April

        April was a great month!  Even though the weather was weird (no surprise there) we loved getting outdoors more and the kids had lots of fun activities going on.  

        Here's Duke with his Pinewood Derby car, "The Golden ROCK-et".  The boy LOVES rocks, so he decided to decorate his car with some of his very favorite ones.  The design was all his idea and he did most of the cutting, sanding, and painting.  He placed 7th out of 35 boys - pretty good for his first time.  We've got at least 10 more years of pinewood derby racing ahead of us, so I told Trayson by the time he's a cub scout, his dad will know ALL the tricks of the trade!

Duke and The Golden ROCK-et

        Trayson is my little stay-at-home buddy.  He gets to start preschool next year, and I will miss him with me all the time, but he is SO ready to go!

Sometimes it is so tiring being 3!

I love the way Flint is looking at Trayson!

         Davis and I got to go to the General Women's Meeting for our church.  We went to dinner together first and then to the church for the broadcast.  It was a great night and I look forward to many years of watching the conference together!

LOVE this beautiful girl!

         I finally got to redeem one of my Christmas presents from Brock!  He and two other men from the ward got their wives a weekend at Time Out for Women in Albuquerque.  I got to go with two of my very favorite people, Mandy Mills and Cassie Barentine, and we had a WONDERFUL weekend!  We heard uplifting talks and great music, strengthened our testimonies, laughed a lot, ate some yummy food, and came home refreshed and ready to get back to it.  Thankfully, my wonderful sister Megan was able to come stay with the kids, because after Brock booked my ticket he realized he had a conference the same weekend and would be out of town.  The kids had a ton of things going on that weekend, but Megan handled it all like a pro.  Thank goodness for family!

Ready for a fun weekend to start

We found this great French restaurant in Old Town and had a little too much fun enjoying all the food!

Yes, we really did take a picture with our desserts.  YUMMY!

         We had a friend in our ward design this little shirt for Flint.  On our flight home from Dallas in March, the lady we sat next to on the plane asked about Flint's scar.  I was happy to tell her Flint's story, and she was very interested in our little warrior.  She then told me that she needed to apologize for asking about something so personal and hoped I wasn't offended that she wanted to know what "happened" to him.  I assured her that I was not offended AT ALL!  I love it when people ask about him, but I also know people struggle to find the right words to say, worried that they might offend us.  I mean, I totally get that people are looking at Flint's shunt, thinking "What the heck is THAT?"  I know people want to know what it is, and I want to tell them all about it and Flint's life because I'm so proud of him!  But I also know it's hard for people to come up with the right words. I joked with the lady on the plane that I should just carry around a sign with me that says "Feel free to ask me about my baby.  I'd love to tell you his story!"  She laughed too and then said, "You should make him a shirt that says, 'It's a shunt. What's your superpower?'"  I thought it was AWESOME, so I worked with my friend Becky to come up with this:  

         I think it is so cute, and it has been a great conversation starter.  Some people we've met have had experiences in some way or other with shunts, but most haven't so it's been a great way to get to tell people about Flint and his journey.
        Easter weekend was wonderful.  We went to the temple, dyed eggs, hunted for eggs and baskets, went to church, watched "The Testaments," sang Easter songs, and ate yummy food. It was a great weekend!  I'm so grateful for this sacred holiday and all that my Savior means in my life.  I would be lost without Him and his wonderful atonement! 

Blowing bubbles at the temple

Flint touching the temple

All the kids outside the temple

Gage with his stash from preschool

        Our weekends in April were filled with track meets for the kids.  We love this time of year for the chance to watch our kids run.  They love it, and it gives us a fun way to spend our Saturdays together.  This was the first year that Trayson got to run, so he and Gage were on the same team.  They all did really well and can hardly wait for next spring to come around again.  My only regret was that I didn't take any pictures of them running!  The only picture I got was this one, taken during our picnic in between two of their meets.  I sure love these people! 

       And finally, what would a post about spring in the Panhandle be without a lovely picture of what spring looks like here:

        It's a good thing we love the job and the people here so much, because we sure aren't here for the weather!