Science Center Field Trip

Last Wednesday, the boys and I went with Suzanna's class to the Science Center.

I don't think I could begin to capture Suzanna's excitement for the event. This was the first field trip I've been on with her--and she has been waiting, waiting, waiting!!!

There were so many parent volunteers for the field trip, that we only had one other kid assigned to us (good thing since I was already watching Ty & Jonathan!), and we made our group more fun by hanging out with my friend Liz, her sons Ty & Nate, and Erika's son Jarom (Nate and Jarom are also in Anna's class).



We went to the planetarium first, where they did a very cool presentation on the planets.
Then we moved on to the exhibits.

Is anyone surprised that this was Jonathan's favorite exhibit? A giant nose that you can throw balls into = A five-year-old's dream come true. The best part is when the nose "sneezes" a ball back out!

Ty loved this house. Especially since only kids 4 and under were allowed in. He didn't have to compete for a turn.

He is such a boy!!

And Nate's face sums up how we felt about the last part of the field trip. They gathered all the 2nd graders into the I-Max theater to listen to three weather forecasters from Channel 3. The kids weren't so impressed. I think they just wished they were exploring the fun museum some more instead of listening to more adults talk =)

Easter

We went to Thatcher for the Easter weekend for a mini Allred Reunion (Phil's sister came down from Idaho, so the rest of us came over, too!), so we celebrated Easter a day late at our house. I just didn't want to stress out about getting Easter candy/baskets bought and ready to take on our trip (since I was already getting ready for a baby shower, family picture and Easter dinner there).

I like how it all turned out--celebrating a day late is kind of nice! And it made for a perfect Family Home Evening.

The kids had a small egg hunt in the back yard.

We made Brendon work for his eggs =)

Ty had a hard time waiting for the hunt--watching mom fill eggs was torture for this two-year--old! He insisted on watching me hide the eggs, too. So the hunt wasn't much of a surprise to him, but that didn't stop him from loving it!

Anna and Jonathan were pretty excited about their finds, too.

After our egg hunt--and after the kids devoured a bunch of candy--we did our traditional Easter FHE of opening Easter eggs filled with symbols of the Atonement, and scriptures to read. That was my favorite part!

Grandpa Flake's Funeral

For journal purposes, I didn't want to miss writing about going to my Grandpa's funeral last month.

It was a crazy trip.

Starting from having to get my car fixed before I could go, and having the dealership be oh so efficient and taking way longer than planned.

Which made me later than I should have been to pick up my cousin at the airport to drive to Thatcher (but it was great to visit with him!).

And late to the family viewing, to which we showed up in play clothes since they were waiting for us and there was no time to change into appropriate clothes.

Phil arrived later that night--he couldn't get away from work early enough to ride with me--and we all got to bed late and tired.

In the morning, we debated whether or not to take Jonathan and Ty to the funeral or leave them with Phil's sister, finally deciding to take them.

We chose wrong.

My kids are not perfect, but they can almost always make it through an entire Sacrament meeting reverently. I now know that they don't do as well at funerals. I was QUITE embarrassed.

What I heard at the funeral was great--I loved hearing things about my grandpa that I'd never known, and hearing some stories again that I love. He was a great man--and I admire him for the life he lived.

I also loved seeing and visiting with family and friends there. I had obviously looked forward to seeing aunts, uncles and cousins, but I hadn't even thought of all the extended family. It was great to see them there, like Lucky Wilson, a good friend from our Tempe ward (I'd forgotten we were related, too!) and the Brimhalls, friends/second-cousins I grew up with in Gilbert--and so many more. That is the best part about funerals for me--the gathering of friends and family.

And of course the luncheon after was pretty great, too. Good food and more visiting!

Suzanna thought she was quite the princess with her hair all done up by Aunt Wendy. She did look pretty cute =)

And the boys thought they were pretty funny messing around with their cups.

We were so glad to be able to be there with everyone, and then pretty glad to be home by the time we finally got there late, late that night!!

34 candles

Well...that's how many candles should have been on Phil's cake tonight, but I was running late for a meeting, so we'll just pretend =)

Phil celebrated by leaving work early and going golfing with his boss. His personal idea of bliss!

Jonathan, Ty and I had fun creating a quick golf ball cake at home.

And I finally made Phil's idea of the perfect bolio rolls. We've been trying different recipes for a little while, and I actually got it right today! They may not look all that fancy, but they were nice and crusty on the outside, and soft inside. That's what we've been trying for.

We went and celebrated his birthday without the kids last weekend, too, so I'm not going to feel too guilty that he had to spend his birthday night without me (got to love meetings!!).