Easter weekend

Thursday afternoon we got the keys to out house! It was such a great moment!! My sister Shannon watched the kids while Jonas and I were able to go rent a U-haul and move our stuff out to our house. My brother Jason and nephew Brandon helped us load it into the truck and my brother Jarod and nephew Jakob helped us unload at our house. We were able to get the carpet cleaned that night. Thanks to family for all the awesome help!

The kids had a blast with the cardboard!

Friday and Saturday we spent unpacking and we are pretty much all done and the house feels great!

Friday night we dyed Easter eggs at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. The kids loved it but Jonas and I were pretty much wasted.

On Saturday morning the kids got their Easter baskets and eggs from the Easter bunny. They had a lot of fun running around the house and finding eggs.

Maelie finding her basket - she was pretty excited about her tutu basket

And Kyla finding hers, her basket was a hat

Kyla finding her chocolate bunny

Jaxon getting in on the fun - loving that candy!

I thought this was funny - Jaxon stealing eggs from Maelie's basket

Maelie wearing the skirt from her basket and the hat from Kyla's basket

on the hunt

Sunday morning we did another Easter egg hunt but this time with scriptures and the Easter story. It was really great to keep Sunday more focused on the real reason for Easter.

I took the kids out back to take pix and bribed them with popsicles, can you tell who had orange ones in the above fam pic?

We went to our new ward and then went to Grandma and Grandpa’s for Easter dinner.

the girls...

the boys...

It was probably the busiest but best Easter weekend ever! :)

home sweet home

Well, we did get the house on Thursday and we are all moved in for the most part. We really love our new home! It is beautiful and we feel blessed to have it. We are getting internet today (I am at my mom's right now) and I have lots of pix and things to post so that will be coming soon. Hope you had a happy easter!

waiting...

I can't believe how much waiting is involved when buying a house!! It drives me crazy! Yesterday we signed the papers and did a walk thru. Our house is empty and it felt great to be in our house! We are supposed to be getting our keys today but ya never know. I am just waiting around willing the phone to ring!!!!

yay!

The underwriting is done and our loan has been approved! Yay! Phew!!! On Monday or Tuesday we get to sign our life away and I am so happy to do it!!!

sad day

We have been counting down to today and here it is, but we don't have a house! It is very very sad! We are just waiting on the backed up underwriters for our mortgage. Our new closing date is BEFORE or on April 10th. Hopefully before! On a better note, tomorrow is conference! YAY!!

easter

I think Easter is my 2nd favorite holiday and I have to admit that a big reason for that is this...

A few weeks ago, while we were waiting for Maelie's prescription at Walmart, Maelie was happily shaking around another reason I love Easter...

and an older lady told her, "you know that stuff is fun, but that's not the real reason for Easter" and then she told me, "Please make sure she knows the real reason for Easter" and then she preceded to tell me all about it.

Last night we were able to go to the Easter Pageant at the Mesa temple. My mom kept Jaxon at home which worked out great since Maelie was on my lap and Kyla was on Jonas' lap during the entire time, except for when they both got down to dance with the 10 vigins.
It seems like we have a lot of family and friends that we are praying for right now. There are so many people with such hard struggles in this world and it makes me wonder how I can complain with my good life. It feels like things haven't happened quite the way we planned, so I have to admit that my testimony hasn't been as strong as it should be and I've kinda been a grump! But how blessed I am! It's strange how we think we are blessed because we are all healthy and happy but what about those people that aren't healthy or struggling with something. It reminds me that we all have our individual struggles and that we all are blessed in different ways.
So back to the Easter pageant... I am happy that I was able to go last night and take an hour and a half to remind myself what life is all about. It was great! I know that my Savior lives and I am grateful that he loves me enough to die for me. I am also grateful and overwhelmed with the opportunity to teach my children all about life as well. So, remember the reason for the season. Happy Easter!

Nothing too exciting happening in the Stanford home, just waiting...

Jaxon is starting to talk on the phone. It's really cute, I love that stage. I was trying to get a picture but he kept lunging for the camera when he sees it. He's like his daddy and loves technology! And he is such a little tease, he will run and turn the tv on and off just so he can make you mad, or he will go and grab at Grandma's plants, just to get Grandma's attention. He makes life pretty exciting around here!
Yesterday, I went on a bike ride with my sister, Shannon and as I was nearing the edge of a sidewalk, I decided it would be a good idea to leap off my bike and land on the hard gravel below! So, I'm still not sure what happened, maybe I was falling and felt I better try to catch myself, or maybe if I would have kept riding I would have been ok, who knows, but I have decided that I don't think well under pressure! I have a sore neck, back, bloody knee, and ruined jeans but yes, I'm going again today because the weather is perfect right now!

Hopefully, one week from today!!!!!

sharing

Today we all had dinner at Grandma and Grandpa Rogers' house....a Sunday tradition. All the kids were playing downstairs when Maelie came upstairs, upset about something. We asked her what was wrong, and she said, "Kailin won't share Anna with me." Classic!

a few things...

I recently made a blog book from Blurb.com and it is so awesome! I made my 2007 book and sometime in the future I will make my 2008 book and then at the end of each year, I will turn the year into a book. For me, it's a great way to keep track of my life and keep a history for our family. I am loving it! It makes blogging not only a hobby but I feel like I am working on a project and I like it way more than scrapbooking.

On Tuesday night, Maelie and Kyla came running in while we were watching American Idol, telling us that Kyla had just swallowed a jingle bell! It was kinda terrifying at first until I realized that she was breathing and the jingle bell was most likely in her tummy. Now, we are just waiting for it to pass!

2 weeks from tomorrow we move into our new home!!!!! Halleluyah! I'm almost afraid to be too excited until those keys are in our hands, but I think it's too late!

Fountain Hills and the Mesa Temple

Yesterday for St. Patty's Day we went to Fountain Hills to see the green fountain.

Maelie and Kyla feeding the ducks pizza crust. In the morning when I told Maelie about St. Patrick's Day, she said, "Green is not a girl color." I got out all her shirts that had green on them and she chose the one with the least amount of green on it... the leaf of a tiny flower on the pocket of her shirt - she is such a girly girl!

Check out that GREEN fountain! It is always a sight to see! And I thought this was so cute how Kailin put her arm around Kyla.

this is all of us who went... friends of the family Emily and Tiffany were also there and kind enough to take pix... Maelie (who was being stubborn and didn't want to take any pix), Mistie, Shannon, Taani, Kailin, Kelly, Karsyn, Jaxon, Kyla, and Grandma


Maelie with cute green hair

and Jaxon!

when the fountain wasn't incredibly green and yes, there is a green stripe in my shirt :)

picnic time!!

Tiffany, Maelie, and Kailin on the dino at the park

Jaxon loves Cheetos!

bubbles!!!

Sunday night we went to the temple and it was soooo nice... just relaxing on the grass!