Did we go North or South?

On to our vacation to California! Our first two days consisted of driving south on Hwy97 to Sacramento, with a stop at Klamath Falls. Truly it felt like we were driving North instead of South- it got colder the farther south we went (until we actually made it to Sacramento- it is BEAUTIFUL spring weather here). We ran into several winter storms on our way - snow in March is just wrong! We did OK staying in a KOA Kamp Kabin -- thank goodness for their little heater- though we were still a bit cold! Anyway, Crater Lake National Park was amazing- the snow and trees were incredibly beautiful, even though we couldn't actually see the lake itself because they had gotten a couple of feet of snow the night before and hadn't quite cleared the road yet. The super deep snow picts are from Crater Lake. I haven't seen these sights since I was a kid- so it has been fun for me!Can you see the ice on this lake (Klamath Lake, OR)? It seriously felt like we were driving north to Alaska.

The road to Crater lake- the snow actually got much deeper.

There is a door to a cabin under all that snow.

Jon wrote in the wall of snow - Jon (heart) Becky - - still a romantic! I love it!

Mt. Shasta- near Weed, CA (right over the Oregon border). It was overcast so the picture doesn't give justice to how majestic this mountain is.

Let's get healthy update

Just a quick update on my getting healthy goals . . .

I have been working REALLY hard- it has been life changing. My habits are becoming so much healthier in the way I eat and exercise, and I do feel so much better. I do have a long ways to go still, but I am on my way. In the last 4 weeks I have lost seven and a half pounds and 3 percent body fat. A pound here and a pound there - - that is how it works!

Happy Easter!

Happy Eater to Everyone! Today has been a wonderful day to reflect on my Savior and his sacrifice for me. Truly He did atone for my sins- I am far from perfect, and know I can become perfect through the atonement! I am so grateful for the joy and freedom this knowledge brings me. After church today I did a flannel board story with the kids about the crucifixion and resurrection. It is amazing to see their knowledge growing and little testimonies of Christ developing. When we were talking about Jesus saying "Forgive them, for they know not what they do"- Marcus told me, Jesus forgives everyone because he loves us. Marcus struggles with the concept of forgiving others (especially his baby sister who just ate all his Easter Candy- see below), so we have been talking a lot about that here at home. It was wonderful to see that he is listening!

We also did some other fun things for Easter- on Saturday, the Martin's in our ward had an amazingly fun Easter Egg hunt at their house, and today I helped the kids color eggs. Lillian is the funniest- today she strung her first two words together - it was "Mine, Candy!" That little girl is a candy-holic. She can sniff it out like a little blood hound, and will pick up anything that remotely looks like candy and put it in her mouth. Marcus left his Easter basket down, and she found it and ate all his candy (I didn't give them that much this year- but still!). I was making dinner in the kitchen while this was going on- when I found her I knew why she had been so quiet!

Anyway, Happy Easter Everyone- I hope we all get some true spring weather soon!

Pictures of the Easter Egg hunt yesterday:

Cynthia and her friend Emma- aren't they cute!

Jon and Lillian right before the big hunt. Notice the vineyard in the back- a gorgeous spot in the summer and fall!

Lillian loved the cut little tractor in the front yard- just her size!

The Fruit Loop Tree

We were reading about the tree of life in the Book of Mormon and Cynthia told us that Nephi went to the "Fruit Loop Tree" to get the popcorn (white fruit). Who knows where that came from- maybe because she loves fruit loops and they make her happy??? Or popcorn popping on the apricot tree???

EPIC commercial- watch for it on TV!

As some of you may know, EPIC (Cynthia's Pre-school) asked us to be in a commercial. Here it is! (If you are hearing the "love remains" song that plays on my blog and you can't hear the commercial, just go to the bottom of the screen to the player, and put the volume all the way down).

Central Washington Family Medicine - here we come!

Match Day!!! For those of you who don't know how it works, applicants interview at desired residency programs, then rank the programs they want to apply for. The programs rank those who interviewed, then a computer "matches" everyone up.

So . . . . Jon matched at Central Washington Family Medicine in Yakima, WA. It will be an easy move- only 40 minutes away. Truly, though, we are a little disappointed, because Spokane Family Medicine was our first choice. The Lord works in mysterious ways, though- obviously we are meant to stay in this area. It is a better use of Jon's skills in Spanish and with the Hispanic people, and he will most likely have opportunities at the new DO school which opens next fall. He also is already intwined in the medical community of Yakima and this valley. And another huge benefit, Central Washington Family Medicine is Dualy Accredited- for both DO's and MD's- so he will be DO board certified, unlike in Spokane. This opens up opportunities for teaching and other things in the later future. Sigh - - I have to remind myself of these things, because I was looking forward to going back to our home town and all our family. Well- the think I am most excited about staying in this area- are my friends!!! I will be sad to move even to Yakima- because we won't be in the same ward or have the same routines, BUT- I will only be a 40 minute or so drive, and will still be in the same Stake. There are also some huge benefits for Marcus- he has been getting therapy from a therapist from Children's Village in Yakima- a WONDERFUL organization with some highly knowlegable people that I have gotten to know, and have really helped us.

So- congratulations to my wonderful, smart, amazing husband- who will continue to contribute his wonderful skills in Medicine to Central Washington!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Family Home Evening on Saint Patrick's Day!

Elmo the Leprechaun! Jon had fun making the hat out of construction paper and an empty ice cream container. Notice the pot of gold elmo is holding! We did a fun lesson about who is St. Patrick, the kids did some St. Patrick's Day mazes and word searches, and we played don't eat Pat (like don't eat pete). Because they have an uncle Pat- they thought this was hilarious. I hope you don't mind, Pat!

We also made treats out of nilla wafers sandwiched with peanut butter and dipped in melted white chocolate. Then they are decorated to be shamrocks, leprechauns, or pots of gold. They actually taste pretty good too. Leprechaun Elmo had to make his appearance too.

Mom talks too much?

Who me? Ha ha, anyone who knows me, knows how much of a talker I am. Anyway, today in the car Marcus was trying to ask me a question at the same time I was talking to Jon. He got a little frustrated and blurted out "I am going to keep the talking ticket forever!!" (Just a side note- the talking ticket is from my childhood- so my brother's and sisters and I would learn to take turns talking. Whoever had the talking ticket had the turn to talk.) Marcus went on to say "I am going to keep it forever, and only give it to Daddy and Cynthia and not you, Mom, because YOU TALK TOO MUCH!" I guess I was put in my place.

Come to playgroup

Elijah in the tunnel (right)

Cynthia- our little monkey! (left)

Lillian and Ella on the playground- Ella loves to pose!

Brooke and Bev with their girls

Fun stuff for us moms, and our little ones!

Here is the schedule for the spring:

10:30 Fridays, after story time at the library
March 21st Sunnyview Park
March 28th South Hill Park
April 4th spring break- no official playgroup
April 11th Kiwanis Park
April 18th Upland Park
April 25th Central Park
May 2nd Dykstra Park, Grandview
May 9th Sunnyview Park
May 16th Kiwanis Park
May 23rd Upland Park
May 30th Central Park
June 6th South Hill Park

"An Elephant's Faithful 100 percent"

Horton Hears a Who- a great family movie! We took our kids to see this movie today, as a reward for a goal we accomplished as a family. We all LOVED it. Besides the fact that since I was a child, I have loved Dr. Seuss's character Horton, from "Horton Hears a Who" and my personal favorite "Horton Hatches and Egg", the voice talents, visuals effects and story line were great. Jim Carrey made Horton's lovable character come to life- he truly was the Faithful, completely committed to doing the right thing hero, but also a bit silly and nerdy (in an elephant sort of way)- which makes him more lovable! I also loved the extra story line they put into the Who's - the tiny people living on the speck that Horton saves. The mayor is voiced by Steve Carell- who does a wonderful job creating another quirky, but very couragous and lovable character. They even have Carol Burnett as the voice of the sour kangaroo. Of course, the visual element to the movie is very Seussish and fun, and kept the kids' attention. Even though much was added, the story stayed true to the book, and emphasized the morals Dr. Seuss inteded from the story. "A person is a person, no matter how small!" AND my favorite- "I meant what I said, and I said what I meant, and Elephant's faithful 100 percent!"

Toga Cynthia

Cynthia, Cynthia, Cynthia . . .
We came home from Church today and were changing out of our church clothes. Cynthia declared she didn't want clothes- she just wanted to wear her blanket and then tried desperately to wrap her blanket around her the way you do a towel. Needless to say, it wasn't really working for her so Jon gave her a hand! Here is the end result . . . (it's a Sunday where we are just staying home- - so I didn't object in the least!)

Just look at those muscles (it must be her tumbling class)!

Brooke's Birthday - highlight of another busy weekend!

The highlight of the weekend was our celebration of Brooke Whittle's 30th birthday! Welcome to the 30's club, brooke . . . well, in a few days anyway. We drove to the tri-cities to go to PF Changs http://www.pfchangs.com/, which was incredible. The food was AMAZING- especially their Mongolian Beef. I hadn't been to a nice restaurant in a very long time- and to go with these wonderful friends made for a great evening. I know I have said this before, but how do I deserve such amazing friends?

On to another busy Saturday . . . walking in the morning, making wraps for my neighbor's birthday party, and having fun with a bunch of kids at the church for our Date Night Co- Op. (For those of you who don't know what that is . . . I set up a Co-Op where all the kids from 8 or so couples come to the church once a month for 3 hours on a Saturday afternoon, where two of the couples are scheduled to babysit, and the others go out on a date! We rotate through all the couples so everyone takes a turn babysitting . . . it ends up being one month babysitting, and three off. I am not against paying a babysitter, but it is fun for the kids to get together with their friends). It is nice to have a nice relaxing Sunday- Lillian went to Nursery!!! Wow- church is a completely different experience now. Ahhh- so that is what feeling the Spirit at church feels like . . . Don't get me wrong, I love my little ones, but as said by a harried dad in the movie Singles 2nd Ward (which is a GREAT movie, by the way - better than the 1st- get it from Netflix) "It is hard to feel the Spirit in the bathroom."

Review of Passage to Zarahemla

I would definitely recommend going to see this movie. We enjoyed it- though I have to say it isn't my favorite movie. It was entertaining, but not the kind of movie you walk out of saying "That was an amazing movie!". It was a bit like a Mormon ghost story, with ancient America meeting modern America. More so- modern secret combination (a ruthless gang) meets ancient secret combination (Gadiantons). There were creepy moments, funny moments, exciting moments and romantic moments. Basically I felt the same about the movie as I did the book (he wrote the book Passage to Zarahemla, planning to make it into a movie later)- an enjoyable read, but not my favorite of his books. I would still tell everyone to go see it- I want to support Chris Heimerdinger in his movie making efforts- because they will probably get better and better! This was his first . . .

Passage to Zarahemla!!

I am so excited- the movie Passage to Zarahemla has finally come to our area!! It is playing in Pasco, WA currently. This is a much anticipated "Mormon" movie- different than the others-a fantasy with special effects, etc. . . The movie is written and directed by Chris Heimerdinger, the author of the wonderful Tennis Shoes Among the Nephites series- probably my most favorite fantasy series, and by and LDS author. So be on the lookout- it may come to your area soon too! Go see it and support Chris Heimerdinger in his movie making efforts!

See the website and trailer at this website: http://www.passagetozarahemla.com/
You can also keep checking back at this website to see if it is coming to your area.

Just to make sure we don't miss it (sometimes these come and go quickly)- we are going to go see it tonight. So - - I will let you know how it is!

Seussical the Musical and a busy Saturday

What a day! Thanks to my very loving and supportive husband, I was able to do all that I did today. First we started the day with a family walk- the weather is becoming so nice- spring is on it's way!!! We are going to make it a family tradition to go walking every Saturday morning together as a family, so we can jump start the day. The rule is the kids (except Lillian) have to walk the whole way- and we did a mile. They did great- every week we are going to try to go a little farther.

The bag sale at Sunnyside Christian Thrift store was next, where you stuff all the clothes and shoes you can into a large paper bag and pay only $5 for a bag! I got a LOT of great clothes for the kids. Thanks Tiffanie for telling me about it!

Next I rushed home to have some salad for lunch (yea me), and make some fresh tomato basil bruchetta (which turned out yummy!) for Christy Linde's (a beautiful young bride-to be in our ward) bridal shower. I took Pampered Chef orders as part of the shower so had a nice little display on that. It was a wonderful shower, and I had so much fun helping Natalie at her home. You are amazing Natalie!

The HIGHLIGHT of the evening was when Jon and I took Marcus and Cynthia (Lillian stayed with a babysitter) to see the Sunnyside High School Musical- Seussical the Musical. What a wonderful production! We all enjoyed it so much- even Cynthia, our little wiggle worm was enraptured by the fun characters and music. Everyone's favorite was Horton the Elephant (the hero of the show) and of course, the Cat in the Hat (as shown below). Marcus also liked the monkeys -"the Wickersham brothers". The story was a clever blend between several stories- mostly Horton Hatches and Egg, and Horton Hears a Who, Gertrude McFuzz, and a bit of The Grinch.


After the show Marcus got an autograph from the Cat in the Hat! He was a riot! Cynthia also went up after the show and said "Good Job, Cat!" and gave him a high five.