Spring Break

We spent a fun-filled week in California during Spring Break. We went to the beach twice (pictures in post below), played at a train museum, celebrated Ben's and Grandma's birthday, went to the park a couple of times, enjoyed Easter at Grandpa and Grandma Taylor's house, watched movies, and just enjoyed time together. Sean and I even snuck in a date night. We even managed to fit in the flu (yep - Megan, Nathan and I all got a good case of the throw-up flu, and then Caelan caught something the day we got home). But, overall it was a great week.

Fun at the Beach

All in a Days Work

Yesterday I:
*Was up and dressed and ready for the day by 7:45 AM
*Got Caelan off to school (a little early, pretty amazing with 5 kids in tow, 4 under the age of 2 1/2)
*Fed and dressed Megan and Nathan
*Picked up the house
*Cleaned the bathroom
*Swept and vacuumed all floors
*Fed lunch to all 4 kids (my two, plus two that I was babysitting)
*Put the kids down for a nap
*Swept the back patio
*Weeded the front yard
*Washed and folded two loads of laundry
*Tried to read an Ensign article as I played with Nathan (who woke up early)
*Picked up Caelan from school (this was quite a feat. Picture this: a double stroller with a two year old girl in front, a two year old boy in the second seat with Megan sitting behind him, and me holding Nathan in my arms as I push the stroller up to the school to sign out Caelan)
*Said goodbye as the two extra kiddos went home
*Helped Caelan with her homework and reading
*Ran to the grocery store
*Made dinner
*Fed Nathan and then the rest of the kids
*Put Nathan to bed
*Had Family Home Evening with the girls
*Put them to bed
*Sat down (for the rest of the night).....Ahhhhh. So nice!

Happy Birthday Ben!

Ben's 4th birthday was on Sunday. He was in CA with Sean, so we didn't do the whole "celebration" thing (that will happen this week), but we did sing to him over the phone. Ben is our man of many questions these days. He always wants to know what is going on, and what will be happening next, and why people are doing this or that. It's especially fun for Sean when they are driving back and forth to CA (they get a lot of good father-son bonding). Currently Ben loves:
*his flip flops (seriously, he'll sleep in them)
*shorts (it's almost impossible to get this boy into pants)
*strawberries and olives and cereal
*the beach (he went a couple weeks ago and can't stop talking about it)
*little hand toys (any animal or figurine he can hold in his hand)
*running
*going anywhere anyone else goes (he doesn't really care where - he just wants to go)

We love Ben. He is such a special and fun part of our family. Happy Birthday Dude!
And, in honor of his birthday here are some pictures from the past:

Camping in Joshua Tree

We had a fun little getaway this weekend. I took the kids and met Sean in Joshua Tree. Grandpa Sorensen and Caleb and Corbin also came along (Brook and Grandma came out in the morning as well as Erin and David). We camped in some BLM land (no potties). We set up a tent which Caelan and Ben and Megan slept in. Sean and Nathan and I slept in the van (right next to the tent with the windows open)...actually Megan joined us late in the night as well). It was cool, but not cold and hardly any wind (perfect for the fire). We ate tinfoil dinners on Friday night and eggs, potatoes and sausage on Sat. morning. Then we spent the day climbing rocks, hiking and riding bikes (it was more like "coasting" downhill for 10 miles - very fun). We had a blast, and have a little sun-kissed skin to show for it. It made us realize that we need to camp much more often - so fun!

No Words

THERE'S REALLY NOTHING TO SAY.....

St. Patty's Day

I totally forgot it was St. Patrick's Day until after I sent Caelan off to school (wearing no green, of course) and Ben was dressed, but we remedied the problem later that day. Caelan came home from school and informed me that she had forgotten to wear green, and then she went straight to her room and found green shorts and a green shirt (very festive). We made some sugar cookies and decorated them with green frosting (a bit hit with the kids). Then we had corned beef and potatoes for dinner - a tradition (I always forget about how much I LOVE corned beef which is probably good because there is some serious fat on that stuff...but, oh so delicious!).