Only the highlights....

Howdy folks...this here's the wildest ride in the wilderness. So be sure to hold on to your hats and glasses as you try and read up on our latest and greatest!

After the blessing and baptism, we spent a fabulous week in Arizona hanging out with our cousins and seeing friends and enjoying warmer weather! We even got to see the Gilbert Temple construction...can't wait till it's done!

Then we headed back to the cold and enjoyed a fun few days in the snow before it all melted. The kids spent the whole day outside building forts and snowmen, and Jared even came home early to build snow tunnels for them!

After turning 8, Cole was more than excited to join the cub scouts. His first night was the blue & gold banquet and he was more than excited to go. He and Jared built a tower out of marshmallows and candy and won the most aesthetically pleasing tower out of the pack. Wahoo!

Max turned 2 months old, and I was able to get a picture of the 4 of them with them all looking at the camera...that's a day to celebrate!

Then...out of the blue, we had about 3 days of warm weather. We busted out the bathing suits after school and played in the neighbor's hose and in buckets of water. The kids thought it was great! Thank goodness we keep those swim suits handy!

In celebration of St. Patrick's Day, Kate picked Rainbow cupcakes and was patient enough to help me with them. Then, as the kids went off to Cole's final basketball game, a leprechaun visited our house, left a clever little poem at the door, and hid money all over the house leaving picture clues on our ipad for the kids to find them! Loved it!
However, they did not love eating Green Mac 'n Cheese. Good to know for next year!
Cole took a Spanish class and has learned quite a few words. Hopefully, that'll come in handy when we move back to Arizona!
He also finished his first season of playing basketball with the city of Clifton Park where Jared was the assistant coach. I think we have a ball player on our hands! One game, every time Cole got the ball, he got a point. I think it was all the practice with his cousin, Nate! Thanks Nate!
Easter was quickly approaching and it was time to die Easter eggs...one of the kids favorite things to do. They made all sorts of colors and are getting pretty good at designing their eggs!
We were lucky enough to be with family for Easter and headed to Vienna, Virginia, just outside of D.C., to visit Emily and Christian, and the bonus was Grandma Parker! It was fun to be with family and the kids had a blast with their cousins and we were able to see many fun things!
Doing the Easter egg hunt....this year, the bunny even hid some for Jared, Christian, and Grandma! That tricky bunny!
Thanks to our Grandma Dunyon, she is so quick and thoughtful, she sewed the girls some dresses for Easter and mailed them lickity split just in time for Easter. Thanks Grandma Dunyon for making us so pretty Easter Sunday!
Of course, we enjoyed a meal of ham, potatoes, salad, and rolls (yummy Grandma Parker rolls), and topped it all off with decorating sugar cookies for dessert. The kids loved it and were very good at drawing the bunny faces!
We were even lucky enough to get a night out with some good friends, Chad & Jamie Twitty, before they head off to Singapore on another assignment. It's been great having them close again and seeing them. We will miss you Twittys! Maybe our next sabbatical, we'll head to Singapore! Good luck!
Some of our stops while we were near D.C. were Arlington Cemetery....amazing to see. Larger than you can imagine, and it was neat to see the Arlington house, the Kennedy's grave site, the Challenger grave site, and the tomb of the unknown soldier with the changing of the guard.
We also got to spend one morning at the American History Smithsonian where they saw the First Ladies Inaugural Dresses (Kate's favorite), Dumbo, the Scarecrow's hat & shoes, and Harry Potter's cloak!
And of course, an original Mouseketeer hat! A little bit of home.
After spending 5 days with cousins, late nights, and pure delightful exhaustion, we headed home and made a few pit stops on the way. First stop, we spent the night in a hotel in Gettysburg, PA. The kids loved swimming in the pool and the free breakfast and then headed out the next morning for a two hour tour around Gettysburg and the battle sites. Our guide was great at keeping the kids entertained and Jared was quite captivated. Gettysburg is a beautiful place and very humbling to stand in the places that famous people stood and our soldiers fought for freedom.
And it just so happened the Hershey, PA was on our way home so of course, we had to stop for a ride through the factory and CHOCOLATE! Jared couldn't help but buy the 1 lb. Reese Peanut Butter Cups! YUM!
2 more hours down the road and our final stop was at the Crayola Factory. We spent a short 2 hours there watching how they made crayons and playing with all the products that Crayola makes. A little busier than what we wanted but the kids had a great time anyway!
And here it is...the World's Largest Crayon! Only if Kate could get her hands on it, I am sure she'd color with it till it was all used up! Here's to my budding artists!
Needless to say, we pulled in late at night, exhausted children....and parents, but a trip well worth it to see family and the sites on the East coast. Max was a trooper and is starting out as a world traveler at only 2 months. Love you, Max!

I just wonder what our next month will hold for us! Yee-haw!