Happy Easter!

The Young Branch arranged a nice Easter service that combined all different religions throughout the community! With Jon's dad being the Branch President he had a final say in the program, and it really turned out nice! It would have been a lot nicer it I wasn't in the hall with Derrick for most of the program! He was being an absolute pill!! Jon and I kept taking turns taking him out and then Grandpa Brenay finally took over! He said he just sat and talked with him and he calmed right down! I guess it was fitting for Derick to have an extreme 2 year old fit on his 2nd birthday! This was the best I could do for a picture of the kids together! Derrick does not like to look at the camera!

Easter Baskets

The kids were happy to find that the Easter Bunny brought them baskets even at Grandma and Grandpa's house! Emma got a new coloring book and crayons, a fancy ring (because she always wants to wear mom's wedding ring!), and some gloves and lots of candy! Derrick got a new car, and a soft, cuddly "Gunk Gunk Frog"! Grandma Clark always sings a song with them called "Gunk Gunk Frog", so the kids have really taken a liking to frogs! Derrick loves it and had to sleep with it last night! Derrick's favorite candy are "num nums" (M & M's), so after he saw those that was what he wanted! He also really likes the chocolate balls and thought they were real balls he could throw! I'm sure I will find melted chocolate balls under my couches some day! :)

Easter Egg Hunt

On Saturday there was a big Easter event for all the kids in Young! They had the Easter Bunny there, an Easter Egg Hunt and a lot of games for the kids to play! Emma was so excited to see the Easter Bunny again (who was actually Aunt Annie this time) and Derrick went up with her and didn't cry, so that was a step in the right direction! He just wouldn't smile at me! For the Easter Egg hunt the kids were allowed to find 26 eggs each! Well, we were out there for quite awhile and I think they each ended up with around 15-20!

Easter Games

After the Easter Egg hunt the kids went to play a couple more games! The Egg/Spoon race (where you have to hold the egg on the spoon and race) and hopscotch! With the kids being so little they pretty much cheated! :) Emma just held her egg in one hand and her spoon in the other and walked to the finish line! But, they awarded her 3rd place! She was so excited to get a ribbon! Derrick thought the egg was a ball and the spoon was a sword! So, he didn't get very far! At the hopscotch game Emma just ran back and forth and they awarded her 1st place! She was thrilled to have a white and a blue ribbon! She told everyone she got 1st place and "another" place! :) It was fun to watch the kids having a good time!

The Phoenix Zoo

Yesterday the kids and I went to the Phoenix Zoo with my sister, Jeni, and her kids! It was really crowded because if Spring Break! But, luckily we got in for free, and walked right up to the gate, with Jeni's mother-in-law's Zoo membership! My guess is the people who were waiting to buy tickets were probably waiting close to 30 minutes! We were there for about 4 hours! It was a long day with 6 kids...but they did pretty good! My legs hurt from pushing the double stroller up all the hills and I put sunscreen on the kids, but not myself! So I got pretty sunburned! Emma and Derrick had a fun time though! I don't know that we will go back any time soon, especially if I have to pay! :) There just wasn't that much to see! I haven't been in years and I didn't really remember what they had there! The new Stingray exhibit was pretty neat! And the kids liked the Giraffes and the Rhinoceros the best! At the gift shop Emma picked out a giraffe and Derrick picked out a leopard print car! :) It was a fun day, but definitely one of those "every-once-in-awhile" trips!

The River House!

Jon parents have a friend who owns some houses by the river and he rents them out! We have stayed there a few times in years past! It is always a fun time! Last night was the first night we were able to be out there as a family and the kids sure had fun! They just played outside pretty much the whole time we were there! We had dinner and a party and had a great time visiting! This was the first time in a long time that some of Jon's family has been together and it was really neat to see! We love you guys!

Early Birthday and Easter!

While we were at the River House we had a combined birthday party for Maddie, Derrick and Jim! Derrick was of course thrilled with getting new presents ( cars, a puzzle, and a baseball bat and ball)! He cried when we sang Happy Birthday and brought his cake out, which must be a 2 year old thing because Emma did the same thing on her 2nd birthday!! He had his choice of candles and he specifically chose Dora! There was also a surprise visitor to the party...The Easter Bunny! Jon's older brother Sean dressed up as the Easter Bunny and had a little treat for all of the kids! I think Emma was the most excited! She has been asking me about the Easter bunny for weeks! (I was dreading taking her to the mall to see him...but now I don't have to!) Derrick wasn't so sure about him! But he did eventually sit on his lap! Even Grandma and Grandpa got a turn! It was a really fun night!

Washington D.C. Trip!!

Jon and I just got back from a wonderful trip to Washington D.C.! Jon was in Baltimore for work and I flew in on Wednesday night. We drove to D.C. on Thursday and started the long, but exciting days of touring our nation's capital! The first day the weather was absolutely gorgeous! But, I have never walked so much in my life and I got to experience a subway for the first time! (Kind of scary!) But, it was definitely the easiest way to get around town! The first day we toured the Library of Congress. Our tour was scheduled for 1 :30, but when we got there we notice a lot of black sedans and SUVs and a lot of heavily armed guards! One of the guards told us to come back at 2pm because the King of Jordan was inside the library! When we came back he was just getting ready to leave, so they stopped all traffic (including pedestrian traffic) to allow the King and his entourage to leave! It was actually kind of neat to see! So, after he was gone we had our tour! This building was beautiful on the inside! The architecture and the art were amazing! It looked like something you would see in Europe! But, it was completely made by Americans! You wee not allowed to take pictures in the main reading room! But it was neat to see!
After the library we headed over to the memorials and the Mall! This was amazing! We didn't go inside the Washington Monument because it was really busy! The World War II Memorial touched me the most! I didn't expect to get teary-eyed, but I did! While we were there a choir was singing "The Star Spangled Banner" and it was so beautiful! I have always been fascinated by WW II history and knowing that both mine and Jon's grandpas fought in that war made it more real to me! Then we walked the long haul of the refection pool to the Lincoln Memorial! There are so many steps to get up there! But, it was so neat to see that part of history! On each side of where Lincoln is sitting they have engraved in the walls his 2nd Inaugural Address and his Gettysburg Address! After this we went to the Vietnam Memorial wall! I did not expect this to be so long! It was overwhelming how many names were engraved on this wall representing those that lost their lives in that war! By the time we were done with all of the memorials we were so tired and headed back to the hotel for a quick nap! That night we just walked around Dupont Circle where our hotel was and went to dinner at a really good Italian restaurant!
The next day was very cloudy when we woke up! We decided to go to Arlington National Cemetery before the rain came! I'm glad we did because I would not have wanted to miss this! It was incredible to see! This was Jon's favorite place that we went! We were able to see the grave of JFK! Beside it they have an Eternal Flame burning! Across from his grave they have some of his famous quotes, Jon's favorite being, "And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man." We then walked over to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier where there is a guard standing watch all the time! We got there just in time for a changing of the guards! This was neat to see and to watch them salute the tomb! As we were walking in the cemetery every once in a while we heard a 3 gun salute and the sound of Taps being played!
After the cemetery we went over the the Smithsonian Museums and the National Archives where the Constitution, Bill of Rights and The Declaration of Independence are kept! They were very hard to read! I wasn't expecting them to be so faded! But, they are over 200 years old! :) The room where they are kept is very dark and they don't allow flash photography, so we did our best to get some pictures! By the time we walked out of the Archives it was pouring! We caught a taxi to the nearest place we could buy an umbrella! But, we got soaked waiting for a cab! All part of the experience!
We went to the Natural History Museum and saw the Hope Diamond! It is a 52 carat blue diamond! I told Jon I want it for our next Anniversary! :) We also went to the Air and Space Museum and Jon took a ton of pictures of planes! (I cut it down for the slide show!) He loved this! I was excited because they had a small exhibit from the American History Museum which was closed for remodeling! Here we saw a lot of really cool things from Dorthy's ruby slippers to Mr. Roger's sweater!
We also had a tour of the Capitol building! It was pre-arranged by one of the other managers that Jon works with! We met in the Senate building at Senator McCain's office! (He wasn't in...he's a little busy right now!) But, it was neat to see his office! We took a private subway that goes from the Senate building to the Capitol! The Capitol was impressive! Again, the artwork and detail was incredible! Going into the Rotunda where the past Presidents have lied in state was very neat...to be in a room where so much history has taken place! They also had a statue room, where each state is allowed 2 statues to represent themselves! Arizona's was someone by the name of Greenway, but we liked that there was a statue of Brigham Young in there for Utah!
That night we went to dinner with 3 of the other managers from Jon's work! We ate at a really nice restaurant in Georgetown! The food was pretty good, but the atmosphere was beautiful! It was right on the river and and had a amazing view! After dinner we went to see the White House! We never did see it during the day, but it was pretty at night! Jon liked looking for all the guards on the roof! :) It was not as big as I thought it would be! It just looks like a really big house, but I was expecting something huge!
The last day we were there we drove to Mt. Vernon! This is where George and Martha Washington lived! This was spectacular! It is set right on the Potomac River and has thousands of acres of land! We were not allowed to take pictures inside of the house, but it was very neat to see! There are 2 tombs on the property. One is where George and Martha laid for about 30 years until a new one was built according the the instructions he left in his will! The stables still smelled like stables but the area was just beautiful! We saw a cardinal in the gardens which was neat because it is the state bird of Virginia!
So much history here! We had a fantastic trip! I'm glad we got to experience all that we did! I would love to take to kids back when they are old enough to appreciate it! Enjoy the slide show! It's kind of long, but this is the condensed version! We ended up taking just over 200 photos in 3 days! When you are in a place like that, you can't help it!

Washington D.C. Trip!!

The result...

This is the result of a family of 4 being sick for a week! LAUNDRY, LAUNDRY, LAUNDRY!! The pictures don't even do it justice! I was so tired of washing sheets and towels and clothes that had been thrown up on!! YUCK!! Thank goodness it is over and we are all feeling well! The day after we found out that Derrick had pneumonia, Emma and I got sick with the flu, just like Jon had! This was our 2nd time around and it was worse the 2nd time! So, in reality the entire month of February there was at least one sick person in my house! But, I'm not all complaints! Jon did help me fold this gigantic pile of laundry...and that is the chore he hates to do the most! He would rather scrub bathtubs and floors than fold laundry! So, I know he loves me and was probably feeling guilty that he was acting like my third child for a week! :) In all honesty though, the Lord heard several of my desperate mother's prayers and helped us all through this! We are truly blessed!

February Blues!

I have officially decided that February is my LEAST favorite month! It is SICK month! 2 years ago when I was 8 months pregnant with Derrick, Emma got Croup! Then Derrick got sick shortly after he was born! Then last year Emma had Croup again in February and Derrick had Bronchiolitis! I started it all off this year with a yucky cold! It lasted about 3 weeks! Emma got it about a week after me! She had all the same symptoms as me, so I wasn't too worried with her! Derrick got it about a week and a half ago and his symptoms kept getting worse and worse! He was throwing up Monday and Tuesday, then acted better on Wednesday! But, that night he was coughing ALL night! I was going to give him one more night to see how he did, but then almost with out even thinking about it, picked up the phone and made him a doctor appointment! Thank goodness I did because he has a mild case of pneumonia! Poor guy! I feel so bad for him! His fever isn't too high, but he threw up twice again yesterday and all he had were liquids! He started an antibiotic and needs breathing treatments every 3-4 hours! I got him to eat some applesauce this morning and I'm giving him as much juice as he will drink! He is crashed out on the couch right now! I don't even want to move him! I'll just let him get the rest that he needs! Emma started coughing again today and I am not feeling too great either! I'm hoping mine is just from lack of sleep! (Or at least that's what I keep telling myself!) Jon has felt terrible the last 2 days, but has had important meetings at work! Hopefully we can all rest up this weekend and get well!