Brent's Surprise Birthday Party...

My little brother turned 24 this year. My mom wanted to throw him a surprise party because the last few years he has not been able to celebrate with family and friends due to his mission, or family being out of town. Anyways we had the party at our family's favorite Mexican restaurant, Cancun. So tasty! We all had a great time celebrating. Brent was completely surprised which made it even better. Happy Birthday Brent!

New riding lawn mower...

We moved into our new house just over a year ago. The difference between our lawn now and our previous lawn is the size, our house now sits on a 1/2 acre. Last summer we purchased a new lawn mower, there was no way Bryce was going to mow using our NO gas push mower. Bryce really liked our new mower, but soon realized it still took quite a bit of time to mow from start to finish, two hours to be exact. This year it did not take Bryce long to remember that he wanted a riding lawn mower. Yesterday we purchased one and Bryce could not be happier, yeah!
Today Bryce came home from work and immediately went outside to mow the lawn. Kyra loves to help daddy work outside, and what better way for her to help than have her sit on his lap and mow with him. They had fun together.

At first Kyra was a little scared...

Then she warmed up a bit...

Then she warmed up a lot and helped Bryce drive...

I LOVE my kids...

My kids crack me up. Yesterday I was definitely having one of those days, BUT my kids made me laugh several times throughout the day.

I went to wake Kyra up from her nap and she was sleeping on the floor next to her bed, surrounded by and on top of several toys.

Later while eating dinner, Miles was so happy to be eating pizza. He raised is hands several times shouting for joy, and each time smeared pizza sauce all over his face and hair. 

I love my kids, I appreciate the happiness they bring into my life each day.

Easter!!!

We had a great Easter this year. We got to celebrate with both sides of the family. Saturday we met up with the Ellsworth cousins at Grandpa Dec's assisted living center for a BIG Easter egg hunt. The kiddos had a blast finding eggs with lots of treasure inside. After the adults got to chit chat for awhile while the kiddos ran around and played together. We had a lot of fun, thanks Grandpa Dec for inviting us.





Bryce's brothers' Ryan and Lynn were excited to pose with the Easter bunny...


We then drove out to Marsing to celebrate Easter with my family. We ate a fabulous Easter dinner (ham, potatoes, baked beans, deviled eggs, jello pretzel salad, and rolls) We were so full from dinner we forgot about dessert, haha! The remainder of the night was spent outside by the fire enjoying each others company. Easter morning we had an egg hunt, the kiddos had a blast finding candy filled eggs EVERYWHERE. There were only four kiddos searching for LOTS of candy. Kyra understood the whole concept from the get go and was thrilled about each egg she found. After the kiddos had their fun, the adults got to have a little fun. My mom and dad hid a big chocolate bunny holding five dollars somewhere outside. Everyone went crazy looking in lots of random places, BUT in the end I was the winner. This is my third year in a row finding the adult prize, yeah! Later we all went to church, ate leftovers, relaxed, and then came home to Boise. Overall we had a wonderful Easter weekend.

We'll miss you Grandma Dec!

Dorothy LaVella Dec 1924 - 2012 Dorothy LaVella Dec, age 87, homemaker, died at St. Luke's Medical Center on Tuesday April 3, 2012. She was born May 28, 1924 in Whiteson, Oregon to the late Herman Hellekes and Martha Marez. She graduated from Willamina High School in Willamina, Oregon. In September of 1948 she married Richard Durant in Salem, Oregon. She later married Theodore Dec in June 1959. Dorothy lived in Salem, Beaverton and Portland, Oregon. She and her husband had just moved to Boise in August of 2011 to be closer to family. Dorothy loved to dance and belonged to two dance clubs in Salem Oregon during the 50's and 60's. The 56 Dance Club and Wisteria Dance Club held many fond memories for her and her husband. In her later years she loved to play cards, play bingo, and to be with family and friends. She also loved to go to the beach any time of the year. She is survived by her husband Theodore, daughter, Pennie Ellsworth of Nyssa, Oregon, son and wife Kerry and Vicky Durant of El Dorado Hills, California, and son and wife, Tim and Dianne Dec of Mountain View, California. She had ten grandchildren and 27 great grandchildren. Dorothy loved shopping for her grandchildren and great grandchildren and will be remembered as a generous and attentive wife, mother and grandmother. The family would like to thank Grace Assisted Living Center, the emergency room staff, ICU and Telemetric staff at St. Luke's Medical Center in Meridian for their help and support. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the American Heart Association .

General Conference

My family growing up had many traditions. One that I loved and continued with my family was eating a nice breakfast together before the Sunday morning session started for General Conference. Breakfast consisted of a special breakfast casserole (only made twice a year for General Conference), cinnamon rolls, and some kind of fruit. This year was no different, we enjoyed the same great breakfast together as a family before hearing from our beloved general authorities. General Conference was so good this time around, I'm excited to read the talks again in the next Ensign.