Oh where oh where have those little eggs gone...

Easter evening we went over to ourneighbors house for a bbq and egg hunt. It was a blast! There were 120 eggs to find and they all had money in them. Then the kids got to go the "store" to spend their hard earned money. They had so much fun! It was so nice to hang out, hunt for eggs, eat really good food, and just laugh and have fun. What a day of celebration!

That Silly Bunny...

The kids love to wake up on Easter morning adn hunt for their baskets of surprises. The older they get, the more excited they get which correlates to early holiday mornings to start the fun.

Jack on the other hand was having nothing to do with his basket until he had his morning bottle of milk. We had a special treat this year too because my parents got to be herw with us this year.

Easter with the cousins

We celebrated Easter a day early with all the family. The cousins were so cute and excited about every little detail. Grandma had crafts, we did an egg hunt (it was wet so we had it in the house) and we all got to hold our new baby cousin Elizabeth. She is a doll.

It was a wonderful time for the family to be together and enjoy the resurrection of our savior!

Coloring Eggs!

The kids loved to what the eggs drop into the cups of colored dye as white and plain. They woudl sit and wait the painstakingly slow minutes tick by as they waited for the eggs to transform into their new bright colors. When they couldn't stand it another minute they woudl reach in and pull out thier egg with its new found color and everyone would have to stop and ohh and ahhh. It was so fun to watch them get such a thrill!

Mimi's last birthday celebration!

We LOVE birthdays at our house and we take every opportunity to celebrate our kids and their lives. With Spring Break in the schedule, Mimi hadn;t gotten to do her preschool party for her 6th birthday. SO yesterday we came to school with grandma and grandpa and ice cream cups and Mimi got to have her final 6th birthday party. What a sweet time to see her friends celebrate her and her life and to see her relish in the moment.

If only we could love our own birthdays just as much as the kids do. It is a day to celebrate "YOU" and the creation of "YOU". It actually is a praise to the creator himself for the masterpeice that he created when he formed you in your mothers womb. Looking at it that way, shouldn;t we all be more excited to celebrate our birthdays, no matter how old we are?

Time with friends...

The kids I had to go to LA for a funeral. We got to stay with some very special friends. They made our visit so special and added such sweet little touches to our time. We lwft feeling so loved and cared for.

It is amazing how special you feel when someone embraces the moments they have with you. We talked, relaxed, made pizzas, had lunch at mcdonalds, went to the park, colored, fed fish, and just enjoyed each other. It was a treasure that I will never forget.

Princesses!!

Princesses!!!

The actual day of Mimi's birthday is April 2nd. Tradition is that we go to one of the Disney parks on the actual day of the childs birthday. This year Mimi picked California Adventure and mommy and daddy decided to surprise her with lunch at Ariels Grotto so she could have some princess attention.

What was about to happen was one of the funniest eating out experiences we have ever had. When we go to do something fun, I always ask God to give us a special touch to make our day even more memorable. I hadn't quite expected this to be His special answer, but it did at to the memory.

The lunch unfolds like this....

You go in to the restaurant and while you wait to be seated you get a quick photo shoot with Ariel. Special right? The girls thought so. Then they seat you and bring an appetizer tower and take your meal order. While you are eating, one princess at a time comes to your table to sign autographs and take photos. You expect 3-4 princesses to come. It is really special and fun.

As the princesses begin to come we see the girls faces light up! Then we look at Josh who's face is as red as lipstick. But what we didn't expect was little Jacks response. He was so excited and in love with each princess. As each one came he had his own photo shoot after the girls and hugged and kissed them, of course after he showed off a few hopping tricks. It was sooo funny.

The princesses were all so enamored with him that they came back out for more Jack love and even hung out with us at the elevator while we were waiting to leave.

It was truly special and memorable. The girls were so honored and didn't mind sharing the spotlight. Josh on the other hand just kep his face hidden the whole time. Poor guy!

A Celebration of life

I heard a true message of HOPE this week. On tuesday I was at the birth of a new life and on thursday I was celebrating my daughters life of six wonderful years and on Sunday I was at a funeral celebrating the life of a friends father who is now in glory with his Savior. The message given to those of us at the funeral was taken from the legacy this man had left for his family. The resounding word to describe him and his life was HOPE. He son in law gave us he Websters dictionary definition of HOPE. He said we use this "churchy" type of word so often, but do we really know what it means when we say it. I realized as I sat and listened to him that, No, I did not know truly what the word meant. After hearing him speak, I was at peace and could now see why Garys life was a message of HOPE. What an amazing week of celebration I had. New life, continued life, and the end of a physical life and the beginning of an eternal life.
Gary Summer Cataldes body did leave this world but his message and legacy of HOPE continue today and tomorrow and for eternity. What an honor to know this man and know that I will see him again in heaven one day.

A New Life

Tuesday I was given the gift and honor to be at the birth of my new neice, Elizabeth Ruth. What a miracle a baby is. Designed by God. One third daddy, one third mommy and one third their god given selves. They are a beautiful completion of 2 people and bring so much life and happiness to the world. Troy had our camera so I don't have any pictures yet, but trust me... she is the most beautiful baby girl you have ever seen.