Good Times with the Gangwish's

I want to journal about our great friends, the Gangwish family.  They moved into Oxnard in December of last year and moved to San Francisco the end of May.  Even though we only spent a few short months hanging out with them, we made friendships that will last a lifetime.  

One of the final weekends they were here, we decided to do sleepovers.  The boys stayed with us and the girls went to the Gangwish home.  

 Here's all the boys getting ready to watch a movie.  

Ryland, Cooper, Graham, and Benny

Allison and I decided to take the girls to dinner and the ballet for a fun night out.  The girls acted like crazy people the whole time.  We were glad we decided to go early so there weren't too many people in the restaurant.  

 Lucy and Lauren

 Proof of the ridiculousness

 All the lovely ladies

Allison and I hit it off right away.  I felt like we just clicked.  We always had a lot to talk about and enjoyed one another's company.   

Graham and Ryland went to the same preschool, so we did a lot of play dates after school.  The boys loved playing super heroes on the trampoline.  On this particular day, they had hoped to go to the pool and I decided it wasn't going to happen, so they had to settle for the hose.  

We're so sad they are gone, but hope to see them soon!

IOWA

 Still playing catch-up....some things never change.

Back in May I was lucky enough to go visit my sister, Beth, and her family.  Her husband, Jason, is attending medical school there.  I got to go all by my lonesome and I LOVED IT!

 Got to spend some quality time with this cute guy.  Thomas is hilarious.  This kid keeps Beth and Jason hoppin' all the time, so it's a really good thing he is absolutely adorable.  He's always movin' and getting into something.  He kept me laughing the entire trip.  

 We spent an afternoon at the annual Tulip Festival that is held a few towns away.  It's like a trip to Holland.  There's a parade and Dutch food everywhere.  The tulips bloomed early this year, so we didn't see much of the celebrated flower, but we had a great time.

I had my first funnel cake.  Can you say love?  It's all I have thought about since that amazing moment.  

What a great trip!  As always, my favorite times were when we were just hanging out and talking.  I fell in love with Iowa, which was unexpected.  Des Moines is beautiful!  So green and small town like.  My brother, Blaine, was there for a few of the days, too.  We laughed A LOT.  By the way....don't go see the movie Mirror Mirror.  Horrible, horrible movie, but we had a great time making fun of it as we were the only ones in the theater.  

Lucy's Baptism

What a wonderful day this was.  It makes me happy just thinking about it.  She waited very patiently for this day to come.  She turned eight in August, but we decided to wait for her dad to be able to baptize her after his deployment.  So many people came to support our special little girl. I am so proud to be her mother.  

Here's Lucy with her new scriptures.  Lucille Jane Ray printed on the front.  

This might be my favorite photo of the day.  

Lucy got to wear a baptism dress that was originally made for my cousin, Jaime.  Many cousins have worn it on their special day.  We were so happy that Aunt Bev remembered to bring it and have her wear it.  

Grandma Hickman (weird to call my Mom that) spoke at the baptism about the Holy Ghost.  She gave a wonderful talk on how to listen and understand how the Spirit speaks to us and how to feel his presence in our lives.  It was perfect.  

Lucy's friend, Mariah, got baptized the same day.  I was so excited about the dress that Grandma and Grandpa bought for Lucy.  Mom and I shopped for it together via internet.  

We were thrilled that "Bobby Bev" came to share Lucy's special day with her.  These two have had a special bond since Lucy was a newborn.  We lived in Logan while we went to USU and we spent many days and evenings with Aunt Bev.  

Which is why Jaime and Lucy also are very close.  Jaime has been living with us for a few months and we LOVE having her here.  

Here's one of the few pictures I got at the party 

Another favorite photo.  Nate Dawg graced us with his presence and we are so glad he did.  Lucy (and the rest of us) love him.  My kids attack and climb all over him when he's here.  

Benny and Uncle Jim maxin' relaxin. 

Some of our party members

Lynne, Tia, Kari, and Alexis

What a happy day!  Lucy shined all day and loved having friends and family there to celebrate.  We are so proud of Lucy.  She always tries so hard to choose the right and make good choices.  She has a strong testimony and loves to share it.  

Easter Egg Hunt 2012

Easter weekend was crazy, but lots of fun.  Lucy's baptism was Saturday afternoon, so we had lots of last minute things to do to get ready for her big event.  We had to make time for an Easter egg hunt, though.  We met up with a couple wards for a little gathering at the park.  My mom and dad were here, as well as my aunt Bev and Uncle Jim.  It was so nice having them there for the weekend!

Lucy's Injury

This picture makes me laugh every time I look at it. 

Lucy Jane had a run in with the cement last month.  She was riding the skateboard on her belly and hit a bump.  The board stopped, she did not and she slammed her mouth into the sidewalk.  No one was with her when it happened, so she came in with lots of blood all over and her lip thrashed up.  I didn't panic (which is blog post worthy in and of itself).  My cousin, Jaime, was here, thankfully.  She and I tried to decide if she needed stitches or not.  Her lip was ripped open and her front tooth was chipped pretty badly.  We decided we needed another opinion, so I drove down the street to my friend, Joan's, house.  She encouraged me to take her to the ER, so we loaded up and made our way to the hospital.  She was actually pretty tough about it.  I was proud.  She only got nervous and teared up when they pinned her arms back so they could give her a shot and stitch her up.  Two stitches and a very, very swollen lip later we made our way home.

I wish I would have gotten more pictures.  It was a lot more swollen than this the first couple of days and really looked painful.  The sad part is that her baptism was just two days later.  My parents were on their way to our house when she kissed the concrete.  

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentines Day!  A couple months late, but oh well.  

Benny enjoying some sugar cookie dough.

Enjoying the artwork.  

I stuck with our tradition of books for the kids valentines.  This is what they woke up to that morning.  

We made these cute bugs for Graham and Lucy's class valentines.  This was the first time we attempted homemade style.  It was fun!  The kids were extra proud of them when they passed them out.  

3 of my 4 Valentines.  J Ray was still in Afghanistan, but only a couple weeks from coming home.  Notice the Graham's belted head.  He likes to think of himself as a ninja.  

Daily Life Pics (March 2012)

Lots of "bubbles in the sink" time at our house lately.  Usually, it's just Ben, but Lucy and Graham wanted in on the action on this particular evening.  

Benny got the boot from the kitchen sink, so we moved him to the bathroom.  

Daddy made homemade Oreos for his birthday treat (yes, he made his own birthday treat....he insisted, I promise).  I love this picture for a couple reasons.  Ben-O laughing at Lucy and Graham pulling a ridiculous face.  

My sweet Benny.  He LOVES his "superman jammies".  He's always a little sad when they are dirty.  

The kiddos took some toys out to the trampoline.  They were getting along so well and I had to capture the moment.   

Graham started closing his eyes in all the pictures, so Lucy decided to take matters into her own hands.  

Rainy day puddles.  I love that Jason is getting ready to give Benny one of numerous high fives and Graham is running around lovin' life.  

Love this!

Lucy and I enjoyed decorating a cake together at a mother/daughter Achievement Days activity.  She had a vision and carried it out.  My initial reaction was to reel her in and have her follow the "directions", but I controlled my urge to micromanage and let her go for it.  It turned out so cute and we had a great time working on it together.  

I need to take more of these pictures.  Graham loves to draw pictures of "monsters" and pictures of our family.  Every time I pick him up at preschool, he isn't ready to come home with me until he has drawn a few monsters on the back of his worksheet.

I sure love these kiddos.  They make my life so meaningful and happy.  I'm grateful for the little things I get to see and do every day with them.  I'm a very blessed mama.