Introducing the new...

MR. and MRS. SHAUN MONSON!

A couple of weeks ago, my brother got married in the Rexburg Temple! It was a great day! The sealer was wonderful and gave great advice and counsel! The day was a little stressful for me since I was asked to take the pictures...but over all it turned out great and I'm glad that I got to be there and participate!

 My mom's family that came to the wedding

 All those that were at the temple ....

 My brother with my mom...he had that smile for most of the day...

 The reception....

 My cute little family...I'm so thankful that all their shirts stayed white...all the ties stayed on...and the dress fit!! and that Julia left her hair alone for the pictures!

 Cousins shot...the best that we could do with kids that had enough of pictures and just want to run and play..

 Julia did so well...she was giggly and happy for most of it...

 The cake....

 Off to the nursery to play with toys and watch movies...

 My brother James with his daughter Kaylie and Julia...

 The CAR!!! The groomsmen rolled some tires into the gym half way through...just extra snow tires that my dad had but it was enough to get the bride and groom a little nervous...

 These two are only two weeks apart and love playing together...this is Matthew trying to take the bubbles away from Kaylie because he got his taken away...

 Julia with her dad....

 The quilt that we spent two sessions of conference tying ...

I'm glad that its over and that I have a new "sister!" Thanks for joining our family Andrae!

A Hunt for Bunny Money

Over Conference Weekend, we visited Grandma and Grandpa Monson, as is tradition! We were joined by our cousin and aunts and uncles! I loved Conference! It was so enriching and fulfilling! I walked away feeling renewed and filled with hope and love! The kiddos enjoyed conference as well...Friend collages, games on the IPad, Fruit-Loop Necklaces, and decorating foam Easter Eggs.  But above all, the Bunny Money Hunt was the best for them! 

 

My sister-in-law and me have the same taste in pajamas it appears! 

Matthew going on the hunt! This is his second year, though last year he spent the hunt in someone's arms, he soon had it figured out. 

Andrew is a smart kid! He shook the egg to make sure it had money in it and not just candy!

Peter was so fast at getting his eggs that this is the only picture that I got of him.

 Julia's first hunt and she was a pro! She had the advantage of two adults helping her but did an exactly job of hunting for her eggs.

I was very excited to see that Julia got chocolate in her eggs! Maybe next year, I'll share with her!
My mom filled several eggs with just fishy crackers for those that couldn't have it! (Deeply appreciated!) We had to do a little switching around but in the end, everyone was happy!

Julia can't wait to be big and get to go outside with the boys. She is constantly trying to get downstairs with them and loves to wrestle with them.......Can you say tomboy?

Peter had a birthday!

Peter had a birthday about 10 days ago....I'm a little slow with the posting...my baby has turned a whooping six years old! It seems like yesterday that Anth and I were desperately looking at each other to figure out how to make the baby stop crying...poor kid...the oldest has it the toughest...green parents that need breaking in can be hard work! 

We had a small birthday party with my family to celebrate since one of my brother's birthdays is close to Peter's. We usually combine them.

I made hats for everyone that wanted one since we weren't having a "friend" party this year! It is so much easier to tie balloons when you aren't 6 months pregnant!!!

Julia even got to wear a hat! 

The Cake!

We got a new gate for our kitchen since Matthew figured out how to climb the board and knocked the others! Poor kid..life is so hard when you are almost 2 and curious about everything!

New birthday tradition....doughnuts for breakfast!!! The boys were super excited and it made Peter feel special! 

This kid cracks me up!!!

I must be getting old because these just didn't taste the way that I remembered...anyone else think they have a plastic taste...guess I'll have to stick with Crispy Creams!

The official birthday cake!!! Peter was a little nervous when I called it a dirt cake but "wormed" up when I told about the gummy worms and bugs!

The haul...the monster puppet things...a great investment...they are kind of like Mr. Potato Head but with felt pieces that Velcro on to the felt puppet! (*If I could sew...I would make some more ...sigh..oh well..)

This is a "What was I thinking?" kind of present...but he loves it...as well as everyone else in the house...pity that it got lost with the by the second day!

Happy Birthday, Peter! I love you so much! Thanks for breaking us in and being patient with us!

The Day the Leprechauns Came to Town

Every year our home is visited by little men in green clothes...they like to dye our food green and pull pranks. So this year we decided to build some traps to catch them! The boys were way excited about it and worked on their traps for two days. They could hardly sleep that night thinking of those leprechauns.  It was almost like Christmas! 

Peter and Andrew posing with their traps! Very simple and it took two days because we only spent 20 minutes for two nights working on them.  The poor photo quality is due to the camera on my phone. Not the best!

This is what the leprechauns did to us in return for trying to catch them! 

I see many years of leprechaun traps in my future! 

Who knew...

...that the dentist could be so exhausting?

* Sorry about the photo quality...I used my phone because it was handy!

About a month ago, Andrew had to go to the dentist to have three cavities filled.  The dentist has been less then a fun experience for us...in fact its dread by both the kids and the parents. Andrew would often kick and scream so bad that I would have to hold him on my lap and lay his head in the dentist lap so that he could quickly look in his mouth. So when the 6 month visit rolled around, I shuddered with fear! 

Much to my surprise...Andrew walked in, laid down, and let them do everything that they needed too! What a tender mercy! Definitely had a lot to be thankful for that night! When we went for the cavities, I was terrified that it was going to be a bad experience! Once again, Andrew surprised me by climbing up on the spaceship chair, took the "happy" gas, and started to fall asleep! By the time the dentist had given the shot and let it sit for a while, he was snoring!! I was totally floored!!!  Kids totally surprise you! 

Look at what I did!

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