Easter Day

He is Risen!

He is Risen Indeed!

The kids were so amped up to have an easter egg hunt this year that they practiced a week ahead of time. Once the day had come, they knew all the good hiding spots and succeeded in finding all kinds of eggs. The crazy thing is, in this picture the kids are in sweaters and jackets, but a week later, my two girls were running through the sprinklers the day before easter! It was a warm and beautiful weekend!

We painted eggs the night before all in preparation for Sunday. Kim had crafts ready to make and I got the dye ready for the boiled eggs.

Then that night I braided the girls' hair for Sunday morning, so it was all crimped (I'm having a flashback to the 80's!).

My mom is the drama director at thier church, Central Community Church, and so we attended her Easter play (which was phenominal!). The girls got dressed up in their easter dresses (from a wedding they were in last November) and we took lots of pictures! Here are a few...

Showing off the new easter shoes...

We hosted at our house this year and it is a perfect location for all the activities cuz our house is next door to Kim and Dave's, so we just knocked down the fence and we have one huge yard! We had my in-laws, Gary & Cindy Schultz, my nephew Devon, my brother Jason and his wife Leah with thier two boys Dylan and Shepard, Kim and Dave and thier two kids Emma and Ty, Dave's mom Cindy, and then there was our family of 5. So it was a packed house! We had plenty of good food and lots of easter eggs to go around.

Later we went to our church, The Well Community Church, for a service and BBQ/easter egg hunt. Too bad I forgot my camera.

Though it was an incredible day of activity, the reason for the celebration was not lost. Christ came to this earth, lived a perfect life and died on the cross for our sins...and rose again on the 3rd day! What a reason to celebrate!

Kamryn Continues to Improve!

We are proud to celebrate that Kamryn received her 3rd stripe on her white belt (last month!). She is continuing to enjoy learning new moves at Fresno Kenpo Karate. She is currently preparing for her 1st tournament on the 26th. They are teaching her how to sparr and defend herself when she is attacked! At first she was scared to punch her instructor, but she is slowly gaining courage and we are so proud of her. She still has her days where she isn't keen on going to class, but overall, her attitude is really improving and we see some encouraging changes in her energy level and personal outlook since beginning karate.

Watcha Doin' Grampa?

Grampa was working on his car the other day and the girls got curious. Tessa kept asking, "Doing Gampa?" It was all so cute. They kept following him around ask asking questions. Tho he Dad may have been annoyed with them underfoot, he sure didn't show it. He was a great sport. Tessa found out what a 'washer' was and found a bunch of pennies in Grampa's shop. As they looked under the car the asked, "is it scary under there Grampa?" It was cute to see her peering under the car with wide eyes!

Helping Out

The other day we decided to spend some time playing outside. It was a beautiful day to swing, play tag, explore and dig in the dirt. Tessa helped me out with a little weeding and in the process we found some pretty interesting creatures. Tessa and Ty were checking out the slug we found and were both scared to touch the worm. It was fun to explore the backyard, and Addi found the beauty in it all :)

It was such a beautiful day we ended up having a picnic for lunch afterwards. What a fun day!

Weekend Getaway!

Chris finished off his last game of basketball season and so we decided it was time for a little family getaway. Boy did we need it!
We got off to a late start, almost deciding not to go....but packed the girls up and left for the coast around 11am. We stopped in Kettleman for a picnic lunch which the girls loved!

Then we were off for the ocean! It was a beautiful day and it just got better the closer we got to the water. We decided to take a road we'd never been down and found ourselves in a beautiful hillside community. The road dead-ended at a walking path right on the cliffs. So we got out and took a little stroll. It was beautiful!


These hats came in really handy. The wind was blowing so hard that at times we were chilled to the bone. Thank goodness no ear aches. We got a lot of friendly looks due to those hats :)
Chris found this little cove down off the path and convinced us all to climb down for a little adventure. I was hesitant at first, but I'm so glad he made me. It was the highlight of our day!


We spent a good portion of the 2 hours we hung out down there finding sea shells. Addi, Tessa and I got into it the most. Kamryn and Daddy went off exploring the rocks and watching the waves.



The waves were so huge, at one point I really thought they were going to overtake Chris and the girls. So were so beautiful and Chris and the girls just stood there and watched them crash right at their feet!


Then they all tried rock climbing....even Tessa, in her Crocks!

After a wonderful time of exploring tidepools (seeing hermit crabs, anenomes, and other 'fish-life'), we headed to the park.



We grabbed a bit of dinner at the Main Street Grill (yummy BBQ!) and got ice cream for dessert.



We headed home around 6:30pm and realized that we'd spent only about 4 hrs at the coast...and it was totally worth it!!

Park Week

This past week was so beautiful, we found ourselves ending up at the park almost everyday! The first day was just me and the girls. Addi rode her bike and it was good to stretch our legs.

The next day we took Ty with us and they had a blast! They even said they were so tired from running around that they were going to take a nap right there a the park and so they all layed down on the cement and 'rested.'

On Friday we met our Moms and More group at the park to play.

Happy Valentines Day!

Ahhhh....the day of love! Or is it 'Card Day' as I have heard some call this one day of the year? I prefer....LOVE! Especially since Chris has finally recognized February 14th as a day of romance. He planned this evening two weeks prior to the actual day, so I was held in suspence. We had a romantic date with a wonderful couple from our church, the Slayten's. Mike and Michelle knew about this the whole time, and I was the only one in the dark. They provided the babysitter and we had a great time TALKING without interuption, over a beautiful meal (at Yosemite Ranch) and an ice cream cone. This was a real treat! Thanks for making a memorable Valentine's, Chris, Mike and Michelle!

For the kids, we made a little cake with hearts. They loved it!

Ice Cream Saturdays!

Saturday is 'treat day' for our girls and we usually end up getting a little ice cream. This time Emma & Ty (our cousins) decided to come with us! YUM YUM!

Play Date!

Each week we try to get together with our friends, Jessica McGowan and Dorina Gilmore and all thier kids (8 kids in all). Last week we met at Dorina's for Tortialla Soup, and, in honor of Valentine's Day, we made cards for our friends. The girls loved all the gluing and cutting.

Then Meliz then put together a play with all the other kids, (with character bits) to create a moment of laughter for us all. Thanks, Meliz!

Super Bowl Sunday

For Superbowl, we headed to the Slayten's. The girls were reunited with thier friends and enjoyed lots of food, cupcakes and icing and playing. We were so grateful for the invite and a time to spend with friends.

Ella was loving her blue cupcake!

Addison is sitting here with her favorite, Miss Cindy (Heffner). She loves Miss Cindy and looks forward to seeing her each Sunday. Cindy is the Kids Connection Director at The Well, Fig.

And then to top of the fun day, God surprised us with a beautiful rainbow!