Cousin Visit

Last month the Banks cousins came to the bay area so we went up to spend a day with them at the zoo! All 3 kids were so excited to see Lauren and Jemma. Of course, they were excited to see Uncle Justin and Aunt Audrey too, but Lauren and Jemma were definitely the highlight.

As soon as we got there, Lauren grabbed Sadie's hand and away they went. They are such sweet buddies, so close in age and so sweet together.

 It was pretty hard to get all 5 of the kids looking in the same direction at the same time. They were all talking, smiling, looking at animals, looking at each other. They had so much fun together.

 Julie loved chasing Jemma around. It was fun watching her as a big cousin. We already know she is an amazing big sister, so it was no surprise she was protective and helpful with Jemma.

 She picked up Jemma to show her the exhibits.

 There was a petting zoo. This lucky goat got to be brushed by all 4 cousins at the same time. He (or she) was very happy about it, and actually whined a little when the kids moved on to the next goat.

 Julie also helped Jemma walk all over. Jemma loved getting to walk and us adults were happy to save our backs, Julie was the perfect height to hold onto her hands without having to stoop.

 The big girls all rode together on the train while Andy had some boy time with Uncle Justin.  We had so much fun with the Banks at the zoo. Oakland zoo is a great zoo and we can't wait to go back. It has a few rides and lots of animals. But the highlight was absolutely the company.

 Don't worry, I did get a few snuggles in with Jemma, although, shortly after I took this picture, Julie came and stole her again.

Another Color Blast

We paired up with our buddies the Horejsi family and participated in a Color Blast at the Jr High.  They had never done one before and I don't think they knew what we were getting into.

We started off nice and clean.

Our clan...don't let Sadie fool you, she didn't walk much.

See. She hitched a rid wherever she could.

At the end, we were all covered. It was a lot of fun. everyone was a mess, except for Sadie. She walked around all the color blasting. She didn't like it. She did get sprayed in the head with orange. She still had a little in her hair.

We had some tired kids when we were done. Notice how Sadie is pushing us away so she doesn't get too dirty.

Andy, on the other hand, embraced the color. He was happy, and rainbowed.

Lots of fun with great friends, Thanks Horejsis!!!

A Mommy Kid Trip

I was only able to take one day off over spring break. So I told the kids we could do whatever they wanted. Of course they asked if we could go to Santa Barbara Zoo.  I was happy that we went. It was a great day. Unfortunately John had to work. But it made it special to have them all to myself.

They even humored me and took nice pictures together. It's hard to get pictures of the 3 of them all smiling and looking somewhat in the same direction.

We found these cool statues. We had never seen these with all the times we have explored Santa Barbara Zoo. The kids loved tem and we hung out around them for a long time.

Julie was too cool for me. She started cracking up as soon as I took these pictures. She's not a teenager quite yet.  Andy, as usual, was too busy for a picture.

And of course the slide hill. Always a hit. Love Sadie's face as the caboose.

It was a great, tiring day. The kids were so well behaved and so much fun. It was an amazing Mommy Day.

Easter 2015

We started Easter out this year with Easter baskets and a hunt in the back yard. The kids had a lot of fun and ate way too much candy before church.

Then we went to church out on the ranch. It was a chilly but beautiful morning where we saw half the town and lots of people we love. Here are my two beauties focusing at church.

When we got home, we changed out clothes and had some family and friends over for Easter lunch. It was so relaxed and lots of fun. Christina, Brian and the kids came. Memere, Grandpie, Aunt Arlene, Uncle Hal and Cousin Stephen. We had some make your own taco bar and cookies. 

 We let our 11 chicks out in the back yard. Sadie loved helping her friend hold them.

 Sadie loves holding her chicks.

 Even the big guys got into the chicks.

 But the chicks all took cover under Grandpie's chair.

 We had a fun little egg hunt. Everett and Lydia made it much more fun. Egg hunts are always way more fun with friends.

 It turned out to be a beautiful day!

 Counting her eggs. We didn't find them all. There are still 2 eggs out in our yard somewhere.

 Friends! Hard to get a picture of us with neither of us talking.

 And the sign of a good day. A tired baby, passed out on the couch.

Another Half

My running buddy Lynda, John and I all ran a half marathon! It was the Wine Country Half Marathon and it was awesome!

The Wine Country 5k was the first race Lynda and I ran when we started training 2 years ago. We ran the 5k again last year and this year we ran the half.

Lynda cut a minute off her last half time. I cut 9 minutes off my last time, and John totally rocked it. He beat me by about 10 minutes!

It was a great fun day and we are already excited for our next race!!

Sadie Says

 This girl has been too much for us lately! She is such a character.  She started gymnastics this week. She is loving it. She loves her tutu and her teacher. She waves at us with a big smile on her face.

She loves to say, "Excuse me!" when she wants to tell us something.

She was spending the morning at my mom's and she asked Sadie if she was done with her breakfast. Sadie replied, "no, I'm just taking a break."

I got an email from on of her school friend's mom telling us that when she went to pick up her daughter, the teacher was reading them a book about their feelings. Sadie was the first to be asked what makes her happy. Sadie replied, "When my mom and dad say they love me"  So sweet. And I am so grateful that another busy mom took the time out of her day to email me such a sweet story.

Sadie has been loving Andy and Julie reading to her. It's a win win. She get's to hear a story and they get to practice.

Sadie adds so much fun and laughter to our lives, love that girl!

Julie's Award

We got a note home saying Julie was getting an award. We all showed up on a Monday morning and watched her get a certificate for her "Excellence in Math"

We are always so proud of how hard our kids work at school. We had a conference with Andy's teacher and she went on and on about how great he was doing and how much effort he puts into everything. Julie didn't get a conference but we were VERY pleased with her report card. She is above grade level in a few subjects, including math and language.

Great job big kids!