Happy 11th Birthday Kendri!

Kendri celebrated her 11th birthday Harry Potter style!  She is the queen of Harry Potter and has read the series numerous times. A real scholar on the matter, if you will.  Anyway, we decided it was high time for a Harry Potter party.  She picked the Monster Book of Monsters for a cake and then we took off from there.   

Several different potion experiments ensued....

As well as a visit from Moaning Myrtle.

Lexi made these clay figurines for her.  I think they turned out so good!

Happy birthday Kendri!

Easter 2017

We had a super special Easter this year because we had some super special guests....Uncle Travis and Aunt Jessica came out suprised the kids! They were waiting in Shayli's room when we got home from Brendan and Blaque's wedding.  Ryan and I knew they were there but none of the kids did.  We sent Lexi upstairs to turn the light off in Shayli's room fully setting her up for a scare.  She's our little scaredy cat and we tend to have some fun with that.....

Anyhoo, after much insisting she finally made her way cautiously to the room.  She was concerned because she knew we had turned it off when we left and she couldn't figure out why it would be on. 

Well, she finally made it and out jumped Travis and Jessica.  The screams were worth it. :) lol.

Travis and Jessica helped us get ready for Easter all weekend and then helped us enjoy our delicious Easter dinner.  And we taught the kids the beauty of a massage train.

Easter morning was a success and everyone managed to find their baskets.  We had our traditional egg hunt at Aunt Jenni's this year. It was raining but no one seemed to mind!

We managed to fit in some kangazoom in between our Easter prep.  The kids had a blast showing their aunt and uncle around town and our neighborhood.

We had to make pitstop at Michaels to stock up on the new King sized Reese's peanut butter cups.  With Reese's pieces in the middle!!! They are magnificent and Travis couldn't imagine going home to Lamar where they don't exist so he made sure to buy enough for food storage....#priorities

He did manage to share though.....

Wedding of the year - Brendan and Blaque

The wedding is here! And now it's over.  But it was so beautiful and we were happy to be a part of it.  The stars of the show (after the bride and groom that is) were obviously Sadie and Dexton.  They were so cute I could hardly stand it.

Although Kyson and Carson were quite handsome....

The wedding was in the Oakland temple.  Afterward we went home to rest up briefly and then on to the reception.  There was lots of delicious food and ended with dancing.

These cousins are so lucky to grow up together.

Lexi's job at the reception was to take polaroids of all the guests.  She did a fantastic job!

Ryan dancing with his girls

Tahoe Getaway 2017

Ryan's work had a team building weekend in Tahoe this week.  We stayed in the Hard Rock Cafe hotel for two nights and snowboarded all day Saturday.  It was pretty awesome.  I haven't gone snowboarding in way too long.  Luckily I didn't take any hard hits!

Tahoe is beautiful and I just loved the scenery.  The other thing I loved was Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory.  More specifically - Grandma's Apple Pie Caramel apple.  To die for.  Really.

And not long after we got home we had a surprise guest for a few hours! Uncle Philip showed up in California on a business trip.  He was challenged to a wii tournament. And like a man, he accepted.  And then Shayli beat him at boxing......:)

We loved having him visit AND we enjoyed our little all- expense paid getaway!

Happy 13th Birthday Lexi!

Welp. It's official.  We have a teenager in the house.  *Gulp*

Actually it doesn't feel all that different! Lexi decided she wanted all of her cousins over to help her celebrate.  She wanted the same ice cream cake that we made for Pa and who am I to complain?  That's one of the easiest cakes so I'm happy to oblige!

We had a great evening and are so proud of Lexi and the person she is becoming.  She is thoughtful and sweet and is always willing to help out around the house.  She is a little mother hen and is always concerned for safety. ;)  We love you Lexi!

A Little Joke for a Picky Eater

Dexton is starting to be a picky eater.  And I don't like it. Not one little bit. 

We were at potluck this week and I really wanted him to eat some dinner.  He refused.  I tried to get him to eat several different things and he would not try anything.  ANYTHING.  So dinner got over and guess what he wanted? Ice cream. And guess who gave it to him? Not me.  But someone did.  And of course he gobbled it up because he was starving.  And then he wanted more. 

At this point an idea was born.  Mashed potatoes look like vanilla ice cream.  Surely he will love mashed potatoes if just tries a bite.....And I know I can get him try a bite if he thinks he's eating something entirely different. 

Thus mashed potatoes magically appeared on his plate.  Topped with whipped cream.;)  Clearly it didn't go over well. And I can't imagine whyevernot.....

Although he didn't come around to the mashed potatoes, there was a little part of me that relished in a bit of paybacks. ;)

New Home (hopefully)!

Ryan and I have just put an offer in on a house a couple blocks away from us.  We know the family because they are in our ward.  We actually were considering renting their home when we first moved to Tracy but their circumstances changed and they ended up moving into it.  The short version is this:

Liz was helping them refinance and caught wind that they were most likely going to sell the house.  She knew Ryan and I are waiting for our 4 year mark to be up (after short selling there is a wait time before you are allowed to buy again) which will be up in June. She mentioned to them that she could help them sell the house without a realtor if they were willing to sell to us, thus saving both of us money.  After several discussions and 2 appraisals we finally gave them an offer....and they accepted!  We feel so blessed because we got a good deal (no competitors) and they got a good deal (no realtor fees, no showing the house, no fixing several issues becasue Ryan will do that).  It just worked out perfectly.  We are just waiting for our 4 years to be up which will be in June.  Liz has assured us that everything will through for the funding so we are moving forward with packing up. 

Here are some pics of the inside of the house.  We are planning on doing a lot of renovating and we are so excited. We have spent lots of nights dreaming and discussing what we want to do.  It doesn't quite feel real yet but we are thrilled!  The house is not much bigger than what we have now but the yard is big for this area and the house is at the end of a cul-de-sac.  We know the neighbors and we are just so excited. 

 We want to take this pony wall out and open up the space.

We are going to put in new cabinets and backsplash.

We want to make this island larger and use it as a bar. We'll replace the floors and paint.  Just a few things on the list...

Interior first and then the backyard next spring. We have lots of plans!