SRPINGTIME IN LAGOON

We are always excited to return to Lagoon, but I was surprised how excited I was this year. You start to feel like you need a place to go for a few hours of adventure and you wish in your heart of hearts that Lagoon is open, and finally...finally...IT IS! Opening day this year was on March 30th and it was so cold. It was also SO busy. We mostly just went to get out passes and enjoy a few hours together, we didn't stay long.  We rode a few rides all together, and then I took Stella and Ava and we rode the Roller Coaster and then waited in line for a million years for Wicked. One of the things that is always hard at the beginning of the season is how slow and inefficient the employees are. It is understandable but it slows you down. Ava helped pass the time in line by making me laugh with her boy hairstyle.

It was almost a month until we made it back. We went on April 20th, and it was Easter weekend. Ashley had to work at the shop so we picked up the kids and took them with us. We rode a few together and then I took the bigs again, but this time we went to the other side of the park. The tulips were all in bloom and it was beautiful everywhere.

On May 4th the Sallay fam went together and Stella and I rode some rides together while Vivi and Brent hung out and then we rode the teacups with Vivi. We had a nice night together.

TAKE SEVERAL BOWS VIVI

If I actually took the time to figure out my favorite things in the world, seeing my kids in a preschool program would be at the top of the list. Vivi had several this year, but her Spring Sing on April 30th was out of this world delightful and I loved every second. I could not keep my eyes off of her and I kept wondering how in the world I got so lucky to be her mom. I mean, seriously. She is the best and was hands down the most adorable of the class.

My favorite trick she had was that she did this dramatic bow at the end of each song. She did it standing and sitting down and it was something else. My favorite song was one where they each got to say their name, and I have watched the "I'm Vivien!" video more times than I can count. Children's Discovery is such a clever and wonderful place for Vivi to go to school and their program was full of surprises and delights at every corner.

But again, lets take a minute to reflect on the miracle this little girl is in our lives. She's such a part of us now, I forget the pain that we went through to bring her home. And I forget the pain she went through to be a part of our family. It is so good to have these moments where I can be struck and remember that Vivien in our life is a product of miracle after miracle. We are the luckiest.

THE PERCUSSIONIST

Brent spent the early part of this year going to what he called "band practice". I had no idea what it was or what it was for. I assumed he was meeting a few guys in a basement to jam or some sort of adventure like that. Turns out he was actually part of the Midvale Orchestra playing various percussion instruments.

The concert was on April 27th. Not only was he pretty charming to watch on stage, he was all decked out in a bow tie ensemble and he looked pretty adorable. The concert was quite impressive and I kept thinking about how typical it was of Brent to undersell such a night.

EASTER PROFESSIONALS

This year, Easter was on April 21st. We had a good day. The girls woke up full Easter baskets and gifts. I always love Easter, because it was our first holiday with Vivien and I can always measure how far she has come. The Easter bunny was super tricky with egg hiding. He picked places that matched the colors of the eggs and some were hard to find. Thankfully, we found them all because they were the real ones this time and they can get stinky if lost.

Regular church isn't until noon, but we had volunteered (mostly Brent had) to do the sacrament at the assisted living home in our stake. Turned out I loved it, and it was my favorite part of the day. The lesson of the resurrection and what it meant really hit home as we sat among all of these people with aging bodies and aging minds. I ended up just singing I Know That My Redeemer Lives, instead of doing an official talk, then the girls sang Families Can Be Together Forever. I sounded ok, the girls sounded great. Brent then was told by the Bishop to make is talk longer to fill all the time, and he did a good job of making it seem like that was his plan all along.

All of the petals from the trees were on the ground and they were going to make the perfect pictures, until some rain came and made them all wet. I tried anyway though and did get a few pictures worth saving, but it was a losing battle. Wet petals don't floats around when you blow or throw them.

The girls hung out and enjoyed their Sunday and then we went over to the Sallay's for Easter dinner. It was a nice night with everyone. The girls played some baseball in the front yard and we all caught up. I was honestly just glad I didn't have to host dinner this year so it was delightful.

Easter is always my favorite holiday it means the beginning of all the warm holidays and fun until we have to endure fall and winter again. Easter 2019 had the perfect mix of fun, church and family.

EGG FAMILY

April 20th we decorated some eggs. In truth, my main goal was to make deviled eggs for Easter dinner the next day at the Sallay's. The highlight of our adventures was that each of us ended up with an egg that looked just like us. I did the girl's eggs, Stella did Brent and Vivi did me.

The deviled eggs were delicious.