QUality time with Daddy

Abi, Everett, and Zachary each have their favorite games that they like to play on the internet. Zachary likes the website StarFall, Everett likes Cars2, and Abi likes Tinkerbell. They all agree on Tangled Double Trouble. One afternoon they left it unattended for a few moments, and since Beau was on school break, he decided to see what the fun was all about. Look at his face, apparently it's a lot of fun!

 I think they found another fun way to spend quality time with their Daddy.

"Does anyone have any cheese?"

Ever see the show Family Matters back in the late 80's early 90's? Remember Steve Urkel with his high water pants? Well, Everett is growing so quickly he is fast becoming a lighter version of Steve Urkel. I also think he looks like him, since he's so skinny, and trying to look tough in this picture.

Christmas dresses

Grandma Donna bought these gorgeous dresses for the girls to wear for Christmas. I wanted a nice picture of them to send to her, and to have for myself. It's quite the process to get everyone happy, and looking in relatively the same direction without being blurry from movement. They have the cuteness factor down no matter what!

 Sariah wasn't happy, so I gave her my cell phone to sit still, but then she wouldn't look at the camera.

 Eliza wouldn't stop jumping and yelling.

 Abi just sat there and smiled the whole time, but then she just had to go and blink!

Finally, this picture. No crying, no blurriness, no yelling, no blinking, and they all have a happy look on their face. It will have to do.

Naptime

It seems like Eliza is slowly phasing out naps. She'll skip one here and there, and after a few days, it catches up with her, and she'll fall asleep whenever the need hits her. One afternoon she was watching Abi play a computer game, and then she curled up on the chairs like it was the most comfortable thing in the world.

 That can't be a cozy place to sleep, but she didn't seem to mind one bit.

Naughty is her middle name.

This little girl may look cute, but don't let it fool you. She is one naughty toddler! In fact, I am thinking that we should change her middle name to Naughty, since she seems to get into trouble every waking moment.

 Her favorite thing to do is to climb on the tables, especially the school table, and then throw all the crayons, markers, and pencils to the floor.

 See, naughty again. I told you it was fitting for a middle name.

Abi's Dolphin Encounter

Abi loves anything and everything about the ocean. I'm sure it all started when she was just a baby when we lived so close to the ocean in Monterey, CA. That love only grew when we lived in Hawaii and went to the beach every week for 3 years. Once she was able to read, she devoured every book she could find that had anything to do with the ocean. She has written and illustrated several journals of the various creature of the deep. She amazes me with the facts she has accumulated through the years. It only seemed fitting that she finally get an up close encounter with her favorite animal - the dolphin. Luckily Sea World of San Antonio was able to fulfill this wish. Her Christmas gift was a Dolphin Encounter. An adult had to accompany her, so I picked myself to go. :)

 After a very long, and lengthy discussion and demonstration (which Abi LOVED!), it was time for some hand on activities.

 There were two dolphins that we were introduced to. Scotia, and Cisco.

 This is Scotia. We were shown the different parts of the dolphin, and the trainer would ask questions. Abi knew the answer to every one, and would give a lot more information as well. The trainer was quite impressed with Abi.

 She pointed out some scars on the side of Scotia. Apparently, dolphins get a little rowdy when they play and scratch each other up. They're like big kids!

An inside look at his mouth.

 This dolphin was named Cisco. Abi kept pronouncing it Sicko until she finally caught on. It was funny!

 We were shown different hand motions to make the dolphins do different tricks.

 Always reward a job well done with a fish. Personally, I'd prefer a chocolate bar. :)

 Abi found a dancing partner. They dance well together.

 I even had a turn. I wasn't wild about touching nasty fish, but it wasn't too bad. I refused to touch the squid. That was too much for me! Even Abi wouldn't touch the squid.

 As the finale, Abi and the other girl in our group were rewarded with a huge splash! Thank goodness it was a hot day. It was a nice way to cool off.

Merry Christmas!

A few pictures of the kids enjoying their gifts on Christmas morning. Somehow I didn't get a single picture of Zachary or Abi. I don't know how that happened!

Transforming Optimus Prime.

Harry Potter Legos are awesome!!

Getting to work right away on building the Hogwarts Castle!

The characters were so cute!

It took Everett 3 days to put this all together. He did it all by himself. We only supervised to make sure he didn't make any drastic mistakes. I think it's the coolest thing!

The kids modeling the BYU shirts our great friends, Gary and Melissa Keck, sent them for Christmas. Who knows, maybe they'll all attend BYU in the future!

We visited Sea World a few days after Christmas to see the decorations lit up at night. We picked a busy, busy night!!

The only "snow" we get to experience in San Antonio. A machine that makes snow.

Sariah just loves the characters from Sesame Street. She makes sure she says HI whenever she sees them.

Playing some Christmas tunes together.