Pirates...ARGH!!

As I am in the YW Presidency in our ward, J and I have the opportunity to chaperone the Stake Youth Dances. The dance in April had a pirate theme, so of course about 10 minutes before we left to go, we threw something together for our costumes. We picked up another sister (H) in the ward and a youth (barely...18 in July...R) and went to the dance. There weren't very many people that were dressed up, but we had a blast. Looking back at the pictures, I really thought that my makeup was way darker. Oh well! At least we were festive and enjoyed ourselves.

First Day of Swimming...

These came from the first day we could swim in the backyard for the year...it was April 28th (I forgot we had them). I also realized that SV needed a bigger swimsuit. SV has officially passes SD in size...weight, shoe size and height. The water was a little cool, but the girls enjoyed themselves, nonetheless.

Lake Tahoe Condo

We arrived on Friday night, had a great day Saturday at the park and shoreline of Lake Tahoe, then awoke Sunday to the most beautiful sight that we could have wished for. This late April snow storm brought 6-8 inches of fresh snow. It was breathtaking. For those of you who may not know, our family LOVES snow. Opa (Sarah's Dad) and the girls built a snowman (which we watched melt for the next few days). Magical!!

K at the park...

K got to participate in all the same activities the girls did. (c: I think he enjoyed himself too.

More from the park...

There was also a ghetto obstacle course, but the girls had fun.

At the shore of Lake Tahoe...

We had to stop by the shoreline of Tahoe, of course, but the closer we got, the less the girls were interested in touching the water. J ventured close enough to put his hand in it, and surprisingly, it wasn't as cold as the wind blowing off of it. At least the girls got to stand in the monument of Lake Tahoe that is sitting there (it was a nice shield from the wind).

Park at Lake Tahoe

My parents "bought" the use of a condo at their ward YW camp dinner fundraiser/silent auction up at Lake Tahoe and invited us to come relax with them. Anyway, due to their busy schedules, we were able to go up before them. After staying the night at the condo, we got up and went searching for a park so we could burn off some energy with the girls. It was reminiscent of those old school playgrounds they used to have. J and K had a fun time trying to see if they could touch the top of the dome shaped swing structure...K ended up losing a shoe. (c: SD and SV enjoyed walking on the rocks along some of the trails. It was probably in the 40's or low 50's with a brisk wind blowing around us. Needless to say, we weren't there very long. I'll post more pictures in a bit.

Putting the tomato plants in the ground

This was actually on St. Patrick's Day, hence the girls' outfits. Anyway, my parents gave us 4 Sweet 100 tomato plants which we planted. Last year the girls really enjoyed picking the tomatoes we grew, and this year they helped plant them. I am sure that once the tomatoes ripen, the girls will consume more than they bring inside for dinner...we'll see.

Into Mommy's things...

The other morning I was having some difficulties waking up. J had an inservice meeting with CES (he's the early morning Seminary teacher), so he didn't come home between Seminary and work. Well, I woke up to the girls giggling in my bathroom, a place where they are not supposed to be. Anyway, they were playing in my makeup...the "not everyday makeup," that is for special occasions. I was really surprised because SV actually did pretty well with the lipstick, but not so much with the heavy smear of Carmex on the side of her face. Other than that, they looked heavily bruised. I am glad that I was able to find this to be humorous situation and grabbed the camera. It still makes me laugh.

Easter Egg Hunt in the Backyard

We had some friends over to do a generic Easter egg hunt in the backyard (Saturday before Easter), which was super fun. Well, SD got the hang of it, SV so-so, and our friends daughter, M, not so much (but hey, she's only 15 months, so give her a break). The girls enjoyed finding their eggs (they were color-coded) and each other's too. Anyway, then the girls realized there were things inside the eggs. Funny how they dismissed the stickers, bracelets, hair things, etc. and went straight for the fruit snacks and candy (they each got one Peep and 2 malted eggs). We did enjoy this little hunt of our own, since there wasn't anything else in the community or with church.

We have finally caved and decided to start a family blog. Hopefully we will be more diligent with this, since we are not too fabulous with Family letters. So here we begin on Monday, April 9th, 2007.