Girls Day Out

A few weeks ago all the Washburn girls got together for lunch at the Garden Restaurant at the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building. It was wonderful. I made the arrangements for lunch, and I felt bad because our original plan for lunch was to go high tea at the Grand America, but all the reservations filled up so fast! I felt like I let everyone down, so I'll have to plan on doing that in the future. It is a must because I had tea (or rather hot chocolate) with my old roommates about a year ago and it was SO much fun--an experience worth paying for.

We forgot to get a group photo in the restaurant so we tried to get a selfie as we crossed the street to City Creek...in the wind

Easter

I love it when Easter falls on conference weekend. I can sit and watch church on tv while I eat Easter candy. On Saturday we took the kids to Smith's for their Easter egg hunt. We've never been before so we didn't know what to expect. Turns out they divide the kids into age groups on different isles of the store and throw down candy for the kids to collect. They had a few Easter eggs scattered throughout that had coupons in them; Zander got two of those. I took Lucas while dad took Zander and Hannah. Lucas just sat down scooping up candy left and right. They both filled their baskets up to the brim, and had a fun time. They even got to see the Easter bunny (who looked kinda creepy to be honest).

 One morning while eating breakfast out of the blue a light bulb went off in Zander's head and he said, "Mom! What if the Easter bunny isn't a real bunny, but it's just a costume--a man dressed in a costume and he comes to all the houses and gives us candy?!" I just laughed and told him maybe it was, haha. Fast forward to the egg hunt at Smith's. The boys spotted the Easter bunny and Zander exclaims, 'Look mom, it is a costume!"

Indeed the Easter bunny made another appearance at the Washburn house this year.

Magic in the Air

I love watching a full moon rise over the Uinta Mountains. It is one my favorite things about living in Utah being so close to the mountains and being able to take in all the beauty that surrounds me. I get excited every summer to go explore a spot of Utah I haven't been to before, and I bet I could do that for the rest of my life and not even see everything.

The moon is so magical and serene as it hangs above the mountain peaks. It makes me feel calm and peaceful and grateful for my god who created our earth. One of these days I'd like to take the truck out to an open field, plop some pillows and blankets in the bed and lay down to watch the sun set over the mountains as the moon and stars make their appearance during a meteor shower. This is on my bucket list as well as taking a peak through a telescope up at the sky.

God is good.

Pat and Dave's 50th Wedding Anniversary Party

Pat and Dave just celebrated their golden wedding anniversary. That is such a long time by today's standards, so it's worth celebrating. Rachel put the party together at the church and it looked spectacular. She put so much thought and time into preparing it so it would be special for the happy couple. I'm glad I got to be a part of it. Rachel also made a book with their photos in it from when they were young up until now. Pat and Dave have been together much longer than 50 years. They grew up together in the same ward in San Diego. I think Stephen told me they were holding hands during sacrament meeting at the age of 14 while Pat's father was the bishop, haha.

Pat's mother made her wedding dress.

There is something so special and magical about a couple who grow up together and get married. Even high school sweethearts are just so endearing to me. It is very apparent how much they love each other as Pat takes care Dave with his parkinsons and Dave takes care of Pat with a variety of health issues that she has. They have six children, all of whom were able to be there at the party.

 Today they have 27 grandchildren. I feel so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful family. They are such great people, and a good example of how I want my life to turn out.

Lately

March was a whirlwind; it came and went in the blink of an eye it seems. After returning home from Grandpa Watson's funeral the kids and I were sick for two weeks, and it has been gray, cloudy, rainy, snowy, and just plain gloomy for the past four weeks. Where is spring?! I'm still waiting for a nice, sunny day to go out in the garage to clean out the car from our trip to Boise.

Our purple plum tree has begun to bloom, and surprise! We have daffodils and tulips trying to bloom too. I just love spring and watching the world come to life again. We've gone on a few walks around the neighborhood so I point out all the different trees and flowers to the kids. They love getting to see the little buds on the trees that will shortly become leaves, and all the little critters on the sidewalks. Especially all the worms with all the rain we've had. Don't get me wrong, I love the rain; it's what rejuvenates the earth, but I also like to have some sunny days in between.

Speaking of worms, I took the boys on a walk with me one day to the neighbor's house down the street, and there were worms covering the sidewalk trying to inch their way back to the grass. Lucas ran ahead of me a little ways and stopped and exclaimed, "Look at all the sketti on the sidewalk mom!" He thought that was pretty cool. Zander knew they were worms. He bent down to pick one up, and out of nowhere jumped back screaming and shaking his hand to get the worm off (he thought it was dead). I about died laughing! I've never seen him jump so high, haha! And I'm sure the neighbors were all looking out their windows trying to figure out what all the commotion was about. He's still a little skiddish around bugs, but once he watches them and can see they're harmless he'll handle them for a few seconds.

Zander and Lucas couldn't be more opposite of each other, but they do have some fun moments together. They both like to explore mom and dad's closet and get into the shoes and wear them around the house. It is hilarious to listen to Lucas take these itty bitty quick steps clip clopping down the hallway in my high heels. They've both been doing this since they began walking. It reminds me of my own childhood and watching mom get her makeup on. I always grabbed her big blush brush and pretended to put makeup on too. I also got into her clip-on earrings and big beaded necklaces she used to wear to church every week.

The kids had a picnic in the living room one rainy day just to mix things up a bit. Hannah decided to join them after her nap.

They are always competing to see who is the fastest, strongest, or funniest. I'm sure it'll continue on into adulthood, and hopfully in a loving way. What goofballs!

We spent a gloomy morning outside painting the driveway before it rained that afternoon. The boys got chalk paint from the Easter bunny this year and couldn't wait to use it. Zander was especially proud of his wiener dog he painted.

ZANDER

Zander has really come a long way in his tumbling class. I think he has really enjoyed getting to run and jump around with other kids his age. He started taking a liking to a particular girl is his class. At first she didn't reciprocate his friendliness, but over time they started doing everything together. They race and Zander slows down to make sure he stays with her, he encourages her when they are doing stretches and somersaults, and they hold hands at the end of every class as they go get their stickers for doing a good job that day. All the moms love watching their friendship bloom.

Zander is very much a strong willed boy. He likes to do everything himself, and he goes hard and fast. He catches on to things very quickly, so lately he's been helping dad with anything that needs to be fixed with tools; he loves to use the screwdriver. He likes to have control over everything including his surroundings. I'm hoping this part of his personality will be a benefit to him as he get older so he will be a good big brother who watches out for his younger siblings, and that he will take charge in hard situations finding a solution to any problems or trials he might face in life.

He still enjoys playing Star Wars and games with the whole family. He follows me around the house during quiet time when the other two are napping because he doesn't like to be by himself. He likes to be with people and socialize even though he can be shy sometimes. He loves his family; especially his grandparents on both sides. He likes to wrestle and rough play the most, but we're working on being soft and gentle as we do that. He likes to snuggle on the couch and share his Darth Vader blanket with everyone. He can spell and write his whole name, and knows about half of the alphabet and can count to 11.

Zander loves his baby sister and asks to help out with her all the time feeding her, playing with her, changing her diapers, and giving her baths. He is really involved with her, and just loves sitting or laying with her on the floor playing. They have developed a special bond that is so tender and loving.

LUCAS

Lucas is my teaser\jokester. He thinks he is SO funny. One of his favorite things to say is "silly Lucas!" or "Silly (insert name). He is LOUD. There is only loud or louder when it comes to Lucas, so we're working on using an inside voice when we talk and when he gets upset.

We are also still working on our table manners. Lucas's favorite thing to do at the table is make a mess and play with his food. He dumps his plate or takes his utensil and stabs holes in it, or drags it across the table cloth, and spits his drink back in his cup. I am quite fed up with it, so we are laying some new ground rules when it comes to eating. He just loves playing and doesn't like to stop for anything.

Lucas is a lover. He is constantly wanting hugs and kisses and tells everyone individually that he loves them (unless that person makes him mad, then he doesn't love you anymore) several times throughout the day. He also loves to snuggle on my lap or dad's. He has several stuffed animals that he has in his bed he likes to play and sleep with. He is really good at sharing (for the most part) and likes to get Hannah her toys to play with. 

Lucas is a very determined boy as well. At this stage in his life he's all about doing everything himself no matter how long it takes. I want him to succeed and do more for himself, but he won't even let anyone tell him how to do something. He just tries until he gets frustrated to tears and throws whatever it is he's trying to do. For example: he's learning how to get dressed himself, but sometimes the armholes get the best of him and get twisted up as he tried to stick his arms in, and after a few minutes of trying he'll take the shirt off and throw/slam it on the floor in frustration. And even then he still doesn't want help. He does this with shoes, towels, toys, remotes, etc...

He is also my lover of sweets and food in general. He is always the first one to jump up and grab a chair in the kitchen so he can help dad make dinner or dessert. He is constantly asking for a treat or a snack the moment he wakes up to the moment he goes to bed at night. But at least he says pweeeease? with his long pouty lip and dark puppy dog eyes. He'll even quiver his lip when he's really desperate, haha!

Lucas just recently started potty training!!! I am so excited and really hope he sticks with it. He seems to enjoy being able to wear underwear like Zander and get lots of treats throughout the day. He only had two accidents in the last three days, AND he was dry all night last night! I'm hoping to train him day and night at the same time, but we'll see how it continue in the next week or so. He's doing a lot better than I thought he would initially, so hallelujah!

HANNAH

My darling, chubby cheeked girl. She is eight months old and about 20 pounds. She is currently in 9-12 month clothes. She is a master at rolling all over the house from room to room which is probably why she doesn't want to learn how to crawl. She recently learned how to sit up on her own, but doesn't know how to get down to roll around without throwing herself backwards and hitting her head on the floor. Like Zander, she likes to have someone in the room with her (preferably mom) but other than that she's happy as a clam. She likes her jumpy swing, and loves to be swung or thrown in the air. 

Last week she started scooting backwards on the top of her head instead of using her knees like a normal baby. She does this constantly. Her hair continues to grow which I am excited about so I can put bows in it in about a year or so from now.

She really, is the most chill baby. I'm so grateful that she's mellow and just goes with the flow. Makes life much easier with two older toddlers in the house. 

I turned 30 a few weeks ago. That's it. I'm old. I am officially a real adult.

Stephen and I are just plugging along as parents serving in our callings and enjoying our evenings together after the kids go to bed. I've been working on the memento for the Watson reunion coming up in June. I'm making them by myself, and they take up a lot of my time. I'm only about 1/3 of the way finished with them, but I'll get them done eventually. Stephen still enjoys being in the kitchen and working on bettering himself physically, so we've been doing the keto diet trying to eat healthier and working out more. He still plays the guitar and takes requests. 

We will be celebrating our nine year anniversary tomorrow! We went out for an early anniversary dinner over the weekend while Rachel watched our kids for us. We went to the Longhorn Steak House and ordered expensive steaks and mushrooms. Stephen's steak was well over cooked so he had them take it back. They ended up comping our appetizer and gave us free dessert for it. 

We are really looking forward to our vacation to Vegas in two weeks without the kids. It's going to be awesome!

Sister Time and Easter Egg Hunt

After grandpa's funeral Becky, Scott, and I went back to Twin to stay with mom and dad for the rest of the week. It was fun to have Scott and Sydney there with us. The kids loved getting to spend time together playing basketball and air hockey, jumping on the trampoline, and playing with all of grandma's toys. I think everyone got along very well this time. Mom and dad watched all the grand kids on Friday night for a sleepover while us siblings got to go out to dinner and spend some time together minus Tim and KoLei. While it was nice to be out, it didn't go as we'd hoped since we had to wait almost two hour for our food and we weren't able to hear everything was saying since we had a long table and were sitting on the end. After dinner we went back to the house to hide the eggs in the dark. It was about 9:00 before the kids could go outside and hunt for eggs with their flashlights. They all had a ball! Since I was helping Lucas find eggs I didn't get to see much of the older kids since they were on the other side of the house, but the egg hunt was a huge hit! We also got to do a little bit of shopping, then grandpa ended up getting sick which made my kids sick, so we went home a day early.

Farewell Grandpa Watson

Grandpa Watson passed away on March 2nd. Mom was in Boise helping grandma and grandpa when they had to take him to the hospital one night. He passed away two days later after everyone got to say goodbye. I am grateful mom was there with dad and all their family. Dad was able to give grandpa a blessing before he passed which was very special to him.

We ended up moving our planned Easter weekend/spring break week up a few weeks early so we could attend grandpa's funeral in Boise. I talked to the boys about grandpa and showed them pictures of him. We talked about death and what happens and where great grandpa will go and what will happen to his body. I told Zander and Lucas we were going to go to Boise to say our last goodbye to great grandpa Watson. Zander had a lot of questions, and kept telling me he missed great grandpa Watson over the course of that weekend leading up to the funeral. When we walked into the viewing we were greeted by family members and grandpa Pettingill took Zander to see grandpa Watson. With big, wide eyes Zander stared at grandpa while I talked about him. Zander didn't blink or look away for about a minute. I think he was taking it all in and trying to process what was really happening. It was a nice service filled with lots of family and friends. Just about every member of the Watson family was there with the exception of a couple of cousins. Dad said the dedicatory prayer at the grave site. We love you grandpa, and you will be dearly missed! Grandpa was an identical twin to Dean who passed away in a car accident at the age of 37. One interesting thing I learned at grandpa's funeral was that he and his brother weighed 10 lbs each at birth!