May 2012

 May was hot and sticky in Evansville! We spent enormous amounts of time outside playing on our new swing set! Best thing we have ever bought!

 The best part of May was school getting out for the summer! We were so excited to have Kate at home with us. It has been great to get back to more laid back mornings with no need to rush out the door.

This is Kate's last day of school picture:



The blur also known as April

Here is a quick overview of April, boy it went by fast!

Above: Elise, exploiting the time I spent doing dishes.  

 Playing with Play-doh

 Once again, here is Elise taking advantage of anytime I am not putting my full attention on her and getting on the table to get at the candy I thought would be safe up there!

 Easter!

April was a great month, but it seems the only occasion I don't have any pictures for is Drew's 30th birthday. Sorry Drew! For his birthday we spent the day together, celebrating a wonderful Daddy and husband; we are so lucky to have him in our lives!

Hiking the Y-Provo, Ut

In Provo, Ut, about halfway up a mountain is a huge "Y" that stands for BYU, and this year we decided to hike to it with the oldest of the cousins. It took forever, but it was a great day.

Here is the crew at the beginning.

Papa and Melanie

Taking a break

A beautiful view of Utah Lake

At the top!

I didn't think to take a picture of the actual Y from the bottom, so you will have to use your imagination!

Mount Rushmore

After Omaha we headed to Rapid City South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore, and I must say it was well worth the trip. It was incredible to see and I am so glad I was able to experience this with my sweet family.

The Mormon Trail Center, Omaha

After the zoo, we made a stop at The Mormon Trail Center, which honors the westward migration of the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. It was moving to remember the sacrifice, love, and sheer tenacity of the early saints who traveled west through virtually unknown territory.

"packing" a wagon

Pulling a handcart.

Many of the saints were so poor that they had to pull handcarts, instead of having oxen to pull a wagon.

Spring break day 1: Henry Doorly Zoo, Omaha

Our trip to Utah started with a stop in Omaha,NB to visit their Zoo. It was well worth the stop, and I would recommend this to anyone going near Omaha.

These cactus were so cool

Elise made sure she didn't miss anything, she definitely knows how to push her weight around!

This was the all around favorite of our family: The gorilla exhibit. I have never seen so many gorillas in one place (really, I have never even seen ONE gorilla before this trip), and you could get so close to them. One male gorilla would come up to the glass and pound on the glass, scaring us half to death. These are some big animals.

I am thinking about donating them to the zoo;)

Playing outside

Spring arrived a couple weeks early in Evansville, and the girls have been enjoying it immensely. Elise LOVES being outside and will try to get out every chance she gets.

Above: Elise playing in the water filled sandbox

Monkeying around

Finding more rainwater to play in

Looking for four-leaf clovers