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.

Ellie!

Here are some pictures of Ellie...She is almost 18 months now and becoming her own person. She is strong willed, full of energy and love.

Giants Game...

We went to Petco Park to watch the Giants play the Padres. Let's just say they lost...hopefully next season will be better. Everybody had fun! We went with my parents and my brother David. We had hot dogs, peanuts, cotton candy. We even got Free Padres hats...Anybody want one? Hehe. Just kidding. GO GIANTS!

Disneyland!

One of my kids favorite places to go. Our passes have been blocked all summer. So we went as soon as we could. Jared must have grown over summer because he can go on all of the rides except indian jones. So he went on Thunder Mountain Railroad (one of my favorites) and Splash mountain for the first time. I love going to Disneyland, especially while my kids are this age its so much fun experiencing it through their eyes.