Livy's Build-A-Bear

I had mentioned earlier that Alivia got to go to Build-A-Bear with Grandma Joy on Saturday.  It is a tradition that Gma takes the kids when they turn 4!  So it was finally Alivia's turn and she knew before she even got there that she wanted an Elsa bear!  I was hoping they would have something Frozen themed there and wasn't surprised what she ended up getting.  It was perfect for her!  Gma said they had a blast and the only thing that was hard was picking out a name.  They ended up calling her Livy Lou.  I love it!  Here are the pictures that my mom sent me from their afternoon together. 

They finished their afternoon with a frosty from Wendy's.  My mom dropped Alivia off at our lot on her way home and got to see the hole they hard started digging.  They finished the hole yesterday finally and started pouring concrete today!  Here is a picture I just got sent from my neighbor just a few hours ago.

It totally made my day when I got her text.  We have some great future neighbors (Brittany & Dan) who have been sending us daily updates and pictures since the weekend.  They are so great!  We can't wait to go see it in person soon!  

Utah! Carson's 4th Grade Program

Carson has been so excited for his 4th grade program.  He was even more excited to tell us he got a duet with his good friend Connor (who is also a piano student of mine).  Nick and I were looking forward to see him perform.  I got all the kids up and out of the house, dropped everyone off at school, dropped Preston off at a neighbors, and then went back to the school to help in Kaylee's classroom before meeting Nick at the school for Carsons' program at 10:15.  I remember learning all about Utah in the 4th grade and of course that is what they sang about.  Carson did a great job knowing all the songs and singing out.  His duet part when great with Connor.  The last line was about how Brigham Young claimed "This is the Place!".  And they sure sang it with gusto!  I was a very proud mom!  He has great friends his age and we are sure going to miss them when we move, like Connor and Kalie.  

 It was a fun and busy morning, but Nick was home the rest of the day so I was able to get things done (like laundry) while he took Alivia to talking time.  He also took the van to the tire shop because my left tire was low and getting lower.  It worked out well having him home.  I taught piano lessons and then we had free night for dinner since we had plenty of leftovers.  We then drove up to Centerville to drop my van off at a shop to have my A/C worked on today.  We came home and celebrated Carson's awesome performance with some ice cream, popcorn, and a dance party on the front lawn.  Everyone loved it!

They finally dug a hole!

Yes, they finally dug the hole for our house!  More on that in a minute.  But first, here are some pictures of our time spent a Lagoon yesterday.  Nick worked that morning, so I took the kids just after lunch and we played for a few hours.  Preston is exactly 36 inches, so this year he is able to ride a few more rides than he could last year.  Including the lady bug drop and the kid swings.  He loved them all!!!  Before we left to pick up Nick from work, we met up with Grandma Joy so she could take Alivia to build a bear, which is a tradition for grandkids turning 4.  After dropping Alivia off, we picked up Nick and headed up to the lot to see the progress.  We got there just as the excavator was getting ready to leave for the day.  He had another job that needed to be finished up, but he is coming back tomorrow (Monday) to finish it all up.  They should be pouring the footings on Tuesday.  So hopefully when we head back up next weekend we will have a full basement foundation!  

 The kids were a little disappointed that we didn't get to watch them dig, but they still had fun playing in the dirt and seeing what had been done.  We also got to meet the neighbor west of us and visited with the McConkies a bit before grabbing some Arby's and heading to a park for dinner.

 I took this picture from the front room of the house they are building across the street from us.  It is the exact same floor plan as ours, but flipped.

 We went to "Shady Lane" park, which is what we call it because it is hidden in the shade of trees that is almost hidden from the street.  It is one of many parks we have eyed driving around Pleasant View.  It was a fun park and I am sure we will visit it often.

 We had a fun time at church today.  They primary earned their reverence reward of donuts, so we took advantage of the beautiful weather and ate them outside on the lawn in the warm sun.  It was a fun treat!

 Kaylee's class even got to have their class outside today because the weather was so perfect.

 I roped Nick and the rest of the Sunday School presidency into helping pass out the donuts.  They didn't mind since they got one too!

 Alivia's sunbeam class made cute bee hats to talk about how God made all the birds and bees and living things on the earth.  It was cute!  I spent most of the day in meetings but made it home by 4:30 to enjoy some grilled chicken and dutch oven potatoes that Nick made.  We had strawberry shortcake for dessert.  It was another good weekend.

April Snow Showers

We had a crazy weather week on top of our normal busy week.  Normal schedule of piano, scouts, talking time and choir this week.  We added a tutor for Carson on Mondays and Thursdays.  He just needs some help with his comprehension.  So a girl that used to be in our ward that has graduated HS comes and helps him read then go over what he read and also helps with his homework.  It went good this week.  A few pictures from the week include a tired little Preston one afternoon, my snow covered tulips, and some cute kids keeping entertained while it snowed.  Yes snow in April.  I started with a very windy day on Tuesday, then it snowed all day long Wednesday.  Since we closed on our construction loan Wednesday, I got to drive in it to Layton to meet Nick at the bank to sign papers.  It wasn't the funnest, but we made it there safely.    

 When I got home, I made a batch of bread, put dinner in the crock pot (Italian Chicken) and made a new batch of granola.  The house smelled so yummy, and it was perfect baking weather outside.  As I was baking, I found the kids playing and looking at books at the bottom of the stairs.  They did a great job keeping themselves entertained.

That night we had the Nelson kids over for dinner and they all ate it up!  Even though it was yucky weather, we made the best of it!

 Thursday, we had a dig meeting with the excavator and the builders to make sure we were on the same page.  Unfortunately, the wind storm and snow pushed us back on the dig.  So the plan was to dig Saturday (which they did!!).  But we were still able to get a few more things done while we were up there.  We registered the kids for school and Carson had an Orthodontist appointment to get another opinion about braces.  We liked what they said and will probably go with that doctor.  

 Carson had actually woken up Thusrday morning and threw up.  He felt great the rest of the day but I must have also caught a little bug, because I went to bed by 8:30 that night with an upset stomach.  I also think it could have been that I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep that week since I was up so early every morning.  But I felt better by Friday morning and was able to still get my normal routine of cleaning bathrooms done and even got the floors cleaned.  Alivia's friend Sadie came over to play and Preston wanted to play with them, so he put on a fairy dress for just a bit to play with them, but it didn't last long and he asked to take it off shortly after this picture was taken.

By Friday afternoon all the snow was gone and the kids were out playing outside.  It was just a crazy week of weather!!!  We had homemade mac and cheese for dinner and then had a movie night with friends.  We rented the new "Night at the Museum, Secret of the Tomb".  It was a cute show!  It was a good week!

Track Meet and a New Ward

Last weekend we had a lot of fun spending time with family.  On Friday, my parents stopped by on their way home from the airport.  They had spent the week in Hawaii!!  They brought us back some fun gifts, like flowers, necklaces, shirts, hats, and yummy chocolate macadamia nuts!  Yum!  

 On Saturday, Nick worked that day, so the kids and I did some cleaning around the house before heading up to Ogden to watch Uncle Chris run at a track meet.  He runs for UVU and is pretty fast!  Krissy and her family was there, mom and dad, and Matt's family.  It was a lot of fun!  He only ran one race, but it was still fun to see him in action.

 After the meet, I picked up Nick from work and we met back up with Matt's family, my parents, and headed up to Huntsville to see Matt & Nat's lot that they bought to build a house on.  It is beautiful.  It overlooks pineview reservoir and has a great view of the mountains.  After that, we all headed to Pleaseant View to look at our lot.  My dad hadn't seen it yet.  We did make a quick stop to Wendy's for some frosty's and fries.

On Sunday, our ward had stake conference, so we took advantage of not having any Sunday responsibilities and attended the Pleasant View 18th Ward, which will be our new ward when we move.  It was wonderful!  Everyone was so nice and the kids loved it!  They have a much smaller primary than we have now, but that didn't seem to be a problem at all for the kids.  I enjoyed going to RS and Preston did great in nursery.  The only problem I forsee us having is getting used to the gap in the chapel benches.  Normally we can color with crayons all over the place, but this church building's benches have a gap between the seat and the back of the bench, so anything that rolls goes right to the floor behind you.  But we can manage.  Carson made a friend who loves Lego's and he can't wait to play with him!  (Think his name was Graydon).  After church, we drove around a bit and then stopped at a park to have a snack before heading home.

When we got home, we boxed up some more games and toys from the kids' room and enjoyed some of Grandma's chocolates she had brought us from Hawaii.  It was a wonderful weekend!