Easter

Easter is such a wonderful holiday! I love the springtime. And, I am so grateful for the time set aside to remember the atonement. We had good speakers at church and the choir sang "Consider The Lilies", one of my favorites. The kids in nursery were great. We talked about the Savior, decorated some cookies for our snack time and glued some pretty flowers on our activity projects. After church, we gathered together for dinner with our kids and grand kids. We also had David's mom, my mom, Leo, Vickie, Mariah, John, Becky and Sarah (Vickie's mom) join us for dinner this year. Jocelyn brought a honey baked ham , Sarah brought a jello salad and we added a turkey, fruit salad, party potatoes, asparagus, and rolls. For dessert, fresh strawberry and razzleberry pie.

After dinner Karl stopped in before heading off to work, so we sang "Happy Birthday" and the EASTER EGG HUNT was on...

The granny's enjoyed sitting in the shade and watching the kids find eggs.

Some of the small ones needed a little help.

Nathan adding to his collection.

Pink eggs are great for boys too!

Jared loved it! He looked completely tuckered out when the day was over.

Kacy had no trouble finding her share.

Will found some in the geraniums.

1 Ed caught on fast!

After all the eggs were found, we went to the back yard and played with the bubbles and play dough.Ed's trying to figure out how the bubbles come out.

Jessie was too little to hunt eggs this year, but I bet she'll be joining in next year! She weighs about as much as the ham. She contributed to the fun by just being soft and cute. Lindsay, David, Jimmy, and Gaye joined us later in the evening for pie and the decorating of the cookies.

Karl's Birthday

Karl turned 60 this year ! His birthday was on Easter, but Gaye planned a surprise party for him Saturday evening. While Karl was welcoming their usual dinner group , the rest of the guests gathered at Faulkner's and then marched down to Karl and Gaye's house bearing gifts, food, tables and igloos full of drinks to join in the fun. It was a great party, and we continued the celebration on Sunday with the traditional fresh strawberry pie for Karl.

A Day with the Grandkids

Friday Karrie had a doctor's appointment for Jessie , so I got to spend some time with the other three. I had some flowers to plant, so we all got to work:

Kacy was a big help and, of course, she liked the pink and purple flowers the best.
Will liked using all the gardening tools, too.

The watering can was Ed's favorite part of the whole thing.

After all the work,we had lunch and cookies for after meal treats. Then, we gathered up some ice cream buckets and decorated them to use for our Easter Egg Hunt coming up .

The Delgado boys stopped by for awhile after lunch to play.

Spencer found a latex glove that David had blown up into a balloon.

Nathan stacked the legs to my patio tables into a tall, tall tower.

Trip to Weldon

After I got home from the temple yesderday, David and I went on a little excursion up Kern Canyon to see our cute grandkids and check out the homebuilding progress in Weldon. David and Ryan made a second excursion to Onyx after we arrived to arrange things for a cement project they are helping Ryan's friend pour soon. Here is Jessie all bundled up to keep out of the wind:Kacy, Will and Ed are stompin' around in the dump trailer enjoying their after-meal treat, M & M's. Karrie served a great crock pot dinner.

David is checking out progress:

We left before dark. Can't wait to see them again Friday!

Garden Planting Time

We planted our garden on Saint Patrick's Day this year. It usually takes me two or three days to get it all in, but this year I had some helpers. Jocelyn had a doctor's appointment, so Nathan, Spencer and Jared came over ready to work with me and David while she was getting the baby checked. It was a beautiful day, slightly cool. Nathan and Spencer planted every other plant for me and Jared helped them pat down the dirt. After we had done a few rows, they thought it was time for watering. Although the garden is on a drip system, the boys convinced me we should use the watering can. Jared especially liked that! During one fill-up session, Nathan apparently forgot about lefty loosey and righty tighty, and ended up watering himself.

A new artichoke plant

Filling up!

Spencer somehow got a sliver in his hand and spent the remainder of the morning sitting in the chair watching and refusing to let us extract it. He was also a little under the weather from a fever. Jocelyn came home and brought lunch for the boys to eat on the patio. As they were eating, the shivers began and we had to retrieve blankets from the house. Maybe that was because after meal treats were fudgecicles!

Springtime Flowers

I love springtime, especially the flowers! I hate the weeds and TONS of greenwaste we get, but the result of hard work is always satisfying. I took some pictures of some of the things I love:

Bees on the Flowering Pear Trees

Fresia - Every year I wish I had planted more bulbs!

Geraniums

Tulips - They don't do too well in Bakersfield, at least in my yard. I planted 100 bulbs in 2000 and I only have a few that still come up.

Easter

For those of you who have been wondering why Easter is so early this year, I have the answer: I heard on the radio this morning from our Bakersfield weatherman, Miles Muzio, that it is the Sunday following the first full moon after March 20th and that it was determined in 325 A.D. The earliest possible Easter is March 22nd and the latest is April 25th.

SIDENOTE:
While I was posting this, David came running in from putting a swarm of bees in a hive and asked me to see if there was a stinger stuck in his shirt on his back. As I was looking, a bee BUZZZED up from his pant leg right into my hair and got stuck. David was looking for it, (not fast enough for me!) but couldn't find it. Apparently my hair is the same color as a bee.
So, I got STUNG on the top of my head!

Jessie & Kacy Comparison

Here are pictures of Jessie and Kacy shortly after birth. Do you think they look alike?

Jessie is here!

Here is baby Jessie. She was born yesterday evening in the hallway of Mercy Southwest. She weighed in at 7 pounds 5 ounces and is 20 inches long. We think she looks like Kacy except her hair is a little longer and darker, like Will's. She has no curls yet, but that may change. Her eyebrows look lighter than her hair.

Ed explored every corner of the room.

Kacy couldn't wait to hold her new sister, and noticed every tiny detail.

Will got a turn to hold her too. We are all very pleased, to say the least. As Kacy said, "She's ADORABLE!

Easter Egg Craft

Karrie brought an Easter Egg Craft to keep the kids busy and hopefully a little quiet, so we went ahead and let them create while we were waiting for word from Ryan.

Belly Shot

We had the gang over for dinner after church Sunday and as we sat around the table Karrie casually stated she had started labor earlier in the day, but it had stopped. They asked if I would mind having the kids stay over if things progressed and she went to the hospital. Yea! I was so excited! After dinner we decided to take a shot of the two belly's. Jocelyn's due in about 5 weeks. Well, Jessie was born about 20 minutes after we took this picture. She was lucky Ryan's a good driver and CHP guy! When I got to the hospital today with Ryan and the other 3 kids in tow, they were all talking about the baby born in the hallway.

Leap Year Party

Our ward had a fun Leap Year Party Friday night which included a great potluck dinner and games and crafts for the kids.

Nathan and Spencer both won prizes for their creativity.