March wrap-up

Eagle court of honor

Our Ben received his Eagle rank on Sunday.

Todd's Dad made some nice remarks during the program.

My Dad read the Eagle pledge for Ben.

Todd and I received our parent pins.

 Ben joined the Eagle's nest.

 Talking with some of the great leaders that helped make this possible.

 Ben with the Stouts. Sweet Staci put together Ben's shadow box and Marty conducted the court of honor.

 Ben with his family and grandparents.

 I love these 3 young men! I am so grateful for their desire and efforts to accomplish great things.

 Nice work Ben!

We love you!

Prom

After the lunch was over for Sara's baptism, Michael ran home to work some more on his SBO election video (more on that to come), and then he hurried out the door to pick up his prom date for Airborne trampoline park.

 Later that evening they went to the dance.

 Rachel is such a cute girl. I'm glad they had a great time together.

 And a great group of kids to hang out with too.

EIGHT

Our sweet Sara is eight years old now. She was baptized the day after her birthday.

We woke up to snow this year for Sara's birthday. I told her it was very hot and humid outside in Australia on the Autumn day she was born.

 Sara is very nurturing. She couldn't wait to open her new doll and feed her breakfast while she ate her birthday breakfast.

I took Chick-fil-A to Sara at school for her birthday lunch. I sat in the school cafeteria chatting with Sara and her sweet friends during their lunch. It was a treat for me.

 Sara's friend Livy brought her a soft pillow for her birthday. Sara named it "Fatty the Sloth." Fatty takes up most of Sara's bed at night :)

 Grandma and Grandpa Stepan came into town on the evening of Sara's birthday. We went to dinner at Zao and they took Sara to Target where she selected another soft pillow. Her bed is getting crowded!

Todd was called to serve in the Stake Presidency just 2 1/2 weeks before Sara's baptism. The Bishop that replaced Todd in our ward is Bishop Lockhart. One of his first items of business as Bishop was to interview Sara for baptism.

Sara's baptism was a very special day for all of us. It was a wonderful opportunity to reflect on the days we were each baptized. Sara was so excited for her baptism. It was a joy to celebrate that special occasion with her.

Four generations.

Sara's grandparents and great-grandmother.

 Some of the friends and family that came to celebrate Sara's baptism with us.

Ice cream scoop, Spring, dance, lights, neighbor, teeth...

It took me several days to put my kitchen back together. It's like we've moved again...TWICE!

I'm not complaining though. It's amazing to have a new beautiful kitchen. I am so grateful!

I was so happy to find our ice cream scoop! We searched for months and bent several spoons while this scoop was missing. Turns out it was at the bottom of a box with unrelated items. Hooray for ice cream scoops!

 When Nana is home with me during the day and the weather is beautiful, I always think she will enjoy some outside time. Apparently I'm wrong. She sits by the door and looks at me like, "hey- why won't you let me in? It's only fun when you're out here with me!"

 Sara has a new little friend that recently moved into our neighborhood. They love to ride bikes with their purses over their shoulders. Nothing is in the purses but they certainly look grown up. 

Our stake youth recently had a hoedown to practice for our upcoming trek. Michael welcomed everyone at the start of the event as part of the Stake Youth Council.

It was so fun to watch the youth dance. 

As part of our remodel, Todd and the boys recently took down our old lights...

 And put up new lights. Thanks to Rob for his help too!

Speaking of Rob... we were at home one Sunday afternoon when Rob's kids knocked on our door with 6 key lime milkshakes for us. What a great neighbor! And what a delicious Sunday afternoon treat!

 Luke has started loosing teeth again. This one came out when his older brother squeezed his cheeks really hard.

Cookies, party, paint, Jazz, spices, lanterns...

Sara stayed home from school one morning because of a "tummy ache." I think she needed some time at home with mom just like the days when she was in preschool. After we ate lunch together and made cookies for the first time in our new ovens, she told me her tummy felt better and that I should take her to school in time for recess :)

 We threw a party for Michael's friends at our clubhouse to celebrate his birthday. I didn't embarrass him by taking pictures at the party but here is our setup before the party started.

 Todd's brother came to help us paint our office.

 Todd and I were invited to attend a Jazz game with people from his work. We were on the 3rd row!

 We were close enough that we had a conduct advisory warning on our chairs.

See if you can spot us on the third row.

 The Jazz won. It was a great game! Such a fun experience to watch it from the third row!

 As soon as our cabinet handles were installed, we started to put away our kitchen items. I had Ben and Mary organize my spices alphabetically in my new spice drawer :) I love that my spices are alphabetically sorted now!

 Our neighborhood gathered to celebrate the life of Baylor (the young man that passed away in a car accident last summer) on what would have been his 14th birthday. 

 We assembled lanterns...

 at sundown we lit the lanterns in front of each house...

 It was a touching occasion to watch so many people share in Baylor's memory.