Easter Outfits Early

Brad & I were out shopping a few weeks back & ended up at the Children's Place Outlet looking at Easter outfits for the boys.  I originally wanted to get the blue/yellow outfits but when we got there they also had purples & blues & greens.  I always love to get the sweater vests but it was all starting to add up & I am really trying to watch how & what we spend our money on so we decided to go with solid shirts & then have the boys wear matching ties & they could wear pant from home that they already have.  So that's what we did.  They wore these outfits 2 weeks ago because our Easter services were early due to General Conference actually being on Easter this year & we usually watch conference at home on satellite. 

Don't they look so handsome!!!      

Even with Sonny's grumpy face.                                              

Hopefully I can get them to wear them again on Easter Sunday when we go hunting for Easter eggs.  We'll just have to wait & see I guess.

~Shannon

Brad's New Obsession

Well...here it is!!! 

 Brad got a salt water fish tank. 

 He kept buying fish for his brother's tank & then he finally got one himself.  As much as I wish he wouldn't have spent the $$ on this I'm warming up to it.  We've only had it for 4 days but everyone has to sit & watch what's going on.  Kind of like a new TV.  So...I've been able to shut the TV off more during the day & that's nice.  Bryan gave us the starfish & the crab & then Brad bought the snail & clown fish.  It's actually really cool to watch the whole world in there.  The crab has major personality & it's cool to watch him switch from shell to shell.  He always picks the one that's too heavy but has lots of points on it & then I suppose he gets tired & switches to the lighter one.  All in all I think this is pretty cool.  I am a fan of animals that I don't necessarily have to touch but can watch from a distance so this is perfect for me.  And Brad spends a lot of time going to the pet stores to figure out what's best for our new tank & the creatures inside.

(do you like how the remote control is sitting right next to the tank...hahaha)

~Shannon

Opening Day for Little League

It's official!! 

The Little League Season has begun!!

Blake is on a Coach Pitch team this year & as far as I can tell he's doing great!!  He's already hadHe's on the Red Sox.  He's been on a different team every year.  Opening day was this last Saturday where they announce all the teams & then they have bounce houses & slides & little carnival games to raise $$ for the league.  I had to supervise the bounce house for a little bit & that was kinda fun but glad I didn't have to do it for very long.  Time passes so slow when you are waiting for 4 minutes to go by to let the next group in.

It was a nice day & we even ran into a couple of kids from Blake's class & I finally met their mom. 

I hope Blake does great this season!!  1st game is this Thursday!!

The backside of the team.

Blake & his good buddy Nolan.  He's always been a head taller than him.

Grandpa, Blake & Naunie

Grandpa, Blake, Sonny & Naunie

Sonny was decked out in A's gear because that was Blake's team last year.  Eventually I will get

out to get him his own Red Sox shirt & hat & maybe I'll get a coordinating shirt too!!

~Shannon

St. Patty's Day Cupcakes

Blake & Colby

Last week was St' Patrick's Day...just in case you forgot. 

 I made sure the kids had some green on & every year I wonder...why can't they just wear the all green shirts that I pick out for them...why oh why?  Oh well.

I thought it would be fun to make cupcakes & decorate them with green sprinkles from the Christmas stash & green Mike & Ikes.  Actually my idea was to make shamrocks with green frosting but I decided to go the easier route for the kids.  I made the cupcakes with my fabulous Demarle flexible bakeware while Blake was at school & then when we got home we decorated them.  Kylie's was gone before I even gave her the frosting & Sonny only got a little frosting on before he decided it was easier to just eat the frosting & cupcake by themselves.  Blake & Colby had a really fun time making their special cupcakes & then decorating the rest.  It was fun to watch.  It's not a holiday that we do much for so it was fun to make a sweet treat & the kids enjoyed it too.

~Shannon

Our Trip to Monterey

We decided we needed to get away with the boys. 

 I mentioned to Brad that I really wanted to go to the Monterey Bay Aquarium...so that's where we decided to go.  We got our tax refund & Brad booked us a hotel in Monterey & we left on a Saturday morning.  It was quite the adventure driving there because it was sooo stormy!!  I'm am definitely a passenger driver....especially when it's raining & I'm not in control.  Now let me just say that Brad is a really good driver....I just have a harder time in the rain.  It poured so hard in some areas.  It was CrAzY!!  We saw at least 3 accidents going in the opposite direction.  It was a little scary...but we made it safe & sound.  We stayed in this really nice hotel.  I loved the simplicity of the colors & the furnishings in the room.  The bed was just a little bit small for us but it was only 1 night so we survived.   The 1st night we checked out the Fisherman's Wharf & walked around & ate dinner.  It was sooo good.  I loved my Shrimp Louie salad with fresh shrimp & crab.  Delicious & Brad liked his selection too (can't remember what he got because I would never order it).  And then we got some ice cream.  The boys loved that!!  After ice cream Brad took the boys to the "hot" pool for a little bit while I relaxed by myself.

On Sunday morning we got up & got ready, went to "Red's Donuts" (they were good) & headed over to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  We got there early so there was plenty of time to look out at the ocean.  While we were taking in the ocean we saw some sea lions & there was even a girl there that was observing them for her job & was telling me about them.  It was so cool & I REALLY actually saw them out in the water.  For whatever reason I never see cool stuff like that & just say "oh yeah...I saw it" even if I didn't.  I think Brad's catching on that I'm not exactly telling the truth.  But I did in fact see them & there was one swimming close enough that I was able to get a semi-decent picture.  The weather was amazing too...not like the day before!! 

Then we were off to get in line & boy were we glad that we bought tickets in advance. 

There was soo much to see & the boys had a blast!!  I think Brad & I enjoyed ourselves just as much as they did.  There was so much to see & do.  Fish, jellyfish, sea lions, sharks, manta rays, penguins & whatever else you can think of.  We went to the "petting" area & I actually touched a mantaray.  I say this because I have this weirdness with touching strange things.  I was lucky to touch one because I think they know that we are all trying to touch them & stay in the corners away from everybody as long as they can.  Blake's arms just weren't long enough but later on he did hold a crab & he thought that was really cool.

It was really a lot of fun!!

After lunch we went outside for a bit to take in the beautiful scenery.  There were all these seagulls outside so Brad & Sonny were feeding them their oyster crackers leftover from lunch.  All of a sudden out of nowhere a pelican flew overhead & all the other birds scattered like crazy & then all of a sudden (again) it landed!!  Like so close...it was crazy!!!  Now these are not the prettiest of birds but it was awesome to be that close so I took some pictures of this crazy bird.

It's like he was posing for us!!  It was cool that I got a picture of him in flight & then standing right there in front of us.  I'm so glad we were outside to witness this.  Who knows if we'll ever see a pelican that close again.  We had a wonderful day at the aquarium & I'm so glad we went even if it was just for 2 days.  We really needed to get away for some fun "Family Time".  Then we headed back home to meet up with Brad's dad for another Birthday dinner.  I can't wait to go back to Monterey when the weather is just a bit warmer & we can spend some time at the beach.

~Shannon~

Happy 30th Birthday Brad!!

Happy BiRtHdAy BrAd!!!  We ♥ you!!!

Above is the card Blake made for his dad.

Doesn't he look sooo Happy!!!

He wonders why I put up pictures that aren't the best....Well.....whenever I take your picture

you make these faces & this is the best one I've got.

Love you!!!

Brad's 30th Birthday was a few weeks ago & we had fun celebrating.

I know, I know...you can sooo tell by the look on his face.

We started off the week by doing some more bowling.

The boys are really loving this new pastime.

Then we celebrated his "real" Birthday at the Outback Steakhouse.

Dinner with his mom, & Bryan & Kimi the next night.

Then we took a little weekend vacation to Monterey (pics in next post).

When we got back from our little trip we then met up with his Dad & Bryan & Kimi

at the Olive Garden & had a very nice dinner with them as well.  Our food was really good too.

Glad I had leftovers!!  Well it was fun celebrating the week with Brad.

Welcome to your 30's babe!!  Let the gray hairs begin...hehehe.

♥Shannon

What a Busy Week!!

This last week Blake was out of school & we were talking this morning about all the stuff we did just in case his teacher asks what the students did on their vacation.  Wow!!  We actually did a lot of stuff & I was worried it was going to be rough with Blake home during the day.

Well.....here's a breakdown of what we did:

Monday:  in the later afternoon Uncle Bryan, Aunt Kimi & Libby came over so Libby could ride her bike.

Blake & Colby decided to ride scooters & Sonny actually rode his bike.  Well, we made it 1/2 way around the block before Sonny pooped out.  Oh well...got them out of the house to exercise a bit.

He was doing really well, pedaling & everything!!

I ended up having to carry the bike back because he was so DONE!!!

Tuesday:  Went to Maidu park & let the kids play & play.

Wednesday:  Brad was off so he made a picnic & we went to the park again.  Went to Maidu but it was way too crowded so we ended up at another park in Roseville.  It was really nice.  We may go there again.

Then I decided all of a sudden that we should go to the Library.  Yay, I finally got a Library card & we checked out a bunch of books & I got 1 for me to read too.  I also picked up pamphlets on happenings at the Library.  Then we went to Blake's Coach/player/parent meeting for little league at Round Table.  Mmmm.....

Thursday:  Went to the gym & the kids play in the kids room.  Went home & decided it would be fun to go to storytime back at the Library.  That was really fun & even went back in to get a few more books.  I will be taking Sonny back all the time now.  Then we just hung out around the house.

Friday:  Off to Chuck E. Cheese (Finally) with the Clawson's & our friend Tara who's due with her 1 baby sometime this week.  After that we went to Costco to get pizza & then back to my house to let all the kids play for a while.  That was fun!!  Then we went to Target really, really late with the kids.

Saturday:  Off to the gym again & this time 2 kids from Blake's class were there too.  He was way excited.  Then went home got ready & went to go buy Blake some new jeans & a present for a bridal shower later in the day.  Got ice cream cones from McDonald's & then I got ready for the Bridal shower for my soon to be sister-in-law.  Went to dinner & then took my changing table to my friend Tara since I don't need it anymore.

Sunday:  Went to Church

Oh...I read my 1st book & I'm on to the 2nd.  I'm so glad I finally got a new Libray card.

It's going to be my favorite place to go...even if I go my myself.

Did I say I was worried about not having anything to do?  I don't know why...it's not always like this...but maybe it is...I just don't write it down so I don't really notice.