Spring Break

We started off Spring Break with Christian's flag football game. It poured rain on the poor kids.

We took a field trip with our friends to This Is The Place Park to see the baby animals.

It was beautiful and then it turned--the story of our weather here the last few weeks.

The gang.

Christian tested for his red belt in tae kwon do.

Easter Sunday and the traditional shot of the kids with squinted eyes from the bright sun.

Easter egg hunt at Grandma's.

Easter fell on Bev's birthday this year. She wanted a soccer cake. I also made strawberry shortcake, so we didn't even cut the soccer cake.

Her dreams came true and she got an iTouch. The first thing she wanted to do was facetime her cousin Lauren.

Grandma and Grandpa shared treasures they brought from their trip to Israel and Egypt. We got to see their pictures and hear about their adventures.

Beverly with her great-grandma Beverly. Grandma gave Bev a special figurine that she has had for 30 years--something she will always treasure.

She got her birthday breakfast in bed.

Monday we picked up Mike from work and went to the zoo. We could watch those monkeys all day.

She recorded the animals and took pictures--she's already addicted to this device.

I saw this shirt and just had to get it for her birthday. It is a cat girl with glasses riding a bike--so Bev.

1. Having a long weekend to spend with people I love.

2. Remembering the Resurrection and the Atonement.

3. Having such a sweet, smart, beautiful girl.

photo assignment

I am finishing up the assignments for my photography class. I needed to photograph a subject indoors with natural light. The kids were at school, so there were no humans available. Tiger is not a very willing participant, so I got the twins out again. They were such good models before, and they did not disappoint this time either.

So, I am snapping away when Tiger shows up.

I don't know if it was because she was nervous or hungry, but she kept licking her lips. Whatever it was, I didn't like it. Christian says that she might think they are mice.

Oahu 2011

This year Mike's work trip was to Honolulu. It was a pretty quick trip, but we made the most of it. The first day we rented a car and went to the North Shore.

We did the hike to Waimea Falls. It was an amazing walk through a nature preserve up to the falls. There were people swimming by the falls. That made me miss the kids because our kids would have loved swimming there. (Another thing that made me miss them--a waiter one day was named Christian and our waiter another day was named Andrew.)

I took pictures of a few flowers we saw on the hike.
We shared a pineapple burger in Haleiwa and then went to this place with all of these funky vans and buses that sell fresh shrimp.

Temple in Laie.

The temple grounds are beautiful.

The Polynesian Cultural Center was great. We saw a few of the island presentations then went to the Luau. The show, Ha: Breath of Life, was amazing. We had great seats with a great view of the performers. Seriously, one of my favorites from this trip.

The next day we got up early to be at Pearl Harbor by 7 a.m. when tickets go on sale. We got tickets for the Arizona Memorial and the Battleship Missouri. That is Mighty Mo in the background.

The Arizona Memorial.

USS Missouri.

Melanie and her family just happened to be on vacation the same time we were. We went shopping with them and had some hawaiian shaved ice.

One of my favorite pictures--our friends Matt and Andrea on the hotel grounds.

The last morning of our trip we went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay. We took Andrew's underwater camera and got pictures of lots of fish.

It always takes me a few minutes to warm up to the whole thing. I have to get used to the breathing and I have to go to my happy place to block out the Jaws music that plays in my head.

When I was 19 I stepped on a sea urchin while on vacation in Hawaii with my family. Now, every time I see one I get freaked out. So, Mike and I snorkeled for about 45 minutes and we were sort of doing our own thing, when I saw a whole clan of sea urchins in the coral. I panicked and headed for shore. 45 minutes was plenty for me.

Mike took some video while snorkeling.

It was an amazing trip, but it is always great to come home to my babies.

DARE graduation

(Andrew pictured with Heather Anderson, Miss Utah 2007 at DARE graduation.)

He said he only wanted her to sign his shirt, but then I asked for a picture. She put her crown on him and then he gave his signature smile.

Andrew loved DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education.) He took it seriously and talked a lot about the things he was learning. It gave us a chance to talk about things like alcohol and tobacco too. In his DARE essay he wrote about tobacco:

"Your teeth will look like you haven't brushed them in months and you'll seriously need a breath mint. If you play sports and smoke, you could suffer from shortness of breath and dizziness. That would suck for me to smoke because I love sports."

I think he gets it. I hope he gets it.

kitty love

Every day after school, the kids go immediately to the "cat nursery" in their bathroom to pick out a kitten. If we are home, someone is holding one. I took these pictures on Monday, about 10 minutes after they arrived home.

Bev is crocheting a sweater for one of the kittens.

Andrew takes one in his bed every night while he does his reading. Last night I worried to Mike that the kids were going to have a hard time giving them away. He reminded me that right now they are just little Zhu Zhu Pets that are cuddly and don't do much, but that they will grow up to be rascals.

Let's just say that Tiger is not a fan of the intruders. She avoids them or growls and hisses at them. As the kids were holding the kittens, I looked up and saw her perched on the mantle, disgusted with us all.