BitterSweet

I've been getting some slack about not updating for a while, so here goes... Warning...this may be long and contain lots of pictures!

The last few weeks have been busy, emotional, & full of craziness - you know, the usual.

First of all, Congratulations Heather & Jared! Our newest niece was born Monday, March 30 with tons of dark hair - what a cutie! Brynleigh, we can hardly wait to meet you!

On Thurs. April 2, my Grandma Larsen passed away (my mom's mom). She had fought long and hard with her health. She was full of strength - never complaining, always just saying she's "fine". She will be missed - I've learned much from her example & perseverance. We were not able to make it up to the funeral. I hate being far away when it comes to missing out on family gatherings & events.

We spent a few days in Show Low with Derek while he went up to work. It was nice to have a change in pace & weather. Ashlyn had a great time swimming!
Our neighbor's little girl came over to play a couple times. She just turned 2 & boy, I realized why we're not planning kids too close to the same age. Chasing a 1 & 2 yr old around wore me out a bit - I was sure glad for nap time. Ashlyn & Lucy were really cute together though:

General Conference was fabulous - so many great messages. We do get to watch it on TV & it's nice to relax & "go to church in your pj's". We also puppy sat for a friend that weekend. It was this cute, tiny little dachshund. I knew we were jinxing Ashlyn when we got rid of Donovan (our boxer for a year). She was terrified of this tiny little creature. She'd be in her high chair & the dog would come over & bark - Ashlyn would look at me and start crying in terror. So, back the dog would go into her cage in the bathroom. By the third & last day, she'd decided the puppy wasn't so bad. Yah - it's lookin' like we're not getting another dog any time in the foreseeable future!

We're learning how important it is to keep the bathroom doors closed - tightly! She walked around for about 5 minutes with this stuck to her feet.

Now that she's walking/running everywhere, Ashlyn wears herself out faster - she couldn't even stay awake for dinner this night.

This doesn't have much of a story - I was just proud of Ashlyn for using the stick horse the right way. She usually pushes it around on the floor like a vacuum or broom. I told Mariah she's going to have to take Ashlyn in for a while to learn about animals.

Every year there is an Easter Pageant at the Mesa Temple - sort of like the Mormon Miracle Pageant in Manti. I hadn't put it all together earlier, but the popular "Reflections of Christ" photos that were made into a slide show, book, & video were commissioned in connection with & to help advertise for this pageant called "Jesus the Christ". We hadn't been before & we had lots of visitors to come with for our first trip.

My sister, Mariah, drove down for her first visit since we've moved. She has 3 little girls & brought along an 11 yr old neighbor, Hailey. They all got here on Wednesday night. My great-grandma Sorenson along with my aunts Mitizi & Jerilynn all flew down from UT that same day. Then, my Dad & Virginia drove down and got here on Thursday afternoon. We had dinner & colored about 5 dozen Easter eggs (yes, we went a bit overboard but it was fun).

I guess I should note that Grandma is 92 years old! She'd been planning this trip since they came down for Ashlyn's blessing last year & saw advertisements for it. If you know grandma, you know that when she makes up her mind - that's what's going to happen :) I thinks it's awesome & dream of being half that active when I'm her age.

On Friday we all went to the Phoenix Zoo (with the exception of Derek who was working). It was so great - & huge! I think we all had a good time. I highly suggest the train ride. Ashlyn liked watching the people & her cousins way more than seeing the animals. It made me laugh that the first animals we saw after entering were the giraffes & Watusi cattle. Mariah & Tyrell raise longhorns & have a Watusi of their own - she came all the way to Phoenix & that was the first thing we saw!

That night we went to the pagaent at the temple. We got off kinda easy by having all the kids, so we didn't have to wait there saving seats - Thanks Mitizi, Grandma, & Jerilynn! Although it was a bit distracting with the kids - the pagaent itself was amazing. Beautifully done, incredible costumes, and spiritually uplifting. Definitely a must for next year - I'd love to see it with my honey. I thought it was so sweet that my niece Taylor (turning 6 in May) was asking so many questions about the Savior. I felt so bad when she kept saying she couldn't see Jesus' face very well - it took a bit to realize we hadn't explained it was a play we were watching - she thought it was all real :)

On Saturday we had our Easter egg hunt - the Easter bunny had to hide the eggs around the house 'cause it was raining outside. The girls scored with baskets full of toys, eggs, and candy. My dad & Virginia left for home & the weather finally let up that afternoon. To any locals it was freezing & sweater weather. To the UT natives it was warm swimming weather. We basically had the pool at the YMCA all to ourselves. Taylor & Hailey were a bit disappointed 'cause there were too many rules at that pool (ie: no floaties). Then we all went out to dinner at the Texas Roadhouse - we love it there, not only for the food but also that it's noisy enough that kids can be loud & no one notices.

Getting up for our Sacrament at 8:00 am just didn't happen on Easter Sunday. We all slept in a bit & hung out that day. My aunts & Grandma (who were staying at a hotel) came over for the afternoon & we had our Easter ham/dinner & watched the Reflections of Christ video. The girls had been looking forward to swimming lots on this vacation & it hadn't happened, so we decided to take them over to the hotel. After getting lost for nearly an hour, we finally made it & got in the pool at 9pm. Exhausting as it was, it was worth it.

Everyone else left on Monday. It was hard to say goodbye. We had such a great time and really appreciate everyone coming down. Just wish I would have got more pictures with everyone together. Love you all!

Now we're looking forward to Derek's parents visiting next weekend!

Always the bargain shopper, I have to note that I got this brand new table & chair set for only $12.50!

Thanks for checkin' in - Hope you're having a great day!