friday & saturday

friday and saturday of our spring break were fun, but unfortunately I needed new camera batteries, so I have no photos to share. Friday, my kids had a great time at "Fo-Fo Figgily's" which is a wild and crazy indoor play-place in Oak Park, for our neighbor's birthday party. Saturday, we ate lunch at the Simi Mall and shopped a little. Derek, my youngest brother, was in town from Bakersfield for the day, so he met up with us and we had fun getting caught up with him while the kids played.
That's it! Spring Break is over! We really enjoyed it and I think it was my favorite school break ever because I got to have Jason with me the whole time! I could get used to this early retirement thing...

thursday

If you haven't taken your kids to the Noah's Ark exhibit at the Skirball Center, find a day (Thursday's are free!) and go! Kate made reservations for our families and we had a great time. The exhibit is very interactive and artistic. The kids had to try everything in each room! I was happy Jason came with us because we had a lot of kids to keep track of.

wednesday

At the kids request, we returned to our old stomping ground and went to Simi to play at the "frog" park (verde park). Brady spent most of his time running back & forth on the wobbly bridge, Holly loved the swings, and the girls were climbing trees & pushing each other down the slides...a perfect day at the park!

tuesday

Our family joined the rest of the Clinton side of the family at Gullwings Children's Museum in downtown Oxnard. It was very hands-on and really kept the kids busy for a long time! It's small enough to not lose track of the kids, but big enough to have several different stations including crafts, dress-up, fish aquariums, a live reptile/insect house, a rock-climbing wall, a play hot-dog stand, and lots of spaceship replica stuff. We had a great time and it was definitely worth returning to in the future. After the museum, we ate lunch at Pepe's burrito stand down by Silverstrand beach...yum!

SPRING BREAK!! monday

A trip to Zuma beach in Malibu was the perfect starter for our Spring Break week. The weather was awesome! Brady kept throwing sand up the in the air and then running away to avoid having it land on him. He must have done it about 20 times in a row! I thought it made for a pretty cool picture.
Holly's first time actually getting to experience the beach! (last year she was a newborn and confined to her carseat) She ate a TON of sand and was very content to hang out on the blanket and watch the kids play around her.
Beach cuties basking in the sunshine!

Easter Sunday

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday. Baskets in the morning including new spring dresses (and gloves!) for church, great sacrament meeting talks, then Easter dinner at our house with the Clinton side of the family and my dad (my mom was in Kentucky with Brandi). It was a nice day with beautiful weather and good company.
Holly snuck her first piece of candy (a SweetTart duck) while I was taking too long trying to get the perfect picture of her with her Easter basket. She loved it!

Bakersfield Weekend!

The sisters had our Girl's Weekend, so of course the brothers needed a guy's weekend or "Gentlemen's Annual" as they call it. They planned it during March Madness basketball tournaments and were able to attend several games. Dad, Trevor, Ginger, Jason, and Derek...Rod missing :(

Since all the boys were crashing at my house, I had to pack up my kids and find somewhere else to go for 3 days. Thankfully, Natalie invited us to Bakersfield! The kids swam & played and Nat introduced me to the exciting world of canning meat! She did all the work and I got to come home with tons of bottles of chicken and pork! I also bottled pancake mix and Kraft Mac 'n' Cheese. I'm so glad Nat showed me how to use my pressure cooker for canning and now I need to get to work! Anyone want to join me??

Our fun in Bakersfield didn't stop there...a friend of Natalie's invited us all to a private viewing of the new movie "Enchanted" at her amazing home theater! complete with leather recliners, a popcorn machine, a candy counter, and a soda machine! It was so fun and so cool! The babies weren't very cooperative, but the other kids loved it.

On Saturday, brave Natalie helped the kids dye and decorate easter eggs. She had a very cool kit which had "foil" sheets that made the eggs look really unique.
Thanks for a super fun weekend Nat! You were the perfect hostess, like always. I loved getting to hang out with you and I hope we didn't cause too much craziness for you!

Little Green Men

We were the target of a little bit of leprechaun mischief overnight! When we woke up this morning, the girls discovered little green footprints and shamrocks drawn on their faces and arms where the leprechauns had been "dancing" on them. Then we saw that the house had been turned upside down and inside out! The couch cushions were thrown around, the kitchen chairs were on the table, the bathroom towels were in the kitchen and the kitchen towels were in the bathroom, the girls' school shoes were in the microwave, and the milk had turned green! At least the sneaky little guys had thrown their gold chocolate coins around and left us with St. Patrick's Day cookies and a giant box of Lucky Charms!
Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We believe in being Honest...

Erin and her 2nd grade teacher Mrs. Burnside

Way to go, Erin! She was chosen as Student of the Month and as a student who demonstrated the "Core Virtue" for February, which was "Honesty." She was very excited to be recognized in the school assembly today. She couldn't stop smiling! :)

the ABC's of Ginger

Melinda tagged me!

A- Attached or Single? very much attached...almost 9 years married!
B- Best Friend? see above...my husband, but my sisters are a close second!
C- Cake or Pie? my Gramma's lemon jello cake
D- Day of Choice? Friday, usually date-night
E- Essential Item? my iPhone. like a tiny portable computer!
F- Favorite Color? Red
G- Gummy Bears or Worms? hmmm, neither. cinnamon bears...yum!
H- Hometown? Moorpark
I- Favorite Indulgence? Cheesecake Factory Raspberry Lemon Cheesecake
J- January or July? July
K- Kids? 3 daughters and 1 son and counting... :) woah! simmer down, that DOESN'T mean I'm pregnant!
L- Life isn't complete without? knowledge of the Plan of Salvation
M- Marriage date? May 22nd
N- Number of brothers and sisters? 4 brothers and 6 sisters, plus 11 in-laws!
O- Oranges or Apples? Apples
P- Phobias and Fears? I don't do scary movies! I can't even watch the previews!
R- Reason to smile? my family's upcoming trip to Maui!!
S- Season of choice? Summer--beach weather!
T- Tag three people? ________ insert your name here as desired
U- Unknown fact about me? I have a niece named after me--Ginger Dee
V- Vegetable? asparagas
W- Worst Habit? procrastinating!!
X-ray or Ultrasound? x-ray for a broken leg, lots of u/s during pregnancies
Y- Your favorite food? Mexican
Z- Zodiac Sign? Scorpio

Boing!

Look at those springy curls! When Aunt Brandi is in town, she's always ready to orchestrate an extreme makover. Erin was lucky enough to have Brandi work her magic on her heavy, straight hair that I never do anything with. Brandi wrapped it in a billion sponge rollers perm-style and in the morning Erin was transformed into Shirley Temple! It was pretty funny and quite a change! By the end of school it had relaxed a lot. Erin said that she got lots of compliments from friends and teachers. Super cute, Erin Kate!

Girl's Weekend 2008

I look forward to it all year, counting down the months, then weeks, then days. Now it's over and it was fantastic. I loved it all...the laughing, the crying, the talking and talking and talking! That pretty much sums it up! I loved having a few days with my sisters and my mom. We did whatever we felt like from hour to hour...something that never gets to happen in real life! (frankly, getting back to real life afterwards was pretty rough!) I was lucky enough to be the hostess this year, but my sisters came from all over...Washington (Heidi), Kentucky (Brandi), Idaho (Wendy), Utah (Jen), and California--Bakersfield (Natalie) & Fresno (Summer). My mom and Kate live within 10 minutes of my house. We missed Amber who teaches high school in Utah. She's never been able to attend! Let's hope she'll make it next year. We were able to have Monica with us for Friday night dinner at the mall and for a drop-in on Saturday evening. That accounts for everyone! It's so fun to be together. I always learn so much from my sisters' experiences that they so willingly share. They are women I trust and admire. The love and support I feel from my sisters is so comforting and a great blessing.
(sigh) Only 11 months and 3 weeks until our chat fest resumes...

We were so happy that Gramma Z was able to join us on Sunday evening! It was a great visit. She has such a sharp memory! Prompted by a few questions from us, she was able to relate her memories of growing up during the Depression and her experiences as a child. She is overflowing with so many stories and so much background information about our ancestors. It was fascinating and I was thankful that we were able to capture her memories on video. I know the recording will be valuable as the years go by and we really need to do this again!

All I want for my birthday is a job.

sorry Baby, I can't help you with that, but I'll make you some cupcakes with blue frosting! how's that? happy 31st!