A Fun Filled March

We were pretty lucky this March to have so many fun things going on! (Prepare for picture overload). 

We started the month off with a visit from my Grandma and Grandpa Hildreth. They drove down and spent the night and day with us. My kids loved having them here and didn't give them any down time whatsoever. (Susie would wait outside the bathroom for them to come out). I got to take my Grandma out to lunch, just me and her. She read Susie books that I have bought because I remember my Grandma reading them to me as a child. It was neat to see. Susanna loves her "Grandpa with a mustache."

We had a visit from Grandma Suzy next. She was able to stay the whole week and we had a whole lot of fun. Mom has never been to the Grand Canyon so we went there first. It was a beautiful day and we enjoyed walking around. We didn't get to do any hikes because they were all too icy. 

Whenever my mom comes to visit I like to make a few new, yummy sounding recipes. We both love to try new things. We tried a few breakfast dishes, cranberry baked oatmeal and whole wheat oatmeal pancakes, both were awesome. A few other yummy recipes we tried were: a new grilled fajita marinade, citrus spinach salad with dijon vinaigrette, and tortellini sausage soup. Yeah I ate way too much that week!

We walked around the mall, went out to eat a Salsa Brava's, and had a great time being silly. 

A few days after she went home we loaded up our car and took off for a family road trip! We stopped and spent the night at Paul's sister, Rebecca's house. She had hamburgers hot off the grill for us. Paul loves hamburgers, and I never make them so he was in heaven. I think he ate 3. 

We were able to stop and see a few of my close friends in Utah and Idaho on the way too. I only got a  picture of Betsy, but it was so nice to catch up with a few good friends.  We love lots of people in Utah and Idaho! 

We had all kinds of fun at Grandma and Grandpa Wests house. They have a basement full of toys, my kids loved it! Susie loved being at their house and playing. She has wonderful grandparents. One night Grandma West made pizza and Susie had fun helping. They also babysat for us while we went to the Rexburg temple. It was so nice being in that temple. I love it!

 

We loved spending time with Aunt Livy, too. She loves her niece and nephew so much! We surprised her after one of her classes. 

We went to see the "animal room" in the Benson and ate lunch at the new Crossroads. We went to the bookstore and bought a few things for the kids (got to represent). 

 I love spending time with my little sister. I went to one of her classes with her and that was so fun! So many good memories of college days! 

These are 2 of my favorite pictures from our trip. We played hide and seek in the huge auditorium in the new I-center. Susie had a BLAST. I snapped a couple pictures of her hiding-- too funny!!! 

Before we left town we drove by the first apartment we lived in when we got married. Such good memories. We sure love Rexburg. 

On the way home we stopped in Salt Lake at the Visitors Center. My brother Mackenzie met us there and we were able to catch up with him for a few minutes. We spent the night at Grandma Suzy's in Cedar City before finishing our journey home. They kids took a bubble bath in Grandma's huge tub and played with their favorite marble maze.

What a great month! We are so grateful for all our family. 

Susie Turns 4!

Here is some of what we have been up to lately...

We've been able to go to bundle up and go to the park a few times. It's snowing a ton today but we have days here and there that aren't too cold. I tried to put them in a swing together but it didn't work out too well! 

Susie finished swim lessons at the Aquaplex last week. She did a great job and is much more confident in the water on her own. She likes to wear her googles and go under the water. 

We had a little princess tea party with Susie's friends. It was so much fun!!! We had apple juice and sandwiches and rice krispy treats. We played pin the kiss on the frog and colored princess pages. Susie is such a social little girl, she loves having friends over. They had so much fun together. 

Susanna loves to help me in the kitchen. No matter what we're making she wants to help out. She helps me make her birthday cake every year. 

This was for her 2nd birthday:

This is her 3rd birthday:

And now her 4th birthday! 

Paul and I had fun decorating for her birthday the night before. We put balloons in her room for her to see when she woke up. 

 We made waffles with strawberries and whip cream for breakfast, Susie's favorite! Braden enjoyed it too. 

We let her open a few presents in the morning, including these Princess Sofia sunglasses. She wore them on our way to Chick-Fil-A for lunch.  We ate a yummy lunch and let the kids play. 

After Braden's nap we went swimming at the Aquaplex together. Susie showed her Dad all of her new swim moves she had learned at swimming lessons. We had a great time splashing around and watching the snow fall outside. It was cold getting into the car! We went home and took warm baths while dinner was in the oven. Susanna picked chicken pot pie casserole for dinner. Then we opened a few more presents and had cake for dessert. We put Braden down to bed and let Susie stay up a little later. We played a few games she got for her birthday. It was the best day ever! 

 

Four years old already. Susie is a very sweet and sensitive girl. She loves playing dress up, reading books, playing with friends, and is a great helper at home. She has learned all her letters and sounds at preschool and we are starting to sound out words together. She loves to snuggle and watch movies. She asks us every night "Does Dad have to go to work morrow?" She loves when Dad gets a day off to hang out with us at home. She is amazing at puzzles and loves to play Memory and Candyland, too. She is a fun girl and we love her so much!