April 2010 Recap

Ruby's first ponytail - 4/1/2010

I adore this picture...I'm wearing her in the sling and she is enjoying the full-service treatment!

Papago Park-4/2/2010
My cute friend Jenny invited the kids and me to hang out with her and her family at Papago Park for an Easter Egg hunt and picnic. I'd never been, so it was lots of fun and the weather was awesome. Carter even found the "golden egg" with money in it! I didn't get a lot of pictures, but here are a few of the kids hanging out.

Hugo is one of Carter's favorite buddies.
Carter and Lacy had fun rolling eggs down the hill.

Acacia came too. She's a fabulous babysitter and a sweetheart!
Bunny Day and General Conference - 4/3/2010
It was the tradition in my family growing up to celebrate "Bunny Day" on the Saturday before Easter every year. The Easter Bunny brings us treats on Saturday so that we can focus on Jesus and the resurrection on Easter Sunday.

Carter especially loved his Transformer's coloring book.
I think Ruby liked her stuffed bunny.

Shane made Carter's favorite: star-shaped "egg-in-a-holes" sprinkled with cheese.
It was LDS General Conference weekend the same weekend as Easter, so we enjoyed snuggling and hanging out together all weekend watching conference. Growing up, my siblings and I made "nests" of blankets and pillows from which we watched the conference each Spring and Fall. Shane tried to show Carter how to build a proper nest and CJ had fun with it...until it was time to clean up and put it all away of course.
We took a walk between sessions.

Brad's Mission Call! - 4/6/2010
If you read the blog regularly (or know us personally at all), you know we have a very close relationship with Shane's Uncle Joe and Aunt Claudia. They live just a few blocks away and have been so wonderful to us since we arrived in AZ four years ago. Carter and Ruby know them as Nana and Grandpa. Carter said Nana before Momma, I'm pretty sure.

Anyhow, Bradley (Joe and Claudia's son) received his LDS mission call to the Chile Santiago North mission. We are so excited for him! He will be a hard-working, wonderful missionary. I found out a few days after he got his call that his mission president will be Presidente May, who was in my stake in Valencia growing up, and then moved to UT around the time my parents did. Elder Hilton will be in great hands there with Presidente and Hermana May! Brad graduates from high school at the end of May and reports to the Missionary Training Center on June 16th. Brad's mission call was especially exciting for the family because Brad is the youngest child, only boy, and will be only one to serve a full-time mission (as a young adult anyway) of his siblings.
Here is Elder Hilton with his proud parents.

Fun side note: The map in the background was posted after Brad's papers were turned in and the wait for his call began. The colored markers were guesses from friends and family of where Brad's call would be to. Joe, Brad's dad, noticed nobody had guessed Chile just a couple of days before the call was opened and tagged it as his guess.

Ruby is eight months old - 4/18/2010
Shane already posted a bunch of eight month pictures, but I wanted to include this one in the April recap to note that she was not only standing, but taking steps at eight months. I was not encouraging this. I absolutely blame her father...and I have witnesses.
Oh, but I do have to say she melts me. {swoon}

Rocker, Parties, & Prom - 4/24/2010
Carter for some reason has a love for rock and roll. He often asks us to "rock" with him. We've scored some sweet band equipment from yard sales and a clearance sale and now we have three toy guitars and a toy microphone with karaoke machine. We jam a lot. Fast forward to cute Cambria's dress-up birthday party. We gave Carter all his dress-up options (Spiderman, pirate, etc.) and he chose rocker. Love these pictures Shane took before the party.

{Notice cliche "Mom" tattoo I drew on his right shoulder and scorpion tattoo dad gave him on his left forearm.}

Carter and Ruby went with Shane to a second friend's party that afternoon while I had the pleasure of taking pictures of Brad and his darling date, Allison, before their prom. I had so much fun with them. Thanks you two!


Lastly, I spent most of April working furiously in every spare moment to prepare for the opening of my etsy shop, Ruby Jane Boutique, and Boutique in the Barn (which was May 1st). The boutique was a lot of fun and although the shop only has one listing so far, it will have many more items listed soon!

Thanks for all your support everyone!