Girls will be girls

Brooklyn LOVES this game. It is actually bingo, but I set up all of the boards and hand the girls the pieces and they find them on the board. They work really well together by telling each other where the pieces go.
They are actually giving each other big hugs. On Monday night for FHE we had our lesson on being happy (out of the nursery manual). Well, they were in a really lovey mood so they kept running up to each other and giving each other huge hugs. Then, of course, it turned into a wrestling match. They love to wrestle.

A cute little story about Kenzie: So, lately, Kenzie has been SCREAMING and throwing full on tantrums when she has to take a nap or go to bed. Well, we just let her do it and eventually she calms down and falls asleep in front of the door. Well, one particular night she was screaming so I decided to poke my head in and see if I could soothe her. Well, she was sitting on her bed, flipping through a book, and screaming. That little turkey was TOTALLY faking it. I didn't have ANY sympathy for her after that one. :)

Ode to Uncle Glen

My sweet Great Uncle Glen passed away yesterday, April 14 in the night. He was 92. He is my Grandpa Blaser's brother and an integral part in my life. I just wanted to share some of the memories that I have of him.

In elementary school we had Grandparents Day. Well, grandparents were in high demand in our family because there were usually 3-4 of us in elementary at the same time. Since we only had 1 grandpa (Grandpa Blaser) we called on our other "grandparents" to go too. So, Great Aunt Ruth and Uncle Glen usually were invited and they always came. We rotated them each year so I got to have each of them a couple of times in my elementary years. Grandpa always brought candy in his pocket so he would slip my classmates some candy and tell funny jokes. Grandma Ruth was always very sweet and seemed to adopt those kids that didn't have grandparents into our group. So, she served as a grandma for 3-4 kids. Uncle Glen was always funny. He would calls the boys girls and the girls boys. The kids would try to correct him, but he would tease them. He was also very funny. I loved it when I got to have any of them because each brought something special.

Uncle Glen also came by the house too. I remember his great sense of humor and generosity. Grandpa Blaser was that way too. They must have had great parents because they both had a very giving heart and were extremely funny.

When we would go over to Uncle Glen's and Aunt Ruth's house they always fed us. I remember their huge rotweilers too. That freaked me out a little...ok, a lot. They also had a pool in their backyard. I just rememeber Uncle Glen sending the dogs to play in the pool when they were getting to be a bit much in the house. I think the pool was just used for their dogs...at least that's what I thought when I was younger.

Uncle Glen could build a fire! It was a roaster! Grandpa did that too...again...I think it was a family trait. He had a fire going in the 100 degree summers. He ALWAYS had one going and if he didn't, he would start one in his fireplace.

In more recent years everyone knew not to eat at his house because he would get forgetful and leave food out for days. If you didn't know that you learned the hard way. :) He was always offering food to eveyone so it was tough to turn it down.

Uncle Glen drove a little pick up truck. He loved his truck. My Grandpa had a truck too. Again, a lot of similarities between Grandpa and Uncle Glen....maybe that's why I feel so close to Uncle Glen and why it feels like Grandpa has died again because Uncle Glen was the last of Grandpa's brothers that I knew well. That is sad to me.

Just recently at Christmas this past year he conducted Christmas Eve and told everyone that he was going to die. He called everyone unto repentance and shared some family stories. I wasn't there, but wished I would have been. He was a very spiritual person and I admire that trait in him.

Uncle Glen you will be missed, but we know we will see you again. Thanks for being a grandpa and an example to me in my life. You were loved by many and will never be forgotten.

We are headed to Boise this weekend for his funeral on Monday. I am looking forward to hearing about the legacy he created and paying tribute to his life.

Easter Egg hunt on Saturday

It says "Happy Easter" in Easter eggs behind us.


This little girl was hilarious. Her basket was full so she was sticking eggs in her shirt.










The neighborhood across the street has an annual Easter Egg hunt. We are lucky enough to have connections to go to it! This was our 2nd year and it was a lot of fun. They had 1200 eggs and probably 50 kids so the odds of getting some eggs are pretty good. Either way, the girls had a fun time.

Easter DAY with the Strays of the litter

Ben was herding the girls back.






















Easter 2009 was a lot of fun. We ended up with beautiful weather, great company, and yummy food. This year was the year of strays. We had anyone that didn't have a place to go for Easter over for Easter at our house. We ended up with 10 people! Let me back up...the morning started with the girls getting all dolled up in their adorable Easter dresses (Thanks Grandma Ewing)! We got some pictures taken then we went to church. Church was good, as always. I love the messages that are taught, especially on Easter because it is soley on Christ and the Atonement. This Sunday I volunteered to teach the Sunbeams because they didn't have a teacher! Anyhow, I was amazed at how much they knew. Most of the kids sang all of the songs, answered questions I didn't know they knew, and were little spunges when I told them the story of Christ in our lesson. It made me realize that I really need to work more with my girls as far as the gospel is concerned. Ya, we have FHE each week, we pray with them, and we try to treat people fairly, but how often do I push teaching them things that I just don't think they will grasp. My goal this week is to try to teach them harder concepts. Hey, maybe they WILL get it. Who knows if I don't try. Anyhow, after church we had all of the strays over. I decorated the table with my best dishes/place settings and had a feast! After dinner we had an Easter egg hunt in our basement. This was the girls' 4th Easter egg hunt in a week. They would do one every day if I let them. They love the hunt more than the goodies. After the hunt we went to the park and played bocce ball. The girls loved chasing after the balls and cheering us on. They were surprisingly very interactive! After bocce ball Lou and Ben had to go home (the rest of the group left before bocce ball) so we had baths and went to bed! A very FUN-filled day. I was grateful we were able to spend it with quality people. Beware...we've been busy, busy, busy, so be prepared for some major picture overload the next couple of days!