Happy Easter!

*MULTIPLE PICTURE ALERT!*

Happy Easter everyone! It's been a beautiful and relaxing day for us to reflect upon the blessings that are in our lives because of the Atonment and Resurrection. It's so amazing that the Lord has so much love for us, that He gave us the blessing to be able to live forever with our families! IT'S SO AWESOME!!

Anyway, I got Steven a classy outfit for Easter, and wanted to take him to the Temple Grounds to get pictures for Easter, and hopefully get some good ones, since I missed the 18 month mark. Needless to say, he just wanted to RUN RUN RUN! But, we tried to get some good ones.

Just strolling along... Having fun!

One of my favorites (One of the few I've gotten photoshoped as well)

LOVE LOVE LOVE this one! My boys are so handsome and wonderful!

Steven and daddy are buddies, of course

We couldn't ever get him to hold still where the light was not shining in his eyes, but we tried every chance we could to get a picture!

He's just such a funny kid

Having fun tromping through the grass

After we got home from the temple, we decided to try to get some more pictures in his outfit and with his Easter present - Ducky Bubbles, which he absolutely loved!

Steven loves to "rock rock rock" in the chair

Wouldn't look at mom, but is still cute!

This is his "I think I'm so funny" face

Steven figured out how to open the bubbles, and tried and tried to blow them himself

Baby Animal Days!

I have been looking forward to this weekend for a while now, because we got to go out and do something! And, along with that, we got to go to LOGAN! :) I never really liked Logan the first year I lived there, but I fell in love with Cache valley our second year up there, and made some friends who are truly kindred spirits, so it was so wonderful to go up and see a few peoples! Our main venture was Baby Animal Days, but Steven wasn't as interested in animals as I thought he would be. He was more interested in running around outside!

Keeping a safe distance from the baby goats Cole and Steven were NOT fans of the baby cows Checking out the baby bunnies

Steven's most un-favorite part of the day, the pony ride

The beautiful lil' creek/stream

Steven loved just being able to walk around

And running away....

My cute boys...

Sittin' on a bench like a big boy

Checkin' out the goats ( and mom having some photoshop fun)

More cuteness

And of course, seeing my friends was a plus plus plus for me!! Thanks guys for making it a fun outing!

Update...

Just thought I'd let you know when Steven woke up this morning, the bump was completely gone, and the only remains of his play battle wound (12 hours after initial impact) is a small bruise where gimungous bump used to be...Fast healer.

How to make your mommy cry...

Step 1. Fall and hit your head while playing on play equipment

Step 2: Cry, so mommy comes to comfort you

Step 3: (Where the crying part comes in) Look at mom with this sad face, and let her discover the SIZE of the bump on your head. As you can see...Steven got a bump. He cried his usual "I'm hurt" cry, but when I saw the size of the bump, I wanted to cry myself! After two minutes, he of course was ready to hop off my lap and play some more. The bump is coming outward, his eyes are not dilating, and he's acting completely normal, so I've ruled out concussion, but it still makes a mommy sad. This last picture illustrates how quickly this kid heals, as it was taken about an hour and a half after the bonk.

Next NCAA basketball star?

We've had fun participating in March Madness a little bit this year. Sadly neither the Cougs or the Aggies advanced past the first round, but we've still been keeping on our family challenge brackets. To celebrate the NCAA funness, we bought Steven a little basketball and hoop. He's been having a blast with them! His little basketball is his new best friend. The night we brought it home, it took a bath with him, and went to bed with him. When we went to check on him before we went to sleep, he had the ball tucked in his arm. He hasn't been quite that attached to it the last few days, but it still is his favorite, and it goes down for each nap with him. :) So cute!Takin' the ball to Dad to shoot it in the hoop

(Also, note, his new exciting Cars pajamas that we got on Clearance) I love that he knows he is cute!

Just a fun picture...he's growing up so much. Lately when I pull out the camera, he does this SUPER CHEESY face and throws his head back. Hopefully I'll be able to get him to do his normal smiley face again soon!

Catching Up a Little Bit

Last weekend, my brother Kevin came up with his family to go to the Draper Temple Open House. My brother Brian and his family, Sheri, my parents, and of course, our little family joined them for a chilly cold, but marvelous day! It was so neat to be able to take Steven through the temple, and also be able to talk to me neices and nephews about what they thought about the temple. The chandaliers in the Draper temple are incredible! The celestial room chandelier is basically one of the most incredible I've ever seen, and I also loved the big chandelier in the brides room. It was of so neat! (Thanks to my sister, Sheri, for the wonderful pictures).

Having fun with Steven

Sunday during sacrament meeting, a lady was giving a talk and started talking about the temple. Steven excitedly stood up on the bench and said "TEMPLE!" We thought it was pretty funny (And so did the people around us). As we were having lunch later, we realized it's been a long time since we've taken Steven to see the temple. He had a lot of fun, especially when we finally took him out of the stroller.

Bundled up for a picture

This last picture is to show how he kept his distance so he could be as independent as possible

Ah, I love the temple

I love that in our married life we've always been really close to a temple. First in Logan, and now we're only about 15 minutes away from the Mt. Timpanogos Temple! It's such a blessing to be able to go to get away from the world, feel the spirit, and have a reminder of covenants and the spirit. Tonight we did sealings, and one of the couples there had brought family names. It was SO exciting to see the sister that had brought them as she heard names of of a couple of her great-grandpa's that she knew when she was little. It brought it all into a wonderful perspective, and helped me remember the wonderful blessings that are available in this dispensation!

Hooray for weekends!

I love weekends. They are so nice. This weekend we had Stake Conference, so we got an extra hour to get ready for church and all that jazz. It was also nice to be able to relax while Steven played with his daddy. Here are some fun recent pictures....

Steven trying to put his hat on all by himself

Loves dad's glasses. :) I need to find the picture we took of him at like 3 months and compare ;) This is his favorite book right now. It contains his latest favorite word "oval"

I was trying to make some cards, and steven kept getting into everything, so Darrell took him into the kitchen to play with play-do. I think Darrell was more excited than Steven, especially after Steven learned it was not edible.

Valentines Day for us!

Valentines Day was kind of low-key but fun for us. We slept in a bit, and were awaken to Steven's desire to get out of his crib. It was then that he got his Valentines Day present, which was a fun little stuffed puppy. He loves his doggy, and it's so cute! Darrell worked most of the day, so I just made a fun breakfast before he left, then hung out with my cute lil' man most of the day. We then went to dinner at Chili's in Sandy with most of the Croppers. It was a lot of fun! :)

Steven with his new doggy. He's a little cheeser.These are the beautiful flowers I got from my handsome husband :) He knows just what my favorites are! Me playing with the special flower setting on my camera....

Steven looking studly in his red shirt for Valentines Day.

Us at dinner. I didn't post the group picture, because Brad looked drunk. :)

Looking at this picture REALLY makes me want to do something drastically different with my hair. It's so boring.