Fairytale Town

Today Kristin Rubow organized a moms outing to Fairytale Town. I invited Leah Tuttle and her two kids Avi and Tre. They had a great time and got along so well! I can't believe we haven't been before and it's so close. This is basically a park but all the slides and fun things to play on are in shapes of fairytale stories. FUN!

Visitors!

Today Jessica, Max and Jakey came to watch one of Sarah Hollingshaus soccer games. She came up a little early and the kids played around. Can you tell Rylee likes lipstick? Rylee was trying to do a super hero mask on the boys.

Easter!

[No words in Christendom mean more to me than those spoken by the angel to the weeping Mary Magdalene and the other Mary as they approached the tomb to care for the body of their Lord: "Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, bu tis risen" (Luke 24:5-6). With this pronouncement, those who have lived and died, those who now live and one day will die, and those yet to be born and yet to die had just been rescued. ~President Thomas S. Monson]

Happy Easter! The kids loved their baskets and I had a good time getting them together. It's so much fun to ask them what they want to put in someone else's easter basket and go shopping for it. Then they are so surprised that it ends up in their easter basket. Weird, I know, but what can you do. I'm not getting spending money on a babysitter so I can go spend more money on my kids' easter baskets. They were still happy and excited to just get something!

I'm glad we were able to attend church today to reflect on what's most important. Today the Beehive advisor and I taught a joined lesson to all the young women about getting to know the Savior. It was powerful. We ended the lesson with the story of Jeremy and the Empty Egg. We put together the quote above with a picture of the Savior at the tomb with Mary, folded up inside a plastic egg. We wrapped the egg in loin cloth. Search google for the empty egg story. It's very touching.

Sac Metro Fire Easter Egg Hunt

Special thanks to the fire fighters for putting this on last minute. They had a pancake breakfast, bounce house, crafts and the egg hunt. They did a great job and we had a great time. They even got to see the Easter Bunny and sit in the engine. Afterwards we visited Jon at his new fire station. Love you so much!

True Meaning of Easter?

Senior Ramon: What is this?
Nacho: Leftovers. Enjoy.
Senior Ramon: There is no flavor. There are no spices. Where are the chips?
Nacho: Somebody stole them.
Senior Ramon: Did you not tell them that they were the Lord's chips?
Nacho: I was trying to!
Senior Ramon: You are useless Ignacio!
Elderly Monk: Silence brothers! This is the worst lunch I ever had.
Senior Ramon: Your only job is to cook. Do you not realize I have had diarrhea since Easters?
Nacho: Ok... Maybe I am not meant for these duties. Cooking duty. Dead guy duty. Maybe it's time for me to get a better duty!

Ok, NOT the true meaning of Easter. But this line from the movie Nacho Libre cracks me up every time without fail. Tonight we had Family Home Evening about the resurrection and what it means. I am so very grateful for Christ's sacrifice for us.
Brody's Toy Story eggs.Rylee's Princess eggs.Great job guys! They look beautiful!

Raley Field - Kids Day

Today Kids and Moms were invited to Raley Field to meet Dinger and play fun games on the field. They had a great time!
Addie, Brody, Rylee and McKenna

Engineer Jon!

The four of us just want to give a big CONGRATULATIONS to the most wonderful husband and father!!! Jon got promoted to Engineer and we couldn't be more proud of him! He worked so hard on studying for the test and getting 4th on the list never felt so good. He now drives and operates the pumps on the engine. We love you so much Jon and are so very proud of you. Thanks for all you do for our family.We just had to celebrate by sharing a Daddy Dave's at Leatherby's, Rudnicki style - Substitute the vanilla ice cream for almond ice cream AND substitute the pineapple topping for carmel. This is like 2 desserts for the price of one. It's a "Black and Tan Sunday"! You gotta try it!!!

Fun with Daddy

One day while I was cooking beef stake tacos, Jon entertained the kids outside and made these drawings. Rylee loved his colors and how creative he was. Great job Jon!

Tortilla recipe:
- 5 eggs
- 1/2 cup almond meal
*beat together and make crepes on the stove. So thin, just like tortillas - amazing!

Family Love

Random fun with yet another new camera. Seriously, I don't know if Jon can hang onto anything for very long before he sells it and gets something different. We'll see how long this one lasts! Taylee can stand very well all by herself. She could walk if she just got a little more confidence. She loves ramming to things especially Brody's feet with her walker which makes him cry because it hurts. Serves him right for all the times he gets in her face. She's fightin' back!
Rylee chose Taylee's outfit. It's funny how with every outfit I dress Taylee in, Rylee always asks, "Did I wear that when I was a baby, Mom?" The answer will always be the same. Yes. I think she loves knowing she looked cute as a baby just like Taylee.

Organized

Yes, that is a salad bar in our refrigerator. I'm loving my food processor. Ok, so we are a little weird, but OH so smart. Cheers to healthy living!

New Calling

So I got called to be the new Mia Maid advisor in church which means I teach the 14 & 15 year old women during 3rd hour of church. This calling has been a learning experience for me about myself. My goal is to teach these girls the things I would like to have been taught as a teenager - that they are capable of anything and that Heavenly Father loves them always. These are my great group of girls!
(L-R: Danielle, Kayleigh, Alexandria, Bailey, Paige and Jordan) Kari decided that for mutual (the weekly young women and young men's activity) she would take the girls to the temple, have their pictures taken and then talk about a conference talk about striving for goals especially the important ones. Great job Kari!

Surprise!

Jessica decided to do a surprise birthday party for Oma hoping she wouldn't suspect. Better yet, we held it on my birthday! Everyone helped. She didn't realize anything until the last minute and I had to drag her into Jessica's house. All of her closest women were there to jump out and say, "Surprise!" while she acted surprised yet somewhat pissed. Everyone knows she hates surprises and attention so we did both for her 60th birthday just to make it special. HA!! Jessica made dinner with stuffed mushrooms, chicken salad sandwiches and salads. We played games such as - "What was in Mom's purse?" Bingo, and "How many". This game consisted of how many things she has done or made like dance costumes, trips to CalWest, sports meets and games she attended, number of callings etc. It was amazing the things that Megan and RaeDean came up with. When I find a picture of the answer sheet I will include it. People brought her gifts which was nice and unexpected. By the end of the night my Oma was having a great time and thanked us for putting this together. I made a little party favor for everyone in attendance, which read, "You are my sunshine, my only sunshine, you make he happy, when skies are gray."By the way, Jon got me tickets to see GLEE next month for my birthday present. I am so excited! Thanks Jon.