Easter Weekend

We had a WONDERFUL weekend visiting our family in Arizona. On Thursday, after Mike got home from work, we loaded up the car and drove to Flagstaff, AZ where my sister Sara lives. It was so great to visit with her and her family. We stayed the night and Sara and I went on a nice run/walk/hike through the woods near her home on Friday morning. I loved being able to talk with her and hear about what she has been learning and doing. After breakfast, we said good-bye, and drove on down to Mesa, AZ.
We visited with Grandpa and Grandma Beutler and they took us to Serrano's for a Mexican Food lunch. They are so good to us! We so enjoyed staying with them on our visit. Friday afternoon, we went to my dad's to say hello and to swim. While there, Corban slipped off of the step in the pool and was bobbing in the water for a few seconds. Grandpa was quick to grab him and get him to safety. We were glad for that! The weather was perfect and Mike was able to pick some grapefruit to take home with us. We love AZ citrus!


Next, we drove to the Mesa Arizona Temple grounds. We met my mom and Doug (Grandma and Grandpa Ferrin), sister Sara (from Flagstaff) with her family, and nieces Ava and Bailee there. We spread out blankets on the front lawn of the visitor's center and waited for the annual Easter Pageant to start. We had a picnic of Steve's Crazy Sub sandwiches while we waited. We were there two hours before it began and had plenty of time to visit and run into many of our good friends too. It was so much fun! THOUSANDS of people were there to watch the pageant about the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was one of the highlights of our trip.

On Saturday, we drove to Sun City, AZ to visit with Mike's biological family (Connie, Clark and Lynn). Clark and Lynn live in an assisted living community and we were able to tour their home and have a formal lunch there as well. Everyone ordered what they wanted to eat by circling certain items on their menu. I had to smile when I saw Elise with a glass of milk. I commented on it and she said, matter-of-factly, "I ordered it. I just circled it on the menu...."


Connie gave Cari a birthday present. We watched her open up a pretty dress and it reminded me that my little girl will soon be ALL grown up, and moving away...

Mike, Connie, Clark and Lynn...

Our family - how I LOVE it!

While in Phoenix on our way back "home" to Mesa, we drove through the Sky Harbor International Airport and looked at the jumbo jets landing and taking off. We stopped at Carolina's (restaurant) to buy some HUGE, DELICIOUS, tortillas to take back to Utah.
We got back to the Beutler's and helped prepare food for a Beutler family gathering at the park. Grandma and Papa had gone to Costco earlier in the day and bought a vegetable tray, potato salad, chips, rolls and fixings for sandwiches. Grandma also made a delicious Texas Sheetcake for dessert.
We had so much fun at the park. The best part was seeing our loved ones that we had not seen for quite some time. Dayton and Marissa were so grown up! It was nice to be able to give them a hug and to see what great young adults they are growing into!

There was something for everyone at the park; FUN... FOOD... ...and our family FRIENDS! My dad was also invited to the Beutler party and we played some wiffle ball with him.

, It was another great day!


On Sunday morning, the kids discovered some candy had been left for them in grandma's pantry. We dressed and went to church and enjoyed a special Easter program there.

After church we had dinner with Grandma and Papa and enjoyed visiting with them. The kids built a Lincoln Log cabin again and again so they could shoot it down with rubberbands...

Papa wasn't feeling very well in the early evening and I was glad Mike was able to give him a priesthood blessing. We love Papa very much and hope that he continues to get better.
Grandma made cookies for the kids and they watched many movies I remember seeing as a kid: The Gift; Johnny Lingo; The Phone Call; and Uncle Ben. While they were enjoying these treats, I went to Chandler,AZ to visit with my sister Kim. I was so glad I was able to see her. We had a good visit too.

Monday morning came all too soon! Papa and Grandma gave us a great big breakfast with bacon, sausage, eggs, apple slices, waffles and freshly squeezed orange juice. It was yummy - as is everything that Grandma makes! We said our good-byes and were so thankful for their love and kindness to us.

Grandma and Grandpa Ferrin live in Prescott, AZ and we stopped there to visit with them and have lunch. They also fed us very well with chicken crescent sandwiches, salad and apple slices. Then, they served cookies and ice cream! Grandma showed the kids her rocket launcher toy and they each enjoyed taking a turn jumping on it and making the rocket fly.

The kids played games (Mousetrap)and Trevon and Mike helped Grandpa get rid of some things in the garage....Grandma showed us their camper trailer (really nice). I was glad we were able to visit here too, before heading home to Utah. Oh, how we love our family. They are the BEST family in the world! We are so blessed to be given families to learn from, share with and love! Our Easter weekend was full of the people and things we love and it was WONDERFUL to me!

The Prom

Saturday was the big day! Cari and Trevon both went to their High School Prom. Cari's date began in the early afternoon. Beginning at the park, her group went on a scavenger hunt using GPS to locate their lunch (sandwiches). Then, they played ultimate frisbee. Next, they went to the Wixom's to play the game "Apples to Apples" before returning home to get ready for the evening. Her dress was a very good color for her. I was happy we were able to style her hair relatively quickly but nicely too!

Cari with her date, Tony Neilson:



Trevon and his group of friends took their dates to "Laser Mania" to play 3-D Mini Golf and a game of laser tag during the day.



Trevon with his date, Courtney Humphries:





The following photos were taken before they left for dinner Saturday night:

(Before picking up their dates; Josh and Trevon:)

(Waiting for the rest of the group to arrive:)



(Trevon's Prom group - beautifully handsome and ready for a fun evening!)



That evening, they went to the Olive Garden for dinner. We had made arrangements ahead of time to have Trevon's name placed on the waiting list. As they arrived, another prom group waiting to get into the restaurant warned them of a VERY LONG wait. Trevon walked into the restaurant and workers immediately asked him if he was Trevon Beutler (they were expecting him). He was given a pager, and about five minutes later his group was seated. The other group that was waiting couldn't believe their eyes as they walked past them to be seated. Some literally had their mouths drop open in disbelief, thinking it was unfair they were seated so quickly and ahead of them too. Trevon thought it was pretty cool to get right in. We were thankful that the management at the Olive Garden were kind enough to put their names on the waiting list, as the night was a special one for them. After dinner, they went to the dance at the Bell Tower in St. George. Just before midnight they returned to our home for some ice cream. We set out bananas and vanilla ice cream and the boys provided various toppings for their treat. It was fun to hear about their night and they all seemed to have a very good time together.







(Trevon had such a good time, he is already talking about next year's prom.)
Mike took this picture after the kids' dates were over. They were pretty tired, but both happy about their day.

Zion National Park

On Saturday, the cousins came for a visit! Mike's brother Eric and his family spent the day and night with us. We all had a great time together. During the day, we went to Zion National Park; rode the shuttle bus and hiked to "Weeping Rock." Cameron enjoyed being sprayed by the falling water. (Shelly, Jeremy, Sadie, Nathan, Corban, Cameron, Joshua, Kristi, Elise and Abby)

We had fun in the sun!!! Later that night, the parents went to dinner (after getting the older kids off to Prom), and the kids watched "Tangled" and played games. We all stayed up very late but were so glad to be able to visit with each other.

Kid Dance Recital

Elise had a dance recital Wednesday night. The theme of the recital was "Dancing Around the World." Seven different dance classes danced at the recital. Each class performed a dance that represented a specific culture or country (The Islands; India; Germany; America; Mexico; and Africa). Elise's class danced to "Marjaani" and represented India.



If you look closely enough, you can see little jewels on her face as part of her outfit.

This and That

Last Saturday, Cari was asked to the Prom. I was headed out the door when I noticed a young man handing her balloons and a large pack of Reeses Pieces candies. As he gave them to her, he said, "I'd go to pieces if you would go to Prom with me." She smiled and told him she would answer soon. I don't know anything about this boy except that his name is Tony Neilson. On Tuesday night, he left flowers on the doorstep for her. On Wednesday, she answered him with a box of Frosted Flakes cereal. She made a poem up about "Tony the Tiger" saying yes, attached to the outside of the box, surrounded with silver glitter. On the inside of the box were a lot of little slips of paper with the word yes on them. (I failed to take a picture of the answer...:(



Elise is still in a dance class and is getting ready for an upcoming recital. She just got her costume. Her group represents India, I believe. Each class will be representing a different culture in their recital.



On Thursday I helped Mike butcher four of our roosters. In the new batch we hatched, at the end of last year, we had 6 roosters. If the chickens are too old when you butcher them, their meat is tough and not easy to chew. Ours were really good at waking us with a wonderful chorus in the morning. They had recently been wandering farther away from home and so for all these reasons, it was just their "time to go." Our bug man took one of the roosters and then we decided to keep "Fred," who has been more like a pet. We put two of the butchered roosters into the crock pot to cook and enjoyed them for our dinner that night. Unfortunately the mood was a little somber at the dinner table as earlier in the evening, we accidentally ran over Fred with the car. Trevon was backing out and Fred was following us. Trev worried about running over him, but I told him to keep going and then...bump...it was over for him too. Trevon felt bad; I felt bad; Corban was saddened to tears saying, "He was my friend," and "why." Our whole family was somewhat low in spirits after that. We were headed to town to look into a tux rental and to search for a prom dress when it happened. Now, we have 9 hens and 1 older rooster left in the coop.

Cari was able to find a beautiful gown for prom and get it at quite a reduced price too. It will need to be altered a bit as she is so tiny, but we are happy to have found one. Here is a glimpse of it....I'll wait until Prom to actually show the entire dress.



Today (Friday) we woke to rain and snow! What happened to our beautiful spring weather? Part of me is happy about it, because it is so unexpected AND will help clean off the driveway! I have the blinds raised over the big window in our dining room, so I can enjoy the spring scene in our backyard. Right now, I'm watching big flakes of snow falling down and it is a pretty sight too. I hope our garden survives!!!