Easter

We had a busy Easter Sunday around the Hughes Zoo.
Sunrise service at church.
Home for a quick egg hunt in our new backyard!
Brunch gathering for Easter with our Sunday School class. (and Egg Hunt #2 for the kids)
Home for a quick nap.
Lunch with family. (and Egg Hunt #3 for the kids)

Snow!

About every 20 years or so, there is a weather anomaly that happens and it snows in our normally sunny, southern California town. The last time it happened was in 1989, when I was in junior high. I distinctly remember making a glorious snowman at the local elementary school yard, and later driving across town with my dad through snow flurries because I *had* to have a new padlock for my gym locker at school. (For any of you local readers, we were driving to the then **NEW** Target shopping center, which at the time, was a good 2 miles north of any other development here in town. In other words, way out in the middle of nowhere. Funny how things change.)

So, flash forward to January 2, 2011, and the magic happened again. SNOW.

And we weren't even home to see it. :)

But...

We were up in the mountains enjoying the fluffy white stuff. Lots more of it, actually.

still shot before they head down the hill

These pictures were all taken in the morning, before it started snowing. The storm that brought 1 inch (or so) of snow to our hometown brought about 12 inches of snow to the mountains that afternoon and evening. It was a winter wonderland. And I didn't take any more pictures. But it was gorgeous. :) And we were thankful to make it home, fearing we might be snowed in. Neither Bill nor I were raised in snow, so clearly our perspective is a bit skewed, but it seemed like it was DUMPING snow us as we were driving home. With chains. CRAZY.

Such a fun weekend, and so thankful that our kids get to experience the fun of snow!

Thankful Day 15

Today I am thankful for our ability to give.
God has blessed us abundantly, beyond all we could ever need. We consider it our joy to share His blessings with others.

This morning, the girls and I packed up shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child.


I really *love* giving that involves the kids. They really understand that we are wrapping up presents for someone else, and...who doesn't like to be the bearer of gifts?!


I only wish there were similar, kid-friendly programs the other 11 months out of the year!

So behind, playing catch-up

I can't believe it's been OVER a month since I've posted anything on here.

Well, yes I can, actually.

It's been a busy month. Lots of visitors and activities.
Lots of LIVING, not much blogging, I guess.
But isn't that the way it's supposed to work?
Whatever.

Here is a photo recap of the last month of our lives...


Aunt Neva (Bill's sister) came out to visit one of her friends, and we spent a wonderful afternoon with her in Downtown LA. Highlight of the trip had to have been Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles.




Next up, Bill's parents came out from TX to spend 10 days with us. We started off the visit with Sunday Brunch at The Castaway, which, on top of being YUMMY, was also a nice trip down memory lane since that is where we held our Rehearsal Dinner the night before our wedding.


Then, we immediately put Dick and Nancy to work in the fields, making them earn their keep. :)
We headed to our favorite So Cal location, Underwood Family Farms, and made use of the extra pairs of hands in picking blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and a few raspberries (it was too early in the season for them).

For Dick's benefit, I would like to point out (because he did MULTIPLE times) that he only picked BLUE blueberries, as evidenced above, whereas the rest of us had a hard time picking the ripe ones and ended up with buckets of various shades of reddish purple, and the occasional green ones thrown in in Lexy's bucket. (You can pay me later, Dick.) :)


This just in!
We interrupt this vacation recap to bring you breaking news:



WE HAVE CUTE KIDS. :)

We now return to your regularly scheduled vacation recap.

Next stop, the annual trip to heaven on earth, otherwise know as Yosemite.








And more on Yosemite in my next post because this one has been in the drafts folder for over a month, and I need to move on. :)

Spring! Glorious Spring!

It's that wonderful time of year again. Birds are chirping, bees are buzzing, and.... Strawberries are ready to be picked at Underwood Family Farms!

We celebrated the first day of Bill's Spring Break today by heading to one of our favorite family activities, and it did not disappoint!






Believe it or not, that is more than 6 pounds of strawberries. And we'll enjoy every last one. :)

D-land times TWO

My mom has long had the dream of going to Disneyland for the day, and then spending the night in a local hotel so that she can go AGAIN the next morning.

So, we did. (We're a regular make-a-wish foundation around here)

Grandma, the girls and I all headed down to the Happiest Place On Earth last week and spent the afternoon, evening and night at Disneyland. We had a great time, and it was so fun to see Tori actually "getting it" now. She was down-right CACKLING on the teacups. So cute. (I forgot to bring my camera in the first night, so you'll just have to take my word for it.)

The girls were troopers and stayed awake until 10:30pm as we checked into our hotel. Poor Tori conked out about then, and I swear... this has never happened ever before, but she actually SLEPT THROUGH me changing her diaper and putting on her pajamas. I was astounded.

I should mention-- the girls BOTH had ear infections. Tori was diagnosed the previous day with DOUBLE ear infections and Lexy was given the all clear. However, Lexy spent the better part of that night in my lap crying that her ear hurt, so we headed to Urgent Care on Tuesday morning immediately before going down to Disneyland. (Because we like to pack it all in like that.) And surprise! surprise!, she had an ear infection as well.

Despite their ear ailments, they were in great spirits and seemed to really enjoy the afternoon.

We all had a great nights sleep and were up with the sun to head back to Disneyland for round 2.

Since this was a special Disneyland trip-- the fulfillment of Grandma's dream-- we decided to throw caution to the wind and allow Lexy to get her face painted in the Princess Beauty Parlor. It only cost about half our mortgage, but WELL worth it. :)





We also spent more time than we had previously in California Adventure, and the girls really enjoyed the Bug's Land area. Who knew there were so many kid-friendly rides in there?

Tori and I waited patiently while Lexy and Grandma rode the bumper... bugs?

A big hit of the afternoon was playground area in California Adventure. Again, a new experience for us. Both girls went down the slides, oh, like... 700 times? Grandma and I were thrilled for the chance to sit down and rest a bit. :)



We all had a great time and came home thoroughly exhausted. And we felt so good about our part in making all of Grandma's dreams come true. :)

Rose Parade 2009

Happy New Year!

We started the year off bright and early with a trip to the Rose Parade in Pasadena. My family has been going to the parade for years, but the Hughes Zoo has been out of town for the past 4 years on January 1st, so we haven't been in a while. And we've NEVER been with kids! So this was a new adventure!

This year was also exciting because we had some serious hook-ups from a family friend who is a Pasadena Police Officer.... He escorted our car behind blockades, even driving the WRONG DIRECTION on a street, to within 2 blocks of the beginning of the parade. (That probably won't mean anything to you unless you've been to the Rose Parade before, but that's a big deal. :) )

Enjoying a powdered-sugar doughnut

The kids did great, and everyone had a great time!

A few favs...

Lexy LOVES the horses, which I find highly amusing because I've always wondered why they bother including horses in this parade--- they just poop and make it smell!

this one had "COWBOYS dancing!" and many recognizable fruits and vegetables

Tori likes the horses, too, I guess. Figures.

There were a whole series of Sesame Street Characters, which were a big hit with the younger folk.... This one has "Bob" from Sesame Street on the front!