First Day of Kindergarten - Ella

First Day of Kindergarten Pics

My kids are way too used to pictures.

I'm so excited Ella has four neighborhood/church friends in her class.

When I picked up Ella from her first day of school she was actually sad and said, "I don't want to go home." I guess that's a good thing!

My "Little Man"

Ever since Aidan was a baby I have called him Little Man. He has since acquired silly nick names like "honey boy, sweet cheeks, baby cakes, etc. I know - cheesy but he's my last one. This entry is dedicated to Aidan as we celebrated his 4th birthday last month. Yes, my baby is 4!

There is something so tender between a son and his mother. My relationship with both Nicholas and Aidan is quite different from my relationship with my daughter - Ella; not better or worse but just different. Let's say it is . . . romantic. We have this relationship that whenever I come home and the kids are home, Aidan will run to me and shout, "Mommy!" and give me the biggest hug. He is always telling me how much he loves me and wants to make sure I know he loves more than anyone in the whole wide world - as much as Heavely Father loves us all he ssays. Nicholas is 17 and he still seeks me out when he comes home and will often just lay with me in my bed just to talk or not. He holds my hand when we go for walks and will give me a hug when he knows I need one.

Anyway, back to Aidan. Here are a few things Aidan has set in the recent weeks I have found quite amusing.

1. "Daddy loves skin milk but I don't think I will like it." I haven't corrected him. I think it's too funny.

2. On our way home from San Diego, we insisted Aidan take a nap. After finally falling asleep and after a couple hours he said (without us knowing he had woken up), "Can I wake up now?"

3. "Mommy, can I have those shoe nuts?" Me - "shoe nuts?" Aidan, "Yes, those SHOE nuts!" I finally figured it out - cashews.

4. Aidan was getting frustrated when he was trying to get Ella to count to "while."
Aidan - Ella, count to while.
Ella - What?
Aidan - Count to WHILE!
Ella - I don't understand you.
Aidan - You know. When mommy says in a while . . . "

Oh my, I guess I put off my kids way too much.

5. We were talking about King Benjamin today and living with Heavenly Father if we are righteous.
Aidan - Is heaven as far as San Diego?
Me - Oh, much farther
Aidan - Oh, no.

We started the party with musical chairs. These little ones are too cute!


Of course we had to play pin the tail on the donkey.

Samuel and Aidan loved getting wet. Oh look, my garden. I love how it turned out! But it was a lot of back breaking work.

Aidan wanted a pirate party so he and Matt built this wooden ship and we put it on the cake - ta da! It's all about simple!

Darling - Darling!

I love you, Aidan!

Sea World

I guess it's taking me longer between posts!

Yay for Sea Word! We got there early at opening and stayed till 8 but still didn't get to do everything. Crazy. I was especially sad we missed feeding the dolphins. By the time we got to it, it was closed :(.

Here are a few pics:


Ella posing outside the penguin exhibit. They are seroiusly much smaller than they apprear in Batman! So cute!

Yes! This Shamu show was so worth it! We got there a half hour early to make sure and get front and center seats in the SPASH zone. We were drenched and it felt soooo good. Amazing creatures, truly.

Nicholas and Aidan in Abby's Sea Star Spin. I can't believe Aidan remembered the name (just now).

Okay, so these flamingos were so interesting. Here is Ella (brave) while these flamingos go up and down the row of girls mostly sitting and "grooming" their hair! They do this with each othe as a bonding gesture. I felt really bonded when they did it to me!

This tortoise is only 9 years old and will live to be at least 75. It was having a feast with this grass here.

You can't see here but these are toucans.

If I could have a few wishes, one would be to swim with these beautiful animals.

I love this photo of Aidan with the beluga whale. They are so innocent looking and the white is so eye catching.

Not quite the same as Dumbo - Elmo's Flying Fish - but fun living it through our kids' eyes.

We will have to get back there soon!

The Best Vacation Ever!

Our family had the wonderful opportunity to spend a week in La Jolla, CA. It was a much needed vacation and absolutely amazing! We stayed in a condo just a block from the beach. We went to the beach everyday except the day we went to Sea World. We played Rock Band, slept in, ate fish tacos at Wahoos, and just had a blast. I don't think I can remember ever lounging by the beach everyday, reading next to the waves, playing with my kids in the ocean and riding boogie boards with 20 year- olds. There are tons of pictures. I will keep my comments short and let the photos speak for themselves.

1st Day - Windandsea Beach, La Jolla, CA

This first beach is definitely a surfer beach and everyone there was 25 or younger and I was the only one in a one piece! The waves were amazing and the tow was quite strong. After riding in a wave with the boogie board, the top of my suit came down and revealed some embarrassing body parts! Matt ran over to me to cover me up. He was more embarrassed than I was. I was so oblivious from being knocked around and glad to be on my feet, I had no idea - Oh my . . . . , nice first day! Obviously, no photos.

Aidan kept asking the whole drive down if we would bury him in the sand when we got there so of course we did first thing.

Ella just enjoying filling her bottle with sand. Who needs sand toys?

Matt on the boogie board. See - bikinis - everywhere. I felt like a grandma! Why is everybody staring at me?

Matt and Nicholas catching wave together.

Ella & Aidan - happy as clams!

2nd Day - La Jolla Shores Beach

It was perfect! It had something for everyone. This beach is much more forgiving of beginner surfers and the waves were perfect for the kids. These beaches have checkered flags so surfers vs boogie boarders and swimmers can be separated for safety reasons.

Nicholas cannot get enough of the surfboard. I swear he's half fish. He wouldn't even come in for food!

Matt on the surfboard. I'm not sure if he ever stood up, but he looks good!

Matt and the kids build this beautiful sand fortress. You had to see it - no tools. They did this while I napped on the beach. I'm in heaven!

I promise there are a few photos of me somewhere.

Aidan's first time on the boogie board. This was about it for him.

And, this is why . . . my poor baby!

Then there's Ella riding in on a wave ALONE! What?? She's also part fish, by the way.

3rd Day - Coronado Island

This place is just beautiful. I could live here.

This is a photo (not mine) of Hotel del Coronado. It is the largest all wood building in the U. S. built in 1888. It's the hotel where Somewhere in Time was filmed and is truly breathtaking in person.

Oh, here I am! Across the street from the hotel.


This tree is so brilliant. It has bright pinkish red flowers all over it. It is called Bougainvilleas, native to Brazil and so gorgeous. I felt like I was in Hawaii here, so tropical.

Our view from the beach our 3rd day - Coronado Beach. Yep, feels like Oahu's Waikiki beach.

The seaweed there is really long and actually quite pretty. Again, who needs toys when you have seaweed to pull around?

4th Day - SEA WORLD!!!

I love Sea World; something about seeing God's creatures from the sea close up. It's inspiring.

There are too many photos to share. I will have to create a separate post. Here are a couple photos, though.

I couldn't wait to see the manatees - my personal favorite. It's something about them. They just seem like gentle giants. They are sometimes referred to as sea cows and weigh about 1,000 pounds and are herbivores. I had to get a manatee mug for my hot cocoa (actually I drink Pero)this winter - yea, my very OWN hot cocoa mug!

Okay, so these seals bark REALLY loud! Some of them would stand up and lean against the wall/window barking for fish that people paid to feed them! It was quite humorous to see these non-legged creatures standing!

5th Day - San Diego Temple and La Jolla Cove

I was so excited to go inside this temple. I have seen it from the outside but it is even more spectacular inside. There is an atrium inside where you can actually see Moroni from. Matt and I started our day with a run along the beach then showered and went to the temple. We then came and grabbed the kids and headed to La Jolla Cove for some snorkeling!

Nicholas catching in some of the brightest orange fish I've ever seen. Apparently, there were some octopus and lobsters but we didn't see any. I was a little leery because the water wasn't too clear and I was having trouble with my snorkel gear. It turns out it had a hole! Nicholas held my hand the whole time!

Oh my goodness! Ella and Aidan had so much fun collecting all these hermit crabs everywhere as well as actual crabs. It was so sweet!

6th Day - Back to La Jolla Shores - our favorite.

Aidan has become "one" with the ocean by now.

I love how dirty Aidan got on this day. If you're not dirty, you're not having fun is what I like to say.

Aidan is always trying to catch some sort of animal. I thought this was sweet even if it is a scavenger sea gull.

Ella making a star fish. She enjoys getting dirty, too. She's my daughter all right!