Easter Sunday

Keeping with tradition, our family spent Easter Sunday attending church, eating too much food and sweets, and having an egg hunt. Like last year, David and I filled most of the eggs with dollar bills. However, one of the bills was torn and battered to the point of it appearing worthless. After the eggs had been opened, I gave the kids some examples of good and evil people that have lived on the Earth. Then I asked them if Jesus loved the good people more than the bad ones for example, "Does Jesus love Hitler more than George Washington?" After discussing this for a little bit we talked about Jesus dying for all of us. He loves us all and has given us a wonderful gift. The gift to become the person He sees in us so that we can return to live in His presence again. Then we talked about the battered dollar bill. Kirsten was the person who got stuck with it. I asked them if it was worth the same as the other bills. The kids all answered no. They were surprised when I told them that the value was the same. Kirsten would be able to use that torn dollar to buy something. I told them that in life, we make mistakes and may find ourselves beat up; feeling worthless. But Jesus knows our worth. He died for us so that we can repent and become more like Him. I ended by challenging them and myself to pick out a weakness in ourselves and make a goal to turn it into a strength. By doing this, we are showing our Savior that his Atonement was not in vain. 

Happy Easter!

Spring Jobs

This dumpster my look empty right now, but by the end of the weekend it will be full of our junk that has taken over our garage. Spring cleaning, here we come!

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Justin spent over six hours at a training meeting at Safeway. He is really excited to start his new job as Deli Clerk. I can't wait to order a sandwich from him. Yum!

Spring Gardens

 Experiencing spring in NorCal isn't complete until you visit the Filoli gardens. Thanks for inviting us Mom Zinn!

Oh, the wonderful smells!

 This was my favorite potted arrangement. I want my porch to look like this!

I didn't realize there were so many different varieties of daffodils.

Kirsten, Steven, and Dave-o

Grandma Zinn, Dave-o, Steven, and Kirsten

Aren't these gorgeous tulips!

A sea of red! My favorite!

Are you feeling inspired? I am.

Bunny Pouch

Aren't these bunny bags adorable? They multiplied before my eyes; they were so fun to make. Kirsten made the one on the right with the purple ears. We filled them with candy and gave them to friends. Here's the link to the tutorial.

Grid Art

We have another artist in the house.

Justin completed his first art project. The subject? Kevin Durant, Justin's favorite athlete.

I can't wait to get it framed and hung up. Justin did a fantastic job!

Flute Recital

After church, we were able to see Kirsten perform in her first flute recital. She played Sonata in C Maj. Op 36, No.1:Andante, with her teacher accompanying at the piano. Kirsten rose to the occasion and did a great job. She was a little stressed out about the song because she only had 1 1/2 weeks to practice it. Kirsten's love of music is evident as you watch her play. She can't help but sway to the song. (I will post the video of her performance as soon as David transfers it onto our computer from his phone.)

Happy St. Patrick's Day.

Saturday News

Along with taking James to east San Jose for the CHSPE (California High School Proficiency Exam), Kirsten practicing for the upcoming stake play, Justin job hunting, I managed to find time to take Dave-o to the park. When the older kids were his age, I always took them to various parks. Dave-o however has to put up with the business of older siblings. But not today. He had so much fun. I need to do this more often.

In the evening, Mom and Dad Zinn drove down for dinner and then a quick trip to the mall to see James hard at work. James is enjoying his new job. Closing on Friday and Saturday nights are hectic (with a constant line of 15 people), but the tips are a bonus. 

David and his dad.

Good times!

Happy Pi Day

I took advantage of today being Pi Day by having Kirsten bake a pie. Learning how to make good pie crust is a must for any chef. (I'm so glad she choose to make pumpkin pie!)

He's so Cute!

Over the weekend the boys participated in a multi-stake youth conference. They all went to the Friday session, but only Steven attended Saturday. He had lots of fun, ate lots of food, and made me envious when he told me who the keynote speakers were. Stephanie Nielson and her Mr. Nielson spoke to the youth about overcoming trials. They shared their story of surviving a plane crash, leaving both of them badly burned (80% of Stephanie's body was burned). It is an amazing story that I have followed for four years on NieNieDialogues.

On Sunday, while preparing food in the church kitchen for the visiting teaching conference, I had a sweet conversation with an 18 year old girl. Abigail had come in the kitchen to grab some lemon bars. After saying hi, she told me how cute Steven is. She went on to say that while Steven walked up the aisle to bear his testimony during youth conference, all she could hear were girls saying, "He's so cute! He's so adorable!" Then, at the end of the conference, Steven even went up to Abigail and told her how beautiful she looked. He's such a ladies' man.

Slime

Making slime is a fun and educational way to teach children about cross-linking and polymers.

Slime

• 1 tbsp Borax (found in the laundry section of your grocery store)
• water
• 1/4 cup of white glue
• Ziploc bag
• food coloring (optional)

1. Take a cup of water and add to it the borax. Stir until mostly dissolved.
2. In a plastic cup, stir 1/4 cup of water and 1/4 cup of glue, thoroughly.
3. In a Ziploc bag, add equal parts of the Borax solution to equal parts of the glue solution. 1/2 cup of each will make one cup of slime.
4. Add a couple of drops of food coloring. 
5. Seal bag and knead the mixture.
6. Pull it out and have fun.

Monterey Field Trip

It's been a while since we've taken a field trip. Steven has been begging for one for quite some time. We decided to drive to Monterey to enjoy the aquarium and the beach.

I never tire of the jellyfish exhibit.

Dave-o could have sat in front of the big tank all day. He loved the sharks and sea turtles.

It's amazing how well the sea horses can blend in to their surroundings.

Steven came up with some fun games to play on the beach, like a ball throwing contest, and a finding the ball contest.

Dave-o played with his truck in the sand, but soon discovered an inlet of water near the sand dunes.

Kirsten hunted for rocks. 

And my "I hate the beach" child stayed in the car.