Happy Easter!

We had a great Easter! We started off our Easter celebrations by heading over to the Mesa LDS Temple Easter Pageant. This has become a tradition of sorts for our family. I loved having Sam sit on my lap and ask me lots of questions about what was happening during the pageant. He wanted to make sure that they weren't going to really nail the actor playing Christ to the cross! Both kids also had many doctrinal questions which kept me on my toes until Sam headed over to Josh's lap and quickly fell asleep! I guess it was good but not that good!

We had a visit from the Easter bunny as well! The Easter Bunny sure does know these kids! Haha! They seemed happy with their baskets...except for Sadie who said that she hates 'Hello Kitty' and wasn't happy that she had received a very large 'Hello Kitty' activity book. Oh well, you can't win them all!

Traditional Easter fare was followed by a family bike ride in which we went to deliver some orange rolls (which were pretty darn good if I do say so myself!) to a family and then ended up staying there for a while...that is as far as we got! It was more of a visit with friends!

All in all it was a fantastic Easter! We are so grateful for the gospel in our lives. We know that our Savior lives. As Sadie and Sam said when getting into bed, "Easter is really the most important holiday!"

Cousins

Sam loves his cousins....especially the little ones! He loves to cuddle! I thought this was a priceless moment. Sam wanted to hold his newest cousin, Asher. While Asher was sleeping Sam snuggled up to him on the couch and enjoyed every moment of it. He still asks me if he can snuggle with his cousins more often. Kim, Jess and Alycia...you better get having some kids so Sam can snuggle with them! Well, you better move closer too!

I just love this picture! Sadie and Sam trying to hold Lulu and Asher while Benton is off on his own! Sam is trying to either give Asher a head massage or get him to look at the camera...I'll let you decide. Hopefully we can get another picture like this in the summer! Love all these adorable cousins!

Glasses Crew

Sam with his favorite pair of his borrowed glasses! Thanks Dad!


Sadie with her favorite pair of borrowed glasses!The neighborhood 'Glasses Crew' which is mostly borrowed glasses...but some are real! We miss Will and Gracie playing in front but the kids are loving the friends that they play with on a regular basis! Glasses and all!

Memories

Today I was reflecting back on some of the great trips we have been able to take over the past couple of months! I will post more pictures someday....but for now here are a couple!
Mom-I know you are going to hate me for posting this picture of you!! However, I loved hiking in St George with our fantastic trail guides!
My dad had great clues that had the kids running and searching on the entire hike! Thanks dad for making an average hike a great adventure! I will always remember searching for the evidence of two animals at the same time! Haha!

While in New York City we were fortunate enough to get a backstage tour from a cast member of Lion King! It was amazing to see the costumes up close and personal. Do you think I have enough stuff in my arms?!?


We are longing for this great view again! Yes-that is Time Square! Who doesn't love New York?!? We had a blast ice skating-twice, going to amazing shows, shopping and enjoying incredible food. Sadie and Sam are wondering when we are going back! Sadie is begging for a girls trip when 'Newsies' opens on Broadway!

I have never laughed so hard as watching these 4 ice skate in Central Park! What a blast! Josh literally dragged Sam around the rink. The four of them had a race lap at the end that was truly comical which included Sadie falling and telling Kim to continue on to win the race! "TOUCH THE WALL," were her exact words! Classic! I loved being able to take care of sweet Benton while Kim skated! My feet were still recovering from skating in Rockefeller Center.

We truly are blessed! What great trips we have gone on! Thanks to our great family for wonderful memories!

The Pianist

Sadie had her first opportunity to play the piano...all by herself! She did an amazing job! She didn't make a single mistake and I don't think she even needed the music! Way to go!

My Elves!

My sneaky elves are showing off! I hope they get all of their work done soon! We must very elfish this year because we are lucky enough to have Christopher and Freddie at our home during this Christmas season as well! They are getting creative at hiding around our house!

Sam is 5!!

I can not believe that our little guy is 5! Time flies when you are having fun! Sam had school on his birthday. These are the boys in his class and they are all the best of buds! Thanks Tommy, Lance and Titan for being good friends! This group is going to be tons of fun in Kindergarten. Sam had to take in his new favorite treat of M&M Chocolate Chip cookies.....Gammie's specialty item!

He had to take care of his favorite thing.....the garden! Sam loves to water the garden. I had a nursery owner tell me that one of the best things for a garden is eggshells. So, I was adding my eggshells to the garden and Sam asked why I was doing this unusual task. I explained why and then his response was, "Thanks mom for telling me this important information. When I am older and a Dad I will know how to take care of my garden and I can teach my kids! Thanks for helping me be a better Dad." What 5 year old is thinking of this stuff already! Sam you are wise beyond your years!

Sam wanted to have an ice cream cone on his birthday and that is what he got! Chocolate.....of course!

On Sunday we had family over to celebrate. Of course there were presents with cousins!

More of "Gammie's Cookies" and ice cream. Yes, I did have to make more of the same cookie!

Sam's self-portrait on his birthday! Taking pictures of EVERYTHING is Sam's new hobby. Just like his father in that sense. I had to delete about 30 pictures to get to the couple that we took! Love ya little guy!

5 things that we love about Sam!
1. You make us laugh ALL the time!
2. Your booty shakin, especially cute in underwear.
3. Your deep thoughts at times that make me wonder what is going on in that head of yours.
4. You are the biggest cuddle bug ever! We love your hugs and kisses!
5. You love to learn...anything about everything!

Happy 5th Birthday Sam!

Yeehah!

We had a great looking cowboy and one fancy cowgirl roaming around our house during the week of Halloween!

Another Photography Exhibit

Another exhibition of work by Joshua will be up in downtown Salt Lake City from June 18th until August 13th at Tanner Frame and Gallery. The address is 230 S. 500 W. #105. The artist reception is June 18th from 6-9pm. Hope to see you there and spread the word!

Photography Exhibit

Josh had the first night of his photography exhibit on Roosevelt Row in downtown Phoenix a couple of weeks ago. This is the building that he had his exhibit. His work is still there and it will be open for 3rd Friday which is May 21st from 6-9pm.

A view of the work from the inside. To view more of his work please visit www.joshuacaldwell.com

Josh's Art Work

Josh had a great show last weekend in Phoenix! I am so proud of him! Several of you have asked where to go to see more of his work. Well, head on over to his website, www.joshuacaldwell.com, and check it out! He has another show coming up mid-June for a month in Salt Lake City, UT in the Tanner Gallery and then he has a show in October again here in AZ. Let us know what you think!

Sadie's Painting, 1st Prize

Sadie won first prize at her schools art show. This painting was made by layering strips of paper towels that she had first colorfully painted and then mounted to a panel with some acrylic medium. She loves to paint.

Photography Exhibit

We are excited to announce the first exhibit of "fragments." Josh has spent several years in putting this body of work together and is finally glad to see all of his hard coming together! It is going to be a great night. If you don't live in Arizona....no worries, you can see "fragments" in Utah beginning mid-June. Don't miss out!

Happy Birthday MOM!

Happy Birthday to the BEST MOM in the world! You inspire me to serve others, to love more and to laugh often! Thank you for your wonderful example to me! I am grateful to call you my mom and my friend! I hope you have a spectacular day! Hugs and Kisses!

Easter in St George

We were fortunate to head to St George for Easter/General Conference weekend! We had a great time! Kim and Sadie made these adorable bunny ears for everyone. Kim was kind to include Sadie. Sadie even said that it was the most excitement that she has had in a while. I guess I need to step up the fun level at home! Thanks Kim for creating some fun for Sadie!
You would have thought that it was Christmas with how much the kids got from the Easter Bunny! They loved everything and spent the day playing with all their trinkets! Benton even loved his toys!
The whole gang after our egg hunt! Thanks Mom and Dad for filling the eggs! Sam was kind enough to help me find all of my eggs! I don't think that I could have done it without him! It was fun hanging out with my family and watching conference.
The cousins! I have to say that Sadie and Sam are enamored with Benton! Sam even cried when Benton was heading home. They love Benton and are excited for Lulu to come!

Crazy Hair Day!

Sadie had "Crazy Hair Day" and this is as crazy as we could get! We just did lots of pony tails and braids with BIG bows! She loved it and thought it was cool and that is all that matters!

Spring Break

For Spring Break we headed over to St. George or as Sadie calls it "St. Georgia." On our way we stopped at the Ethel M Chocolate factory in Vegas. Kim, Tyler and Benton came to the factory with us. Sadie loved to hold Benton all on her own! We sampled the toffee which is delicious! It was a fun break in the drive!
We went to Zion's National Park and hiked some easy trails! On one of our hikes this mountain goat was right next to the trail and was not phased by us walking up close to her. The kids thought it was pretty cool, so did I!

We hiked to this overlook spot and enjoyed the view! It was the perfect weather and we were lucky enough to share it with mom and dad and the Blonde family!


We hiked the "Weeping Rock" trail. Although you can't really tell Sadie loved getting wet from the small waterfall. It was very refreshing! St George... WE LOVE YOU! We have had many great weekends with you and look forward to many more! Thanks to mom and dad for letting us stay at the condos!

Sock Hop

The school had a "Sock Hop" and I will admit I was a skeptic! It ended up being a fun night filled with dancing, laughter and rock 'n roll! Sam even won best costume! Kudos to Josh for the costume because I was down setting up and Josh took care of it!

Sadie's Field Trip (from a long time ago!)

Sadie had a field trip....a while ago....oops! There were so many parents that were willing to go on the field trip that the parents names had to be drawn out of a hat as to who could go on the bus. Sadie came home from school one day before the field trip and said, "Mom, I have some sad news and some good news. You were not one of the "Chosen Ones"....but you can still go on the field trip!" Actually, I was ok with that! That meant that I could bring Sam and ride with Nikkii and not be worried about what 30 kids are doing on the bus! Anyway, I think the thing that Sadie was most excited for was to ride on the bus! Why is it that kids are most excited to do something that really isn't very exciting? With the regulator on the bus a 30 minute drive became 50 minutes that I was fine missing out on!The most thrilling part of the day was going to the Sting Ray Bay! We were able to feed the sting rays some shrimp and fish! The kids weren't so sure about it, but they enjoyed feeling the sting rays when I could get them up close with the food! Sam just sat in amazement the entire time not even thinking about getting close to the water! Sadie loved it and was close to falling in due to excitement!

Sam wanted to play with my camera on the drive home and I ended up with about 40 random pictures of shoes, self portraits, cars driving by, clouds, the back of the seat, and many more! We had a great time with Sadie and her cute friends!

Let's Play Music!

Check out this great video!