We are in the middle of California State Testing in all of the schools right now. Savannah recaps every day with me when she gets in the car after school. We discuss how many questions she feels she got wrong that day. Her school work is so important to her... it drives me a little bit crazy at times I must admit. But really, how can I fault her for that?

We had a great Easter this year being surrounded by Hampton Family. Natalie has been experimenting with cup cake decorating and having fun with it. My only requirement when making the cupcakes is that she have someone in mind to give them to so we don't all turn into cupcakes from over consumption!

Just few more weeks of baseball and softball and the last day of school in June 9th. This school year had flown by! I am still trying to figure out how to slow it all down...nothing I have tried has worked thus far. I did manage to get a great picture of Trevor smiling though. That is a feat in itself!

Devin's chicks were asked to help prop an Easter photo shoot. It was a really fun morning and Devin got some great pictures with his chickens. He has started delivering pizzas until hired to lifeguard for the summer. We are loving this time of year as the weather is perfect!

Ensenada Cruise Spring 2011

San Felipe

The kids left for their annual Spring Break Trip with Grandma and Grandpa Hampton and Gerald and I were able to escape to our San Felipe Condo to celebrate our anniversary! It was a great trip and wouldn't have been complete without fresh pina colada's on the beach...yes...made out of the back of an old Ford! You gotta love Mexico! We had a great time relaxing on the beach and laughing at all the white bodies that were turing shades of red from too much sun. To our suprise, when we got back to the condo and we were also a pair of those white beach bodies that had turned a bright shade of red. We decided that we really don't do a very good job taking care of eachother without the kids around...even after 20 years of marriage.

Happy 20th Anniversary Gerald

G -Good looking E -Extreme in Everything R -Resolute A-Active L -Leader D -Devoted Father

Baseball & Softball

The month of March has been jam packed full of ball games. If we are not watching Savannah play softball we are watching Trevor play baseball and for Gerald there is no break because he is coaching both! He's getting pretty good at doing a uniform change in his truck on his way to the next field and I am getting pretty darn good at cracking and spitting sunflower seeds. I really do love this time of year! It is the cutest thing to hear Trevor talk to Savannah about the game and what she can do to improve. They both play the position of catcher so Trevor is full of pointers. They also have the same coach in common which comes with pro's and con's that can be shared amongst eachother. Preston came to one of Savannah's games and loved it. I think he was more excited about sitting in the dug out with the girls and chanting the softball cheers than anything. As soon as the game was over he couldn't get on the field fast enough to run the bases.

Somebody Loves Me...

So I post this and that about the kids... why do I find it so hard to share about myself? That question remains to be answered. I was talking to my sister Sydni this morning and when she asked, "How are you?" I decided to be very honest and share in the fact that I really hate Monday's! I hate feeling like I'm in the same routine that starts over every Monday morning and repeates itself day after day after day after day. Then Friday gets here and I'm too tired to get excited about doing anything. There was a time that Fridays had a cool feeling about them. The days where there was anticipation of what kind of weekend fun I could get into as a teenager are long gone and I have come to accept the fact that nobody appreciates who I am or what I do! I know what you're saying..."Do you want some wine with that cheese"? So at the close to yet another Monday of being an alarm clock, housekeeper, choufer and personal chef, I sit down at my desk and find this written on a sticky note just above my computer.

"I love you Mom! You're a great person and I admire all you do!" - Savannah

A few weeks ago I was looking over my calendar in the office and also found a hand written note from my 17 year old.

"Mom You Rock!" - Devin

Okay...that puts it all back into perspective! I love my life, I love my job and I'd do it over and over again any day of the week!

Time Slips Away

For the past couple of months as I've pondered just what in our lives has been blog worthy, I have found myself making the decision not post! Then it hit me... there has been no major events in our lives that have driven me to update our blog and that in itself is the very reason to post! It seems like our families major events have involved a trip to the hospital these last few years. In my subconsious...no news was good news...

We have had an incredible winter and begining to 2011. Our Holidays were filled with lots of family time which is tough to come by these days with us all going different directions. Gerald pulled us together for a "New Years Resolution Pep Talk". This year was different from the past and the kids were very excited about their short and long term goals. With the the power of positive affirmations and reading our goals daily, we are already beginining to see signs of attaining some of the goals that we have set.

I think it is easiest to summarize the last few months when I focus on each individual so here it goes...

DEVIN
Devin continues to perfect the art of being a chicken farmer. For Christmas he recieved a incubator and sucessfully hatched 12 healthy chicks the end of January. We also celebrated his 17th birthday and he just returned from another amazing Youth and Government Trip to Sacramento. It was just two years ago that he broke his neck while sledding (feels like yesturday). Devin's focus these days seems to be on figuring out a way to fill his gas tank every week. A special thank you to all those recyclers out there that donate in his behalf.

TREVOR
Growth...would be the one word to describe Trevor the last couple of months. Physically, Mentally and Emotionally. The transition into High School Sports has been an intersting one and Trevor has kept a positive attitude through it all. He and Devin are continually arguing over who is bigger and stronger. Despite Devin loosing a couple of inches after breaking his back, he will not allow his little brother to pass him up. Devin's philosophy is this, "It's not the size of the boat it's motion of the ocean". Trevor constantly has us all laughing. He has a way of reaching in and finding somthing to make each of laugh about no matter what the circumstance. It is quite refreshing and very often well needed. Freshman Baseball has started and it looks like Trevor will be catching and pitching for LQHS. Go Blackhawks!

NATALIE
Lady Bug is growing some pretty big wings these days. She is completly head over heals for the Young Woman program in our church and is developing a self confidence in herself that is amazing! Since Natalie was 10 years old she has been trying to find a way to make money of her own. Through the help of Grandma Hampton she has been able to fine tune her filling and accounting skills while helping with her taxes and just recently has begun baby sitting which she really likes! Most of all she really enjoys having money in her wallet that she can call her own.

SAVANNAH
Savannah decided to enter the year book cover contest and found out the first of the year that she won the front cover! If I could only have captured and saved the expression on her face when she found out she won. Being the over achiever she is, Savannah made the decision to do a Science Fair Project this year (it was not required). With some help from Devin, she managed to take first place and also move onto the District level for more judging. The title of her project was, "Does the color of momma hen and daddy rooster effect the outcome of the baby chick?" Not only did we managed to complete a sucsessfull science fair project...we hatched some more chicks in the process! What mother wouldn't be thrilled about multi-tasking? Savannah is playing softball for the first time and Gerald is coaching softball for the first time...it should make for some great entertainment this Spring!