June Fun

The apartment complex we live in has two pools and our family spent most of June swimming in the one closest to our unit.  To date, there has only been one time when there was anyone else at the pool, so it has been like having our own pool.  Byron even took to taking the kids swimming after work - which they have loved.  We haven't done it in a while since it has gotten too hot in the evenings (which is so weird).  However, it is starting to cool off a bit and I think we will need to get in some more pool time.  This particular pool party was in June and Byron took the kids swimming by himself while I had a singing lesson and Robert went to a teen party.  When I got home, the kids were having a blast.

We decided to go and get a good hamburger for dinner and headed off to the Red Robin at the mall (which is about a mile away ... I love that).  The kids did so well and the service was so good, we had a great time (which is unusual when we take the kids out to eat).

Even Dad had fun coloring ... which has set a bad precedent because now Ginny and Ben have decided that Dad is here solely for coloring their pictures.  Josh, on the other hand, has discovered that he really likes to color and is doing a really good job!

So after the yummy strawberry lemonade and hamburgers, we decided to stroll the mall and just see what was there.  We found a Gymboree that definitely has the right idea about kids and shopping.  We walked into the store and kids made a bee line for the back of the store where there was a huge telelvision playing cartoons ... they didn't even move, just stared blankly at the screen. 

The bench also made for a nice photo - fun night!

New Home and New Hobby

The end of April saw our family moved to an apartment in Visalia.  We miss having a huge yard to run around in (especially Boggart), but we gain a really neat perk .... sidewalks!

A couple of weeks after we moved in, we went to the store and found some bikes for Joshua and Ginny.  Ben got Josh's bike - with a promise that he would get his own new bike when he could ride without training wheels.  We also got helmets for all three:

Byron put the bikes together with minimal help ... ;-)

I previously blogged about the bikes, but I didn't have the cable to get the pictures from the camera.  Now I have the cable, so I thought I would add the pics.  The kids love riding their bikes as often as they can.  Ben has tried riding without the training wheels, but has decided that he is just not ready for that and Ginny's helmet still doesn't fit too well.

Robert had been riding Byron's older mountain bike, but when a friend came to visit in July he borrowed the road bike (and Byron's riding shoes with the clips).  Now Robert prefers the road bike and loves to ride "clipped in" because he can go so much faster.  He has only managed to fall over while clipped in a couple of times so far!

Easter 2010

We had sooooo much fun for Ginny's birthday (and Byron was job hunting anyway) that we decided to stick around in Utah for General Conference and Easter.  I am so glad that we did because it was one of the best Easters ever for our family.  We started the weekend with Byron getting a cut on the head (he shaves his head now and I got cheapo razors thinking they would work just as well ...)  Brandy came to the rescue with the "only" band aid she could find .... Hello Kitty!

Easter morning found the kids at the bottom of the stairs.  The little ones made very determiend efforts to get past Uncle Brian and Uncle Byron (or daddy, depending on which cousin it was) who were blocking the hallway so that camera-bearing mothers could get into position.

The older kids (knowing better and really not very awake) just sat on the stairs and waited for the signal.

The baskets were beautifully filled and there were many real eggs hidden in the family room  - lots of fun! 

Then I had to go outside to get something from the car and found that at Aunt Brandy's house the Easter Bunny leaves footprints. 

There was a print on the porch, in the flowerbed, some grass and a jelly bean that had fallen out of the big basket on the doormat, but best of all ...

on the hood of Byron's car!!!!!  Now, honestly, I thought that Aunt Brandy had done this and I marvelled at her daring!  Turns out that the whole neighborhood has these footprints every year.  I think it is beautiful!  Byron spent the day worrying that the flour (that is what the prints turned into) would scratch the paint - he even drove around for a while so that it would "naturally" blow away.  No harm done.  I have GOT to see that the car gets parked outside next year ... too fun!

The afternoon (after Conference was over) brought the rest of the cousins for the Big Hunt.  We sent the kids in waves (youngest first) and sat back and watched.  It was so fun and the kids had a blast.  A very special thank you to Brandy for helping to make our family's Easter so very special, especially given the stress! 

Ginny's Birthday

In my ongoing quest to catch up this year, I have come to March!  We spent half of the month in Utah at the Slagle Mansion (great accomodations, not so great room service).  ;-)

We headed to Utah to commemorate Bryce turning 16 and advancing to a priest, so we decided to celebrate Ginny's birthday a week or so late so that we could have more of the family there.  What a fun party!  Thanks to Favorite Aunt Brandy for making the beautiful princess cake!

We had a large crowd of cousins - which was a good thing because the cake was huge!  The kids had a blast play and eating. 

Ginny got lots of wonderful presents (we only left one doll and a couple of puzzle pieces behind when we left to come home).

Among her other fabulous presents were cowboy boots from Mimi and Papa.  We took her to the store and let her pick them out (with some assistance).  She loves them and, more imporantly, the attention she gets when she wears them.  Thanks Mimi!

Why back blogging is not a good idea

In sorting pictures to blog, I found these two of Ben and Ginny during lunch in February.  Once is pretty serious and in the other they are cracking up.  They look adorable, but I have no idea what was happening or why I took the pictures!  So random ...

Kindergarten Rodeo - February

In February, Joshua got to take part in a kindergarten rodeo which has become quite the tradition in Lake Isabella.  It was held at a corall in Kernville and was attended by all the kinders from both Wallace Elem and Kernville Elem.  The kids made their own stick horses - but didn't use them at the rodeo for some reason (we got Joshua's just before we moved and it is currently residing at the top of my closet after being mistaken by Ginny as a large baseball bat).  Notice that Joshua is in sandals - he blew out the tops of his sneakers just the day before and I didn't have a chance to get to Bakersfield to get new shoes ... he makes the perfect California cowboy, right?

I got to go and help out at the rodeo at the gold panning station.  The kids were so excited to find the gold-painted rocks that we had to put a limit on the number of rocks they could take with them.  Even so, we had those who would come and tell us they had "lost" their rocks and "needed" more.

Other stations included pole racing:

and barell racing: 

a relay where the kids had to put boots on and get from one end to the other.  Joshua chose some fishing waders which were taller than he was and had to have help getting into them, and getting out of them.  I tried for a picture, but it didn't turn out.  One of my favorites was the calf roping station. It took Josh awhile, but he eventually got his calf.  Of course, he managed to rope himself first, but he had a blast even so.

The also had barell set on little mounds of dirt which were rocked up and down by parents to make a "bull riding" station.  Earlier in the day some dads were sending kids absolutely flying!  By the time Joshua got there some moms had taken over and Josh got a great ride without catching air ... probably a good thing since Josh tends toward timidity, even with the lighter ride, he only wanted to get on once.  Now, if it had been Ben ...

All in all it was a fun day and Josh was happy to have all (or most) of my attention.

February Hike - First and Last

In February, Byron and Robert decided to get in shape for a summer hike to Mt. Whitney.  They decided to do a 5-mile hike in Kernville.  This was a great experience - one which decided both Byron and Robert against any hiking in the future. ;-)