Easter Sunday

We had a lovely Easter despite Grandma Rosalie (aka the Easter Bunny) being in Florida this week. We managed to delight the children without her, and it was was pretty fun, though I am exhausted! (Good thing this is the last major celebration before the baby comes cuz Mama's clockin' out for a while now!) Anyway, here are the pictures. Please forgive the obvious lack of the Easter Sunday church outfits picture. The kids were so excited to hunt eggs with their cousins, they changed before I could get pictures!Addie & Heidi were the first ones up at 6:30 am and they were excited about the Squinkies in their baskets...


Yay, Squinkies! Doncha love Addie's rag rollers?

Girls and Baskets

Heidi got another (mini) Lala Loopsy.

This one is Peanut Bigtop and she comes with an elephant!

Silly girl with silly socks

James woke up after 7am and found his basket.

with an Easter Thomas engine that pulls a Sodor Jelly Bean company car

a carrot full of jelly beans and m-n-ms

We took Addie's rag rollers out and look at her hair!

She loved it!

***

Then we were off to church at 9:45am so the kids could sing some prelude music. Sacrament meeting was nice and I got to teach a Relief Society lesson about Elder Bednar's Oct 2010 conference talk (what it means to actively RECEIVE the Holy Ghost)--good stuff.

After church, Daddy & Uncle Mike hid eggs in our yard and the kids went wild hunting them.

Cousin Dan & Addie

James

More James

Mike & Heidi

Addie, James, and Heidi

Heidi with her booty

The kids divvyed up their eggs to share with cousins Hannah and Rosalie (who were not allowed to come to the egg hunt for some crazy reason).

My cuties out in the sunshine...man, I LOVE my kids!

It was a beautiful day, sunny, warmer than the rest of the week, totally appropriate for Easter and the promise of new life and better days ahead.

In case you missed my post on facebook this week, here is what I posted on Good Friday:

Happy Good Friday! Good Friday always breaks my heart, and that's why I love this message: "No matter how dark your Friday, Sunday will come!" I miss my Grampy so much it hurts sometimes, but this year more than ever I will celebrate Easter and feel the scripture, "O Death, where is thy sting?" Hooray for Sunday.

I'm In Love With His Nose

I had an ultrasound today to measure the baby and fluid and whatever else they needed to know. He--and it's definitely a "HE"-- is measuring 35 weeks + 5 days and looks like he's an ounce shy of six pounds. There didn't appear to be any cord-tangling and he is head down, with several pockets of fluid to keep him comfy and room to grow the next 3 weeks. So yay that, right? I get to start twice-weekly non-stress tests at the hospital tomorrow night, and I actually look forward to that. It's nice quiet time and I get reacquainted with the hospital and the nurses and I get to eat all the yummy hospital ice I want. It's the little things, people. :) I'm grateful to see the baby doing so well even when I am feeling DAWG TARD--it's motivation to hang in there for a few more weeks. The kids liked seeing him, too (he had his foot smashed against his forehead for most of the session--so funny).

Ranch, Easter, & Other Stuff

FIRSTLY, HAPPY BIRTHDAY

to my nieces Sariah Melin (6) and Kaylee Hamlin (4) today!

We love and miss you cutie punkins!

On Saturday at the ranch, Mike finished the tiling upstairs and started rocking the fireplace (which is now finished & beautiful). Have a gander... Upstairs spare bathroom tile
Great work, Mike!

Excuse my dusty lens...here is the basement family room from the stairs. It's going to look so cool with the cozy furniture and the entertainment system!



Goodbye, white brick, hello rocks!Out back, things are thawing out. The river is rising and the grass is starting to green...

...Spring has NOT QUITE sprung, but it's getting there!
***

Monday and yesterday (Tuesday 4/19), it snowed like crazy.

Today, Wednesday, the snow is almost all gone and the ground is all spongey.

My tulips keep growing thru the snow!

Today I went to pick up James from preschool and found this BUNNY BOY!
(he made the ears and his face is painted with a blue bunny nose & green whiskers)

He was excited about this duck from his teacher

(I like how you can see the Strupps' van in the background)

Last week for Activity Days, Addie made this egg

and James (& I) made this egg for a sample--so cute!

***

Lastly, our new stroller/baby carrier came in the mail yesterday. It's FABULOUS!

Now all we need is our baby brother to put in there!

I foresee lots of great family walks with our new wheels! YAY!

Jessica's Shower

Last night (Heidi's birthday), the girls and I went to Jessica Holm's Bridal Shower at the church. Jessica has been: my favorite Beehive (8 years ago), a favorite babysitter, and James' swimming teacher (and crush). Her mom is our Aunt Debbie (Heidi's grown up BFF) and we're all really excited about her upcoming marriage to Zachary (on 4/22 in SLC).SO CUTE.

Heidi playing with Baby Porter at the party All-ages wedding rager-- Grandmas, moms, daughters, babies--we all had fun!

A shot from across the room from where we were sitting

Addie

Aunt Debbie & Heidi

Jessica gave us a sneak peek of her dress last night since most of us can't go to SLC for the wedding. My girls just LOVED it!

CONGRATULATIONS, JESSICA!

We love you!

(and thanks for the lovely party, Terry , Sheila, & other helpers)

It's Heaven to be Seven!

Happy, happy birthday, Heidi-Dear!Addie & Heidi in Sept. 2004

Heidi was the cutest, sweetest baby ever! I can't believe she's SEVEN! We celebrated with a family party last night because tonight we are going to Jessica Holm's bridal shower. So we had a pizza party here last night before I had to dash off to PTO... Addie took this picture of us all sitting down to dinner: me, Grandma Rosalie, James, Heidi, and Daddy (Uncle Mike came a little later and Grandpa was at High Council meeting in Bozo).

Silly sisters! The banner abover Heidi's head is one she made with Grandma on her Grandma Date on Wednesday. They also made a BOB cake (from Monsters vs. Aliens...Heidi loves that movie!).

Heidi's first gift was some mad birthday cash from Grandma...

nice!

After dinner, we broke out the BOB cake

Grandma is so creative! Heidi kept asking for this cake for like 2 years and I had no idea how to make it happen (jello mold?), but Grandma did! See the resemblance?

The "other" thing Heidi wanted really bad , besides a new Zambi, was this Lala Loopsey doll. We indulged. She was thrilled.

Look at BOB's guts! YUM!

Heidi also got a new Easter dress from us...

...and some sparkle-toe Easter shoes.

Uncle Mike came and brought her some fancy dress-up shoes, too!

***

About this time, I had to head out to my meeting, but after Grandma and I left, Rich and Mike hung out with the kids for a while. Addie and Heidi decided they wanted to let some party balloons go with notes for Papa Bill on them (just like 2 wks ago for Papa's birthday)

Heidi with her balloons.

When I got home from my meeting, this little note was sitting on my computer desk. It's what Addie wrote for her balloon.

***

This morning, Rich got up early and cooked a pound of bacon and some waffles for Heidi's bday breakfast.

Here are all my sweethearts leaving for school/work this morning...so CUTE!

Heidi took 2 dozen cupcakes and Lala Loopsey for her special snack/ show-and-tell day at first grade.

It's sure to be an awesome day for our Lynners!

Almost-34 Week Belly Shot

James took this pic of me (look at my puffy nose...prego face!)... ...and I took this one of him today. "Hi, Nana Lyn!"

Weekend Doin's

Addie really wanted to make fried chicken on Friday night, so we decided to make Asian Chicken Salad. She was in charge of the tempura chicken...Battering the chicken for the fryer Chopping cabbage, carrots, celery, water chestnuts, snowpeas, and toasting almonds & sesame seeds for the salad Addie frying like a pro! (it was DELICIOUS!) When we stopped at Papa Jim's & Grandma Becky's house last Sunday, they gave Heidi her bday gift early. Unbeknownst to them, she had been asking for a new Zambi faithfully for a year (since she lost the one Nana gave her at the park last spring)...they gave her a new Zambi and Saturday, she dressed Zambi up for Easter--see the pretty hair bows on her ears?

Heidi also used her allowance to buy this Fur-Real Pet in Utah. It's a cuddly little dog that dresses up as the Easter Bunny. She made it an Easter Basket-cage in her room.

Saturday night we went to Donkey Basketball (a Kiwanis fundraiser, sponsored in part by The Melin Agency) and the kids LOVED it. I didn't get a pic of the donkeys, but here is the eventual champion team, part of the Park High Boys Basketball Team. Andrew Holm is in the sombrero and our kids were rooting for him loudly.

***

We also did some painting at the ranch and Rich took the kids to see "HOP" this weekend, too, while I worked on my Easter lesson for Young Women. It was a wonderful weekend and I feel super thnakful for my darling family (especially after listening to Elder Scott's conference talk this morning--I have the best husband in the world!).