Spring Break 2018

One of the major benefits of having a spouse in public education is . . . he gets a lot of breaks! And they're usually the same as breaks for the kids! This year, his spring break was the same time as spring break for the preschool, so we decided to go to California and spend time with Grandma and Grandpa Rusch, who are serving in the Fresno mission!
We had so much fun!
Chris said to me before we left that we should check conditions at the mountain pass. "Nah," I thought. "It's spring! No big deal!" Boy, was I wrong . . .
We left a day early so we could spend time in the Bay area, with my friend from college and a few other friends who live out there. But, I-80, over the mountains, closed. So, instead, we spent the day in Reno, Nevada.

These are pictures of Circus, Circus in Reno. We were sad to miss out on friends, but tried to make lemonade out of our lemons!
The next day, we had to take the back route to get to California. I was grateful that I have a husband who loves (obsesses over?) the Western States 100 race, because he knew which way to take when we got to a place that I didn't know. (Note to self: take an atlas in the future. At times, a map on the phone is not useful!)
We reached Fresno and had so much fun playing with Chris's parents! They were so happy to have kids running when they knocked on the door in the hotel room! Their ward is very friendly and it was great to be able to go to church with them. There were so many people who said how much they loved their missionaries!

Chris's parents live in backwoods, CA. They actually live in Prather, CA, which is 40 minutes away from any hotel, and a very remote location to get to. They showed us around their ward boundaries, and the area that they cover in their missionary efforts. It was so fun to see!
On Monday, we drove to Yosemite National Park. This has been on my bucket list for a long time, and it was so fun to see in person! The weather on Monday was great, so we were able to see El Capitan beautifully.

 Davis decided that he was a photographer, and took lots of pictures that are . . . maybe not the best. But, I think this one is actually pretty funny:

Chris's dad got us some great accommodations in Yosemite:

We had so much fun in the three-bedroom cabin that we stayed in! We just wish the weather would have been better for the occasion, but the company was great, so we can't complain!

Seeing El Capitan with the fog around it was pretty breathtaking though.

The trip back was basically uneventful. We stayed at Circus Circus in Reno again after making the pass over the mountains. It was cute to see Davis pulling some luggage in the hotel.

On the way back, we stopped through a place where Chris served his mission. This was a landmark for him, so we took a picture of it:

It was pretty fun to do a road trip. We were a little nervous to start, but it ended up being a ton of fun. The kids did great in the car, because we had DVDs, treats, and lots to do!

It was a fabulous trip! We learned a lot, such as:

• A road atlas would be a good idea
• Our kids are great on the road, especially if they have adequate entertainment!
• Davis was pretty much the ruler of his own little universe! He thought it was pretty cool to be able to reach the treats, toys, and everything his heart desired from his seat!
• Getting a room with two queen-sized beds actually works really well for our little family!
• There are adjustments that need to be made, but if we basically have a good time, it is a success! And we need to be very flexible!
• We love each other and are grateful for these opportunities!

Also, have you ever seen a WORSE misspelling of Chris's name?

Thanks, Arby's!

Reagan is THREE!

 

Honestly, I will greatly miss Reagan being two. She has been the most delightful two-year-old ever known! But, alas, she turned three!
We had a party for her on Sunday night, and then spent today opening her presents from Mom and Dad and grandparents. It was a ton of fun.
Here is some of the Sunday fun:

 All of her party food was pink, of course.

 Including the traditional elephant cake, made by mom.

 "Thanks, Great Grandpa."

 Ready to blow out the candle.

 Unwrapping gifts.

 The picture taking fail of blowing out the candle.

And this morning:

 Princess dress up clothes

Getting help unwrapping gifts from her brother early in the morning, before Daddy went to work. Brothers are great!
We got a gift back in October of a play kitchen. We got a little distracted, and didn't try to assemble it before the weekend before her birthday, and found that there were no instructions included, and none available on the internet. We emailed everyone we could think of, and I had three emails in my inbox on Monday morning with instructions of how to put the kitchen together. So, the kitchen did not come until later the night of her birthday, which was totally okay with her. She was delighted to get it!

 Playing with it while being dressed as Belle, because of course we have to do that!

Anyway, it's quite the detailed kitchen.

Things I want to remember about Reagan when she turned 3:
1. She is such a GIRL! She tells me several times a day that her favorite colors are pink and purple. She loves anything princess and girl.
2. She loves to sing. Every night before bed, she sings me several songs, usually, "Incy Wincy Spider," "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star," and "I am a Child of God" to name a few.
3. She LOVES her brother, and protects him just as much as he protects her. She is fiercely loyal to him.
4. She loves to say prayers, and sometimes forgets whether she should "bless the food" or not. Often, she asks me during the prayer. And there are often addendums after her prayers, because she forgets to say certain things.
5. She is SO BIG. She is pretty much Davis's age. Just ask her. She can do ANYTHING by herself!

Halloween 2017

Halloween 2017 was definitely a success! Even though we are currently undergoing issues with unemployment and Chris, we were still able to have fun with the whole holiday! First, we had the ward trunk-or-treat:

Davis was a pirate for this, because no masks were allowed. Reagan chose to wear the Tinkerbell costume, because she could.

The day before Halloween, we went to see the hay bales in town that were decorated to look like Star Wars characters:

They do this every year. We really should make it a tradition to go see them, because they are very cool, and not too far away!
Then, of course, the pumpkin carving:

Davis wanted his pumpkin to be a ghost, and Reagan wanted hers to be a kitty cat. Chris is an awesome and skilled pumpkin carver, as you can see!
On Halloween, this little girl sat with me in the family room and watched Halloween kids shows while I was folding laundry. I know it's not too exciting, but there you have it. This was the only part of the festivities where she wore the original costume I got for Halloween, which is Belle. But that;s not really the point of getting costumes, right?

On Halloween, we went to the Halloween party at the library. It was a lot of fun!

Reagan was the very first one to dance along with the music before the festivities. And she decided to wear her Snow White dress for it.
And then, the real event, the trick-or-treating:

Davis was a storm trooper, and Reagan was Snow White. Notice the snow coats under their costumes. I love living in Idaho! We mostly went to see family, which was super fun!

This morning, Davis was disappointed that we still had Halloween decorations in our house. So, we promptly took care of those and put up the Thanksgiving decorations.

Davis is sitting by the boy scarecrow, and Reagan is sitting by the girl. Because duh!

Hope everyone had a Happy Halloween!!

Fathers' Day 2017

We have the best daddy at our house! Everyone loves our daddy. He is definitely the favorite parent.

This is one of my favorite pictures lately. Chris stayed home on a Monday to build a garden for me (because we lost our apple tree, which was fabulous!) These kids wanted to go outside with their daddy. They saw that he put on his boots and his gloves, so they got their winter boots and winter gloves and went out to "help" him. They love their daddy! Basically, Davis does whatever daddy does, and Reagan does whatever Davis does, so it's a winning combination!

For Fathers' Day, these were our celebrations:

Daddy got a new Star Wars shirt (because he needed a new one. . . like a hole in the head) and a pair of work shoes, and hugs from his kids! Because Daddy likes to smoke (the primary presidency says that Davis saying announced that in Primary when learning about the Word of Wisdom--great!), we let him make us some yummy meat for Fathers' Day too! Aren't we nice?!

Mothers' Day 2016

For Mothers' Day, I was spoiled rotten by my husband and kids. I got a nice breakfast (after church, because that is 1000 times easier with 9:00 church) and my husband made me a wonderful dinner. I also got flowers and chocolates.

I took a picture of this little girl in her cute new dress from Grandma Rusch:

I am so grateful for mothers, and grateful for my little family that spoils me rotten!