Believe it or not!

Ok, I know that my blog has been dead for a long time now...but hey life is busy. Maybe this little entry will be enough to jump start my blogging habit once again. So enough about that! Here's a little spring summary of our life...

We got to sit through almost 4 innings of Matty's first baseball playoff game tonight (IN THE POURING RAIN). I'm sorry, I pay good money to live in "sunny" California. This is not baseball weather! His game was called/ended due to the rainy weather. They were ahead 1-0, but not sure if they will have to finish the game before moving onto round 2 of the playoffs. It has been a challenging season for Matty. He started off feeling like the worst kid on the team (which he wasn't), then he started making contact with the ball at the plate. They funny thing to me was that he thought he was the worst because he was striking out often, when most of the players on his team had the same problem. He didn't notice that strike outs were a team struggle. In the end, I am just happy that he is having fun being on a baseball team and that he wants to keep playing baseball. He had me worried there for a while. I was beginning to think we jinxed him when we named him "Mattingly". He has learned a lot this season about perseverance.

Tomorrow night is Olivia's first playoff softball game (highly doubt that game will happen, dumb rain). We are the #2 seed. We have to win 2 games to make it to the championship game. I really think her team can do it. She made me so proud last Saturday when she hit a hard ball off of the best pitcher in the league. She got on base and got an RBI. It was a very big moment in our game and I was so happy for her when she came through for her team when they really needed it. She is having so much fun with softball. It's hard for me to believe that she is old enough to be in the dugout singing softball cheers with her team (wasn't I just doing that??). Livie is very busy with school, homework, reading, school choir, playing the recorder, piano lessons, and now she is in beginner band at school (playing the flute). She loves spending time with her friends from school and from her team. Sometimes I feel more like her manager than her mom. I tell her all the time that she has a better social life than I do. It's ok, I love that she is involved in positive things. If only her allergies were better :(

Nathan is so close to finishing his Kindergarten year and that makes me so sad! I love everything about Kindergarten and I just don't want it to end yet! He is so smart and so funny. I am just happy that the "funny" hasn't become a problem at school like it can at home. He is everyone's friend (boys and girls) and I love that about him. He has become a pretty independent little boy. He really doesn't want me walking him up to his classroom anymore but I told him "too bad, I'm doing it anyway". He recently had his first ambulance ride when he accidently ate a small Snickers at school. I could really live a calmer life without those allergic reaction experiences. He has turned into a baseball stud this season. He is playing "coach pitch" and he impresses me each game with his hitting and fielding. He loves playing first base (of course, all the plays are to first base). He looks forward to every game and practice. His season ends this Saturday and he is going to miss playing on his Yankees team. Maybe soccer in the fall?

Derek is the champion little brother. This boy goes to at least 5 baseball/softball games a week and cheers for his siblings and their teams. He has learned some cheers and he loves to run out at the end of the game to put his hand in the huddle for the after game cheer. He follows Nathan's team to go and shake the other team's hands. He dresses for the game (his own baseball pants, an old t-ball Yankee shirt, his Yankees hat and his black high top Converse shoes). He's the cutest little bat boy out there. He can't wait for it to be his turn and I don't blame him. He gave me the greatest Mother's Day gift. He decided that day that he wanted to use the potty. I wasn't planning on potty training until after the baseball season, but he is doing so well with it. So independent and so excited about using it. How bad is it that there is a little part of me that is sad to see him wearing big boy undies? How did he get to be 3 so soon? He is completely addicted to his Razor scooter and he tells me he loves me at least 10 times a day. He likes to sing to me and it just melts my heart.

David is a very busy man this time of year. He has lots of school activities going on that keep him at work late into the night, but he makes the time to help Matty's team as an assistant coach. The two of us are having fun coaching Nathan's team. We have a great group of kids on the team and really nice families. These parents help out on the field and in the dugout. It helps make our experience enjoyable and not stressful. David and his dad recently built a mantel for our fireplace. It is almost completely finished and I really like how it looks in our house. I wish he had more time for projects. He's good at them and I know he enjoys them. Someday. He his recovering from the butt kicking his Lakers suffered in the playoffs. Hopefully the Yankees won't disappointment him as well. He had a proud daddy moment a few weeks ago when Olivia completed a research project/presentation on "Why Everyone Should Be a Yankees Fan".

As for me...well my spring days are filled with wife & mom duties, coaching 2 teams, volunteering in classrooms, chaperoning field trips, teaching the 6,7&8 year old kids each Sunday, fighting my battle with allergies and trying to get some exercise. I am beginning to really enjoy running. I have to admit that I am looking forward to the kids being on summer vacation. No homework and no school schedule to keep up with. Can't wait to swim, play, watch movies, BBQ, camp, visit family & friends, sleep & relax. Just a few more weeks to go :)

I think one day I will look back, read this and think, man I was busy! And believe it or not, I think I will miss those days.

Next post will include some pictures!

Winter Vacation is Here!

I just have to say how happy I am that winter vacation has finally arrived. Don't get me wrong...the school year really is flying by. I am just so happy to have my husband home with us for the next 3 weeks! His new job as an elementary school principal has been such a blessing to our family, but the downside of this job is that it keeps him away from home lots of days for very long amounts of time. We get to have him home with us now for the next 3 weeks and I am very grateful. No school schedules to worry about! Lots of play ahead...and maybe a few "honey-do" chores.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT!!

Ok, believe it or not...I have worked on my blog with updated info and photos. Now, hopefully I can stay committed to posting once in a while. We will see. I realize life is always going to be busy, but I really do want to find a routine again for posting more often. Ok enough about that.

Last Tuesday night was a super fun evening. Olivia, my mom, Sean & Lisa and their girls, and I all went into San Francisco to see "Wicked". It was amazing. I can't say enough about it. We bought tickets back in September. Olivia and I had been very quietly counting the days until our special night. I am so glad we went and got to experience it together. Olivia was familiar with the music (her 2nd grade teacher played the music often in class) and she kept up real well with the storyline. It was so interesting to follow the stories of the witches. The performance done by Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West) was incredible. I just loved how the storyline unraveled. It ended up being quite a late night for all of us, but totally worth it (the following day was a school holiday). I hope this is a lasting memory for an almost 8 year old. I would really like to see it again sometime. We have had so much fun listening to the soundtrack.

Here we are just outside the Orpheum Theater doors. I thought it was so cute that Olivia wore her green sweater to the performance. On our way home she told me that the "Popular" scene was her favorite.

Mom, Lisa, me, Olivia, Sydney & Hannah
(photo taken by Sean)
Orpheum Theater
San Francisco, CA

April Happenings...Part 1

Well...I know it is already May, but I am still going to blog about our crazy month of April. We managed quite a few exciting milestones in our family this month. I will work this blog starting with the happenings from the end of the month and work my way backwards. We celebrated Nathan's 4th birthday with a small family party at home (with a walking fieldtrip of fun to the park). Nathan really enjoyed playing on the slides, being pushed on the swings by Grandpa, racing in Derek's red car...courtesy of Uncle Jon's speed, and doing somersaults down a little grassy hill with all the other kids (and this was only the excitement at the park).

Here he is blowing out the 4 candles on his Lego cake. The Lego character cake was a surprise for Nathan. David, my father-in-law (Bill) and I all helped decorate the b-day cake. We had Lego Indiana Jones racing across the cake in a raft and the "good" Lego Star Wars guys battling with the "bad" Lego Stars Wars guys. Nathan really seemed to like the surprise and that was all I wanted.

How can Nathan already be 4 years old? Here he is loving his birthday breakfast in bed. He wanted pancakes and a piece of his leftover strawberry cake for his breakfast. Let's just say, he didn't eat much of the pancakes. I just can't believe how fast time has gone. He seems like such a big boy to me now. He has such a funny and silly personality. He loves to make others laugh. I love that about him. He makes the funniest faces and sound effects. He constantly changes his clothes throughout the day (and that drives me nuts) and he prefers to wear shorts and colored socks. He cracks me up!
I love you my little Nathan William.
Happy 4th Birthday you crazy kid!


We had a few warm days in April. One Monday evening we spent time outside having squirt gun fights and washing David's car. Derek discovered the hose. He had such a good time playing with it. He later managed to find the soapy bucket we were using to wash the car. He dove right in while no one was looking, and his mommy had to rescue him from drowning during the car wash. He had solid bubbles from the top of his head all way to his belly button. You couldn't even see his little face.
Babies + buckets = trouble.

Here is a picture of Matty and Nathan riding bikes together in our court. Nathan is loving his new bike and helmet. He is really coming along with his bike. And notice, Matty is riding without training wheels! He had set a goal (homework assignment from a few weeks ago) to learn to ride without training wheels...and he accomplished it. He has never really been all that into riding his bike. We had practiced a couple of times before with taking the training wheels off, but he just wasn't ready. Well on this particular night, we took them off, I held on to the back of his bike for about 20 seconds and let go...he rode off without any problems (he even turned and came right back towards me). He was so proud of himself and he now just loves riding his bike. He actually rides better without the training wheels. It's one of his favorite things to do now. Great job Matty Boy!

Derek loves riding on the back of my bike. David rode around with Derek during Matty's exciting night of bike riding. I just think he looks so cute with his little bike helmet (he doesn't mind wearing it anymore...thank goodness).

Well like I said, this is just some of the April fun for our family. I still need to catch up on Easter, our Spring Break trip to R.P. and Bodega Bay, and of course Baseball Season 2009 has begun! Have I mentioned that Derek is now walking???

Date Nights

After David returned home from a weekend in Utah (mission reunion), we had the opportunity for a date night. Back in December, he received some NBA tickets for the Kings & Lakers game from a very generous family at one of the schools he works at. The game was Tuesday night and I was very much ready for a date night. We had really great seats and the game was full of dunks (2 important things at a professional basketball game). Getting to spend a fun evening with my husband was the highlight of the night for me. During our night out I got to thinking about how we REALLY need more of these date nights. Life is so busy with our family, work, church callings, sports, etc.,. These are all important and great things to be busy with, but I feel like we need to make "us" a priority more often than we do. I know I can do a better job even in small & simple ways to make my marriage more of a priority.

A picture from the game.

Before kids, we took lots of pictures together. Something to remember.

David of course cheered for his Lakers. Here's Kobe ready for his free throw.

Final Score

Date Nights = Winning

Snow Trip 2009

We made a day trip to Tahoe on the last Saturday of February. Thanks to my mom & dad, Derek was able to sit this adventure out. A day in the snow would not be considered an enjoyable day for him and way too much work for his parents. The "big" kids in our family were very much excited for the snow trip. We dropped off Derek at my parents' house and arrived at Soda Springs Resort around 11:30 AM. We quickly ate our lunch in the car and got dressed in all of our warm snow clothes (we were a little too warm to be honest...it was a pretty warm day in the Sierras...we ended up taking off a layer of clothing later in the day.) Well, Soda Springs was a bust. Too much money for no tubing! We paid and made it up the hill...only to wait in a long slow line. After realizing that this was not going to be at all what we wanted for our kids for the day, we headed back to the ticket sale window and asked for a refund. Surprisingly, I didn't have to go nuts on them to get our money back. We went back to the car and headed to a great "free" play area with plenty of snow and a few hills for the sleds. This little road trip to a new place provided Nathan with an opportunity to take a much needed snooze before heading out to play in the snow (AGAIN).

Here is Matty attempting his first snow ball of the afternoon. He and Nathan were all about the snow ball fight. They had a war with their dad for the first hour of play. They hid behind a bunker of trees and David launched snow balls over in their direction. They laughed and laughed and managed to throw a few snow balls at him.

Here is Nathan after his first run down a small hill with our blue disk. The disk was more manageable for the kids than the sled. He zoomed down and walked up the hill to try again.

Here is David and the kids on the "magic carpet" as we called it. It moved us all up the mountain with the tubes Soda Springs had available to use. Too bad we couldn't actually go down the run with the tubes. The lines were terrible and the tubes were moving very slowly down the hill (bad combination). I really did like the "magic carpet".

A quick pose together in the beautiful white snow!

We had our photographer snap a quick photo of us! She even asked us to kiss and she got that photo too. Thanks Livie.

Here comes Matty on the sled. Watch out below!

Dog-pile on Daddy!

This is a great little video of Olivia flying down the hill on the disk. She really enjoyed it.

Beginning Bowlers!

Monday (our day off from school) was a family bowling day! My parents invited us to go bowling. The kids were really into the experience. This was their first time and they were so excited with just the bowling shoes. Nathan asked if he could get a pair just like his rentals for his birthday.

Too cute.

Here is a photo of our "cool bowling shoes".

Velcro bowling shoes...so smart!

My kids love their Grandma & Grandpa!

Nathan gives the "thumb up" about bowling. The automatic metal bumper guards sure helped his score. This new bowling alley was quite fancy!

Here is the score card during the 8th frame. "D" (Daddy...aka David) and "M" (Mommy...aka me) were tied with 100. Of course that all changed by the end of the game. Ha ha ha.

Livie, Matty & Me having fun being silly together!

Winter Weather??

I know we really need the rain, but we have enjoyed playing outside these last few weeks. We have spent a lot of time riding bikes, scooters, playing basketball, swinging on the rope swing, and I even busted out my rollerblades. I have been able to spend some time working on our yards as well (work that we usually can't do until the spring). The kids and my plants are a little confused about the seasons. Each morning, Nathan and I fight over his clothes. He doesn't want to wear pants because the weather is so nice by lunch time. Nathan loves wearing shorts and t-shirts (he has even got away with wearing flip flops a few days). Nathan and Derek have loved playing with Derek's car (that used to be Nate's) out in our court. It has become a daily ritual. Both of the boys are all smiles as Nathan zooms Derek around the neighborhood. Derek cries when it's time to get out. What is it with boys and their cars??

Derek & Big Brother Nathan

One happy little guy!

Happy Birthday Dad!

So, today is my dad's 60th birthday! Happy birthday Dad! I love this picture of him with my 3 older kids because it reminds me so much of being a kid myself. This was the kind of dad he was to my sister and me. He always made time to play and have fun with us and I am thankful he continues to do that as a grandfather. My kids have the greatest time with their "Grandpa Tommy". He's not very fond of getting older, in fact he manages to continue life like he was in his 30's or so (ha ha ha). He is a great waterskiier and enjoys spending time with his waterski (I mean his 8 grandchildren). We all love him and are thankful for all that he does for each one of us.

HAPPY 60TH DAD!

Family Relationships Mean Everything!

Well I finally finished blogging a bit about our December experiences (look back to December...I finally finished updating my blog for that month) and now January is more than half way over. Time flies! We recently said goodbye for now to David's grandfather ("Grandpa Nelson" as we all call him). He passed away on Jan. 6 at the age of 92. I am so grateful my children were able to build a relationship with him before he passed on. I will always remember how much he enjoyed being around the kids and how he always told us, "I sure love ya." When he was able to come to church he made a great effort to share his testimony of the gospel. It was very important to him to share his feelings with those that he loved.

We will miss him.

I love this picture I took of him laughing.

It makes me smile every time I look at it.

June 2008

He always had kisses for the Great Grandchildren.

Great Grandpa Nelson and Derek
June 2008

David's sisters flew out for the funeral and stayed with us for a few days. It was so great to have some time to spend with them and their babies. This is the 2nd time Karen, Rachel, and I have all had babies within months of each other. Here is David, screaming Derek, Rachel, Laura, Karen and Joshua. We stayed up late visiting and laughing with one another. David's brother, Steven and cousin, Zaron came as well. We all enjoyed spending time together and sharing what we had learned during the days we had together as we said farewell to Grandpa Nelson. Family relationships are FOREVER. I think we will all work on strengthening those family ties. My kids sure enjoyed having their aunties at our house for a few days. Wish we could do it much more often, that's for sure.

Christmas Memories!

So, December in our house was full of a whole lot of fun. We began the month with a fantastic trip to Disneyland. My parents were able to come again with us (couldn't have imagined doing it without them) and we had such a fun time together. We enjoyed spectacular warm weather, snow on Main Street, Christmas decorations like nothing else and most of all, 3 fun-filled days together as a family. The kids were such troopers. Olivia was all about the roller coasters (even California Screamin' at CA Adventure). We (Olivia, my mom, and I) enjoyed dancing and singing during the "High School Musical 3" concert. Nathan enjoyed "Star Tours", the "Playhouse Disney" show and even "Space Mountain" (that one surprised me). Matty really enjoyed "Buzz Lightyear" (again) and he really liked the new "Toy Story Mania" ride. He was even chosen to participate in the "Jedi Training Academy" show (don't worry, I filmed the entire thing). Derek couldn't have been a better baby throughout the 3 crazy days. He went on all the rides he could and liked looking at all the lights. He wasn't very crazy about the characters though. Our trip was full of laughter and smiles and that is what I will remember most. Even when Matty got a sliver in his hand while waiting for "Thunder Mountain", all he really cared about was the extra fast pass a Disneyland worker gave him because of it. I really can't believe all we were able to do and see in those 3 small days. It was amazing. (You can see some great photos from our trip below in an earlier blog entry.) We ended our Southern CA trip with an overnight visit with David's grandparents. I took some really great pictures of the kids with their great-grandparents. December was off to a great start.

"Park-a-Thon"

On our first Monday of Winter Break, David took our 3 older kids on a special outing while I took Derek to his 9 month check-up. He called it a "Park-A-Thon". They took a timer with them and set it for about 12 minutes. When the timer went off, they stopped playing at the park they were at and moved on to the next park. They did this 6 times...visiting most of the parks in Galt. They absolutely loved moving from park and to park and getting to play with their Daddy. It was a perfect sunny morning for such an adventure. I love that my husband is the type of father that thinks of these kinds of ideas for his kids. I also love that he gets to be home with them during their winter, spring, and some of their summer break. They really are blessed to have him for a dad.

Light Saber battles at the park.

Hi Matty!

Hi Livie!

Hi Nathan!

Below is a great video of Livie and Nathan laughing and enjoying their "Park-A-Thon" day with Daddy. I have no idea why it isn't showing in a vertical format. Sorry about that. Just tilt your head a bit. :)

Christmas Disneyland Trip

Minnie & Olivia

Toontown

Olivia was really excited to get her face painted on our last day at Disneyland.
It turned out so pretty.

We really only needed to bundle up on our last night.
We felt so lucky enjoying the almost 80 degree weather in December.

David, Derek & Matty catching a ride on Dumbo. Love that sunshine!


We were thrilled when Matty was selected from the crowd to participate in the Jedi Training Academy. He dressed up in his Anakin Skywalker costume (thank you Rachel for that tip) and waved his hand around...and sure enough, he got picked. After his training, he was the first kid to fight Darth Maul. He did so great. It was so much fun to watch.

Tea Cups with Mommy.


It snowed (soap suds) on Mainstreet while we were there. Disneyland was beautiful with all the decorations and the lights. Wait till you see the picture below of the castle.

Our first ride, of course.

Is this a happy baby or what? Grandpa looks pretty happy at Disneyland, too!

Grandma and the kids on the Jungle Cruise


See what I mean about the castle...it was amazing.
Matty, me and Derek














You can now tour the inside of Sleeping Beauty's castle.

"Shake It!"

On Veterans Day, David needed to unlock the school for the crazy teachers who like to work on their days off... so he took Nathan and Olivia along for the ride. He took them into the cafeteria to play around for a while. Olivia and Nathan got on stage with some microphones and music. Here is some video of our little "Rock Stars"! Check out Nathan's hip action!

This video below is a flashback for me. When I was about Olivia's age, I starred in a home video that my family has never let me live down. I shook my groove thang to "Mickey". Here is Olivia shaking her body to "Shake It". The apple really doesn't fall far from the tree.

A Great Night with Grandma!

Last Saturday night, the kids (Livie, Matty, Nathan) and I were treated to a very special evening with my mom. My sister and her oldest boy (Jacob) were able to join in on the fun as well. David was "Super Daddy", staying home with a sick baby Derek (I love you David!). We started the night with dinner at Chili's Restaurant near Arco Arena. My kids enjoyed their favorites (Olivia loves corn dogs, Matty really enjoys quesedillas lately, and Nathan is all about the macaroni & cheese). After they inhaled their food, we all piled into my van and drove through the rain to Disney on Ice. The kids were so excited and so cute. Nathan and my nephew Jacob were dressed in their Buzz Lightyear costumes from last Halloween and Olivia wore a beautiful princess dress. Matty resisted dressing up, but he did settle on wearing his Buzz Lightyear t-shirt. Nathan and Jacob are at the age (3 1/2) where they were waving to all of the characters and asking millions of questions. Olivia liked the music and the princesses. Matty was into the fight scenes with "Gaston" and the "Beast" and the battle scene from "Mulan" (typical for Matty). The show really did have lots for all the kids to enjoy. It was fun to be out with the "older" kids, but the first thing Olivia said in the car on our drive home was, "I wish Daddy and Derek could have been there with us." I am so thankful she loves her daddy and her brothers as much as she does. I am also thankful for my mom for planning this fun night out for all of us. I really needed to get out and have fun with my kids that week. GRANDMAS TRULY ARE THE BEST!!

Grandma Lynnie with 4 of her "Little Sweeties"

Buzz Lightyear Buddies
Jacob & Nathan

We had a blast together!

Love these guys!