ermakaluso

Out with the old...in with the older!

2011-02-26T22:10:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago when Nana Sue was here, I took this picture of her and the girls in the gondola at the San Diego Zoo. Little did I realize until later that they were in #36 and it was passing right as #35 went the opposite direction... and that is exactly what happened to me today. #36 is here and there goes #35! To celebrate, we went to Wild Animal Park with the girls. It was a drizzly day, so we just saw a couple of animals and then went on the Sponge Bob ride. I was treated like a queen by my three girls and Eric. They made an amazing dinner and pampered me all day. It made my birthday perfect!

Torrey Pines Hike

2011-02-19T21:36:00.000-08:00

One thing we love about San Diego is the wonderful weather year round. There is always something to do or see.... especially since so much is new to us! We took a fun hike over in Torrey Pines which is only about 20 minutes from our house. The Guy Fleming trail overlooks the water and is beautiful! I helped write JKCP in the sand with a heart around it for Sofi to send to her friends at preschool in Dublin. We are still having a rough time adjusting to things we miss... but living in San Diego makes it enjoyable.

Nana Sue's Visit

2011-02-18T21:53:00.000-08:00

All we can talk about is how great the weather is in San Diego! Nana Sue booked tickets to come visit and, unfortunately, the bad weather came with her. We only had one day of sunshine! Papa Randall came a couple of days later and we tried to squeeze in some activities between rain showers. We went back to the zoo where Lucy was the lucky girl to get called up to get kissed by Jake! We also got a wonderful view of the new baby hippo. He was born a couple of weeks ago. Once Papa Randall came, we went down to Point Loma and checked out the lighthouse.

10!

2011-02-08T21:40:00.000-08:00

Kaylee is 10! She had a very specific idea of what she wanted for a cake. This was as close as I could get to fulfilling the request! After a picnic dinner in the living room of chicken burgers and sweet potato fries, she went a on scavenger hunt through the house opening gifts and she ended up in the garage for her biggest birthday surprise... a bike with gears! Happy birthday Kaylee... You have been a barrel of energy for an entire decade! We love you and are so glad you are a part of our family!

San Diego Zoo

2011-01-20T22:29:00.000-08:00

We had our first visitors to San Diego... living in a vacation destination is going to be fun! The Monson's came to visit so we went to the San Diego Zoo with them. Kaylee was lucky enough to get called up at the show and got a kiss from the sea lion, Jake! Eric wasn't so lucky as he and Mitch were called up to dance. We love having friends visit.

New School

2011-01-03T21:33:00.000-08:00

Part of moving meant leaving our wonderful school in Dublin that we were comfortable with. The girls were nervous and excited to go to school today. Hopefully they make friends quickly and get right back into their normal routines. Only good things have been said about the school they are attending so it makes it a little easier to leave our favorite teachers and friends... but it will still be hard!

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T21:22:00.000-08:00

We had a fun New Year's Eve celebration with our new neighbors. Sandy rented a karaoke machine and we gathered in their garage for some fun and food with Don & Linda and the Roots. The girls enjoyed karaoke and it was fun to get to know our new neighbors! We went home and had a countdown to midnight... around 10 pm!

Visiting Grandpa Taylor

2010-12-28T21:18:00.000-08:00

We decided to make a quick drive to visit Grandpa Taylor. Now that we are in San Diego, St. George is only six hours away! It is always good to see Gramps and listen to his stories. The girls had fun catching snowflakes on their tongues... this was as close to snow as we'll be getting this year.

San Diego Temple

2010-12-27T21:29:00.000-08:00

We took a little drive to San Diego Temple. The girls loved it and think it looks like a castle. It is amazing how beautiful it is and how it stands out on the freeway.

Christmas Day

2010-12-25T21:39:00.000-08:00

This year the girls got cameras and Santa left dry erase boards. Nothing is as wonderful as the smiles on Christmas morning! Our family gift was the new table... and all of the rest of the stuff we've had to buy in this move. Home sweet home!

The girls were anxious to see the beach since we had moved. It had been raining all week, so after presents were opened, we packed up and went to Del Mar. It was freezing and people thought we were crazy as they walked by... but the girls had fun and it beat being in the snow. Okay, maybe not. Something about Christmas Day needs snow.

Christmas Eve

2010-12-24T21:26:00.000-08:00

We finally made it to our new home... after saying some goodbyes to friends and family. Oh, and we had a major upset when we took the van into the dealer for a simple oil change. It turned into a 2 day $7,000 repair job for the rack and pinion, steering column and air bag system. Thank goodness for the extended warranty! The van was finished at about 6pm... we said goodbye to Eric's brother and family and hit the road. At about 1 am we made it to San Diego. The next morning was church and usually I would have skipped it after such an ordeal... but it was Christmas Sunday and probably my favorite meeting. So we went! And we got asked to speak for the next week. So I had the next week planned: unpacking, finishing up Christmas, and writing a talk. Once that was done, we were able to be a little settled in and enjoy the Christmas season.

Westwood has a wonderful tradition of lighting luminaries and the entire area is lit up on Christmas Eve. We joined in the festivities with the neighbors and then enjoyed the display as we drove around:

We came home, got in our Christmas pajamas and left a treat for Santa. The girls hoped that he was able to find them in their new home!

No matter where we live, Christmas is felt by the love we have for each other.

Last Goodbyes

2010-12-17T22:23:00.000-08:00

As we left school on Friday, we said goodbye to our amazing teachers and friends. JKCP was one of the hardest goodbyes. Sofi had her party and I couldn't even think about leaving. You will notice there are no pictures of me because I was a teary mess. Every time I would hug somebody I would burst into tears. I couldn't even tell the sweet crossing guard that we were moving nor my favorite checker at Target. I should probably tell somebody to pass on the news that we are moving so they don't wonder where I am! Eric laughed every time I would cry but he didn't experience the amazing friendships that I had with the kids' friends and teachers. Kaylee had an etiquette lunch and presentation for her party. Lucy also had a fun party with her class. Dublin will always hold a special place in my heart!

The Sims Girls

2010-12-17T22:18:00.000-08:00

Haily and Sara are two of Kaylee's fun friends that lived up the street until we bought the little blue house. They always had dogs and cats and Kaylee loved playing there. Even after we moved, the girls would get together often and invite Lucy and Sofi to play as well.

Cousins

2010-12-16T22:34:00.000-08:00

One last picture of the girls with their cousin... they have loved living so close and being together often. It will be hard to not have family so close!

Farewell Party

2010-12-13T21:48:00.000-08:00

We have some amazing friends in Dublin and it was super hard to say goodbye to them! Sweet Karen put together a party at Chuck E Cheese so we could play with all of our awesome friends. We are grateful for all of our friendships and hope they last a lifetime... and that we will still get to see our friends even after the move. What is great is the kids are all friends... and the moms, too. I love these people!

The other family with three girls that were the BFF's... perfect line up!

The 4th graders

The Baalman's. Sofi called Henry Freddy. It became a term of endearment.

Sofi used to run and hide when she would see the giant mouse. She must be growing up!

These cute girls have been friends since their siblings were in Kindergarten. I still remember little Fia and Lu running and climbing the fence by the classroom.

These girls scored big with the tickets. They told a worker the machine didn't give them their tickets and he handed each of them a few hundred. They weren't so down on Chuck E Cheese this trip!

Yum!

Lucy and Anna are both so mild mannered and always get along with each other. What in the world are we going to do without these sweet friends?!

The tallest and shortest girls are stuck together at the hip. Or maybe Shelby's hip and Kaylee's shoulder! They have been great friends since they were 5 and it is going to be a tough life without the daily interactions!

I am pretty sure these girls spent all of their tokens on this one ride. They loved it!

Such cute BFF's since they were 4 and 8 months old. They haven't known life without each other. I tear up just thinking about their sweet friendship.

Another BFF. These girls love each other and are so excited to be together. What wonderful friends we have made!

Brother Halliwell

2010-12-12T22:16:00.000-08:00

Brother Halliwell was Sofi's nursery teacher. He has loved her ever since she was a little 18 month old and they have a special friendship. Each Sunday he would greet her with a giant hug and usually a jar of coins or piece of candy. What a sweet man to love our girls!

The Moving Truck

2010-12-04T22:31:00.000-08:00

Anyone that knows Eric knows that he likes to back stuff up. He has had work trailers and toy trailers... he is a natural. When he saw the semi-truck with all of our belongings, he bagan joking with the driver, Carlos, about backing the truck up. Once all of our belongings were in the San Diego house, he told Eric to jump up in the seat. Carlos gave Eric a tutorial on all of the gears and axles and stuff... and then came the smile when Eric was able to back the semi out of the court and up the hill that is perpendicular to our court. (He admitted that his leg was shaking the entire time!) He can now mark "Drive a Semi-Truck" off of his bucket list (except he still wants to drive it on the freeway!)

All Packed Up

2010-11-30T22:29:00.000-08:00

Since our move is a company move, we were able to have movers come and pack our stuff. They were amazingly fast and had the entire house packed in only a few hours. The house feels empty and it will be good to get down to our stuff! Two weeks of sleeping on air mattresses and eating on paper plates is going to get old fast.

Thanksgiving Visitors

2010-11-25T22:25:00.000-08:00

One thing that is hard about living away from family is holidays. We were lucky enough this year to have Nana Sue, Papa Randall, Janetha and Marshall come visit and prepare the feast! Janetha has a great blog mealsandmovesblog.com (where I got all of my pictures for this post... thanks, Neef!) and I always see the amazing food she prepares and I always want to eat it. She was more than happy this year to plan the menu and do the cooking. We also had Eric's brother's family eat with us... so needless to say, we had a full house! It was a great final hurrah at our Dublin house before the movers came and took all of our belongings. The food was delicious and the company was even better! (Originally we thought it would be fun if we all ran a race. Marshall ended up being the only one that did it because Neef was sick, Eric had an injured knee and the rest of us wimped out using food prep as an excuse. It was cold!) The pecan pie at the end was Eric's request! We made the Iguana Lodge's recipe. Yum!

Escape to Alcatraz

2010-11-24T22:28:00.000-08:00

We have lived in the Bay Area for six years and hadn't been to Alcatraz since Kaylee was a newborn back in 2001. We decided to take our visitors out for a tour. Danica and Jay joined us (with yummy treats!) as well as Scott's family. We splurged and got the fake backdrop picture... but there were plenty of real pictures. It was a fun adventure!

!

Thanksgiving Feast

2010-11-20T21:39:00.000-08:00

Soccer Parties

2010-11-17T21:50:00.000-08:00

Both girls had a fun season playing soccer! Kaylee played U-10 which meant more rules enforced and a bigger field. Lucy played U-8 and was able to be the goalie quite often which she loved. Hopefully we can find teams in San Diego that we love as much as we do in Dublin! Go Jaguars and Dublin Extreme!

Sunol Field Trip

2010-11-10T23:43:00.000-08:00

Sofi had a field trip to Sunol. It was a wonderful little nature walk. The kids took their binoculars to look for woodpeckers and gofers... and they saw both! They did tree rubbings and found nature items to match a paint swatch. Mrs. Hammer was the tour guide and loved pointing out the animal scat to the kids.

Carve a Pumpkin

2010-10-31T23:20:00.000-07:00

With the house hunting trip and packing/showing the house, everything seemed on a delayed schedule. I finally found some time after church on Halloween to carve pumpkins with the girls. I don't love doing it but I LOVE the pumpkin seeds that come from it, so we keep doing it... and the girls love it!

Sofi had me carve her a cat to go along with her witch costume...

The other girls were on their own this year and no thumbs were cut off!

Trunk or Treat 2010

2010-10-30T22:20:00.000-07:00

This year we have a friendly witch, Santa Claus and a vampire. I have to pat myself on the back for making that Santa costume. Thankfully, my friend Lisa knows how to make things without a pattern. We got the basics figured out and then I had the task of getting it sewn together. I had to hum lots of Christmas carols to avoid saying any bad words as I sewed the white trim on and made the beard. The costume was a hit and I think Lucy is a hilarious girl for wanting to be Santa Claus! She has asked all year and didn't change her mind. She said she even wants to be Santa next year in San Diego so I don't have to make another costume. That is a relief! Sofi's costume came from a church swap meet and Kaylee borrowed items from friends and put her costume together. I will miss Pleasanton Trunk or Treat!

Lucy's Party

2010-10-29T23:31:00.000-07:00

Between all of the Halloween festivities, I wanted to have a party for Lucy's birthday, especially because we are moving. It was one last hurrah with her cute friends that she loves. We had a late night and did shrinky dinks and danced. The girls loved being together and Lucy had a wonderful time!

Halloween Party: Murray

2010-10-29T23:02:00.000-07:00

Sofi and I headed to the other parties after her's finished. There is a parade that goes around the Murray neighborhood followed by class parties.

These cute girls (Minnie, the Witch, and Wonder Woman) waited for their siblings to arrive in the parade.

I thought it was Halloween? What is Santa doing in the parade?

Kaylee's teacher dressed up as a dictionary. I'll have to remember that one for future costumes. Maybe I should do a walking phone book?

What happened to cute bumblebees and Cinderellas? Kaylee wanted to be scary this year. Success:

Kaylee's class had a Halloween store. Each group had to sell items and Kaylee's store was Ghosts Galore with Olivia, Bryn and Maddie. Kaylee made chalkboard rocks that were a hit!

Nobody knew who was under the Santa beard...

...until SHE revealed herself.
First day of Halloween celebrations were a success!

Halloween Party: JKCP

2010-10-29T22:32:00.000-07:00

The Halloween Party and Parade at JKCP has been the same for years... but I can't imagine it any other way! My little friendly witch was excited to celebrate Halloween!

The kids get all lined up and take turns waving as they walk out the door. Sofi isn't one for much attention and she gets nervous with everybody looking at her.

After they are in position, they sing a few Halloween songs. Sofi is getting ready to sing Three Black Cats in the picture below.

During the previous week, the kids make and frost cookies for the party. A special part of the party is when they bring you the special treat on a cute napkin.

And of course, we have to get pictures with our favorite teachers!

Flying high like a witch! Who needs a broom when you have a swing?

Seventh Heaven & a Birthday Miracle!

2010-10-27T21:56:00.000-07:00

Lucy is 7 years old! After a fun trip to Disneyland, we came home right in time for her to celebrate her birthday. (First, on our way home from Disneyland, we were stuck in traffic, so we stopped at Red Robin and had a birthday dinner! Eric had to fly back early the next morning to San Diego for work. How nice to drive us!)

Luckily we had a few presents ready for her to open since life has been so hectic. The one thing she wanted was an orange iPod Nano. We talked to her and she was content with getting an orange iPod case for an iPod we already had. After I took her to school, I went to pick up the case. I wasn't thinking when I discovered that the cases were made for the newest generation of iPod and the one we had was an older generation. There was not a single case that fit the iPod anywhere, much less orange! I then decided to go to Plan B: Splurge and get her an orange iPod because I have a guilty mom complex about Lucy's birthday. (We are ALWAYS moving on her birthday! At birth, on her 1st birthday, her 5th, and now her 7th.) A new problem arose because there were no iPod 3rd Generation! They had already moved to 4th generation that was smaller (which meant it would be easily lost and it didn't have video.) I went to 5 stores looking for the right one. Finally, I decided that I would have to give her a gift certificate for one and order it online. I went about my other errands and stopped by Costco. I had already called there and they told me there weren't any, but I checked anyway. They had one! It was purple, but it had the video feature and it was the floor model so it was discounted even more. A birthday miracle!

I promised Lucy I'd get an orange case for it, but she was absolutely thrilled when she got the actual Nano and not just a case. (She had to talk to Eric on the phone as she opened her gifts. Can't wait until the family is reunited again!) I redeemed myself... although, I don't want to move ever again on her birthday.

Disneyland

2010-10-26T22:46:00.000-07:00

Earlier in the year, we participated in the Disney volunteer program to give each of us a free day at Disneyland. What a great idea Disney had seeing that most people would add on to the free day and spend even more money... which we did. The benefit in going during the off season was a great deal on the hotel. We stayed at Paradise Pier and got wonderful Disney treatment upon arrival! Not only were we celebrating our anniversary, but also Lucy's 7th birthday! We started our day with the traditional ride on Dumbo and we managed to ride everything we wanted with minimal waiting time. It was fun to go to Disneyland with all of the Halloween decorations. Sofi was a little short to make the 40" rides, so she wore her heel shoes... because I wanted a picture of Splash Mountain as a family. Most of the rides that required her to be 40", she would try once, but not again. When it came time to ride Splash Mountain, Eric was covering Kaylee in the picture. I begged Sofi to go one more time and she agreed. The picture turned out to be one of our favorites! The best part of going to Disneyland was that we got to be together all day and ride everything together (with a few exceptions like Space Mountain and Indiana Jones...)

Anniversary Adventure: House Hunting

2010-10-24T22:36:00.000-07:00

We already had a trip planned to Disneyland for this month and once we got word that we would be moving to San Diego, we decided to make it one big vacation and go house hunting. The entire month of October was spent researching neighborhoods and wards that we felt would be a good fit for our family with consideration given to commuting to the border, the number of girls in the ward and the schools. Eric was commuting during the week and would go look at a house if I felt it was a good fit. After much deliberation, we finally decided to live in Rancho Bernardo. When we finally drove down for the official house hunting trip, we had about 5 houses we wanted to see. The third house we saw, we KNEW it was the right house. What was crazy about the whole situation is that we found the house on a website for military people and the ad was about to expire the next week. The home was next door to the owners and her mother had lived in the home until she passed away a couple of years ago. They had slowly been preparing the house for rent. Once they met the girls, they really wanted to rent it to us and felt it was a perfect fit. The only problem was that somebody else also had looked. After looking at a couple other homes, we were even more sure that this home in a perfect location was what we wanted. The owners told us they would let us know the next day.

Sofi was so tired of walking around and stood in one spot refusing to move with the poutiest face ever.

Once Eric picked her up, the face changed. What a stinker! As we waited to hear from the future landlords, we drove around San Diego and took the girls to Old Town where we had spent our Honeymoon 12 years before.

The Mormon Battalion site has been remodeled and is such a fun place to learn!

It was a fun day to spend our 12th anniversary! As we were walking through Old Town, the owners called and told us that the other people decided to not rent it and it was our's... and they wanted to rent it to us! We were so excited. We decided we would go up the next day, Sunday, after attending the ward to sign a contract and give them a deposit. When we arrived at the house, they had Halloween treat bags for each of the girls and that is about the time they became our adopted grandparents. Having such a wonderful place to move to was making a difficult move a lot easier.

The Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-19T23:04:00.000-07:00

One of the funnest things to do is go on field trips with the girls. Sofi has been lucky enough to tag along on a lot of them... including this one for Lucy's class to the pumpkin patch. I love watching the girls with their friends as they explore and try new things.

Wheels for Meals

2010-10-09T22:20:00.000-07:00

Eric is always looking for "fun" biking events to keep up his training. This time he participated in a 75 mile ride called Wheels for Meals to benefit homeless people. The girls always like to go cheer him on at all of the events he participates in and see him come in at the end. Maybe if he does enough of these he'll get a new bike?!

Happy to be done with that one!

Field Trip with Kaylee

2010-10-02T22:27:00.000-07:00

My little Kaylee is growing up so quickly and I don't always get to spend as much time with her. Whenever there is a field trip, I usually have to be picking up one of the other kids from school and the schedule doesn't work... so when this field trip came along, it was fun to be able to go! We walked around and took pictures of the estuary and the kids saw a lot of the things that they had been learning about in school. Kaylee has a fabulous teacher, Mrs. Nash this year and she gets the kids interested in stuff they might not otherwise be interested in. I am glad I got to spend the day with Kaylee even if it was a little chilly and muddy!

The Birthday Boy

2010-09-22T22:36:00.000-07:00

Once you are an adult, it seems like birthdays aren't as fun... unless you have kids, and they make it exciting for you! It is also exciting if you get lots of your favorite things like Pretzel M&M's and a wrestling suit (actually, a triathlon suit). Sofi picked out a purple ball that she was sure Daddy would love to play with. We also had chocolate cake and mint chocolate chip ice cream because that is how birthdays are done for the birthday boy! We love spoiling Daddy because he does so much for his girls.

Bittersweet News

2010-09-18T22:52:00.000-07:00

The word is official... we are moving to San Diego. It is a bittersweet thing. We absolutely love San Diego and have always wanted to move there... but that was before we fell in love with Dublin! There is so much that we are going to miss... our little blue house, our friends, our ward, Eric's brother's family, JKCP, Murray, our neighbors, Brother Halliwell, Mexxi's, Denica's, Eddie Papa's, the St. Patrick's Day parade, and did we say friends already?! And there are a few things that I am internally cheering about that I don't have to deal with anymore. All things familiar are going to be hard to replace or replicate. However... we are excited for the adventure and we are grateful that Eric has a job in this economy. We found a fabulous house to rent after plenty of "ward shopping." We are lucky to be moving vacation destination so hopefully we will get lots of visitors... unlike if we moved across the country or to an entire different country. (Ahem, Guam.) I can't figure out who it is going to be hardest on... Sofi (& Holly and JKCP), Lucy (& her many darling friends) or Kaylee (and her friends that she has grown so close to since Kindergarten!) Or me!! What about my friends?! And then Eric... he goes from working one dangerous job up at the prison down to another dangerous job on the border. Luckily we have had that sweet confirmation that this is a good thing for our family to do at this time even though it is so, so hard. Tears have been shed and more will be shed. But it will be fun and good for us. Right?

Back to JKCP

2010-09-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

Sofi waited a LONG two weeks after her sisters started school to get back to John Knox. Before we left for school, she wanted a photo shoot in front of the house. What a silly girl... but these pictures all capture her personality.

I had volunteered to work the first day of class and I am so glad I did. I loved being with Sofi all day long and seeing her get back into the routine of things. The teachers and families are so fabulous at JKCP and I am so sad that this will be our last year at such a wonderful school. They have taught my girls things that will last a lifetime!

This is Sofi's very favorite part of the playground. She spins around over and over at recess. Any other park with a comparable feature just isn't the same!

Like I said, we LOVE JKCP!

Monterey Getaway

2010-09-06T21:44:00.000-07:00

Over Labor Day, we decided to take a little overnight trip at the last minute. We decided to head down to Monterey Bay and just look around. We hung out at Dennis the Menace Park, took the paddle boats around the lake and ate some good food. It was fun to play together and enjoy the break!

Soccer Mom

2010-09-06T21:36:00.000-07:00

One thing we love/hate about fall is soccer! We love it because it is such a fun activity and the girls have great teams that they enjoy playing with. We hate it because it takes up so much time every day of the week except Sunday! Between two practices for each girl and games plus an extra training session, we are at the soccer fields almost every day.

Luckily the Silvas are on both teams so that Sofi gets to play with Holly! Lucy has been trying out Goalie and likes it. Kaylee is still more of an offensive player and just likes to go after the ball. As long as the girls have fun, I'll keep hanging out as a sideline soccer mom!

Back to School

2010-08-24T20:47:00.000-07:00

It is that time of year again when the leaves change color and the air cools which means it is back to school. Only the leaves don't change color and the air definitely isn't cool when the girls started back this year! The shorts that they chose for their back to school outfits show that it was a warm 95 degree day! Sofi was excited for them to go back to school because that meant her day was quickly approaching.

Kaylee has quite an opinion this year of what she likes for clothes. She is growing up too quick and likes to be keeping up with what is cool. I'm glad that we still can agree on most styles! She was nervous to start school because she has heard that 4th grade is a tough year.

Lucy still loves orange. She has since she was 2 and manages to find anything girly that comes in orange! She doesn't care as much about what others wear because she has her own taste... but she did notice some other outfits that her friends wear and will pick and choose what she likes from them.

It is a good thing to have a sister to share your nervous butterflies with. Even though the girls don't always get along 100% of the time, they are pretty good friends and get excited and nervous for each other!

One of my favorite views is these three girls sharing a moment together. They are the sweetest girls and I don't know what I'd do without them! Next year they'll all be going to school together.

Kaylee was excited to have Mrs. Nash this year. She has heard wonderful things about her. She didn't want a picture sitting at her desk (too cool for that), but she did agree to a picture outside the door. She also made me promise that I wouldn't blow a kiss again this year. Promise kept!

Kaylee is getting to the age that she loves school for other reasons than learning: friends!

Lucy also managed to find a few of her cute friends on the playground before school that she had been in Kindergarten with. They were all very excited to see each other!

Lucy is still nice enough to let me have my mommy moments and take a picture at her desk.

What more would the first day of school be than finding one of your best friends. Sofi loves Holly and was excited for pickup so she could see her BFF!

Arnold & Big Trees

2010-08-08T21:55:00.000-07:00

At the YM/YW Auction, we joined forces with the Ram's and Long's and bought a weekend stay at the Sonne's cabin. It was a fun weekend and miraculous that we found a weekend that all three families could go! The first day, we went over to the lake and lounged around. We rented a canoe and took turns going out on the lake. It was a beautiful day and the kids had a lot of fun playing together.

After a night of visiting and hanging out, we went to bed and awoke early to head out to Big Trees Park. There are some ginormous Sequoia trees. The kids loved climbing around and through the trees. It was a fun weekend with friends... and lots of inside jokes were made. Those are the best kinds. ;)

Saints to Sinners

2010-07-31T22:42:00.000-07:00

Eric participated in the first ever Saints to Sinners Bike Relay. Over 500 miles of racing from the heavenly heights of Salt Lake City, Utah to the infernal heat of Las Vegas, Nevada. He was on a five man team that included one of my high school friends, Brad. Brad's brother-in-law put the race together. We weren't sure how the whole thing would work, but it turned out to be one of the funnest things Eric has done. We met up in the morning for a pancake breakfast and for Eric to meet his team. He didn't know a soul when he started... but that would change quickly after being together for an entire 24 hours! Brad started off the Highlander team. Because it was a 5 man team, each rider did two legs before switching to the next rider. Eric was rider #3.

We drove down to Levan to see him start. It was a hot afternoon as we waited... and waited... and waited for his team to show up. It was hotter for the riders so we shouldn't complain!

We played around in Gunnison which was his halfway point so we could cheer him on...

but he whizzed right past us and threw a water bottle at us.

We went ahead to his finish point for the first leg to see how he was doing. We were then off to St. George!

We swam in the pool with the cousins and headed to bed so that we could get up early and meet Eric as his team made it to Vegas. He had another ride in the middle of the night through Cedar Breaks that was downhill and 55 degrees. And he hardly had slept a wink! He called us on Saturday morning to tell us where they were and that he'd be starting his final leg, so we jumped up and got in the car to try to meet him.

We got to Mesquite right in time for Eric to finish his third leg.

He had to do a stretch of the Mesquite part on I-15... probably the most nerve racking part of the race for me to think about! The girls loved seeing all of the beautiful red rocks... and they loved it even more when we got to Vegas (108!) and saw the water feature to play in while we waited for the team.

The team finished 6th overall and they were the 3rd 5-man team. The volunteers made each stop so much fun and it was a great event. Eric is already getting his team organized for next year!

BBQ with the Brinley's

2010-07-28T22:05:00.000-07:00

Drew's parents are headed to Hawaii for a mission and so we wanted to get together while we were in Utah and before they left. It was a great evening with dear friends. The Brotherhood is a great group of friends that has welcomed the wives with open arms and we all have a wonderful friendship. All of the kids get along and have a blast together as well. We reminisced of our Drew that we all love so much and had plenty of delicious food. Thanks to Kelly and Ruth for hosting all of us and we missed those that couldn't make it!

Tubing!

2010-07-26T23:26:00.000-07:00

The girls have wanted to go boating for a long time and we finally found a day and went up to Pineview with Suni's boat. It was kind of a chilly day and we got rained out at the end, but there was fun for everyone.
Sofi was excited to hold the flag. Until the boat actually started going and then she was sure we were going too fast and that we were going to tip over:

We convinced Uncle Mike to go slow for a few minutes and she was much happier!

Kaylee, Jake and Lucy just wanted him to go fast and in circles...

and that wasn't too good for this mama's prego tummy! We went back to the shore and let Sofi and Izzy play.

Luke somehow fell asleep in the whole adventure of it all!

These two girls have the greatest time when they are together.

Max was happy to share boat time with the girls, too.

Kaylee and Lucy could not get enough of the tube and kept going and going...

Jake was nice enough to ride along with them all afternoon!
It was a great afternoon... other than messing up the Subway order. I accidentally ordered from the Huntington, Utah location instead of Huntsville. I think we are going to have to put a boat on our wish list!

Floats & Fireworks

2010-07-24T22:30:00.000-07:00

We got together for the 24th of July and had rootbeer floats (courtesy of Neef's wedding leftovers) and had a little firework show.

The girls love playing at their cousin's house because they get to run all over the neighborhood with all of the kids. They love it so much that they want to move to Utah! I love hanging out with the cousins because there is someone for everyone to play with and I get to catch up with family. Fun times!

The Pool

2010-07-23T23:45:00.000-07:00

One of the favorite things to do in Provo is go to Grandpa and Grandma's pool. It is especially fun to go with the cousins! Nothing beats a long day at the pool on a hot summer day and it is fun to watch the kids play together. Sofi finally got some confidence to get off of the step and float around!

Kangaroo Zoo

2010-07-21T23:30:00.000-07:00

One of the girls' favorite things to do when we are in Utah is go to Kangaroo Zoo. They jump around and get all sweaty and tired... but it beats being out in the heat!

Hogle Zoo & Slip'n'Slide

2010-07-20T23:47:00.000-07:00

We went to the Hogle Zoo with the cousins and Nana Sue. We have to soak up all the family time we can get when we are in Utah. Thanks to Nana Sue for a fun day!

The baby elephant, Zuri, was my favorite!

The hit of the day was the bird show.

Lucy is the cooperative child that would let me take pictures whenever I asked. I have always loved the doors for the giraffes!

Carousel rides for everyone!

All of these gorillas measured up except for those long arms!

Lucy posing for a picture for me again. What a girl!

After walking around in some intense heat, we decided some slip and slide and otter pops were a must!

After Sofi satisfied her thirst, she finally decided to start slippin' and slidin'!

Sleepover

2010-07-20T23:35:00.000-07:00

There was one day during Eric's time in Utah that Justin would also be in town, so we had to take advantage of the day and have a sleepover. It was a beautiful night to hang out on the grass and visit.

These guys have been friends for years and years. They are pretty hilarious when they get together.

We planned to go boating in the morning, but after hours of working on fixing the boat, the part was defective and boating wasn't going to happen. The kids had a fun time playing in the pool and being silly. It is always fun to be together with friends that we love!

Eric is the Bomb

2010-07-18T23:15:00.000-07:00

We kept the wedding ice cream cold with dry ice... which lasted until the next day. Since we only used one and a half of the 3 gallon containers of ice cream, we had lots to give away! We took some down to Eric's sister's house and once it was in the freezer, Eric had some extra dry ice to dispose of.

Naturally, he made dry ice bombs. That is normal, right? Hopefully, the kids don't ever make them on their own! The sound and the shattered water bottle were pretty impressive!

Wedding Miracles!

2010-07-18T15:19:00.000-07:00

Wedding portrait by Brody Dezember
Our summer trip to Utah this year was centered around Janetha and Marshall's wedding. We have been planning things for the past couple of months in anticipation for the big day. Many times throughout the wedding planning, if something turned out just right, we coined the phrase, "a wedding miracle!" Example: One of the plans was to have fresh peaches and vanilla bean ice cream served with the wedding cake. The peaches weren't going to be ripe enough because of the late spring, so the sweet sister I am, I offered to bring peaches from California. We spent many hours peeling and dicing peaches on Friday with the hopes that they'd be good for the wedding! We also had a wedding miracle with the vanilla bean ice cream... a friend in our ward in California works for Dreyer's and hooked us up with 7 3-gallon containers of vanilla bean ice cream... the bride's favorite! There were many wedding miracles for the miracle wedding.

Another one was getting the flower girls convinced to walk down the aisle. Friday night was a rehearsal dinner and we practiced in Nana Sue's basement. They had to be coaxed and prodded... but they took their job very seriously!

Eric's job was getting ice to keep all of the drinks cold. The wedding day was about 100 degrees... at 7 pm! Luckily we were in a beautiful air conditioned warehouse at Cactus and Tropicals for much of the evening.

Practice makes perfect and Izzy and Sofi did their job just right even with all of the people looking at them. I love to look at the two of these girls together. They are only 8 days apart but their little bodies are so different from one another!

There are cute Papa Randall and Nana Sue with Mayor Joe who performed the ceremony. Joe has been a family friend for almost 30 years. He is a pretty funny guy.

It was a sweet moment to see Neef walked down the aisle.

The married kiss. Whenever people kiss for longer than a peck, Kaylee and Lucy call it a married kiss. Right as I snapped this picture, I turned behind me to look at them and snap a photo of their reactions:

I think they are both pretty happy to have a new uncle in the family... and maybe a little embarrassed to be so close to married kissing!

The wedding was all purple, yellow and houndstooth. So Neef and so perfect. What a fun wedding!Too soon my baby is going to be married. I want her to stay four forever!

Club Sport

2010-07-15T15:06:00.000-07:00

A few of our friends have memberships to Club Sport and one was nice enough to give us a pass for a free month. Our pass started the day school got out and ended right in time for us to go to Utah for our summer trip. We have been going to the pool and Kids Club almost every day this summer. It has helped us get through some long days and spend time with friends! Maybe once we don't have to pay for preschool we could join... right?

Fun Friends

2010-07-13T15:03:00.000-07:00

Sofi and Holly have loved playing at the pool together. They love to put on their goggles and explore what is under water.

The Fair

2010-07-10T22:46:00.000-07:00

Growing up, we went to the Utah State Fair every September for as long as I can remember. It is one of the highlights of the year... particularly the commercial buildings, the baby pigs, and the big yellow slide. We decided to go the Alameda County Fair to see if we could share any fair experiences with the girls. While it wasn't the Utah State Fair... it was still quite entertaining. Some of the highlights included:

Pig Races... Each section would pick a pig to cheer for and then watch them run the track over to the corn. Our pig didn't win, but it was fun to watch how fast the pigs would run out of the chute!

Rides... Growing up we never went on the rides because we did that at Lagoon, but we let the girls each pick a ride. Kaylee and Lucy tried to find the scariest and by Kaylee's reaction, she had a great time!

Sofi was happy to ride the carousel and pick out a beautiful horse to ride. She loves to make faces each time she goes around and sees the camera. What a silly girl!

Animals... Lucy liked how soft he sheep were and Eric tried to get close, gross pictures of the pigs. Not as cute as the baby pigs, that is for sure!

People... Eric loves to people watch and find awesome mullets and other features. The last guy posed for Kaylee and let her take his picture. The girls called him Santa for the rest of the day. Are these people for real?!

We ended the day stopping by the horse track and watching a horse race. We didn't really understand all that was going on but we had a fun day at the fair! (Someday we're going to go back to the Utah State Fair... my favorite!)

Sort of Camping

2010-07-10T22:10:00.000-07:00

Eric hates camping. But he bought a tent this summer as a surprise for the family. Not sure what we'd do with it, we decided to test it out by camping in the backyard!

We sat around the "campfire" and roasted marshmallows.

The girls could hardly wait to get in the tent and sleep. Eric was thinking of his comfy Tempur-pedic mattress inside... but I made him stay out and sleep with us!

We took turns holding the flashlight and told stories and jokes. I couldn't capture the picture because my flash kept going off... oh well! I decided to just take some pictures of the girls anyway.

Kaylee was cozy and excited to sleep outside and thought it was the comfiest night ever.

Lucy kept blinking at the flash. She is my daughter! To explain Sofi's pictures... it was pitch black in the tent, so I told them to smile and then I'd take the picture and see what it turned out to be. Sofi could not be serious:

Each time I'd review the picture I had taken, there would be a different face!

There was the tongue picture...

and the squishy faced. It got pretty funny and I begged her to just smile. I finally snapped this "angelic" shot.

The sun came up at about 6 and we all headed inside because we were cold and still tired... and we slept for another three hours. Heaven! Maybe we'll get a campsite next year?

Sofi Swims!

2010-07-08T23:28:00.000-07:00

For Sofi's entire life, whenever we go swimming, she spends all of her time on the steps, totally content. If I try to even carry her off of the steps, it is met with screaming and pleading to not touch her. I knew I needed to get her into swim lessons and thankfully, we found a class to do together with her BFF Holly.

She probably thought I was going to let her sit on the edge of the pool the entire time... and if I was the teacher, she would have never come with me...

In a few short lessons, Sofi went from playing on the steps to using the kickboard and also going under water to retrieve things.

And she smiled about it!

She was nervous to do the back float, but as she practiced, she gained more confidence and loved swim lessons. Alex was a great teacher. Everyone's favorite part of the lessons came at the end when Sofi learned the backstroke. "Thumb up, wave, pinky in the water." Instead of just opening her hand for the wave part, Sofi opened and closed her hand exactly how she waves.

Everyone laughed each time she would do it.

She really concentrated on learning the things Alex taught her (concentration tongue just like Daddy and Papa Randall!) and she had a fun time learning with Holly!

Cookin' in the Kitchen

2010-07-06T23:06:00.000-07:00

Sofi LOVES to help in the kitchen. She runs and gets her apron and has a special job of turning the knob on the Bosch as well as cleaning off the beaters. Tough life!

3rd Grade Rocks!

2010-06-11T22:56:00.000-07:00

Kaylee had an AWESOME year for 3rd grade. Her teacher, Ms. Collins, is a fabulous teacher that I can't rave enough about. She helps the kids get organized and accept responsibility as well as learn life lessons. I am probably her number one cheerleader and even apologized to her for being "scared" to have her as Kaylee's teacher. Eric told us to give her a chance and Kaylee and I did and both loved this year. Lesson learned!

For the last day of school, she has a ball of yarn that she passes around and lets the kids tell their favorite thing of 3rd grade. Kaylee's favorite thing was the books they wrote and published. The ball of yarn has been around for years and came to Ms. Collins from another teacher. She talked about how life is a big web and we all have an impact on one another.

Kindergarten Grad!

2010-06-11T22:48:00.000-07:00

Lucy graduated from Kindergarten... finally! She has been so excited for this day! There was a short graduation ceremony in the morning when they got their diplomas and then it was water play for the rest of the afternoon.

Sofi joined in on the water play. I don't think she realized what a splash the little pool would make at the end of the "waterslide!" She only did that once...

Lucy had a fun year with some fabulous girls. They were in Daisy's together and went birthday party hopping to each others' parties. It was fun to have them together this year because most of them are younger siblings to the group that was in Kindergarten 3 years ago.

Snickers was an important part of the year and all of the kids loved having him as a part of the class. Mrs. Starr is an amazing teacher and we LOVE her! Kindergarten is a year of such growth.

Swimming with Sami

2010-06-07T22:17:00.000-07:00

One of our friends taught Kaylee and Lucy private swim lessons this year. We managed to get a lot covered in four short days. It beat sitting on the wall waiting for turns and the price was right. Plus, Sami is so fun with the girls and taught them things they were interested in. They worked on diving, treading water, and a bunch of different strokes. Sofi hung out with Sami's girls and it was a fun week to get ready for summer.

Oakland Zoo

2010-06-02T22:34:00.000-07:00

Kaylee's class had a field trip to the zoo. The girls had a lot of fun seeing the different animals and they were nice enough to stand still for a couple of pictures. The elephants were spraying water on themselves because of the extreme heat of the day.

The girls also enjoyed the chimpanzees. They were getting their sugar water and getting their vitals checked when we were there. Kaylee has a great group of friends and they are fun to be with!

Gramps T

2010-05-30T21:43:00.000-07:00

We decided to go home through Vegas after being in Provo for a couple of days so we could stop in to see Grandpa Taylor in St. George. We stopped at the Chevron in Beaver so we could take a picture on the giant chair. With all of our trips through the area, we had never made that stop

In St. George, we took Grandpa to Cafe Rio for dinner after he showed us around his new place. He really likes it there but he is having a hard time still with Grams gone. We looked at pictures and listened to him tell stories. He is such a wonderful man and we love him! Just a note about the weather on the way back to California... we hit temperatures of 108 as we drove through Death Valley. What a shock after being in snow only a few days before!

I Wish I Had a Thousand Balloons...

2010-05-28T23:07:00.000-07:00

One of Eric's very best friends, Drew, passed away on May 23. While we knew it was coming, it was still a bit shocking to actually accept that he is gone. He fought so hard and tried so many things to beat the cancer. We have been blessed to have the extra time with him and Eric was able to go back in April to spend his birthday weekend with him and the other Brotherhood guys. We had just gotten back from Yosemite when we found out. Thankfully Eric and Justin were together when we received the news. It was comforting to have friends with us. We headed out for the funeral on Wednesday at 4 am... and got to the pass around 7:30, only to have it closed. It was snowing as if it was December! We found out that a tanker had tipped over and spilled thousands of gallons of gas on the road. We either could wait at the top of the mountain for 5 hours until it was cleaned up, or we could go around Lake Tahoe. We opted for the drive around Tahoe because we'd be moving. It took 16 hours to get to Provo and that was going 90+ on some stretches of I80!

We made it around 8 pm at the end of the viewing. Drew's parents let us stay and hang out for awhile. We love this family!

The funeral was on Thursday. It was the very best funeral I have ever been to. Laughter, music, tears, stories. Drew is such an example for all of us. He knew he needed a miracle to survive and he changed many things in his life so he'd be worthy of that miracle. Even though he still passed away, he was ready and never complained about his situation. There were some amazing stories told about Drew and Kelly shared some thoughts on the part of the Brotherhood. There was some video footage of Drew as well as a song played that he wrote(The Birthday Party Opera). Simply said, Drew was everyone's best friend and he was always finding ways to make you feel thought of... by music, places to eat, movies, gifts...

After the cemetery, there was a Hawaiian dinner for friends and family. It was exactly how Drew would have wanted it. His parents had all of the Brotherhood and their families up to the house the next evening to visit and eat more food. Stories were told and we looked at books and books of pictures. So many things about Drew just make me smile and I am so grateful that he was a part of my life. Can't wait to watch the boys all play Ultimate Frisbee in heaven.

Yosemite 2010

2010-05-22T23:13:00.000-07:00

We went to Yosemite with some good friends for the weekend. Instead of staying in the park, we rented a house in Groveland which was about an hour outside of the park. We decided to go in May so it would be a little warmer than the last time we went in April... and so we'd still be able to enjoy the waterfalls. Besides just the beautiful scenery, we also were able to enjoy time with some of our very best friends. There was laughter and tears... we had it all. The first funny story of the weekend happened when we got to the rental house and Eric asked the owner about the linens and he said that the listing states to bring your own. Small problem... we were referred to the home by a friend and never saw any listing... so we didn't know that. Nothing a screwdriver and some clever husbands can't take care of! After removing the door to the locked linen closet, a bunch of towels and sheets were discovered... plus some extras that we didn't need since we don't drink and don't have pets.

After eating a snack, we headed into the park for the afternoon. Poor Lucy was car sick and threw up when we finally parked and so we had to wipe her down and take her shirt off. Luckily she didn't throw up on her coat and she wore that for the evening. We rode our bikes to a few waterfalls and hiked around a bit until we were too hungry and then we enjoyed some pizza.

If you look closely, Lucy doesn't have a shirt on... what a good sport!

After a bit of hiking, the little girls were just worn out. Luckily the dads were willing to carry them along so we could get a couple of hikes in before dark!

On our way home, we noticed a bunch of cars pulling over to check something out. In the first picture it is just a brown blob because we didn't change the lens on the camera, but the next one shows the resident bear that hangs out in this area.

He was there each time we passed this meadow. We headed back to the house for the night and showered Lucy off. The rest of us decided to keep the camping spirit and not shower even though we had towels. It would require too much laundry! We just stayed up late and talked instead!

The next morning, we drove in to the park but first had a stop that Justin wanted to see. A few years ago, he had taken some crazy pictures on the rocks below and wanted to try to reproduce the pictures. The difference now is that he has 2 kids and a wife and isn't quite as crazy. Drew loved this area of Yosemite, so we made a stop for him and took some pictures... The first picture is the old one that Drew took years ago... and the bottom one is the one I took. I wish I had seen the original before this trip.

The wives and kids from above watching the crazy dads !

After a break for lunch, we decided to hike Vernal Falls.

We didn't hike this last time we were in Yosemite, so we didn't know what we were in for with the kids. We made it up to the first stopping point and then it started to SNOW. In May. So much for coming late to enjoy warm weather.

Half of the group decided to go all the way to the top and Di and I headed back down the trail with the little girls that just would not have made it. We chilled at the bottom of the trail for a good hour or so. Or should I say we froze.

Everyone said the hike was worth it to the top and I will have to do that hike on our next trip. It was a beautiful day even though we had snow.

We headed back to the house to pack up (our neighbors had an HP truck! It ended up being one of Eric's coworkers.) We went to dinner... "What about the kitchen sink?" and come home where it was warmer and we could shower guilt free. We are so grateful for good friends that love to spend time with us and our family. Yosemite was amazing... a trip that we will never forget.

Haircut...Take 2

2010-05-19T22:36:00.000-07:00

Last time I took Sofi to get her haircut, she cried and I had to hold her while she twisted and turned. I finally figured out that if she knew what to expect, she might be a little better. We talked about getting a trim all week and she was excited.

She sat very still and it was hard to believe she was the same child that had the huge crying fit!

It is amazing what a few inches off will do! The wind didn't do the haircut justice... but she is cute!

Mother's Day

2010-05-09T00:56:00.000-07:00

After much torturing and tickling, I finally got the girls to sit by me and smile for Mother's Day...

This is the best we got, but it makes me smile and I am so happy I am a mom to these three girls. I love them and I love being a mommy... and I love my mommy!

Kiss Me!

2010-04-28T00:52:00.000-07:00

Kaylee is always running through the house and I'm always telling her to slow down and walk. Hopefully she learned her lesson... albeit the hard way! She was running from the garage to her bedroom and slipped on the garage step... then hit the doorway going into the kitchen with her lip. The amount of blood would have you think that she cut her head off, but after a bit of ice she felt much better. Thankfully, we have a friend that is almost an oral surgeon and came to take a peek at her after a long day at school. He was ready to do stitches but didn't think they were needed. (Sadly, since he was so excited to stitch her up!)

Dental Issues

2010-04-25T00:46:00.000-07:00

Lucy has had some wiggly teeth for quite awhile... and once we looked in her mouth we discovered that her big teeth were growing in behind her baby teeth. It didn't take much wiggling to get them out and give her teeth some space to come in. Good thing they came out on their own because I didn't want to pay for something I could do.

Such a cute toothless smile... and it didn't even hurt to pull them!

Celebrating 4!

2010-04-20T23:06:00.000-07:00

We had cake and ice cream Sunday to celebrate Sofi's birthday... but it was still not her actual birthday until the today... finally!

Birthdays at preschool are always special. There is a cake that has candles and everybody sings.

Sofi was very excited to share with everyone that she is 4 years old! Mrs. Hammer is so sweet with the kids and makes them feel very important on their special day.

The craft of the day was to plant seeds. Sofi LOVES Mrs. Omo and was excited to have her help with her craft. The kids counted the seeds and buried them in the dirt and then in about a month they give them to the mommies as a surprise Mother's Day gift.

Sofi LOVES swinging at recess and wanted to spend all of her birthday recess swinging.

After school, we went to Super Franks with some friends and the girls climbed on the giant gorilla. Kaylee was especially attracted to it because she had just written a book about them in school.

Once Daddy got home from work and after a spaghetti dinner because it is Sofi's favorite, we opened presents and her favorite gift was a purple kitty purse.

And who can let a birthday go by without a little bit of ice cream?!

Hop on Over... Somebunny is 4!

2010-04-17T22:40:00.000-07:00

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Sofi wanted to do a bunny party for her birthday this year... and that worked great with an April birthday! We were able to buy lots of Easter items to fit the theme... and it was an added bonus that Lucy's class pet is Snickers the rabbit. We invited the girls to hop on over and celebrate. We started with a craft that was a little too complicated and the glue wouldn't stick, so I made them while the girls went to jump in the bounce house... but they all opted for the trampoline. After lunch, we brought Snickers out for them to hold and pet. He was the hit of the party. We had carrot cake and jumped some more. It was a super easy party probably because the girls were thrilled to just be together and play. The rabbit and trampoline kept them busy. After all of Sofi's friends went home, I asked her how old she is and she said 3 with her fingers in the cute formation that she does because her thumb can't quite reach her pinky... and then she said she was pretend 4 since it was her party today. This is going to be a fun age!

Keeping My Spot

2010-04-14T22:37:00.000-07:00

We caught Kaylee reading one night before bed with a post it note on her head. She uses it to keep her spot in the book and didn't want to lose it... the spot or the note!

(I just looked at the picture and saw how light it is outside. We would have to put Kaylee to bed earlier so she could read longer otherwise she'd stay up really late reading. She must be her mother's daughter!)

Spring Break

2010-04-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

We had a great Spring Break right here at home and Nana Sue came to visit us. We went to visit Eric at work and get a behind the scenes tour of the San Jose Airport. It was fun to see where the suitcases go after you check your bags. Sofi got an early birthday gift which was a 4 year old pink carseat! We went out to Alden Lane and looked at the flowers and we rode BART out to the mall and got a Jamba Juice. It was a relaxing week of just doing little things that the girls have been asking to do and it is always fun and helpful to have an extra pair of hands to help.

Happy Easters

2010-04-03T00:08:00.000-07:00

Lucy and I are the only ones that like to eat hard boiled eggs, but the girls love to color them, so we do. Sofi didn't like the waiting part! They had fun decorating them with crayon and making different combinations of colors. The Easter Bunny was instructed to not hide the real eggs in fear that not all of them were found! Easter morning was General Conference, so we got to be lazy and spend the day in our pajamas.

Zero Cavities

2010-04-02T23:58:00.000-07:00

We finally got dental insurance and Sofi got to visit the dentist! She was so brave through the x-rays, flossing and cleaning. My favorite part was the sunglasses to stop the splatter from getting in her eyes. She finally took them off because she couldn't see the movie. The dentist gave her a clean report and even took her picture. If I had only been so lucky at my dentist!

Egg Drop

2010-04-02T23:41:00.000-07:00

Lucy and her third grade buddy, Hannah, worked together for the annual egg drop. They packaged their egg in plastic bags and foam egg cartons and then a box. Each team took a turn going to the top of the slide and dropping the box. Lucy and Hannah's eggs made it... as all of the eggs did in the class. There were two eggs that didn't make it, but they were dropped after the box was opened to check on them! Lucy had a lot of fun working on projects with Hannah this year.

I Like to Ride My Bike

2010-03-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

Sofi was finally brave enough to ride the big girl bike. It felt a bit different than the trike and it took awhile to get used to, but now she won't stop asking to ride it! Eric is anxious to get the training wheels off, but I think she needs to grow an inch or two first.

Spring Carnival

2010-03-27T23:32:00.000-07:00

The school had a Spring Carnival that the girls wanted to go to... and after all of the upheaval of a certain class at the school getting it moved from a Sunday to a Saturday to accommodate all of the LDS people in the school (and particularly that class), I felt we should show our support and I offered to work in a few booths. Interestingly enough, there must have been something else going on because not a single family that the carnival was moved for showed up... well, we did, but we weren't in the group that the teacher was representing. Oh well- My girls had fun with their friends and seeing their teachers... and their favorite part was getting their faces painted!

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Love these girls

2010-03-21T23:29:00.000-07:00

We went up to walk around Temple Hill after church... I tried and tried to get a picture of them together and one was either laughing or scowling. This is the best I got and Kaylee was not happy that she is in the sun and Lucy is in the shade. Oh well... they'll learn to sit still and take a picture the first time soon, right?