Sweet Nanny

Our dear Nanny passed away on Friday, April 17 in her home with her children and her puppy Emie close by. She was such an incredible woman. She cared so much for her family and just wanted so dearly to see them happy and living their fullest potential. She regularly got her hair done, had her make up done beautifully and always had such pretty pink lipstick. Her very favorite color was purple. I was able to receive some of her left over fabric that she had never used. It was a cute purple floral material, and once I found out she had passed I was excited to quickly make some dresses for my girls to wear in her honor to the funeral. They turned out so adorable, and I loved having that piece of her with us that day. I am so comforted that she is finally back home with her sweetheart and that we get to enjoy eternity with her. 

Cousin Time

At the end of April, our dear Nanny had passed away peacefully in her home. It just so happened that everyone was already coming in town for a little mini-reunion. So we were able to enjoy a full week of cousins, but they were also all able to be there to celebrate Nanny and be a part of her funeral. The first to come in were Jen and Trey. Jen especially wanted to come at this time because she was due in July and wouldn't be able to be with the whole family when we went to Disneyland, so she wanted to take advantage of this time together. Penny and Trey picked up right where they left it! They had fun being little buddies, but had their fair share of little fights as 18 month olds do! We went to the Thanksgiving Point farm, and the kiddos loved seeing all of the animals. 

The next day the Grows had just come in town, so we got some lunch and went to a fun park and let all the cute little cousins run around and play. It was fun for us mama's and to catch up as well!

We used the back seat in our car for probably the first time, and Lucy and Livy talked all about how they were going to have a sleepover and play princesses and eat popcorn. We love having family in town so much!

Firsts

Penny caught on pretty quick with what we were doing every week when we dropped Livy for an hour in a leotard and pink tutu. One week when the parents come and watch, Penny just made her way on to the dance floor. At only 18 months she was diligently following the teachers commands and was having so much fun. Ms. Erika said that she can come to class as soon as she's potty trained! So hopefully we can get that done so she can start next January or something!

Olivia is also my biggest helper, especially in the kitchen. If the KitchenAid is out, she always runs over and grabs her little stool so she can help and see what's going on. This picture was the first time that she has cracked an egg by herself for the first time! It was nearly perfect! No shells, and she was so proud of herself. She then told me that when she grows up she wants to be a baker, a piano player, and a mom.

Springtime!

We are obsessed with winter gone and Spring here! It's also so much more fun this year because Penny can run around and play more this year than last year. They love to play with the soccer ball, get thrown in the air by dad, swing, go down the slide, and play on the trampoline. We don't do much jumping but a whole lot of wrestling and goofing around. We also are loving all the time we get at the park. There are so many different playgrounds around and it's so nice to be outside. 

Liv's first soccer game

Liv had her first season and first game playing soccer. I just smiled the whole time, she was so adorable. Penny was super interested in what was going on and wanted to be a part of it too! She stuck around with the little group chasing the ball, and I couldn't have been prouder. I love watching her try new things!

More birthday celebrations

For my birthday my mom surprised me and gave me her old guitar!! She got new strings and got it all tuned it, it was so fun! I had mentioned that I wanted to learn, and she gave the most thoughtful gift. I have just been trying to teach myself so far, and loving trying something new! 

Then Ryan and I had a fun night out up at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse and had the most delicious meal. It was so fun to be is such a fancy place with such amazing food!What a fun night with my favorite guy!

Happy Birthday to Me

One thing I really wanted for my birthday was to make my own awesome birthday cake. So I asked for suggestions and found Martha Stewart's 6 layer salted caramel chocolate cake. It was pretty amazing. I made the cake and caramel and frosting all from scratch. It took a few hours, but boy was it worth it! So delicious!!! The other thing I wanted was a new desktop computer to replace my old laptop, which is bound to die any day. And then without me knowing Ryan ordered it and it showed up just before my birthday on the doorstep! Such a happy day. 

Then Livy had her very first official soccer practice on my birthday. There was no other way I would rather spend my birthday. It was so fun to see her with a coach and friends, running and playing and having fun. Then that night we celebrated with family and enjoyed my yummy cake. It was a great birthday. 

Spring Snow

The day before my birthday, on April 15th, we got a huge snow storm! It was crazy! We had had a huge storm on Christmas day, but then hardly any snow all winter (it was kind of nice actually!). But then But then when Spring is just about to come we had a huge snow storm! It melting relatively quickly so Olivia and I ran outside to make a snowman. She named her Sophia. But what was crazy is that most of it melted by the next morning. It was nuts! I guess that's Spring in Utah!

Livy my little best friend

I signed Livy up for soccer this last Spring with some friends. She was so excited to get a new "exercise outfit" and a soccer ball and shin guards. One day before practices had started, she told me, "Mom! I want to put on my exercise clothes and go practice my soccer!" It was music to my ears. I loved hearing that my sweet little girl wanted to go play soccer with me. She played pretty good through out the season. She only touched the ball a few times, even though she is pretty fast and one of the tallest kids, she is just too nice! All day long I tell her not to push or shove, and then she is supposed to get on the field and do that opposite!? She had fun though so that's all that matters!

I was looking forward to the Tulip Festival this year because I know how much we loved it last year. So we actually went the day it opened, and it was beautiful, but a lot of the flowers hadn't bloomed yet. So we made sure to go back the next week with some friends, and it just didn't disappoint. 

I often get these crazy DIY project ideas, and Livy loves to see them happen. She was my little shopping helped this time to get some wood to build our own garden boxes. It wasn't that bad, and I was pretty proud of what Ryan and I were able to build! 

Sunday snuggles.

One day Livy decided to play mom. She doesn't do this often, but she had a whole lot of fun bottle feeding this little lambie and wrapping it in her coat to keep it warm. She is the best big sister and will always be such a good helper!

Penny

This little girl is becoming more and more trouble. She is still as sweet as can be, but she has a bigger mischievous side than Livy ever has. She loves jumping on our bed into the pillows. She loves playing with toys, and then throwing them all around or dumping a bucket of toys out. She is obsessed with dogs. She absolutely loves Sarge. She loves to throw his ball for him, and give him loves. It's a good thing she loves him, because he often drives him mama crazy!

Easter Sunday

We had heard that Nanny wasn't doing very well, so we made sure to stop by for a visit before we went to Mimi and Grandpa's for Easter Dinner. She wasn't very responsive for a few minutes, and then all of the sudden she recognized who we were and had a nice conversation for a few minutes. It was so nice to have those nice last memories with Nanny. My girls were able to give her some loves and wish her a Happy Easter. 

Since Easter was on Conference Sunday it felt strange not being in our Easter outfits for Easter dinner! But we were in our comfy's, and the girls loved the Easter Egg hunt at Mimi and Grandpa's. We're lucky to have a few cousins in town to share fun times like this!