Ditch Day

A couple weeks ago we had a little bit of an odd day that turned out fun. The night before Ty got some little bug. He had the scoots and was puking...it was really strange. When he finished he climbed up on the couch and fell right asleep. I decided to keep him home the next day to let him rest. I had to run some errands that morning, Dave was home because he didn't have patients. I took Ashlynn and left for a couple hours. Dave calls me later and tells me that Ty and him were out fishing and went on a bike ride. What??? Apparently Ty was totally fine and happy as ever. Dave really wanted to go do something as a family because we hardly ever have the time to. So the next thing I knew we were packing up drinks and snacks and going to the Zoo. It was warm that day but we still had fun. They have some splash pads there so we took the kids suits and let them play for a while. We decided to turn a sick day into a ditch day...it was fun!

Gymnastics

Kylee got a guest pass to her gymnastics class and invited Ashlynn to come with. What a fun place! Ashlynn was literally having the time of her life in there! I'm hoping we can sign her up for some classes soon and just let her go wild. Thanks Kylee!

I love today

Little hands can do so much,

Hold and hug and tug and touch,

Toss a ball, Play peekaboo,

Blow a kiss or tie a shoe...

Catch a firefly,

let it go,

Turn a page and change and grow,

Reach for stars in moonlit skies,

Build new dreams and wave goodbyes...

So many things small hands can do

When they've been held by a mom like you.

We love you, Mom

Love Tyler and Ashlynn

Happy Mother's Day to all you fabulous mommy's!!

Easter Sunday

So I'm about a month behind on posting about Easter...oops! We had a wonderful Easter Sunday and spent the entire day with family. My nephew was blessed that morning...we met at my sister's house before and had a scrumptious breakfast! It was a gorgeous day for a baby blessing. Then we came home and found that the Easter Bunny had left some things for the kids while we were at church. They were all so excited! Right before dinner the kids searched for eggs in the back yard. We had a yummy ham dinner with both sides of our family here at the house and it all turned out really well! It was a beautiful day!

A special wish

I woke up pretty early this morning...a little after 6am. The sun has been up for a little while the birds are chirping like crazy and I couldn't go back to sleep. My mind started racing and thinking about all the things that I needed and wanted to get done today. Then my beautiful sister popped in my head...

"today is Tifani's birthday".

The past few months have been very difficult for my sister. She has gone through something that is the hardest thing a mother can go through. I'm amazed at her strength...her courage...and her faith. I admire her...I look up to her...she is a beautiful person inside and out. She constantly helps to remind me what really matters and what is most important and I'm so incredibly grateful for that. She is an amazing gift in my life and I love her more than I ever thought I could.

Growing up with my sisters we didn't exactly get along ALL the time...who does really? I was the oldest and will be the first to admit that I wasn't always the nicest sister to these girls! I never could have imagined back then how I would feel about these girls now. The connection that you have with a sister is priceless. I was blessed to have 3. We each are very different...have different tastes...styles...personalities. I love these girls and I cherish every part of them...they are my best friends.

So today my sister dear I wanted to send you a wish...a special birthday wish. I wish that your day is full of bright sunshine and happy thoughts. I wish that you feel loved and adored. Any wish that you would like today I wish for you. I love you so much...HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

Going back to Cali

I haven't really posted much of anything in like a month! I was talking to my sis Tif the other day and as soon as she answered the phone she goes..."You're alive!" Life has been a little crazy around here the past few weeks and I think we are finally starting to feel back on track again...maybe! A couple weeks ago Dave and I flew back to California to help move his sister Kirsten and family back here to AZ. As soon as we flew in we had just enough time to go into San Fransisco and see Fishermans Warf and eat at Bubba Gumps. It was one of the last places open at 10 o'clock at night and we were starving! We ate yummy food and Dave was in heaven with his pot of seafood. It was so amazing to go back there and it was so good for Dave to get away from the office and have no worries. We had so much fun!

There were bright green hills everywhere and I was loving the beauty of it all. We drove by Dave's old house and he just walked up and down his old street remembering the past. We went into downtown Danville and had lunch at the Rising Loafer...yummy! We drove by his old high school too. That area is so beautiful it was amazing! What a fun place to grow up!

After we were all loaded and packed up we started our journey back home to AZ. There was this place that Dave's family always had to stop on there way down to southern cali and it is called Pea Soup Andersen's. Dave and Kir were SO EXCITED to have pea soup and I just didn't get it! It was such a cute place but I passed on the soup...not really a fan. But they had all you can eat...Brandon loved it too! It was fun to be in a place that had such happy memories for them. Brandon was a little trooper driving all that way! We made it home safe and sound and we are now one big happy family:) It was a super quick trip but we made the most of it and had a great time!

Road Trip

Dave and I are on our way to California tonight and I'm SOOOOOOOO EXCITED!!!! I wish I could say the reason for our trip was to get away and have some "us" time(that will come later I hope). But we are actually going there to help Dave's sister Kirsten move back here to Arizona with her family. We have been so excited to get them here and have been looking forward to this little trip! We fly in later tonight and are rushing like mad to Fishermans Warf to get some play time in before we have to start our road trip home tomorrow. I haven't ever been there at night before so this will be a new experience for me and a flood of childhood memories for Dave. The kids are each going to a friends house for the weekend! Not having to worry about them for 2 days is a vacation in its self! Even though it's going to be a super fast trip we are so grateful that we can go help them out and get their booties in AZ for good! Woohoo....road trip!!!

Lemon trees and Orange blossoms

I LOVE this time of year in Arizona. You simply can't beat it! The weather is gorgeous and so refreshing. You wake up to the smell of orange blossoms...at least in our neighborhood...there are orange trees everywhere so the smell is delicious! The sky's are blue, the sun is bright and the temperature is perfect. The citrus trees in the backyard have been very good to us this year. We've loved eating the oranges and grapefruit but haven't used too many lemons. We go out there all the time to pick a few and I even made lemon bars one day and those were SO GOOD! It hasn't even made a dent in the tree...this lemon tree has exploded this year...they are everywhere! The kids and I went out there yesterday and the lemons were GIGANTIC...ENORMOUS...HUGE!!! I've never seen lemons so dang big! I grabbed a couple bags and just started picking away. The smell was amazing! Before I knew it my bags were full and my arms were covered in scratches from the thorns on the lemon tree. Ouch! We went inside and made fresh lemonade and even added a strawberry puree. I love strawberry lemonade...it's my favorite! We sure had fun and the house smelt sooooo yummy!

Much needed Pampering

For Christmas this last year Dave got me a gift certificate to get a pedicure. Here I am in the beginning of March and hadn't used it yet! He also got me a massage for my birthday and I still haven't used that. I know...I have all this pampering at my fingertips! Last week I decided to go get my toes done and I brought Ashlynn with me. I thought she could get her little nails done too! She is constantly asking me to paint her nails and if one chips the world is over as we know it! She was kind of nervous at first and didn't want to be away from me. So the girl let her sit in a pedi chair next to me and she did her nails there. Ashlynn was the happiest little girl on the planet at that moment! It was so much fun to go together and have a mommy-daughter day! I felt like a whole new woman afterwards...it was simply FABULOUS for both of us!

Ashlynn's 1st Primary Talk

This last Sunday Ashlynn gave her first talk at church! When she got her paper last week she was so excited and kept saying..."i get to go up on the stage mom, the stage!!" She thought she was going to talk in the chapel in front of the whole church. I had to explain to her that she would be on a smaller stage in front of all the little kids. That's our little entertainer for ya, she's not shy at all! When it was her turn to go, I was helping her up the steps and I started to get teared up and started crying. I had to shake that out of me quick! I couldn't believe that my baby was old enough to be doing this...she's almost 4 years old! Where has the time gone? She was such a big girl and did such a great job!

Someday I'm planning on printing my blog postings into books so I can have them around. So I have to write her little talk so we can remember it. Her talk was on "Family Members have Important Responsibilities"...her ya go...

"This is my family. I have a Daddy a Mommy and a big brother. We live in my Grammy & Grandpa's house while they are on a mission. My parents teach me many things. They teach me to be kind and to love my brother. I like to help my mommy cook & clean. My brother likes to help Daddy outside in the yard & they love to go on bike rides. We try to obey our parents but sometimes it can be hard. We love to do things together like going to the park...play games...and just be silly. I like to pick out what song to sing for Family Home Evening & my brother picks a song too. I like to say the family prayer sometimes too. I love my family."