Easter 2013

Easter this year was pretty low key.  I am on the HOA board so I was asked to help with the neighborhood Easter egg hunt.  CJ helped Alex in his age group area and Rebecca helped Megan in her age group area.  As you know, public Easter egg hunts are NOT my favorite.  They never go well for the kind, considerate kids and only the rude kids who knock over the good kids get any eggs (because they usually take all the eggs.)  This year there was a new low in the neighborhood hunt.  Lizzie and Dakota were helping me announce the rules to all the kids and parents.  We asked all the parents to stay behind the lines and let the kids hunt for eggs by themselves.  Lizzie was telling one group these rules when a dad got angry with her and told her he was going to help his kid and she couldn't stop him.  She asked him politely to go back behind the line.  He got so angry with her that he took out his cell phone and threatened to call the police.  She was so good.  She just looked at him and told him to go ahead and call.  He hung up the phone, gave her dirty looks and just walked away (back to his kid no less) so she let it drop.

SERIOUSLY??!!! A grown man was asked to follow the rules by a 15 year old and he gets so mad he threatens her with the police.  I still can't believe it.

Megan and Alex looking at all those colorful eggs.

CJ waiting with Alex.

Anyway, the Easter bunny left a basket for the family.  They had fun eating the candy.  We did our traditional Resurrection rolls.  After church CJ and I hid plastic eggs in the back yard for all the kids to find, even the older girls.  Each kid had one golden egg to find along with their other eggs.  They had to look hard but it was worth it.  The golden eggs had $5 in them.  The kids each took turns after that re-hiding the eggs for everyone else.  That is one of their favorite Easter traditions.

General Young Women Meeting

This year our stake received tickets to attend the General Young Women's Meeting in the Conference Center in Salt Lake.  I jumped at the chance to take my girls to this meeting.  Watching it at home is a blessing but watching it in person is indescribable.

 Unfortunately Rebecca had a Winter Guard performance so she couldn't go with us.  She really wanted to be there.  Dakota and Lizzie had a really good time.

After the conference I took the girls to the City Creek Center Mall for a little chocolate by the fountains.

A rare selfie on the way home in the parking garage elevator.

Royalty

Just for fun we took the kids out for a treat.  We took them to Burger King for dinner.  I don't think we have gotten the crowns for a long time so tonight we all got crowns and ate dinner as the royal family.  Some of the family are paparazzi shy but here are some pics of our fun evening.

Spring is in Bloom

Even though there is still snow outside spring is blooming inside.  We have started many plants for the garden and they are doing great.  Even CJ's Desert Rose plant is blooming.  It just looks so happy in here.

My favorite spring bloom though is our new apple tree.  We have always wanted to grow fruit trees so this year we picked up our first fruit tree...an apple tree.  Not just any apple tree though.  We have always said that if we got an apple tree we wanted to get a multi-apple tree so that we can have more than one variety of apple.  Our beautiful new apple tree has honeycrip, granysmith, and gala apples on it.  There were a few grafts that were not labeled so there is a chance of one or two more varieties on our tree.  I can just taste the apple pie now.  Mmmm mmmm, can't wait for the harvest.

Against our blue walls the tree looks like it is outside already.  For right now its blooms are safe and warm inside.

Sea Pearch

Dakota has been working hard after school twice a month all year long on her underwater robot.  She has been excited for the chance to build and compete with her robot and today we got to see the competition.  It was during school so only Megan, Alex, and I were able to go.  Her team did well.  It was very exciting and BYU TV was there filming the competition and taking interviews of the event.  Dakota's group from the Jr. High was the largest group there by far.

Megan looking down from the balcony where we watched the competition from the best position.

Dakota modeling her Sea Perch (under water robot).

After the competition the kids were treated to some displays by companies that specialize in the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields which is what this competition is supposed to be cultivating a love for.  We saw demonstrations of fire power from torches, aeronautics, a 3-D printer (my favorite), medical advances and more.  I don't know who was more excited and interested in all of the displays, the kids or me.  I wish they did things like this when I was in school.

Fun at the Park

Just a beautiful day today.  Couldn't resist taking the little ones to the park.

Very Hard Decision

This will come as a shock.  It happened so quickly but it is done.

As of today, we no longer own Twice Blessed Thrift Store.

I don't want to go into a lot of detail because it still hurts and there are a lot of questions I am trying to sort out.  The store is a lot of work but I love it.  Unfortunately that means that I am there more then I am at home.  I knew that would be the case going into this and I thought I could make it work.  The kids don't really want to be there after the store closes when there is still so much work to be done so we hardly ever see each other.  I promised my kids that as much as I love the store I love them more and if it ever came between us I would choose them and sell the store.

After 6 months of hard work the store is really taking off.  The client base grows everyday.  The daily profit is on the rise.  The store is loved by so many.  I know that by the end of the first year we will be well established and looking to move to a bigger building.  However, I am loosing my children.  As the store gets more successful my family falls farther apart.  They have to fight the store for my attention and that isn't fair to them.  I know they were willing to help in the beginning but I think that they weren't ready for the amount of work that it takes to run a thrift store and they may even feel that I love the store more then them because that is where I spend all of my time.  Without going in to specifics, I fear that it has indeed come to the decision I hoped I would never have to make but promised my kids I would.  I had to put the store up for sale.

It only took 2 weeks to sell because it was doing so well.  Today I turned the keys over to the new owners and came home to put my family back together.  In time I hope to understand all the "why's" I am asking.  For now, I will hug my family and focus on them.

New Store Additions

I have had the supplies to make an A-frame sign for the store for months.  I finally took a day that the whole family was here working and went in the back room to make the sign.  I think it turned out colorful and fun.  I used bright duct tape and some letter cutouts then covered it all with packing tape to make it weather proof.  It is sure to bring in new customers.

I also bought a candy dispenser for the front to hopefully supplement the store.  I LOVE it and think it looks great.  Let's hope it does as well as I hope it does.