Pictures from the other side of the world

Dave sent us some pictures from Iraq today that I thought I would share.  He has told us a number of time about the different colors of sand and the effects the sun has on the area.  I thought this one was especially impressive.  It is such an unnatural color.

Here is a picture of a sand storm rolling it.  It really looks intimidating. 

In the middle of a sand storm.  Looks more brown to me than the one above. 


Of course, what would a series of desert pictures be without a camel?  

This was table decorations for Easter.  Cakes, fruit, bunny and Jesus statues... made from butter!  Oh yes.  butter.   - April
 

Rock Stars

For those of you who may not have seen this lovely show of talent, I present to you a condensed version of Caleb & Abby rocking out to the White Stripes "Seven Nation Army".  They went on like this for the entire song, I am just giving you the best part!  Can you believe neither one has had a single lesson?! - April

Wii Play

Almost 2 years ago when Dave bought our Wii, he bought the Best Buy warranty protection.  Totally worth the $43.00 he paid!  In November, Abby tried inserting a game when one was already inside.  Ever since it has made a horrendous noise and been virtually unplayable.  We took it with us to Utah for spring break and it actually worked no problem.  But once we returned, it officially went kaputz.  I called Best Buy and they sent a return postage paid label to send the whole unit back in and upon receipt they sent us a gift card to go buy a brand new Wii!  Which I did today.  In my haste to send it off, I forgot to 1) take out the memory card which keeps track of all our games, and 2) transfer our Mii's onto a remote to have for the new unit.  So, now it's like we are starting from scratch with our Wii.  I'm not really complaining.  I am so thankful for the warranty (and you can bet your sweet booty that I purchased it again with this new unit), and find it humorous that the most inconvenient thing of the whole affair is having to create more Mii's and play more games!!  Anyone want to come over?  Caleb especially has some catching up to do on Lego Star Wars. - April

Harlem Globetrotters

Last Friday Caleb, Lael and I went to Key Arena in Seattle to watch the Harlem Globetrotters.  I had never seen them before and I was maybe more excited than Caleb was at the outset. 

Never having watched a 'real' basketball game, I don't think he knew quite what to expect.  They didn't disappoint!  
 Our seats were kind of high up, so at half-time we moved closer to the floor where there were many empty seats.  That is when Caleb really got into it.  He was able to see a lot better and at times he was laughing hysterically!  It was great to see him enjoying something so much.     


Afterwards, Caleb chose a basketball over a t-shirt.  I bought it for him on the condition that he practice dribbling that ball every chance he got!  I didn't want it to end up in a bedroom somewhere!  He agreed, and true to his word, he dribbled it all the way back to the car.  Well, with a short break at Dicks for a milkshake & fries!  It was a great night! - April

Testimony builder

Like many teachers, Caleb's had his class write about what they did over spring break.  This is what Caleb had to say about our trip to Utah.  I find it a little funny that the thing he chose to write about is our drive-by of the Boise temple.  But I'm impressed by his honesty and that he wrote about it for school.  I hope he will continue to share his thoughts on all things 'religious' regardless of the situation. - April 

 

Spring Break in Utah

The kids and I went to Utah for Spring Break this year.  Before we actually went, it was great to have that trip to look forward to.  And the trip itself was wonderful.  We drove down with my mom & dad.  I'm proud to say that the first day, Caleb & Abby didn't watch any movies until it was too dark for them to read and play!  We arrived at my sisters house in Plain City (near Ogden) on Saturday afternoon.  I was fighting a cold (a miserable way to travel) so Abby & I took a nap while the others went to cousin Gretchen's soccer game.  Sunday was General Conference, and the Wellsville Mays and Mike & Krissy came for a nice Easter dinner.  The weather Sunday, Monday and Tuesday was beautiful!  It was so nice to have warmth and sunshine.  It was all we could do to keep Abby & Caleb off of the trampoline.  Man, I wish we had room in our backyard for one!  

Monday we went into Salt Lake with grandma & grandpa and walked Temple Square and saw Kristin & Mike's place.  As we were driving around SLC (which has changed a lot since Dave & I lived there) I found myself pining for Dave's company as seeing many of the places we frequented brought back such great memories. Caleb & Abby were such troopers as I dragged them with me to see a friend from HS (thanks Tiff for letting us invade your craziness), and a mission companion (it was great to see you Margaret & meet your girls).  Thursday Dyan, Kristin, mom & I spent the day together getting fitted for bridesmaids dresses, Kristin's bridal dress fitting and some shopping.  We spent Friday night with the Davis side of the family - Dave's grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.  It was nice to be able to connect with them, even if Dave wasn't around.  I especially enjoyed showing Caleb & Abby the Bountiful temple.  As the kids were marveling at the view of the valley and the temple itself, I found myself marveling that just over 10 years ago that temple was where Dave & I started our own eternal family and how much I love those 2 crazy kids and am thankful for that ordinance!  Saturday we enjoyed Gretchen's baptism in the early afternoon before starting home again.  As with most vacations, it was so fun to be there, but finally being home in our own beds, and not in a car was really nice.  I am so glad the kids got the chance to reconnect with their cousins and that I could do the same with friends and my siblings.  - April

Mary Poppins was right

A friend of mine told me of her sure-fire way to get rid of the hiccups.  Just give the affected person a tablespoon of lemon juice.  Yep, straight from the bottle.   I'm not sure exactly why, but it works!  Today Abby has had the hiccups off and on all day.  The first time, she took the lemon juice not knowing what to expect.  Well, a few hours later, she was wise to me and the yellow bottle and refused to open her mouth. Then Mary Poppins and her "spoon full of sugar" song popped into my head.  I convinced Abby that if she would take the lemon juice, I'd then dip the spoon into some sugar and give that to her.  She was all over that!  And it worked.  The next time she got the hiccups, she practically ran to the kitchen.  A spoon full of sugar really does help this medicine to down! - April