March: Leprechauns, Eggs, and Crawling

March! It is my favorite month of the year! ;) But I really do love Spring; and every morning lately I go out and hear birds chirping and the sun is shining and I just can't get enough of it! Rusty was teasing me the other day because I kept saying how much I love Spring, and he said, "Just wait until Fall. Or Summer. Or Winter." So, I guess I change my mind about which season is my favorite haha, but what better way is there?!? Have the current season be your favorite one. I'm just super wise.

So let's see. This month some pretty big things happened! I officially took over as the Primary President and started to see just how busy they are. I taught my first sharing time, talked with teachers, and started to make some changes (like the date of the Primary Program). I definitely don't feel qualified for this position, or like I know what I am doing AT ALL, but I'm hoping that in time it will start to work itself out.

Another big change happened for me! I got a job! Rusty and I had decided that in order to pay for Australia next year I would work at VIPKID and start saving all of that money for that. Well, I figured I would do it after the move, and then after we moved upstairs. But here it is, March, and we're still in the basement. So I just decided to do it! It was very spur of the moment and I'm still kind of shocked about it honestly haha. I filled out my application, two days later had an interview and taught a demo class, two days later taught two mock classes, and then the next day got the email saying I passed! Although I did this in order to earn some extra money, I really am excited to be teaching again and to have something that I do aside from being a mom. I LOVE being a mom (it is seriously my favorite thing) but sometimes I feel like I'm losing who I am because I'm focusing so much on the kids. Teaching is something that makes me feel like I can work on myself and become better.

I am still trying to find the fun things to do around here, and I had heard that this place called the Kangaroo Zoo was really awesome. So one day this month I took the kids there and it was SO COOL! It is like a cool bounce house place, but in my opinion way cooler than the one in Orem. It was HUGE, and clean and didn’t smell like sweat haha. Henry had a blast and I even went down a couple of slides with him while I carried Adeline. Henry has this huge smile on his face that wouldn’t stop, and Della even liked to sit and be bounced. It was so fun! I saw a lot of moms that got to really play with their kids so I want to come back sometime with Rusty so that we can take turns playing with Henry and holding Della.

This month we also went to our first funeral as a family. It was for Rusty’s Grandma’s brother. He had only met him a few times, but nobody in his family could go and felt like it was important. It was a really wonderful service, and I feel like to allowed Rusty to get some closure because he didn’t get to go to his grandma’s. Henry had new church pants on, and while we were sitting in the middle of the service he suddenly stood up on his chair and yelled, "I don't have any pockets! I NEED POCKETS!" Hahaha. Oh my heck. This kid.

Rusty and I have been trying to be better about going on dates, and he surprised me with a great one this month! He set up a babysitter and took care of everything and wouldn't tell me what we were doing. Once we dropped the kids off at the Bartons we went to an indoor go kart place which was hilarious and so much fun! Rusty lapped me four times, but I was going to catch up with him eventually. ;) Then after that he took me to this new sushi place that was so cool! They had live music and really delicious rolls. We laughed and relaxed and talked just like when we were dating. It was so wonderful. After that we walked across the street to the Sweet Tooth Fairy and got some yummy cupcakes. It was a wonderful night. I love that man!

Something this month that was totally new for all of us was Disney on Ice!! Mom bought tickets for her, Angie and Lyla, but they ended up not being able to make it. So she called and told us that she had extra tickets and we were so excited to be able to go! I went with my mom and Henry, and Dad, Rusty and Adeline went out for Chinese food. :) Henry liked it so much more than I thought he would! We don't have very many Disney movies, so I knew he wouldn't recognize the characters. But man did he love it! He sat with his mouth open and his eyes staring the entire first half, and then during intermission he kept asking where the ice skaters went. I loved it too! My expectations weren't very high honestly, but wow! It was really impressive. Ariel was doing all of these aerial tricks (see what I did there?) and it was seriously intense! And Rapunzel and Eugene did this really cool spinning thing as they held onto big gold ribbons. It was so cool! We had a great time, and even got to take a picture with Ariel after (both mine and Henry's favorite :) ).

One Saturday Rusty was asked to speak at a local Real Estate Investor Association, so we went down and met my parents in Salt Lake because Angie and Lyla were visiting with them! We ate at PF Chang's and then went shopping around Kohl's for a little while. I wish they lived closer, I love seeing them!

The week before St. Patrick's Day we crammed in a ton of activities! We went to the storytime at the mall where they read a book about catching a leprechaun, Henry made a fruit loop necklace, we graphed marshmallows and then danced to celtic music. We also made a leprechaun trap of our very own! We also played Bingo, sorted Fruit Loops into colors, took some fun St. Patrick's Day pictures, and then went on a leprechaun hunt! We ate leprechaun food, did a scavenger hunt, saw a rainbow, and got some slime and a cool leprechaun cup to take home. HOLIDAYS ARE THE BEST!!

This month’s country date was Ireland! I didn’t really know what to expect because I don’t know that much about Ireland, but as I started planning it it really came together! We did it on St. Patrick’s Day so we had the Irish dinner and then I had decorated with the Irish flag, some clovers, and a castle on the wall. Then the living room became an Irish pub where we played some games and drank our (root) beers. We bounced gold coins off of the floor into a pot and also told each other what wishes we would make if we found three magical gold coins. We also played a famous game in Ireland where you toss rings onto a game board, and it was surprisingly difficult haha. After that we watched a movie called The Quiet Man. I was so stoked about this because not only is it set in Ireland and has killer reviews, it has JOHN WAYNE! Rusty’s favorite actor! But… it actually was kind of awful haha. Then we played Blarney Stone Bingo!

Towards the end of the month we had some visitors! Phyllis, Kandi, Kelsey and her kids all came out to see us! It was a lot of fun getting to spend time with them. We played a lot in the backyard, ate yummy pupusas, and went down to Temple Square. Henry and Della and I also took them to our favorite park!

Then it was my birthday! It was on a Saturday this year, and the day the ward was set up for the Primary Easter Egg Hunt. So I woke up, Rusty and Henry made me delicious crepes, then I ran to the church to set up for the hunt. It was fun to see Henry there, and it went well so I was relieved it was over! Then I came home to some beautiful presents! Rusty framed the map I got for Christmas, and then he got me some shoes with a stencil so that I could make shoes like the feet tattoo I thought was so cool. Then I took a nap before my parents came and took Henry with them to a play.

Rusty and I got to go for a little hike up Rock Canyon with Adeline and Bailey and then we all went out to dinner! Carrabas was crazy haha! Mom was holding Adeline and she reached out and spilled a big glass of ice water. Then after we cleaned that up, about thirty seconds later Henry spilled his cup of ice water too. What in the world?! Then we went home and we put the kids to bed and Rusty and I watched a movie and ate the most delicious cheesecake of my whole life.

The next day we did cheesecake with candles and singing because we kind of skipped that part the night before... oops. :) And Rusty had a special surprise! About a week later we went to one of my favorite places (Waffle Love) and got a super yummy treat.

Rusty had a meeting in the evening one night, so he got to take half of the day off. We took that opportunity to take Daddy to the bounce house that we love so much! It was so much fun to be able to all play together. We had a blast racing down slides and bouncing with the kids. Della LOVED sitting and being bounced. Henry LOVED the slides. I LOVED my people. It was a great day.

The library has so many fun activities. We went and did Music at Library, and Henry had a great time! He loved trying all of the different instruments and he even started dancing around with some kids at the end. He's getting a little less shy.

We also went to the park by our house! It was still a little chilly, and I am a very overprotective mom (I'm working on that) so they were really bundled up haha. They looked so cute! We had fun at the park and we all hid in a little tunnel. Henry kept saying that he wanted to hide from the sun hahah. Oh my Seattle boy.

I did something with Hike it Baby  this month! There was a little paved trail and so we went for a little bike ride! Henry has one little friend in this group named Austin, and they had a great time. They spent a lot of time just playing in the weeds and rocks on the side of the trail. We didn't actually make it very far because they were just having so much fun! 

Easter was in March this year, and let me tell you that I feel so rushed about it all! We just got done with St. Patrick's Day, and then it was my birthday and then it was Easter and we didn't do anything at all hardly to celebrate! In fact, we colored eggs the day after Easter (shh don't tell). Rusty's work put on the largest Easter Egg Hunt in the state- with 20,000 eggs! They also had the Easter Bunny there and some crafts to do and hot dogs for lunch! It was in the coolest park in American Fork with a big amphitheater. Henry had a great time getting his eggs and Della had fun playing with a few too. It was such a beautiful, sunny day!

Of course, it wouldn't be Easter without coloring Easter eggs! (Shhhh, we actually did this late. Like in April. But man it's just been so busy I'm having the hardest time fitting everything in!) Henry loved coloring the eggs and wanted to do it all himself. This was the first year he really understood what was going on. Adeline loved eating the hardboiled eggs haha. 

The kids got new Easter Sunday clothes! I know I'm biased, but man these little kids are cute! PS, look at Henry's face in all of these pictures haha. He is NOT thrilled to be taking pictures. Haha.

After the Easter Egg Hunt we went back and watched conference and then drove to my parent's house for the night. We watched conference the next day, had Easter lunch, and fed the calves! I loved sitting on the front porch with my mom and dad and having a chance to just talk to them. Conference had some really big announcements! There is no more High Priest Group, no more home and visiting teaching, and a new temple being built in Russia! What?!?! Also, a temple in Layton; how many more temples can we fit here haha? I loved listening to the messages and feeling the spirit. There was a general theme of forgiveness and love.

Henry's Highlights

• Henry is hilarious! He seriously says the funniest things and keeps us laughing. For FHE one week we played St. Patrick's Day bingo with skittles. A few days later he was laying on the floor under the table eating some skittles and I said, "Henry! What are you doing!?" and he said, "I'm just sneaking. That's what kids do when they eat skittles. They sneak." Hahaha. Who is this kid?!

• His favorite show right now is The Octonauts. Rusty thinks they're creepy (and OK, they are) but I secretly love it because it's all about creatures under the sea! I think it's interesting to hear what they say, and I love that Henry is learning about the ocean.
• He says thank you all the time. I DO love that.
• said, do alligators eat babies
• sleeps with his flashlight, in the teepee
• Asks to snuggle and watch a show. He knows that I will always give in if he wants to snuggle, so that's how he convinces me to let him watch a show
• He has a very strict routine before bedtime. If we don't get every thing one, it makes him sad. He gets his vitamin (he always chooses his color), brushes his teeth, we read a book, say prayer, sing a song, and then I tell him "a pon a time". A story, like "Once upon a time". Then we sing a song and I have to tell him, "Sweet dreams!" 
• "I'm SUPER ready!"

Adeline's Adventures

• She's eight months old! What in the world happened?!?!

• She loves food
• Teething! Ah man, teething. I forgot how incredibly terrible it is. Della has one bottom tooth out, and then another bottom one and her two front top ones are working on coming. You can see the outlines of the top ones but only one corner is poking out. I feel awful because I'm sure it hurts like crazy! She isn't sleeping, which is equally awful. 
• First time in the cart like a big kid!

• WE HAVE A CRAWLER! She is seriously all over the place! She does this little crawl where her right leg is normal crawling and her left leg stays straight and she sticks her toe out to push her forward haha. It's so cute! March 9th she took her first few little forward movements, but March 11th she was in full swing. 

This was the day she first started crawling! It was Sunday, March 11

Extra Pictures:

Henry covered me up with clothes and pillows

Going to the park for a walk!

J Dawg's!

Pinewood Derby

I was feeding Della and I guess I wasn't fast enough. She stuck her face into the food haha.

Henry wanted to sleep in his teepee, for a couple weeks

We were at the store and I looked down and Henry had started eating his pear haha. He is just like his Mommy and does not like to get caught doing something wrong