St George

The week before Easter (March 29th-April 4th), we hit the road and drove down to St. George to see my Mom and Reed and in hopes of some good quality family time with our kiddos!
With NO mountains of laundry and endless messes calling my name!
Ok, so that place doesn't really exist with 3 kids but this was the next best thing!;)

 Steven and Kylie decided to come down last minute too  (and their new puppy, Winston), so it was a full house! It was fun to have them there. We did a lot of things that I decided not to haul my camera to and swimming was one of them. This of course topped the kiddos list of desired activities. They are WaTeR-CrAzEd little people! Good thing we start lessons again in June so that I can maybe stop having anxiety attacks every time we get near a pool because my fearless 3 year old goes sprinting to jump in, completely confident she can actually swim (um, she can't.)!
Deciding that Lexi was too little to expose to the germ-infested waters (and realizing we had no baby swim diapers), I let Chris handle the crazy two in the water while Lexi and I laid in the sun (okay so she was shaded) and read The Hunger Games (FINALLY and I LOVED it!).
Ahhhh. So nice. :)
 We also went to the park, miniature golfing, to  Jumpin' Jacks, and ate at Brick Oven (yum). We  cooked smores one night in the fire pit (pics above) and I've never really been a believer of aliens, but was a little bit convinced one night as Chris and I hot tubbed and were mesmerized by this bright light hovering in the sky (not a plane, not a planet... trust me, UFO was the only logical explanation) above us. It was actually a little creepy, I'm not gonna lie. ;)
{I mean, hello, it was the perfect scenario for the aliens to abduct us....}

Back on planet earth....
I don't know what this place is called but it's downtown and my kids always like to play in the fountains. We also went on a Carasoul ride there.

Our "hike" in Snow Canyon.
This was our first time there and we will definitely go back!
 It was so pretty and just a short drive.
 Those are supposedly some pioneer names carved into the mountain by the actual pioneers. Hmmm... They were a little too perfect if you ask me for 150 year old carvings...
(I know, I know...believer of the aliens but not the pioneers... go figure! Haha;)

On Sunday between conference sessions, the kids got to go on a fun Easter egg hunt in the front yard.
They were of course beyond thrilled for this activity brought to them by Uncle Steven and Grandma Jane.
(are those the cutest eggs that link together like that?!) 

I managed to snatch a few cute pics of this little cutie.

And THIS sweet little one didn't make ONE PEEP our entire 5 hour drive down and back (except to laugh hysterically at Parker for about 15 minutes). She was perfect the entire trip! What an angel! I think she almost has Chris convinced that we could have one more (haha almost)...
Fun times. :)

Good to know!

Parker and Emmie were playing out back yesterday as I was trying to get a few things done in my kitchen. I am usually pretty strict about wearing sunscreen, but was busy and just didn't think about it, especially since it was a pretty cool day (I even had Emmie in a coat).

 I felt awful last night as I noticed how their little faces had gotten burned by the sun!

Then today I happened upon this post (as I was looking for a recipe) about a girl who is a melanoma cancer surviver. She went to the doctor after noticing a small mole turn a different color (I have one on my arm that's been calling my name for months now...) and sure enough it was malignant melanoma and they operated the next day! She went through this twice and was super lucky to have caught it early on!
Some facts that she shared...

 Did you know that children who get sunburned before the age of 18 are twice as likely to get  skin cancer? And that if you don't catch it early, your chances of survival past 5 years are only 10%?!? 10!

I just thought this was such a good reminder of how important it is to wear that sunscreen all.the.time! I have had a nagging feeling to get to the dermatologist for about 6 months now to have a few things checked out... I think I'm going to finally make that appointment. I had no idea how serious it really can be! Chris is a red head and absolutely refuses to wear sunscreen - he just bakes in the sun! Aghh!

CLICK HERE to read the article. If you haven't already visited the Six Sisters' Stuff blog, I highly recommend! Great recipes, crafts and insights!

It's a short post and I highly suggest reading it before you go forgetting to lather up on your spring outtings.

Half a year!

Lexi turned 6 months old on April 4th.

How has time gone by that quickly!?
I just want to freeze her.

She has been such a sweet baby and such a joy to our family!

She started rolling from one place to the next a few weeks back and it has become her favorite mode of transportation. She especially enjoys her new hobby while wearing comfy clothes and a crazy hairdo.

She hasn't started to say any real words yet, but does say "uh-muh" sometimes when she's crying, so I like to think she's trying to say "mama". :) Parker translates it as so and big brother's know best, so we are going with that.
 Her favorite babble lately is to say "buh buh buh" over and over.

She had her first taste of rice cereal last week! She loved it! Well, sort of. She loved putting the spoon in her mouth anyways. :) We're going to start some fruits and vegetables this week. Exciting!
{We hold off on baby foods around here for as long as possible. I don't want to chance any food allergies by starting too soon. Life without peanut butter would be a real drag.  Plus it's what my pediatrician recommends and nursing is just easier, cheaper, and not so messy.}

Lexi looooves her baths and this was her first one in an actual bath tub a few weeks ago while we were in St. George! I must be crazy but I've been giving her baths in my bathroom sink and that pink little tub that you get from the hospital when you have a baby. I haven't wanted to risk exposing her to any of the kids germs in their bath tub (and until I force myself to clorox all their bath toys - they really gross me out), and my tub seems like it's too big and would be a waste of water. So, I've been squeezing her into my sink! So far it's worked fine but we've got to graduate to the real deal soon - she's getting too big!

Red is good

Parker's first love was for strawberries.

He demanded them in the womb.

Literally.

They were my #1 craving while that handsome first-born child of mine swam around in my uterus.

 I ate hoards of them during his 9 month stay in my belly (via my beloved "Sprouts" store in Surprise, AZ!).

In hindsight it's no wonder he didn't want to come out.

 He had his own built-in strawberry IV!

  & from the first moment he tried them as a toddler, it was as though he was reunited with that first love.

 He was smitten.

 Five and a half years later,  he and his strawberry love affair are still strong as ever.

 He will eat a whole flat of them in one sitting if I let him, at any time of the day.

 I have decided that his infatuation with them may be why his favorite color since he could say so has always been RED.

Well, there is lots of love in his little heart (& tummy) for that color...

This last year P has developed an almost equally-obsessed love for another red produce that I have mentioned before...

Tomatoes!

Personally, I refused to touch the red vegetable until I was 21.

{Now I'm hooked.}

 But this 5 year old will pop grape tomatoes like candy.

 (& trust me, this kid knows how to eat candy!)

As for me, I prefer to eat them after 12 p.m., but not him.  He begs for them beginning at 7 a.m. with his breakfast, post his ritualistic waffle with powdered sugar (& strawberries of course).

My little mommy heart smiles (& kind of giggles) as his precious hands and high-pitched voice simultaneously start quivering in anticipation as he asks,

 "Mom, can you get me some tomatoes with my waffle, please?"

*SIGH.*

I love this sweet little guy. How can I turn him down?

Especially when the request is such a healthy one?

Well, I can't.

And I don't.

Needless to say, we're excited for the upcoming months of eating these goods straight from our garden.

 FOR FREE!

We're so looking forward to summer around here!