Mt. Diablo

It doesn't happen very often but it snowed in February on Mt. Diablo. When it does snow, we know that it doesn't last very long, so you only have a small window of time to go up there if you plan on seeing the snow. So it snowed on Tuesday, on Wednesday since the kids get out of school at 1 pm I picked Riley Jo and Kyle up from school then headed up the mountain. There wasn't very much snow but there was a lot of people. We attempted to slide down a hill, once. Not enough snow. We then had a snowball fight. Many people had built mini snowmen. They were all so cute! The kids had a fun time!

Valentine's Date Night

For our Valentine's Date we decided to try a new restaurant. I have never ate at Benihana's and Chris wanted to go. So I called them up and of course they were booked. My sister told me she just found out there was a restaurant in Pleasant Hill just like Benihana's, it's called Kobe Japan. So I called them up and made a reservation. The chef cooks your food right there in front of you. We watched him marinate and cook our food at the same time. We got Filet Mignon and chicken. It was perfect. And the portion size is so big we had enough for lunch the next day! I love when that happens!

Valentine's Day

I had seen this very fun idea on Pinterest, thanks to one of my friends, and I decided that I was going to do it for our family dinner! You set up the table with just a tablecloth and candles for a candlelight dinner. You place menus around the table so everyone has their own menu. Then you all sit down and you welcome everyone to Cupid's crazy cafe.There are 8 menu items for everyone to choose from, problem is it's in code and you don't know what you're ordering until you place all 8 items under the Appetizer, Main Dish, and Dessert columns. 1. Huggin' was a fork. 2.Cuddlin' was a spoon, 3. Snugglin' was a napkin. 4. Squeezin' was salad. 5. Squishin' was garlic bread. 6. Smoochin' was Ravioli's. 7. Kissin' was a drink. And 8. Lovin' was dessert. I made giant Rice Krispie Treats shaped like chocolate kisses for dessert. The kids all had so much fun with this dinner. Tyler sat down and read his menu and asked if he could just skip dinner! He did not want to be hugged and smooched and loved on. Teenagers! Tyler' appetizer was his dessert and Ravioli's, but he didn't get his fork until main course. Kyle didn't get his drink until dessert so we decided to give him water until dessert. The special drink for dinner was Sparkling Apple Cider. Riley Jo wants to do this for every holiday and birthday now!

Prom Night

February 9 was Prom! Tyler and Alaina, Parker and Michayla went over to Morgan's house to take pictures and have dinner before Prom. So fun to see all these kids dressed up for a fun evening. It was fun to help serve dinner to all the kids. It was a great group of kids. They all had fun at the dance and went to Fenton's for dessert!

Hawaii

Every year Chris and I make it a point to go away for the weekend for our anniversary. Since we were married with kids, even for our honeymoon we only went away for the weekend. Chris has been trying to get me to fly away with him for a week somewhere for a couple years now. But my guilt of leaving my kids kept me from doing it. After a conversation with my Aunt and her telling me how important it is for Chris and I to have alone time together, I finally agreed to a week with Chris! So this year for our anniversary we wen to Hawaii! I was fortunate that after I graduated from High School I was able to go to Oahu to visit my Uncle, Aunt, and cousin for 2 weeks. So this was my 2nd time on Oahu but Chris' first. We had a blast!

 We went to the Dole planation

 Drove along the coast

 went to the Laie Temple,

 BYU Hawaii








 The Polynesian Cultural Center, we both got a chance to be Warriors. Chris said he enjoyed throwing sticks at me. We saw a guy climb a tree with his bare feet to pick coconuts. Loved the dancing on the river. Watched the Luau and the food was amazing. We even danced after dinner because we were there celebrating our anniversary.

 We went to Pearl Harbor and on the USS Missouri

 

We hiked Diamondhead Volcano. The views were amazing!

                                  Snorkeled at Hanama Bay and swam with some sea turtles.

We were able to Stand Up Paddle Board. This was a lot of fun. We were on an island, and along with us were some Australians. They could not figure out how to stand up without falling into the water. It was 9:00 am and like 60 degrees outside. The water was very cold and I did NOT want to fall in. I asked them if the water was cold and they told me "yes, freezing. Whatever you do, don't fall in." "But if you do, watch out for this corral, it will cut you up!" We didn't fall!

we also swam in the ocean, kayaked, hiked to 150 foot waterfall, and shopped. We had so much fun just being us. I wouldn't have been able to have snorkeled if our kids were with us because I would have been worrying about where they were, and if they were ok. We wouldn't have been able to do as much as we did with the kids either because they woud have gotten tired. We were busy! One morning we left the hotel and walked to the beach and Hawaii 5-0 was being filmed right there in a parking lot! We stood and watched for a minute. I am glad that Chris and I had this opportunity. My mom watched our kids for us and answered the phone for us. I had friends helping with rides with the kids to help out. I am truly blessed and I felt it while planning and during this trip!

Colton Michael Siegmann

 January 19, 2013 was Colton baby shower. Colton is Steve and Jeannine's first baby. We are all so excited. Jeannine's friends Jessica and Dana threw her the shower. We played some games, ate, decorated onesies and then watched Jeannine open the gifts. It was fun to see friends that I haven't seen in awhile. My gifts for baby included a onesie with a Raiders tie apliqued on, a Raider infant carseat cover, a Raider burp cloth, and a Raider/Niner quilt! I was happy with the way they turned out!

Prom.....

Michayla came home from school to find a poem tapped to her door. According to the poem she was to pop the balloons in her room and then unscramble the message, but ignore the highlighted words. So she went to work on popping all the balloons. When she unscrambled the message she found out that Parker was asking her to Prom! For her response, she made him a rice krispie treat and wrote the word YES on it and gave it to him.

Ice Skating

Every year the youth in our stake get to go ice skating together. We go into Walnut Creek and the get to skate on the outdoor ice rink. Everyone always enjoys this activity. The stake leaders usually supply hot chocolate and light refreshments. The kids and some leaders get to skate and enjoy each others company. For the leaders who don't skate, we get to visit with the ither leaders or help encourage kur youth learn to skate. Such a fun night!

Prom?

Since our 2 oldest are 16 now, they were both able to attend the Mormon Prom. This is an alternative dance where the dress standards are enforced and the atmosphere is pleasant. Tyler wasn't really excited about the idea of going to prom. But after a little encouraging and looking up some creative ideas on how to ask a girl to prom.....he was excited. We made a shirt that said PROM? Will U go? Check One! Yes or Yes. The next morning at seminary, the unsuspecting girl walks in and sits down. In the middle of the lesson Tyler stands up on the table in front of everyone and rips off his jacket! Alaina said Yes! I pick Tyler up from Seminary and ask him what she said. He said "she's already going with someone! Thanks a lot mom." I was shocked because 2 days earlier I knew she didn't have a date. I felt terrible. So I asked who is she going with? Tyler said "me!" It took me a minute to process, that kid had me fooled!

Snow Trip

I decided to take the kids to the snow. The last couple years the snow has been so spotty that I didn't want to miss playing in it this year. So Kyle, Riley Jo and I went to the snow for the day. Kyle got a Snowboard sled last year for Christmas and didn't get a chance to use it yet. So we took that, a couple discs, and the plastic sled and headed to the mountains. We had a blast. We went to a hill that already had a couple runs made so we didn't have to waste anytime making a slope for ourselves. The kids were just laughing and having a great time! We spent more time in the car driving to the snow and back, but it was worth it for the kids! And a special memory!