A few more...

The concept of living next to a downtown is a novelty to us.  Orange County is just one huge sprawl that is too far away to be considered a suburb of LA.  Downtown Louisville is small enough to be unintimidating, yet has the nice features of a city, including restuarants, museums, cool buildings, and the hustle and bustle of a city.  After a tour of glassworks, Grandma treated us to lunch at the Spaghetti Factory.  The kids thought that it was the coolest restaurant imaginable.  

One our way home, we made a last minute stop by the river.  This surray turned out to be quite a workout, especially since James' legs are still a little too short to help with pedaling.

Neat statue of Abraham Lincoln.  Can you tell how massive it is?  I am sitting on his thumb.

Did I mention that people in Louisville eat really well?  Mom and Dad treated me to a date night at Corbett's for my birthday... the most gourmet food I've ever had.  Seven course dinner.  

Can you believe the beautiful hair on Jessica?  She gave me a training session on how to curl hair, so we are both dolled up.  Not sure I'm brave enough to try it again.  Almost singed my hair a few times.  Yikes!

Favorite things...

There are some special things about Kentucky that my kids always look forward to: playing with cousins, eating Graeter's ice cream, painting fingernails with grandma, visiting the farm, and riding on grandpa's lawn mower.   

 

James and Bryson really bonded during our stay.  Always inseparable, even during mealtime!

Cuddly Ruth cozied up on grandma's lap during general conference, which resulted in a nice nap!

As mentioned, we always enjoy Emily's farm.  She was so sweet to take us on a tour while we were there.  The kids were even issued nice rubber boots!

  

David especially loves the animals.  The best part of the farm tour was cuddling these sweet baby bunnies.  Emmy is hiding between my legs and shrieking for fear!  Did I mention that it was freezing cold at the farm?!  I am so grateful that I grabbed the children's coats the last second as we were leaving California. We got more use from our coats during our one week stay in Kentucky than we have during our entire winter.

Love this picture of Emily as she demonstrates the frustrating process of catching a cow.  The cow seems to know that she has a vaccine in her back pocket.

Kentucky!

Our annual trip to grandma and grandpa's took place during Spring Break this year.  I am so glad that we went.  Home felt like such an oasis and it was so nice to take a break from ordinary life.  The night of my arrival, we met up with Emily and Jessica for their ward's relief society birthday dinner.  Katie was there too for her kids' spring break.  How fun to celebrate sisterhood with the women of my own flesh and blood!  

The following day, we took an adventure to Abraham Lincoln's birthplace in Hodgenville.  We also stopped over at the location of his childhood home nearby in Knob Creek.  What an incredible man he was.  I am touched by this quote regarding his mother: "I remember my mother's prayers and they have always followed me.  They have clung to me all my life."

Birthday!

I turned 33 years old on March 28.  Luckily for me, some sweet friends from the ward joined me for breakfast that morning.  I ordered a "sunny side" egg, not realizing that it is basically a raw egg.  My tummy was in protest the rest of the day!  :)  Anyway, I am grateful for the people that come in and out of my life.  What a blessing to have wonderful women to step in when my own sisters and mother live so far away.  

Joseph gave me a homemade German Chocolate cake for my birthday.  I had been looking forward to it all year, and it did not disappoint!

Easter

We had a great Easter weekend (already almost a month ago).  The highlight events were our Passover feast on Friday night and our easter egg hunt in G& G Larsen's backyard on Saturday afternoon.  Actually the entire weekend was wonderful.  I attended the General RS Broadcast that same evening and then Sunday we ate yummy Greek food and took a wilderness hike/walk.  What a blessing to have so many reminders the entire week of the Savior and his miraculous resurrection.  I am grateful that that the Atonement can strengthen and heals us as individuals, families, and nations.

This was a cute picture that James' primary teacher sent.  She has a great way of reigning in a class full of rambuncous boys. 

Hidden Valley

You know how they say that you never explore your own backyard?  Unfortunately, I am guilty.  We have lived next to a wide ravine for almost 9 years and never stepped foot in it until yesterday.  What did we discover?  A narrow trail that winds in and out of clusters of tall trees and wild flowers  At one point, the trail splits and leads up to this beautiful meadow.  Everything is especially lush these days thanks to the generous rains.  Makes me wonder how much beauty we skip over in the daily rush of life.  We usually think that we have to drive a long way to get to the most worthwhile destinations, when in reality, they are often right at our back door.  

Destination Imagination

So, James was invited to join a few of his friends on an academic team called Destination Imagination.  After considerable thought, we decided to do it.  James thought it was cool for about two weeks and then suddenly, decided he was done.  Week after week, I had to coax him to finish it out.  His main complaint was that it was taking too much time away from playtime.  Though a painful experience, I learned some things about James.  He is a homebody.  Unless a sibling is with him, he would prefer to be home more than anywhere else.  James also LOVES his playtime. Unlike David and Ruth, he can never get enough time in his room absorbed in his own imagination.  I do enjoy having James at home.  He never depends on me for entertainment and always keeps his siblings loaded up on fun playtime scenerios. 

End of story: we did finish it up.  After two months of preparation, the kids presented a play to a handful of judges and recieved lots of compliments.  James played the part of the navigator of a "tram-submarine"  Will we do it again?  Likely not, but I do think that he enjoyed having a day in the spotlight.