Woodland Park Zoo

 Today was a beautiful day! We got into the 80s and so we decided to go to the zoo. Nate, Paige, and I went with Julia, Wyatt, and Jessica. It was so much fun. The two toddlers loved looking at the animals and just staring at them with wonder.

 Paige's favorite part of the day was pushing Wyatt's stroller. Every time he was out of it she would be the one pushing it.

 Wyatt and Paige loved this bamboo curtain. They loved going back and forth through it.

 Wyatt loved to burst out of it. Sorry for the blurry picture but it shows how fast he was going.

 And then Paige was timid and would go through it very carefully. 

 This cutie was a trooper and just hung around while the rest of us looked at everything going on.

 We had very quiet kids on the way home. It was a busy, fun-filled day.

TGIFF

Today's feature is one of my best friends:

Amber Killpack Esplin

Isn't she gorgeous! If I were home (in Firth) I would put some cute picture of the two of us when we were little because we have known each other for a long time. Yesterday was Amber's birthday so I thought it would be great to feature her on my blog this week. We first met when we moved to Firth when I was about 5 or 6 years old and she happened to be my next door neighbor. We have so many memories together- we played for hours on end most of which was outside playing "house". We imagined our futures together and we always had each other growing up. Growing up we went to school together, rode the bus together, went to church together, did sports together, went on group and double dates with each other. We always had each others backs and spent countless hours together. We are both married now to amazing men and have our cute families and are going our separate ways but we will always be friends and always stay in touch. 

Easter Weekend

 This Easter weekend we went to Wenatchee with Margaret and Dale. It was a fun little weekend getaway. We stopped at all these cute little towns that still had olden day styles. One stop was Smallwoods Harvest. It has a cute little country store and all sorts of fun stuff for kids and for adults too or for the kid at heart. :)

 Then we went to Leavensworth. It is a fun tourist tour and the architecture is based from Germany. It was fun to window shop.

Our favorite store was the Shop Hat. They had all sorts of fun and different hats and sunglasses. Nate tried on so many different hats and it was pretty entertaining.

Paige loved all the different sunglasses.

 Our next stop was to see some friends of Dale and Margaret that they haven't seen in quite some time. They were so nice and had a super fun yard. The setting for their house was beautiful. Lots of space and the mountains were right there. We even got to enjoy seeing some cute little baby kittens. They even had a zip line in their back yard which I loved.

 The hotel we stayed at at a swimming pool. Paige and I went swimming. The pool water was pretty cold so I swam in the pool for a little bit and spent time in the hot tub with Paige. We only lasted about 10 minutes in the swimming area but it was so much fun.

 Our excuse for this getaway was to see Rachel and sisters and mom run in a half marathon. It was fun to cheer them on and then afterwards we went to Ellensburg to celebrate Blake's birthday.

 We got home with enough time to dye some Easter eggs.

 Paige enjoyed it so much and it was fun to see her knowledge of colors. She loved putting the eggs in the dye and lifting them out with the spoons. Margaret made one with a Minnie Mouse wrap and Paige loves it and I don't know if  we will ever be able to eat it. :)

 Showing her "dirty" hands. 

 Our beautiful eggs.

TGIFF

This week's feature is:

Boyd Peterson aka Dad

He is pretty amazing and such a great example to me. To me he is a father, a teacher, an example, a coach, a handyman, a friend, an adviser, and someone who loves me more than anything. He is always so supportive of me. Growing up he was always at my sporting events, church things, and the little things that were important in my life. Now that I am grown and married and moved away he still is always there for me and I know he prays for me every day and wants the best for me. I am grateful that I have such an amazing dad who honors his priesthood. I am lucky to have the best dad in the world. I love you dad!

Fun in the Sun

 We have had some really nice weather and it has been wonderful just chillin outside and doing yard work and soaking up as much sun as we can get.

Last week Missy (Nate's cousin) was up this way with her family to see a Mariners game and they stopped by and visited for a few hours. It was nice to see them and to meet her little boy for the first time. He sure is cute. We talked, the cousins reminisced, and we ate some pizza and played at the park. It was a fun afternoon!

 One nice day we had Anna and Scott and their family over for hamburgers and hot dogs and the two little ones even got a ride from Papa.

I am selling quiet books and it has been nice enough and I get to do some sewing outside and we have put the levi blanket I made to good use over the past few days. And it is always nice to have company from a particular little girl.

She loves her new sun glasses and looks super cute in them too!

TGIFF

Thank Goodness It's Friday Feature!

Today's feature is someone that means the world to me and I cannot imagine my life without:

Paige Canova Smith

She has changed my life for the better. She brings me so much joy and she makes me laugh everyday. She is such a silly little girl and has so much fun. I love her cute little laugh and her sweet voice. I love her little waddle when she walks and runs. I love her chubby cheeks and her thin, wispy hair. I love that she is girly and loves pink and princesses and Minnie Mouse. I love that she is already nurturing and caring and loves babies and always wants to hold things that are cute. I just love everything about it and am grateful everyday that I get to be her mommy.

Easter Egg Hunt

Last weekend most of the family was here for a special occasion- Margaret got to be sealed to her parents and also sealed her parents together. I am very grateful that I got to be a part of this neat experience.

Since most of the family was here we had an Easter egg hunt. Earlier in the week I filled all the eggs and once we got back from the temple and while the kids were eating lunch Nate and I hid all the eggs.

Here is the annual picture before the hunt. It was funny that once I said go all of the older kids went running but Paige, Oneil, and Brett just sat there. They weren't quite sure what was going on but once they did they had lots of fun too.