Adalyn Turns 5

Last week Adalyn turned the big 5!  I am not quite sure how we got from this...

to this...

but it has happened.  We have a 5 year old!  We started the birthday celebrations with a Mom/Daughter  date night.  On this date night she got her first present: getting her ears pierced:

She was so incredibly brave that I couldn't even believe it.  The workers told her to squeeze the stuffed animal on the count of three and afterwards she gave me a look that seemed to ask, "Is that it?"  I think she was waiting for something else to happen cause she wouldn't answer the workers, but when I asked her if it hurt she said, "A little."  Less than 5 minutes later she said, "They don't even hurt anymore, mom!"  She was so excited to pick out her earrings and feel like such a big girl.

Then we had a family over for cake and ice cream on Sunday...

And of course Birthday morning doughnuts for breakfast...

and more presents...

Then for her actual Birthday night, she chose to take a few friends to Planet Play.  6 kids + 2 adults + an endless buffet/arcade = Craziness!  But it was totally worth it!  They had so much fun and all of the kids were so great!  

A weekend full of festivities was the perfect way to celebrate our sweet 5 year old.  She has spent the last 5 years bringing joy to our lives with her sweet and caring spirit.  Some current things about her are...

• She loves to read. Everywhere we go she is reading signs, store names, tags, and anything that comes into sight.  She loves taking every opportunity to read a book to someone, and she especially likes to ask them questions about the story that she is reading.  She cannot wait to start Kindergarten and asks me often how much longer before she can go.  
• Her favorite toy right now is Legos.  She enjoys building, then taking apart, and then re-building.     She follows the building instructions and puts them together all by herself.  Every time we are in the toy section she finds the Legos and asks for a new one.
• Currently her favorite food items are Peanut Butter Sandwiches, waffles/pancakes, fuji apples (no Granny Smith), cheese, and ice cream.  
• Adalyn is definitely a mini caretaker.  She loves it when I ask her to help Quincy with something or help me clean.  She loves taking care of her babies, especially since getting a LaLaLoopsy Doll for her birthday which she now dresses, puts to bed, feeds, and wants to take everywhere we go.  She has the sweetest little heart and asked me the other day, "Mom, can I help you weed?"  Because she had friends over I told her that I was okay and she could play, to which she said, "But then you have to do all the work by yourself and it will go faster if I help you."  Seriously the most thoughtful girl.  
• She is in a gymnastics class and gets so excited to go every week.  She loves being involved in things and seems really interested in watching/pretend playing softball so we may try to get her involved in that.  
• She can't wait for summer because she loves swimming.  Every time it's just a little warm she asks if we can go to the pool.  
• Currently her pet peeves are dirty glasses, pants that don't fit right, Quincy touching her Legos, twisted blankets, and loose strands of hair.   

Adalyn has a sweet and funny personality.  Everyone who knows her loves her, especially those who know her well.  She continues to amaze us with how quickly she learns and the insight she has.  We love her to pieces!

Easter 2013

Our Easter Celebration...

Of course it began with coloring eggs...

The night before, we had a "special" egg hunt.  Inside these eggs were things that represented something that happened in the last week of Christ's life.  We all were able to learn about and show our love for our Savior.  HE LIVES and is the real reason that we celebrate Easter. 

On Easter morning the girls searched for the baskets that the Easter bunny hid...

Love these gorgeous girls...

Later that afternoon, we headed up to Grandma and Grandpa Wayment's house where they set up an awesome egg hunt and the girls were spoiled...

What a wonderful Easter!

March Madness in St. George

At the end of March we went on our 2nd annual Payne/Jensen trip to St. George for the beginning of the March Madness tourney.  Once again, we had such a great time.  In fact, we enjoyed it so much we extended our stay for a couple of days.  Here are a few of the things we did while we were down there...

                            First we started at Fiesta Fun where we got in some batting practice, played arcade games, and rode some rides.  The kids loved it and could have stayed forever. 

Quincy, Miles, and Addie... these 3 loved having so much together!

Driving the go-carts.  It was so funny to watch these 3 toddlers try to manage the go-carts!

Then we ate at the WORST mexican restaurant ever...

Seriously... both years we have somehow found the place that deserves an award for the worst service and food possible.  Last year was Ted and Allen's, and this year Pancho and Lefty's wins.  The only good thing about it... an experience that we will always remember and can now laugh about.  

The next day we headed out to Sand Hollow State Park.  It was still a bit too chilly to thoroughly enjoy it but was still a great time at "the beach."

Cute Jen and baby Griffin...

We started out Saturday with a visit to the Tuacahn Farmer's Market.  There wasn't much there, but what they did have was pretty awesome!

 Seriously... what other farmer's markets have camel rides?  After we paid, Quincy was too scared to get on so they told me I could ride with her.  It was pretty great.  

Dad's and kids go for a wagon ride...

Later that day we headed up to Springdale. It is the cutest little town right before the entrance to Zion National Park...

Here we made up for our awful restaurant experience.  Oscar's has the BEST hamburgers ever!

On the way back we found a little ghost town called Grafton where we climbed a mountain, and found some awesome buildings that were still standing. 

These 3 are the sweetest...

 On Sunday we were supposed to be headed home, but Devin (who is the best husband ever) knew that I wasn't ready to head back to snow.  So he called his boss and asked if he could work from St. George for a couple of days.  What a guy!!  So instead, we spent Sunday walking around the St. George temple and Visitor's Center.  It is gorgeous and I was even lucky enough to do a session one morning.  If you haven't been inside, I highly recommend it! So beautiful, with so much history. 

Relaxing in the hotel...

Our hotel also had 2 awesome playgrounds for the kids...

We spent the next 2 days hiking through the Narrows and swimming at the hotel...

At the opening of the Narrows.  Believe it or not we were all able to make it through!

We had been having so much fun that Quincy missed quite a few of her regular naps.  Eventually the fatigue won over and she completely zonked one day...

We had such a great time and it was the perfect way to escape from the teasing March weather in Sandy.  We loved spending so much time with the Jensen fam and look forward to next year!