Exotics Racing in Vegas...

Merril and I have decided that we need less "things" as we get older.  Instead we want experiences as gifts.  This year for Merril's birthday, I surprised him with the opportunity to drive a really awesome car around the Las Vegas Motor Speedway.  He could choose from several high end cars with badges like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Porsche, Corvette, Aston Martin, etc.  He decided to go with the Audi R8 V10.  It must have been a cool idea because Ryan R., his Dad, and his sister Becky all decided to come too!

Before racing, there was a block of time where everyone could sit and take pictures in the cars.  The kids about came unglued with happiness!

Mark's not even sure why but he's very excited!

After all the picture taking, Merril had to go and learn a few things and get his helmet.

 The kids and I messed around the nice facility while we waited.

Then it was time to take off!

Merril said it was fun because he likes autocross so much.

And then we went to Krispy Kremes with the kids because when Merril and I first moved to Vegas at the apartment complex called Latigo, we lived right across the street from Krispy Kreme.  We would come home late at night and smell the donuts being made for the next morning.  Delicious!

The kids had never seen anything so cool in their whole lives as the donut making machine.  What country mice!  It was a fun little adventure!

Thinning the peaches...

Time to thin the peaches.  I was trying to hurry and thin the peaches while the kids were at school.  Mark was "helping" and pretty much took over the ladder.  I still managed to get a fair amount of thinning finished and snapped a couple cute pics of my cutie!

I thought this was a happy pictures but now I'm not so sure.  

His eyes kill me.  Green on the outside and flecks of yellow in the middles.  I never thought that would be attractive but I'm loving them!

Kidlets...

I think it's so sweet when I come out in the morning and the kids are bundled under the same blanket watching cartoons.  :)  It makes me believe that one day, they will be more like a team instead of individual kids.

Merril's 37th birthday...

Merril turned 37 this year.  I planned ahead and made his cheesecake earlier in the week so it had plenty of time to age and get delicious.  We blew out candles as a family and then had friends over on the weekend.

I forgot to get lots of candles.  Oops.

We had friends over for a Mexican fiesta.  Salsa, 2 kinds of tacos, beans, rice, delicious.  Didn't I get pictures?  Hmmm, must not have.  Oh well, it was fun.

Plain White T's Concert...

The Plain White T's came to St. George and I kind of wanted to take the kids to a concert.  The Plain White T's are know for "Hey There Delilah" and "1,2,3, I Love You".  We got lots of kettle corn and treats and I brought ear plugs because I worry about things like that.  ;)

There were bounce houses for free and Jack and Juliet took off to play in them about half way through the concert.  Max and I stayed and listened.  

It was supposed to be family friendly but they swore a couple of times.  Woops.  It was still fun to go and listen to the live music!

Easter Sunday...

Oh it's time for Easter.  Time to remember the sacrifice of our Savior and the gift of the Atonement.  Time to listen to General Conference, feel a spiritual charge and renew our commitment to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  This year General Conference and Easter fell on the same weekend.  I wish it could always be like that.  We listened to Conference as we cracked hard boiled eggs and ate jelly beans.  Wonderful wonderful wonderful!

Reese's pieces carrot themed candy.

All lined up!  Ready....steady....

Mikayla is just fun to watch.  She still gets a head start and then the older 3 jump in.

GO!  Juliet seemed the most eager this Easter Sunday morning!

See what I mean about eager?

Such a frenzy and then it's over.  Everyone pours over their baskets, trading eggs

Dyeing Easter Eggs and the Winchester Hunt...

Poor Mikayla.  She's trying to drop her afternoon nap.  Most days it's fine.  And then there are days when she falls asleep on the couch at 6:00 p.m. and is up until 10.  It's a hard to be 3 when you have 3 older siblings who don't take naps.

That was just a side bar but we're here to dye some Easter eggs.  Mikayla dyed her hands too.

Mark loves to walk on the dining room table and push around the chandelier.  I promptly put him down for a nap.

We all love to dye eggs.

We love to find eggs as well!

Grandma Campbell's ward is the favorite egg hunt.  It's the biggest and the best!

This is Maxine's last year finding eggs on the lawn.  Next year she graduates to the 13-17 age group that searches for eggs in the desert adjacent to the lawn.  A REAL egg hunt!

Everybody loves the Winchester hunt.

Juliet was the only one to score prize eggs this year, which is unusual.  She shared prizes with all the kids and everyone was happy.

Mikayla scored some unclaimed fairy wings towards the end of the hunt.  I'm just showing off my new scarf Emily U. sent to me.  I felt pretty wearing it.  :)

Jack and the Pinewood Derby...

Time for Jack and Pinewood Derby.  Merril's not the kind of Dad that makes the car for his son so that he can win.  If Jack makes a slow car, so be it, as long as he did the work himself.  Jack's car is driven by a Lego guy.

Jack said the backwards cap makes him more aerodynamic.  *raised eyebrow*

It must have worked because he won in the 1st place in the Bear division!

The winners' plaques have dowels to hold the car in place.  I think they're pretty awesome!

Mikayla's Easter dress...

Mikayla wanted this dress for Easter.  Since I prefer dresses to have sleeves, I decided to buy a larger size, cut the excess off the bottom and then alter it to have sleeves.  I also purchased the most amazing sewing machine and was dying to try it out.

Before:

After:

My new/used machine is a Babylock.  It is computerized, does small embroidery, threads the needle, cuts the strings.......it almost sews itself.  If it ever goes kaput, there's no way I'd go back to a regular machine.  It.is.amazing.

Odds and Ends of Spring Break...

Some other odds and ends from Spring Break included a trip to the brand new Fiesta Fun Center.  They built a new facility with bowling lanes.  Maxine played in the arcade and won a mega jackpot!  Everyone who didn't win the jackpot was upset about her luck and made sour faces.

Merril purchased a snowmobile and went to play in the snow with his buddy Jason N.  I'm glad he has friends who like to do those sorts of things.  I'm more of a sip hot chocolate in the lodge type of gal.

And lastly, a traveling exhibit of the Vietnam Memorial Wall came to town and we took the kids.  Merril's great Uncle Maxwell died during the Vietnam War and volunteers were able to help us locate him on the wall.  I was more moved than I thought I would be.  I'm sure the original is even more so.

Goblin Valley and Capitol Reef National Park...

Merril had some work to do in the middle of nowhere Eastern Utah and he suggested we all go and visit Goblin Valley.  It was Spring Break so we loaded up in the Tahoe and headed out.  We got Arby's for dinner and Mikayla was so tired, she fell asleep chewing her Arby's sandwich.  I hope she doesn't choke.

Driving through little towns with small populations always makes me wonder, "Who lives out here?  Why do they stay?"  I guess you can get Netflix anywhere with an internet connection.  You could watch it 'till the cows come home, for realsingtons.  So we stayed in a motel in Caineville and then got up and visited the goblins.

I guess it was originally named "Mushroom Valley" which makes more sense to me. Not sure why they changed it.  I know Galaxy Quest, a space movie, had a portion of it filmed here.  It does look like Mars or something.  This area was totally open to hikers, which made it fun for the kids to explore.

Then we visited Capitol Reef National Park.  It had some nice Native American pictographs or petroglyphs.

It was a quick little getaway and we had a good time.  :)

Maxine and ZPPAF-Zion Piano Performing Arts Festival...

My friend and Maxine's piano teacher, Sara G., offered the opportunity for her students to perform at ZPPAF, which stands for Zion Piano Performing Arts Festival.  Maxine practiced her piece, Watch My Fingers Rock!, for months.  It was a catchy, swing tune and she became really good at it.

She performed and then the judges critiqued her piano technique and told her how to improve.

She did so well in her category that she won a $25 gift certificate to a music store in town.  :)