A Very Jeri Version of Spring Break

Spring break has come and gone and since I have been putting this post off for way too long, and since there are a million other things I would rather be doing (or should be doing is more like it) I am giving you the 'Jeri version" of spring break:  lots of pictures, not so many words.

We headed out for a nice visit to Nana and Papa's in Southern California:  

We collected and cleaned golf balls to try and sell.  Just so you know, Chinese men do not understand "3 for $1"...  We were not very good salesman :-(

We screamed at Disneyland and California Adventure.  Not only did we scream on the roller coasters, we screamed (well at least on the inside) at the insane crowds.

We smiled and laughed. 

 

We walked. And walked.  Well, some of us walked, others got creative to avoid walking.

We watched monkeys doing silly and disgusting (I am talking totally disgusting) things at the Santa Ana Zoo.  I will not give you details, but Brinn said, "EEWW!  He had better go wash his hands really good.  And he better use soap!"

We goofed around and hugged.

We made it home just in time for Easter and new dresses.

We had a wonderful time!  Thanks Nana and Papa for all the fun and memories!

(no idea what to title this!)

We have been quite busy lately - here is a quick glimpse of some of what we have been up to:

The kids are really starting to enjoy skiing and are getting quite good too.  They are constantly asking when they can go again, and have chosen that for their reward for filling the 'super sister' jar.  We try to take them for a couple of hours every few weekends.  Cameron and I finally bought new skis so we aren't skiing 'old school' anymore (as was kindly pointed out to us by some cool teenage boys).  We all have a great time!

Lauryn was awarded the "Principle's Pride Award" for the month of March at her school.  Her class voted her the best example of empathy in the class.  She was SO proud - and we are SO proud of her too.  She made sure that everyone, including Grandma, was there to watch her receive this 'major award'.  She really is a sweet, obedient, kind child (she is a teacher's dream we have been told numerous times) and unfortunately sometimes those kids get overlooked a bit, so it was great to see her recognized for how great she is!

I had a great time with all my sisters and mom visiting my youngest sister who lives in Arizona.  I loved the sun, warmth, and the company.  We had a great time shopping, eating, hiking, more shopping, relaxing, and even more shopping.  It was a blast!

The trip wasn't all relaxation and play.  We did teach my oldest two sisters how to text!  Luckily they are smart women and it didn't take them too long to figure it out.  We were out having fun again in no time at all.

 It was the perfect timing for a warm vacation.  Thanks Jordan and Julie for hosting us! 

Mamarazzi's Favorite Things Swap

Remember the "Favorite Things Swap" I participated in? (there is supposed to be a cute button right here to click on and see everyone's loot, but I can't get it to work! :(  But feel free to click here to go to the page).  

My swap partner was Jennifer from Amongst Other Things, she put together a great box of her favorite things to share with me.  This is how it looked before I tore into it...

And surprise!  Her favorite things included some great scrap booking albums/kits with some seriously cute paper, an assortment of bath and body works lotions and gels (they all smell wonderful), chocolate (yum), and two super cute bows for my girls hair!  I think I scored big!  Thank you Jennifer - I loved all your favorites too!  

  

Good Mail

For the past 2 weeks I have been meaning to write about 'good mail' (can you tell I am about 2 weeks behind on life right now?)  The concept of "good mail" comes from a friend from my California days -  the idea is to send something to a friend using good old fashioned snail mail.  It can be anything - a small package, a hand written note, a post card, etc. - basically anything that is more exciting to open than a bill or junk mail.  I love the concept and have been trying to get on board with this for a while now.  I think I finally have the motivation to do it thanks to a lot of good mail that came my way recently...

The first was a sweet note from someone that I work with in the YW Program. Then a package came for Lauryn and Brinn from Nana and Papa in California.  They were so excited to open it, and even more excited when they pulled out pink sequined hats with big red hearts on them.  They were so cute!  Then I opened the mail box to find an envelope with a big fat tube of Lip Smackers (an inside joke) from a friend who lives on the other side of the country.  It was a total surprise and it made my day!  Then on Valentines Day, another surprise from the instigator of 'good mail' herself: a fun padded envelope filled with the necessities for pedicures -pink nail polish, foot soak, candy, and not to mention little fun things for my girls too.   It was so cute - and the fact that it came on Valentines Day was fun!  Then, yes there is more, a sweet Valentine card from a great sister in law that we don't get to see as often as we would like.  I was totally spoiled by good mail!  And I liked it.  A LOT!

Here is a big 'THANK YOU' to everyone who sent good mail!  I love you all!  Thank you for making me smile!

Good mail ROCKS!  And, I testify that it is much more fun to open than a bill.  Good mail makes one happy!

So, I am sending out a little good mail of my own very soon (it is only two weeks late.. imagine that!) :D