April 15- The Best Day of the Year! :)

Happy Birthday to me! Minus all the snow, I had a GREAT birthday!!! Thank you to everyone who helped to make it so special! I love you all!!!! Here is my birthday shot...

A close up of the roses Mark got me....I love pink!!! :)

Feliz Pascoa!

I've decided Easter is my favorite holiday (of course Christmas is a close second)! I just love all the colors and the feel of Easter. I love the time we have to dedicate to the reflection of our Savior and His atonement. People don't seem to get so stressed and burdened by the holiday so it's more enjoyable. And, of course, I also love the candy and fun that goes with Easter.

Easter morning Shaun came over and he and Mark searched for their Easter baskets I had hidden. After, we had breakfast and watched the church's Easter short film and read the First Presidency's message. It was a very good day for us!

Mark's basket...

Shaun's basket...

Then for dinner I made some pasta...with some Easter shaped pasta my friend Jill got me one year. It was fun...here are some of the shapes...


The night before Easter we had the annual Easter Egg Hunt- a tradition in my family since I was really young. It was always so much fun! Although we didn't have nearly as many people as we used to have growing up, it was still a blast to be with friends and have some fun!

First, I decided to make some Easter cake...here's the body...

Shaking some food coloring in the coconut for grass...

Body surrounded by grass...don't mind the huge mess on the counter...

Eyes and a mouth...with some jelly beans in the grass...

Finishing touches....

The final product...with cupcakes...and chocolate covered strawberries that Vanessa brought.

So here were our participants...Shaun of course! :)

Our favorite neighbors, Erik and Michelle...

the almost newly weds, Kevin and Vanessa....

...Mark, of course...and our friend Aaron came by later too. Another successful Easter full of the fun spirit of Spring, the beginning of life, and the reflection on the great Atonement and our great Savior! Happy Easter!!! :)

Mark's Masterpiece

In the summer of 2007 Mark made a website for BYU's PreMed Club. He wanted a graphic for the page but the club had no logo- so he made one himself. This is what it looks like...

This year the club presidency met and decided on designs for this year's t-shirts. One of the guys said he really liked the logo on the website and wanted that to be on the shirts- and that was what was voted on. Of course Mark just quietly enjoyed the praise of his logo and didn't say anything...so I'm telling his secret! We went to this year's banquet and there were about 250 shirts there being handed out....here we are modeling Mark's beautiful work...

In addition to his artistic skill...he also has some great husband skills! :) I came home from work on Friday (he was supposed to be home way before me) and he wasn't home...he left for a minute to get me some flowers. Notice they are bright, beautiful tulips!! Oh they made me so happy! :) Mark Rocks!

Conference Sunday!!!

I love General Conference! We wanted to be sure to go up to it this time. We planned to go on Saturday but the weather was horrible- snowing and cold. So we got up early on Sunday and got in the stand-by line. After the morning session the weather was beautiful. Here are some pictures...

Mark and I striking a pose in front of some flowers.


Shaun and I relaxing and enjoying the sun shining on our faces! :)

Tabernacle shot...I am always amazed at this building whenever I walk in. The spirit of such great things that have happened there for so many years is so strong. It truly is a sacred place.

Of course the flowers totally brightened my day! I couldn't get enough of them...so Mark took some shots for me to enjoy them even after we left temple square. Here are a few...

I love tulips and daffodils. I love the bright, beautiful colors!





They really do a great job of keeping the grounds so beautiful! I love it...and have really needed to see some of it with all the rain and snow we've been getting. The feeling of the sunshine and colors of flowers just make me so happy and giddy- I'm truly the daughter of a beach boy/landscaper! :)

Anna's Blessing

Last month we were lucky enough to fly down for Anna's blessing- our new, and only, niece. Even though it was a quick trip, it was so much fun to see everyone! We really had a great time and hated to leave so soon. But here are some pictures...

Anna's blessing was beautiful! Here is Mark and his mom with the little angel. Notice her hair- it's so cute!!!

Afterward we went back to the house for a little lunch. Behind me you can see Emily's dad and two missionaries- one of them is Emily's brother. He is serving in the Phoenix mission and his president gave him permission to go to the blessing.

The cake...so pretty!

Jenna stopping for a pose- when I got our camera back we had about 50 pictures of Jenna- thanks Jason! There's a few more as we go...

The table decorations...they were so cute. Mark's dad took some very nice pictures of Anna so each table had some in the middle.

The flowers in the backyard. Random picture, but I just really like them and can't wait to have my own garden to work in. Dad, I'm going to need some help! :) (Especially if we're in Arizona- only the Sprinkler Mechanic will be able to make a good enough system for us!) :)

The food...


Jenna poses...


Meanwhile Mark was inside playing Legos with the boys. I think he might have had just as much, if not more, fun than they did. This is Mark's robot- the little boys attacked it shortly after the picture.

James got bored and went out for some cake....mmmm!

Then the kids went to the pool area...we watched them closely...but they had a BLAST! It was so fun to watch, we were all cracking up! They kept splashing each other and making themselves laugh.

Then Pam took them up to the waterfall...

and they were even more entertaining here! It was like a kids' dream!

We brought James some cars...he's opening up his present. I don't know what I'm doing...looks like I'm trying to sit on an imaginary chair, or throne...

Anna and I! Isn't she the cutest. And notice the shirt- My auntie loves me! :) I was so excited when we found this.

And of course a bib that says "I love my uncle."

Well, we had a blast! We're excited to see some of you this week again! Thanks Robert and Emily for letting us take part in celebrating the arrive of your little princess! :)

St. Patrick's Day

We had our annual St. Patrick's Day dinner- cornbeef patties with pork and beans. Yum! I also made green rice krispies for dinner- as Mark is modeling in this first picture. He is also modeling one of his new shirts- BYU's Business School was recently ranked #1 by recruiters and #5 overall by Business Week. They made shirts with 5-leaf clovers to celebrate! Of course Mark is proud- he graduates from the Business school in less than a week! Congrats, Mark! ...and Go Cougs! :)