Spring Break - part 2

Our Spring Break vacation has officially begun. We headed out bright and early and made our to Monterey. Our first stop was the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We were all super excited but Brody was over the top excited. This would be his very visit to the aquarium.

There were lots of fun amazing things to see and experience. I think we all agreed that the octopus was the coolest thing we saw all day. It was awake and moving all over the tank. We got to see it up close and personal. Our 2nd favorite event of the day was sitting in front of the big tank with all sorts of sea life swimming right in front of us. We had just enjoyed a presentation about the ocean and sea life. They mentioned how fast the tuna swims. While we were sitting there, watching all of the different kinds of fish and sharks, the tuna put on a show and zipped right across the tank, showing us just how fast they really are. It was very cool.

After the Aquarium, we headed over to the Denis the Menace Park and had a Taco Bell picnic lunch! This park was amazing. So many cool things to do and play on.

 

 

 

After our time in Monterey, we headed for our campground. Our littles have been begging to go camping. Sunset  State Beach was a first for us. We loved our campsite, so much room to play and it was beautiful!

 

Our home away from home!

That evening, we walked over to the beach. It was just 5 minutes from our campground. We had the beach to ourselves. The boys loved finding shells and sand dollars.

 

 

 

The wind really kicked up at night. It made it cold. We had a fire and s'mores...my favorite part of camping.

 

 With the chill in the air, everyone was anxious to crawl into their sleeping bags. We laughed and giggled until everyone begin to fall asleep, one by one. Super fun day! We are very thankful for the family time we are able to enjoy.
 

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.

Aurora 2014

We caved and finally let Tanner go to his first high school dance. It was NOT a date!  He went with a BIG group of friends and they had a blast.

 

First up, photos...lots of photos!

 

After an hour of Paparazzi photos, they headed to dinner and then onto the dance. I am so glad/thankful that Tanner has such a nice group of friends. He has known some of these friends since he was 4 years old when we moved to Roseville.

 

Tanner is already talking about next years Aurora dance and the fact that he will be 16  and able to take a date! Heaven help me!!!

Drought 2014

We have been on drought watch in the sunny state of California!

 

 

We have enjoyed 70 degree weather and sunshine! Our boys wear shorts to school on a daily basis and usually leave the house without sweatshirts. Yes, it IS January.

 Don't get me wrong, the weather has been fantastic but the thoughts of NO water this Summer are frightening! My friend Melinda K. said it best, "Without rain, Summer will be a bummer!"

 

The nightly news has had a drought watch, counting the days and reminding us just how many days it has been since we have had rain.

Well, this little happy post showed up in my Facebook Feed today.  YAY!  We are indeed  receiving the much needed rain! I am loving it! If I had not been confined to my bed last week(down with the flu) , I would have tucked myself in there today and read the day away!

 

 

 

We need continued prayers (rain dances, chants, etc... )for moisture. Please keep us in your prayers. We are hoping to see many more days filled with rain! Bring it on!

Character Counts

Brody and a few of his classmates received the Character Counts award for Responsibility today!

Mrs. T had nothing but wonderful things to say about Brody. She talked about how he comes to school, ready to learn and to do his work. She doesn't ever have to tell him what's next, he's always  ready! She said that he is a BIG helper when it comes to cleaning up and putting things away. We are super proud of Brody and his love for school and how hard he works.