Happy Easter

Dyeing the Easter Eggs

(I'm not sure what these faces mean, but we had a good time.)

Abi and Tal look smashing in their new Easter outfits. Cheeeeeeeeese!!!
Abi, Tal and cousin Walker made a haul at Grandma Hayes's.

With Easter's early arrival we thought we'd be hunting eggs in the snow but enough grass was peeking out for us to have a few egg hunts. We dyed our eggs as a family on Friday night. We had some really vivid eggs and the kids loved decorating them with the stickers as well. Sunday morning the Easter Bunny visited our house bright and early to hide the eggs and baskets. Abi and Tal are terrific finders. They received those little individual cereal boxes of the kinds mom never buys (Lucky Charms, Cocoa Puffs etc.), candy and a new Liken movie to share. This one is Nephi and Laban. We really enjoy these movies for Sunday movie watching. Abi and Tal looked adorable in their Easter outfits. After church we went to Grandma Hayes for a family dinner and an egg hunt. Then at 4:00 we went to Nana and Papa Fife's for dinner and another egg hunt. I made the traditional Bunny Cake made famous by my late Grandma Rock. Unfortunately I didn't take a pic. The kids received so much candy. Hopefully they will eat it quickly because jelly beans and Easter candy are my favorite and it doesn't last long in my sight.

Joining the ranks of the Soccer Mom

Finally, we have succumbed to the minivan madness. With the upcoming arrival of "the Littlest Meek" or "Sweetie" as we call her, we had to expand. You just can't fit three car seats in the back of a Maxima. We had been looking for months and finally found the one for us, a 2005 Chevrolet Uplander. We bought our last car just a year after we were married so we have been driving our cars for 7 & 8 years and 80,000 miles. I am soooooooo excited to have my van. It has power sliding doors which I love and a DVD player which the kids love, though they have been lectured that it is only for longer trips and special occasions. Our other cars were 12 and 16 years old respectively so our Uplander has bells and whistles I didn't even know existed. I feel sooooooo spoiled. I drive like a grandma, "don't touch my van." But I must admit, when I was running errands while the kids were in school I felt a little lonely all by myself in a van. A big THANK YOU to my wonderful husband who works so hard to take good care of us.

The Big 30!!!

Kris turned 30 on February 24th but due to family illnesses we weren't able to celebrate until Monday. Earlier in the month when Tal had been picking the kind of birthday cake he wanted (Transformers), Kris piped up that he wanted a "Dwight Shrute Bobble Head" cake and that I would be the coolest wife if I could do that. Kris and I are big fans of the sit-com the Office and so I took on the challenge while he brushed the thought aside. I went online and found this bobble head that I knew he had to have. I could barely contain my anticipation in the weeks that followed until his birthday. Tal almost spoiled it by telling Kris that something had come in a box for his birthday but I would not give even one little hint.
On Saturday before his birthday I took him out to dinner and a show at the Theatre Factory here in town. But when his birthday passed without a cake and receiving "his box," Kris was mystified. So on Monday I made his cake and hid it downstairs, then invited our neighbors the Thompsons, to join us for the suprise. After Kris's birthday dinner of Seafood Alfredo Fettucine we were cleaning up the dishes when the Thompson's knocked on the door. I quickly ducked downstairs and grabbed the cake so when I reached the dining room we shouted "Happy Birthday." Kris was dumbstruck. Literally, all he could say was "That is sooo cool. That is sooooo cool." I was thrilled to have suprised him. After singing "Happy Birthday" we dove into the cherry and chocolate chip devil's food cake. YUM!!! He was thrilled with his cake and especially his bobble head that now has a special place on his desk at work.

Talmage turns Five!!!!

Talmage has been counting down to his birthday since well before Halloween. It was so hard to wait through all of the holidays and then we counted down every day in February until his birthday on the 12th. At breakfast he ripped into his presents from us: Legos from mom and dad, candy and a paper fire engine from Abi. He has become a real Lego maniac since Christmas.
That evening we had a family birthday party with our Nana's, Papa, aunts, uncles and cousins. Tal had requested a Transformer cake; mom did her best. It took 2 tries but the starwberry chocolate chip cake was a hit.
On Saturday Tal got to have a friend party. It of course was also Transformers. We decorated party bags, played some games and whacked the obligatory pinata. (You have to have a pinata at a Meek birthday.) Tal recieved some really nice presents from his friends: Levi, Nathan, Tanner and Riley. Thanks to Kris the chaos was well controlled.
After pizza and soda we had Transformer cupcakes which Tal had helped me bake and decorate the day before. You can tell I really outdid myself this year :) Thanks for the dollar store.

Snow Caves

Building snow furniture. This one is a chair.

Two weeks ago we had a break from the cold and the day warmed up to the mid 30's. We thought we were having a heat wave. Kris and the kids took advantage of the nice weather to build snow caves in the piles of snow and shovel off the driveway. Mom's not great at bending right now so I couldn't help much. They completed this tunnel and another cave in the big snow banks off of our driveway.

Baby Bjorn Vs. Ergo

Baby Bjorn Vs.
Ergo Baby Carrier

I'm starting to think about what I need for the Littlest Meek. My last two were so colicky that I carried them constantly from 0-4and 0-6 months each. I had a sling which was nice for short periods but then my back would begin to ache. Mostly I just packed them around with one arm under their butt and one across their middle until my wrists would ache and my hands would go to sleep. I also tried the Snuggli but had the same aching back problem. This time I am ready to make the investment to save my back and my sanity. Has anyone ever tried either one of these carriers? Please let me know your opinions.

Happy Chinese New Year

For the past few years Kris and I have hosted a "Chinese New Year Party." It helps us break out of the doldrums of winter and is a good excuse to stuff ourselves with delicious food and enjoy the company of our friends. This year we celebrated on Saturday February 2nd with several couples from our ward. Kris and I prepare several dishes and then ask our guests to also bring their favorite Asian dish ( we don't worry about authenticity, just the FUN.) Kids are welcome and we provide a babysitter to help keep the craziness under control. This year as always was a lot of fun and we enjoyed some scrumptious new dishes. Our menu included:

Crab Rangoon

PF Chang's Chicken Lettuce Wraps ( a new one for me)

Sesame Chicken

Beef with Snowpeas and other Vegetables

Citrus Punch