Lazy Park Days

Love, love, love

lazy days!

And the piece de resistance?

Playing to the very last coin...

and winning!

Go, mom!

{Sorry, Bella!}

The Classic Easter Egg Hunt

We love visiting the Wyllie Home

for their annual Easter Egg Hunt!

The wide open spaces,

the green grass...

it beckons:

"Hide your eggs here!"

And hide them we do!

The kids go nuts,

the adults relax,

we all puzzle over that last

missing egg...

It's wonderful!

HAPPY EASTER!

It's nearly time...

Anxiously waiting...

And their off!

My beautiful girls!

Owen

Gabriel

Strategizing...

Sometimes things don't go your way...

But we ended on smiles.

Thanks, Dad!

...

And thanks to the Wyllie Family!

A replay of the action...

Graceful Ballerinas?

My sister, Julia,

is in an advanced ballet class

and recently learned how to

be lifted gracefully as part of her routine.

The kiddos, of course,

went crazy trying to do the same thing,

and Samuel,

the unfortunate counterpart,

nearly keeled over after hefting them

time and time again.

The worst, by far,

was Isabella!

Who crumpled the moment he

touched her waist!

The best?

Gabriel!

He was a natural!

All my money is on that guy!

Maybe we'll see him in Swan Lake someday...

Though that would be a bit awkward since

he'd be the one being lifted...

Anyway,

great fun!

Tons of good pictures and

many, many laughs!

Neighborhood Bocce Ball

One of our all-time favorite scores

at D.I....

Our bocce ball set!

There's a new park just down the way,

and it's a great pastime.

Before you know,

you have all kinds of people checking out the game

and wanting to play.

Talk about a great way to meet people!

This time,

it seemed like we attracted half the students

at the girls former elementary school.

It was great catch-up time with so many familiar faces,

and since I had a huge bag

of candy they all stuck around awhile.

I kind of felt like the crazy lady that lures

kids into keeping her company by offering lollipops!

{smile}

Free Museum Day: The Aerospace Museum of California

How can you not love an airshow?

It's as American as apple pie

-which ironically, I don't like very much!,

or say the hot dog

-which again, I don't like very much...

Hmmm...

but it's everything that I DO love about this country!

It's freedom, innovation, adrenaline...

Really, you can't go wrong!

And when free museum day rolled around,

we took advantage of saving big bucks on admission

and hit the road...

 

Grandpa Lopez flew

the Coast Guard "doggie-nose".

We still see it flying in the sky,

and always, always think of him.

We love you, Grandpa!

Ready for take-off!

Not exactly warp-speed...

but one-day,

I want to fly in one of these babies...

I love seeing my boys on the "tarmac". 

They look so small!

My girls in a fighter!

Did you know I almost joined the Air Force?

I was on board with the recruiters and

would depart after graduation to report

to Lackland Air Force base in Texas.

Thank goodness for a little thing called,

"The Book of Mormon",

which changed my life forever!

Big mouths...

Samuel giving his cheesiest

"dignitary" grin!

Yes,

out of all the amazing things to see and do,

leaves top Gabriel's list!

Demonstrating how to go,

when you,

you know,

have to go...

And the proper washing of hands!

Thanks, Bella!

Love the fan!

One of our favorite parts of the day,

standing near a roaring propeller!

We screamed and whooped and hollored

and you could not hear a thing over that engine!

This was a really great day!

Beautiful weather, beautiful planes!

And free!

This Never Gets Old...

We have a tradition of

Family Fun Fridays,

and the usual night consists

of homemade pizza-

pepperoni, olives, and pineapple for the kiddos,

gourmet masterpieces for mum and dad!-

and a movie.

This time,

I thought we'd mix things up and

get off the couch!

And where to but one of our family favorites,

The Fountains!

We all go nuts over the sourdough bread,

and all that chewing is best done watching

the awesome water shows!

The kiddos got in some playtime before

it became "officially" dark,

and I discovered, "Crazy 8's",

a kids clothing store that I will definitely

be visiting another time!

Happy Friday!

Pumpkin Patch: Round I

This year we visited the pumpkin patch not once,

but twice!

I guess we did it last year too

(one with the family; one with joy school),

but it just seemed crazier this year.

The first go-round was our annual trip

with the Joe Elmers,

which has grown to include the extended family as well,

and is something we always look forward to!

Well,

almost all of us look forward to.

Let's just say Gabriel woke up

on the wrong side of the hay...

The gang.

The animals.

More animals!

Pumpkins!

Jailbirds + Crazy Chickens

And last but not least,

one great big family

riding around in a tractor in time for a gorgeous sunset!

Round one...

done!