Hip Hop...

After a little visit from the Easter Bunny...
hunting for eggs.. ( bad picture.. one of the only ones without too much sun)

We went to church... all dressed up!

We had a wonderful dinner with some great friends. What a perfect Spring day to celebrate one of my favorite Holiday's!

National Treasure... vacation part 2

After a few days in NC, we left the kids with Grandma and Grandad and we went to Washington D.C. It is about 4 hours away from NC. We have always said we want to go, and then we usually decide not to.. We thought it would be a perfect little get-away...
We ended up stopping in Quantico Virginia, and found Breanna Penas grave. She was one of my young women who lost her battle with cancer in February. I was happy to find her little resting place, and suprise her family by sending them a picture of us at her grave.

Things I didnt know about D.C.

• Traffic... wow, I grew up in a large city ( las vegas) but I felt like I was in another country. Bikes, people, taxis.. everywhere



• Metro ( the subway).. made me feel like i was in another country as well. connections, tickets, lines..



• the building are beautiful and HUGE. I have always seen pictures of the capitol, but never did I think they were so large... lots of detail on the buildings.



• lots of walking. after walking from the national monument to Abraham Lincoln memorial, we got a taxi to take us back. ( I told Blades it was the best $10.00 we ever spent)



• Abe was HUGE.. way larger than I thought it would be.. one of my favorites..



• DC Cupcakes.. ( a tv show TLC filmed there.. too long of a line for me to try) although Blades was sweet and found where it was and we drove to.



• We found some not so safe streets finding our way around.



• Smithsonian is HUGE.. you would have to spend days there to look at everything.



• no gas stations anywhere



• a beautiful temple we went to.. ( the pics are on Blades' cell phone..) when you are on the freeway, it appears out of nowhere.. very heavenly :)



• we stayed in Maryland somewhere for the night.. who knew all those states were so close together.



• we missed the cherry tree blossoms by a few weeks, but hear they are amazing



• I cant help but be proud to be an American after you visit the capitol.



• we saw the Constitution ( the original) at the National Archives.. and no pictures were aloud. It was amazing to see. ( talk about security)

We felt like we were stars on that movie with Nicholas Cage... National Treasure... Here are our pictures of our few days in D.C.

Blades and Cori .. the National Monument behind us.. a bit windy

HUGE...we stood at the wall and looked up.. it made us a bit dizzy..

Is that the consitution in your backpack Blades?? Make a run....!!!!

Cori and some other tourists at the Lincoln Memorial.. again.. a beautiful HUGE building.. the statue of Abe is up those stairs..

an amazing sight!

self portraits... gotta love em when you are traveling alone.. we are on top of the stairs at the Lincoln memorial.

the columns are huge and sturdy..

the details were everywhere.. the reflection pool behind this art was being drained...

the capitol

a doorknob at the National Archives.

the buildings were so fun to look at.

Blades at the Smithsonian... American History

Julia Childs kitchen.. ( just like from the movie Julie and Julia)

I learned that I need to learn more about the government and history. We had a wonderful visit and it was fun to not have to haul the kids around. There was lots to see and we didnt see it all, but glad to have visited...

Our biggest crowd yet

Where do I begin..??? let's start with the man at the BBQ... 80 lbs of pork.. ( it's supposed to be black like that) It was cold and rainy out, but he still managed to keep the smoker smoking..with little sleep! about ready to come off of the smoker after 12 hours

Me wearing Kyndal's flower. The same one that she wore in the hospital, I wore at her babyshower and funeral. and the one that was in her hair for this artwork..

the sign in table.. I had extra sheets from the funeral that my friend Tara had done, so we had people sign their names for her bbq too! The book my friend Camie put together for us. The blanket.. hers.. She is buried with the same blanket...

bake sale treats

some of the crowd.. Francis' and Acuna's

Blades, Bishop and Lacey Jones

neighbors and friends

a really cute lemonade stand that Debra's sister made for us..

Glahns and family

Monica and Stephanie ( in my messy garage) but warm and dry

The Johnson's..

Palomo's...

cousins.. Masie, Miles and Lyla

The letter that I wrote to Molly...from agoodgrief.com

Good Morning Molly,

It's Monday morning, the even that we have been planning is over. What a weekend. Much success. We worried about the rain.. here in AZ it usually comes and goes, but Saturday it decided to stay. By 8 am we looked at eachother and decided to move the party to our house... with a mad dash of rearranging, setting up and a quick vacuum.. we had it all under control. We were expecting about 100 people, and were happy to serve 140. We set up tables in our garage and driveway covered with pop-up shades.

Everyone seemed to have a great time. We had a little sign in table with Kyndal's picture, and a poster explaining agoodgrief.com. It was wonderful to see the support we got from friends, neighbors and family. We think it actually worked out better having the food here. My hubby cooked 80 lbs of pulled pork beginning at 2 in the morning to make sure it had 12 hours to smoke. Everyone raved about the delicious food.. homemade coleslaw, pork sandwiches, beans and corn. We were going to have it in roasters being warmed by a generator, but it was much better in the house. I had great friends help serve up the food to our hungry guests. We served the food in to-go foam containers , which was ideal for the crowded spaces. Our kitchen table was overflowing with bake-sale goodies with Kyndal's sillouette picture behind the table. All of those treats looked heavenly. I will share pictures on my blog today.. this was a huge success in our eyes. We love having people in our home, and this was definitley the largest party we have taken on, but it was the most fun and rewarding, and appropriate for our daughter. When planning the party, I didnt realize that her 18 month birthday was the day before the party. Both my husband and I serve in the nursery and have the youngest children just turning 18 months. I cant help but wonder if she watches us as we serve those little ones..

It was all because of goodgrief and deciding to raise money so you can help another family. We appreciate your website and organization. What a wonderful honor to give Lucy. She is smiling from above... I just know it! She is proud of her momma who helps other families. I hope you know how you have influenced us. We have never met, yet I feel I know you.. maybe its the blogstalking, maybe its the communication via email, but whatever it is.. Here is our THANK YOU! Here is the grand total of the money we raised....

$650

We will be forever grateful to your sweet family and maybe someday we will be able to meet..

Love,

Blades, Cori, Camden, Case and Kyndal

what a weekend!

just a brief overview..

• it was raining.. so we moved the event indoors. ( thankfully we had that as a backup and already had cleaned the day before)


• we were planning on 120.. it was more like 140.. yeah


• we sat people everywhere.. even in the garage..


• the food was delicious..


• im tired..

pictures and more details and a total of what we raised coming tomorrow!!!! im off to count mulah!

Where my thoughts are

We are on the countdown to the BBQ in honor of Kyndal... It is on Saturday.. 2 1/2 days away. I think we are about ready. This is where my thoughts are. Do we have enough tables, shades, roasters, utensils, etc..?? The boys helped me carry the big cans of beans to the car. It is fun to see them help and understand why we are doing this too.. We have had an amazing response already and are excited for the big day. We have great friends and family that are willing to still remember our daughter Kyndal. ( and help with the big day) It will be 18 months the day after the BBQ that she was stillborn. Time has gone quickly. With the bbq funds we will be able to give back to http://agoodgrief.com who is helping us purchase Kyndal's headstone. If you havent checked out their story, please do and watch the clip.. See the Good in the Jacksons.. on thier blog under the tab "our cause".

So come if you can. We would love to have you join us!