The Future

In her homework, Rachel was asked to write about how you see yourself in the future.  This is what she wrote:

In the future, I see myself  as a billionare, and also training dolphins and doing dolphin shows for more money. But, behind the greatness, come responsibilities.  I have to buy lots of securety cameras for my mansion, and I have to train the dolphins. I will live in New York, with 5 children and a husband. I will have 3 girls and 2 boys. But even though I'm a billionare, I have to always spend money. Last week, I bought my family 8 pets. Imagine how much money I have to use to buy food!!

Annual Camping at Valley of Fire

We found a perfect weekend to go camping.  No one had early sports on Saturday and the weather was great.  We pulled the kids out of school a little early and went to our favorite camp site.  While we set up the camp, the kids went off to climb and explore.  I love going camping because even if the kids are fighting all the way there, as soon as we get out, they are best friends and they have a blast playing together.  This was the first time Ruby has gone camping.  I thought she'd like it more.  But I think she really hated that the other kids could go run and climb and she just couldn't.  She was stuck around the camp with me and Bob.

We cooked the regular hot dogs and smores.  Seth was a pyromaniac!! He loved watching his food burn in the fire.  I think he went through a whole bag himself.

We explored some of our own hikes where we found rocks that explode into sand when you throw them.  The kids all loved that! And we visited the Cabins and Elephant Rock.

Scar Face Ruby

Ruby had an accident in our backyard.  The kids were playing out there before church and Ruby tripped over the hose and landed face-first.  She got some scrapes and bruises, but her forehead just happened to hit right on the hose nozzle and it was deep.  So instead of going to church to see Bob released from the Bishopric and and our good friend called as the new Bishop, Ruby and I went to the ER.

It turned out they could just glue it instead of stitches. We're hoping that will help so she doesn't scar too badly.  She was so good through the whole ordeal.

Before:

During:

After:

Spring Break and Easter

We tried to keep busy this Spring Break.  The weather was nice, but not warm enough for swimming, so we just played outside a lot.  We bought 5 huge balls for jumping with on the trampoline.  That was a big hit.  We went to the Springs Preserve and saw their bird show and new space exhibit and had lunch with Bob while we were there.  We love that the Springs Preserve is right next to Bob's work.  We went to Flip N Out and all the kids had a great time on the huge trampolines and bouncy houses.  Grandma Zonda and Grandpa Cliff were visiting Casey in Utah for Easter, but we got to see them when they stayed at our house on the way up and back. We rented several movies and made crafts.  And we went to the ward Easter Party where Danny, Rachel and Aaron got to throw whip cream pies at Bob. 

Easter morning the kids all got up and found their Easter baskets.  Then we got dressed.  This year I decided to sew the girls' Easter dresses.  I was happy with how they turned out and they looked so cute in their matching dresses. That afternoon we had a good Easter lesson together and watched the Church's new Bible videos about Christ's resurrection.

Danny's 10th Birthday

Danny turned 10 on the first day of Spring Break.  To celebrate he took a couple of friends and Rachel and Aaron to laser tag. He picked out his cake online.  It was chocolate with kit kat around the sides and M&Ms on top.  He loved it. He got air soft guns and masks for his presents.  Bob got the same thing for his birthday and so did Danny's best friend, CJ.  So he's planning some good air soft wars soon.

Danny found his new favorite sport this year: basketball.  He played when he was 6 and 7, but it hasn't worked out for the last couple of years. This year we got him on a great team and we set up a hoop in our backyard.  He loved it.  He goes out and shoots everyday.  He worked really hard at practice and the games and he got the team sportsmanship award because of all his hard work. Right now he says he wants to be a basketball player when he grows up. Danny also played soccer and baseball this year.

Danny still loves origami and brings home ninja stars or some other weapon he and his friends created in their spare time at school. He loves scouts, especially day camp.  

What makes you happy: Fishing
Favorite food: seafood
Least favorite food: avocado
Favorite thing to do: basketball
Favorite TV show: Wipeout
What are you really good at: athletics

Favorite Movie: Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back
Favorite color:  green/blue
Favorite song: Yeah by Usher
Best friend:  CJ
What do you and your mom do together: helps me
What do you and your dad do together: basketball
Favorite sport: basketball
Favorite place to go: target

Favorite animal: white tiger

Favorite Book: Big Nate

What do you want me to be when you grow up: Pro Basketball Player

Phebe's Blessing in CA

 

 

 

 

 

We went to Ryan and Venessa's in March for Phebe's baby blessing.  We hadn't gone anywhere since December, so we were ready for a trip and to see family. And we were all excited to meet Phebe. Kristal and my parents came too.  The weather was a little cold, but we still had a great time. We went to the beach and played in the sand and saw some seals, we walked to their hoa and played basketball and climbed trees, and the kids loved to watch cartoons in the mancave when they needed some downtime.

Snapshot

Danny is playing basketball right now.  He loves it and he's really coming along in his skills. He practices every day in our backyard. His best friend in the whole world is CJ Dean. The first thing he says to me when he gets home from school everyday is "Can CJ come over?" He has a pretty hard teacher this year for fourth grade.  She's really making him work for the grades that used to come really easy for him. It's been quite an adjustment.

Rachel is doing great with tennis.  She was just moved up another level by her coach.  She's really enjoying going to her lessons.  She rides her bike over to the courts every Saturday with her tennis racquet down the back of her shirt, ninja-style, so she can steer with both hands. She loves playing with her best friend, Savannah Dean. They like to make fun crafts and play Just Dance on the wii.  Rachel is a wonderful helper with Seth and Ruby. 

Aaron is getting excited for baseball season.  He's been taking this season off from sports, but we've had a Dean/Cox basketball camp on Saturday mornings at the church gym, which he's loved.  And he plays basketball and football with Danny in the backyard everyday.  He loves to ride his Trike he got for Christmas. Seth is getting old enough that he and Aaron can play together too. Aaron is loving kindergarten and works hard there. He's so proud when he can come home and tell me he "stayed on blue" all day. (He used to have a hard time not talking to his neighbor and pulled a card fairly often).

We just found out that Seth needs tubes in his ears. He has 30% hearing loss because of constant fluid in his ears.  But they think tubes should correct that.  He gets them next month.  Seth is a solid little man.  He's not really chubby, but he's our thickest kid.  But he's also our best eater.  He'll eat anything I cook. At a typical dinner we'll sit down to Aaron having a fit about whatever I made and Seth will clear his plate and ask for more before we've even convinced Aaron to take his first bite. Seth also loves to eat junk food and candy any chance he gets too.

Ruby's personality shows up more every day.  She loves to get her finger- and toenails painted and she likes necklaces, bracelets and purses.  She found a roll of duct tape yesterday and was wearing it around like a bracelet. She likes to laugh and tease and be silly. She sleeps with the fleece blanket Danny made her for Christmas.  She rubs the fringe on her cheeks as she goes to sleep. She only drinks water. She won't adjust to drinking milk.  I've tried whole, 2%, skim, chocolate, strawberry, soy. She won't drink more than two swallows ever. And she doesn't like juice or koolaid either.  It's just water for her.