Easter and Ann's birthday

We had a pretty relaxing Easter even though I had to teach Young Women's and Zach ended up taking Declan home from church early.  Our ward meets at 1 so it's hard for Declan since it's right during his nap.  He had a cold and hadn't slept well the night before so we didn't think it would be good for him (and our sanity) to miss a nap also!  Here are some pics from Easter.

 Declan with all his Easter gifts - tell me how a one and half year old knows that there is supposed to be candy in those plastic eggs?!

 Hilary and Hailey came over for dinner.  Hilary just got back from Disneyland so she gave Declan a ball from there.  Hailey just got back from Hawaii and she got Declan that cute Hawaiian outfit.  I've never seen him so excited about clothing before!  He just kept saying, "WOW!"

 Family picture - like our decorative boxes?  ha ha

 This kid LOVES peeps!  

Last weekend we went to Idaho to celebrate my mother-in-law's birthday.  I have the best mother-in-law, seriously, she is great.  Ya know how a lot of people say their mothers-in-law meddle too much in their life or don't think they are good enough for their kid?  I've never felt any of that from Ann.  She is also always willing to help.  I definitely got lucky when it came to my in-laws!

 The apron I made for her birthday.

She was a just a little surprised to see an I-pad when she opened her gift from Lyndon!

This is what Declan does when we visit Grandma and Grandpa Oswald.  (sorry for the weird picture,it keeps cutting it in half whenever I upload it.)  Yep, he gambles.  He knows how to put the quarters in, pull the lever, and push all the buttons.  He knows how to work it better than I do!  Whenever he wins he lets out this happy shriek and claps his hands and when he loses he throws his hands in the air and says, "AWWW."  It is hilarious to watch!  We're great parents aren't we? 

Spinach anyone?

One of the only ways we can get this kid to eat vegetables is to make him a spinach smoothie.  We load up a smoothie full of spinach, carrots, and lots of fruit!  Luckily, he loves them and so do we!  Like his spinach stache? 

Mom's birthday

A couple weekends ago Zach flew to Memphis to take Part 3 national optometry boards and I decided I didn't want to be a single mom while he was gone so I drove up to Idaho for the weekend.  Plus, it was my mom's birthday so Declan and I got to celebrate it with my parents!  My parents actually drove to Utah the day before Zach left so that my mom could get her haircut so my mom's birthday was spent mostly in the car driving back to Idaho.  I think she still had fun though.  I have an amazing mom.  She is and has always been there for me.  Even during my awful teenage years she loved me.  ha ha!  That is saying a lot since I wasn't the most obedient child.

This is Declan telling us how old he is!  ONE!

I made my mom this apron for her birthday.  It's my first big project with my sewing machine.  Yes, I just said that an apron is a big project.  I'm still a beginner. :)   It's reversible and I am very pleased with how it turned out!  So was my mom.

This is the apron my brother gave my mom for her birthday.  Yep, you would think after all these years we would coordinate gifts better but nope.  I'm just glad they are both different colors, style, and really cute!

My mom with all the birthday loot. 

My parents surprised Declan with a set of golf clubs when we got to their house.  He LOVES them!  I'm sure this is just the first of many sets he will have.  He had so much fun hitting the ball, or more whacking the ball around the yard.  He has played with them everyday since getting them.

We stayed with Zach's family on Friday night.  Declan had a lot of fun jumping on the tramp with Aunt Sara.  He loves going in their backyard where the dogs are kept.  Good thing he has a nice grandma and grandpa to take him back there because I am too scared of their bear of a dog, Mac.  Hilary and Hailey came up also but of course the only pictures I got were of Declan on the tramp.  We had lots of fun playing games on Saturday while listening to Conference of course. :)

Sunday was spent at my parent's house just listening to Conference and keeping the little man entertained.  I drove back to Utah on Monday to greet my sleeping husband.   I don't have much patience when he's not around so I was glad to have him back!  Of course, Declan was very excited to be back with his dad.  When I put him to bed that night I asked him if he was excited to sleep in his own bed and he said, "YEAH!"  ha ha.  We love to visit family but it always means a lack of sleep!

a little late, but better than never

Back in January we got together for dinner with some of my cousins.  The best part about it was my cousin, Kristin, was in Utah for a few days and it was the first time I have seen her in 5 years!  It's crazy how you go from seeing your cousins every summer for a few weeks to every few years!  Anyway, we had a great time.  My cousin Ty married the sweetest girl who happens to be an excellent cook.  Sarah made an awesome tortilla soup which I still crave!  It was so much fun to get together with them and talk and tell stories.  Thank you Kristin for sending me the pictures!

 The cousins -me, Jill, Kristin, Ty

 Ty and Sarah with their kids

The newlyweds- Garyn and Jill with Kristin

Every summer when I was growing up (starting at the age of 5) my grandma would fly us all out to see her in California and we would spend a week or two together.  All our families are spread out so it was a great way for us to get to know our cousins.  Really, I have some awesome memories with these guys.  Like the time Ty and Brandon chased me down my grandma's street because I lost control on my rollerblades.  In the end, I crashed right before Ty was about to catch me.  Or the time Emily decided to "fly" down my grandma's stairs in her backyard.  That didn't end well.  All the creature walks, Disneyland trips, beach visits, sunburns, grandma making us eat weird food...oh the memories.  I'm so glad my Grandma thought it was important for us to get together every year!  We need a cousins reunion with everyone!