"Please bless Daddy in Okaha"

Matt is in Omaha this week, and he was in Austen last week.  The girls have been a little confused about where their daddy has gone since he almost never goes out of town for work.  In their prayers, they pray that Daddy will be safe in "Okaha."  I think it is very cute.  We miss him, but he'll be back on Friday.  So, I know we'll survive.

Actually, we're more than surviving.  Last week was Spring Break, and we had a play date nearly every day.  If Matt had been in town, I probably wouldn't have planned our week to be so full, but I knew I would want some adult interaction.

On Monday we met Jennie and her kids at the South Towne Mall.  Jennie had her baby a few days later.  So, I was glad that she was up to meeting us at the mall.  Our kids play so well together.  They played on the indoor playground and pretended to ride the rides in the food court.  Jennie shared cookies and candy with my girls, which made them very happy.  We are so excited that her third baby has arrived now!

We met my neighbor Jessica and her kids at the Provo Rec Center pool on Tuesday.  I had sent her a text inviting her to meet us, but I never heard back from her.  Fortunately, the girls and I still went to the pool because apparently she did text me back.  I just didn't receive Jessica's text until the next day.  Phones can be so unreliable at times!  I would have felt like such a heel if we hadn't gone to the pool.

Reagan has entered a new I'm-terrified-of-the-water stage, and I do not like it.  Last summer she would jump into the pool and throw her body all around without any fear, but now if she can't touch the bottom, she clings to me and cries.  It's sad, but honestly kind of annoying.  I hope she outgrows the phase soon.  Fortunately, they have a really nice "kiddie" pool, and since she can touch there, she has a lot of fun.  She'll even go down the twisty slides.

Kirsten loves swimming.  I expect that after her swim lessons this summer she'll be doing well enough for me to feel comfortable letting her swim without her floaties.  I can't believe how quickly she's growing up!

On Wednesday we went to our friend Melanie's house.  We get together nearly every week, and our girls are such good friends.  Sadie and Reagan are even starting to be able to play together, which is cute to see.  After lunch we went over to a park near their house and enjoyed the sunshine.

Since it was Spring Break, Kirsten didn't have preschool.  So, we invited her best friend from preschool over on Thursday.  Kynslie is such a sweet little girl.  She loved our chickens and was really good at including Reagan, which made me happy.  Kirsten was in heaven having her friend at her house.

On Friday Matt came home, and we all went swimming at the Rec Center in the evening.  I like to see him play with Kirsten in the water, but I admit I get a little envious that I can't play because Reagan is squeezing my neck.  We try to warm her up to the water by passing her back and forth, but she seems to consider it the rarest form of torture.  Sad.

Matt and I went on a date Saturday evening.  We went out to eat at the Art City Trolley, which is our favorite restaurant.  We like to get the spinach and artichoke dip with pita bread as an appetizer, and they also have the most delicious quesadillas.  After dinner we played black light miniature golf, and I won!  Honestly, we were pretty evenly matched for most of the game, but I did pull ahead on the last hole.  After playing mini-golf, we went to see Kung Fu Panda 3 at a discount theater in Spanish Fork.  We felt like we crammed three dates into one, and we still got home 15 minutes before we had told our babysitter that we would be back.

Sunday was pretty much our typical Sunday, and then Matt left on Monday.  About an hour after Matt left, Melanie and her kids came to our house to play.  Kirsten, Reagan, and Amielee really enjoyed playing outside together.

Then while I was in the middle of making lunch, my sister-in-law called to tell me that my parents had sold their house and had asked if we would go over to a house in our neighborhood to do a walk through with my parents' realtor.   Right after lunch the girls and I went over to the house with my brother and his wife.  I was able to get on Skype with my parents and show them the house as we walked through.

Now my parents are driving out from Tennessee to come see the house for themselves.  I'm so excited to see them tomorrow morning.  I can't believe it's actually happening!

On Tuesday I babysat one of my friend Brianne's kids.  Brenna is 11, and Quin is 4.  They played so well with my kids.  The four of them were running in and out of the house, which became pretty obvious by the amount of mulch that got spread throughout the entire house, but it was so much fun to see them be so carefree and uninhibited.  Also, since Brenna was 11, I didn't feel like I had to go outside every time Reagan went out the door, and that was nice.

Well, you can tell we've had a fun-filled week because I didn't even think to take a single picture.  Hopefully, it was still a fun read though.