Easter

The Easter bunny visited our house but there are no pictures.  Why?  Well maybe it has to do with the fact that our kids view this holiday as Christmas so they woke up at the crack of dawn to see their baskets.  I do not view this as Christmas so my booty stayed in bed and didn't take pictures.  So while I stayed in bed the kids ripped into their baskets and ate 90% of the candy in those baskets.

And finally, our attempt at a family picture.  Bad lighting+impatient/non-willing subjects+ terrible backgrounds= horrible pictures.

 Why did I think the shade from the tree would be cool?  Not so much.

 Yes, we have a shed.  It's part of our family too.

Whatever.  We know we're cute!  :)

Happy Easter!

Easter Egg Hunt

Our ward and neighborhood had an Easter egg hunt with a TON of kids and a bunch of things for all the kids to do.  It started at 9 am so we wouldn't be out in the heat (yes heat.  it was 95 degrees that day) so it was great.  Unfortunately we were out late the night before so Makayla didn't wake up until 9:30.  We got over to the festivities right before they started the egg hunt so we didn't get much time to join in all the other fun stuff.

 Faces were painted.

 Friends were found and the wait wasn't too long.

 Makayla was in the group that got a 30 second head start.

 She was trying really hard to get those eggs.

 Now Bryce gets his chance.

 At this point I totally lost track of Makayla and went out to find her.  A nice lady from the ward was holding her hand trying to find me.  Apparently some kids were a little too enthusiastic and mowed her down.  She was okay....just shaken up.

 Now here's the kicker.  So we get up and hurried our tails out the door to get to the egg hunt.  All the anticipation and excitement and for how hard they tried (Bryce really did run fast and try hard) and for getting run over by kids,  Makayla got about 10 eggs and Bryce got 1.  One measly little egg.  Fortunately he was a good sport about it and Makayla was so sweet and shared her eggs.

It was a fun day!  I should point out that Erik and Preston were in Flagstaff this day hiking with some friends so they weren't around.

Conference Weekend

We decided the best way to spend the 2 hours in between sessions on Conference weekend was to fly kites.  And it was perfect!  Here's the pictures to prove it.

We tried to get a game of catch going on but the kids weren't really into it so I put down the camera and played catch with Erik. 

After the fun we headed home with our mitts, kites, family, and friends for some lunch and inspirational messages.  Maybe some naps were taken but we're keeping that information confidential.  :)

Fruit and Smoothies

We have a cocktail tree in our front yard.  At first we were pretty stoked because we knew it had oranges in it but we weren't sure about the other side of the tree.  Turns out it's grapefruit.  Bleh.  We don't eat grapefruit so it was a little discouraging to find half our tree laden with fruit we couldn't stand.

But we (and when I say we I mean Erik) kept the tree healthy, fertilized and watered.  So for the past two years we have enjoyed fresh squeezed orange juice and a bunch of grapefruit that we have to pawn off to other people.

 This is was after we had unloaded a bunch of grapefruit on friends.  So. Much. Grapefruit.

These oranges may not be the most pretty oranges in the world but I'll be darned if they don't make the BEST orange juice EVER!

And what do you do with all that wonderful orange juice?  Smoothie time!  I realized one day that I don't eat vegetables.  At all.  So I did a little research on the most trusted site on the internet...Pinterest.  Now I am a green smoothie addict and I believe everyone should have a green smoothie addiction.

Here is my most favorite way to have a green smoothie:

1.  Ingredients: One frozen banana, 1/2 C plain greek yogurt, some o.j. (just enough to smooth it out), and a big handful of baby spinach leaves.

2.  Throw all that into your blender.

3. Liquify it until it the chunks of spinach are pretty well incorporated.

4.  Enjoy!

Let me tell you that you CANNOT taste any spinach flavor in this.  I was so skeptical about it but it is delicious!

Recipe #2:   One frozen banana, 1/2 C. plain greek yogurt, 1 Tbs. peanut butter,  some rice milk (or whatever milk you like), and hunking handful of baby spinach.  Blend and enjoy!

Now I like recipe #2 but it's not my favorite since I'm not huge on eating peanut butter.  You could just throw in a bunch of berries or whatever you want. Yum!

Now go eat your veggies!

Pinewood Derby

I have never participated in way, shape, or form in a pinewood derby so this was an eye opening experience for me.  I'm hoping that with time Preston will come to somewhat care about his car and to actually help with it.  But until then, sorry Erik.

Here's the car.  We call it the "Silver Bolt".  Get it?  Bolt?  As in there's a bolt stuck in it for weight?  It's even more fun when you have to explain your cleverness. :)

Here's our boy with some other scouts waiting and waiting for the races to start.

About to get going on the first race.

He took 2nd place for the first two races and then did this for the third:

Untitled from Rachel Witbeck on Vimeo.


We were pretty surprised that his car did as good as it did.  Especially since the weight was wrong, it had been dropped several times, and it was completed in a rush the day before it had to be turned in.

Here's our photo op.

We then were treated to an early morning breakfast of doughnuts and milk and every participant was awarded a candy bar car.  Even though we didn't win it was still a fun morning.  But make no mistake.  Next year we will DOMINATE!

Cold?

When the birds in your wildlife preserve of a backyard are lying on top of on another to keep warm, you know it's cold.  

Fortunately for these little guys, the big cats of the backyard were also cold and hiding out so all birds survived.  That can't be said every day.

Christmas 2011

Yes. I realize that it is the end of January, the last day to be precise, and I am just now posting about Christmas.  And I'm okay with that.

We spent Christmas Eve hanging out, watching "A Christmas Story", listening to Josh Groban's "Noel", and making gingerbread houses.  We then got some pizza for the kiddos, chinese take-out for the grown ups, and made some last minute shopping stops.  I made a vow at 6:30 pm, standing at the self checkout at Walmart on Christmas Eve that I would never again in my existence do any form of shopping Christmas Eve.  So not worth it.

Christmas morning came around.  This year was the earliest our children have ever been up for Christmas.  A whopping 7 am.  I was really glad too since we had church in the morning too.   FYI: not a fan of Christmas being on Sunday.  Just sayin.

Ninjago, Lego Atlantis, bike, scooter, rollerblades, princess and Barbie galore, and 3DS's.  The morning went by too fast but it was soooo much fun to watch them open up everything a be so excited.  Bryce even said that "Santa is my new best friend".  I take that as a success.

Christmas Lights

Our first attempt at Christmas lights that I made Erik do so we wouldn't be the Scrooge's on the street.

The picture isn't so great but I swear it looks good! :)

Merry Christmas!!

It's Not Easy....

being a beautiful fairy princess.

Washed Away

On November 19, 2011, Preston was baptized.  I've been trying to write this post for the past few weeks but I can't seem to get my thoughts in order.  Do I say how much we talked about baptism this past year?  How excited Preston was to get baptized?  Or maybe how hectic the morning of the baptism was?  Maybe how he ran down the hall when it was his turn?  How he said he just wanted his sins washed away?  How awesome and surreal and wonderful it was to watch my first child walk into the water and be baptized by his father?  How I felt the spirit so strong while I was saying a few words that I could hardly get through anything?  Or maybe how Bryce couldn't really handle not being the center of attention so he made a point to interrupt and talk as much as possible?  Or maybe while at lunch Preston told me how it was "kinda weird" that I had been crying?

How about it all!  Needless to say it was a very special day that was made perfect by Preston choosing his favorite restaurant for lunch, In-N-Out, and chocolate cake that has been now given the name "Baptism Cake".

Preston, you are a extraordinary boy who is becoming an extraordinary young man.  I'm so excited to watch you grow and learn and be the great example you are to your brother and sister.  I'm so proud of your decision to be baptized and how seriously you have taken it.  We love you so much!