California wedding

Ryan's cousin Kelly Ricedorff got married in California on March 26, 2011. Any excuse to get me to California and I take it. We had such a great time. I left on Thursday with Jackie and Rachelle and Ryan drove up Friday with Jack, Rolana, Randy, and Rebecca, notice there are no kid names in this sentence. It was an adult only trip and well worth it. Thanks to Alexis and her willingness to babysit also thanks to Karrie, Kelli and Matt for helping out. I didn't worry about my children all weekend I knew they were okay. Thursday we drove straight to TK Burger and got a yummy hamburger and onion rings then walked around the shops at Huntington then on to the Hyatt Regency (gotta love priceline). Jackie, Rachelle and I just hung out by the pool, shopped and ate. It was nice. Friday we woke up to room service then onto the jacuzzi. Once we had to check out of the hotel we headed to Huntington Beach. Yes, it was freezing but the sun was out and we had to sit on the beach. I love watching the waves, reading a magazine and just relaxing all easy things to do on the beach. That night we met up with Ryan and the rest of the crew. Uncle Don had a nice get together for all of the out of town guests at the hotel so we met new people and caught up with old friends.

Saturday was the wedding day so we didn't do much just hung around the jacuzzi. We were wanting to visit the beach but there was no time and it was very cold and overcast. The wedding was incredibly beautiful. It was in Corona, CA at a place called Star Ranch. The location was in the hills and we were told on a clear day you could see the mountain peaks with snow. Unfortunately it was cloudy but it was still beautiful. The reception was so fun. We all ate and danced and just had an all around great time. Congratulations to Kelly and Joseph I know their life together will be wonderful.

newest niece

Congratulations to Jason and Shelley on their new baby girl. Callie Ann Ricedorff was born March 25, 2011 at 12:05am. The entire family was in California for a wedding but thankfully Shelley's mom was able to make it in from Utah. I am so excited to get to know this baby girl and to hold a little baby.

Kate's house

Kate made a new house for herself one day. She took out all of the cereal boxes and arranged them into a rectangle and then stood inside. She actually opened the door (one of the boxes to get in). She asked if I would join her but I had to decline. I didn't think the house would fit me. I love when my children use their imaginations. Even something as simple as making a house out of cereal boxes.

Spring Break Recap

Spring Break Recap

Apparently Julie has had some time off and I am not updating my blog enough cause she now has time to read it. So here it is.

Spring Break was great. I love that there is no schedule and that we can do what we want.

Monday:We had breakfast bright and early out at Usery Pass. It is now a tradition because it is two years in a row. I love being outside, the greasy food, watching the kids all play, and hanging with my family. My brothers and sisters are great. We chat and laugh and tell a lot of stories. It is a shame that we are all so busy. I could hang out with them everyday.

Picture below: Jack, Kyley, Abby, Hannah, Taylor, Wyatt, Jay, Dad (Dale), Raulin, Jacob, Durham, Ty, and MacGregor

Tuesday: We didn't have anything planned so I took the boys to deposit their money into their savings account. I think both boys have more money than me in savings. I am proud of how hard they work to save. We are trying to have them save $5.00 a month for their missions. No where near the $400.00 they need to serve but it is a start. After the bank we went to the temple. I was needing something for the kids to do and it is cheap. I was thinking we would have a nice walk around the temple maybe even watch a movie. No, they just want to push the buttons on the little computer things and see all of the Books of Mormon. But it is a start and maybe I can make a habit of taking them monthly.
Wednesday: We made the trek south to visit the Chesley's. My kids love it out there. Kate gets spoiled by Kyley and Jack and Jay just play with their cousins. So I get to hang out and talk with my sisters, Karrie made the trip too. I love being at Julie's house. I think that all backyards should be an acre and that kids should be outside as much as possible. When my kids are dirty then I know they had a good day. Wednesday was a good day because they were nice and dirty. That evening Jack went with Jacob to the movies and Ryan took Kate and Jay so I went and got a pedicure. I love spoiling myself.
Pictures below: Kyley and Kate, Jay getting followed by the dogs because he had pizza. It was great everywhere Jay went the dogs followed.


Thursday: We headed up north to Show Low for Randy's 40th surprise birthday party. We got into town right at seven. Then Rebecca took off to pick him up. I think he was totally surprised. It was fun to be up in Show Low again. It had been a while since we had been. The NCAA basketball games also started today.
Friday: We went to see Mark and Kristin's new house in Snowflake. I love it. With a little (a lot) of redecorating it can be a house that they can stay in forever. Right now it is totally livable it just needs some updates, like new carpet, paint, and such. But it sits on an acre so my kids were outside the entire time. After Mark's we went to watch Rathen play baseball. I love baseball. I love being outside and eating seeds. Show Low beat Round Valley 11-1. Gotta love a run rule. That night we met Mark and Kristin for dinner. It was great to see Mark and have him tell me about the super moon. I didn't notice a difference in the moon but I guess it's true we were closer to the moon.
Picture below: the only picture I took of our Show Low trip. It is Flat Stanley on the quad cause that is what we do in Show Low.

Saturday: we headed home and and watched basketball all day. My bracket is totally messed up since I had Notre Dame winning it all and they lost. But it is still fun to watch.
Well here is my spring break in a nutshell. Now it is back to school and back to a schedule.

Let the Madness Begin

It's that time of year again when the outside smells wonderful and the inside is crazy. March Madness has begun in my home. This year the boys are old enough to fill out brackets so it will be a little more fun. I of course have my two brackets, one I fill out completely and one that I go round by round. I have learned the hard way that it is better for me to have two brackets. If I am going to be watching the games it is more fun to still have teams in the tournament.

Here are the picks for the Final Four:

Ryan: Ohio State, Duke, Kansas, and Florida

Dyan: North Carolina, Duke, Notre Dame, and Pittsburgh

Jack: Ohio State, Duke, Kansas, BYU

Jay: Duke and BYU, he only picked the championship game

Picks for the championship game and winners:

Ryan: Duke and Kansas, Kansas winning

Dyan: Duke and Notre Dame, Notre Dame winning

Jack: Ohio State and BYU, BYU winning

Jay: Duke and BYU, BYU winning

It should be a fun couple of weeks. Bring on the MADNESS!!!!

Reminder

On Saturday my nephew, Raulin, got baptized. It was great but my mom gave the talk on baptism and reminded me of something that I had forgotten. When Raulin was born, Debbie asked if I would babysit Durham, so I said sure. Well, Jack was three months old and Durham was 18 months old. I decided to take them both to my dad's softball game at Mountain View. As I was driving, both boys started crying and screaming. I was frustrated so I said a little prayer for help. I was expecting the boys to stop crying but they didn't, instead I felt a sense of peace and I knew all would be okay and that I could handle it. I remember thinking after that that the Lord answers all of our prayers just not in the way we always expect. I expected the boys to stop crying instead I got the answer of "Dyan you can handle it, you will be okay." It was such a great answer to my prayer. One I didn't expect but one I got nonetheless and such a great reminder that the Lord knows us and knows what we can handle and how to help us if we just ask. I had forgotten this experience until my mom brought up the circumstances of Raulin's birth. I am grateful for these experiences and I need to remember them so I can learn and grow from them.

Basketball

We had a great basketball season this year. Both Jack and Jay played. I really don't know how people have more than two children playing sports at the same time. It was busy with just two. But we had so much fun. Ryan coached Jack's team and they improved so much. The first two games they got their booties kicked so Ryan stepped up and had them working on more drills and fast breaks and what not. It was so much fun to see their team improve and to see Jack improve.

Jack's team below: Zane, Ethan, Isaac, Chandler, Danny, Davis, Andrew, Cooper, Jack and Sterling. If we can we will have this same team next year and the year after and forever. They were so much fun.

Jay's team also improved so much. The first game was a comedy of errors, double dribbles, travels, and poor shooting. The rest of the season was similar but a lot less of the bad stuff. The coaching was great and the kids really learned the game. It was fun to watch Jay learn the game of basketball. His little team was good and hopefully a picture is coming soon.