CA Skellys

Pancake Pen

2012-02-10T21:13:00.000-08:00

One of Andrew's Christmas presents was a pancake pen. He loves to be creative when making pancakes and now it's just that much easier...

these simple little circles became...

Here Beth wears her decorated crown...

And Adam has a present (this was right after Christmas)

Jason's star (and yes, we had whip cream on our pancakes for dinner...gotta love Christmas pie leftovers)

And finally Jill's half-eaten elephant lathered in peanut butter (that's what she asked for after Daddy was running out of Christmas themed ideas)

There was also a camel

a shepherd and some sheep

and of course, a Christmas tree!

The pen has since been used to make many letters and hearts, and the kids even got a chance recently to try it out (although they realized it's a lot harder than it looks and we had mostly blobs so there aren't any pictures :)

Bowling Party for Jason

2012-02-06T00:12:00.000-08:00

Jason's birthday party was held at a bowling alley (thank you Groupon!)

A bunch of his friends came to play, eat pizza, and celebrate!

Some of the little ones (and even some of the bigger ones) used fun tools to help them bowl...

Beth was the winner on her lane for both games played (she picked up the spare in this shot!)

And even though Adam wasn't the winner, he had a blast playing! I'm thinking we need to do this as a family more often :)

Thank you to all of Jason's friends for coming, for giving him such amazing gifts, and for just being a part of his life and ours...

And here's a picture of the cake...designed by the birthday boy (each cupcake planet is a specific color designed and decorated by the kids, Daddy did the planet Earth cake)

We're an odd family once again...Happy 9th Birthday, Jason!

2012-02-02T22:10:00.000-08:00

Jason turned 9, making my life simpler in that I don't have to think about the ages of my children for the next 4 months. They're 3, 5, 7 & 9. Beth thinks it's especially fun because 7 8 9 (I'll give you a minute to think about that one and laugh...)

On his birthday, we had his favorite foods for breakfast and lunch (so much his favorite that I didn't get a picture before it was all gobbled up!)

Daddy came home at lunch time and we had a scavenger hunt for his presents.

It was so much fun. There was a present at every stop (everything from a new box of crayons to a large Lego set.) He had to go all over the house from Beth's bed...

to the bathroom...

and even outside (they were all impressed that we hid a present outside up in the tree.)

For dinner, we headed to Ruby's at Balboa Pier because even though it's January, Jason wanted to go to the beach. We live only a few miles away, so why not? Dinner was fun (although taking a picture of his big burger was too much. Has he reached an age where he's embarrassed by mom???)

He received birthday phone calls throughout dinner...

And he got his own big yummy dessert!

And of course, we finished the evening at the beach...

Happy birthday, Jason! Hope your day was all you hoped for...because you are above and beyond all we could have ever hoped for! Thank you for being you :)

PS We had a party with friends at the bowling alley a week later but didn't really get many good pics because of the dark, I mean, "cool galaxy" lighting. I suppose I'll do another post to show off his cool cake and a few of the pictures from that really fun afternoon, we'll see...

No more cast day, yipee!

2012-02-01T23:30:00.000-08:00

It was only three and a half weeks, and it was soooo much easier than a broken leg, but we've still been counting down the days! Counting down until when we can wear long sleeves and a jacket. Counting down until we can take a bath without a plastic bag. Today was the day. Happy, happy day!

She was prepared. She remembered the saw from getting her leg cast off (which she screamed through and then got angry that they were throwing away her beautiful pink cast!) This time she understood what was going to happen, and she was happy. Interestingly enough, this attitude confused the poor cast room tech who stopped halfway through sawing and asked me, "How old is she? She's doing really well!" Experience was my response.

To celebrate we went to the Discovery Science Center because Dora and Diego are there!

This made our little girl super happy! It was fun to watch her play and slide while still managing to keep her arm in cast position.

It was such a huge hit with our cast-less little girl that we will be going back as often as possible over the next few months.

Pics Day by Day

2012-01-25T23:12:00.000-08:00

Want a daily dose of the CA Skellys? Check out our Day by Day...my attempt at taking one photo every day.

I thought it would be easy but I've already missed a day! But it's fun to just capture the feel of the day and the run of the mill daily activities that we don't always take pictures of. Truly, isn't that our real life, more than the unique vacations or events when pictures are usually taken?
I'm planning to put these photos into an album, a page a week.

I'm also trying to use my camera's different settings. It's been fun figuring it out and reminding myself of things learned years ago in college.

I still plan to post here with all the stories and details of our events (Jason's birthday coming soon) but for the day to day fun...http://skellypicsdaybyday.blogspot.com/!

Jill sings her ABC's

2012-01-17T22:12:00.000-08:00

What we think happened to Jill

2012-01-11T14:14:00.000-08:00

It was Sunday night and Andrew and I were in the kitchen cleaning up dinner. The kids were all upstairs getting ready for bed. We heard a crash to which Andrew responded, "that didn't sound good." I was already running up the stairs. My thought was, "what's going to be broken?" I wasn't thinking of a person at this point, I was thinking of things. Jill was crying but nothing horribly loud but when I looked into her room, I knew. It's not something that can be explained, but I knew. She was sitting on the floor. Her sister was in bed reading and saw nothing. Jill wasn't talking, just sobbing. We carefully removed her pajama shirt to see what we could see. We finally got her to point to her elbow so we would know where to put the ice. I hate to go to ER late at night but it was her elbow and that can require surgery and out of place pain and we had to go...Thank you to my wonderful friend Stephanie who came right over to sit with the kids so both Andrew and I could take her...

The ER was crazy crowded with a lot of sick people. We tried our best to sit in a corner and not touch anything! But we were there for almost three hours before seeing the doctor. It was almost midnight. How did Jill survive 3 hours with a broken arm?

She slept.

Only the X-rays, which involve rotating the wrist and pain, woke her up. She fell back asleep and didn't even wake up while they put the splint on her. But before they wrap it up out of sight for the next three weeks...here's a peek:

Not too bad, just swollen. The fun colors, if they come, usually come later. And the next day...

She's a trooper. Except for being tired and unable to get a shirt on correctly, she's totally fine.

In fact, the next day she was mad that I wouldn't let her ride her scooter! (And she was comfortable enough to let us get a shirt over her cast :)

And today we got the final cast...

So...what happened to cause all this fuss? Chatting with Jill and looking at what was on the floor...this is our best guess:

And asking her, she is confirming that yes, she climbed up on top of this shelf. Why? To reach her nesting dolls (which were on the floor so she was successful)

She didn't like standing up there for the reenactment at all so we're thinking she learned her lesson. And considering how far she fell, I'm relieved that it's only her elbow (it's actually the ulna only, right at the elbow...all is perfectly in place, very minor break!) Praise God...now off to keep her from any more crazy stunts!

On the 11th Day of Christmas...

2012-01-05T21:53:00.000-08:00

For dessert tonight, Andrew pulled out a box of Peppermint Jo-Jo's and there were 11 left...on the 11th day of Christmas. I doubt very many people except Andrew knew that today was the 11th day of Christmas :) Anyway, he decided we should eat them all so, to their surprise, each kid got not 1, but 2 cookies. Yes, we're pretty stingy most evenings :) Jill was so giddy that the following silliness ensued...

She yelled, "Cookie Eyes!" I had to grab my camera so I would never forget this moment.

And then everyone joined in the fun...

A cookie wheel...

A cookie pirate...

And when all the playing was over, we got to see what Jill would look like with freckles!

Happy 11th Day of Christmas!

2011...A Great Year!

2012-01-01T00:42:00.000-08:00

Every New Year's Eve, we take time to reflect on the year's past (here's 2010) to think about the good, the bad, the big, the small...This is the first year in sometime that I don't have a baby to announce or a move across country or a job change. Those are obvious top ten events and we have none of those for this year. It was a very simple, no big deal year...and I LOVED it! It was a great year for being together as a family, for building relationships, for travel both near and far. We were healthy, happy, and content. So while there may be no big events, there are plenty of memorable events and changes that we want to remember from 2011. Here goes...
1. Local travel...we are a homeschooling family, and while we've learned that life is most sane when we spend a good amount of time at home in a simple routine, we do get out for exciting day trips. Thanks to homeschool discounts, we went to Sea World and Legoland twice!

We are fortunate to have memberships to the Discovery Science Center, the Santa Ana Zoo, and LA Natural History Museum (thanks Grandma).

There were many fun days there. And then there are the many visits to parks, nature centers, beaches and the lagoon! There is so much to do that it's amazing we are ever home!

2. Big Travels...Andrew traveled to Korea back in February/March for work. This was his third trip in a year! He enjoys the culture and his time there, although being there during the Japan earthquake was a bit unnerving for all of us! Fortunately, it had no effect on him, South Korea, or his travels. Praise God!

3. Big Travel for the rest of us...Everyone but Andrew spent 5 weeks this summer in North Carolina! It was an amazing vacation where the kids were able to spend time with all 19 cousins.

We celebrated birthdays, attended VBS together, shot fireworks, and Jason got to go camping with Grandpa and Duncan. We even traveled to Myrtle Beach and back to our home and friends in Georgia.

Five weeks turned out to be a bit too long to be away from Daddy so I don't know that we'll do that again but the time we were able to share with our family was priceless!

4. Our extended family experienced major events...Cyrus James was born to the Longs.

The Elonens moved from Georgia to Idaho (now that they're on the same coast, we're hoping to see them next year!)
And Great Grandma Mae turned 93.

It is such a blessing living closer to her and my parents and cousins and aunt and uncle...I am blessed with family! Great Grandma even spent this Christmas at our house...priceless moments!

5. We did experience a loss this year. In fact, this was the first memorial service our children attended. Our dear friend Ben Keenan passed away this summer from a battle with cancer.

He was a father figure to me and a role model to all. I am honored that he introduced me as one of his daughters, when he wasn't calling me Josh :) He was a very special man, a servant of God, Grandpa Ben to my children, and a treasure that is greatly missed by all.
2012 will miss your presence, Ben, but your legacy lives on in all the lives you touched around the globe!
6. The other down moment this year...Jill broke her leg. We knew when she first opened her eyes at birth that she has osteogenesis imperfecta like so many in my family. Fortunately, she is coordinated, determined and strong. Unfortunately, she is still mildly more fragile than your average spirited little girl and a strange twist on some wet leaves in the grass led to a spiral fracture.

Thanks to a beautiful pink cast, she endured the experience well. She even enjoyed a weekend at Myrtle Beach in that cast (fortunately, it came off the next week cuz it was a bit wet and sandy :)

7. Duplos...What could be so memorable about Duplos? It may seem silly but this was the year of the Duplo at our house. We have this little alcove in our upstairs hall. It is the perfect place to store Duplos. The hall has now become the place where all four kids play with Duplos....every...single...day! There may have been a day or two that were missed, and maybe not all four kids played every day, but those Duplos were played with so much more than I ever could have imagined.

We've had battle scenes, castles, Angry Bird setups, planes, rockets...everything you can imagine has been created...this last year...in our hall...with Duplos! You would be amazed what three square blocks can become in a child's imagination! Occasionally the boys will play with Lego instead and maybe next year we'll graduate to Lego but maybe not...

8. Jill grew-up...Ok, I know she's only 3 but what a year it was for her! She gave up her pacifier (and naps!) She was potty-trained...twice! Yes, thanks to her broken leg happening right after our first successful potty training session, we got to do it twice.

I know she has a lot of growing up left to go but no more baby in this house...

9. Kid's activities...Jason finished his first year of piano. We were disappointed that his teacher was no longer going to be giving lessons but Jason has continued practicing on his own this year, and he's planning to join the homeschool band in the next year or two...what instrument...that is still to be determined :) Beth did not want to take piano and chose the alternative - violin. She is loving it, and we are all enjoying learning about violin and string instruments.
Adam played soccer with me as his coach. This was hilarious.

I had no idea what I was doing but it was fun, I got my exercise, and despite me, Adam improved his skills. He's really fast with a ball, and I'm hoping we can encourage him to play again, although he's not a fan of being in the spotlight. Next year will be Jill's turn for activity as she starts ballet and tap this month.
10. And last...ummm...sooo many to choose from. There was our weekend in Big Bear where there wasn't quite enough snow and Jason ended up with stitches from jumping on the bed. But there was also a visit from Papa and Anja, gymnastics, swim lessons, our neighborhood playdates, and what about the church Christmas Program with all four of my kids up on stage singing their hearts out! How do I conclude such a great year? With praises to God! Because all of this says - I am truly blessed. Glory to God for all of it, and here's to getting closer to God and sharing Jesus in 2012 through all that we do every day!

Happy New Year from the Skelly Family!!!

New Year's Eve Pizza Dinner!

2011-12-31T23:28:00.000-08:00

We have homemade pizza just about every Saturday night all made just for us from scratch by Andrew. New Year's Eve was no different except for maybe the fancy drinks and candlelight :)

Lot's of toasting and drinking sparkling cider fun for all...

Happy New Year!

Looks like 2012 will be lots of fun for all!

All 4 on stage

2011-12-20T22:30:00.000-08:00

Our church had the 3 year olds - 3rd graders sing during the service last week. This means that all four of my kids were performing together on stage.

I'm not sure that will ever happen again so I tried to just sit back and enjoy it...
and I took some pictures...

and some video :)

the big kids sang some songs without the 3 year olds...

Here's Jill waiting for her turn on stage. She was so excited and the day didn't disappoint as she told me on our way home, "I really liked singing on stage."

And finally, there were many cute and funny moments but here's our favorite:

Jib Jab Christmas Video

2011-12-20T17:34:00.000-08:00

I love doing these silly JibJab videos...Jill wanted to watch it over and over again :) What I find interesting is that in watching this I realize just how much my kids really do look alike! Enjoy and Merry Christmas!!!
http://sendables.jibjab.com/view/BPIkRjl19qnKZC57BfGb

yummy Christmas yogurt!

2011-12-17T14:44:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again...time for 12 days of yuletide yumminess at Yogurtland!

Ok, so we only made it to one day but it was a great family outing.

Half the fun is in the making it yourself process...

And then of course, there's the best part - eating it!

Hope you're having a very merry yummy Christmas!

Beth's Gymnastics Videos

2011-12-16T00:48:00.000-08:00

Click on the links to watch Beth's gymnastic videos:

Beth on the high beam

Beth's 1st time on the higher uneven bars

Beth's floor routine (lots of walking on the balance beams and doing cartwheels)

Beth's backbend

Beth's Gymnastics Day

2011-12-14T23:43:00.000-08:00

Beth has been taking gymnastics all fall. Today was the final class and parents got to watch. I was so impressed with what she was doing...the pictures say it best:

She was flying!

She showed off her incredible poise.

And she smiled for the camera :)

She loves it!

Youtube video links coming up...

Beth's Three Ships

2011-12-07T00:21:00.000-08:00

I said years ago that I wanted each of our children to have a minimum of one year of either piano or violin, their choice. Jason chose piano and played last year. He liked it but wants to move on to other instruments (he's thinking trumpet but we'll make that decision next fall when he starts band). Beth chose violin.

I don't know anything about violin but I gave her a choice so I was stuck...fortunately, we found an amazing homeschool music program that is very affordable. After only a few months of lessons, they had a Christmas concert tonight. I love how the beginners only had to play a scale but with the advanced group accompanying them, it's a song...beautiful. Beth enjoyed herself and seems to really like the violin. She definitely likes that it's unique for our family and that she gets to be the first one to step into this new territory. I look forward to watching her talent grow. For now, here's my attempt to video from the back in a dark church but you can clearly see her playing thanks to my parent's Christmas present to me - my new camera :)

And to make the night even more special, Grandma drove down to watch Beth perform. Complete with chocolate cookie treats, it was a good night.

Oh, Christmas Tree...2011

2011-12-05T23:34:00.000-08:00

It's that time once again to pull out the tubs of decoration (all 11, yes, Andrew counted), to fluff the branches on our store-bought tree that has a few too many burnt out lights this year, and to turn on the air filter because of all the dust...yes, it's time for Christmas decorating and we LOVE it! We love putting the Christmas CD's on and dancing with our favorite snowman.

We love digging for our favorite ornaments and finding just the right spot on the tree.

We love traditions like putting the star on top of the tree. This is now a four year rotation, and they each know what year it will be their turn. Adam has been talking about it being his turn for months now. The moment did not let down...

A very proud boy

Success :)

We love the season of preparing for the Christ Child, for God's Son sent to save you and me!
How are we doing this? The Jesse Tree...see Isaiah 11:1

Every morning Beth or Jason reads from the Bible, we color a matching picture, and glue it onto pretty paper. These stories are showing us step by step from Creation until the Manger, how God has promised, prepared, and foretold the Greatest Christmas Gift of All!
More pics to come as we get more ornaments created but here's another with Adam putting a twist on our basic square ornaments by making a wraparound :)

Can't wait to see what other creations we encounter as we continue through this month.

Happy Advent!

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-03T19:26:00.000-08:00

Turkey Time! Bobby deep-fried our juicy turkeys and then carved them up, yummy!

Great Grandma Mae was the first one seated and waiting for the meal...isn't it a beautiful table!

There were many moments this Thanksgiving where I wish we had video...Grandma saying the prayer in Norwegian was the first. She surprised all of us but it was beautiful.
The second was Jill. After we had passed around all of the food, poured the drinks, and taken our seats, she yells out, "But all I got was ham!" Oops...I guess her parents forgot...

And then there was the impromptu Christmas sing-along. I love singing Christmas music and doing that with family is that much sweeter. I know some video was taken but did we capture the moment when Grandma walked in to join or when Andrew yelled out during Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire to correct "kids from one to 92" to 93 (Great Grandma Mae is 93 :) So much fun!

And then there were pies...enough pie for everyone to have an entire pie! So many yummy pies but where to begin! Me...I had pumpkin made by my talented cousin Sara and then a piece of Grandma's lemon meringue and then I took a bunch home and had pie for days :)

Interestingly enough, most of my children don't like pie. Knowing this I made sugar cookies for them to decorate. Here are the results:

Jill successfully turned this heart into a turkey

Adam had an actual turkey shape to decorate

Isn't it beautiful? Too good to eat...

Ok, maybe not...they were all gobbled up! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

One last thought...thank you to my parents for hosting this fabulous event.

It was a beautiful, relaxing day. Thank you!!!

November 30...a month of Thankfulness

2011-11-30T23:29:00.000-08:00

I'm thankful that no one is going to care that I didn't actually do my daily month of Thankfulness posts! I dropped the ball and posted nothing since November 1...oh well! We did have a great month focusing on being thankful and giving. We served by cleaning and decorating at church. We put together our Operation Christmas Child boxes. We focused on being extra giving to each other...it melts my heart when one of my children offers to do another one's chore. It was a good month...now on to Christmas, woo hoo!!!

Day One of What I'm thankful for...

2011-11-01T23:58:00.000-07:00

Today was not a perfect day. A field trip was rescheduled after we already arrived. Jill screamed in the library and had to be removed where she continued her fit outside. Our Azure order was delayed an hour and then incomplete. I came home and vented on my poor husband who didn't deserve it at all...Sounds like a perfect day to begin a daily "what I'm thankful for" blog.

Harvest Festival 2011

2011-11-01T23:14:00.000-07:00

Our church was hosting their 5th Annual Harvest Festival. We brought a Boba Fett...

a Supergirl...

a Blue Power Ranger...

and a Princess...

At the Harvest Festival there's bull riding...

face painting...

bounce house sliding...

and lots and lots of carnival games...

There were even a few adults in costumes...

And this caterpillar turned into a butterfly before the night was over!

Happy Fall!!!

Meeting Katie

2011-10-13T23:19:00.000-07:00

I began following a blog about a year ago on the suggestion of a friend.
http://www.kissesfromkatie.blogspot.com/
I was in such awe over this girl's amazing dedication to the work of Christ. She is living out her faith in Uganda in a way I can't imagine. I don't want to attempt to do her story justice so watch this...

I thought having read her blog and watched some of her YouTube videos that maybe I didn't need to go hear her speak last Monday night but I went anyway so that I could bring Jason and expose him to her world. I am so glad I went! There was something powerful in seeing her live and in person. She's real. She's a real girl, really living this life. It's easy to distance yourself from a video or blog but seeing her and watching her talk about stepping out in faith and enjoying the ride...well changes are a'coming cuz God wants more from us. We can do more. We will do more. And it's going to be great! Thank you, Katie for your glowing example to me!

...not only did we get to see her but she signed my book and took a photo with Jason. She is just so adorable!!!

Legoland's Beetle Bounce

2011-10-08T22:55:00.000-07:00

If you watch this video three different times, you can see three very different experiences...

1. Jason, the oldest, being goofy on what he considers a little kid ride.

2. Jill in shock over the experience and petrified...shouldn't have had her go on this one, oops!

3. Adam, the perfect age for this ride. His giggle is contagious! And can you hear it - My belly button tickles! Cracks me up every time :)

Our Nature Studies

2011-10-07T16:02:00.000-07:00

For science this year we are studying ecosystems. This goes with our geography theme. To go along with our studies, we're trying to get out into nature and observe actual ecosystems. We're finding most habitats we study, or at least something close, are not far from our home. And we're really enjoying this time of just getting into nature and walking around.

We also take some time to just sit.

I may read them a story, poem, or science lesson about where we are, and they draw a picture of something they see.

I have loved this part. I admit art is not my strong point. Not only do I have trouble drawing, but I have little desire. I don't want to pass this on to my children, especially the ones that are showing signs of really loving art! This is one way I can incorporate art into our week without having to come up with arts and crafts projects because to be honest, those rarely happen around here.
Even Jill enjoys getting her nature journal out and coloring.

Our first visit was a local park with streams and waterfalls...

We also visited the Upper Newport Bay to see Coastal Shrubs as an example of a Chaparral ecosystem...

We visited a local arboretum to see desert plants (I realize we have real deserts, large deserts, world famous deserts a mere car ride away but it was a busy week and we weren't driving 3 hours round-trip to see a cactus. We're saving the environment by saving gas :)

And our go-to nature walks when we have nothing specific to see are at the Environmental Nature Center in Newport Beach. We LOVE this place!

We hike. We find lizards. We hop over the creek.

We have a snack. We remember life in Georgia :)

Next we're heading to a conifer forest...more pics and drawings to come :)

Return to Swim Lessons

2011-10-06T22:09:00.000-07:00

It's fall...time to start swim lessons! We love our swim lessons.

They are cheap because as homeschoolers we can go during "off-hours."
They have great coaches that the kids love and a kiddie pool for non-swimmers to play in when it's not their lesson time. Do I sound like I'm selling it? I kind of am because we need to keep interest up so they'll keep offering these great lessons all year!

Actually the main reason we returned this year even though we already have a pretty full schedule is that Jill is old enough to participate! I'm so excited to get her swimming. She has too much confidence around water for her to not be water-safe! I was nervous how she'd do being not yet three with a new teacher in a small group setting...but she did really well. She did everything he told her...I was so impressed.
Check out her back float -

The two older kids are swimming on the "swim camp" side. As Beth puts it - we do laps the whole time!

She also commented - I felt like I was going to faint! It was quite a workout for them and I couldn't be happier :)

Daddy's Work

2011-10-06T00:23:00.000-07:00

Andrew's company just moved into a new office building, and we were invited to the Open House complete with a Korean lunch (Beth loved using chopsticks and actually seemed to get the hang of it!)

It was fun to see Daddy's cubicle and tour the office.

The kids were impressed with all of Daddy's toys. It seems he will never be bored at the office!

And now we can picture where he is all day (when he's in town!)

Post Office Field Trip

2011-10-05T23:11:00.000-07:00

Field Trip Report: we went to the post office processing center today. We saw all kinds of cool machines that make our mail move super fast round and round, up and down. It was amazing how fast everything moved and impressive that more of our mail doesn't come all squished up! Driving home Beth commented, "I didn't understand how that all makes the mail go where it's supposed to go." Yes, it is a complex business, Beth, but even though Jill was super worried, I do believe our letters will make it to Grandma and Grandpa's house...let us know if you get our letter, 6 were sent out today. The kids actually got to put them on the conveyor belt and watch the first stage of sorting.

I don't have pictures or cool videos of all our mail being sent off because you can't take pictures inside the processing center. I guess I might end up with an incriminating photo of a letter from someone written to someone they shouldn't be writing to...I do appreciate that they are protecting our privacy. But here's our group at the end of the tour:

**note the hats and coats and Devan sticking his new Post Office coloring book up his shirt...that is because it was POURING outside. Yes, we Californians got a little taste of fall today :) Jill asked to put on her rain jacket first thing this morning (she so rarely gets to wear it here in sunny So Cal :) She still has her pj's on underneath!

Beth's 3rd Tooth

2011-09-19T23:06:00.000-07:00

7 years old and she just lost her third tooth...you can see the new one behind it, oops!

Jason's thought of the day

2011-09-16T23:47:00.000-07:00

Jason's thoughts as he sat in my rocking chair tonight before going to bed:

Jason: I'm begging for the future
Me: What about the future are you looking forward to?
Jason: Mainly, easier forms of transportation and more exploration of the moon. And did you know that Mars is the fourth brightest thing in the sky after Saturn, Jupiter and the moon of course...

Oh, the conversations we have...He's an amazing blessing :)

Our summer

2011-09-16T23:26:00.000-07:00

Hello world! Someone has been asking when am I going to update my blog? Well...there's this problem...the longer you go not updating, the harder it is to do because there's more and more to say! Does that make sense? So I continue procrastinating even though I like having my online journal to help me remember the little things...it's my scrapbook because we know that actual scrapbooking is not happening for real here at home. So...why did I stop blogging in the first place - it was summer in southern California! I forgot what that can be like. As much as I enjoyed the seasons in Georgia and love all the people that we spent time with in June during our east coast vacation...nothing beats a southern California summer! We went to the beach,

the lagoon,

and the OC County Fair, woo hoo!

And then we went back to the lagoon,

again and again...

and back to the beach

again and again...

and again!

And when we were home

resting and recovering from all our time in the sun - that was my time to plan for school! I spent a good part of July and August reading through books, curriculum planning and book shopping (I'm keeping Amazon in business :) I love homeschooling every year I find myself doing more of my own planning and modifying...it takes work planning (fortunately it's the kind of work I love :)
So there you have it...our summer in a nutshell. I'll probably never finish blogging about our summer or our trip to NC (hopefully that month got enough posts already). I'm going to just pick up and start from today...and try to not think of myself as behind so that I'll be able to move forward!

Grandpa's Birthday

2011-07-19T22:55:00.000-07:00

While in North Carolina, we had the privilege of celebrating Grandpa Al's birthday! He had all 9 of his grandchildren present. It was a fun afternoon complete with grilled hot dogs,

cupcakes, personalized gifts,

bubbles,

handmade cards,

and lots of silliness...

with a dash of love...

Happy Birthday Grandpa!!!

Georgia

2011-06-28T19:29:00.000-07:00

Being only 6 hours away from our old home in Georgia and my sister and her 8 kids, we rented a car and drove south! The best part was meeting cousin #18 - baby Selah!

Jill especially enjoyed her new cousin. These two are going to be trouble when we can no longer keep them locked up :)

Can you tell we're all related ;)

We enjoyed time in the pool...

Playing video games together...meet the Mario Cousins:

Watching summer storms...

And just getting to be together...

What a bunch!

We also enjoyed visiting good friends that we've missed since we moved away last summer...

It was great that our friend Zeke didn't grow up at all since we last saw him...

Oh wait, this is his baby brother, Chi! Seriously, this was what I remember Zeke looking like, and it was kind of fun to pretend he didn't age :)

We also went to our old church and enjoyed many hugs and smiles. It felt like we had never left. They even sang Happy Birthday to both Beth and me...

It's great to have a place you can always go home to!

Baseball with the Longs

2011-06-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

We were thrilled that as we arrived in Raleigh,
Braden still had play-off games for us to enjoy!

And even better - his team won the championship!!!
Check out that score in the final inning:

Everyone had baseball fun cheering him on!

Congratulations, Braden!

We are all proud of you!

Myrtle Beach - Sunset

2011-06-25T20:54:00.000-07:00

The Big Boys

The Girls

The Little Boys

Adam wasn't cooperating (too sunny for this very tired boy!)

We finally gave up on Adam so I didn't get this fabulous shot of my crew but wow, what a picture of my gorgeous niece and nephews!

Happy Sunset!

Myrtle Beach - Part 2

2011-06-18T12:38:00.000-07:00

Our resort in Myrtle Beach

Our view from the 12th floor

When not on the beach, some hung out on the balcony longing to be back in the sand.

Other preferred the pools to the beach. The resort had multiple pools but the favorite attraction by far was the lazy river.

Adam wanted to be in the lazy river all day.

And it was perfect for Jill as it kept her cast out of the water but gave her the joy of being in the water.

And when it was time to take a break, there were plenty of cousins to cuddle...

A fabulous weekend that had it all!

Myrtle Beach

2011-06-17T14:15:00.000-07:00

We arrived safely in North Carolina and after only a day, we were on our way to a weekend in Myrtle Beach. My brother-in-law had a CLE class there so we tagged along.

7 Skelly Cousins enjoyed a weekend at the beach
(Can you see it? They're spelling Skelly :)

I was a little worried to go with Jill in a cast but she had a great weekend!

There was a lot of time for surfing the waves (no, these were not California waves but for our young bunch, that was a good thing!)

And thanks to a courageous Aunt Janice, even Jill got a chance to ride the waves!

There was also a lot of sand castle building,

(the finished product with our girls in the background)

hole digging,

and volcano creating with all the cousins.

And of course, plenty of time to just sit back, relax,

read a good book,

and just enjoy life!

What an amazing weekend and I haven't even told you about the pools...

That will have to come later cuz it's naptime on the beach...

Our Flight to North Carolina

2011-06-06T21:34:00.000-07:00

2 checked bags

9 carry-ons (we could have had 10 but I didn't want to overdo it :)

1 stroller

4 kids

1 Mom

1 cast on Jill's leg

2 planes for our journey

19 cousins waiting for us on the east coast!

Lowlight: saying goodbye to Daddy at the curb...going to be a great vacation but so wish he could share the experience with us!

Highlight: the kids giggling as we flew through the clouds during our landing in Minneapolis...and the surrounding passengers enjoying the reminder of the simple joys in life as Jason squealed, "We're in a cloud!"

Lowlight: realizing the DVD player was not as charged as I had thought.

Highlight: realizing Jill and Adam could be happy and entertained without a DVD player. We colored and played Go Fish and ate lots of snacks :)

Lowlight: eating McDonald's because I didn't take the time to pack lunches, ugh!

Highlight: a flight attendant whispering to me, "you really have great kids!"

Truly, it was an uneventful trip. I even had help and patience going through security! Really the credit goes to my wonderful kids. I am so thankful for their servant hearts and their patience and willingness to help each other. It was a great trip because they made it great. Flying solo with four kids...I would do it again...and I will be in 5 weeks! Here's praying it goes just as smoothly...

Happy 5th Birthday Adam!!!

2011-05-02T22:24:00.000-07:00

Here we are celebrating our last day being a nice and even family for tomorrow Adam will be 5!We went to dinner at Ruby's (Adam's choice). The Boys &

The Girls Adam wanted to go because he wanted ice cream. Well he got ice cream and then some! We ordered shakes for everyone AND THEN the Ruby's crew came over and sang Happy Birthday to Adam handing him this ice cream sundae! Yikes, that's a double dessert for the birthday boy!
Andrew and I put the kids to bed and began working on Adam's cake. He wanted a Mario Bros. cake. We decided to make cupcakes and to set up a scene from the game. It was a lot more challenging than we thought but we pulled off a few winning pieces, and the stuffed animals added a lot!Good Morning Birthday Boy! We had pancakes and sausage at Adam's request but he was too busy enjoying Bowser, the newest member of his stuffed animal family. All Adam wanted to do for his birthday is play Mario with his favorite friend Devan. So here is Adam with Devan playing Mario Bros. on the Wii. They had so much fun. We did manage to pull them away long enough to go swimming, and then they again took a break long enough to enjoy cake! Here Devan helps Adam blow out his sparkler candles.

Woo hoo! A new Mario shirt (the one Adam is wearing is a pajama shirt that he has adapted to a daytime tee!) Thank you Devan! Adam, you've grown in so many ways this past year that I can only begin to imagine what this year will bring. Love you, Adam!

Easter Party

2011-04-26T22:21:00.000-07:00

My dear friend Rebekah throws an amazing Easter party every year.
There are Easter baskets, or should I say - buckets :)an Easter Egg Hunt, (Jill was very determined to find every egg!)

(and Daddy did a good job hiding this one for Jason)

Coloring Eggs, Lots of Goofing Around,Cupcakes, and best of all friends!

Easter (Saturday)

2011-04-25T22:33:00.001-07:00

To celebrate Easter, we headed to Grandma & Grandpa's house...on a Saturday. It was an easier day than Sunday to get together and there was time to color eggs :)

We got to hang out with Grandpa,

Great Grandma Mae,Great Aunt Jane,

Aunt Edie,And Grandma (all decked out in her Easter headband :)

Jill wearing her Saturday best. She twirled all day!We got her all covered up and then time to color eggs! She is so good at dropping her eggs in the color and scooping it out - with the dipper! She even figured out how to dip in pink and blue to get a purple egg.Everyone had a great time coloring eggs.And we even dropped a few in boiling water with wrap-arounds (I love these :)It was such a nice relaxing day that people even slept :)

Happy Easter everyone!

Butterflies landing at the Natural History Museum

2011-04-24T23:16:00.001-07:00

It's spring. It's time for butterflies! We finished our day at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History with a visit to the Butterfly House. We watched them fly...and we watched them land. And we tried to follow the rules - no touching the butterflies...but that wasn't always easy. Adam stood there so patiently while this butterfly hung out on his shoe. The clouds came and the butterfly was waiting for the sun to return before it would fly away. A worker finally came and helped free Adam.Jason also had a butterfly land on him.
And as he was returning it to the plants, he shared with Beth. She giggled as it tickled her.
She then returned it safely to the bushes.
A butterfly even landed on Grandma!It was an amazing and beautiful visit with the butterflies.

Natural History Museum of LA

2011-04-21T23:37:00.001-07:00

Field trip with Grandma - she took us to the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. There was sooooo much to see that we're going to have to go back (good thing she got a membership :)
First up - dinosaur bones...the rest of the dinosaur exhibit is under renovation. We'll have to come back in a few months to see more.

Then there was an insect zoo. Jason and Adam enjoyed it. I was fine, too, until this insect...do you see it there? All of them! They are huge! I can't even look at the picture...
Beth on the other hand...is not a big fan of insects. She spent the time standing right outside the room :)There were many "stuffed" animals throughout the museum (Beth liked these a lot more than the insects!)
Beth also enjoyed the rocks and minerals exhibit and tried to take this large pink rock home. Adam helped but alas, it is still at the museum...
Jason enjoyed everything and was a bit frustrated that we wouldn't let him read everything!There was also an American History exhibit with early vehicles such as this fire engine. Adam, honestly not very interested in much all day, found that making faces seemed to make everything a bit more entertaining.And finally, our favorite souvenir at 51 cents :) **There was also a special butterfly exhibit...more on that to come**

Community Egg Hunt

2011-04-20T23:05:00.000-07:00

Our wonderful realtor's office hosted an Easter Egg Hunt last weekend. The "free pony ride" was enough incentive for us to drive over and check it out. It was totally worth it (it was all free so really, how could it not be worth it :)
We showed up just in time for the "egg hunt." There was no hunting. It was a "run in this roped off area where we have thrown a bunch of candy, trinkets, and bags of chips" activity. They did it in age groups. Jill and Adam were first... Adam didn't need an Easter basket :)Then it was Beth's turn. She watched as they set up the candy, and got her eye on a pink egg (there were multiple pink eggs but she knew which one she wanted!) She successfully got it! And finally, it was Jason's turn. Daddy gave him some pointers and then...ready...set....go! We went home with plenty of lollipops and jellybeans...Daddy threw all the tootsie rolls back into the grass (we've convinced the kids that tootsie rolls are not food, they are plastic!)

After the candy collecting, it was time for the bounce house obstacle course.

And then the pony rides! There's Jill...She loved it! By they way, the boys didn't ride. Jason's too big and Adam says, "Ponies aren't boyish." Who knew? And then there's Beth...Beth LOVES horses. She was sooooo happy. This made for a perfect day for her...

And finally, everyone got their face painted by the local high school cheerleaders. They did a great job!A very successful morning for these four works of art!

Bubblefest was a blast!

2011-04-19T00:19:00.001-07:00

It's time for Bubblefest XV at the Discovery Science Center! No pictures allowed during the super amazing, awe-inspiring, fabulous show but I did take this one at the end...the joy of all these children squealing and jumping around in this storm of bubbles was beautiful. There is a simplicity about bubbles that can make anyone jump up and act like a child.

After the show we were able to play and make our own bubbles. Mrs. Harris helped Jill blow bubbles. And Adam, Beth & Jason figured it out and were happily making bubbles on their plates. They also figured out how to make their fingers soapy and then stick their fingers safely into their bubbles.

Then they could make BIG bubbles outside.Beth learned from the show...here she is putting her hand through a bubble... And making two bubbles at once! I think she could do her own show!
She even figured out to use her hands as bubble wands (this would have been more impressive as a video but those 2 bigger bubbles, one on each hand, were blown by her gently blowing through her soapy fingers.)Jill enjoyed the bubbles but got a bit overwhelmed as she became covered in them! (and Adam is off playing with the dinosaurs. I guess he had had enough bubbles for one day :)All in all, I think friends and bubbles make for a pretty good Monday :)

Jill at 2 1/2

2011-04-17T00:28:00.000-07:00

Can't believe my baby is 2 1/2 years old! Her favorite phrase this month is "I do it!" She is very independent :)

She is finally and officially potty trained (the delay was mommy dragging her feet, not Jill. She's been trying since September!) Purple is her favorite color. She loves the pool !She still loves Elmo and would wear her Cookie shirt everyday if I would let her (good thing she actually has 2...yea for hand-me-downs!) She loves the swings (good thing she has siblings to push her so she gets a very long turn!)She loves her baby dolls and her dollhouse is her favorite toy. The dentist said she was the best 2 year old patient she had ever seen!She still has a paci...and honestly, I may have a harder time giving that up than she will, because when the paci goes in the mouth she snuggles better than any snuggler I know (but watch out because she'll grab an ear whenever she can!)

Halfway to three...wow, girl, you are growing up but you'll always be my baby!

Jill's at home photo shoot

2011-04-16T23:58:00.000-07:00

Jill does not do well at photo studios. She has a problem with strangers and will not cooperate. I've tried. I'm done. So here is our amateur, at-home 2 1/2 year old photo shoot. I actually didn't plan this but everything was in place. I found my battery charger so I had a good camera again. And Jill had pool hair. I don't know what it is but the curls that are normally uncontrollable frizz are beautiful after the pool or rain. Now I just need to pick my favorite to frame :)

Princess Beth's Amazing Day!

2011-04-14T21:59:00.000-07:00

Today Beth had her last swim lesson (of this session). There was a test to pass to move on to the next level. Beth had to swim the length of the pool with no assistance and then swim the length of the pool backstroke. She has never done this! The only time she has made it across the pool has been with a kickboard. Ok, generally this is not a big deal. Children taking lessons should get to this point. But we must remember - this girl would not put her face in the water last summer and cried when she was splashed! At her first lesson last fall, the coach had to pry her off the steps, and then she cried the entire drive home because she couldn't believe they made her go in the water. She kept asking, "why can't I learn to swim with my face out of the water?" Fast forward...she got over it. She figured it out. This success was huge and made our Top 10 Events of 2010 list. And today, as she swam her last few backstrokes to the wall, this proud momma was tearing up. Here she is receiving her official, "you passed high-5" from her coach. And here she is swimming freestyle across the pool. I know she needs a lot of work but she did it!

And then...as if that wasn't enough excitement for one day...Andrew took Jason and Beth to his work dinner "team building" evening at Medieval Times. Wouldn't you know it, their knight chose Beth to be the "Queen of Love and Beauty" handing her the royal sash, which she proudly wore the rest of the evening. (I have better pictures taken by their photographers, which a proud Daddy bought for his princess, but my scanner software is having issues...someday!) What an incredible end to a fabulous day!

A Cold Spring Day Swim

2011-04-10T23:12:00.001-07:00

Spring drives me crazy with its ups and downs in temps. Last Tuesday, it was in the 70s and the pool was a warm 80 so we went swimming. This Saturday, Andrew asks if the kids will go swimming with him. It is now barely 60 degrees outside and the pool is...well you can see the thermometer - it's just over 70. This is bearable, yes, and better than the 65 degrees they swam in back in January, but for me...well, I did not even put a suit on. I just brought a camera :) Jason was very proud that he jumped in and swam across the cold pool...

He actually did it again and again...he's working on his dive :) Jason loves water, loves the pool, loves swimming...doesn't matter the temperature!Adam was a bit shocked by the temperature. They are currently taking lessons once a week and that pool is over 80 degrees. I don't think Adam knew what he was jumping into!

It wasn't horribly cold so the shock wore off quickly and he had fun...

Jill on the other hand, knew to avoid the cold pool...

She enjoyed the hot tub instead...

Beth tried to swim in the cold pool but decided it was just too cold...

So she, too, enjoyed a dip in the hot tub

It was a short visit but with two visits to the pool this week, it was a taste of what's coming! We love summer around here!!!

She has hair Part II

2011-03-31T22:06:00.001-07:00

I've already put up this post back in January but I have more pictures that I just have to post. I stopped putting pig tails in Jill's hair because she pulls them out and loses them, and this is just a battle I have chosen not to fight! But as I did Beth's hair one morning for gymnastics recently, Jill asked for her hair to be done. I did it.

And they stayed in through the class and library visit. Then we went to run errands and the rubber bands came out...

Oh well...she now has her own pig-tail created style.

I had to take a picture of the top/back of her head. I just can't get over how flat the middle is and how flared the sides are...it's pretty incredible :)

Beth taking pictures in the car...

2011-03-23T17:43:00.000-07:00

One of the many reasons I love digital cameras is that I can allow my kids to just take photos and more photos and any photos...and every once in awhile I get a gem :)

Sisterly Love

Self-portrait

Close-upOver-the-shoulder brother shot #1

...and brother #2 (not clear but couldn't leave him out :)

Model Train Rides

2011-03-22T23:15:00.000-07:00

Every third weekend in Costa Mesa, the model train engineers provide free rides for the community. This service is in exchange for them being able to use city land to lay their tracks and play with their trains. If you're in the area on a third weekend, I suggest taking a ride!

This family picture may not show it but we all had a blast! Adam asked if we could stay all day and just ride again and again. Can't ask for more than that from a free activity!

The two trains we rode. The second maroon one is a working steam engine, super cool!

A beautiful day for a train ride!

And for fun...here we are riding the trains almost 3 years ago...we're all there (Jill is 3 months in utero :)

Hide 'n Go Seek

2011-03-20T21:45:00.000-07:00

You may have had to be there to understand the humor and adorableness of it all but I had to write about it so I could remember. Beth and Adam were playing hide 'n seek the other day with their stuffed animals. Now we've hidden toys before and tried to find them but they are actually "talking" the animals and the animals themselves are doing the seeking. They had one animal hide (the tiger Beth is holding) and the other seek (Luigi that Adam is holding.) So Adam knows where tiger is but Luigi does not. Will he find him? You'll be glad to know, he did find him after only a few minutes of searching. Luigi is good at this game even though Tiger is a pretty good hider :)
I could watch them play all day. Hilarious.

Because it's not too crowded enough around here...

2011-03-07T00:04:00.001-08:00

What does a condo with four children need? Less stuff! But no, this week we've added more and it's all big! First, Daddy decided a tent would be fun and it was...he put one in the girl's room right on Beth's bed and one in the boy's room, on the floor. The next night, everyone wanted to sleep in them again and then the next night and the next...I see no end in sight! Especially when he put Jill's crib mattress in a small tent so she can sleep comfortably "in" her tent. The boy's room has no room to play but they play in the tent and the girl's have incorporated the tents and their beds so they're not actually giving up any free space although to me, it feels a bit crowded upstairs! So what did I do to help with the crowding, you ask...I bought a ball pit for Jill!

We've had balls since we lived in Georgia and even bought a Buzz Lightyear blow up spaceship for Christmas to use as a ball pit but it had a hole so when I saw this pool on clearance at Toys R Us (I was supposed to be only sizing a bike for Adam but it jumped off the shelf!) I couldn't resist. So now our downstairs living area that is seriously not much bigger than this pool, is crowded and constantly has balls rolling around. I am crazy but they are smiling and it's only for a season, right? And they won't be sleeping in tents forever, right?

Jill, Bat, Ball

2011-03-02T21:20:00.001-08:00

After lunch today, Jill came to me with a bat and ball (not a baseball, a big red handball) and asked to go outside. This is usually naptime but ok, let's go. She had a blast hitting the ball and chasing it. I wanted to get her running full speed on video as it is a sight to see. She really gets her arms into it and makes it look exhausting! I didn't really get the running I was looking for but I caught plenty of amusing moments that I must share...
First the basic bat and ball play (be sure to catch the jeering , "ha, ha!")

And the "it's hard being the youngest clip"

And finally, she switches to basketball (love the signature, "yep" right at the end)

You'd think after all this play she'd be exhausted, but alas, there was no nap today. Ahhh...toddlers.

Jill counts

2011-02-25T23:57:00.000-08:00

I knew she could say, "one, two, three," but when Jill and Adam were playing hide 'n seek the other day I was shocked to hear her count to 14 all on her own. What? How did she learn that? It's amazing what children learn from the siblings. Elmo probably deserves some credit, too, as she loves playing Elmo games on the computer. What was even more impressive is that I got it on video! Jill is not one to perform when asked, and I had to be patient as the first 20 seconds are nearly silent....she's actually whispering...but when I told her, "louder," I was so happy that she started over and counted to 13 loud and clear. I will treasure those 20 seconds of video as I'm sure she won't have this toddler voice for long...

Skirball Museum and Cultural Center

2011-02-15T20:25:00.000-08:00

In case you live or will be in the area, we visited the Skirball Museum and Cultural Center last week and had a great time. Best of all - it's free on Thursdays! But you have to make your reservations in advance as the free time slots fill up fast. Ok, enough advertising, let's see some pictures and video! The exhibit is very hands-on. It starts with a storm, which you have to experience to understand so here's a video. Turn your volume down as some child (not mine) is whining in the background...

Once you begin the storm, you load the animals on the ark. The kids load the animals on a conveyor belt two by two.Or you can just ride the animals two by two :)Some animals need help moving. Here Jason moves thus moving the tall giraffe. Then it's time to get on the ark! Jill went right on climbing up and up and then...she got scared!So I got to climb up and rescue her. I was very relieved that I fit through some of those tight corners. And Grandma made it all better.Then it's time to feed and care for the animals.That includes cleaning up after them.One of my favorite moments was when I handed Adam this rubber animal dropping and he just stared at it and then handed it back saying, "No, thank you," as he walked away. He cracks me up.Taking care of all these animals may even include alligator wrestling!But in the end the dove brings back the olive branch, woo hoo!Time to celebrate. Jason was put in charge of gathering everyone, walking through the exhibit and inviting everyone to a musical celebration.Everyone got to play an instrument along with the leader drums. They played different rhythms as they echoed the lead drum. I was impressed with our little group.

The Grandmas participated playing the drums.The exhibit ends with a craft. It was a great collection of fabric scraps, double sided tape stickers and squares of burlap. Let the creativity begin (actually they had so much fun that most of them went home with a bag of scraps to continue their work!)Of course, the last part of the exhibit is a mist wall of rainbows. We went home with some very wet children!

Big Fun in Big Bear

2011-02-09T23:26:00.001-08:00

Missing snow, we took the opportunity to spend a weekend in Big Bear on the lake. We stayed at Midoriland, the retreat house I've been going to since I was in Jr. High. It's so fun to go back and visit and see that nothing's changed except the amount of snow each year.Unfortunately, there wasn't much snow this year but we managed to find enough for a few snowball fights. And we drove around and found a few small sledding hills.Jill loved sledding with Daddy.Adam, too.And when waiting for your turn takes to long, just slide down on your pants. When snow has been sitting around a few weeks in warmer weather, it gets nice and slick.We found a small patch of ice that was perfect for slip-sliding around. Even Daddy got to enjoy some rides on the ice.Some snow was eaten...And lots of snow was thrown! Jill thought this was great fun and was often found carrying around a snowball waiting for the right moment to throw it!We met up with our friends, the Harris family, and they took us to their much bigger sledding hill. It was a great conclusion to a great weekend.

Check out Andrew and his amazing sledding skills...

So as the sun sets on another great trip to the snow...

and Beth gets to experience what it's like to be pink, we say good night...until next winter.

She has hair!

2011-01-29T13:25:00.000-08:00

We were getting excited when last fall we realized Jill had enough hair for one little pony on the top of her head...And now look, she has enough hair for TWO pigtails! It's very exciting. She is very proud and often asks me to do her hair.

Unfortunately, she usually just takes them right back out until this week...she left her pigtails in for a few hours and then took them out. This left her with quite the 'do...

Flock of Seagulls or Whoville resident? You decide...

Battle of the Coconut Tree

2011-01-27T21:51:00.000-08:00

During Jason's piano lessons, we usually take a walk through the teacher's neighborhood. Last week Beth and Adam prepared for the walk before we left our house, bringing friends of the stuffed kind and weapons of plastic. We turned the corner and they were off...What could possibly make them plan, prepare, and conquer, you ask...Coconut Trees (ok, they're really not coconut trees but that's what they call them and I'm playing along.) After we passed through the battlefield, I asked Beth why they were fighting coconut trees. She proceeds to tell me that they drop coconuts on your head and that really hurts. Ok, fair enough.
I then ask her, "Have they ever dropped a coconut on your head?" I wasn't sure how far this imagination game had gone between her and Adam.
She answered, "No because we usually run through (I am aware that most weeks they run yelling on this part of the walk) but this week we decided to fight!"
I can't say I totally understand their world but I love it, love that I get a glimpse of it daily, and love that next week they want to bring Jason to see the coconut trees.

Tall good, tall bad...

2011-01-25T23:57:00.000-08:00

Turns out that Jason, at 55 inches, is too tall to play. This is bad. I confess, I still let him play. Actually, I told Jason that he was not allowed to play but he could supervise his baby sister in the tubes as a favor to me :)However, being 55 inches at Legoland is a very, very good thing. He was able to ride everything and could even ride by himself (very helpful to this mommy that had other children that could not ride by themselves).I'm happy to realize that although children grow fast, chances are they're growing into another fun stage, and I'm going to enjoy every one. Can you hear me trying to accept that I now have an 8 year old that is going to be as tall as me anyday?

Our Ornaments

2011-01-06T20:56:00.001-08:00

Looking at our Christmas tree and preparing to pack it up after another wonderful Christmas season, I decided to take a minute and photograph some of my favorite ornaments. We have ornaments we've bought on vacation, ornaments that were gifts, and then the annual ornaments I buy the children.
These are ornaments I've bought for Andrew. Top is the Eagle Scout S'more and below is the Construction S'more bought the year he built the boy's bunkbed.This is my oldest ornament. It's dated '77 on the back. It may be broken but I love this ornament, and it makes me smile every year.Most of Jason's ornaments are trees. We call this one his penguin tree. We were on the hunt for a tree ornament when he found this one and liked it. I decided it qualified as a tree because it's a penguin being a tree.Beth has adopted many of my Disney ornaments as her own. She's always loved the princesses and why not, she is a princess.This is Adam's favorite ornament. Such a favorite that it's been broken...multiple times! You can see the bent ski pole, and if you look closely you'll notice the other pole is missing. There's also an ear missing but he still loves it and talked about finding it as soon as we brought the Christmas boxes out.

I didn't get a great picture of this one but it's our honeymoon bulb, hand painted in Maui.

This ornament was bought for our first Christmas in Georgia, which was also our first Christmas with Jill.

This is our newest ornament won at a Christmas party this year. It looks beautiful on our tree.Every tree needs a little protection from my man Han Solo :)And this is not on our tree but may be my favorite ornament ever!

And yes, there's not really an ornament for Jill. There just isn't one that screams her, yet. I'm sure it will come soon enough...

Our Top Ten for 2010

2010-12-31T15:20:00.000-08:00

Here it is again...It's New Year's, time to remember the last year, the good, the bad, and the other stuff! (Here's a look at last New Year's post where you can tell I had no clue what 2010 had in store for us!)
1. This is a no-brainer - we moved across the country! Goodbye to Georgia, our home for two years,and hello to California. We now live 2 miles from where we moved from two years ago! We miss friends in Georgia and our family in the South but we've enjoyed reconnecting with old friends and having quality time with the family we do have here in California.
2. Andrew got a new job, a job he is really happy about, with Samsung Electro-Mechanics (and yes, he does get an employee discount, and yes, it extends to friends and family.) This new job has already included two trips to Korea, as well as travel all over the United States. Fortunately, when he's in town, he's only a few miles away and even makes it home for lunch on occasion.
3. Andrew and I were apart for the longest time since the day we met. Andrew's hiring was rather sudden so the rest of the family stayed behind to pack up the house and then to sell the house while Andrew moved to California and began his job. He lived with friends (thank you Harris family and Hobbs family!) His new boss was kind and found a reason to fly him to Georgia right around the 4th of July weekend so after 5 weeks apart (5 weeks that included Jocelyn and Beth's birthdays!), we were able to spend a long weekend together. We then had to wait three more weeks before finally driving across the country together and moving into our new condo as a family.
4. I did not want to live alone in a house with four children and a dog while trying to sell it so I depended on the kindness of family and lived in North Carolina with both my sister and Andrew's sister. This was great for the kids. They had so much quality time with cousins. It was a horribly hot summer but they managed to entertain each other, and amazingly when we left both houses were still standing. It really was crazy at times but I feel truly blessed to have had that experience with both the Burns' family and the Longs' family. Thank you for having us! Oh, and did I mention we brought a dog with us...and left her there? Yep, the Burns' family adopted Cocoa. We miss her, miss having a pet, but are thrilled that we'll get to visit her!
5. Swim lessons this fall mean I have only one non-swimmer now, woo hoo! We will continue lessons this spring to build endurance and confidence but watching Beth finally face her fear and conquer the water was a beautiful thing to experience, a major highlight for my year.

(She's much better than this video but this was shot the day she first did it!) There were other extracurricular lessons. Beth and Adam started gymnastics, and Jason started piano lessons. They have all been quite successful and are continuing in January! I truly look forward to seeing them each advance in these skills.
6. I don't want to remember but it was part of our year...I grabbed a swinging door and broke my ring finger last January. I'm still in the process of healing (hoping 2011 and a new doctor will help) and still have cut wedding and engagement rings waiting in a safe place to be returned to my finger. Enough of that memory, on to more fun...
7. Snow! We got snow in Georgia multiple times and even enjoyed a week in Virginia with cousins during a huge snowstorm. There was so much snow fun last winter!
8. We have a new baby niece - Selah Grace Elonen. Her coming arrival made leaving Georgia extra hard, and we can't wait to meet her next year! Fortunately for me, she's small so hopefully I can cuddle her at a year and pretend that she's still a newborn :)
...Speaking of babies, I have to add a side note just for me - a top ten event would be the witness of my friend, Stefanie's, home birth. I feel so privileged to have shared in the experience of welcoming Malachi into the world! Thank you, Stefanie!
9. We said goodbye to our Georgia church family, and that was hard, but we also got to say hello again to our California church family. It's amusing being the new people at a church we've attended for 10 years (minus the last two :) but God is good and takes care of us wherever we are!
10. Our last top ten event isn't really a new event but I need to remember the importance of it. We have homeschooled for another year and are going strong! (picture is our first day of school)I now have two readers and am watching Adam begin to understand letters and how they form words. I've learned American history right along side my children. Jason's reading is so out of hand that we may start taking books away from him! We've been on field trips to rock quarries, state parks, Sea World, zoos, state capital buildings, and more. I feel so blessed that I have the freedom to teach my children and to experience all of these amazing learning moments with them. I look forward to many years of new moments and adventures.
So what will 2011 bring? We're hoping for a trip to North Carolina to meet a new baby Long (due early June). We will start considering what to do regarding our housing (to buy or not to buy, that is the question). But otherwise, I'm looking forward to many board games, good books, fun field trips, time at the pool, learning moments, and lots of giggles.Happy New Year from the Skellys in California!

Gymanstics for Adam & Beth

2010-12-23T00:46:00.001-08:00

Adam and Beth both took gymnastics for the first time this fall. Their last class was an observation class for the parents so we could see how far they've come. I was proud of both our acrobats. Adam was hesitant at the beginning of the season as he was the only boy in the class but as he progressed, he really began to enjoy it. (He's in the back row, orange arms :)Adam learned to skip and became a very coordinated jumper. I loved watching him on the balance beam as he looked straight ahead with such seriousness.His monkey hang on the uneven bars was also very impressive (but my phone battery died...)
As for Beth, everything was very impressive (although she's frustrated that she doesn't quite have a cartwheel, yet). For starters, she could not do this her first week but look at her now! She does a beautiful bridge (back row in black) and handstand, and she's very poised on the balance beam.

My camera battery ran out so I didn't get video of her getting onto the high balance beam and then walking that with no teacher assistance (the only one in her class, and yes, I'm bragging with no video to back me up but it's all true!)
They both loved the class and will be taking it again starting in January. Adam's excited that he'll be in an all boy's class, and Beth's determined to get that cartwheel so she can move up to the next level!

...and then there's Jill who was copying much of what she saw. We'll see if Mommy lets her join the fun in a year or two...

Bowling

2010-12-20T22:09:00.001-08:00

We recently went to a birthday party at a bowling alley. It had been years since we'd been bowling. What a mistake because we had a blast! Andrew played in a game with bumpers right next to the kids... The kids were so into the game and improving their "technique." Here daddy works with Adam on getting more power into his throw (the lanes told you your ball speed so you could really work to improve the speed.) Even Jill surprised us and insisted on having a turn to bowl. It was a lot of fun and we're seriously considering it for Jason's birthday next month so shine up those bowling shoes!

Here's the birthday boy blowing out his candles.His mom made super yummy cupcakes. We also enjoyed pizza (isn't it nice how they are all sharing with each other...this was actually Andrew's way of trying to keep their really dirty hands off the pizza and the greasy pizza off the balls.)

The Drawbridge has Collapsed!

2010-12-11T21:36:00.001-08:00

...in other words - Beth finally lost her tooth! Her first tooth. It's super exciting. She was soooo proud! You can't really tell in this photo because the new tooth has already grown in right behind it so how about this face:So what's the drawbridge? Her tooth could stick straight out as she completely bit down (it's been loose for awhile!) Do you see it there on the bottom?This is a little better view...

Everyone she showed wanted to pull it out for her! I just can't believe it hung on like this for nearly a week! How many more teeth do we get to lose?

Oh, Christmas Tree

2010-12-04T21:28:00.000-08:00

Day after Thanksgiving...time to setup and decorate our Christmas tree!Step 1: hide behind the tree while Daddy puts it together.Step 2: take a break under the tree skirt.

Step 3: hitch a ride on Daddy's back... so that you can put the treasured star on top of the tree. With four kids in the family, it's many years before you get another turn at such an honor so Beth was sure to enjoy every second of the moment.

In addition to getting our tree all decorated, on December 1 we started our 24 day Advent Countdown to Christmas! We only bought one so the kids are taking turns opening a door and getting the treasured chocolate piece. It's fun having something so special to look forward to everyday. I'm just hoping to keep Jesus in our Christmas countdown as well as the chocolate. This is all to remember His birthday after all!

Daddy's Orange Girl

2010-11-30T21:47:00.001-08:00

Jill has definitely become a Daddy's Girl these past few months. Her favorite thing to do is pick out her orange shirt and Daddy's orange shirt so they can be matching. She's always so proud when they wear their "matching" outfits. Thank you, Daddy for playing along so well!

Adam writes...

2010-11-22T23:23:00.000-08:00

Today Jason and Beth summarized our recent lessons for a notebook page. I wrote their summary on the whiteboard for them to then copy. While doing this, Adam was drawing on his whiteboard, a common activity for him. He usually draws pictures or practices his letters or writes his name. I honestly wasn't paying much attention to him as he worked until he was two lines in and I realized he wasn't writing random letters or doodling. He was doing the same thing as Jason and Beth. He was copying the Revolutionary War summary. I was shocked, impressed, and proud. And little does he know, but he just showed me a little of what he's truly capable of, hee, hee, hee...

What he's written: The Colonists thought the British were unfair. They wro...and then he ran out of room (in case you're wondering, They wrote the Declaration of Independence, fought the Revolutionary War, and won!) I do find it somewhat amusing that he doesn't write left to right but rather zig zag - left to right on line one, right to left on line 2 (the T and S are reversed) and left to right on line three and right to left on line four ending in the U of unfair which continues on the next line. He's adorable and I can't wait to see what he does next!

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

2010-11-20T20:46:00.000-08:00

I've been fighting it since Halloween. We do not celebrate Christmas until after Thanksgiving. But today, we went to the mall and discovered Christmas cannot be avoided. Santa is already there! Why fight it...we just embraced it and rode the reindeer.

We even watched the carolers and clapped along...Merry Christmas!

Adding our John Hancocks

2010-11-18T20:02:00.000-08:00

I am loving our study of American History. I'm learning right alongside my 1st and 2nd graders. We just read and read and read some more. It's been so much fun! Today we made blueberry ink and signed a copy of the Declaration of Independence.

Where are the adults?

2010-11-17T23:03:00.000-08:00

I traveled an hour and a half north today to visit my cousin who was in town. This was a last minute trip but I hadn't seen her in over two years, and we don't know when it will happen again so I made the drive with the kids. It was a great evening just chatting, catching up, and being with family. You'd think I'd come back with a picture of us together or at least of her...nope.

I took pictures of the kids but there are no adults in my photos except this great one of Great Grandma Mae chatting with Jill. Next time, Amy!!!

The Cheesy Head Tilt Pose

2010-11-16T23:24:00.000-08:00

Jill is obsessed with this tilt the head, cheesy grin pose! It was cute at first...but it's just not coming across on camera as much as it does in person (it's actually very adorable to watch her tilt her head and say cheese!) See for yourself...

I'm hoping we can get her to move on to something else very soon!

Our Piano

2010-11-10T21:28:00.000-08:00

We recently acquired a free piano. I am soooo grateful. We had a large electronic keyboard that was great but a key recently broke off (we have four kids, who knows what happened?) but I really wanted to teach our children how to play the piano. To the rescue - my mom finds out about a free piano, woo hoo! Best part is that my amazing husband gave up a Saturday morning to drive an hour north. He organized friends to help, and then used his amazing strength to move our piano and get it safely to it's new home. Thank you, Andrew!
I have already taken Jason to his first lesson. He's practicing regularly and doing great. And Beth then takes her turn all on her own and copies everything he has done. I guess I should begin her official lessons, too. Even Jill loves to play. This picture was taken after she took the book out of the bench, set it up, climbed onto the bench, and began playing. She's ready, and if you've seen her super long fingers, you'll know how happy we are that she's eager to begin playing, too.

Free to be you and me...

2010-11-06T22:31:00.000-07:00

We were listening to "Free To Be You and Me," and Jason asked me to explain the song. For those who don't know the song the part that confused him goes like this: Take my hand, come with me where the children are free...He wanted to know where they are going, what land is this. I started explaining that it's not a specific place but more a way of thinking. They are trying to encourage children to be free to be whatever they want to be. Jason then says, "but we live in a free country!" I then tried to explain that even though we are free, people may think it's wrong, or strange if you wanted to be a ballet dancer or if Beth wanted to be a firefighter but that's not wrong or strange and we should be free to be what we want to be, and that is why people write songs like this. I told them to follow their dreams. Adam then pipes in, "like me! I had a dream last week that I wanted to be Buzz Lightyear and then for Halloween, I was!" Yes, Adam, you were, and I pray you will always be free to follow your dreams!

Our 2 year old...

2010-11-04T20:29:00.000-07:00

I was singing a silly made-up song to Jill, "you're my baby, baby girl..." and she says, "No, I 2!" So that's it, she's no longer a baby, she's 2.Many call this the "terrible twos!" (This is Jill refusing to take photos on her birthday. I gave up and fortunately that night after dinner she was more than happy to smile. See top photo.)Me, I love this age. It has it's challenges but it is so much fun! Every day she discovers something new, says a new word, or surprises us with how much she understands. We went to Sea World yesterday. That night when Andrew got home, Jill ran up to him and said, "ale, ale." One of her siblings interpreted for us - whale! She was telling Andrew about Sea World. I was impressed because we had been home for over 2 hours. Jill is not a big talker. She wasn't saying much at all at 18 months, and although she has tons of words now, she uses them sparingly. But if you spend some time with her, you will soon realize she communicates very well and understands everything you are saying...even when you don't want her to. For example, I can ask Andrew if we should do cookies for dessert and she'll run over to the pantry, open the door, get out the stool and start looking for cookies!

Her current favorite things include Elmo, baby dolls, coloring with markers, and her pacifiers (aka papi).

She uses her pacifiers for downtime if she's tired, needs a cuddle, or when she's mad. She's been known to put herself in a sort of timeout just her and her paci.It's time to accept that Jill is growing up. She can climb onto this equipment with absolutely no help...and get back down. (That really freaked me out!) She sleeps in a big girl bed (although it is with her sister, which was both their choice).

And she's becoming the beautiful, creative, intelligent, amazing girl God created her to be!

Love you, Jillian!

Harvest Fair

2010-11-01T22:18:00.000-07:00

We had a blast at this year's Harvest Fair. The kids loved dressing up and fortunately chose mostly from costumes we already owned! Jason chose his clone trooper costume to match with Andrew's Chewbacca shirt. I did buy shirts for Andrew and I since it's been years since we've dressed up although Andrew ended up being everyone by the end of the night... Beth wanted to be Pocahontas last year. We bought the material and then realized that not only do neither Andrew nor I really know how to sew, but the machine we recently had been given wasn't working. We ended up borrowing a costume from a friend so she was Pocahontas. But this year she wanted us to make the costume we were supposed to make last year. Well, the sewing machine is at Grandma's being fixed (turns out it just needed a good tune-up, and we'll all be learning how to use it very soon) but we can't let her down two years in a row so Andrew got out the hot glue gun. I cut, he glued and wow, we did it! For Adam, I was really rooting for a fourth year of Nemo, and he was all for it until we found the Buzz Lightyear costume I bought some months back. He not only wanted to be Buzz for the Harvest Fair but he slept in Buzz Saturday night and wore it to church! At least he had Nemo face painted on him :) And then there's Jill...she has a few hand-me-down costumes to choose from but it took her no time at all to pick, "mooooo." She was very excited to be a cow. She was not as excited to meet a cow (that's our pastor in there). In fact, in the great jousting battle between cow and chicken, she was rooting 100% for the chicken! In Conclusion, whether we were getting a hole in 6, jousting with dad, riding the swings, screaming on the pirate ship with friends, or bouncing down the bounce house slide, we had a fabulous night! (And here we are all sugared up and exhausted! Good Night!)

Jill Wears Shoes

2010-10-22T21:27:00.000-07:00

Sorting through pictures recently, I realized I have a lot of pictures of Jill wearing other people's shoes. I know this is common toddler practice but I just had to gather them all and laugh...

Sometimes she even has a partner in shoe stealing...

Pumpkin's are coming!

2010-10-21T17:42:00.000-07:00

Just when we were getting used to the regular swims and constant sunshine...fall arrived! It's been gray and rainy for days here in sunny Southern California. And I was worried we would miss the change of seasons! We've even been to a pumpkin patch (ok, it was in the grocery store parking lot but the kids loved it!)

Peek-a-boo!

They even got a ride on the merry-go-round (it cost me an entire quarter!)

Our princess appropriately rode side saddle.We didn't buy this pumpkin but will hopefully go to a real pumpkin patch and pick our own pumpkins soon!

Happy Fall everyone!

July in North Carolina

2010-10-18T20:27:00.000-07:00

Now I'm back-tracking even further! I did some summer catch-up blogging that covered most of June but I never got around to reporting all that happened in July, oh my! So here's a quick look...We spent most of July living with our cousins in North Carolina, both the Burns (with bonus visits from the Virginia Skellys) and the Longs.In case you haven't heard, this summer in the southeast was hot! It's always hot but this one was particularly hot! So what do you do with all these kids in the heat? Well, here's what we did - Play video games...And then use said video games to illuminate a card game during a storm-caused power outage...Wrestle Uncle Alan...Go to the mall and pretend to ride the kiddie rides...Try on your cousin's clothes...Lounge around with family...Play dress-up...Did I mention play video games (that happened A LOT)...Eat popsicles...And on the rare days that it was tolerable...hit the pool!Or if you're a Georgia Peach like our Jill, you sit on the porch in the overwhelming humidity and enjoy an afternoon storm.

We also went to some museums...I'll post those stories next.

Our first days back in California

2010-10-16T20:52:00.000-07:00

I'm back-tracking...it's August, we just drove across the country and now we're moving into our new rented condo. First day here in our new home and what did we do... We really, really needed to unpack but our friend Dawn was here with us until Saturday (it's Thursday morning). Remember, she drove across country with us, and we could not have done it without her! Well, she hadn't been to California since she was a kid. I had to show her around so unpacking could wait! First, we went to the beach so we could show her the Pacific Ocean. It was actually a pretty cool and cloudy day for August but the kids were so excited to be at the beach that it didn't matter!That evening we had dinner with good friends (remember, we still haven't unpacked our disaster of a home) and walked around Newport Dunes. There's Dawn and Jill...Well ok, we didn't walk. We rode a golf cart...Jill's a good driver :)We then sent the kids home with Andrew, and I took Dawn to Fashion Island so we could go shopping Newport Beach style :) She found some cute clothes for her daughter, and I got nostalgic looking at all the familiar stores and fountains.

On Friday, we took her to Wahoo's for fish tacos (good California eats!) and then Downtown Disney so she could see Disneyland and do some necessary shopping. As much as I was eager to unpack, these two days were great. The kids got to see some favorite spots and get out of the house (remember, house is boxes, boxes, and more boxes!) And we all got to have a little more time with our last piece of Georgia. Thank you, Dawn! We miss you and our entire CBC family soooooo much! Come back and visit, you hear!

Beth's crooked smile

2010-10-16T01:06:00.001-07:00

I don't want to admit it but Beth had...ummm...cavities at her last dentist appointment. Her 5 year old molars have been coming in and I guess the gums can hurt and brushing hurts more so she didn't brush well (keep brushing your kid's teeth!) Anyway, she was a fabulous patient. Her only comments on the whole experience were regarding the Barbie movie she got to watch. And her only complaint of the day - her numb mouth!

It's only because I know that feeling all too well that I'm allowed to find this amusing...

Jill's Birthday Weekend Part 3 - The Actual Day

2010-10-13T22:54:00.000-07:00

After a weekend of fun with family and friends we could have gotten away with doing nothing on Jill's actual birthday but we decided a nice evening out with just the family would be good. We took her to Fashion Island for dinner and a trip to Build-a-Bear.
She picked a bunny and placed a heart inside...

She then proudly brushed and fluffed her bunny and... Ta Da! Meet Jill's new bunny: Bunny Mine! We then went to the pet store and pet real bunnies :)We went to Red Robin for dinner, an old family favorite.The boysand the girls...and don't forget the presents! We gave her a princess play phone so she would stop taking Beth's :)We also enjoyed walking around Fashion Island and seeing all the stores and water fountains.Well maybe Jill didn't like this water fountain. She didn't want to get wet!

It was a fun conclusion to Jill's birthday weekend. And it's official...I have a two year old! More on that to come...

Jill's Birthday Weekend Part 2 - Family

2010-10-10T22:35:00.000-07:00

Day two of Jill's birthday weekend and we headed to Thousand Oaks to celebrate at Grandma and Grandpa's house. The party had an Elmo theme that pleased Jill greatly.Grandma made a yummy strawberry Elmo cake.

And there were presents! Jill now knows what presents are and she was excited!

She got an Elmo phone, a feather boa,and clothes for her baby (she was super excited about that!)And Great Grandma Mae gave Jill one of her necklaces. Jill loved the necklace and just kept looking at the beautiful heart charm.

Lots of family to help us celebrate - Cousin Rob, Great Grandma Mae, Cousin Sara,Cousin Tori (can you see her there in the middle of our gang?) Aunt Edie and Grandma!It was a great day swimming and relaxing with family. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa for having us!

JIll's Birthday Weekend Part 1 - The Park with friends

2010-10-09T14:33:00.000-07:00

Jill is turning 2 years old! Time to celebrate!!!

Although we know many people in California, Jill really doesn't know anyone; this is all new to her. So for her 2nd birthday, we debated whether to even do a party or just family or what??? Well, we settled on a very small party. There were only two families with four friends:

Small and simple was successful!

We played at the park.We colored. We ate fruit and pretzels. We had cake made by the wonderful, amazing Nana Roberta (thank you!!!) Our children have been blessed with many of her birthday creations so it is so fun that Jill gets to have one, too! She liked the singing but didn't know how to blow out the candles. Good thing she had plenty of helpers.We even had a special guest appearance - Nemo! The kids decided earlier this week that the party should be a Nemo party. Beth then "called" Nemo and asked if he could come. I don't know that Jill understood but Jason, Beth, and Adam had so much fun planning all week, making sure the costume was ready, and look at Adam....he was proud to be the special guest. And we finished the day with presents! She happily opened them one by one.It was a wonderful day for a special girl. So wonderful that the birthday girl didn't want to go home!Time for a nap so we'll be ready for more birthday weekend as we celebrate at Grandma and Grandpa's tomorrow!

Moving Cross Country Part 5 - We Made It!

2010-10-07T22:42:00.000-07:00

Even though we only had 6 hours to drive on that last day, we were in a hurry to get on the road and through the Mojave Desert before the heat of the day. We were so excited to be driving into California that morning. Adam had been asking hourly for days, "are we in California, yet?" Finally, we were there! But check out California's pathetic sign. I was a bit disappointed in my home state's lack of creativity and color, come on! We did stop and pull over to take this picture of Beth on the road. She was eager but then a bit frightened. Ok, the side of the highway is probably not the safest place for pictures...
Anyway, we were all excited and cheered and started counting down the minutes until we would be in our new home. In fact, we were so excited that this is how all four children spent the last hour of the car drive:Yep, no joke, they all crashed. I was shocked! Jill had been the only one to sleep in the car during the day until that point. I guess the anticipation of getting to California was over, we were there and they could relax. It's a good thing they rested because the unpacking and getting settled those next few hours was EXHAUSTING! Fortunately we had good friends that helped us unload the trucks, assemble beds, buy us groceries and dinner...the blessings were overflowing! And here they are that day, the four of them in front our new home...

Have you looked?

2010-10-07T11:34:00.000-07:00

I'm almost all caught up on my Adam's Preschool Blog. Check it out...Adam's Preschool at Home!

Moving Cross Country Part 4 - Almost there!

2010-10-06T21:21:00.000-07:00

Our second night was spent in a hotel in umm...I don't remember. We made it through Oklahoma, across the top of Texas, and just into New Mexico (our goal!) Here's Dawn that morning, officially in the Southwest... We really wanted to stop midday and take an extra long break leaving the bulk of our driving to the morning and night (easier on the kids) but where to stop? We couldn't really see leaving the highway with our huge truck and trailer so we gave up on the exciting tourism of New Mexico and settled for a truck stop. We stopped at world famous Clines Corners, New Mexico.We ate a leisurely lunch, shopped, filled up the vehicles, and got back on the road. It wasn't much of a stop, not much to see, but we did what we could. And we got into Arizona before dark! We did however run into major rain. It was exhausting driving through the downpour but the multiple rainbows made it all worth it.It was a long day of driving but with multiple gas stops, including this one on a corner in Winslow, Arizona, we made it very far that day.Made it most of the way across the Grand Canyon state stopping in Kingsmen for the night mostly because we weren't sure there would be any place to stop past there. Tomorrow's drive would take us into California but through the Mojave Desert...not much there!

Moving Cross Country Part 3 - friends in Oklahoma

2010-10-04T22:24:00.000-07:00

Day 2 had us driving through Oklahoma. Well my bestest friend since the 4th grade currently lives in a small town in Oklahoma right off the interstate, woo hoo! The last time I saw her she lived in Texas and we were driving to Georgia. Since then we've both had baby number 4. A lot can happen in two years :) Here's our gang, all 8 of them...Beth with Kylee and baby KeatonJason and his buddy CasenWe drove five hours to get there and then enjoyed an afternoon and dinner being out of the car before getting back on the road for another late night of driving. It was hard to have such a short visit with some of our most favorite people in the world but at least we had a beautiful Oklahoma sunset to send us on our way...

Moving Cross Country Part 2 - the chosen route

2010-09-30T22:59:00.000-07:00

Coming to Georgia two years ago, we took the southern route - interstate 10 - to visit family and friends. But the shortest route is actually the more northern route - interstate 40 - and since time was valuable, we took the shortest route. Our journey began in Georgia where we headed to Tennessee. That's where we caught the 40. Tennessee has many rolling hills and the overpacked truck didn't like the roads in 90 degree weather. We took an extended dinner break to rest the vehicle, said a prayer, and continued our journey. We drove that first evening through southern Tennessee to Memphis and over the Mississippi River. (That's the bridge, trust me, it was pretty :) For anyone about to drive the 40 through Memphis, beware! At one point you actually have to take an exit in order to stay on the 40. Don't ask me how I learned this valuable lesson but some nice security guards helped us find our way back onto the road. Our GPS was in the truck with Andrew who did not miss the turn. Our phones (both Dawn's and mine) have GPS ability but it seems Memphis does not get reception. It was bizarre but we caught up to the truck and the kids slept through our mini-adventure so we kept on. Our first night's rest was in Russelville, Arkansas. Never heard of it? Me, neither. I just know we were west of Little Rock and on schedule thanks to Dawn who drove that entire day. It was in the middle of the night as we carried the kids into their beds, which included a cot, an overstuffed chair and a playpen that made the room quite an obstacle course but we all slept! Adam sleepily asked where we were because this was not California. Why weren't we in California in our new house? Poor kid...we heard a lot of that for the next three days...

Moving Cross Country Part 1 - The Truck

2010-09-27T20:39:00.000-07:00

Our move to Georgia two years ago was paid for by Andrew's former employer. That trip was mostly about sight seeing, visiting friends and family, and building excitement for a new life in Georgia. This trip was all on us. We could have used his signing bonus and paid someone to do it all for us but what fun would that be? We chose to save our money and do it ourselves. We rented a Uhaul and depended on the kindness of friends to pack up our home and move it to California. Fortunately, we had so much support that not only did the truck get packed up, but we even got a friend (the day before we left!) to drive with us. We are blessed. This is Dawn driving the truck. She did more driving than either Andrew or me. Regardless of all the help, packing was not without it's hiccups. As we packed the truck, our summer long concerns became a reality - our stuff was not going to fit into the truck. We had to rent a trailer and give a bunch of stuff away, but we did it. We closed the doors and were off. I haven't decided if it's amazing that all our stuff fit in that truck and trailer or if it's scary that we have that much stuff! Driving the truck was...I wouldn't know because I never did it! I spent the entire trip driving or riding in the van. Jason and Beth both got a turn driving in the truck but Andrew and Dawn did all the driving. They didn't love it's handling on bumpy, narrow, or steep highways but overall they did great and the truck did its job.(this was my view for four days :)

I'm ba-ack!

2010-09-23T22:55:00.000-07:00

We made it to California but internet was slow in getting connected. End result - haven't blogged in two months. I know, the world must be lost without info on what my children have done and said for the last two months. Well, don't you fear because I'm back and ready to work hard to get all caught up including such highlights as our cross country adventure, our new home, visits to the lagoon and the beginning of another school year! Also coming to a computer near you - A second blog recording Adam's preschool year! I'm keeping track of what we do more for me, sort of a journal scrapbook to show him years later all the fun stuff we did this year. Check it out as I present our weekly letter themes (we're already on D is for Duck so there's some catching up to do there, too!) Be back soon, I promise!

Build-a-Bear Birthday for Beth

2010-07-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

To continue Beth's birthday celebration we went to Build-a-Bear at the mall. We had never "built a bear" before and were very excited. Here's how it went:

First, you stuff your bear (or whatever animal you choose).Adam took this part very seriously!Then you have to rub a little heart on your brain, your eyes, your heart - all so that your new friend's heart will be warm and ready and smart, etc...Finally, you fluff your friend. Jill loved brushing the bears. Next time maybe we'll let her make her own bear.And here's the final product: Beth's new friend pony - Rose.Ella is showing her mom her new puppy.And the boys added a bonus to their new bears - costumes! Lincoln and Adam present Jedi Bear and Captain Rex Clone Trooper!We had a lot of fun on this very special birthday! Happy, happy birthday, Beth!

Beth's Birthday Tea

2010-07-20T19:12:00.000-07:00

Beth is 6 years old! To celebrate in Raleigh she invited two cousins to a tea party. We headed to downtown Wake Forest, put on some fun hats, and ate scones and pb&j finger sandwiches while sipping lemonade. We had a great time giggling and celebrating Beth!

Our summer so far...

2010-07-19T17:22:00.001-07:00

Ok, I keep saying I'm going to cut back on Facebook but I'm still there too often posting pics, playing games, and reading everyone's pointless posts. And I just realized that while I've always tried to keep up with the blog (for those of you refusing to use Facebook; ok, yes, you are the smart ones!) I've been sloppy lately. For instance, Beth's birthday is totally missing and there are some great photos from that adventure (I'll post that next). So here it is...a quick catch up of our summer: After 8 months of unemployment, Andrew got a great job and immediately moved to our new location - California. Actually, we're going right back to where we moved from 2 years ago! To make things even crazier, on day 2 of his job, he flew to S.Korea! He's really loving his new work and co-workers. The only glitch is the family he left behind!

We spent the month of June packing up the house and prepping it to be sold. Then debating about what to do while waiting for the house to be sold, we headed to NC to visit (ok, live with) family. We arrived just in time for my birthday :) We celebrated with an afternoon at the movies - Toy Story 3 - and an evening of ice cream. Andrew was missed but he still delivered (love you!) The kids also got to spend a week at VBS. It had a water theme and they had a blast! The best part was watching Adam perform. He loved singing and dancing and jumping. He was hilarious to watch as he stole the show! The rest of our time here in NC has been spent playing, swimming, being with cousins,and playing some more!

Happy Fourth of July!

2010-07-08T18:40:00.001-07:00

Wanting as much quality time with Daddy as possible, we opted for a low key Independence Day. After an afternoon swimming with friends, we headed to our backyard to light sparklers and catch fireflies. It was a perfectly memorable day!

Together

2010-07-06T19:15:00.001-07:00

After a month apart, our family was reunited when Andrew flew into Georgia for work in Atlanta. And it's no coincidence that this work in Atlanta is after a holiday weekend (thank you to Andrew's new wonderful boss!) It was a great weekend being together, swimming with friends,

and just being a family hanging out at the house...a house all packed in boxes.

ImagineIt!

2010-06-28T13:45:00.000-07:00

Back in May we enjoyed an overdue trip to the Children's Museum in Atlanta - ImagineIt! I finally uploaded pictures so here goes...They have painting on the wall, which Beth loved,

dress-up play for Jill,

and fishing for Adam!Here Jill gets some help from her brother climbing up to get a better view of the fishing :)She also got help from her brother, Jason, crossing the bridge over and over again :) This was good for Jason since much of the museum was a little young for him...although he did manage to enjoy himself when not busy caring for Jill. Here he is managing a crane that scooped up balls and transported them to a bucket. I had to nearly pull him off so other children could get a turn.Here's our buddy Zeke enjoying the day with us.

I thought this was cool. You use the big Tetris shaped blocks to try and fill in the square.

Beth dressed herself...at home, not at the museum dress-up area. You have to love this girl!

Jill and her baby

2010-06-20T19:07:00.000-07:00

Jill has adopted one of Beth's babies as her own (which is fine by Beth who never really cared for baby dolls much.) She takes her baby everywhere (that we allow) and feeds her everything from peanut butter to oatmeal. She will play with other dolls but this is her favorite. Jill is just beginning to talk and I'm hopeful that she'll give her baby a name soon but for now it's Jill's baby doll :)