Spring Break

We went to Spokane for Spring break. We figured it would be a little colder, but with sunshine and blue skies...there were some blue skies...but plenty of snow too! They had an unexpected snowstorm. We stayed with Jeff's brother Dan and family. Jeff helped Dan install his central vac. in the downstairs. We got to visit with some of my family who were in town that weekend for the Bighorn show. My cousin Ellen and her husband, from British Columbia, run a hunting resort called Crystal Lake Resort, and he had a booth at the show. My Aunt Linda came down also to help Ellen with the girls - they have 7! My sister, Lisa, and her family also live in Spokane so we had dinner over at her house one night and visited. We were able to see our good friends, Tim and Darla, and family while we were there. Zach had just had his tonsils out a few days before so he was in a bit of a haze! We also visited with Bob and Sherrel who recently returned from their mission to Romania. Sheri Dew said in a talk once that you can't have too many mothers...Sherrel has been one of my many mothers! Their family was in our ward growing up and she was one of my youth leaders. My kids called her Grandma when they were little so that was fun to see them. I also ran into an old friend in Target Saturday night, she was in our ward while we were there and is the one who gave me the bread recipe that I have used and tweaked for my 'famous' rolls! It was fun to catch up with her. Uncle Dan cooked us a great meal Saturday night with his ginormous wok! He had a recipe for PF Changs lettuce wraps - one of our favorites - and he made ham fried rice and we also had pot stickers! Yum! Dan took Kyle and Tanner and some other boys that Dan works with in Young Mens out paintballing. Kyle has wanted to go for some time. He had a good time and I didn't see any obvious bruises or welts when they got back. Another one of my sisters, Renee and her family, were in Spokane for a youth temple trip. They are from Lewiston, ID. So Renee and my niece Kaylona, and Artie (Dan's wife) and my niece Erynn, and Megan and Caylin and I met at the Valley Mall for some shopping. Renee and I were on the hunt for dresses for our girls for my brother's wedding coming up next month. After several hours and partial success - we settled on matching white skirts- still need to find shirts in wedding colors....I know I'd had enough. When we got back to Dan and Artie's the girls and the little boys rode quads and Kyle and Tanner played guitar. Easter sunday,we went to church with Dan and Artie then changed our clothes, packed sandwiches and headed home. We had fun visiting with friends and relatives and wish we could have had more time to catch up with others. Jeff figured he was going to have top ramen for Easter dinner but late afternoon we got a call from Jeff's dad saying that they wouldn't wait for us but they would have dinner for us...we went straight to his parents home and got there just as they were finishing up the main course. So we all had Mom's lemon merengue pie for dessert together! It's so nice to live here with all this family. Monday it was back to work for Jeff and I, catch up on chores, playing with friends for the kids...and rain and snow here too! Our original plan was to go to Utah for spring break - this is the second time we've canceled a spring break trip to Utah - maybe next year?? (Jeff 's not sure he wants to be in the car for that long with the kids - so maybe not!)
The Pictures from the top:
1.Kyle and Tanner playing guitar.
2.Tim, Darla, Zack, Luke, Sierra, and Becca.
3.Bob, Sherrel, and I.
4.Caylin and Tate 4 wheeling!
5.Kyle and Ellen's daughter, Rachel. She liked Kyle!
6.Megan and Sierra. They are 6 weeks apart and had lots of fun as babies and toddlers. One time they were arguing about their Aunt "We-ann's". They were crying and yelling and Darla and I went to find out what was going on! We had to convince 3 year olds that they were both right - Megan has an Aunt Leann and Sierra has an Aunt Deanne and neither of them could pronounce it right!
7.My cousin Ellen, sister Lisa, me, and my Aunt Linda.
8.Mine and Ellen's girls watching a movie.
9.Lisa, Paul, and Jonathon. Behind them is the rock fireplace my brother, Leo, did.