Easter table decorations

I know this is a little late, but it's still April, right? Here's what I made to go on the table at Easter dinner:




I found the idea on Tip Junkie. My plan was to make one for each place setting and write the person's name on the egg, but that would have required 17 tulip cups. As you might have read, I was quite busy the 2 weeks prior to Easter. Plus I ran out of felt and didn't want to buy more. So I made 6. Instead of using them as place cards, I used them as table decorations. I think they turned out cute.

Adventures with Jen in Seattle, part II

We took Jen, Joe, and Ian to a park on Queen Anne hill overlooking the Space Needle. We of course stopped at Dick's on the way and bought burgers, fries, and chocolate milkshakes to eat at the park.

Ian had been trying to hold Kaylin's hand earlier in the day, but Kaylin refused. While Jen was in the store getting some food for their trip home, this is what happened:

Uh oh. Good thing they don't see each other very often ;-).

Thanks for coming to visit Jen! You are welcome at our house anytime Joe has to work in Seattle, or even if he's not working in Seattle, you're still invited.

Adventures with Jen in Seattle

My former college roommate and good buddy Jen came to Seattle from Boston. She arrived in Seattle while we were in Utah and I saw her the day after we got home. Her husband, and college friend of mine, Joe, had a conference for work here in Seattle. He's some sort of brainiac research engineer. I don't really know what he does.

The first day with Jen and her adorable son, Ian, we went to the Ballard Locks:

You can see that Kaylin was not-so excited to see the big boats.

The next day I was watching my friend Laura's son, Carter. Laura was at the hospital having a baby! So Carter joined in our Seattle adventures. First, we went to the Seattle temple.

I love how both boys were looking at Kaylin in this picture. So cute.

All three kids loved the fountain. The boys kept calling it a "big, big waterfall" because Jen told Ian we were going to see a big waterfall today (Snoqualmie Falls).

And here is the real, big, big waterfall:

That's the best picture I got of any of the kids at Snoqualmie Falls. They weren't super cooperative. But the falls were pretty anyway.

Utah trip: SLC

For the second half of our trip we stayed with Eric's aunt and uncle in West Jordan. They were sooooo busy and it was really nice of them to let us stay. They just had their daughter in town, their daughter-in-law had a C-Section the day we got there and they had their grandson overnight for 3 nights, and they had a mission reunion (they were mission presidents in South Africa a few years ago). We did get a few chances to hang out with them and three of their kids while we were there. Eric had a great time catching up with his cousins and meeting three of their kids for the first time.

Kaylin still loves to try on shoes. Somehow she put Uncle Bob's boots on all by herself. She also enjoyed Aunt Kay's chickens in the back yard.

Wednesday night we were able to see two of Eric's mission companions and their families. We didn't get to stay too long because Kaylin was still sick. Sorry, no pictures.

On Thursday we hung out with family and then went to the Salt Lake temple with the Jacksons. It was James' first time through the temple, so it was a very special experience.

On Friday we hung out with more family and then headed back up to Salt Lake for the sealing of the Jackson family. This was the purpose of our trip. A BIG thank you to my friend Laura for watching Kaylin for us during the sealing. She also took this picture of us outside the Salt Lake temple.

As you can see, Kaylin wasn't super happy. It was windy and freezing outside. Notice that I did not pack appropriately. Well, I just realized that you can't see my legs in this picture. I was wearing a light, knee-length dress and sandals. The weather report before we left said it was supposed to be in the 60s and 70s while we were there. No such luck. It snowed 4 different days. Note to self: NEVER trust Utah weather reports.

The sealing was simple and beautiful. I love seeing families joined together forever. I am so happy that the Jacksons now have this great blessing in their lives. Here is a picture of us with the Jackson family after the sealing. Yes, it was still windy and freezing.

Kaylin and Ellie at the open house:

On Saturday Eric and I were able to go to the morning session of General Conference. It was such a great experience being in the same room (no matter how large :-)) as the prophet and other church leaders. I love hearing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in person. The spirit in the Conference Center is so strong, I am glad that we had the chance to attend a session.

We also got to see one more of Eric's mission companions in Utah. On our way home we stopped in Boise again. While there we were able to see another mission companion and his family. Overall, Kaylin did a great job in the car. We only had to stop once driving home from Boise (about 7 hours). She's a champ. When we arrived home late afternoon on Monday, April 6 it was 70 degrees out. Where was that weather while we were in Utah? Instead of unpacking we went to the park.

Thank you everyone for a great trip!

Utah trip: Orem, part II

While in Orem, we went to Fudruckers. Yum! I love Fudruckers because you can put whatever you want on your burger yourself and they have great fry sauce. Macey loved her grilled cheese. Kaylin maybe had one bite of hers. But she loved the fries.

That's it for pictures from Orem. Other highlights from our days in Orem:

-We saw my college roommate Erin and her family in Provo.

-We drove up to SLC to visit Eric's mission president.

-We ate at the Brick Oven aka best pizza ever.

-We saw my college friend Fowie and his wife.

-We visited my alma mater, BYU, aka best school ever.

-Kelsey and I ate at Cafe Rio.

-Not quite a highlight, but Kaylin had a fever for about 4 days and was pretty much no fun for three full days.

Next stop: West Jordan and Salt Lake City

Utah trip: Orem, part I

We stayed at my sister's house in Orem from Saturday-Wednesday. I actually don't have a lot of pictures, which is too bad.

We played Rock Band a few times. Here is Eric jamming on the guitar and Paul and Macey singing.

We got to meet Christopher's girlfriend, Shaunna, and she was a great drummer.

We took Kaylin and Macey to the Dinosaur Museum at Thanksgiving Point. The skeletons were really cool.

They had an "erosion table" where kids could play with sand, water, and plastic dinosaurs. Macey dove right in, but Kaylin doesn't like to get dirty and didn't touch much of anything.

I don't remember what this next part was called, but the kids each had a paintbrush and they used it to uncover "fossils" buried in the sand. Kaylin did okay once we let her wear her socks and shoes. The rest of the kids were in bare feet, but Kaylin wasn't having it.

Utah trip: Stop in Boise

We left early Friday morning, March 27, for our trip to Utah. To make the drive easier on Kaylin (and therefore, on us too) we stopped in Boise at Eric's uncle's house. I had a lot of thoughts as we drove into and through Idaho. I don't want to offend anyone, so I'll keep my comments brief. A few things we noticed:

-The roads were brown, there was an obvious change in the color (and quality) of the freeway as we passed from Oregon into Idaho

-Everything else was pretty much brown too, even Boise, "the city of trees". What?? Even though I know what to expect, it still surprises me every time.

-There were LDS churches EVERYWHERE. I think we counted 5 as we drove from the freeway to Eric's uncle's house. This is not a bad thing, just different.

We arrived at Eric's uncle's house an hour or so before he was scheduled to get home. We remembered there was a nearby park where we took some family pictures 2.5 years ago, so we headed on over. I'm amazed that we found it. Here's a picture of Eric and Kaylin walking to the park:

Kaylin had a great time with the big slides. She was undaunted by the 4-year old who told her she was too small to be on the big toys. I don't think she even understood what he was saying.

That night we had a pizza party with Eric's 2 uncles and family. We were shocked and appalled that not one of them owned a pizza cutter. Apparently they use kitchen scissors to slice their pizza. Eric could not believe that these people were related to him.

The next day we met up with our friends, the Jacksons, from Marysville to drive the rest of the way to Utah. We stopped at a "lovely" truck stop called Traveler's Oasis. It was complete with a Taco Time, a Blimpie's Subs, and an eating area decorated in a Garden of Eden theme. It even had a fountain. Truly lovely. Kaylin enjoyed stealing all of Ellie's mexi-nuggets.

Next stop: Orem, Utah!

Babe Tag

I wouldn't call me a "babe", but that's the title of the tag. Thanks, Kim, for tagging me.



Here are the rules:

Take a picture of yourself right now.

No primping or preparing. Just snap a picture.

Load it on your blog.

Tag some people to play, too.

That's it, easy peesy.



I am eating a delicious lunch of spaghetti o's with franks.

I'm not tagging anyone because I don't feel like it. If you want to play along, I'd love to see your picture!

We got home yesterday from a 11-day trip to Utah, with 2 nights in Idaho. More details to follow.