Snowmobiling at Snoqualmie Pass

Saturday we were lucky enough to be invited for a day in the snow by my cousin Holly and her husband, Jeff. They picked us up early Saturday morning and drove us up to the mountains. They had snacks in the car for everyone and were more prepared than one could ever hope for!

Once we got up to the snowmobiling spot, Holly started getting out all sorts of gloves, hats, pants, and boots of all sizes for us previous sun-dwelling city folk! Jeff had Derek help him unload the snowmobiles and I helped get the boys into some mock boots (plastic bags taped to their shoes). ~ Great idea, but didn't last long with my boys... perhaps multiple bags and completely taped up would have worked...

After both of the snowmobiles were unpacked and started up and we were all dressed warmly, Jeff took Derek and I on a close to 2 hour snowmobile ride up the mountain! We rode all the way to the top and looked down on I-90! It was beautiful! What a view! Even after a tree "jumped" out and attacked us, I still got back on and continued on our way to the top! Jeff had Derek and I drive down some insanely steep hills! WOW!!! Who would have thought!

While we were cruising up the mountain, Holly stayed back with Dele and Kayode and kept them entertained sledding, building snowmen & snow forts and eating the snacks she brought with us. They had so much fun!!!

Holly and Jeff took Dele and Kayode on a short ride up the mountain and Jeff even let Dele drive the snowmobile for a while! Kayode said the best part was going fast! :)

After their short ride, we loaded everything back up, got into the cars and headed for home. They even took us to McDonald's on the way home for an early dinner. What great cousins we have!!!

Thank you Jeff & Holly!!! You guys are AWESOME!!!!!

Easter

We had a wonderful Easter! It's so hard to believe it's already Spring... although you'd never guess by the weather here in Washington! Don't get me wrong... I'm so glad we're away from the heat in Vegas! I just wish Dele were here with us... soon, Very Soon!

Derek searching for his favorite candies...


Sade found all of her "bug" eggs!

Ayodele loves Easter, especially the yummy candy!

Kayode had a great time finding all of the "dinosaur" eggs.

Carter got lots of yummy candy in his basket!

After searching for all of the eggs, the kids and I went to church with my grandma in Everett. It was a really nice service and great to see her on this special day! After church, we went to my cousin's house for brunch. It was wonderful... all three cousins and no "parents," just us kids and our kids! It was kind of weird, but what a great time just visiting and watching the kids play!

After brunch we went back to Jeff's and had a yummy ham and scalloped potato dinner and the kids opened another "basket" from Papa and Grandma... we are so spoiled!

Happy Easter... He is Ris'n!!!

Easter Egg Hunt

Wow! Easter is finally here! It's been a long, cold winter and the signs of spring are in the air!

This morning, the rain held off and the little boys and I met Heather, her kids Sadie & Aaron and Sadie's friend and my cousins daughter, Ella all went to Jenning's Park for an Easter Egg Hunt. What a fun morning! The kids all found their 8 eggs, then opened them hoping they had a special ticket! None of the kids had a special ticket, but I think they all had a good time hunting for the eggs anyway!

The Easter bunny even showed up for pictures!

Tomorrow we are going to church with my Grandma and then to Heather's for Easter Brunch. It's so nice to be living close to family!

I love that my kids can grow up with their cousins close by!

My only wish would be for Dele to be here with us! :) Hopefully he'll be here next weekend!

Our Adorable kittens...

Lately the kittens have spent more time out from under the bed and more around the bedroom. The other night when I went up to bed (about 11pm) this is what I found! Ayodele sound asleep with all 6 kittens sleeping curled up next to him! How cute!!!

This is still our favorite kitten, Minnie! But... the others sure are cute, too!!! Watch out, daddy... I'm sure the kids will be bugging you about keeping more than just one!!!

Here four of them cuddle up on the warm blanket... MJ, Squeaky, Squishy & Minnie...

One of our first BEAUTIFUL Seattle Spring Days...

Isn't this a beautiful sight!?!

...Sunshine, no jacket & pretty pink trees!

Spring is FINALLY here!!!

(at least for a few days) After picking Ayodele up from school on Tuesday,

I took the boys to Jennings Park to play!

It was an absolutely beautiful day!

The sun was shining, there was no need for jackets

and the boys had a great time running around!

My boys are so goofy, but aren't they cute??
Here's Ayodele, Kayode & my nephew Carter!

Seattle Science Center

Last Friday before Grandma (my mom) went back to Oregon, she took us to the Seattle Science Center for the morning! What a great place to go and have fun! Great Grandma even bought us a membership for Easter so we can go back any time we want! Thank you Grandmas!!!

It was a beautiful day... crisp, but bright! I made everyone stop in front of the Space Needle for a picture after lunch at McDonald's. Seattle is so beautiful... I love it!

Inside the Science Center we spent the most time in the butterfly house. Sade took some beautiful pictures of the butterflies. Here are just a few!

Kayode and Ayodele made Naked Mole Rat noses! I definitely think he was the only "cute" Naked Mole rat at the Center!

The main attraction at the Center was Geoocaching! Sade and Ayodele had a great time trying to find the hidden treasures! Hopefully someday we can go out and try our hand at some real Geocaching!

We had a very fun day and can't wait to get back for some more fun!!!

So much time has gone by...

Oh, my goodness! I can't believe it is already April and I haven't added a blog entry in ages!!! So many things have been happening since I last added photos of our family!

Let's start with March 5th! At 12:30am our cat, Mayleen finally decided to have her kittens! Six in all... 3 Siamese, 2 Tabby & 1 all black with a patch of white on it's paw and chest! They are definitely cute!!!

On Sunday, the 8th, I said goodbye to some very special people. I will truly miss my church family! I loved the opportunity to praise God with my music and such wonderful people!

On the 9th, we loaded our van... Dele, Jen, Derek, Sade, Ayodele & Kayode all with pillows, clothes, a few toys and miscellaneous necessary items and our cat Mayleen and her 6 kittens and headed for Washington. We drove 23 hours with only one or two "Are we there yets?" Dele and I took turns driving and the only rough travel we had was between Vegas and Bakersfield, CA where the wind was very strong! A little snow in Northern CA and Southern OR was no biggy compared to the wind! We arrived safely at 11:30 Tuesday at my brothers.

Once we unpacked the car and loaded our "family" bedroom, Dele and I went to the schools to get the kids enrolled. Ayodele started 2nd grade on Wednesday the 11th. He's actually going to school at Pinewood ES which is the school I taught my very first year! He's got a great teacher and he loves it! He's even got a few good friends already! Sade started 7th grade on Thursday the 12th at Cedarcrest. She's disappointed as none of the kids she knew in 5th grade are at this school.. they're all at the other 2 MS. Maybe if we find a house soon, she'll be able to transfer...who knows! She'll be okay! She gets off the bus and walks Ayodele's school so they can walk home together! Derek started 9th grade at MPHS the following Tuesday! He's a little disappointed... the HS has small learning communities and, of course, he didn't get into the same one as all of his friends. Fortunately, he's still on the same campus as his friends, so he'll at least get to see some of them in passing. He seemed okay with everything after the pretty girl gave him a tour of the campus and showed him where his classes are for tomorrow! :) Kayode is adjusting to not being the "baby" of the family. Carter, Jeff's son, is 3 1/2, so he's having to learn how to share with the younger "brother." They are all getting along surprisingly well!

I've been to Anacortes & Olympia to have my fingerprints done and turned in all of my paperwork for renewing my teaching certificate. Hopefully within the next 2-3 weeks, I'll have a temporary license and I can start subbing. I already have a long-term elementary music teaching job lined up for May and June and a principal friend of mine told me she'd keep me very busy once my license was released. Carter's daycare said they could take Kayode which would be a great pre-view for Kindergarten next year as he's always been home with me.

Dele has been back and forth to Vegas tying up loose ends and getting us checked out of our condo. While he was here he made quite a few connections and already has had an interview. I am confident that he will find something very soon! We miss him and can't wait for him to come back!

We've already seen so many special people since we've been back!!!

The day we arrived in town, we surprised my Grandma with a quick visit! Dele called to arrange a meeting, but he neglected to tell her we were all here! I only wish I could have seen her face when the first of the kids started walking through her door! By the time I saw her she was speechless! We didn't tell her we were coming because we didn't want her to worry about our travels, especially since there was snow in the forecast! She forgave us, though, since we all made it safely in one piece.

We've met up with Jodi, my college roomie, and her family for a quick visit. Jeff even let me leave the kids with him so I could meet her in Tukwilla at the mall for shopping and lunch! What a nice brother!

Dele came back for about a week and the night he arrived I left him, too, with the kids so I could meet Katie, my best friends from Elementary, Middle & High school, in Arlington for dinner at my favorite Mexican joint! I finally got to have my favorite "Arroz con Pollo." They don't make it in Vegas, so it was great not only to see my friend, but also be able to have a delicious meal!

Last weekend we had the opportunity to have dinner with very special friends of ours, the Brady's! They were my neighbors growing up and were always like a second set of parents to me! Dele and the kids raked the leaves up out of their backyard, played basketball and played in the front yard! Carter, my brother's son, played on the computer with Bill most of the day and absolutely loved it! It was so wonderful to be able to visit with Cathy for the afternoon. Lucky for us, it was a beautiful, sunny day!

Dele returned to Vegas again after a week of making employment contacts and searching for somewhere to live! Boy, is it hard to decide where we want to live! We're probably going to get a big enough place for my brother and Carter to move in with us while he goes back to school to get his Master's in Education. We're still looking!

Before he left again, we got to spend the afternoon bowling with my mom, who came up for a visit and my Grandma! Then we had a yummy dinner at the Chinese Buffet in Everett! The kids ate so well after bowling!

The kittens continue to grow!!! They are now crawling around the upstairs! Currently, this is the kitten we are keeping... it's name is Minnie (as long as it's a girl), but it might end up being MJ.

Things are crazy, and maybe we're crazy, but it's all good! We're so glad to be here! Dele should be back by Easter with our stuff and then life can begin again as a family here in Washington! I hope the weather shapes up before he comes, or he may find reason to stay in Vegas a little longer (until it warms up here!)! I keep trying to tell him that the weather is abnormally cold! Oh, well! I'm just glad to be here, and I know he, too, will get used to the weather! We're so glad he's made the sacrifice so we can be here closer to our extended family!