Kevin got home later then expected Sunday night.  We were out in the back yard enjoying the nice weather May brought us. He walked in, and Ella spotted him in the house. They were so excited after not seeing him in a week. I was too! They went around the backyard and found dandelions. Kevin was trying to teach Ella how to blow the seeds from the stem.

Something they frequently do is lay on the tramp and watch for birds. Or airplanes. Ella gets so excited when the planes go by.

We might need to upgrade to a larger trampoline. These kids love their daddy.

I wanted to get a picture of the kids at the temple while the flowers were still in bloom. So, we took of after church and headed straight to the temple. Of course, by 4 in the afternoon, the kids are not going to cooperate with me, especially since Kevin was out of town again. I was on my own. Trying to get these two together for a picture was ridiculous.

After investigating the front of the temple, I took the kids around to the back side. I’m not sure I have ever brought them over to the temple. We drive past it all the time, but never stop to walk the grounds. We’ll have to come over more often.

Ella didn’t want to leave. When I finally gave up on taking a good picture, and we were ready to go, she took off the other direction. Do you see her running on the hill side? She’s the little dot by the street lamp.

Crazy girl. At least they had a good time, and it was a gorgeous day.

Jameson has gotten big into playing “restaurant.” Saturday, after we had some friends over for a birthday bbq (their birthday not ours) I found this set up in his room. Him and his friend had set up their restaurant. They had all the stuffed animals set up with place settings and food. I didn’t realize it at first, but then realized what they did. Pretty clever kids.

Uncle Paul was here for a visit, so I made good use of his time. I have been bugging Kevin about a swing set on and off for a while now. Well, he had to go out of town for work, Paul was here, and I found some swing sets. I sent emails on two different ones, and only got one response. So, we negotiated a price, and I told Paul he got to move a swing set for me. While we were disassembling it, the other person emailed me, so I asked my friend if she wanted the other one. We finagled some deals and pick up times. Then, the next day, rented a trailer and set Paul to work. We picked up mine, came home to drop it off, then Paul headed out to pick up the other one. In order to get it in the backyard, Paul took apart our fence. I asked the missionaries if they could come help, and they were more than happy to oblige. Jameson had to go get his tools and help, along with Ella.

After we got both swing sets in the backyards, Paul got the treat of putting them back together. Lucky for him, the next day it rained, so he got to take a couple days off. He got our friend’s put together first, then finished ours on Saturday.

Once they were all together, we decided a bbq was in order to test them out. The kids loved it. Here is Ella and her best bud, who she also calls Ella even though that is not her name, getting their chance on the swings.

It has been heaven. Well, when it’s nice enough to send them out to play. The first few days it was nice weather, and the kids went out first thing in the morning. I can actually make dinner without them in the kitchen or fighting. I told Kevin it was totally worth it, and the bright side was, he didn’t have to do anything. It just magically appeared… thanks to Paul.

I had asked Jameson if he wanted to go to the park and he replied, “Mom, we don’t need to go to the park. We have swings right here.” Awesome. When Kevin got back in town and he saw how much the kids love it, he finally admitted it might be worth it. 🙂

It is not uncommon to find Jameson like this. His imagination never stops. He was showing me some karate moves.

I do love this child.

Thursday, April 19th, we started our journey home. It was a big travel weekend. Mom was headed to Utah for Paul’s graduation from BYU, Weston was headed to Idaho to go to prom with his girl friend… yes, you read that right, and I was starting my drive home. Luckily, my cousin was able to ride with me so I didn’t have to make the long trip by myself with the kids. We left in the early afternoon, and made it to Medford a little after 8 pm. We got a hotel for the night, where none of us slept well. Well, maybe the kids did, but Jen and I didn’t.

We got up and got back on the road. The kids did pretty well, until nap time. Ella will refuse to take naps on trips. You just have to let her break down, and then she gives up. We did pretty well, though, and made it home just after 6 pm. The kids were so excited to see Dad, and I was so excited to have everyone in their own beds again.

We had a great trip, and will now be home bound till at least July. My doctor wasn’t too thrilled that I drove that far. But, we got out frequently, and walked around so everything was fine. I had a doctor appointment a few days after getting back, and everything was looking good and on track. We even made it with no one getting car sick on the way home. Success!

As we got to Reno, I called Papa to see if he wanted to meet us for dinner. We dropped off our stuff, and then went for some Olive Garden. The kids were fascinated by the fireplace we were sitting next to. The older couple sitting near us stood up to leave, and stopped to tell us what adorable children we had. I kind of laughed while Papa explained they were his grandchildren. Then she looked confused. I’m sure she was trying to figure out how I was his grand child. I just left it alone. After dinner, we went to check out the fish at Scheel’s near by. Ella loved that they were swimming all around her.

Jameson saw the Ferris wheel and exclaimed that he wanted to ride it. So, Papa indulged him. Jameson ran up and waited by the “x” on the floor like he was told. He had no fear. At least, I don’t think he had fear. He got right on and would yell, “Hi, Mom!” Every time they went by. Ella was not happy that she could only watch with me. She was trying to climb the gate to get in.

We were able to stay with Kevin’s sister. Ella loved her dogs. From the time we got there, the dogs never got old. Saturday morning, Ella woke everyone up, because of her chasing the dogs and yelling, “Dogs! Mom, Dogs!” I was trying to keep her quiet till I heard Steph and Josh laughing from their room. Later, for dinner, Ella was trying to sneak up and get some martinelli’s when no one was watching. She got caught, though.

It was the first time our entire family was together in Reno since the first Christmas after we moved. It was nice to actually have help with the kids while out of town. But, it was only for a night. Kevin left Sunday morning to return home. We dropped him off at the airport, and then met up with a few different friends for the rest of the day. Monday morning we got up and got packed. Then, headed out for our drive back over the mountain. We didn’t spend much time in Reno, so if we didn’t get to see you, I apologize. Hopefully, next time we will get to visit more.