Easter Sunday

 Easter was early this year.  With how busy we have been this past month, we almost forgot.  Emma awoke to this lovely display, which she quickly tore into.  She discovered the chocolate first off, and had to have some.

 After her chocolate, it was time to hunt some eggs.  She did fairly well, and only needed help on a few.  She played with the eggs for days before Mommy hid them from her!

 When it was time for Church, Emma put on her new Easter Dress, and we took more photos. Our little girl has recently learned to pose, which is kind of fun for photos.  And she insisted that we needed a photo of Babies and Blanket.

Happy Birthday Army man

 Army Man had one request this year for his Birthday. He wanted to go camping!  It seemed too early, still being March, but Joe and Meredith made it happen for this sweet boy. And we got lucky, the weather was awesome.

So, Glenn, Emma and I drove down for the day.  We were excited to visit them at Fort Stevens and play for the day.  We ended up being the only ones who could make it, so even more happy we made it.

 We gave Army Man his presents, some Lego Games and Emma gave him a Nerf football. He seemed happy with these.  The kids played while we adults visited, and Emma picked little white flowers.  We are all about picking flowers this year.

 After a little while, we headed to the beach to play.  We could not believe how warm it was, and that the kids could play there today.  It was a lovely afternoon, and lots of people were out.  the kids played in the sand and water.  Eventually we had to pull them back in, and had back.  Army man had his celebratory S'Mores as requested, and we headed back home.  Such a fun birthday for our Army Man.

Emma's Family Birthday Party

Today we celebrated Emma's Birthday with my Family.  She was so excited waiting for everyone, that she fell asleep while watching out the window for their arrival.

 I decorated with Hello Kitty as requested.  We were suppose to bake another "Brownie Cake" today, but I just didn't have time.  So we let Emma pick out a cake at the store, and decorate it with the Hello Kitty Sugar art we had found.  She loved doing this herself.

 Emma opened her presents with the family, we had dinner with the requested Hot Dogs (and Mom adding Hamburgers) and had cake.  Just right for a 4 yr old birthday party.  Still hard to believe how quickly she became 4!  My little girl is growing up too quickly.

Emma Turns 4

 Emma was very excited for her Birthday this year.  As her birthday fell during the week, we were celebrating with our family this coming weekend.  Today it was just us.

We began her day with giving Emma this hobby unicorn (now named Buttercup) and the outfit below.  She got good use out of the clothes today, which were a complete mess by lunch! Mostly because Emma wanted to help make her cake!

 Emma requested a "Brownie Cake" and Hello Kitty for her Birthday Cake.  For today, we made Brownies, frosted them with Chocolate Frosting and decorated with sprinkles and piping gel.  Emma loved doing this, and was very happy with the finished product (see below).

 After Dinner we gave Emma the rest of her presents.  The first was her Easter Dress. This girl loves clothes, but was not too excited for this one. 

 The second gift was something she had been asking for.  It was a Jewelry Box with Rapunzel as the dancer.We had also put some play jewelry in the box, so she got to play with that.

 We also found a Princess Themed Leap pad 2 for Emma and loaded some games on it.  She was not sure what it was at first, but as soon as we turned it on to show her, she got all excited.  She finally had her own electronics!  lol

But me being Mommy, all the games we purchased are educational, focusing on letters and numbers.  It is a good thing she likes that right now.  I wonder how long I can get away with that?

Weekend Trip to Otis

This past weekend we visited Emma's Birth Family in Otis, OR.  We actually got a hotel room in Lincoln City, but we spent our time in Otis.  We came down on Saturday, and headed over to visit. Kristen did not arrive until that evening, after work.  As soon as she arrived, we traveled into Lincoln City for dinner at a Mexican Restaurant - I believe it is La Hacienda.  Food was good, and we enjoyed the company.  It was Karl (Grandpa), Kim (Grandma), Kristen (Birth Mom) and Uncle KJ (who is 11).  We were glad to have this night with Kim, as Aunt Kelsey was past due, and was suppose to have the baby.  They were inducing the next day, so Kim had to leave to be there.

So the next morning, we got up and attended the Ward in Lincoln City for Sacrament Meeting.  It is always an interesting thing to visit another ward, and this one is especially different.  Being that Lincoln City is a Resort Town, the ward can have 100 to 500 people in Sacrament Meeting.  We have been there before when it was totally full.  This week, it was small.

After Sacrament, we drove up to the house in Otis.  Kim had already left, which ended up being a bummer.  Kelsey didn't progress in her labor until that evening, so Kim wasted her day at home in Keiser waiting for the call to come in.  We missed her.  We did however get to visit with Emma's paternal Grandmother, Grandma Mel.  She came down to spend the day.  This happened to be only three days before Emma's 4th Birthday, so there were presents.  Mel surprised Emma with a small electric car!  Wow.  Emma was a little scared of it there, but with enough time, she loved it.

Everyone had plans to leave that night or early the next morning, so Glenn and I decided to take a slow trip home Monday through Tillamook.  Glenn and Emma had never been to the Tillamook Cheese Factory, so it was a must stop for lunch. We took the tour, had nummy cheese samples, and got some good food.  Of course, while you are there, you must try the ice cream.  Emma insisted on Strawberry, as that is her favorite (this was actually her first time having strawberry, but it is pink, so must be best!).  We had a fun trip back, and enjoyed our weekend.

Grandpa Wicks

Grandpa Norman Wicks - 89 years young

 Last month Grandpa Wicks gave us a scare.  He had pneumonia that lasted for a few weeks.  Thank goodness for Glenn's cousins Cindy and Kevin who take care of Grandpa.  Cindy had him move in with her for the illness, and it was pretty scary.

So after Grandfather got better, Glenn wanted to go down and see him.  Cindy, Kevin and Ardel had talked Grandpa into moving into a residential home, and giving it a try.  We were going to go down last weekend, but they were moving then and suggested this week would be better.

Aunt Diana and her husband

 So we called Jeff, and asked him if he wanted to travel down to Roseburg with us to visit for the day.  And in the way of happy accidents, our visit coinsided with Glenn's cousin's youngest daughter being baptized, and both Aunt Diana and Aunt Lori being in Roseburg.  So we were able to visit with a large group of family that we do not get to see often enough.

Emma and Cousin Emily

 After the baptism, Kevin and Rachel hosted a BBQ at Cindy's house for family and friends.  We were thrilled to be included, and have this opportunity to see everyone.  We also discovered that there is a big celebration planned for September to celebrate Grand Father's 90th birthday.  So, we will get to see everyone again then.

Glenn's cousin Cindy - all children love this woman

Aunt Lori and Grandpa

Jeff, Glenn Emma and Myself