Anyway, April was FUN! We did so much, and we crammed every day full, and I think that's partially why it flew by in a bit of a blur. Easter fell on General Conference this year, and it was no surprise that my kids were freaking rockstars during all the sessions. We got lucky, and Cam's naps lined up with the sessions perfectly, and he literally slept from opening prayer all the way to the closing prayer each time. And Izzy has always been content to play quietly, so we had a few things for her to play with, and she was content to just be near us, listening to all the talks. The sweetest was how she set up her dolls in her dollhouse. They are all sitting down and watching conference too. I love it so much.
Izzy got some bath crayons and bubble bath in her Easter basket, and she wasted no time requesting a bath, and promptly drawing the PJ Masks all over the shower walls. I was pleased with how easily the bath crayons cleaned up! I see many more tubby art sessions in our future.
April continued to give us beautiful weather, and so we continued to spend as much time outside as possible. We love the park in my moms neighborhood, and go there often, as well as the zoo. We had lots of fun playing with sand toys, and swinging and climbing and going with friends to play in the splashpad at the zoo and see all the animals.
Izzy has been in dance for a whole year now and she had her dance pictures and it was so so so cute. She wore the fluffiest, sparkliest, pinkest, cutest little tutu, and posed so nicely, and was just so sweet. She loves Miss Alex and all her friends at the Dance Barn!
Hope had her baby, and we had a wonderful time spoiling them both at a nice Baby Brunch. It was the best way to celebrate; gorgeous weather, yummy food (that I didn't have to buy or prep), all of our friends and family, plus, the baby was already born, so we got baby snuggles AT the baby shower! It doesn't get any better than that!
I've been studying for the last year to become a Group Fitness Instructor, and I took and passed my test, and then I started working at my gym, and taught my first class in April! I was nervous and stressed out, but I think it went okay. I've taught since then, and each time I teach it just gets better and better! I'm happy teaching, and I'm glad that I followed my passion, and pushed through and went out of my comfort zone to accomplish something I'd been dreaming of doing for years!
Campbell is at such a fun age. He babbles in a little alien baby language all day long. I love it. It's hilarious. He loves cars, pushing baby doll strollers, feeding himself, dancing, giving kisses, his pooh bear lovey, sleeping, throwing balls, bubble baths, copying his sister, and reading the same 3 books over and over and over again. He is so good at all his sign language, and can basically get his point across even though he isn't saying any words yet. He loves animals, and is so soft with them. He's hilarious and easy going and I just love spending my days with him.
We took a fun trip back east with the kids to see the Dbacks play in Philly and DC. I was most nervous about the flights, but it actually went amazingly well. We made it to Philadelphia in one piece, and got right to sight seeing since we were only in Philly for one day. We walked down to the Liberty bell and enjoyed the history and the cherry blossoms. We took the long way to the stadium, and soaked up the beautiful weather. Once we made it to the field, we took some pictures, got some lunch and found our seats. We had a ton of room, so we spread out and let the kids go crazy, and cheered for our Dbacks! Izzy and I made up a new game -Guess the Animal. It's basically reverse 20 questions. You pick and animal, and then give clues to describe it, and see if the other person can guess it. We started out easy, but I was amazed at all the animals Izzy was guessing and all the ones she was having me guess. She's an incredible describer, and it was genuinely fun to play with her, and we probably played for over 2 hours at the baseball game. We still play it almost every day. It's so fun, and I love playing with her.
After the baseball game we headed to the train station and took a train to DC. It was such a long day, and we were all pooped and so so grateful to get to the hotel! The next day was our first full day in DC and we went to the National Mall, and enjoyed all the museums and Izzy especially loved the Natural History museum, and the Air and Space museum. She loved all the big planes, and learning about the planets. I love how much she loves to learn.
The next day we went to the DC Zoo, and saw so many animals. The weather was just lovely, and we just enjoyed being in the sun, and feeling the cool breeze and eating treats and being together as a family. After the zoo, we went on a subway adventure and went down to the Nationals stadium. Alex's aunt and uncle live in Virginia, and they were awesome enough to come and meet up with us to watch the game together. It was great to meet them all, and we had a fun time at the game. It was a spectacular night, and the game did not disappoint. After the game, we went out for pizza and visited and it was a great ending to a great day!
Our last day in DC we had two options. 1. Go see more historical sights (all of which alex and I have already seen) or 2. go back to the ballpark for another game. We ultimately decided that the kids would have more fun at the ballpark than seeing monuments. So back to the park we went. And it ended up being perfect. We didn't know it, but it was Kids Day at Nats Park, and so kids were free, and they got free face painting and balloons, and toys and it was chaotic and chilly and fun fun fun! Our Arizona blood couldn't handle the overcast, cold weather, but we had a great time anyway.
I'm grateful for a family who loves to travel, for kids who are well behaved and easy going, and for a loving husband who plans the whole thing and takes care of us along the way! I love that I have these memories!
April was amazing, and busy, and crazy, and fun and just really really nice.
