Safety First

We had quite the family home evening tonight . You know, the kind that you laugh at, scratch your head in bewilderment and wonder if the kids really got anything out of it in the first place. Hallee asked if we could talk about our family emergency plan so I turned it over to Troy to lead the discussion. We quickly discovered that Hope had a LOT to say about the topics. All of them. Most of her thoughts were somewhat off base but deep to say the least.

First Topic - FIRE
Troy quickly gave the basics. Hallee chimed in with her info. Then Hope took over. "Ya, and when you get to the door, you don't want to open it, cause you don't have gloves. So you just need to yell outside the door, "Hey put on some gloves so you can open the door and then the guys will put on gloves and let you out." Hmmm.....

Next we discussed the whole stop-drop-and-roll thing. Hope had a different idea...."OR", she says, "You can just wait for someone to turn on their sprinklers and wash you off." Maybe not.

Next Topic - STRANGER DANGER
Next we went over possible scenarios of a stranger trying to get them to come with them. We gave out the usual enticements. Things like, "what if they ask you to help them find someone/something." Hallee immediately said you should never do it and Hope agreed. But then we added candy to the equation. Hope got a huge smile just thinking about it. Eeeekkk. Would it really be that easy?

WHAT IF YOU GET LOST IN A PUBLIC PLACE?
Hallee said to find a mom with kids or go to the counter. We said she was absolutely correct. Hope said, "Ya, cause people without kids are bad and they might take you!" Ok, we had some explaining to do. We tried to explain that a mom with kids was simply a safer choice which obviously cleared it right up for her. "Ya. And you wouldn't want to go live with "them" (meaning people without kids). So apparently you find a mom in the store with kids because they would be fun to live with since you have "lost" your mom?

EARTHQUAKE SAFTEY
Troy tried to show them what an earthquake might feel like and that things would probably fall off the walls and break. Then he turned to me to make sure I knew where the water and gas valves were located. I had no clue. He explains where the gas valve is located. Hope was even more helpful. "Or you could just go to the gas station mom."

We covered other topics like what do you do if you find a gun at school, or a friend wants to show you their dads gun, matches and other fire hazards and so forth. Honestly, Hope had a "rationale" answer to everything. She said them with such conviction that I'm sure she could get almost anyone to believe them. At first Troy and I did our best not to burst out laughing and give her an alternative solution but she seemed happy with her own solution. By the end we were both exhausted and wondered if anybody had gotten ANYTHING out of our little safety talk. Whew. Glad that talk is over. And after the way this one went I can't WAIT to see how the birds and the bees talk is gonna go. Now THAT should be fun.

Spring Break Run Down

After taking over 200 pictures this weekend here is my attempt to record all of the fun memories and mayhem!!

1. Hallee and cousin Olivia. Such a cute little friendship. They were able to have a sleepover on Thursday night and spent most of the night giggling.

2. Caymbree with Grandma and Grandpa. These two are amazing!! Their house gets turned upside down with all of us around!

3. A special hug with Great Grandma Larsen.

4. Cute baby Becca - My sister Adree's baby. Gotta love that smile!

5. Hope with Great Grandpa and Grandma Smith.

6. Sweet baby Lila - My brother Rob's new baby.

7. All the grandkids minus Lila and the baby girl still in my sister-in-law's belly. (Arriving soon) All of them under the age of 8.

Rob and Rachel blessed baby Lila on Sunday. They actually attend the same ward that Troy and I did before we moved to Riverton.

While at church I got to see my dear friend Brooke and her cute family. Brooke and I served in the YW presidency almost the entire time we lived in the neighborhood. We both had our first and second babies during this time period. I LOVED LOVED LOVED serving with her. She is amazing, talented and inspiring. Now her husband is serving as the Bishop and this amazing woman juggles FOUR boys BY HERSELF each Sunday.

Looks like my girls won't have to look far to find the perfect spouses :) Brooke actually has one more baby boy who was asleep during the photo shoot.

After the baby blessing we went to a luncheon where Rob and Rachel had planned a fun Easter Egg hunt for all the kids. Afterwards we went back to my parents house where my parents did an Easter Egg hunt as well. Between the two hunts my kids got more candy than they did at Halloween!!! Ironically, yesterday the kids had dentist appointments where the dentist asked the kids to throw away all the "sticky" candy (starbursts, skittles, laffy taffy...) Hallee (too afraid to say anything else) said "Ok." When he asked Hope, "Will you do that for me too?" She looked at him like he was crazy and said, "Um....NO!" Well, at least she is honest.

Caymbree spent the entire weekend stealing anyone and every one's shoes. One morning I found her outside in my mom's high heels mowing the lawn half naked. Oh Caymbree.

WICKED

The highlight of our spring break was going to the Broadway musical WICKED at the Capital Theatre in Salt Lake. We gave Hallee tickets for her birthday back in December so it was a long time coming but worth the wait!!! It is amazing!! Watching Hallee's face was priceless.

Introducing our newest additions....

We are SO not pet people. Well, actually TROY is SO not a pet person and I am just not willing to put in the time required. But I've always wanted my girls to experience having a pet. So this Easter we broke down and decided to get the girls a bunny for Easter. I knew we would be headed to Logan for Spring Break/Easter so I called my dad and asked him to buy a bunny that we could surprise the girls with. Of course, one just wasn't enough for him so he bought TWO bunnies. The night before we left for Logan we told the girls we had a surprise for them and started giving them some clues. Hope was convinced it was a plant. Yep Hope, we bought you a plant for Easter. Seriously, she is funny.

The girls were SOOOOOOO excited when they saw their surprise. When I asked what we should name them Hope immediately came up with Diamond for the gray one and surprisingly Hallee agreed. I said the black one looked like a skunk and so for a minute the girls started calling him Skunk. Later that day Hope informed us that the gray one shall officially be known as DIAMOND LESHA . And "Skunk" ended up being such a little stinker (not in smelly kind of way but in a mischievous kind) so he became STINKER. And there you have it.

All the cousins had SO much fun playing with them over the weekend and I was a little worried they may not survive long enough for us to get them home. They have two completely different personalities. Diamond Lesha is very mellow sweet and lets Hope carry it around like a baby. Stinker has spunk and loves to run!!! You have to keep your eye on it because it loves to make a break for it the first chance it gets. (Be prepared for "Have you seen me?" signs).

And now the million dollar dollar answer to your question....NO, we don't know if they are girls or boys or one of each. The salesperson didn't know. I guess we'll find out in approximately 21 days from now. And then we will be dropping a bunny off on your front door step.

Hard work pays off!!!

Some of you may remember THIS post. Well, Hallee's hard work finally paid off. Way to go Hal's. We are so proud of you!

SPRING OPEN HOUSE

SPRING OPEN HOUSE

(Just in time for Mother's Day!!!)

Tuesday April 7th 6:00-9:00pm

My House 12452 South Black Foot St.

Paisley Lane by Nicole: Little girl and toddler TUTU'S for a screaming deal! All the latest in flower clips, headbands, crochet hats, bows and more! Come see the spring collection of colors and styles. Bring outfits and/or Easter dresses to match.

Absolutely Charmed by Josie and Krista: Lots of new styles to choose from! Soldered pendants, glass lockets, little girl necklaces, bracelets and more!

Layers Clothing: Need a modest swimsuit?? Layers clothing can help!

Make sure to stop by Heather Gillis' WATCH PARTY the same night!!!