Hi Grandma!

Sorry I haven't posted anything yet. Life as you know is busy. In a nutshell, here is what we have been up to as of late. We had a wonderful Easter dinner the week before Easter since Donna and Verne were up in Utah with you. Donna is always good about making sure we do an easter egg hunt with all the kids. This picture is at our ward activity. As you can see, our kids aren't really thrilled with people dressed up in costumes.

This next picture is of all of your great-grandkids through Donna and Verne. We do this every year. The kids were so good and patient. We are so excited to add two new little girls next year. The family is growing and we're loving every minute of it.

For school this year, Whitney is in Kindergarten, Brayden in 3rd grade and Kira in 5th. They all are doing very well and made it on the Honor Roll. We are amazed at their continuing progress. Blake and Hailey are getting so big and love to do everything the older ones do. They all love to be outside playing with snails, in the dirt and riding their bikes and scooters.

Whitney

Brayden

Kira

Blake

Hailey
During Spring Break, we went with Donna, Emily, Kristena, Renee, Heather and all the kids to the beach. It turned out to be a nice, sunny day and the kids all had fun playing in the sand and water. We plan on making many more trips this summer. The kids are all ready for school to be out.

Last week, we were able to get really cheap tickets to Sea World and enjoyed a great day there. Heather, Kerri, Emily, and Donna and Verne were all able to go also. We had fun seeing the animal shows and even went on a ride. The kids really liked it and were sad to go home.

Through the last week, Ivan and I had the opportunity to go to New York City. We did as much as we could possibly do in 6 days. We went to the Rockafeller Center, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Times Square, Central Park, a Yankees baseball game, a broadway show and ate at some yummy restaurants. Our hotel was close enough to everything that we either walked or took the subway. At the end, we attended a session at the Temple there in the city. It is a beautiful temple. On the outside, the city is so loud, but inside the temple, all of that is gone and it is very quiet. We had to remind ourselves that we were in the middle of a busy city. Some day, we want to return with the kids and do a church history trip. It was an amazing experience.

We love you so much Grandma and are so thankful for your example to us all. We miss you and will see you as soon as we can!

Love, Ivan, Anne Marie, Kira, Brayden, Whitney, Blake and Hailey