Mascot For the Day

A few weeks ago, Cohen got to be "Little Leo" for Real Salt Lake.  Poppy was able to pull a few strings and set the whole thing up.  Cohen was really excited about it!  Here he is getting ready...

He got to take two people on the field with him, so he chose Dad and Poppy...

Real Salt Lake gave us four extra tickets because Cohen was Little Leo.  They were really great seats on the 2nd row.  Since we already had other seats, we let the kids invite some friends with the extra tickets.  Connor and three of his friends got to sit in the 2nd row seats.  We had to be there really early for Cohen to get ready, which is why there aren't very many other fans around them yet...

Cohen working the crowd that was waiting in line...

And gave Big Leo a squeeze...

The two mascots together...

Big Leo put Cohen on his shoulders before the game started and walked him around to give high fives to fans in the stands...

Getting ready for the start of the game...

Running around the field waving their flags...

Cohen even got his name on the jumbotron...

Here are some pictures from my vantage point in the stands...

It was such a fun experience for Cohen!  He loved it and did so great!!  He was told to do everything that Leo did, and he followed those orders to the T.  When Leo ran, he ran.  When Leo waved his flag, Cohen waved his flag.  When Leo jumped, Cohen jumped.  It was the cutest thing ever!!  A huge thanks to Poppy for setting this up.  Cohen loved it, and I know it's something he'll remember his entire life!  --Lindsay

Playing Tourists in Our Hometown

We stayed in town this Spring Break, so we decided to play tourists in our hometown one day and do some things the kids have never done before or haven't done for a long time.  First stop was a tour of our State Capitol Building...

Here's our attempt at a selfie in front of the building.  Not very easy to get our large group plus a big building in the same picture.  At least the rotunda made it in--sort of...

A selfie with a smaller group...

The capitol is beautiful!  We loved looking at all the craftsmanship (most of it original) and murals--and also hearing the stories behind some of them from our tour guide...

We got to peek into the Governor's office, but he wasn't there that day...

The House Chambers...

The Senate Chambers...

And the Supreme Court Chambers...

It was a fun little tour and we all learned some new things.

After that, it was off to City Creek Center to do a little shopping and eat dinner.  Oh, and play by the stream too...

I love how sweet and protective all our boys are of their little sister...

All the kids wanted their picture taken with this random statue.  Okay...

The best place to eat for a family of six is the eatery.  I think each of us ate at a different restaurant...

Then the kids played in the dinosaur play area for a little while...

And then we made our way over to the fountains...

What is it about water that kids can't resist?

After that, we walked across the street to Temple Square...

My kids have been here many times, but I don't think we've ever taken the time to walk through the Visitor's Centers and see some of the buildings that aren't as well known...

What do you do while at Temple Square?  We act silly and even flash a few gang signs.  Isn't that what everyone does?

Everyone loved seeing The Christus Statue...

It was a fun little outing.  I think we're going to try to do more things like this.  It's kind of fun to play tourist in your hometown.  --Lindsay

Easter Weekend

We had a great Easter Weekend!  We started it out on Friday evening with our annual peep roast.  I let the kids pick who we invited this year.  They each got to pick a family to invite.  Connor picked Caden's family; Aiden picked Logan's family, Cohen picked Trey's family (but they ended up not being able to come at the last minute); and Vivvie picked Hazel's family.  Here's Vivvie and Hazel together.  These two are seriously BFF's.  Hazel moved next door to us last summer, and these two have been inseparable ever since!  They love to be together and squeal each time they see each other--as if they haven't seen each other in years.  It's so stinkin' cute...

Here's one of my roasted peeps.  Done to perfection...

Vivvie and another one of her friends, Ilaria, staying warm under a blanket...

It was a great evening, and we had fun sitting around the fire pit and talking until almost 10:00 that night.  It made me so excited for summer, and for more evenings just like it!

The next morning, we went to our neighborhood Easter Egg hunt...

The kids took home lots of candy...

On Easter, the kids woke up and figured out that the Easter Bunny had hidden all their eggs outside because the weather was so nice.  General Conference fell on Easter Weekend this year, which is why the boys aren't dressed up in these pictures.  Vivvie didn't care that it was General Conference, and wanted to wear a pretty dress anyway.  Here they are ready to go find some eggs and treats...

A little help from big brother to reach a candy up on the rock wall...

After our Easter Egg Hunt, we went out to Nana and Poppy's house for our annual General Conference breakfast...

After the morning session, Nana and Poppy set up a little egg hunt for the kids.  We tried to take a picture of the kiddos afterwards, but the big boys weren't interested and the littles were only semi-interested.  This was the best we could get...

The kids then played outside for awhile in between the sessions, and came back in dirty as could be...

After that, we watched the afternoon session, I went to work halfway through it, and then everyone ate our traditional conference stew (made by Poppy) for dinner.  I was able to come back in between shows to have some stew and visit for a little longer too.

It was a great Easter Weekend!  I'm so grateful that we were able to spend so much time together as a family, and listen to the Prophet and Apostles speak.  So many of the talks were about Christ, which was so appropriate for the weekend.  It was a great way to remember the true meaning of the holiday.  I'm so grateful for Him, and all that he has done for me.  Everything I have is because He lives!  Happy Easter!!  --Lindsay

Luck O' The Irish to Ye

Remember a few years ago when I thought it would be awesome to serve Green Eggs and Ham for breakfast on St. Patrick's Day?  Well, it's has definitely become a tradition that the kids can't live without.  They look forward to it every year, and talk about it for weeks leading up to St. Patty's day.  How can you look forward to this???

It seriously looks disgusting--especially that ham.  Blech!  But, these boys were happy to see it when they came downstairs early that morning...

I didn't get a picture of Cohen or Vivvie.  They got up later, and the camera never made it's way back out for more pictures.

We also ate our traditional Corned Beef and Cabbage for dinner.  Yep, all of St. Patrick's Day traditions (all two of them) revolve around food.  Other than that, this holiday is pretty uneventful around these parts.  Luck o' the Irish to ye!  --Lindsay