A very picturesque post!

This post is going to be mostly pictures and captions, otherwise it will be three pages long! I wish I was one of those talented moms who can say it all with just one perfect picture, but, alas, I can never chose just one to post! Plus having a birthmommy in the picture who has to miss out on these moments makes me want to post as much detail as I can so that she can feel as though she was there! Do you feel it, Cori?? We went to Baby Animal Days at the American West Heritage Center on April 10 (I know- a whole week ago, but don't judge me, my sister got married and we put our house on the market last week so I was not online much!). It was our first time going and we will definitely go next year! Kolton had the best time of his life, partially because of all the fun animals and activities, but also because some of his cousins were there with us. It was a dream come true for me to take my kiddos to something like this where they can learn and grow so much. It was a reminder of those days two and a half years ago when I would be invited to go 'even though I didn't have kids' and I would cry and long for a family of my own. My gratitude for Cori grew ten fold that day, which I didn't even think was possible...DO YOU FEEL IT, CORI??? Kay, here I say it will be mostly pictures and there I go blubbering!! Here's the pictures, folks....

I must have a million pictures of Kolton on his daddy's shoulders, but it gets me every time!

This was a rather boring hay ride, but the horses were HUGE so Kolton was in heaven!

Mr. Messy Face McGee

My three bears!! (Get it? I'm Goldilocks!!)

This was a proud moment for me- he was so brave!!

Kolton's favorite part, hands down, was the train ride- he talked about it all night!

Little Sam in his overalls for the occasion. He didn't enjoy the day as much as Kolton, but he was a good sport and smiled a lot anyway

This baby goose was so soft! Kolton just smiled the whole time he held it! On his left is his cousin, Kelsea, and on his right is his cousin, Justin

I think this part was my favorite! This bunny was completely adorable and snuggly and kept giving Kolton kisses. I wanted it so bad (only $10!!) but Wes reminded me that we are probably apartment-bound in the near future...sigh...

Justin was very brave and ate a barbeque flavored cricket- yuck!

Believe it or not, Kolton did this cool rock all by himself! He painted it and etched out a design with a toothpick. What a budding artist!

I just love this picture of him- his little red cheeks and runny nose! What a cutie!

Kolton was less than enthusiastic about petting the calf- but eventually got brave

Kolton playing us a soulful song on the drums...

And Wes and Sam joining in!

It was a terrific day and I was as happy as could be with my little family! Kay, to end this very long post I have to brag a bit...Our dining room table was re-done by your's truly when we moved into this house five years ago. It remained beautiful until Kolton turned 18 months and then the chairs looked like this...

So, I got a wild hair the other night and decided to re-do them AGAIN in a more stain-friendly fabric and ended up with this!!...

I bow, you clap, and we all rest easier knowing that people coming to look at my house won't run away in fear. Whew!!

Belated Easter Greetings!

I never imagined three years ago that I would be celebrating Easter with TWO amazing children, but there we were on Sunday, baskets in hand, camera at the ready, and more than a few tears in my eyes as I realized how very blessed I am. I love Easter because it is a time of new beginnings and it has always been a time of reflection for me. I think of all the Savior did for us- even for the people who hated him and killed him. He loves us all so much and therefor he gave his life so that we can live with Him again. I don't think it was ever easy for me to imagine the kind of love that took for our Heavenly Father to watch his son go through that. That is, until I watched our boys' birthmother experience a similar sacrifice as she placed not one, but two children in our arms to raise as our own. Her strength has helped me to better understand the Savior's love for me and her trust in us reminds me each day what a blessing it is to be a mother and what a great responsibility I have to do my best in raising them so that I am worth of the heartache she went through. So, Cori, to you I say THANK YOU for what must be the millionth time! I also want to remind you how much you are loved and appreciated. We want so many good things for you!

Okay, so our Easter, aside from being rather cold and rainy, was by far my best EVER! Last year Kolton was not walking yet so this was really his first year of really getting to HUNT eggs and by the time he finished his fourth egg hunt he was a total PRO. And when it came to decorating eggs, he was super careful and knew each color he wanted. We found some cute egg kits with 'Cars' and 'Mickey Mouse Clubhouse' stickers and he was very specific on which sticker he wanted on each egg. And, as luck would have it, he ended up LOVING to eat the hardboiled eggs the next day!

here is is dyeing a 'lellow' egg

He had so much fun with the egg utensil that he decided to eat his macaroni with it as well!

These stickers remained on him for two days. He was pretty attached!

The final product! I think he did a pretty awesome job!

Sam even got in on the fun!

This was the egg hunt in Richmond. We woke up to a fresh blanket of snow, but nothing was going to stop Kolton from digging through every inch of it to find the eggs and 'canee' (candy)!

We went to Grandma and Grandpa Garners in between sessions of General Conference on Sunday for a yummy lunch and egg hunt! Every year, Grandma gives them seeds to plant a garden and puts them in the eggs instead of candy. It was a nice break from the sugar rush!

Wes entertained us all with a little egg juggling. Kolton tried as well, but I think he may need a bit more practice!

We didn't even have to help Kolton find his special basketball eggs. He knew which ones were his and found all eight of them on his own!

We finished the day off by going to my sister, Cristi's house for the biggest Easter egg hunt this side of the Pecos. She has a half acre of land and lots of trees . This means many great hiding places and a lot of competition between the older kids to find the 'uber egg'. This is a jumbo egg full of money and really good prizes that must be filled and hid by the person who found it the year before. This year my 7 year-old nephew, Caleb, found the uber egg hidden in some crusty old squash in Cristi's garden. I told you the competition was high!

Sam and Alex got caught up on the latest happenings while the other kiddos hunted for eggs

The first thing Kolton found was this carrot egg. He would have been happy with that and nothing else and he still keeps it close to his bed each night. He didn't even care that there was candy inside!

This is a small fraction of all the people there. There are 20 grandkids in our family, not to mention 18 adults!

Sunday night while I was cleaning up and trying to get Kolton down from his sugar high I put on 'Baby Einstein' for Sam and found out just how much he loves it! He talked the whole way through it and cried when it was over. Is this a blessing or curse? Only time will tell...

And finally, I cannot share the stories of the last week without mentioning 'Bear'. Bear is Kolton's new best friend. Kolton includes Bear in all he does; sleeping, eating, getting his diaper changed, and even his artistic pursuits! Here are some pictures to illustrate how super cute this is!

you can't see Bear in this picture, but believe me, he was close by!

Bear's favorite food is Nerds, apparently!

To top off this very long post, Sam is now spending some time in this walker that was given to him by his cousins. The flower part is actually a mirror and I don't think he will ever tire of looking at himself! He is growing so fast and just keeps getting cuter by the second!