YouTube anyone?

This is a new favorite past time of the kids. To sit on their dad's lap and watch videos of whatever their request for the day is. Volcanoes erupting, spiders, animals you name it they will sit with Bryan until he cuts them off. It is crazy the things that my kids do now that were not even an option for me. How old do I sound?!

Let the child labor begin!

If we keep training them, by this time next year we may never have to get out of bed!

Pear blossom 2008

Several weekends back we went to the Pear Blossom parade in downtown Medford. The weather was beautiful and the kids were all excited to go. Jake remembered last year at the 4th of July parade that we went to how much candy he got so he even brought his bucket hat with him to hold all his candy in it. Once we got to the parade it became evident that they were not throwing candy this year. How sad is that! Even sadder is this picture of Jake standing with his hat ready to get candy that was never going to come.

We did not stay for the whole thing because it was getting hot and past nap time. We did stay long enough to see clowns, guys on big bikes, horses and other parade type things. It was fun to go but the part Jake liked best was when we stopped at 7-11 on the way home to get some candy that we did not get at the parade. Here are a few more pics from the day.

So serious.

Better view from Dad's shoulders.

Cute girl.

Watching from the curb.

Draw, Draw, Draw

Jake spends a lot of time drawing away on his "magnet doodle". He is actually starting to rub off on Kate too. Volcanoes, dinosaurs, and spiders are some of his favorites. These are two of his recent efforts that I could get a picture of before he erased them. The top is a duck and the bottom, of coarse, is me(his mom). I'm sure you could tell by the resemblance but I just thought I would make sure you knew.

Wide eyed superhero

If only my mom had cut the holes where my eyes go in this sleep mask I might actually be able to see out of this awesome new mask!

Say Cheese!!! No seriously she is cheesy

When you tell Kate to smile or say cheese this is the face you get. Isn't she lovely?

Pack your bags

When we were getting ready to go to Washington, we got the kids suitcases out. Jake went up in his room and then came downstairs to tell me that he had packed his own bag. I decided that I might want to check it out and this is what I found: his blanket, 2 pairs of underwear, 2 pairs of socks, 1 pair of shorts, 4 pairs of pants and 1 pair of p.j.'s. Apparently he was planning on spending the whole week topless. I'm sure he is now glad that I helped him finish packing because we got snow almost every day that we spent there and he would have been mighty cold with no shirts and shoes. I love how independent he thinks he is these days. Man I love him!

Washington Easter Trip

We were able to head up to Washington and spend Easter and the whole next week visiting family and friends. The kids were great seeing so many different people and soaked up all the attention. They really loved all the Easter candy and toys. Talk about the gift that keeps on giving. The candy finally got finished off this last weekend. Once again there were so many people that we did not get pictures of but we will remember them in our heads if not on film. We sure love you all and can't wait to visit again!

Pre-Easter Egg Hunt

The day before Easter we got to go to a egg hunt here in Medford. Jake was on the old end of his age group so he cleaned up and filled up his bucket. Kate got three eggs and could not have been happier. They both had fun and it was a good warm up because we left that afternoon for Washington where the kids got to hunt several more times.

This is as close as Jake would get to the Easter Bunny. No hugs yet. Maybe next year.

Jake with his loot.

Kate just happy to be there. If you click on the picture you can see the runny nose she had. Still cute though!

Oldie but goodie

This is from a while back but I'm catching up so it is just now making it to the blog. Bryan has been working with Jake on memorizing his Articles of Faith for primary. He has been working really hard and has gotten # 4 down since we recorded this. They sound so cute coming from his little voice.

Happy 30th birthday to... Jessica!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is a quick shout-out to my (Bryan's) favorite girl, Jessica...and yes, there are 30 exclamation marks in the title. You are the best wife and mother in the world. For instance, much like John below, you too are trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent. Moreover, you always do your duty to God and your country and you obey the house rules; you help other people at all times, you keep yourself physically strong, mentally awake, and morally straight. I hate to sound like a boy scout, but you even do a good turn daily. Lastly, and on a more serious note, thank you for everything you do and I LOVE YOU!

Look how far she has come!

Leno Trip

Here is a little look into the fun Bry and I had when we went to LA a couple weeks back. It all went pretty fast but was a ton of fun. It was the first time we have both been away from the kids at the same time over night and they did great. Even just looking at the pictures again makes me appreciate having a husband that is willing to try crazy stuff and the fun time we got to have as a result!

A tribute to John Beatty

John takes time out of his busy schedule every now and then to posts comments on our blog so we would like to take a moment and tell you about this fascinating individual. John married Jessica's sister, Rachel, many, many moons ago. Make no mistake about it, John is a fantastic individual. We appreciate his humor, his vast knowledge about pop culture, how much he cares for the environment, his wit, and his garage. He is a man of many hobbies and passions and he also has a soft place in his heart for small and large animals alike. John is one of a kind and ultimately there is not enough room on this blog to tell you all the great things about him. Suffice it to say, he possesses traits such as trustworthiness, loyalty, helpfulness, friendliness, courtesy, kindness, obedience, cheerfulness, thriftiness, bravery, cleanliness, and reverence and these are just a few of the reasons why we love and admire the man we call John.