Easter with my Boys

This blog may not be in chronological order, but here it is.  The Easter blog.

We had quite the eventful Easter this year.  It started by me dressing up as the Easter Bunny and surprising William with an Easter basket with one egg.  I set up a scavenger hunt and each egg had a clue to where the next egg would be until he reached the jack pot!!!  (I was considering having him find an Easter Poo Egg poo-rise jack pot muahahaha)

The dead lizard was mistaken for an egg, or maybe some sort of a clue.  But it wasn't an egg.  It wasn't a clue.  It was a dead lizard.  

 That didn't get in his way of finding the jackpot.  No way.  He threw that lizard away like a cowbody riding into town??? and kept going until he finally found it (the jack pot, not poo).  

And take a look at all his expressions!!!

Then it was off to spend Easter with the kiddos!  We were so excited for our first Easter so we started preparing months ago!

We the Easter Bunny filled their baskets up with some baseball gear so we headed to the field...also known as the parentals yard for some good times.  

I know it doesn't seem crazy to you, but Hunter was batting those balls clear to the end of the grass!!!  

And little Brody was loving his glove and throwing to his dad.

I may or may not have taught Hunter to yell some sort of obscenities at the pitcher, as well as a good luck ritual before hitting the ball to "shake your groove thang, ya ya" :)

And look at that face!  That expression sums up my Easter weekend with the boys!

Goodbye Lip Exfoliation

So C-Dub has been growing some manliness on his face for a couple months now.  I actually like it, but I don't think the world is ready for it.  So after he heard his mother's only wish for him (when we were visiting this weekend), he did what any MAN would do.  He listened to her.

He got the shaver out and was about to go clean house, when I told him that he is not allowed to shave ONE (insert your own adjective) hair off his face without my documentation of it!  And since I was filling rather lazy, I gave him strict instructions to come back to me with a different design each time so I could take a picture.  He didn't like the idea of the traveling so I told him the ONLY way I would go into the bathroom while he was shaving (due strictly to my laziness) was if he made me a bed in the bath tub.  After requesting that I just sit on the "throne" while he shaved, he quickly came to his senses and prepared a bed for me.

Here is me cracking up because he was mimicking my requests back to me (not the best picture, but it makes me crack up each time I remember his voices):

And the one that truly shows off my comfy tub/bed made by the hottest man alive:

And now it is serious time.  A time to reflect on our insides and the hair that grows on the outside...(And three...two..one) Without further hesitation...  THE BEFORE:

Don't let that man hair fool you.  He is a softy.

Rodger lets go find out what his first move will be.

And he went for a shave straight down the middle.  Ladies and gentleman, straight down the middle; and he even added a little kiss!:

What is next people?  What is next?...

Who would have guessed?! The certified handlebars!!!  And I am not talking about a mountain bike!

He wants to know if you are looking at him. (In a tough voice.)  I told him no.

And it wouldn't be a shaving party without...

A TYRANT! Yay!

Now the moment you have all been waiting for...the AFTER PICTURE:

Awww it makes me want to sing a Justin Beiber song.  

And the aftermath:

I love him so much that I would walk all the way to Japan just to use his beard trimmings as a topping on a salad.

(I'm A) Cheap Date

Guess what!  I'm poor.  So that means it is time to get creative.  So for my $1-$12 date, this is what I did:

We started by going to a romantic location.  Because this romantic location is so well known, it is crowded by couples both young and old.  It is so prestigious, that only special members can enter by presenting a VIP card at the door with your picture on it.  I hope I am not coming off as too refined, I do like to let loose every once in a while.

The membership: $0 (benefits of your sister working for the company)

So we enter the beautiful gates and are greeted by the lovely staff waiting for our arrival.  Flash the card and enter.

I hop onto my chariot, while a handsome man pushes the chariot by hand.

(my chariot)...

At this...resort, yes we shall call it a resort, they have so many items all with a guarantee of satisfaction! And you can actually put any of them in your cart chariot!  That was one of my favorite things to do on the date actually, the picking of items to put in my chariot.  Who am I kidding?!  It was the FREE SAMPLES!

Here is that fine stallion of a man pushing this high class lady:

And his view:

You can see the name of this 5 star resort above.  Costco (pronounced coooooostko), not to be confused with Cosco, a Chinese shipping company.

At the resort, all the food samples were included.  We decided to go on St. Patrick's Day and the lovely staff made it extra special for us by using signature Irish ingredients for all (most) of our appetizers.  

This was some sort of a stew.  It was delicious, or as the Irish say, delicioso.  

Appetizers: $0

By the way, look at my new shoes that I love so dearly!!!

And with all of the inclusive food, my knight still was famished so he decided to upgrade to the Restaurant located outside the gate.  And I couldn't let him eat alone so I got a churro.

But before we left, we had to put all the items we previously were going to purchase back on the shelves.  I mean who really is going to go grocery shopping for one at Costco?!

Rachel's Expenses, Churro: $1

CW: Hot Dog & Drink Combo, Turkey Pesto Sandwich, Very Berry Ice Cream: $10

Mmmm...pouring rain, ice cream and butt warmers :)  

Sunday Funday

Sunday, oh Sunday.  It didn't start off as a Fun Day actually.  It started off with a minor panic attack after receiving a phone call to fix an also minor emergency.  Then it was time to get our church on, which is never as fun when you are walking in late to a...SINGLES WARD.  (for those who don't know what that is, its pretty much where people look (hound) for mates at church and a small percentage just go to church).  

Everything was going fine, this was my second time at this new ward and the first hour ended so I am standing in the hall talking to C-Dub, feeling a little bit like I was going to pass out, when all of a sudden..."RRRROOOOAAAAARRRR!!!!! HOW DID THAT FEEL SEXY?!" Yes I admit it.  This stranger girl that I have never met scared the crap out of me.  I don't admit to being scared often, but who in the heck would not have been! Who are you?! Why are you yelling at me in church?!  And why are you calling me sexy?!  That wasn't the worst part.  The worst part was the nails digging into my back as she was asking how that felt sexy, leaving open wounds.  With the on lookers (also strangers) looking at me like, we know you don't know her, but that is perfectly normal behavior.  

So what did I do?!  I had a break down.  Yes, I started crying.  I was scared.  I was frightened.  I wanted my mom.  C-Dub made sure the coast was clear (so nobody would see the tears) and we got to my car so I could eat my precious granola bar that I store for low blood pressure days.  Thank you C-Dub, once again you saved my life.  

After the traumatic day at church, we decided to calm "our" nerves by a little bike ride.  I made delicious Chicken Salad Sandwiches, which I had to repeatedly lie to C-Dub that it was my Grandma's recipe so he would chop the apples into smaller pieces (he he) and some fruit and got on our beach cruisers and rode to the beach, just in time for the sunset!

(The blue one is mine! <3)

There is "Grannies" recipe, which actually was/is an annoying trick that I played, because he really like the sandwiches and I seriously made it up!!!  I want the freakin credit for that! Whaaa!  Just chop the apples like I told you to in the first place fool! 

And just in time for the sun setting!  Oh what a perfect Sunday, wish all my days were this nice...

PS the above nail scratching story is way funnier when I can do voices, so if you want to hear it again call me!  You know how I LOVE telling stories!

I MOVED...to the BEACH!!!

So there is a reason for my lack of blog.  Lets start with the holidays, where my mom and sister did everything and I just had to show up and eat.  Then there is my new job, that has a really flexible schedule, I mean REALLY flexible.  And then there was the MOVE!  Oh my goodness, can you believe it?!  I am finally here!  Now my walls are purple and disgusting, but my clothes are hung up and I am no longer a gypsy.  Here are some before pics:

I was sold on the size of the closet, I guess it really isn't that big (3 panels wide) but it is bigger than my suitcase!  And I love the size of that window and the view of the trees, its just these dang purple walls.  I am tempted to paint them, but why go through the effort when I know I won't be here for long...

I still don't have a bed, I have a mattress though!  A bed will be my next purchase, unless someone decided to donate to the Rachel Foundation.  I am also considering a pallet bed (which I REALLY WANT), but the problem with that is it eliminates under the bed storage...hmmm...

Mark helped me move everything, actually I helped Mark move everything, actually Mark moved everything!  He saved my life!  And look my crowning jewel of this whole thing was that I can finally put up that painting that my sister Carly did for me!  (although its totally clashing on these stupid purple walls!)

And now this is a regular occurrence :) the beach.  And bonfires.  At the beach.  Its a five minute walk from my front door.  So now that you have seen the place, come visit!  Help me explore my new city!  As soon as my room is settled and decorated I will give you a real virtual tour! :)

Helping Hands

It has been a while, and I am a couple of blogs behind, my apologies ;)  But I am really excited to tell you all about the experience I had at the LDS Helping Hands Service Project!  Helping Hands is a church program designed to provide community service and and disaster relief to those in need.  So on this particular project, there was a need for volunteers to help thousands of families in the Los Angeles area that needed assistance in getting school supplies and new shoes for school aged children.  So Brittany, Kelly, Michelle and I left Murrieta at 4:45 AM...I repeat FOUR FOURTY FIVE AY 'AM!!!  Here is Brittany the best morning driver ever :)

So we get to LA and there are THOUSANDS of people lined up for blocks and blocks waiting to receive these supplies.  It was really touching to see the needs in our very own communities.  So we register and they assign you to a bi-lingual position or english speaking position and they assigned me to bi-lingual.  I thought I was going to CRAP my pants!  Luckily Michelle came with us and she is from Mexico and speaks Spanish as her first language and I told her she was not to leave my side!

So the way it worked was the lines that wrapped around for blocks waited ALL DAY to come to different booths to receive things like medical check ups, back packs, school supplies, and shoes.  The Helping Hands Organization was assigned to the shoe station.  So the "bi-linguals" (or in my case the pretend bi-lingual) would talk to the kids and parents and get the proper shoes for the kids and fit the shoes on the kids.

It was a long day.  It was really hot, in addition to me trying to struggle through my broken spanish and coming off of a fever from the night before, but when you see these kids you just forget all of that.

I LOVED that little boy with the long hair!  I kind of felt like a creep for taking that picture, but he was so grateful and so CUTE!  I call him Simba.

There is Kelly.  He didn't like the idea of a little girl wearing those black knee-high boots, it was really funny!  I thought they were cute lol!

That was me in action.  Do you like my shirt?  On the back it said STAFF and I felt official.  I would like to note on the name tag it does say "bi lingual"

There is so many people out there that are in need in so many different ways.  The  Helping Hands Organization is a great way to help in a large organized way.  If you are interested in volunteering with them on their next project visit them at lds.org