Hulk Smash...

 Cindy hosted an adult Halloween party this weekend.  Matt and I are typically not costume people, but this year Matt got really excited about being "Hulk Smash" as ella calls him... The kids are  into the Advengures, even little ella who wanted to be the Hulk for Halloween.  When we talked Ella into being a girly costume instead, Matt decided to go all out.  Even after 12 years together Matt still surprises me... He really got into character and looked super hot in all those green muscles...  After the party we went to my mom's and Hulk scared the crap out of she and Brooke.  It was priceless...

Haven't blogged in a while...

Wow it's been a while since I've had the time to blog... The formats have changed and it has taken me a while to figure everything out again.  I'm not super computer savvy, but I try...  Things have changed in our family too.  The kids are "growing like weeds"  as my grandma Phillips always says.  The boys are all doing well in school.  Ella is finally potty trained which deserves a big Woo Hoo!!  Who ever said training girls was easy didn't have boys... Both Matt and I are in new callings, which is a big change for our family.  One thing that hasn't changed is we still love to be together and we love adventures... So I hope to blog about all the new Knudsen adventures... Instead of trying to catch up I'm just going to start and then maybe throw in a few from the summer fun.  Happy Blogging...

Our new Easter Tradition...

I was so not happy about the Easter Bunny expectations around our house. It had gotten out of control this year, and our kids had lost the true meaning of the holiday. Plus they had already received clothes and treats and surprises from all their grandparents... I decided we needed to do something different.
So sunday after chruch Matt and I spent some time writing little notes and thoughts to the kids. We each rote 4 notes on egg shaped papers for each of the boys, so they had 8 eggs to find. We hid them all over the yard...

The egg hut was a little bit tricky because the papers were white and flat so it took quite a bit of time for them to find all their eggs.
I was worried about how the kids would react to this new idea, but I was pleasantly surprised by the feeling of the activity.

Once all the notes were found the kids lined them up on the porch and read them one by one.
It was such a boost to all the boys to read notes from their parents, expressing love and encouragement, testimony and support. Sweet Hunter probably needed this the most because his eyes were teary and he jumped into my arms the moment he was finished reading.
It was an amazing family strengthening experience. I hope to do it every year from now on. I'm not sure it will always feel this powerful, but I do know it felt better than any Easter basket...

Easter fun...

Hunter and His friends started our Easter fun off with the great rabbit hunt.
They were so cute in their hats and gear on, chasing the rabbit that lives on the farm.
They were so proud when they finally caught him. We played with the rabbit for a while and then let him run wild again. I'm sure there will be many more rabbit chases...

James and Ella invited their friends over for an Easter egg hunt in the hay field.

the kids had a blast finding eggs, blowing bubbles, eating bunny treats, and laughing.
We are thankful for fun friends to celebrate with.

Aunt Valerie invited us to her annual easter egg hunt in Ogden.
It was amazing how many eggs she colors and how much candy is on her back lawn.
I didn't take too many pictures because I was distracted by all the cute new baby cousins...

Saturday we went to Great Grandma Phillips's annual easter egg hunt and BBQ.

The kids were once again spoiled with lots and lots of treats and fun.

Grant found the lucky golden egg, a tradition started by Uncle Rod when we were all teenagers. Grant scored $38.00, which burned a hole in his pocket all the way home.

Arise and Shine Forth

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve we spent with the Phillips bunch. We went Ice Skating again because the kids wanted to show grandma and grandpa their skills. Ella wanted to try the skate walker this time and did a pretty good job.

She got tired fast so she joined Grandpa and Andy on the bench.

Hunter skates so fast you can hardly get a good picture of him.

Grant stuck with Grandma most of the time. They were cute skating buddies.

For lunch we hit J dawgs, and then came back to Grandma's to decorate cookies and play. We ate a yummy dinner and had a great time together.

Grandma's tradition has always been Christmas jammies on Christmas Eve. I thought this was a cute memory.

More December activities...

We were lucky this year and got tickets to the Tabernacle concert at the conference center. We took Randy and Lara and had a great time. The lights were beautiful and the concert brought the spirit of Christmas in to our hearts. It was a great start to the fun Christmas week.

Jody took us all ice skating for Bryawna's birthday. IT was the first time our kids have ever been so it was quite an adventure.

Grant was disappointed that he couldn't just jump on the ice and cruse. It was a lot harder than he had wanted it to be and he sat and grumped for a while.

By the end of the day he had learned to skate better and he decided Ice skating was fun after all.

James and ella loved every minute of the day. James had a little walker that helped him out on the ice and he would just curse. He and Ally had a blast together. It was a really fun memory.

Matt and I were invited by the Kuhni's to attend the Bar J Wrangler concert at UVU.
It was really fun listening to the cowboy christmas music, but most of all to have some alone time...
We went to dinner with Riley and Kristina afterward at JCW.
I love fun Christmas dates.

Hunter went of his very first ski trip with the whole fourth grade at our school. They went to Sundance resort where they had ski instructor who made it a great experience for all the kids. Hunter is hooked. He would love to go again... if we could ever get any snow. I was super nervous to let him go skiing without me.... I guess i just want him to still his mommy. Why do they have to grow up so fast?