Short trip to Southern California

We took a three day vacation to southern California, mostly to go to Disneyland. We had earned some free tickets through their Give a Day, Get a Day program, so we decided to make the trip during the off season (if there is such a thing at Disneyland).

We spent Monday afternoon/evening getting settled and walking through Downtown Disney. We then spent a wonderful time with Cathy's Great Uncle Eddie and Aunt Liz. We ate dinner at Mimi's Cafe and enjoyed lots of visiting.

Laurel didn't want to be in the picture, but after the trip when she saw this, she said, "Where's me?"

Adam's favorite ride was Indian Jones

We all loved It's A Small World. Here is Derek and Katelyn

Jamie and Mackenzie near Winnie the Pooh. They didn't want to stand in line to get a picture with him so they got as close as they could.

Our whole family. Matching shirts was a great way to keep track of everyone!

On Wednesday, we began our drive back home. But first we stopped at the Los Angeles Temple. The grounds there are beautiful and there is some nice views of Los Angeles downtown in the distance.

In front of a statue of a family

Mackenzie, Hannah and Jamie

All of us

A new look at food

Derek and I watched an interesting movie the other night. It's called Food, Inc. We are already becoming more conscious of what we eat and are heading in a more healthy direction, but this show reminded us of one reason why we are doing that! Enjoy

A new Scout

With Adam turning 11 this month, he left the Webelos Den in Cub Scouts and bridged over to Boy Scouts. I forgot to bring my camera to his last Cub Scout meeting, so another parent took some pictures for me. He was bridging with one other boy.

Shaking hands down a line of cub scouts to say goodbye

receiving a new scarf and slide for his new troop

Adam, a new boy scout. (we'll have to get a picture of him
in his new shirt)

Adam went on his first camp out with the new scouts and had a great time! He's enjoying being a part of the Flaming Dragons Troop. Keep up the great work Adam!

Adam's Birthday

Adam turned 11 years old this month. We sure love our favorite, one and only son. Adam is quite a guy. He's smart, he's funny, he's got a lot of great ideas. He surprises us with his many questions and "what if" thoughts. Adam is learning to be a handy man around the house. He's our Mr. Fix it when Dad isn't around (and sometimes when he is). Adam also is learning to be a great helper with the little girls. He's wanting to be a babysitter too. It is fun to be with Adam when we are visiting any office (like a doctor's or dentist's) or store with machines. He loves to check them out and find out how they work. We're so glad to have Adam in our family!

We had a nice birthday dinner to celebrate. We ate Macaroni and Cheese deluxe (his favorite dinner) and strawberry cake and ice cream. Adam received only money for his presents. He didn't know what he wanted so he decided it would be nice to have money in the bank for when he does decide.

Mackenzie and Jamie had a great time preparing a gift bag full of homemade cards, pictures, gifts and even a little bit of cash. They also made a birthday crown for him to wear.

Hi!!!

Check out my blog @ hannahlovesbooks.blogspot.com Half of the posts I do would work for this blog. So you will like my blog. Also I LOVE comments. *hint*hint* It makes my day better .

So, um, the play is over. I don't really know what to do with my life now (haha, NOT).

My current read is ..................................Jane Eyre. It's very interesting, though not very cheerful.

Guess what? Yours Truly loves babysitting! *** another hint***

Well, I am not going to let the cat out of the bag, so if you want the rest of my news you had better get on over to The Life of a Bookworm!

Ta-ta for now!

Hannah

Katelyn 6 months old

Here are some pictures of Katelyn in the last couple of weeks. Now that she's gotten comfortable crawling around, she is now pulling herself up to furniture.

Jamie feeding Katelyn

we love this sweet smile of hers!

Katelyn's first encounter with the dryer. She was mesmerized with the spinning.

Jamie's Birthday

We celebrated Jamie's 7th birthday! She has been a joy in our family. She is a girl who knows what she wants. Jamie can get very animated and excited when she tells a story and it's fun to see her blue eyes sparkle and her pretty smile shine. Jamie has been a great help with Katelyn and loves to hold her, feed her, help change her. She loves to play with her big sister Mackenzie and feels so much more grown up now that she is 7! We love you Jamie!

Jamie--7 years old

Jamie with her siblings (Mackenzie, Adam, Laurel)

Showing a new book she received as a present. She loves to read!

The Dastardly Doctor Devereaux

The week of our Stake youth play finally arrived! There were three evening performances and each one received very positive reviews. Our family attended on the 2nd night and loved the almost continuous laughing during the hour and a half performance. Grandpa and Grandma Taylor flew out to join us for this and the rest of the weekend. Cathy and Grandma went to the 3rd performance as well because we liked it so much. The youth did a great job and we were thrilled to see Hannah make her acting debut. She has shown interest in acting/theater for a number of years, but until this play, she hadn't really gotten a chance to try out her abilities. She really has some natural talent and was quite a hit.

Hannah as nurse Wendy March

Hannah with her love interest, Dr. Phil Good (Caleb Wardle)

Easter

This Easter, I got Hannah and Adam involved in the easter egg hunt. First they spent an afternoon filling the eggs with treats. Then on Saturday morning they hid them all around the back yard. They then helped Samantha and Laurel during the hunt. They all came out with plenty of eggs and had fun hunting. Later they spent time on some crafts that Grandma had brought. All of this was done around the General Conference sessions that we really enjoyed watching.

Our cute little bunny

A day with Grandpa and Grandma Taylor

We had a fun day with Grandma and Grandpa as we visited the Happy Hollow Zoo and Park in San Jose. This is a place we'd been many times before, but it had just been reopened after a two year closure for remodeling and upgrading.

We toured part of the zoo and saw a jaguar, capybara, meerkats, lemurs and macaws. Then we toured the park and the big kids favorite was the new roller coaster. It's not a big one, but good enough to have some fun! We had a great time even though the day was cold and cloudy. Here are a few pictures of the day.

Grandpa and Laurel explore a big playground structure

Samantha enjoys the bug ride, while Hannah tolerates it because
Samantha wanted her to come with her

Mackenzie and Katelyn

Hannah in front of trees full of spring blossoms

Laurel riding in a firetruck

Grandma holding Katelyn

the roller coaster ride! If you click on the picture,
you'll see Adam in the front

Laurel and Samantha walking through a maze

Hannah, Jamie and Mackenzie on the carousel

walking through the zoo area (Jamie, Mackenzie, Cathy,
Samantha, Adam, Grandpa, Laurel)

Mackenzie and Adam at the Macaw exhibit

March Madness

I know March Madness refers to the annual college basketball championship tournament (which Derek loves to watch when he can), but sometimes it refers to our life! This month went past like a whirlwind and I wasn't able to record all the interesting events of our days as we went along. However, I'll give a brief recap.

Katelyn has been the star of the show this month. As an adorable baby, she often catches our attention anyway, but this month she surprised us with her accomplishments. As a five month old she got her first two teeth, learned to sit up by herself and learned to crawl. Apparently she didn't want to waste any time, and we wonder if she'll grow up to be a great multi-tasker. Here are some pictures of her.

Katelyn crawling

Katelyn sitting up

Laurel has taken more interest in Katelyn again now that she is on the floor more. This is not necessarily a good thing, as Laurel often gets her in an uncomfortable bear hug grip. Or she sits on her. We're working on helping her to ask first if she wants to hold Katelyn. Samantha continues to love holding Katleyn as well.

Katelyn and Samantha

Laurel

Samantha was so excited when we invited her primary teachers over for dinner. She has been having a hard time going to Primary by herself lately and we hoped it would help to get to know her teachers better. We had a great evening with them.

We've been pleased with more of our children helping take care of Katelyn. When she needs a change of clothes or diaper, Mackenzie and Jamie are quick to help out. Even Adam has changed her diaper a time or two.

Jamie has been looking forward to her birthday in April. She has been adding lots of items to her wish list. Jamie has also been loosing many of her baby teeth. It is fun to see her toothless grin.
Mackenzie was thrilled to go camping this month. Derek had an overnighter planned with his Varsity Scouts, but only one boy showed up at their meeting place. So Derek called home and asked if any of the kids wanted to go camping, since he didn't want to waste the good reservations he had made. Adam, Mackenzie, Jamie and Samantha went with him and they had a great time. The camp spot was very close to a beach. They also enjoyed some great food cooked in the dutch oven.

Adam has been making visits to the BMX park again. His skill on the jumps has improved. Sometimes Mackenzie and Jamie join him.

Hannah got even busier this month with play practices. As the performance dates approached she was having 3 or 4 practices a week! She didn't mind though, she has loved all of it. She would often sing her songs and eventually Laurel and Samantha could be heard humming the tunes. Hannah also attended her girl's camp kick off and a regional youth fireside that she really enjoyed.

Cathy enjoyed going to the Relief Society birthday dinner and attending a luncheon for a friend from Santa Clara. She stays busy with Cub scouts and with a new responsibility at our homeschool co-op--teaching the younger children (6 and under). We usually have a story time and then a craft. It's not difficult to do, just takes some time to plan and prepare.

Derek was gone every Saturday in March. Two weekends were for a scout training, one for camping and one for a seminar in Oregon. He too has had some involvement with the youth play, his assignment being to assist with assembling the background and stage extension. He made a number of trips to Home Depot and even helped with the painting.

It's been a good month!

Pipe Works

During the past few weeks, we have had pipe work going on in front of our house. The San Jose Water Company was replacing pipes , so for a few days we have had no access to our driveway. They are finishing up the process now and will be done soon. Hooray!! Below are some pictures.