Spring (Concert and Cut)

The big story of the week has been the weather.  This has been our first week of the year with consistently nice weather.  We took advantage with lots of outdoors time over the course of the week.  We played at the playground at Merrick's school several days, played in Nana's yard, and, my personal favorite, ended the week with a hike in Camassia Nature Preserve.  The crazy thing about the nature preserve is that it is about 2 miles from our house and yet I have never been there.  It turns out that the camassias only bloom for a short time every year and it happens to be that time.  It was seriously beautiful and I don't know that my pictures do it justice.

Another highlight of the week was Merrick's spring concert.  This was his first ever big concert and he was really nervous.  The theme was rivers and all the songs were river related. He did a great job and despite the fact that it was a million degrees in the gym (no AC) it was a great night.

The other big news this week is that Carrigan got her first real official hair cut.  We have held out for as long as we could because I was terrified to cut off her beautiful curls.  Eventually though it just became unmanageable and we had to bite the bullet.  It is much easier to take care of now and does still have curl (but devastatingly the ringlets are pretty much gone).  What would spring be without a fresh new do?

It may be almost May, but it feels like spring is finally here and good times are ahead. 

Elsie's Blessing and Grandpa and Lollie Come to Visit

Last week I neglected my regular blog post because we were too busy creating incredibly special memories for our family, but I will do my best to recap now.  Two Fridays ago, in the wee hours of the morning, Grandpa and Lollie arrived into town. They came to meet Elsie and to take part in her baby blessing, which was scheduled for Saturday.  They were here just for the weekend and the weather was pretty crummy, but we were still able to squeeze in some fun.  We managed a trip to Dave and Busters, a little park time (when the weather cooperated), Merrick's first baseball game of the season, and a trip to the Tulip Festival.

All that fun though was just the icing on the cake for the real reason Grandpa and Lollie were here, which was to be a part of Elsie's baby blessing.  The blessing was originally scheduled for Saturday afternoon, but about an hour before the blessing I got a call from my mom that my nephew, Lincoln, had had a medical emergency and we may need to move the blessing.  It turns out that he had been licked in the face by a dog at the park and had a severe allergic reaction.  After some time at the ER and an epi-pen injection he was fine, but we did end up moving the blessing.

On Sunday afternoon we went for take two of Elsie's baby blessing.  Unfortunately, due to the change in time, several of the friends we invited were unable to come, but we still had the family there and that is what is important.  Jeremy blessed Elsie, giving her a name and blessing, with the help of his dad and mine.  There was a really sweet spirit in the room and I will mention two things that stuck out to me.  One, which is something that has been impressed upon Jeremy and I both several times since Elsie was born, was what a special spirit Elsie has and we are so fortunate to have her in our family.  The other was that she was told that her brother and sister would be a big help to her while she was little and one day she would be able to be a help to them as well.  I can't wait to see that blessing unfold.

I am so grateful for our sweet Elsie girl, I am grateful for the extended family who made it a priority to come and be part of her special day, and I am grateful to a husband who honors his priesthood and was able to administer such a special ordinance.  Sometimes my heart is so full it feels like it could explode.

Smile! Your On Candid Camera!

Ok so this is a bit of a cheater post because it isn't exactly about the goings on of our week, rather this post has been several (6 to be exact) weeks in the the making.  This post is about how, ever since Elsie was born, I seem to have a family full of budding photographers.  Every time I turn around someone has my phone taking pictures.  Most often they are pictures of Elsie, but sometimes they are selfies or pictures of other people in the family (usually who don't know that their picture is being taken). 

Last week (or the week before, who can really remember...) at bed time, Carrigan was begging to take selfies with Elsie and I rather than read a bedtime story.  It didn't matter to her that Elsie was crying, she just really wanted a picture of us all together in that moment.  That pictures is included below.  That other thing you may notice in the pictures this week is that while they are heavy on Elsie, they are light on Merrick.  That is because when he has the Camera, Elsie is subject of choice and he is more often behind the camera than in front of it  (he gets that from his mama).  In fact, the vast majority of the pictures of Elsie below were taken by Merrick.

I love this collection of pictures more than I can possibly tell you.  For me they represent real life, my real life and the people that I love more than anything.