Daddy Daughter Date

Mabel and Mike were in serious need of some bonding time, so last night they went out. They were going to go to the Disney Princesses on Ice, but when given the choice, Mabel wanted to go to the toy store instead. I guess she had fun picking out a toy. It was down to a pink jump rope or a princess wedding castle set. She went with the castle. After the toy store, they went to the temple to watch the Easter Pageant rehearsals. Mabel loved it! It just goes to show that we don't need to spend lots of money on our kids. She was happier with the cheap little toy and the free entertainment than she would have been with the expensive ice skating tickets. Mostly I think she just liked being with her dad. She wouldn't let him go when we saw him for lunch today.

The Crack

Pa

After seeing my sisters' blogs this evening, I thought I should follow their example with an homage to our dad on his birthday. (You can see my sisters' blogs here and here.) Sadly, these are the only two good pictures of my dad that I could find to post. Now that we don't live around the corner, I will have to be more inspired to photograph his visits.

My dad is the best dad in the whole world. He amazes me everyday. I have no idea how he manages to do everything he does and still have time to check our blogs, straighten out our bank accounts (thanks!), and do the hundreds of other things he does on a daily basis just for his kids and grandkids. He is the most selfless person I know. He is kind, generous, and extremely patient. He is optimistic, funny, and strong. I grew up thinking he could do anything. I still think that. He is tender and loving, and I can't possibly imagine where I would be without him.

Thanks for everything, Dad. I love you!

Bubbles, Bubbles Everywhere!

This morning we walked outside to see the fountain covered in bubbles. The kids loved it, but the older residents of this lovely complex weren't quite as excited. Bubbles the size of cars were flying everywhere. It was a totally sticky mess.

Play Group

Yesterday at the park, we met some friends. Today we went to their play group. Mabel has been dying to play with other kids since we moved here. Even though she was the oldest kid in the group by almost 2 years, she had a lot of fun. It was nice for me, too. It made me realize how great our church is. Beside having the truthfulness of the gospel (which is amazing, of course), we have the wonderful social organization of the church as well. These nice LDS girls (who are not in my ward, but only live a few blocks away) so graciously allowed me into their circle, fed my children lunch, and didn't even mind that I was a stranger. It didn't matter because we all share a faith and a sisterhood. Ever since I have been old enough to attend Relief Society, I have had such a testimony of its organization. I know that it is divine. I love that I can move to a new state, where I don't know anyone, and walk into a group of Relief Society sisters and immediately feel like I belong. I am so grateful for the Gospel, for the lessons it teaches me, for the purpose it gives my life, and for the friendships it provides.

Syrup

Someone in our family has a mild obsession.

How Well Do You Know Me?

I got this from my friend, Melissa, and thought it was fun.

How well do you know me?? For instance, did you know...

Four jobs I have had in my life:
1. customer service representative (the worst job ever!)
2. seamstress at a bridal shop
3. tee time reservation taker and shirt folder at a golf course
4. paper scanner at my dad's office

Four movies I would watch over and over:
1. Out of Africa
2. Roman Holiday
3. the new Pride and Prejudice (well, the old bbc version, too)
4. Sense and Sensibility

Four places I have lived:
1. California
2 Utah
3. California, again
4. now, Arizona

Four TV shows I love to watch:
1. Lost
2. The Office
3. The Amazing Race
4. Blow Out

Four favorite places I have been on vacation:
1. Italy
2. England
3. New Zealand
4. Hawaii

Four websites I visit daily:
1. my email account
2. blogs
3. more blogs (check my links for a detailed list)
4. people.com (yes, I am shallow)

Four of my favorite foods:
1. red vines licorice
2. anything with dark chocolate
3. chicken burritos
4. raisin bran

Four places I would rather be right now:
1. in my new house!
2. with Mike
3. on the beach in Maui
4. asleep, or asleep with mike on the beach in Maui

Now you know!

Have You Seen Me?

Camping: The Conclusion

This is the 9 person, two room "cabin" tent that Mike's parents gave us for Christmas. It is huge. Mabel thought it was pretty neat to have a tent. Every so often she would say something like, "I need to go get something out of the tent." Really, she didn't need anything from the tent, she just thought it was cool. We slept in the tent the first night and nearly froze to death. It was miserable. After that, we moved into the "truck house" as Mabel liked to call it. We were much cozier in there with Nana, Grampa, and Cathy.

Every morning at low tide, we would go look for sea shells for Mabel's new room (it is going to have a subtle sea shell theme). Mabel could have done this for hours. When she found a shell, she would scoop it up with her shovel (along with a shovel-full of sand) and put it in her bucket. We found some amazing shells.



The mornings were pretty cold. We were right on the beach, so we definitely got cold ocean breezes. Oliver only wanted to be outside, even if it was freezing. Whenever anyone mentioned the word "outside" or was leaving the truck house, he would beg until they picked him up and took him with them. Then he would pat their back, so excited to be going outside again.



Luckily, it warmed up in the afternoon and we were able to enjoy the beach (with lots of sunscreen, of course). Mabel liked being turned into a mermaid, and Oliver just liked being outside.


I have to say that camping on the beach in Mexico was a lot fun. It helped to have an RV to sleep and eat in, but we will definitely be going again next year (unless we have a new baby, or something).


On a very sad note, we returned home Thursday evening to find that my beautiful bike had been stolen. We filed a police report, but I am sure that I will never see my beloved Clancy Cruiser again.

Camping

I have been camping once in my life. I was 12 and we were at the bottom of the Grand Canyon. It was fine. I survived. I married into a family that goes camping every year in Rocky Point, Mexico, along with the rest of this town. Honestly, half our ward was gone yesterday, having gone to Rocky Point for Spring Break. Even though our house is far from finished, we are leaving today. I am sure it will be fun, and I know Mabel and Oliver will have a blast.

Our Trip

We're back from California. We had lots of fun with our cousins.

Oliver tried to keep up with the others,
but he was always a few steps behind.

Rolie Polies

When my sister, Leslie, and I were little, we loved to find rolie polie bugs in our backyard. We had a yellow plastic rocking horse that we decided was the rolie polies' town. We would take the bugs, which had curled into balls, and put them in a little hole in the back of the rocking horse, trapping them inside forever. I thought we were doing them a favor by taking them to their "town" with all of the other rolie polies we had found. Now I realize that we were dooming them.


Well, we were at the park today, playing in the shade under the playground equipment, when Oliver noticed a similar hole on the underside of the orange plastic slide. Childhood curiosity drew him to it. There were no bugs around, so he started placing small pebbles into the hole instead. Every time a rock would slide down to the bottom of the inside of the slide, he would giggle. Mabel took his lead (like she usually does, even though she is more than 2 years his senior) and kept up this game long after Oliver had moved onto something else.


I couldn't help but remember our rolie polie town. Fortunately for the bugs of Mesa, they escaped an early demise with the sacrifice of pebbles instead.

Our Load

Mike and I went to the Home Depot tonight and spent a small fortune.
We managed to get quite a load of stuff.