A few fun pictures of the kids and a little update for the month of April. Ashlynn put on her own shoes; see how they are on her ankles in the picture above. ha ha

 Ashlynn handing me another shoe to wear

 We decided it would be fun to put up the pool out on our back deck. We used the umbrella for a little bit of shade.

 Kaylee was such a good big sister in helping Ashlynn get in the water.

 A few cute pictures of Ashlynn playing around with mom. She LOVES being outside.

 Dad helping Connor tie his shoes

 Kaylee wanted to go running with mom. I usually go running after I take her to school and then push the two kids in the double jogging stroller, or I go in the evening when the kids are in bed. But this morning we got ready for school really fast so she could go with me before school. Kaylee rode her boke to the trail near our house; parked her bike and then ran with me. We practiced breathing and pacing so she didn't get a side ache. Even though I find myself wishing my kids didn't grow up so fast, it has been fun having them do big things with me. Kaylee and Ashlynn were the first ones awake this morning; so we started a game of Phase 10 while we ate breakfast. Connor joined when he woke up. Such a fun morning!

 This year for Women's Conference my aunt Becky and Amy were pretty stoked to find their picture from last year on the back cover for this conference. They walked around everywhere holding up their picture next to their face and offering autographs.

 This is Amy asking if she can get free food since her picture was on the back cover ha ha

 We always look forward to going to the concert together. This year we came prepared with cards and played until they opened the doors. Jodee and I ran down to get the best seats we could (its tradition). This year my sister in law Jamie asked if she could join us. That night when we were leaving after the concert we took Jamie to her car, but she couldn't remember where she parked it. We drove around and around forever trying to find it. We had actually passed it several times before she finally found it. It was an adventure.

 Here Becky is signing an autograph ha ha

 I started a fast the night before the first day of Women's Conference with BJ to get some comfort and answers to questions regarding my surgery for the parotid tumor. One of the first speakers we heard on that first day during my fast was Hilliary Weeks. She talked about a friend of her's that had a surgery very similar to my surgery for the parotid tumor. Her friend did end up having paralysis from the surgery on her face that affected her smile. This was one of my biggest fears of the surgery, but she talked about how her friend took that difficulty and became so much stronger from it. Her friend kept working on her muscles on her face until she could produce a smile. She just talked a lot about things that directly related to what I was dealing with; which not only answered some questions, but it gave me a lot of comfort. That evening we waited to see her so I could thank her for preparing and being so close to the Spirit so that she could be an answer to my prayer. She was so kind. I'm so grateful for amazing friends and family that are constant examples to me, and there when I need them the most.

 We always have such a fun time together at Women's Conference. It is such a refreshing few days and gives me a lot of help spiritually. Everytime we go we have to buy a brownie. Yumm!

 On our way home we stopped at the Cheesecake Factory for some dinner. They took soooo long to bring us our food. We had a good time visiting, but by the end we were ready to get home to our kids and husbands.

 Mike and Jamie Scott invited us to go camping in Arches with them.  When we originally made plans, April seemed like a great time to go.  It ended up being quite windy and cool.  Fortunately Christie had the foresight to bring coats to keep us warm.

We shared meal duties, and when we were in charge we made dutch oven chicken and these delicious garlic cheese bites.

The kids had fun looking for arches, and anything else they thought they could see.

Fortunately, Ashlynn loves pancakes, so we had them one morning to keep her happy.  The first night, she woke up in the middle of the night and wouldn't go back to sleep.  I eventually took her to the car and took her on a drive.  She finally fell asleep and it was a long first night and day.

Mike and Jamie let us borrow their backpack carrier which worked out really well.

Christie was freezing, but really did a good job keeping everyone warm!

Like I said, the carrier worked like a charm!

You can't go to Arches and not play in the sand.  It was pretty warm here too because the sun was in the perfect position, so we spent a fair amount of time letting the kids dig and play.

We tried several selfies (apparently this one was without Connor, but at least Ashlynn was looking.)

Of course, Mom had to get a few shots with her tongue out as well!

 Speaking on nervous...mom got nervous a lot when the kids wanted to climb. She kept worrying the kids were going to fall. But of course the kids had no fear and loved climbing everywhere.

Overall it was a fun time and really convenient being right in the park.  It's nice to have fun friends like the Scott's who are as adventurous as we are.