Our New Pet?!?

Ryan came home to find a little friend waiting next to the driveway. We debated what to do with him and then figured that animal control would be the best people to answer that question. They figured it was a King Snake, but after looking on many websites we think it was a Pacific Gopher Snake. Luckily, they go after rodents and aren't dangerous unless you push them around. So, we left our little friend there to digest his recent kill. Maybe he's still around in the yard or maybe he's found a new hunting ground.

As long as he's not poisonous and as long as he eats as many rats as possible... he can stay as long he wants, even if he was over 3 feet long!

California Adventure

We were invited to California Adventure with some friends, so early Saturday morning we headed out with our kids only knowing that we were headed to a big surprise. The girls were thrilled when we showed up in front of Disneyland and even more excited when they saw their friends waiting for them. Our favorite ride had to be the Toystory Ride. What's better than a competitive interactive arcade game put into a ride? It was so fun we rode it three times. Besides being with her friends, Jena's favorite part was the parade. There were all sorts of characters and songs... She was so excited that at one point she got out of the stroller, went over to her friend and shook him exclaiming that Buzz Lightyear was coming. It was the funniest thing ever!

The girls loved seeing the characters. Here they are posing with Mater and Lightning McQueen.

Our little man hanging out.

Daddy and Jena in the bumper bugs.

The kids were really good and loved spending the whole entire day together. It definitely made waiting in line go by much more quickly, plus we were actually able to go on some grown up rides. It was really an amazing day!

Thanks R&G again for the invite!

Easter Excitement...

We love celebrating Easter. Not only is it a time to remember the Resurrection of Christ, but also the excitement of Spring. The hills around our home are turning green. The flowers are blooming and it is just warm enough to want to spend as much time as possible outside. The girls went crazy as they pulled out every egg from my bin of decorations. Taylor shook a few wondering if there were already treats inside. After a few weeks of pretend egg hunts we finally attended our first official one of the season. Janelle invited us to her ward's Easter Egg hunt while we were in Las Vegas. Our second was our own ward's Easter party and then, of course, the Easter Bunny showed up at our house Easter morning. The girls were so thrilled. A few days after Easter I was finally over the millions of eggs on the floor and decided to hide them until next year.

Here is Jena hiding the eggs for Taylor to find.

Another thing we love about the Easter season is decorating egg or bunny shaped cookies. At our Easter park day the girls meticulously decorated their cookies. Jena puts on as much as she can... even if it is no longer sticking to the frosting. Every part needs to be covered and with as many different decorations as possible. Taylor found some sprinkles that made the greatest sound when she shook the bottle. Finally when more sprinkles were on her plate than on her cookie, I convinced her it looked perfect and was time to eat her creation.

This year my mom picked out (and dad paid for :D ) the kids Easter outfits. My sister and I bravely tried to take pictures of them together. Cody was not really convinced, but after making every funny noise or face that the two of us could come up with... here were some of the favorites...

Our three little babies!

I am so grateful for all that my Heavenly Father gives me. Especially his Son, Jesus Christ and my wonderful Family and Friends. What a special time of year to celebrate Easter!

Birthday Girl!

A few days before Taylor's birthday we took a weekend trip to San Diego. Grandpa and Grandma decided to celebrate Taylor's birthday at Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza. Taylor was a little timid with the activities and noise, but Jena was loving every second.

Jena, Parker and Bailey danced and sang with the characters on the stage. My girls liked the riding activities... riding the horse, the bike, the train, the off-road truck...

One of the funniest things was to see Daddy and Tay playing ski ball. Taylor didn't quite get the underhand throw thing and I'm not sure if any of the balls she threw made it to the goal.

Overall Taylor's favorite thing was hearing Happy Birthday sung and blowing out the candles.

Between the weekend in San Diego and her actual birthday, Taylor started singing "Happy Birthday" all the time. It is so cute to hear because it has only been a few months since she finally decided to really talk and to see her singing is amazing! She is getting to be such a big girl. She is funny and clever... an all around SWEETIE!!! We love this girl!

P.S. I was so excited to make rainbow cupcakes. Thanks for the great idea Trisha.

A Little Like Her Momma

The girls were jumping and playing around on the couch, when I look over and Jena was upside down. I thought to myself, that was one of the things I liked to do when I was little. Then to my surprise she said, "look mom I'm walking on the ceiling." I about died... that was EXACTLY what I would pretend to do :)

What am I going to do with this little me?!?

Valentine Surprises!

Growing up my parents always put together a Valentine's Day scavenger hunt. This year we figured the girls were old enough to follow the clues and find their treats... so off they went around the house. Jena wanted to go as fast as possible and Taylor was right along with her until she found one of her little boxes of chocolates. Then Jena had to help motivate her to continue searching. With all their goodies found they figured they could humor mommy with a picture in their hats. I can't believe I actually really like to crochet :)

Our little beanie babies!

Future heart throb!

After church we told Jena there was another surprise coming and once she saw the cousins and Grandparents she knew this was the best Valentine's Day ever :) So they spent the night and next day playing games, dressing up, going on a hike and enjoying ice cream sundays.

We LOVE Valentine's Day!

A Break from the Rain

After a week of down pouring rain, we took advantage of the sunshine and headed for the beach. Jena (of course) got too close to the oncoming waves and had to ditch her shoes and pants, but she was in good company because James earned $15 for going waist deep into the water. Luckily he had his cute Ed Hardy boxers on :)

We had such a wonderful time with my brothers, sister and Janet in town. I couldn't believe how long it had been since we were at near the ocean.

Jeff, Jared and Janet created an awesome sand fortress. We threw around a baseball, chased birds and ate yummy chicken salad sandwiches (I could go for one right now). So, who is coming to visit next?

Here are two more of my favorite pictures from the day. I LOVE this one of Taylor and Jeffrey walking together in the exact same way.

Ryan and Taylor... sweet little kisses for daddy!!!