the mini-van club

On February 27, 2014 (ten days before Graham joined our family!) we finally decided on a vehicle & officially joined the mini-van club!! I never thought I'd say it, but, I LOVE it! We are two of the most indecisive people on the planet, so it was a huge deal when we finally decided on one. We went with the 2012 Dodge Caravan in Charcoal and I couldn't be more pleased. My only request was that our van have automatic sliding doors, and this van meets and exceeds my expectations. We've got plenty of room (how did we ever survive with only our Focus?!) and the kids love it. Thank goodness Danny finally gave in to my pleas...one day babe, we will own our dream vehicle. For now, we'll embrace the mini-van world!

avery turns three!

I'm not going to lie, Avery's birthday was somewhat of a #momfail. It snuck up on us with Graham's birth, my birthday, conference, Danny's birthday, and spring break...so it was definitely on the low-key side. But! Despite the lack of presents, we spent the day together. Hopefully that counts as something?! Grandma Nell saved the day & brought her darling new jammies & incredible Easter baskets and that night, we had our annual ward auction where she was able to eat her weight in treats. Next year I vow to do better!

Danny found Princess tattoos at the store...they were a giant hit! And both Max and Avery were covered in Princesses for days.

Ave loves Grandma Nell!!

Avery is such a joy to have in our family! She is smart, brave, loves to dance & sing, looks up to both of her brothers, and has the most contagious laugh! She will talk your ear off if you let her and has such a great vocabulary. We can't believe she's just turning three (we've had people ask us for the last year when she's turning four!) she's quite mature for her age. We actually get asked all the time if Max & Ave are twins! She loves to imagine all sorts of things, and loves to be read to. She's great at pointing out letters that she knows as we drive, and her favorite show is Super Why. Her absolute favorite movie is Frozen and I'm pretty sure she's got the entire thing memorized. She loves to pray, and the second we get to church she wants to know when it's time for Nursery. She is dramatic, and sassy, and I'm slightly scared for her teenage years :) but we wouldn't have her any other way!!

Happy third birthday Avery Mae!!

We'll love you forever.

xoxo

spring break: the quarry

To finish up our incredibly fun spring break, Friday night we took the kids & Cami to the Quarry in Provo. None of us had ever been there before & it ended up being one of our favorite activities from the entire week! The kids still talk about it regularly & can't wait to go back. They were both a little timid at first but quickly got the hang of it (and the courage!) and at one point, I thought Avery would make it all the way to the top! It was pretty amazing to see their tiny little bodies going up so high and being so brave. Cami did make it to the top, and Max & Avery both made it up to the letter M. They were exhausted by the end and we all slept well that night!

spring break: aquatic center

Friday morning we took the kids to the Clearfield Aquatic Center & of course, they had the time of their lives! Graham and I missed most of this little outing (due to a hungry, demanding newborn!) but I was able to catch the tail end of the session and was really impressed. They basically had the place to themselves & the water was so warm! The last 15 minutes of the swim session they open up the slide & the kids probably went down 15 times. Thanks again to Grandma Debbie & Grandpa Frank for joining us! We feel so lucky that we got to spend so much time with them over our break. The entire week was fun, relaxing, and much needed.

spring break: danny's birthday

we decided to check out the new aquarium (with the rest of the state of utah!) for danny's birthday & though it was incredibly crowded, we all had a blast! danny's parents joined us and the kids loved seeing sharks, sea horses, and penguins all in real life!

Max saw the penny machine & once we explained what it did, he HAD to have one. They both decided on their favorites & loved turning that crank. True to their personalities, Avery lost hers by the time we got to the car, and Max still has his, carefully placed in his art kit. :)

On the way back to Layton we stopped at City Creek to get lunch/dinner (we were starving!!) and enjoy the beautiful day. Graham was a trooper (as usual).

And to end the night, we celebrated Avery's upcoming birthday with a special "Frozen" cake. She still doesn't quite get the concept of blowing out the candles, but she felt so special that Grandma Debbie had picked it out just for her.

spring break: the leonardo

There are so many things I love about living in Nephi, but one thing that can't be found anywhere out in the country is a good museum :) Since Salt Lake is brimming with cultural experiences, we decided that going to The Leonardo would be fun. Plus, I found a great deal online and got us all in for a total of five bucks. Can't beat that!

The kids loved all of the exhibits, but especially had fun in "Pixel Playland" and at the modeling clay station. Max worked so hard on his Mom & baby snowman (I think he's been watching "Frozen" a few too many times!)