Happy Easter! *photo overload, beware!*

We had such a fun Easter Sunday with the family!

The kids had a fun Easter egg hunt

So seriousMcKinley is such a little mommy, she kept stopping to help Mason find his eggsTyler, McKinley, and Mason after the egg hunt - we tried to take this picture like 5 times, but every time we got the kids posed Mason got so excited that he jumped up and his eggs went flying out of his basket. He refused to pose for the picture again each time until his eggs had been retrieved :)
Checking out their treasures :)Grandma and Grandpa with the kiddos
Family photo - just to prove that we were there :)
Grandpa catching a ride on Kinley's trike :)
Tyler, I think it's time you moved on to a bigger bike :)
After the egg hunting we walked around the St. George templeGrandma, Grandpa, McKinley, and Mason
Family photo - Easter 2009 (again, just to prove we were there :)
We all went to a delicious brunch at the Entrada country club, where the kids got to meet the Easter Bunny! McKinley LOVED the Easter Bunny, but Mason wouldn't go ANYWHERE near him! He said he didn't like him :)
McKinley and Mason LOVE their cousin Tyler! Tyler helped them put stickers on their Easter pictures - they had so much fun playing with him all weekend!
On the drive home Mason wanted to wear Matt's ballcap - he wore it the whole way home. McKinley fell asleep the second we got in the car (busy weekend!), but Mason stayed awake and make faces at us and jabbered for most of the drive. I love my silly boy!

More St. George FUN!

Although the weather wasn't great, we managed to have a great time!

McKinley striking a pose :) Sweet ride!We biked over to a little park, the kids had fun swingingMcKinley kept begging to go higher and higherAfter the park we went swimming (no photos available :), then got dressed and went to the movies to see Monsters vs. Aliens (very funny movie :). McKinley LOVED itMason didn't quite make it through the movie :) Poor little guy was tuckered out. He even slept through dinner at Outback.

Slot Canyon Hiking

We took a short trip to St. George over Easter weekend with Matt's family. We arrived a little earlier than everyone else (they were on their way home from CA stopping in St. George for the weekend, we were a little more eager to get there than they were :). Our friends (the Rose's :) happened to be in St. George for the weekend with their family, so we tagged along for a fun hike through a slot canyon in Leeds (? somewhere near St. George?).
Matt and the kiddos - McKinley loved playing in the water barefoot - Mason wanted nothing to do with it :)Matt and McKinley above a little waterfallMatt and Mason above the little waterfall - how beautiful is that? It was a gorgeous hike, thanks for the invite guys!

Super Little Savers

Not that we think we do it the best or only way, but this is how we have decided to teach our kids about money. Just thought I'd share (and mostly document for journaling sake :)

Job charts - I made these using simple unfinished magnet boards from Robert's crafts, a ruler and permanent marker, and cheap magnets. Each week they choose their jobs (we turn them upside down, so they don't always get the jobs they want, but they are things that need to be done). I made magnets for things such as make beds, put clothes in wash, set and clear the table, brush teeth, get dressed, clean up toys, take out trash, feed the dog, etc. They LOVE to do their job charts as part of the nightly routine (right after they brush their teeth). For each job they do each day they get to place a magnet on their chart.
At the end of the week (Saturday night) they get a penny for each magnet on their chart (usually around 50 cents a week - yeah, they'll need a raise soon, but to them 50 pennies seems like a lot right now :). They each put all of their pennies into their little piggy banks (this is their favorite part!). The piggies started to get pretty full (McKinley's broke, I had to super glue it!), so I took them to the bank (with their piggies) and we opened their savings accounts. They got to watch the teller dump their pennies out of their piggies into the coin counting machine. They thought it was SO cool!And they have the receipts to prove it, they are officially super-savers! :)

My Little Monkeys

These kids just make me laugh! They each have their own funny little personalities, and I LOVE it!

They always fight over who gets the black chair at dinner (if you have ever been to my house, my kitchen table has 6 different chairs in different colors :). This particular night they decided (on their own) to share the same chair. They actually ate their whole dinner practically falling off of the chair, but they thought it was SOO funny :)

Typical Mace face :)McKinley wrestling with Monty - they both love that dog!Mason's new 'camera smile' :)

What can I say, without them, life just wouldn't be as fun!

Rather good advice, both literally and metaphorically...

"The formula for a happy marriage? It's the same as the one for living in California: When you find a fault, don't dwell on it."
-Jay Trachman