General Conference

I took the kids up to conference for the Sunday session in April with my parents. (Thanks Dad for the pictures!) Lynn was back east and we really missed having him with us. The protesters were out in full force as we walked over. One group was saying particularly horrible things about what we teach our children. I tried to shield Jacob from the signs and comments, but that didn't really work. He was all eyes. Once we were seated he said, he was shaking inside as we walked by the "yellers." It was a good opportunity to discuss how different the feeling is inside the conference center. The spirit was very strong and I'm happy he could tell the difference.
One group of sweet young adult women had their own signs that read "Free Hugs." They stood by all the other protesters, and sweetly and kindly greeted everyone, giving hugs and welcoming us to conference. It was a beautiful site. Conference weekend was wonderful and it was great to hear from the new apostle Brother Andersen. General conference always marks a milestone for me when thinking of my own family. It's always a time to reflect and be spiritually fed. Speaking of feeding... we always let our kids eat the snacks out of their 72 hr. emergency kits during conference every six months. It's a good reminder for me to rotate!

Memorial Day

We had a beautiful Memorial Day and were able to visit Grandpa C's gravesite at Salem Cemetery. We placed flowers, and Betty brought amazing Iris flowers that were so pretty and a snowball- one of Bill's favorites she said.

It could not have been a more beautiful day and so pretty with all the flowers around.

Pictured: Lynn with his mom and sister at the gravesite.

Below: Lynn's great grandfather Lars Christensen and other ancestors.

Go Green Goblins

The end of soccer season for the Green Goblins! Lynn coached again with Jon Davidson. What a fun bunch of boys, many of whom we have played with since they were tiny!

Little Leauge

Oh how fun little league is! Jacob can really smack the ball and likes the position of catcher- because his dad was a catcher and he always wants to be just like dad!

It's GREAT to be EIGHT!

My little man turned eight this month. He's growing so fast I can't believe it! He wanted a "mature" party-- I think he watches his sister a lot-- and asked if he could take a few friends to "dinner and a movie" That was great with me. I had just finished stake leadership meeting and was planning the next event, so I appreciated his request! Grandma C and aunt Pam joined us for dinner and although the food left something to be desired, the boys, I think, ate their weight!

Spring Break-Vegas

Lynn had too much work going on, so he headed home after Easter and I took the kids down to Vegas. It was a very nice break! We headed back to my parents for a few days in St. George before going home. Very relaxing trip!!

Spring Break-St. George

Easter

We had a fun get away for Easter at Grandma and Grandpa's new vacation home in St. George. Jacob gathered most of the eggs due to Elise favoring sleep over eggs...

We had our spring break that week so it was a very fun vacation!

Spring Concert

"New Beginnings"

What the caterpillar sees as only it's ending, the butterfly sees as it's beginning. Is that how the saying goes?
Jacob took care of his little friend as he passed through the larval stage to the pupa chrysalis stage of metamorphosis and watched him crack out of his chrysalis into a beautiful butterfly.
These pictures are from the "release day" right before we headed out of town for Easter. Jacob wanted to take him along and buckle the jar in a seatbelt, but we talked him into giving the butterfly his "wings" and let him go!

AF High Orchestra

AF competed at District (pictured here) and won! They went on to State recently where they were rated with Superior Ratings.

Elise on Orchestra Tour

Elise headed out for Orchestra Tour in March where they took a Master class at Dixie college, then played in Las Vegas, went to Medieval Times and competed in Anaheim. Disneyland, beach and a dolphin cruise were fun excursions. Her cousin Eric also went which was really fun.

S.B.O.

Elise ran her campain for Student Body Officer in March and then headed out of town for Orchestra tour... so her nice Dad helped her with her posters through a lot of texting and picture sending... and nice Mom with the stapling of a million little campaign items! She finished up when she got home though. Elise was elected and is very excited. They are an impressive group of kids and already busy and engaged. I know she'll make good memories!

Relief Society Birthday Musical

The Parable of the Ten Virgins Musical was the theme for our Relief Society Birthday commemoration. It was a wonderful night put on by our fantastic enrichment committee. The food was incredible as was the setting. The music was very beautiful and we all remembered our lines and managed our solos without fainting--barely... ;) There is something intimidating about a microphone, am I right?

Spring Fever

Okay, I'm taking a break from church work and before we head out for a baseball game thought I'd update our family blog, since it's been a while! Spring is sooo wonderful after a snowy winter and it seems like life ramps up really quickly again. Jacob is pictured here at "Take your kids to work day" at Novell with Lynn. He was thrilled to sit in an actual airplane during lunch.

School finishes this week and our kids are very happy, especially Elise who has feels like she's been in the fast lane all year long! Junior year was, in a word..... hectic. She won the silver medal again this year for the National Latin Exam and just bid farewell this week to her Latin 2 textbook hoping to never see it again. ;) haha. Teaching piano has been a great experience for her, she has 16 students (whom she loves) and now feels bad having to turn families away! She is a wonderful teacher and her reputation has spread through word of mouth. She also offers to go to her students homes to teach, which is very attractive to busy moms! She loves it because all her students are in our stake and live close.

Jacob just finished a great season of soccer and is in the middle of little league- cutest thing ever! Lots of fun times, a great time in our lives. Jacob turned eight on May 7th and it's hard to believe how fast the time has passed since he was given to us. What a gift he has been for our family. He will be baptized this weekend and we are all excited for him to make this first important covenant. You can always find Jacob with his nose in a book. Some of his favorites are Diary of a Wimpy Kid series (I lost count how many times he has read them) and Fablehaven, Harry Potter etc..

Spring brought flowers and yard work, which is never ending but so lovely after a snowy start to spring! These are the times I wish would pass a little more slowly, so we can enjoy every moment. Lynn and I celebrated our 23rd wedding anniversary which was very memorable! Lynn celebrated 20 years with Novell Inc. Hard to believe-- and we are thankful he's survived all those layoff's over the years!