Easter Weekend!

The Easter bunny just kept coming to our house. We loved it! Carson and Avery were invited to a fun little Easter egg hunt at the park on Friday so that was fun, especially for Carson. Saturday morning we had a ward picnic and Easter egg hunt at the park too and had a great time. We had kids in each of the 3 different age groups so we got lots of pictures (don't worry, I won't post them all) but by the time we got done, everyone was packing up and leaving. A few families kind of hung around and we visited with them and had a great time with the Broadhead's (thanks for the shade and the Pepsi)! It was a beautiful afternoon and the party was a lot of fun for all of us. We have so many wonderful people in our ward!

After the party in the park, we headed over to Cody's mom's house for an Easter dinner and Easter egg hunt with our family. Aunt Misti and her family were here for the day and Paige and Chloe came with us to the ward party so it was fun to see them and spend time with them. The kids had so much fun and Grandma heated up the hot tub and they all got in the pool! The water is definitely not warm enough for me to get in yet, but the kids just don't seem to care! They had a great time and Avery loved being with all the kids. Our kids can never get enough of their cousins when they're here so Saturday was definitely not long enough with Paige, Chloe and Nick, but they made the best of it. We were so glad to see them and it made for a really fun day! Jack and Vera always go all out and dinner was wonderful and the day was fun and relaxing.

Sunday was a beautiful Easter day! We all got up, got dressed, thought we were doing great and were still late to church. I'm hoping to change this! (stop laughing) I came away today with a renewed commitment to try and do a little better this week; to focus on the basics and keep trying! I sometimes get bogged down with all of the things that I'm not doing when I need to focus on the things that I can do and change things a little at a time...even small things matter. We sat down to dinner and talked about everything that we learned today and we had a full blown gospel discussion with Brittany and Bailey doing most of the talking. I'm so thankful for wonderful teachers and leaders who help us along in teaching our kids the gospel. It was definitely a good day and I got a nap! Bonus! Carson added to our gospel discussion later in the evening when Bailey said something that Carson didn't like and he said, "Bailey, Jesus is watching you......and Santa Claus!" We all cracked up! We had a little bit of everything this weekend and I think that's what made it so wonderful! Happy Easter!

At Least They're Not in Front of the T.V.

The happy couple!
Brittany married them...
Avery was the ring bearer



I love that this suit is quite a bit too small for him, his shirt is hanging out the back and his pants are floods with tan socks and his crocs! He was so serious through the whole thing...I love him!
The wedding party!

Okay, Friday afternoon, the kids came home from school and Brittany kind of planted herself in front of the t.v. for a little while. I started to sense that she was in it for the long haul, so I let her kind of relax and veg for a little bit and then I said, "I'd love if you'd go find something else to do." Bailey was already playing house with Carson so Brittany joined them and then they all just disappeared. I didn't question it because it was kind of nice to have a little quiet time, but pretty soon, they started coming downstairs and I started to understand what was going on. They had a full-on wedding in our backyard and it was hilarious! I guess be careful what you ask for.....but they weren't sitting in front of the t.v. (or is this what happens when you watch too much t.v.?) These might actually be bribe pictures later in life so I thought I'd document it! It was pretty entertaining and I have to admire their creativity and to look at the positives; they had a great time, they all got along and I'm not too worried about having to get along with the in-laws. :)

I Love My Sis!

The water was freezing....but it didn't stop 'em! They had so much fun and they kept smiling through their blue lips so I guess the day was a success!



Avery hasn't eaten much at all today....I think she must still be full from all the sand she ate yesterday! She had sand EVERYWHERE! She had the time of her life though, so I'm not too worried about it. Maybe she was lacking a little fiber in her diet! :) Her diapers have definitely been interesting today!

The ribs kind of take the attention away from the muscles, but couldn't help but post it! What a kid!

It's funny that for someone who gets a little freaked out about small people, Cody made me one! This was his project....I don't think it looks that much different from what I normally look like, but, it was fun anyway! :)

I think I might frame this picture! I love it!

The whole Gang! (except Cody behind the camera) We teased him the whole time because I'm sure we looked like a polygamist family! We agreed Jeniel would be the cook and I'd have the kids. :) It could really work!

A fisherman on the pier caught this starfish on his hook and when he brought it up, it was still wriggling around so the kids got to play with it for a little bit. They loved it! What a fun day! Have I said that already?

You would've thought they were in Utah!

These guys rocked! Cody told them they could join the C-Dogs; we're getting quite the band!

It was sooo fun to have my sister and her kids here! They got here last Saturday and just left today! We're currently in withdrawal and the kids are really missing Utah today. It's not so bad when we're going about our lives and we don't see everything that we're missing, but when they get weekends like this and have so much fun with their cousins.....it's hard to let it go! We tried not to think about it too much, but Carson even asked me on Sunday when they were going to be leaving and he said, "I don't want them to go." With his little lip quivering this morning, I didn't think Jeniel would be able to leave. :) That really tugged at all of our hearts. The kids had a really hard time and when we were all ready to go to school, they went upstairs and found notes that Kelsie had left on all of their beds and they started to cry all over again. Kelsie, the notes were so sweet and thoughtful...we loved them!

We had a great time and are so glad that they were able to come. We went to dinner, watched movies with air mattresses blown up in the family room, played at the park, went to church so she could meet all of my wonderful friends who I love and talk about all the time, and we had a wonderful trip to Oceanside to spend the day at the beach yesterday! But, she also cooked for us, ALOT and we loved it! She's a great cook and I miss her taking care of us! She made us waffles, turkey dinner on Sunday (she brought everything with her - thawed the turkey in her trunk on the way down) :), homemade turkey noodle soup for the kids on Monday and roll-ups this morning before she left! THANK YOU!! We loved it and we'll take you any time! Thanks for taking such good care of us and for making the trip down here! We love your family and had a wonderful time! We really needed that! Next time....LEGOLAND! (I'm trying to ease Jeniel in slowly because she's not a big fan of parks or crowds, so I figure we'll try baby steps and in no time, we'll be cruising around Disneyland and she'll have her mouse ears on and everything!) I'll keep trying, girls! We'll get her! Thanks for everything! We love you!

13 Years and Counting....

This last Monday, Cody and I celebrated our 13th Anniversary. We had a really great day and having Jeniel and the girls here made it even more fun! We had lunch at In-n-Out Burger, which I love, especially the fries, and we ended up at Freedom Park. It was so fun! Cody brought over the "bag of fun" as he has nicknamed it, and we had a great time playing frisbee, baseball, playing at the playground and just laughing! We had a fun time all together! My sweet sister then watched all of the kids and made them dinner while Cody and I went out on a real live date! We don't do that much so it was a real treat! We tried to go to P.F. Chang, but the wait was too long so we went to the Cheesecake Factory. We had a table outside right by the water and it was a really nice, relaxing dinner! We have had a lot of ups and downs, not with our relationship, just with life and I wouldn't want to do it with anyone else! We talked about some of the fun things we've done since we've been married and he said one of his highlights was when we went scuba-diving in Hawaii! We've done so many fun things that it's hard for me to pick out just one. Our trip to Hawaii was perfect and was so fun because I think that was one of the first major trips we've been on that I wasn't pregnant! :)

Cody, We're a lot alike and I love that we think a lot the same and we get along so well. One of the first things that I fell in love with was the way you treated my mom....you knew how much she meant to me and you took really good care of her and I knew you'd do the same for me! You love kids and I love that about you and some of my sweetest memories are of you holding our newborn babies, with tears and love in your eyes. I also love watching you at parties or get-togethers because you always end up with one or two kids on your lap. Those are moments that make me love you even more! I love your sense of humor! You're quick and usually a step or two ahead of me and can make me laugh like no one else. I love what a wonderful husband and father you are and I'm so grateful for that. I love that we want the same things and I know how hard you'll work for them. I love that you're a hard worker but I also love that you'll take the time to be with me if I need you and you'll work it out with your schedule to be at the school for the kids or at something that they're doing. I love that you like to be home and that you're okay with that. I love that you spend time with me and I love that you encourage me to get out and have fun with my friends because you know I need it. I love your sense of adventure because you get me out of my comfort zone and I love that you can go anywhere and try anything! I could go on and on, but just know that I love you and I appreciate everything you do to keep us going! You're an incredible husband and I'm so blessed to have you in my life and I'm grateful you keep putting up with me because I know it can't be easy! :) Happy Anniversary! I'm looking forward to what happens next....

Fun in the Sun

The kids came home from school last week and couldn't wait to go back outside and play. Bailey was "soo hot" and had to go put on a swimming suit so everyone else followed. Cody turned on the sprinklers and let them go. I laughed because even though Carson mostly plays with girls, he's such a boy! He ran over and picked up the hose and started squirting whoever came within his range. They had such a great time and we couldn't have cared less about the swamp we had over in the corner of the yard. It was well worth it! I only wish the weather would stay like this into July and August! :)

Glimpses of Sanity...

Like I said in our last post, it seems like there is a lot going on and it's been kind of stressful.....well, I'm tired of that so I'm choosing to focus on the positive things that have been happening and "breaking the cycle" of bad things happening. (thanks, Roxanne, for giving me this phrase) There have been so many fun and wonderful things that have been mixed in with all of these other things and it seems like the bad things are completely overshadowing the good. I guess that's life, huh? It seems like when we're on a certain path and things just aren't completely going our way, it's a lot easier to focus on that because it seems like that's what needs attention. Well, there's a lot that's good too and I definitely am ready to break the cycle so here are some of the positive things:

• Girls Nights!! We had a girls night with our ward, which was sooo fun, even though we talked about washing machines instead of gossip and men, :) but it was so fun to get out and hang with some great girls. We ate at Panera Bread and then went to see 27 Dresses, which was a total chick flick and it was okay because we were a group of chicks. No one complained that it was too slow and there wasn't one gun or scene of violence. It was great and we all carpooled over and we had 7 of us in our car and there was a lot of laughing and about 5 different conversations going on all at the same time. It was all that a girls night should be. So much fun....a great way to forget about all that is going on for a good 5 hours.
• Another Girls Night!! We went to dinner the next weekend with another group of fun, hilarious girls who definitely know how to have a great time! It was so fun to get out and we ate at Las Casuelas and then went bowling. My Grandma and Grandpa Smart would've been proud because that's what they used to give us for Christmas every year was a trip to go bowling with them. It was so fun and I haven't laughed that much in a long time. It's so fun to have all of these wonderful people around me to bring me up and help me remember the positive things in life..... I really needed it! For Real! (some of you know what I mean by this!)
• We had the track meet, which was so fun for all of the reasons I said in a previous post and it's one of those times that make you so proud as a parent. I love watching the kids grow and succeed and even if we don't all win all the time, it's nice to see that they're good sports and keep cheering on the other kids and are happy for each other. Those are good moments as a parent.
• We had fun with friends after the track meet too, which made our weekend so fun. We had great company, great food and we bowled again, Wii-style. We have so many wonderful people around us and laughing and having a good time makes everything else bearable. Thanks guys!
• My walking buddies don't know how much sanity they've given me as we walk and talk and sometimes vent; it seems like we're solving all of the world's problems and it's a great outlet for me in the mornings. I'm usually half awake when I walk out to meet them, but it doesn't last long! I feel ready to take on the day when I walk back inside so that's been a very positive thing for me.
• This last week, our kids have given us a little sanity break as well. On Tuesday, Brit offered to take the kids to the park. We've never let her do this by herself and Carson wanted to ride his bike and so did Bailey and that made me a little nervous. Well, they decided to go get another girl from our neighborhood that could help and off they went with Avery in the wagon. It turned out great! They took my cell phone in case they needed us and they had a wonderful time! Brittany is so responsible and I had no doubt that she could do it, I guess it's just "letting" her do it and letting go a little as a parent. She did a wonderful job and passed with flying colors! It was so great for me because I'd been going all day and I had a chance to get dinner ready and play my music as loud as I want, I definitely sound like the responsible mother of 4 children, don't I, and just hang out by myself for a little while. Sometimes I need that and when they got home, I was ready to be a mom again! It was wonderful! Thanks, Brit!
• We also left the kids home a couple of times this week as we went to a neighbor's house. The first time we were only gone for about 1/2 hour. We got home and Brittany was dishing all of the kids some ice cream and had them on the couch with blankets and she had started a show for them to watch. The next night, we left for a little longer than we thought and we called to check on them and everything was fine. We got home to Brittany on the couch with Avery asleep on her lap, the kids were in their jammies and ready for bed! I can definitely see a glimpse of getting out a little more in the near future. Loving that!
• Do you ever have days that you just need to get out.....doesn't matter where you go, but just need to go? I needed to clean the house so bad, but I just couldn't take the step to do it. Carson and I decided we wanted a cheeseburger from McDonald's (I can hear some of you gagging, but that's a treat because I love them) :) so we splurged and got out a little bit, even though it was just through the drive-thru. I stopped by Alysa's house just for a minute and she invited us to stay for a little bit and so we did! We had a great time and just hanging out for a minute was exactly what we needed! Our friends have saved us more times than we can count and we love that we have so many wonderful people around us! Thanks, Alysa! We really needed that!
• We ended with a wonderful, relaxing Sunday! It was way to early this morning to get up, but we almost made it to church on time (I said almost, we're still trying) and came home, took a nap, played with the kids outside, visited with Bryce and their kids, and then took a walk to the park. We played tag, ran around and laughed A LOT! I was cracking up when we were playing tag and Carson would chase us and say, "You want a piece of me?" and then laugh like crazy. That really makes for a great day!
• Another little bit of sanity always comes from Cody! He was on a roll this morning; he can make me laugh like no one else. All the way to church he was making jokes, making fun of me or the way I was driving or the music we were listening to or whatever, but he was doing it with love! :) (sure) but he was making me laugh. I know he's stressed out but he always manages to make me feel better! What would I do without him? He was so fun with the kids today and I sat on the bench at the park watching them run around and watching him riding around Bailey's bike as she ran after him (he's trouble) and thinking what a lucky girl I am! I love him so much and appreciate everything that he does for all of us.

We have a wonderful friends and family and we love our kids and we have so many positive things happening all around us......we hope to be able to "break the cycle" and look to the positive and hopefully what goes around, comes around! We don't know what we'd do without all of the wonderful friends that we have and all of our family. We don't go many places that people aren't asking us if we're doing okay. We've had so many nice things happen and we're grateful for everything and for everyone who has helped us along. It's really hard to be in a position where people are serving you. I'd much rather be the one to serve and it's been a very humbling experience. This has been a great week and the glimpses of sanity have helped us through! Thanks for helping us "break the cycle" and we're looking forward to another wonderful week, PLUS my sister's coming in 6 days!!!! YEAH!! We're all looking forward to that! Lots of reasons to smile.....

"When It Rains, It Pours".......so over it!

I was smiling as I took this picture because it's getting almost comical. It seems like all of these little things just keep happening and I'm so ready to move on. Cody went out on Friday to mow the lawn and pulled the cord and it just came right out....completely. He walked in with the cord in his hand and said, "I think it might be time for a new lawnmower." I had to get the camera because I was laughing....(sometimes I do this to keep from crying) :) and wanted to document this moment. It was bound to happen; as you can tell from this picture, it's not the latest model, in fact it's about 12 years old, but we were hoping to squeeze a few more uses out of it. Well, the whole weekend, I was thinking about buying a new lawnmower, which definitely doesn't sound like very much fun, especially now.

Today was a new day and my handy wonderful husband, took the lawnmower apart, attached a new cord, wound it up and put it all back together. He got it started and mowed the lawn! I'm not sure he was as happy as I was to have it going again because he had to use it but I'm always amazed at how many things he is able to do and how many times he saves us! He is amazing and I'm reminded daily of what a great guy I married! I'm a lucky girl! I sure love him! That definitely helps the stress level too knowing that the trip to Sears or Home Depot is delayed yet again! I still think a new lawnmower is imminent, but not right now... so happy day! Isn't it great the little things that bring happiness? That sounds so sad....I definitely need to get out more!

CHARIOTS OF FIRE, DESERT STYLE!

We had a really fun weekend! The girls were involved in a district-wide track meet for their school. Brittany and Bailey both ran a 100m relay, the 100m and then Bailey did the long jump and Brittany did the high jump. They both did really well and we were so proud of them. Brit got medals for 1st place in the relay and 3rd place in the high jump. The cute thing about the high jump is that the girls who placed 1st and 2nd were both a good foot taller than her but her style is what we love. She vaults over the bar like a gymnast instead of going over the bar the regular way on her back. Whatever works and it obviously works for her so more power to her. She has little springs in her feet. Bailey did really well and got her best time in the 100m and did great in the long jump. We went to the La Quinta H.S. track to practice last Monday night with our friends, the Risenmay's, and we practiced jumping from the end of the runway instead of from the board so that kind of threw her off too. Way to go, mom! But the point was we had a great time and we had several families from our ward there so we all huddled under one umbrella and sat around sharing food from our coolers and laughing and having a great time. I kind of felt like we were the Mormon posse and who better to hang out with for an afternoon? We all cheered for whoever was doing something at the time and it was a really fun, sunny day at the track! Win or not, we all had fun and the spirit of teamwork and friendship was the best part about it! It makes us really look forward to all of the fun things yet to come. Way to go girls!