A great day with the kids and the hubbie

One of the dates on RJ's Christmas date list for the year was a Hawaian Luau. I thought before RJ and I went out and because we would be in the Portland area, we should do something fun with the kids. We went to the museum and had a good time.

Hunte refused to be in the picture.

There were so many cute things to do and see but Hunter and McKenna seemed overwhelmed by the other kids. We spent more time at this lit up table with magnet squares than anywhere else!

Hunter wants to either be a policeman or ambulance driver when he grows up. That's because he can legally drive through red lights. Here he is on the CB trying out his future profession.

This is a big digging pit full of little rubber tire pieces. The kids had fun shoveling and hauling it around.

Poor McKenna could barely reach the water at any of the water play stations. She mainly hung out at this one.

Mommy is the tooth brushing nazi so this was the perfect place to take our picture together on our way out.

Attack of the killer croc!

Hunter happily doing a front support.

McKenna's pike glide

After playing at the museum with the kids, RJ and I went to a Hawaian Luau. We had pork, chicken, noodles, rice, coconut cake and coconut-like flan.

This is a picture of RJ with the noodles. They were clear noddles with no flavor and very chewy. I couldn't get past the texture but RJ cleaned his plate. This isn't the best picture. I needed a close-up to get the full effect of the tapeworm-like noodles. I am so sad that I accidently erased the pictures taken at the dance performance afterward. It was a lot of the same thing but we liked the flame throwing act.

Easter Weekend

In keeping with tradition, we went to Granma/pa Morrison's for Easter/conference. We really looked forward to watching conference and enjoying Easter festivities with the kiddies. Grandma and I helped the kids color eggs on Saturday. We made a mess but they had fun. Unfortunately, I had to crack the eggs the next day to make deviled eggs. Hunter wanted everyone to thank him for making the eggs (even though his portion of the creation was in the garbage).

The back of the box showed 6 colors. I guess that was only after mixing because there were only 3 tablets in the box. Thankfully the kids didn't know that they got ripped off!

Note* Don't use a styrofoam cup when coloring eggs. The shape of them makes it near impossible to get the stupid eggs out! How many adults does it take to scoop a colored egg out of a cup? Answer: At least 2 (in our case).

Hunter making a dual colored egg

Proud artists

The finished product

Group hug

Grandma sandwich

We did and Easter egg hunt Sunday morning. We hid 18 plastic eggs and an Easter basket for the kids. We told Hunter that his basket was blue, Mckenna's was pink and not to take each other's basket. McKenna was so cute. She found a blue egg and assuming it was Hunter's said, "here buddy." Hunter on the other hand would shake the egg and if it had candy, he would keep it but if it sounded like it was just a sticker, traded it to McKenna for a candy filled egg.

There was also a special pink bag from Grandma/pa with an Easter dress inside.

I was with Grandma when she picked it out. There were pretty pastel colored dresses but I said, "this one is fun and loud just like Mickey."

Hunter refused to wear any of the pants I packed for him (except for the Nike ones Grandma/pa gave him for Christmas). Grandma/pa bought him another Nike outfit to keep the boy sanitary.

Hunter with his Easter basket

McKenna's Easter basket

Grandpa loves Zoe! I don't know if he was more excited about bathing her or inviting McKenna to help. McKenna and Zoe have so much in common we discovered this weekend. No wonder McKenna is so mesmerized by her!

Our New Toy

After nagging the kids...

don't jump on the bed,

don't jump on the couch,

don't jump on me;

we bought something that they could jump on,

a trampoline!

It has been all kinds of fun.

Hunter's a natural.

Dog pile!

Run Like the Wind

Theresa and I ran a 10K together. It was a great experience. We both pushed ourselves further than we have previously gone. The other runners were so encouraging. So many of them would say, "good job" as we passed each other.

Sledding

President's Day on Mt. Hood

Last year, we bought snow gear for everyone but never did go sledding. We were determined to go this year no matter what! We were able to coordinate with Matt and Beth and Matt and Carda which made it even more fun. Dad even came with his trusty steed- Zip. Hunter and McKenna were so excited about our special snow day. We kicked it off with breakfast at Cork's Donuts. They have the biggest, yummiest apple fritters. In case you didn't know, I LOVE donuts. I only get them about once a year though.

Carter, Bailey, Paige, Hayden, McKenna, Hunter, Grandpa and Madalyn
Good Times!



RJ read this pamphet (that was lying around our friend's house) about becoming a good kisser. Your suppose to stare into each others eyes for a number of seconds before kissing and drink in each other's essense. Here we are getting drunk on essense (and trying to keep a straight face).

Hunter was so brave. He headed straight for those trees all my himself! Fortunately, with the shape of the hill as it was, he hooked left before hitting the trees. Not everyone lucked out with the hooking action though.

McKenna had a traumatizing experience her first time down. RJ took her down the steeper side of the hill on a double sled with her in the front. I'm glad I didn't see but apparently she was airborne for a minute. When I came to get her and take her down the little hill, she was kicking and shaking her head "no." We got her to go down the little hill twice but she covered her face and burried her head. She was done after that.

After a few hours, we took a lunch break. Thanks to Beth's experience and coordination, we had chili, hot dogs, hot chocolate, fritos, and several pans of dessert (brownies, cookies, seven layer bars and more brownies).

McKenna was so cute in her bibs. Don't ask me why she is not wearing shoes?

Our sledding spot before lunch was fun but it was nerve racking trying to dodge the trees. Plus I saw a much bigger hill out yonder without trees that I wanted to check out. After lunch, both Matt's, RJ and I hiked for what seemed like forever to get to that hill. Thanks Beth and Carda for watching my kiddos so I could be irresponsible!

Matt N. holding on for dear life

Matt M. gaining speed

RJ had the best run by far! He took off from the top of the mountain and hit a jump (unintentionally). He caught so much air, we all stared with gaping mouths. At the bottom of the hill there were a few more bumps and he caught some more air and slid into a group of onlookers who had set up camp in what they thought was a safe spot. Unfortunately, I did not capture that run on camera.

Eat It Dear!

Valentine's Day

Couples 5K

Theresa, Carda, and I are training for a half marathon in June. Since Theresa and I had never even done a 5K, we decided to do one together to get an idea of each other's pace. When we discovered this couples run for Valentine's Day, we knew our men would want to join. We thought it would be cute to run the whole thing together but that lasted about 5 steps and the men took off. It was way more fun than running my loop around the neighborhood.

That evening, RJ and I went to the Stake Valentine's Dinner and Dance followed by a performance of "Beauty and the Beast" at the community theater. I was really looking forward to the whole night. I wore my extra high heels to be taller for dancing with RJ. I told him we wouldn't stick around long, I just wanted one dance. We enjoyed dinner at a table with some friends, then RJ went to talk to someone he knew from work. I waited thinking, "he's not much of a talker, he'll be back soon." I sat there for 15-20 minutes by myself watching other couples dance. I was pretty upset by the time he came back because it was time to go to the play and I just knew that he spent all of that time talking so he wouldn't have to dance. I told him I was disappointed. We continued on to the play without many more words between us. I really enjoyed the play. I was surprised to find out that I knew the "Beast." He cleaned the carpets in the apartments we use to manage. RJ was a little more critical since he has been to a Broadway-type play before. When I returned home from dropping the babysitter off, RJ was in the living room with the lights dimmed and Argentine music playing in the background. He asked me for a dance and I was more than happy to oblige.

Valentine's Day fell on a Sunday this year. I made the kids french toast and bacon. I cut hearts out of the french toast with a cookie cutter. The kids got a kick out of that.

RJ and I made a valentine for each child. We cut out a heart and wrote all of the things that we love about them on it. They enjoyed hearing how great they are and how much we love them. It's been a tradition for me to make RJ a "Remember When" list. I recap all of the memorable moments of the year (usually humorous ones). RJ gave me some bright pink daisies.

Go Spurs!

Due to the fact that RJ doesn't like to plan dates, for Christmas I gave him a year's worth of planned dates. I told him to just show up and bring his wallet. One of the dates for Feb. was a Spurs/Blazer game at the Rose Garden. Thanks to Matt and Carda, we were kid free and actually found the place with their GPS.

Warming up

It wasn't a very tense game. The Spurs led the whole way and we were among the few that were cheering. In the last 5 minutes, however, there was a turn around and the Blazers actually took the lead. We sat on the edge of our seats to see if the Spurs could tie it up with a three pointer and 20 seconds on the clock. They executed their play perfectly, found Gianobli in the corner wide open He shoots. He bricks! They did the whole, foul them, get the ball etc. and ended up losing. Oh well, it was a fun date.