Disneyland January 2012

Ryan and Eric

These two guys are full of energy and when they aren't beating each other up, are usually planning to create trouble.  They sure are fun though.  We took them to Disney a couple of weeks ago (pictures forth coming) and they had a lot of fun together...

Tonsils - Dec 2010

Jordan and Eric got their Tonsils out the same day in December 2010.  Very painful for Jordan especially.

Photo dump

Only about 2 years behind... I'm uploading pictures off my phone so I don't lose them.  I might follow-up with descriptions later.  Starting here with Maya getting her ears pierced (they have since closed up).  This was back in Dec 2010.

When I Grow Up....

When I went into Jordan's room to tuck him in bed tonight, he said: "Mom, do you know what just came into my heart?" I said, "What?" He said, "That I should be a writer when I grow up." I asked him what kind of writer he would like to be. He said: "Fiction stories." About a minute later he said, "Not for 'National Geographic' because I don't want to go down into caves in small spaces." We recently watched a documentary on cave exploring/research. The section on exploring cenotes would make anyone claustrophic.

A couple of weeks ago Jordan announced to me that he wanted to work on video game systems when he grows up. Then he said, "And if I can't do that then I'll work at Walmart." "Walmart?" I asked. He said that with all of the people who shop there Walmart makes a lot of money. I then explained that a Walmart employee doesn't get to keep the money the company makes. I told him he'd probably make about $10/hour. When he did the calculations he was VERY happy about how much money he could earn. All too soon the reality of money will hit him! (Maybe I would be happy with $10/hour as well if I still lived with my parents! :)

Huh? What'd I do?

PRICELESS!!!

No joke, this is how I found Ryan when I opened the bathroom door:







I think these will be some of our favorite photos EVER!!!

Maya's 1st Grade Concert 2010

Jordan had a great time snapping a bunch of photos of Maya during the concert:









Jumping during a kangaroo song:



Due to the smiley boy pictured below who wanted to run around the back of the gym, as well as a restless Eric, I left the concert early and took them home to make chocolate chip cookies as an after-concert treat:

Two's

While looking out the kitchen window, I saw a gorgeous double rainbow. I attempted to get a decent photo of it. You can barely see the upper rainbow in the upper left of the photo below:







When I came inside I found our two little boys sitting on the piano looking out the window:







While admiring the double rainbow I was reminded of the promise God made to us on earth after the Great Flood. The thought of Noah's Ark and the concept of "two by two" was in my mind. That day I was blessed with two's: a double rainbow and two sweet little boys. True beauty and blessings!

Boy Backyard Fun

Jordan demonstrating his skills with the soccer ball:









If you spend much time around Eric you quickly find out that he has the special "gift" of screaming. Sometimes his "gift" even bugs him and he covers his own ears while he screams. That's not why he's covering his ears in this photo, but I wanted to include it so that we'll always remember his special talent (as if we'll ever forget--it's burned into our heads forever). :-)





I think I'll try out Eric's baby swing:



Ummm....I can't get out and this is pretty dang uncomfortable:



Thanks, Jordan, for rescuing me....



....and for bouncing the ball on my head:

Spring Break 2010

The week of Spring Break was fairly cool and rainy, despite unusually warm weather during the preceeding weeks. That meant a lot of time indoors for the children, but they still had a great time with friends:

Mini Vacation Up North - Spring 2010

We decided to take a week and head up north for a little break. We stayed in Burlington and visited nearby places. It's beautiful up there, even though it rained quite a bit. Despite the rain and the fact that I came down with a bad head cold/cough, followed by some of the children catching it, we had a relaxing, enjoyable time as a family.

Aaron took the children to a great park in Anacortes:









Maya was able to get a photo of how Jordan's eyes look when he does his special eye trick (he moves his eyes from side to side really fast):



The Tulip Festival would be starting soon, and the children took photos as we drove by some of the fields of gorgeous flowers (I LOVE tulips):









One of our favorite outings was to a little beach by Deception Pass. It was peaceful and beautiful:











When I was growing up, our family RARELY went out to eat. When one of us was baptized, my parents would take us to the Royal Fork, which we thought was the greatest place on the planet. Endless rootbeer out of the fountain, chocolate pudding, self-serve soft ice cream....HEAVEN! So when Aaron and the children and I were driving around during our vacation and I spotted the Royal Fork out the window, I was so surprised! We actually ate there one afternoon, and after I told the children about my childhood memories of the place they kept saying how it was my favorite "food place" (they don't say restaurant, they always say "food place"). Let's just say that the food seemed MUCH better when I was a child, but now I share special memories of the Royal Fork with my children as well. I wonder if that place still exists in Albuquerque....