Aspen Grove Retreat

The 16-18 year olds in our congregation recently had an overnight retreat at Aspen Grove. Todd and I were invited to have a Face-to-Face interview with them at the retreat. The youth put their questions in a basket and then the questions were read anonymously for Todd and me to answer. Wow! We were amazed at some of the questions we were asked. Some were deep doctrinal questions and others were silly 'how many people did you kiss before you kissed your spouse?'

I laid awake for hours that night reviewing some of the doctrinal questions in my mind and hoping I helped someone with their questions.

We were their age not too long ago. I remember what it was like to question and wonder.

I hope I adequately expressed my love for my Savior Jesus Christ. I know that He lives and loves us. I know that through Him we can return to live with our Father in Heaven again one day. I am eternally thankful for His sacrifice on my behalf.

I know that The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is His church on the Earth today. I know that we are led by His prophet. Great happiness has come into my life as I try to follow the council of the prophets. 

I hope the youth left that evening knowing that I know these things to be true.

We stayed in a little dorm room that evening. It was like camping because we opened the window to the fresh mountain air with the sound of the rushing river near us. But it was better than camping because we had a real mattress, flushing toilets, and a hot shower :)

We woke up early to go for a walk. There was still quite a snow pack!

We found racquetball courts. Todd tried to teach me a thing or two about racquetball.

 We had a good laugh about that. Unfortunately, coordination is not one of my gifts.

 After breakfast we had a full day of workshops that were uplifting an inspiring. What a great group of youth and leaders!

 Meanwhile, our kids had a great time at grandpa and grandmas.

Miscellaneous April happenings

Sara had her little friend over to play before school one day. It was a rainy day outside so they kept their umbrellas with them in the house all morning.

 Our oldest boys recently had their yearly check-ups. They were super silly in their hospital gowns. These two constantly make me laugh. 

 Luke having a third helping of brussel sprouts at dinnertime. How could a mom ever say no to that request?!

 Speaking of healthy eating, Sara's new favorite lunch is rice cakes. She calls them 'those crispy thingies'. She is so happy when she gets a kiwi with it!

 I was feeling a bit overwhelmed one evening when there was a knock at the door. I opened the door to find this beautiful Easter lily with an envelope 'to the Bishop's wife'. Inside were some lovely notes. I don't know who it is from, but it sure brightened my day!

Wolf badge and Lego derby

Luke earned his Wolf badge at our last Cub Scout pack meeting. He's a Bear now. Aw, our Luke is growing up too fast!

After awards were distributed, the boys put together Lego cars for racing. 

 Racing their Lego cars

 Back to the Legos to make some updates before racing again.

This is the first time we've done a Lego derby. We loved it!

Easter

While the kids were hunting for eggs on Easter morning, Sara noticed through the window an egg outside on our porch. We discovered surprise eggs from an amazing artist!

The egg hunt in the house

Easter baskets

The Easter bunny brought sugar cereal which was a nice surprise since I don't buy it very often.

Sara's baby with her new jammies.

Apparently, it's important to label your stuff around here.

Preparing breakfast on Easter morning. It was so nice to have Todd home on a Sunday morning.

We caught up with Todd after church in his Bishop's office to get an Easter picture together.

Sara's sweet Easter message. I know that this is true.

Taking selfies after church.

The girls in our Easter dresses after church.

We went for a walk after dinner. I love our beautiful blossoming tree and tulips. We didn't get very many tulips this year but I enjoyed the few that did bloom.

Our family council with Mary on Easter. I'm so grateful for this weekly one-on-one time with our kids. They are each amazing individuals and we love getting to know them better.

Easter egg hunt

We hosted the family Easter egg hunt this year. It was fun to celebrate with my sisters' family and my parents and grandparents.

 I love how excited our little Sara was to find eggs.

 Signing the Easter tablecloth- a tradition for quite a few years now.

 Our new couches were delivered during the Easter party which meant we had to say good-bye to our old couches. We bought these couches before Michael was born- more than 15 years of family memories. Plus- these couches were shipped all the way around the world! (I'm sentimental- can you tell?!)

 I was sad to see them go! :( 

Good thing I like the new couches huh?!

 Dying Easter eggs later that evening.

Spring Break- Days 3 and 4

Day 3 of our Spring Break was spent at Disneyland.

 What can I say? We LOVE it!

 Sara on Thunder Mountain with Grandpa and Grandma

 Seven handsome Stepan boys. The oldest has his mission call and leaves in a few months. The rest of the boys will be right behind him. It's hard to believe how fast they grow! They are such a great group of young men!

 Cherry malts at Carnation on Main Street. What could be better? Well, actually we discovered that the chocolate malt is pretty amazing as well!

 Our group of 16 at Disneyland.

 Luke and Sara had never been on the Casey Jr. train ride (it was a regular ride for us when the older kids were young) so the three of us waited for half-an-hour or so to make it happen.

 It was worth the wait.

 Heads up was a fun game when we were waiting in lines.

Day 4 was at California Adventure. 

 It was hard to say good-bye that evening.

 Waiting for our plane at the airport.

 We landed after midnight. Our parking receipt showed that we arrived at the airport at 4:23am and we departed the parking garage four days later at 1:17am. That's a fast paced Spring Break! Good thing we had one day to sleep in and unpack before our Easter celebrations started :)