Easter

Some photos of our family Easter egg hunt. Every time Truman found an egg he'd say, "Oh. . . Wow!"

Emma cannot find the egg we told her was in the rosebush.

It's late now, but if I don't post these pictures tonight, it will probably be a few weeks before I get back in the mode. I'm mostly an "egg hunt on Saturday" kind of person, but Emma and I were gone too long yesterday to fit it in. So, here are the kids, ready to go. Especially Truman who has the sweetest tooth I've ever known. Here I am, 9 weeks to go!

Parker and Truman, not true to life. They are looking too chummy.

And . . . our vegetable boxes! I put this on for my mom, who wanted to see them. I am quite proud of our handiwork, though. I had the lumber cut myself at Lowe's and Todd assembled them. The kids and I stained them. We planted seeds and a few tomato plants. Todd and Parker did the edging and gravel yesterday. They are the one spot in our backyard that looks intentional.

Emma's 8th Birthday

Friday was Emma's birthday, and she turned down two invitations to other birthday slumber parties because she wanted to celebrate at home with us, having ice cream sundaes and watching "High School Musical 2" after the boys went to bed. I had to assure her the boys would be asleep, because at the video store she worried about her movie choice being appropriate as a family film because, as she said, "At the beginning, Sharpay sings a song that is a little bit . . . um . . sassy." She actually just saw the first HSM a week ago, and we have yet to watch #3.
I am finally feeling like I need to let her be like the other kids her age and watch these shows, even though I wish she didn't want to. I mean, honestly why couldn't the other 5,6, and 7 year-olds stick to Strawberry Shortcake and My Little Ponies? Parker just went to a "rock" birthday party for a little girl in his preschool who is a huge fan of American Idol. Ah, sweet, innocent childhood.
But Emma is a sweet, innocent girl and we love her and are so happy she's a part of our family.
The big event of Emma's birthday celebration was a trip to the American Girl store in LA to buy a doll. She has been wanting one for a very long while and counting down the days till our visit there. I will just add, as a side note, that upon returning home, I said to Todd that I would be happy if all of Los Angeles, except maybe Dodger Stadium, was flung out into the ocean and landed somewhere near Hawaii. I am just not a big fan. The place is a mess. And I'm not just saying that because it took us around 2 and a half hours to travel the 65 miles from Corona to Hollywood - on a Saturday. Anyway, we took a "short cut" home by going on the 10 to the 60 to the 71 to the 91 to the 15. (Sorry. I sound so cranky.)
So, look at these cute pictures of Emma enjoying herself. And thank you to her grandparents for contributing to the gift!

Although she had never been to the store before, Emma was quite the expert thanks to all of her research on Americangirl.com. She even printed out the driving directions herself.

On the drive home Emma said about her doll, "I'm just so happy that she belongs to me now, and not the store."

Emma and "Julie"
(Julie joined us at our Easter dinner with her own place setting and colored egg.)

Spring Break

The last two weeks of March was our Spring break. This is the last year we will get two weeks off instead of one. I'll admit I was a little daunted by the prospect of that much unstructured time with the kids. I made a plan to have a daily theme: gardening day, sports day, craft day, etc. Overall, I think it was a success. It helped me to wake up knowing there was something planned, instead of just ten hours of time to fill up.
We also ended up with free Legoland tickets, thanks to the generosity of a friend, and it was the perfect day there. I think our kids were just the right age for this park. They do have some tricky height restrictions, but everyone had a great time; beautiful weather, no lines, plenty of time for free play. Parker likes it more than Disneyland now. My own child!

Here we are at the beach. Thankfully, I didn't try to take the kids alone as I had planned. Dads are just so great, aren't they? Todd helped build sandcastles, and I got to sit the whole time and take pictures and hand out snacks.

At Long Last

Okay. So, here is the news since the last post. We are all moved into our new house (HOORAY!) as of February 1. We are enjoying the added space and peace of mind that we aren't dealing with a derelict landlord anymore! The kids all love the house and are settling in well. I think their favorite part of the new digs is the staircase that is open to the living room below. Stairs alone would be thrilling, but when you can launch things over the railing to the tile below . . . heaven.
Although we didn't move far, we are in a new ward. The Primary is probably twice the size of our last ward's and the kids all have lots of potential friends. Half of Parker's preschool class is in this ward, and his preschool teacher is now Truman's nursery leader!
I have been busy scouring Craigslist and contemplating the decorating questions that weigh heavily upon my mind.
Todd was hired into a new position which required him to change offices. It is a promotion, though similar to what he was doing before. Great news except that he now commutes to Orange County instead of San Diego, so he is up and gone very early and sometimes home late.
Anyway, that's the recap, and here are the pictures that we managed from January/February.

Truman turns three! Grandma and Grandpa Rudd were here for the celebration.

Parker starts t-ball. His first game was on moving day. That was an exhausting weekend.

Emma, Parker, and Truman with Aunt Janelle, Coco, and Jett who dropped in for a fun afternoon to see us before going to Disneyland.

Parker's Star Wars birthday party which was three days before the move and a great success.

The boys loved the "Yoda Soda".

Using the Force to keep their balloons in the air with pipe insulation light sabers. (I go all out. You should have seen the Death Star Pinata we made, held together with masking tape.)

He's five!

Thiis was one of those times when the kids said, "Mom! Come take a picture of us! For some reason the purple gloves made Emma into the superhero's nemesis. I don't know. I just point and shoot because it's easier than questioning.

Truman tries to copy Parker's superhero pose but looks slightly less coordinated.

Please ignore the mayhem in the background. Everything was skaddywampus as we packed up.

IT'S A BOY!!!

Christmas

On Christmas Eve day we went bowling with Holly and Steve.

I think there is a similar picture somewhere of me and and my siblings looking out of this window when we were little. My dad grew up in the house he and my mom live in now.

Two angels, and we had to rope in adults as Mary and Joseph. I don't know what's up with the wiseman glasses/nose.

Trevor and Truman entranced with Geotrax. (More! Those things are so bulky.)

Emma with what Santa Claus brought. (No real kitten, again.)

Christmas was really nice. We hadn't been with my family at Christmas for five years, so the long trip was worth it. (Right, Todd?) This is a short-winded blog because I am short on time, but we hope you all had wonderful holidays as well!

Snow

This is the plowed road. At least it protects you from a collision with oncoming traffic, although having a median this high makes a left hand turn more tricky.