Birthdays and Easter

 Anna turned 3 on April 19th. It was a fun birthday because she was old enough to get excited for it. She woke up in the morning and said "I'm the birthday girl!" She loved opening her presents and when I asked her what she wanted for breakfast she said "I want to open more presents!" We ate French toast.

 We made her birthday cake and then went swimming when Barrett got home. Anna was excited to go but when we got there she wouldn't go in any deeper than her ankles. When we were at Roper Lake in Safford she fell in the water and went under. We didn't realize how much it scared her! After about half an hour of trying to coax her into the water I finally picked her up and walked in the middle and stayed there until she realized it was fun! She enjoyed it after that. Then of course we had cake and ice cream after her choice of enchiladas for dinner. She only ate the frosting on her cake!

 Anna is such a sweet little girl and I love her so much! She is so forgiving of my imperfections and tells me she loves me a million times a day. She is still learning to share with her brother, but she loves him and likes to help him. She is growing up so much! I love my Anna!

 The kids had fun doing an Easter egg hunt the Saturday before Easter. Caleb thinks eggs are balls and it very obsessed with them. It didn't take any convincing to get him to pick them up!

 Easter morning pictures... Caleb wasn't very happy about the idea, but then he warmed up to it. My Mom gave Anna her pretty dress (and the hat and gloves didn't even stay on till we got in the car) and she loved getting all gussied up! I made Caleb's jacket, shirt, and tie from a pattern I bought for 50 cents! Score! I am pretty partial, but I have some cute kids! :)

 Caleb turned 1 on May 6th. He started walking on April 26 and hasn't stopped going since. He's already walking more normal and losing the new walking toddle. He had fun opening his presents and got lots of fun new toys. His favorites are the ball and the stacking cups. Why have I never had stacking cups before? Those things are the best toys ever!

 It was a gorgeous day so we had a picnic at the park and played outside most of the afternoon. My kids are going to have so much fun being at my parents' house with a huge backyard!

 I went easy on myself and made cupcakes for Caleb's birthday. These are my mom's recipe and they are amazing!! I've eaten like 7 every day because it makes a lot.

 Happy boy eating his cupcake! He didn't even make a big mess. I love this little boy so much! He is such a momma's boy and it gets old sometimes, but I love that he loves to be with me and I melt when he puts his head on my shoulder. Being a mom is amazing!

April

April was a really busy month for me. It was Anna's birthday (post to come), we went to Utah for my sister Rachel's wedding, and getting ready to move and Barrett having to study for a cumulative exam... Life just seems to be in a whirlwind! We are moving back to Rexburg in 2 1/2 weeks! Our time here has gone by so fast! We will be living with my parents for a year because Barrett has to do four 8 week internships and we didn't want to have to move the kids around that often. His first one is in Driggs, Idaho, so he can commute, but the other three are in Kaysville, Orem, and Logan, Utah but at least he can come home on weekends. We are happy that he got them that close to home.

Here are some pictures from Rachel's wedding. We had a great weekend being with my family. My whole immediate family was there except my brother Paul's wife and daughter and my brother Greg, who's on his mission. We all stayed at my grandparents' house in Orem and had a party!

 Miriam and I look more and more alike as we get older. Kinda creepy!

 Rachel and Justin VanBibber!

 Anna had lots of fun with her cousins Hannah and Myah

 Caleb and Elie and had fun together too! They are only 9 days apart

 My Uncle Doug Andersen was able to marry Rachel and Justin. They just got married in a church for now because they were both married before and had a short time frame to get married in because of Justin's work (he's doing a residency in Boston for pediatric dentistry) and couldn't wait for all of the logistics to go through to get their cancellations of sealing. So they will be sealed in the Boston temple next April and we're hoping to go!

The week after the wedding my friend Nichole Christensen and I went down to the Mesa Easter Pageant and took our 3 year olds. We left our babies at home with their dads. It was a really fun little trip and Anna still talks about seeing Jesus at the temple. The only thing that was disappointing was that the sound was pre-recorded. But the rest of the production was amazing. I'm so glad we went! The weather was beautiful and we had a fun time. 

 Matthew and Anna loved getting pictures with some of the cast members. Their costumes were beautiful!

 Sadducee #1. His costume was amazing. He enjoyed showing the kids all of his rings

 Anna wasn't quite as sure about the Roman soldier. He was so nice though!

I just had a twinge of sadness looking at this last picture. I love the Mesa temple so much and always feel so much peace there. Of course it is the same with every temple I've been to, but I am really kindof sad to be leaving Arizona. We've had so many fun adventures while we've been here and have grown so much! I am really happy to be moving back home though. Big changes for us the next couple of years!