Celebrating Easter all week!

It's been a fun week and it's only Tuesday! Last weekend we had Nana and Papa Jim here, as well as my cute sister-in-law, DeDee and her kids. We had a great time! On Sunday morning we dressed the kids all up in their Easter clothes and headed to church! I LOVE Kate's skirt and Eme's dress ... compliments of their talented Aunt Amy! Thanks Am! You're the BEST!


On Monday night we headed to the Snows house for dinner, family home evening and an Easter Egg Hunt. We're so grateful to have such amazing friends! Thanks for a fun evening!





Good news! The fun won't stop there!

Mommy Moments

Please forgive me for what I am sure will be a sappy, cheesy post. But it must be done. I've had a couple of mommy moments lately and I don't want to forget them.

Today Kate participated in her school track meet. An ordinary event, you might think. But for some reason it was a rather poignant experience for me. First of all, when I asked Kate why she didn't choose to run the 50 or 100 meter dash, she quickly responded, "Because I wanted to try something harder." Now, she knew she probably wouldn't win the race - she's more of a ballerina than a runner. But the fact that she wasn't afraid to try was to me the impressive part.

When the time came for her to run the 400 meter dash, she was up against some pretty fast girls and she had already participated in the softball throw and 200 meter dash. So, she was pretty tired. But she stepped to the line with a look of determination on her face. As I watched my little girl run with all of her heart around that track - not the least bit distracted by the fact that others were way ahead of her - I couldn't have been prouder. I stood at the finish line and cheered her on and loved it when she ran right into my arms. I hope she'll always know that I am proud of her, that I will always be her biggest cheerleader and no matter what ... I'll be at the finish line to greet her. I love you sis!


My other mommy moments have come while watching my baby girl turn into a toddler right before my eyes. It seems just like yesterday that I held that tiny little 5 lb. 5 oz. baby in my arms. And now when I look around I see a happy toddler with VERY curly hair, crawling around, standing up to things and showing us what a fun personality she has. Her favorite things to do are pull books out of her brother's bookcase and look out the back door window. She's hilarious and provides a TON of entertainment for the rest of us! I truly cannot imagine our family or my life without this adorable little person. Love you Emmers!



And just a note to Josh ... buddy, I have LOTS of mommy moments with you, too! Stay tuned for posts about little league baseball. I can't wait to watch you in your first game! I love you!

Spring Break in sunny San Diego

Last week we took a much needed family vacation to San Diego for spring break. It was the perfect time of year to go because the weather wasn't too hot and there weren't crowds of people. But the best part was just having time together as a family without work, phones, tv, homework, etc.

Sometimes I think that the kids enjoy staying im the hotel as much as anything! They loved the bunkbeds, eating pizza in our room and watching movies after a long day of walking.


We decided to hit Seaworld this trip because it's been a few years and it was a lot of fun. We took our time and just let the kids spend as much time as they wanted at each place. Eme, like me, enjoyed just sitting and watching everything - the people and the animals. Greg, the super dad, volunteered to go on every "wet ride" that there was and even endured the roller coaster 5 times in a row!


I LOVE almost everything about California, especially the ocean, the boats and visiting with our good friends, Ben & April, in Carlsbad. The kids and I have been telling Greg that we all want a beach house in California (if only it were that easy, right?), but he (and April) remind me that we do - their house! Our visit was way too short and I miss you like crazy, April. Thanks for being such great friends!


On Saturday we decided to visit the U.S.S. Midway Naval Ship. Greg and the kids thoroughly enjoyed it. Eme and I ... not so much! I think our plan for next time will be to drop Greg and the older kids off there and Eme and I will go shopping. (Just kidding - kind of!) Don't get me wrong. It's a neat place to visit. But I, for one, do NOT enjoy reading every single sign about every nut, bolt and engine piece on the ship. Not my cup of tea. But it was cool and the kids loved it!


There were lots of fun times on this trip, but two of the most memorable were things that the kids said. As usual they were a great source of entertainment and laughter for Greg and me. When we were driving around close to the beach, I heard Josh say from the backseat, "I just love this place! It's like paradise!" That it is son!

On our first morning in San Diego, we needed to run by Target to get some things. On our way there, we were stopped at a light and across the intersection there was a strip club with big signs that said "Nude Show" and "Nudie Cuties." Greg and I made eye contact and wondered if the kids would notice. All of a sudden we heard Kate say, "Nude show? What's that?" We explained that sometimes people pay to go see other people take their clothes off. Thankfully they were disgusted by that thought, but they spent the rest of the day giggling and saying, "Nudie cuties! Nudie cuties!" Thanks for the laughs guys and thanks for a great vacation!

Lately ...

This is what's been happening at our house lately.

The kids celebrated Dr. Seuss week at school and part of the festivities included mismatched clothes day, crazy sock day, hat day and their favorite ... wacky hair day! That's all I've heard about for weeks and the day finally arrived. Here's what we came up with -


A mohawk for Josh and a combination of ponytails and buns for Kate. You look great guys, even with "wacky" hair!

Eme is officially 9 months old today. Sadly she's looking and acting more like a toddler than a baby, but with that she also gets to be more fun each day. She has mastered crawling and has now moved onto pulling herself up to a standing position. She thinks she's pretty hot stuff and has a super fun personality. She makes me laugh every day and I just can't get enough of her.



And finally, I celebrated my birthday last week. Greg took me out to dinner and to the Colbie Caillat concert the week before. (It was AMAZING!) On my "big" day my girlfriends took me to lunch and my cute sister-in-law cooked me dinner. (Thanks girls!) But the best part of the day was when Kate woke me up and said, "Happy birthday Mom! I made you this card." I will treasure this for the rest of my life. Thanks "K-Bug!" You rock my world, too!



In case you can't read the note: "Dear Mom, Happy 29th birthday. I know you are 39 but I wanted to make you 10 years younger just to be fun! I just wanted you to know that I love you and all that you do. Happy wishes, Love, K-Bug P.S. You rock the world." Pretty cute, huh? I'm one lucky mom!