a quick trip to SLO

to start off spring break with a bang we went to see grandmom and grandad and great grammy in san luis obispo. i am working on some family history books and so we went for the weekend- it was so great to see them! they have such a special place in my heart and such fun relationships with my children! i am sad we didn't get to see grammy much as she was not feeling well. at least seth got to meet her! here is the photo dump from the trip!

some of my favorite moments were when grandad played with seth and made him laugh by making lots of different types of noises, getting to watch the general women's meeting broadcast with grandmom, grandmom commenting with a catch in her voice how nice it was to have my whole family there to visit while giving me a big hug, seeing my aunt karen even if just for a few minutes (after she left natalie said "well she sure brings the sunshine in with her!" and i agree =o]) and listening to the kids chatter away about nothing and have grandmom and grandad respond engagingly and knowing they genuinely care about them. and my kids just adore them right back! it was such a special experience to get to record some of their memories and make some decisions about the books we are making of their lives.
i am truly blessed in the grandparents department! i am grateful they can handle our noise and activity level =o]
hooray for spring break and making memories with our forever family!!

March

it was another fly-by month for us! our family is livin it up and i love it! this is silly, but i was talking to someone who i love and respect dearly about how i almost feel guilty having such a happy life right now. i mean sure there are petty things to get stressed over, but things are just GOOD for our family right now and it is hard sometimes to not be sitting on the edge of my seat like 'what the heck is going to slam me down and when's it gonna happen?' see? i said it was silly. but i was so grateful for her validation because it unlocked the possibility of basking in all the goodness for a bit while it is here. fill up my well. get some r&r. if that is what you can call what i do everyday as a wife, mother of 4 youngsters, and homemaker =o] anyway, here are somethings we did this month that i caught on camera:

a long time ago when we lived in the same town i used to babysit the russo kids a lot, and this month we got to do it again- overnight! they all played outside on the trampoline a ton and aside from being louder and crazier than it normally is around here it actually went off pretty smoothly. and to think my mom had one more than i had for this 48 hours... whoa. i am yet again amazed by my mother!

one friday i was feeling overwhelmed and really wanted to start the weekend off in a fun way and so i called kent and redeemed this coupon that he gave me for christmas (i LOVE coupons as gifts. seriously the best!) so each of us got to choose one thing to do for the family date.

i chose kent picking up dinner on the way home =o] 

we had read about the yule ball in harry potter and so natalie chose to have a yule ball and everyone had to wear "dress robes" ha ha 

they all got dressed and cleared the dance floor while i put seth to bed and then we busted out the moves! we each chose a song to dance to and it really was so fun!

jenna chose jumping on the trampoline. i never get to jump on the trampoline with them because i'm always holding seth or i tell them i have to do the dishes or something dumb and so they were all SO EXCITED that i was jumping with them lol i showed them how i used to jump my little sisters super high on the trampoline by bouncing together and then kind of throwing them up into the air while giving them my momentum but still holding on to their hands. good times =o] 

then caleb chose playing basketball. it was fun for a bit until the little miss was ready for bed =o] the older two kept playing with kent while i put jenna to bed and then we all came inside to get ready for bed

once the kids were in bed kent and i watched "gravity". meh. i mean, it was good, but i wasn't sure what all the hype was about. but having a family date was still the perfect way to start the weekend!

for happy hansen day we made a CD with favorite songs from each family/person using an itunes gift card i got for my birthday. it was a fun way to connect with everyone across the miles- and we are still rockin out to all the new fun music!!

we continue to escape to disneyland at every possible opportunity! we LOVE it and have a great time together (even though my back KILLS me the next day from having seth in the pack.) 

yes jenna has bare feet. she kicked her crocs off somewhere in california adventure. 

our church is at 11 this year and we are loving the leisurely mornings! we get the kids ready and then get them started on an activity and i actually get to get ready in peace more often then not- it is so great! 

kent also gets to practice the piano for a good chunk of time and seth loves it almost as much as i do =o]

i love taking pictures of them all cute and ready to go for church- i always have and probably always will! 

natalie, caleb, and i went to a fundraiser dinner our ward was having for the YM and YW. we got several items in the silent auction, the baked goods auction, and of course dinner and dessert =o] it was fun to hang out with just the three of us! kids make life so much more interesting!!

i love having good recipes. i love making something and knowing it is the best of it's kind that i have ever tasted. seriously, i can't even get things from the store or at a restaurant that i have a great recipe for because i expect it to taste like mine and then i am disappointed. (i only have like 10 recipes like this, so don't think i'm conceited or something lol) anyway, i was at a baby shower for my friend and the hostess made the BEST carrot cake i have ever tasted. seriously so impressive. so i complimented her and she immediately informed me that it was a secret family recipe and couldn't share it with me before i could even ask! we had a good laugh but now naturally i am now on a mission lol! as kent pointed out though i will probably never find one to my satisfaction because that carrot cake is now on this pedestal in my memory and nothing will live up to it. he is probably right. but i still want to try! so i have made 2 cakes in the past 2 weeks and i plan to try another next week. i also love decorating cakes so i am looking for the best way to decorate a carrot cake. oh and which frosting is best too!

the first one i took to the ward auction thing described above. (that one sister's secret-recipe-carrot-cake sold for the highest price that i heard that night, and mine was put on the sell by the slice table lol! but as natalie pointed out it was the first one gone =o])

it was supposed to be a three tiered cake but i just made it two layers and kept the third for us to try. these carrots are mike 'n ike's and sour strings. it has cream cheese frosting with pecans.

this cake went in large pieces to my friend who has since had her baby, and all the sisters i am over for visiting teaching. it also has cream cheese frosting, but these carrots are made from starbursts and airheads. 

oh and of course caleb with my little sous chef  =o] i love that he loves cooking and baking! i told him is college roommates, missionary companions, wife and kids are all going to appreciate him!!

inspired by our Murray cousins, we have started a family financial system that is totally working! i mean, we are only a few weeks in, but so far it has been a win-win-win situation! the kids can earn mackay bucks by doing things like an extra chore, practicing a musical instrument, or get caught doing a kind service, and then they spend their mackay bucks on things like an extra chapter of harry potter, a piece of candy, or save up for watching a movie on the portable DVD player, getting a new book or even a toy or item of clothing. there is also the threat of getting mackay bucks taken away for making huge disasters on purpose and leaving them for me to clean up, but so far just the looming threat has been enough to prevent any blatant offenses. it works WONDERS. seriously i hope it keeps up =o] 

here are just some other random pictures from the month. i think this may be the last bath that caleb and jenna took together- they don't want to share the tub and i'm not about to force them! 

partners in crime. and cuteness.

jenna wants to help with seth in any and every way she can! she takes good care of her little baby dolls and when i let her she does a good job with seth too, sweet girl. 

so many art projects, so little time! 

we (along with seriously every other person i know) got frozen and loved it!! here they are about to watch it, dinner and a movie style =o]

natalie. always the adventurous optimist. 

her as the hufflepuff quidditch team captain.  

the artist

the scientist (we are doing a unit on plants and this is part of her germination experiment)

(she has her little heart set on being) the future owner of a ("REAL!") black miniature schnauzer

caleb. always the volitional enthusiast.

earning mackay bucks!

he gave his first talk in primary. it was adorable! he was almost in tears when we discovered that he was giving his talk on the same day that both kent and i were teaching. luckily i was still able to help him because at the end of my lesson i showed a video which i had shot and kent put together of interviews with our ward leaders on the importance of general conference. everything went off without a hitch and he did great! he wrote the whole thing, but still wanted me to whisper it in his ear. my favorite line was "i know heavenly father will live with us every day when i am resurrected someday." =o] 

he is loving his bike that he got for his birthday lately!

   

jenna. my comeuppance. ;)

this little trick stopped the stripping out of her pjs and wetting the bed at night shenanigans!  

she finds the funniest small spaces to curl up and hide sometimes. i will find her somewhere sucking her fingers and "softing" (rubbing her cheek with) her blanket, after frantically searching all over for her because she doesn't answer when she is hiding like this and it worries me like none other! but then again, it is cute too!

the potty training continues. THE. POTTY. TRAINING. CONTINUES! lol

seth. super seth! (his new nickname)

he is eating like a horse and living like a king. everyone loves him and he loves everyone. what more can i say about this kid? he rocks! here he is eagerly mashing his broccoli =o] 

 hooray for march!