easter pictures

We were spoiled this year for Easter.  Brian's mom was here, we were invited to a beautiful egg hunt, and we had a special evening with our good friends.

The scenery behind the Bayless's house is, well, scenic.  This is our third consecutive year at their annual egg hunt and they really outdid themselves this time around.  The weather was georgous, the food was yummy, and the hidden eggs were plentiful!  To make it even more special, Zoey was able to hunt for eggs with her grandma.  So fun!

Our dear friend, Cami, helped make our Easter evening very special by helping the Easter Bunny hide Zoey-sized and Kaia-sized eggs all over their living room.  Zoey was thrilled to have a little hunt all to herself and especially loved the note and the stickers from the Easter Bunny.

the one with a bit of bragging

Today I was able to throw a baby shower for my dear friend, Jamie. It was a lot of fun to plan and even more fun once everyone arrived. Plus, I received a lot of compliments which is great for someone like me who needs a little admiration every now and then. My favorite compliment (besides "This is by far the best shower I have ever attended."): "I can tell you really love Jamie to do all of this for her." Because, after all, it really is not all about me but definitely all about Jamie and her soon-to-arrive baby girl - both of whom we do love so much!

Baby pictures, courtesy of Jamie's mom in Idaho.

Gift table with thank you cards my awesome husband made (to match her invitations); PLUS we had everyone address their own envelope.

The oh-so-yummy food, minus a huge vegetable tray that arrived later, and beautiful flower arrangement by Shannon.



Downstairs in the basement we had onesies and burp cloths to paint.



And we also had the baby's name with paint to match the nursery.



Finished product turned out SO cute.



My favorite: the pink candy bar where guests could create their own departing favor.

We have a relatively small living space, but I think I used all the space wisely and people were pretty comfortable. The best part of the shower, though, was sharing letters from Jamie's mom and sisters who live across the country. Sweet, indeed!

the one with the cute gift

Today we got together with our good friends, the DaSilvas. We played all morning at Kid Junction in New Jersey and then enjoyed a yummy lunch at Chipotle. Here is the ADORABLE gift Christina made for Baby Olson #2. Zoey thought a "diaper cake" was the funniest things she had ever heard of. She also "aahed" over all the little goodies for the baby.

And here is Zoey and Kaitlyn being oh-so-cute as they rock out to the background music.

We're so lucky to have so many great friends!

some California highlights...

The biggest highlights for Zoey were meeting Garrett, Jeffrey, and Carson,

Garrett and Zoey

seeing Jilian, Jaimee, and Maya again,

Maya and Jilian

Maya and Jaimee


Carson and Zoey (Can't you see she loved every single second of being loved?)


Jaimee and Jeffrey

being loved by Grandma and Grandpa Mouritsen,

Garrett and Grandma

Grandpa and Zoey

and meeting Uncle Mark.

Again, can't you see how thrilled she is?

Some highlights for me me were, of course, spending time with my family (especially my sisters, though there are no pictures of that!),

Jeffrey and Dalene

seeing Zoey enjoy this amazing thing called sunshine,

Zoey on her first official bike ride

Uncle Craig and Zoey

First official wagon ride


Zoey's cousins were so good to her!

eating grass - yes, I even let her get a little dirty

seeing dear, dear friends,

Cindy Hotz Peachey and Dalene


Zoey and Annalee - Cindy's daughter


Dalene and Jenni Jespersen Frisby

and, clearly, eating yummy food from the best donuts (almost daily) to In 'n' Out Burger (twice) to Togo's (thrice).


We miss you, California!