2018 April Wrap Up

April 2018 odds and ends pictures... 

I love these random pictures that just show everyday life.  

Just a meal time with the babies.  We take eating pretty serious around here, don't we Noah?  :)

The babies sat on this storage box and so I had to get a pic.

The babies are getting pretty good at feeding themselves with utensils.

Sofie loves to drink the milk like this from her cereal bowl.  She usually does it pretty well, but sometimes it ends up on her clothes.

Just toddlers playing...They love to move things from one room to another.

I thought Sofie looked cute in these pajamas.

I pulled this trick out so I could exercise.  The strainer and pipe cleaners.  Even the big kids were entertained.  Once the pipe cleaners were in the strainer, Isak put it on his head and said, "it's my thinker hat!"  haha.

You can't see it but Nels has a bowl of ice cream he's trying to eat...I think he shared most of it...it's called portion control. haha.

My FAVORITE picture.  Love these kiddos.

Sofie went away pouting for some reason...so just the three.

Noah was actually being pretty cute and so I got pictures of him with the big kids.

Kira and her big silly smile.

Sofie pouting...

And it just doesn't work once I get in the pic...oh well.

Doodling is a favorite.

At the park...medium slide...not so sure about this.

Kira was happy to be out.

So was Isak.

And Sofie was especially excited to be out.

It was the first nice day we've had in four months!  I'm barely exaggerating here.

So we took advantage of the 60 degree windy weather and went to the park with our neighbor.

Noah started to enjoy the park after a while.

Love these girls in their matching hats.

We read this book and then made ballerinas.  I really enjoy activities that go with a book.  Kira loves Pinkalicious books.

One Sunday...

The big kids put their jammies on right when we got home from church.  They were done for the day.  haha.

I love this little dress.

Just playing...purses, bags, hats, old phones and saying, "cheese."  See how Sofie is holding the phone to take a picture! haha.

Kira wanted a picture with Sofie.

Haha.  This makes me laugh...Kira's face and Sofie!

Oh Sofie, so busy.  Those are my shoes.

The AC guy came to do maintenance on our unit so the babies needed to supervise.

I think I posted this in March too...oh well.  Conference Bingo.

And this is my reality...I need to make dinner...here kids watch a show...messy house, quiet kids, dinner gets made.

I was folding the laundry and Sofie saw Kira's underpants.  She insisted I put them on her.  Oh my...I laughed inside so hard!!! She was thrilled!

Ready to eat breakfast...dressed, shoes on, sunglasses and a hat!

And here's my proof that I do not have a Pinterest perfect life. haha.  Someone cried, I consoled them, dinner burned.  We scraped off the top and it was actually still edible.  Yay!

• I finished reading "Better Than Before."  Great book about habits.
• Kira and Isak spent a lot of time putting their 100 piece puzzles together over and over again. 
• At a restaurant, Kira said, "Oh good, they have my favorite water - Cold Water!"  haha.
• Every morning we all stand in front of our big living room window and wave good bye to our hard working dad.  
• A robin finally appeared.  I told the kids to make a wish just like my mom taught me.  So now when they see robins they make a wish.  :)
• The kids love watching the movie Tangled!
• Nels went to the Chicago Temple this month.  Yay!  Isak was so sweet and said, "Thanks for going to the temple Dad."  He is a sweet observant boy.  

That's all for April.  We loved our trip to Nauvoo and that was definitely the highlight for the month.  

2018 Trip to Nauvoo - Day 2

April 20, Friday - Day 2

We began the day with a great breakfast at Grandpa John's Cafe.  It was buffet style.  Favorites for the kids - Strawberries, mandarin oranges, yogurt and pancakes.

This pic was taken in the lobby of the restaurant.  All done eating and ready for some site seeing.

This is Isak's new smile...he puts his hands on his cheeks and the thinks he's so adorable.  I think so too. :)

The sites didn't open until 10 a.m. and for once in our lives we were early!  So we drove around the temple and walked around the temple and took pictures.  

I wanted a pic from the road of the temple but there was a huge tree blocking the perfect view.  I said, "Disastrous!  There's a big honkin' tree blocking the temple."  Then I got out of the car to walk to a different spot.  Nels said after I left that Isak asked, "is she going to move that big honkin' tree?"  haha.  Then when I got back in the car both kids kept saying "Disastrous!'  They are in the "copying what people say" stage.  :)

Here's some of the temple grounds photos.

Three of the four kids.  Sofie and Kira got a lot of compliments on their matching clothes.  I liked it too.

Family!

I did get one with me in it.  :)

Then we walked around the temple.  I love this pic of Nels holding the babies hands.

And I love this one with Isak and Kira looking at the temple.

Girl pic.

Boy pic.

I love the moon...

Sun...

And stars on the temple.

Then we enjoyed a wagon ride on the west side of Nauvoo while the Elder missionary told stories of  people who knew Joseph Smith.

One story was about the Abbott family.  The husband died leaving his wife to take care of their 8 children.  There came a time when there was no food.  The oldest son and the mom prayed.  Then they went to work in the garden.  They dug up a dime.  The son bought a 15 lb bag of flour.  The flour mixed with water made a gravy that they ate for a long time.  They all made it to the Salt Lake Valley.    The mom wanted her children/grandchildren to remember their story was not one of poverty but of faith and answered prayers.  Strong pioneer women!

Noah fell asleep on the wagon ride.

Then we enjoyed some time at the Family Living Center.  All of the couples loved seeing "the 2 sets of twins!"  :)

We learned how to make rope.

Learned about pottery.

The Lord will mold us.

Watching how to make bread.  And we learned about candle making.

This is what our family looked like leaving the center.

See what's on Isak's head?  Silly boy...he put the rope on his head.

Noah was ready to move around!

We walked to the Cultural Hall.  We looked at the quilts on the 2nd floor and danced on the original dance floor on the third floor.  Here's the view from the third floor window.

Then we went on the 2nd wagon ride with Doc and Dan the horses.  It toured around the city of Nauvoo.

Kira still loves horses.

Sofie was not so sure.

Kira fell asleep on this wagon ride.  Then we went back to our cabin and ate leftover pizza and peanut butter sandwiches.

We tried to take naps.  But the big kids played with their kindles, babies watched TV, I rested and Nels got a little nap. :)

At 3:30 p.m. we went back to touring.  See how excited Sofie and Noah are?!

The kids enjoyed drawing pictures on the chalkboards.

Family pic outside the school.

Nels really wanted to learn about how to make boots so we went to that demonstration.

Noah...

Listening about boots...

Then the kids really enjoyed the printing office.

And the last tour was John Taylor's home.

The weather was sunny, low winds and about 50 degrees!  So it was great.

We walked through the Smith cemetery.  Isak asked, "How did he die?"  I explained that he was shot and killed for what he believed by mean people.  Later Isak said, "I love Jospeh."  :)

We drove down the trail of tears.  Nels explained the exodus of the pioneers.  We bore our testimonies of faith in Jesus Christ and the true church.  We showed them the Mississippi River and the view of the temple.  It was a great moment.

Afterwards we ate and ate at the buffet at Old Nauvoo Hotel.  Noah chowed down on the baked beans and turkey.  Isak and Kira loved the blueberry muffins.  Kira loved the chocolate pudding.  Sofie ate a little of everything.

Bedtime was better.  Noah still had a rough time but only woke up at 11 p.m. and then 6 a.m.  So Yay!

Day 3... We left at 9 a.m. and headed home.  Isak was so sad to leave the cabin.  Now he prays, "please bless we can go back to our little cabin."  :)  We drove straight home with no stops!!  It was a wonderful trip and two nights is just right for a get away right now.  I'm grateful we took the time to go see Nauvoo and I look forward to doing it again next year!