It's a Blustery Day!

(This is my very good dog - unless she chases my cat or eats my chicken, that is)

Today is SUPER windy! Every now and then a big gust will come along and knock my porch things against the wall and then I'll wonder if I should take down the things that can break my window before I end up with a gust INSIDE my house! Then the wind calms down again and I get too lazy to go out into the f.f.freezing cold wind!

One unfortunate thing about the wind is that a lot of gates get loose and animals of all sorts start roaming the neighborhood. Thank goodness we haven't lost any of our pets due to the wind (once because Mr. Verizon left the gate open when he was done installing FIOS, and a couple of times the kids left the door open and my husky/lab mixer chased my cat two blocks over); however, other peoples' gates get blown open and our front porch somehow becomes the safe haven of a miriad of pets. We've had bunnies, chickens (not mine, someone else's), cats and dogs. I'll not at all be surprised to find a goat or horse here someday, but PLEASE don't bring me a cow! Any wind strong enough to bring a cow should be deemed a tornado and I don't really need that business right now!

So the wind this morning has already caused some trouble for my neighbor- the one who always lets his dog out to pee/poop in the neighborhood each morning. So, lucky me, I find "treasure" in my front yard whenever I weed. Ugh! Gross! (And, yes, I'll admit I use that as an excuse not to weed more often than I should).

This dog is seriously too annoying! He barks at ME in My yard when he wants a bit of privacy to do his business. So I'm constantly trying to NOT hate my neighbor (hate, repent, hate repent...)

Anyway, my neighbor must not have gotten the "red flag warning" because he let out his nasty pooch as usual this morning, but the little white fluffball, weighing in at 8-10lbs was no match for the wind and was carried off, no doubt to the next county by now. My neighbor was up and down the street calling for the mutt with no success. This is one time where I decided to "weary in well doing" and let him alone.

I'll shed tears a little later.

Right now I have to plan a party.

Alex Leads the Pledge

Alex was honored last Friday to lead the pledge of allegiance at school. I was unable to be there, as I was at the hospital with James for his tonsilectomy/adnoidectomy/bronchial scope, but Sean went, took pictures, and said Alex did a FABULOUS job! :)

What a cutie! :)

Gretchen Visits!

I always love to visit with old friends! So when Gretchen came into town with her two sweet kids we HAD to catch up!

Me, Shauna, Traesa and Gretchen.

All the kids - (back) Josh D., Jane M., Caleb D., Kaila D., Becky M., Dalin C.; (front) Ben D., Alex M., Zenna and Kyle C., Lexi C., Emma D., James M., Andy C.

SOMEDAY I'm hoping that we'll get our original daytime group back together for a huge playdate. Cindy, Jenny, Crystal - we missed you!

Coming Home

On our way home from Redding we decided to take the scenic route. We stopped at Pismo Beach to stretch our legs, find some shells, and play in the sand.

We swung by Solvang to check out the sights. We were amazed at the beautiful architecture, interesting animals (ostrich, pigmy horses), and friendly people. Definitely a spot to revisit!

A Visit with Grandpa Ed

The day after Easter we started our trip to Redding, CA to visit with Grandpa Ed. After a looooong drive we finally made it!

It just so happened that we weren't the only ones visiting Grandpa that day! Sean's cousin, Matt and his family were also there. It was so fun catching up with family we rarely see!

Dying Cupcakes

This Easter we had a great time creating colorful cupcakes. The kids mixed dye into the batter, then took turns scooping up different colors into the cupcake cups. We ended up with VERY colorful treats!

Easter Morning

This past Easter was spent listening to the words of our beloved prophet, Thomas S. Monson, hunting for eggs in the backyard, and eating fabulous food over at the Monroe's. This is the first Easter James could really participate in the egg-hunt, so it was hilarious to see him shy away from the colorful eggs. It took quite a bit of persuading, and a bit of peeking into the eggs, to convince him it was worth his while to gather as many as he could. By the time we got to the Monroes for the egg-hunt over there, he was ready to search for real.

This year the bunny left lots of fun treats in their eggs - erasers, bubble gum, crystal light on-the-go packs, chapstick, and candies.

Over at the Monroes the bunny went all-out! The kids came home with baskets full of candy that would rival any pillowcase on Halloween!

Watering the Garden

I was out watering our garden one Sunday and the next thing I know, I turn around and all of my kids are wet! HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

I mean, really! I was only watering the garden. :)