Easter

We were lucky and had an usually beautiful Idaho day (mostly wind-free) the Saturday before Easter.  We spent most of the day outside - Jim and I did yard work and the kids played.  We did take a break to come inside and color Easter eggs.

Later that night, the girls drew pictures and left notes and carrots for the Easter Bunny.

After the kids went to bed Jim and I were "cleaning" up downstairs, eager to get things done for Easter.  Usually, we would wait until the kids were asleep but we were really tired from all of the work we had done that day so as soon as they were in bed, we started.  Paige always has a question or two that she just has to ask us every night and started down the stairs.  We told her to wait, that we were cleaning up and she needed to stay upstairs.  She got frustrated and in true Paige form she yelled, "Oh, I get it, YOU GUYS are the Easter Bunny!  That's just GREAT!" (insert sarcasm).  We never know how far to take the whole "what is real" thing with Paige, she seems to figure things out but then hold on to the hope that she's wrong and that we're using reverse psychology on her.  Somehow she went to bed an angry unbeliever and woke up with her faith restored that the Easter Bunny is real.

Hailey's Heritage Project

Hailey had a little project a few weeks ago which was called a "Heritage Box" and I thought hers turned out really well.  The idea was to take a box and devote each side to something that explains a part of your heritage.  I'm not the type to save things so I thought I'd at least take pictures before I threw it away.

One side was for explaining the origin of your name.

Another side was for a family tree.

Then there was a side where family food traditions were shown.  

There are so many but we didn't want it to be overcrowded.

One side was devoted to a notable relative.  Again, there are probably

so many we could've written about but Hailey wanted someone "famous"

and Grandmommy told us this story of her Great Grandfather and I 

was able to find some information on the internet about him.  I mean, 

Hailey was able to find some information....I didn't help at all, wink, wink. 

Then, a side outlining some family traditions that have been handed down through generations.

And, a side with the flag's representing your ancestor's countries of origin.

Hailey loved this project.  She had a great time discussing family history, traditions, songs and stories from the past with both of her grandmothers.  What a nice way to encourage children to learn about where they came from and to foster interaction between parents, grandparents and grandchildren.

Mrs. Briscoe (Hailey's 3rd grade teacher) has been so good at challenging her students this year with different projects that have really helped them grow and gain confidence.  I was able to go in and help with a research project they did that really taught them the basics of how to do a research paper.  They learned how to look up information in an encyclopedia, books and the internet and write a bibliography.  They learned how to organize facts into categories, then how to form a paragraph with an introduction, middle and a conclusion.  Then, they learned how to put the whole thing together to form a report.  Research projects were always so overwhelming for me as a student and breaking it down in such a basic way seemed to make it so much more simple.  I have a horrible memory but I don't think I learned anything like this in 3rd grade!

I must admit, the year started off a bit rocky, but I think both the students and Mrs. Briscoe have settled into a place where they seem to all be doing really well.  I have to hand it to all of them, teacher (who had a baby this year), and the students.  What I thought was going to be a disaster of a year, has turned out to be a really good experience (I guess I can only speak for Hailey and myself but the few times I've been into volunteer, the class seems to be doing really well).  Hailey has really gained a load of confidence this year.  I am so proud of her and grateful to her teacher.  

Spring Break - California

We went to California this year for spring break.  I know there are a ton of pictures but this is the only way I document anything so I have included a lot!

We stayed at the Georgian Hotel, a great place in Santa Monica.

After we got settled, we headed out to the Santa Monica Pier and stopped for some ice cream on the way.

The ferris wheel.  Paige is practicing her dramatic acting skills.

We hit Lego Land the next day.  It was just ok in my opinion but the kids had a great time.

Crew was so excited to get his "driver's license."

The next morning we decided to venture out to East L.A., Pasadena and a few other areas that Jim served his mission.   We drove around East L.A. and stopped at a little Mexican bakery.  While we were waiting in the car we watched a procession of East L.A. bikers ride up to a funeral (we wondered if it was a gang funeral with all the pomp and circumstance that seemed to be going on). 

After East L.A. we went to the Fo Guang Shan His Lai Temple.  The kids were less than thrilled when we told them we would be going to a Buddhist Temple, especially after 2 days of amusement park rides, ice cream, cotton candy and constant entertainment.  Hailey refused to get out of the car when we got there.  I guess when I look back at the statues that are at the entrance, I can maybe understand why.  We later learned that the reason they have "scary" looking statues are to ward off evil from entering the temple.

We walked into the temple and a college group just happened to be starting a tour right when we got there and let us tag along.  I thought the kids would maybe last 15 minutes at the most but they were actually really interested and listened intently (most of the time) to our tour guide for over an hour!  I was so proud of them!  I asked them several questions after the tour and they were able to answer all of them.

The grounds and buildings were all amazingly cared for and really beautiful.  Pictures were only permitted outside so we didn't get any pictures of the kids lighting incense, kneeling and "making a wish to Buddha" (which is how the nice female monk's put it - I think female monk's are called nun's but I could be wrong) in the main shrine of 10,000 Buddhas.  It was so sweet.  The inside of the building was magnificent, I'd never seen anything like it.  

We learned that this walkway shown below is used for walking meditation, helping you to be mindful of where you step, therefore helping to make your mind more focused.

I think we all had a great experience.  The kids were excited to visit the gift shop afterwards where we got a couple little statues of Buddha, some prayer bead bracelets and Paige got a little fan which for some reason made her day.  She was so excited to take it into her class and tell them about the Buddhist Temple when we got home.

After our highly educational morning, we stopped at a place that Jim used to eat on his mission called Souplantation for lunch.  After two days of hot dogs, McDonald's breakfasts and junk food, it was great to see a 50 yard long salad bar.  Extra credit for us parents for making our kids learn something and eat vegetables that day!

Well, we were on a roll I guess because after lunch we drove through a few other areas of Jim's mission and ended up at The Huntington Library which is an actual library, art museum and over 120 acres botanical gardens.  

We realized we needed more than an afternoon to really take this place in.  Unfortunately, we didn't know it closed at 4:30 so we spent most of our time exploring the gardens and only got to run quickly through one of the art museums where one of the museum staff thankfully whisked us through telling us it would be a crime if we didn't see the original Blue Boy painting before they closed.

Paige was in heaven.  She can't pass a flower without stopping to smell.

We were trying to teach the children the art of meditation (not that we know anything about it) but there really was something calming and peaceful about being in the Japanese Gardens.  

One of my favorite pictures of the whole trip. 

I was so sad they closed at 4:30.  I hope we make it back someday.  

So, after we left the Huntington Library, on a whim, I decided to look up my friend Johanna's address and saw that it was kind of on our way back to Santa Monica.  I didn't have her phone number so we just decided to surprise her and drop in unannounced.  There aren't many people I would do this to but Johanna is like my little sister so I hoped she'd be excited rather than annoyed.  

She and her husband Ryan were just hanging out in their apartment and happened to be free for dinner so we went to this great little place near where they live.  This is the only picture we got and isn't a great one, it's an iPhone shot of our reflection in the mirror...I guess we were too busy talking.  It was so fun to see Johanna.  The kids adored her.

An interesting window display on the way to dinner that Jim felt was worthy of a picture.

The next day we drove through Beverly Hills and Hollywood hoping to spot some movie stars.  No such luck.  We did see Spiderman and The Hulk, Crew thought that was great.  The kids were getting sick of us looking at all of the amazing homes and landscaping so we headed up the hill to the Griffith Observatory.

We saw a planetarium show about water and space.  

We were staying only a couple of miles from Venice Beach and Jim felt that it was necessary that our kids be exposed to all of the "colorful" people that Venice Beach is known for.  

Pitbulls, "Medical" Marijuana Doctors...not really my thing, especially with my 3 innocent little children.

We got them some ice cream after this hippy lady's puppy bit Paige on the hand.  She's still mad about it, as you can tell from the look on her ice cream covered face.  I think she inherited de-sensitized nerves on her chin area from Jim.  He often has the same problem. :)

All they wanted to do was play on the beach. 

The water was freezing.

This is what the Santa Monica Pier looked like from Venice Beach.

The 3rd Street Promenade in Santa Monica was great.  Lots of great restaurants, shopping,  and street performers.

We all wore ourselves ragged...this was at the view from the front seat after almost every outing.

We were leaving and saw this sign as we were going through security (look closely, it says"Crew Only" and "Passengers Only").  Luckily, Jim wanted a picture and reached for his phone and realized he had left it in the rental car.  It's a good thing Long Beach is a small airport so he could easily run back to get it.