Mammoth Trip

I'm a little late on this post but we took the annual Mammoth trip about a month ago and had a TON of fun!! The kids were both finally old enough to play in the snow, and trust me in those 3 days we were there, we got a whole winters worth of playing in the snow!!!



The kids LOVED sledding. They even went by themselves.




Kaden helped Bryce and Grandpa build the snowman

I know a TON of pics but there were so many to choose from. I LOVE snow pictures. There is something about the white background that makes them just brilliant.

Gondola ride..trip highlight for sure!! I think I was more nervous than the kids. We were really high up and our gondola was blowing in the wind. It only took a few minutes of breathtaking scenery to mask the nervousness.


Cutest picture EVER!!! After reaching the highest gondola stop we climbed up a small snowy hill for a 360 degree view of the mountain. We were at the highest point you could get...11, 053 ft!!! It was AMAZING!!!! (and cold)




It was nice to visit with Great Grandpa and Grandma Rowley!! We had such a fun trip, and it was our first road trip in the new truck, which was very roomy and comfortable!! :)

First Primary Talk

Kaden gave his first talk in Primary today. He did a great job!! He stood nice and tall at the podium and spoke clearly into the microphone. What a proud moment for Mommy and Daddy. When did he grow up so fast?

Pre-Easter Festivities

With the few days I have with the kids during the day, I decided to enjoy an Easter activity with them...making Easter cookies. They had a blast!! There were not many left when Daddy came home because the kids would decorate and then eat!! My kids are at such a fun age that they can do projects and activities and LOVE to do them! I treasure my Fridays!!
Patiently waiting, 8 minutes seem like forever in a kids eye!
Proud of his creation!

Meet Maddy...crazy as ever, but in the same breathe, sweet as ever too! What a combo!

Saturday morning Justin and I took the kids to the Murrieta Spring Eggtravaganza. It was quite an ordeal in that there were TONS of kids and all the eggs went in seriously 30 seconds. There was a petting farm and a chance to go on and look at a fire truck. We had a great morning.




Egg Dying at the Bishops...




All ready for Easter!!

Easter Day

We are fortunate to have both of our families so close by so we spent Easter in Oceanside with the Freeman clan and Murrieta with the Bishop clan. It was a long day full of fun!! The kids had 3 hunts in one day (the Easter bunny came to our house and hid their dyed real eggs)
Night before Easter, excited about leaving their baskets and dyed eggs for the Easter bunny!
Easter morning...they were so excited I thought it was Christmas morning. Their baskets were right where they left them just full of fun things, and the eggs were hidden around the house.
This picture might just portray Maddy to a "T"!!!


Easter morning with the Freeman Clan...
When she prayed for grand kids she had NO idea!!

Easter Afternoon with the Bishops...


These girls are trouble together!! Too much personality in such little bodies!! :) (stole it off your blog Andrea, thanks!)
Such a fun day! The kids got to play with ALL of their cousins and were on a sugar high all day!!! We have the best family that makes holidays so much fun!!

A New Niece!!!

Eric and Harmony have a new addition!! Sydney Paige Cottrell came on Monday March 8th at 5:40am weighing 7 lbs 10 oz. I was dying all day at school on Monday to get my little hands on her! Although she is the 6th grandchild, it is just as exciting as the first! We went down to San Diego Monday night and got to hold the little princess
Every woman's dream to look that good hours after labor!! Look at those thigh rolls Sydney, that is new to the Cottrell family! :)
She is so precious!! Everyone is doing great! She barely cries and sleeps like champ!!
Proud aunt!!!! I always forget how little they are!

Open wide!!!

I took the kids to the dentist for the first time this week. I have been prepping them for a couple weeks now so they would know what to expect and be excited and not scared. We might have a dentist in our future, when the doctor was looking at Maddy's teeth Kaden wanted to sit on his lap and count Maddy's teeth with the big clip! Go figure, it's Kaden :) He's such a funny kid!!

Does this face tell you how it went? Yes, I dorked out and took pictures! It was such a proud mommy moment for me :) It was really fun to know and understand all the terminology the doctor and assistant were using :) He puts all the fearful adults to shame huh!!
He let them take pictures of his teeth which he turned to me and said this is fun mommy! The office was all digital so he loved being able to see the pictures they took on the screen. He thought the x-rays looked cool but he wasn't as thrilled taking them. He also let them polish and fluoride his teeth. The doctor looked at all his chompers... no cavities, and I got commended for their clean teeth! Yeah!! I better get good reviews or I'm in the wrong profession!!
This is after their appointment, they got balloons for doing a great job. No pictures of Maddy in the chair because she wasn't too excited about it. She was pumped going to the dentist and watching Kaden but as soon as it became her turn she wasn't having it. So she just got fluoride and that was even work! Maybe in 6 months she'll do better! Great job kiddos!!