Jumping jacks, drawing shapes, walking around the table backwards, while blowing kisses and waving. You name it, and the troops did it while testing out a new game last Saturday that will be on the market very soon! Our cousin Steph happens to be friends with a game maker, and he needed testers ages 7-9 years young.
Our neighbor Buddha decided to join in the fun!
Ryan tried to disguise himself as a 9 year old :)
Join in the game fun by watching the video above!
After the silliness came to a close, we walked down to a super thrifty, but very yummy, local sushi restaurant .
The kids surprised us with their amazing coordination with chop sticks and their affection for miso soup.
It was a great day, and a special treat to take the family out on the town, to get our chop sticks on.
Boy were we all excited when we found out we going to have the privilege of spending the day with little miss Eva! We started the day off at Merrick's school. Eva and Merrick had a blast! She loved playing with the younger siblings, and got so excited when Merrick's class began practicing Valentine songs for their upcoming Valentine concert! Merrick did a great job of keeping this girl awake on the ride home, so she could take a nice planned nap at our place. After picking up the girls from school we headed to the beach for some fun! Merrick insisted on pushing his cousin in her stroller!
There is ALWAYS something interesting going on at the beach! ...perfect entertainment for a toddler. She had fun watching two jugglers as they juggled and passed pins back and forth, as well as tightrope walkers to her left, skateboarders, roller skaters, professional hula hoopers, a unicyclist (performing trick on the rock in the above photo) and swarms of different types of birds!
Wow, a posed picture with Eva? She is one busy girl! I was lucky to get this super cute snap shot ;)
Yes, your mama is right Eva! You do love throwing sand everywhere, especially on your head! We just wanted to keep Daddy on his toes for bath time, isn't that right Eva?
The day came to a close after little, and big, miss sunshine were both stuffed with taco salad, raw crackers, guacamole and raw brownies, and rubbing their eyes. I think Daddy and everyone else was stuffed too! Eva, thanks for spending the day with us. It was the best day ever! Oh, and thanks for all of your help preparing dinner in the kitchen! I forgot how nice it is to have a toddler hanging out with me at my feet while getting dinner prepped!
The world is as many times new as there are children in our lives. ~Robert Brault
Rowan and her friend Seven were asked to be a math ambassador for their schools family math night. Based on their "math smarts" they were each selected to run a station, and they had a blast being a part of this wonderful event! Rowan is definitely a math smartie, just like her Daddy. I loved seeing her in her element! Here they are cleaning up after a room full of families had already cleared out.
Merrick and Kierce both absolutely loved the planned activities, which were geared toward 1st and 2nd graders. Who knew math could be so fun! It was really nice to gather together with other families after school hours. It felt like a normal thing to do, and we welcome "normal" after such a big move. Rowan has one more night of being a math ambassador next week for the 3rd and 4th graders. We are lucky to be part of a positive school family.
Ryan and I had a great time at his company Christmas party!
Although Christmas wasn't all cold, white and BIG, we really enjoyed each other! It was a different type of big. Since part of the kids gift from us went toward tickets to fly to Michigan (per their choice) in February, Christmas wasn't quite as large as usual. I was so happy to see how grateful the kids were after opening a few gifts, having no idea that their last gift was sitting over at our good friend (Auntie) Abigail's apartment. They played with gifts from family and other gifts for a while before I reminded them that they had one last small surprise to check out.
Above is the video of the kids checking out their final Christmas gift from us!
This video above is pretty entertaining, considering Ryan's reaction to this surprise :) He left the decision up to me regarding what type of pet we would get for the kids . He was especially surprised because I had given him the impression that I changed my mind about getting the kids a pet. Rest assured he is falling in love with these lovely creatures right along with the rest of us!
Initially I bought only two rats. However, Kierce ended up latching onto the blue rat and named him Cacow, and Rowan fell in love with the dumbo rat (who's ears stick out to the sides) and named him Machi. Now, considering the fact that Merrick was the main reason for seeking a pet (he has been desperately missing our dog Buddy), you can see this situation was in need of a remedy. Yes, we made one last trip to the pet store a couple days later to let Merrick pick out his own rattie, whom he named Star (not pictured), short for Rock Star. It's really precious to see all of the love and care the kids have been pouring out toward their little babies. They are all super sweet little things. You should hear Merrick talk to Star in the sweetest high pitch baby talk voice. He carries him around using the football hold. Priceless!
Later Christmas day, we went to Dana and Brooke's house for a Christmas celebration! Our good friend Aunt Paulette (Uncle Bo sadly was home sick), Lori, Steph and Steph's Mom and Brother all came as well! The kids had a blast doing a fun scavenger hunt that their Aunt Brooke planned for them!
We introduced the fun gift exchange game to the family! This is the game where its OK to steal and scheme! It was fun, but maybe next year it will get a little more rough. They eased themselves in this year with only a couple pretty passive steals ;) Here Eva is modeling on one of our gifts we landed, a beach mat!
Some cuddle time with Aunt Brooke!
Some cuddle time with cousin Lori!
Since Dana and Brooke had a gorgeous tree all decked out, we just had to take a moment to capture a family photo in front of the beast! Our tree came in at a modest 2.5 feet this year, so we were all over this massive opportunity! We had such a nice time relaxing, conversing and dining with family. This entire year has been a completely new experience, especially this holiday. Its (almost) all new, all good, amd exactly what God wants for us in this moment in time. Traditions- some old, a lot new and they will both live happily side by side.
Our niece Eva was definitely one of the most adorable birthday girls EVER! Eva turned 1 in late November and we were thrilled to celebrate this fine occasion with her! Doesn't she have a great smile??
Oh the joys of watching a baby dive into their first birthday cake. Eva was actually very careful when it came to dissecting this pretty cake her grandmother made for her. ...not sure if she liked it much.?.
It's pretty safe to say that she did love opening gifts, with lots of help from her amazing mama and helpful cousins!
We did our best to capture a family picture with the sweet birthday girl. Eva was getting pretty tired at this point, and wasn't too happy about facing the sun! She did a great job of putting up with us at this point :)
Here is pure proof in her daddy's arms that the days events had completely tuckered this girl out, as a first birthday should!
Uncle Dana and Aunt Brooke's backyard is one big photo opportunity waiting to happen. ...and I happened to come across Rowan taking photos of Kierce, so I offered to capture a picture of the two of them together.
Kierce's Flower Photo Shoot
You never know what you are going to get when Kierce gets a hold of the camera. I was quite impressed with the beauty she successfully captured! I thought Uncle Dana would especially like to see these photos taking by our little "blooming" photographer.
All thanks to Ryan driving the car one morning, Merrick and I were lucky enough to catch the crew hoisting the Christmas tree up and into place on our scooters. It was definitely a neat experience to watch amongst community members. The following morning, they were busy decorating the tree with lights, beach balls and other blow up toys. The lady in charge of blowing the toys up insisted on giving Merrick a blow up guitar to take home. I just love how friendly, social and sharing everyone is around here; what a wonderful community.
Both of the girls were lucky enough to walk down to the ocean as a class to sit with Santa and also place a handmade ornament on the massive Christmas tree on the beach. Kierce sure took her visit with Santa very seriously. She is currently trying to figure out if Santa makes Android Tablets...
Kierce took her time looking for just the right spot to place her ornament on the tree.
I was feeling for Rowan on this day, because she was not feeling well herself. She opted out of visiting with Santa and Merrick was lucky enough to help his sister place her handmade ornament on the tree. This was definitely a neat experience for all of the kids. Yet another "first" in OB.
A group of our friends including Lon, Cindy, Anna, Abigail and our family all strolled downtown for the Annual Ocean Beach Holiday Parade. We picked a great spot to sit right next to the announcer. This was definitely the most entertaining parade I have ever experienced. There were multiple and massive dance parties equipped with DJ's, band, etc. on top of you name it: double decker busses, boats, trolleys and more.
Once I heard the band come marching toward us, I must say it felt more like home. What is a parade without a high school marching band, right? It also made this parade feel a little more "normal" LOL.
Dad, this video is for you! I have also uploaded a few other fun videos from the parade, including 3rd and 4th graders on unicycles, skateboarder on a float and a few more on our YouTube page. Just click this link!
We also checked out a the Mission Bay Holiday Boat Parade this past weekend. It was a lot of fun, but apparently the San Diego Holiday Boat Parade at the harbor this next weekend is much bigger and better, so I'll be sure to report back.
This little guy experienced the most elaborate Thanksgiving feast I have ever witnessed at 11 o'clock in the morning! He encountered a beautiful spread of food, complex costume, handmade decorations, drums to play, etc. ...let me tell you, nothing I have ever seen at preschool before.
The kids had the entire week of Thanksgiving off from school. We spent a lot of time playing at the ocean, and enjoying all different types of experiences! Here they are being serenaded by our friend Chaz, who is a wonderful musician.
On Thanksgiving we enjoyed an amazing day at Uncle Dana, Aunt Brooke, Eva and Rocky's home. They are such wonderful hosts, we always have a great time at their house! It was a very casual and laid back gathering, with family and friends and scrumptious food. We also had the opportunity to Skye with my family as well!
Since I never step foot inside a store on Black Friday, I think the kids were very lucky that I decided to take a little trip with them and our friend Abigail to Target. Many years ago the kids were very lucky to reap the benefits of a Black Friday find from Aunt Lynn and Aunt Dawnie, when they received razor scooters for Christmas. Years later they have nearly rode them into the ground, so the kids used some gift money and gift cards they received from Aunt Dawnie and Aunt Lynn to purchase new ones!
Somehow we talked Dad into riding one of their old scooters for a night on the town. Hey, I am happy to use one of their old razors! Seriously, its a great workout!
One of these things is not like the other... Yes, I am having a difficult time letting go of the pumpkins since it barely feels like fall!!! Well, this Michigan girl is a little confused with these 60-80 degree days, and Christmas music and decorations being thrown around town! It doesn't compute for this girl! They say it will take a few years to adjust, but man my brain must be pretty hard wired. We did have fun decorating for Christmas though, and with a tiny three foot tree it only took like 30 minutes! ...major time saver!
