Beauchamp Family

Utah, week 2

2011-07-05T00:22:00.000-07:00

Our second week in Utah was much quieter. Ez was teaching a class in San Diego, Alexis was in Grand Junction, CO for a few days, Lily was in Albuquerque, NM, and we took David to BYU Football Camp.

It was fun to have just Joe and Evelyn for a couple of days. One day we visited the little farm at Thanksgiving Point. The kids had a great time feeding and petting the animals. Joe even got his shorts chewed on by one of the calves! Their favorite part was the pony ride.

Joe feeding a very, very hungry friend

Evelyn wiping her hand after an animal licked her too much!

My favorite part of the week was a trip up to Ogden to visit my friend Emily and her wonderful kids. Emily was one of my earliest friends and it was fantastic to catch up with her after not seeing her in about 10 years. Unfortunately, a photo never happened. Boo!

Utah Trip

2011-07-04T23:13:00.000-07:00

It was lots of fun to get together with the family in Utah. Here are just a few of my favorite pictures. There really were a lot.

Very creative hiding places...

Scott and Ez hoping the fire for dinner will start before the rain

Our family--last time we took a picture here, Joe was only 1 week old

The family toured the conference center, visited Temple Square, and the Beehive House

Evelyn liked making sure David's hair was always looking good

Uncle Burgess was magical with keeping Claire happy

Jake was the funny MC of the family talent show

Beautiful little Ellie

Lily loved having Aunt Meagan put some bling in her hair
Anders
Alexis and Sarah
Joe performing his Hug a Pug dance
Cute Emery

Vacation

2011-06-20T21:20:00.001-07:00

It is summer break! School ended June 7th, Joe turned 6 on the 8th, and then we took off on vacation on the 10th. Already our summer is a busy one. We had a family reunion with Keri's parents, aunt and uncle, and siblings, spouses, and their kids out in Midway, Utah from the 10th-17th.

We all had a nice time visiting, playing, laughing. We spent a day in Salt Lake City where we visited the Conference Center, the Beehive House, and Temple Square. We also spent time in Kamas, at a really fun indoor swimming facility. All the cousins enjoyed an unbirthday party, where each cousin got a small little gift and we gobbled up yummy cupcakes. The adults were completely entertained by a fabulous talent show (which brought many. many laughs). We celebrated Alexis's birthday as well. It was a pretty fantastic week.

The fun didn't end there, either! Alexis went back to Colorado with Jolie and her kids so she and Sarah can play a few extra days. Lily drove home to Albuquerque with Grandma Val and Grandpa Brant for a whole week. Ez flew home to Vacaville, and I am still in Utah, but in the the city of Sandy.

I drove David out to BYU early this morning so he could attend Football Camp for the week. We are so excited for him to have this opportunity. He is staying on campus and will have some really neat opportunities and experiences. It is a bit odd to be hanging out with just Evelyn and Joe for a couple of days!

No Excuses

2011-06-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

Well, it has been far too long since we have visited and updated our blog--not without regret, of course. Originally the excuse was something having to do with vacations, but then life just got busier and the excuses kept piling until trying to catch up on the blog just got ignored.

I really will not attempt to catch up on this much lost time. In short, we are all still here, just a little older. Alexis just turned 13 and finished the 7th grade, and has entered teenage life with braces as well. David is 11 1/2 and heading into 6th grade and continues to stay busy with sports. Lily turned 8 in March, got baptized in April, and is looking forward to 3rd grade. Joe just turned 6. We were glad he had a great kindergarten year and are pleased to see his reading skills take off. Evelyn is nearly 4 and had a fun year at preschool. She is pleased to let everyone around know that she now can ride her bike with ONLY two wheels! It is amazing to see how much our family has grown in a little over a year!

Keri spent the last school year as PTC President over at the elementary school. Not sure what possessed her, outside of the idea that she might have something to offer. In short, it was far busier and more frustrating than ever imagined, but good things did happen. Keri (and the rest of the family) is glad that she did not sign up for another year of helping.

Ez continues to stay busy at work and with his church calling. He has taken up running and has found it to be an activity he really enjoys.

I suppose that is the best quick job we can do! Hope to be back a little more often with updates!

Miss Independent

2010-05-04T23:30:00.000-07:00

Evie thinks she can do everything her big sisters and brothers can. For a while, she absolutely loved to make toast. We have a toaster oven, so she learned how to use it (pretty much) herself! Funny little lady!

How she gets tall enough!

Enlisting Joe's help this time

Blue and Gold Dinner

2010-05-04T23:13:00.000-07:00

David's Blue and Gold Dinner for Scouts was a bit ago. The boys had an opportunity to decorate a cake to share with the families that came. David had a fun time looking at cake ideas and finding just the right one for him--the foosball cake!

He was thrilled to win the certificate for Most Original. Good Job, David!

Brothers

2010-05-04T22:46:00.000-07:00

David and Joe have always gotten along just fine, but we have noticed that as Joe gets older, the boys have found more and more ways to spend good time together.

One night Joe was even willing to let David read him his story instead of me! It truly is one of my favorite things to watch my boys become better friends.

New Back Yard!

2010-05-03T23:35:00.001-07:00

We are loving the new back yard! I don't think we will miss the pool at all this summer. The kids have so much more room to run and play! The boys can't wait for the basketball hoop to arrive in a couple of weeks.

These pictures are the remainder of the "conversion" process. Pictures of the yard in actual use will come in time!

Another project on the house

2010-03-03T00:08:00.000-08:00

We keep saying things like "After this project, we will be done doing things for the house for a bit." Then another project comes. And sometimes another.

About a month ago we decided we finally needed to get a new front door. We got new bark and finally decided on the new plants we wanted in the front yard. That was going to be it for the year. But then we decided it would be great to have a new back door as well, since our slider it pretty terrible. It slides shut so hard, I am so afraid someone will lose a finger! So we now have that idea in the works.

The biggest project we decided to do was to get rid of our pool. Crazy? Absolutely not. We have not enjoyed this pool as much as we would have liked to. It never warms up, so it is not as enjoyable (at least for mom) to swim in. It is not a very big pool, but they placed it in such a way in the back yard that we don't get to enjoy much actual yard.

The pool was pretty easy to get out, it took only a day and a half. We are currently stuck in the middle of fixing the landscaping, which is taking longer due to the rain.

We can't wait for it to all be done so we can get out and run and play and enjoy our yard!

A crafty moment

2010-03-02T23:58:00.000-08:00

I learned a great trick. You can take an old t-shirt and refashion it into a cute toddler skirt. I think that it is such a clever idea! It works great in our house since there are plenty of hand me downs I could refashion for Evie to wear now instead of four or more years down the road! I have only done one so far, and it isn't as cute as it could be...but it was quick and easy and a nice first effort to see how I like them.

Evie thinks it is pretty cool. especially because it has pink in it. She sported it the other day, of course wearing as much pink along with it that she could find. Yes, she is dressing herself still!

The shirt

The new skirt

Hawaii

2010-03-02T23:05:00.000-08:00

Ez and I have been talking about taking a trip to Hawaii for years, but it has never been the right time. Now that the kids are a bit older and more independent, we decided this was the year to make it happen.

A HUGE thank you goes out to my parents for coming out and staying with the kids while we were not home, and to Ez's mom who came in and filled in the last day as well.

Hawaii was wonderful. We stayed on Oahu with the intention of doing some of the touristy kind of things, as well as relaxing on the beach. We spent the first couple of days in Honolulu. We hiked Diamond Head, visited Pearl Harbor and the Punchbowl Cemetery, as well as a neat botanical garden. We hiked Makapuu Point, we wandered downtown and visited the Dole Plantation. It was busy and fun to just see so many neat places.

One of our favorite parts of Honolulu was our dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. We've wanted to go there for quite a while, but have never made it. Vacation seemed like the perfect opportunity. The steaks were delicious, just as we have heard, but I think my very favorite part of the meal was their sweet potato casserole. Seriously. I will never be able to eat sweet potatoes again without comparing them to that casserole. Seriously. They were that delicious!

The last couple of days we headed out to the other side of the island for a nice, quiet, relaxing stay at Turtle Bay Resort. We took wonderful, long walks on the beach and swam a bit in the ocean. We also got to visit BYU Hawaii and the Laie Hawaii Temple. Unfortunately, the temple is closed for some reconstruction so we were not able to go inside, but did enjoy the visitor's center.

We spent our last day at the Polynesian Cultural Center, which was such fun! We had a great tour guide and saw and learned a lot. We enjoyed the luau and show in the evening. Directly after the show, we headed to the airport for a red eye home back to reality and 5 children that missed us dearly!

We had such a fantastic time!

Loved these trees!

View from our room at Turtle Bay

On the beach at Turtle Bay

It was a bit windy...

Cool bird in the hotel

We ate at this awesome shrimp truck twice. Yup. Twice.

On the way out...

A little more of January

2010-03-01T23:58:00.000-08:00

We had a rather busy month for some reason, and not a lot of pictures were taken. Here are a couple more cute ones, however!

Lily sporting a recently missing tooth

Evie sporting a cute headband, allowing mom to pretend she has hair!

Alexis--a little blurry, but still cute!

Evie pretending to play Band Hero

Joe on the drums

Slightly Wacky Weather

2010-03-01T23:34:00.000-08:00

Our weather is pretty predictable here, and it doesn't change much! We get sun in the summer, mostly sun and some rain in the winter. You know, it's thrilling weather-wise! BUT, a few weeks ago during the middle of a number of rainy days, we heard a funny noise outside. We opened the door and saw hail! Perhaps that's not exciting to many, but our kids absolutely loved it!

Evie didn't want to miss it, so she grabbed one of Joe's and one of Mom's shoes to get out the door quickly!

Egypt

2010-02-27T09:50:00.000-08:00

It is obvious to all parents dropping their kids off at school when it is time for Egyptian projects to be due for the sixth graders. There are kids in costumes or holding large projects everywhere!

Alexis being in sixth grade means that this was our year to participate. Prior to Christmas she drew her topic out of the "bag", and ended up with the assignment to do her report and 3D model on the Luxor Temple Complex. Of course, out of all the choices there were to be had, my guess is that one is the largest structure. The Complex is so big! We had to set our creative minds to building a good yet inexpensive model....

Ez helped Alexis finalize her report in the form of a very cool Power Point. Mom helped with the model, which we finally decided would best be built with straws! It was a lot of work, but we had a good time. Alexis was really proud of her creation and was excited that she got to display it in the school library for a while. Projects were due the day the kids came back from vacation at the start of January.

A few weeks later Alexis had Egyptian day, where the kids get dressed up in costume and spend the day learning and doing projects and such about Egpyt. Her costume was made by mom, of course...

Grandma Jane's Gift

2010-02-27T09:35:00.000-08:00

The family decided a fun Christmas gift for Grandma Jane would be a girl's night out to see Wicked in San Francisco! We didn't get there until January 22nd, but it was worth the wait. It was a fun night, and we did surprise her with the gift.

We ate dinner at California Pizza Kitchen in Emeryville and made sure to visit the tasty pastry shop close by for delicious cookies.

The show was fantastic, as expected. It was Grandma, Alexis and Lily's second time seeing the show. It was Keri's fourth....and of course we are so glad that there is no close date on the show so that she can find more reasons to go again!

More cuteness

2010-02-27T09:06:00.000-08:00

I love when Evie dresses herself! You just never know what she is going to come up with. On this particular day, the only change to her wardrobe from her jammies was the addition of a random hat that is still slightly big. I thought it was really cute!

Evie decided it would be fun to pull out her little drum and play and march around. Of course, the music sounds much better when holding the drumsticks backward!

Oh, to be two and a half and have your mom think *most* of what you do is just too cute!

***Two and a half year old fits excluded!

David turns 10

2010-02-25T23:33:00.000-08:00

David got his birthday gift a bit early this year. On the morning of December 26th, we surprised David with tickets for him and Ez to the Emerald Bowl at AT&T Park to watch USC play. They went along with some good friends, so it was a great outing. David was so surprised and thrilled.

The game was great, even through the bit of rain they had. The best part? USC won, of course!

The rest of David's birthday celebration was simple and low key (and on his actual birthday, of course). He requested chocolate cake with chocolate icing, and got a few fun gifts including a cool USC calendar that plays the fight song.

Happy Birthday, David!

Christmas Day photos

2010-02-24T09:17:00.001-08:00

Christmas Morning surprise (due to the Band Hero sitting out)

Evie was happy with all things princess in her stocking

Joe

David

Alexis

Lily loved her robe from Grandma Jane

Evie and Keri

Evie

Alexis

David and Ez

David

Christmas Eve photos

2010-02-24T08:47:00.000-08:00

A few photos from Christmas Eve

Ez and Joe snacking and playing Cranium Family Edition

Keri and Alexis

The family before dinner

Ez and the crab!

SO big!

Joe thought it was fun

David loved the crab the most out of all the kids

Alexis, David, Joe, Lily, Evie and their new pajamas

Alexis and Grandma Jane

Evie didn't last a whole game of Clue

Ez and Keri

Oh yeah, there was Christmas...

2010-02-23T21:33:00.000-08:00

My best of intentions are not very good since it is near the end of February and I am finally getting back to making another entry! No excuses, just having a hard time figuring out how to fit everything I want to do in my day right now!

We really enjoyed our Christmas Eve and Christmas. Christmas Eve was spent nice and relaxed, playing games and visiting with each other. Grandma Jane was here to visit was well. Our family always has our big meal on Christmas Eve, and we decided this year to spend the day enjoying yummy appetizers followed by a smaller but still delicious meal! Snacking all day was yum. It was followed by an equally yummy meal featuring Alaskan King crab legs and shrimp. It was great fun! Dessert might have been even better than dinner--we ate ice cream loaded with toppings from Fenton's!

The rest of the evening was fairly typical as far as Christmas Eve activities go. We read the story of the birth of the Savior from Luke 2 and then the Gift of the Magi. The kids opened their new pajamas and a family game (Clue Harry Potter version). We played the game, which was great fun!

Christmas morning was lots of fun. The kids all got what they hoped for, plus a bit more. WE spent the day playing and laughing and having a good time. Christmas is such a fantastic day! A family favorite was Band Hero, given to us by Grandma Val and Grandpa Brant. We all had fun taking turns and trying it out.

While we are so glad for the fun and excitement and good food that surrounds the Christmas season, we are most grateful for the reason to celebrate in the first place, and that is the birth of our Savior.

Oh, the drama!

2009-12-30T00:01:00.000-08:00

It seems to happen more often than not--when I get ready to snap a few pictures of the kids, something "tragic" occurs.

Our latest incident was the first Sunday in December. The kids were all looking lovely for church, and the girls were in their new holiday outfits, so I wanted to capture the moment. No one could figure out where to stand. In the process of regrouping and scooting, Lily got her foot stepped on!

SO, my kids looked cute for their photo, only Lily's injury prevented her cute little smile from showing up.

Laughing at silly Dad

Doing our best to all smile!

Evie's clothes

2009-12-29T23:53:00.000-08:00

If you ever see me around town with Evelyn and you question whether or not I care about her appearance, please know that I do. However, she is 2. And she LOVES her pajamas. In the morning when I ask Evie to go and get dressed for the day, she simply changes into another pair of pajamas. They might match. But probably not. They usually fit at least!

During church each Sunday, Evie will at some point remind me that when she gets home, she needs to get her jammies back on. Every now and then I can get her in clothes in order to leave the house, but more often than not, when we get home...we are back into pajamas!

Evie is a little fire cracker, and we love her. Pajamas and all.

Multiple children

2009-12-29T23:37:00.000-08:00

Children are wonderful. They are fun and happy and playful and bring all sorts of adventure into a home! All parents of multiple children know one thing: the more children, the larger the potential for messes! It is particularly the younger siblings you have to watch out for, because there is simply more available for them to get into!

A couple of weeks ago Alexis made us some of her delicious brownies. After putting them in the oven and setting the timer, Alexis left to go play. Evie must have been paying close attention, because within a couple of minutes of Alexis leaving, Evie reached up to the counter, grabbed the not-yet-rinsed-out-batter bowl and was on the ground in sweet brownie batter bliss!

Caught!

But not really caring...

Enjoying every little lick!

Gingerbread Train!

2009-12-29T22:56:00.001-08:00

Our family experiences with gingerbread houses actually started out rather simple. Our first couple of times were simply with graham crackers, icing, and candy. Then we moved onto the prepackaged kits. Those were fun because they stood up much better and actually looked like a house!

The problem with the the kits, however, is that none of the candy is any good. What good is making a gingerbread house and decorating it with candy that is no fun to pick off? Seriously. Isn't it all about the picking-off of the candy???

After a couple years of enduring the yuck candy, we decided to buy the kits and then buy a bunch of candy that we wanted to put on instead. I liked this solution--still simple, but far better in the snackage department.

Then along came the wonderful idea in the Family Fun magazine about making a gingerbread train. I held onto that idea for a couple of years, and then finally acted upon it. We made a train two years ago, and we had so much fun decorating! It was definitely a lot more work, but it was really enjoyable to do.

We repeated the train, upon kid's request, this year. I decided to go a bit bigger and make a car for each of us to decorate. Seven cars. That is a triple batch of gingerbread. Lots of rolling and cutting and baking and icing and assembling. We bought lots of candy. Far too much. But we need options, right?

We all decorated, some with more patience for style than others. We all ate candy and laughed and played and ate candy and decorated and ate candy...and ate a little more candy. Finally the trains were done and placed in their annual location of the top of the piano. They barely fit, we had too many cars in our train!

It was so cute, but next year we are probably going back down to five cars. Mom and Dad will just have to assist.

Lily, Evie, Alexis, David, and Joe

Some of the candy!

Evie placed all her candies by herself!
David hard at work

Lily

Joe and Ez

Evie sneaking a taste of the candy!

Keri and Alexis

Alexis's creation

Beauchamp Family Train 2009 Artists in order by car: Joe, Evie, Alexis, Ez, Keri, David, Lily

Trimming the tree

2009-12-29T22:36:00.001-08:00

The kids had a great time helping to put together the tree this year. I think it gets more fun each year that the kids are more able to help with the decorating. It makes it special to watch the excitement of the holidays begin to glow in their eyes.

Joe

Alexis and David "fluffing" the branches. That's right. It's fake and pre-lit. I love it.
David

Lily

Evie loves Minnie Mouse!

Joe, David, and Ez

And then there was December...

2009-12-29T22:23:00.000-08:00

Our family had great intentions this year. We planned to put up the tree early, decorate the house, and start having all of our holiday fun and make it last the entire month of December!

Well, we did get the tree out and up the day after Thanksgiving. We were well on our way to our goal....but we didn't finish decorating that day because mom didn't have the little sticky pieces for the back of her wonderful 3M hooks. So, she laid the stockings under the tree and wrapped the garland in the corner around the book basket. She left the nativity scene in the garage.

Time passed and mom consistently forgot to get the parts for those darn hooks, so everything remained only half done for quite a while! She finally did buy the parts she needed, but then decided it was just too late to make the effort to finish getting everything up! (How pathetic, right???)

The one thing that we managed to do was our annual decorating of a gingerbread structure. We've done many houses, but our kid's favorite has been the train. SO, we had a seven-car train this year. It was a bit too big, but tons of fun.

December flew by. We are not really sure where it went. Some goodies were made and passed out, but not as many as we had initially planned. Family photos never happened. For that matter, neither did our annual family Christmas letter! (which we are actually aiming for making at New Year's, so stayed tuned...)

We are suddenly on the tail end of December but looking forward to the new year...

Living a Dream

2009-12-29T21:48:00.000-08:00

David is a HUGE USC fan. I think it all started a couple of years back when David was the right size to fit into a USC jersey that Ez's uncle had given him when he was young. That was just pretty cool to be wearing Dad's old jersey. Then David got old enough to really enjoy watching and understanding football and his love for USC football grew from there.

Last year Ez took David out to Stanford to watch USC play there. That was pretty special, and David has been looking forward to the chance to get to go down to LA to actually see them play at the LA Coliseum. Well, David and Ez were finally able to make that happen just after Thanksgiving.. It was a whirlwind trip--there and back in one day--but they had the time of their lives!

Ez and David were particularly lucky that Ez has become friends with someone on the inside with USC football, and they were able to get really great seats to the USC vs. UCLA game--for free!

Upon arriving in LA, they picked up the tickets, and then went out to eat at the ESPN Zone. They had a great time eating man's food (ribs). Yes, the food was good. BUT, the bathroom was better! It was fun and fancy--and filled with TVs so that you don't have to worry about missing any part of the game during a personal emergency!!! There was also a very nice man willing to pass you a paper towel after washing your hands. David was very, very impressed!

They got to the Coliseum early enough to walk around and really explore everything. Ez and David loved their seats. David brought enough money to buy himself a USC foam finger, which he proudly used in cheering on his team. And the best part? USC beat UCLA. Hooray!

Ez and David had a great day, and real special time together they will not soon (or ever) forget!

***DISCLAIMER***
Ez and the rest of the family still really love BYU and hope that one day David converts and decides that BYU is acceptable of his enthusiasm.

Ez and David

USC stretching out

Ez and David among the large crowd

David was excited!

80's Day

2009-11-29T00:02:00.000-08:00

There was yet another fun dress up day at school that Alexis participated in--80's day! We had a good time coming up with her costume. I only had learned about it the day prior so we didn't have a lot of "prep" time, but given our circumstances I think we did pretty good!

Essentially, we just found a few of Alexis's old clothes and used them--things that are a little too short or snug! I didn't have leg warmers on hand, and knowing it was an essential part of the outfit, we found an older pair of striped tights and cut those up to use as makeshift leg warmers. We added poofy bangs and a side pony, but I personally think the winning touch was her earrings. Grandma Jane just happened to be heading to our house that morning, and she just happened to have saved this crazy pair of yellow earrings from the 80's for just such an occasion, so Alexis was wearing some vintage 80's jewelry too!

I think she looked darn cute, and scarily close to what I remember wanting to look like back then!? (Should I really admit that?)

Halloween

2009-11-28T23:22:00.000-08:00

The kids were able to dress up for Halloween at school on Friday if they wanted to, except for Alexis. At their school, the 6th graders don't dress up for Halloween, they get to do crazy hair day instead. It is kind of a bummer since everyone else gets to dress up, but we still had fun with her hair.

In the afternoon on Halloween, David's flag football team had a game, which they won! David got to play quarterback a lot of the game, his favorite position, so he had a great time.

By evening time, the kids were quite ready to get out and trick-or-treat! This year, Alexis went as a chef. I made her a really cute apron(so that she can still use it), and she looked great! David was the "no face" type of guy, and Lily was more an extension of herself than an actual costume--she was a pop star. Joe was a Storm Trooper, and of course, Evelyn was Minnie Mouse. The weather was perfect for going out at night, we didn't even need jackets! After getting home, they all had a great time going through their candy and making all their "trades".

Halloweenish Stuff

2009-11-28T23:08:00.000-08:00

We had a great time with Halloween this year, perhaps because we actually have all of our kids old enough to be excited about it. The kids had a great time carving pumpkins. Of course there is always the initial gross-out of feeling the insides of the pumpkin, but after that, they all had a great time! Unfortunately, Evelyn was so wiped out that she fell asleep drawing while the kids were busy gutting and designing!

The Saturday prior to Halloween we had our Trunk or Treat party at church. The kids had fun playing games, getting prizes, and running around collecting candy as well! The favorite with Evie and Joe was the cake walk, which they each did a few times.

Monterey!

2009-11-28T20:33:00.000-08:00

My birthday falls in the week that the kids have off of school. Ez had to head up to Redding to help teach a class for a couple of days starting on my birthday, but for my gift Ez took us to Monterey for a few days and got us a family pass to the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

We stayed at a cute, funky little place in Pacific Grove. Part of this inn has an old Victorian home converted into hotel rooms, which was really fun to stay in! I don't think that it would be great to stay in the winter months because the heating system was questionable, but we all had fun crowding in and being together.

The Aquarium was so much fun! We haven't taken the kids there for about 7 years, so it was great to see it all again. We were so busy playing and looking and learning that spending an entire day there felt like nothing! We loved getting into the little water areas where you can pick up the animals and learn about them. The volunteers answered every one of the kids questions, and we learned so much! We went back the next day as well to revisit our favorite parts.

Our favorite dinner out was a trip to Bubba Gump's, which is always really fun and a great treat since there are none near us! We finished the night with ice cream from the Nestle shop! Of course, he trip wouldn't be complete without a visit to the Dennis the Menace Playground and a visit to the beach!

We had a great trip, mom had a great birthday gift, and we can't wait to get back!

Disneyland!

2009-11-28T18:29:00.000-08:00

The kids are off of school the first full week in October. Last year we took that time to drive down and play at Disneyland for the week. Great idea, right? Sure! Only everyone else had the same brilliant idea, including tons of off-track kids from Arizona and Utah. It was packed.

We still wanted to get to Disneyland this year, but didn't want to deal with the business of October break, so we pulled the kids out of school for a week in September and headed down. There were still crowds, but not terrible. The lines were great. The weather was terrific! We had a blast!

Some of the highlights included eating at Goofy's Kitchen, riding all the rides we wanted to, and meeting all the Princesses! David's favorite ride is Tower of Terror, and he and Ez were able to ride it a few times. Lily fell in love with Mullholland Madness, and we rode that a ton! One time they even let us just stay in the same car 5 times in a row because there was no line! The kids enjoyed the parades, particularly the High School Musical 3 one, where they got to join in and dance around! I think the family's very favorite ride was (and is still) Toy Story Mania. We had such fun on that one.

Here's just a few photos from our great trip!

Labor Day Getaway

2009-11-15T21:33:00.000-08:00

Keri's Aunt Merrill and her husband Burgess were up in the bay area over Labor Day weekend, visiting some of Burgess's grandkids. Keri and the kids headed out their way for a couple days of fun.

One of the highlights was getting to go kayaking! David had a particularly great time doing it, and got good enough to take others out for a ride in the bay!

David and August

Burgess and Joe (who never braved the kayaks)

David taking Alexis for a ride

Lily, post-kayaking

Evie and August

Evie thought is was great fun to see David and Alexis out there!

A few of the kids even ventured into the bay for a swim. The water in the bay seems to be really salty, so it's a bit of a different kind of experience--you actually float pretty easily in the water! David was first, but didn't enjoy the temperature or the salty taste, so he hopped out. Lily was brave enough to jump right in, but ended up with a bit of the bay in her mouth as well, so she didn't last too long! Alexis took the longest to inch her way in, but had fun floating and chatting with Merrill and Burgess for a bit.

Lily jumping in!

Alexis with Merrill and Burgess

First Day of School!

2009-11-15T14:02:00.000-08:00

School started August 13th. I think Lily was the most excited because she started 1st grade, giving her a full day in school--with privileges like school lunch and walking home with the older kids, or at least walking to meet mom at the van!

Alexis is in 6th grade this year, her very last year of elementary school! David is now in 4th, and quite enjoying having a male teacher. It has been fun for David. Lily is loving the 1st grade and is really doing well. Joe has also entered the world of school, and is going to preschool Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings.

Jelly Belly and Family

2009-11-15T13:32:00.000-08:00

The Jelly Belly Factory is a very fun place to go, but we have found that if we go too often, the kids gets rather bored. After all, it is the same tour over and over and over and over...and while kids tend to like repetition, that doesn't apply to all instances!

To keep it "fun" when going, we have discovered it best to reserve our trips to when family and friends are in town. Keri's cousin, Ryan, and his wife, Aubrey, and their 2 cute kids came through town for a wedding in August. We met up at Jelly Belly and had a fun time visiting.

Lily, David, Joe, Evie, Elle, Alexis, and Rhett

Swim Party

2009-10-18T22:25:00.000-07:00

Grandma Jane's pool club that she belongs to had a customer appreciation party in early August. There was a barbecue, lots of games, and lots of swimming. Everyone had a great time! The kids got to enter fun contests for things like bocce ball, ping pong, and the limbo. There were fun water races, a coin dive, and the biggest splash contest. Everyone won a prize of one kind or another, ate, laughed, and had a great day!

Evie

David

Joe playing Boccee ball

Lily racing Ricky

David in his ping pong match

Alexis racing along

Skate Camp

2009-10-18T22:08:00.001-07:00

There is a fantastic skate park at 28th and B in Sacramento (that is actually what is it called...), and it just happens to be close to Grandma Jane's house. David loves to go and skate there if he gets the chance when visiting Grandma.

Even better than "just" skating there is to get to go to skate camp, which is exactly what David got to do toward the end of July. He stayed the week at Grandma's and skated his brains out, or at least he tried to!

Camp was really fun, he got to learn and improve upon some of his skills, and he got to be taught by a local pro skater, Matt Rodriguez! David was in skater's heaven.

Diaper Duty

2009-09-09T00:15:00.000-07:00

Evie loves her babies. She really, truly does. She typically has one with her at all times. I found her in the kitchen not too long ago taking very good care of one of them!

In truth, Evie spent about ten minutes trying to get this diaper to work for her. We finally stepped in and gave her a hand.

**As a side note--Evie does not always walk around slimy and grimy looking, like many of her pictures might suggest. She just happens to get into lots of things without mom and dad becoming aware of it until later on!

A little bread with our zucchini

2009-09-08T23:54:00.000-07:00

We've planted a garden this year. It has been a learning and growing experience. Mostly, however, it has been a lot of fun. Lily and Joe enjoy it the most. They ask every day if they can go "harvest" vegetables. I finally had to make a rule that they would have to show me exactly what it was they wanted to pick before doing so, because we had lots of pre-ripened veggies for a little while.

We ended up with more zucchini plants than we realized initially, so we have been enjoying a lot of zucchini in a variety of ways this summer. Our favorite way, however, is zucchini bread. Our recipe is simple yet delicious, which just so happens to be my favorite kind of recipe!

Evie was my loyal helper when it came to making bread.

Evie doesn't mind the loud noise of the wheat grinder

Watching to make sure it is mixing and kneading well

Yum! A job well done.

Acting Camp

2009-09-08T23:45:00.000-07:00

Grandma Jane invited Lily to come stay with her for a week and attend acting camp at the theater next to her home. Lily had a fantastic time! They performed a cute little play called "Forty Fortunes".

Lily and the other princesses

Our little actress

Our lovely ladies

Happy Birthday, Ez!

2009-09-08T23:33:00.000-07:00

That's right, we've got one more birthday to squeeze in! We've got four birthdays in the space of about six weeks in our home. I have had a lot of fun this year making fun cakes for the kids and was a bit disappointed when Ez requested a "store bought" cake for his birthday. I will admit, however, that in the end I was glad because it surely was a lot easier and cleaner and less time consuming and...plus, that is just what Ez wanted, so why not?!

Ez's birthday was on a Sunday this year, so we went to church, and then Jane and Rich came over for dinner and simple festivities. Of course we had steak for dinner, and of course it was completely delicious! After Jane and Rich had to leave, we had a handful of friends from church come over to enjoy cake with us a bit more. We had a fantastic time visiting, thanks to all that came!

Ez's new pen

A look of surprise from the wonderful gift (which we had given about 2 hours prior to the photo)

Happy Birthday, Ez. Thanks for being such a wonderful husband, father, and friend. We couldn't do it without you by our side.

Evie is 2!

2009-09-08T22:45:00.000-07:00

Evelyn celebrated her 2nd birthday on July 18th. It was a busy and fun sort of day.

The morning of her birthday was a youth temple trip, and since Ez is the Young Men's President, he needed to head off and help with that. There were also two families that were heading to the temple with the youth that needed their children watched after, so they came over and played along, making four extra kids at the house. My dear friend, Jen, came to keep me company (and sane) during all the fun. Of course, it wouldn't have been complete without her three cute kids too, making the grand total of two moms and eleven children!!! It was busy, but the kids all got along great and made it a fun way to spend the morning.

Evelyn thoroughly enjoyed her birthday. She knew it was her special day and made sure that no one helped her open gifts or blow out her candles. She had seen Joe and Alexis both have their birthdays just a few weeks prior to hers, so she knew what was happening. Evelyn loved, loved, loved opening her gifts! She got a new doll, some Fisher Price Little People items, a new doll high chair, a shopping cart, and some new toy kitchen supplies.

My favorite part of the evening was when we sang Happy Birthday to her. The candles were lit on her cake, and she just sat there and watched us and waited while we sang to her. Then, as if on cue, she leaned over to blow out her candles. The problem was that they were too far away from her. She tried twice, then turned the cake pan so the candle were closer, and blew them right out. I think it was so cute and clever how she figured it out!

Happy Birthday, Evelyn. We love you dearly!

Starting to unwrap!

Hooray!!! New toy food!

Filling her shopping cart

Her new doll was well fed

Waiting while we sang

Trying to blow out the candles

Got it!

Yummy cake

Look, mom! Purple teeth!

Mini Golf and more

2009-09-08T22:38:00.001-07:00

Ez and I took the older three kids out for a special date in the middle of July. We went into Fairfield and played a round of mini golf, which was great fun. It is something we always would like to do, but as we have found from past experience, it really isn't as much fun with younger kids who like to run around and move the ball, etc. After mini golf, we headed back to Vacaville, where we ate some yummy sushi and then watched the newest installment of Harry Potter. It was fun to be able to spend some time with the Alexis, David, and Lily.

Feeley Lake

2009-09-06T23:22:00.000-07:00

As part of our desire to stay and play local this summer, we took the family up to Feeley Lake for the day in early July. It is up in Nevada County, and absolutely beautiful.

This was our family's first official hike, and I would say it went pretty well. The hike itself is not too difficult, so it was perfect for the younger kids. The area was also very, very quiet that day; we had only passed one group that was going in the opposite direction of us, and that was about it!

The hike up to the lake was about 2.5 miles, and we took our sweet time getting there. We stopped to explore, to take photos, to see who could toss a rock further into the water...that sort of thing. When we found the general area of where we wanted to be, we pulled out our lunch and the kids got ready to get into the water. Now, this was our first experience up here, and the kids first experience swimming in something other than the swimming pool. (Well, outside of playing at the beach, but isn't a while lot of swimming that goes on there.)

How did the swimming go? Well, it didn't. The edge of the water was just too rocky and hurt the kids feet. We moved down a bit to a better area, which helped, but it was still too rocky and to "squishy between the toes" for the kids to really want to venture in much past their knees. We instead just explored the edge and enjoyed that thoroughly.

Joe was convinced we were going to see fish and be able to catch one. We did find a number of very small "baby" fish and eventually was able to get one sucked up into a water bottle. We named him "Catch of the Day", and the kids carried him around for about 30 minutes. We spared the poor little fishy his life and returned him to nature, although I cannot guarantee that we didn't shorten his potential life span.

The walk down the mountain took a bit longer...Ez had to carry a very tired, and eventually sleeping, Evelyn. That said, the kids did great, the weather was perfect, and we had a fantastic day together as a family!

Joe and David

Lily and Alexis

Evie, Keri, Lily, David, Joe, and Alexis

Not exactly loving the water

"Yertle the Turtle" anyone?

Another Yertle

Joe trying to catch a fish

Evelyn and our catch of the day

A very hungry Evelyn

The Family

Ez, Joe, and David

Evelyn, Alexis, Keri, Lily

Woodlake Swim Club

2009-08-01T08:16:00.000-07:00

Grandma Jane's mom swam there when she was a kid. Jane swam there when she was a kid. Ez swam there when he was a kid. And now my kids are swimming there too.

Jane got a memebership to the Woodlake Swim Club in Sacramento this year and has really enjoyed taking the kids there whenever they have visited her. The entire family went for a swim on July 11th. We brought lunch and barbecued hot dogs. The kids swam and jumped and played in the pool. Dad and the kids played some ping pong. We finished off the visit with some ice cream from the snack bar. It was a fun day.

David

Evie

Joe

Alexis
Joe and Evie

David and Ez

Alexis

Lily

Evie

Wicked!

2009-08-01T08:06:00.000-07:00

Ez and I took Alexis, David, and Lily on a special trip to San Francisco to see Wicked! on July 8th. We had a fantastic time, and the kids absolutely loved the show. Alexis had the same reaction as I did my first time seeing it--as it was over and she was appluading, she told us she wanted to go again! Perhaps next year!

Determined

2009-08-01T07:59:00.000-07:00

Each of the kids brought their own blanket to sit on to watch the fireworks on the 4th. Joe wanted no help in laying out his blanket, but he couldn't quite figure out how the breeze factored in to getting it down straight.

It was fun to watch him shake and lay and shake and lay and try for quite a while. Finally he was willing to accept a bit of help, but I sure loved watching him do it on his own!

4th of July

2009-08-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

We celebrated the 4th in our typical fashion of the past few years. We got up early and headed to the ward breakfast, ate good food, and visited with friends. The kids enjoyed the fun activities, like a watermelon eating contest, a cherry seed spitting contest, a bubble gum chewing contest, and water balloon toss. Our afternoon was spent relaxing at home, swimming, and barbecuing!

The best part of the day, of course, is in the evening. We head toward downtown to watch the fireworks. There is a nice spot we head to each year, where we meet up with a number of friends from the ward to snack and visit for a couple of hours prior to the fireworks. It has been a great time in the past, and this year did not appoint! The fireworks show was great as well, I think it was better than last year's.

Lily reading and waiting

Alexis, Anna, Claire, Ashley, Emily

Joe

David Annabel and Lily

Evie and her Cheetos face

Adventures in Orthodontics

2009-07-27T23:20:00.000-07:00

When my mom was visiting us at the end of May, she mentioned that Lily might need to see an orthodontist. Since my mom's a dental hygienist, I decided to take that advice seriously and we had Lily go in for an assessment. It turns out that her upper bite is too narrow, and that she has a slight under bite.

We opted for early treatment to hopefully prevent any major problems down the road. Lily got outfitted with a rapid palatal expander a little over a month ago, and is getting ready to start wearing her reverse-pull headgear.

She has been great about everything so far, even though parts of it has been really tough and painful. Some of the biggest changes we've noticed have involved her eating habits. Lily has been great about not eating those things which she knows she shouldn't, like popcorn, gum, certain candies, but we have also noticed that it is just much harder for her to eat now! It takes her so much longer and she eats far less than she used to. I think my favorite change, however, is in the way she talks. Lily now has a cute little lisp, and when she gets talking really fast it becomes rather difficult to even understand her! But we love it and it is cute to watch her experience this

Let's just hope this does the trick and gets everything on the right track for her

Day 1--look how close her teeth are together

Good spaces--making progress!

Swimming

2009-07-27T23:00:00.000-07:00

We've been busy this summer doing many neat things, but we've also spent plenty of time just hanging out at home doing lots of fun things, including swimming!

David underwater

An all "geared up" Evelyn and Lily
Alexis and Evie
Joe plays it safe on the edge, as usual
Ez enjoying the weather

Oakland A's

2009-07-27T22:28:00.000-07:00

Ez and I took the kids to an Oakland A's game on July 1st. Wednesdays are the best days to go to an A's game. All plaza level seats are $2, and hot dogs are just $1, what a deal! Ez and David have gone to a number of these games over the past couple of years, and Alexis and Lily have joined in a few, but we thought it would be more fun to go as a family this year.

We had a great time! The weather was perfect. The game was in the middle of the day, so no one was too tired, and the seats weren't packed, so everyone could see pretty well. Ez bought 14 hot dogs (sounds like a ton), but they all got eaten! I think Joe's favorite part was when the red dot and blue dot came out and race across the field.

We are going to one more game in a few more weeks, when we'll get to see the A's play the Yankees!

Alexis and Lily

Joe, Ez, and David

Evie enjoying her hot dog

Forecast: 106 degrees!

2009-07-25T00:39:00.000-07:00

We hit a hot spell for a bit this summer, where the temperatures were just HOT, and there wasn't much relief from the wind. This happened to be at the start of Ez's three week vacation and we were wanting to plan some fun activities, but not die in the heat!

Our solution? THE BEACH!

We loaded up the van and headed out for Bodega Bay on June 29th. As we got closer, we decided to head to Dillon Beach, where we found a perfect place to park and play for a while.

The kids didn't bring their suits, because we knew it was going to be cold for us to want to venture in the water, but they all had a fantastic time wading and running around. We played a lot in the sand, Dad and David played a little ball, mom took pictures, we ate our lunch, and just relaxed. The weather was perfect! We wore our sweatshirts all day long and never tired of the cool ocean breeze!

After we left the beach, we headed out to Bodega Bay to get some yummy salt water taffy. We also visited the Children's Bell Tower, which was neat. It is a tower decorated with bells that are all donated from various people in Italy in honor of a young boy from Bodega who had died in Italy on vacation with his family. The family donated the young boys organs and had saved 7 Italian's lives. It is a touching token of gratitude.

We stopped to walk along the Napa-Sonoma Marshes area on the way home. It was a nice little stretch of the legs, and the kids had a great time trying to throw pebbles in the water.

David and Lily

Alexis and Joe
A tiny little crab
Hi mom! We're stuck!
Being cool
Jumping out
Shaking the sand around
David, Ez, and Alexis
Um, you've got a little something in your hair, Evie!
Trying to draw in the sand...
Children's Bell Tower
Joe, Alexis, Lily, David, Evie
The Family

Our cute kids and dad
Alexis and David

Funny Girl

2009-07-25T00:34:00.000-07:00

This photo of Evelyn doesn't need too much explanation!

1. Wearing 2 headbands, toddler style.

2. Eating warm chocolate cookies, so a bit messy.

3. An empty cup that needs more milk!

Lagoon Valley Park

2009-07-25T00:16:00.001-07:00

At the start of the summer, I had this brilliant idea to try to get the kids out of the house and to different parks, trails, etc. It really is a fun idea, although in all honestly, it hasn't been executed as well as initially planned.

This is partly due to the fact that our first attempt at a nature walk/hike was not as great as I thought it would be. We went out to a park on the edge of Vacaville where we had heard there were trails to walk. We packed up a lunch, a bunch of waters, and the stroller and took off. When we got there, we found that none of the paths welcomed any sort of shade, and it was already starting to get hot out!

The kids and I decided to take the loop around the resevoir, which is about a 2 mile walk. David and I were particularly excited about our adventure! Well, we made it about 1/3 of a mile before most of the kids were tired, or hot, or grumpy, or a combination of them all. We turned around and made it back to the car, drove to a nice shaded little park ares where we ate and played for a bit.

It was fun to get out with the kids and go somewhere new! Lesson learned: go on hikes/walks earlier in the morning!!!

This rock was so cool! Looked like a face (and crying because someone poured water on an eye)

Joe thought this large rock looked like a Humpback Whale

The Lion King

2009-07-07T08:52:00.000-07:00

Ez and I were able to take Alexis, David, Lily, and Joe to see a production of The Lion King on June 18th. It was such a fun evening!

We drove in to Sacramento and met Grandma Jane at The Old Spaghetti Factory for dinner, then headed to the convention center for the play. The kids were all really excited, this was their first big play they were seeing. Jane has been taking the kids to children's theater productions for a couple of years now, but this experience was on a much grander scale.

The play started and everyone was so excited. As the curtain went down and the theater went dark after the opening scene, you hear Joe say to Ez, "ok, can we go home now"? My immediate thought was that this was going to be a long evening if Joe didn't want to stay. But immediately after he had said that, the shadow puppet of the mouse started scurrying across the stage, and you hear Joe say, "what's that"? He was mezmerized from that moment on!

The Lion King was an amazing production, not so much for the story line, but to watch in awe at how the actors moved and made themselves such believeable animal characters. It was a fun, fun evening.

Happy Birthday, Alexis

2009-07-03T07:50:00.000-07:00

Alexis turned 11 on the 16th! It was a pretty simple celebration, but we all had a great time. The fun started around 3:30 when Dad got home and Grandma Jane and Rich came over. We had a delicious steak dinner, complete with sweet potatoes and salad.

Alexis was excited to open her presents. She got a couple of shirts, a new pair of flip-flops, and 2 new Nintendo DS games! She also got a pretty neat kids cook book.

We then headed to the movie theater to see UP!, which we all thought was a fantastic movie. The evening ended with cake and ice cream. It was a fun birthday. We love you Alexis!

Kindergarten "not gradutaion"

2009-06-17T13:35:00.001-07:00

Because of the many times we have moved, Alexis, David and Lily have all gone to kindergarten in different towns. Each school has done their end of kindergarten celebrations in different ways. Alexis and David's classes were pretty similar. Their classes learned and performed songs, they all walked across the stage, and then the class had a little party. Lily's end of the year experience was very low key. Pretty much they did nothing! There was an awards ceremony where each of the kindergarteners got a certificate. Then we got to take a class photo. The last day of school there was no party at all! Oh well. I think it is a bigger deal for mom than for Lily, because she really doesn't know any different.

In spite of all that...

Lily had a great year in kindergarten. She made great friends and learned a lot. She has become a rather proficient reader, and just soaks up all the information she can. She is really looking forward to 1st grade!

When it was warmer...

2009-06-17T13:07:00.000-07:00

The weather has been cooler than usual lately, so there hasn't been a lot of swimming going on in our back yard. We have had a few warmish days where the kids have decided to brave the still cool pool water. Evie had fun in the water table and playing on the boy's cool toys.

Happy Birthday, Joe!

2009-06-16T23:21:00.000-07:00

Joe turned 4 on June 8th. We had a fun celebration with him. Ez got home from work, and we picked up the kids from school and went bowling. What fun! Ez won, but Joe got the best score out of all the kids. Mom (and all of her athletic prowess) decided that it was best for her to finish last so as to keep everyone from coming in last place. Decided might not be the best word to use there. She would have scored far better if she had used the bumpers!

From there we headed to Wendy's (Joe's choice) for dinner. We then headed home, opened gifts and ate some delicious cake and ice cream. Joe loved his gifts, which included a few trucks, a cool castle, some new Lego's, a game, new swim trunks. He also loved his snake cake, made by mom. It was so tasty!

Another Sunday afternoon

2009-06-16T22:45:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos from a recent Sunday afternoon. I think Ez was off doing his home teaching (what a good man), and we were all just hanging out until dad came home and we all ate dinner.

Evie got stuck trying to put on her baby doll's clothes.

Lily and her toy houses

David and Alexis playing Zooreka!

Joe taking a break from playing Lego's to say hello to Duke

Lily and Mom
Mom, Joe, and Lily

The Itsy Bitsy Spider

2009-06-12T23:06:00.001-07:00

Grandpa Brant and Evelyn had a great time together singing the Itsy Bitsy Spider. Actually Grandpa sang and did the actions. Evie just watch and loved it, over and over and over again!

Grandma Val and the kids the morning they had to go back home. Could have been a bit cuter of a photo, but there was drama and great sorrow over the impending departure.

At the Park

2009-06-12T22:46:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos from playing at the park when Grandma Val and Grandpa Brant were visiting.

Grandparent's visit

2009-06-12T22:26:00.000-07:00

Keri's Mom and Dad were able to come and spend some time visiting us, which was a huge treat. It was so nice to spend time with them, since we don't get to see them very much. We had fun playing at the park, going to dinner, eating ice cream at Fenton's, and just hanging out and spending time together.

Of course, the biggest thing we did was take on a few "simple" house projects, which got turned into slightly bigger house projects, but they all turned out fantastic. My mom and I finished decorating Alexis's bedroom, minus a few decorative pillows. My dad decided to take down nearly all the art on the walls in my home and sort of redo it all. That of course required a bit of shopping and adding to it all, but it was great fun and it turned out fantastic.

We also hit the outlets and got some terrific Memorial Day deals, like $45 pants from The Gap for $7! And jeans from Aeropostale for $4! That's right. Serious deals were found. Got to love the outlets!

It was a great visit, and wish we could all get together more often.

David helping Grandpa cook

Fun with painter's tape

Evie and Grandma

Lily and Grandpa

Group sit-ups!

Violin Recital

2009-06-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

Alexis was able to take violin at school this year. It was an interesting experience, one that we will not be repeating next year. Simply put, we've got too much going on to put learning how to play the violin on our list of priorities.

We did, however, get to go to the 5th and 6th grade recital. Alexis was excited to perform. She did a fine job, and we are proud of her for sticking with it all year long!

Time vs. Age

2009-06-12T22:05:00.000-07:00

Whenever our family would drive somewhere that would take a while when I was a kid, my mom would tell us to go ahead and fall asleep, then we'd be there sooner. Me being the non-napper in the family, never really went that route and so I suppose it always took me a little longer to reach our destination.

Knowing what my mom told me about sleeping earlier in my childhood, I should definitely feel like I have all the time in the world these days! I am still not napping, nor do I regularly get enough sleep. It should be taking me forever to reach my destinations! Right?

Wrong. Apparently when you get older,things change and suddenly it has something to do with blinking, which apparently I should stop doing. Because I could have sworn yesterday was the middle of May. Then I blinked. Today it's nearly the middle June!

We've been busy these past few weeks with just the basic business of life, but it has somehow seemed busier than normal. I will not attempt to recapture everything we've been up to, for I simply don't remember it all (another nasty product of that whole getting older business). I'll just post a few highlights to try to make up a bit for lost time...

Father/Son Campout

2009-05-16T00:44:00.001-07:00

Ez and the boys left this afternoon for the annual father/son campout. They were loaded up with dinner and snacks and lots of drinks, the tent, sleeping bags, and of course the battery charged air mattress (because we are all about roughing it).

David and Joe were so excited to go and play and be dirty and have fun with dad. Ez took a camera with him, and hopefully will come home tomorrow with a few fun photos. Can't wait to hear all about it!

Stroller Love

2009-05-16T00:32:00.000-07:00

Evie loves strollers. If they get in the house, she wants to be in it all the time and then it ends up staying open and in the way until I finally remember to fold it up and put it back in the van while she is asleep.

What can you do in a stroller that is so fascinating, you might ask? Why you simply hang out. The other day at the library Evie picked her own book out and carries it around everywhere. She loves to just sit and look at it and "read" it. She does a lot of reading in the stroller.

The cup holder is also a very handy place to put your snacks, so when you need something, you just stand up, get it, and sit back down. The featured snack is currently dry roasted almonds.

Immersed in her reading

A quick snack break (the sticker and band aid are purely fashion statements). Notice she's still got that book in her hand!

A fun trip

2009-05-15T23:56:00.001-07:00

The kids and I headed out to Woodland on Thursday evening to see friends I haven't seen in years. Literally. I haven't seen these families (outside of Christmas cards and blogs) for 8 to 10 years. When I heard about their kid's music group doing a little performance, I decided it was time to take a drive and say hello.

When we first got to Woodland, we stopped at Sonic (YUM) because it is the closest one around and it's still about 30 minutes away, so it is a huge treat for us! We grabbed dessert there and then headed to a playground to run and play and burn some energy. Afterward we headed over to the Stake Center and watched Plaid Suitcases perform. They are a talented group of kids who sang and performed really well.

It was great to be back in Woodland and say hello to people we haven't seen in forever. Ez and I actually moved to Woodland when Alexis was only 3 weeks old. Ez didn't get to come with us, although he wishes he could have, but Thursdays are his busiest day at work! We'll just have to head back out and say hello again sometime soon!

Alexis and Evie

Never too old to have a bit of fun!

Joe

Lily

David and Evie

Evie

The slide was too fast for Joe, so he used his hands to slow it down

Fair Trade?

2009-05-15T23:29:00.001-07:00

Alexis wanted to sit under a blanket that was sitting on the couch. Evie, in all of her nearly-two-ness, did NOT want to allow it to happen. As a "fair" trade, Alexis got to sit under the blanket for letting Evie play for a little bit with Alexis's DS.

A dress for you...

2009-05-15T23:18:00.000-07:00

Just another funny Evie clothing story.

A little while back I got 2 really cute dresses for Lily. Evie has fallen in love with them. Honestly. She will find them in the clean clothes pile and take them away from Lily. She wears them all around the house and has a huge (not joking) tantrum when I allow Lily to wear one.

I kept saying I needed to go back to Carter's (where I got them) and just pick them up in Evie's size, but haven't gotten back there. While at Costco the other day, we saw one of the coveted dresses (yet another reason to love Costco). It was even $3 cheaper than at Carter's, so we picked it up! Evie put it on right away and wore it through the store. She is one happy girl now! We'll just have to see if she still claims Lily's too.

Getting their groove on!

2009-05-15T23:12:00.001-07:00

When Joe gets into listening to a song, it is rather funny. He pulls out is air guitar! I tried to grab a few photos before he really noticed me, but didn't quite make it. These are a bit more "rehearsed", but sill fun. David decided to join the fun as well.

A GIANTs Experience

2009-05-15T22:57:00.000-07:00

A friend of ours occasionally gets tickets to see the Giants play, but he doesn't like baseball. He has been nice enough to give them to us a couple of times. We get 4 tickets--not quite enough for the entire family to go, but enough for a fun date night with Dad (on a school night--ooh!).

Ez took David, Lily, and Joe to see the Giants play the Washington Nationals on Tuesday. This was Lily and Joe's first time there. Alexis was glad to miss out and have an evening with mom and Evie.

I gave Ez the camera, but he forgot to bring it in to the stadium, so there are no pictures, but the kids had a blast. They enjoyed cotton candy, the famous garlic fries, and other fun goodies. David enjoyed watching the game with Ez, Joe and Lily mostly enjoyed the treats and just spending time with dad. They had a great night out!

Alexis, Evie, and Mom laid low--we ran to the bank, ran to Michael's, and then to Baskin Robbins $1 scoop night, where Alexis and mom both stuffed themselves with more ice cream than they normally eat! Evie enjoyed a lovely soft serve and gobbled up every last drop.

It was a fun, fun night for all!

If you give this mom a thought...

2009-05-07T22:09:00.000-07:00

Joe and I have been reading the Laura Numeroff books that we have in our house. You know the ones--If you give a Pig a Pancake, If you Give a Mouse a Cookie, If you Give a Moose a Muffin, to name a few.

They are fantastic stories about these cute animals getting one random and cute idea one after the other until they come full circle back to their original moment of random and funny ideas.

As I have read these books, I have realized that my life these days is very much like one of these stories. My mind constantly seems to jump from one need or chore or idea to something completely unrelated just moments later. I keep coming up with these grand ideas of things to do, things I want to learn, ways to approach things...and suddenly I find myself these days with too many ideas and not enough strategy on how to get it all done! I have to stop coming up with all my clever little plans and thoughts and ideas...they are leading nowhere!

Perhaps soon I will stop trying to start so many projects and just begin to focus! Perhaps then I might get those sewing projects done, or get those photos organized, or try those new recipies, or read those books that are stacking up because I keep reserving things at the library! The list goes on.....it's time to make some progress, I think!

Surprise food

2009-05-07T22:01:00.001-07:00

David stayed at Grandma Jane's last weekend. While there, he helped her make tamales, and they brought some back to our house. On Monday morning David was having one for breakfast and let Joe have a bit. Joe loved it and wanted more, so I got one out of the fridge and heated it up. I brought it over to the table and started to open up the corn husk and empty the contents onto Joe's plate when he looked at it and said "Wait, that's what I'm eating?" It was hilarious to see his eyes pop open and become momentarily horrified. Luckily he remembered how much he had liked it and decided to not be grossed out, but to enjoy good food.

A new talent

2009-05-07T21:58:00.000-07:00

Lily recently impressed us with her newly discovered talent. Not sure where or how she learned it, but it is funny to watch her do it!

Duke's new 'do

2009-05-07T21:55:00.000-07:00

Duke got his hair cut for the summer the other day. We sure do love it when he is all trimmed and cleaned up! I am sure he is more comfortable too!

It's funny--he must know he looks good, because he sure is fishing around for more attention and love lately! Of course, I am much more likely to give it now too! He feels and looks so handsome.

No Swine, just Flu (sort of)

2009-05-07T21:41:00.000-07:00

We've had a small bug visit the family, mostly, Evelyn, this past week or so.

Evie got sick last Thursday late in the night, and she and I got little sleep because of it. She was exhausted and completely lethargic all Friday, and actually slept about 80% of the day. She started feeling better on Saturday, but it has taken her a few days to really get back to her normal little self.

Finally resting peacefully

This photo just makes me laugh--completely exhausted and really not feeling well!

On Monday I sent all the kids to school, everyone was fine and happy. An hour and a half later, the school nurse called. The teacher had sent Lily to the nurse due to a "persistent, dry cough" and the complaint of a belly ache. So, I had to bring her home. It must have been that we have healing within the walls of our home, because Lily sure seemed okay once she got home! In fact, I didn't hear one cough unless I mentioned it (almost like the word itself was an infectous trigger). I understand the school's need to cautious, but can't they tell a fake cough when they hear one?

Anyway, now David is complaining of a sore throat, but it seems to feel okay once we offer to keep him home from school and from his get together at his friend's house tomorrow!

Independence and Personality

2009-05-07T21:05:00.000-07:00

Evie is about 22 months now, and has recently hit that "stubborn and wanting independence" stage. She throws some rather funny tantrums and can give quite the evil eye. Must be all the experience she gets watching her older siblings!

The funniest (mostly) thing that will set her off is having to get dressed. She has become very funny and particular about what she wears and when. Getting dressed can become quite a challenge. She will take off clothes she doesn't want to wear, if you can get her in them at all. Evie is actually getting pretty good at putting on her own shirts and has the basic idea of the pants. Her very favorite attire is 2 little play dresses of Lily's, that look like moo moos on Evie!

At this point, I am simply glad that I have had 4 kids already go through this age, because I am enjoying all the quirkiness a little more with each one!

Evie's personal outfit choice--a skirt, inside out, as a dress

Don't even think of chatting with her while she is in the middle of a conversation!

The new kid in town

2009-04-25T01:25:00.000-07:00

Joe has come to be known for his curly hair. Everyone loves it. It kind of has defined him for the past couple of years.

Well, not any more! Joe got a haircut on Thursday--perfect for Summer, and perfect for a little boy who is growing up! He is so cute, but I am afraid I might lose him in a crowd for the next little bit. I also might have a few people mad at me. We'll see how it goes!

Turn off TV week!

2009-04-25T01:07:00.000-07:00

We are currently at the tail end of National Turn Off Your TV Week. It's not anything I would ever know about if it wasn't for the kid's school. Their elementary school always encourages the kids to participate, and those that come in with their signed contracts on Monday will get to go in to visit the librarian and pick out a brand new book. How special is that?

Our family has been participating for the past few years, and I think this year it has been the greatest experience yet! The kids have been fantastic about not even thinking of watching TV. We have had lots of reading time, play time, outside time, and TONS of Lego time!

As for books, David has read nearly 3 Goosebumps books. Alexis finished Little House on the Prairie, and Lily started and finished the New Testament Reader! Hooray for all of their efforts! The reading has definitely been fantastic, but my favorite part of the weeks has been watching the kids play Legos.

Joe is suddenly fascinated with Legos. Honestly, 90% of the the school day Joe is sitting and building with Legos. He creates some cute things and is getting more and more creative every day. We went and bought some more of the basic Legos during the week to help the joy spread a little farther. Of course, the new Legos led to a few hours of arguments, but once the threat of losing all of them for the rest of the week was realized, all behavior was much improved!

We've got one more day of no TV. I know the kids are looking forward to watching a few of their favorite shows again, but I definitely think we have rediscovered the fun in the house without the TV on, and we will be able to keep it off more. At least for a while.

Heat Wave

2009-04-25T00:57:00.000-07:00

We have had some unseasonably warm weather lately, and it has given the kids the idea that it is suddenly swimming season! It has definitely been hot enough outside to swim, but the pool is still chilly! Of course, when does a little thing like water temperature stop kids from getting wet and having fun?

Continued crafting...

2009-04-25T00:52:00.000-07:00

We've finished another project in Alexis's bedroom. We made these rather cute bulletin boards! Next project is to paint her mirror black and decide if we are going to paint her desk as well. Right now it is brown and has a bit of the "weathered" look to it, but we got it off Freecycle and it has lots of potential!

"I'm SO clever!", says Evie

2009-04-25T00:42:00.000-07:00

Evelyn is just growing up! Sometimes I can't believe how big she is now. Definitely not a baby, though Joe would argue that fact for wuite a long time. It is such fun to watch her learn a grow, but with the growth always comes those funny moments...

I had leftover M&Ms from Easter and I didn't want to end up eating the entire bag on my own, so I decided to make cookies with them. After making the dough, I decided I didn't want to take the time to make a bunch of cookies, so I made cookie bars instead. The kids really enjoyed them.

One day I walked in on Evie helping herself. Apparently mom left the bag of cookie bars too close to the edge of the counter...I forget how tall and sneaky she is getting! Evie was certainly grateful for my forgetfulness, however!

Say "Cheese", PLEASE!!!

2009-04-25T00:27:00.001-07:00

I told the kids the night before Easter that all I wanted Sunday morning was for everyone to get up, get ready, let me take a few photos of the kids in their nice easter outfits, and then they could play until it was time to go to church. Everyone agreed.

Until Sunday morning came around.

Some of the kids were cooperative. Some weren't. No one ended up lasting long enough to stand together for a photo.

We tried the following Sunday for a group photo. Of course, Lily was too cold and the only way Evie would stand still was with a pad of stickers in her had, but at least she stood there!

Happy Easter!

2009-04-24T23:59:00.000-07:00

The kids had a great time dying eggs the night before Easter. Typically we do it a little earlier in the week, but this is when we finally got around to it!

Lily somehow missed the instructions on taking the egg out with a spoon!

Alexis

David

Joe

Mom helping Evelyn

Lily

When all the eggs were decorated, the kids all showered up and then dad hid the eggs. He wanted to get the kids together to take a "before" photo, and they were so excited they couldn't hold themselves or their baskets still! At least it made for a few funny photos.

A few photos from Easter Sunday (they got their baskets after church)

Evie crashed on the way home from church

Spring Break, part 2

2009-04-24T23:44:00.000-07:00

Thursday morning rolled around and it was a bit rainy and dreary, so we decided to head to Chuck E. Cheese to play and have fun indoors. It always amazes me how much fun the kids can have there. Perhaps that is because we only go 2-3 times a year. The older kids get to run around and play games, while Ez is in charge of keeping an eye on Joe and I get to keep Evie happy. Afterward, we headed to Panda Express (anothe family favorite) for lunch.

It was hard to get photos because everyone was moving around everywhere, but I managed to grab a few, mostly of Joe and Evie.

Ez helping make sure Joe's shots made it into the net to ensure maximum ticket retrieval

Ez and Joe

The Barney ride was Evie's favorite of the day. It got lots of our tokens!

A happy little lady

On Friday we met Grandma Jane nice and early in Davis at IHOP and had a bite to eat, then Lily and Joe left with her for a fun date and sleep over. Ez, Alexis, David, Evie, and I went bowling. A bit later we split up--Ez and David went to the movies to see Return to Witch Mountain and the Alexis, Evie and mom went out shopping and to dinner. It was another fun day!

Saturday we played, relaxed, and dyed easter eggs.

We were so greatful to have the chance to spend such a fun week together. We had lots of great moments together, and built lots of special memories! Plus, we ate out far more than we EVER do, so we had happy, stuffed bellies by the end of the week as well!

Spring Break, part 1

2009-04-24T23:24:00.001-07:00

We had a great Spring Break! It was fantastic because Ez had the week off along with the kids, so it gave us the chance to really play and have fun together. The initial stress was that mom had jury duty on Monday and Tuesday, so we weren't sure how fun the week would be at first. Luckily, she wasn't needed!!

On Monday and Tuesday we played at home, rented movies, played games, that sort of thing.

On Wednesday we drove in to Sacramento and went to Old Sac. We visited the Train Museum and then had fun snacking on candy at Candy Heaven. It is a fun candy store where you can sample the taffy and the candies with a certain color label on them while you are shopping. So you can get a quick sweets fix while filling your basket. We got lots of fun candy and were sugared out quickly. Then we headed to The Old Spaghetti Factory (a family favorite) for dinner.

Alexis, Daivd, Joe, Evie, and Lily

David

Joe

Lily listening about the train

Alexis

Evie playing at the Thomas the Train area

Alexis and Evelyn

Alexis, Lily, and Evelyn waiting outside Candy Heaven while dad pays for all that sugar!

New hair

2009-04-24T23:17:00.000-07:00

Alexis has been wanting side bangs for a long time now. I finally took her the other week to get a hair cut. She had them cut off about 2 inches and then give her some side bangs. We think they are cute, but are still playing with them to get them the way we like them. I think we need them a bit longer, and maybe a bit thicker. Who knows. I am not a hair dresser. We need Aunt Meagan to come visit us and give us some great style! They are fun for Alexis, though!

General Conference

2009-04-24T23:04:00.001-07:00

General Conference was the first weekend in April. We really enjoy spending the weekend as a family learning and growing. I am always impressed by how much the kids are willing to listen and all the things they learn.

The kids all did a great job listening. Alexis, David, and Lily listened to all 4 sessions! Joe got through about 3 pretty well, but for Joe that is an accomplishment in and of itself! Sunday morning we pulled out the fun conference packets that the kids love to do each year, and they had fun listening and doing a few quiet activities.

Alexis and Lily working together

David

David made some yummy nachos for a snack

Alexis enlisting dad for a bit of help

We really are still here...

2009-04-23T21:39:00.001-07:00

I haven't posted in forever. I never do as well with posting when Ez is home in the evenings because I have to share the computer, and we also spend more time together! He had all of Spring Break off, which is when I stopped blogging. I haven't started back up because I keep feeling overwhelmed. Then the computer wasn't working.

Anyway, things here are still good. I expect to finally get up and posting sometime this weekend! I really am starting to feel lost without my blogging outlet!!!

p.s. I actually wrote this last night but apparently forgot how to even post, because here I am finally doing it, when I thought it was done last night!

Good Friends, Fun Food

2009-04-10T07:19:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Laura was in town last weekend visiting family and she and her daughter Sydney stopped by for a brief visit. We had a great time hanging out and catching up! It had been Laura's birthday a few days prior, so of course we make cupcakes and celebrated together!

Lily, Laura, Evie, Alexis, and Sydney

Sydney

Evie

Playing at the Park

2009-04-10T07:10:00.001-07:00

Ez and I had fun with Joe and Evie after the Ham Run. We went across the field to the playground at the park and played for a bit. The weather was perfect and the park was quiet, so we had it all to ourselves and it was lots of fun!

Running to the Park

Evie trying to catch up to the boys

How Evie slides

Ez and Joe perfecting their pumping skills together

Ham Run!!

2009-04-08T18:15:00.000-07:00

The Friday before Spring Break, the kids get to have a fun Ham Run at school. Each grade races at the park next door, and the top boy and girl in each grade win a ham. Our children are definitely not the fastest, but it is a lot of fun to get out there and run with your friends!

Lily just finishing up

David was kind of leading the "back half", which works!

Alexis had to do a whole park run, but was smiling the whole time!

3rd time's a charm..

2009-04-08T17:56:00.000-07:00

Lily is our most girly of girls. Since she was about a year old she has been obsessed with jewelry, nail polish, make up, high heel shoes, the works. She has been wanting to get her ears pierced for the past couple of years, but just hasn't been really ready to do it. We took her in twice last year, only to have her leave before ever sitting on the chair. We decided it was time to hold out and wait for her to really, really be ready. In fact, she had to earn it. We knew that when she was really ready, she would know.

Her goal was pretty simple. Once she read the Book of Mormon Reader, she could get her ears pierced. She was reading some here and there for a while, but then the weekend of her birthday, she decided it was time to finish!

Lily was so cute and brave getting her ears pierced. She said it felt like her ears were being stapled, which is probably a pretty good description. Lily is loving her new, fancier ears, and is taking very good care of them! She is also counting down until May 12, the day she can officially switch them, fo that is a very exciting moment too!

Fancy ears! Taken the day of...

A few days later, I just like this photo!

Food Storage Made EASY!

2009-04-07T08:22:00.000-07:00

I love things that help me make my life more organized and easier. One of my biggest mental distractions in this department is figuring out the hows and whats of our food storage. Getting it and our emergency supplies together has been such an overwhelming thing for me to wrap my brain around that I keep pushing it further and further down my "to do" list.

I have been feeling a greater need to get our food storage really going and in order for the past few months, and I have finally found the way to make it so much easier and work for our family! I discovered a fantastic website that will help to guide you through the important and necessary steps to get all of this in order! It has been a fantastic way for me to begin getting our house in order this way without me stressing too much!

Check them out, they are an amazing resource!

Happy Birthday, Lily!

2009-03-28T23:24:00.001-07:00

Our Lily turned 6 yesterday! She had a fun celebration. Grandma Jane came over and picked her up from school and took her and Joe to the park for a bit. After Alexis and David were out of school, we headed to the movie theater and got to see Monsters vs. Aliens. It was especially fun because it came out yesterday and the kids have always wanted to see a movie on the very first day it is in theaters. After the movie we headed to Wendy's (Lily's choice) for dinner. At home she opened presents, had cake and ice cream and played!

Lily wanted a Webkinz cake, so we made a pig since her very first one was a pig which she named Oinky. I had a great time frosting it. I had never piped an entire cake, so it was an adventure. The hardest part was that Evie wasn't feeling well and wanted to be held the whole day, so about 60% of the cake was frosted with Evie on mom's hip. We will use that as the reason for any errors, not due to my lack of experience in the piping department! It was a delicious cake in the end.

Happy Birthday, dear, sweet Lily! We love you and are so glad you are part of our family.

Loving her gifts!

Lily and Oinky with her cake

Mario Kart

2009-03-28T23:15:00.000-07:00

We got a new game for our Wii a few weeks ago, and it has quickly become the family favorite. We got Mario Kart, and it is great fun for everyone to play. The kids love to play on teams, which mom likes because there is far less competition and more cheering each other on. I like to play with Lily and Joe, because then I feel like I have a chance of not always coming in at the very end! Even Evelyn loves to sit and play along. Okay. She is at least happy holding the wheel so that she believes she is playing!

David is playing and exercising--what a multi-tasker!

Evie is concentrating very hard on this race!

Pancakes and Broccoli

2009-03-28T23:05:00.000-07:00

Alexis made us pancakes for dinner the other night--she did a pretty good job! Everyone thoroughly enjoyed them, but of course Joe still requested his current favorite vegetable...broccoli!

He is so funny when we have it in the house, he will ask for it at every meal. Some of the most recent requests were for a broccoli taco and a broccoli sandwich. I guess broccoli and pancakes had to work this time.

Family Night

2009-03-23T21:13:00.000-07:00

It has been a crazy few days around here, and Ez has a rather busy work week ahead. We decided to make tonight a fun, relaxing evening with the kids. Ez brought home pizza for dinner, which is always yum. We had our family night lesson and cookies for dessert. We then shuffled all the kids in and out of showers and baths as quickly as we could, and all piled into mom and dad's room to watch a movie together.

We had rented Bolt and wanted to watch it one more time before returning it. The kids were so excited and all found a spot on the floor, nice and cozy. The excitement didn't last forever with Evie and Joe. Since we've already seen the movie, it held less interest for the younger two, plus movies don't really do anything for Evelyn, let's face it!

The movie was fun, no matter how much background noise we added to it! The movie ended and I shuffled everyone off to bed, including Ez, who gets up at 4 a.m. tomorrow morning to start a busy few days!

All set to watch the movie, wet hair and all!

Getting organized

2009-03-20T23:02:00.000-07:00

Getting and staying organized is a constant process, especially with little children always around. There are times when I seriously wonder if they unorganize faster than I organize. And lets face it, they pretty much do!

In our last house I was spoiled with more bedrooms than I needed and so I had a space to keep all of my craft and sewing supplies fairly easily. When we moved here to Vacaville, we moved into a home with just enough space for the family, and so I lost that lovely extra space that I was used to! In all truth, I don't miss the extra space too much, we all fit perfectly and I think we all spend a bit more time together because there are less places to hide!

Having less space has meant that we have had to be creative about where and how we store our things. Our garage has become an extension of our home and stores a ton of stuff, including all the shared toys. This actually works pretty well since the weather here is never too hot or too cold. Figuring out how to get and keep the garage organized the way I like it is a very long and constant process, it seems!

I did get one step closer, however, yesterday. My crafting things are kept in a corner of the garage. I had great plans forever ago to get a table out there for my sewing, etc. I got the table, but it typically has been used as a catch all for any and all projects we are working on. It gets pretty scary looking!

Yesterday I cleaned out a bunch of supplies I know I don't need any more, cleaned up the shelves and drawers, and got a bit organized. I even hung 2 shelves by myself to add a bit more useable space! I would have added one or two more, but I ran out of toggle bolts, so I was out of luck. Anyway, I have made progress, which in and of itself is remarkable to me! I can almost see the end in sight...almost.