Ryan's in the newspaper!

They had an assembly at Ryan's school yesterday talking about adopting a Navy Seabees battalion heading to Afghanistan. The Moorpark Star was there reporting on it, and Ryan got this picture in the newspaper! He was trying on this vest.

Moorpark school adopts Seabees headed to Afghanistan : Moorpark : Ventura County Star

Happy Valentine's Day

Valentine's around here was pretty low key. Jason had to work on Valentine's so he wanted to take me out the night before. I wasn't feeling well due to a persisting tooth ache, but my sweetheart didn't want the holiday to get by without a celebration! I appreciate that! I appreciate that he loves me and wants to take me out and have an evening away! We went to dinner at Wood Ranch (always a good choice) and a movie.


On Valentine's day, the twins had baseball practice. I left Darren home while I took the boys. When I got back there was a vase on the counter with a few roses from our garden (the garden is sparse right now due to weather). There was a homemade card from my son also, expressing his love for me and desire to have presented me with something more than the few shabby flowers from our garden. I couldn't love that sweetie any more! They were the most BEAUTIFUL and THOUGHTFUL flowers I had ever received! Including the floral shop delivery from my Dad, earlier that day. I really appreciated having Darren take it upon himself to surprise me and show me affection and appreciation by this thoughtful actions. What a simple, happy day I had! I sure felt loved by my dear family!

Jumprope Team!

 

 

 

Ryan made the jumprope team at school this year. He had to try out, and was the only 2nd grade boy to make the team which is made up of 2nd-5th graders. This was his first performance. We were very proud of him and his dedication to weekly practices after school, and excited to see how much he had learned.

Here is Ryan doing the "egg-beater." This is because there are two jump ropes going, and they pass a basketball back and forth to each other. Ryan is at the very end, and gets cut off but you get the idea.


In this video clip Ryan is the 3rd to jump in. I think they call this one "rainbow."

Gwen Turns ONE!

 

This is my niece Gwen! She's adorable! Allison has been anxiously awaiting her to get big enough to really play with! Now that Gwen can walk, I think she fits the bill! Allison loved holding Gwen as a baby, but now Gwen can toddle around with Alli. What fun! We celebrated with a small family get together at Nana & Papa's house. She' getting so big so fast. We love getting together with the family and having dinner and fun! Ty and Em - your little family is so sweet!

Mammoth!

We had another fantastic trip to Mammoth, thanks to our awesome friends, the Gredings!  It snowed the entire time we were there! It was magical! The boys went skiing and remembered all their training from last year. They loved the slopes and even tried a half pipe? I wasn't there but that's what they were raving about! 

Allison got to really enjoy the snow this year, being old enough to understand it better. She loved the snow falling on her and trying to make snowballs. Although, the snow was so fresh and powdery that it was near impossible to form a good snowball. That's when you get creative like Jason and use a shovel to dump snow on people! Ugh! As a recipient of that shovel of snow, I can assure you, it's not fun!

We loved hanging out with our dear friends, playing games, staying up late talking and laughing, having our kids play together & have a giant slumber party in the bunk room, having Blake get his first kiss from a little girl who shall remain nameless, reading by the fire, sharing meals and best of all desserts, and all the other memories created in just a few short days. Thanks again!

California City

We spent the day off school at California City. It was beautiful there! We had the entire area to ourselves. It was large and open and a great place to ride and play. The boys are getting pretty good on their bikes. Alli loved riding too and just hanging out. Darren brought his air soft guns. We had target shooting contests. Darren won. We also brought the dog with us. She was in HEAVEN! She could roam and chase the motorcycles all day long. She never had so much exercise!

DARREN:

 

RYAN:




BLAKE:



ALLISON:

Supercross!

Daddy bought the boys Supercross tickets for one of their Christmas gifts! They have made this a tradition the past few years, and something the boys always look forward to. This year the Hanshaw and Wright father-son teams joined them. They all came home as excited as ever about the evening. Supercross has lots of great races and a lot of exhibition stunts to entertain the crowds!

Here's a quick video if you want a small taste of Supercross fun. Stay tuned til the end for the best tricks.... back flips! Crazy!

Growing Up!

I have neglected to post the twins' school pictures for a while now. While doing some blog catch-up, I didn't want to miss these. My babies will be turning 8 in three short months. I can't believe it! Where has the time gone??


My Blake... adorable, sensitive, blue-eyed Blake. This is the child who will do anything I ask at any moment. He will cuddle me more than any of my others. He loves to play with his baby sister, but also is quick to tease and torment her as well. Blake loves to sit and pet the dog, and spend quality alone time with her. He has developed a comedic personality and portrays this in the original stories he tells to amuse me, and his quick-witted responses. Dirt-bike riding is a favorite hobby of his. Blake is truly a joy to have in our family.



My Ryan... athletic, passionate, sweetheart Ryan. Ryan loves to try new things, especially if it is something competitive. He tries hard to excel in all things. He loves all sports and plays them well. He is a perfectionist which often causes him frustration when things aren't the way he expects. He loves his family and would do anything for them. Ryan is obedient and always eager to please and choose the right. I am grateful to be blessed with him as a son.

Happy New Year!

 

The kids and I spent New Year's Eve gathered together with good friends!
The evening started off with a yummy feast.
After that the kids went upstairs to watch videos and play games.


The grown-ups played SCUM and Apples to Apples, and enjoyed a lot of good laughs!



When it was time to watch the ball drop, the cable went out, so we did our own count down. The kids made lots of noise! Tracy provided lots of popper with streamers which were everywhere! What fun!


Allison almost slept through it, but eventually the noise got to her. Here's how she looked in her first pictures for 2009:



It was a great time! Thanks to the Weymouths for hosting and all our friends for your love and friendship! Happy New Year Everyone!

Christmas Morning!

 

 

Christmas morning was torture for my kids this year!  Jason had to work Christmas Eve, and didn't get off duty until 8am on Christmas morning.  We got home late from Riverside the night before, so I hoped they would sleep in. Yeah, right! But they were given strict instructions to NOT wake anybody and STAY in their rooms if they did wake up before Dad got home.  I put some of their new gifts in their rooms, ones they had received from Grandparents & cousins the night before. They were allowed to play with those while waiting for Dad. I even put up a baby gate in the middle of the hallway so I'd hear them if they tried to sneak.  They all did really well! But I don't think they could have waited another minute! Good thing Dad got home when he did!

We had a wonderful Christmas day. It was relaxing and enjoyable. We didn't have to rush off to anyone's house. We had Jason's Grandma, Lola Zeitler, with us from Christmas Eve until the following Sunday. It was nice to spend time with her and have the kids get to bond with her for those few days also.  Over the next couple days we had Christmas celebrations with my Mom and with Jason's family. It was an extended Christmas in a way. I enjoyed spreading it out over the course of a few days, and feeling the spirit of Christmas a bit longer.

Christmas Eve

 

Christmas Eve with the Price Family!

Knott's Berry Farm

Our day of alternate learning experiences (a.k.a. ditching school!)

You HAVE to click on this group of pictures to enlarge it and appreciate the impact of Allison's facial expressions. Her first ride walking in the gates of Knotts! Thanks to big brother "B" for helping her through it!

Some of our other fun rides and activities.

The boys rode this ride about 4 times. It suited them all perfectly... not too tall, not too fast, not too scary!

On the Job...

 

That's Jason... just another day at the office... putting out a fire in someone's house.

Really? How cool is that? I love that he enjoys his job, especially since he has to spend a lot of time there. Thanks to our friend, Sebastian, who has a police scanner and follows the action with his camera.