JAMIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll admit, I was a little bit mopey Monday after Matt had left for Houston. I am ridiculously attached to him and hate when he is away. Usually, it isn't anything more than me just wishing he was home but for some reason, I was really sad about this trip. I didn't know it until he left Sunday night and I couldn't say goodbye without tearing up. That might not seem weird for me because I can be emotional (even though I am getting much better at containing it with goodbyes) but this was weird. I typically wouldn't cry when Matt leaves for 48 hours but I did. Anyway, Monday came around and the kids didn't have school. We were hanging out and taking it easy when the doorbell rang about five times. My first thought was that Matt was surprising me and coming home early because I knew how upset he was to miss my birthday the next day, but then I quickly told myself that it was realistic and not possible. I went to get the door and had to take a second look to see that it was JAMIE! I had talked to her the night before and texted her the morning of about her trying to make fun plans for her birthday (6 days after mine). She decided last second, with the help of her friend's skymiles, to come stay with us for a week. It was such a fun surprise and we have had such a great week of eating out, staying up late, sleeping in (for some of us), successfully shopping for new clothes, and much more. Did I say eating? The kids have told me multiple times that she didn't just come for me and they're her friends too.

Easter/Early Birthday Surprise

We got home from our weekend away the Sunday before my birthday. Unfortunately, Matt had to leave that night for Houston. After getting the house cleaned up and organized from our trip, I took a quick shower and started to relax on the couch. I heard some mischief from Matt and the kiddos and they decided to surprise me with my birthday presents a couple of days early. This was my very favorite. I had told Matt awhile back that I wanted a picture of the Savior but had forgotten about it. Plus, we had just spent a small fortune in Banff because of the nature of skiing, renting everything, buying new clothes, etc...... I was not anticipating another big gift. I am not going to complain though. I love it so much and now it is hanging on our stairway and is the first thing you see when you come in the front door. Such a perfect Easter gift.

Easter Morning in the Hotel

Playground

The hotel/condo we stayed at had a huge indoor playground and two awesome water slides as well as an arcade room. The kids loved it. We didn't take enough pictures of our weekend, but we had a blast. It was the perfect little getaway full of lots of family time.

Elk

We were hoping to see some wild life on our weekend in Banff, and we were not disappointed. The first thing the kids did when we got to our room was go out on the balcony, and just across the street were four huge elk.

Getting Ready for the Snow

Skiing in Banff

This was the first time in at least 12 years. We put Tanner and Abby in the daycare and Sienna and Sadie in ski lessons and Matt and I hit the slopes together. It was a ton of fun. Matt was super patient with me as I relearned and try to make it down in the blizzard without goggles. Needless to say, we both had to buy goggles. The kids all had a great time and it was absolutely beautiful!

MEXICAN FOOD!!!

We found a Mexican restaurant in Banff. It was a great b-day surprise.

Late Night Treats in Banff

We took a family vacation to Banff and went skiing the weekend before my birthday. It was such a great weekend. We didn't take a lot of pictures, but we had a blast. We went skiing, spent hours at the pool that had awesome water park worthy water slides, ate a lot, and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. One night the girls and I sneaked off to play some arcade games and came back with treats.

Curls

I don't even remember why we were taking pictures, but here are some cute ones of Sienna and Abby from a couple weeks ago. I think it's because I curled Abby's hair. Then Tanner fell in love with taking pictures of us.

Night-Night

Abby is typically pretty easy to get to bed, but every once in awhile she gets quite upset and says, "NO! Play! Play!" Especially if we have company. "Play with Grandma." "Play with Jamie." "Grandpa Doug." One day, Sienna was at school and Tanner was probably watching TV or playing. I went to put Abby down and she was not happy. Sadie said, "I'll lay with her. She is everything to me." All I can say is that my kids say the sweetest things. Sadie hopped in Abby's pack n' play with her and sang her songs and kept her company. It didn't really help Abby fall asleep but it was so cute.

Picking Up The Girls/School Playground