Sunday, April 27

We had Sunday dinner at the McCullough's tonight to celebrate BJ and Grandma Howard's birthdays. They made us hamburgers, chips, salads, drinks, and a yummy Cold Stone ice cream cake for dessert. We had lots of fun!

 

 

Saturday, April 26

Mom & I went to my Stake's Women's Conference. They served a very nice breakfast then had guest speaker Sister Barbara Thompson, former counselor in the General Relief Society Presidency. I needed the spiritual rejuvenation that this conference provided. Also, huge thank-you to Dave & Viv for watching the kiddos while we went!

 

 

Friday, April 25

Kendra's class had a "Dads and Donuts Day". Simon went with Kendra to school and did a bunch of fun activities then had donuts and juice. Tonight, Simon went on an overnight scout camp so after the kids and I had movie night (we watched the old VHS "Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory") and they went to bed, I ran to Arctic Circle for a frozen treat. It's been a really hard day for me so chocolate and ice cream were the therapy I needed. :)

 

 

Thursday, April 24

Nick and I went with his school class on a field trip to the Natural History Museum. It was so much fun! Kenny was at home with my other kids which I found out later was a really scary thing. He recently relapsed and is now back in rehab. :( It scares me to death that he was taking care of my kids on the same day he went back to The Phoenix. Lesson learned, I guess.

 

Wednesday, April 23

Today was supposed to be a cleaning only day but when my sister calls and asks me to go to Café Rio right by my house, how can I resist!?!? We had lunch just she and I.

And Kendra and Zack.

And Halle and Brielle.

And Jayde, Irelynn, and Colt.

It was super fun!!

 

Tuesday, April 22

My parents got tickets tonight for a dinner and tour of the new Living Planet Aquarium. They had 2 extra tickets so they took Jenni & BJ since today is BJ's birthday. Simon & I watched the kids while they went. They had a good time and my kids loved having their cousins over. Side note: today is Ashley's due date. No baby yet but hopefully soon.

 

Monday, April 21

So, I'm spoiled! After bowling, mom and I went over to the mall and she paid to get my finger and toenails done as part of my birthday gift this year. I got Gel Nails on my fingers. They are supposed to last for 3-4 weeks. I'm SO excited about this! I have been wanting to get them done for a while now so I'm excited to try them out and see how they work for me.

 

 

Sunday, April 20

Happy Easter! Today was a wonderful day. We started out with Easter baskets and candy. Dave & Viv came over and brought them another basket and more candy. :) Church was amazing and so spiritual. We topped the day off at my parents' house with dinner and home videos. I love Easter!

 

 

Saturday, April 19

Traditions....traditions!!! Every year on the Saturday before Easter, the Howard clan goes to an egg hunt at a church in Sandy, out to "linner" with the fam, then over to my mom and dad's to dye eggs. It was a little different this year because Kendra was up all night throwing up so we didn't take her to the earlier hunt. However, she did make it to the family egg hunt that we did just before dying eggs and making a mess. The kids always take a bath afterward in the big jetted tub. They're getting a little old for it but they love it so much!

 

 

 

 

Friday, April 18

I realized today that the kids go back to school on Tuesday and we haven't done many fun things since they've been off-track. I called mom and she and I took the kids to McDonald's for lunch and to play. We ended up staying for 2 hours! Tonight, we had dinner with the Pearson's because Gary & Alexis leave to go home on Sunday morning. This was our last chance to all be together.

 

 

 

Thursday, April 17

Several girls from my ward went to The Chocolate to have a baby shower for Marisa Olsen. She is due at the beginning of May but will probably have her baby toward the end of April. I love these gals! We had lots of fun visiting and laughing.

 

 

Wednesday, April 16

Week #30 and counting! I am SOOO uncomfortable and already counting the days until this baby is born. I can't wait to meet my sweet baby girl.

 

Tuesday, April 15

Happy 6th birthday sweet Kendra and Grandma Howard! We went to lunch and did a little shopping with Grandma before dance at 12:30. Tonight, we had Pack Meeting and Nick got his Bobcat award. I also got a Bobcat pin.

 

 

Monday, April 14

These cute little flowers are popping up all around my front yard. Thank you previous owners of our home! They are adorable!!

Sunday, April 13

Yay, I finished my Easter project...just in time for Easter next Sunday. We'll get to enjoy it for a week anyway.

 

 

Saturday, April 12

We started our day out with the beautiful wedding of Mindi and Brian. It was at the Market Street Grill in Cottonwood and it was really nice.

Tonight, we had the wonderful pleasure of attending Nick's baptism. It was an amazing spiritual event for everyone that came. Nothing beats baptizing your child! After the baptism, we had a dinner and it was fun to get to relax and visit with everyone that came. It's been a special day!

 

Friday, April 11

I asked Grandma Howard if we could go to Costco and buy some food for the baptism. I think her exact words were "I'd be tickled to do that". We went to lunch at Texas Roadhouse and then to Costco. Check out my fridge...it's pretty loaded!

 

Thursday, April 10

Tonight was officially GIRLS NIGHT! It started with Bunco at Melanie's house where she made these ahhhhmazing Shirley Temple cupcakes. Yum! I won the booby prize. I'm a really good player! :) Afterward, Amie and I went to the theater and saw the movie "Divergent". I read the book recently so that we could go see it. I liked it a lot but wow, we got out super late! I think I got home just after 1:00 am!

 

Wednesday, April 9

It was a typical bedtime...baths then bed. Zack has been sleeping with Nick while he's been off track and when I came in, this is how they were asleep. Nick looks plenty comfy but I can't imagine Zack is comfortable at all.

 

 

Tuesday, April 8

Mom invited us and the McCullough's to go swimming tonight. I wasn't planning on getting in but my sweet little Zack kept asking me to get in and watch him. How could I resist?!? We swam for about an hour and a half and then headed to Café Rio for dinner. I love these fun family outings and the memories we get to make with grandma and the cousins.

 

Monday, April 7

Laundry. The story of my life. The end.

 

 

Sunday, April 6

Conference Sunday! I enjoyed watching conference while working on my "Hanging With My Peeps" craft that I bought last year before Easter! I'm glad I will finally be able to put my cute decoration out.

 

 

 

 

Saturday, April 5

Grandma Howard, Grandma Sharon, Jenni, and I had a fabulous "girl's day out". We started at Hale Theater with their amazing production of Les Miserable, got the best cookie in the world at intermission (seriously, it's worth the price of the play, the price of the cookie, and the calories to eat one of these things!), then topped things off with Olive Garden afterward. Sweet Grandma H treated us to the play and then the two grandmas split up our Olive Garden bill. They are so sweet! What fun memories we have with both of them!

 

 

Friday, April 4

My parents invited us over tonight to watch "The Saratov Approach" with them. It is a recount of two missionaries in Saratov, Russia that were kidnapped, held for ransom, and then had their lives spared thanks to a major heaven-sent miracle. It is a true story and that always affects me more. It was a really good show!

 

 

Thursday, April 3

I hope Amie doesn't mind that I stole her picture. :) We had MOPS today and it was really fun. They did break-out sessions with different classes you could take. I went to hairdo's for little girls (loved!), chocking and basic CPR (because I obviously need help in this area), and basic essential oils. Amie and Vicki also did a fun craft. They had the ingredients to make a garlic spread in cute little spice shakers. I made mine between classes. The only minor problem we had was that Zack was sad and didn't stay in nursery. He was really good though so it wasn't a problem taking him around with me.

 

Wednesday, April 2

Since Nick will be baptized very soon, we decided to start helping him be accountable for tithing. He gets chores to do daily and money for getting them done. Tonight, he was really excited to fill out his tithing slip and get it all ready to go for Sunday. I think I burst his happy bubble a little when I reminded him that Sunday is conference and that we won't be going to church. There's always next Sunday though.

 

Tuesday, April 1

That is not, in fact, an old man in our picture. It is Simon in his Chamber Ambassador jacket! The Chamber put on a very cool event tonight. We got to go check out the Jazz training center downtown. They fed us dinner, took us on a little tour of the facility, and even let us shoot hoops in their gym. I'll tell you where I plan to go when I'm ready to start labor!!

 

 

Monday, March 31

Before bowling today, my mom was following me in the car behind us. I saw her take a picture of my van. Later, she told me that every time she sees my license plate cover, she laughs. It makes me laugh too so I couldn't help but put a picture of it here. It says, "This is the earliest I've ever been late". If you know me, you know that it is fitting of it's owner! (Sorry about my OCD. It feels weird to put a picture of my license plate number on the Internet.)