Newport Beach

(Warning: Picture overload)

Jimmy and Christi were in town this weekend, and although it wasn't beach weather, we decided it was nice enough to go down to walk the boardwalk in Balboa. Sarah and Justin and their family, and Doug, Liz and Alyssa all joined us. If it weren't for the cool breeze, it might have even been hot, but it was a beautiful day, perfect for site seeing. The pictures pretty much explain the day. The kids enjoyed watching people catch fish off the pier. There is one picture where you can see the disgust on Natalie's face as she sees a fish being caught (the picture of Doug, Natalie and Spencer). The adults did a lot of sitting and talking. There was this cool climbing tower and play ground that the kids loved to play on. But I think the hit of the day for the kids was Doug (and Liz) treating them all to the carousel. Doug sure knows how to spoil his nieces and nephews. All in all it was a gorgeous day, with great company.

Date Night

Last night Brett and I had the chance to go on a date. Date nights are far and few between and last nights was a much needed break. At the beginning of the week I asked Brett if he would take me on a date on Friday night (which he said he would) and then I kind of forgot about it until Wednesday night when he took the initiative and called up Sarah and asked her to watch the kids (thanks Sarah, taking care of 8 kids is a huge feat!). I was proud of Brett for pulling through. We often talk about date nights, but it never happens because we put off getting a babysitter until the last minute and then it just seems like too much work. We started off the date with the Temple. Oh, how I love the temple and the peace I feel when I am there. Life just has a better outlook when you are at the temple.Following the temple we ate dinner at Olive Garden, one of my favorite places to eat. I LOVE their salad and bread sticks. And oh, their food is good too. Brett got the Chicken Marsala (with extra sauce) and I got the Chicken Scampi (with extra sauce, I love to dip my bread sticks in it). It was so nice to be able to just sit with my husband and have adult conversation without any interruptions (even the waitress seems to leave us alone, although it would have been nice if she would have kept our cups full, maybe she left us alone a little too much). Nights like that are good for me. They help me to realize how much I have to be grateful for in my life. A wonderful husband who loves and cares about me so much. Four beautiful children who are amazingly well behaved and show me unconditional love, even when I am not the best mom. And the gospel in my life that puts everything into prospective. You should really get out with your spouse. I highly recommend it!

Feeding the ducks and geese

Grandpa Bruce somewhat started a tradition of going to a local pond to feed the ducks. The kids love to do it and often ask if we can go. For some reason the ducks weren't too hungry, so we fed the geese. Spencer and Natalie made sure to keep some distance between themselves and the geese, but for some reason Bailey didn't have that same instinct. She would just stand there as the geese would get closer and closer. There were a number of times that I had to scare the geese away from her in fear that they were going to bite her fingers off or something. Somehow we didn't get a picture of Natalie feeding (I think that she spent more time chasing the geese), and these other pictures aren't great, but you get the idea. Oh, and Tanner was a happy boy in his carseat. He loves being outside!

Easter 2008

Better late than never, here are some pictures from Easter. I wanted to post them for journaling sake. The kids were sick the day before Easter with stomach flu, so they weren't able to enjoy the treats that the Easter Bunny brought until the following day. They were all very good about it and understood (at least to some extent) that it would make them feel worse to eat the candy.

Escaping the heat

It has been miserably hot here the past couple of days. Ok, maybe not as miserable as it might be in Texas or Arizona (I haven't watched the news so much, so I don't know for sure), but miserable for Southern California. Each night we open all the windows to try to cool off the house and then we close everything in the morning, hoping the house will stay nice. It helps so much until about four o'clock and then it is too warm inside, so we have been making our way over to our community pool. It is so nice to have a pool so close that we can go enjoy. The kids love the water. Spencer and Natalie chug around with their floaties while Bailey and Tanner play on the stairs. Bailey and Tanner seem to be our true "fish" not minding at all when they go under or get splashed. Spencer and Natalie on the other hand. . .not so much. Hopefully we can break them of that this summer.

Here the kids are getting ready to go: Do you see something wrong with this picture?

Yes, that is Bailey wearing a beany when it is 98 degrees outside. Spencer had put on a baseball cap and she wanted a hat too. Sometimes I wonder about that girl.

Here is our worn out Tanner boy. Every time that we get him out of the water, he almost immediately falls to sleep. Swimming is hard work.

Natalie girl showing off the watermelon that we brought. You can't beat watermelon on a hot day.

Bailey is fearless. Here is Brett and Bailey with their faces in the water blowing bubbles.

Arizona Trip