Billy & Llael

At the end of May Billy and Llael came and played with us for a few days. We had so much fun with them, it was sad when they had to go. We did lots of site seeing, hanging out, and enjoying each other. They were here for Helaman's final gymnastics performance (since he quit) and his last day of preschool party. Billy brought his digeridoo and the boys absolutely loved it; and Jelly is just Jelly and you can never have enough of that. :) I wish we were closer to our family, we love them so much!
(If you mouse over the pictures there is a tiny description of most of them--if you are interested.)

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Spring Soccer

Helaman wanted to play soccer again in the Spring instead of giving baseball a try. His team was the Racers, and he had a great time. It was a hard team because many of the parents weren't very committed, so we almost never had a full team. But the kids who were there worked really hard and had fun. Helaman was really improved by the end of the season. He is a great dribbler and is really starting to understand the game. We were really proud of him. Although the game were he was playing goalie was late and hot. He did block, but in between his mind was anywhere but in the game. Mom needs to learn to keep quite on the side-line when she's not coaching she's been told.

Mr. Isaiah Anything-You-Can-Do-I-Can-Do-Better Valle was convinced that he was also a Racer, and wasn't very understanding about not being able to practice and play with the big kids. But he still had a lot of fun this soccer season because his friend Logan's sister was on our team and they got to play at all the games and practices. They were super cute together--they are both very active and talkative and play really well. It was a great season and the boys are already excited about Fall. (Well, the little boys, dad likes having his life back. :) )

Grandma's Birthday

With all the fun we had, the real reason for our April trip to Gridley was to celebrate the 90th birthday of one of the most amazing people I know, my Grandma Ruth. If you know her, you know she was embarrassed to be the center of so much attention, and but in the end she loved it. All of my cousins (minus my brother Billy) were able to be there (some as a surprise). We haven't all be together in a long time now, and it was so wonderful to all be together again. Growing up we were such a huge part of each others lives, and every time I look back at the pictures it makes me miss them all again. Grandma even had a nephew come from Canada, and I know that meant a lot to her. She loves us all so much we can't help loving her back. She's like that with everyone, but I think she saves the best of it for her family.

I've though a lot about what makes everyone love Ruthie so much. I think it's a couple of things. For one things she is totally genuine. She loves life, and lives it to the fullest. She always has, from playing sports, to being dragged on shopping trips with Jeanie to traveling the world. And her joy at the world is contagious and makes you feel more alive when you are around here. Like your braver and stronger because she is.

And she really is brave. She left so much to move to Gridley and farm with my Grandpa. Her family, religion, and country. Not unlike the Biblical Ruth she was named after. It wasn't easy, but she embraced her new family and religion with all her heart, so that to a Carlin, she is not a in-law, but a loved family member. She loves the States (and Canada, still!) and even became a citizen. And she has been a rock from the moment the Holy Ghost confirmed the truthfulness of the gospel to her, never-wavering and constantly serving the Lord she loves. She is just as much a heroine as the Ruth in the Bible her father named her after.

But most of all, I think it's her capacity to love. When you talk to Grandma, you feel like what you are saying is the most important thing in the world to her. She appreciates the good in people, and makes you feel so good about the good she sees in you. If you need something Grandma can help you with, you never have to wonder if she would be willing to help. There is no question she would, that's who she is. And she never complains about it. (Note to self...)

And I know she really listens when people talk because I am amazed about the details she remembers about people's families and lives. She worries about them, and rejoices with them in all the details. I am always amazed by her capacity to love.

I'm sure I'm forgetting something. Let's just say, I really love my Grandma and I hope to be much more like her before I'm done "growing-up."

More Gridley Fun

April found us back in Gridley for my Grandma's 90th birthday party, it was a huge, fun event, and deserves it's own post. But we had tons of other fun while we were there as well!

We got to read books with Grandma and Ava.


Helaman made this hopscotch all by himself on Grandma's front sidewalk. He did a great job, even writing all the numbers without any help.


Meanwhile Isaiah was having a lot of fun filling up the wagon in Grandma's drinking fountain and taking it around to water her yard.


We went to visit Bompa Luis at work out on the farm, and Isaiah was insistent that he needed gear just like Grandpa's (hat and gloves). He looked so hilarious.


And then we got to check out the pigs


And drive the tractors



And go for a trailer ride.


I think Helaman really misses being a country boy when he's there. Although he seems to be a pretty happy desert rat, too, so maybe he's just happy wherever he is. :)

Whenever we go to Grandma Ruth's house these two have a lot of dangerous looking fun on her exercise machine. They are so crazy.


And they always love playing with Ava. I really miss that little munchkin. I wish we were a lot closer to our 2 little cousins.




Helaman's three favorite things are VW Bugs, PT Cruisers, and, randomly, turtles and tortoises. So when we were home Grandma arranged a special treat with a friend in her ward. After Church on Sunday our friend Merna, who owns a PT Cruiser came over and let Grandma give Helaman a ride in the PT Cruiser. He was so excited, he could hardly believe it was real. What a funny guy!


Isaiah had a lot of fun at Grandma Elsa's one afternoon with everyone's cameras. He was so funny taking pictures so seriously. Some of them actually turned out pretty good. He thinks he's so big, and is completely convinced there is nothing he can't do. I'm always impressed by his stubborn determination.


And his guns he loves so much he sleeps with them clutched in his hands like a lovey. Omar says he gets it from his Uncle Joe. Thanks Joe.


And my favorite part of the trip was hiking to the waterfall on table mountain. We used to go every year, and the wildflowers are so beautiful. I have so much fun spending time with my family. I was sad Omar didn't get to go with us, he waited and came later that week with his brother. We've been going up there every year since before we even had monkeys.


Yesterday I was trying to explain to Isaiah that Grandpa Steve was my dad. He got VERY angry because it was his Grandpa Steve and he didn't want to share.










We had so much fun with everyone. Thanks for letting us come play with you!

Easter

Easter was pretty low-key. We had a blast dying eggs with the boys the night before. It was General Conference weekend, so we stayed home and enjoyed hearing from our Prophet.

Our good friend, Steven, came over to help daddy (and the Easter Bunny) hide eggs.

And then we hunted for the eggs. The boys were too excited to hold still for a good picture. After the hunt we came in and ate eggs. And to this day Isaiah complains to be about how Steven ate his "painted eggs." I'm pretty sure he still loves him anyway.

We spent a lot of time this Easter talking with the boys about the meaning of it all. Isaiah gave a great FHE lesson on the resurrection (with a little help) and we tried to really focus on it all month. I am so grateful for my Savior, Jesus Christ and His amazing atonement and resurrection. I know that He lives and that we will all be resurrected some day because of his sacrifice for us. I pray that I can live my life to show him my love and gratitude for all He's given me.

Silly Faces

Me and the boys being silly one day. I really love playing with these two.
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When we first moved to Ridgecrest it was a hard adjustment for me to not be working, and sitting on boards, and all the other things that took me away from home. It was just me and the boys all day every day, and I didn't know what to do with them. But now I can't imagine life any other way. I love playing with them and laughing with them and spending our time together. Isaiah and I are going to be very lonely when Helaman goes to school...

Spring Break

It's been so long since Spring Break, I'm having a hard time remembering all the fun stuff we did. It was a whirlwind of crazy fun every day that week. Now that I finally get around to writing it down a month later, I only remember what I took pictures of! How did I get this terrible memory?!?

On Tuesday we went with to the fish hatchery above Kernville with a bunch of friends. The hatchery was broken, there were no fish, and the gates were locked tight. But the kids had fun for a little bit in the parking lot, before we went to the next part of the adventure. (Notice Isaiah with his girlfriend Danielle in this picture--she's 10, but her mom says if he was a little older the would date for sure.)

Since the fish hatchery didn't work out we headed down the road to have lunch at a cool park in Kernville right on the river. The kids had a ton of fun playing on the equipment, and throwing things into the water. Some of the older girls were great organizing games for all of them to play. I think they would have stayed there happily all day. We had never been to Kernville before, and really enjoyed it. It was a perfect afternoon and we all had a lot of fun.

I know we did fun things the rest of the week, but at this point I have no idea what they were because I didn't take any pictures until Friday. If the fun we had was with you, and you're reading this, please don't feel unloved, I just have the world's worst memory!

Friday morning we went to a presentation at the museum about tortoises and other desert dwelling amphibians. We took some friends with us, and met a bunch more there. The kids loved the presentation and will tell you all they know about poisoness snakes and tortoises any time you're interested.

Then we headed up to hike Short Canyon and see the wild flowers. It was a harder hike than some of the little kids really wanted to do, but we still had a lot of fun enjoying the hot desert sun. They all really love climbing on rocks, every where we go. And of course being together. After this rock climbing picture the littler kids went back down to the cars while the more adventurous went on. Helaman decided to be a hiker at the last minute, and worked really hard to keep up with everyone. He loves exploring, and I was really proud of him for working so hard at it when it was difficult for him. I sure love my kids!

Saturday we got to go on another train ride with our friend Cole. We were supposed to meet them there, but we are always slow to get going on Saturday, so they had already ridden quite a bit by the time we got there, but they went around with us again. My kids love the trains, and Isaiah asks to go ride a train almost every day. I'm grateful for friends who invite to come share the joy of their hobbies. It really is amazing what people do with the model trains.

And as the culmination of our Spring Break we went to hear a Mexican band in the park at the college. Isaiah and Helaman had a lot of fun dancing to the music and climbing a little hit next to the band. Isaiah would climb to the top of the hill and do his funny marching dance for all the world to see. He was cracking us up.



I loved spending so much fun time with my kids during spring break. It's silly that we have it so early here, but I'm glad it was still cool enough for us to have so much outdoor fun. I can't wait to have all summer to spend playing with them. Hooray for family time!

The Beginning of Spring Break - Gridley

Our school district does Spring Break during the odd week of March 21st. It's not near Easter, and it isn't even spring yet! I think Ridgecrest just likes to be the craziest place to live in all the world. :) Our Spring Break started a little early, though, because the boys had a dentist appointment in Bakersfield the Thursday before, so Helaman missed that day of school, too. We thought it was going to just be a fun day out of town. They LOVED the dentist we took them to (Helaman tells me he can't wait to get his teeth cleaned again!) and then we took them for some fun at our favorite John's Incredible Pizza. Delicious pizza, fun games (that all work!), go-carts, it was a blast!

Omar's mom's car had broken down a few days earlier, and as the day went on we kept feeling like we needed to go to Gridley and help her with it and getting a replacement. So, we ended up driving back to Ridgecrest, packing up the car, and the driving back through Bakersfield on our way to Gridley. It was a LOT of driving. We took the scenic route on the way back to Bakersfield, following the Kern River as it wound through the mountains. It made the drive a lot longer, but it was beautiful, and way less annoying than driving through Tehachapi three times in one day. :)

Friday morning, Omar went to work on his mom's car to fix it up for selling, and then spent the rest of the day with her looking for a new car that would be more reliable when we are so far away. Meanwhile, the boys and I had a blast.

My mom is teaching a life skills class, and they were doing a unit on taking care of kids, so she had the grandkids come to her class for the day. The boys and I got there early and made graham cracker/frosting sandwiches to serves as a snack. Helaman's job was to teach the class how to play the cookie monster game. We practiced using a loud voice and giving directions while we frosted, and he did a great job when the class came in. The boys drew pictures on little white boards to show the class and had them guess what they were, then Helaman taught the game and we took them outside to play. Then they played Simon says, and I was surprised how many of them didn't know how to play that game. Sad.

After the class time Tara and I took the kids to Subway for lunch, and then to park to play for a while. Isaiah and Ava were both ready for a nap, so I took the boys to my mom's house and let Isaiah sleep. The boys had a slumber-party at Grandma's that night, and Michael and Tara and Omar and I went on a date to some yummy Mexican food and frozen yogurt.

The boys love playing in my mom's yard and helping in her garden. She said Isaiah was being so funny with the oranges because he was so stubborn about carrying all five of these. He would drop one and spend forever figuring out how to pick them all up again. He really is such a determined guy. She also has this tractor bike he was determined to ride, even though he had to slide way down in the seat to reach the pedals. He spent a half hour riding from the front porch to the back steps, refusing to give up. He makes me laugh.

When I could get Helaman into the house, this is where he would inevitably be found, playing Wii with Greta (or anyone that he could get to play with him!) He loved playing the Wii, and really wants to buy one for home, but mom is still a hold out. I like that he's building things right now instead of being glued to the t.v. I may lose this battle eventually, but for now it still make Gridley even more exciting.

On Saturday Omar and his mom were still off car shopping. Llael took the boys to visit her dad and to the park for a bit while I took a shower and went flower shopping with my mom. Jelly said they really wanted to try the pruners and Isaiah insisted on trying to cut the biggest branch on the ground, and wouldn't give up. Silly stubborn kid again. They had a lot of fun with her and then we all just hung out while Omar finished car shopping with his mom.

That's quite a story in itself, he talked them down way under MSRP, and even then the guy ended up paying Omar money out of his pocket for his gas to drive the dealership. At one point he got so fed up with their games he pretended he was talking over the offer like they do for 15 minutes, and then told them no. Funny guy! He got her a great deal, though!

That night we had a BBQ with all of our family on both sides and laughed at these funny boys playing Wii. Helaman played this game until he was completely beat red, and then only stopped because the rest of us were too warn out and no one would race him any more.

The next day was Sunday. We had a delicious breakfast at Omar's mom's house and started for home. We stopped in Yuba City to say hello to Omar's Uncle and his family, and we had way too much fun and stayed way longer than we meant to. We finally got home late Sunday night. It was a fun trip, and a great start to Helaman's first ever spring break.

Late at night when all the world is sleeping...

It's late, and everyone is fast asleep but me. Isaiah couldn't sleep because he had a late nap today, and he stayed up with me until about a half hour ago. But now it's just me in a noisy dark house. The fish tank bubbling and the clock ticking and the rain machine in the boy's room are all so loud when you are alone in the dark. I tried to go to sleep, but it's even noisier in my room with a husband who is so tired he snores sometimes. I love that I can hear him there next to me sleeping. But I can't fall asleep to it.

So instead I am up thinking about how blessed I am.

My poor tired Omar who works so hard every day so I can stay home and play with our babies. I never have a question in my mind about how important we are to him, because he shows us in a million ways every day.

Like getting up early and getting dressed in the dark so he won't wake me up. And like waking me up so he can kiss me before he leaves as quietly as he can because I've probably gone back to sleep.

It takes him an hour (at least!) to put the boys to bed at night because the talk and tell jokes and stories about a mouse named Charlie who lives in a house made of cheese and finds tunnels in his backyard that lead to other worlds. He is so patient and kind with them. And they love him to pieces.

And my little opposite boys are such a blessing. They couldn't be more different, and yet they love each other so completely. They are perfect for each other. They are perfect for me.

And don't tell anyone I said it, but today it feels like a blessing that we live in Ridgecrest. We have people who love us and who we love. We get to ride motorcycles out of our garage and right into the mountains. We go hiking and exploring, and learn about tortoises at the musuem and dig holes in our sandy back yard.

The desert really is beautiful in it's own way. I even love the desert.

We have everything we need, and a lot of things we just want. We are surrounded by angels who help us in a million ways every day. We get to be a family forever!

I'm grateful that XL sodas are 99 cents at McDonalds so I can stay up all night and think about this. Well, mostly....

Goodnight world. (I hope!)

Hiking with Trevor

We went hiking again last week. Dad goes to Taco Bell with his friends for lunch on Thursdays, so we always do something fun that day since we aren't having lunch with him (which is our fun the rest of the time). This time we got to take Trevor with us, and it was lots of fun. They loved checking out all the cool rocks and cacti.



The next picture is just to show how high they climbed. It was pretty hard work, I was proud of them. But they were all tired and ready to go by the end. If you look close you can see Ridgecrest in the background waaaay down behind them.



Then we went to McDonald's for lunch, came home and watched Monster v. Aliens and played tag and "cookie-monster" and golfed in the front yard. Thanks for playing with us Trev!

New Car!

We did finally get a new car! Omar sold the truck a few weeks ago, and we used the money from that to buy this new van. It was basically a straight across trade! It's a 2005 Chevy Venture with 47,000 miles. That's the newest care we've ever owned, and we can't believe how nice it is! It's basically our same van, just newer with a few new toys. I love it!

Omar's driving the old van for now, maybe I'll have a new car post again soon, knowing him... Although he really loves the van, so it might be a while.

San Diego Zoo

Some friends of ours had tickets to the zoo that were going to expire before they could go, so they kindly shared them with us! Omar left a little early on Thursday from work, and we headed for the South Land.

We decided to break the trip up a little by stopping at the Bass Pro Shop again. Our boys just can't get enough (including the big one). This time mom remembered quarters so they could practice shooting things, too. And the best part (from my point of view) was there was a huge sale on Columbia clothing and I got some really cute stuff really cheap. :) There was some famous NASCAR driver there that night, with news crews and long lines and stuff, but we didn't care enough to remember his name. It just made it more exciting, though. Omar liked checking out his car in the parking lot, and the boys got balloons. It was a nice fun break in the long drive.

Then we went and spent the night at Fernando's house. The little guys love hanging out there, and for some reason think sleeping on air matresses is the best thing in the world. Then the next morning we got up and drove to San Diego. I haven't been there since I was 2, but it was super cool. Well, the part where the zoo is located is super cool, we found some scary parts when we were leaving.

We decided to leave our monstrous stroller at home and rent one at the zoo. The guys thought it was the coolest thing. Anything mechanical or transportation related is, I guess, the coolest thing. :)



Helaman and Isaiah thought the animals were so cool. Helaman's favorites were the ant-eater and the otters. Isaiah loved the gorillas. There was a little baby gorilla that was playing with the kids through the glass. It was so cute. I couldn't get over how human-like they were. I could have stayed and watched them all day. Those this super cute scene was my favorite:



We had a great day. The San Diego Zoo is so huge, I don't think we saw everything, but it was still really fun. And really exhausting. We were all completed dying by the end of the day.



The next day, Saturday, was entirely spent in fruitless car shopping. We though we wanted an Explorer, but nothing seemed right. At the end of the looooong boring day we took the kids to the Lego Store in Downtown Disney. They thought that was pretty cool, and I think it made up for some of the terrible day. :)