Happy B-Day Austie!

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

I honestly can't believe she's eleven. Austen is an incredible person and we absolutely adore her fun personality. She livens up any room she's in. She's also a fantastic helper, and I don't think I could do it without her. We love you Austen and wish you an AWESOME birthday!!

Mother's Day Weekend

Wow, I LOVE Mother's Day... I wish we could have it at least once a month!! Mountain View Ward always schedules the Father/Son campout for this weekend, which is an early present for those of us with sons!! Corey took BOTH boys (I was a little surprised and a little nervous!) and they had a great time. Our house was VERY mellow with just girls here, and we had a fun night together. Saturday morning, the girls went to an all day birthday celebration, (thanks, Gwen!!!), and I was left all to myself. It was pure heaven!! My house REALLY needed some attention, so I turned up the music and started cleaning. Two hours later, I was ASTOUNDED at how much I had accomplished!! I had NO idea how much I must usually get interrupted! I was so excited that I took myself right out to lunch!! AND went shopping!! And it wasn't even Mother's Day yet!!!

Today was wonderful, too... Corey TOTALLY spoils me and I LOVE it! It is a little weird to just sit while he's running around chasing the kids and making dinner, but I did! :) He made a feast for us and my parents, and we're so glad they could join us! Mom brought the best present ever! She always gets me plants for outside because this is DEFINITELY NOT my talent. She refilled 3 pots with flowers and herbs and they look delightful. The kids helped and it was a gorgeous day out. Wow... is it really almost over?? Well, until next year.....

Happy Birthday, Dad!

My mom made a huge "Cuatro de Mayo" birthday feast for my dad tonight. The Callaways and the Meltons joined us to celebrate his day. The food was scrumptious (surprise, surprise) and the cousins ran around giggling (for the most part). We sure do love our dad/papa. You are the best!! We hope you had a wonderful day. (check out dad's tie... it's custom made with pictures of his grandkids!!)

Lost tooth!

My baby girl lost her first tooth!! I am totally unprepared for this... she caught me by surprise!! She's still in preschool!! It's kind of scary how excited about it she is... I told her she has to stop growing up and she just laughed at me. Thanks, Nana, for using the "magic hanky" once again!!

Fun in the Sun and Snow!

I thought these pictures were pretty cool to post together... yesterday after school, we set up the new waterslide. (Thanks, Britt, for the inspiration... you should sell that video you made to Little Tikes to use as a commercial!) We had a little impromptu neighborhood bash... the kids had a blast!

The next day, when the kids got up, I told them to get their snow stuff on, because we were heading to the snow! They were so confused at first... but, one of the cool things about Fresno is that you can swim one day, and ski the next! It was the last day of the season, so we all went up so I could watch Austen, Noah, and Corey snowboard. They are all awesome!! They've picked it up quickly and had a great season. It's such a fantastic thing for them to get to do with their dad (and their grandpa!) One of these years, I hope we can all go together and play.



















































Yes, Austen is happy about the new waterslide, but the REAL reason for this obvious EXCITEMENT is that she had just found out she made it on the VARSITY pep squad next year. She, said, "I was SOOO excited that my head hurt!" CONGRATULATIONS!!!

I am one lucky lady! I was able to attend Time Out for Women last weekend right here in Fresno!! I've traveled to Sacramento twice before to enjoy this day, and was so happy to drive just downtown!! We had an awesome day! My mom and dad helped me out with the kiddos since Corey was out of town (THANKS!!!), and my good friend Gwen's dad gave us the royal treatment! We had curbside service to and from the event, and he even whisked us away at lunchtime for a picnic nearby. I felt like a celebrity! The day was so uplifting, and I came away with many ideas on how to improve my life, and help my family. I think the best part is just taking a break for a day... it's not just a nice thing for moms to have that, it's an absolute necessity. I also was able to see Kathryn, one of my awesome mission companions. She and her mom drove up from S. California and we were able to catch up over dinner. It's crazy how long it has been!

And... the fun has only just begun! Next week, I get to go to Provo for Women's Conference at BYU!! This will be my third year and it is SO incredible! I'm super excited to go with Elisa, Megan and hopefully Molly if we can get her away for a day from her crafting, and to see friends there from California and Utah! I had a dream the other night about it... I was walking up to the BYU bookstore ALL BY MYSELF and was SOOOO happy to be there! I do LOVE my life, but it is such a treat to go and feel the spirit.

THANK YOU Corey for not only facilitating these events, but encouraging me to do them. I appreciate it SO much. I couldn't ask for a better Mother's Day gift.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM!

happy birthday, mom! all these sweet grandchildren
are so lucky to have you as their nana! we all love
you very much and hope you have a wonderful day!

TAGGED

i've been tagged

the directions: use the letters of
your middle name as the first letter
of words that describe you.

i was middle name deprived as a child.
in 2nd grade, i gave myself one on one
of my papers... it was kirsten ann. :)

today, i do have a middle name that i
love... it is my maiden name, ekins.

E: enthusiastic.... especially about
things i'm passionate about.

K: kind...i really try to be kind to
everyone, MOST of the time! :)

I: interests..i have WAY too many of
these... if only i had a few extra
hours a day maybe i could tackle them all.

N: new... i love learning new things,
getting new ideas, trying new things..
kids are the best for this... they
definitely keep me learning LOTS of NEW
things!

S: scrapbook! i love to be the family
historian!! it's one of the best "jobs"
i have!!

this was hard!

i tag britt and alyssa (when you feel
up to it, of course alyssa!!... can't
wait to meet little allie!)

General Conference

I love Conference weekend! It is such a treat to snuggle
up with the kids and listen to our leaders and their valuable
counsel for our lives. This conference, in particular is
very special as we were able to sustain President Thomas S. Monson
as our new prophet. His message this morning was so powerful and
I look forward to his future messages and guidance for us.

Conference is still a little chaotic at our house... while I wish
it were a little quieter, I still love it and don't mind too much
that I have all four kids fighting to sit next to mom. I know this
won't last forever, so I'll try to hear over the noise for now,
and know that it will get more reverent as the years go by.

Out and About

I've been trying lately to get caught up (yeah right!)
with my digi-scrapping... mostly I work in the past, but
every once in a while I do something current. We had a
fun weekend... Ellie had a field trip to Storyland on Friday
and then we took the kids biking in Yosemite on Saturday.
The waterfalls were incredible. This is an easy way to
show a few pictures from both... you can click on the page
to see it bigger.