HAPPY SPRING!

The weather has been BEAUTIFUL and finally warm enough to wear the C.U.T.E. dresses Nana sent! Happy Springtime!

Blog Slackin....

Yes I am aware that I am a big blog-slacker...I've had to apologize to my mom a few times already! So, lets get back on track! Sheesh!

WE ARE FAMILY!

This is the first picture of ALL the Dittos taken in a long time because Andrew (Kelly's youngest brother, better known as "uncle Juje") has been on a mission for our church for the last 2 years...but HE'S HOME! and we are so happy to have him home!!

Here are Kelly's siblings and beautiful mother...don't they look great together!!?


The weekend after Juje got home, we were ALL together...the girl cousins love to be together and make up plays, sing songs, and be generally girly-

The boys love to wrestle, find anything to turn into a weapon, and be amazingly boy-ish together...here they are modeling the masks that uncle Juje brought them all from Mexico!

Not long after our exciting weekend in Spokane, we had spring break...and since nothing was planned, the kids and I decided to take a little trip to YAKIMA! Hey, don't make fun, the kids were so excited to go to Yakima, you'd have thought we were going to Disneyland- and we had a great time...doesn't Hailey LOOK like she's enjoying herself? :)

And the boys really did have a great time making up games on the trampoline and almost breaking several bones...

The weekend after that was Easter, and though it was COLD, the kids still had a great time at the Easter egg hunt on Saturday.

We spent Easter with the Ditto Family, watching conference, and eating delicious food, and most importantly feeling grateful for the Savior and His life and death.

Lastly, Kelly and I have been contemplating moving. We even made a blog to post to 'advertise' our house. We need a little more room in a little safer neighborhood...so if you know anyone looking to move to Spokane, we have a CUTE house for sale! Check it out: http://www.hartsonhome.blogspot.com/

Bountiful Baskets!

About a month ago my sis Becca sent me this picture. This is the PILE of produce that she got by participating in a program called Bountiful Baskets. They are a Food Co-Op and are now operating in a bunch of the western states. She pays $15 online, and then picks up a Laundry Basket FULL on Saturday mornings. I decided it might be worth looking into how to get it going in Spokane...

And last Saturday was our first go at it! We had 55 people sign up for baskets!! Everybody got 2 of the baskets you see in the pic above, and EVERYBODY was delighted!! We got: 1 bag clementines, 4 grapefruit, 4 bananas, 1 bunch asparagus, 5 pears, 5 kiwi, 2 heads romaine lettuce, 4 red peppers, 12 read potatoes, 5 zucchini, 1 pineapple, and 4 navel oranges! All for 15 Bucks!

My beloved mother-in-law and sis-in-law helping out that day...bless them, it was EARLY!

And here's the booty! So delicious and so NOT expensive! HOORAY! We all know how much I LOVE a good deal!

Another Little Trip...

(Why are my kids so crazy?) The day Kelly and I got back from Dominican, my mom and I drove the kids to Seattle to see my Grandma Lucy and Papa Bob. This trip was extra special because we got to go to Hickman Park! This park was named for my very own Papa Bob for all of his wonderful accomplishments as a doctor...and it was THE COOLEST park I have ever been to! The equipment is from Sweden, and it was seriously awesome!

Addison looks very thoughtful up in this tree...He has had some great moments lately, and I can tell he's really growing up- for example: We were just finishing dinner and Laynie asked Addison to play with her, he said "Yeah, just a minute though, I have to clear the table." Woah! I almost fell off my chair! This has been his job for a long time now, but it's never been done without MUCH coaxing, prodding, begging, etc! Way to go Addison!

The park's version of a merry-go-round was WAY more fun than the traditional!

After the Hickman park experience, we ate lunch, put Hailey down for a nap, and I took the big kids to the beach in Edmonds. I have a special place in my heart for this beach...I went here when I was a little girl and LOVED it! It is certainly nothing like the beaches I was at only days ago in Dominican- but I'll take it...the kids and I looked through the tide pools and found crabs and other sea creatures (I only wrote that because I don't know how to spell words like anemone) And we found all kinds of "treasures" that unfortunately made themselves all the way back to Spokane!

Baths were required after such a fun-filled day, and lucky for the kids, Grandma Lucy has an awesome jacuzzi tub. They sure loved turning on "the motors" and watching the bubble level rise exponentially before their eyes!

Thanks for a fun trip Grandma and Grandpa!! and thanks to Sara for talking to me for an hour during one of the more boring stretches on the way home- it seriously did the trick to keep me awake!

A Little Piece of Heaven

Our long-awaited trip to the Dominican Republic has come and gone, and it was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.! I have never felt so spoiled-relaxed-happy-warm-energized at any other time in my life!! We had quite the trip to actually get to the island...Spokane to Salt Lake, Salt Lake to NYC, NYC to Punta Cana...all in all it was 16 hours of travel- but worth it!! We arrived at the airport and a little tropical band was playing! We arrived at the resort and they greeted us with music, drinks, flowers and clapping! We arrived at the beach (About 2.2 minutes after arriving at the resort) and I was IN HEAVEN!


See, here's the picture to proved my heavenly mood! The turquoise water and white sand was unreal! And it was 85 degrees! Hallelujah!

Kelly was a little worried in days preceding the trip that all of his thoughts and fantasies about the greatness of 'President's Club' couldn't possibly be fulfilled- but guess what? THEY WERE! Kelly was also in TOTAL awe at the amazingness of it all...the smile above is his 'disbelief' smile "How could we possibly be in such an incredible place?"

And now I am dancing for joy!

The first night of our stay was a special welcome dinner on the beach. It was set up very festivly, a live band played, and scores of waiters asked what the could get for you, and would always reply "It is my pleasure to serve you." Seriously? We met lots of new faces and I ate dessert for the first time in 6 weeks! (not counting the York peppermint patty that I had in my carry-on and devoured the minute I could see the D.R. from the plane above!)

The next morning we had a scrumptious breakfast and I tried Passion Fruit for the first time in my life- I L.O.V.E.D it!! So yummy and tart!! and then Kelly and I had a vicious game of tennis, followed by a lap around the resort on roller blades! And of course swim suits after that vigorous morning! We had a great game of beach-volley ball with Kelly's co-workers and cooled off in the ocean blue! WHAT A DAY!

But of course it didn't end there, the awards ceremony was that night, which was what I imagine the grammy's to be like! AMAZING! The decoration was over-the-top, the food was DE-LISH, the entertainment incredible, and they honored each of the employees there for their accomplishments- Way to go Kelly!!

The next morning Kelly had a mini-golf tournament with a bunch of guys from work...here is Kelly and Lyle, one of the TWO other guys that came to President's Club who is still in their 30's. Everyone else is like 50+ (not that that's bad, I'm just glad there were a couple of people our age there!) While the boys golfed, Lyle's wife and I soaked up the rays on the beach (maybe a little too much soaking...I was RED at the end of this day!) It was so relaxing!!

Our trip ended on Sunday. We spent the day with Uncle Mark and aunt Marlene. Uncle Mark has been with NFIB for 16 years, and he was the one who got Kelly an interview. THANKS MARK! It was so fun to get to know them better and spend time together! PLUS, aunt Marlene is a great photographer, so she took A BUNCH of picture for us!

The trip home could have been better...our luggage was still in Punta Cana when we arrived in Atlanta. The Delta lady was very nice and told us that we could get the things we need (up to $50 each) and send the receipt to Delta, and they'd pay us back! Good thing too, cause both of us were in Island clothes still, and Atlanta was 31 degrees!!! So, we found a Walmart (since it was already 10pm) and each bought long pants and hoodies so we could be nice and snuggly on our flight home the next morning.

A H.U.G.E thanks to my mom for staying with the kids- we LOVE YOU!! It was a unbelievable trip and we couldn't have done it without you!!

Here's to next year in Mexico- we can't possible miss out now!

Create!

This post is prompted by a client that I've been thinking about all week. He and his wife came in a few weeks ago and we talked about all the normal 'fix-your-marriage' kind of stuff. And then last week he said "I've really been pondering and praying and the same answer keeps coming to me." really? what is that? "well, first I just feel like I need to be really honest with my feelings, and my feelings are that this marriage is not working." You're Right (I almost screamed!) Your marriage isn't working...but that feeling doesn't mean you need to divorce- you do have another option- you can change!

I have been thinking about how as human beings sometimes we give-up a little too easily and go with what's easy instead of WORKING to CREATE the life we want! (sorry to all my friends who have to put up with these little counselor raves all too much!)

Probably something you don't know about me is that I'm always writing a book...in my head. This week's book is all about creating the life we want...NOT going with the flow, but working to become the person you want to be and create the relationships in your life that will be happy and fulfilling. I think God wants us to create, and where better to start than our own lives?

Okay, enough of this...here are some random tidbits that kind of have to do with creating, since we "create" children and (sometimes unfortunately) realize they are so much like us.

Addison said to me "Mom, can you put on some music?" Sure, and I reached for the kids music... "Not kid's music! something like this 'bawm-chica-bawm-bawm'...yes he was attempting to beat box...sound like anyone else you know? (Kelly is the right answer...he's a champion beat-boxer)

Today Laynie and I were talking about being nervous and how sometimes you feel a little sick to your stomach when you're nervous. Laynie said "Oh, just like you feel sick in your stomach when we whine?" uh, yep...just like that.

And my sweet Hailey has finally started putting up with a little less from her siblings. Lately when they do something she doesn't like, she points at them and says in her toughest voice "Right Now!" ...I have no idea where she learned that...

All you need is L.O.V.E.

See these delicious morsels...the ones that I didn't even TASTE because of my silly goal to not eat treats until Dominican comes... yeah- they're amazing. These are MAMA MAY cookies (named for my Dad's great aunt Aglaia May, but every one called her "Mama May"). Since I can remember my mom has made these for every holiday...Becca and I would mix our icing pallet and decorate (and probably make a mess)-- and now it's MY kids making a mess!- seriously, is there a harder thing to sweep up than sprinkles? (sorry Grannie!!)

Here's the recipe:

2 cups sugar

1 cup shortening

2 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1 tsp vanilla

(cream together)

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

4 1/2 cups flour

Chill if you have time...roll out with extra flour and cook at 350 for 10-13 minutes, or until golden brown. Decorate with icing and sprinkles and make a mess! :)