Happy 21st Anna!

Yesterday was Anna's 21st Birthday so we invited her, Chris, Kayden and Alyssa to come up for the weekend. They came up on Friday night and we had a weekend full of fun. We went to eat at John's Incredible Pizza on Friday night and it was so good.

It was such a steal, only $8.99 for all you can eat buffet of pizza, pasta, salad, and dessert. I was afraid the food wouldn't be too good because the appeal might be the games, but it was delicious. I wish I ate more and I wish I remembered the camera! That night we played Phase Ten.
On Saturday Chris surprised Anna with a massage while he and Aaron played tennis (I'm proud to say Aaron won-sorry to publicize Chris) and Alyssa and I babysat. When they got back us girls went for pedicures and manicures. Later that day we went to the mall and then out to eat at Costa Vida. We played Yahtzee that night and watched an episode of Lost. Sunday we went to church and then came back and had lasagna, garlic bread and salad for Anna's birthday dinner, followed by a BR cake. It was so yummy.


Here is Anna blowing out the candles and the yummy fudge crunch cake (we highly recommend it).

A happy little family.
Of course this weekend was all about Anna but I couldn't help but take many pictures and videos of Kayden. He is just too cute. Here are some of the best.




We woke up on Saturday morning and, of course Kayden was already awake and happy as can be. He came into our room and was just talking up a storm.

Sunday morning he was very calm and just hung out. I thought he was so cute in just his diaper.
We had such a fun weekend and can't wait for you guys to come back. Happy Birthday Anna!

BYU

It was one year ago that I graduated from BYU and at that time I wanted a frame for my diploma but never got one. Then I asked for one for Christmas from my parents but I didn't know exactly which one I wanted. I finally found it and just got it this last week. I absolutely love it! Thanks Mom and Dad!


It feels good to have this hanging on the wall.

Sheryl and Rockwell's Baby Shower

On Saturday I was able to go to the Baby Shower for Sheryl and Rockwell. It was so good to be able to see them and finally meet baby Rockwell. He is such a cute little guy! Of course I forgot my camera so these are the few shots I took on Anna's camera.

Looking so cute! The next ones are pictures of Sheryl opening presents. She got some great stuff!




Present From Lauren


Present from Me

A glimpse at the shower from Sheryl's perspective.

We had so much fun and missed all of you that couldn't come.

Thoughts

On Saturday as Aaron and I walked out of our apartment, I noticed this tiny shell on the ground (it doesn't look so small but it really was).

Assuming a baby bird was somewhere near we looked up and found the nest with the mother.

I immediately thought of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers and how everything hatches and is born in the spring. It is such a beautiful time of the year.

As some of you may know, Aaron and I joined the gym mid-February. We did a whole bunch of measurements and just re-measured ourselves today. I always heard that the chest is the first to go, but I didn't really know that that would mean me too. I have officially lost 2 inches off my chest and, of course, zero from my waist. I did thankfully lose a half inch off my hips and my arms. Hopefully next time I will be able to report 2 inches from my waist and even more from my hips and arms. Aaron's goals are a little different than mine. He is happy to report that his arms and chest are actually bigger. It has felt really good to work out and we already feel different, even if we don't look it!

Easter

On Saturday afternoon we had a big Easter party with an egg hunt for the apartment complex. We had food, egg dyeing, face painting, games, and of course, the egg hunt. Here are some pictures of the festivities.




On Sunday we celebrated Easter with the Carter family at Wes and Lani's house in Sacramento. I was in charge of making the deviled eggs, crescent rolls and dessert. For Christmas Wes and Lani gave me this great Dessert book so I decided to make the Sponge Cake with Cream and Strawberries. It may have the hardest thing I've ever baked. Here is how it turned out.


Delicious, right? Too bad it didn't taste quite as good as it looked. I don't know if I made it wrong or if it just isn't the greatest recipe. Don't get me wrong, it tasted good, just not as great as I was hoping.
Here are some pictures of the family hanging out and enjoying a lot of great food.

Me and Aaron

The Family at the Dinner Table-what a gorgeous day!

The Cooks

Enjoying the Meal
Landon is really turning in to a little boy. Here he is looking up at his Uncle Aaron as well as some pictures and a video of him being so dang cute.




Isn't he so funny? Anyway, we had a great Easter, and we hope you all did too!

Highlights

Today I got my hair done since it's been more than three months since I last got it highlighted. Rather than getting just a few highlights, I got a lot. The goal was to get it back to the color it was when we got married. What do you think?


In case you didn't know how dark it was, here is a picture of us from Valentine's day which we never posted. The flowers, vase, and balloon in the background Aaron had delivered to me at work. I loved them!

My new hair color will definitely take getting used to but I like it and so does Aaron.

Okay

So, here is a new post. I know it's been a while but I haven't felt like I have had anything great to post about. I am still going to do my tagged post but I've been putting it off because I want to be creative. I also have been wanting to do a post about the book "Cane River" recommended by Susie. So here is my review of "Cane River".
I loved it! Thanks for recommending it, Susie. What I loved most is that it is historical fiction about the author, Lalita Tademy's, family. I loved how we get to look at 4 generations of women who really lived and the amazing and tragic experiences they had. It really made me want to focus on my family history because I'm sure that there are amazing stories and experiences I could discover.
Something else I wanted to post but forgot my camera, this weekend was my Dad's 60th birthday. Luckily Anna did a post about this so refer to her blog. I will try to be better about posting because I know how annoying it is to keep checking someone's blog and have nothing new. If you're not going to post, why have a blog? Right?