Easter Girls: Kristen

Easter Girls: Carlie

Easter Boys: Will and Jansen

Easter Thoughts

Happy Easter! Saturday was a near perfect day here in Hamilton! Joe and Jansen went to Florence for a basketball tournament so I had the younger kids at home with me. I felt guilty decorating eggs without Jansen but after all he has decorated eggs for 12 years straight. I don't think any damage was done. Anyway, the kids and I had a great time just being together. We had the radio on and I was so proud to hear my kids sing along to every song I love. We were rocking out to Chris Daughtry and Bon Jovi to name a couple. I guess basketball isn't the only thing they've learned by example! It was a proud mother moment to realize that not only do they know all the words but my kids sing with gusto!

While I was cleaning the egg decorating mess and doing the dishes a song came on the radio that is one of my favorites right now: Say by John Mayer. I had spent the morning working on my talk for sacrament meeting and preparing for singing time in Primary so I had the Savior on my mind. It occurred to me that the lyrics "Say what you need to say" applied. The enormity of life and our purpose here on earth hit with full force for some reason and soon tears were streaming down my face. How thankful I am for my sweet family! So here was my thought process: As we kneel and communicate with the Lord we need to say what we need to say. Sometimes it is a prayer of gratitude and thankfulness for peace and calm and for the sacrifice He made for us. However, other times we need to tell the Lord of our struggles and fears. Sometimes, we need to call out for the Savior's atoning sacrifice as hard as it may be. We need to do it with a heart wide open and say what we need to say! It is the least we can do for all He has done for us!

After the boys got back we spent some time jumping on the tramp. Joe's brother Neil and his wife Jae came to visit from SLC. Carlie and her cousin Cambry were like peas in a pod! The adults and Will went for a drive through the millionaire estates called the Stock Farm. We had the privilege of driving up on a lane where a calf had just been born! Literally! I have never seen a baby calf learn to walk and take those first wobbly steps. It was awesome! We wanted so badly for that calf to succeed so it could get its first meal from his mama. Nature is so beautiful. Of course Will thought that all the licking was gross but we explained that it was just as essential to the calf's survival as the milk was. Unfortunately Will was disturbed as was I to see the mama cow eating the afterbirth material. Will certainly got an education he wasn't expecting!

My talk went well today and the primary kids did a great job singing and signing! Will was part of the boys quartet and he was awesome! He snuck right up through the older boys so that he had full access to the mic. He sang his heart out with perfect pitch and beautiful expression! I am so proud of him! Maybe we'll see the inside of a theatre with this kid rather than a gym!

Easter evening we spent with Joe's family: Sharon, Rich, Ed, Dave, Mary, Chase, Kobe, Emma, Livi, Ben, Chris, Moine, Scoop, Annie, Porter, Andrew, Katie, Emmie, Rulon, Jani, Delayne, Natalie & fiancee, Whitney, Shade, Cooper, Kent, Lisa, Megan, Lacey, Burro, Eva, Hannah, and our family. Just a typical get together! Rich tricked me into eating deer steak by telling me it was elk! I couldn't even tell the difference which made me mad! lol Then Dave convinced me to try BBQ pineapple with mushrooms. Surprisingly tasty on the first bite but I couldn't handle the mushrooms on the second bite. Oh well, at least the brothers were proud of me for trying something new. For me that is walking on the wild side! It's been a couple months since we've seen the family so we had an extra great time!

Well, I hope everyone took a minute today to appreciate the beauty surrounding them and to ponder on Jesus Christ and His atonement! What a wonderful time to be alive!
love, allie

Pinewood Derby

I can't believe I am saying this but Will's Pinewood Derby was pretty cool! Our Stake had the Pinewood Derby "celebrity" host the event with all his computerized programs and tracks. Silly me...I didn't realize that there was even such thing as a Pinewood Derby celebrity! He gave the opening prayer in the language of his christian based religion and we all got a kick out of the end. Instead of the traditional "amen" he yelled into the microphone, "LETS GET READY TO RUMBLE!" It was kind of fun to whoop and holler after an opening prayer. We should try that at church sometime! lol

They displayed the names of all the kids who were competing in that particular heat and then the ranking would pop up almost as soon as they crossed the finish line! Too cool! Will's car "Ghost Rider" came in the top three almost every heat. We sat through a total of 98 heats but it went by super fast! Although Will didn't place, he was proud of his car and now we don't have to go to Districts! Whew!

Afterwards, the day was all about Will. He didn't want to take his scout shirt or gold medal off all day! Since Joe was in Missoula at a basketball tournament with Jansen and Carlie, I had Will and Kristen to myself. We went out to eat at the new "Place to Ponder" here in town which Will has wanted to do for some time now. It was yumm-o! Then we headed over to the pool at the Canyons Athletic Club. It was hard to do anything without my two older kids help but we managed. The real fun came when Will and Kris took a bath when they got home! (Don't worry I made them keep their suits on)

After Kristen's nap, we headed to Albertsons to buy our $4.00 gallons of milk before the Sabbath! If the gas pump hasn't already killed us ...the milk will! Anyway, The Bee Movie was on sale. Cute flick! Will was tremendously spoiled the entire day and into the night! When I asked him at lunch if he saw himself competing in basketball AAU tournaments in a few years, he laughed and said, "No way! I hate basketball. I'm a soccer kind of kid!" Oh Boy! Maybe I could get him interested in theatre with his awesome singing voice and knack for being a ham!

Joe returned home with the older kids at around 8:30pm! Interestingly enough, he came home without the Camry. Uh-huh, he sold our car in between games! Alrighty-then. So we are back to being a one car family again. Get this...he wants a truck! Ummm...didn't we just sell our truck...that was completely paid off...to buy a Camry that we had to finance. You can't even imagine how hard I laughed when I saw that the truck he is looking at on Craigslist is the exact same make and model as his former truck. Turns out it is HIS old truck...for $1000 more! Oh boy! Also, the Camry was listed today on Craigslist for $200 more than what we sold it for. AGH! I told him to just do whatever as long as I don't have to be involved!
love, allie

ps: If you haven't rented "Dan In Real Life" yet...you must!