Go Blue!

We were so excited that U of M is in the NCAA Championship game!

Spring Break and Easter and St. Patrick's Day

By far my most favorite picture from Spring Break is this one.

 Have I said before how much I love having my kids home? Because I really do. I love to reconnect with them and just take a gut-check on whether sending them to school is the right thing. I always ask myself questions like:
-How is my relationship with my child(ren) currently?
-Are they learning what I believe they should? -How are relationships at school effecting our home life?
-Can my children play happily at home? (If the answer is ever no, then definitely home schooling would be bumped up in priority)

Tyler took a couple days off work (well, one, but the other he worked from home). We then went to a TINY town called Nauvoo. Tyler didn't even get cell reception! Awesome! It was the last town the Saints lived in before they headed west to "Zion" aka Salt Lake City. Tyler actually had two ancestors live in Nauvoo. One was a scout for Brigham Young and actually saw the Salt Lake Valley before Brigham did. Tyler was excited about it and got to sign a book that he was a descendant.

The missionary working there said he "made his day."

The other fun part of Nauvoo besides confirming I am violently allergic to horses was seeing all the senior missionary couples. There has been a huge surge of people signing up for missions due to the lowering of age restrictions. All of the missionaries we saw though were senior couples. It seemed a very social mission. All of the couples were just SO happy serving. They put on a dance/singing show two times a night and help out at all the historical sites. They can even live in historic houses the church has restored. It was really inspiring to see a huge bunch of people serving the Lord later in life.

 Other highlights: The giant milkshakes Tyler got the kids at Culver's.

 Ava's reflections picture winning second place in the district in her category! We went to an awards ceremony at the district building.



 North finally got over his cold. Runny noses that last 5 weeks are no fun. He tested positive for Influenza B and had pre-pneumonia as a result. Good times.

 Happy St. Patty's Day!

 

A couple random cute ones

I actually heard birds chirping this morning. I am so excited for spring. Here are some cute pictures. Poor guy wearing a headband. But he is super happy about it. Definitely a perk of having two older sisters and a dad who works a lot. (Sorry hun, it's true) The girls playing at their desk in the basement. North dressing up in the soccer clothes.

American Girl Doll Store

Chicago is a 5 hour drive from us. Not too far for a day trip. The weather was great, and Tyler had just returned from a trip so we opted to just make it a one-day thing. After looking carefully at all the choices, Ava chose Saige, the "doll of the year." Preying upon special occasions and parents wanting to spoil their children was a horse drawn carriage outside the store. Tyler and I have never done it, so we did. It was fun! (Until I started breaking out into hives at dinner because I'm allergic to horses) Then we went to get some Chinese food at P.F. Chang's per Ava's request. Here's Ava and Saige! One super happy girl!

Ava is 7!

The week after I got home from Idaho it was Ava's birthday. She is so grown up now. I am really enjoying having an older girl in the house. In a few years I can even leave her home alone! Anyway, we had a special surprise in store for her. A trip to Chicago to the American Girl doll store! This was the PERFECT age to do it. She "got" it, knew it was super expensive and she really wanted the doll. And Chicago was great. We gave her a letter wrapped up that told her what her surprise was going to be. This picture captured the moment pretty well: Then we played a lively game of life-size Jenga. A by-product of Tyler's Teacher's quorum that we have had a lot of fun with! My favorite of North. A 2 year old having a hard time when it's super tall! Me and my 7 year old! Yup, we've got a case of the girl crazies around here.

A trip to Idaho

My birthday and Christmas present was a reunion trip with my best friends, Irina and Jenny. I seriously don't think I've ever talked that much in my entire life. Jenny's family has a cabin in Sandpoint, Idaho. It is interesting to compare her cabin with the cabins of Michigan. While this cabin was on a dammed up lake, and the water level was predictable, Michigan lakes are unpredictable and have floating rafts. The town was larger than expected. And there are tons of specialty food eating places (organic, local, paleo, etc) We were all in heaven! Next time our kids have to come :) Irina and Atticus. The dock. Lunch! Mountains by the canal in town. The local crystal store. The 3 of us! One of the funniest things was a neighbor's house was being built and we walked through it. It was fan-cy. The 3 of us again. And a trip down the zipline. The whole trip was a blast. Thank you Jenny!!

Mclean's Christmas

After Disney world we drove about 3 hours south to my mom's house. It was nice and warm, whereas Orlando was cold and rainy most days we were there. Naples was wonderful. Santa made arrangements to come, and it was fun. And then it was my birthday! At this precise moment I am forgetting how old I am. 30? 31? No idea.. :)Here is how I spent my birthday: Being on the beach makes me the happiest person alive. It was a great birthday!