Long Beach Aquarium

Dad had a business trip in Long Beach last week and since the boys were not back in school yet we decided to tag along.

We spent one day exploring the Long Beach Aquarium which was really cool. Ash was excited that his family finally got to see the aquarium so he acted as tour guide. He went last year for his field trip.

The boys got to touch many different sea creatures including: sea anemone, jelly fish, star fish, sea cucumbers, stingrays, and the most exciting of all SHARKS! The older boys could have spent the day petting the sharks. Another fun thing they got to do was feed some beautiful birds of paradise. Ash and Coach loved holding the birds. Poor little B couldn't get a bird to land on him. The birds must know that little people can be dangerous.

Mom's favorites include: spending the day with her boys watching them explore and learn. I also loved the sea lions, seals, and sea otters. I did pet all the sea creatures, but I wasn't a big fan.

The next day dad finished work early and we headed out to Disneyland. It was a cold day so we virtually had the park to ourselves. Lol when I say to ourselves we only had 10 to 20 minute waits in line vs. 30 to 40 minute waits. I think it was one of the best days spent at Disneyland. Everyone got to ride the rides they wanted to.

 

Ash on his favorite ride California Screaming. Ash loves this ride so much he doesn't even mind that he has to ride it alone. He is such a big brave boy.

Poor Ash has to ride lots of rides alone as he is the only one who is 7 and can. Although sometimes this works to his advantage because we can shove him in the single rider line where the wait is very minimal.

 Ka-cho!

 Lil' B is finally big enough to ride the bumper cars. He was so excited!

Look who we ran into!

Rocking in the New Years Francis Style!

We had a fun time ringing in the New Years this year.

We did timed activities throughout the evening and the kids got a kick out them. Not to mention it was a great learning tool to help the boys with telling time.

Some of the fun activities include: New years interviews where we wrote down what made 2012 great for each of us and how we are going to make 2013 memorable. I have stored away these interviews until next year. For one of Ash's New years resolution he said he would try really hard to not talk in class (both school and church). My good little boy has stuck to this resolution so far. He comes home from school or church and reports how well he has done. I am so proud of him. 

Another activity was playing games we did both board games and video games. We had a blast. The favorite activity of the evening was eating smores by our camp fire (the ipad with a roaring camp fire), singing songs, and telling stories. We also set up the tent and the boys got spend the night in the tent. The evening ended with us ringing in the New Year with New York at 9:00 p.m. Living on the West Coast has it's advantages. The kids were in bed by 9:30 p.m. and Nate and I were in bed by 10:30 p.m. We are not the party animals we use to be.

A Merry Christmas Indeed!

We got home from Disneyland around 7:00 p.m. on Christmas Eve. We let the boys open their Christmas PJ's from Grandma Honnie. Read our evening story by the tree and pushed the boys off to bed. They fell asleep almost instantly. Dad's plan of wearing them out at Disneyland worked!

Christmas morning the boys woke at their usual time of 6:30 a.m. They didn't complain when I made them take a bath and then get back into their jammies. Nate raced me in getting ready first as he didn't want to be known as Grandpa Jim (the one everyone waits on to get ready Christmas morning). Lol! Everyone had to wait ten minutes for me to finish drying out my hair and to put on some make-up. I guess I am Grandpa Jim, which I take as a compliment. We made it down to the tree by 7:10 a.m. Not too bad!

The kids came down the stairs from youngest to oldest. We opened presents one by one from youngest to oldest. Again no complaints.

 Lil' B with his Jake and the Neverland Pirate Ship. Lil' B was so fun to watch open presents this year. He was way into it. If you weren't paying attention to him he was ripping into someone else's present.

 Coach with his Bey Blade Battle Dome.

Ash with his Monster fighters Lego set.

The boys were spoiled as usual. They pretty much got everything they wanted. You know the things that were with in ours and Santa's budget.

B's favorite present was given by Grandma Susan and Grandpa Jim. Seriously, he rides his "truck" everywhere. I am surprised he doesn't try to take it to bed with him.

The older two boys LOVE their XBox Kinnect given to them by Grandma Honnie. Mom loves it as the boys have to get up and move to control the games.

Coach loves his Dream Light pillow given to him by Grandpa Brad and Grandma Maralee. I think Ash loves it too as Coach no longer requires leaving the lamp on when he falls asleep.

We have a very blessed life! Thank you to our wonderful family and friends for making our Christmas so special. We missed having you around, but are thankful we got the chance to Facetime with you. We are excited for March when we get to see you all again in person.

Let the Christmas Celebrations Begin

We kicked our Christmas celebrations into high gear by starting off with the traditional Christmas Eve dinner in a not so traditional way. We had our traditional Christmas Eve dinner on Christmas Eve's Eve. The boys were so excited to be treated to such a fancy feast.

After dinner we delivered some Christmas cookies to some friends. We then came home and watched the story of Christ's birth and sang some Christmas carol's by the tree. Then the boys got to open a very special present. I made each boy a photo book about them. They have been asking for a book like this for a long time. They LOVED their special books!

On Christmas Eve we packed up early and headed out to spend the day in the happiest place on earth. We had a blast! It was crowded, but when is Disneyland not crowded?

For dinner we got a special treat. Cafe Rio! The closest Cafe Rio to us is about a 2hr drive. We capitalized on one being so near by Disneyland. I think we may have created some new Christmas family traditions.

Happy birthday to the world's best dad!

Wishing the leading man in our lives a very happy birthday!

Our lives our blessed because you are in it.

What we love most about you.

- You are always up for fun.
- You are a practical jokester. Sometimes this gets on our nerves, but most of the time you are pretty  
  funny.
- You provide an excellent livelihood for our family.
- You honor your Priesthood.
- You love each and everyone of us.
- You are always up for an Adventure.
- We love playing nerf guns with you.
- Wrestling you out of bed is the highlight of the boys weekend.
- You make the best pancakes, waffles, chocolate chip, cookies, homemade rolls, and Muddy buddies.

We love you dad! Thanks for being you!

Practice Makes Perfect

One day Ash decided that he wanted to learn to skate and that is exactly what he did. He strapped on his skates and began practicing. Everyday after school Ash spends about a half hour outside practicing. He picked skating up all on his own after about two weeks. Now he is a pro. He is hoping for roller blades for his birthday.

I love this boy's determination. I am so proud of him for deciding he wanted to try something new and not giving up on it.

 Silly brothers! I love this duo.

I've got a two year old attitude!

Months before little B turned two his attitude started changing by becoming moody and stubborn. He has got a two year old attitude and he has it bad. Seriously, I don't remember my others being so stubborn. Luckily he still has some redeeming qualities and that I love him no matter what. I may just have to take a few more mommy moments and deep breathes to deal with him.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE B. We sure love you around this house.

For your birthday daddy son date dad took you to Disneyland. Dad followed you around and let you choose where you wanted to go. You loved being in charge at Disneyland. Dad also let you pick out some toys you wanted to buy. Of course you got a glow in the dark Mickey and a glow in the dark gun. Your brothers were both very jealous. We had a Mickey themed bday party for your birthday. You loved all the balloons and your Mickey shaped cake. Your brothers liked the Mickey shaped rice krispie treats. You were thrilled with all of your presents, again your brothers were jealous.

At age two:

You love the big yellow dump truck. You push it around the tile floor as fast and as loud as you can. You only stop to add more items into the back of the truck.

You idealize your big brothers and have to do whatever they are doing. This both frustrates and amuses your brothers.

You love being outside playing. Whatever your big brothers are doing outside you are doing too.

You love family time and being the center of attention. You sure can be a loud kid.

You like wearing hats and gloves. 

Your favorites include: 

banana's, apples, avocado's, pancakes, and chicken nuggets.

The big yellow dump truck

Small cars that you can double fist

Reading with mom

Watching Mickey Mouse

Legos

What I love about you:

I love that you are so full of energy and life.

I love that you look up to your big brothers.

I love our mornings together where we ride bikes, exercise, play toys, watch Mickey, read books and take naps.

I love your big blue eyes.