The blessings of the Temple enable us to be sealed (connected) to our families after death and return back to the presence of our Father in Heaven. Visiting the Temple brings a sense of peace and spiritual strength.

With our trip to Hawaii coming up we decided to lay low for spring break. It was just a more relaxing week instead of traveling... Big A had a 3 day camp out with scouts and M was very busy at work and working crazy hours.... So the other 4 kiddos and I decided we were going to the ranch. We had a great time... We went and saw my nephews perform in their school( I will try to post some video of them later. It was very cute), fed cake with Aunt Carrie, put out blocks with Grandaddy, hauled water with Grandaddy, played with Grandma, Played with cousins, Brought in a calving heifer and then tried to avoid her so she didn't put us up the fence, and got to feel my niece (who is still in my sister, Mary Anne's tummy) kick at me. It was all fabulous and it was hard for us to leave...( But at the same time we missed daddy and Big A)

We bought a bunch of games during spring break... One was hungry, hungry Hippo. We have had it before but through the years pieces have been lost so we decided it was time to have it again. We carefully explained to Tiny A how to let the marbles go in but to continue making your Hippo eat them... We were then shown how the game really was played. She dominated! I think she won 25 out 0f 30 games. And I mean really won! Sometimes she had all but a few of the marbles. We decided the floor must be slanted and switched her position, she got even more marbles... Hmmm....She is just our family's Hungry Hippo champion!

Go Lemon Drops! Go Rockets!

I absolutely love working with my kids... It probably comes from the way I was raised... We were always doing something with our parents on the ranch... Work was just a part of life, but the funny thing is I didn't think it was work. It made me proud when I was able to accomplish something. I loved being with my parents, grandparents or siblings. No wonder I am so close to them all! We worked together.

One of the many fun things we get to do with Becca being here with us... Birthday parties! Our kiddos love birthdays... So we made a big dinner and cake for sweet Aunt Becca! We Love you!

Big A had his first meet yesterday... Unfortunately, Double A and I were fighting a nasty flu so we didn't get to go and consequently have no pictures. But he did great! I had Matt on the phone while he was running so I had details every step of the way. He ran a 6:15 in the mile and a 3:00 in the 800m. All of this while not feeling very well himself. Great job, Big A! We think you did Fantastic!

I had such a sweet, tender experience today. So sweet, I questioned posting it. But I decided we all can use a smile and this one definitely brought a smile to me!

A few pictures from Triple A's Soccer Game.... He's a Beast! (HEE HEE)

Little A really wants to be a photographer... After we got our new camera we started letting her use our little camera to have fun...

I don't think this needs too much of an introduction... But I testify that I know this church is true .... every ounce of it! The temples are one of my very favorite places to be... I have never felt the spirit as strong as I do while I am there. I love to go with our youth for baptisms and I love to go with my Matt. I even love to go alone and take in the peace and calmness that I feel when I am there. I know with all of my heart that blessings do come from attending the temples of the Lord. I am so grateful for the gospel which was restored in its fullness to the earth, and that we live so close to a temple. And I love it when my 3 year old breaks out in singing "I Love To See The Temple" every time we pass by.

Throughout history, the Lord has commanded His people to build temples. Temples are literally houses of the Lord. They are holy places of worship where individuals make sacred promises with God.

Okay, I know I have the best friends ever! Yesterday I found myself in quite a bind trying to figure out how to get kids everywhere they needed to be and for me to be everywhere I needed to be... It was, to say the least, A crazy day! But my sweet heart of a friend, Meredith, jumped right in when I called to bum some of her day from her. She is the best! While Matt was at the meet with Double A and I was at a Relief Society activity that I had to help with... She was picking Triple A up at a party and entertaining Little A. And she did this on top of her little one's 1st birthday... (What a good friend to let me add to her busy day!) And she had them until 7:00!( It was probably longer but Matt won't tell me even if it was because he knows I will stress over Meredith having my kids so long!!!:) ) But Let me tell you...She saved my day! And my little ones that were with her had soooo much fun! I was asking Little A about her time there, you know doing the motherly questions... It went something like this...
"Were you good for Meredith..." .... "Yes, mom"
" Did you clean up after yourself?" ..."Yes, Mom"
Then came the quick reply to stop anymore questions....
"Mom, They love me there, Don't worry..."
So there you have it! What better friend could I have? I leave my kids there half the day and she loves them to pieces and my kids love her the exact same way!
Thank You, thank you Meredith! You truly exemplify what a friend should be!
We love you and your whole gang to pieces, too!

Double A had her first meet yesterday. She ran the mile (1600) and the 800. And gave the high jump a shot. She was 5th in the mile ( Including all 8th, 7th and 6th graders)and she ran it in 6:40. In the 800 she was 3rd and ran it in 3:11. We are, ofcourse, very proud of our little sweet pea. We think she rocked! And the cool thing is her best friend (since they were 4) does the same events as her and they definitely push each other to be faster! Very Cool!

Matt's office mate gave this to him yesterday..... I thought it was worth posting....

"You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving. The government cannot give to anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else. When half of the people get the idea that they do not have to work because the other half is going to take care of them, and when the other half gets the idea that it does no good to work because somebody else is going to get what they work for, that, my dear friend, is about the end of any nation.You cannot multiply wealth by dividing it."
Dr. Adrian Pierce Rogers (September 12, 1931 - November 15, 2005) of LoveWorth Finding Ministries, Pastor Emeritus of Bellevue Baptist Church.

Spring soccer has officially started. We had our first round of games yesterday.... I didn't get to go to Triple A's game so I'll post pictures of him next week. But here are a few from our little Soccer maniac, Little A....

Last weekend M's parents came to visit and we went and had a great hike on Saturday up in the Sandias... One of the many reasons I love where we live. We only drove a couple of miles to where we started our hike. It was an absolutely gorgeous day! Even Alec decided he couldn't stay home so he hobbled through the hike and did pretty well.

While I was at the urgent care with Big A, I had left the other kids at home, and while I was gone, Triple A decided he wanted cookies. He made these all by himself and they were so good! Wow, my kids are really growing up!

Last week I got a call from the middle school's nurse telling me that Big A had been in a "collision" in PE and hurt his ankle. So I drive down there and it is already swollen huge. And the funny thing is there were two other boys in there all iced up, too. Apparently, they were playing flag football and all going for the flag at the same time... So we got a really bad sprained ankle ( The dr. thought that it was possibly broken on the growth plate, but he is all good now so it was just a sprain!), one boy had a torn muscle in his shoulder and the other boy hurt his elbow. The poor PE coach was beside herself! She felt so bad.... But all is well, and as it goes with boys I don't think they mind "the badge of honor" that goes along with being hurt... You know, It proves your tough! :)