A Good Friday Indeed.....& a Pretty Fun Saturday Too!

Since Good Friday was the beginning of Spring Break for the girls, we called up our friends, the Gibsons, and asked if they wanted to go to the park to soak up some sun. We went to our new favorite park in Lake Charles. I don't even know the name of it, but it has the most awesome playground that has a gate all the way around it, and a cute little splash ground too. It was a beautiful day for the park, and the girls had a blast!



And so did John David!



He was "just one of the girls".....following them everywhere they went.



The water from the splash pad made a puddle all the way down the sidewalk, and John David enjoyed it more than the splash pad.



I think he had the perfect outfit on for this day--"I make MUD look good."

This morning we headed over to Kent and Johnice's house for some Easter fun. Aunt Brenda and Mike & Tiffany and their boys were in town. First we dyed eggs.



John David was so into the egg dying this year. It was so cute to watch how gentle he was trying to be.



The girls love dying eggs......and eating them too.







John David was also really into hunting the eggs this year too. It was so fun to watch him.







Then he discovered that there was money in the eggs. He was pretty excited about his "dolla".



I love that my girls don't feel too old to hunt eggs.





Can't they just stay little forever?





After the egg hunt we ate lunch and just enjoyed the rest of the beautiful day together.

The Teacher Appreciation Dinner

Tonight was the Teacher Appreciation Dinner that our ward has done for the last few years. And for the first time since Katie was in Kindergarten, she had a teacher come. Every year since her kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Allen came, she has been so disappointed to the point of tears. So I was hoping and praying that she would have a teacher there this year. Well, neither of her two teachers that she has this year were able to make it, but her 1st grade teacher, Mrs. Chappell was there. Katie has actually invited her every year since she was in first grade because she is by far our (not just Katie's) favorite teacher that Katie has ever had. We all just love her to pieces!



And Sarah's teacher Mrs. McKeivier was there too. We absolutely love her too!



We are so thankful for our teachers and all that they do for our kids!

Sarah's Field Trip

Sarah had a field trip today. They started out at the Children's Museum, which is always a hit.



Then we went to Drew Park for lunch. After lunch, the kids hunted Easter eggs.



And then played for a while.



So glad I got to spend the day with my sweet Sarah. I love that she still asks for me to come with her on her field trips and to come help out with parties in her class. I'm sure that won't always be the case, so I'm taking advantage of this window of opportunity while I can.



I so love this little girl to pieces!

The Eagle Has Landed

Tonight we went to Vidor for our nephew Jarrett's Eagle Scout Court of Honor.



Aaron talked about the "Trail to Eagle" and then gave Jarrett this beautiful eagle statue.



Then Jarrett recited the scout oath.



And his mom put his pin on him.



I love this picture.



And I love that the parents get pins too.



It really does take a team effort.



Then it was time for some cake. When Amy told me that they were planning this, I volunteered to make his cake. I knew just the one. A friend of mine posted this awesome cake on facebook a few months ago, and I knew when I saw it that I would have to make it someday. I thought it wouldn't be for another ten years at least though, when John David becomes an eagle scout. So I jumped at the chance to make this amazing cake. It was without a doubt the most challenging cake I have ever done, and the most time consuming. I worked on it for three days. (And I learned more about scouting making this cake that I have ever known!) But it was so worth it. Jarrett loved it. In fact, he told Aaron that he was more excited about the cake that he was about getting the award. Ha! Yeah, right. But I am glad he liked it.



I wasn't able to make it as neat as the picture I saw, but not too shabby for a beginner.



I tried to make the sash look just like Jarrett's.



We are so proud of Jarrett. He is the first Eagle Scout in the family. But not for long. Guess who is planning his eagle project? Yep, Jacob. Better get started making his merit badges!



So proud of these guys!

Camping with the Young Women

The Young Women of our ward went camping last night, and since it was a "shooting campout", Aaron went along to help. And since he was bringing the girls' guns with him for the YW to shoot, he decided that our girls should get to go too, since their guns were going. And they, of course, didn't argue with that logic. They were so excited to get to go camping with their Daddy....and to shoot their guns.





It's been a while since we have been camping as a family, but the girls didn't miss a beat when it came to putting up the tent. In fact, Aaron said they helped put up several tents. He's pretty proud of the fact that they do so well in the woods.......and shooting their guns. So glad they got to spend some Daddy/Daughter time together.

The Railroad Festival

Katie and Sarah are spending the weekend with our Texas peeps, and we are missing them. John David came to me this morning with his hands up saying, "Daydee? Rahrah?" He's missing them even more than me. But I'm sure they are having too much fun to miss us. So we decided to get out of the house this morning and go to the.............



.......and check out the Railroad Festival. This was our first time going to this festival. We thought John David would enjoy it since he loves trains. First stop was the Dequincy Railroad Museum.



They had a cool little train city, which included a Nichols, of course.



John David loved it. He kept pointing and saying, "Rain! Choo! Choo!"







After the railroad museum, we walked around and looked at the crafts. We wanted to get a pork-a-bob, which we heard were pretty amazing, and they probably were. However, the line was a mile long, and we didn't feel like waiting. I was pretty disappointed that there wasn't a train car that John David could climb through though. Oh well. We'll have to take him to the one in Galveston. They even have a little train ride too.



Fun times with my two favorite men on the planet.

The best eleven years of my life......so far!

Today is our anniversary. I feel so blessed to be married to my amazing husband. We are a great team. I loved Elder Richard G. Scott's talk last weekend about the blessings of marriage. He said, "It is so rewarding to be married. Marriage is wonderful. In time you begin to think alike and have the same ideas and impressions. You have times when you are extremely happy, times of testing, and times of trial, but the Lord guides you through all of those growth experiences together." This has been so true for us. I am so grateful to have this man to share my journey with, and look forward to each and everyday with him.



This is the song I picked out for us to dance to at our wedding reception. I think it fit us perfectly then..........and now.

Me and You
by Kenny Chesney

Ordinary, no
Really don't think so
Not a love this true
Common destiny
We were meant to be
Me and you

Like a perfect scene
From a movie screen
We're a dream come true
Suited perfectly
For eternity
Me and you

Everyday, I need you even more
And the nighttime too
There's no way I could ever let you go
Even if I wanted to

Everyday I live
Try my best to give
All I have to you
Thank the stars above
That we share this love
Me and you

Everyday, I need you even more
And the nighttime too
There's no way I could ever let you go
Even if I wanted to

Ordinary, no
Really don't think so
Just a precious few
Ever make it last
Get as lucky as
Me and you
Me and you

Happy Anniversary Honey! I am so grateful for your never ending love and support! You truly are my sunshine!

Celebrating Maw Maw

For FHE tonight, we went to visit Maw Maw and helped her celebrate her birthday.



John David was all about helping Maw Maw open her presents.



Then he helped bring the cooler over to the table......



..........and then he carefully took the ice cream out one by one and placed the on the table.



I love that he loves to help so much. Such a sweet little guy!



Then everyone sat down and had some cupcakes and ice cream, and visited with the birthday girl. She is doing so well in her new place.



We had a great time celebrating with family and friends.



Happy Birthday Maw Maw! We love you!

Conference & the Music Man

We sure have enjoyed watching General Conference over the past couple of days. I am so grateful for technology, and that I don't have to go anywhere to be able to enjoy conference. It has been so nice to just hang out with my little family and watch the sessions on our computer. We only made the kids sit through the Sunday morning session, and they did amazingly well. Even John David seemed to enjoy it--especially the music. He found one of Aaron's drill bits and used it to direct the congregational hymn.



What a cutie!



I am so grateful for living prophets and apostles, and for the opportunity to listen and learn from them on a regular basis. I love what Elder Holland said this afternoon. "If we teach by the Spirit and you listen by the Spirit, some one of us will touch on your circumstance, sending a personal prophetic epistle just to you." So true! What a wonderfully amazing blessing!