Weekend in Vancouver

We took a quick trip to Vancouver, B.C. this last weekend to visit the Vancouver Temple open house with my parents. It was beautiful inside and outside. It was really neat to share this experience with Jack (note: we left Linds home with Clint's sister so we could enjoy the experience more thoroughly with Jack). I still remember visiting the Portland, Spokane and St. Louis temples with my family before they were dedicated.

We explored downtown Vancouver in the afternoon (luckily it didn't rain too hard on us!). We saw the extinguished flame, watched seaplanes take off and land, and walked around Gastown. Seattle is a pretty city, don't get me wrong, but Vancouver is beautiful (and clean!).

Gotta love the layers and coats (it was freezing!!)

Sunday morning, we checked out a cool suspension bridge (not the world famous expensive one, but a free one!). I realized I'm not such a fan (I get this from my dad :)), but the boys and my mom loved it!

We hiked around some trails for awhile and then headed over to Stanley Park for a quick visit. Clint and Jack rode the train and we let Jack run some energy off before we headed home.



We took a more scenic route part of the way home and stopped to check out some tide pools in a state park right on the ocean.

We are already looking forward to planning on a trip back this summer!

Straighten Up

I could manage this more often if I could find 30 extra minutes in my day......

Girls Night Out

Jack had a school party at an inflatable bouncy place, so Lindsey and I had a "girls night out" Friday night. She talked about going out all week with mom. We went to Old Navy and found some treasures. Linds tried on some clothes and tried to sneak under the dressing room door half dressed. Then, we met up with the boys for ice cream. Can't wait to do it again in a few weeks when the boys go camping!

We love spring!

We love spring around our house:
We went to my mom's last big activity as Ward Activities Chair: a hawaiian luau (okay, maybe that is a bit more summery, but oh well)

We went to the Spring Fair at the Puyallup fairgrounds with some friends. We watched dock dogs (dogs jumping into a pool and having their jumps measured (?)), watched pig races, pet some reptiles, checked out some animals and generally had a fun time enjoying the sunshine.

And of course, the big one......T-Ball has started. My dad and Clint are coaching and Jack loves it! They have had a few practices and today was the big Jamboree.
The big baseball star:

The cheerleader showing some cheesy spirit.

Seriously??

Okay, enough of the woe-be-me sob story posts (sorry about that...I've been in a mood lately...but I'm bouncing back!). I have one more sad thing to share...but this is so sad, it's funny.
When my grandpa passed away in January, he left his baby grand piano to me (since I am the only one in the family that plays). Unfortunately, we do not have the space in our house for a baby grand, nor will we probably ever have that much space in a home (not to mention the piano is in Cali). So, we decided to sell it and use the money for another piece of furniture that would fit in our home. I was a little sad because I would've loved a baby grand, but such is life.

Well, the house sold this weekend and it was discovered upon entering the house after the sale that the baby grand had been stolen. Yes, stolen. Um, I just want to know how you steal a baby grand piano. It would require a whole lot of man power and brains to get that huge thing out of his house with tiny doors and windows ( and no one saw anything fishy going on?!?)

So another stroke of unluck for the Karren clan, but at least it makes a great story. :)

When it rains.......

After these last couple of weeks, I firmly believe that when it rains, it pours. We've had some real puddles at our house....

After months of sunshine and mild weather (which meant we were outside nearly every day), April showers set in and we've been stuck inside for nearly a week

I dropped and broke my cell phone

Clint's car needed new tires and a new part

My car had a flat tire that needed to be repaired and the low tire pressure light is still on (and the brakes are making funny noises)

I showed up at a doctor's appointment that I had been waiting 6 weeks for only to find out the doctor had been called to the hospital- now I have to wait another month to see him

I met with a mortgage lender only to find out that mortgage rates had jumped over the weekend and were continuing to jump as we sat there- bad news for us buying a home

I have the only 3 year old with colic- she has literally been crying/whining/fussing/screaming for at least 3 hours a day the last few weeks

My 3 year old decided it was fun to bite people as a hobby

My 5 year old decided it was fun to yell at me a lot and be quite demanding


When the rain started falling, my tears started falling every time something happened. Now, I just laugh and ask "What's next for the Karrens?" Every day is a new adventure and there have been some sun breaks in between the showers:

Jack learning how to master the monkey bars

Lindsey learning how to finally pedal her tricycle (sorta)

Finding a cute bathing suit (4 more months until Mexico)

Clint being home to play more

Jack and Clint starting T-ball

We played outside at the park today!!

Easter celebrations

We wore our Easter outfits to church last Sunday since General Conference landed on Easter Sunday this year.

I love this one of Jack...too bad Linds is cheesin' it and holding my IUD pamphlet that she found. For some reason, she didn't let it out of her sight the whole morning (can you find it in all the pictures above?).

We spent Easter at my parents watching conference. We did a little Easter Egg hunt inside in between sessions since the weather was less than desirable for an outdoor hunt. They loved it! We didn't really push the Easter Bunny this year. The kids saw me fill the eggs and knew we were hiding them. I'm not sure what our take is going to be in the coming years, but I would like to focus on Christ on Easter. It was a little awkward when people asked them if the Easter Bunny came. My kids just stared at them with blank expressions and I had to cover quickly.

Lounging on the couch.

Finishing up a yummy Easter dinner.

Lindsey didn't eat a lot of dinner, but she inhaled the coconut cake for dessert. She literally did not come up for air until she had eaten 2 pieces. Hmmm. I think we have found her favorite dessert?

All in all, a lovely Easter day. The best part was leaving the kids at my parents for a sleepover and heading home to an empty house after the day's festivities.