Weekend Wedding

This past weekend we visited Utah for my brother Branden's wedding (and my mini family reunion).  He and Marina were married on Saturday, June 25th at a beautiful reception center.  I now have a new sister, niece, and nephew!  We are so excited for them to be a part of our family.  The ceremony was the shortest I have ever been to;  done in less than 10 minutes to be exact, from the entrance of the cute little bridesmaids and ring bearer, to the exit of the bride and groom!

I took more pictures, but I only shared my favorites (click on the collages to enlarge them ;)).  I failed to get a photo of just my little family, which was a bummer cuz we were all dressed up so nice.  Oh well, can't get them all. 

The rest of the time we spent with family and the boys swam everyday at our hotel with their cousins.  Chloe was always cheesin' it in the hotel room and playing with stuff.  The boys were thrilled with their new Lego sets they bought with their recycling money I gave them to spend while on the trip.  We also saw Cars 2 after the "rehearsal dinner" on Friday night...that was super fun!  The kids did great during the long drive there and back, just wish we could have stayed a little longer--I love my family!

Father's Day 2011

  I didn't take any photos all weekend...such a bad Mommy!  So I couldn't resist sharing this cute photo of Chloe that was on her Nursery Craft, it put a smile on her Daddy's face.  Do you suppose that I might be forgiven?  Father's Day overall was a great day; lot's of resting, and yummy food.

  I am so grateful for my Father, Father-in-Law, and the man who is the Father to our three miracles.  They each hold a special place in my heart and I will forever be grateful for their influence for good in my life and the life of my children!

Impromptu FHE

The boys built staffs or tridents--what-have-you, out of their Legos.  So for our bedtime story, I found the Gospel Art photo of "Moses and the Serpent Staff."  They loved the story and Jacob knew exactly what the staff represented.  It makes me smile that he is so impressionable! 

Trevor wanted a silly pose. 

And here they were an hour later, sleeping on the floor with their hands in the Lego bucket! I love these boys of mine.

BHS Graduation

This is our community high school--Burroughs High, a.k.a BHS (so not my Alma Mater :)) Behind this sign, past the parking lot, lies the construction site for the new Science and Engineering building.  We are so excited that this school with offer a state of the art building with an awesome quality program! 

We went to this young lady's graduation.  Jacob and Trevor picked out the ballons and flowers for Michaela (a.k.a. Micky, I have spoken about her before).   The ceremony was great; short, simple, and sweet!   We are excited for Michaela and what her future holds.  Congratulations!

Last Day of School

Jacob had 4 more days of school left once we got home from our "mini-trip" (see previous posts).  This photo was taken on the last day of school.  The office staff was spraying silly string on all the kids, and he was going around picking it up and making little balls to throw.  It was fun to see him play and interact with his friends.  He will miss his friends, but he was also excited to go home and begin his summer break.  After one week, he is talking non-stop about the third grade!  ;)

Babies are Just Like Us!

After our short trip to Bakersfield, this little girl was happy to have her toys back and of course her T.V.!  She loves Curious George 2: Follow that Monkey.  Whenever I turn it on she is entertained for a good 30 minutes or more, not even Baby Einstein DVDs can do this!

Babies are just like us...they miss the comforts of home when they are away from them.

Just thinking...

I am a hobby/skills/what have you dabbler.  I probably have a little ADD, or OCD mixed in with all of that.  I like to take on and start new projects or a new skill (and rarely finish them).  I figure it is developing my talents. :)  Oftentimes, I neglect things in my life when pursuing these new found hobbies.  Believe it or not there are days at a time when I do not get on my computer.  I haven't opened Photoshop in months up until a few days ago.  I haven't used my DSLR camera in a month or so, just happy with my point and shoot for now.  Don't even ask about scrapbooking...if you looked at them would you see, Jacob is still 2, Trevor is six months, and Chloe--well she isn't even born yet, or thought of for that matter.  My point you might ask.  I am not a do it all person.  I wish I was.  There are some things I just don't do, or even try to make the time for.  No woman can do it all! 

Since being a stay-at-hom Mom these past five years (a decision I have never regretted) I find it much harder to manage my daily tasks or chores.  The floor can wait to be mopped (someone will inevitably spill something anyways) or laundry can wait to be folded (living out of laundry baskets is normal right?).  No one is looking over my shoulder and evaluating my homemaking skills--at least no one that I am aware of! :)  This has been my struggle--being organized in my home.  I am currently working on making a list--prioritizing what I do and don't do.  So stay tuned, you might be surprised at what I do and don't do!

First Trip of Summer

Once again I forgot my cameras...so the iPhone was my primary camera for this trip. ;)  We left home after lunch, and arrived at my parents in Bakersfield by early afternoon.  My Mom made banana splits for the kids, they were thrilled and scarfed them down.
 

Before heading to Whitney's graduation that night we went to Mauricio's for dinner.  It is good food, but way overpriced!!  The graduation was so boring and long, as they all are, but I was still very excited to be there; the countless beach balls made the evening entertaining.  Throughout the night, I thought back to 17 years ago to my own HS graduation.  So much promise and greatness is ahead for this generation--I am hopeful the future will be bright!

Congratulations Whitter-bug!

On Friday morning we met up with Sammy and Emily at Insect Lore, a small bug museum and gift shop, with all things bug related!  The boys were soooo excited.  We bought an ant hill that we will be putting together very soon.

This is the birth place of the "Live Butterfly Garden"--you know that home kit you can get through the mail!    I grew up pretty close to this place, and just in the last few years it has become very commercialized through mass marketing.  Pretty awesome...see great things come from Kern County (those Grimmway Farms carrots too)!!

After the "Bugseum"  we went to the local park in Shafter to play.  The kids had a blast, and this little girl loves to swing!

After the park, we went to McDee's for the worst lunch experience ever!  They were slow, got orders wrong, Chloe exploded BBQ sauce all over herself, and she basically ate naked--totally white trash, but what are you gonna do.  I am a huge McDee's fan, don't ask why, but I am.  Our local McDee's is awesome!!  They have great customer service and your food is always fresh because they are always crazy busy.  It is the McDee's I compare all others to, to be honest.  So I was very disappointted in the customer service at this McDee's to say the least.

The boys went home with their cousins (thanks Aunt Nic) and I took Chloe to my Mom's for a much needed nap--she slept for over 3 hours!!  On my way home, I took the longer route that passed by my elementary and jr. high school--Rio Bravo Greeley, otherwise known as RBG.  It was a small school back then, now it is huge in comparison and under a huge renovation. I have such awesome memories of this school...

• days when it was over 95 degrees, we got to go swimming for PE in the afternoons
• the infamous 3 hour fog delays, until Rosedale District had to copy us ;)
• the "Moving Up" song
• the awesome teachers, here are just a few:  Selgrath, Edgmon, Becker, Johnson, Schulz, Bartel, Dillingham, MacCauley, Minton.  Some of them are long gone, and some are still there.
• extra curriculars: Band, drill team, after-school sports, student body
• elective classes: a real woodshop class, sewing and cooking, calligraphy, basket arts, my favorite--Mrs. Selgrath's Research class I took in the sixth grade, with old fashioned notecards, outlines, rough drafts, bibliography, final draft.  She taught us how to do research!
• 8th grade Sacramento Trip
• movie days
• a real Christmas Program with the Nativity and religious songs
• orange and green school colors, and our mascot was the "Gauchos" (don't laugh people!)
• Orange and Green Track Day
• Yearbooks
• My most favorite memory however, was everyone lining up before school and listening to the national anthem played by the band, and pledging allegiance to the flag.  This started school every single day!  I hope they still do this, other things may not still be the same, but this was a huge deal every morning.
 
There are many more I am sure I have failed to mention, but this school had a huge impact on my life, and I know it did on many of my brothers and sisters.  The teachers knew us as the Russells and that defined us.  Over the years, I have thought about one teacher in particular that made a huge impact on my life.  I have yet to thank him adequately.  I think after I drove by and talked with a teacher who saw me pulled over on the side of the road and told me he still worked there, the time has come for me to show my gratitude.  There are not many schools out there like RBG, it was a school with a strong tradition, and one I am grateful had a huge impact on my life. 

This cute girl on one of our shopping excursions, the morning of Whitney's graduation party.  Yes, she was in her jammies, but don't judge we were shopping at 7 am.

Here she is much cuter in her new dress I bought for her!  We had a blast at Whitney's party, we left early enough to get to bed at a decent hour.  We left early Sunday, and made it home in time for a good long nap.  The weather was cold and windy most of the time, so the boys were bummed they didn't get to swim.  Next trip boys, next trip!

Memorial Weekend

This has been an unusual May, weather wise that is.  We will have a few warm days (just to tease us) then nothing but wind and cold for a week!  On Saturday, we decided to buy the kids a pool to play in for Memorial Day.  We figured it would stay warm, but alas it didn't!  The pool is pretty deep and wide, the boys love that they can actually float. It makes me nervous for Chloe though. The wind has been cold and annoying to say the least. We keep the pool covered so hopefully this will help with the maintenance and a little safety. 

For Memorial Day we went to our Ward's Annual Pancake Breakfast, then invited some friends over to swim and BBQ.   It was a nice day, in the low 80's with lots of sunshine!

I don't think she enjoys being outside at all, do you?  Overall, we had a fun weekend. ;) 

Call Me Squints!

She loved playing in this box and thought she was being pretty clever.  I asked her to cheese and this is what I got!  A little blurry, but oh well...I will take it.  She has such a fun personality and I am glad to have captured it!

When I work, They Play!

Last Friday I took a substitute job.  Eric watched the kids, this is just a small glimpse of what they did that day!

 The weather was nice and warm that day, just perfect for popsicles and sprinklers.

I think they will have a fun summer, when it finally decides to stay hot!