March of Dimes

Thank You, for all of your support and donations! We couldn't do it without you! We were able to raise $222 as a family. So that meant we met our goal of $200. The morning of the big event was pretty cold and windy but we bundled up and marched our 5 miles. We enjoyed the scenery and walking with some friends of ours, Tammy and Stephanie. When the wind died down it was pretty nice we just wished the wind would go away because that's what made it cooler.

Cassidy did pretty well on the way up. She rode in the stoller and we just kept her busy with yummy snacks and distractions. Then on the way back she sat on Daddy's shoulders. She was happy about that! At the last bridge to cross she walked through the finish line with Daddy. Of course if it was up to her, she would have walked the whole 5 miles. :) We were so happy to be a part of a wonderful event and to help out with a great organization that saves lives. We are already planning to sign up again next year.

A Little Adventure

 

Happy Belated Earth Day! (I meant to post this that day)

Derek found out the public bus system was going to be free to ride on Earth Day. So Cassidy and I decided to take the bus for a ride! The bus stop is right behind our house. Every day Cassidy is able to watch the "city bus" (what she calls it) drive by and pick people up, and now it's her chance to actually take a turn. As we were waiting for the bus Cassidy was just playing around in the dirt but as soon as I pointed out the bus coming around the corner, she jumped up and down and screamed. She kept saying "Come, City Bus, Come!" (With her hand stretched out) She was so excited! It's wonderful how excited our kids get over such little things. During the ride, Cassidy had a lot of fun looking out the big windows as we drove around.

We got off near the shopping center where the IMAX theater is. I know some of you are thinking that's not very far, but it was still an experience. We first went to Dicks sporting store and spent most of our time playing with the sports equipment, sitting in camping tents, riding bikes, going up and down the escalator, and checking out the gym equipment. In the picture above where Cassidy is sitting on the weight set, she's holding her arms up and saying "muscles!" with her deep voice. Just like her daddy taught her. It's one of our favorite stores. Then, we walked around the other stores near by like Best Buy and Wild Oats. While we were getting some fresh air and some exercise walking around we decided we were getting hungry so we had lunch at Leo's Pizzaria. It was delicious! Cassidy enjoyed the cheesy pizza and it hit the spot. After lunch, it was time to trek back to the bus stop. We didn't have to wait too long. Again, the bus ride was a hit and Cassidy couldn't contain her excitement. We had such a fun time together and we will never forget our magical ride with our "city bus."

Blurfing-Like Mother Like Daughter

Cassidy is watching her friend Aly sing "Twinkle Twinkle"

Family in Town

This last week my parents and Abuelita (little grandma in Spanish) came to visit us from Arizona. We had a wonderful time together. Cassidy enjoyed waking up each morning and asking "Where Granpa Go?" And of course would ask next about Grandma and "Lita." It was fun for her to be able to have some extra attention and not only from her parents.

We were able to play games, watch movies, talk, eat out, watch Cassidy swim, attend The Dave Ramsey Show at the World Arena, enjoy General Conference, and just relax. One day Cassidy had all of us girls dress up with her hats and purses like we were going to go shopping. It was cute.




Cassidy received the Alvin & the Chipmunks DVD from Grandpa & Grandma and surprised us all at how interested and excited she was to watch this movie. None of us had seen it, and it seemed to have become Cassidy's favorite movie. She doesn't sit and watch movies, she will for a little while but then she will go play with her toys and come back later. Not with this movie! She was hooked from the beginning. Her new word now is Chipmunks. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!


The Dave Ramsey Show

I know we have mentioned Dave Ramsey before on our blog, but this time we had the chance to see him LIVE and to listen to his good advice on financial matters. He is such a motivational, entertaining, and humorous speaker. The "Total Money Makeover" class lasted for 5 hours with two 20 minute breaks. Let me tell ya though, it didn't seem like that long. It was so fun. Before we knew it, we only had one more hour to be taught. He teaches people to get out of debt and to be wise with our money. Of course, the Church has always taught us these things, but Dave gives us motivation and some tools on how to succeed. He lives his life with similar standards as the Church. It was a great opportunity to attend, and we enjoyed sharing the experience with my parents. We wish all of you could have been there with us. :)

Swimming

Cassidy, Kyle, Aly

I can't wait till class starts!


Today was a big day for Cassidy and her friends Kyle & Aly. It was their first day of swimming lessons. She completed the Water Waddles 2 class, last April and now she graduated to the Water Waddles 3 class. We're so proud of her! We've been telling her she was going to start swimming lessons again, even last night we told her tomorrow you're going to swim. When Cassidy woke up this morning I asked her, "What are we going to do today?" She shouted, "SWIMMING!" And then I asked "With who?" she said "FRIENDS and MOMMY!" I guess she dreamt about it all night long.

When we finally were able to get into the water it was like she remembered how much she missed the pool, she screamed with excitment. And of course splashed water at everyone, even at her swimming teacher. Her swimming teacher, Miss Jan, splashed her right back. It was so cute! Nothing can be better than the excitement I saw in my little girls face today! It was so much fun! Luckily we have 9 more classes to enjoy!

Our nephew McKay

Our little buddy, was baptized yesterday. Unfortunately, we weren't able to go to Texas to be there for his special day, but we are definitely proud of you McKay! We had a chance to talk with him on the phone and he told us his older brother Nic was the one who baptized him. That was pretty cool. Also McKay shared with us how he hasn't sinned at all since he was baptized. He's such a cute boy! He also shared that he's one of the newest members of the church but his younger brothers and younger cousins are just visitors until they turn eight of course. :)

Well Mac, we're so glad you had such a wonderful experience and hope you will never forget it! We love you!

An important lesson...Sharing

Cassidy is such an example to her mommy and daddy in many ways. First of all we didn't use to say our prayers at restaurants, but now we do. She is very aware of our feelings and our safety. When we walk on snow she says, "Careful Mama,ice,fall down." Or if I need to grab something in the cupboards and I'm not tall enough, I use a chair (I know where does she get it from)and she will say "Careful Mama, don't hurt." When she can tell her daddy or mommy is sad, she jumps and says "Be Happy, Happy Face." She always finds time for us to get up and dance and live life to it's fullest. She has the best attitude when she's sick, and doesn't let it get her down. Cassie is a big helper around the house, with handing me the dishes in the dishwasher, or taking laundry to my bed from the dryer. I know she would be a great big helper to her baby brother or sister. When we get ready to go somewhere she will automatically bring us our shoes and jackets so we stay warm. I can go on and on...but one of our favorite things that our little girl does is SHARE. If mommy is giving her something to eat, of course the first thing she says is "And Daddy" or the other way around. It could be food, airplane rides, hugs & kisses, toys, whatever. She's always including us and making sure we're taken care of.

On Easter morning while getting ready for early church I gave Cassidy a whole banana for breakfast (she likes to peel it herself and eat it like a big girl). The next thing I know she walks into our bedroom and gives both daddy and I part of her banana. She broke it up into 3 pieces all by herself and with a big smile handed us our piece. What could we do??? But take our piece of banana with gratitude. It really started our Easter Sunday with the right spirit. Even with small and simple things she is such an example to her parents!

No wonder why we're taught to... Be like unto a child (Mosiah 3:19)

Sunshine on a Cloudy Day

So we woke up to a cloudy day and snow on Easter Sunday. The outside picture above was taken last year on Easter morning, but it didn't look much different this year.

We had a great Easter! Even though church starts at 8:30 in the morning, it's always nice to go so we could feel uplifted, and learn about all the important lessons in life. When we got home from church, we ate lunch then cuddled up on the couch and listened to a story called He Lives. It's a sing along with music from Hillary Weeks and the pictures in the book are painted by Simon Dewey. It's one of my favorite books. I was impressed because Cassidy sat through most of it and enjoyed the pictures with the music. She would always point out Jesus. Then all 3 of us took a nice nap. After our naps I started cooking our Easter dinner. I was brave and wanted to try some new recipes. We had Pork Tenderloin with Catalina dressing and honey, seasoned red potatoes with bacon, ranch, and cheese, and green beans. For dessert, I made a Chocolate shortcake with strawberries, and chocolate pudding. My family was so impressed! It made me feel pretty good, and they ate it all! I'm digging this cooking thing more and more.

After dinner, Cassidy and I had fun hiding Easter eggs for daddy with one of his favorite candies, Mounds candy bars. Cassidy chose some good hiding places like inside Mr. Potato Head's belly, in her bucket of balls, and in her push-car. I also hid some. Luckily, because when it was time for Derek to come look for his eggs Cassidy quickly helped daddy find the eggs she hid. By the time she brought one to him, she was off to the other eggs. It was hilarious! Both Derek and I couldn't stop laughing. It was so cute! She was so excited, and would say "Here daddy, here's your eggs." So her eggs went pretty quick. The ones I hid were pretty tricky so Cassidy and I would sing louder and louder as Derek would get closer and closer. It was fun. Then it was Cassidy's turn and she had to find her Easter basket full of goodies. It was cute to watch her pick up blankets and toys to look under them, and then say "I dunno" expressing with her arms too. She finally found it and couldn't wait to look at what was in her basket. She got an ABC Book of Mormon book, Little Mermaid magic coloring book, a chocolate Easter bunny (of course), a Nemo bath toy, and some racing cars to race with daddy.

Then it was ni-night time with reading her new ABC book, hugs and kisses and off to sleep.

Easter Egg Hunts

I think Cassidy got her full share of Easter Egg Hunts. She went to 3 this year, and had fun finding eggs as well as watch all the other kids find their eggs.

Barnes and Noble...a Wonderful Place

Thomas the Train
Dora Backpack
1st Good Book
2nd Good Book
What are you reading Daddy?
Big Comfy Chair

This week for our Family Home Evening activity we took a trip to Barnes and Noble. It's like heaven, to Derek and Cassidy. Books, books, and more books. I've never been a big reader but both Derek and Cassidy have helped me become a bookworm little by little. It's fun to sit in comfy chairs, lay on the floor, or sit on a bench to read a good book at this wonderful place.

Our visit starts as soon as we walk through the doors. Cassidy tries to skip her way towards the Children's section and heads straight toward the train set to play with Thomas the train. When she gets her fill with the trains she moves on to the backpacks and picks out Dora from the bunch. She insists mom to help her put it on. When the task is done, she wastes no time into finding a good book.

On this particular night it was nice because as a family we had three comfy chairs for each of us in the same section. Derek read about puzzles, I read the books Cassidy brought me, and Cassidy read Elmo. Then we enjoyed our tradition, whenever we go to Barnes and Noble, we share a slice of Godiva Chocolate Cheesecake from their cafe. If you have never tried this, you should! Delicious!

We have good days and we have bad days. It's happy times like this together that help me through the days that seem to fall apart.