Bennett and Carters Fort

This was one of the greatest nights for me as a mom. I needed the boys to get out of my hair while I was making dinner. I went in their room and moved Carters bed out from under Bennetts and hung a blanket around his bed and made them a fort. My house was so quiet. After dinner Bennett asked if they could sleep in their fort and promised they would go right to bed. Here are the cutests brothers, asleep at 6:45p.m.

And surprisingly, they slept through the night.

Daddy's Little Nerds

I don't even think I need to say anything about this, except that Carter knows how to navigate through the ipad, better than me.

Easter

My boys sleep in the same room, but have different bed times or they would never go to sleep. Carter goes to bed first and Bennett falls asleep on the couch. I later carry Bennett into bed. On Easter Eve, they were so excited about the Easter Bunny they wanted to go to bed fast. I told them that if they Easter Bunny came and saw their eyes were open, he would leave and not hide eggs. I put them in bed and went upstairs. A few minutes later I heard Carter giggling and then Bennett said, "Carter, you are going to ruin Easter for everyone". After that, complete silence. I went down to check on them and they were both sleeping in the same bed with the covers tightly tucked around their heads. Bennett told me the next morning that they hid under the covers so the Easter Bunny couldn't see that their eyes were open.

It is so fun to see girly things in a Easter basket.

Our Easter bunny usually doesn't put candy in our baskets, but this year he gave the boys peeps and a chocolate bunny. The peeps were gone in seconds and I think Scott ate the bunnies.

It was nice to have Scott home this year for Easter. Last year it was just the boys and I, and it was a little lonely. Happy Easter to all!

Easter Egg Hunt

Another successful Howell Easter Egg Hunt.

Due to threatening weather, it was moved to the church this year. Carter ran in grabbed a few pieces of candy, sat down and started eating. Bennett hung back until the crowds died down (not surprising) and then picked up a few stragglers of candy. He had nice friends who shared what they got with him.

Ava loved the Easter Bunny!

This has been one of Bennetts best friends since they were babies. We don't get to see her as often as we would like. Bennett came up and asked if he could use my camera. He wanted a picture of Ari and then had me take this picture of them. It's hard to believe they will both go to kindergarten this year.

What can I say? You can't go wrong with a bounce house.

Escalante

We braved the weather and took the boys to Escalante for a little camping trip. It was cold, our air matress had a hole in it, and we woke up to snow. If it weren't for our boys, it would have been the worst camping trip ever. However, the boys thought it was the greatest trip we have ever been on. To see their excitement, made it really fun. As I was trying to sleep on the cold ground with both boys laying on my face, I couldn't help but laugh. They were so excited to sleep in a tent. When it got dark Bennett asked where the light switch was!

We made it through the cold night and cleaned up camp before going for a quick hike.

Bennett is such a leader, and Carter is always happy to follow.

The view of the city from the top of the hike. I love this picture of my three cute boys. It was worth every bit of coldness.

Swim, Wim, Sim

Ava went swimming for the first time today. She loved it! She loved splashing with her hands and feet, and loved watching her brother jump around. I have a picture of all three kids in this froggy towel.

She looks so big in this picture. I don't know if she is really this big or if it is the angle, but as a girl I would say it's the angle:) I love the round belly and the rolls on the thighs.

It was fun to be able to do something all together as a family. Bennett is so independant and just swam around on his own. I was surprised to see that he will now walk under all the tipping buckets of water and waterfalls. Carter was scared just enough to stay close to either Scott or I, but still would play and explore. Ava, as usual, was just happy to be there. Carter cried in the dressing room because he wanted to stay. On our way out we saw Grandma Christy working out in the gym and Bennett was so excited to try to get her attention through the window. All three kids fell asleep on the ride home. Once we got in the door, all three kids had to get in the bath and be smothered in Aquaphor. Their skin was burning and bright red from the chlorine. I should have taken a picture before they went to bed. Their cheeks looked like bright red shiny tomatoes!

Lt. Waddell

Scooter is officially an Officer in the United States Air Force. It was so cool to be able to go to his graduation. I am so proud of what he has accomplished. I can't imagine going through the stress and the regime that was recquired for this advancement. He was so relieved to have it over with.

His brother Jeff was able to come all the way from Turkey. Since Jeff is also an Officer in the Air Force, he was able to give the State oath to Scott. Those pictures are on another memory card and will be posted later. It was so fun to see these two brothers together. They are not only accomplished military members, but are also respectable husbands and fathers. They have turned out to be incredible men.

Scott was given the responsibility of being the Guide on Bearer. It was quit an honor to have this responsibility. It also required hours and hours of practice. The parade was really fun to watch and it was nice to have Jeff with me. He explained why they were doing what they were doing and what all the different responsibilities were.