Ward Picnic

Finally Saturday comes and I get to hang out with other adults... wink. We had a ward picnic at a park area the church owns here. The kids had a really good time playing outdoors and I was happy to let them run! Hooray!

Boys!

Go figure I'd find the little boy in the water. He was so funny to watch. People were cleaning up and washing stuff off at this faucet and he stood a couple steps behing then watching closely to see how it worked so he could do it himself. When he thought the coast was clear up he went but had no success turning the water on. I came to the rescue at this point and turned it to a slow trickle and boy was he in heaven!

Ladies man

Payton with the ladies...

Swinging

Here is Angela, Shayne, Gabe and I doing the swing thing. Weeeee!!

Mock Orange

I have no idea where this kid got dimples but I love em! In his hand is what he calls a "ball ball" but some call it a mock orange. It looks like an orange but I've heard they aren't for eating cause they are really bitter or sour. Gabe didn't care... it threw just like a ball, therefore, it was a ball.

Smiley Payton

Kinda an up the nose shot, but he was so happy i had to put it on here.

Dinner

Our alternative to the five 'o clock shadow...

Spaghetti!!!

Party of Four at the Park

And to think I was starting to believe that there are NO flowers here. I'm not sure what bush this is it was just a welcome sight here in desert. Here's the three kids and I at a park nearby. It had this man-made small lake at it and the kids were dying to get in it... yikes. There was a man in an electric wheel chair there that was really out-going and friendly. He was admiring my troop when he turned to me and said, "You are very blessed. Do you know how much God has blessed you?" He was refering to these three beautiful kids and he was right. All I could say was, "yes, sir, I do." Just when we think our plate is too full, it is then that we realize that it is not a plate after all, but actually a cup and that it runneth over.

Beautiful Princesses

Awe! Now this is one of the best parts about having a little girl. The times when she even looks like a princess. Here's Shayne and Elina in their beautiful dresses. I forgot the dress we had planned to use at home and luckily Ariel found some clearanced the day we got there.

Looking for eggs...

Here is Shayne and Gabe looking for eggs. Shayne was so funny cause you could point right at one and she wouldn't see it. I got some eggs that look like balls and Gabe was so excited about them. He threw one and when it hit the ground and popped open to display a candy inside I'm pretty sure he was in heaven.

Chef Gabe...

Here's one to make a daddy proud. Ha ha... he was having so much fun playing in the little kitchen set that I had to put the apron on him. Is that cruel or what? Maybe he's a future chef.

"New cousins"

The Kids had so much fun with their "new cousins", Elina and Noah. Here's a good display of what big sisters are for. They are so cute.

Playing outside

We went to my cousin Jason and his wife Ariel's place for easter. The weather was so great. It was perfect for a weekend of playing outdoors and hunting eggs.

Look at my hands...

And the finished product? Maybe she could've had a little more supervision... She loved it though. She actually looked forward to it all week. When I bought the dye and eggs a week earlier I had no idea I was in store for an egg coloring request every day. She would say "who wants to color eggs today?" So diplomatic.

nice lips

Now here's the picture of the day... Ariel had these cool new things for decorating eggs. Its a q-tip with the color in the plastic center and it runs down into the cotton end so you can paint with it. Well, she gave the purple one to Gabie and by the end of egg decorating gabe had the greatest purple lips in town. And to make matters worse, it wouldn't just wash off. It faded into this hot pink color! Thank heavens it wore off before church the next day.

coloring eggs

Dying Easter Eggs!! She's getting so big... It seems like we just barely had to have her on our lap and pretend she was interested in more than just grabbing the cups of egg dye.

Egg decoration time

"Okay, mommy I'm ready to decorate eggs!"

sit & sleep

Sweet little guy, we were in a rush to get ready for our easter weekend and he just got tuckered out. Sleeping in the sitting position... If I could only do that.

brothers

AWE!! BROTHERS!

Cookies n milk

Yeah! This is the life!

Cookies n milk

Do I have any cookie on my face Mom?

This is the life!!

So let me explain what led up to this moment... I was feeding Payton and was thus restrained to the couch. On the other side of the couch I could hear Gabe was busily engaged in something... quietly. Every mother knows when they are quiet, you gotta worry! So as I finished feeding Payton he then pooped up his back... nice. So I got up to get the wipes and a diaper to clean him up and found that what Gabe was doing was emptying the whole container of wipes into the garbage. Well, call me sick, but I pulled them all out and put them in a ziplock bag and am still using them. Well, as I was cleaning up the poopy baby I hear the distinct sound of a box of hot tamales being emptied onto the kitchen floor. Hence the happy little boy in the middle of a wonderful pile of hot tamales on the kitchen floor... Life is so beautiful.

Aye Captain...

Oh isn't he the most intimidating pirate you've ever seen? Its captain Payton Sparrow... and so happy too. Ok the bandanna was a cheesy happy meal toy that I wanted to get my moneys worth outta before I threw it away. I think this counts...

Shayne Elizabeth

Introducing... Miss Shayne Elizabeth. Shayne will be three this may and is at the wonderful stage of funny sayings. She comes up with things that I have no idea where she got them... well, other than probably from movies. One day while pretending with some toys she said, "ah mom! I lost my courage!! I can't find it anywhere." She is sweet and tender and the most out going, friendly little girl I've ever known.

Gabriel William

Now this picture pretty much explains the personality of my little stinker, Gabriel. I asked him not to eat the marker and to give it to mommy... hence the naughty little grin as he's doing exactly the opposite. Everyone needs a Gabriel in their family. He keeps life fun for us. If there is ever a time of silliness you can bet he's in the middle of it all.

Payton Michael

K. So I've been told a time or two that this little one looks like my brothers, Jordan and Jarom. I don't remember them much when they were this little, but we'll take it. This is Payton Michael. He was born on November 7th of last year and is such a joyful addition to our family. He's usually very content with life around him. He's so sweet and we're so gratefull that he's such a good baby.