The twins got baptized!

Las Vegas temple grounds in dresses handmade by Grandma Coralee

We went to Utah for Anya and Bree's baptisms. We figured more people could attend if we went up there, and we knew we were moving out of our ward when we set the date, so we figured we wouldn't be missing anyone in the new ward down here, anyway.  I almost regretted driving up when we hit heavy rain and I had to squint into the dark and against other drivers' headlights both ahead and behind, through crappy Vegas windshield wipers, for over two terrifying hours. Looking forward to living closer- I never want to deal with that again.

Zach is posing in front of this same picture with his dad when he was 8.  The twins were baptized in the same font. 

Proud of my girls.

Anya and Bree both filled out a spotlight sheet to be read during the meeting held before their baptisms. One of the blanks to fill out was "I am trying to be like Jesus by:____"  Anya said "Getting baptized and being kind."  Bree said "Caring for others when they're hurt."

When asked why they wanted to be baptized, Anya wrote: "Because it's like a bath, except it makes you free from sins."  Bree said, "I want to be with God."

They were so excited to get out of their dresses and into their font outfits.  Grandma Cork had made cute little collars to go on each one, and they looked so sweet.

I was still a mental stress-case from either driving the night before, or just my life in general, so I was super thankful for the help of both our moms, and the Primary secretary.  There were SO many details they thought of that made the whole gathering so much more fun and memorable than it would have been had we stayed home.   The girls will remember their baptisms every week for the rest of their lives, but because of all the extra effort from Grandmas and church leaders, they'll also remember how much joy their decision brought to so many of their family.

We went up to my parents' ward house for a get-together and dinner afterward, and had a great time meeting up with my sister's fam who we haven't seen since her son came home from his mission and her daughter got engaged.  They are expected to be the life of the party, and they fulfilled their Suiter obligation as beautifully as ever. ;)

Playing with cousins in the "secret hide-out"

We definitely get our silly genes from my side.

Jeremy catching the flu

Declan lost his pants, so he thought he'd practice his beefcake poses.  We found him in the middle of the floor like this.

Day off

One of the effects of Zach having only four days off each month, is that when one of them isn't spoken for by a trip out of town, or running all the errands that don't get done the other 27 days, it seems like a holiday.  So, on this one, we made a reservation to go to Rainforest Cafe.

On our way there, we drove by a time-traveling Dolorian!  Zach and I were quite enthusiastic, and the kids were a little chagrined that they didn't understand the significance. We promised we'd update them with YouTube when we got home.  (I forgot about all the swearing in the Dolorian scene- oops.)

The kids wanted to go up the escalator to see the restaurant from above. So on our way home, we all went up. I was about to turn around and go back down so we could head to the car, but the kids went down the hall and realized there was a door to the outside. The restaurant had been so dark with a view of the "night sky" and shooting stars, it felt later than it was. But the view of the sunny bridge overlooking the strip looked so inviting, we headed out to take a peek.  Then we spotted the M&M store and the Coca Cola store, and since Zach had been meaning to get a very specific Coke bottle bank for the last four years since the last one his dad gave him broke, we headed down.

We got out the elevator and look who was waiting to take a picture with us!  At Disneyland we'd opted not to wait in line to get a pic with one character at a time, so this was pretty fun.  I don't think the boys even noticed Buzz looked like he was melting...

 We happened to walk by the line for the free M&M 3-D movie a couple minutes before it started, so we went in and watched it.  It was pretty cute!  The kids loved it. Then we thought we'd check out the new fourth floor, and while we were standing there, they announced that "Green" was coming out to take pictures on the fourth floor.  So we stayed while she walked out the door by us, and just kind of gathered around for a picture.

 A few stores down was the Coke store, and we went in so Zach could get his bank.  His dad would periodically give the change in the bottle to one of his siblings or him while they were growing up.  Then we used it for date nights when his dad gave it to him. So we're keeping up the tradition. We saw the Coke bear standing there with nothing to do, so we went over and took pictures with him, too.

 I always am a little anxious when taking kids to the strip.  When Zach and I go to shows or stuff at night, there's always a billboard with half-naked somebody, posing provocatively.  But this little stretch, during this time of day, was free of anything that needed to be turned into a discussion about modesty and God's plan for our bodies.  I kind of like the fact that, when my kids turn into young adults, Vegas will just be a place that reminds them of walking around with Mom and Dad when they were little, ha.

This time last year: April

Last April I was starting to get desperate about the barking coming from our neighbor's dogs. That was the month those crazy neighbors won 11K from a news station.  Karma Shmarma! I love being on the "tail" end of that situation, knowing that not even a year later we were able to get out of that "ruff" neighborhood. (BAhahaha I crack me up.)

I was, and still am,so grateful to sweet friends who kept offering sympathy and encouragement during that.  It was a nightmare, but it kept me sane to know that I wasn't the only one who would be bothered by that.

We lost our Swensons to Alaska

Paid our visit to the creepy bunny at Smith's.  I loved that store.  The Smith's here is overrun by old people.

Easter egg hunt with the ward.

The pool had been warm all month last year.  We're still waiting for it this year!

The twins celebrated turning 7 with both families.