My, my. Look at the time!

Where has the time gone?  I haven’t written in ages!  Here’s a quick run down of what we have been up to:

Easter- -We had fun.  We made bread bunnies.   Saturday morning, the kids each followed their own color of yarn as it wound all over the house and ended up at their Easter basket.  After that we feasted on boiled eggs, bread bunnies, Easter candy and pistachios.  Have you ever noticed that pistachios are egg shaped—a nice and salty balance to all the sweet.  On Sunday we had an Easter celebration highlighting the last week of the life of Jesus Christ.  Our celebration incorporated good food and gifts.

Spring Break—I went to an amazing new shopping complex nearby three times!  Once with Brian and the kids, once with my scissors, Sarah Stoddard and Elizabeth Teichert, and once with Brian for my brother, Rick Haws’s birthday.  All of my Utah siblings were there with their spouses except Elizabeth’s husband Daniel couldn’t make it.   I had a blast each time.  You would think that I’d get tired of going there, but I didn’t—It was so wonderful to be out enjoying people I love in such a beautiful setting.

Brian—Brian’s been working hard.  He lost his summer teaching program which sets us back lots of money, so he’s been figuring out how to make up the difference.  He’s also been working at his mom’s house getting it ready for the new renters.  We went out Friday night and had a nice time.  I love him!!!

Sally—Sally has been more cognizant of her surroundings lately, which is a pleasant surprise.  It is nice to be able to communicate with her a bit as we care for her.  She has had some good visits lately.  Her sister and brother-in-law, Alice and Earl came during spring break and she loved that.  This week Sally’s daughter and grand daughter, Renee and Becky also visited as well as her son Paul with his daughter, Abigail and her boyfriend who seems like a really nice guy.  Sally loves visitors, so it was a good week for her.

Cassandra, Emerson, and Lily—Cassandra and Emerson celebrated their anniversary this weekend by getting a baby sitter for Lily, and going on an over nighter.  I’m so excited that they got to do that and I can’t wait to find out how it all went!  Lily doesn’t get babysat much so I’m sure it was quite an experience for her, too, but I’m also sure that she survived just fine.  She’s a very active and busy little baby, and has actually taken a couple of steps lately!  We love the pictures, videos, and updates they send to us.

Jonathan—Jonathan came down for the weekend which was really nice.  He and Matt did errands during the day on Friday and then on Friday night, he, Brian, and Matt had fun playing a game together.  Jonathan wrote a poem that got into his college's literary journal.  He considers it a dubious honor, but we are so proud of him!  He brought the journal home with him and I got to see his poem in print.  Like I told Jon, I don’t really understand poetry, but I like the feeling of the poem he wrote.  He is a very insightful man.

Matthew—Cassandra and Emerson invited Matthew to visit them before he leaves on his mission, so yesterday he flew to their neck of the woods.  He gets to stay for a week, and the rest of us are quite jealous.  I know he’ll have a lot of fun, and I think Lily is going to love him.  The day after he gets home will be Matt’s farewell, and then he’s off to the Mission Training Center the next Wednesday.  It’s hard to believe he’ll be gone so soon.  Where did the time go?  We are so happy and proud of him!

Miriam, Katrina, and Thomas—All three of the youngest kids got hired to work at a local water park this summer which is pretty exciting.  I hope it will be a good experience for them.  It will definitely keep them busy.  Miriam is planning to go to prom next week, and she has a beautiful dress for the occasion.  She took the ACT last week and we are waiting to hear her score.  She really studied hard for it!  Katrina is busy getting good grades, participating in drama, and hanging out with friends.  She and her friend Veronica spent the later half of yesterday re-watching Lord of the Rings.  Thomas went on a campout yesterday and helped the scouts aerate lawns for a fundraiser.  He is taking trumpet lessons and weight lifting with the high school football team.  He is also in the process of running for ninth grade student body president, but doesn’t think he’ll win.

Me—I’m busy being the glue that holds it all together, and let me tell you, the glue sure get spread thin sometimes, but I’m hanging in there!  

That's it.  I'm sure I forgot a lot, but you get the idea.