April 2023

We started the month off with General Conference. It's always a favorite weekend of ours. We love to hunker down in the basement with notebooks, toys, puzzles, and lots of treats and listen to our church leaders. 

Right after Conference on Sunday, we headed down to Arizona for Spring Break! My parents invited us to use their timeshare with them in Flagstaff. 

Before we headed to Flagstaff, we drove down to spend the day in Sedona. It was Nate and the kids' first time there and we loved it! The red rocks are so stunning with the bright blue sky! We hiked to Devil's Bridge

It was pretty windy...thank goodness we had hoodies and hats and sunglasses so we didn't get too much sand in our eyes!

Backwards hoodie so Graham could protect his face from the wind :)

My parents met up with us in Flagstaff. We stayed in a condo with them at the Wyndam Resort. The weather in Flagstaff was COLD! It was definitely not what we were imagining for spring break in Arizona! It snowed and was very windy and cold! So we spent a lot of time playing games, hanging out at the clubhouse playing pool and games, mini golf with coats and gloves, and we even went bowling at the local mall.

We visited Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. It was SO cool to see the lava flow and see the volcano up close (pictured behind us). The fields of dried lava make it such a unique landscape! It was FREEZING when we got there so the kids happily stayed in the car, but Nate and I walked around for a little bit. We hope to go back when it's a little warmer next time :)

We also spent time at Walnut Canyon National Monument which is equally fascinating. We got to tour some of the cliff dwellings from ancient cave dwellers. Their homes were literally carved out of the cliff and some are still intact. We walked a mile loop around the "island" and got to see these homes up close. It was really cool...and a little scary having my kids walk around a steep edge!

Graham loved taunting me that he would jump off the edge! ;)

Another day, we bundled up again and headed to the Grand Canyon! It was Nate and the kids' first time there too and it was fun to experience it with them! At the beginning of the day,it was COLD! But it warmed up a little as the day went on and we were grateful the sun was shining! We walked along the rim for a few miles, stopped at the visitor center, and rode the bus to some cool lookout points.

This place is so huge and amazing!

More edges to make me nervous...

Nate loved making me think he fell off ;)

We had such a great trip with my parents, despite the colder weather! And we were so grateful we got to spend some quality time with my parents! Thanks mom and dad!!

We had a beautiful Easter! We went to church and then spent the day with family. It was my mom's birthday the same day as Easter so we got to celebrate both special things.

We did a fun Easter egg hunt at home as well. The kids wanted their eggs hidden *really* well so we had fun making it difficult for them to find ;)

My mom did a lesson and activity centered around the theme: "It's not about the bunny, it's about the Lamb." 

Spring in Utah...

These cute kids had a sleepover one night. They are bestie cousins!

The long-awaited Saratoga Springs Temple finally opened for the Open House! It was so special to walk through our new temple and see the beauty! And it's stunning!! Definitely a unique and special temple to our family. Nate, Aiden, and Brennan, and I also got to volunteer at the open house which was a neat experience.