Trying out the new camera on Thomas

Our old camera was stuck on a close up zoom and wouldn't focus very well or view the pictures or delete. I was supposedly having a day off to run errands all by myself, so while I was at Target I looked at cameras. While I was talking to the salesperson, my "emergency" trac phone rang 3 times. Twice it was Nathan asking me where the trimmer line was for the edger and other things like that. The third call was from Kylie, asking me to come home because "All the kids are being bad and Daddy is mowing the lawn."

A note about him mowing the lawn: our riding mower is broken yet again and I want to go get a nice one that will suffice for this yard and the house we want with 20 acres. Nathan wants to wait until after we actually buy the house, if we do. In the meantime he wants to get a push mower, but I say no way! I pushed one of those our first summer here and got migraines from the exertion and heat. Our ditches are way too big and difficult for a push mower. To settle this, I told him to borrow one and see for himself. So that was why he was mowing the lawn that day. Ordinarily, I do all the mowing. So I should pick the mower, right? It took Nathan almost 2 hours (takes me 35 minutes) and he still wasn't convinced. But he didn't even do the ditches because they were full of water, so it wasn't a fair trial.

Back to my story, I was frustrated from being interrupted so many times and the fact that somehow the kids could not get Nathan's attention enough for him to come inside and take care of them. It was 1:00 and nobody had eaten lunch yet (they get super ornery if they don't eat by 11.) I was embarrased that three times I had to answer the phone in front of that nice salesguy. So when Kylie sounded desperate (although I knew she wasn't because she baby-sits plenty well, I just think she didn't want to), I grabbed the only camera on sale and it happened to be one of their cheaper ones anyway. Although I had been planning on buying a really nice one to last a long time, I didn't want to look at them any longer and I knew it would be awhile before I got back out to go camera shopping, so I just grabbed a $100 one. Funny that it's the cheapest camera we've bought in our 11 years of marriage and it's also the best. Twice the megapixels, memory, and other things than our last one.
It rained that afternoon so I tried it out on Thomas who was hanging out on the porch while the rest of the kids were out in the rain.

Easter and the Beach

Last week my sister was here from Wyoming for her spring break. We had beautiful weather and one thing she wanted to do was to go to the beach. To all my Texas friends, I have to say how wonderful it is to live only 2 hours from the beach. We packed up in the morning, drove down during Kaitlyn's morning nap, played for 4 hours, and drove home during her afternoon nap. To my North Carolina friends who are shocked that we went to the beach, I have to admit that we've lived here for 4 years and it's the first time I've ever taken my kids to the beach even though others go the first week they move in. I guess I've always had an excuse: gas is too expensive, it'll be too crowded there, I'm pregnant and sick, I'm nursing a new baby, I don't know where the good beaches are, whatever. I'm glad I finally had an excuse to go. We had a great time.

Easter Sunday

Trish had braided the girls' hair the night before. It looked awesome.

Lexi and I set up the primary room while Nathan and the older kids did choir practice. I had some time to take her picture and she desperately wanted Kaitlyn in it with her, but Kaitlyn wasn't agreeable.

Kaitlyn on the way home.

Kylie's cinnamon roll hair-do.

Our camera was malfunctioning so none of the pictures turned out that great. It would zoom in on it's own, not focus, do whatever it wanted and I didn't want. But here's the best one of all the kids.

March and April Pictures

Here is what's been happening at our house lately:

Thomas gave the FHE lesson on Prophets the week before General Conference. Kylie helped him prepare it. Lessons are a love of hers and she is really good at them.

Spencer putting down new pine straw.

Cleaning the house to put it on the market.

Any article of clothing goes over Kaitlyn's head and around her neck. Even if it's an old shirt that is now a rag. She had a blast with rags all over the house.

Madalyn proud of the Magic Eraser she used to shreds.

Kylie thought some sort of posture/balancing lessons would help the kids learn to not touch the walls I was touching up with paint.

Eating lunch outside while the carpets were being cleaned.

Thomas and Kaitlyn with fevers at the end of March.

Dinner and Family Home Evening at the duck pond.

Kaitlyn has discovered the brownies.

Kaitlyn making her birthday cake.

I can't believe she's one!! We just adore this precious little girl.

We went on our spring Mommy dates on April 14. I didn't bring my camera (which is on its last life anyway), but here are the outfits the girls picked out.