It's Easter Time!

I can't believe that it is almost the end of April.  It seems like we were just celebrating New Year's Eve!  Time is going by too quickly.  We were able to fit lots of Easter activities this last weekend.  We colored eggs on Saturday.  We dyed some of the eggs and tried dying some of the eggs by cooking them wrapped in 100% silk ties.  They turned out really cool.  The instructions are on Martha Stewart's website.  We also had an Easter Egg hunt in our backyard for Talia and Tucker.  Easter morning was a little rushed with 9:00 a.m. church.  We had some great talks and muscial numbers.  Tucker gave a talk in primary and did an excellent job!  We had 16 people at our house for Easter dinner.  We invited the Lowe family from our ward and the Mylroie family from our old ward.  We had ribs and lots of other yummy food including 3 different desserts!  As a family we watched a new Veggie Tale movie about the true meaning of Easter and read through the Friend magazine Easter article about the Savior's last week on Earth.  I am so grateful for this day and the opportunity the world has to celebrate our Savior and His resurrection.

Yeah for Spring Break!

Talia and Tucker had Spring Break the last week of March and the first week fo April.  They were off for 2 weeks and it was wonderful.  We stayed in Corona  for most of the break and just enjoyed some quiet time.  Talia and Tucker had a couple of playdates with their friends on 2 or 3 different days!  One of the playdates was at the park.  We also went to Huntington Beach and to lunch with Trent one day.  The beach was so fun and Talia and Tucker played in sand and waves for hours.  They didn't want to leave as usual.  We went and watched a movie another day.  Talia and Tucker wanted to watch different movies and they were playing at the same time.  So Talia went and watched Diary of a Wimpy Kid Rodrick Rules and Tucker and I went an saw Hop.  I didn't care what I saw but Tucker really wanted me to stay with him during the movie and Talia didn't really car as long as she got to watch her movie.  I was a little nervous about it but we got done before Talia so I was able to be there right when she got out.  She is definitely getting more grown up! 

The last part of the Spring Break Talia and Tucker were able to stay with our friends, the Holmes, from our ward, while Trent and I were Youth Conference parents.  They had a great time playing with their friends and Tucker even got to go an Angels game!  For Youth Conference we camped in San Diego for 2 nights.  We were parents for 10 kids - 5 boys and 5 girls.  They were great kids and it was fun to spend the 3 days with them.  The first day was spent at the San Diego Temple and it was amazing.  I had never been to the temple and was so glad to be able to go.    We camped on Fiesta Island and it was cold and wet but it still a great experience.  The second day we went to a military cemetary and cleaned gravestones for a service project.  That afternoon there were water activities including canoeing and sailing.  There was a canoe race and our family won!  It was too cold for Trent and I to get in the water and only a few of our family members wanted to get wet.  The last day we packed up and then went to the Mormon Batallion Visitor Center.  It was very fun and informative and  I want to take Talia and Tucker there.    That afternoon we drove back to Corona and the kids showered and got ready at our house for the dinner, fireside and the dance that night.  We had a cousin family so we had 10 boys showering at our house and our cousing family had 10 girls.  We had some extra time so the boys were able to go in the hot tub, play the Wii and have the pizza while at our house.  The three days went by so fast and the spirit that was there was incredible.  There were several wonderful firesides and I am so grateful for the opportunity we had to go and have this experience.  When it came time to say good bye to our families I was sad to see them go.   I was very glad to see Talia and Tucker.  I missed them even though I don't think they missed me very much. 

The only pictures I took the whole Spring Break were from the day at the beach and they aren't very good because I was shooting in manual mode.  I am taking a photography class and can only shoot in manual so I will learn!   Hopefully the pictures will improve along with my photography skills!

Let the Races Begin

Tucker was able to participate in his first Pinewood Derby at the end of March.  Tucker and Trent worked on the car together.  We bought a few tools and a book to help the car be fast and it didn't help.  Tucker won a few races and at least he didn't come in last.  He was a very good sport about losing and I am so grateful for that.  He handled it better than some of the older boys in his Pack.  Overall it was a fun night and I think that Tucker will be a little more motivated to work on his Pinewood Derby car for next year.  He wanted to start his car for next year that weekend after the Pinewood Derby.  It didn't happen but I am glad that he is excited for next year.  He has big plans and hopefully he will do better next year.  We watched Down and Derby as a family which was quite entertaining after just participating in a Pinewood Derby.  Tucker LOVED it!

Scouting Fun

 At the end of February we had our Blue and Gold Banquet for the Cub Scouts.  Trent and I are the Cubmasters in our ward and so we helped plan, decorate, prepare and etc.  The evening was a great success.  We had a Hawaiin Theme and had Hawaiin Haystacks.  Tucker earned his Wolf Award and 3 Arrow Points that night.  Since Trent and I were in charge and handing out the awards we didn't get a picture of him.  Once I get the patches sewn on his uniform I will take a picture.  We are so proud of him!  Way to go Tucker!  I do have a few pictures of that night of the Cub Scouts doing a Hawaiin dance called the Haka.  They practiced for a couple of weeks and turned out GREAT. It was the highlight of the evening!