Friday, April 15, 2011

Squeez-its & Grandparents Day Lunch


The Annual Grandparents Day Luncheon was something
ALL the girls looked forward to this year!

Aside from munching with Grandma,
the big highlight is all the fun lunch treats.


{ Iris & Grandma Lopez }


This year,
the kids went ga-ga over Squeez-its!

I remember when those debuted as a kid!
It was heart-breaking actually.
My mom refused to buy them!


With five kids,
the six-pack went quickly,
with all five splitting the last bottle!

No tears, though.

Just smiles!

Thank goodness!

Thursday, April 14, 2011

"Aren't You So Excited?"


That's the question the kids asked me, oh,
let's say a billion times today.

Why?

I T ' S  O P E N  H O U S E  T I M E !

So five kids in tow,
minus one husband,
plus one LARGE headache...
and off we went!


 What are 2nd graders up to these days?

In addition to silouhettes,
there are dinosaur dioramas,
Polar Bear reports, and...


Sunflower babies!


BMOC

G A B R I E L  D O D G E


So what's up with the kinders?

Iris made for a great "Grouchy Lady Bug",
hatched baby chicks, and even planted radishes!


Now that you've got the 4-1-1 on the lower grades,
what about the big wigs?

The big bad fourth graders?


Bella's pulling out all the stops with
Diamante poems, California History,
and developing her short story skills!


Another BMOC sighting!

This one's the moody sort, a little,
too cool for school if you know what I mean...

...

What was the best part about Open House?

First, when Gabriel spread-eagled on the floor
of the classroom indicating,
quite bluntly,
that he was done with the tour,

{ Yea, Gabriel! }

but second...


The cat sighting on the way home,
which made my pet-deprived children go crazy!

H A P P Y  O P E N - H O U S I N G 

T O  Y O U  T O O !

Monday, April 11, 2011

The Simplest {and Best} F.H.E. Ever...

 Stop.  Watch.  Be Amazed.


 







 

Free Entertainment for the Dog-less & Baseball-less!


To the chagrin of the kids,
Samuel and I are proud members of the
"No Pets, Club".

Thank goodness for the dog park,
which is crawling with...
well, dogs!









After Gabriel got his fix,

{ Right now he's fascinated with dogs!}

we headed to the ballpark for a picnic on the bleachers.




Wherein,
Gabriel loves dogs,
Owen loves baseball...

And we even spotted some kids from church
all suited up and throwing the ball around!

...

It was a super-fun
-super-free!-
evening at the park(s)!

Except now they want dogs again...

Sigh.


Sunday, April 10, 2011

I Heart Thai!


If you have not tried Thai food you have not lived!

My favorite place,
Thai Chili in Rocklin.

Yes, it's true they work at a snail's place,
but if you have the time,
dine at the restaurant-it's beautiful but plan to stay awhile.

If you need to get out in a hurry,
order some take-out and arrive 15 minutes later
than the suggested pick-up time!

Some great things to try...

Panaang Curry with Chicken (yummy-spicy...)
Black Rice (so, so good...)
Spring Rolls (addictive...)


And after an "at-home" date night of take-out,
I couldn't resist making spring rolls for
the whole family the next day!

I'll post the recipe on my foodie blog soon,
but here it is...

H E A V E N  O N  A  P L A T E !



Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

82 Years & Counting!





Happy 82nd Birthday
Grandma Lopez!

We love you!




Saturday, April 2, 2011

April 2011 General Conference

is a weekend filled with peace.

To cancel out all calendar events,
and gather the family together at
the feet of the prophets
is a wonderful, and rare, thing.


Elder Richard G. Scott holds a special place in my heart,
and this conference he spoke on the eternal blessings of marriage.

"It is so rewarding to be married.
Marriage is wonderful.
In time you begin to think alike and
have the same ideas and impressions.

You have times when you are extremely happy,
times of testing,
and times of trial,
but the Lord guides you
through all of those growth experiences together."

...

Marriage IS wonderful!

And hard!

But yes, wonderful!

...

This is only one of many, MANY talks meant
for me.

And I'm so grateful for the opportunity to
learn, ponder, and
-the hard part!-
apply these principles!



Friday, April 1, 2011

Spring is Here!






It's hard to tell in the photos,
but yes,
that's Gabriel...
with mud smothered all over his hair!

...

Spring.

It's here!




Thursday, March 31, 2011

Girls Night In...with Kids!




It's been awhile since me and the girls
have gotten together,
and lo and behold,
where did we collectively get all of these kids?

...

The biggest shocker?

Seeing how old we are based on how old our kids are.

For example,
Taylor & Isabella both attended the school's
Family Life video this year!

Yikes!

Where does the time go?