April 2012

Conference Sunday        Elaina and Juliana play dress up at the Thompson's  

Easter

Seth enjoys chocolate on Easter Sunday.

Riding on Grandpa's Elephant 

Aubrey Elle and Grandpa     enjoy some time together

March 2012

NEWPORT BEACH CAR FERRY:

We went to Newport Beach again to take the ferry from Balboa Island to the Fun Zone.  Seth started to relate to the ferris wheel page in the book "Go Dogs Go" where they say "Go around again."

SLEEPING BEAUTY IN THE FLOWER FIELDS:

Elaina is wearing her sleeping beauty dress and smelling the flowers at Grandma's house.  We have these flowers in our yard too, grandma says she got the seeds from Disneyland.

 FATHER-SON DAY AT GUAJOME PARK:

We try to do a one-on-one outing with the kids each month.  Seth does love to swing, so he really enjoyed his visit with Daddy to the playground at Guajome Park.

 RIDING THE BROOMSTICK:

My kids haven't even seen Harry Potter, yet but they have figured out how to ride a broomstick with our friend Minna.

 TAKING OUT THE TRASH:

Taking out the trash is a challenge.  I need to walk 1/4 mile and I need to take 3 kids with me to take out just 2 trash cans.  Oh, did I mention that we have 3 trash cans?

 TWINS:

Elaina and Aubrey Elle are twins in their matching pajamas.  One is size 3T and the other is size 3 months.  Thank you, Costco, for a good pajama selection!

Cabo San Lucas - February 2012

We went to our timeshare in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for a week at the end of February. It's one of our favorite places to travel, especially because we get to stay at the posh Hacienda Encantada resort.

AUBREY AT THE AIRPORT:

Aubrey is happy, but I am never happy going through security at an airport. It does seem to take longer with 3 kids.

OUR BALCONY AT SUNSET:

We saw many a beautiful sunset in Cabo from our balcony at Hacienda Encantada. One of the big reasons we love coming here is for that killer view.

THE POOL BAR:

Oh, we liked the pool bar. While we were there, I was counting with Lainy in German, "Eins, zwei, drei, vier, lift your cup and drink your ..." Elaina completed the song with "beer." I then told her we don't drink alcohol and she said,

"We don't drink alcohol, we drink chunky monkeys." That was our favorite non-alcoholic drink at the pool bar.

JUMPING IN THE WAVES ON PELICAN BEACH:

Every 6 or 7 years the sand builds up at Pelican Beach near El

Arco, and it makes for a great beach for the kids and good snorkeling. Laina loved jumping up and down in the surf.

EL ARCO WITH THE FAMILY:

We got all of us looking at the camera except for Aubrey, who is in the baby backpack.

THE KID ZONE:

Elaina and Seth are sliding down the slides at the playground at Hacienda Encantada. This was a great place to go when you didn't want the kids to get wet swimming.

NEIL, AUBREY, AND THE COMPUTER:

This how a parent bonds with his kids nowadays.

SILHOUETTES AT SUNSET:
Seth, Elaina and I all had to go look at the sunset from our balcony.

THE BALCONY:

The number one reason to come here is for the balcony and the view of the humpback whales breaching out of the water.

THE INFINITY POOLS:

These pools look especially good at sunset, when you are swimming in them, looking out at the ocean. They heated them this year and that made for a much more pleasant experience.

GOING TO CHURCH IN SPANISH:

After watching Dora the Explorer, the kids loved going to nursery in Spanish, and playing with the other kids. They even sang the same primary songs in Cabo, just with different words.

February 2012

TAKING A BATH:

We have pictures of all of our children taking a bath in the sink. Isn't it amazing that, at one time, we were all small enough to fit in a sink?

IDYLWILD IN THE SNOW SUIT:

Yes it snows in Southern California, at least in mountain towns like Idyllwild, where we took a trip to see the snow. But the day after it snowed, it was already 50 degrees. It was one of the few chances that Aubrey had to wear her snow suit.

JUMPING IN THE SNOW:

Seth and Elaina had fun jumping in the wet slushy snow. The hardest thing was making Lainy understand that you don't take off your clothes just because they get wet.

VALENTINES DAY:
We had a romantic dinner at Harbor Henry's restaurant in Daina Point. The meal came with these edible flowers. When I suggested Neil should try one, he was a little hesitant. So I said, "Be a man! Eat a flower!"

CHOCOLATES:

Neil gave me and the kids Sees chocolates for Valentines Day. Seth talked to his dad on the phone later that day and said, "Thanks, Daddy. Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate,chocolate!"

DADDY-SON OUTING:

We are trying to do a one on one parent outing once a month with our kids. Neil took Seth for a hike on a bike trail and I took Lainy to the Yogurt Palace. Dad and son look cute in their matching outfits.

PASSPORTS AND THE SPAGHETTI FACTORY:

Have you ever gotten a passport for a 3 month old? Well it isn't easy, especially taking the picture. I think it is funny that this 3 month old picture identifies them for the next 5 years.

We went downtown to get the rush order on Aubrey's passport and afterwards. we walked in the Gaslamp District, where we ate at The Old Spaghetti Factory. Elaina loved sitting in the "princess chair".

January 2012

AUBREY READY FOR CHURCH:

We had to take a picture of Aubrey in her new outfit. She is starting to smile, and sometimes flirt and coo at me instead of eating. She has the winning ways, because a smile is always winning.

MORMON BATTALION ANNIVERSARY:

Seth enjoyed the rocking horse at the anniversary of the Mormon Battalion's arrival into San Diego. There were games, music, and a demonstration on how they used to do laundry.

RIDING ON THE COASTER TRAIN:

OK I miss the car, and the car seats. I miss containment! It was a lot more fun riding on the train last year when my kids were calmer.

TOREY PINES STATE PARK FOR MY B-DAY:

Seth, as usual, loved running away and we had to chase him down to keep him on the trail.

ELAINA ON TOP OF THE CLIFFS:

The view is great from the top of the cliffs at Torrey Pines. After our hike, we went to our friends the Thompsons and they watched Seth, Elaina, and Aubrey, while Neil and I went to Jake's, a really nice restaurant on the beach, for my birthday dinner. Neil finally showed me which star was Sirius and which planet was Venus.

AUBREY STARES AT ANGELS:

This is Aubrey on the day of her blessing. She is looking off in the distance as if she is staring at angels. We had the Thompsons over for dinner and Neil's old roommate Bryan came to the blessing as well.

SETH AND THE VACUUM:

Seth loves vacuums. So he and this little vacuum made a perfect pair in Grandma's dinning room.

December 2011

JAPANESE FRIENDSHIP GARDEN:

We went to Balboa park to see the street performers and the gardens.

CHRISTMAS DAY:

We had Christmas on Sunday and had to open Santa's presents and then go to church. Lainy got a Strawberry Shortcake clubhouse and Seth got a toy vacuum.

CHRISTMAS EVE:

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph played by Aubrey, Seth, and Elaina on Christmas Eve. It is a tradition to read Luke 2 on that night.

SAN DIEGO TEMPLE AT CHRISTMAS:

We made it to the temple in the month of December and got to see the Christmas decorations there.

CHRISTMAS CARD LANE:

In Rancho Penasquitos, we liked the Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer display.

HO HO HO:

Aubrey Elle got to dress up like Santa for Christmas this year.

THE MISSION INN:

The Mission Inn in Riverside was uncrowded when we went to see the Christmas lights last year because it rained. This year, it was really crowded. There was an ice rink, and reindeer on display. Rain has its advantages though, because we couldn't get into many parts of the hotel due to the crowds.

SNOW AT SEA WORLD:

Elaina ate the snow. Seth slipped in it and hurt his bum. It was fun to play in the snow in Southern California.

SEA TURTLES AT SEA WORLD:

We love turtles in our family so we loved this exhibit.

OUR CHRISTMAS CARD PICTURE:

We got a passable picture of the 5 of us at the ward Christmas party, where we enjoyed the traditional fare of ham and funeral potatoes.

DECEMBER NIGHTS:

We got there early with our 3 kids this year and we didn't stay there as late. This is the one religious display of Jesus Christ's birth at Balboa Park. At least the ACLU hasn't gotten rid of this one yet.

November 2011

AUBREY ELLE CARTER:

She is 11 days old in this picture. She may have come nearly a month early, but she is not behind developmentally.

HOTEL DEL CORONADO:

We made it to the Hotel Del Coronado to see the grand Christmas tree. Seth made the trip challenging, because he kept running away thinking, now is a perfect time to play chase.

SAN DIEGO TEMPLE:

We have figured out a way to keep my once a month goal of making it to the temple. I go in and Neil watches the kids outside while I am inside.

THANKSGIVING IN LA:

We were glad to be able to go to Thanksgiving with my sister Marilee. Aubrey was old enough to make the

trip. Here is Lainy in Aunt Marilee's back yard. They even had a few fall leaves on the ground.

THE TUNNELS:

Our kids love playing in the tunnels by the pond near our house. Here they are with our neighbor's daughter.

PREEMIE JAMMIES:

At 4 days old, Aubrey fit just fine in these preemie jammies. Now, they fit our baby doll.

GETTING WEIGHED:

Minutes after birth, Aubrey weighed 6 lbs 5.5 oz. She was healthy and could eat and breathe on her own. Yay!