January

January we tried to get back into the swing of things after three weeks off from school!

Kaycee and Matthew both received the KC award at school.  That stands for Kindness and Compassion.  This year all our kids schools focused on an anti-bullying campaign called Rachel's Challenge.  She was killed at Columbine.  Her message is that if just one person shows kindness to another, it starts a chain reaction that spreads.  

We also hit upon a perfect day at the beach, in JANUARY!  You just never know when you'll hit those beautiful days!  We had a great time hanging out with friends and enjoying the sun, sand and surf!

GNO

I realized that I do not have ANY pictures of the boys on this trip! Matt has 2 cousins who are just his age. The entire trip they played together. They rode bikes, scooters, played hockey, raced cars and played lots and lots of laser tag! They were moving so fast I never got a picture!

We ended up having a Girls Night Out that was SO fun! It ended up that were all able to take a quick, and I mean quick trip out with the girls! We hit the mall with 15 minutes until they closed. We came upon shirts on clearance for $5! So we grabbed some! Then we raced to Nordstrom Rack, which was closed. So we went next door to T J Maxx, which was closing in 15 minutes! The girls had a BLAST trying on the highest heeled shoes they could find! When they closed, we went next door to Ross, which was closing in. . yup, you guessed it, 15 minutes! Again, the girls raced to the shoe department! We also got frozen yogurt, and all I got was a picture of the girls with their spoons! It was one of those unplanned but super fun nights!!

AZ

The day after Christmas we went to Arizona. We went specifically to spend time with family--so I apologize to our friends who live there that we didn't see this time! It was really nice to be with our cousins, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles and grandparents! Thanks for the wonderful visit!

Visit with Uncle Mike, Aunt Corine, Uncle Dan and Uncle Paul

Visit with Gary's Grandma Garrard. The kids Great Grandma!

Cousins!

Lauren and Grampy.

And lastly, we were finally able to see my brother Paul perform at Jester'z. It was such a great night! If anyone is interested, here is the website : JESTERZ

Here is a clip of my brother Paul, telling the story of Rapunzel. He was told to do a character that was "sassy". This is his take on it. All of these guys make up everything on the spot, based on what the audience suggests.

Merry Christmas!

Did you have a good Christmas this year? We had a really nice one! We found a great picture spot on Christmas Eve that overlooks the ocean city and mountains. It was beautiful!

Big Bear Ride

Gary took the oldest 2 out on a off-roading ride to Big Bear. They went hiking and had a really fun day!

sailing

The kids got to go sailing with Grampy and Uncle Mike! What a great way to spend a day!

soccer season

Matthew finished up a really fun soccer season this fall! He was on a team with some of his buddies that he's had since pre-school! Go Blue Thunderclouds!