San Diego Temple

We took the kids to do baptisms one morning.  I feel so blessed to be able to have all my kids in the temple with us.  It's such a peaceful feeling.  I pray that we will always be able to go together often.  What an amazing thing the promise of eternal families is.  I'm grateful everyday to know that I get to be with my husband and kids for eternity if we follow the commandments!

Beach Day 1

I love the beach!  The sound of the waves rolling in, the ocean mist, the warmth of the sun, building sandcastles, burying the kids in the sand, letting my toes sink in as the waves come in and out, the peaceful atmosphere.  I love it!

Spencer wanted to buried and then Joneaux joined right in!

Two cute beach boys!

Love my sister and am so glad we were able to spend a few days with her,
Ama, and the boys.  In a perfect world I would live by all my siblings!

Tanner & Kenzie hard at work getting ready to ask Holly to prom.

I thought this turned out SO cute!  

She responded by doing the same thing and writing "Yes" in the heart.  

Hodad's

We love watching "Diners Drive-ins & Dives".  One day that went to Hodad's and Ry has wanted to try it out ever since.  So, when we were in San Diego it was only fitting that we go!

It's a teeny place with hardly any room to walk.  It's decorated mostly with different license plates.  It's a very fun place and everyone should make sure to stop there.

We ordered our food to go because it was SO packed in there.  

I'm betting it's always that way.

The burgers were delicious!  Probably one of the best I've had.  Now, I'm not a super picky eater and am pretty happy with most everything I eat, but these burgers were fabulous!  I'll definitely be sure to go there next time we are in San Diego!

As you can tell we all really enjoyed our food.

Jo would've liked it but she wasn't feeling very well, so she missed out on the deliciousness:(

San Diego Zoo

We met up at the zoo with our friends who were also enjoying Cali for their spring break.

I thought this tiny green bird was so pretty.

His colors were so brilliant, I had to get a picture.

I wanted a picture of the pretty green bird, and Tanner wanted a picture of the polar bear because he was pooping and that of course is super hilarious and picture worthy! 

One day I'd like to go to the Caribbean and swim with turtles.

Maybe that means I need to go on another cruise.

Not sure if they were supposed to climb on the camel's back, but they did anyways!

We also watched Rio in 4D which was super cute and super fun! 

I'll mark it down as a successful day at the San Diego Zoo!

U.S. Borax Museum

In a small town of about 2.253 people there is a teeny tiny museum called the U.S. Borax Museum.  We took a short tour of the museum.  Ry's dad retired from U.S. Borax after working there for 40+ years.  The site is huge and they produce all the Borax for the U.S.  So, we decided to take a peek at what it's all about.  The kids are standing in front of a display where everything

 there is made from Borax.  

A huge tire from one of the trucks that is used in the "pit".

It was a quick stop, but gave us a much needed break.

Ronald Reagan Library

We went to California for Spring Break!  It was so nice to get away.  After sitting on the couch for 2 weeks, Tanner really needed to get out and do something fun.  I was nervous for him to be in the car for a long time, but he did really well.  We stayed at my FIL's house for a few days and then went to San Diego.  The whole trip was a blast and I wish we were still there.

We went to the Ronald Reagan Library one of the days.  I wasn't too sure how fun it would be, but we all really enjoyed it.  It's huge and there is a lot to see.  We got to tour the inside of Air Force One.  It's a huge plane and it isn't even as big as the one that is now in use.  There was a  piece of the Berlin wall there, cars, photos, clothing, movies, and tons more.  Downstairs they were having a special "car show". There were cars from movies, old time classic cars, some of the first cars ever.  I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun we all had there.  Afterwards we went to eat at a yummy BBQ restaurant.  

Fun Times

We went to play games with some friends one night and the kids decided they wanted to roast marshmallows.  So, they went to work making a fire, got some blankets and buckets to sit on, and had a great time out there.

Jo ran for student council and wanted this on her poster.  Unfortunately she didn't make it, but she had a good attitude about it and said she would try again.  

Spencer lovin' on Marshall!

These are the things that make life good.  The everyday stuff.  Love visiting with friends and family and making memories that will last!  I feel grateful to have the life I have!

National Champs

Jo's first year of cheer was a huge success!  

They won and were national champs in their division!  

High Altitude White Out 

National Champs

My girls have always been good at supporting each other, love it!

Drill Team 2014-2015

Kenzie has had a blast with drill this year.  I was a little nervous because she has danced for so many years, but's she's loved it.  And I've loved watching her.

Zombie dance for Halloween

Region

My favorite dance this year was their kick routine to 

"Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens"!

Too cute!!!

Soccer & Surgery

Tanner made the Varsity soccer team this year and was thrilled!!  He really loves playing soccer and is quite a good player.  Unfortunately his shoulder was not doing very well.  It kept hurting and popping out.  We were finally able to get him in to see a surgeon and to have an MRI.  The results showed that he had a torn labrum and needed to have surgery.  We let him choose when to do the surgery because he would have to miss a sport no matter what.  He decided to do the surgery as soon as he could.  I told him he could wait until after the season, but he told me that he hurt everyday.  I knew that it must be bad if he was wanting to do it during the soccer season.  I guess there really is no good time to have a surgery.  If he had waited he would've missed club soccer and so on with the next sport and the next.  So, we scheduled the surgery and he played in a few games and he played hard!

Here he is pre-surgery.  Still smiling.  The surgery went really well.  The tear was actually worse than what they thought.  The labrum was torn all the way around.  So, they fixed the tear and then put 7 anchors into the bone to hold it in place.  He was pretty funny coming out of surgery.  We tried to take pictures but the nurse made us put the camera away.  The first few days to a week were pretty tough.  Lots of pain.   A lot of people have told us that shoulder surgery is a rough recovery.  He was in an immoblizing sling for 6 weeks.  He did really well with the sling and had to learn to do things left-handed and got pretty good at it.  He stayed home from school for 2 weeks, then we had spring break, so he was able to rest for 3 weeks before going back to school.  I was nervous to have him go and be around everyone, but it went really well.  He was so happy to have the sling come off!  Now he's doing physical therapy 3 times a week and the therapist is very happy with his progress.  He said he's ahead of the game which is what we like to hear!  Hopefully things will continue to go well and he will be back to doing everything he loves.  It's been a long hard road, but he's doing great and I'm so proud of the way he's handled everything!

Drill Tryouts 2015

Tryouts were earlier this year than last.  Kenzie was super nervous because we got a new coach.  Tryouts went really well and she made it!!!  She was beyond thrilled.  Matt is the new drill coach and we are so excited!  He is an amazing choreographer and has some great plans for the team.  He is going to work the girls hard this year, but I'm sure it will all pay off.  

Kenzie and Morgan, so fun for them to be on drill together this year!

More California & Tanner's 17th

While Kenzie & I were in California for the drill trip, Ry, Spencer,and Jo were also in California.  But they were there for Jo's cheer competition.  Crazy that they were both the same weekend.  So, we had to divide and conquer.  Ry took the kids to Knotts Berry Farm, and from what I hear they had a blast! The next day they went to the competition, and then headed home.

While we were all gone to California, this handsome boy turned 17!!!  I felt horrible that we all missed his birthday.  He stayed because he couldn't miss soccer.  It was unfortunate that the weekend was so busy and it was all on his birthday.  Luckily friends and family took good care of him.  

I can't believe my boy is so grown up.  

Drill Trip 2015

For the drill team trip we went to California in March.  We went to Disneyland/California Adventure for 2 days, went to the beach, went to see Wicked, did some shopping, and had lots and lots of fun!

The girls performed one of the days.  

Of course we had to get a Dole Whip, my all time favorite Disneyland treat!!!

Love my Kenz and love that she wants to take pictures with me!

So proud of this girl and all that she's already accomplished.

Anna, Ama, and the boys met us there one of the days.  

Cute Kenzie!

This was the group of girls that we were with most of the time. 

Kenzie & Leilani

The beach was beautiful!  

The only downfall was that we didn't get to spend a ton of time there.

The girls took a dance class while we there,  I think they all really enjoyed it. 

Wicked was amazing!  I loved it.  This was my 2nd time seeing it and I enjoyed it just as much as the first time.  I'd even go again.  Kenzie loved it too.  So fun!

The trip was a huge success. 

We loved every minute of it!