I found this in the grass!

We had a perfect Easter weekend starting with a super fun BBQ and egg hunt at a friend's house on Saturday. Kiara was so excited about her loot and she kept saying "I found this in the grass!" She thought it was so funny that there were eggs just laying around the yard.





When the hunting was over we made her day even better by telling her that there was candy inside each of her eggs. She was really having a good time then, until she got to the jelly beans! She has never liked sticky things or foods with a gummy-type texture (jello, fruit snacks, yogurt, etc.) but we thought she might like these since they were candy. We were wrong!

For a minute we were a little concerned that we might not leave with a ridiculous sugar high, but we dodged that bullet once the cupcakes came out. Kiara licked every last bit of frosting off of that sucker and didn't get the least bit dirty or sticky in the process (as she was eager to prove in this picture). That's my girl!

Sunday was a beautiful day and it just felt like Easter. Kiara was so excited to wear her new Easter dress. She had been talking about it all week and when we finally put it on, I almost cried because she looked so grown up and beautiful! I bought the dress on clearance after Easter last year and I remember thinking to myself that there was no way she would ever grow enough in a year for it to fit her but it was perfect! I admit that it kind of made me a little sad. My little girl is definitely growing up!

She did show me a little mercy in church today though, when she snuggled in close for about 45 minutes! I was shocked. I honestly don't remember the last time that happened, especially for that long, and I was in Heaven! I kept wishing for the meeting to go just 5 minutes longer so I could hold on to that moment. It was incredible!



After church we gave her her Easter basket and as was expected, the bubbles were her favorite part. That girl could play with bubbles for hours and never get sick of it.

She also never gets sick of pretending to eat things to get a reaction out of us!

I hope you all had a good Easter and were able to feel of our Savior's love as much as were. What a perfect day to be able to focus on His life and ministry and the sacrifice He made for all of us to be happy.

Happy Birthday, McKay!

My second nephew, McKay turned 9 today!

I cannot believe that this little guy:

is now this young man:

McKay has always been such a fun person to be around.

He has a great laugh and smile and I love playing around with him. He's also very smart and you can have more intelligent conversations with him than you would ever expect from someone his age.

McKay has had several serious injuries in his short little life but he is always very tough and doesn't complain. One time he even cut his lip open on a chain link fence but he handled it like it was a paper cut!

McKay is one of the messiest eaters I've ever seen (besides me!) and he always seems to get some of his Oreo milkshake on every part of his body & clothes. Looking back at my old pictures I found that apparently he has always been this way!

McKay has also been in to sports for as long as I can remember. He is a very good athlete and has a talent for all sports. He got his dad's competitive nature and because of that he works very hard to better his skills. It bothers him when other players don't give 100% and he makes sure he does every game. It's McKay's dream to play football for the BYU Cougars like his grandpa did and he once told me that he will just walk up to them and tell them that he's Steve Ogden's grandson and they'll have to let him on the team! I know that if he works hard and sticks to it he'll be able to fulfill his dream even without the name dropping!

McKay is a very tough guy but he also has a very sweet side (although he probably wouldn't want me spreading that around)! He is so sweet with his little sister, Emma and with Kiara. One day last summer McKay told me that it was a good thing that Kiara came to our family because there's no way anyone else could love her as much as we all do and he knew that Heavenly Father wanted her to be part of the cousins. In that moment I saw my cute little rough and tumble guy turning in to a mature and thoughtful young man and I was so proud of him. I am still so proud of him and the person he is becoming.

Happy Birthday, McKay! I sure do love you and can't wait to see you on Friday!

Love,

Kades

Kiara the entertainer

Kiara is always coming up with the funniest phrases and one-liners and I want to document some of my faves before I forget them. The current front-runners include:

• Popstisickles
  
  
• Ooh, yummioso
  
  
• The E Flat on our piano doesn't work and Kiara knows this but the other day she tried to play it and when it didn't work she said "Oh no, the piano needs new batteries!" That's her answer to everything that she deems to be broken!
  
  
• "Ayson broke my boven" She was referring to her oven, and don't worry Janie, Ayson didn't break it at all. I'm not sure what she was talking about.
  
  
• "Come on, vamanos, mama!"
  
  
• "Ooh la la, my family is posh!"
  (she got this one from Fancy Nancy)
  
  
• Kiara: "What does Bunny Bear say, Mommy?"
  Mom: "He says 'roaaaaar.'"
  Kiara: "No he says 'hop, hop, hop!'"
  

Dear Aunt Laura,

Thank you so much for introducing me to Fancy Nancy. She has changed my life forever and we are now BFFs. If you turn your volume up and listen really closely you can hear me reading Fancy Nancy for you. I am very smart and know at least three of the words on every page! I read it with my mom and dad about 28 times a day and I love it more every time! You are a great aunt. Thank you for helping me get in touch with my inner Nancy. I love you!

Love,
Kiara

Watch out Tiger Woods

We took Kiara miniature golfing for the first time last week and it was, well uh, interesting! She was very excited to be there and run around, it was the focusing and doing things in order part for which she saw no need.

Ben tried to show her how to hold the club,

but then she just wanted to do it on her own (shocker)!
She tried that a time or two and then realized the club was really just a nuisance and thought
why not just pick the ball up and put it in the hole? And so we continued like this for 18 adventurous holes!

When we finished with the golf we decided to move in to the arcade. Kiara loved playing basketball with dad and cheering him on.

And then we found "the claw." The point of this stupid, ultra-rigged "game" is to send the claw down to pick up some candy and then go drop it off on the side. After the claw has dropped twice then that little tray on the left comes out and pushes the candy into the hole for you to grab. At least that's what they want you to think will happen! Each time, the tray would come out just enough to push the same package of M&M's, which was dangling right on the edge of freedom, only to retreat right when you thought your prize would fall. It was driving me crazy and my stubborn streak (not to mention all my pent up frustration from the previous month) came out on this stupid machine! I was not leaving without those fun size M&M's!

Things weren't looking too good for us but just when Ben wanted me to walk away, I could feel our luck changing! I tried one more time and Bingo! down drops not one package of M&M's, but two plus a package of Skittles! We totally hit the jackpot and Kiara did a victory dance to prove it!

Miniature golfing that ends up more like walking around on some fake grass dropping balls in holes: $15

3 fun size packages of candy valued at around 62 cents: $4

Seeing the look on your daughter's face when you just made all of her wildest dreams come true and you feel like you actually accomplished something: Priceless!

Don't be deceived

by the 3 comments left on my Pay it Forward post. Only one of them was an actual entry so I still need 2 more people to respond for this game to work right. I know a lot of you are very talented, even if you wouldn't consider yourself crafty so don't be afraid to speak up.

Come on, you know you want to!

Pay it Forward

There is this fun blog game going around that I joined on Kristin's blog. It's a fun way to keep in touch while sharing your creative talents. So read the rules below and join in the fun!

Pay It Forward Rules:
1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?!

2. Winners must post this challenge on their blog, meaning that they will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on their post about this giveaway.

3. The gift that you send to your friends can be from any price range and you have 90 days to make/ship your item. And, remember: it’s the spirit and the thought that counts!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate pictures and comments. If you are not one of the top three commenterss on this post, you can still play along.

Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! So who will the lucky three be? And hopefully you won't be disappointed in whatever I make for you or someone in your family!