last day of the month...

Since it's the last day of April, I figure I better post about something. I seriously can't figure where this month has gone...I mean, is April really over? The past couple months have been super crazy for me...but in a good way (minus Ruby's little accident). I was thinking recently about how boring my life would be without the church, as the majority of what keeps me busy can be directly connected to my membership in the church. Now, I'm not saying that I spend every minute of every day fulfilling my calling, or reading my scriptures and praying, or serving everyone around me. Although I would love to be able to make those claims, I also believe that the Lord expects us to be well balanced.
Looking back over the month, I feel happy, as we have most definitely managed to maintain a good balance between work, and service...and fun. Of course, I owe most my social enjoyment, as well, to the fact that I'm a member of the church. After all, where is it that I have met most of my friends?...You guessed it...at church. So, without the gospel, my life really would be so empty. I'm so grateful to my Heavenly Father for blessing me with something that not only brings so much happiness and enjoyment to my life, but that also provides me with a great deal of purpose and structure.


I haven't been very good at documenting our day to day dealings as of late, but because I rarely leave the house without my camera, we can (for this month at least) allow the pictures to tell the stories...


This was actually the day before Easter. Grandma Judy and Paul and Amy were in town, and we all went to see the Easter Bunny, ate lunch, and rode the carousel.


My friend Celeste introduced me to the neatest park in Scottsdale. It has the most darling little train, fun carousel, playgrounds, and cute lunch place. Both times we went, it was quite an adventure trying to keep up with Ruby, who was constantly running away from me. One time I finally caught up to her, and found her in a wagon that didn't belong to us.


This picture - of my friend Tara's sweet little Ashley - was taken at a park near our house. A few of us friends got together, took the kids to the park, and had a picnic while our husbands were at the Priesthood session of conference.

Ruby looks miserable in the picture below...but I promise, she really did enjoy herself.



Here she is completely enthralled in the Sunday morning session of conference...an enthusiasm which lasted all of 3 minutes.


Because we were on the go so much this month, Ruby didn't get too many naps in her own bed. Lucky for me, she'll fall asleep anywhere.


We've attended a few of John's softball games. Ruby is so cute cheering for her daddy. "Go John!" she yells.


This month we rediscovered the Drive-In movies! We've gone three times now, and we're hooked! It's so much fun because we can take Ruby and not worry about the fact that she really doesn't sit still, and that she really isn't all that quiet during movies. She has actually caught on to the fact that when we transport her car seat into "daddy's car", it means we're going to the movies. She loves this new little family tradition. Well, of course she does...who wouldn't love to eat goodies and stay up way past bed time?


Ruby loves her friends Ava and Sofia. (And sweet little Evelynne too, but Evelynne and her mommy weren't able to make this play date). This pic was taken at a nearby park. Look how adorable these three are with their sunglasses. Barnes & Noble does a story time and craft for the kids that we've been going to. I love it because it gives me and Ruby a chance to get out of the house and enjoy time with our friends. Plus we always go out to lunch afterwards...and going out to lunch is probably one of my all time favorite things to do.

Ruby loves being with the girls, but she also has some pretty adorable little boy friends...


Here we have a couple of the cutest little boys ever...Ty (above) and JR (below). Celeste and I took the kids to another beautiful park where we took lots of pictures, did some hiking, and then ate lunch. It was a really fun - really eventful - day, and both Ty and Ruby conked out in the car on the way home.



My friend Amber and I took the kids to the new San Tan Village. We did some shopping, went to lunch, and then rewarded the kids by letting them play for a while in the fountains.




Ruby is totally ready for a sibling. Look how cute she is with little baby Brenner.



These last two were taken on Friday night. John and I took turns going to the temple, so while he was inside, Ruby and I enjoyed some quality time together on the beautiful temple grounds. She was in the friendliest mood, and waved at every person that we passed. (See below.)