Easter festivities

The Easter celebrations were in full swing for the Beeston family that weekend. 

But with Easter day falling not only on Conference weekend but also on April Fools, we had to get creative with certain things.

First off, Easter outfits! Since we wear pajamas all day on conference weekend, we busted out the Easter outfits the weekend before Easter. Look at those cuties. And that pose Logan is holding. Haha.

The annual easter egg coloring feast. This year, we used two different methods: the shaving cream and color dye, and the water and color dye.

We are in the best ward. They always plan super fun things and invite everyone. This year, it was a glow-in-the-dark Easter Egg Hunt at the Bell's. Bonus: there were baby chicks the kids could hold and pet. No chicks were harmed, but they came pretty dang close to it. Alexis was seriously scaring me. I thought she was going to choke that baby to death. Kendall was much soften. And the boys... they were too busy playing in the treehouse to notice the chicks.

4 sessions are a bit much for the kids, so we settled for 1 on Saturday and 1 on Sunday. That's really all they could handle. Jeez, that's all I could handle. Maybe one day we'll work our way up to 3, then 4. So Saturday morning, we watched a session, then off to the neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt we went. I am amazed at how many kids actually live in our neighborhood... and how little I actually see kids playing outside. Millennials...

Then Sunday, we watched another session, then off to Paul's house we went. Lily and her family had driven all day from Utah to spend Spring Break with us, and they arrived at the same time we did. So we did another Easter Egg hunt with them. Alexis is now a pro at finding eggs. It was too bad she started getting sick on Easter Day. But on the bright side, she snuggled with me all day.

Lily and Spencer

This is the 3rd year that Lily comes to visit us with just one kid, and I think it's a lot of fun. First was Sidney, then it was Ellie (when Alexis was born), and so now it was Spencer's turn.

We took them along with Paul, Kai, and Luke, to a Cirque du Soleil show. The show was awesome. But I get why LeiLani stayed back home with Eli... Alexis was entertained for about 10 minutes, then she was off running up and down the aisle, which made me super nervous because it was dark and the stairs were steep. Eventually we made a few trips to the hall where she could run around, let some energy out, and not bug people who paid $100 a pop to see the show. Lesson learned. Eli is 4, so... we still have at least 3 years of not doing this again with Alexis.

Wacky Six gets intense with that many people, and I love it!

Pool days are a must with a pool like this, and we even heated it for our guests.

I love to entertain in our backyard, with all the water features, fire features, and colorful lights.

We love to have visitors, so come vacation with us in sunny Phoenix.

Alexis

Oh, I just can't get enough of her. She doesn't talk back. She doesn't pout. She is loving, forgiving, funny, and oh-so-sweet. She gives the best hugs, dances every time she hears music, occasionally even sings along, and answers "yeah" so just about every question we ask. This is such a fun stage.

New hairdo

Before: long and blonde

During:

After: shorter and lighter

The picture my hairstylist took. My hair actually looks a lot lighter than the picture.

Spirit week

So, I sucked at taking pictures every day of Spirit Week, but this one was my favorite anyways... mismatched day! It was a lot easier to mismatch Kendall, and I think she kinda enjoyed looking a little crazy. Haha. School Spirit!

Spring Break Week 2: Disneyland

The funniest thing happened this week. We were packing our winter gear for Flagstaff when Billy asked me if maybe we should go to Disneyland, too. We looked at driving directions and realized that we'd only add 30 minutes to our drive by leaving from Flagstaff instead of Chandler... so we added some summer clothes to our luggage and made some reservations over the phone as we were driving up north. Spur of the moment is how Billy likes to vacation. Haha.

We didn't stay at a Disneyland Hotel this time, and I don't regret that decision for a minute. We saved at least $150/night by doing so, and a shuttle took us right to the park, which took us just as long as our walk from a Disneyland Hotel.

Day 1: Disney Downtown

We shopped until we dropped (window shopped- 'cause that stuff is expensive, man!), then we went to one of our favorite restaurants in Downtown Disney: The Jazz Kitchen. Mhm-mm! The desserts, especially! Beignets! Banana fosters! I am hungry just thinking about those! We hit the sack early that night because we knew we'd have a full day ahead of us, and we did.

Day 2: Disneyland
Well, we got lucky with the weather, I guess. It literally rained all day, starting 9 am. Sure, we had a wear a poncho. Sure, it was a little cold at times. BUT, on the bright side, the lines were super short! The only people there were the people who have had this trip planned for months, or longer, and couldn't NOT go. Everyone else, like probably people who have an annual pass or live within driving distance, opted not to go. Thank you to those people. Last time we came, we got to go on each ride twice, because of the rider-swap, but by the end of the day, we'd only been on a little more than half of the rides in the park. We were lucky to have 2 days at the park so that we could go on everything. This time, though, it only took us one day to go on everything in the park, and we even got to ride certain things 3-4-5 times!
Also, remember when I said Logan pouted a bunch this whole week? Well, he pouted pretty much every time we went on "a little kid" ride, like Snow White or Peter Pan or It's a Small World. Apparently, he is too old for those rides, but not too old too whine. He also pouted every time we told him he couldn't have a churro or candy apple for a meal. And if you know Logan, you know that he can hold that pout for a looooong time! Like, even if we went on "a big kid" ride right after, he'd still be mad about the last ride. Ugh. It's so hard to make this kid happy.
The rest of us had a great time, though. We tried our best not to let Logan's attitude bring us down (it was hard!) and enjoyed our vacation. The best part were the short lines, the Blue Bayou (yum!), the delicious candy apple, and the rides. So yeah, it was all the best! Including Kendall's poses, the boys' cheesy smiles, and Alexis being scared to death of Minnie.

Billy's pictures:

My pictures:

Day 3: California Adventure
So, the kids totally wussed out on The Guardians of the Galaxy. Well, at least Taylor and Kendall tried it once. But when it was my turn to go with them again, they changed their minds and left the line to go sit with Billy. Haha.
Best part of the day? Those few times Logan wasn't pouting. The banana split. World of Color, where Billy initiated a conversation with the family standing in front of us, and the family realized what a nice family we were so they let us stand in front of them with our little kids so that they could see the show. When the show was over, I said to Billy, "I know what you did there..." to which he answered, "Smooth, right?"

Billy's pictures:

My pictures:

Vacations are fun! But it's also nice to come home to our own stuff, clothes, and home food. One day, we'll probably go to Hawaii, the Virgin Islands, or even Europe. But for now, Disneyland is what the kids enjoy, and I am happy to oblige. Creating some fun Disney memories with our little kids before they get too big.