Time Well Spent

This month I feel like a lot of time was spent outside making memories and enjoying life. That really is how I like to spend my time, in the great outdoors with the people I love. It is amazing what spending that time will do for your soul and your outlook on life. Everything is better when you take the time to do what you love with the people you love.

I love to celebrate and when Easter falls so close to Lillian's birthday, I sometimes feel like it gets lost in the mix, like we don't celebrate it enough. This year we did manage to dye eggs at the last minute.  There was no way my girls were going to let me forget to do that.

We also made it to an Easter egg hunt and the girls got their picture taken with the Easter bunny for the first time in their lives.  I personally thought she was a bit creepy but Lillian and Freya didn't seem to notice.

On Easter morning the girls found their giant Easter eggs and spent the morning listening to General Conference and playing with their loot.

Lillian made her debut on stage this month in her kindergarten musical, Welcome to the Jungle.  She was giraffe #1 and she had 2 lines which she spoke very well. It was a very cute production.  I am such a sucker for stuff like this, I loved every minute.

Her sister made her feel extra special by bringing her a bouquet of pink flowers.

We took advantage of the lovely weather and spent the majority of our days outside soaking up the sun before the temperatures get unbearable.

We made our annual spring trip to Sabino Canyon just in time to play in the water before it all dried up. We hiked, played, caught fish in Ziploc bags, ate lunch, and made memories.  Everyone went home tired and happy.

We played hooky from school one day and went to see the new crocodile at the zoo.

We were able to spend time with our horses,

our dog,

and our chickens.

 Alice went on her first car ride and was the perfect passenger.  I had to include this picture simply because it makes me giggle to think of a chicken riding quietly in the car.  It is just too weird!

We did some more hiking with friends but this time we went to Madera Canyon.  The water was sparse but there were plenty of bugs to catch,

 and rocks to climb.

 The kids love visiting this tepee someone built along the river.  They played a great game of cowboys and Indians and then we hiked back to the cars for a picnic.

April means the Pima County Fair is in town. We have gone to the fair with our good friends for the past several years and have had a blast. This year was no exception!  My friend and I packed up our 4 crazy girls and had a night to remember! We always start off our adventure looking at the animals (my favorite part).  We saw a lot of cute babies this year.

 Next, we watch the shows and ride the rides!

Last, but not least, we eat all the yummy food.  This year I am happy to report no ice cream cones hit the ground.

This has become a tradition I love and hope to keep alive in the years to come.  There is just something about the fair that makes you happy to be alive.

And finally for the most important event of the month, my birthday.  I celebrated multiple times in multiple ways and it was fantastic!

First, I had a ladies night with lots of eating, laughing, and wandering around Target too late at night.

Next, I celebrated with my family. We went roller skating, had dinner at Culinary Dropout, and had dessert at Yogurt Land.

 Lillian caught on to skating fairly quickly.

 Freya, on the other hand, does not share the sentiment above. She spent the evening telling me she was not going to choose roller skating for her birthday.

Thankfully she cheered up for dinner and dessert.

Third, we continued with our Arizona Inn birthday dinner and dressed up as Holly Golightly for the evening.  We love our fancy dinner and our walks in the garden.  It is perhaps my favorite evening of the year.

Last, we went out on the town with some couple friends of ours. I didn't get many pictures but that is only because we were having too much fun.  We went to eat at American Eat Co. & Market, tried our hand at bowling, and then ate  Creme Brule donuts at Batch.

All my birthday celebrations were fun and I feel blessed to have people in my life worth celebrating with.  My favorite birthday gift came from the girls though.  The night before the big day I heard a bunch of bumping noises coming from their room.  I flipped on the monitor to see what was going on and this is what I saw, Freya reaching up to pinkie promise Lillian.

I listened to them discuss their birthday plans for me. Freya's job was to get Josh to take her to the store to buy me some red and pink lipstick. Lillian's job was to make a card for me at school and have all her classmates sign it. She told Freya she would be sure to add her name to the card since she wouldn't be there when it was made. After dividing tasks they pinkie promised not to tell me what they were going to do.  I watched and listened for a good while and then decided it was time to tell them to lay down and go to sleep. As soon as I opened the door to their room they spilled the beans on the whole plan. They told me everything!  It was hilarious. I, of course, pretended like I was hearing this plan for the first time and went to bed that night with a full heart.  Those girls really make everything better.  I can't imagine a life spent without them.