A post to make his friends proud and her friends gag.

We're an equal opportunity blog.

It's spring turkey season.

His FAVORITE hunting season.

He's been 4 times already.

Being the supportive wife that I am,

I am searching for wild turkey recipes,

washing a lot of camouflage,

and trying to fall back to sleep after the 4:30am alarm.

A Friday in April

It's that time of year again. The busy time for our business.

And I seem to notice it most on Friday nights.

I miss my husband. I get a little bored.

We eat pancakes for dinner.

***

Zachary and Lily played with a roly poly all afternoon.

They laughed hysterically when it crawled up and down their arms.

They made him a home inside of a shoebox filled with grass and sticks.

They begged me to let it be their pet.

They talked about who would get to sleep with it.

And of course they named him.

Mortimer B.

And finally, I heard,

"Why doesn't he move anymore?" (Lily)

"I think he's just sleeping." (Zach)

So I suggested they leave him outside and let him find his family.

Reluctantly they found a spot on our porch and came in for dinner.

Before bedtime they wanted to check on him.

"MOM...Mortimer is STILL THERE!!"

They were shocked and so excited their friend decided to stick around.

I don't have the heart to tell them.

Rest in peace Mortimer B.

The Party

Saturday we had a simple lunch with family, it was sunny and breezy.
We sang the birthday song, we opened presents, we loved on the little man.

Mr. Roman is changing so fast.

He is done nursing.

It's so bittersweet, luckily he is the cuddliest baby.

No solo walking yet, though it's right around the corner.

He is facing forward in the car and talks up a storm as he gazes out the window.

Roman waves and says "bye bye". He loves to give his brother and sister a high five.

His most favorite past time is crawling up and down the stairs. He giggles the whole time.

Last night I lay in bed thinking about my responsibility as a parent.

Sometimes it's hard not to let worries over

the right school

the right teacher

the right extracurricular activities

the right amount of college savings

overshadow more important aspects of parenting.

I want to teach them about faith and hard work and integrity.

And I want them to be filled with gratitude for days that promise carrot cake and blueberry drinks.

The Birthday Cake

And he's off. He crawled so fast, right off the turquoise, that I had a few chocolate hand prints to clean off the carpet. It's safe to say the crying didn't last but 2 seconds, Roman loved that cake. And he didn't mind being dirty. More he kept looking at me like, "Really, you're going to let me do this? You're not going to stop me?" Adorable. The "backdrop" is actually a piece of vinyl that I found on a clearance fabric table. I bought it back in September to use as a tablecloth for Lily's party. It's perfect because it is heavy and doesn't require ironing and it wipes right down so there is no laundry! I've used it as a table cloth for two parties and now a photoshoot. ha! So very multipurpose. Up next...the Birthday Party. Whew.

Happy Birthday Baby Boy

I'm up too late waiting for Roman's birthday cake to finish baking.

(Party prep is not glamorous)

We are celebrating with a family party tomorrow,

but today I bought him a cake.

I set up a little photoshoot, it was hilarious.

And this was the first picture.

I love it. So so much.

Rest assured the remaining 75 photos show a messy, blissful baby.

Oh the difference a year can make.

My sweet, sweet baby Roman.

Easter Weekend

I think we celebrated all weekend long.

On Friday Aunt Anna and Uncle Kyle came over to dye eggs.

I LOVE how the eggs turned out.

Every single egg was cracked when they were done.

And they ate two for good measure.

Saturday was a neighborhood Easter egg hunt

and General Conference.

Why oh why do we do this?

The older kids refused to get near.

Poor Roman.

Sunday Morning the Easter Bunny came.

An egg hunt at Grandpa Painter's house was notable.

Zach was WAY into the shiny eggs that had money inside.

Lily didn't care about the money, she loved her candy bracelets.

On Sunday we enjoyed Conference again, and made

stops at Easter Feasts. (four to be exact)

This was a beautiful weekend.

I feel such gratitude for my Savior.

I feel sustained by my faith.

I feel the gentle promptings to be better.

I will be resurrected too, and I can live with my family forever.