Utah trip, Eliza's blessing

We all thought the winter would eventually come here in Idaho Falls, but it never really did! We're setting all kinds of record highs around here, and it's definitely spring. It's awesome. Caleb even mowed the lawn last night. Last year we didn't have to mow until June! Samuel was out there with him too. He loves to "work hard" with Daddy. He got to go with him to the gas station to get gas and everything. I looked out there at one point and saw Caleb bend over to look closely at something on the mower. Not a second later Sam was bending down too, inspecting the mower exactly like Daddy. :) He had to come in after a bit to take a bath but after his bath he opened the door to see Caleb mowing and yelled out, "Daddy you're such a good helper!" You can tell he feels so proud whenever he gets to work with Daddy. Last week Caleb had to replace a coil in the van and Sam was out there helping him. He came back to get something for Caleb and when he went out the door again he waved to me and yelled confidently, "Bye Bye Mommy!" and the way he said it and swaggered I could just tell he felt so grown up and cool that he was leaving Mommy to go work. Kids are the best.
I've been slacking on blogging, but here are a few more brief updates.
Laura is back in Idaho!! She arrived last Sunday. We picked her up from the shuttle stop, had dinner, then drove her up to Rexburg. We're so excited to have her back.
Last Wednesday I drove to Utah with the kiddos to be with family for Cami and Tyler's graduation from BYU. I was a little nervous to make the trip alone but the kids did great. We picked up my parents at the airport Wednesday evening and then met up with Steph and her kids and Jeff at Cami and Tyler's house for a yummy dinner. We stayed at Rachel and Ben's house in Springville and Sam loved playing with Jared and Nephi (Abish was gone with Grandma and Grandpa). As always Rachel made delicious meals for us and took great care of us. :) I realized how carefully I need to watch what I say... I went downstairs to change Eliza's diaper and Sam said to Rachel, "Eliza pooped a big one?" Rachel has a baby scale so we weighed Eliza... 11 lbs. 7 oz.! Not bad for 6 1/2 weeks old.
We ate dinner at the Tobler's on Thursday and the kids loved playing in their backyard. Sam especially loved the full sized soccer net. He's never been that close to a REAL one. :) Friday we went to graduation and took off back to Idaho that evening. Mom, Dad, and the Webbs rode in one van and Jeff and Kerri rode with us. It was fun to get to know Kerri a little better. She's awesome and perfect for Jeff.
Brigham and Heather Redd were nice enough to let some of our group stay at their house, as we really couldn't all fit at our place. They just live a few miles down the road so it was pretty convenient. Saturday we went up to Rexburg and toured the new I Center and walked around campus, then we went to the Sand Dunes about 15 miles from Rexburg. Dad rented a four wheeler and we had so much fun!! There was a little lake there so we brought sand toys and the kids got all dirty and wet and loved it. We didn't take many pictures, mostly videos, but here's the few we got.

Saturday night we had cake and ice cream for Samuel's birthday. It wasn't until Tuesday but we wanted to celebrate while everyone was here! Cami and Tyler and Millie arrived just in time for that. Pics and details to come on Sam's birthday! We all ate breakfast at our place Sunday morning then went to church at 11. Eliza's blessing was beautiful and I was SO happy to have family here. They all had to take off right after sacrament meeting. After church Caleb commented how empty our house felt. It's never fun to get used to being all by ourselves again when we've been around extended family. Not that we don't love each other and aren't happy it's just that it's so great to be with everyone! I still need to get the big group pic from Laura.

This is her first smiling picture!! She's been smiling occasionally for a couple weeks now but now she smiles several times a day. She's eating and sleeping well and is perfectly healthy. She slept from midnight to 6 am the night before her blessing! I sure love this chubby little girl!