The Hunt!

This year our Easter was jammed pack with festivities! Three egg hunts, dyeing eggs, learning about family traditions, gathering with friends, & of course talking about the true meaning of Easter.

Drew and his good friend Robbie.

Lu & Mya digging in!

Our dear friends invited us over for Easter Dinner & to help Luana celebrate her birthday. We also were able to take part in their family Easter tradition. This was by far one of the coolest traditions I have ever seen. Their uncle brought in, carried by two big men, the biggest tub of candy, cookies, chips, I have ever seen! It had every treat you could even imagine. Each kid was given a bag and told to fill it up. Then the adults got a turn! I came home with Oreo's, Snicker's, York Peppermint patties, Pull & Peel's, Peanut M&M's, Robbin's Eggs, and not just the little sizes, I'm talking big bags. That was just what I brought home, the kids had even more! It was like every kids/Johanna's dream come true! I love the Patterson's and Ugapo's and always appreciate their kindness and generosity. Much easier than filling up little eggs and having to go on a hunt!

We prepared our children for Easter by talking about Jesus Christ's Crucifixion and Resurrection. I want my children to know how grateful I am to know that Jesus was resurrected! He lives and loves each of us and through him we may return to live with him again. I love Easter for this reason and want my children to grow up knowing the true reason we celebrate Easter.

Spring Carnival

Sundance school hosted a spring carnival, so I loaded up the kids and took them for a night of fun activities and sweet treats! Mya loved the cotton candy and making bubbles.
Ian dominated in stacking 10 walnut shells in less than a minute!
Drew came in 1st place in the gunny sack races!
Owen was lucky to even make it to the finish line!
The school was also celebrating Earth day, so they used recycled items for some of the games.

We stayed until it got dark and cold. It was a fun way to spend a Friday night!

KS Trip - Take 2

We had a little bit of free time to play during our quick trip back to Kansas. Carmin and I took our girls to a fun children's museum in Kansas City, where Mya loved riding on a tractor, milking a cow, and collecting eggs from the chickens. At night we had some major jam sessions, to classical music!

The Bieberly girls dance before they go to bed, but Mya and cousin Brynlee liked being swung and twirled all around better.

Of course it was more fun being dipped at the same time.

So after losing my grandpa Scott, I realized that I only have one remaining grandparent living. I wanted to make sure and visit with my grandpa Elliott while I was in town. I was glad to see him walk up our driveway, without his cane, for a surprise visit at the end of the day. When I asked him where his cane was he replied, "I don't want to forget it somewhere so I leave it at home where it can't get lost!" We later got a call from his assisted living home, wondering if we had seen him. I guess he was Missing In Action and they were getting ready to report it to the police! He didn't realize that he wasn't "free" to leave without signing out. After he realized he got himself in trouble, he said he had to go and peeled away like a teenager late for his curfew!
Mya was happy to see her Great Grandpa Elliott too and did what she does best, giving hugs!

Being so far away from home and family makes me sad. I wish I could just bring them back to CA with me in my suitcase.

Whirlwind of a Trip!

Life has been pretty busy, so I am behind in the blogging world, & going to try and catch up. The boys had their spring break 2 weeks ago & it happened to match up with Auntie Kim and Catherine's spring break in CO, so we were lucky to have them come out to CA to visit us for a couple of days. Of course lots of the time was spent playing "monster," which pretty much consists of the Aunts having to chase and wrestle the boys around for hours. Aunt Kim made up a new game, which entails the kids being wrapped up in their t-shirt quilts (made lovingly by grandma Summers), and dragged all throughout the house. Kim definitely got her work cut out for her. Ian taking Mya for a ride.

Drew and Mya

Catherine hurt her knee in a car accident, so she was unable to do all the physical play with the kids, but it didn't stop Mya from warming up to her!

Kenny and the girls, surprised the boys and took them to Disneyland! I don't have photos of the day, but the boys had a blast. Drew's favorite thing to do was drive the cars, Ian liked the Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and Owen liked the Buzz Lightyear ride. Unfortunately, I was unable to go, because a few days before Kim and Catherine arrived I received the news that my grandfather, Howard Scott, had passed away. This meant a quick trip back to KS for his funeral. It worked out well that Kim and Catherine were able to stay with my boys, so that Mya and I could go be with my family.

My grandpa was a WWII veteran in the U.S. Naval Air Corps, so his funeral was very patriotic. Mya and I, along with my cousins and his fifteen great grandchildren all walked in carrying a flag. The ceremony was a celebration of his life. One of my favorite parts was when my Uncle Greg, talked about my grandpa and grandma dancing around the kitchen when he was a boy and thinking about them now, reunited and dancing together in heaven. At the cemetery there was a 21 gun salute and a man playing "Taps" on the bugle. It was a definite tear jerker. I miss my grandpa but am grateful for the wonderful memories that I have of him. He was a rancher and would work at the sale barn. I remember when I was young going out and watching him and always feeling so proud to have a grandpa that was a cowboy! He would always treat us to cinnamon rolls after he finished working. He was also the one who taught me how to gamble! He loved to play cards and always had loose change for us to play with. He was a very loving grandfather and I will miss him dearly.

So more to come on our trip in KS.......

March Madness....

* Do you notice anything funny about this picture?.......answer at the end!

I feel like the whole month of March has been madness! I have been kept busy redoing our family room in preparations for my Valentines present to be delivered at the end of April. I've been organizing cabinets, labeling everything, and getting rid of stuff. It feels good to be getting everything nice and in order.

Drew and Ian have spent the month of March reading. They have both been challenged to read 100 books for a reading marathon, so when I'm not cleaning, I'm sitting down to read with the boys. Ian was so excited about this challenge when he learned that money would be earned for each book he reads. Of course the money is donated to the school for new books, but some how he thought he would be getting the money, so on the first day he read 28 books! Drew has discovered a new love for the series, "Diary of a Wimpy Kid." I was curious about what was so great about these books after I heard him chuckling while reading, so I decided to read them too, so I can talk to him about the book. Its actually a pretty funny book and we are planning a date night for him and I to go see the new movie based on the book "Rodrick Rules."

Owen has been kept busy learning about bugs at preschool. He loves preschool and is always excited to go. He has learned to write his name and learned all the letters in the alphabet. We are so proud of our little 3 year old! He and daddy have also been building big forts out of blocks for their army men to battle each other.

Mya is talking up a storm! She loves to repeat words back to us. The boys have had fun teaching her words too. They were so excited when they taught her the word butt and taught her to pat her tush while saying it. I was more excited to dress her up on Sunday in a beautiful dress and teach her the word pretty. She walked around touching her dress and her new sparkly shoes saying, "Petty!"

Kenny has been very busy watching basketball. I have never seen him so excited as he was watching BYU play last week and win ( I don't even know who they played, but oh well). He is wearing his BYU shirt to work today in hopes for another big win tonight. We will see..... The boys also love to sit and watch the games with Kenny. We have some big BYU fans around here! Unfortunately, my Alma Mater, Kansas State University, already bit the dust. Not surprised!

March has also brought us some sadness. Kenny's Aunt Teressa passed away in her home this month unexpectedly. She will be missed by many. She had a great love for her Yorkies and my boys liked when she visited us in Grand Junction and brought them along. Also, Kenny's Uncle Bob passed away. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Aunt Ann.

My grandpa Scott has been sick in the hospital, with a lung infection, that has had him in and out of ICU. They sedated him and put him on a ventilator for a couple of days to help him to breathe better, while Doctors tried to clear up the viral infection. He is still in the hospital, so please keep him and my mom in your prayers.

To end on a positive note, we had an awesome opportunity this month to have a visit from Elder Holland at our Stake conference for church. It was very uplifting to hear his testimony of our Savior Jesus Christ. His message to us all was that everyone faces times of trouble in our lives. He said, "The downs are not downs forever. Endure and save yourself for days of happiness ahead. You have been happy, and more happy than not, so Buck Up!" He reminded us that God loves broken things and that he can fix everything and that what we are learning on our journey of life will only make us stronger. I feel extremely blessed to have been able to soak in the words that he spoke and am grateful for his dedication and love for all those around him.

So this is what we've been up to this March. We are looking forward to visits from Auntie Kim and Aunt Cat on Saturday! Our spring break is just about to begin, so I will have lots to blog about soon.

***Kenny has hair!!!! Added just for fun by Darcy, for a good laugh!

A Reason to Celebrate!

Last night the boys and I had a blast celebrating Dr. Seuss's birthday at their school. We listened to our favorite Dr. Seuss stories read by teachers, ate pizza, played bingo, and made crafts. However, the highlight of the evening was when Drew was announced as the GRAND PRIZE winner of the 2nd grade class for his poem he wrote!!!! I was so proud of him for getting up in front of the whole school to read his poem. This little boy continues to impress me everyday!

Ian and Owen both won $5.00 on bingo!

Drew's 1st prize poem!

Fun Times in LA!

Last week the boys had a whole week off of school to celebrate President's Week. We decided to do something fun to celebrate, so we went to LA and went to the California Science Center. Its a huge museum with several different buildings. It took us the whole day just to go through one building! The best part about the museum is that it is FREE!!!

Here are a few of our favorite things we did:
Mya loved the fish and banged on the glass as the fish swam by her.
Owen hated when we had to leave the house he was working so hard to build.

We learned that Ian does NOT have a fear of falling!

Drew was quick to keep his shadow from being eaten by the mountain lion!

I was the only one who met the size requirements to ride the high wire bike. Ian was pretty disappointed. I am not afraid of heights!

Kenny and Drew used their experience racing Mario Kart, to battle racing solar paneled cars. Drew won!!!

We also watched an I-Max 3D movie on Bugs, lifted a 5,000 lb truck, visited the north pole, & planted a garden.

We all had so much fun and can't wait to go back.