I finally put together all the pics and video from our ski/board season this year. By the end of April, the kids were all looking SO good!! I absolutely loved our days together there, our days with friends, and my few days with just girls! :) This is, shall we say, thorough... (20 minutes!) but I loved every second of the season!
we LOVE to spend the first day of spring break at knott's berry farm!! we've been going for YEARS. as the kids have grown, they've slowly but surely braved new frontiers. it is so fun to watch! aidan got to go on two new rides this year that he LIVED for. he's still talking about them. as is austen. she braved the EXCELERATOR this year, which is one of my all time favorite rides!! she LOVED it. ellie was so sad to be 2 inches short to go on some new rides. next year. she is so cute... she was seriously bummed!! and noah is our fearless rider... always has been. he'll go on anything.
we were so happy to have friends there as well! the salways drove down with us and we loved having them along!! all of the kids have a buddy and we adore them! it turned in to a total fresno party when the christensens, the allreds, and the toomers also came. SO fun! the more the merrier! you can't have more fun for a great price at knott's! (i sounds like a commercial, but it's true!)
the next day we went and checked out the La Brea Tar Pits. corey has always wanted to go... it was pretty cool! the kids liked looking at all the bones they've found and finding out the story behind it all. definitely worth the trip to get there. we finished up the day at ikea and then headed home. the kids are STILL talking about it and can't wait for next time!
OK so we've been busy, what else is new??? I got three super fun ski trips in last month, and my friend Jen is not only funnier than I, but completely caught up with blogging them! So... here's a link if you want to know what we were up to last month. This link takes you to our trip to Tahoe, but on her blog are the other two trips as well. :)
The big day is almost here! My good friend Gwen offered to take a few pictures of Ellie in her dress. They turned out gorgeous. I am so excited for Ellie and this incredible path she's about to take.
My little leprechauns looked so cute. Ellie asked me why "the leprechaun" didn't come to our house on St. Paddy's Day. I know "he" visits other homes and does crazy things like turn the toilet water green, makes a general mess, and even turns the milk green. Well, I said, that's because I didn't ever get signed up with him... ??? So aidan jumps in and asks how one does that! I told Aidan that I would have to send an email...he wanted to know if we could have the leprechaun come the next day. (the 18th) Apparently next year we will have a visit from the little guy.
She's had an awesome year! Soccer, snowboarding, straight A's, vacations, playdates, dance recitals... Ellie is a sweetheart who is always thinking of others and absolutely loves to be with friends and family.
Eight is such a special birthday. I can't believe she's already there. She is going to be baptized in a few weeks and I am so proud and happy for her. Happy Birthday!
The sweetest baby boy ever is now 11... Noah still brings peace into our family with his amazing attitude about life and its opportunities. He is an incredible musician, a wonderful student, a fantastic snowboarder and athlete... (he'll try ANYTHING and LOVE IT!), and a good friend. We can't imagine life without his dazzling smile. Happy birthday, Noah!
February has flown by... lots of fun things, as usual. Ellie was in the annual 2nd grade "Dragon Parade" at school... it was adorable how excited they all were. Ellie and Corey also attended the annual "Daddy Daughter Dance" together. She was SO excited and they had a fantastic time.
Noah and I went to the Tech museum together with the 5th grade. We had a great time there checking it all out! He also had a surprise band concert! (we found out about it the day before...) They sounded WAY better than I expected. Noah has amazed me with his trumpet playing ability... he went from sounding like a hurt animal on the trumpet to playing scales and songs in a matter of a few days. I'm not sure that's normal, and maybe it is, but to a non-trumpet player... it's impressive.