SeaWorld and The Beach! (lot's of pic's)

So the Ocean was FREEZING!!! The kids could care less!! Derick wanted to boogie board so bad so he braved the harsh temperatures and went for it. He is such a stud!!!

Crud!!! I did these backwards!!! Anyways, this is after a LONG day at SeaWorld. The kids got their faces painted earlier that day but had since played in the ocean and bathed. However, this paint did not come off too easily. Kash put the popcorn bucket on his head and Uncle Chris heard him crying from the bathroom, walked in and saw him like this. He could not get it off. Rather than helping him he just laughed, so Kash realized that this was not a crisis afterall...It was the perfect opportunity to get laughes from EVERYONE in the house!!! These three are little buddies!

Claira and Derick looking for sea shells in the ocean. So cute!! Ash and I just looking snazzy in our red!! I am so thankful that I have a sister in law that I adore!! She is one of my best friends. She is more like a real sister than a SIL. We have a blast together all the time. Sometimes when the guy's are working late we will get sitters and her and I will go out "on a date" We laugh so hard together all the time and pretty much keep eachothers lives moving and on schedule! I would be lost without her in my life every day!! It was such a great trip with our little families!! I can't wait to do it again next year!!!

We went to the 4-D Seseme Street show. It was really cute. Paiz sat the entire time and watched. She is such a good baby. She was so easy the whole trip. I was a little worried that at 18 months she would be a stinker but not at all. She was a blast and LOVED all the animals.

So the kids all wanted their faces painted and being the good Momma and Auntie that I am, I told them all we would do it!! Blayne wanted the tiger SO bad but when it got right down to it...he was NOT IMPRESSED AT ALL!!! I laugh everytime I see this picture of him crying. He is such a funny little guy!! I love my little "monster"

Claira and Kenzie OF COURSE got matching "municorn" masks. They just thougth they were the most beautiful girls around. And I ABSOLUTLY AGREE!!!

Derick thought he was a little too OLD for face painting so he got a "tattoo" of a rattlesnake. He really thought it was cool and assured me this is the only kind of tatt he will ever be getting.

And Kash!!! He wanted SpiderMan and boy did he get it!! She painted his entire face!! It was so funny. None of us expected this and when he saw himself in the mirror he got a NEW LEASE ON LIFE! For the rest of the day he RAN everywhere. He would look at people and if they caught his eye he would stare them all the way as we passed by them. He was slinging "webs" everywhere and told me "I am NEVER TAKING A BATH!" It was hillarious!!! We all loved it! All in all...face painting was a HIT!! And my Mom and I are going to learn how to do it!

We wanted to do family pictures by the beach. The kids were NOT interested AT ALL!! They wanted to play in the sand or go to SeaWorld. Not sit on the wall and smile. So this is the best we got. This was our "red day" Ash and I decided to color coordinate everyone each day we were at SeaWorld. The guys thought we were silly but after our first day there, they were SINGING OUR PRAISES!!! Okay, not really but they did think it was a great idea! My Mom used to do this for our family when we would go to Six Flags.

Chris and Ashley and their family.

Claira and Blayne just hanging out before going to SeaWorld. Such cuties!!!

Erick took Paizly out before our family pictures and took some of her by herself. I can't believe how stinkin big she is already. Ooohhh I love this baby girl!!! Great pictures Daddy!! (he is pretty proud of her too) ;)

Here are all the kiddos except Brody. He was napping I think. This picture will be great to look back on in a few years. I hope we can do another just like it next year!! We had lunch with Shamu. It was TOTALLY worth it. The food was GREAT! We got to see him up close and the trainer gave us a lot of info we did not know about how they train them and just about all the whales there. It was really great and the kids loved it. It was perfect for a little down time in the middle of the day! I for sure reccomend it!

I am amazed by Shamu EVERY time I see him. What an AMAZING creature!!

Erick and the kiddos waiting for the Shamu show to start. This was "orange day"

We had such a fun time in California. I loved staying in the beach house so in the evenings we could sit out and listen and smell the ocean. It was for sure not long enough and I can't wait to go agian and next time hopefully stay a little longer!

Easter and my 30th Birthday!!

Erick and I just heading out for my Birthday dinner. It is crazy being 30, it sounds a little wierd to me. I always thought I would freak out about it but I actually feel good about it. I feel like I am pretty much right where I thought I would be at this age. I have a husband that I am still crazy about. We have a really happy, simple life. We have 4 beautiful children that I cherish. A home a job! Family that we are close too and great friends. I feel a bit validated being out of my 20's. Like I deserve a little more respect or not...I don't know. What I do know is that if my next 30 years are as wonderful and my last I can't wait to see what happens!!

We went to my new favorite place to eat, Claim Jumper. The food was delicious as always!! The company was fabulous but nothing beats the gift given to me by my "girls" JoAnna, Galine and Jeanene. They gave me what I am sure is a collectors item Young and The Restless Plate with titled, "Nikkis World" It is a true treasure! Please don't get me wrong all the other gifts are well appreciated the treats and the game and socks and the makeup is all wonderful! (Gosh being PC sure does take up space!) :)

My Daddy and I! Oh my how I love this man! I am so thankful he is my Papa.

Me and my Momma! Once again, how I love her!! I have the greatest Mother in the world. Everyone say's we look just alike. I consider that a compliment of the greatest kind. I think she is beautiful for 68 years old!! j/k She is beautiful inside and out and I am so thanful that she is mine!

Getting a "normal' picture with my brother C.C. is virtually impossible!! So this is the best I got. It was so fun to have him here. He lives in Colorado, so it is a rare occasion that he is in the Valley. It was so sweet of him to make a special trip to see me on my birthday. He also brought the kids the "coolest" (in Dericks words) Marble eggs. They thought it was awesome to get such a gift from Uncle C.C.

Here we are at home on Easter weekend with the super yummy Mint Chocolate Cake Erick and the kids made me. They also let me sleep in and take a bubble bath that morning. Not only that, while I was soaking in the tub they brought me cinnamon rolls and ice cold milk!! It was so cute and fun. They had a lot of fun pampering me too.

I think it is a little funny that I am wearing my "dish washing" gloves while being sung too. It is a true testement to my life. I was in the middle of doing dishes when they decided to sing to me so I ran over blew out the candles and back to the sink for Momma. Birthday or not the dishes must be washed and I NEVER dishes without my gloves. These ones are a bit fancy, Erick suprised me with them! He is so thoughtful!! :)

We had Easter Saturday with the Farabee side. This picture is of Ericks Grandma Wanda Farabee and all the grandkids...minus Miss Britt. :( What a crew!!!

Getting ready for the big hunt! Papa and Grandma were in charge of the Easter Eggs, they packed them full of cute little toys and dollar bills and yo'yo's! The kids thought that was so fun to see what they got besides candy!

We also had an Easter party at my Parents. These are the girls Easter outfits. Yes, I know the flowers are HUGE but I LOVE THEM!!! So did they! They had a great time hunting for eggs in Meemaw and Papa Joe's huge yard!

My Mom always has a lot of games for the kids to play on Easter. This is Derick getting ready to carry the egg across the yard on a spoon in his mouth. She goes all out with prizes for all the kiddos. They look foward to this party every year!

That Sunday we decided to take the kids on a golf-cart ride to see the new church being built out here in Maricopa. It is amazing the growth that has taken place here in such a short amount of time. We love this golf-cart and cruise around on it quite often. It is one of the kid's favorite things to do.

The Steeple is up and beautiful against that blue sky. It was such a nice day! We can see the church from our back windows of our home. It is fun to watch the progress as it goes up!