Easter and Spring Break

Lots of fun when family gets together!  Laura's family and Becky's family were both able to come for Easter and Spring Break this year, so the cousins had a great time together.

 Easter egg hunts are always massive events in our family because we way overdo the amounts of eggs.  Every year we say we won't, but then we end up with hundreds again.  Oh, well.  The kids love it!

 Mom and Dad love helping the kids hunt, but apparently Dad isn't interested in posing for pictures. He's on a mission to find eggs.

 Emma was determined to find the $20 egg Rob had hidden, but it was Ellie who found it.  Emma found enough to total $18, though, so she thought that was pretty good!

 It was so fun having the Walls for Easter because they don't usually make it to Pocatello.

  Liam loves Easter because the Reed baskets are legendary!

 Even Chris and Devin got to hunt for some eggs.

 Grandma wanted her grandkids to pose with her umbrella collection, and it turned out pretty cute.

 The next day we went to Lava Hot Springs to soak in the steaming pools.  Great activity on a spring day, and the rainy drizzle only made it more fun!

 

 Cousins are the best!

Fabulous floors...and floor-ists

Del and Devin spent a weekend in Boise making Becky's floors look fabulous!  They helped Dave chisel out the old tile and lay hardwood throughout the entire main floor.

 

It's gorgeous, and she's really happy with how it turned out.

 

Exciting Sunday Dinner

Sunday dinners are not usually too exciting at our house, but the one today sure was.  We were sitting at the table and noticed a semi truck stop on the freeway right behind our house.  We didn't think anything of it at first because we see an occasionally policeman pull someone over for speeding there.  

 The driver of the semi got out and started smacking the tires with his jacket.  At first I just thought he was mad and throwing some kind of tantrum, but then I thought I saw a spark.  Del grabbed our fire extinguisher and ran up to the freeway.  Sure enough, a fire had started underneath the front of the truck bed, and the driver was trying frantically to beat it out.  They used the extinguisher to douse it, and then the fire truck showed up and made sure it was completely out.  The driver was from South Africa and had a thick accent and beautiful dark skin.  He was so grateful to Del for helping him put out the fire because if he hadn't shown up to help the truck could have been destroyed very quickly.  We were sure glad we had a fully charged extinguisher because he was able to drive the truck away and finish his delivery.

The Big 7-0

 My mom turned 70, and we celebrated at the New Hong Kong since she said all she wanted was a good egg roll.  Pretty easy request.  My mom is kind, generous, spunky, friendly, and fun, and I hope to be just like her when I grow up!  Love you, Mom!

Dinner with Jessica Day George

When Maren got her super speedy departure date, the only thing she was sad about is that she would miss having dinner with one of her favorite authors by just six days.  Jessica Day George was signing books at Deseret Book, and she agreed to have dinner with a local writer's group I belong to.  We were so excited, and Maren was so sad to miss it.  I decided she shouldn't miss out, so I made Flat Maren and took her with us!

Jessica thought it was hilarious and kindly posed for a picture and signed books for Maren.  It was a nice, small group at McKenzie River Grill, and I really enjoyed hearing her talk about her experiences as a writer.

 Emma enjoyed it, too, although she hadn't read any of her books and has no intention of being a writer.  She does love pizza, however, so it was all worth it.  Maren looks excited to be there, too.  We sent the pictures to Maren, and she said it made her laugh so hard she almost cried.  Mission accomplished!

 "Dear Maren--It was fun having dinner with you!  JDG"

 "To Maren--Have fun in Kazakhstan!  JDG"

The Drop-off

 The morning finally arrived for us to take Maren to the MTC.  She was so excited, but as we got closer there were a few nerves, too, both hers and ours.  We decided to go through the Provo City Center Temple open house since we were a little early.  

 As we drove up to the parking area, Maren yelled, "That's Kysenya!"  We looked up and saw them crossing the street right in front of us!  We yelled to them and said hi and told them we were going to Chick-fil-A later for lunch but didn't think we'd see them again.

 We had a nice time at the open house, and the temple is beautiful!  When we came out and Googled Chick-fil-A we realized there were three in Provo, so we picked one and headed there.  We were so surprised to find the Petersons eating at a long table in the back!  It was exactly what both families needed to help calm nerves.  We got to visit with them and the girls had fun meeting again before the MTC.

 

We took a picture of the girls at the restaurant, and while they were posing a man came up to them.  He had been listening to our families talk and wanted to tell them that he was from Kazakhstan and was very excited that they were going to his country.

 After lunch we headed to the other Provo temple for family pictures.  Chris hadn't been able to come with us because he had to work, so he said goodbye before we left.

I thought it would be a good idea to get a cute picture of the girls together.  Hmmmm.... It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be.

 

  These two are pretty goofy, but they really love each other.  They'll only admit it if forced, however.  :)

 

 Finally, the time was up and we had to let Maren go.  It was faster than getting an order of fries in the drive-thru at McDonalds. We pulled up to the front of the MTC and met a sweet sister missionary who took our picture and then our daughter, all in under 2 minutes time.  

 We're so excited for Maren in her new adventure serving the Lord and the people of Kazakhstan!

Maren's farewell

With only four weeks from the time Maren got her call (later changed to five weeks) to the time she had to report, there was a lot to do to get ready.  Shopping for clothes was probably her least favorite part because she hates shopping and especially when it's hard to know what to buy.  The climate is both hotter and colder than Idaho, so there's quite a variation in temperature throughout the year.  We got it finished, though, and had her suitcases packed and ready to go.

 We had a wonderful time at the Twin Falls temple, where Maren received her endowment since the Idaho Falls temple is closed for renovations. 

On a less spiritual note, the one thing Maren was determined to do before leaving was to go to the theater and watch Pride and Prejudice and Zombies with Emma and me.  Crazy?  Yes, but it was fun.  Sort of gruesome and dumb, but fun.  We talked Sarah Hibbert into going with us, and the three girls absolutely loved the show.

 Finally, time was up and it was time for her farewell.  Maren gave the best farewell talk I have ever heard!  Seriously!  OK, I might be just a little bit biased, but she was phenomenal.  

Eliza and Lydia Kener, Jessica and Julianne Nielson

 The Princeton young women sang a beautiful musical number, and they sang the final chorus in Russian, which was very touching.  We had a wonderful brunch at our house after the meeting and got to visit with friends and family.

Lauren Holmstead, Kyleigh Hatch, Hannah Whitney

 

Michelle and Sarah Winder

Grandparents, Jack and Benita Nielson

The Symons family

Proud sister

Samee Barney Beck, Sally, and Becky