A Dobbins' Day

Uh, sorry I didn't post this. I forgot about it. We had a great Easter, with the E.B. coming on Saturday and on Sunday we focused on our Savior.

Our family loves to read books. Sometimes we (me) can become quite absorbed in them and nothing else matters. Isn't it great to see Daddy and son sharing this wonderful pastime?

When people say "time flies" I think they must have a baby. One year ago I was giving birth to my baby boy and now he's on the verge of toddlerhood. I just can't believe it! He is such a joy in our family. When I got pregnate I wasn't sure I was ready for another child, but now I can't imagine life with out him. He has made our family complete. He has the greatest smile and the cutest laugh. He's sweet and cuddly and we all adore him. Happy Birthday One Year Old!! We love you!

We were lucky to be able to spend the morning at the park with Lily, Tanner & Drew. We love getting together with our cousins. We were glad that Lily was out of school and got to spend some time with us. The kids had fun running around and Alicia and I had fun chatting. I'm glad that they live close by. We'll have to do this again soon!

The first weekend in April we went on a road trip to Phoenix, AZ. We went to visit Russell's sister Cheryl and her husband Gavan and their two dogs. The drive (which I did all of it) was really pleasant and pretty. We went through a Joshua Tree forest and then saw the most amazing saguaro cactus. They were huge and were just out there along the road. (In my youth when I would picture the west this is what I imagined. Huge cactus everywhere.) It was amazing. We loved seeing the sights of Phoenix and going to the Science Center. We had a great time at Cheryl and Gavan's house. We miss them, but we're glad that they are not too far away.

This is us dying our Easter Eggs. The kids did this really fast. Grab an egg, dunk and take out. Audrey's eggs made a little crack sound when she dumped her's in. I remember doing this for hours with my sisters. This year it took us minutes. Maybe when the kids are older they will want to take the time to decorate the eggs with different colored stripes or to see how dark your egg can get by leaving it in the longest. But for now simple is what we get. Everyone had fun though and that's what really counts. P.S. Russell is blowing some eggs that I had dyed previously. I hung them on my "Easter Tree" as part of the decorations around the house.

For some reason I love to work in the garden. I definately did not like to do this when I was a kid. Each summer my sister's and I would get a "row" (or more) to weed. We hated doing this. Then we would have to pick everything and then help with the canning. We hated this more. Now I love it. I feel like I've really accomplished something. I love getting my hands dirty mixing up the dirt. I like picking seeds out. I like it that my kids like to help me. I like to stand there and water the garden and imagine the little seeds growing. I love to see the first little bit of green come out of the dirt. I like to see things grow big and produce. Although things in the desert don't grow as abuntly as in other places. I have had some small succces. It makes it all worthwhile to have your kids eating something that they had a part in growing. It is delicious and healthy. It makes me happy.

This is what we did for spring break: pajamas all day and movies!

I'm not so sure about her smile, but the dress and the hair-do are adorable! Grandma took Audrey shopping one day and this cute dress is one of the things that Audrey came home with. Grandma said that she had a blast with Audrey. Aud was really specific about each thing that she got. The Easter dress that she picked out was the first one that she saw and she wouldn't look at any others. She also insisted on a pink Easter hat. While looking for tennis shoes, she found pink sparkly dress up shoes. She wouldn't look at the tennis shoes anymore. She also found a pink spangly purse. She came home with full shopping bags and a huge smile. I think that Audrey had a blast with Grandma too! Thanks for the shopping trip and helping our girl continue to be the cutest!

Happy Easter to all!

Cannon loves our neighbors dogs. Whenever he hears them barking he goes to the fence to see them. Sometimes he puts his hands out to try and touch them. He'll sit watching them until they go back into the house. I'm not ready to get a dog yet, but this is pretty cute! "Hey, where did they go?"

I can't believe I was so stupid and missed it! I missed the deadline for turning in items to the Clark County Fair. That means that my wonderful pomegranate jelly won't get the blue ribbon I've been dreaming about. I even had my labels planned out for next season... Eliza's BLUE RIBBON Pomegranate Jelly. The whole time we made the jelly I thought about turning my hard work into the fair officials to get judged. I made the jelly in October and knew the fair was in April, so I had a lot of time to think about this. So that's why I can't believe I missed it! AHHH! I talked about with my friend a while ago. I looked up the dates that I could turn stuff in. I thought about what other things I could turn in. There was an email from R.S. about the fair and how you can turn stuff in. All of these things should have helped my remember, right? Well, I didn't write it on my calendar. I just left it there in my brain. So of course it slipped right out. Last week when I...

I found myself saying, "at least it's not sharpie"! These markers (that I have no idea where she found them) aren't permanent. I guess I know why crayola makes markers that only write on their special paper! Oy!

If anyone doesn't know about the cereal sale at Albertson's right now they are missing out! Some post cereal (honey bunches of oats, grape nuts, etc.) is on sale for $1.57. This is an amazing price, but what you don't know (unless you've read about it online) is that when you buy 6 boxes then you get a $5 coupon for your next visit. Awesome right? There is also a coupon right now at post for $2 off trail mix crunch (don't forget to print it twice). http://www.postcereals.com/trailmixcrunch/ I had to buy 2 different brands for my kids and a gallon of milk, but then I bought 12 boxes of post cereal. Total: 14 boxes of cereal and 1 gallon of milk $9.23 with a savings of $54.12!! If you want to see a picture and read the whole story go to http://sistersaving.blogspot.com/2009/04/nope-were-not-getting-bagged-cereal.html After I got this great deal I was sooo happy! I kept dancing and whooo hoooing. Hunter and Audrey weren't sure why, until I told them that I...

The jewels may be plastic, but this girl sure knows how to show off her stuff! She loves accessories and bags and shoes... anything girlie. At 2 1/2 she really knows what she likes. I'm just glad that she's happy with things from the dollar store!