Easter 2012

I love Easter. I love to color eggs, go on a picnic, get new Easter Sunday outfits for the kiddos, and celebrate our Savior's Resurrection.  We had a nice, simple Easter this year.  The Saturday before Easter, we colored eggs that afternoon and then that evening we had a picnic at Rock Creek park.  Sunday morning the kids woke up to a family Easter basket (that's what I do -and they know it's from Mom & Dad and that there is no such thing as the Easter bunny), and the boys all got new matching ties, and the girls got new matching sweaters.  Church was very uplifting and focused on the Resurrection. After church I made a big Easter Ham lunch, then we hid and hunted for our colored eggs, and that evening we went to Mom and Dad Wilcox's for dessert.  I am thankful for Easter and the time we get to focus on our Savior and his resurrection. Prior to Easter, I read from Jesus the Christ all the events leading up to the Resurrection and then about the Resurrection.  It really humbled me, and helped to get me into the right spirit for that special day. 

Spring Break 2012

For Spring Break this year, we decided to visit Northern California. I wanted to visit my sister Jean and her family in Napa, and then we also found out that Celeste was moving to San Fransisco and would be there right before we arrived. We were very excited and lucky to get to visit two sisters in the Bay area at once! We left Sunday, March 25th after church (we get out of church at 11:00 AM) and headed on our way. That first night we stopped in Reno, Nevada and spent the night at "The Nugget" hotel. Can I just say, I strongly dislike Nevada!! I hate the "casino" scene - smokers EVERYWHERE, & scary people too.   Nevada has to be the most boring, desolate place to drive through (Wyoming is even better in my book!).

 Lovely Reno, Nevada

 Colby didn't feel well at first few days of our trip. :(

Hailey - my sleepy head!!

After spending the night in Reno, we headed to California!  Luckily, the Nevada scenery quickly changes after Reno and turns into the beautiful scenic Sierra Mountains.  It was SO pretty driving through the Sierra's.  Lake Tahoe area is GORGEOUS and we oohed and awed a lot.  David had us stop at an overlook at the top of the Sierra's and it was so freaky that I couldn't even get out of the car (I HATE heights)!  In fact, I was so freaked out that I couldn't even watch my kids looking over the edge or I'd hyperventilate - and I didn't let Colby or Luke even get out of the car!  Everyone survived and we were on our merry way again.  We ate lunch in Sacramento at the In-N-Out burger (which became one of our favorite stops on this trip), and then drove to Fairfield, California and stopped at the Jelly Belly Factory.  That was a very fun and yummy place to stop!

 Ronald Reagan picture out of Jelly Beans

 Flying Jelly Beans everywhere!

 Goodbye, Jelly Belly factory!

From Fairfield, Napa was only about 30 more minutes away.  We headed to Jean and Ron's home.  Ron's grandparent's house is right behind Jean and Ron's home, and since they've both passed away, they let us stay in it the whole week!  It was awesome - we had our very own 3 bedroom, 2 bath home for free (THANK-YOU!). That night we just hung out with the Ruiz's and relaxed from our long drive.  Jean and I had fun talking about jewelry making (Jean has an esty store) and we looked at all the different stuff she has made.  It was fun just to talk and be together again.  Tuesday, we woke up to rain...lots and LOTS of rain.  We had planned on seeing all the fun sights around Napa, but most of these places were outside.  When the rain broke for a couple of hours Jean grabbed us and took us to a neat walking trail by some wineries.  It was very pretty and nice to get a little exercise (after sitting in the car the entire day before).



 On the walking trail.  Napa, California

 Napa is very pretty -green rolling hills everywhere.

(and pretty Lauren too)

We did manage to visit some fun shopping centers around the area too that day.  That night Jean fed us a very yummy soup and we hung out at their home for the night. Wednesday morning, that rain had stopped and we headed to the city- San Fransisco here we come!  Our first stop in SF was on the Golden Gate Bridge.  It is AWESOME!  Zach, Colby, Luke and I walked about a quarter of the way across it, but David and the older kids walked to the center of it.  Surprisingly, I wasn't freaked out on it - they have enough chicken wire and protection by it, that I did fine.  It was actually really cool to do - and there were surfers under the bridge that were a lot of fun to watch too.



 The view of the (foggy) city from the Golden Gate bridge.

After walking the Golden Gate Bridge, we headed to Celeste and Ron's apartment.  Their apartment was very close to the bridge, and so it was easily found.  Celeste was at work when we got there, so we hung out with Mackenzie and Ron for awhile. Mackenzie is so cute and fun - the kids LOVED playing with her -especially out on their balcony.



 Mackenzie and Lauren

We left Mackenzie and Ron so that Mackenzie could get a nap, and we headed to the Pier for lunch. We also wanted to ride the ferry out to Alcatraz which leaves from the Pier. 



 We ate lunch at Bubba Gumps - it was so delicious!

 Alcatraz in the background.

After pigging out on shrimp at Bubba Gump's we headed to the Alcatraz loading docks.  They were sold out for the entire day!  We were so bummed - but we bought tickets for the following day.  We decided since we had just paid $20 to park (everything is so expensive there!), that we would find something else to do, and so we went to the Aquarium on the Bay.  We are so glad we went there - it was amazing! 



After the aquarium, we headed back to Celeste and Ron's (we wanted to see Celeste!).  Celeste was home and we ordered and ate pizza with them.  It was really fun to hang out with the Schnackenbergs for the night.  (I have pictures of Celeste and Ron, but they are on my cell phone and I haven't transferred them yet.)  Thursday morning we headed back to SF to go on our Alcatraz excursion!

 On the boat!

 The view of SF from Alcatraz

 You take an audio tour of the prison - it was a little scary!

 David in solitary confinement

After a long, fun day on Alcatraz island (we were there about four hours), we headed back to Celeste's apartment to say good-bye.  That was our last day in San Fransisco.  Friday we stayed in Napa.  Jean had an Easter-egg hunt for the kids in the morning and then that afternoon we went to a unique outdoor kids/art museum.  It was really cool!

 Jean and Zach by "rain clouds" made out of chicken wire and crystals.

After the museum, we headed to Sonoma to "Train Town" - Colby and Luke couldn't wait to go here!

 Along the train ride, you get to stop at a miniature village and play in the different houses and businesses, etc.

 Train Town church - preacher Lauren :)

 No explanation needed.

Our cute train - Zach, Colby and Luke rode in the very front.

That evening, we ate dinner with Jean and Ron and Kristen again.  We had planned on going to Six Flags on Saturday and then drive home all day Sunday, but the weather made us change our plans.  It was supposed to get horrible over the Sierra's on Saturday - 80 mile per hour winds, and snow.  We didn't want to get stuck in the Sierra's, so we decided to take off Friday night and head back as far as we could.  Right after dinner, we packed up and headed out.  The kids were very sad that we weren't going to Six Flags (frankly, so was I!), but we told them the situation, and they understood.  We also agreed to go to Lagoon this Summer instead.  That night we drove as far as Fernly, Nevada  (just outside Reno) and got a hotel.  We slept in late, ate a big breakfast and swam in the hotel pool.  We had hoped to listen to General Conference all the way home, but there was NO reception in Nevada (another reason to love the place!), and so we couldn't.  We made it home about 7:30 that night.  We were exhausted, but had had a wonderful time!  We were very happy to spend some time with the Ruiz's and the Schnackenbergs.  We are so blessed to have such a loving extended family!

Calling

So the first of March I got called in to visit with our Bishop...I knew it was time to replace the Primary and Young Women presidencies. I had a very strong feeling it would be something to do with the Young Women.  Well sure enough....I am now the 12th Ward Young Women President.  Just typing it out overwhelms me!! I am excited, but overwhelmed.  My big "goal" is to get these girls unified - since our ward split (2 years ago), there hasn't been much unity with the "old" 12th ward girls and the "new" 12th ward girls.  My presidency and I are trying to focus on teaching the doctrines of Christ (which will have more influence than the sword) to these girls and that will hopefully help them have a desire to be more like Christ.  I am thankful that I will get to serve with my girls - Lauren turns 12 in October and so it will be awesome being with both Hailey and Lauren.  I do LOVE the Young Women program...it's where my heart has always been, and it's where my patriarchal blessing says I will serve.  Yay YW!

CRHS Talent Show

Hailey is so brave ~ she is quiet and shy, but brave!  Canyon Ridge High School had a talent show last Friday night and Hailey signed up for it.  She played the "Spinning Song" on the piano and she was amazing!!  We rented a tuxedo for her and everything.  She LOVES Jon Schmidt and so she tried to "ham it up" like he does.  She did crazy movements and faces at different times and she would play her piece really slowly, and then really fast.  It was AWESOME! I honestly think she was one of the top three performances that night!

On Saturday Hailey, Lauren, and Zach all had to perform in the Magic Valley Music Festival too.  They all got SUPERIORS on their pieces.  I would have posted a picture of them, but Festival was during my women's conference and I forgot to tell David to do it!  Oh well, they are all still fantastic and I am so very proud of my talented kiddos!

Chocolate Never Faileth

For some crazy reason beyond my comprehension, I was asked by our Stake Relief Society President to be the Stake Women's Conference decorating committee chairman.  Sister Barnum asked me to do this at the end of January, and the conference was on March 10th.  I felt totally overwhelmed.  She told me the conference's theme, "Chocolate Never Faileth" and told me to decorate around that theme.  So, the first thing I did was call my very creative sister Doris and get her advice!  Doris said she'd think about it.  So, while she was thinking, I decided to hop on Pinterest and start getting some ideas too.  I started to see a lot of cute French Cafe ideas....then Doris sent me an email with the same suggestion - so voile, we had an idea to work around! First thing I had to do was get a committee - no way could I do something this huge by myself!  Through sister Barnum, I got these sisters to work with: Jen Weigt, Melinda Bauman, and Stacy Reynolds.  With only two weeks to spare, I realized I really needed one more sister so we also got to have Sherry Loar (she is an artist and I needed an Eiffel Tower created!).  We met four times and everyone was so helpful and full of great ideas.  Our budget was only $300 so we had to be frugal.  We hit all the "after Valentines" chocolate clearance, bought oodles of glass from DI, and I sewed and borrowed everything I could. We even made the flower arrangements ourselves! It turned out really beautiful - in fact my pictures just don't do it justice!  I couldn't have done any of this without my awsome committee, and my awesome husband, and Brother Gomm (the high councilman over RS). David even took the entire day of work off to help me string the umbrellas, awning, and windows up.  He's my hero - he did all this with one arm mind you - his left arm is still in a sling! It looked amazing, but I have to admit, I am soooooo glad it's over - it consumed me.  I have never ever been in charge of something that big, and  now I know I can do it!