Little Mohawk Man

I was cooking and turned around to find this. Jake had been playing hairdresser with Zach and came up with this mohawk. The kids thought this was so funny and insisted on leaving his hair like that the rest of the night. Zach ended up getting a haircut later on that night.

Monster Trucks

The past couple of years, Tyler and Jake go see the monster trucks at the Holt Arena in Pocatello. Tyler loves going to this and comes back with stories of tires flying off of trucks and trucks doing backflips. This year Uncle Jarred found some front row tickets for a good price so Max and Tyler loved being so close to the action(with their ear muffs on of course!) Tyler even got some autographs of the drivers on his flag.

Tyler and Max

Easter

We spent Easter this year in Utah with Jake's family. Friday evening we had a baby shower for Aunt Cassie, she is expecting a baby boy in July. Off and on during the weekend Jake and Danny were busy helping Grandma and Grandpa move furniture to their new house in Mapelton. Saturday we had an Easter egg hunt at Grandma and Grandpa's backyard. The cousins had plenty of eggs to find and had a lot of fun together.

Happy 1st Birthday, Zach!

We celebrated Zach's birthday on Thursday! I can't believe my baby is 1! He seems so much older these past couple of days. Now that Zach is one he thinks that he can try out a lot of new things such as walking with a little help from us, jibber-jabbering a lot more, and crawling up stairs and our fireplace hearth. We love him so much. Happy Birthday to our little Zachy-Man!

My amateur photo session-Professional pictures to come next week

Zach loves climbing up on our hearth, that is until he can't figure out how to get down.

Zach opened his presents as soon as the kids got home from school.

As you can see, Zach had plenty of helping hands opening his presents.

Zach with his new toys that thankfully entertained him while I made his birthday cake.

Brooke helping Zach practice walking.

Singing Happy Birthday!

By the time we ate dinner and got to his birthday cake it was almost 7:00, so Zach was in no mood for a party. He was ready for bed, especially because through out the day he was short changed on his naps.

Poor little guy:( He had a big day.

Getting him a slice of chocolate cake cheered him up for a little while.

Thanks to the Madsens for coming to dinner on a school night to

celebrate with us!

Spring Break

This year Jake had work off for Spring Break so we were able to escape the North Pole for a several days. We were able to spend a few hours with Jake's parents in Springville, UT and then we headed off to Cedar City, UT where we spent the weekend with Jake's brother, Andy and his family. The cousins had fun playing together and I had fun shopping for a few clothes, because I forgot my suitcase at home. I couldn't believe it when we were unloading at Andy's and my suitcase was no where to be found. I was sure to pack every little thing for all of my kids and then I left my nicely packed bag sitting in my closet at home.

Sunday evening we headed to St. George, UT. We decided to rent a 4 bedroom, 2 bath home for 4 nights and 3 days with another family that was in our ward last year, the Tolmans. It worked out really well and our kids had fun swimming and playing together with their kids. They spent a lot of time playing in the backyard, which had a nice swing set and trampoline. It was sunny and low 70's when we were there and it felt so good to get some much needed Vitamin D and "thaw out".

We were also able to spend a few hours with Jake's sister, Sunny and her family. They live in Hurricane, UT which is only about a ten minute drive from St. George. They treated us to a yummy barbeque and we enjoyed being able to visit with them. On the way to Idaho we stopped at Jake's sister, Cari's house and spent the night. The kids had fun playing with more cousins.

The next morning we left for Idaho Falls because I had an appointment to have a radioactive ablation done on my thyroid. Sounds scary but a really simple procedure, simply swallow a pill and then avoid close contact with people, especially children for a few days. Just after Christmas I was diagnosed with Graves disease (hyperthyroidism). For several months I was taking medicine to control my symptoms but they weren't really helping so I decided to go and see an endroconologist in Idaho Falls. He has dealt with a lot of thyroid issues for the region and after looking at my labs and visiting with me he said that I was the most extreme case of hyperthyroidism that he had ever seen. He suggested radioactive iodine ablation so I can get feeling better soon. Radioactive ablation kills your thyroid so I will still have to take medicine everyday for hypothyroidism but at least I will be able to control my racing heart rate and other symptoms I was experiencing. It is amazing how much you can take for granted sometimes. I never knew how much one gland in your body could effect your health and life so much.

Playing outside with Cambrie and Calina

Jake trying to get Zach to like swimming.

Tyler the water dog!

Brooke waiting for the big bucket to fill up with water and soak her.

Playing in the shallow end with the little ones

Playing on the slide and swing set

Zach was not sure about the turf grass at first

Having a good ole' time

Posing on the patio

Riding the kiddie Cars at a family fun center we took the kids to

Kennady and Zach

Cousin Hailey teaching the girls how to ride the roller coaster!

Zach snuggling in with Aunt Sunny