April Round-Up . . .

So many pictures, so little time.  Here's what we've been up to lately . . .  

Lots of beautiful days in April.  Lots of outdoor time.  (Including this park and duck pond day with my brother Andrew and family.)

GraMelissa finally, finally came home from San Diego.  hehe.  The kids were so excited to see her when she came over the morning after she got back.  It was cute.  

Sleeping pictures.  Anna doesn't usually end up on the floor when she sleeps, so this was pretty funny.  And Caleb.  Oh Caleb.  I love that sweet, peaceful, chubby, sleeping little baby face!

Anna was reading to Caleb on the couch, and I thought it was so cute I had to take a picture.  Then Benjamin wanted to get in on the action, of course . . . so I had to take a whole bunch more pictures.  And yes, Benjamin loves playing with his belly button lately.  There are four more pictures I didn't include with him playing with his belly button.  hehe. 

Caleb went to the nursery at church for the first time in April.  He isn't officially nursery age until the middle of May, but we're trying to warm him up to it.  He loves snack time, and likes it fine . . . if there's someone he knows in there with him. 

Sometimes I let Anna stay up later than the boys . . . she is almost 7.  It's really fun having alone time with her (Ethan's usually doing something else).  I love girl time with my sweetest pea!  We were doing some crafts this night, but mostly we just snuggle and chat, or watch a movie.  It's usually just once a week or so, and it's priceless. 

My mom occasionally walks Hudson over when she's babysitting him.  Sometimes she calls first, sometimes she just shows up . . . either way, the kids are always excited to see their cousin!  We're excited to start meeting at the park, or just play outside, but this was a chilly April day.  

This was General Conference * http://www.lds.org/general-conference/about-general-conference?lang=eng * weekend.  We watch on our computer, so there's lots of lounging and snuggling. 

Our eight, EIGHT!, year anniversary is on April 30th, but we decided to celebrate our love and marriage a little early.  We went to Chicago last weekend, and it was so perfect.  We left Friday afternoon and got back Sunday night.  We have never gone away for more than one night before since we've had kids.  So this was a BIG step for us.  We spread the love around when it came to "babysitters" too.  My parents had Caleb the whole time, and stayed at our house since theirs was in disarray.  (They were getting new floors put in on Monday.)  We stocked the house with some of their favorite foods/snacks, and called the set up good.  Ethan's parents and sister KC had the other two for the weekend.  (And my sister Beth entertained them for a bit on Saturday too.)  Anna and Ben-Ben were really looking forward to being babysat, and were excited for us to go on a trip. How nice of them.  And thanks for making it possible everyone!  I did end up feeling some anxiety with the length of time we would be gone, and how far away we would be.  (I know many of you reading this will think that is silly. . . and I don't care.  :)  But everything went well for everyone.  So, next time I think we should go away for a week.  And leave the country.  hehe. 

Ethan and I had a lot of fun . . . even the 7 + hour drive to and from Chicago was fun.  We talked a lot, listened to music, listened to some books/comedy on CD, took pictures of the beautiful farm land (Ethan doesn't call it beautiful. . . .weirdo), and found fun and funny places to stop. . . like the Mars Cheese Castle.  We went to a Temple session and after, took a minute to pause and look at the sealing room where we were married almost 8 years ago.  It is heavenly.  Beautiful.  We stopped in and visited with my cousin and fam . . . who we hadn't seen in forever.  (Love them!)  They took us to the Chicago Botanical Gardens, and it. was. beautiful!  Perfect activity for a day sandwiched between two big driving days.  We shopped and got some awesome stuff and deals (always a good feeling . . . especially since shopping options are so limited here in Marquette).  We ate at some super yummy places.  We just had a great time.  ***And for anyone who may not know how much I love and appreciate Ethan . . . dig through the blog archives.  It's all there.  I can't write it every year.  hehe  

   

Final thing.  I got a new camera!!!  Happy anniversary to me! :)  I've wanted a new one for a few years now.  It's a pretty cheap camera ($100), but I LOVE it.  And it's a big improvement over our old camera (which was about twice as much when we bought it 5 years ago . . . 5 years makes a big difference in technology).  I love that it's so much smaller too, and doesn't take batteries.  Maybe it's just me, but the first picture looks so much better, and real color (our table is not orange . . . like the second pic would lead you to believe), and clear.  Each is taken with the opposite camera in the automatic setting.  So, here's to lots more picture taking to come!  Have a beautiful weekend!