More Easter pictures

So I thought I posted a ton of pictures on the previous post, but as I scrolled through the pictures on my computer, I still had a whole bunch that I wanted on the blog.  So here's more of our Easter.  Enjoy.

 Lizzie, my cousin Tomi's daughter.

Antonio.  What a good kid he is!

                                                                                                             (This is how he looked for eggs ;)

 My Mom and her dad (check out the stache he's rockin'!)  What a cute Grandpa I have!

 Addison and Trey (she really loves Trey!)

 My cute parents!

A sweet picture of Addison egg hunting. 

 Lizzie knew this would make a cute picture ;)

 Aunt JoAnna helped Brogie hunt all his eggs!  (What a good aunt she is!)

Me, Brogan, and my aunt Chris.

 Brogan and Grandpa Jensen

 Antonio had to find his Easter basket (just like everyone else ;)

 My parent's on Easter morning.

 Addison was so thrilled when she found an Easter basket waiting for her at Grandma Bingham's!

 Showin some sibling love!

Grandpa Bingham with his three local Grandkids!

 Another picture of Brogan at the park.

 Antonio proving he's just an athlete.  period.

 Isn't this the sweetest picture of Ali and Lindy?!?  I LOVE it!  

Two gorgeous girls!

 Brogan found out there was candy in the eggs... yummm!!

Uncle Spencer and his beautiful Mom!

 Stewart's cute parents! 

These pictures were just too good.  I had to share them.  Hope you enjoyed them!

Easter 2012

This year for Easter we began our festivities on Saturday night with an Easter feast at Grandpa Funk's house.  We had a great Easter egg hunt outside.  The weather was nice, not too bright, perfect for taking pictures of my sweet little babies!

Addison LOVED hunting eggs, and has a surprisingly good eye for the hiders!  Grandpa Funk always hides some eggs that are worth a little bit of money. Addison did really good, and found the ones with the "Mexican money".  Perfect for her very own wallet ;)

 Brogan was just happy to be outside.  He's just at the right age to take good pictures of him.  He's not too fast, and likes when I act all silly trying to make him laugh.

 Aunt JoAnna found an old, old, emu egg.  (Ummm... how much is that egg worth?!)

 Our perfect little family.  

Easter 2012

 On Sunday my parents came over before church to bring the kids their Easter baskets.  Their Easter bunny brought them kites!  (And clothes and candy too).  Then after church we headed out to Dietrich.  On the way Addison got to eat a Peep... which she shoved ALL the way in her mouth.  Awesome.

 Grandma Bingham reading Addison her story the Easter bunny brought her!  Grandma Bingham's Easter bunny brought the kids a GIANT sheep coloring book, their very own scriptures, candy, and even hid eggs in the house!

 After dinner we went for a little walk to the park.  It was such a gorgeous day!

 Addison enjoyed the swings

 and the slide.

 Brogan really liked that he was allowed to play in the rocks (as long as he didn't eat them)!

 Some of Stewart's cousins were there, and they got this toy plane stuck in a tree.  Antonio climbed the tree like it was nothing, and ended up getting the plan down with a really long stick.  What a kid!  He also played football for the first time, and was pretty darn good!

 Addison wanted to play football too.  She wasn't so great ;)

 Addison, Brogan, Ali.  These guys all love each other, and have fun together!  It's nice that my kids can have at least one cousin close!  They sure miss all the other cousins!

We also dyed eggs for the first time, which didn't seem to be so bad!  Pictures of that to come!

Addison is getting older, and boy is she smart.  I told her the story of Jesus being resurrected, and even though she doesn't really understand all that it means, she's beginning to understand, and that's what's important.  It's amazing.  When you have children you  get to simplify the things that you know, and try to teach them to someone else. It amazes me how much I learn when I try to teach my kids!

Ferdinand

Lately Addison won't take a nap or go to bed until we read THREE stories.  {She likes to sit in my lap for two, then get in bed and have me read one more}.  Usually she picks the same stories over and over for about a week.  Ferdinand, however,  has become a fast favorite, and we end up reading it every night and nap time.  Whenever I read her a story, I really try to over-exaggerate, do voices, and let her fill in the blanks.  For Ferdinand, there's a part that's repeated  "Not Ferdinand.  He just liked to sit in the grass and smell the flowers."  This is usually how that part goes.  ME: "Not Ferdinand.  He just liked to sit in the grass and smell the...."  ADDISON: "CHICKENS!"  Whaaat?  haha!  Oh Addison.  You never cease to make me laugh!

Stewart turns 26!

Unfortunately, I suck and this is the only picture I have from Stewart's 26th birthday party.  We had a houseful of family to help Stewart ring in his "finally 26" birthday.  (He's been telling people for 2 years now that he's 26) (sometimes he just gets confused) :)  So we ate tacos, cake and ice cream, and enjoyed the entertainment that the children (not just mine, but even some of my grown cousins) provided.  Stewart got bodywash, hand scrub (yes, it makes his hands feel baby soft), protein shakes, new pants, new shirts, money, and new puma shoes (I managed to half way surprise him with the shoes).   This cute cake came from Costco (thanks Nancy), and was SO delicious!  Thanks to everyone that came, and Debbie- thanks for the birthday cards!  You are SO good!

Next week is Brogan's birthday, so another party to come.  (I think next year we'll celebrate Stew's happy "Un-birthday" so we don't have to have 3 parties in 4 weeks :)  )

Cheeto face

Who doesn't love a sleeping boy covered in Cheetos?!?

We went to the Dietrich boys' ball game in Glenns Ferry.  Addison opted to go to Grandma Jensen's house (odd... she usually begs to go see "ball") so it was just the four of us (Antonio).  On the way home Brogan and Antonio bonded over some cheetos, leading up to this adorable picture.  Isn't this guy just a little hunk?!  I love him so much!

A Family Night Out

Last Friday was JoAnna's Morp dance (girls ask guys).  Since she's not 16, she went with a big group, and they had a little party at our house before (and even after) the dance.  Since Addison loves playing the kinect   more than she enjoys sitting back and watching, we had to evacuate the house.  We decided to take a trip to  Jerome, home of Wal-Mart and McDonald's play place.  We decided that since we'd only be burning a few hours, we wouldn't pack a huge diaper bag (or extra clothes).

Our adventure started out in the car, where Addison shared the marshmallows she found.  Brogan is a messy marshmallow eater! (we took them to church one time, and I quickly regretted the sticky mess).

 Stewart got the "fun" cart.  Brogan looks like he's barely hanging in there, but Addison loved it.

 Our first mission was new pj's to put the boy in (aren't they cute).  Then we milled around the store.  We ended up looking for some dog toys for our new boys.  Turns out their great for kids too!  Brogan enjoyed the rope...

 ....and Addison enjoyed lining up the squeaky pigs!  (She refused to get in this picture).

 After our shopping fun Stewart splurged a whole $1.50 for Addison to have a few cheap rides.  She LOVES these.  I remember liking them as a kid too (not that we ever actually paid to make them go).

 Next was dinner at McDonalds!  Addison was a very good girl and ate all of her fries, an apple slice, and half her burger before she went and played.  Brogan ate half my fries, the rest of Addison's burger, and a whole package of apple slices.  It's a good thing he was taken by the cieling fans, because there was no way I was chasing him up the play thing!

 Addison didn't get brave until she had a little help from a friend she met there.  This little boy (probably 5 or 6) hoisted her up these platform things, so she had access to "the cave" (above), where she insisted on staying for the longest time.  She refused to go down the slide, and went down these platforms all by herself!

The kids are getting to that really fun age where we can take them to do stuff.  I'm so glad to have both of them, and am so excited for all our adventures yet to come!

Diva

Addison is in that stage where she likes to change her clothes ALL the time, and she has to get dressed by herself.  Most days she changes clothes about 3 or 4 times (she sneaks upstairs and comes down dressed differently, sometimes even to the shoes!)

On this particular day she was dressed, and even let me fix her hair and put a "pretty" in it.  It didn't take long for me to find this...

 "but Mom, aren't I just so cute here naked under a blanket, with my hair pretty?"

 On this morning I told her to go up to her room and get dressed so we could go on a walk.  Here's what came down the stairs! haha!  I LOVE this girl!

 She even posed for me :) 

Ether 12:3

"For he did cry from the morning, even until the going down of the sun, exhorting the people to believe in God unto repentance lest they should be destroyed, saying unto them that by faith all things are fulfilled-"

I was looking for "my favorite" scripture for a project my Mom is doing.  I don't really have a "favorite".  I think they're all good, and can all be interpreted different ways, depending on what you're in need of.  I flipped to Ether (my smart phone makes flipping around very easy), and just started reading.  For some reason this scripture really stood out to me.  Maybe it's because I've been thinking about my little brother on his mission, and the importance of the work he's doing.  Maybe it's because I need to share my testimony more often.  Whatever the reason, tonight this is my favorite scripture!

Jail-Break

See this big, grated gate.  It's been working hard to keep Brogan off his favorite place in the house -the stairs.

See how it's now tilted off the stairs? Yup, looks like this gate has met his match.

The eleven month old Brogster has gotten the best of this silly gate.  

  We haven't had a roll-down yet, so I guess we'll just keep our eye on him and hope he doesn't have to learn the hard way!

 "Hi Mom!" from the top of the stairs.  He slides down on his belly now, one stair at a time.

 Look at this little rebel.  Making a break for it!  I just can't keep this kid off the stairs!

Brogan has spent the day climbing and descending the stairs.  I'm pretty sure he's a bit worn out, he's on nap number two right now!  Silly boy!

President's Day 2012

Today has been the best day ever.  SERIOUSLY.  It's President's day, and pretty close to everyone I know is going skiing.  Even Antonio went boarding today.  I thought that this was going to be just another boring day at home with the kids.  But with a little creativity, and a whole lot of cooperation from the kiddos, we've been able to turn this dull day into a super fun one!  

We started the day with "Occupy Living Room".  I think the kids were protesting nap time, but I don't think they know what they camped out for ;)

 Thanks to last summers' yard sales, and the DI, we have quite the collection of tents!

 Grandpa Jensen was here this morning helping Dad change a breaker, and he even joined the protest!

 Addison loved the tent setup.  In fact, she wanted to take her nap in the tents (an unsuccessful attempt, but valiant effort on her part).

Brogan woke up early, so he napped early (and for a surprisingly long time).  Stewart didn't leave for work till late morning, so Addison and I made a quick trip to the store to get a redbox.  We grabbed some soup and circus cookies for lunch while we were out.  (Addison loves to GO).  When we got back we shared soup, cookies, and lemonade while we watched 'Dolphin Tale'.  Wasn't a bad movie!  Addison was being so silly today.  Mostly just small things that made me giggle.  Like when I was getting stuff ready to eat our soup she kept saying "poop, poop Momma".  I thought she had to poop, but upon further investigation, she was just ready to eat some SOUP!  haha!  I tried to help her say soup, but it's still 'poop' to her.  Oh well.  She's cute.  I wish that I could've somehow recorded this whole day, with all the little cute things.  I hope that when my kids are in school, their days off will be spent just like today!

Teenagers

I'm pretty sure I can wait for my kids to become teenagers.  Here's Stew sitting in the boise mall waiting for Antonio to finish shopping the big American brands. Yup, I can definitely wait for our kids to be teenagers!

While we waited we decided to get our pictures taken.  We've never done these photo booth things, but it was worth our $3.00!  We thought we lost Antonio while we were in the photo booth.  He was in Abercrombie, and when we came out, we couldn't find him in the store anywhere!  (Don't worry- after a bit of fretting, we found him in the dressing room).

 Antonio with his "very cheap" clothing.  Didn't seem cheap to me, but I guess compared to Brasil, the six hundred dollars he spent on clothes today was a steal! One store was having 30% off everything in the store.  He bought like 6 shirts there.  When he came out he said, "today is the best day!"  He cracks me up.

(Thanks Mom, Dad, and JoAnna for watching the munchkins for us!  It sure would've been a tough day hauling them everywhere.  You guys are SO GOOD!

Wrestle-mania

Stewart was wrestling with the kids the other night.  It was too cute.  Now Brogan knows how to use his weight against his sister ;)

I love these hooligans!

Walks

Yesterday we loaded up and headed to the library for our "Every Child a Reader" program.  Addison is always a holy terror when we go to the library, but it's okay.  I love her so much, we'll go again next week. She even checked out her first library book. 

We also walked down to cooks to get some stuff to make our valentines (giant rice crispy kisses, which I overcooked). It was a chilly day, and by the time we headed home the wind had picked up.  Good thing we only live 2 blocks from the store (although that double stroller loaded down with kids and groceries.... was a decent little workout).  This is our 2nd walk since we've lived in town, and both the kids love them!  

Meet Antonio

This is Antonio Coracini.  He is from Virgin Grande Dosul, Brasil.  He's our exchange student! 

Antonio got off the plane in Twin Falls, only to find that his host family's basement had flooded, leaving him without a home.  Since he'll only be here for 4 and a half months, and since we now have an extra bedroom, I decided I couldn't not give him a home.  I thought, what if this was my kid in a foreign country, without a home?  I also thought about all the good people in Brasil that took care of Stewart while he served his mission. How could I not give him a home?  (Plus- Antonio will help Stewart brush up on his Portuguese!)

Turns out that Antonio is an AWESOME kid!  He's very good with our kids.  So patient with Addison being a meanie, Brogan's new temper, and the kids' crying at night (the move's been tough on them). He speaks very good English, but we've enjoyed laughing at some of the his language bloopers.  A few of my favorites "The new Iphone 5 comes out in my".  "In my? Ohhh, you mean MAY!"  And also - "How many jigga-bytes does that have?"  "jigga-bytes?  haha!  You mean gigga-bytes!"  Last night I told him he had to eat at least one of each vegetable.  He's really becoming part of the family!  He's learned to do his own laundry, cook eggs, and warm up food in the microwave.  He's very willing to help, and is eager to learn how to do household chores (in Brasil- he has a maid).  We're so very glad to have him in our home with us, and hope he enjoys his time here in America!