The beach (even in the winter)

I had a photography moment while watching my kids play in the water. The texture of the sand and the water and even the building's reflection just caught my eye.


I love this one. My purpose was the pattern in the sand, but there is a bonus. I just love the fisherman in the corner, almost as though he is an afterthought, but still part of the scene.Again, I was struck by the patterns of the reflections in the water, including Emma's.
Is this not the happiest boy in the world?! He is never as happy anywhere as he is at the beach...
The beach has really become a personal playground to him. He stands here and just stares at the waves, mesmerized, then he breaks from his reverie and runs like crazy in circles so the waves can't catch him.
This little boy is in heaven at the beach. The water, the sand, the seagulls...why is it when we are young we are so convinced that we can catch sea gulls?


We have been to the beach often enough that I am beginning to look for more creative shots. Unfortunately the picture was a little blurred but it almost adds to the effect. I wanted her silhouette as she chased the retreating waves. This picture makes me think of childhood, the carefree feeling...

What the rest of us do

So Andy is a busy guy and trying to balance the most important things in his life can be a challenge. So, we try to support him how we can. The kids love the beach anyway!
We went down to the beach one day after Briley got out of school. The wind died rather suddenly and so the kiters make their way out of the water. Briley is retrieving a board for someone who had taken his kite to the beach to land it. He left his board in the water and she was worried that the surf would take his board.
Andy comes to visit usually and hang out with the kids for a bit before returning to the water. In the mean time, this is what the rest of us do while he kite surfs.


Cameron has told us that when he is a big boy, he will get to kite surf with his daddy. He is actually really excited for that day. I think this summer Andy is going to put him up on his kiteboard so he starts to get the feel of the board and the water. 3 isn't too young, is it?! (oh, and he is building the Great wall of China-do you see the resemblance?)

Kiteboarding

Andy has been spending a lot of his free time kiteboarding. It is much like wakeboarding but without the boat! So much cheaper for us! It is quite chilly so he is in a full wetsuit and generally stays in the water until he can't work his fingers.This kite is actually a borrowed one. His kite is in the shop. He was trying to avoid another kiter who was not paying attention and his kite dropped out of the air. A combination of an overinflated kite and rough surf popped his bladder and ripped the kite. He almost had his back in time for this day until the guys repairing his kite realized that the wrong bladder had been shipped. So they let him borrow one from the store...
You can see some of his gear in this picture. The wind had died (enough to keep hi kite up to walk into the beach but not enough to surf with) and so he was walking in. I will not pretend to understand all his gear but I do know that he is in a harness with a safety release (that was important for my peace of mind!)

Just for fun

Briley lost another tooth. This one she yanked out herself. Her first tooth (a little over a year ago) her aunt had to bribe her with $5 to get it out and now she won't leave a loose tooth alone until it's gone! She also recently has taken to getting her hair curled on Sundays. It makes her look so old!
Emma takes Logan for rides on her back while crawling around on the floor. He thinks it's great fun and laughs hysterically. So the other two now take him for rides as well. We had some friends over for dinner the other night and they have a newly turned one-year-old son. He walks mostly but suddenly decided to crawl. We heard their son screaming, came around the corner to find Logan on his back! Apparently anyone on all fours is in need of being ridden!
Cameron recently discovered something out of his sister's closet that he just can't live without. He loves Briley's pink kitty-cat rainboots! Check out that grin!

Bunk Beds

The time is fast approaching that Logan will be ready for his big boy bed. We decided to get bunk beds for the boys room. Cameron tends to be resistant to change, but then adapts well once it happens. So some friends came over to help take apart Cameron's bed because they were going to take it for their son. Cameron was not ok with this new development for his morning! He is screaming at me here that he does not want bunkbeds.I tried to explain that he was going to be on the top and get to climb a ladder each time he wanted in his new bunkbed and that it was so exciting. He strongly disagreed, still screaming that he did not want bunkbeds. When the screaming did not change my mind, he started crying...
When Andy got the frame of his new bunk bed laid out on the floor, Cameron quickly adapted and became ridiculously excited for his new bed! Once it was finished, the kid would not come down (except for life's little necessities like eating and going potty and letting his little brother take a nap!). He spent a week in his new bed only leaving for necessary reasons. He still spends much of his time in his bunkbed!

Logan and Francis

Some friends came over to help with taking down the old twin bed and setting up the bunk bed and they brought their new puppy. His name is Francis. Logan loves dogs but he gets nervous when they are too close. He started out being scared of Francis but after an hour or so, he started to make friends. He laid here and talked to Francis and even read him a story! It was adorable!

Fancy Nancy

The girls have these books called Fancy Nancy. They are about this little girl who just loves to be fancy, and her family does not. Emma immediately fell in love with this story (I think empathizing with Fancy Nancy!) and wanted to make her room fancy just like Fancy Nancy. I told her we had to ask Briley first because it is her room too. Well, Briley quickly agreed and the fancification of their room began. We started last May and finally finished after New Year's. THis project catapulted me into the seriously crafty mom category!

I fancied up the chair that the girls are sitting in making sparkle-y princess pillows to sit on and the pink shiny satin cover. I put rhintestones on it (they lasted a day-Logan thought they were too cool for the chair!) and pink ribbons. This is what happens when Andy goes snowboarding with the scouts for 3 days!


Emma wanted to fancy up for her picture in her fancy chair. This suits her all too well! She chose her fancy stuff right down to her glittery lip gloss.

Briley has a style all her own. She made her fancy hat (like the bonnets from the old days in the 1700s according to her!) and the blanket makes a beautiful scarf!The before...


...and after of this corner


Before...

...and after
Since the girls share a room and don't have a place where they can go to be alone, I wanted to make curtains for their beds. Now they have their own little space where they can be all alone. You can't see in the picture but the fabric is shiny and shimmery with pink stars and gold swirls backed with pink satin. They both love having a little place of their very own where they can hide.

The fire station

A good friend of ours is a fire fighter. Cameron adores this friend and this is how the fire truck obsession began. I took him to the fire station the first time when he was just 12 months old and that is when it started. Our friend hurt his back and did not work for several months. When Cameron found out that he was going back to work, the very first thing Cameron needed to know was when we got to go back to the fire station. Apparently he missed it as much as our friend did (maybe more!)

Cameron was rather comfortable in the driver seat of the fire engine. Perhaps he will follow in our friend's footsteps and be an engineer! An honorable profession I believe!

Emma is a monkey and will climb and swing from anything, including a fire engine!
Logan was rather intrigued with the size of the wheel and the lugnuts. Then he discovered his reflection!
This smile really tells the story. Cameron is so happy on the fire engine.

Our friend always gives the kids the little plastic fire helmets. Logan thought it was great (right up until he snapped the elastic chin strap against his skin).


Daddy got to try on a real helmet.

Our friend then took us for a ride around the block in the fire engine. I think this was the highlight for all boys involved!

This was Emma's favorite part. She got to spray the "garden hose" at it is referred to by the fire fighters. This is their 1 1/2 inch line, the smallest one they have. Cameron loves to spray water, but the engine has to be on to pump the water from the truck. The noise was too much for him and he didn't want anything to do with it! The nozzle is an aluminum alloy and weighs very little compared to older models. My dad has a nozzle from his day as a fire fighter in the Airforce (in the 1970s). It is solid brass and weighs 30 pounds!

December

Here are a few of the random things we did during the month of December.

I took the kids to the zoo. Cameron just loves the flamingoes. I think he likes them so much because they are so close and there are so many. We sit here for about a half an hour usually. The other animals get 1-5 minutes!

Even though it is not Halloween anymore, he still thinks he is Buzz Lightyear!

In the middle of the month, Emma had her dance recital, Rockin' Christmas Countdown. This is her Jazz class performing. This dance was performed to Jingle Bell Rock. She really loved this class but has decided that she now wants to be a ballerina. Look for that recital in June!

The other class she did was called Key Note Kids. It was singing and dancing. She was in a class of 7 and 8 year olds and she did so well up there. She the littlest one on the left. Thank you so much for those of you that came to support her! It meant so much to her. And to those that came the previous week in the rain to see her cancelled show! We love you!

Her daddy bought her a big bouquet of flowers after her recital. We are so proud of her!

After shopping at Costco one day, I brought my groceries home in this box. Emma determined that this was hers and made a little bed out of it.


Briley earned citizen of the month at school. She earned this award because she is a good role model for others, has outstanding classroom behavior and shows responsibility. We are so proud of her!


It's Logan and all of his cuteness again. This little boy just makes my heart ache in places I didn't know it could. I had no idea it would be this hard to have my littlest one grow up. One morning, after shouting as loudly as he could, Cameron woke up his little brother. Logan was less than thrilled with the idea. I changed his diaper and when I was done, he crawled up into my lap, tucked his "b" under his nose and laid down. He still fits, but I know that is only a matter of time. Under my request, Emma went and got the camera and took this picture. The moment only lasted a short time before it was over. He would have stayed longer but we had to take Briley to school.

Christmas Favorites

Now that it is December, I can share some of my favorite things about Christmas.



I love Nativity scenes. I love to see the Savior of the world in His humble beginnings, Lord of all, cradled in a manger. I love to be reminded that He, the Son of God, was not too good for something. He truly can understand our circumstances.






There are so many scriptures that testify of Jesus Christ and his divinity. My favorite, though, tell of his birth and his young childhood. Perhaps, because I am raising young children now, these verses have such impact. Perhaps it is the understanding that the Messiah came to Earth and began His life just the same as you and me. It was what He did with His life that made Him who he became.

There is a unique magic found only in Christmas. It was a wonder to me as a child, as I would sit by my tree at night after everyone else had gone to bed, and feel this magic in the quiet stillness of night. Only as I have gotten older have I come to understand what that magic is. It is the Spirit of Christ; His love, His mercy, His peace.

The magic seemed to only exist at night, when the lights were on. During the day, the tree was just a pretty tree, but at night, the magic came alive. Again, only as I got older did I begin to understand. The light of Christ, the light that fuels our souls, is represented by the lights on the tree. His light can penetrate even the hardest of hearts this time of year, and more kindness abounds (except at shopping malls...)