Hang on...

At California Adventure they have a place where the kids can climb on ropes, rocks, swing, and slide. This is Rachel and Jared swinging on the tire swings, which are basically zip lines. Rachel did pretty good but Jared barely got his leg on and was hanging on for dear life, when he hit the tire at the end to stop him he went flying...but he hung on. You can't see it on the video because I saw a panicked look in the Disney employee as Jared hit the tire so I was making sure Jared survived rather than making sure I got it on video. There is a picture of Ellie climbing on the rope ladder which is pretty impressive since she is frightened of everything, including when we go to the grocery store and she is walking, she is always looking over her shoulder and trying to run and hide behind me because she is afraid they are going to run her over with their shopping carts.

You might get wet...

We took the family to Disneyland again and decided to try something new...the canoes. The kids have never been in a canoe before and they were pretty excited. Rachel was bummed because she had to wear a life jacket. You have to be 7 in order to go on the canoes without one. When the the Disney employee asked how old she was she blurted as fast as she could "six almost seven" I guess she was hoping they would only catch the "seven". Well we finally got loaded and Jared and my brother David where sitting in front of me and Rachel. Bill & Ellie were behind us. I didn't know you could get so wet. David kept colliding with Rachel's paddle and would cause it to splash her, and Jared would smack his paddle in the water so he would soak me every time he went to paddle. Rachel and I looked like we had just gotten off Splash Mountain...nope, the seemingly innocent canoes.

Summer Projects

Summer vacation is full of projects and crafts. This is one the kids came up with on their own. They made a bird house in the middle of our lawn. Rachel and Jared worked really hard on getting it just right...they always keep a look out to see if any birds have moved in.

Ellie's New Bed

Ellie protested being in a crib by banging her head up against the rails. I didn't want to give up the crib because I knew I would be battling bed time but I couldn't have her hurting herself. So, Ellie got a big girls bed. And surprisingly it's been great. She very rarely puts up a fight...she loves her new bed. Sometimes though she rolls right off, she doesn't wake up...she is deep in sleep. We've had to place pillows by her bed...(Yes, I know we should invest in toddler rails) There have been a few times when we've had to look for her, if you look carefully at this picture you can see a leg sticking out from underneath her bed. I spy with my little eye...Ellie!

Student of the Month

Today was Rachel's last day of first grade. She had a wonderful teacher, I couldn't have asked for anyone better. Rachel grew so much this year, I'm so proud of her. This is Rachel getting her student of the month award for May.

Keeping Cool

My kids could live in the water. They love the pool, beach, the slip in slid, or squirting each other with water guns. These are the first pictures of the summer...

It's Great to be 5!

Happy Birthday Jared!!!!

Not so Fun...

Ellie hates the feeling of butterflies in her stomach. We took her on the ferris wheel at California adventure.

It's a small world after all...

We never get tired of going to Disneyland. I love watching my kids faces light up with excitement or experience things for the first time. Here are some memories caught on camera.

Boys will be boys...

Jared is so fascinated with bugs, worms, lizards...He always tries to bring them in the house and convince me they are his "pets". Here is one of his latest finds.

Ellie's Birthday

Ellie turned 2 on March 20th! What a lucky girl she is...she had two parties. One with Bill's family & one with my family. We went to the beach, had a bon fire, & Smores. On Easter I had a Easter dinner, Birthday cake & Ice Cream. Yum! What a fun b-day!

Greg & Alycia visit Cali...

Greg(Bill's brother) Alycia, Gabriel, Sierra, & Sam came to visit. We haven't seen them in almost two years. We had a lot of fun while they were down. We went to Disneyland, to the beach, and had Easter on Friday so that the cousins could die Easter eggs, have an Easter Egg Hunt, & a big feast!

Day Hike

We love to go outdoors whenever we can.

Count your Blessings.

I just wanted to thank everyone for your prayers on our behalf while Bill was in the hospital. I know that the only reason that Bill is back at school, coaching soccer, and being a great dad is because of the faith and prayers of our family and friends.

Pumkin Patch!

On Saturday the fires and the smoke had finally cleared up enough to take the kids to a pumpkin patch. The kids had so much fun. Bates Nut Farm had hay rides, pony rides, and a maze. We looked for the perfect big mac pumpkin for over an hour. Ellie had a lot of fun riding in the wheel barrow. We finally found an 88lb pumpkin! It is huge. We also let the kids pick another pumpkin for carving tonight for Family Home Evening.