Blast from the Past- May 2017 Happenings

And just like that, we are on to the month of May!

A busy, busy month indeed.

Abbie Kadabbie

Abbie had a busy month which included finishing up her first year of Junior High, going on a field trip with her friends in her peer tutoring class, and playing softball.

She LOVES softball and it has been fun to see her improve her softball skills.  

I love this gorgeous little 13-year old of mine.  She loves to help people, she loves going to the temple, and she still loves anything and everything that has an owl on it.

Ellie Bellie

In my post for last month I mentioned that Ellie found out that she won the Arbor Day contest for her grade at Liberty Elementary.  I love, love, love her poster and I am so happy that Mark and I were able to go with her to the awards ceremony.  This little gal is a pretty amazing artist and I am excited to see where she takes this talent of hers.

Ellie finished up the 4th grade this month and received a "Math Magician" award for her hard work in math this year.  

She also survived a session in the van where I was teaching Emma to drive (the picture of her wearing Abbie's softball helmet.)

She took a baseball apart because she 

A.) Saw someone do it on YouTube

B.) Wanted to try it for herself

She is such a cutie pie and I cannot believe how grown up she is getting.

Emma Lemma

Well, May brought us another legal drive in the house.

It takes her almost a full minute to adjust the seat every time she gets in the car, but she is turning out to be a pretty good driver.

She still gets distracted easily, so we are working on that.

But, she does know that you

A.) Should not drive with both feet.

B.) Should stay away from garbage cans

C.) Cannot wave to her friends while driving.

She is definitely part of the "selfie" generation and I find a lot of pics of her by herself and with friends on her phone.  Josh happened to be the lucky victim of one of her photo sessions.  She is going to miss that kid when he is on his mission.

She finished up her Freshmen year of high school and is gearing up to move on to being a Sophomore this fall.  Y-I-K-E-S.

Mother's Day

It was a pretty low key Mother's Day this year, which was just fine by me.

This little cutie instructed me that I was not to get out of bed in the morning until she had brought me breakfast.  So, it was a breakfast of toast with strawberry jam and a heart cutout in the middle, scrambled eggs, and water for me.  I loved it.  She also made the flower centerpiece.  I love her.

After church, I just basically did nothing, and it felt so good.

I read for a bit, took a nap, and then we went over to Mark's parents house to have dinner with everyone there. 

The perfect Mother's Day if you ask me.

I think I will continue the glorious month of May in a few more posts, so stay tuned...

Blast from the Past- April 2017 Happenings

Moving on to April's happenings!

I feel like these months went by as fast as these blog posts are happening (and that is no joke.  Where does the time go?)

Conference Weekend in St. George

We decided to head to St. George for April's Conference Weekend.  We had a little baby to snuggle, cousins to play with, and beautiful scenery to gaze at.

Little Nova Lin (Novie) was born in January.  We got to see her for a small window, just after she was born, when we were on our way to California.  I had been dying to snuggle with her again.  Fortunately, Dan and Chantelle's babies stay teeny tiny for a long time so she was still just a little peanut.  

We love our little Novie girl!

Conference definitely brings out the nap-taking skills.  Lol.  It's not that we are sleeping, it's just that we are pondering deeply the words that are being said.

We had a wonderful weekend and I learned so much from listening to our prophet, apostles, and other church leaders speak to us.  Conference weekend is always uplifting and give me the boost that I need to press forward.

And one more thing...I am selfie-challenged.  But you already knew that. :)

Easter Weekend

Easter weekend was spent with the Ogden clan this year.  It's a little different now that the grandkids are all growing up, but we still managed to have a fun time hunting for eggs and being together.

Josh was not excited that I made him participate in the egg hunt, but because he is the good boy that he is, he obliged--if only to make his mommy happy.

We also colored eggs and, as usual, ate lots of food.

Easter morning we woke up to some fun surprises in our Easter baskets.  Even Bailey was the lucky recipient of a new toy which she managed to destroy in about one minute flat.

Art supplies, mission supplies, Taki's, and a Cubs shirt.

I call that a pretty solid Easter basket score.

We attended church and I am so thankful that we were able to go to church and feel of the spirit of this glorious Easter holiday.  

We celebrate Easter because our Savior Jesus Christ was resurrected!  Isn't that fantastic?  It's seriously the best news ever and I am so grateful for my Savior.  I love Him with all my heart.

Easter would not be complete without family pictures in our Easter Sunday attire.

Abbie looks goofy and beautiful, as usual.

Ellie looks absolutely adorable, as usual.

And, this bunch of hooligans?

Well, they are my life.

And because of the Savior, they are mine forever, whether they like it or not.

Josh's Senior Pictures

I know, I know.

I keep saying it.

Where did the time go?

My baby boy, my first born child, is a Senior in High School.

He is graduating.

He is growing up.

And I couldn't be more excited about that.

Although there is a little tinge of sadness because I miss his cute little toothless grin, his squeaky little voice, and the way that he would run around in a Batman costume and a tie-dyed cape, I really am so excited for the future that lies ahead of him.

He is ready for the challenge and adventure, and that makes me happy.

Odds and Ends

This post wouldn't be complete without an Ana update.

Still cute.

Still loved.

Still growing.

Josh is getting ready to turn in his mission papers.

(Insert tears of joy and sorrow.)

He is definitely ready to serve the Lord on a mission and we are excited to learn where he will be serving for two years of his life.

 This cute face.

Oh my.

I cannot get enough.

Ellie received a letter from Murray City informing her that her Arbor Day poster was chosen as a winner for her grade!  She was thrilled beyond thrilled.

 These ladies.

My heart.

That is all.

 Josh had the opportunity to play in a production of "The Lamb of God" over Easter weekend.  It was a beautiful oratorio written by Rob Gardner.

All of the musicians involved were amazing and we left feeling uplifted and so grateful for our Savior.

The Busy, but Fabulous Month of May

Whew!  Was that a whole month that just flew by?

The only month crazier than the month of December is the month of May.  Between birthdays and end of the school year recitals and concerts, our month was jam packed with lots of happy times.

The first thing we got to celebrate was Mark turning 40!  The big 4-0.

As you can see, he was very excited about it...

Because I am a lover of surprises, I decided to throw a little family half-surprise party for him.  I called up his parents and siblings and asked them to come over for cake and ice cream.  Since Mark's birthday was on a Sunday, it was easy for us to get some decorations up because he had meetings.

He thought the decorations were just for our family, but, surprise!  When the doorbell rang around 6 pm and his family stared pouring in, he knew that they were for more than just us.  It was fun to surprise him.

On Saturday we splurged and went out twice.

Mark and I went to breakfast at the Original Pancake house and I had this amazing, delicious, manna from heaven dish.  It was an oven-baked apple puff pancake with a cinnamon sauce that was unlike anything I have ever put into my mouth.  I want another one right now.  

That night we took the whole family to Leatherby's for our traditional ice cream for dinner meal.  Okay, so Mark and I ingested a ton of sugar and carbs that day, but it was his 40th birthday after all.  Definitely time to celebrate.

Next up was Josh's final Utah Youth Philharmonic concert.  The kids did an amazing job!  They debuted a hands free piece which was really incredible.  I'm so proud of this kid!  He just keeps doing amazing things. :)

 This is what happens when kids take selfies on Mom's phone...

they get posted on the Internet.

To be fair, I guess I have to post mine as well. :)

Mother's Day 2016

We started the day off right with some yummy butterscotch monkey bread rolls.  Can you say, "We are addicted to sugar?"  Yep.  It's true.  We really love sugar around here.

I got this special picture with my cute kiddos and I love it.  They are all so grown up and wonderful.  I really am such a lucky mom.  They made sure that I was having a good Mother's day by cleaning up after themselves the whole day.  It was so wonderful.

Love these crazy kiddos of mine.

Once again, we are performing the "Great Bedroom Switch-Up."  Life just wouldn't be life without us switching bedrooms every 6 months to a year.

This time we are moving two girls downstairs (Abbie and Ellie) and one girl up (Emma).  So far it has worked out nicely.  We are still planning on re-painting the rooms, but that will have to wait until the end of the summer.

Josh auditioned for the Madrigal choir and he made it!  He is going to be a part of the Madrigal choir at Murray High School next year.  He is very excited and I am looking forward to hearing them sing.  They are a really great choir with an awesome teacher to help them along.

 This beautiful little lady passed another ice skating test and she couldn't have been more happy about it.  It was her Senior Moves in the Field test which means that she never has to take another Moves in the Field test again!  Great job Emma!!

 Bailey is still as cute as ever and she loves it when she gets to sneak a few moments on someone's bed.  I know that poor Mei Mei is rolling over in her grave because she was never allowed on anything.  But, she also weighed twice as much as Bailey so she never would have been able to get up on the furniture anyway...

At the beginning of the month we decided that we were going to be builders.  The girls have been dying for a playhouse for years.  They would actually love a treehouse, but none of our trees are big enough.  We found some plans online and set to work.

We got two holes dug, filled them with gravel and set the cinderblocks in place.  Then we ran out of gravel.  Oops.  My bad.  Miscalculation.  Well then those two holes sat for the whole month with no hope of having two other holes join them.  So now we are on to Plan B.

We have ordered a shed to be built.  It will be done at the end of July.

Chip and Joanna Gaines we are not....

A few other things to mention that I don't have pictures of but want to remember...

1.  Next year will be a very busy year for our Senior.  Josh will be taking 4 AP classes, he is the MOS (Men of Sparta Club) treasurer, the National Honor Society President, he is also on the Seminary Council and will still be a member of the Utah Youth Philharmonic.  As I mentioned above he is in Madrigals which will keep him busy, plus he is volunteering at the Children's Hospital once a week and working 10-15 hours a week.  Not sure how he is going to fit in sleeping, eating, and family time in that schedule, but he will figure it out.

2.  Abbie finished her softball season and we are trying to figure out what the next step with softball will be.  We are not happy with the league we were in this year so we have some research to do to see where we are going to go for next season.  She got a new violin at the end of April and has loved making beautiful music on it.  She is improving every day.  She has been able to do some fun things with her friends from the elementary school.  Today we met them at the water park and joined in on their field trip fun.

3.  Abbie and Ellie are D-O-N-E with online schooling and they are extremely happy about it. :)  They are both looking forward to resuming traditional school next year and I am looking forward to my next adventure of going back to school.  (Exciting and scary all at the same time.)

Spring Break 2016

One of the only good things about having a sick day is that it gives me time to be a little lazy and not feel like I have to clean something or organize something or even walk because my joints were too achy. :(  

So I am grateful for the sick day today because it allowed me to finish editing and putting together pictures from our Spring Break Road Trip.

We have been wanting to go to San Francisco and Yosemite for a while now and this Spring Break provided the perfect opportunity for us to do just that.

Can you say Road Trip?

We stayed the first night in Elko, NV.  The girls were thankful to have a pool that they could use their mermaid tails in.  I was grateful for the hot tub. :)  The next day we headed out for San Francisco.  It was a long day of driving, but we are pros at that now since our trip to Texas a couple of years ago.  This time, however, I instituted some 1 hour blocks of "No Technology."  The kids were really great to go along with this and played games, read books, and enjoyed the scenery.

On the way there we stopped for lunch in Reno and found the LDS Temple there.

We love stopping at different temples to take pictures.  It does not matter which temple you go to, there is always a sacred, peaceful feeling on those special grounds.

We were actually staying just outside of San Francisco in a place called Moss Beach, but before we got to the big city, we decided to stop in Walnut Creek for some ice cream and the San Francisco Creamery.  It was a very good choice for us to make.

Although we all decided that our very own Leatherby's has better ice cream.

We were excited to cross the Bay Bridge and see the city as we drove a little further south to the cottage that we were renting for a few days.  I was excited about this cottage because it was quaint, red, and right next to an area that gets tide pools.

However, the moment we walked into the place, my hopes of enjoying it were dashed.  It smelled like a zoo.  :(  It was cute, but the smell was definitely overwhelming.  Especially for Abbie and Mark who have super smellers.  We all put smiles on our faces and tried to convince each other that we would get used to it.  I don't think we ever did.  But, we still had fun.

After we unpacked the van, we decided to take a stroll down the street to see the tide pools.

It was a little chilly, but it was beautiful and it was fun to look for sea urchins and mussels in the little cracks and crevices.

The next day we headed into San Francisco to see, what else?  The Golden Gate Bridge.  I think everyone else who was visiting San Francisco decided the same thing.  It was super crowded and we opted to not rent the bikes like we had originally planned.  But we took a nice long walk and made it a little over halfway before we turned back.

I was very proud of Abbie and Ellie who were a little nervous because of the height issue.  They were walking very slowly until we turned around to head back.  Then their pace doubled. :)

After the bridge we went to the Walt Disney Family Museum.  I was so intrigued by the displays there that I failed to take very many pictures. :/  Oh well.

When we were done at the museum we met up with one of my FD Family members who lives in San Francisco- Camo.  It was so great to see him again and we did what our family does best...we found another ice cream place and ate ice cream together.  Finding the ice cream place, or rather, finding a place to park to go to the ice cream place was a bit of a challenge.  But after some maneuvering and changing which ice cream place we were going to, everything worked out.

The next day was Sunday- Easter Sunday and it turned out that the LDS ward in our area met in a chapel just down the street from us.  We didn't expect that.  It felt like we were right at home in Utah where there is an LDS Chapel everywhere you turn. :)

I don't know what my problem was that day, but I didn't take our normal "this is us in our Easter clothes" picture.  So...moving on.

After church, we grabbed some lunch and then decided to drive a little further south to Santa Cruz.

What a beautiful place this is.  The kids had fun roaming around on the beach and in the water, discovering new and amazing things.  They were sad to leave when we said it was time to head back to Moss Beach.  No one wanted to go back to the Stinky Cottage. :/

On Monday, we went back into San Francisco so we could go to the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park.  I can't even express to you how beautiful everything was.

It was a gorgeous, sunny day and we enjoyed walking around the garden admiring all of it's beauty.

After the park, we went to Pier 39 for some lunch and to be closer to the Pier where Mark and Josh needed to catch the ferry to Alcatraz.

While the boys went to prison, the girls spent all the money. :)

We had fun roaming around Pier 39, eating cotton candy, pretzels, and hot dogs,  riding the carousel, smelling really stinky seal lions, and walking through a mirror maze.  That was a lot of fun.

Plus I found my store!  I am now the proud owner of the "I'm Left Handed, What's Your Superpower?" shirt that was hanging in the window.  I couldn't resist.

The boys had a nice time at the prison and learned a lot of things.

When they made it back, we decided to find somewhere on the way home for dinner and call it a day.

It was our last night in the stinky cottage and we were excited to be moving on the next day, even though there was still a lot of San Francisco that we wanted to see.

I have never had so much help packing up our stuff as I did that morning.

1.  We were ready to leave the stink behind and 

2.  Two of my young ladies could not wait for the next stop on our adventure.

Ah, the American Girl Doll Store.

A place where every little girl dreams to live, and every parent walks away saying, "What just happened?  I walked in with a full wallet and walked out with absolutely nothing?"

But to their credit, these young ladies had been saving every single penny for months so that they could buy something at the store.  With a little help from mom, they were able to buy two new and beautiful dolls...Josefina and Kaya.

Mark had dropped us off at the mall and then took the van to have the front tires checked.  Before we left on the trip, he had noticed that they were looking a little worn.  Fortunately there was a Firestone store not far from the mall.  Unfortunately, we needed two new tires and found out that our van will not longer go into alignment unless we replace a lot of expensive things.  Good times.  Mark said, "Can I make it home?"  The guy said, "Yes, you'll be fine." And we were on our way.  Still haven't decided what to do about the van...but it brought us safely home and we are grateful for that.

When we were safe and snug in the van, we headed on to Yosemite.

We actually stayed in Groveland which is about an hour and a half outside of Yosemite, so we didn't see the park that first day, BUT we were all extremely grateful to pull up to the beautiful place where we would be staying for the next three nights.

No stinky smell.

Beautiful rooms and beds.

No stinky smell.

It was perfect.

There was even an extra mattress for the girls' dolls.  No, we did not buy more than two.  Yes, the girls brought all of the other dolls they owned so that they could meet their new friends.  :)

We slept very well that night and woke up ready to go hiking in some beautiful country!  Well, four of us were excited to go hiking, but the deal was, if we stop at the American Girl store then there would be no complaining about hiking.  A promise is a promise.

I have lived in Utah my whole life and have seen a lot of the gorgeous landscape that surrounds me here.  Yosemite was equally as beautiful as any park here and the waterfalls were incredible.  We felt so small and just stared in awe at the majesty that surrounded us.

Because it was still a little early in the season, some of the trails and roads were still closed, but we still were able to see a lot of great things.

Yosemite Falls...amazing.

Completely breathtaking.

Half Dome, Mirror Lake, and El Capitan...amazing.

We walked a little over 8 miles that day and poor little Ellie's legs were definitely feeling it by the end of the day.  But she and Abbie were troopers and it was a really fun day for all of us.

Because we walked so much and saw everything that we could and wanted to, we decided not to make the hour and a half drive back to Yosemite the next day.  We were in a cozy little town in a beautiful town home and decided to take the day for a little relaxation before the long drive back home the next day.

Mark and Josh did some golfing at the golf course that was just around the corner.

The girls and I found a place where we could go horseback riding and went for an hour long ride through some beautiful trails.

It was very peaceful and I just spent some time thanking God for this beautiful family and for the time that we were able to spend together.

Before I close this post, I just want to leave you with two of my favorite pictures that Mark took.

This was near Moss Beach at the spot where the "Mavericks" are.  The Mavericks are some really big waves that are popular in the surfing scene.  It was the wrong time of year to see the really big waves, but the view from the top of the hill...totally worth the walk up there.

On Friday we drove all 12 hours back to Utah and home.  It was a long day in the car, and again, we instituted the 1 hour blocks with no technology and we made it.  All in one piece.  All still smiling.

I call that success.