California Here We Come!

We just returned from "the happiest place on earth" and

escaped the winter weather for sunny southern California.

The boys loved our time at Crystal Cove Beach, near Laguna Beach. The highlight was seeing dolphins swimming and jumping just out from where we were standing.

Our new favorite ride is Toy Story Mania at California Adventure. Gabe loved seeing Mickey's house and riding on Pirates, Nemo, and the Haunted Mansion. Prior to our trip, Gavin measured everyone to see what rides they could go on. He was so excited to go on The Tower of Terror, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and Splash Mountain. He asked me, the 5 foot tall mother, if she was tall enough to go on all of the rides.

Because the lines were short~Ian, Isaac and I were able to go on Splash Mountain 4 times in a row without having to get off the ride!

Our dad really is Mr. Incredible!

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We returned home to Utah just in time for one of our spring snow storms.

At least our memories of the trip can keep us warm!

Once There Were Some Snowmen...

Snow fun at Grandpa's Cabin





Name Masterpiece.

Who live's in a Pineapple Under the Sea?

Snowboarding Adventure!

Ike's famous bathtub cake for the Blue and Gold Banquet.

Gavin meeting his favorite author, Brandon Mull who wrote Fablehaven.

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February included a lot of snow activities for the boys. Jeff, my brother and my dad took the kids to grandpa's cabin "The Hearthstone". They had fun snowmobiling and spending time with their cousins.

Gavin went to Snowbird to snowboard for the first time. Once he got the snowboard on and got his balance he took off like he'd done it a million times before. Jeff couldn't catch him! Gavin didn't want Jeff's help or his big brother Isaac's help and he requested that his dad snowboard on the other side of the hill. Jeff's got another snowboarding buddy! Jeff also took the scouts snow caving this month. Unfortunately, there wasn't much snow to construct the perfect snow cave.

Valentine's Week was filled with school activities. Gavin made a Spongebob Square Pants valentine box and I was able to help with the valentine parties in all of the boys classes. Ian is on the student council and they planned their first Jr. High dance. Everyone had a fun time and they stayed in a large group in the center of the gym to dance most of the night! The boys surprised me with flowers on Valentine's Day and Jeff and I were able to spend a quiet evening out.

Gabe the Great...Our 4 Year Old Magician

Performing his magic for his 4 year old friends.

Magic rabbit in the hat cake.

Birthday dinner. His favorite ~ Mac'n Cheese at The Olive Garden.

Gabe turned four on the 6th of January. We had a month long celebration with family and friends. His favorite gifts were Playmobil sets, a Batman Cave and magician supplies including a cape, hat and magic wand. He has perfected his magical performance and will mesmerize any guest entering our home. My favorite quote from him is, "Mom, remember when I was just a little kid."

Watch out Apolo Anton Ohno!

Jeff returned from the hospital on Christmas Eve. While he was tucking Ike into bed that night, he couldn't stop talking about how excited he was. He explained to his dad that he was excited about having dad home for Christmas. He really didn't care about any of the other gifts he would receive. This is the Christmas where our family learned the true meaning of Christmas. We grew so much as a family and were the recipients of much love and service from friends and family. We know that Heavenly Father answers prayers and comforts us during hard times.

We are now playing catch up....I was going through some of our recent school work and found this. In Gavin's first grade class, they had to write an essay on their favorite part of Christmas. He wrote, "My favorite part of Christmas was going to the Olympic oval to ice skate. I got a video camera and robot. I got a suck shin cup bow and arrow. I liked the sleep over at my grandma's house on new years eve to watch the ball drop."

Gavin was born 2 weeks after the 2002 Olympics closing ceremonies. He was disappointed to find out that he didn't physically see any of the events. I then explained to him that while he was my baby on board (I was 7 months along.) our family did just about everything you could have done during the Olympics. Gavin helped me gain handicap ticket status to the ski jumping because of my condition. We took Trax downtown a few times during the Olympics and spent a lot of time at the medals plaza. We walked around the U of U campus and saw the Olympic torch at the University of Utah.

Gavin was excited to skate at the Olympic Oval because he finally felt like he was part of it! Watch out Apolo Anton Ohno!

Happy New Year!

Thanks to my friend Sassy Mamma I have now entered the blogging world. We've had a crazy few weeks around here. My hubby ended up with a blood clot in his lung due to travel to Taiwan. We are so blessed that his health is better and most importantly that he could come home on Christmas Eve.

I am going to attempt to add some photos from the holidays. Here's to a happy and healthier 2009!

Happy New Year!!!

A little bird told me that one of Petal's New Year's Resolutions is to start bloggin! Because of course, by January 1st all the shenanigans in her life will have come to a screeching halt.

xoxoxo
Sassy Mama

One of these days..

I'll get around to uploading my new fancies. Until then, onesassymama will continue to hijack my blog--trying to make it unique in her own special way.