May 21, 2011
Caleb had his last game today and afterward the award ceremony. It was a fun last game. All the kids played hard and laughed.
Caleb with little Ry-Ry (the coach's son)
Caleb made friends with this little girl. They sat together in the bounce house and watched the other kids jump and do tricks. When they saw a trick they liked...
They clapped.
Caleb showing off the medal he had been asking for since day one.
May 18, 2011
Whenever I drive to Bakersfield with the kids, I usually have a car appointment or something and it takes up the whole day and I have to leave with out having much time to visit with my families. Well not this time. We had a sleepover at Connie's instead. After Caleb and Hannah went to bed Alison, Connie, Trish and I hung out and talked. 
Trish loves kids and kids love Trish. She is never too busy to play with them and says, "yes" to anything. 
I found out that Alison has a strange talent. She can write backward and with her left hand! 
Can you read this? It might be easier if you held it up to a mirror.
May 17, 2011
While we were out in the back yard enjoying a nice Sunday afternoon a butterfly landed beside us and let me pick it up and hold it. I thought that maybe it was about to die and this was why it was tame and still. I was wrong. It flew away light and happy a minute later and was out of sight. I thought about Jesus Christ and all of the beautiful miracles he made, and that this butterfly was only one of many.
May 16, 2011
I was pretty sick today so I laid on a blanket outside under a shady tree and watched the kids help Cory clean up the yard. The goal is: No crabgrass! It might take another Saturday (Or two) but we are working on it.
May 12, 2011
Our first day at Disneyland at all I can say is "Let the good times roll." We did so much our first day! 
We rode on a merry-go-round. Hannah cried until the very end when she realized that I wasn't going to leave her and she wasn't going to die. We walked around looking for Ariel but never found her.
We did find Belle. She was so soft spoken and sweet it made we want to be like her. Caleb wouldn't go near her because she was "too beautiful" and it made him shy.
Caleb and Cory in front of Sleeping Beauty's castle.
A family tradition: to ride the Disneyland train around the park.
We also rode Soarin over California, went on the roarin rapids ride, and walked around California Adventure.
May 13, 2011
Alison and I waited in life for an hour and a half so our girls could spend a little one on one time with 3 princesses. The closer we got to the end of our wait the more we asked each other if it was all going to be worth it. Well of course it was. Hannah and Elena were happy to see them and each Princess was super sweet with each of them.
Hannah couldn't believe that Ariel was real. She touched her face and petted her hair. She loved her necklace a lot. Ariel told the girls that her sisters made it for her. 
Again Hannah making sure Belle was real. Of all the Princesses, I think Belle was Hannah's favorite. Hannah just seemed the happiest with her.
But the best part was just before we walked back to see the Princesses. A "Prince" charater was waiting at the entrance, controlling the flow of visitors. Hannah must have thought he was a real Prince, and a very handsome Prince at that, because her face got pink and she acted really shy around him and would hardly look at him when he asked her questions. CUTE!
May 13, 2011
We arrived at the Park early noticed right away that Thursday was already busier than Wednesday. The kids couldn't be happier to be at the Park again. We took a picture with Pluto. At first Caleb was scared but then he got over it, maybe because he saw that Hannah was safe with him.
Caleb and Hannah tried to pull the sword out but it was "stuck." We saw the Tangled house and the line and then the sign that said "90 minute wait from here" and walked right on by. We did ride Peter Pan which was one of my favorites growing up.
Hannah loved driving Goofy's car.
We went on a the wilderness hike together and it was really cool. We had never done it before and the Hannah really like the obstacle course part and Caleb liked seeing the animal tracks in the cement. He kept saying, "Is this what a Boy Scout looks at?"
We did a few more things and then said goodbye. The kids fell asleep within minutes and it was a nice quiet ride all the way to Grandma's.
May 9, 2011
Aunt Sara came for a visit today. She had never seen our house before and it was nice to have her here for a visit. Hannah loves to play with her. Hannah always wants to play Barbies with her and since Hannah's Barbie was Sara's childhood doll she seems willing to play. (Yes Ariel is headless... but Hannah still plays with her, I mean it is Ariel!)
Caleb took this picture of us.
May 8, 2011
This was the best Mother's Day ever! The kids were great, I got a new apron (from my Mom) and Cory and I spoke in church. aka: Which means I got it over with! I read a great quote by Author Anna Quindlen last week and incorporated it in my talk"The biggest mistake I made (as a parent) is one that most of us make... I did not live in the moment enough. This is particularly clear now that the moment is gone, captured only in photographs. There is one picture of my (3) children sitting in the grass on a quilt in the shadow of the swing set on a summers day, ages 6, 4, and 1, and I wish I could remember what we ate and what we talked about and how they sounded and how they looked when they slept that night. I wish I had not been in such a hurry to get on to the next thing: dinner, bath, book, bed. I wish I had treasured the doing a little more and the getting it done a little less."
For sake of the "talk" I did this throughout the week and you know what? It was great. The kids were happier and so was I. I loved them a little more and thought they were a little more amazing.
May 7, 2011
We cleaned up really quick and drove to Bakersfield to help give Connie the best kind of surprise. I don't think any of us expected the reaction she gave us. She sobbed. It was better than we hoped.
We went to Maria Bonita's and had a big banquet room all to ourselves. This was good because all of the adults relaxed about whether or not the kids were too loud. We let them laugh and "walk-run" around the room after they ate their dinner while the adults chatted. It was the best.
We went back to Connie and Jerry's and let the boys get their feet wet.
The girls played a duet ... it was amazing!
May 7, 2011
My Dad, Mom and Uncle Bill came over this morning and went to work on the back yard.
The big project of the day was to make a raised garden. 
Hannah kept busy in the mud...
Caleb stayed with the boys cutting wood, raking leaves and weeds and also saw his first scoropian!
At the end of the afternoon the box garden was done, trees were trimmed and the half of the hill between the backyard grass and the olive grove was beautifully bare (no weeds). Now all I need is dirt...
