Easter Saturday

The boys thoroughly enjoyed dying eggs for Easter. And Drake enjoyed putting face stickers on them almost as much.

















Here's the lot.













Drake liked playing with the easter grass, for days afterward.

Several people from different companies sponsored a neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt at the park close to our street. It was nice because they had it sectioned off for different age groups (7-9, 5-6, 3-4, 2 and under). So Drake went with Shad, and I took Graham.

Graham couldn't have been less excited about finding eggs--he just walked around watching all the other kids grabbing the loot. I helped him grab a few things, but nothing too exciting.

Drake on the other hand grabbed a TON of stuff,

which Shad actually helped him put at least half of it back for other kids to get. Drake was still excited about what he did get though.
It was cold outside (even at 10 a.m.), so we were ready to go at the end. As you can tell, Graham was too--he wasn't too thrilled with Drake's excitement about the morning, but was more than happy to ride out on Shad's shoulders when we left. The rest of the day we spent playing, indoors and out (it warmed up significantly by the afternoon). Shad and Graham even got a little bit of a sunburn! Spring is on it's way...

A bunch of pictures of Drake and Graham

My two little boys, in no particular order:

One of their favorite things to do is sit on the stool that Drake got for Christmas (handmade by Shad and his dad), and "talk", or share food, or just make each other laugh.

Graham with a full belly.


Drake caught licking the window on our screen door... gross.

Graham watching Drake's rabbit jump around the yard. He gets this excited face any time he sees any animal--he loves animals.

Drake's first time bowling (he LOVED it). Here he's watching to see if his ball will hit any pins.


Drake's awesome release.


Graham with yogurt smeared in his hair. He's always happy with food.



Graham doing what he thinks you're supposed to do with underwear, because that's what he sees Drake do when Drake helps me fold laundry.

Graham playing with his ball on a nice, sunny day.


Drake playing "soccer".



Graham still enjoying that blue ball.


Best buddies! Drake and Graham love to sit on the heater vent by our back door, to get warm in the morning. They'll often sit and just watch our neighbor's horses, or the cats or dogs that wander through our yard.

Another year older...

...and that much closer to no longer being in my twenties. Where does the time go? My birthday was on Friday, the 7th, and Drake was excited for it all week long. He'd ask me every day if it was my birthday, so when Friday morning finally came, Drake was bright-eyed and ready to sing-- and for me to open presents (he'd gotten up early with Shad to wrap presents and decorate). So we opened presents first thing in the morning (I say 'we' because it wasn't just me opening them :))

Shad went to work for the morning while I hung out with the boys (I took them to a playgroup at the library that I hadn't been to before, and found out pretty soon it should have been titled "Playgroup-for-crazy-out-of-control-children-whose-moms-just-let-them-do-whatever-they-want-to-whatever-child-they-want-to"). Needless to say I probably won't be rushing back there. After Shad got home, we all went out for lunch and ran a bunch of errands. We took the boys to the dollar store where they each picked out one item. Graham immediately found a ball, and held onto it the whole time. Drake on the other hand, had the hardest time deciding on something to keep. He'd find something he really liked, but would put it back to see what his other options were. It took him quite a while to decide (the struggles of a 3-year old), but he finally settled on a truck with flames on it.

That night, we dropped the boys off with a sitter, and Shad and I went out to a movie and dinner. It was nice being able to talk and enjoy each others company without wrestling a child or two. It was a good birthday. I do think Drake and Graham almost enjoyed it the most!

Drake's Fiesta

So one day I needed to get some stuff done on the computer (impossible to do with either boy on my lap), which is in our basement. Drake and Graham seemed to be playing together just fine in their room, so I thought I'd just turn the monitor on downstairs so I could hear when I might need to intervene. I ended up being on the computer for probably 20 minutes, and on my way back upstairs, I was just imagining our house a wreck---two little boys, left alone for 20 minutes, with plenty of toys and books to throw around. Well, it was such a sweet surprise when not only was the house still somewhat clean, but Drake and Graham were sitting quietly, just looking at a book together. I thought, "Wow, what good kids I have."

So the next week, I again need to get some stuff done on the computer. I go downstairs for maybe 25 minutes, this time wondering which book I'd find my boys reading together when I got back upstairs. The moment I opened the door, this is what I saw:

They were both standing there looking at me, with big smiles on their faces, so proud of their huge pile of toys, when Drake said, "Look Mom! It's a fiesta!" I guess you can never expect consistency when you've got kids. :)

A Memorable Weekend

Now that I've let a whole month slip by, I figured it was time to post something again. The second weekend in February, we made a trip up to Rexburg for the funeral of Shad's grandfather, Gerald O. Johnson. It was a bittersweet time to be with family. Gerald was a quiet, strong, faithful man, and he is truly missed. I'm sure he had a wonderful reunion on the other side though, and will continue on with the work even more. It's unfortunate to gather as family due to such circumstances, yet good to converse with and strengthen one another through such times. An LDS funeral so often rekindles one's faith and testimony in the gospel, it can be a wonderful experience, and this weekend was just that. Just one of the many reasons I'm grateful for the knowledge I have of the gospel.

That same weekend, we spent some time with my brother Matt, who's studying at BYU-Idaho. When we got to his place, he and some of his roommates were digging out a snow cave--one in which they could stand up straight (yes, the snow was really more than six feet tall in some places).

Here are a few pictures to show how much the snow had piled up in spots---a common scene across the entire town! Matt's truck is parked up on the snow bank.

Matt lives in a 'sweet' log cabin, with 11 other guys. The following are pictures of: Matt excitedly entering his humble abode; Shad getting ready to take Drake for a ride around the yard on Matt's snowmobile; Sweet little Graham just having fun walking around with all the snow.

To top the weekend off, we had the opportunity to attend the Rexburg Temple Dedication on February 10. We were fortunate to be able to actually be in the temple during the dedication. It was a wonderful experience, and again, I feel so blessed to have the gospel in my life. We watched a bunch of cousins that morning with Shad's uncle Keith and aunt Reva, while everyone else went to the dedication. Drake had a great time "rough housing" with his Great Uncle Keith. We then went to the dedication in the afternoon while Shad's family watched Drake and Graham for us. It was a neat experience.


So that was our "memorable weekend"... in more ways than one.