anywhere! I really, really love where we live. We live on a wonderful little double cul-de-sac where there is no traffic and we have the best neighbors on earth. There are a million little kids for our kids to play with (and I mean that almost literally) and we have great friends that we love. Who could ask for anything better?

Here is a picture of us when we first moved in:


And here is a picture of us now! What a difference 5 years make!


That little baby Sammy in the first picture is a genuine big kid now, and now we've added Josh and Eliza to the gang! Looking back at that first picture it seems like a lot longer than 5 years -- there we were, just getting our feet under us as we tried to be "real" grown-ups. We were so excited to have our own home. We never could have gotten this great start without the help of our parents, so thanks, Dad and Mom!

Some things about our house are still a work in progress -- the landscaping is a project that we are forever working on, because neither of us are very good at it (or very interested in it). We've finished the basement, which gave us a lot more space, and I'm working right now on organizing all the stuff we have stored down there. My favorite thing we've added -- which is part of the basement -- is my craft room/office. I LOVE having my own space to work on projects and do my own thing, so thanks, honey, for letting me totally take it over! :) We've also gone room by room painting and decorating and adding our own personality to the house, which is very fun and makes it feel like OUR home. We still definitely have a ways to go on that project -- our room, for example, is about as boring as it could possibly be. At least Dan took on the project of painting it last summer so it wouldn't be so completely white, but it definitely needs some design help.

Easter Doings and "You're My Favorite" Day

This Easter was so wonderful. I don't think I've ever felt a greater appreciation for our Savior and the promise of the Resurrection than I did this year. Add that to three days of wonderful family time, and I am one happy camper. Not to mention the joy of adorable Easter outfits for the kiddos! :)

On Saturday we got up early and the kids found the Easter baskets the Easter Bunny had filled the night before, then we headed over to Mom and Dad's house early to try to take pictures of the grandkids in their super cute Easter outfits. (Thank you, Children's Place -- I am such a sucker for coordination.) The weather was not cooperating and neither were the kids, though they sure were good sports. Dan (my brother) took the pictures while Dan (my husband) pulled out all the stops trying to get the kids to look in the same direction and all smile at the same time. Such cute kiddos we have in this family. The only grandkid missing was Amelia -- Eric and Leanne, we're still waiting for picturs!



Afterwards we had our annual extended family Easter egg hunt inside Mom and Dad's house due to the constant drizzle, but it was just as fun as ever. This year we were joined by my aunt Caroldean's family and some of our Bhutanese friends, who had no problem grasping the concept of the candy free-for-all. It always amazes me how fast kids can scour a large area carpeted in candy and eggs, leaving no morsel behind. Mom was the hero of the day -- after the egg hunt she saddled up her new horse Misty and took all the kids on rides around the arena. By the end of the night the boys were on a sugar meltdown the likes of which we had never seen before -- thank goodness they don't get much sugar in regular life!

















After a lovely Easter Sunday at church we headed back over to the folks' house for Easter dinner. I was in charge of dessert and made lemonade pie for all the low-carbers and brownie-toffee-cheesecake trifle, which was not low anything. YUM! We had such a great time hanging out with the family, laughing and telling stories. I've uploaded all the Easter photos into an album here.











Yesterday was the one-year anniverary of Carissa's passing, and Amy declared it "You're My Favorite" Day. Carissa always told everyone "You're my favorite!" and she meant it every time! The kids and I spent the day with my mom, helping with some fun projects, then we all gathered at Carissa's grave to share some happy memories and then went bowling (Carissa's favorite activity). I was so happy that we could spend that time together being happy in each other's company, and we sure missed Eric, Leanne, Amelia, Andy, and Lydia. You can see all the pictures from the evening here. I thought it was very fitting that yesterday was sunny and warm even though the weather has been so cold and drizzly lately and today it's raining steadily. That was Carissa -- a burst of sunshine wherever she went! I hope I can in some way fill that spot in the world.

What we've been up to...

Hey, family and friends -- sorry I've been remiss in updating our blog! We haven't had any major events lately, just lots of everyday fun stuff. Here's a very cute pic of the kids we took to send out as Valentines for the grandparents. Sammy helped me make the sign, and he was very proud of it. I was very proud of the fact that I took it myself -- the kids are sitting on the bed in our guest room!


Here are some other fun recent pics:

"My, what big eyes you have!"


Sammy and Dan building the cool ferris wheel and swing rides Grandma sent for Christmas:




The rest of these are from the last couple of days when Leanne and Amelia were here -- we got to spend some fun time hanging out at our house, and then the last day we went shopping with Nana and the boys had SO much fun on the merry-go-round with Nana.






Another very exciting happening in the family was the arrival of baby Cody! We went over to Chad and Esther's house to meet him, and he is just the cutest little guy. Here are a few pictures from our visit:

Family pictures!

A friend pointed out to me that in all the pictures I've posted of late, there were none of all 5 of us. How could that be? So Sunday, the first day on which we were together and all looked halfway decent, we took the opportunity for a little photo shoot. Thanks, Amy, for taking such great pics!