Triduum and Easter

Hey kids,

Daddy here. We sure have been busy the last few days with the culmination of Holy Week and all. On Holy Thursday night, we went to Mass and I was asked to carry the canopy and the boys were alter servers. It's a beautiful celebration to commemorate the institution of the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist as well as the institution of the Priesthood. Although, I was very nervous that I was gonna hit Fr Louie in the back of the head with the pole I was carrying because Gary Connoly didn't realize that I was that close to him, lol. It all worked out though, and I didn't smack him so that's good! We all went into the chapel and spent a few minutes with our Lord. On the way home, Al and I stopped to get pot pies since it was late, but we were STARVING! Jake had some ramen and we fell asleep watching Legends of Tomorrow.

Good Friday was up next. Mom, Jake and Iz had the day off but Al and I had a regular day. Al was unable to make it to the midday service (not technically a Mass, as Jesus is not there). So, I headed over and was pleased to see so many people at church for a noon service. The service was very somber and serious. All the decorations were gone and the church looked very bland and barren. That always speaks to me, because that's what our lives are without Jesus. Vacant and void without his Holy presence in our daily lives and we need to remember that when we are out in the world. I was not able to stay for the whole service so I had to jam after communion. Filled with joy for still receiving the sacrament I hauled myself back to work. As it was Good Friday, and the final Friday of Lent, not only did we have to abstain from meat, but we had to fast all day too.  As you can imagine, by dinner time we were starvin Marvin. Mom made us shrimp quesadillas. She takes such good care of us. I hope when you guys get older you realize how much Mom did and continues to do for all of us.

Holy Saturday morning, the boys and I had practice at 9am. Jake was an alter server and Al and I were set to do the 1st two readings for the Vigil mass. After we dropped Jake off at church and got suckered into doing a few things, we snuck out and went down to Heavenly Donuts and got some donuts. We went back to church just in time for our practice and met up with the other two readers. Scott and Kimmy. I tell you guys, Scott Schoffner is one of the few people who can constantly make me laugh. That guy cracks me up. We got all our parts down and headed home. We had to run a few errands but in no time, it was time to get ready for dinner. We have begun a new tradition which I love.  That of having dinner at Cattlemen's with the Warrens and the Palmers before the Vigil Mass. We all ate very well and just had a great time with our friends. We ended up talking a bit too long (shocker) and I took the kids to mass and the mom's followed a few minutes behind.  We got to church despite getting stuck by a train and got everyone where they needed to be in the nick of time.  This Mass has got to be my absolute favorite of the whole year. Not only do we get to welcome new members into our faith family, but we are experiencing the Resurrection again. How awesome is that?! Anyway, despite Fr George saying we were not allowed to fall asleep, Izzy still did. After Mass, he said she was forgiven, lol.

Sunday morning, I walked out to Mom with the scissors in my hand and told her she could have one cut of my beard. It's been a year since I trimmed it, and I love the way it looks. I am in the minority in that opinion. So Mom took a big ol chunk out of the beard and I got to trimming. When I came out of the bathroom with my new look, you guys all freaked out and told me I looked wierd, lol. Mom was happy with it though, so I guess I made the right choice. I can always grow it back......

Cleaned up and ready to go, we headed to River-view Country Club for the all you can eat brunch and to celebrate Great Grandma Dorthy's birthday. When we got there, we arrived just in time for the Easter Egg Hunt. There were roped off sections for the kids of different ages, so Iz took her place and the when the race began, she took off like a shot! She hunted and hunted and found way more than the other kids of her age. There were 3 extra special eggs somewhere in the grounds between all of the fields. As Al and I waited for Iz and Violet to get back, we saw her eyes get huge and she grabbed something off the grass and screamed, "I FOUND IT, I FOUND IT!!!" Yep, she found the last golden egg and got a big ol basket of Easter candy. I was so happy for you Iz. You did such a great job of finding the last one, we all cheered for you. That was awesome!

After the hunt, we went inside to eat. You know, I've never left a buffet and felt really good afterwards, so it's no surprise that I had too much meat and got a really bad stomach ache. I'm 42 years old, you'd think I would have learned some self control at this point. When the meal was done, we went back home to rest for a bit before heading to Grammie & Papa's to have more food and Easter fun. We ended up staying late and having a great time.

Easter is a time of rebirth, reflection and gratitude. I am so very grateful for Mom and you guys. I am also grateful for Jesus, that he would die on the cross for my sins. I'm also grateful for our wonderful family. I feel very blessed, and I hope you guys are equally blessed in your lives and are grateful for what  you have too. I love you guys,

Daddy

Weekend Recap

Hey kids,
Daddy here. This weekend we went and saw Zootopia. It had lots of animal puns and was really good. Afterwards, mom and I went to Chico to have dinner with Sara and Dean. Mom had an awesome burger and I had a pastrami sandwich call the Pastrami Bomb. It was sooooo good. We made it back home by about 9 and hit the sack.

Sunday, we went to 9am Mass and Izzy and I read the second reading. I'm so proud of you, Izzy for being brave enough to get up there and read. It takes a lot of courage to do that. We headed home and had a lazy rainy day inside. It was totally awesome. We watched Return of the Jedi, we played a game of Monopoly and just enjoyed eachother's company. It was a great day. I love you guys,

Daddy

Weekend Recap

Hey kids,
Daddy here. Friday we celebrated 24 hours with the Lord. I wanted to be there at 3 am because I figured the priests had to be there, we we'd show our support and join them. I was very pleased that the boys decided to join me. We went to OLM and I was flabbergasted to see like 30 people there. I was very impressed! We all made our confession and went right back home to sleep. I very proud of you guys for going with me and showing the Lord some sacrifice. It meant a lot to me.

Saturday, we started cleaning the house because we are going to try to sell it again, come this spring. Nothing too exciting, but sometimes you gotta clean.

Sunday brought another great church adventure. Father George had asked Mary Jo and I if we would act out the woman at the well reading. Of course we said yes and had practiced many times. So, on Sunday we did our best. I think it went pretty well.  I'm always flattered when I'm asked to do these types of things for Church and am so glad to be able to share my gift. I hope you guys too enjoy sharing your wonderful gifts from the Lord to our parrish community.

After Mass, Grammie and Papa took us out for dinner to celebrate Mom and my birthday. We went to Puerto Vallarta and had an awesome time.

I love you guys,

Daddy

 https://youtu.be/kWVSAt7sNzQ

Weekend Recap

Hey kids,
Daddy here. This weekends activities consisted of celebrating Jake's birthday. Saturday morning, we gave Jake his present. I think he liked it.

We had the gang meet at our house at 11am and the Clickners came up from Chico. While the girls and Al stayed at the house Jake, Jack, Rudy, Patrick, Nathan, Doc & I went to Oasis Fun Center. The kids played a game of laser tag in which Rudy and Jack absolutely decimated the rest of you.

Then, we went outside and you guys drove go karts. Jake was in the lead for a while, but eventually Nathan overtook him and when Jack made his move to overtake Jake, Jake may have bumped him out causing Jack to spin out. But you know what they say, racing is rubbing. After the go karting, we went back inside and played another round of laser tag. This time Doc & I decided to join the fray. We lost. We lost big time. However, there was only 100 points separating the first and second place teams, we all had a great time. We headed back to the house for some Little Caesars lunch. After lunch, we headed to the park. Jake, Rudy and Jack went to play soccer  and Alex and Nathan went to fly Al's new drone . Eventually, we had to take Jack to his cousin house for birthday party. After that, we headed home to play Jake's birthday present, Madden 16 for Xbox one. Eventually, Rudy had to head home to and the Clickner's, since they live so close were able to stay till well into the evening.

Sunday morning, we got up and went to Mass at 9, as per standard. After Mass, Grammie, Papa, Jula, and Violet came over for another celebration of Jake's birthday. He got a Star Wars book and some cash. After the gang took off, we headed over to JC Penny to look for some shoes for Alex and I and actually found some! We hit Safeway on the way home and had a nice relaxing close to an awesome birthday weekend. I love you guys,

Daddy

XII

Hey kids,
Daddy here. 12 years ago today, our family was blessed by the arrival of SteveO. I remember when Mama was pregnant with you, Jake and we were going to find out whether you were a boy or girl. I remember not wanting to find out, but mom did and when we found out you were a boy, I was super excited to have another son. On the day you were born, Alex spent the night at Grammie and Papa's house and mom and I got to the hospital about 5 a.m. It was President's Day and the anesthesiologist had forgotten to show up, so we had to wait a bit. It all worked out okay though, and you arrived safe and sound, okay maybe screaming a little. After they got you cleaned up and took you to the nursery, I was standing there on the other side of the glass just watching you sleep when Tutu and Grandpa showed up. Tutu asked me, "Which one is ours?" I said, as I pointed to you, "That's him right there." Grandpa asked, "What did we decide to name him?" And I said, "Jacob Albert Mansfield." Grandpa got the biggest smile on his face. He loved you so much, Jake. I know you don't remember him, but you made a very big impression on him from the first day he saw you.
Now here we are 12 years later. Countless adventures, funny stories and life changing years later. I hope you had a happy birthday son. You deserve it. You have brought so much joy into my life and continue to do so every day.  I hope you never wonder about how much I love you or how proud of you I am because it is beyond compare. I love you,

Daddy

Weekend Recap

Hey kids,
Daddy here. This weekend the entire Mansclan had a three day weekend.
Friday night, we had to stay away from meat, since Lent is on. So, we had mac and cheese. Mom and Izzy fell asleep in our bed watching TV on the iPad while the boys and I watched Flash downstairs and then fell asleep watching an episode of Legends of Tomorrow.
Saturday morning, I headed to the movie theater and met Doc and we saw Deadpool. It was totally awesome! And wildly inappropriate. I'm sorry to say that you guys won't be saying that for quite some time. Which is too bad since it's a perfect Deadpool movie. After the movie, we went to Lumberjacks for lunch and I had to have new tires put on the car, ugh. Mom and Izzy went to school, so mom could get some stuff done. I got home just in time to have a few minutes with the boys before I had to head out. I was once again hosting the RMEF annual banquet and fundraiser. This year, the event was at Win River and went pretty smooth, albeit long. I got home about 11:30 and went straight to bed.
Sunday morning we got up and went to church. After church and our standard weekly run to Target, mom had the brilliant idea to go mini golfing. We headed to Oasis Fun Center for our round of mini golf. It was pretty competitive and a whole lot of fun. Oh, & I got a hole in one! After mini golf we dropped you guys off at home and mom and I ran to Safeway to pick up some dinner fixins since the Reagan's  were coming over later.  We also stopped at Fall River Tap House and had a pint. Since we were not fasting anymore, mom made Philly cheese steak sandwiches for dinner. It was as awesome as it sounds! Al played video games, Jake played the iPad, Izzy and Mackenzie played princesses and Andrew ran around in between all of you guys while us adults played darts outside. Everyone had a great night.
Monday, since we were all off, we decided to go take a hike at Whiskeytown. We loaded up the water bottles and drove to the trail head. It was a short hike all in all but perfect for us that are not in the best shape. We finally made it to the falls.

We met a nice family that had a giant dog, and when Izzy saw it she said, "That's a Saint Bernard!" It was! His name was Brody and he was super friendly. I tell ya, that girls knows her dog breeds. We headed back to the car and had a nice relaxing evening. All the nonsense starts back up tomorrow, but there is something else to look forward to, it's Jake's birthday tomorrow!! I love you guys,

Daddy

Weekend Recap

Hey kids,
Daddy here. This weekends activities included a whole lot of fun.

Friday, we headed out to Mason's Pizza in Bella Vista. It's owned by Mrs Woodfill's Brian and his wife Michelle. The service was a bit slow, but who cares when we're together with the family?!

Saturday, we had to clean the house and since we did such a great job, the boys and I went and got Fast Weenies for lunch. In the evening, Mom and I went to a crab feed at the fairgrounds with Grammie and Papa. We loaded up on crab and had a great time.

Sunday morning, Al and I were the readers at the 9am Mass. As much as I love doing my part to read and preach, I love just as much seeing you, Al, take such pride in yourself when you get up there. I'm so proud when I see you reading and serving your church. Jake noticed that there was lack of lead servers, so he stepped up and lead the others in what to do. SteveO, I'm also very proud of you for seeing that they needed servers and just jumping into the role. It fills me with joy to see you guys serve where your church needs you.  After church, we headed to Target for the weekly trip and to get the ingredients for the Buffalo chicken dip. We went home and Mom prepped the dip. We headed to Laird's for the MansClan tradition of watching the Super Bowl with those guys. The game was kinda boring, but the company was awesome so we had a great time. Final score on the Super Bowl 50 snooze fest was 24-10 Denver. I can't believe that Carolina only scored 10. Anyway, another great party was had, so we're calling it a success.
You guys have tomorrow off, but I gotta work. Enjoy your day with Mom. I love you guys,

Daddy