April in Bakersfield is a slice of Heaven!!!

We have some beautiful things growing in our yard right now. Lillies, azaleas, and grapefruit blossoms. Can I just say that orange and grapefruit blossoms smell SOOOOO good. MMMMM, heavenly. This yellow flower, and a few more just like it are blooming in the pond. It is fun to watch all of the fish and the turtle while viewing such pretty flowers. Plus, it is so peaceful listening to the waterfall. Yes, I'd say that's heavenly!

The weather has been great, 75 with a gentle breeze. It's perfect for a bike ride or playing out in the yard. Once again, I'd say that's heavenly!
Having a nine year old who loves you is definitely heavenly!
Picking fresh snap peas and carrots from the garden after school is fun, but eating them is heavenly!!

Spring Break in Utah

We had a fun day at Salt Lake City's Hogle Zoo.


Since it has been almost a year since we've been to Utah we decided it was time to make the 10 hour trek. Actually with portable DVD players and gameboys, the trip isn't bad at all! Besides wanting to visit family and friends, we went to Utah to run in a 5K to honor a boy who almost drowned, and to raise money for Primary Children's hospital. Tyler, Allison, Russ and Shawna ran the 5K. Haley, Ben, Hannah, and Mikelle ran in the children 1 mile fun run. Way to go!!!!

Emily's latest happenings...

Emily got all dressed up to attend the annual church formal.
She went with Nick Whitezell. There were 4 other couples in their group. They all came to our house for dinner before the dance. P.F. Chang's catered the event...(we just had to pick up the food, ha ha)
Nick gave Emily a pretty corsage. In this picture you can see how pretty Emily's hair was. It's still hard to believe how grown up she looks.

Emily's been sporting the swim cap look lately. She is on the Stockdale High School JV swim team. The team practices Monday through Friday from 4-6pm. Emily is getting tan!
There she goes. She is the second from the left in the black suit.

This is during her race. She was swimming breast stroke. She came in second out of six racers. Way to go Emily!!!

There's a new man in the house...

No, it's not this guy...
It's Ben!!! He turned 18, and boy did he have fun celebrating!
He went on a scavenger hunt to find a big surprise...
A new computer of his very own in his room. It's all set up like an office so that he can do his "work".

Happy Birthday Ben!!!!!!!

Turning nine- girlie style

Girls can be very silly!
On our way to the nail salon. Skyler, Summer and Hannah.
The girls were excited to get their pedicures.
Aahhh! Nothing like a nice warm foot soak.
The girls feel like queens in their big fancy chairs. They had so much fun with the back massage feature.
Now that their toes were pretty, it was time to head to our favorite ice cream shop....DEWAR'S!!!
Dad, Ben, Grandpa and Grandma Judd met us there. Hannah even got a candle on her ice cream sundae. She chose mint chip with hot fudge.
Showing off their fancy toes.

Hannah loved her presents. She got some new Webkins! She had a fun party! Being 9 is divine!!

Valentine Run-10K

Here we are BEFORE the race. A little nervous but very excited!!
Pre-race stretches with some friends. Emily, Laura, Kristi, Carrie, and I.
And they're OFF...........
Coming up to mile 4......feeling pretty good.

As we approach the finish we get a burst of energy.
Our wonderful cheerleaders. We couldn't have done it without them!!!
We are in this together!!! Finishing our first 10K. (6.2 miles) Our time is posted on that clock. 1 hour and 2 minutes.
WE DID IT!!!!!!! And we survived, and it was so much fun!!! We totally want to do another one, just not today!!!

Some things that made me happy today

Being married to the most wonderful man in the world makes me happy. Oh, that and dancing in the kitchen!
Knowing that Allison and Tyler are so in love makes me happy! They take good care of each other. I love having a married daughter!
Ben had a choir concert a few weeks ago and he was so excited to perform. He looked so handsome in his concert attire! It makes me happy to know that he loves me!!
Emily got a fish tank for Christmas and has had lots of fun adding fish and various plants and decor. It makes me happy to see her having fun with it!
Haley began playing the flute this year, and has done so well. She likes to practice. It makes me happy to see her learning new things and developing her talents!
Hannah is the first one home from school each day. I ride my bike to the bus stop with her scooter in my basket. Then we ride home together. It is a great time to talk and find out about her day. Then we come home and get a snack ready for everyone. She is my gardening partner. We love to work out in the garden and see the things that are growing. We also love to pick and eat oranges!! Her smile and enthusiasm for life make me happy!
I can't believe that I can just go out into my backyard and pick some of the most delicious fruit for free!!!! We have had the best grapefruit and oranges this year. YUMMY!! This totally makes me happy!!

We finally got rain here in Bakersfield and that made me SOOO happy. It has been gorgeous outside. Crisp, clean and beautiful. We can see the mountains all around us. I love the fluffy clouds that we have had floating above us. Makes me smile just thinking about it!
My life makes me happy!