Payson Temple

The Payson Temple open house is going on right now, so the week before it started we went down there for Family Home Evening to walk around and show the kids the temple. It is super beautiful. We also went to the Open House last week, and the interior is amazing. I've only been in 5-6 temples in my life, but the celestial room of this one is the most amazing one I've seen so far. I can't wait to go back after it's dedicated in June.

Catch-Up

Easter. It happened. I took this photo (above). We also had a huge neighborhood breakfast/egg hunt that was super fun. Andy was in charge of the food and I was in charge of the egg hunt. It went better than I imagined and about 250 people came. Then we also had a family BBQ/egg hunt that KD put together. It was also super fun, and the kids were super spoiled!

Ally figured out that she can climb, and she climbs up everything. One of her favorite places to ponder life is the window bench in Kylee and Skyler's room. I'm not sure how much life-pondering a 1-year-old needs to do...but she does it.

Skyler wants to be just like Daddy. He has this little laptop that he plays educational games on, and the other day he brought it out and set himself up right next to Andy on the floor.

The second grade puts on a play every year called "EiEi Oops!" It's about a farmer and his wife whose cow won't moo, and it uses a bunch of nursery rhyme characters to solve the issue. To be honest, I have no idea how the issue got solved because their sound system was terrible and nobody could hear a single word the kids said. However, the songs were fun, and Kylee looked cute as Little Bo Peep. She was super excited that she got chosen for a speaking part.

One of Ally and Skyler's new favorite things to do is go for rides. Whether it's the baby doll stroller or the shopping cart, Ally climbs in and Skyler pushes her all over the house. They both think it's hilarious.

On Saturday Kylee had another dance recital. She's in the HipHop class this year, and she's really been enjoying it. She did super good on her dance, and even had some "baby freeze" poses that she's been working hard to learn to do.

Lest you think I've turned into one of those parents who brings their 7-year-old flowers to a dance recital, breathe easy. These flowers belong to her teacher, and she just gave them to Kylee to hold for this photo. Andy and I did briefly consider buying a pony and putting a flowered wreathe around its neck to reward her for a job well done, but we didn't want to outshine the other parents who just brought giant stuffed animals and bouquets of 48 roses, so we settled for the good old-fashioned hug and "Kylee you did great!"

Her teacher made stars for them all and hung them on the wall as decorations (because the theme of the recital was "Let's Go To the Movies") so they got to take them home afterwards.

We LOVE Spring!

Last week my sister Connie came to visit, and it was really nice weather, so one day we took the kids out to the park to play. Ally loved going up the stairs all by herself and going down the twirly slide.

Ally

Ally is getting bigger, and she is so fun. It's great to watch her little personality develop. She is a very mischeivious baby, always getting  into things she KNOWS she isn't supposed to, and when she gets caught she gives a sly smile like she thinks she's so smart. She also terrorizes the fish any chance she gets. I'm surprised those things are still alive!

The photo above was her first attempt at PB&J. She doesn't love it, but we'll keep trying.

She has only five teeth, and no more even appear to be on the horizon.

She's quite convinced that she is a technology genius, and always opens the laptop and pretends to type. She also managed to dial 911 on my phone the other day, which was a big OOPS. 

Ally loves necklaces. I went to the RootsTech genealogy conference a few weeks ago, and for days afterward Ally crawled around our house with my lanyard nametag around her neck. I finally went to the $1 store and purchased her an 8-pack of necklaces of her very own. She usually has at least one (if not two or three) on at all times.

Like the two kids before her, she has also decided that when she is tired, sleeping in her high chair is as good a place as any. Crazy baby!

For her birthday we had a BBQ with our family and some close friends. Unfortunately she wasn't feeling well and didn't want to each any lunch or cake, but it was fun to visit with everyone anyway, and she got some fun toys from grandma that she has LOVED playing with. One was a stacking animal cup thing, and she stacks those things for hours at a time.

The day after the party she was feeling better, so we tried giving her some cake. She still didn't eat it, but she played in the frosting a little bit.

On her actual birthday (March 16) she went to her 1 year appointment, and weighed in at 16 lbs., 3 oz. She's tiny, but she's sure happy and cute!

A couple of days ago Andy turned on cartoons for Skyler and Ally while I was working and Kylee was at school. Next thing he knew, Ally was lounging on the banana chair with both remotes and her bottle. She doesn't actually watch t.v., but she sure looked like a couch potato!

Skyler

Skyler is as crazy as ever. This kid has more energy and enthusiasm than any kid I've ever seen. He is always super excited about EVERYTHING, and it is hilarious to watch.

However, there are times when he just crashes. Usualy after lunch he'll finish eating, throw his dishes in the sink, and take himself into his room to take a nap. One day he came and told me a 10:30am "Mommy, it's time for lunch!" I said, "No, it isn't. Are you tired? Is that why you want to have lunch so early?" He said, "No! I hungry!" Next thing I knew he was asleep on the floor with his blanket in our front room at the top of the basement stairs.

Ally wasn't sure what was going on, so she decided to examine him, and he still didn't wake up.

Kylee has a pair of rollerskates that she's been learning to use, and every time she brings them out to practice in the kitchen, Skyler wants to try. She usually lets him use one, and they skate around the kitchen on one foot each.

The picture below is the typical new Skyler look of confusion. Anytime you ask him, "Hey Skyler, what are you doing?" he gives you this look and says, "Huh????" It drives me crazy!