Sled Runs

After the snowman sculpting (with one looking very much like a build-a-bear) we kept the snow-show going with sledding. It was still snowing huge flakes, but we got some great video of the kids making their runs on our little hill. This video is of Jane taking the first run. All the kids took multiple turns going down the hill, and Sean and I also took a turn, though it wasn't quite long enough for us to get a thrill. Becky got ambushed once by Ollie (Gammie's Doberman puppy) and Andrew told us about his father's advice: "try, try again" in another video.

When we were all done we gathered inside for hot chocolate and thawed out in front of the fire.
Oh, honorable mention to the fireplace. The power went out, though it was back on in just a few hours, but the fireplace kept the house toasty-comfy and helped dry out clothes and boots when the dryer wasn't working.

Let it SNOW! (Repeat 3 times)

We had a great time Christmas Day taking advantage of all the snow. We started out with snowmen in the front yard (and on Christi's car - that one's all mine!) It was so fun to watch the kids get snowed on as we progressed to the snowball fight. Once we were done with that we moved to the backyard, packed snow down tight on the steps, and created a sledding path.

Christmas Eve (of which we have no pictures because our batteries died) Gammie and Gampy Wake took all the grandkids to Build-a-Bear. The kids all picked out their animal (Rebecca: a white bear; Jane: a blue bear; Alex: an Elephant; James: a panda) and dressed them (Rebecca's had a white dress; Jane's had a blue dress; Alex's became batman; James was kung-foo panda). It was great fun for everyone to watch the kids during this activity.

When we got home we made sure the stockings were hung in a row (who has a mantle this long?!), all 14 of them, and got the dinner ready. After a hearty meal we read the Christmas story, then let the kids open their traditional Christmas Eve present: pajamas (or, in this case, sweat outfits). We then tucked the kids in and prayed they'd fall asleep quickly.

Christmas morning started around 7:30am with stocking opening and Santa present admiring. We then let the kids dish out the gifts and took turns laughing and exclaiming over them. In case you're wondering, the black and green buckets in front of the tree was the traditional "tool" gift for the boys: cement mixers, which housed Bose headphones so they could listen nicely to music while using the tool.


Peter insisted on showing Gampy his street sweeper truck. Those two sat on the couch for quite a while playing and sharing. What good boys!


Alex and Andrew got a glow-in-the-dark space station train set, while the girls got a doorway puppet theater. All in all it was a very fun, satisfying, crazy Christmas morning!

Victoria!

For our anniversary Sean arranged for us to go up to Victoria for two days while we were in Washington for Christmas. My wonderful brother, Rob, his fabulous wife, Kim, and my glorious sister, Wimp (Christi), watched Becky, Jane, Alex and James for us so we could go worry-free.
It was a smooth 3-hour ferry ride up to Victoria from Seattle, and then just a short walk from the ferry to our hotel: The Empress.

It is an incredible hotel with several restaurants, museum and indoor pool/spa/exercise area. We dropped our stuff off in our suite (which you gained access by going to the end of the hall on the 4th floor, then going through double doors to get to our door. If we ordered room service the bellman would have to ring a doorbell instead of knocking). We were given this room because Sean mentioned that we had stayed here on our honeymoon, and have come back 10 years later to celebrate our anniversary. They also gave us a free desert at any of their restaurants (we got a chocolate fudge sundae, washed down with a hot chocolate, of course!).

After we deposited our things we went on a walk around the city. Everything was just as snowed over as in Seattle, but the sidewalks were clear, so our afternoon was a nice stroll through the different shops and boutiques. We went to the nearby mall, explored a 4-story Christmas store, visited Munro's books, and got some snacks at a 7-11. We went back to the hotel at around 3:30 for a nap before dinner and didn't wake up until 7AM the next morning!
Well rested, we asked the concierge for a nice place to eat breakfast and was guided to the Blue Fox about 1/2 mile away. It was a tiny place and we had our doubts, but we stuck it out and were more than pleasantly surprised at how Delicious the food was! We were completely full when we left and started our journey back towards town. On the way we went through several antique shops and interesting stores.

We passed our hotel and went towards the museum. Next to the museum were colorful totem poles and a house built before the 1850's, of which we got a tour (very fascinating). We stopped at the Legislative Building, where we got a tour and took pictures of the frozen, yet still running, fountain, some birds trying to drink the freezing water, and the freezing over harbor across the street (did I mention it was freezing?!).



Just before we left for the ferry to go back home we stopped to get that desert at the hotel. The perfect end to our full day in Victoria. I am so blessed to have such a romantic husband! It was absolutely fabulous. I think I was smiling the entire trip. I love you, Sean! Thank you again and again and again...

Our Drive

We had a safe drive up to Seattle, it took us over 25 hours! But the looks on the faces of our kids when we finally reached snow was well worth any driving. We stopped at a gas station at around 4:30am Friday morning, in the middle of the pass, and we all got out of the car to have a snowball fight. The kids were having great fun trying to catch Sean and I. It was almost magical, since the only light was right over the pumps, the rest of the forest was dark and still. We had the place to ourselves, the store wasn't even open.
When we stopped for breakfast we took a quick picture of the snow in the parking lot. We had continuous snow all the way up Oregon until we got close to Portland, when it tapered off, and the bare trees along the I-5 cast a beautiful foreground of the Portland Temple (I took the picture as we drove).

Merry Christmas!

On December 18 we went to Jane's Christmas Presentation, which told the story of Bob Humbug - the elf in charge of all of Santa's broken toys. She was adorable as she sang the songs and said her part. Her teacher helped them make elf hats and even blushed up their cheeks a bit. I love to see my Jane perform, but the best part is her smile at the end when she is pleased with herself. That is what melts my heart! When her presentation was over we hopped in the car, stopped by home so the kids could change, and then started our long drive to Seattle.

Christmas with the Monroes

On December 17 we gathered at the Lis and Kevins house, along with Garrett and Leslie, to have our Christmas Dinner. After a deliscious dinner of ham and goodness we ate homemade strawberry shortcake (a la Leslie) and opened presents. We were all very blessed and had a wonderful time. One moment that made Sean and I crack up is when we both opened each others presents to find we had given each other the same thing: "The Handy History Answer Book." The girls both got dress coats and boots to match, Alex got a remote controlled car, and James got Edison, the Alphabet Pal (an ABC talking caterpillar). It was a fun night with family. We are so grateful for all of their love and support!

New Experiences

Sean and I took the kids to Marie Callendars for dinner one night to use up our birthday/anniversary coupons and while we were waiting for our food we entertained ourselves by entertaining James. Below are video of James tasting a lime for the fist time, as well as holding Sean's phone while I called it (it was on vibrate).
DISCLAIMER to Video 1: James' face was so funny and cute after he tasted the lime that I couldn't help but laugh, which is why the video starts to shake - and I was trying to hold it in!
DISCLAIMER to Video 2: We are hams! Especially my kids. They'll take any opportunity to get their picture taken, even if we're actually taking video!

And Now Announcing...

Rebecca the pianist! Becky has been taking lessons from Traesa Cox (who also teaches Kaila Douglass and Joseph Vasquez) for just about 4 months and had her first recital on December 12. We all gathered at Traesa's parents' house (along with Lis and Kevin - Sean's parents) to hear the concert. That night she played Silent Night and Joy to the World, but has also learned others, including "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."
Sean and I are so grateful she is developing her talents and couldn't be more thrilled with her progress. Thanks, Traesa, for all your hard work, as well!
To see Becky's performance just click on the video below, just remember to shut off the music at the bottom of the page, first.

Temple Lights

We decided to take the kids to the Newport Temple to see the Christmas Lights, but there weren't any! We walked around anyway, and took some pictures of the temple sans sparkle,

then took the kids to the LA temple the next day.




We took the grand tour and circled the temple grounds. The lights and music truly brought us all into the Christmas Spirit.
We feel so blessed to be able to spend this time as a family. We're grateful for the Lord and the Christmas season that allows us to express our Thankfulness to Him by serving others.
December 5, 2008

Primary Challenges

2008's Stake Primary Challenge was for the kids to read the entire Book of Mormon. All three of our primary kids took the challenge and finished reading the Book of Mormon before the October deadline.
While they read they were instructed to highlight all the words the represented Christ in yellow, which represented His role as a light in our lives.
The kids got a book with their names on it so they could have their own copy to mark. Each night before bedtime we read the scriptures as a family. We now have several ways to read together, such as taking turns reading verses (since Alex can't read yet we read, then he repeats), listening as one person reads, or getting assigned a word to say as we come across it while Sean or I take turns reading.
As a whole, our family has been greatly blessed for accepting and completing this challenge, and I want to thank the Cerritos Stake Primary Presidency for implementing this idea in our stake. THANK YOU!!!

Boys and their Toys

At the Cerritos Mall there is a fabulous play center with a cars and trucks theme. Alex loves coming here and playing around, so we usually come right when the mall opens, and patiently wait as the cleaning crew finish their job before we jump right in. This day we were surprised to see a fellow school-mate from Alex's preschool. They had a great time running, playing, and hiding, as well as posing for pictures!



James loved getting down and exploring, and tried so hard to keep up with Alex.



Alex plays hide-and-seek with his friend, hiding in a yellow car's wheel.



Climbing the bridge with preschool pal.



Here Alex makes his own bridge.

James' First Haircut

And, of course, our fabulous "Uncle" Neal performed the services!
November 19, 2008

Headaches and Earthquakes

I'm really beginning to wonder...
I had another tremendous headache Monday and yesterday (Thursday) only to have it disappear just before we felt an earthquake roll through. A 5.0 near San Bernardino, which only felt as if our house were a swing and someone gently pushed it.
Sean thinks I can predict earthquakes.
I think I'm allergic to California.
In reality we're both just nuts!

We Survived!

We are spending Christmas with my (Hillary's) family, the Wakes, in Washington this year, and decided to drive, as it would be more economical all around, especially with these great gas prices!
We started our drive from LA on Thursday at 6pm and drove straight through until we got here on Friday evening at around 8:30pm. 26 1/2 HOURS!!! Yes, it is long, but the kids were really great and we all survived. Nothing extraordinary happened, but we did have to go about 30 miles an hour for around 80 miles through Mt. Shasta and Siskiyou (which is the highest point of I-5 at about 4300 feet). The kids kept asking where we were, and as I was driving through a chains checkpoint I missed the sign: "Welcome to Oregon." Jane, little Miss Eagle Eye saw it and the kids were so excited! We passed the 45th parallel, at which point we were half-way between the equator and the North Pole, saw the Portland Temple, crossed the Columbia river into Washington, and drove through a snowstorm.
Sean and I, of course, were tired, so we talked and ate as much as possible, but it wasn't until we were getting close to the Oregon/Washington border that I finally dug out our apples and we started munching. At this point Sean decided to share some very useful information: one apple as the same energy-boosting effect as a cup of coffee, and lasts longer. Now, obviously this information would have been GREAT to know the night before when I was VERY drowsy, before adrenaline kicked in. Good to know it for the return trip, though. It will come in quite handy.
When we stopped for gas shortly after entering the pass (at 4:30am) the kids woke up and we all got out to stretch. We had the gas station to ourselves, as everything else was closed, and had a mini-snowball fight with the kids. They were having a blast since it was their first time in snow that they could remember. (I haven't taken any pictures of them playing in the snow, but so far they've gone out twice to try to make a snowman, in vain since the snow is pure powder, no packing quality at all.)
After making it through the mountains, we had a pretty relaxing time driving north through Oregon, enjoying the winter wonderland. We made it into Washington without trouble, but about 5 minutes into the evergreen state we saw the first evidences of snow. As we continued north the grounds continued to show more and more snow, eventually making it to the roads. Although it was obvious there had been a significant amount of snowfall, the roads were kept pretty clean until we got into Redmond area. We actually had to put the chains back on to get up to my parents' house. We got in, unloaded our car with the essentials, and came inside to feast on the scrumptious spagetti my mom made just for us (Thanks Mom!). After eating until we were full, we put the kids to bed and came back downstairs to relax and chat for a bit. When we finally made it to bed I thought we'd be out for the night, but James had alternate plans. We slept (more or less) until about 7:30am (thanks for sleeping in, kids!) and spent the day getting ready for Sunday and the upcoming Christmas week (mainly finding room for everyone and their things, grocery shopping and playing in the snow).
Sean spent most of his day helping Rob, Brad, and Dad put in the dining room floor so that we'd have space to eat as a family on Christmas day.
I am so grateful to our Heavenly Father for protecting our family along this trip. We have survived this long journey without harm or accident befalling us and I know the Lord had a hand in it. I am aware of his ever watchful eye, and I thank Him for our abundant blessings!
As I am thoroughly exhausted now, I'm going to save picture-posting for another time. Merry Christmas to all! May the Spirit be with you!