a happy easter.

we had a lovely easter a few weeks ago. connor decided {after they hunted for their baskets and eggs} that easter was his favorite holiday. the kids were precious and waited until after 9 o'clock church to do the hunting. in the days and weeks prior, we talked a lot about christ & his resurrection and the endless blessings that gives us. connor, mabel & elsie sang a beautiful primary song "did Jesus really live again?" with all the primary kids in sacrament meeting. it is always so special to lead the kids as they smile and sing to their parents and especially as they sing about their older brother, Jesus. i hope that they feel of the greatness and love that the line, "he lives" brings.

had to do the obligatory easter clothes pics...not super cooperative this year...

more smiles after the hunt!

sneaky leprechaun.

these little leprechauns had a fun st. patty's day.

the sneaky leprechaun escaped their traps again!

this one is mabel's.

he also escaped connor's trap! 

he must have brought a friend this time though. 

he needed someone to drive the getaway car!

he was nice and left lots of gold for us to enjoy!!

will you be mine?

we had a fun valentines! the kids made valentines for their friends, bubbles for the girls and staches for connor. i got to help at mabel's class party. i was in charge of the sugar cookie decorating station. the kids loved their traditional flip flops. they are always a hit!

i sewed the flip flops in wrapping paper shaped as hearts! 

turned out super cute and easy, fun way to wrap.

i tried my hand at making a heart pizza. 

it turned out looking great and tasting yummy!

the year of the horse.

happy chinese new year!! this year is the year of the horse. we had a really fun fireworks on friday and then went down to salt lake to j wongs for a yummy dinner followed by traditional lion dance. i took lots of pics, but the lighting wasn't great, and i was kind of disappointed. but true to form, just as we got to the car, elsie had to go to the bathroom. so after we walked back to the restaurant and did our business, the group of people who came to do the lion dance were outside. so we got to talk to them and the kids got to see the lion's head up close. it was pretty cool! there is lots of symbolism in the dance and in the lion's head. there is a round mirror between the eyes to scare away evil spirits as they see their reflection. the black fir around the eyes means it is a young lion and also shows through his wild, energy-filled dancing {those poor dancers ~ that is hard work!} red stands for courage. at the first of the dance the body of the lion wakes up and shakes wildly to get the evil off. you feed the lion red envelopes filled with money for good luck. at the end, the lion eats the lettuce and then throws it around and if you get hit by the lettuce, it's extra good luck and good fortune. we've decided we want the lettuce to land on us next year! 

building the tower with the snow from the snow fort. they cut the fort up and it had some pretty good chucks to stack on top of each other.

our tallest "frosty," "totem pole" yet. 

it was probably 8-9 feet tall.

the boys lighting the sparklers.

happy chinese new year!!

christmas 2014.

well, we had a wonderful christmas, filled with excitement, family, new presents, good food and fun! the kids were up about 6:30 and we held them off for 15 min or so and then went down to see the loot! the kids were very pleased with their presents. nothing better than kids on christmas morning!! we enjoyed the morning at our house and then went to celebrate with family. 

we are so grateful for our Savior and for his birth.  He is truly the reason for the season.  we are also so grateful for our wonderful family and friends.  what a blessing you are to our lives.  

merry christmas 2013!!

mabel with her beloved american girl doll 

{mine when i was young}

elsie with 2 of her favorite presents 

{her own umbrella and hat & glove set}

connor asked for a "surprise" from santa...

...let me just tell you, santa delivered!!!

will was just content to be wherever and do whatever.  

we sure love this sweet boy!

deckin our halls.

we had fun the day after thanksgiving putting up the tree and decorating the house for christmas!!

will was a big fan of the train.

connor stopped building the train long enough to put up a few ornaments.

mabel helped set up the nativity that grandma jaxon made. 

it's a very treasured set.

and cute else was lucky enough to put the snowflake on top the tree.

happy thanksgivin.

i loved seeing signs on my mission that said, "happy thanksgivin!" warmed my heart! this year, we had a wonderful month of november with our "thank you for tree" and thanksgiving! each night as we sat at the dinner table, we'd take turns thinking of what we were thankful for that day. we've done this for 3 or 4 years now and it's one of our favorite thanksgiving traditions. this year we wrote them down on a paper circle and hung them from tree branches. thanksgiving day was filled with fun, lots of food and family. cory, mabel and connor ran a 1k turkey leg race. connor been excited about this for a month and mabel decided that morning that she wanted to do it too. i had planned to run with connor, but didn't feel well the night before, so cory took one for the team and ran with them. i was very proud of my turkey leg-ers!! then we headed off to packer's for our thanksgiving meal.

indian mabel and her turkey she painted.

indian elsie and her apple turkey.

elsie got to join connor at his 2nd grade feast. 

he requested i make chicken pot pies for it...

he was very excited about that part.

the whole crew about to dig in!

before shot.

after ~ so proud of you three!

turkey coma with anna.

cute little elsie's hand turkey.

our fourth of july 2013.

we enjoyed the annual packer family reunion on the 4th of july. the kids loved it as usual. it was filled with great food, catching up with family, lots and lots of ice cream, a giant slip 'n slide, learning what it would be like to milk a cow {rubber gloves filled with water}, rides on concho, necklace making, more ice cream, a parade, a giant sandpile, and lots and lots of fun. 

ever since i can remember we've celebrated the fourth with the packers. it started out setting up tents and sleeping out overnight at grandma & grandpa's. we'd play around the pond. go for boat rides. feed the ducks. pick raspberries. say hi to shep {no. 1, 2, 3...i'm not sure how many shep's there actually were}. play in the sandpile. ride golf carts. play on the playground. swing on the giant rope swing. play army. explore. play in the creek. have dutch oven lunch {which i still miss}. decorating our bikes and having a parade around the circle. if you were lucky, afterwards, you got to go downstairs to put stuff away and see where the old swimming pool used to be... i remember a few years we had a talent show. i think i played the piano once. check out the peacocks. gather eggs in the old chicken coop. i'll have to ask anna for what else we'd do...she has a way better memory than i do... 

since the family has gotten so big, we've out grown grandma & grandpa's and the last few years we've either camped at the heber valley girls' camp or spent the morning/afternoon at uncle dave & aunt sue's. but what i've found is that wherever we are, the feeling is the same and it's always a good time!

{this year's highlights}

{connor's first fourth of july}

the last year at the grandma & grandpa's.

mother's day.

the kids and cory spoiled me this year for mother's day. they made me feel so special and loved. they gave me such sweet cards and pictures. cory also added some molding to a wall in our entryway that i love. always have to have a project for my worker men! ;)

i'm so grateful to be a mother. it is definitely the hardest and most fulfilling thing i've ever done. what special and beautiful children have been blessed to come to our family. they bring me and cory so much joy. their cute, individual personalities are so precious and add so much to the spirit in our home. it brings me so much joy seeing them do things they love and work hard at. connor with his sports and mabel with her dancing and tumbling. elsie is a hoot and always making us smile and laugh. will is a complete joy and a delight. he is always happy and smiling and loves to just be able to see what's going on.

i'm also grateful to be a daughter, sister, and wife. i'm surrounded by wonderful, amazing women in my life, who are amazing examples that teach me so much. thank you. i feel very blessed.

an easter recap.

easter and spring are one of my favorite times of year. everything is new and so refreshing from the drear of the winter and inversion. and most of all, our focus turns to the savior. his life. his atonement. his sacrifice. his death. and his resurrection. how amazing it is to know he lives! how special it was to be in primary again this year during easter time. i love singing the easter primary songs, even though the kids don't know those songs as well, it usually ends up with me singing a solo! {not a pretty picture or...sound} but the spirit these songs bring is amazing. such tender moments that i'm grateful for.

here are a few shots from easter sunday.

thanks to granna & grandpa and nate & becky for all the loot they got at the packer hunt! the kids could not have been more excited!