Spring Break

Ethan's only wish for Spring Break was to stay in a hotel. It didn't matter where as long as it had a pool. That left our options fairly open so we opted for a night in Salt Lake. We took the kids to the aquarium while we were down there. The fish elicited the expected oohs and aahs, but what really got the kids excited were the reptiles and amphibians. Snakes and turtles and frogs and caymans. Throw in a couple of bird eating tarantulas and the kids were in heaven. Joanna is terrified of dogs but she didn't think twice about putting here face right up to a spider the size of her head.
On the way home from Salt Lake we went to the annual Isaacson family Easter party. It's Matt's side of the family with all his aunts and uncles and cousins. They roast enormous hot dogs and have an easter egg hunt.

Ginny with Grandma Janet

Ginny with Aunt Jill

It's always a great time, and every year the kids go from excitedly inspecting their haul


to sugar induced meltdown


to passing out in the car.

Laundry

This is another set of pictures I've had saved up.
Man I've got cute kids.

New Kitchen, New Aprons

Well, mine is a few months old. A wonderful friend gave it to me for my birthday, saying every baker needs a cute apron. I happened to find where she bought it and saw kid versions. I couldn't resist. Now Joanna doesn't consider herself, or me for that matter, completely dressed without an apron on.

Baby Animal Days

The American West Heritage Center, here in Cache Valley, is a living history farm. Life as it was at the beginning of the 20th century is reenacted all year long. Every spring they have Baby Animal Days, a festival where the newest additions to the farm are shown off. It's a blend of a mountain man rendezvous and petting zoo.

Exploring a dug-out cabin

Every corner of the grounds has something to keep the kids busy. There's the hatchet toss

Pony rides



And new to us this year, cricket eating.

Joanna looked at the bug, then looked at Matt like he was crazy. Didn't he know that bugs are icky? Ethan on the other hand, Mr picky eater himself, didn't hesitate.

I don't think we'll be returning to that booth next year.

Ginny, as always, was the best baby ever.

She happily watched everything that was going on around her, and especially loved the baby animals

which of course is the whole reason for going to Baby Animal Days.

Duckling

Rabbit

Joanna preferred to have someone else hold the animal while she petted it.

Chick

Looking at piglets

One More

When Joanna decides it's time to sleep, she sleeps right then and there.

Naptime

Sorry for the month of silence. We bought a house which was exciting and scary and time consuming. I promise that in time I will add posts about what the house looks like and what we're doing to it, but for right now, just know that we love it, it almost immediately felt like home, and Matt and I are blossoming in our new roles as Mr and Mrs Fix-It.

Ethan

I've had this folder of pictures waiting to be posted for a while. It's amazing, the wave of love and adoration that floods you when you see your sleeping babe, regardless of whether or not they were a holy terror not 15 minutes earlier. It's hard to pick favorites so this will be a mostly visual post, and sorry for the repeats but they belong in this one. (It's easy to tell who is who thanks to each child having their own identifying blanky close at hand).

Joanna

Ethan and Joanna after swimming lessons

Ginny

Joanna

Ethan, one of many times having fallen asleep while reading Calvin and Hobbes

Sunday afternoon

Ethan couldn't resist a bed of warm, soft clothes

Matt and Jo

This was back in the bakery days, when I would work from 3:00 to 7:00 in the morning and blessed the fact that Ethan still took long afternoon naps.

Post Thanksgiving nap

For his first three years Ethan was on such a good schedule that he never fell asleep somewhere other than his bed. Except for once, at a demolition derby. Go figure.

Joanna can fall asleep anywhere

Ginny and Cousin Rocky, doing what babies do while camping.

Baby Ethan, one week old.

Trying out the new bunk beds at Grandma Janet's.

Baby Ethan

Joanna