Easter Dinner with the Lopez & Ramos Families

Last year we hosted Easter Dinner in our rental home while we were waiting for this home to be built. At that time, my grandpa was dying, and though we knew the end was near, we gathered to celebrate this special day, Easter, and the resurrection of the Savior.

It was a great opportunity then, for the family to draw close together...

and it remains a great opportunity today as well.

My grandpa has since passed away, but his legacy lives on in his family.

This is just a handful of the grand kids and great-grand kids.
Each and every one, even the older ones who are trying to play it cool, are anxious for the egg hunt to start.

Happy Easter!

Dora for All!

Owen loves Dora.
If he sees her, he goes bananas and won't stop yelling her name. It's really embarassing at the store.

But when I cleaned out Iris' P.J. drawer, and found that her Dora P.J.'s were just too small, guess who was ready to step in-literally!

Dad's appalled.
Mom says at least their blue!

But no one can deny the smile on our son's face.
Priceless.

Sacramento Temple Photo Shoot

Is there a more a more beautiful spot to take pictures than on the grounds of the temple?

No matter the season, the temple is always a little piece of heaven on earth.

If you've never been but would like to go, let us know and we'd be happy to take you!

The Night before Easter

Our kids love to carefully lay out the Easter baskets the night before the Easter Bunny comes. Apparently, like Santa, the Bunny prefers close proximity to the fireplace.


In addition, someone always voices the hopeful wish that he will leave a trail of candy from their rooms to the their baskets.

He always does!

This candy trail is always greeted with loud squeals from the oldest children, who eagerly leap over the trail, anxious to find their baskets brimming with treats. While they are content to peruse their baskets, the youngest child, this year it's Owen, always meanders slowly along the trail, careful to pick-up each piece of candy so as to digest every single one.

Mom's absolute favorite:

Yellow Peeps

Dad's most disgusting:

Yellow Peeps

Guess who else loves them too?


Dad is always "present" at the festivities.
Alert? No.
But present, yes.

Easter Prep!

The kids love to decorate Easter eggs, and we always scrounge up the white crayons to make designs on the eggs before we dip them! This year we only broke three eggs, which considering we have four kids, is a minor miracle!

Not Good!

Owen learned how to climb up the bunk bed ladder.

Good?

No!
This is very, very bad!

Unfortunately, he is also very, very pleased with himself.

Sigh.

Workin' up a Sweat!

Yup, it's already that time of year!

I know it's not very environmentally-friendly to say, but I love hearing the lawn mower engines roaring to life outside. To me it means...

Good weather...
People outside...
Working hard...
Making homes tidy...
Spring!

Roseville Library Art Show!

If you haven't heard, the Downtown Roseville Library is playing host to our elementary school's Art Docent Art Show. All pieces will hang through the month of April. Please come check it out and support your city libraries!

Downtown Roseville Library Art Show
Month of April
225 Taylor Street
Roseville CA 95678

And no, when you visit the show, the art is not just laying on the floor as seen above! These photos are taken at my home when I was working out how to best mat them!

O' the Luck o' the Irish!

Yes, this is reflective of the life of a busy mom blogging:

St. Patrick's Day Photos in April!

Don't bother looking for the Easter photos until at least May!

Where a Kid can be a Kid!

Is that the tag line for Chuckie Cheese?

Either way, Chuckie Cheese is where we went for a school fundraiser. The kids had a blast, I had nightmarish flashbacks of when I worked at Discovery Zone (does anyone remember that place?), and Sam and I both realized that no matter how little tokens you give your kids-
THEY LAST FOREVER!