James...

I have to share this before I forget, even though it's going to put the next few posts out of order...

I LOVE how serious he can be! :)

James came up to me yesterday and said, "Mom, Ayess hurt a han! (Mom, Alex hurt my hand!)"

I kissed him and said, "Oh, honey, I'm so sorry!"

He was on his way back out to play when he heard me say, "Sorry" and he immediately came back to me and said, "Mommy, is not yor fet, it's AYESS'S fet! (Mommy, it's not your fault!  It's ALEX'S fault!)"

Oh, I love how cute he is!  And I love that he can't say words perfectly yet because it means he's still my baby.  And I love that he can say "fault," because it means he's learning and growing and trying new words.  And I love that he associates saying, "sorry" with taking blame.  And  I love that he can get a kiss and be good to go after getting hurt.  And I love that he comes to me for that kiss, and not Becky (since she is is favorite).  And I love that he forgave his brother right away and wanted to go play with him again.  And I love how he tromps around the house when he plays.  And I love that little guy!

Tis the Season

Becky performed in Lindstrom's Tis the Season performance at Bellflower Civic Center on December 7th.  It was so fun (a lot better than MY old choir performances!) and Jane, Alex and James had a great time watching their sister perform.

I Love This Guy!

We celebrated our 12th Anniversary this past year (2010) and I'm so honored to be the wife of this amazing man.  He truly is anything and everything I could ever hope to get in a husband.  Sean Alexander Monroe is amazing.  Truly amazing.  And I could never, ever deserve him.

But I'll take him anyway. :)

For our Anniversary we dropped the kids off at Lis and Kevins' (thanks again!) for the NIGHT!  Oh, the thoughts of being able to sleep in gave us so much energy!  We went to dinner thanks to a gift certificate Sean got from a coworker, then decided to see the much anticipated movie, Tangled.  I LOVE the story of Rapunzel, so I was VERY excited to see this movie and I was NOT disappointed!  It was fabulous.  I'd see it every day if I could and I even made Sean get the music for me so I could listen to it all the time! :)
Since we still had energy we decided to see ANOTHER movie - the new Narnia movie (which was also a great movie).  After that we STILL had energy so we went home and got the rest of Christmas organized and wrapped and packed.  Ahhh.... it was truly a relaxing night.  And THEN we had planned on getting up early to go to the temple for our annual sealing session, but we slept in, missing the alarm.  Apparently Heavenly Father knows our intentions, but saw our need of sleep and organization to be much greater.  Our house got so clean in the hour and a half we had before it was time to pick up the kids!  I don't think we'd cleaned it that well since before soccer started.  Sad?  Yes.  Pathetic?  Perhaps.  Reality?  Definitely.
Our actual anniversary (Saturday) was spent finishing up last-minute Christmas stuff, Jane's end-of-season soccer team party, and the Ward Christmas party (at which Sean did a great job leading a rendition of 12 days of Christmas).  All in all it was a great way to celebrate our 12 years of eternal marriage. 

Cerritos Stake Primary Book of Mormon Reading Challenge 2010

The kids all participated in the Cerritos Stake Book of Mormon Reading Challenge and got their certificates and beads for reading the entire Book of Mormon for the year 2010.  It was great to see them walk up and get their certificates, especially since they had to shake their dad's hand (he's the HC over the Stake Primary) but all gave him hugs instead.  And James - who went up for the first time this year (he read last year but wasn't recognized due to a typographical error) and was VERY proud, and probably the tiniest one to go up there.  It was just adorable! :)

Old Town

After visiting the Mormon Battalion we walked around Old Town for a bit, enjoying the museums, animals, and interesting people:

Gotta love that Wells Fargo Wagon! "Oh-hoh the Wells Fargo Wagon is a-comin' down the street, I wish, I wish I knew what it could be...." But could someone please tell me what all those goofy faces are about? Why didn't someone tell me?!

Can I just brag for a moment at how well my kids pose for the camera?  They're so good to sit and smile - if anyone wants to use them as props just let me know.  Even James loves to get his picture taken, as long as he can see the results immediately.  Just let them know they need to smile nicely, or they might all decide to pull a prank - like in the one above.

Mormon Battalion

On our way home from Aunt Kathy's house we stopped by the Mormon Battalion in Old Town, San Diego.  It was a wonderful, enlightening experience. 

We took the tour, which gave us great insight into the experiences and lives of the pioneers on that trek,

 which ended in a mini-museum,

where we got our picture taken - old fashioned style:

On our way out we explored their panning for gold exhibit,

as well as the various water sources on display:

Overall it was a great experience for the entire family and we strongly encourage everyone to enjoy their tour. 

FOR THE RECORD: James got soaking wet at the panning for gold activity and was freezing in the 40 degree weather we were experiencing on that "balmy" San Diego morning.

Carlsbad!

For our Thanksgiving feast (of which I find that I have no pictures) we went to Carlsbad to visit Aunt Kathy.  She was such a gracious hostess with her delicious turkey, stuffing, and gravy (oh, the gravy!), as well as her holiday decor, music, and patience!  She even gave up her room for Sean and I so we could have the beautiful view!  Oh, she's the best!

After stuffing ourselves we thought it best to hit the hot tub, so we all got on our suits, trooped to the car (because it was too cold to walk the block to the community tub) and soaked ourselves for a good hour before returning for pie, ice cream and a movie - Toy Story 3.

The kids conked out in front of the fireplace (what ambiance!) while Sean and I enjoyed the view in Aunt Kathy's room and Aunt Kathy rescued KC in the guest room:

The next morning Aunt Kathy got up early to go to work on Black Friday while we lazily got up, cleaned up, packed up, dressed up, and loaded up (the car) before meeting her there.  The kids all got a swing out of the golf area (literally)

Before we left we had to get a picture of our favorite So Cal Aunt:

We're so glad she loves what she does, since she's dang good at it! :)  And if you ever need to be fitted with golf clubs, or help with your swing, or tips for the course, or just about anything golf, go see Dick's Sporting Goods' (in Carlsbad) pro golfer, Kathy Wake.

Jane's 9th Birthday

Jane, Jane, Jane.... My little studious, skinny-bone-Jones, long-haired, blue-eyed girl.  Seriously, what isn't there to love? 

How can we not enjoy the sportsy part of you?  The part that wants to do anything and everything involving running and dancing and jumping and throwing/hitting/chasing/kicking/balls around? 

How about the outgoing part of you?  The part that creates friends on a whim and adapts to everyone's needs/personalities so easily.  The side that encourages you to cuddle with James or read him a story, or play handball with Alex, or learn to draw from Becky.  You're so willing to please everyone.  The part that makes you brave enough to take James up to the pulpit at church because he wants to participate in another ward's primary program (Gammie and Gampy's ward, Christmas 2010).  Or the part that makes you belt out your favorite tune no matter where we are or what we're doing just because you love to sing.

What about the studious part of you?  The part that compelled you to hatch and raise 17 chickens for a science fair (Feb 2010, of which we still have 2 hens producing 2 eggs/day).  The part that got you involved with GATE, allowing you and your dad to spend the night at the Long Beach Aquarium, sleeping under the (sea)stars.

How about the competitive part?  The part that gets you all riled up during a family game.  You are always so determined to win, and you usually do!  You're fabulous at mind games, like Blink! or Travel Sorry!  I know your dad and I will rue the day you learn to play Scrabble!  Or how about when you compete with your siblings with trivia questions, like naming the states and their capitals, solving a math problem, or finding North when we're out in the middle of nowhere.

Let's not forget the sensitive side.  The side that keeps your emotions in check (for the most part) if you are around strangers but lets it all loose when it's just family.  You are like an open book with a twist at the end of each chapter.  And I love it! :)

Thank you, Jane, for allowing us to share these wonderous 9 years with you.  We love to watch you grow and develop and ask that you'll just slow down the growing-up part a bit since I know you'll be wanting to fly solo on your life's journey before I'm ready to give you up.

I love you sweetie! :)


Oh, and because I almost forgot- the generous side of you.  Always willing to give of yourself, as is evident in our first family activity on your birthday - cleaning the church building.  We came ready for a good time, though, complete with presents, donuts, and OJ:

 After we got the building sparkling clean we met Aunt Kathy at Knotts Berry Farm where we bought season passes (in lieu of Christmas presents) for the family for the upcoming 2011 year:

This Freaks Me Out

No, not the cutie little guy ON the statue, but the statue itself.  This statue is at a local park that we love to run off excessive energy at and every time I turn the corner this guy seriously jump-starts my heart. 

Every.
Single.
Time.

Now, you might think I'm crazy for getting all spooked about a statue that I see (quite) frequently, but let me assure you that with the sun gleaming in my eye as I round the corner each morning, and with James' antics preoccupying my mind, I forget about the guy and get all jumpy when I notice a random dude staring at me all suave-like in his special bronze digs.  I mean, let's face it.  He's a rather tall looking guy and could use a shave....

Don't take it personally, Abe, I'm just being honest. :)

Disney Land 2010

There were some incredibly nice, generous, amazing people who arranged to get tickets for our entire family to go to Disney Land in November on Veteran's Day.  It was incredible!  I can't thank those people enough.

Therefore, I'm dedicating this entire post to the little album I made by way of "thanks" to those generous people.

Another "thanks!" to Shauna Douglass who took our picture at the front of the park when we ran into her and her troop on the tram.

WARNING:  LOTSA PICTURES!