Christmas Morning!

Jacob stole the show with his reaction to his PS3. The camera cut him off a bit, but you can still see from the video that he came over to us crying with excitement.

Youth Appreciation Day!

We started our day at the climbing wall. Jacob climbs like a little monkey. He made it all the way up 3 walls and about 1/2 way up a forth.

As you can see, Jacob likes to climb barefoot. I think he uses his toes like fingers for grip.

Lilly climbed faster and higher than last year. Last year, she would go about 6-8 feet from the floor. This year she went about 20 feet up.

Later on in the day, we hit the pool. Jacob and Lilly were anxious to show us the new skills they learned while visiting Grandma and Grandpa's.

We also visited the kiddie carnival, the bounce houses, free hot dogs, the batting cages and golf chipping, and the free movie. The kids really enjoyed "Rio."













The last place we visited was the gymnastics and karate gym. Lilly had a blast getting a little lesson on the bars. She also enjoyed tumbling on the mats.

Jacob wanted to take the challenge of breaking boards. After a few attempts and some instruction, he was able to snap a board.

At the end of the day, the kids were still going strong, but I was wiped out.

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa

We started off the day with a little work. Jacob was sent out to mow the lawn while Lilly was filling the cooler up with soda and ice so the soda would be cold.

Grandpa took the kids out in the tractor while he baled the hay on one corner.

We also visited the barn at Rose and Bills. Lilly held one of the young chickens. I don't know if the chicken or Lilly was more nervous.

For the afternoon, we went over and saw Grandpa Dale for a while. It wasn't too hot outside, so we went for a short walk.

Just before going to visit Grandpa, we went to the waterpark. We all had a great time. We may have worn out the waterslide!

Big girl bike.

Lilly has decided that she doesn't need training wheels anymore. She was a little reluctant at first, but when I told her that we could go on a family bike ride and got out everyone else's bike, she took off and hasn't looked back.

Pretend City.

Our last day in California, we went to Pretend City childrens museum. The museum was set up like different areas of the economy (farm, grocery store, construction site, emergency services, etc.) The kids really didn't get into it too much so we didn't stay long.

We went back to Legoland on Monday. We went to a show and the kids were asked if they would like to volunteer to be in the show. Jacob became a puppeteer and Lilly was a dancer.

My Three Best Buddies

This was the first time the kids went in the water.

Wave chasing

Lilly and I were playing a game with the ocean. We had to chase the waves out to sea, but not let the waves coming in catch us. She was laughing and squealing as we were running.

Our Third Day In California

Even though the ocean is within walking distance of where we are staying, this was the first day that we went to see it. It was so much fun seeing the kids experience the sand and waves for the first time. Jacob was a bit ornery today. Here he is throwing a "sand ball" at Ryan. When he tired of that, he offered to give Ryan a back massage. Just as Ryan got nice and comfy, Jake poured a bucket of ice cold water down his swim trunks.

Meanwhile, Lilly and I looked for seashells and ran along the shore. She spent her time making "sand angels" with her arms and legs. When we were done she looked like a sand statue.

Legoland

Months ago, we promised Jacob that he could go to Legoland for his birthday. We made good on our promise today.

The kids got "eaten" by a lego shark.

Lilly wanted to take her best buddy in the whole world on a ride.

I just had to get a picture of Jacob with his old hero Bob.

The Lego mini city has really incredible displays. The Sydney opera house looks so much like it did from across the bay in Sidney, that it surprised me. In front of the White house was a group of marching soldier. The SeaLife Aquarium is right next to Legoland. We also took a walk through there to see the fish.

Click here: http://s922.photobucket.com/albums/ad66/Ryand895/Legoland%20June%202011/ to see more of the pictures we took.

Disneyland

Today, we visited Disneyland. We had way too much fun to capture in pictures, but took lots of them anyway. I got Jacob in front of the space ship at Space Mountain, (which was probably our favorite ride.)

Here, Lilly is scream-laughing down a rollercoaster. The only place I have ever heard this laugh was today.

I don't know how we did it, but we got Jacob and Lilly to pose with Pooh--maybe because we posed with him too!

Lilly loves her mouse ears!!!

To see more of the pictures we took today, http://s922.photobucket.com/albums/ad66/Ryand895/Disneyland%20trip%20June%202011/

Lilly's fish

Last weekend the kids and I went to Ridgway. Neither kid wanted to fish, but when I told Lilly that I thought we had a bite, she was willing to reel it in. She was so proud of her fish. She even ate a good portion of it!

FIRE IN THE HOLE!!!

I got the fireplace hooked up this weekend. We lit it up this evening to enjoy all of the hard work that has gone into the project. It sure makes the living room look different.

Just don't ask to see the den side of the wall yet. It is going to be a built in entertainment center--but I have a long way to go.

A good afternoon.

The weather was just right. Sunny with a few clouds. Just a little breeze. The kids, dog, and I headed down to Ridgway for the afternoon. We had a great time, did a little (very little) fishing and cruised around the lake.

What happens when you ask for a fireplace and then go to work?

Daddy marks the hole, cuts the outline and then gives Jacob and Lilly each a hammer. . .






















The kids take turns swinging and smacking. . .















More swinging. . .




















One side of the wall is out.


















Crystal got home and there was a hole, from the living room into the den.

We Are Still Here...

Lilly giving me her sweet-face look...

These are from Lilly's days

at gymnastics


The climbing wall at

gymnastics

The balance beam

Luckily it's only about 2 inches off of the ground

Game Day

This afternoon, Lilly, Jacob and I went down to the library for game day. We enjoyed doing a couple of puzzles and then playing Chinese Checkers together.

We're back!!!

Well, as you know, it's been a long time since we have posted anything here. Our camera hasn't been working. Thanks to mom and dad, Crystal got a new camera for her birthday, so now we should be back to posting more often. Here are some of the pictures that we took when we went to Grand Junction for Crystal's birthday.

We went to Banana's fun park to just have fun together as a family. We enjoyed the arcade, laser maze and go carts.