HAPPY SPRING!

I hope in your corner of the world that April is bringing sunshine and warmer weather. We have had a beautiful spring thanks to all the rain we had this winter. Everything is in bloom! Well...Drivers Beware!! Jonathan took his learners permit and passed(with minimal studying). He is thrilled to have joined the world of driving and begs to drive wherever we go. After allowing him to drive with me I decided that driving instruction was definately dads department.:) The 2nd picture proves that you are never too old to wear bunny ears. We had a great Easter at my mom's. We were given a hot tub (in need of repair) from a guy Daniel works with. Between my dad's electrical talents and Daniel's carpentry/painting we now have a wonderful luxury. Lizzie had a sleepover/hot tub party already with 2 friends. Lastly, I had surgery on 4/3 to remove my gallbladder after finding a stone and having much discomfort. I thought I would be feeling better than I am by now but my husband is quick to say that my age probably has something to do with that.:( It is a test of my patience to be put in a situation where I am forced to rest. God seems to know what lessons we still need to learn. I want to be a good student!

COWGIRL

Lizzie has always loved horses and horsebackriding. She took a few lessons in MN when she was 7 and contined to beg for more lessons. We actually live in an area surrounded with homes on acreage and many have horses, cows, sheep(who are now having lambs), goats and many roosters/chickens. We enjoy walking a few blocks and enjoying the "country". Anyway, for Christmas we gave Lizzie the gift of horsebackriding lessons and she was thrilled. She gets private Western lessons at a riding school about 9mi. from our house 2 times a month. It really is like therapy for her and she loves it. Of course she hopes to have her own horse someday.

FIELDTRIP

Kathryn's 4th grade class went on an overnite "outdoor education" fieldtrip last week and I went as a chaperone. It was at Camp Sky - Y 2 hours north of Phoenix in a national forest. It was beautiful!! There were huge pine trees, oak trees and even snow!:) The instructors at the camp led the activities and there was little down time between making a catapult, archery, panning for gold, mining, learning how early Arizonans lived, and team building games. At night we had a campfire complete with silly songs and smores. Then off to bed in our cabin with 2 moms and 9 girls. We were up with the sun, had breakfast, one more activity and back to school. We made it back in one piece and had more fun then I had anticipated. For those who know me I am not the "outdoorsie" type and K is like me(aversion to outhouses and all). Alot really has to do with attitude and we both chose to have a great time and we truly did.:)

BIRTHDAY GIRL - #1

Little T turned a year old on the 22nd of Feb. We had a family celebration at our house right on that day. She received a play Tea Set from grandma for all the tea parties they will have in the future. T loves music so we got her a drum and CD's with Bible songs. We have had soooo much fun watching our little T grow and change in the past year and look forward to more fun in the coming year. The 23rd we helped at the BIG bday party at the Z's house. About 50 people. My kids did face painting, bubbles, games and monitored the blow-up bouncer. A good time was had by all.

Happy Valentines Day!

"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God for GOD IS LOVE."1John 4:7-8

We had our 2nd annual Valentines dinner at our house for the whole family to enjoy. Tori loved the heart "bawoons" and the chicken. We made stuffed cornish hens(with my mom's help cleaning and stuffing all 8), cheesy potatoes, corn and salad. For dessert we went the easy route and bought 2 pies from Marie Calendars. Lizzie found this heart shaped potatoe when we were having baked potatoes one night and we HAD to take a picture of it.:)

FRIENDS FROM AFAR

We have had a very busy February, or had, as it is now the 1st of March! Where does the time go. My friend(roomies at CFNI) Marjolaine and her husband Kevin from Australia stopped in Las Vegas on their big holiday and we were not able to get up there for the days we had planned. However, we decided to meet in Kingman,AZ for lunch and a quick visit. Daniel,the girls, my mom and me drove the 3 hours to Kingman. It was fun to reconnect with them and now the pressure is on for us to take a trip "down under". "No worries mate!"
Friends of ours from MN came the next week to visit their parents who winter here. Their daughter E and our K are friends. They had not seen eachother for 2 years, but they picked up where they had left off and enjoyed an afternoon painting their own pottery. We all enjoyed a poolside picnic at the complex where their parents stay.

Three P's

POPCORN- One of our favorite treats during the holidays is my homemade caramel corn. Daniel brought some to share with co-workers and now they are willing to pay me for this crunchy sweet treat.:)

PLAYDOUGH- Lizzie spent some of her Cmas $ on playdough. I guess you are never too old for playdough. Especially if you are a tactile/sensory motivated learner. PLAYTIME- Kathryn loves playing with Tori and has fun with all her toys. Kathryn informed us recently that she is Tori's favorite. I think she has some strong competition from grandma.