Early this week I was sitting at home bored out of my mind and I just got the urge to take some pictures.  I am totally in love with my new camera and I am always up to using it.  I had read about an old Pioneer cemetery outside of town here.  I got Hailey dressed up in her pioneer garb and packed up to go get some shots.  It really was cold and windy that day but Hailey didn't seem to mind.  She is getting used to me being in her face with the camera all the time.  I took almost 100 shots and I found some that I thought turned out pretty good.

The cemetery is a sorry little thing.  Most of the headstones are missing or barely there.  Some of the graves are just marked with an old piece of petrified wood.  The other unmarked graves were just with metal crosses.  It made me sad to think that these people are well forgotten.  No flowers and dried weeds piled up everywhere.  I think I might return with some flowers in a month or so.  There was a small grave stone for a 3 year old child and that made me even more sad.  But the clouds made for some great pictures I thought.  Even ugly Wyoming has some beauty to it.

Grateful

As I mentioned in one of my last post, we took a trip down to the Denver temple to go through a session.  Since Corey and I have been married we have been to the temple several times.  We went the most when we lived in Phoenix before we had kids.  At least once a month we went sometimes twice.  I loved the Mesa temple.  Since kids have come along we have tried to go, but it hasn't been as frequent as we liked.  We took for granted the fact the temple was only an hour and half away in Washington D.C. and then about the same for Oklahoma City when we lived there.  So upon moving here and knowing that it is 4 hours one way to either the Denver or Billings temple made me realize how wonderful we really had it. 

We made some really great friends here, the Perry's.  They are so cute and have 4 kids that are staggered right along with ours.  They love playing together and it seems they always want to go over to each others houses.  Upon getting to know them better we found out they just got sealed as a family in the temple 4 years ago.  Their smallest was just a baby and since the sealing they haven't had the opportunity to go back.  So it was such a special experience from my point of view to go with them.

You could just see the awe factor still in play and as we go through the temple I think we get used to it and forget just how wonderful everything is.  It was the sweetest thing I have seen in a long time.  As we were sitting in the Celestial room I look over and see them close together with their heads touching.  Eyes closed and tears.  It really was beautiful.  And it made me remember and realize just how lucky we truly are for the Gospel.  I have always had it, so I always assume my life is like others.  But to see someone who knows first hand the difference before and after is just awe inspiring.  It gave me that extra kick I needed to go through with some stuff that I have been putting on the back burner.  As I was laying in bed last night I was putting things into plan mode and I got really scared.  Scared for change, scared for the unknown.  And I could feel myself starting to talk myself out of it.  But then the thought came to mind that fear is not part of Heavenly Father's plan.  It is Satan who wants us to fear.  If I truly trust and put my faith in my Heavenly Father and my Savior all will be right.  It will be interesting to see what the future holds.

Easter Morning

I read something in the Ensign the other day and I was impressed with what was said.  This woman celebrated the Easter Bunny Easter on "Secular Saturday" before.  Then on Sunday it was the day to remember our Saviour and the Crucifixion and the resurrection.  It was too late to implement this year, seeing as the Easter bunny missed Saturday, but next year I plan on doing it that way.  Complete with lesson of our Savior.

It was about 5:30am that I hear Lexie yell it is time to get up and find the baskets.  I was so dead tired from our temple trip the day before, but some how she found the energy to be up and going.  The boys soon followed and it was so funny to hear the conversations on serious basket finding.  Everyone found their loot and of course all the bunny poop (jelly beans) laying around the house as well.  Let's just say breakfast consisted of all sugar this year. 

I also love Easter for the fact the girls get new dresses.  I LOVE cute dresses for church.  I buy way too many for the girls and this year I felt bad because the boys asked what about them.  So I got the girls dresses and the boys sweater vests.  My kids looked so dang cute this morning.  I was one proud mama.

 Gotta have one with the silly face.

 Her hair turned out so cute.

 She has the best expressions.  This is so her.

 She did this pose all by herself.  Put some sass in it.

 Along with candy she got Littlest Pet Shops.

 This was actually one of the better smiles.

 Mr. tall and lanky.

 Logan got the travel game of Trouble with his candy.

 This is how it normally is at the Esquibel house.

 Don't even need to have words for this.

 Bright and early this morning.

 Gabe got a 100 piece puzzle. 

 Yes!!  Finally a picture that he is looking normal.  How handsome.

 This was more like it though....

 Sisters...and juice.  Can't part with the juice.

 Hailey posing, I have no idea what she was doing.

 Hailey got a Dora puzzle, but that mess behind her is all her doing.

I feel so blessed to have such adorable, loving, crazy kids that love me.

Easter Weekend

This Easter weekend we decided a trip to the temple was in order.  It has been awhile for Corey and I, and now that we live 4 hours from the closest temple it makes it extra hard to go.  We had originally planned to leave early Saturday morning and do it all in one day.  But Friday afternoon I get a call from Corey asking me to get a room.  Driving all those hours and doing a session in one day could be a little much for a tired husband.  We met up with our friends the Perry's to do a session on Saturday morning.  We were so blessed to be able to complete 4 names for Corey's side of the family.  It was a great feeling to get some of our own genealogy done.  The weather was perfect, and so we went a little early to get some pictures by the temple. 

Thanks to my sister in law Tiffany for watching the kids for us so we could go.  She lives close by and it really made all the difference for us.  Our official temple is the Montana temple, but it is also 4 hours away.  In a couple of months we want to make a trip up there to do a session.  Here are the beautiful pictures we got.

 The whole crew with the trees in bloom.

 I should really treasure this one, Lexie and Gabe together without fighting.

 I love his smile, so photogenic

 I love to see the Temple, I'm going there someday.

 This was our first attempt at a family picture, notice all the squinting.

I love this one....

Yesterday I was invited to go to the Ayers Natural Arch here close to Douglas.  Who would have thought just ten minutes away there is a little oasis here in the desert.  I have been craving that feeling of spring for weeks now, but everything here is still pretty much brown.  So as we drive down into this valley close to the river I got so excited to see so much beauty.  Granted the trees were still bare, but the grass was green and the river was low and moving slow and soft.  We brought a picnic and just let all our kids play down by the river and in the trees.  We stayed for 3 hours and I loved every minute of it.  We will have to go back in a couple of months when the trees are in full bloom and go play in the water.

Boys climbing in this awesome tree.  Perfect. 

 Logan couldn't climb the tree and got frustrated.  This is how I found him.

Lexie and Gabe in the tree. 

 Cute close up, even with chocolate all over her mouth.

 Strike a pose Gabe....uh huh.

 This is my favorite...I love her eyes.  So her.

 Lexie in front of the arch.

 Pretty arch.

 Lexie skipping across the rocks.

I laugh at this one because as I was taking his picture frustrated against the tree, he turned his back to me.  You can see his frustration with me as well in his posture.