april: e'erything else

All right, let's wrap up April. I don't want to rush it or anything, because it was a good month, but in the wings we definitely have a post about the time that Jack drove the minivan in May, so let's do this thing:

We bought a piano! After bustin' in to the church building on a regular basis for the boys to practice, Chuck and I scoured craigslist until we found one we really liked within our budget. Much thanks to a few of Chuck's co-workers who helped him load it after work one night and to a couple friends who helped Chuck unload it once he arrived home and to the Swensons for the use of the trailer - I think it liked being reunited with the truck ;). We put the piano into the bonus room, kicking off a room swap (Jack and Carma from the bonus room to the back bedroom, guest room from the back bedroom to the bonus room with the piano). It's so much easier for the boys to practice, and we often find them... and the littler kids... in there, randomly plunking away.

The first weekend of April was General Conference! I shamelessly copied all of my lds fb friends to get us through the two days - candy jars corresponding with certain possible talk themes (temples, service, families, prayer, etc) and rotating activities every half hour. Standing on the arms of the couches to sing along with the MoTab choir was an Izatt family original idea though ;). And on a cheesy religious note (the best kind!), Conference was just so beautiful and fulfilling - I honestly love when it coincides with Easter Sunday, because I feel like it's just so stripped down to the essentials without all of the extra fluff. And as always, I felt like several talks were given just for me. At our girls' day the weekend prior, we discussed a specific phrase pertaining to family dynamics. I was grateful and humbled when three or four different speakers specifically addressed and clarified the point that we were curious about. Pretty awesome stuff.

The boys patiently waited until Chuck got home from work that evening for an Easter egg hunt, and Chuck's hiding spots in the backyard didn't disappoint :).

The boys were pretty thrilled to be reunited with Uncle Cody at the end of March, and one day Jack was thrilled when Cody stopped by and spent time with just him! And I was thrilled to put Cody in charge of cutting up my bell peppers for me!

A month into the new library's existence and we're still big fans. The little two love the play area, and Jack insists on opening the doors as we enter and exit and carrying whatever Lego Star Wars/Ninjago movie he conned me into checking out ;).

Sometimes when Chuck works on Sundays he texts me to see how church is going. Sometimes I send him back pictures of my face that suggest I probably shouldn't answer that question whilst still in the Lord's house, haha. OH, and speaking of nursing (weren't we?), in mid-April I got to cross something off my bucket list that wasn't actually previously on it, but let's not get all technical: I nursed someone else's baby! A good friend had gone out of town on a much needed and well-deserved trip and left plenty of pumped milk for her little boy, who had taken a bottle before just fine - only this time he didn't. (KIDS, I tell you!) Long story short, I was so thrilled to help and it went really smoothly (until the point that Carma came into the room towards the end and got a little possessive hahaha) and it was really so cool to be able to be of service in that way.

OH, and another bucket list item hit the dust: eating sushi! Technically I tried some homemade sushi in high school, but I can't remember it super well. We had a modified girls' night in April - Nicole's sweet Myla was in the hospital in Boise for a few terrifying days so Paulina and Nycole and I busted Nicole out for a few minutes of fresh air and raw fish ;). And I didn't hate it! Both kinds were good, the extra cream cheese definitely helped, haha.

One day the two little kids and I stopped by to see my dad and have adventures in his fun backyard. Carma politely declined the blanket Grandpa laid out for her and opted to explore the bark... and bricks around the pond... and almost the pond itself... busy girl!!

While I was at my dad's house, the elementary school called to say that Will had fallen off the monkey bars and gotten roughed up a bit, including a bloody nose. I felt SO horrible that I was a half hour away and couldn't bring my sweet boy a new shirt right away. In a tender mercy, I was prompted to ask the nurse to call Clyde down and have him give his shirt to Will - I knew that Will would feel more comfortable in Clyde's shirt and that Clyde wouldn't mind wearing a shirt from the school's stockpile of extra clothing. Will's teacher emailed me a little later to let me know that Will was doing great, and I took this picture of the boys after school. I credit so much of Will's progress and general well-adjustment in life to his closeness to Clyde - both in age and relationship. Aaand now I'm crying, so let's move on ;)....

We loved being outside lots in April, and Clyde loved riding his new bigger bike, and Will loved inheriting Clyde's old bike. (spoiler alert: it quickly became apparent that even Clyde's old bike wasn't big enough for Will, so Chuck hit craigslist again and found another bigger bike so they now have the same size and their old ones are waiting in the wings for Jackers as he grows.) Carma still prefers a car to biking, even when she has to crawl in to drive.

Random exploring / conquering on a Sunday evening walk:

And some around the house pictures, including Grandma Pam holding Carma, wrapped up in a sweet blanket that my Grandma Carma made for me when I was a baby.

April was when I stopped watching the oh-so-cute Ashtyn and I couldn't help but dress Carma to match her that last day. She and her family have since moved closer to family in eastern Idaho and it's fun to keep up with her on facebook!

Oh, I was leaving the church with the kids after Cub Scouts one night when Chuck was there for missionary splits with the Priest's Quorum and found them posing for a picture. So naturally I snapped my own as well, resulting in this gem that if you glance really quickly at, looks like Chuck has his hand nestled into the crook of Andy's elbow, a la all the cheesy Regency romance books I read ... when it's in fact Elder Roberts' hand from the other side... but still, hahahaha.

At the end of the month, Will was so excited to celebrate his good friend Spencer's birthday with him at Wahooz!, but Clyde and Jack were less excited to be left home - so I rallied the troops for a Costco run with a happy ending of frozen yogurt swirl and a hot dog. I'm not saying I would never get sick of it if I ate at the Costco food court every single day, but I am saying that I wouldn't mind giving it a shot.

Chuck and I ended April with a lovely Ward Temple Night - on Bishop Swenson's birthday! A temple worker joked about refreshments afterwards and we all held back laughs - there were definitely cupcakes back at the church waiting for us ;). Bishop Swenson has put such a great emphasis on temple service and it was really neat to be there with so many ward members and especially with my stellar husband. 

And that was April!