Last year in my 20's

I had great birthday this year and can't believe I am 29! Thanks friends and family for making it a great day! The day before was great too. Mom took me to lunch and two friends Paige and Melanie, surprised me with presents! Thanks for making me feel so special!

Danny and the kids planned a great party for me too! They surprised me with new earrings and a cute new outfit- a shirt and a skirt that I love-black with pockets! Victoria planned some fun party games too. Then we had cake and ice cream. We went to Don Jose for dinner. Yum!

Flowers Christian helped my mom pick. Also, a new chair for our kitchen table from my parents.

Victoria, Christian, and Danny made a yummy cake.

My wishes usually come true.

A new friend of mine, Debbie Stafford, brought this cake over for me and I thought it was so pretty and so extremely thoughtful and generous of her. It too helped me feel loved. Thanks! I think it'll be a great year!

Imagination and Creativity

My last joy school week was a lot of fun. The unit was the joy of imagination and creativity. It really is a true joy to teach. Here are a few pictures of the kids being creative and imaginative on Monday.

Dr. Laurie at free play time

Chef Christian

They are creating pictures out of buttons, spaghetti noodles,and straw pieces. I was a little creative to come up with those supplies. They made up really cute stories about what they were gluing. Christian's was a truck with wheels. Then it started raining straw raindrops. Then there was a chicken crossing the road, etc.

Just a few fun pictures from Wednesday.

Unfortunately, Laurie was sick that day, but Mr. Nobody came back! There he is in the back chair. We decided to have snack time at a restaurant. "Mr. Nobody, please hold up your menu for the picture!" As a side note, I later learned that Sam was frightened by Mr. Nobody. We politely had to ask him to leave. He was OK with that. We opened the door and out he went. Maybe another day he'll come again.

The boys loved painting for free play time! There were other options too, but this was the favorite.

Sam with the roller.
"Careful not to drip the paint on the floor please... Oh, you're right. The drop cloth will catch the drips."

They had so much fun painting, that when class was over, they painted the front porch. It needs it too. Please imagine that the pollen isn't there. It'll be a prettier picture.

This week, if Christian gets better, I will teach the Joy of Family Identity and Pride. It'll be neat. I only teach 2 more weeks this year. It has gone by so quickly, I am kinda sad.

Moores at Maymont

When Christian and Danny got back from their campout, we went up to Maymont to spend the afternoon with friends. Our friends, the Moores, came to town for a visit! We were so excited to see them, so we set up a Saturday playgroup to get the old gang together.

Here are the Moore kids in yellow, our kids, Colton, and Bekim. Greyson is in the background. Jackson and Caroline were there too as were Ada and Samir. The Lewises and Lamberts came too. It was fun to play with friends.

Christina spraying the kids with water. It was a hot day. "Spray me, spray me!"

Victoria and Josselyn hadn't seen each other for three years, but became friends again rather quickly. It was cute. They didn't remember each other except for pictures, but we invited Jocelyn (can't decide on the spelling, someone help please) to come with us to look at the animals. Although both a little slow to warm up normally, they started talking at the first stop- the pigs. This little picture story is one of my new favorites.

By the time we were heading out of the barn, they were totally friends.

I love that and want to be able to make friends that instantly.

This next picture is my favorite! How cute is this? "Do you like butter?" I hope that they can be pen friends or something. Tijon and I talk about how fun it would be for them to be friends and visit each other when they are teens or be roommates at BYU. It's fun to plan your kids' lives sometimes. ;)And Christian had a fun with his friends too. Here's a picture with his good buddy Nathan. They really seem to get each other and play well together. Unfortunately, their family will be moving soon. That is one sad thing about our ward. Lots of people move. It is hard to say goodbye to good friends every year.
Victoria took this picture of Tijon and I. I miss Tijon living here, but it was so fun to see her happy smiling face! We got to hang out that night too. We had a fun adults night with old friends at the Martinez house. It was fun to reminisce about our lives 3-5 years ago and talk about what has happened since. I wish I had taken my camera. Jin Hee, didn't you take some pics? I am thankful for good friends here and around the country. Maybe a few more of you should come visit!

Princess PJ party

While Christian and Danny were away at the camp out, V and I were having a great time too! We were invited to a Princess pj party! Thank you Trosses for the great idea and the fun night!Kasey and Audrey enjoying the movie, popcorn, and mommy daughter time.

Jen and Lexie doing the same. Check out Jen's freshly painted nails.

There were other great girl friends there too, but my camera kept doing auto fill flashes and it was annoying, so I just put it away. V and I didn't get any pics together in our pj's. But we had a great time.

Victoria painted my nails all by herself! It was cool. The polish is still on my toenails and looks pretty good, especially for a 5 year old. I painted hers a cool green color.

Outside I took a few silly pics of V and Lexi, both sporting some Hanna Montana Pj's. We went to see that movie together for a girls night not too long ago. We loved it by the way and can't wait to learn the "Hoedown showdown. " How lucky were we to be able to have two special mom/daughter days in one month? Very!!!!!

I love you, V, and I am glad that you and I can have so much fun together. Let's keep it up!

Father Son Campout

One of Danny's favorite events each year is the stake father/son camp out. Obviously he loves to go and spend time with Christian and looks forward to taking Grant next year, but also he is in charge of planning it. It was assigned to the Stake YM presidency, and delegated to him.

They needed to be there at 4:00 to unlock the gate and since it is a squeeze to get home at 3:00 we helped him get ready. We helped fill lots of water balloons and helped load up the car with smore and pancake supplies and several water coolers and such. (Danny probably didn't need our help too much, but we were excited, so he gave us stuff to do.) It was the same day as the zoo field trip; see the t-shirts.

Lots of stuff.

Annual before the camp photo with the Jeep

OK, here's a fun part. Danny forgot a few things and couldn't come back to get them since he was the one that was supposed to be there and running things, so V and Grant and I drove into N girls allowed territory and got a sneak peak at the fun. So, I took advantage of the situation and took a few on site photos. Looks like they were having fun already.

Through the trees I saw boys and dads fishing, making fire, and playing. It looked like fun. And good news girls, it looked like everyone was being safe.

Maybe I will let Danny or Christian tell the rest.

Victoria's zoo field trip!

Victoria had a field trip a couple Friday's ago to the Richmond Metro Zoo. This field trip was especially fun for me because the families were invited to join the classes and their chaperons. Christian, Grant, and I are glad when we get to spend more time with V. We miss her when she is at school and look forward to summer. Also, the field trip was cool because the students wore the tie-dye shirts that I made for Mrs. Grider's class. Christian and Grant wore tie-dyed shirts too. The kids looked cute and it was easy to spot each class.

Victoria, Maggie, and Arianna.

Maggie's mom was the group's chaperons and we all stayed together as we listened to a presentation and explored the zoo.

V and Ari liked learning more about the animals.

Seeing them up close was cool too.

Christian totally felt comfortable and a part of the group. Is anyone suprised? Gotta love the confidence and outgoing nature.

Victoria's picture of the bears. My kids sure love taking pictures. Where do they get that?OK, I took this picture because I was so proud of Christian for sharing. Victoria was pleased with her brother too. The kids all had little cups of feed, but I got one for Christian so he could feed the animals too and not feel left out. But, his was bigger. The other kids ran out and he was so nice to share. More friends, Caroline and Linn

After we explored and saw a lot of the awesome animals, we ate lunch. V was happy to have a picnic and get to hold Grant. She makes sure she holds him everyday. She really loves him.

It was a fun trip and I feel thankful that I am able to be a part of things like this.

Earth Day

So, all day long I was thinking and singing in my head and out loud, "Let's take care of the Earth cause it's ours and it's so much better than ... Mars!" (A joy school song from the Joy of the Earth unit). I became a fan of Earth day a long time ago. It was probably either talking about it in elementary school when we got to bring home a pine sapling or when Richmond used to have a really cool Earth day celebration on Brown's Island. I don't think they have it anymore, but if they do and we missed it will you please let me know? We'd love to go! We want to celebrate because we sure are thankful for our beautiful earth!

I am sure that most of you know that I am pretty big into recycling and other environmental issues, so my kids are too and I think it is safe to say that Danny is becoming more environmentally conscious too these days. Although I still have to pick scraps of paper out of our garbage cans from time to time, it isn't nearly as bad as when we were first married and he was always questioning, "Do I really have to rinse out these cans?" "Um, yes! It's called being a good steward." The other day he told me that he had been reading all about solar panels. I was oh so proud! I am acting kinda condescending, huh? I am not really a perfect steward myself. (OK, I've disposed of thousands of disposable diapers along with lots of other unneccessary trash). With that out of the way, I still try to take care of our world and want to do better.

Anyway, back to Earth, Christian and I had planned to clean up some trash at the park near our house for earth day. We've done that before with Joy school and for FHE and it is fun. Danny and V had other plans though. I guess they had talked about planting a small garden for earth day. We try every year with hardly any luck, but we are trying again and it was a totally good way to celebrate. Of course we also played outside and cooked and ate dinner outside too to make it a little more exciting.

V and C with their plants.

V with a worm(hard to tell, I know, I think it tore in half. OOpps!)

Christian and Daddy planting Christian's tomato plant.

Happy Earth Day!

More Easter

After G.G.'s we went to Danny's parents house for another Easter feast and another egg hunt. Plus it was Papa's birthday. The kids were excited to celebrate with him and see more cousins.

Happy b-day papa!

The kids couldn't wait to go on the egg hunt, but they had to. So Kattia and I helped stall while Geemaw and T.J. hid the hundreds of eggs. I suggested that the kids do an Easter Parade and it turned out to be a great idea! They must have great imaginations, because around the house they marched waving at the aunts and uncles and pretending to throw candy. Pretty funny.

Then finally, they got to run and gather the goodies!

Go V, go! I think she looks like me in this picture. Not sure why.

Look at little Teagan in the rock garden. Isn't she cute, even from the back?

A little glimpse of the action! It doesn't look like Robert was in on the action, but I assure you he was. He was so quick! He helped the others too though. Good job taking on the role as the helping oldest cousin.

V and Camila work well as a team.

Christian found a cool bat along with the other goodies.

Mom found Daddy being sneaky. He is letting baby Grant try a push pop! Oh dear! Looks like he didn't mind a bit! Maybe Danny is the one that makes him chunky?

So, Danny and I have a lot in common, but lets face it we are almost opposites in a lot of ways. Also, this doesn't come as a news flash, but a few things are different at the Marshall's and the Soderholm's. Both are good though. G.G.'s is very well planned and organized and we know what to expect as far as schedule, menu, etc. Not that everything is exactly the same, but the tables are set with place cards and little favors, etc. It looks really nice when we come in and it is apparent that she has been preparing for us to come. I look forward to certain menu items and they are there. It is what I am most used to and the traditions are comfortable to me and help me to feel calm and relaxed.

Danny's family does things in a different way. Not too much planning. Kinda whatever happens happens. Hit or miss you could say. So, when it was nice outside, everyone decided "lets eat outside." I am pretty sure that Susan set the dining room table, but the plates and glasses weren't used- instead paper plates and soda cans. But hey that's good too because it was comfortable and the kids could play easily as soon as they finished. Another spontaneous thing happened that we rather enjoyed.

Wind up Easter toy races- They wound up(pun totally intended) to be kinda fun!

It was a great Easter and on the way home it was fun to think about how different our families are but how if we have open and loving minds we can really enjoy our time with both sides of the family. Our kids do and we do too. We really feel fortunate to be able to have so much family close by. Sometimes it is tricky to balance, but I don't think we'd trade it.

Cutest little some bunnies I know

We went to Easter Dinner at G.G.'s straight after church. It has been pretty much the same for as long as I can remember. I really love traditions. So comfortable. I think it is so comfortable that I forget to take pictures. I took a few though, but I really only got the kids on the egg hunt and I didn't get any good closeups of Christian or Hailey. Good thing Scott and Chrissy and Craig and Lorel take good pictures. I may have to copy some of yours sometime.

Anyway, we ate a great dinner, socialized, and let the kids do some crafts. They decorated paper eggs and their bags for the egg hunt. Then they got to go on the Easter egg hunt! They were so excited. Most of the eggs were filled with stickers, pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. My mom thinks they already get enough candy- she is right! It is pretty fun and as kids get older they appreciate the money even more! The past couple years my aunt Mary has put little bunny ears on the kids. She is a kindergarten teacher and does fun things like that for the holidays.

Here they come! Out the door! Go girls, go! They all looked so cute in their Easter dresses and sweaters(well, V wouldn't wear her sweater, but what's new?)


Pretty Sydney is looking!


Christian found one! Why does he always look so sneaky?

Ella caught on like a pro!

Look how many I found! Thank you grandma!

Poor bunny Grant is angry that he didn't get any eggs. What a face!

It was a fun time and we look forward to next year! Thanks Marshall's!