Random Shots in April

He screams for ice cream! Daddy spoils this kid!

 Grandma's little buddy. He really enjoyed spending the week with grandma. Especially because he didn't feel good for part of it.

 Showing off those teeth.

 Cooper LOVES daddy's trucks. He gets so excited to go for a ride.

 Our friends, Jimmy and Victoria got sealed in the Oakland Temple. It was a perfect day and beautiful ceremony. I love the beautiful temple grounds in the spring.

 Love the many faces of these boys!

 Hmmm I don't think so Coop!

 For Mother's Day we made a book for Jo.  On the last page we spelled "LOVE U" with all the grand kids.  We were "L" This is the best I could get :)

Rolling Boys...this made us laugh so hard!

Xander and Cooper entertained us for a good while doing this. It made us laugh so hard.  They started to do it all by themselves.  They loved it too. Funny boys!

Fun Visit from Jon and Traci!

Jon and Traci came to visit us...yeah for family visiting! 

We went to San Fran to see our first Giants game and stopped at the pier of course.

 Cooper got a little nervous on the carousel.

 Looking at the sea creatures.

 At the Giants game...the one and only game we will ever go to. That is checked off our bucket lists forever! We picked the WRONG week to go...the Boston Marathon bombing was this week.  So we got there and parking took a bit and by the time we walked up to the stadium there was a line a mile long...yes to get in. The game was starting right then.  We payed a lot for these tickets. It wasn't cheap.  And I wasn't going to wait in line for an hour to catch the end of the game. I wasn't happy. I noticed no one was walking to the end of the line and it wasn't moving. So I walked up and noticed that everyone was merging at the front of the stadium and making it so the line to get in wasn't moving very fast at all.  They were checking everyone for bombs of course since that new stadium holds almost 100K people. Crazy huge.  So I called Eric and he walked up with the kids and we were in the stadium in 5 minutes. Thank goodness. I normally would wait in line but since everyone else was doing it, I went for it. I wanted to get our moneys worth. We already were 1/2 hour late for the game.  We walked and walked up and up until we finally got to the level of our seats. We were high up there for sure.  The game was little tiny people playing baseball. It was hard to get into the game and pay attention since it was so little.  The kids (surprisingly) didn't dig it much. They were bored and just wanted food.  So Eric finally got them chicken strips and fries, and popcorn and it was $25.  Crazy.  Ryder was tired and didn't like it. Eric left and walked around with him most of the game. We should have payed a babysitter and went without kids. It would have saved us money and we would have enjoyed it a lot more. The kids didn't really care about the game. Probably because we were so high up. They had fireworks at the end so I told Eric we couldn't leave early. I think he would have.  The fireworks were pretty with the bay.  We got home at 2:30am...it wasn't worth it but we experienced it. Not sure we picked the right game...but they did one at the last section. So that was good.  We cheered when it was over.  Hehe  I guess baseball isn't our sport!

The bored kids!

Saturday we took the boat out for a little ride. On the way to the lake, The boat trailer started to smoke. Eric wasn't far from home so he drove home.  He had to replace a lot of the brakes and misc wheel parts. We finally made it to the lake and did a test drive.  It got very cold and windy. It didn't last long.  A fun day in deed.

It was a fun weekend, full of adventures. Never a dull moment for sure. Just spending time with family was worth it all for with me! Thanks for driving here to visit us Jon and Traci!

Just the two of us in San Antonio, TX!

Eric had to go to San Antonio, TX for a week long training.  My mom was coming into town around then so we planned it so I could go with Eric and she would stay and babysit the kids for us. Perfect plan!  It was great because we used air miles for me.  The hotel (which was the nicest hotel we have ever stayed at) was payed for.  All we had to pay for was my food...not bad at all for a week long trip.  I was excited.  Eric had class all day until 4-5. I was nervous I wouldn't have anything to do and I would be bored...well that didn't happen. I actually really enjoyed the break from my day to day kids routine. I slept in until 10am every day. I then got ready, met Eric for lunch and then I either shopped the afternoon away or I went and layed out by the pool. (Which was so awesome..they had big lounge couches. It was on top of the hotel, so the views were beautiful.) After Eric got done with class, we went and explored the city.  The Riverwalk, where we stayed was awesome. It was so neat.  So much to see, so many restaurants, very neat history. We really enjoyed San Antonio.  It was a great place to vacation.  Eric unfortunately got sick on the last couple of days.  He had a hard time going to class. I felt bad for him. He was a trooper and still went out with me to see the city at night. It was really nice spending the week with him and reconnecting with just the two of us. We really enjoyed it. 

Welcome to TEXAS!

 This was at our hotel...right on the RIVERWALK. Beautiful!!!

 We got there on Sunday afternoon and went to the Alamo. It was pretty neat. We enjoyed learning about the history.

 Eric found John Wayne and had to take a picture for his dad.

 Lunch date with my hot hubby at the hotel. I was happy to find out they had a lunch break so I could see him.

 My relaxing time!

 View from the pool deck.

 My selfie enjoying the warm sunny weather.

 Monday night we went on the RIVERWALK boat ride. It was a lot of fun. Our guide was awesome.  It was beautiful.  It is really neat they have a river along the whole downtown area.  Even goes into the mall. We really enjoyed the ride.

 Eric loves to look online and find these cool places to eat.  We ate at Big Lou's Pizza...and yes they are famous for their 3 foot pizza...we just weren't hungry enough :( If we were with a group we would have ordered it for sure. It is a very busy restaurant. Very popular in San Antonio!

 The tower..beautiful views of the city.

 Hmmm but when we got up there is SUPER windy... I mean it was pushing us over. It was kind of fun though.

 Then we watched a 3D movie at the Tower.

 Another one of Eric's finds...worlds largest cinnamon roll at LuLu's Bakery.  It was HUGE!  We barely even ate any of it. It was yummy.

 We had some kill before we went to the airport so we went to the Japanese Gardens. It was really pretty. We enjoyed walking around...Eric found a nice place to rock climb too.

The week was really nice! We really enjoyed ourselves. I think Eric would have liked it without any sickness...but he was a trooper. I loved the time I got to spend with him. We really needed it.
And a big THANKS for my wonderful mom who watched the kids. I am sure the week wasn't as relaxing for her as it was for me.

Happy 8th Birthday Easton!

Our Eastee boy turned 8! It's great to be 8...especially in our church. He will be baptized in June while we are in Utah. He is excited to be baptized with his cousin.

Easton was lucky and got to spend his actual birthday with Grandmommy.  She was babysitting the kids while Mom and Dad where gone.  But we celebrated all together when we got back.  

He requested cupcakes..yummy. He is a vanilla boy. Vanilla cupcakes, vanilla ice cream...that's how he rolls.

 Grandmommy and Papa gave him the hymn book and we gave him scriptures.

 And we also have him a green machine...it is awesome. You can do 360s with it. It is quite fun and a little tipsy too. Easton loves it.

 He also got a basketball from Grandma.

 And Grandma Jo sent a bunch of gifts as well. He was spoiled.

Happy Birthday Easton! You are turning into such a handsome young man. We love you!

Grandma and Papa's Visit Conference Weekend

My parents came for Conference Weekend and my mom stayed the following week to watch the kids for us while I went with Eric to Texas. My dad came for the weekend to visit.  

Friday we took the kids to Lakeport and played laser tag. It was my dad's first time playing and we had a great time. After we went to TNT's for lunch and then fed the ducks and played at the play area. It was a nice little adventure with my parents.

 Saturday, we left early to buy our new boat in Ukiah. We got a 2000 Searay.  (It is newer and more reliable)  We then headed to Armstrong Redwoods forest.  This is the first time we have seen redwoods and we have lived here for over 7 years.  We have always wanted to. It was nice. They were soooo tall. It was crazy to look up at them.  Eric separated from us to go back to the car so he isn't in a lot of photos. I know we took more photos...I need to track them down.

 The roots were crazy. I really liked this tree.

It was a fun little walk.  We enjoyed it. It was a little muddy and misty.  

We enjoyed a nice dinner after with Papa at Applebees. He treated us..so nice of him.

The next day Eric and I left and my parents "watched" conference with the 4 kids...I think it was a fun experience for them.  They survived. 

I always enjoy it when my parents come to visit! I wish we lived closer. I am just happy they take the time to come visit.