An Aquarium in the Desert....

...What a Grand Idea for a Friday Family Fieldtrip!

up close & personal with the stingrays in the touch tank
Finding Nemo

Daddy introduces his girls to the Utah Brown Trout

Wow! I just love this quote!!!

We had a fantastic day @ the Living Planet Aquarium on Friday. Zoe LOVED the fish & hop hops (frogs) & ssssssss (snakes)! She was so super cute running from exhibit to exhibit. She couldn't get enough! She hasn't stopped talking about our little field trip all weekend! I hope to take her back on her birthday in a few weeks!

sisters & friends ~ a kiss on the cheek
zoe (2years) and eva (6months)

eli - almost 6 months....time flies!
getting ready to crawl...good form little man!

my smiley guy....eli loves to play with his feet these days

Eva Helena & her cousin Jenessa
Miss Zoe Marie ~ The Proud Big Sister
Elijah Sherdon & Aunt Fudge

An Easter Blessing....or Two

We were lucky to have Eva & Elijah blessed in our new ward on Easter Sunday. Wesley did an incredible job wrestling 2 six month olds and keeping his cool during two very touching priesthood blessings. We had a ton of support from family & friends...thanks to everyone who spent their Easter celebrating Eva & Eli with us. We love you all! We also had a gorgeous sunny afternoon brunch & open house at our new home. What a wonderfully special day!

*An Eggtraordinary Easter*

zbug experienced her very 1st easter egg hunt this year & it was a total blast! in our new neighborhood they have a tradition of hiding eggs at a nearby park the saturday morning before easter. the fathers show up 30 minutes early & hide all of the eggs....later the kids line up & go crazy running through the playground searching for their eggtra special treasures! zoe found over a dozen eggs, and she was high on sugar for the following week. our new neighborhood is so great~there is a wonderful sense of community here. we love it!

Children are the hands
by which we take hold of Heaven

life is beautiful ~ an update from katie & co.

the last month has been a fun & crazy whirlwind of activity, hence the lack of blogging...but now i am starting to feel the ground under my feet again so i wanted to document a little update. on march 9th, we closed on our very first home. buying a house was an exhausting & exciting process, especially with 3 kids under 2 in the car on most trips out to look at properties, but we finally found the perfect home & it was well worth the wait. our home is in a wonderful neighborhood with fun new friends on all sides. we have a gorgeous yard...the previous owner was a horticulturist & she has desertscaped the entire thing. we also have a peach tree, 2 plum trees, 2 cherry trees, a butternut tree, a large herb, veggie & strawberry garden, & grape vines all along the back fence! my grandpa sherd has his fingerprints all over this place. i know without a doubt he led me to this home. there is a fantastic hiking/walking/biking trail that runs between all of the back yards of the houses in the development ~ with 4 fabulous parks within walking distance from our home. i can not say enough good things about our new ward & neighbors, and we are out of the city enough to escape the yucky inversion & light pollution, so you can see a million stars in the sky at night! we couldn't ask for more. we have been blessed beyond our imaginations. during the last four weeks, i have been rushing around trying to set up some sense of normalcy for the kids, unpack a billion boxes, and prepare for the twins' blessing on easter sunday. we had a wonderful easter with a ton of friends & family members there to support us. wesley did an awesome job blessing two babies, and we enjoyed a lovely brunch at our new home following church services. i am so grateful to be back home in utah, to be in my very own home, and to be surrounded by a lot of love & support. my next project....a luau for zbug's 2nd bday party.

wish me luck! :)

eva & eli in the double stroller from gub gub (grandma diane)

we are out on the hiking trail that runs past the back of our house every chance we get!

this day was a bit chilly, but we couldn't resist the fresh mountain air!

1 of 4 parks within walking distance from our new place

zoe digs for hidden treasure at a nearby park

ANOTHER FAVORITE AFTERNOON ACTIVITY

zoe reads to her siblings

this day her selections were from the qur'an, the book of mormon, & the tao te ching. i guess she figures they are ready for a course in world religion. she cracks me up! if given the choice.. do you want to play, watch a show, or read?...she almost always says, "IWANAWEAD!"

miss zoe crocker

zoe loves to cook!

here she is making her world famous snickerdoodle cookies in our new home.

sir eli 4.5 months
princess eva 4.5 months