Spring Break- Part 1

So the younger boys have already been on Spring Break for 1 week. Tanner had seminary and school during their first week off. The littles patiently waited for Tanner to get out of school so the real fun could begin. Even though the littles had 2 weeks off for break, they would tell you that the "REAL" fun started this week.

We kicked off the fun by celebrating John's 46th birthday. The boys were super excited for him to open his gifts and the cards that they had created for him.

 

 

 

We are so thankful for this guy and his 46 years of life. So thankful that we get to call him ours. He is a wonderful husband and father. He is kind. He is talented. He is smart. He can fix just about anything. He is all about basketball(just finished up March Madness and Hot Shots). He lives to watch his boys play/excel and their activities/sports. He loves to coach the boy's various sports teams.  He works so hard to allow me to continue to  stay at home with the boys each day and for that I am so thankful! We wish him nothing but love and extreme happiness for his 46th year of life. Happy Birthday, John boy!

After presents and birthday cinnamon rolls, we hopped in the car and headed out on our adventure. Our first stop, Grandma Sandy and Grandpa Randy's house. We got to see my siblings and all of the cousins. They boys loved playing with all of their favorite cousins. While we were there, we took a drive and did a lot of "remembering when" and were amazed that San Jose still continues to grow and change! We spent the night at my parents so we could head out bright and early and begin our Spring break adventure.

The month of April flew by...seriously! I blinked twice and here we are, into the 2nd week of May! Crazy!!!I received a text from my friend Free saying I needed to post on my blog :). I can't let April totally pass by without some photos/highlights.

I have slacked on my What I Wore on Sunday posts. Here is what I wore on a random Friday! How's that? Loving this simple outfit. Shirt was on clearance for $8.00 at New York and Company. Boyfriend jeans from Nordstrom Rack. Shoes from TJ Max and my darling necklace from my friend, Amy for my birthday last year! Not pictured... my darling red Nine West purse that completes this outfit!

This cute boy got to go and do Temple baptisms with our youth group at the Sacramento Temple. You have to be 12 years old to do so...this was his first trip! He is growing up way too fast!

Spring soccer. John thought it would be fun to sign Tanner up for spring soccer. It has been more of a hassle...Tanner(pictured with the ball in the black, white, red jersey) is just so busy with other things...school, volleyball, umpiring baseball, etc..

Garrett earned a few more Scot awards at the April Pack meeting. We are thankful for his great Scout leaders who have kept him on track.

Tanner played volleyball for his school for the first time! He did a great job. He has a wicked serve. He loved it and hopes to play in high school.

Garrett loves to play catcher. He is awesome at it...word on the baseball field is that he is already being scouted by the Major coaches for next season :).

 Kruppy(Carter) went yard...first home run of the 2013season for him. He was so excited and so were we.

 And so were Garrett's teammates. They were playing on the field behind Carter's team, at the same time. They heard the excitement when Carter hit the home run, they ran right over and were hoping to see him hit another home run at his next at bat. It was very cute to see them all lined up on the fence. That is Garrett, #7 on the end and you can see Carter up at bat, #9.

We celebrated John's 45th birthday! 45??? I am married to an old man...just teasing! We had fun spoiling him. Birthday gifts, donuts, ball games, family dinner at Costa Vida. I took some cute shots of our family and John with his siblings and for some reason they won't load to my camera. I seriously  think this is why I didn't blog in the month of April. I was so bummed about the photos. I can see them on my camera screen so I am hoping the camera shop can help me. None the less, he had a great day and we loved spoiling him.

It was fun to have my brother and his soon to be wife, Gina here for Conference! We watched General Conference, ate lots of yummy food and the boys convinced them to jump on the trampoline with them! So fun!

 This cute boy was the latest winner of Great Grandma Shores Mercury draw. She sent him ten, $1.00 bills. He was so happy, running around the kitchen. He acted like he had just won a million dollars! It was so cute! My Grandma is adorable and so FUN!

 Flex break - LOL! I have been reading a couple of weight loss blogs and these girls take SO many photos of themselves taking Flex Breaks at the gym. I guess I thought I needed one during my treadmill time :).

 April means strawberries from the fields. I love where we live. We have 3 strawberry stands within a mile and half from our house! YUM! This was the first purchase of the season!

I am loving my brand new Kitchen Aid. I am baking like crazy. This was the first thing I made...honey wheat bread. I was happy it actually rose and did what it was supposed too! You know it has turned  out good when the boys gobble it up!

I am hoping to get back on track with the blog posts. I really do miss it! Our family loves reading old posts and remembering all of the fun and life experiences we have enjoyed! 

Is anyone still out there reading this???

16 years and counting!

Today, John and I  celebrate 16 years of marriage!
I say this often and I will say it again, I am so happy to have John by my side as we enjoy this roller coaster ride we know as OUR LIFE. I feel very lucky and blessed to be able to spend each day with him. We are a good match. He tends to be the calm to my craziness(crazy in a good. productive way). He is the Ying to my Yang. The Peanut Butter to my Jelly. He is the sunshine on a cloudy day. He is my ONE and ONLY!He works so hard to provide for our family. He is a great Dad and a fabulous husband. I had a friend who would tell her husband about the nice, kind, wonderful, fun things that John would do for me and for our family. When she would relay them to her husband, his response was "Well, you should have married John Krupp!" That comment would make me laugh every time and and make me realize how lucky I was/am. How did I get so lucky??? Our actual anniversary day(today) was filled with shuffling kids around town. We attended Tanner's Flag Foot ball game, Carter's Cross Country meet and Garrett's soccer practice. We have plans for next weekend, already penciled in on our calendars. We can't wait to celebrate then!

out from behind the camera

I am trying to remember to get out from behind the camera... a little more often! I am always the one with the camera in hand, documenting our lives. We ended our super fun day at Lake Tahoe with some yummy pizza from one of the local pizza joints. After dinner, I handed my camera over to Carter and asked him to snap a few photos of John and I. This is what I found on my camera. They made me smile, silly ones and all!

I sure LOVE him. Yes, I do!

Happy Birthday to you

Imagine that being sung with my best singing voice :-) and with lots of love!
p.s. if you really know me, you know that I don't have the best signing voice but I sure love to sing and will do it with lots of enthusiasm.

Today we celebrated John's 44th Birthday! We made today, all about him! He broke his own tradition, no birthday doughnuts for breakfast in his quest for a healthier him. We started his day off with presents. The boys could hardly contain themselves, you would have thought it was one of their birthdays. They were super excited for John to open his presents. We bought him new shoes for his workouts, new workout clothes,a lantern for camping, a new lawn chair for all of the sporting events we attend and a stadium seat for the endless baseball games we attend.

For his birthday dinner, John chose FATS restaurant. He has wanted to eat there since we've moved here(9 yrs. ago). It is an Asian Bistro and he loved it! I can guarantee you that it won't take him another 9 years until his next visit.

On Saturday(the day after his birthday), we met up with the Krupp side of the family and extended his birthday celebration by another day. I am kind of a fan of Birthday weeks instead of one day. We had dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory.






We sang Happy Birthday to John with the entire restaurant and enjoyed yummy cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes. I am not a cake fan but a friend from the gym was raving about their cakes one morning while we were running sprints on the treadmill...can you imagine the torture while exercising :-)? This non-cake loving girl, has a new favorite cake. We all gave the Chocolate-Chocolate Chip bundt cake two thumbs up!





Happy Birthday, John! We love you and are so glad you are a part of our lives! We hope your 44th year of life is fabulous!

Fifteen

Fifteen years ago, marks one of the happiest days of my life. I married my best friend, my everything. We were sealed in the Oakland (LDS) Temple for time and eternity. We were surrounded by family and friends. As I often think about the word eternity, it can sometimes feel very overwhelming. When I really stop and think about it, I am so thankful that I get to spend my life beyond this earthly life with John and the family we have created. What a blessing! Since that day, fifteen years ago, we have: laughed, cried, felt joy, mourned the loss of loved ones, witnessed the miracle of life(four times over), strengthened our marriage, grown(physically and spiritually),learned to be patient, tried to let go of those things that are just not that important, cheered each other on, made new friends, lost friends, tried new things, moved away from home, focused on careers while balancing home life, and have giggled ourselves silly with the inside jokes we share. Most of all(and most important), we have really enjoyed each other. I am looking forward to the next fifteen years + eternity. Happy Anniversary, my love!

spoiled rotten...

is exactly how I feel. John was away on business, all week. I missed him. The boys missed him. The overgrown grass in our front yard missed him-ha(more on that later). John got home late on Thursday night. I was so happy to have him home. When I woke up on Friday morning, he said, "I am not sure what you have going on today but just make sure you are home, packed and ready to go by 2 pm." He tried to leave it at that. I convinced him otherwise. A girl needs to know what to pack so she can be dressed appropriately, right? He caved and then told me that we were headed to Reno to see Maroon5 and that we would be spending the night in Lake Tahoe. What?????? Really?????? It was an early anniversary surprise. I was so excited. We don't get to get away very often, just the two of us. It is hard to ask family/friends to watch our children and then once they say "Yes" hand over the laundry list of places that they need to be. My sister in law Heidi told John she would watch them and get them all to their various destinations. SCORE! She is a saint.

I have always loved Maroon5, especially Adam Lavine. It wasn't until we were on the road that John asked, "do you want to know where our seats are?". He found tickets for the 8th row, on the floor. Our seats were amazing! Honestly, at that point, I did not care where we were sitting! I was sold at Maroon5 and a night in Tahoe with my one and only.



























We were close enough to see that one of his tattoo's read Mom-awwwwww :-)!















They opened the show with Moves Like Jagger and they shut it down with Hands All Over and an awesome rendition (with a ton of audience participation) of She Will be Loved. Again, it was an awesome show from start to finish. The entire crowd was on their feet for the entire show. I loved the pace of the show, they went from set to set and the energy was high. I also loved leaving the parking structure after the show, everyone had their windows down with their favorite Maroon5 song blasting from their ster-e-o.

We drove back towards Tahoe and spent the night in a little place right across from the lake.













We found a little cafe and enjoyed breakfast. We then enjoyed a beautiful drive around (part of) the lake. On our drive,we found our next home...until we saw the asking price. It was only 3.3 million-HA!

We spent the rest of the day lounging, reading, lunching and napping on Kings beach. It was a gorgeous Lake Tahoe day and it was just what we needed.













We came home to flowers,cards,a clean house(cleaner than I left it)and a front lawn that had been mowed in our absence. Even Aunt Heidi could tell that the yard had missed John while he was away on business :-).

p.s. I have decided that I am okay with the being spoiled rotten, every once in a while!

Happy Father's Day

Our mission today was to spoil John rotten. We wanted the day to be all about him. We made him breakfast in bed. Spoiled him with handmade cards and fun gifts. We supplied him with his favorite beverage. We baked him yummy treats. We let him relax all day long...he didn't lift a finger. I was a a little nervous about the menu that I had planned for the day. All of the recipes/meals(from start to finish) were new to our family and I wasn't sure if that had been a good idea on my part. I am happy to report that everything was a hit. I will share those recipes over the next few days.

We are so thankful for John and the Daddy/Husband that he is. He is our provider. He is our comedian. He is our best friend. He is our rock. He is our protector. He is our cheer leader. He is our soft place to land at the end of our days. We are so lucky to have him in our lives.























Happy Father's Day, John. Thanks for all you do! We love you!

lucky

this is as close as I got to doing anything for St Patrick's Day this year. It just isn't a holiday I am ever in the mood to celebrate. Heck, I didn't even wear green today...and I didn't get pinched.

This was today's Kit of the Week release at Green Tangerines. It is very simple. I really wanted to focus on the photos and the journaling. I used the new yummy Crate Paper line. The title reads: "Lucky to have you by my side". It is exactly how I feel about John. I am so thankful to be able to share this crazy ride called life, with him by my side. I used random pictures from the last 16 years(wedding, heading off to church one Sunday, trip to Hawaii for our first anniversary, waiting for Tanner to arrive, silly Davis family photos). Each photo holds favorite memories, very vivid recollections of how I felt the moment each photo was taken. Again, so very lucky to have him in my life, by my side.

As you have celebrated St. Patrick's Day this year, what has made you feel Lucky?

Love Day

Well it wasn't just one day...it was several. My Valentine's Day kicked off on the Saturday before February 14th. I was attending Scrappy Hour at Green Tangerines with a few girlfriends, enjoying a GNO. A few hours into our evening, I looked up for a brief second and caught a very quick glimpse of a man carrying a helium balloon. I didn't think too much of it and continued to work on my project. I then heard a few "ooohhhh's" and "aaahhh's" and I looked up. It was my John boy carrying that balloon. It wasn't just any balloon, it was a red and white polka dot heaart balloon :-). He totally caught me off guard, totally out of place for him. He was also carrying a heart shaped cake. It wasn't just any cake. It was a cake that he had baked and cut into a heart shape(I don't own a heart shaped pan)on his very own. The best part of the cake was the fact that he had looked online for a Weight Watchers friendly recipe. It was really very thoughtful and such a fun surprise. He revceived a standing ovation from the ladies(about 40 of them) there and they all clapped as he left and told him that their hubbies had alot to live up to :-). I am glad my friends were armed with their cameras. I will add the photo of John and I that they took, once it is sent my way! o

Then on Sunday, The Young Women from church presented their New Beginnings program/new theme to their parents. They performed a cute skit about Values(Snow White and the 7 values plus 1) and sang an amazing song. You could feel the love. I love these girls, they too, are amazing.



The next few days were spent making Valentine's, addressing Valentine's, baking heart shaped sugar cookies, enjoying Valentine/Friendship parties and sharing treats with our friends and neighbors. What's not to love about this holiday? All of my favorite things being enjoyed at once!








It was a wonderful few days, filled with lots of love and sweet gestures.

Gratitude on Wednesday

Today I am grateful (and thankful) that John returned home, safe and sound from his business trip. He doesn't have to travel very often but when he does, we ALL miss him. He is a big, happy part of our lives. I am thankful for all that he does for our little family. I have been blessed with a fabulous husband!
{photo by Mer at Hello Love}

Gratitude on Friday

Today I am grateful for our jobs.















I am grateful for the stability John has had with Intel over the last (almost) 14 years of employment. I am thankful that with that job comes great medical/dental insurance for our family!

I am also thankful for my little part time job with Green Tangerines.













In the last year or so, my job has become a mostly "work from home" deal. I am continually grateful for the opportunity to keep my hands in the scrapbook world...doing something that I absolutely love:-). It is my creative outlet, my escape from the daily grind of raising 4 boys. I get to scrapbook with the latest and greatest products...heaven for this scrapbooker. Through my job with Green Tangerines, I have met some of the most amazing ladies and I am very grateful for their presence in my life. I am constantly amazed by their talent, kindness, and friendship.

I am especially grateful for the fact that we have jobs in this crazy economy!