SeaWorld Visit

In case anyone was wondering if we were going to make it to Sea World this month, the answer is YES! We made a quick trip yesterday. We saw the dolphin show, played in Elmo's play land, and saw the Pets Rule. The kids even got to pet the kangaroo, which was surprisingly soft.

Friend's Birthday Party

We went to a birthday party for the kids' friend, Julian, today. He turned four. We were asked to bring a few chairs for musical chairs. Lexi excelled at it. In fact, she won the first game. Jordan, however, didn't quite get it at first. He was quickly eliminated because he wanted to sit in "his chair" that we brought. He bypassed the open chair near him and was quite upset to discover that someone else got it. During the second game, Jordan was much more aggressive. At one point, the other kids had grabbed a chair and there was one left for Jordan or Lexi. They both kind of froze and didn't want to fight over it. Lexi insisted that Jordan take it. Everyone was impressed by how nice she was to her brother.

The cake was quite interesting at the party. Besides being shaped and decorated as a train, it was gluten-free, dairy-free, and soy-free. My friend recently graduated from medical school as a holistic doctor and they have a very strict diet.

Friday Photos

I decided that today was a good day to take a few pictures of the kids. I grabbed my mom's camera & we went out back.

Matching with Grandma

This morning, Grandma was off in her bathroom getting ready while I was getting the kids and me ready for church. When Lexi was all dressed and her hair was done, she went in to show Grandma how beautiful she looked and was surprised. Grandma had inadvertently put on a similar dress. It was so cute that I had to take pictures. Lexi loved matching Grandma today.

Self Portraits

Enjoying the Christmas Spoils

This week has been about getting back into routines with a new twist thanks to all of the spoils of Christmas. The Wii has been fun. Below, you can see Lexi working on her ski jumps. First, she is bending her knees to go down the slope. Then, she is stretching out to make a perfect landing. They have also loved the other new toys. Of course, we are still going to the YMCA almost every day.

Lexi the Photographer

Lexi, like lots of kids, has been asking for a camera for a while. I don't think it is a necessity for a kid, but I happened to find a very cheap one ($14). I bought it for Christmas. Unfortunately, it was impossible to download the pictures. She was quite sad and I felt bad. I ended up giving her my old one that had been sitting around for a while. Here are some of her photos from today. I didn't upload some of the very blury ones and I refuse to post any that may or may not have been taken of my butt.

CTR4 at Church

Yesterday was the first Sunday of the year, which means big changes in the LDS church. Many wards (congregations) start meeting at a different time. Fortunately, the church building we attend only has two wards and the other one is for single people. They like their 1pm starting time and our ward likes its 9am time. That isn't the only change though. It is when all the classes get to advance to the next level. Last year, Lexi was a Sunbeam. Yesterday, she became a CTR-4 along with all the other kids in her class. CTR stands for Choose the Right. She was very excited about moving up and getting a new teacher.

Cheesecake Heaven

Papa's daughter, Kathryn, sent him an entire Godiva cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory for Christmas. As you can see from the pictures, we have been in cheesecake heaven. Lexi happens to be a chocoholic, so she enjoyed every bite. I snapped a few pictures of the kids eating the last pieces with Grandma's new camera.

New Years Eve Wii Party

Our New Years Eve plans included a quiet evening at home. On the way home from the zoo, we stopped at Target to check out a few things for the Wii and got more than planned. Plus, we happened to park near Albertsons. Lexi told Grandma that we should have fruits and veggies at our party, so they stopped in there to pick up the supplies. Grandma made a nice turkey noodle soup and we had several dips to go along with our veggies. I had planned to let the kids stay up later, but Lexi told me she was ready for bed at ten to eight. That was the end of the party for her.