Maddy - the Pug

We have agreed to take care of Kyle and Lindsay's dog - Maddy. She is a pug. The kids love having a dog around. She is a very good, mellow dog and doesn't seem to mind the kids and all their attention. However, we need to be careful as Megan has broken out in some rashes due to allergies. She is our biggest animal lover. It's too bad that she has to have the allergies as well. We will watch Maddy until Kyle, Lindsay, Macy and Emma move back here to Utah by the end of May. We are excited to have them move back here.

Tulips at Temple Square

We usually go to the Tulip Festival at Thanksgiving point each spring, but we didn't make it there this year. I am OK about missing this event, because we did get a chance to see the beautiful tulips and daffodils at Temple Square. All the flowers were gorgeous. We went on a Monday evening and walked around the gardens. We then went into the visitors center and watched a movie about the Family. The kids really loved going up the winding ramp to see the Christus Statue with the murals of the universe and planets around Him. After that, we walked across the street to the Church History museum and spent a half an hour in the Childrens exhibit. The exhibit is based on the song: "I am a Child of God" and has hands on activities for the kids where they get to pretend to take care of newborn baby dolls, build temples with blocks, color on transparent paper to make a sample of a stained glass window, and other fun activities. We had a fun evening. We ended our trip by stopping at Grandma and Grandpa Moore's house for cookies.

Minigolf at Boondocks

After our trip to Antilope Island, we took the kids to Boondocks to do some miniature golfing. Caleb was the cutest as he used his club to scoot the ball to the hole. No one got a hole in one, but we had a few close ones. If the winner was the one with the most strokes, Megan would have won. Dad got the fewest strokes.

At the end there was a tiki house with fire that you were supposed to hit your ball into. It was a little scary for Caleb.

Antilope Island

It was spring break this past week - April 14 - 18. We enjoyed some warmer weather after so many weeks of cold and snow. We took a little trip up to Antilope Island (out in the middle of the Great Salt Lake) to see the Buffalo and any other interesting things there. We had donuts and juice for breakfast and took a short hike to see some of the island and the birds. As we drove around it was neat to see the beautiful Wasatch Mountains from the island. We learned a lot about this island and some of the animals that inhabit it. Collin and Megan even did the Junior Ranger activities and earned their badges. They learned a lot about the birds that use the island as a migration pit stop and the Buffalo and other animals that roam freely on the island. They also helped pick up trash as one of the requirements to earn their badges. While stopping for a snack to eat, we had a close encounter with one of the California Gulls that visit the island frequently. He wasn't affraid to get close and beg for food. We gave him some of our snack.

Easter 2008

Here are our sweet kids - Collin, Megan and Caleb with Grandma and Grandpa Moore. The kids enjoyed having Grandma and Grandpa Moore come to visit on Easter day. The week after that Grandma Bogue came to visit. Caleb was sad that Grandpa and Snickers didn't join her. Then Grandma and Grandpa Fife came the next weekend. We have had some fun visits with grandparents. Collin enjoyed telling his grandparents all about his pokemon cards, and Megan was happy to perform her new violin songs. Caleb just made sure that each of them felt loved. We are so grateful for all of our family - parents, siblings and cousins. We didn't get pictures of all grandparents, but here are some more of our family.

Easter Continued

We enjoyed our few Easter traditions as a family. We colored eggs and made Easter cookies. Here are just a few pictures of the kids. They used crayon on the eggs to make designs and then put them in the dye to be colored. They also used the shrinky wraps on some of their eggs. On Saturday evening - just before bed - we made the Easter cookies. This involves tasting some of the symbolic ingredients. The picture of Collin holding his mouth is just after he tasted the vinegar (just like they gave Jesus while he was thirsty on the Cross). After making the cookies, they go into the oven and then we don't get to eat them until morning. In the morning we find the oven door open (like the tomb) and the cookies are hollow inside. It makes for a special way to remember the real meaning of Easter. During part of the evening, Megan wanted to show us how she can turn her frown upside down and smile that frown away. She was trying to cheer up Collin after having tasted the yucky vinegar.

Easter Egg Hunt

We had a fun easter. We spent Saturday morning with the Moore family doing our annual easter egg hunt. We all look forward to this event as even the big kids get to hunt for an egg. I found the prized "money bunny" and got more than my fair share of candy. The kids each got to find 8 eggs filled with candy and money. When all the cousins get together there should be 10 of them. However there are only 7 in attendance this year. Our kids love being with their cousins and their Grandma and Grandpa Moore.