Trista & Zoey

Zoey is Trista's cousin in Costa Rica. Zoey is only five weeks older than Trista, and when Zoey was here at Christmas they had tons of fun playing together.

Zoey loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, and while she was at Disney World last month she bought a Minnie Mouse doll to give to Trista.

Trista was so excited to have her very own Minnie Mouse doll just like Zoey! We love you Zoey, and we can't wait for you to move back here this summer so you and Trista can play together!

Costa Rica

Jordan and I had a great trip to Costa Rica last month. One of our excursions was as trip to Jaco Beach where we body boarded, played football on the beach, and burned the bottom of our feet on the hot, black sand!

Grandpa & Grandma Salmon, Aunt Terry, and my mom

Zoey, Jordan, Austin, Kaylee, Isabella, Angie

The next day eight of us (Grandma & Grandpa Salmon, my mom and dad, Angie, Aunt Terry, Jordan and I) took a four-hour drive to Volcan Arenol.

We stayed at a nice hotel with water slides and natural hot pools which we all had fun hanging out in together. While there we went on a hike through the rain forest in a natural park with hanging bridges and awesome foliage.

The next day we went zip-lining, so fun!

Jordan, Dad, me, Mom, Aunt Terry, and Grandpa with our zip-lining gear on, ready to go!

Jordan at the beginning of one of the zip-lines

One of the zip-lines over the rain forest (you have to look closely for the zip-line!)

Me just after take-off

My dad getting ready to go with the help of our guide, Delroy. Dallin was excited to hear that our other guide's name was Diego!

While in Costa Rica we also went to the San Jose temple, Volcan Poaz and downtown San Jose to shop. We celebrated my niece Kaylee's birthday, played tennis, and played plenty of Rook and a little Bananagrams. Thanks, Angie, for being such a good tour guide! We can't wait to go back someday!

Cute Kids on Easter Sunday

Dallin is Five!

Happy Birthday to our darling Dallin. He's five years old today!

We celebrated last night by going bowling at Dallin's request.


The kids loved it!


Then we came home to enjoy some birthday cupcakes!


Look at that face. Do you think he's happy?

Today he got to open his birthday presents. He got a golf set, a Diego rescue pet, and a Diego packpack spray gun.

Dallin, we're so glad you've been part of our family for five years now! We love your bright smile, your goodness and helpfulness, and the overall joy you bring to our family. Happy Birthday!

Playing with Nate

We watched Nate for a little while today while Carley had a job interview. It was nice outside again, so we all played in the back yard together. This week Alexis, Spencer and Dallin started swim lessons. Hopefully this will help get us ready for summer--I'd love it if Dallin and Spencer could swim on their own soon!

Last week Grandma and Grandpa Post and Great-Grandma Nielson came to visit during Spring Break. We had a lot of fun playing games, watching movies, and just spending time together. I never got around to getting the camera out--I'll have to do better when we're in CA this summer.

Then we went up to Missouri over the weekend to visit my parents. Mom and I shopped a little bit, and Saturday afternoon we had an indoor Easter Egg Hunt for the kids. It was a cold rainy day, and it even snowed Saturday night. But by Sunday afternoon it was beautiful outside again. I'm having a hard time figuring out this weather lately. Hopefully it will get warm and stay warm soon!

Speaking of warm, in two weeks I'll be in Costa Rica! Jordan and I, my mom and dad, Grandma and Grandpa Salmon, an my Aunt Terry are all going for about a week. I'm looking forward to the vacation and the warm weather!

We've had really great weather lately and have been to the park several times. My tulips are starting to bloom, we have our house on the market again, and the kids are on spring break. That's the past month for us in a nutshell. Happy Spring!

Spencer pushing someone on the tire swing (just in case

you were wondering why in the world he's standing like that)

Hero

Sometimes my kids surprise, even shock me. This evening was one of those times. You may know from past blogs or even our most recent Christmas letter that for years now Dallin's least favorite time of day has been dinner time. No matter what I've fixed for the past two to three years, if it had the title "dinner," Dallin despised it. He much prefers "kid" food, like chicken nuggets, french fries, ramen noodles, PB&J, macaroni and cheese-you get the picture. We've had many dinners that involved crying, gagging and even the occassional throwing up. But we've stuck to our guns and had a hard and fast rule that he is given a little bit of everything and then must finish his plate, especially if he wants anything else to eat later [like ice cream, one of his very favorites along with donuts, cookies, fruity candy and all other sugar-laden anti-health foods. To his defense, he also loves fruit (could it be the sweetness?), especially apples.] On a few occassions his big sister Alexis has felt so bad for him that she's come to his rescue and finished his dinner for him just so he wouldn't have to miss out on a special treat. However, dinner time has gotten a little bit easier for Dallin lately--I think he's finally realized he was fighting a losing battle--and he has recently begun to finish his dinner without much complaint.

Dallin, standing next to Trista's plate of unfinished food.

This evening was like most others. Tonight I served spaghetti, and Dallin was having a bit of a hard time finishing his plate. Trista was having an even harder time, and the rest of us were finished and up doing dishes while the two of them were still at the table. Finally Dallin finished, and as he rinsed his plate I told him that he could have an ice cream sandwich for dessert. Trista's ears perked up at that, but still, she just couldn't make herself finish. She was whining and crying about how she couldn't eat but she wanted ice cream and so on. I was quite successfully tuning her out. Dallin ate his ice cream sandwich, and then to my amazement walked over to the table and began eating Trista's dinner for her! When he finished he said, "There Trista! You can have an ice cream sandwich now!" My heart just melted. What a sacrifice for Dallin, who could barely choke down his own dinner, to finish his little sister's for her so she could have the ice cream sandwich she wanted. And what an example Alexis has been in the past to do the same for Dallin. It's nice to see signs that they actually do love each other--a lot! What sweet kids! I'm so grateful for moments like these.