Feb. happenings

I helped the kids make some Valentine's cards for Chad and some cards for Connie while she was in the hospital. I tested out my self-timer in an attempt to get me in the photographs too but I wasn't too happy with the flash at longer distances...I think I need a better flash!


Abby learned how to use the glue very quickly, see how she is only putting a dot on? I am so proud of her...she'll make a great scrapbooker!
Jamie, on the other hand, likes to paint with his glue. Maybe he was remembering the time we covered it with glitter...but I am still finding glitter, so we didn't go into that this time!

Chad pruned the trees and the kids went to play outside and to help pick up the sticks. I simply loved our streak of rain-free weather that we had!

Here Abby is showing off her birthday outfit (I know that was 4 months ago), but I just wanted to give a big thanks to Jennifer for supplying the Old Navy gift card.
She got a thermal, some cool embroidered jeans...
and it even helped to buy part of her new jacket!

I got some sweet flowers from Chad for Valentine's Day. He also got me a chocolate bar from Extraordinary Desserts in San Diego, but there is nothing left of that to photograph!

Jamie just got back from a trip to Houston with mom to visit cousin Sydney and Aunt Carrie & Uncle Jason. Hope to see a post about that soon on her end {wink,wink}. Here he is about to leave on the trip:

Update on New year's goals: Well, except for being sick, I have been getting up with the kids each morning, which is between 7:30 and 8:00. I figured out that my mind is not working too well at that hour, so I have moved my reading time to the afternoon, while the kids are napping, which has worked out quite nicely. I still do not have a schedule, it is on my long list of to-do's (it's kinda like putting a to-do list on a to-do list!). Well, maybe after I do the taxes!

Oops! & a RAK from me!

Well, I have a lot of stuff share, but first up, is that I accidentally ordered 2 copies of the movie Fargo for Chad for Christmas (oops!). So if you like the Fargo, and would like a copy, please leave a comment about why you like it, or would like to have it, and I'll pick my favorite on Friday! Such a {delightful} movie by the Coen brothers! My favorite thing about the movie is the mid-western accent that the main character, Frances McDormand, uses - too funny!

santee playground

One day in San Diego, Chad took the kids to a playground out in Santee (a town that is a bit more inland). They played on the playground awhile and then Chad took them for a short hike. I was not there, but apparently it was caterpillar season and Abby was completely terrified of them and every other bug she saw. She had thought that they were going to bite her and every time she saw one she screamed (and there were lots them!). When they got home, she heard us talking about it and she came up to me and told me "bite, bite...", over and over again.

Great picture Chad!
Abby loves the swings:
Maybe Jamie is practicing his pumping? (we've been trying to teach him)
He loves the monkey bars:
They did a little bouldering at the end of the trail:
you can do it!
Jamie still talks about the rock he climbed at "the place where daddy climbed the big crack" (which I assume might be the crack in the background?)
the scenery:
Too cute!


As it turns out, Chad took the kids out there again with my dad and this last time they were able to convince Abby to call the caterpillars "cute" by the end of the day!

NHM and Legoland

One dreary day a few weeks ago we took the kids to the Natural History Museum at Balboa park. It was still a little too "old" for them but they still enjoyed looking at the dinosaur fossils and under microscopes. We also watched a short movie (similar to an IMAX) about life in the Sea of Cortez. It was quite interesting and the kids enjoyed watching the real life "Nemos". Here are a few pics:





And the Sunday before last we took the kids to Legoland. We all had a blast. There were virtually no lines, and the weather was mild (even a bit cool at times - but that kept the locals away!). The kids loved going on the rides. Jamie was just barely tall enough for all them and Abby was just barely tall enough for most of the littler rides. We took turns taking the kids on different rides and there were several that we went on as a whole family. In fact, I think it was the best family day we have ever had...it was so awesome to see the smiles on the kids' faces. In an attempt to not forget our lunch and extra clothes, we forgot our camera, so I ended up buying a cheesy one from legoland, I'll scan it in when we get home. In the meantime, here are some pictures of the kids playing with their new legos the next morning.

Abby videos

These videos are a few months old. The first 2 are from the night of her birthday party after all the guests had left, we let her play with her new baby doll and the things that came with it. She was so cute, what a natural momma! The last video is one of her talking about the different things in the fruit bowl!