Disneyland Adventure

After our stay in El Centro, we met my parents at Disneyland. And I've never had so much fun at Disneyland. We played hard and the kids were amazing. They soaked up Disneyland. And it truly was a magical vacation.

This little guy came and took Chrissie's hand and went for a little stroll with her.

Matthew on the buzz ride-his favorite (at this point).

Chrissie's first time on Space Mountain.

Chrissie patiently waiting to see the princesses.

Eating ice cream before the fireworks show.

Up to this point the buzz light year ride was Matthew's favorite ride. Then he rode Thunder Mountain and that became the new favorite.

And this is what Jane did while the kids rode Thunder Mountain over and over. She found a perfect little spot to hang out and never moved from it.

The kids and I rode Thunder Mountain with the grandparents. Grandpa's tummy was hurting that day so he wasn't very adventurous with the rides, but, he couldn't say 'no' to Matthew. And Matthew insisted on sitting on the outside. Grandpa got stuck in the middle and got tired of hearing me ask, "Dad, are you holding him?" And then saying, " Hang on to him.... Hold him like this...." He just kept giving me this look, which he conveniently posed for the camera.

Enjoying some more ice cream before the water show at California Adventure.

Rick and the kids (I was riding Space Mountain) happen to come across a little Mary Poppins show on our first day. Chrissie stood there watching Bert and Mary Poppins dancing when all of a sudden Mary Poppins came up to Chrissie took her hand and started dancing with her. Here is a video of Chrissie as one of the "chimney sweepers."

El Centro

We spent Easter in El Centro, CA. It's the town my dad grew up in and some of his siblings still live there. We went to visit our Aunt Tamra/Uncle Richard and our cousin Katherine. Notice the usage of "our" that is because this family is both Rick and mine's relatives. To clarify, Rick and I have no blood relation. However, we share the same aunt and uncle (my dad's brother married his mom's sister). And this information was learned after Rick and I began dating. Needless to say we had a wonderful visit. Katherine and Tim have six kids and live next door to Aunt Tamra-so my kids were entertained all day long.

Chrissie and Anne (7 yrs old) played all day long. We never heard from them. We'd occasionally see Chrissie run out of the playhouse with a shawl, gather some food and hurry back in-I think there must have been a blizzard because she was "shivering" and had such a hurried manner about herself. These girls spent the days with their dolls in a far away land.

Sam and Matthew doing some very cool tricks on the trampoline. If these boys were not jumping on the trampoline than they were usually out looking for adventure, which always included guns/swords. Or they were being kicked out of the playhouse by the girls.

Some day I will properly know how to ride a horse. As for now, I hold on and pray that I don't fall off.

The kids did a little zip-linin' across the street. This zip line was perfectly engineered for kids-they played on it for quite some time.

It was a wonderful trip.

Twinkle Graduation

Chrissie had her first violin recital this evening: Twinkle Graduation. She played her variation themes and "Twinkle, twinkle, little Star." She performed beautifully and was glowing the rest of the evening as she was showered with flowers and praises.

Chrissie was so excited to have her Grandma Zinn watching her recital using Skype.

"hello toes" bow.

Chrissie did an excellent job bowing after each song.

And I just realized after posting these photos that she performed bare foot...wow, I'm an awesome mom. I've obviously got it all put together. But at least she could genuinely say "hello" to her toes while she bowed.

Our sweet Chrissie. It was a special night. I feel so honored to have her as my daughter.

visit from the Hardy cousins

We had a wonderful visit with the Hardy family last week. We played, swam, and played some more.

Apparently Rick did not get the "striped shirt" memo on our couples night out.

We played tennis. sweet, sweet Mindy. If only everyone could have a sister-in-law like Mindy. She has always been so kind to me and accepting of my quirks.

Oh, cute Jane. I love this girl. She's so sweet. However, having an older brother, has already taught her how to hit and say "no" as a means of self defense.Seeing this picture of Jane makes me want to wake her up and snuggle her with kisses.

Scott had a slight obsession with this frozen grapefruit drink. Lets just say we drank so much of it, per his request, that I haven't had a sip of one since they've left.

We spent a day at the Zoo.

Gotta love Chrissie. She is so sensitive to Matthew.

We made pizza. And I think Isaac talked to me the entire time he created his masterpiece.

Matthew really enjoyed rolling out his pizza dough. He kept insisting that he needed more and more and more flour.

Ahhh, good times with the Hardy family.