Quietest Party Ever

Celia had the twins and Sariah over for a play date. Celia loves Lalaloopsey so we decorated for that. The girls were so quiet, it was nice.:) Allie is such a nice tutor for Celia. She brought her a present, all sorts of great markers to decorate a night light, but the girls took the cardboard it was wrapped in and made neat murals. Spence had his tutoring going too so he had a pre-birthday party. He played with shaving cream, we sang to him and had cake. I made Celia pink cupcakes filled with vanilla and they were a hit. Checked off the dual birthdays off for another year.  Spencer's teachers have a staff development day so he and I are going to go walking and shopping for his birthday this morning.

Folks in Town

I can't believe our little Celia is getting so big. We celebrated her birthday yesterday. My folks were in town checking out the house they want to move into, here by us. We had a great time and even had a family home evening. It was nice to hear their input and respond to the questions they had. It felt very familiar to me and warmed my heart. I told the kids how sometimes we feel prompted to do something, like for me writing down my thoughts. It has been an inspiration that I am happy I have tried out and learned that the Lord has his hands in our lives. He can have our experiences work together for the good of us and so many others. We attended the temple together on Tuesday Night after tutoring and cub scouts, it was busy, but the relationships made through those avenues are priceless.  Each of our friends and family members have blessed our lives in so many ways. We are grateful for Spencer and the strength and compassion we all have acquired from serving him. He has a birthday coming up too! There will be some changes as he gets older as far as tutoring and things, but he has made so many gains, I'm sure it will work out.

Celia has been doing great too. She had a new tutor over yesterday too. They played imaginary and they were pounding out street musical rhythms in the backyard on boxes with sticks. It was cute (Celia prefers I say; adorable). Celia was spoiled with many presents and a trip to build a bear and a visit to Rah Rah's after. Celia is so precious, she wished for her pony at build a bear to be kind. We need more of that in the world. We are so happy she is a part of our family.

Joyous Days

I've loved the family time lately and activities with the kids. We took the kids to Costco and walked in the nature preserve behind it. I love being in nature. It is calming to the soul and so is the temple. I had the great opportunity to go to the temple with three of my girlfriends. We wen to El Pollo loco which is one of my favorite chicken restaurants around. It was fun and relaxing. After lunch Alex and I went and saw a property for potential purchase for my parents. I loved it. It was so clean and beautiful. They are coming up today to check it out. It has been kind of a small seed of an idea that it look like will grow and become a wonderful reality to have my parents in town. Our vacations will now be closer and there are so m any great places to visit around here, I feel, we will be great and happy with their move.

Last Saturday while on our family car ride Emmy mentioned she was asked to Junior Prom. We ad the pictures at our house and they seemed to have a great time. With Graduation barreling forward so quickly, I'm glad Emmy got the chance to go to prom and participate in her High School choir competition at Sacramento state.She is used to her busy days. I'm happy she is living life to the fullest and enjoying her senior year.  I went to a 40th birthday for a friend. It was fun and we have hilarious conversations yummy food and soaking in the Jacuzzi  was a plus. I feel grateful to have my health, Great family, friends and activities to bring joy to my days.

Beautiful Spring Break

We live in such a beautiful area. I'm glad we had spring break to spend time with the family any enjoy it. Spencer and I went on rides and saw sheep. We had great thunderstorms, but managed to stay dry when my parents were here. We enjoyed Easter egg hunts and painting and Joseph's Birthday with the Grandparents. Emmy and Brian went to Idaho to check out BYU and Utah to visit family. We got them back just in time to go to Dickie's BBQ for Joseph's Birthday Dinner. It was yummy and we like to get the soft serve ice cream and put in in our root beer for a root beer float.  We were able to shop for a new home for my parents nearby. There are so many great houses, they found a few thy liked and we will see them up here in the future, I'm sure. I'm glad they are entertaining the idea of moving here. We'd love to have them close for vacations to beautiful places nearby like Mendocino, Lake Tahoe and Mammoth Lakes. It is still green around here even though there is an impending drought I feel grateful for this beautiful area and the pleasantness we have around us. Before Easter we found a dining set and picked it up with a u haul. My dad and I were then able to remove some broken furniture and deposit it at the dump. It sure feed up space and helped make our home more beautiful. There is beauty all around when there love at home. Even though hard times come, I am so grateful for my wonderful spouse Brian, for four beautiful and wonderful children and our great extended family. These blessing help me to be happy and feel gratefulness for the blessing God bestows upon us. My seeds are starting to sprout in my garden and i am hoping for more rain. It will be great to have my parents in town.

Planting in the backyard, A work in progress.

I went to help a friend with her yard. Next thing I know I have a beautiful hibiscus tree and ten plants from Green Acres.:) The yard excitement has continued and we have a garden box and two sequoia trees. I really enjoy working in the yard and especially when the flowers start to bloom. I'm excited to get some dirt in my garden box and plant some seeds. Joseph has been helpful and I think I'm already getting a little tan which are both bonuses. I love the smell and it seems we are getting more hummingbirds and nature's visitors already. I'm hoping to get seeds going for squash, tomatoes, watermelon among other seeds. I'm excited about having a blueberry plant. I have learned how to add to a drip system and I hope this will work well for my garden if we go out of town during the summer.

Spending Time with my Girls

It has been all about girls lately. I've been spending time with my two wonderful daughters. Celia had a Jog-a-thon at school and I went there and watched her run/walk. We went to the park together and played in the sand and made sand heart and she took me to CeliaLand. I think that term might have been dubbed by helpers at school for having her calm down when frustrated. In Celia land , you think of all the things she like whether it be bunnies, puppies, cupcakes, or the color pink. I indulged her and we had a lot of fun. I got the girls new dresses for Easter and attended a baby shower for a  girl. Celia, Emmy and I went to general women's conference together in our old Stake since we were already nearby when it began.

Emmy had been studying( AP Stats test corrections) with a friend from school . There were a lot of giggles and girl catch up. Celia came in and painted her nails and put on lip gloss during our conversations. These girls are smart. They were talking about where they got accepted to college and next thing I know Emmy is drawing a pretty accurate map of the United States. Together Kari and Emmy worked through the map and it is on Emmy's white board in their room. Leap Pad would be happy to know these girls memorized the states and their shapes from early use of their programs, who knew that would really work?!

I did get to visit with my boys too yesterday. We visiting Rah Rah and Papa and got late night treat( I got a salad ) at Safeway. I had 11 friends over for Bunco. I got a cute framed C for the girls bathroom to Jazz it up for my friends coming over and for Celia to start doing tutoring lessons in there. Maybe she will do better at her hygiene routines if it is cute! The Bunco party went went we laughed and ate and talked for three hours. I'm still not used to entertaining, but it was fun to have it at my house.  For appetizers we had mini quiche and french baguette with Parmesan jalapeno dip. We have blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and whipped cream to top brownie bites or cheese cake for dessert.I did have a giant veggie platter, but each table(3) had two or more candy dishes full of candy on them as specified for those that host Bunco. I am so over treats after the Bunco party. With a baby shower then cinnamon rolls at Women's Conference on Saturday, I want to get off this sugar high.:) Easter and birthday month are coming so we may have to rethink some treats. My folks are coming to town and we are excited to have them here!