Easter dresses.

every year my mother in law buys the girls' Easter dresses, and this year i was SO excited because we found the cutest ones in yellow! yellow screams Easter to me and i could hardly wait the couple months after we bought them to put them on the girls. 

chels and i got the kids together for a little photo shoot. i wouldn't even call it a photo shoot. it was more of a crap shoot. honestly. trying to get four kids to look and smile at the same time. not easy. but we got a few cute ones and they'll be so fun to look at down the road.

thanks again lisa for the darling Easter threads. we love these dresses and i am so happy to get to reuse them again and again!

cousin bbq.

the last time we hosted a cousin bbq was two years ago, which i can hardly believe. you can read about it here. the group has definitely expanded since then, and i love it! it's been nice to be in homes that we are able to host this crew and hopefully when we buy a home of our own we can continue to do the same.

saturday around 4, everyone started showing up. brooklyn gave tours of the house, while james and i finished setting up. everyone came with food in hand we had plenty to feed everyone. we grilled hot dogs, had hoagies, salads, chips, and all sorts of dessert!

kenz and i were thinking alike and showed up in white shirts trimmed with neon colors. funny enough, the next day at my parents we wore the same dress. it's the dark hair i tell ya!

we had yard games set up on 'ruesch field' as james and i have keenly named it. hayden brought a fun frisbee game that everyone got into. 

it really was fun to just sit and chat the evening away with my cousins. we've definitely grown in the kid department too. it's crazy that there are so many of them now!

we tried getting a group picture of the next generation and this is as good as we got. so funny!

the weather turned out to be just right and everyone was able to stay until it was so dark we literally couldn't see our hand in front of our face. so many good memories!

brooklyn loved having everyone at our house. she is such a social girl. she kept wanting to count the cars in the driveway she was so excited! which, i actually did count for her and i think we ended up with 11 plus landon's truck and trailer out on the street complete with a bull in the back.

i'm so lucky to have such great people to grow up with. we always have fun when we're together and it's always sad to say goodbye. luckily, we'll all be together again in just over a month at our family reunion at spring haven.

the cousin crew.

rainy weekend + fhe

the weekend was a rainy cold one. brooklyn was sad that park dates were not an option. however, daddy saved the day on friday evening. we went as a family down to the legacy trail for a little run. after multiple attempts by keni kate to bail out of the stroller, he turned around and headed for the nearest playground. we didn't get rained on, not one drop. on our way there and on our way home it poured. we lucked out. the girls loved the playground and got out a lot of pent up energy.

that night, we ordered in and hung out with the jeremy ruesch clan. nice and relaxing. saturday morning, james took brooklyn to the church for a ward activity, and i went house shopping with jeremy and chels. after that, it was too rainy to do much else. we relaxed, i organized a few spaces in our house that needed it desperately, and by six, we were tired, hungry, and ready to just relax.

instead of the usual sourdough pancakes we've been doing on sunday mornings, we switched it up for some french toast sticks. even though brooklyn has had these multiple times in her life, she thought they were greatest thing ever. kendall tried a bite and wasn't a fan. of course.

the girls (+james) were obsessed with watching worms, birds eating worms, and the like due to all the rain we got. here are the girls watching a huge gross worm slither around in the covered patio.

church was good. it was the usual. it was also my last sunday without a calling. i'll be teaching the thirteen year olds in the ward from here on out. it's a calling i'm excited about and little intimidated over. i think it'll be fun. definitely a good learning experience.

the girls all ready for church.

brooklyn took this next picture without me even knowing. i love it. keni hanging out in the office, at the window. she loves windows!

laundry was done today, and not much else. i had no energy. so, we did a lot of make believe, some tv watching, and a quick run to maverik for a free drink. a good day overall. i got dinner ready and then we waited for james to come home. we ate quickly and decided to hang out outside. it was a beautiful evening. i had to snap some quick pics, but i'm sad, they just don't do it justice.

james has said that he doesn't care if we end up having all girls, and i think he means it.

we waited outside until chels and ellie bean arrived. jeremy is out of town for work so i invited them to join us for fhe. i made sure to have coloring pages and a three minute lesson. we talked about being happy. a simple lesson, but an important one i think. the girls mostly colored and played with other toys, but i got a few responses out of them. and for our fhe treat, chelsea brough butterfinger drumsticks. delish! perfect for a night like tonight i'd say. 

i love the beginning of the week and i especially love starting it with fhe. it helps me get through mondays. i'm hoping to have some more energy tomorrow and the days that follow. we're having a big cousin get together saturday evening here and i have a lot to do. there's no time to waste. but i'm so looking forward to it!

 h a p p y  t u e s d a y 

football family.

last night was so cool for my dad and my family. it was also a date night for james and i to boot. my dad was honored and received the distinguished service award as a football coach from the National Football Foundation Utah Chapter. quite an honor for my dad. we got to sit right up front as a family, eat a delicious meal, and watch my dad receive this well deserved award.

saying his thanks.

all the collegiate coaches in the state were there and matt asiata was honored as an athlete. really cool.

it was a great night spent celebrating the sport that my family loves most. the take away from the night was that football is not life, but football is a lot like life. and though i've never played the game, i grew up with it, and it has definitely taught me life lessons that will impact me forever.

here we are with long time deseret news sports columnist amy donaldson. she has written so many stories covering my dad and his teams. we took advantage of having her there as well and had to get a picture with her.

my dad said, "i thank God every day for a wife and kids who love the sport of football." and it's true, we do. and so do our spouses. the game of football has meant so much to us because the time it allowed us together, and now we have so many memories that are so precious to us because of it.

after pictures and hugs goodbye, we picked up our kids from my aunt suzanne's house. they'd had them all evening. such a huge blessing to have family that can help and are so willing to help out in these situations. i'm so grateful james and i were able to be there to support my dad.

brooklyn and kendall loved playing with addie and beckham.

thanks again reynolds and lynch families! (and manda for the pictures!)

an update with an overload of pictures.

i have a lotta pictures and only a little brain power. so, i'm going to give a very few-worded-breakdown...

the weekend:

lots of family time

swimming with friends

an instacare visit (paranoid about an incident at the pool that we thought may have resulted in a secondary drowning. haven't heard of it? look it up!)

addie's royal birthday party

planted our spring grass

church

visited grandma & grandpa brown

monday: 

met up with the jeremy ruesch family after dinner for dessert at pizza pie cafe

FHE

tuesday:

rainbow pancakes for breakfast

story time at pottery barn kids (along with sidewalk chalk and tattoos)

another visit to grandma brown's

park time

wednesday:

tracy aviary ($1 wednesdays all through march!) with chels and ellie

and there you have it. a sloppy update, but an update nonetheless. we're hoping this weekend to get in some more park time, cousin time, a date night, auntie googs is coming to stay with us, and maybe even a nap.

h a p p y  t h u r s d a y