April 2022

April was even busier than usual.  Here is what we have been up to.

Rehearsals continue for Eve and Sheri as they rehearse for Alice in Wonderland.

Here is where they are on most Saturday afternoons.

We celebrated Eve's 18th Birthday.

Matt was in town and we went to Huckleberrys for a special birthday breakfast.  The kids didn't mind missing the first few hours of school either.

Later in the month Eve also had a friend party.

Track for Sterling continues.  Somebody needs to make that kid wear sunblock during track!

Eve loves working at the school farm!

In April Eve's was able to have her personal session for senior photos.  Here she is getting ready.

The following day we had our annual youth fundraiser and auction to raise funds for YM and YW camp.  The kids planned a taco bar dinner, auctioned off desserts and service.  We auctioned off our chickens and coop since we are moving this summer.

On any given day this is what you will see at our house.  Happiness is cuddling a cat!

As prom approached I made corsages and a boutonniere.  I am developing a new interest in flower arranging.

Prom was April 9th .  Here is Eve getting ready for prom.  I got to be her hair stylist.

Here are some pictures of Prom.  Everyone looked beautiful!  It was a lovely evening, and the kids had a good time.  Eve went with Angel and Allison.

Youth activities continue. Here is a fun combined activity where the kids learned couples dancing.

Spring Break started April 15th and went until Sunday April 24th.  We headed to southern California.  Matt couldn't take that much time off so he joined us during the last few days.  First we started at Disneyland and Adventure land.  We had park hopper passes and started when it opened in the morning and finished after midnight.

We had to splurge on some Dole Whip.

The new Star Wars rides were cool.

The next morning we could barely walk.  We did family church at the hotel and slept a LOT!  We also celebrated Easter in our hotel room.  Here Christian and Sheri are finding their baskets that I hid.

Monday morning we went to Long beach.  It was nothing spectacular, but the kids mostly wanted to relax and recover from Disneyland anyway.  

Christian and I made this sand castle together.

On Tuesday we wanted to see the Hollywood sign and so decided to hike the Griffith Park Observatory trail.

The view of LA was beautiful!

Then we explored Beverly Hills.

On Wednesday we went to Santa Monica Pier and Beach.

I love these hats the boys got!  Sterling will use his on the pioneer trek.

That night I picked up Matt at the airport.

The next day we drove down to the San Diego area.  The area was lovely!

Matt took us out on the bay to show us how to sail.  I am glad it was protected.  The sailing was exciting but not crazy. The kids got the hang of how everything feels and really enjoyed it!

Friday we went to the San Diego Temple.  It was magnificent!  The older 3 kids did baptisms with Matt and Christian and I enjoyed the grounds.  He especially loved capturing photos of the beauty all around.

Then Christian and I went to the Church Mormon Battalion Historical Site.

He loved panning for "Gold".

After everyone got back together we went to a Mexican restaurant in Old Town San Diego.  It was so nice to enjoy time all together!

Then we went down to the beach and enjoyed watching the seals and shopping from small vendors.

We all felt this way at various times throughout the trip.

I loved all the happy memories we made on this trip!  The kids were troopers as I figured our new areas and we had a nice variety of activities.  We drove home Friday evening and reset/caught up at home Saturday while the kids went to their activities.

Here are some of Christian's accomplishments at school.

The next week was consumed by getting ready to put the house on the market.  I cleaned, mowed, staged, decluttered, weeded, and cleaned like crazy!  Meanwhile school and other activities resumed.

Near the end of the month we were able to go to the Sacramento temple with the youth.  I love this temple and its grounds.  It was special to be there and we really enjoyed it.  It is always special to see Sterling able to perform baptisms with his sisters and friends!

This month was very busy!  I am grateful that everything went well and that God helped me prioritize everything for April along with the May events on the horizon - selling the house, graduation, birthdays, and family reunion. More on that in the next post.

March 2022

March increased our pace as we moved into spring. We had the regular activities (dance, gymnastics, youth events, friends, voice lessons, garden growing, school, and doctor appointments (new contacts for Sheri, orthodontia for Christian, checkups for Eve etc.).  Sterling also started track meets.  Some unique highlights of March include the church formal, Angel’s baptism, and track for Sterling. The Young Men also started preparing for their camp this summer by going on Saturday morning bike rides to increase ability and stamina.  Here are some photos for the month.

I was able to attend the temple on the 11th.  What a beautiful way to slow down and re-center!

The 13th was the church formal dance.

These are some flower arrangements I made from my yard.  The second one was for my neighbor, Maisy, whose husband passed away.

I took the girls to San Francisco to get fitted for pointe shoes at The Pointe Shop, which apparently is famous for its fittings and shoes. The girls were so excited!

On the 19th Angel was able to be baptized!  His parents finally gave him permission and it was such a wonderful event to celebrate with him!  He was so excited that he gave a whoop after the baptism.  It has been so cool to be small part of his lessons with the missionaries and see him make these covenants! 

Also on the 19th I had a RS brunch and a dinner with friends at the Liljenquist's house.  We were able to sing for Matt's birthday since he would be out of town for his actual day.

These are some beautiful vegetables from our garden and some of the other spring beauties from the yard.

Here are the girls at dance.

This is a note from Christian's teacher at school.

Here is a video of Sterling at gymnastics.

Here is Sterling at a track meet with his friend John.

 

This is a video of Sterling pole vaulting (he chose primarily pole vault, high jump, and hurdles as his main events.)

Here are a few other fun photos.

Here Eve is planting trees at school with SAVE club.

March was a lovely month full of great moments as well as challenges.  Whenever I get overwhelmed or discouraged I do my best to turn to God for help.  I love this quote for keeping perspective. It reminds me to let go of worry and trust in the Lord to help me through the difficulties of life

.