Spring Break + Easter

We had nine days off at the beginning of April.  It was nice to have it later this year since the last two years we have had our break in the middle of March.  That was always a little too early for me.  We left first thing Monday morning and drove to Goblin Valley.  We had six inches of new snow that morning.  Happy Spring!

Luckily, there was no snow in Goblin Valley and the temperature was quite nice.  It was very windy and that was a bummer but we had fun anyway.  Gene, April, Brett, Cam, Eric and Heidi and their kids all drove down that morning as well and we had a quick lunch in the parking lot before going exploring.

Brynn, Evie, Ivy

I had never been to Goblin Valley and neither had any of my kids.  Justin has been a few times with Young Men's groups.  We didn't let the wind bother us too much and we climbed and explored for a few hours.

Stockton and Cam

April and Justin

Molly and Justin were so goofy this entire day

this is Brynn's "bow and arrow" move

this is Molly and Justin doing their version of a "bow and arrow"

Eric, Justin, Gene, April, Brett

Justin, Eric, Brett, Molly, me, Ivy, Brynn, Heidi, Evie, Luke, April, Gene, Eli, Tiana, Stockton, Jake, Cam

the grandkids/cousins

Ivy, Brynn, Evie, Cam, Stockton, Eli, Luke

When everyone was hungry and tired, we hiked back to our cars and drove into Green River where we all had hotel reservations for the night.  We were so dusty, I was grateful we weren't trying to camp somewhere.

The hotel had a pool so that's what we did next.  I had made a cobb salad for dinner so we ate first in our room and then met everyone at the pool.  It was good for a while...until it was not.  Brett had a seizure in the pool and we first thought he was just playing Marco Polo with the kids.  When he didn't come up for what seemed like too long (probably not that long in reality), the brothers jumped in to get him out.  Eric was already in the hot tub but Justin hadn't gotten in yet and jumped in with his clothes on.  There was another man there who saw what was happening and also jumped in fully clothed.  They all reached him around the same time and got him out of the pool.  It was all very fast and Brett was breathing.  We put him on a lounge chair and let him rest for a bit before April took him up to their room.  

The kids played for a little longer in the pool but no one lasted as long as I thought they would.  Stockton was planning on staying with Cam in their room so I went out to get his things and bring them to their room.  I followed the EMT's up.  Apparently, Brett started to have a lot of pain and difficulty breathing so Tiana (a CNA) called 911 and they rushed him to the hospital in Price, an hour away.  That was when I started learning about secondary drowning.  They got him hooked up to oxygen and kept him there all night.  He was also dealing with more seizures.

So.  That put a damper on the rest of our night.  We were all concerned for Brett and I don't think many of us grown-ups got a lot of sleep.  There was the whole issue of who was going to sleep where.  Tiana and Molly ended up taking all the girls in Gene and April's room, we had Stockton and Cam with us, and Eric and Heidi had their three boys.  We woke up, had breakfast, and all headed to Price.  Gene and April had left in such a hurry all their stuff was left behind.  We divvied it up between our two cars and took it to them.  Thankfully, Brett had started keeping his oxygen levels up on his own so he was getting checked out.  They gave him an antibiotic for the infection that had developed in his lungs and Gene and April bought an oxygen monitor they could use at home.  He was tired for several days but seemed back to normal the following Sunday when we were there for Easter.  But he gave all of us quite the scare!

at the Mexican restaurant where Eric and Heidi took their kids, trying to figure out what to do next: Tiana, Evie, Stockton, Jake, Luke, me, Heidi, Eli, Justin

We got home later Tuesday afternoon and had the rest of the week to relax.  Molly and Stockton hung out with friends most nights.  I suggested a movie marathon (similar to our Harry Potter marathon over Christmas break) and the girls decided on Hotel Transylvania so we started that on Tuesday, I believe.

At the beginning of the week, Stockton tied some stretchy fabric to the staircase at the top of the basement.  It made a perfect swing that the girls (and him) loved.  They got crazy on it though so I made a rule that first day that they could have 10 minutes on the swing and then they had to have an hour break before they could get back on.  But it was some serious entertainment for a good chunk of each day.  We finally took it down a week after the break because the fabric started fraying and I was worried it was going to break while they were swinging and cause an injury.

Back in February, I checked the temple for baptism appointments and happened to get on right after they had released times for that first week in April.  I jumped at the chance and snagged a time for Wednesday morning.  Justin took the kids...first time these three were able to go together.  We had even found some family names for them to do.

Brynn learned how to make one of her favorite breakfasts one morning: creamed eggs.  I had taken a bunch of boiled eggs to Goblin Valley for our cobb salad and this is a good way to use them up.  It's a throw back from Justin's childhood that my whole family loves, minus Molly.  Just butter, flour, milk, and chopped-up boiled eggs over toast.  Yum!

I made a list of optional activities we could do and all Brynn really wanted to do was go bowling.  We decided to check Wednesday night with Justin to see how busy it was and if was too busy I told the girls I would take them the next day.  It was a 30 minute wait that night so we decided to try the next day.  We took the girls to three stores for treats because they were on the hunt for something specific that we never found.  Justin and I laughed so hard at them at the dollar store trying to make their decisions.

I took them bowling the next day, on Thursday.  Just Brynn and Ivy for Thursday and Friday, as Molly and Stockton opted out.  We bowled one game, them with bumpers but I still won.

We made a stop at the library after bowling.  They wanted to stay and read in these cubbies.  Brynn was done quicker than Ivy was ready so we made a compromise on time and then drove home.

On Friday morning, I got out the egg coloring supplies.  I had to buy white eggs from the store.  The theme of the week was "Brynn and Ivy are the only kids interested in activities" so it was just the two of them again.  That meant they each got to dye more eggs!  They left for a while to play and came back to the eggs they had left to soak.  I caught them reading their library books in Ivy's bed.

I had told them I would take them to the pool that week but I wanted to wait until the later end of the week since Ivy had a lingering cough.  So we loaded up Friday afternoon, drove over to the pool, only to find out that it was closed.  Dang.  No swimming for us that week-I thought it incredibly lame that they would close the pool during spring break.  They were bummed but I told them I would take them thrifting instead.  Molly enjoys thrifting but I don't and the girls had never been.  Ivy found a skirt and Brynn got water balls for the pool and a book.  I think everything was $4...the girls are fans.

**Insert note about that skirt Ivy picked out: she was so excited to wear it to school the next week.  I gave her several options for tops that would match but she refused all of them.  She thought this shirt was the one that was the best match and was so pleased with her choice.  I love her.

On Saturday we drove up to Plain City for my mom's Easter party.  She had all sorts of games planned for us...pin the tail on the bunny, see how far you could launch a plastic Easter egg from your mouth, gunny sack races, and unwrap a starburst with your mouth.

Seth, Spencer, Lucy, Josie, Brynn, Ivy, Harper

Stockton, Grant, Abby, Molly, Tessa, Grace, Chloe, Gavin

Erin M., Jeff, Ali, Dad, Bryce, Justin, me, Erin

Ivy, Josie, Lucy

Tessa and Molly

We had our Easter egg hunt and kids and adults were combined this year.  Everyone was able to find four eggs.  They had candy and money hid in them and Stockton hit the jackpot, getting more than $50 in his four eggs!

Ali, Grant, Stockton, Grace, Gavin, Jeff, Seth, Erin M., Spencer, Bryce, Brynn, Harper, Chloe, Molly, Ivy, Erin W., Josie, Lucy, Christopher, Abby, Tessa, Justin

Grandma gave them their Easter "goodie bag".  They each got a new shirt and one extra thing tailored to them.

 

 

We had dinner and came home.  We needed to get ready for Easter morning which came next.  Church is at 11:30 this year so we had time for some fun things that morning. They found their baskets first.  They saw their new Easter clothes (picked out/bought by me) and an extra (also given by Justin and me)...just something I knew they wanted/needed/would love.  Ivy got slides, Brynn got a full-length mirror, Stockton got shorts for summer, and Molly a Taylor Swift vinyl.

Then they hunted for chocolate eggs. As of May 21st there is still one chocolate egg I know hasn't been found.  I give no hints so it will be interesting to see when it is finally found.  They sat in a circle and exchanged candy while they waited for breakfast to be ready.

 

The later church is wonderful for us right now, and especially on holidays when I want to make the morning a little more special.  We had creamed eggs (made from the eggs the girls boiled the day before), bacon, strawberries, and cinnamon twists.

At last it was time to get ready for church.  Molly and Brynn had picked their dresses and Stockton had picked his own tie.  I got Ivy her cute dress when we were in Las Vegas for soccer and I got a tie for Justin to match Stockton.

We went to church. It was only one hour and we were encouraged to make a point to spend second hour with our families talking about Jesus and the meaning of Easter.  We did that when we got home, we went through the week leading up to the resurrection.  Then we drove to Gene and April's.  We had a delicous dinner, Gene gave a nice Easter thought, and the kids went on a treasure hunt for their eggs and treats.

And that was it.  We drove home and went back to school the next morning.