California Visit.

 (don't you hate when you hand your camera to a stranger to take a picture and they have no idea how to focus? And they only take 1 picture? Ugh.)

We had the greatest time visiting family in California the first weekend in April. Our only complaint is that it just wasn't long enough, and that Caiden and I had serious colds. We enjoyed some beautiful spring weather and all the green and blossoms that it brought. We spent lots of time outside at the park, Knights Ferry, going on walks, and taking lots of photos. We also went to this fun pizza/arcade place, listened to Conference, had a much needed In N Out burger, went for a long scenic jog, fed the ducks, went to the mall, had Cindy's yummy cookies, and got to have many delicious meals and great conversations as a family. It was a much needed vacation and we can't wait to go back!

Pirate Treasure Hunt.

One morning Caiden was begging for Michael to come over and play with him. After the 100th begging plea for "Dez pe-ay a me" (for some reason unbeknownst to us Caiden calls Michael, Dez) we called up Jen and asked if Michael could come over for a play-date. [Let me pause right here and say that I love that these two are such good buddies. Cousins are the best.] Because the first one was a resounding success, we planned another little pirate treasure hunt. Caiden and Michael got all dressed up as pirates and I made some pirate flags this time to help them find the treasure. I drew a little map and away they went to discover their treasure. They each found a little container with three pennies in it. We set up a little pirate store that they could trade their "gold" for candies of their choosing. They had so much fun, and better yet it was completely free! I used fabric that I found around the house left over from various projects, some old toilet paper rolls for spy glasses, and pennies for treasure. I think this may become a regular summer activity.