Things That Make Me Smile...

Flowers Blooming in the Spring

Here are some of the flowers blooming in our yard... don't they make you smile?

Quiet

It was a little too quiet...

This is what I found...

Where are the kids?

There they are.... silly kids.

Happy Birthday John!!!

Poor Daddy still had to go to school on his birthday. Abby and Dallin didn't think that was quite fair - But we were lucky enough to meet up for lunch at the park downtown by the dental school. It is always fun to spend time together. These kids sure do LOVE their Daddy.

Birthday Lunch with Dad

After School - Daddy taking a break... working on some future business plans :)

"Happy Birthday to Dad"

After opening presents, we headed out to dinner at BJ's. It was so yummy!

We love celebrating!

Then back home for ice-cream cake! Look at those flames!! 31 candles!!!

Of course, we had to have some "tricky" candles.... but they wouldn't quit!!!

The kids thought they were hilarious!

We hope John had a special day! He is such a special guy!

Happy Birthday Dad! We love you!

Smile

Abigail presented this to me before bed last night...

It made me smile.

A Priceless Birthday Gift

Birthdays Come and Birthdays Go

Can you believe another year has come and gone... another birthday passed?

I can't! My birthday always seems to sneak up on me.

It was a wonderful birthday! Being Sunday, it was a low-key easy going day. The best present of all... that our Daddy was home! John was a trooper. 13 hour time difference from China doesn't make for an easy adjustment back to our time zone :). But he really tried to make my birthday special :). He even baked a cake... and decorated it too :). What a guy!

This year John and I combined our birthday gift and got ourselves an ice-cream maker! It has been lots of fun... we cracked it open yesterday and made our very first batch of "Ben and Jerry's Mint Oreo" ice cream. YUMMY!

After dinner, we headed to the park to fly some "Chinese Kites." Too bad the camera battery was dead... it was such a picture perfect scene. John flying this long string of little kites all in a row... with his little ones running underneath shouting "Up kites up!" It was a perfect way to celebrate my birthday.... spending time with my little family. They truly are a blessing in my life. I love them!

After kite flying we came back and enjoyed Dad's fabulous cake with a little of our homemade ice-cream :).

It was a wonderful birthday!

Thanks to everyone for your sweet cards and birthday wishes on my special day... I love you all!

Finally... Reunited

While Daddy was here....

in CHINA.

Sightseeing...

Eating LOTS of good food...

Oh yes... and a little research mixed in :).

We were playing hard at home....

Playing at the park with friends

Making Strawberry Pizza

And doing whatever it takes to be happy until Daddy came home :).

Daddy finally arrived home late Saturday night.

We are so happy to be together again :).

We love our Daddy.

Papa Comes to Town: Part 1

Lucky for us... Papa came to town this past weekend. We had a BLAST! It is always fun to watch my kids interact with their grandparents. They love them all so much!

It was especially nice for me to have another set of hands around to help out while John is away in China. Poor Papa played SO hard.... I think he needs a vacation from his vacation. To start off the trip ... he arrived late Friday night/ Saturday morning (depending on how you look at it) and wasn't in bed until probably between 1:30 - 2 am! But he was up bright and early jumping on the trampoline with the kids. From that moment on - it was non-stop fun!

Ring Around the Rosie with Papa

(Connor's favorite next to Duck, Duck, Goose)

Bottom Buster Fun!

Saturday we spent the day not far from home. Papa's suitcase didn't make it with him the night before, so we needed to be close to home to sign for it when it arrived...

So, to the park we went.

Choo-Choo Train with Papa

Abby and Papa ... the climbers

Sliding....

And Swinging.

Painting... everyone loves to paint :).

Playing computer games on Papa's "puter"

The Boys Riding Scooters

We finished off Saturday night with ice-cream treats. The kids were so excited to pick out their very own ice-creams (little $1 containers)... they were in heaven!

Sunday was a quieter day.... but an eventful one for Connor.

Last Sunday was his first Sunday in NURSERY!!!!

Ready or not... here comes Connor!

He did pretty well for his first time. He made it through play time without any problems at all, but once he realized his people were gone and toy time was over .. he wanted out of there! Lucky for me (because I was doing Sharing time in Primary) Papa was there to calm him down and spent the rest of nursery along side Connor.... Thank you, Papa!

Not only did Papa save Connor on Sunday, but he also saved me! Between Friday night picking up Papa at the airport at midnight and taking John to the airport at 3am and then getting up early on Sunday to prepare for church.... I was SO tired! I felt terrible ... I laid my head down on the floor for a minute while watching Papa and the kids play in the toy room... and the next thing I knew I woke up a couple hours later with a blanket on top of me. Thanks dad for the nap ... it was so nice!!!

Of course, Sunday night we had root-beer floats while watching our Sunday night movie, The Princess and the Frog. The kids were loving life.

The Fun Continues in Part 2....

Papa Comes to Town: Part 2

I was a little worried about the weather... especially when we woke up Monday morning and it was still wet outside with light drizzling. But we decided to continue on with the plan and head to Surfside Beach - the BEST playground for my kids :).

Luckily for us the weather was perfect at the beach... a little overcast, but warm with a light breeze... perfect, if you ask me. We had a blast! The kids really had a great time with their Papa... they built a sandcastle, jumped waves, threw frisbees into the wind, flew kites, hunted for treasures, and surfed on the waves (with a little board they found on the shore). In other words.... they played hard!!!

Tuesday we had a half day to spend with our Papa... so we headed out to the strawberry fields... again :). Papa wanted to take some home with him. Who could say no?? The kids love picking berries. More yummy strawberry treats for us!

It was so fun to have our Papa with us! Thanks Papa for making the effort and taking time out to spend some quality time with us! We love you!

P.S. Hope your sunburn feels better soon, Papa.