The Big Violin Recital

On Thursday night, Kynlee had her end of the year Violin Recital. It was at the Piano Gallery in Orem downstairs in a Recital Hall they have there. The auditorium seating, acoustics, and stage made it perfect for the big night. Kynlee has been playing the violin for 7 months. Each month she gets better. She has worked hard on practicing her recital pieces. Her dedication payed off, because Kynlee did wonderful! She was so brave to stand up there and play in front of an audience. I am so proud of you!

Kynlee played V.I.P. March, which she had memorized, and Country Gardens from Rainbow Tones, Book 2. She can't wait, because she will soon be starting Suzuki!
Kenzie handed Kynlee some pretty flowers after her performance. She is so beautiful!

Kynlee with her cute, proud teacher, Becca.

Neighborhood Egg Hunt

Our community had an Easter Egg Hunt for all of the neighborhood kids. We hadn't been before, so we decided to give it a try. We were definitely not the only ones there. It was crazy! There were hundreds of candy filled eggs scattered in the grass and the hunt was roped off by age groups. As each group plowed through their area, it was clear to see that there were not near enough eggs as there were kids. I think everyone still had fun. I was just glad that I found my kids in all the craziness after it was over!:)

Kenzie was excited until it started and the chaos began. She started crying! I was able to help her get one egg...that was all she wanted. Poor thing!

This is just Karley's age group. It was this crazy in each group!

Karley and a couple of her friends tried to get as many eggs as they could. As quick as Karley is, she ended up with only three. She still had fun!

Kynlee walking back, happy with the stash she found!

Matthew and his friend were there as spectators. Silly old boys!

Fun With The Hopkins' Crew

We were so excited to have Uncle Jesse, Aunt Karissa, Brigg, Tate, and Presley make the long drive from AZ to visit us! It is always wonderful to see family that we haven't seen for a while. Grandmama also flew in to add to the excitement! We had such a great week! Matt was able to trade work days to be home and the kids took a couple of days off of school. Kenzie turned 4, so we had some Birthday fun. The kids got to play in the snow and go to Jump On It. Grandmama took Karley and Kenzie Birthday shopping...they loved what they got! Thanks Mom! The highlight of the trip was bundling up and going tubing at Gorgoza Park in Park City. It was a lot of fun and the drive home through the mountains was gorgeous! Karley loved having everyone up here for her Baptism too. What a sweet experience! There were many tears shed when it was time for them to leave. We love family so much! Thanks sister for hauling your family up here. I know it wasn't easy, which is why it means so much to me. Words can't express how truly grateful I was for this visit. We made so many good memories that will last forever! We love you guys! We made big beds for the cousins to sleep on. It was a slumber party every night!

Kenzie, Presley, and Kynlee swinging in the snow!

Matthew, Brigg, and Tate making snowballs!

Kynlee is showing off her mini snowman!

The kids had fun sledding down the driveway! Who needs a real hill?:)

Cute little Presley!

Kenzie, Tate, and Presley having a blast at "Jump On It", on Kenzie's B-day!

These little ones had it made getting pulled around in their tubes!

Matthew enjoying the ride up!

Aunt Karissa melting the snow beneath her, because she is so "HOT"!:)

Matt, Jesse, and the older kids had fun going down the big, fast hills! It was awesome to hook all the tubes together and go down in a big group! Our teeth were frozen when we got to the bottom from smiling the whole way down...good times!

Kynlee loving the ride!

Karley looks so comfy on her way up the hill!

Me and my Sis...I love you!

I took this of Kenzie while we were tubing down the hill. I think it shows how much fun she had!

The Hopkins Family

The Slider Family

I love this picture! It is one of the few I got with my Mom, sorry. The adults went and ate at Tucanos Brazilian Grill. We got so stuffed...it was yummy! It was so nice to have an outing without the craziness of kids!:)
We were so excited to have the Hopkins Family and Grandmama here for Karley's Baptism! It was so special! Thanks!
After the Baptism, we went swimming. It's so beautiful to swim with the snowy mountains in the background. Grandmama and Aunt Karissa were bundled up as they watched!

Kynlee with sweet Presley! By the end of the trip, Presley let Kynlee hold her...Kynlee ate it up!

April Fool's Day Jokes

I just had to write about the April Fool's Day joke Kynlee and Karley played on Matthew. When they got home from school they told me about an idea they had seen on Disney Channel. They wanted to "short sheet" Matthew. I was all for it! He picks on them all the time that I thought this would be a great, safe way for them to get him back. Mean, huh? Well, sometimes us girls have to stick together!:) I re-made his bed with his top sheet folded in half, so when he got in, his feet would reach the bottom of the sheet about half way down his bed. We couldn't wait until bedtime came around. After saying our family prayer, Karley hung around in their room, smiling and waiting. Trying to keep a straight face, I told Matthew to get in his bed so I could tuck him in. As he did he was like, "What the heck!" and us girls busted up laughing. We had gotten him! He was such a good sport and joined in laughing. It was priceless! I have to add that Matt attempted to play an April Fool's Day joke on the kids. Unfortunately, he set it up too late in the day and it was actually Kenzie and I that found it the next morning. I was getting her a bowl of cereal, and as I looked into the box, I noticed the cereal was not the cereal it showed on the box. I was totally mad and thinking I was going to have to take it back to the store and get it replaced. Well, come to find out, Matt had switched a few of the cereals as a joke. I thought it was brilliant! We'll have to remember it for next year!

Dressed In White

It has been so fun getting ready for Karley's Baptism! She picked out her beautiful dress while we were visiting AZ in November. She has waited patiently to finally be able to wear it. A few weeks ago, I had Baptism pictures taken of her. We went up to American Fork Canyon so we could have the beautiful white snow as the backdrop setting. It was windy and freezing! Karley's best friend, Abbie, who was to be baptized with Karley, came with us. These girls were so cold, but the pictures turned out DARLING! We were so excited to have Grandmama and Aunt Karissa's family from AZ here for the Baptism. So special! The Baptism program was beautiful. Karley asked Grandmama to give the talk on Baptism. She worked so hard and it turned out wonderful! Kynlee and Abbie played their violins to "I Am A Child Of God" while all the little kids that were there sang. I was so proud of Kynlee...she did great! I am proud of Karley for her choice in being baptized. About being baptized, she said, "It felt so good!" Matt gave Karley a tender blessing. Karley is already an amazing little girl and I know that she can only be better now that she has the companionship of the Holy Ghost. I am thankful for the sweet spirit that was felt today. I love you Karley!

Karley and Abbie look so cute in their Baptism outfits!

Karley was so excited!

The family

Dad, Mom, and Karley

Dad and Karley

The kiddos

Mom and Karley

Grandmama and Karley

Grandpa and Grandma Slider and Karley
Karley in her beautiful dress after being baptized...I am all clean!

Karley and Abbie are in the same 2nd grade class. Their school teacher, Ms. Bennett, came to their Baptism!

Karley and cousins

The whole gang...thanks to everyone who came and showed their support for Karley! It meant so much!

Grandmama and Karley - My Mom left later that day. Karley was so sad...she wished her Grandmama could have stayed longer. She came with me to drop Grandmama off at the airport. Karley crossed her fingers the whole way home in hopes that Grandmama would miss her flight and have to stay longer!:) She thinks you are so nice Mom and loves you so much!

The family