Alexis

I love all my children, but Alexis is Alexis. And she is so cuddly and caring. And she doesn't talk back. And she doesn't pout. And she doesn't complain. And everybody loves her because she's such a sweetie. And she's the best hugger, eva! So this one is just for her.

7-member family

It cracks me up when the kids call their Hight cousins "The 7-member family." I used to refer to them as their Utah cousins, but they do have 3 others cousins that live in Utah, so I guess we couldn't call them that either. I suppose calling them "The Hights" would be best. But I kinda like their nickname for them, so maybe we'll just stick with that :-)

Anyway... so they came to visit us for Spring Break. Paul and LeiLani left early that week for a conference in San Diego, so the Hights stayed at their house to look after Kai, Luke, and Eli. Then halfway through the week, LeiLani came back, and Marcus and Lily left on a business trip to Chicago, so the girls came to stay with us, and the boys stayed at Paul and LeiLani's house. While the parents were gone, we got to celebrate Spencer's 13th birthday at Dave and Buster's and have a pool party. We always enjoy having visitors and the opportunity to throw a fun backyard pool party. It's too bad Alexis was sick that whole week. She was super feverish and lethargic. She pretty much stayed on my lap 12 hours a day, going in and out of sleep. I enjoyed the cuddles, but it broke my heart to see her feeling so weak and yucky. She got better that last day, kind of. I hate when she's sick and doesn't eat. She's already so petite.

Logan and Kai, doing what they do best: trading Pokemon cards.

Ashlyn practicing her calligraphy and Kendall writing who-knows-what in her journal.

We wanted to eat at the Culinary Dropout, because it's a tradition, but we should have set a reservation... we ended up leaving... and going to Dave and Buster's instead. We had to wait forever for our food, but at least the kids entertained one another.

Snack time! And bubbles making!

Pool Party! How many boys can you fit on that lounger? I see 5. And how many people can you fit into the hot tub? I don't know. Lots.

Back to Dave and Buster's to finish off those cards and get some prizes. Also, Spencer is Alexis' favorite. Always has been. And I love it. He is so sweet to her.

We found some baby kittens at Paul and LeiLani's house. They were in the bushes and the mommy took off when she saw us coming out of the house. The kittens couldn't have been more than a few days old. Their eyes weren't even open yet. And the one kept meowing constantly while the other one enjoyed the cuddling. They were so cute... and still I didn't consider adopting them for a minute. Cats are just too boring. But they were cute. Really cute. Really really cute.

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.