Lots and lots of Candy!

Happy Easter! Don't they look great all dressed up for church in their Easter clothes? I'm a lucky Mom to have such great kids. They hate that I want to take so many pictures of them. In fact Ethan's face says it all..."Mom, not again? Do we have to take more pictures? Why? This isn't fun. Can we be done now?"

This is Sadie having fun with the bowl we kept eggs in to dye. She spent probably 20 minutes trying it on and off and on and off just giggling to herself each time! It was so funny! Wouldn't it be great to be so easily entertained?

This is Spencer showing off his beautifully dyed Easter eggs. What hard work and thought he put into each one!

This is one of Ethan's "died" Easter eggs. He really had a blast dying eggs now that he knows their not really dead!

Grandma Gadd did the cutest egg hunt! (what an awesome Grandma...we are so lucky to have her!) After hunting for candy and eggs, the kids had lots of fun jumping on the tramp and playing with their cousins. They got bubble wands from Grandma and all the kids coordinated their bubbles and invited all the adults to watch their "bubble show". How proud they were! Thanks Grandma for the great food and great fun! You always know how to have a great party!

This is Sadie on her egg hunt. She couldn't quite let go of her "ba ba". At least we're over the binkie now! She completed the entire egg hunt this way! Until she saw the loads of candy inside each egg...then the ba ba was dropped immediately and replaced with candy!! She's just like her mom...she knows good candy when she sees it!

Early Saturday morning, we spent some time at the South Jordan Easter egg hunt. The kids had lots of fun racing to get as much candy as possible. Sadie felt a little overwhelmed. She didn't race for anything! I couldn't even get her to pick up any candy at all. I think having all the other kids around her made her freak out or something. She just kind of stood there with an expression like, "what's all the fuss about? These people are sure weird!" I finally helped her pick up a few pieces of candy. Of course she ate most of them before we got home!

Yesterday I had lunch with some friends from our old Sandy ward. I don't think I've laughed that hard in a very, very long time!!! It proved very difficult to eat while laughing. Needless to say, I thank them for giving me a great ab workout just in time for my trip! Thanks Pennie, Tara and Linda...you guys are freakin' hularious! Thanks for the great laughs! I think I still have watery eyes from laughing so hard. Happy Birthday Pennie!

Ok, so I have to share just one story...hopefully it will be as funny reading it as it was hearing it. We were all talking about getting in shape for vacations and how it's always a struggle, then one of the gals (I won't mention who) said that she had this same conversation with her husband recently. Her husband leaned over and said, yeah, I guess I could shave off a quick 100 pounds! We all started laughing. Just shave it off huh? Isn't it true that's how it works for men? They just look at the scale and wish they were thinner and presto...5 pounds down. Goobers!!! When Matt and I start a "healthy eating plan" (it's never a diet) the first week he's down a good 5 pounds. I usually stay the same or gain 2. I don't get it!

Well it's off to Mexico we go. Let's hope I've worked off enough pounds so that when I gain back all of it, plus 10, I can still fit into my clothes on the way home. If I'm wearing nothing but a XL poncho purchased in Mazatlan home on the plane, you'll know why....Nothing else would fit!

I'm sure I'll have lots of stories to tell, lots of pounds I gained, but hey, it's a cruise, you're supposed to come home 10 pounds heavier. I think it's kind of a rule!

I'm excited to feel the warm sun and relax, have room service, breakfast in bed. I think I'm most excited about not having to cook any meals! And more importantly, I don't have to PLAN any meals. Isn't that the worst part? I don't mind the cooking part. It's just the deciding what are we going to have tonight part that drives me crazy. If it were up to me it would be toast and fruit every night for dinner, or maybe pancakes. I love breakfast for dinner. It seems to taste better.

I remember growing up, every Sunday night when we had the 9am church block, we would have breakfast for dinner. My awesome Mom would get up really early Sunday morning, get dinner all ready and set the time bake oven. So at 12:15pm when we walked in the door, dinner was done and waiting. What a great Mom! Then that evening we would each take turns making our favorite breakfast to eat for dinner. Mom would always read scripture stories to us every morning at breakfast, so since it was breakfast food, she would read then too! It's my Mom's birthday April 5th, so I guess this is an early Happy Birthday Mom! You're the best!

Well, that's all from me today. I hope this gives you enough to think about while I'm gone. Leave me your thoughts so I have something fun to read when I get back!

Come back and visit soon to see all the pix from Mexico...Until then...Adios!!

Happy Easter!

So today will be a quick little post about the cutest thing that Ethan said. Over the past couple of days since the boys have been out of school for spring break, I've been telling them that we will dye Easter eggs. They all acted so excited and could not wait. So today, when I finally got around to it, I went outside to get Ethan and told him we were ready to dye the eggs. He came up to me and said, "Mom, why are we going to kill the eggs?" I asked him what he meant. He was so concerned and said, "Why are we going to kill them? They are going to die?" I couldn't help but laugh a little and them helped him understand that it's not that kind of die. It's dye, like paint to put color on the eggs.

Then we sat at the table and "dyed" Easter eggs. When we were done Ethan said, "So that's dying eggs huh. OK. That was fun." What a sweet kid. Ya gotta love him!

PEEK-A-BOO!!!

Sadie's latest game is playing Peek-a-Boo. It is the most adorable thing you will ever see. She says "peeekboo!!!" Of course when she can't see you, naturally you can't see her. It's so entertaining. What a sweet little ball of joy! With a sweet face like that, I can't help but give in to her every demand. I'm afraid she is VERY spoiled. But what do you expect? She's the youngest, she's a girl, and she's a miracle. That's the perfect recipe!

She is starting to talk sooo much. I should call her instant re-play...she instantly copies what I say. I will call Spencer to dinner and she will shout out, "Seh sore, dinner, NOW!" "Where's he?"

I'm constantly amazed at the difference between boys and girls. Sadie loves to carry her dolls around and wrap them up warm. That natural motherly instinct is already completely intact. Along with those sweet moments, certainly come the emotional highs and lows, as with any girl. She definitely has her moments! Especially when she is tired. She will whine and cry non-stop for hours at a time. It certainly tries my patience! But she's so flippin' cute it's hard to get mad.

I'm so glad to have another girl in the house to shop with! Sadie and I went to the store today and she would help pick out clothes. She would hold them up and say "Oh, so cute Mommy." She was very patient, as I spent 2 hours looking for items.

Well, to any of you reading this, I hope you have a fun Peek-a-boo kind of day...I know I will!

Just a little snow....

There's nothing like a spring snow storm! It's beautiful, yet depressing at the same time. I think everyone wants spring and summer to come as bad as I do! There is something courageous about the flowers still standing strong through all the snow. And by the afternoon...all the snow is gone.

We had Stake Conference this weekend. We were so lucky to hear from Dallin H. Oaks and got to meet him afterward. Spencer was especially excited he got to shake is hand. What a great meeting. And we were lucky enough to get the morning session. It sure makes a HUGE difference with how well the kids act. Our normal block is 1pm, with Sacrament Meeting last...Yuck...it's sooo difficult to be awake at 3pm in the afternoon after already sitting through, (or in my case, keeping kids quiet in Primary), for 2 hours. It was a great day. It's always awesome to hear an apostle speak!

It's all about priorities...

In February 1996 I met the love of my life, and later that year married him. One of the many things we talked about was the importance of cherishing family memories. Matt and I both knew we LOVE to travel. So in our life we've made that a priority over many other ways we could spend our money.

To give you an idea, I have no curtains in my house; still need 1 side of fence to completely fence the yard; no water softener; no garage door opener on one of the garage doors, a VERY outdated light fixture in my front room, an oven that won't cook a turkey all the way through, and a microwave with a handle falling off that takes twice as long to cook the food. The list is huge, but that's ok! Our priorities were further affirmed when I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2002. We really don't know how much time we will have here on earth, so we need to make each moment count. We love the memories we create by traveling to new places and spending quality time with each other.

Well, having said that, we finally crossed a much needed item off the list of household items. I have been sleeping on the same mattress since 1988. And it wasn't even new in 1988! It was a sort of wedding gift when we got married and I really don't remember sleeping on anything else.

So just this past month, we spent an afternoon in RC Willey and picked out a new one. It's not the most expensive one...(they really can rip you off!! $9,000 for a mattress doesn't seem right) but nevertheless, found one. Well, last Saturday it was delivered along with the bedroom set we were pressured into buying. (just kidding, I wanted the set. I really wanted all my furniture to match at least once in my lifetime) So not only have I been sleeping on a brand new mattress...(for the first time in my life) but it's even King size!!! I am in heaven!! This week I have never slept better. In fact, I don't want to leave my bed! I try to find reasons why I need to stay in my room. I really haven't got much done this week! But boy I feel great! I don't wake up with neck aches and back aches. It's fabulous!

So this year, we're scaling back our traveling just a bit, so we can sleep better at night. :) Instead of a big Hawaii trip, we're taking a little Mexican Riviera cruise. It will be a nice to enjoy the comforts that a cruise can provide. I'm looking forward to the R and R the end of this month. But in the mean time..if you need me...you know where I'll be!!

Hi I'm Ethan

Hello. I'm Ethan. I'm 6 and in 1st grade. I love to play soccer and ride my bike. I love my baby sister and my brother and my Dad and my Mom. My Dad is funny, he makes me laugh. I'm excited for spring soccer to start because my Dad is going to be my coach. And I like transformers. And that's about it.

Sadie...

This is Sadie. What a bundle of energy. Sadie is definitely ALL girl. She has a huge shoe collection and since the moment she could walk has been wearing everyones shoes around the house. What a fun girl to have around! Luv ya little girl!

Spencer...

Hi, I'm Spencer. I like to play soccer and basketball. I love trans-

formers.

I like to swim too. I have a sister, a little brother, a Mom, and a nice Dad who earns all the money we need for us. And that's how I can play basketball and stuff.

Welcome to the new Millenium

So, I was reminded the other day how I'm a little "behind the times." A solicitor for the phone company came to the door and asked who my internet provider was. When I told him the name of the dial-up service we use, he looked both ways and then said, "I think you're the last ones!" I nodded in agreement. But for now, our dial-up will suffice just fine. It may not be lightning speed, (or anywhere close to that) but it works.

So if this blog isn't constantly updated and loaded with pictures; stop and think about years ago, when you too had dial-up and symphathetically understand.

I'm still excited to post what I can and keep you updated as to what's happening in the Gadd Family.

So with that...Welcome to the Gadd Family blog!