Our friend Sara went out to BYU to teach. That has made my kids pretty sad. She sent them a package yesterday with BYU shirts for each of them. They put them on right away and it eased the pain of her being gone!
When I think about my trip to San Diego, I think of it as a quick trip home. It was actually a week long, but I guess a week is not enough. It never is. I went home to San Diego with Gage and Mallory a few weeks ago and it was such a sweet trip.
Among the many great things was the celebration of my mom's birthday. It was so nice to be there for that and be surrounded by family. I feel like I was there for one of the parties that I always see pictures of, but never get to attend. Another highlight was spending time with my sisters. I love my sisters and wish so much that I lived near them.
On my mom's actual birthday I went with my kids, my mom, Tanya and her children to Disneyland. I am loving that Disney lately and we had a great time. It was Gage and Mallory's first time and they were so excited to be there. Gage loved Space Mountain and was disappointed he was a hair too short for the Indiana Jones ride. Mallory's favorite ride was Dumbo and it was our last ride of the evening. When we got in to the car in the parking lot, we saw the firework show. 
We shopped, ate at Rubios and In n Out, spent some time at the beach, and asked Papa Ross to heat up the jacuzzi one night. Gage got the Wii all to himself and Mallory loved that grandma had the Beauty and the Beast DVD. One day while Mallory took a nap, Gage and I walked down to Beef n Bun and had a shake. Grandma Julie met us there and had a Root Beer Freeze. Then, she dropped us off at the 99 cent store where Gage and I did some shopping and then walked back home. It was fun to be with Gage by myself. One on one time is rare. Mallory keeps telling everyone we meet that she went on an airplane and she wants to buy another ticket to see Grandma Betty this time. I wish her luck. We've stuck around the town for Spring Break since...well, we always have. This one had just the right amount of outings, fun, and sunshine to make it well spent. It didn't get off to a great start, but the week picked up and the kids were happy. That's really all I want...Happy Kids.
Monday- Pajama day (for me at least). I had some jewelry to make so I was busy and ended up going a bit mad. The kids played outside. Oh, and they did get dinner at Five Guys and a book trip to Barnes and Noble. Not all bad, eh?
Tuesday - The movie "How to Train Your Dragon" which was given two thumbs up by all the kids and Chick-fil-A.
Wednesday - Chuck E Cheeses. Need I say more?
Thursday - Bowling - a fun game full of pretzels, icees, and snacks with a stop at 31 Flavors on the way home.
Friday - Outside play and dinner at Chiles. The kids were well behaved and the manager came over and gave us more free kids meals coupons because she said they were great. That's rare, but I'll take it.
Saturday - Campout!
This home has turned in to a Scouting home through and through. Zane is the Scout Master, Trevor is an 11 year old Scout, Boston is in Cub Scouts, and the others just want to do what they are doing. The boys had a camp out in the back yard a few weeks ago. It was complete with a dutch oven meal by Zane that was really good. They made it through the night although Zane thinks that we might need a bigger tent. It was a 3 man and a few of the boys were wedged in the sides of the tent! Mallory and I enjoyed the comforts of my king size bed inside the house that night.
What a great surprise and treat it was to have Brett's family come from Spain to visit for Easter weekend. They came home to Cincinnati, OH to take care of work business and medical visits, and asked to spend the weekend of Easter down here with us in Kentucky. The kids were so excited and asked every day how many more days until they came. It was great to see the cousins pair off and enjoy each other so much. Gage made sure his sleeping bag was next to Addie's every night. Eli and Boston shared the top bunk and I don't think Mallory left Cohen alone for very long all weekend. Gavin and Trevor enjoyed being the tops dogs of the family.
The Bunny had hidden the baskets for the kids in the night. When they woke up (and it was early) they went out to find them and the Ross kids were surprised they weren't there. The Underwood kids told their cousins that the bunny hides the baskets at this house and once the parents came out the hunt for them was on.
We ran out of time to decorate the hard boiled eggs and the kids still wanted to have a hunt, so Amy and I hid the undecorated eggs in the front yard and when they found them all they still wanted to find more. So, we went and hid them in the back yard again. Then, in the front one more time. It was so funny to see how excited they were to find the eggs - especially the youngest kids. The next day there were a few smashed hard boiled eggs in the street that I think rolled off of the cars - they were hidden and never found! That night during the egg hunts, Zane made us all dessert - a peach cobbler - in a dutch oven. The Rosses left Monday morning and we were sad to see them leave. A great weekend. this is what we have been up to this winter (and boy, it was a long one) -
1 - Trevor played basketball for both his school and the Oldham County Parks department. He preferred the Saturday games with the Parks Dept. because his dad was his assistant coach. Now, his team didn't fare so well, but I will tell you in all honesty they should have been voted "most improved." Trevor was making shots the last few games and in his first few games he didn't even want to touch the ball. He is one awesome defensive player. I feel sorry for the player he was guarding. Both seasons are over and it was fun.
2 - Boston just started his spring baseball season on The Rockies again. He is stoked because he says he has awesome players on his team this season and can't wait for the games to start.
3 - Zane has spent more time with Boy Scouting this month (and it's only the middle of the month) than he has all year and he still has more camping planned. Well, at least he will be one heck of a guy to be with if there is every an emergency in the area.
4 - There was more snow and snow days this winter than ever before. We have been here 10 years and I don't ever remember winter being like this. I hope it never is again. Nice attitude, huh?
5 - We have (had) a friend living with us all winter. He is fat and makes a TON of noise and lives in the crawl space. He has friends over sometimes and he creeps me out. I am talking about a raccoon (gross) that lived in our crawl space and he is so loud sometimes that I feel like he might break through the floor. Zane assured me that couldn't happen, but I didn't believe him. Well, we think that he has passed away because it smells really really bad in our back bedroom and it is progressively getting worse. So, we have sprayed so much Fabreeze in the air that we might be lulled to sleep by all these chemicals tonight. I guess this is good news and bad news. He won't be missed, but as Zane said, "He is still bugging us even when he is dead." Truly a pest.
6 - Finally...bring on SPRING. We are all excited about it. We need the vitamin D from the sun and some days to get out and run. Sometimes I wish I were a bear and could just hibernate all winter. But, I am grateful for the four seasons - some more than others.
Like many, we've had a traditional family Valentine dinner every year. We've had some great ones and I love putting it together and deciding on the menu. I usually pick up a few after Christmas clearance toys to give to them as well. This year was no different. I had planned a few cute favors, a good menu, and found a few trinkets for them. There was a difference in the fact that the week leading up to the holiday we were all suffering from cabin fever with all of the snow. So, after a week of tight quarters and a bit more fighting than normal, we continued that pattern in to the night of our Valentine dinner. A bit ironic on a day of love, huh? A few kids ended up in bed early and there will be changes in next year's dinner. We will all be helping out!!!
The highlights were the chocolate covered strawberries, vanilla Cokes, tomato basil soup, and individual homemade pizzas. There were crepes planned for dessert, but we decided to save those for another night. They were made for FHE dessert the next night.
I will tell you that there was a special thing that happened this Tuesday morning. It made me so happy. The boys were all home from school again for snow. Zane and I were sleeping in a bit since Mallory had slept with us because she had a fever that night. Trevor and Boston snuck in and asked us what we wanted for breakfast. Just minutes later Trevor brought me 2 poached eggs on a piece of toast and Boston brought Zane a bowl of cereal. They tested Gage and fed him. They fed Mallory as well as themselves. When we came out they were all dressed and smiling. I think they were trying to make a bit for Sunday night and they did. So sweet.
With as much snow as we have had in the last week and a half, it was opportune to make a few snowmen. Last week we got 7" in one day, so Mallory and I went out and built our snowwoman while the boys were sledding at the neighbors. Then, Trevor came home to find our lady and wanted to make her some friends. He went out and worked for a few hours to create some of his own snowmen. Unfortunately one of the friends he made was destroyed by a sled and later passed away - hence the x's on his eyes (that was all Trevor's idea - very Calvin and Hobbes). And, the most unfortunate part of the day was that Boston and his friend knocked them all down when sledding in our yard that night. They sure were cute while the lasted, unlike the snow. It's not so cute anymore.
The torch has officially been passed from Trevor down to Boston. Trevor had usually done well at the Pinewood Derby. Boston didn't seem like he cared whether he won or not. He was just all smiles and excited to race his "B" car. He said next year it might be another "B" car but just in another color. We'll see about that because this kids changes his mind quickly. But, the "B" car got him second place so it just might be a good idea.
