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.

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 !

Chronicles of a Hiding Spot

82 Years & Counting!

Happy 82nd Birthday

Grandma Lopez!

We love you!



April 2011 General Conference

To me, 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!

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!



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?

Peanut Butter Jelly Time, The Hand Jive, & The Purple People Eater

It's Dance Fever!

For weeks,

all three girls have been practicing for the

Starstruck Dance Performance at their elementary school.

On the big night,

we were fortunate to have grandparents in attendance...

Along with the usual suspects!

Ava was our PB & J girl!

Bella our Hand-Jive girl!

And Iris made for the sweetest Purple-People Eater!

The school staff ended the show with a super-funny dance

to "You Be Illin'",

with the Principal smack in the middle of it all

hip-hoppin' it out!

Later we caught some pictures with the girls teachers who

were still dressed up from the performance!

...

It was a great night of fun,

and yes,

to this day we are still all singing and dancing to the songs!

Way to go, girls!



Samuel's Birthday Wishes: Donuts, Cheese Whiz, & A Mosquito Head Net



On this special day,

we were still laying our floor,

so we surprised Samuel early with breakfast in bed!

And since our bed was on the living room floor,

the kids thought it was extra fun!

What better way to celebrate than with donuts...

And blowing out imaginary candles?

Samuel's a maple-glazed kind of guy (disgusting!),

but the boys prefer anything with sprinkles!

Gabriel was pretty weary of the texture at first...

But he got over it!

Dinner featured all of his favorites...

And yummy dessert too!

When I first married Samuel,

I learned that he (and his family)

loved Cheese Whiz!

He's since weaned himself off the stuff,

but the kids and I still like to buy it for him now and again-
just to be silly!

Another birthday treat:

Butter Pecan Ice Cream!

Last but not least,

my mom and grandma did not disappoint with

their usual crazy gifts.

This year he received a kite, a straight edge,

a mosquito head net, and a flashlight!

...

I love you, Samuel!

It was so fun celebrating this special day with the kids.

You mean so much to me.

I am so glad to have met you,

to have fallen in love with you,

to be IN LOVE with you,

and to be able to hold your hand everyday,

and for eternity.

Happy Birthday, H.D.

Love,

Me

H.T.



Do it, Dad!

Amidst all the remodeling,

a first:

Iris lost a tooth!

And she's the only one so far whose given

Dad the green light to yank it out!

Way to go, Iris!