The Rest of April│In Review

After Spring Break, the rest of the month of April flew by. 

Our dear Penny had a birthday in April so we had to celebrate.  

Penny is a wonderful part of our lives.  She is so thoughtful and always is up to hanging out with our family, which I love so much.  Not much has to be going on, she loves to converse and be part of the kids' lives.  She's always interested in their little lives and my life and Scott's life.  

She makes us feel important. 

So on her birthday, it was our time to make her feel loved and important, because she is. 

She is definitely a blessing in our lives and we are so glad that we get to live close to share part of our lives together! 

The Friel and Jensen kids with their favorite Penny.  

Jana is another thoughtful person and brought a little special present for Penny! 

She loves Cheetos and the 'red' coke! 

I absolutely LOVE her expressions in these pictures! She was soooo excited!!!!! 

Happy Birthday Penny! and thank you for so many things but especially thank you for the time you give to us! You are an amazing lady! 

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My dear friend and old roommate Betsy got hitched!!! 

We are beyond happy for her and glad she finally found her prince charming.  

She asked me to take her wedding pictures after the temple ceremony and at the reception.  

I was a little nervous but had a grand time bossing everyone around to pose for pictures. 

It was a happy day and I'm so glad I was close to be part of it. 

I always have a blast when I'm around these ladies.  We have shared so many wonderful and defining moments in our lives and I'm so happy that we have kept in touch all of these years after living together.  There is just something about living with someone, day in and day out, it is a special bond.  They are all so talented and wonderful and I'm grateful to know them! 

Congrats my dear little Betsy! Jonathan is one lucky man! 

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We also had some special visitors.  The Encisos are some lovely old friends, my mom and Julio were in the same ward in Perú, many, many years ago...and I grew up with Julio's nephew and Julio's sister Ester and my mom were good friends too.  We have kept in touch through the years and Julio's daughter Michele and her husband Matthew were graduating from BYU with their master's degree so they came for commencement and their convocations.  We were so happy to host them, since I know Michelita since she was a little girl and I have such love for the whole Enciso family.  They are literally the salt of the earth! Such wonderful, thoughtful, productive people, the kind of people that you want to be friends forever. 

Julio is a man of energy and such zest for life! 

We loved being around him and loved visiting with him and his wonderful wife Kim.

Kim is a woman of many talents, she is Vietnamese, an amazing cook and seamstress.

She is so passionate about food and told me I have to join the homemade yogurt cult! I LOVED her encouragement because I grew up eating homemade yogurt and I know I am cheating my kids by not feeding it to them! So she gave me directions and I'm determined to start making my own yogurt.   

One morning, we were sitting around visiting with Julio and Kim when Julio noticed this little play stroller that was ripped.  Brielle got this stroller when she was three and a half and Brookie has inherited it.  Since they are both amazing at sewing, they made a brand new cover for it! Julio figured out all the settings on my sewing machine and set up the thread, Kim cut out a pattern in 10 minutes, and in literally less than 30 minutes it was done! I was so impressed and so grateful that Brookie now has an almost brand new little play stroller! 

On their last day, we had a very traditional Peruvian breakfast of artisan bread with Botija olives, herbal tea and fresh fruit! It was the perfect way to say goodbye to this wonderful family. 

Brooke became so fond of Julio and this little girl doesn't easily make friend with new people. 

So glad that Scott got to meet them too, these friends have known me since I was a little girl. 

It was time to say goodbye.  We loved having them for a few days, I absolutely love having visitors and even better when they are people I love!:) 

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The rest of April was spent enjoying the nice warmer Spring weather and Braden continued with his obsession with dressing up as Harry Potter! That boy is obsessed! He'd come from school every single day and change into his Harry Potter clothes and write a scar on his forehead with my eyeliner. All of his nice, white shirts for Church are dingy from all the wearing and getting them dirty from playing outside.  

This one particular day, he got in trouble for something and got put in timeout in our bedroom, next thing I know Harry Potter was in timeout and had fallen asleep! I couldn't help it and I had to snap a couple of pictures of this, so he doesn't forget how much he LOVES Harry Potter.  A few weeks ago, he even told me he wanted to change his name to Harry and to not longer call him Braden.  

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We finally filled the sand box with sand and it has been a hit with our kids and the neighbor kids.  

I love that our little yard/patio area is being used.  We have been working so hard to try to beautify that space, most of the last weeks of April was spent tilling and fertilizing the soil to plant our garden, Scott did a little bit of landscaping in the yard area, which is small but it was in major need of some love, we hung some cute lights and I'm looking forward to sitting out there this summer enjoying the warm summer nights.

Working on the garden and beautifying that space has proven to be so satisfying and we are so excited to be first time gardeners! Scott and I have been waiting for this moment for a while now and we are so happy we have a little bit of space to do it.  We go out there every day to check on the progress and to marvel at our little sprouts!!! We are so ridiculous! Sometimes, Scott says, 'come out there with me to look at our sprouts.' ha ha! So funny! I love it! We planted radishes, cucumbers, zucchini, carrots and quite a few flowers from seed.  So it has been so fun to watch everything sprout.

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Soccer season is almost over and although sometimes going to practice and games is like pulling teeth for Brielle, it has been a good experience for her and she loves it when she is there, it is just the getting her there! 

They had their individual and team pictures taken and looking at these pictures makes me realize how much Brielle has grown! She is not my little baby anymore, she is full into childhood! It breaks my heart and fills me with the most intense joy all at the same time! 

These kids are all in the same primary class and they are all literally the kindest, sweetest kids around! They are silly and cute and fun to be around. 

...and that is how we spent the rest of April.  

Spring Break.

Spring break was a much needed break from the monotonous school routine.  Although, we didn't travel any where because Scott had to work, I made sure the kids and I had a fun time! 

The kids' spring break coincided with my mom's, so she came to spend a few days with us.  Which is always so nice and my kids just LOVE their abuelita! Brookes calls her "tita" and just loves her! My mom brings so much "wonderfulness" into our lives! I just made up a word! She is such an example to me of so many wonderful things, I feel so lucky that I am her daughter...I am 32 years old and she still teaches me so much about life, about living a healthy, active, happy life! She is always looking for ways to improve herself and enrich her life with the simple things of this life.  She finds joy in simple things.  She is a spiritual giant that guides me and is always motivating me to be better! I'm so happy that we live close! I wouldn't trade these moments that we get to share with her for anything in this world.  

We went to Provo to drop her off and we headed to the Museum of Peoples and Cultures.  I hadn't heard of it before but after googling about it, I decided it would be a fun place to take the kids. 

It's a small museum but I thought it was perfect for the kids and their short attention spans.  The exhibits were well put together and they had a little scavenger hunt to keep the kids interested.  

It worked and they were able to find all the things listed on their paper. 

There was a little reading and coloring area, we spent a good 30 minutes there.  

It was a great little activity, but then again, I'm a fan of museums! 

We went back to my mom's and had an impromptu dance party.  

Abuelita has some awesome moves! 

The next day, we met up with an old college friend from my BYU-Idaho days.  It was so nice to see her and her beautiful children.  She has four kiddos, the last one stayed home taking a nap.  

It was so fun being able to catch up, meet her kids and reminisce about our college days.  

So glad we got to see each other! 

My friend Gretchen told me about a good deal on Groupon to this fun place.  It was such a good deal we could pass the opportunity to go.  

It was awesome and the kids jumped and jumped and jumped! 

We have such a good community of friends here and it has been such a blessing to have people around me that know and are going through the same arduous process of raising a family and doing a medical residency.  I have an amazing support system and these families are such a blessing.  I honestly feel so grateful. 

The rest of spring break was spent in the garden and our backyard, trying to get everything ready for gardening season.  Our backyard needed some MAJOR TLC (tender loving care)! It was ugly and we didn't even want to spend time out there it was so ugly! Scott has been doing most of the work on his days off.  He worked for a landscaping company right before his mission so he learned some skills!:) 

We've been working hard beautifying it and getting our soil ready for our little vegetable garden.  

My sister's husband got some tickets to conference, so he shared a few with us and we were able to go to the Saturday afternoon session. I was hoping Scott could come, but he had to work both days! Bummer.  So I went with my mom.  It is always so special being there in the presence of the prophet and apostles.  

The Conference Center is massive.  

On Sunday, we watched it from home and it was just what I needed.  So many inspiring messages.  I'm so grateful that we get this kind of spiritual boost twice a year! 

Easter & Happy Birthday to Scott.

Easter landed on Scott's birthday this year.  I don't think that has happened in the almost 9 years Scott and I have been married.  I'm so happy that he was able to get the whole day off and enjoy it with us.  

The Easter bunny made its way to our house, although Brielle is sure that I am the Easter bunny! 

I have never been completely sold on the idea of the Easter bunny anyway, so I didn't try to convince her otherwise. 

Braden was oblivious to the comment, so I guess he'll believe until he figures it out...

...and Brooke has quite a few years to go until she figures it out...

Despite, my skepticism of the Easter bunny, it is a fun tradition and the kids enjoy it and Scott and I enjoy making these holidays a fun memory for them.  

Brooke was in heaven with all the candy, she went to town! 

That little girl has a sweet tooth! 

I wanted to get a good picture with all 3 children and this is what I got...no cooperation from the Brookie!!! She was done even before we began taking the pictures! 

After Brookie was done, Brielle and Braden were nice enough to pose for me.  

We had such a nice Easter program at Church that day with musical numbers and narrators.  It was so beautiful and just the perfect way to bring us back to the real reason to celebrating Easter.  

Easter is one of my favorite holidays and I love that we can talk about our Savior's resurrection to our children and what that means to us. I'm grateful that we have that knowledge. 

After our meetings we celebrated Scott's birthday.  We had some family over and had a yummy dinner and some cupcakes afterward.  My husband is 32 years old! It's crazy to think about, but it is true.  Time flies and it seems like the older you get the faster time goes.  We are so grateful to have this wonderful man in our lives.  He just makes me complete and makes my life happy.   No one makes me laugh like he does.  He is a good father to my children and I'm grateful that they get to have him to make them laugh and rough house with them and also discipline them and love them.  He works hard for our family and puts 110% effort in everything he does.  He loves God and is a humble, compassionate man.  He brings balance to my life, calms me when I get anxious, loves me and accepts me for who I am.  

I'm so glad that we get to share our lives together.  

Happy Birthday 32nd birthday to my good husband! 

You are our rock star and we love you!

...so glad you were born!  

ha ha! Brielle cracks me up in this picture! They just can't wait for half a second to take a picture! 

We finalized our Easter and Scott's birthday with some egg dying.  

It is such a fun tradition and our family loves it. 

We had an enjoyable day and there's nothing like being able to spend this life with the people you love! 

Utah Symphony.

When I was around my children's ages, I remember my mom taking us to the Lima Symphony.  She always made it a point to give us cultural experiences.  I want to pass on the same love for cultural experiences to my children.  A few weeks ago, my neighbor Stephanie who plays the cello and loves the symphony told me about a concert for children that the Utah Symphony was having.  

I was excited to take Brielle and Braden to their first symphony experience.  

They loved it! 

The music was amazing and the whole experience was just what I wanted them to have.  

We went to the concert and afterward the kids got to play different instruments.  

The concert was just long enough for them to not get anxious and they loved being able to touch some of the instruments.  

I'm grateful I can give my children these kinds of experiences.