More from Nora

On Sunday, after I picked Nora up from Primary, we were stopped by the song leader who said, "Nora made a very smart comment today." She proceeded to tell me how Nora knew that "choose the right" didn't mean you could only walk to the right or make right turns in your car, but that it meant to choose the "good way." The song leader finished her tale to me by saying, "And that was very smart, Nora." And Nora, without missing a beat, said, "That's because I was born in the year of the pig. People born in the year of the pig are really smart. That's why." 

Oh I am so going to miss the days when she doesn't say things like that anymore! :)

 Here's my little model in a few dresses I made for her this month. I stuck with a simple moo-moo pattern. :) That's about the extent of my sewing abilities.

Ike had to get in on the picture action, too!

Our (Less-than-successful) Rodeo Trip

We tried to take the kids to the local rodeo a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, it was right in the middle of the afternoon and super hot, with all the shaded seats taken. None of lasted in the heat very long, but Nora was particularly fast to melt down, complaining that all she wanted to do at the rodeo was become a rodeo princess or ride the mechanical bull, neither of which we were willing or able to let her do. A shaved ice cone did little to calm her down. :)

I think we ended up staying only about an hour and a half. Oh well, it was a nice thought.

Columbia State Park with the Hurrens

For our anniversary this year (May 5th) we decided to take a family day trip up to Sonora and Columbia State Park. It's this great, little old mining town that has all sorts of shops and exhibits to view. And we were delighted to have our friends, the Hurrens join us! I hadn't seen Jamie in over a year and I finally got to meet her baby.

So here's a smattering of photos from our big outing.

 We happened to be there for a fireman's parade and competition day.

 This was the firemans' hose rollilng contest for the kids.

 Panning for gold.

Conference Weekend - April 2012

We finally got a new camera! Our last one died in the past month or two. It feels good to be able to record our memories again!

For Conference weekend, my parents came down to visit and we basically did all of our Easter activities while they were here: egg dye-ing, easter egg hunt, nice Sunday dinner. It may make the actual Easter weekend a little less exciting, but we really enjoyed doing it all with Gramma and Papa.

 Nora had Gramma create this display so she could have an "egg-stravaganza" museum show of eggs, with homemade tickets and all!

Happy Birthday Branden!

For Branden's birthday this year, he chose to take us all to the coast. We started up in Atascedero, where we saw all the elephant seals and their pups hanging out on the beach.

 Then we headed over to Los Osos for some play time on the rocky beach.

 We ended the day at Pismo Beach and a walk down the pier. As  we strolled along the boardwalk there, Nora spotted a store selling crickets and worms, of the chocolate-covered variety. Her dad said he'd buy a cricket for her if she promised to try it. For some reason, Nora thought that would be really cool. I didn't get any pictures of her eating it, just video. But she thought the cricket was delicious, and "crispy inside." The worm she was less enthusiastic about. Silly girl!

It was a great day to be together enjoying the winter sunshine! Happy birthday, my Love!