Easter Visit pt. 3

Well, there should have been a "part 3" to Mom and Dad's Easter Visit.

But...

Apparently we've had germs come visit us instead. Bummer!

We had planned to go to Church with Mom, Dad, Chad, Mary, & the kids. Then off to their house for yummy Easter Dinner. But Little Jensen wasn't feeling up to it. He got a little cold, and since he loves his mom so much, he gave it to her too. Lucky Me. And to top it all off.... we had PB& J and Ramen to eat on Easter. Could it be any more depressing?

So instead of cute pictures of the family together. You'll have to settle for some cute pictures of Luke's Easter basket. The Easter Bunny visited in the afternoon on Saturday. He's very considerate of people that are sick ;)

The Easter Bunny left a trail of eggs from Luke's bedroom to the TV room. Inside the eggs were yummy bunny marshmallows.

Luke was excited and a little confused about all the fun.

His first look at his basket.

The rubber ducky has been a big hit. He's been squeaking it non-stop.

He loved the marshmallows. This has been his first experience with candy. Every time he eats one, he "Mmmmmm's" with satisfaction.

Poor sick baby.

He L.O.V.E.S his Easter Doggy. He carries it around hugging it and he even sleeps with it. Not very typical since he's never shown a preference for the stuffed animals he has. But then again, none of them are doggies like his Minnie & Bruno, which he loves, loves, loves.



And here is a close up of his basket. It includes: soccer ball, farm animals book, rubber ducky, rowdy the truck, stuffed animal, and puzzle.

 We really wish we could've had another day with Grandma and Grandpa before they had to go back home. But we are so thankful that they could make time to visit us. It has been a blast. And it is wonderful seeing the sweet relationship Luke has with his grandparents. He's been showered with special attention that only grandparents can give. Thanks Mom & Dad for making this Easter so special. And Thanks Chad & Mary for sharing a great day at the zoo with us!!

Easter is always a special time of year when we can reflect on the VERY special gift that our Saviour gave us. I am so grateful for the Atonement and the opportunity it gives me to repent of the things that keep me from my Heavenly Father and improve on the things that will let me have my family for eternity.

I hope each of you had a beautiful Easter and that you were able to spend it with the people that are most dear to you.

Easter Visit pt. 2

THE PHOENIX ZOO!!!

It is such a fun place. I highly recommend it. There are great exhibits, and fun things for little kids to do all over the zoo. You should go. Even better, come visit us and we'll go together.

I've got a TON of pictures. So beware: long post ahead...



My little boo snuggling his blankie in the car ride up. He thought it was pretty cool having Grandma & Grandpa in the backseat with him.



Wasn't sure what this place was all about. But there was a lot going on.

Oh hey! It's me....thought I'd add a photo of me since there's not many of those on here.

Luke would follow Grandpa anywhere, or is it the other way around? Either way, these two think the other is pretty groovy.

Luke tried to 'borrow' some one's bike at the zoo. Oops. Good think Daddy was there to help Luke choose the right.

Chad and Liam checking out all the cool features of the tree house.

Could this little guy be any cuter?  Liam has the cutest little voice and he would say the cutest things.

Ranger quite a poser. He would tell me to take a picture of him and then run over to something and strike a pose.

Like this, for example....Hahahaha!

These two cuties having fun.

Giraffes were the first exhibit we visited. And Luke couldn't take his eyes off of them. Even for a picture. But Matt sure looks cute.

Luke didn't want to leave the Giraffes. He was fascinated.

Ranger is too cute. He was a lot of fun.

Ranger was very kind to Luke. And very helpful. He loved pushing the stroller.

My personal favorite exhibit. Lions are the coolest. I know that because I wrote a report on them in 6th Grade. So there.

Luke trying to climb into the Lion exhibit. Um, buddy, they are NOT like your doggies at home. FYI.

The AZ cousins playing.

A tender moment between Ranger and Luke. He was helping Luke down a ledge so he could keep up with the big boys. And then they shared a hug. So Sweet!

Enjoying a little snack of SNOW CONES. So yummy and refreshing.

Ranger was able to talk Grandpa into letting him ride a camel. I asked him right before this picture if he could tell me how stinky it was since his Mom didn't want him to ride since it would make him SO stinky. He replied, "Um, not as bad as I thought. It's fun!"

Again, Luke can't make eye contact with the camera because he was busy looking at the monkeys.



There was a great walk through monkey exhibit where you could get within 3 feet of these little cuties. And we just happened to be there when it was feeding time. It was really exciting.... 15 or so monkeys running all over the place competing for the food. We asked what they were eating. The keeper told us it was pine cones covered with peanut butter & jelly. Liam then said...want some!


At this point my camera's batteries decided to die. So I missed taking some of the best pictures later on when we visited the Orangutan exhibit. The Phoenix Zoo had just remodeled the exhibit so that you could see the Orangutan's from outside or you could go to an inside viewing area that was eye level. We had stopped to talk to a volunteer named Peggy who pointed out all the members of the family. We were pleasantly chatting when Momma Bess got up and came from across her exhibit to the window right in front of Luke and just stared at him. Peggy said that Bess must have really like Luke to come from her comfy spot in the shade to visit. It was so Cool! I can't believe I didn't have my camera to capture that moment. We joked that we found Luke a babysitter. Hahaha! Can you imagine....Tarzan baby.

We had a super time at the zoo. And it was so much better having family with us. I'll remember this visit forever! Thanks everyone!

Easter Visit pt. 1

Mom and Dad came in on Wednesday afternoon and it was nice to get to spend time getting Luke reacquainted with his Grandma & Grandpa. It sure didn't take long for him to just love them to pieces. It's so sweet to see the bond Grandparents and Grandkids have. Plus, it's nice to have extra people in the house to entertain him while I cook dinner.

 Thursday, Matt came with us to the mall by our house and we strolled around, shopped, and played. We also had lunch. Matt had to scamper off to work (poor guy), and we dropped by Walmart to pick up a few items. While there, Grandma and Grandpa decided to by Luke a set of wooden blocks to play with. And when we got home, we spent some quality time learning how to stack, knock over, and stuff blocks down shirts. Very cute.

Sunday Best

Every Sunday when we get all gussied up for Church I have the lyrics from Hello Dolly pop into my head.

"Put on your Sunday day clothes when you feel down and out. Strut down the street and have your picture took. Dressed like a dream your spirits seem to turn about. That Sunday shine is a certain sign.... that you feel as good as you look!"

Yes, I watched a lot of musicals as a child. And yes, the soundtracks are now all downloaded on my ipod. And no, I don't think there's a problem with that.

Oh and yes, my son sees his fair share of musicals too. Just the other day we ate lunch together watching Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream coat (Go! Go! Go! Joseph you know what they say...)

Oh sorry, almost got lost signing another song. Haha.

Well, to get to the point I love the way you feel in Sunday clothes. And I've noticed there's a shocking lack of Sunday clothes pictures on here, so I thought I better address that. Get ready for cute:

And in case that face doesn't look familiar. It is the spitting image of Matt's sleepy face. Luke woke up a little bit early this morning. And he is very thankful for Nick Jr......so is Mommy. Amen.

We're getting pretty excited for Easter this year. Luke will be old enough to have fun with his Easter basket. My parents are coming out for a quick visit. And that gives us an excuse to spend some time with them and Chad and Mary.

Can you say YAY!

P.S. - please excuse my son for not wearing pants. It's 90+ degrees out and that's a good enough excuse to ditch our britches. And please ignore his binky. He's only supposed to have that when he's sleeping, but I had a moment of weakness...

Monkey see, monkey do

It's amazing what little kids can pick up. Luke has a little play phone that he use to love when he was around 6 months. But lately he's rediscovered it and suddenly he knows exactly what it's meant for. How did he figure that out? He can watch us on our phones, and then go to his phone (which looks completely different) and mimic us.

For example: Luke walks in the room with his phone and opens it up. I ask, "Are you calling Gramma?" He nods, starts jabbering, and walks out of the room. I then here him having a whole conversation with "Gramma" on the other side of the house.

Very important phone calls Luke has to make. And apparently "I" make to much noise because he's constantly having to leave the room for some quiet so he can talk to "Gramma". Hahaha!

P.S. - I had to follow him out of the room to catch this picture. He needed his privacy ;)

What he picks up

How many Xbox controllers do we have in this house? I know you lay awake at night wondering. Well, let me help you out. We have at least six. And we only have one person that actually plays, then one that THINKS he plays. I think Matt has had to buy 2 new controllers because Luke will get a hold of one and "uses" it until it no longer works. But he really thinks he can do stuff with it. You can tell that Luke really pays attention to what his Daddy does when he gets in a little Xbox time. Oh, and he makes the accompanying noises too.

And although he use to have "Junk in the Trunk" which made it very hard for him to get into and out of his bumbo. I'm glad to say that he's worked all the extra fluff off by running us ragged every day and he can freely jump in and out of his bumbo no problem now. And he still loves to sit in there.

And lastly, here he is doing 'tricks' on his little scoot around toy. He cracks me up!