Eye Exam and $400.00 later. . .

Well, Mr. Ethan came home from school two days ago with his glasses in his pocket. Apparently, while playing basketball at school, his glasses were torn from his face and stepped on and completely mutilated.

He needed an eye exam anyway so I made the appointment. His warranty on the frames had just run out (by only 10 days) so he had to pick new frames.

The doctor said his eyes have gotten worse and that has us worried. They seem to be worse at each appointment. The doctor asked Ethan why he signed up for one bad eye and one eye so bad it's off the charts. I asked if there is anything we can do to strengthen his right eye but there doesn't seem to be anything that would help. I even asked if wearing a patch over his left eye would strengthen his right one but he said it wouldn't. I guess "good" eye sight is 20/20 and his right eye is now 20/125 and his left is not "good" either. On a positive note, with his glasses he can see 20/25 with that right eye. I just hope it doesn't get much worse!

"I Must Have Done Something Good"

Sometimes I look at this man and think exactly what Maria sang in the "Sound of Music". How did I get blessed with such an amazing man? I love, love, love him!!

Party at Dean and Alisa's

We had a family party at Dean and Alisa's last weekend. We had a bar-b-q and the kids played and played. It is so fun to get together. Poor Rachel was sick and Shane was working but the kids were able to come. Ava followed Eden around the entire time and just loved doing everything she did. As you can see from the way mom and dad are bundled up, it did get a little chilly when the sun started to disappear.

She Actually Likes It!

I finally took a picture of mom that she actually likes! This is her and Sister Dymock at the convalescent home where they help the women enjoy Relief Society. Mom seems to really enjoy this calling and I have to agree with her-this is a good picture!

Ava, Whitney, and Reagan

While Jill took Nick to N.Y., Don came over with the girls, Whitney and Reagan. Ava loved having them over and they played and went on the neighbors swings for what seemed like hours. They also painted nails and just enjoyed being together. I believe this was taken April 8th.

Friends from Eagle Mountain days

Okay, so I found Beka Osmond on facebook and we decided to go up the canyon with our little families and do some fishing and playing. You'd think I'd remember my camera since we haven't seen each other in over 4 years. But no!
We had so much fun with them. Right after we met them at Vivian Park up Provo Canyon, their little boy, Sean, caught a fish. The only person on the river to catch anything. The kids loved playing with it (Mike put it in a bucket of water) and loved the shiny rainbow colors on it's side. We fished and played catch and let the little ones play on the play equipment for quite a while and then decided to get pizza together. We ended up at a Walker's gas station that had a Wise Guys Pizza. Mike and Beka have six kids, so with our four, we had quite a group of young-uns. Very fun get-together with great friends from our first little neighborhood in Eagle Mountain!

Wyoming with Dad

I am sick that I didn't get a picture of me and Ava with Dennis when we went with him to Wyoming on Friday! We had so much fun just driving and visiting. Ava was amazing and only started complaining that her "back and bum hurt" towards the end of the trip. We left at 7 a.m. and got home @ 6 p.m. Grandma and Grandpa Merrill watched the boys and they were able to play with Deanna's two boys, Zeke and Jason. I guess they entertained themselves very well and were no trouble. Ava loved having mom and dad all to herself and loved stopping for lunch and then at a gas station for some "snacks". She picked cheetos and m&m's. Wonderful day (except that one of the huge stones Dennis bought broke in half on the way home).

Easter Egg Coloring with the Cousins

I decided to buy eggs and boil them and let all the kids color easter eggs together at the birthday party. We had 15 kids and over 20 colors and only one spill the entire time! They loved doing this together and took great pride in their colors.

Pictures at Grandpa's 75th

We had so much fun together. We did a pinata but it was freezing outside so we didn't stay out long. We played a game called "Pin the hair on the Grandpa" (Zeke's idea) and the kids loved it. Little Reagan actually thought she was supposed to stick her "hair" to Grandpa's head. It was so funny! It was so fun to sit around and talk and let the kids play-good times!

Don and Jill

Don and Jill were the first to take pictures with Grandpa and Grandma and of course I didn't have my camera out and then forgot to ask them to pose again so I could have one of them. I will try to get a picture from Jill and somehow get it on this post.

Dennis and Nichole

Grandpa and Grandma with Dennis and Nichole and their kids, Ethan, Brad, Jake, and Ava.

Darin and Sunny

Grandpa and Grandma with Darin and Sunny and their girls, Savanna and Summer.

Dale and Anita

Grandpa and Grandma with Dale, Anita and their girls, Alexis, Cassidy, and Kayla.

Deanna

Grandpa and Grandma with Deanna, and her boys, Cody, Zeke, and Jason.

Grandpa's Gift with the Grandchildren

Deanna had a great idea of buying 75 gift cards to different restaurants for Grandpa's 75th birthday. He is holding up the poster with the cards and all the grand children's hand prints on it. We have Zeke, Savanna, Cassidy, Clair, Ethan, Cody, and Alexis (top row), Jake, Kayla, Nicholas, Brad, and Jason (middle row), Summer, Ava, Reagan, and Whitney (bottom row). The kids were so proud of their poster and loved seeing grandpa's reaction to it.

Clair's 75th

Deanna decided to throw a surprise birthday party for Clair the first weekend of April since a few siblings were going to be here for Easter weekend. Here we have Darin, Deanna, Dale and Clair, Don, Joan, and Dennis. Deborah and David were not able to make it. What a good looking group!

Ava and Mom Detail Dad's Truck

Here we are at the car wash, getting Dennis' truck detailed. Ava was such a good girl and played around for the 2 hours we were there. She loved "driving" the cars and playing with a little boy who was there for a while. She never cried or asked to leave. (Mom was ready to leave way before Ava).