Getting to Know You...Getting to know and to like you

Melissa and Robert Sanders Family

Robert and Melissa Sanders moved to El Dorado Hills in January after living in Elk Grove for 4 1/2 years. They have one boy, Blake (4) and two daughters: Grace (2) and London (1). Robert grew up in Fairfield, CA and Melissa grew up in Arlington, TX. They met at BYU in 2001 and were married in August of 2002. Robert studied finance and Melissa's major was international studies. They moved to the Sacramento area in 2003 for Robert to attend U.O.P.'s McGeorge School of Law.

Robert was a law clerk and later an attorney at a small litigation firm in Elk Grove until 2007, when he accepted a position as in-house counsel at a medium-sized commercial real estate firm. He enjoys the combined aspects of finance, the law, and real estate transactions in his position.

Melissa enjoys being at home with the kids. She loves to read books with them, go for walks, play at the park, cooking, and playing games together. She also loves going on dates with Robert, especially when they involve amusement parks, swimming, ice skating, or anything outdoors.


Blake will be starting kindergarden at Lakeview Elementary in August. He is excited for school and for all of the new things he will be able to learn every day. Grace will be turning three in July and wants to spend her birthday at Chuck-E-Cheese, the Galleria ("Gallerina"), all of her friend's houses, Grandma's house, the pool, and the "babyswing park". She has big plans for that day! London just turned one and enjoys crawling after Blake and Grace and dancing to music. She has a great laugh and is a delightful lady.

April and Greg Howard Family

Greg and I met met while we were both going through divorces. I was living with my parents, and my sister and her husband would invite themselves and Greg over for dinner each week. I had two girls from my first marriage, Brittany and Chelsea (2 years old, and almost 1, at the time). They LOVED Greg instantly.

Greg asked me out and I discovered why my daughters liked him so much. He is completely selfless. We married October 8th, 1999. Maybe it's because we were both married before, but neither of us ever remember our anniversary. The day we got married doesn't seem to matter--we just like being married :) Brittany is now 12, Chelsea 11, and we have since
had 2 boys, Parker (7) and Cameron (5).

Greg grew up in Massachusetts, but left at age 17 to be a travel guide in Russia, Germany, and France. He speaks Russian, German, French and English, and is currently interested in learning Chinese. He graduated from UMASS, then went to BYU for his MBA. He is currently studying for a degree in Statistics while working as a quantitative analyst for a mortgage servicing company. Most importantly, after living in California for 16 years, Greg is finally loving California and its beautiful weather.

I grew up in Martinez, California, and am a stay at home mom. I cook, clean, drive and clean some more, every day. I served a mission in Texas Houston East, Spanish speaking (but I don't speak Spanish). I love sports, and I am an identical triplet--so please, if you see me and I don't say hi, it isn't me.

Brittany, Chelsea and Parker all take piano. Chelsea, Parker and Cameron love to play sports. Parker loves to read and take things apart. Cameron has been swimming like a fish since he was 1, and Brittany loves Gymnastics.

Brittany and Chelsea visit their bio dad every other weekend, and have a step-mom, a step-sister, and a half brother on their dad's side. Though the situation has been difficult and definitely not ideal, the Lord has blessed them with a lot of love from so many people, and our family has grown as we've watched Heavenly Father answer our prayers, regarding them, throughout their lives.