Aruba

Danny's mom is kind enough to offer one of her time shares to her kids on their 10 year anniversary.  We ended up going to Aruba.  It was a blast and so relaxing.  My parents were also awesome and watched the kids while we were gone for a week.  To top it off, my sister and her husband joined us for even more fun.

We stayed at the Marriott Surf Club.  The rooms were absolutely beautiful, the pool was fantastic, and you can't beat being right on the beach.

One of the favorite things that we did was a sailing trip.  We sailed along the coast and stopped at two spots for snorkeling.

These are some of the starfish that one of the guys pulled up while we were snorkeling.

The island receives a lot of wind, so it is a great site to kite surf and wind board.  The wind was also nice to cool off the island.  The wind and humidity however, were not nice for my hair.

The interior of the island is a desert with a couple of large hills/small mountains in the center.  One morning my sister, her husband and I decided to climb to the top of Mt. Haystack.  They basically poured cement stairs straight to the top.  There were 560 steps to the top.  We laughed that they would never have something like this in the US - too many liabilities.  Luckily, none of us tripped.

This is a picture of Eagle Beach.  It had the best sand.  This beach is also where sea turtles come to lay their eggs.  We were actually in Aruba when they lay their eggs.

We actually went one night to the beach to try to see some of turtles lay their eggs, but were not able to see one.  This is a picture of the barriers they put up after a turtle lays her eggs, to protect them before they hatch.

One night we went to watch the sun set at one of the lighthouses.  Can you spot Danny?  He went to check out the 2 party buses.

The island has 2 natural bridges.  One of the bridges has collapsed, but one is still intact.

Aruba had a gold rush in the 1800's.  This is what is left of one of the gold mines.  They say there is still some traces of gold on the island.

We decided to try scuba diving.  Here is our instructor/guide Romeo.  He was quite the character.

Danny had to try wake boarding in the ocean.  It was quite the workout with the waves and the wind.

Some of the other highlights:  relaxing at the beach/pool, kayaking along the coast, going to church with the locals, and exploring local hangouts.  It was a great trip!  Is it too soon to start planning another one?

Andrew is 5!

Andrew turned 5 on April 26th.  We celebrated a couple of days before his birthday and went to the Brick Oven, since the kids think this is where they go now for their birthdays.  He was so happy to get to open presents and have new toys.  My mom took good care of him on his real birthday and made him a delicious cake and had more presents for him to open.

I really need to update this blog

So much has happened since Christmas - Anna finally lost some teeth, Nathan is a toddler, Andrew turned five, and the list goes on and on.  I don't know if I ever will get to it all, but while I try to get things organized here is a picture of Danny and me in Aruba.  We had a wonderful week, thanks to Danny's mom for the trip and my parents for watching the kids.

 

Christmas

We had a great Christmas break.  My sister and her husband surprised my parents by coming to join in the festivities.  They jumped out from under our Christmas tree (I had to put it up on table to keep out of reach of a certain 1 year old.) after I told my parents I had a special presentation for them.

 I love the look on their faces after the surprise.

On Christmas Eve, we always have a fun party with the family.  This year did not disappoint.  We started off with a great ham dinner.  We then played the Christmas chimes, read the nativity, played Christmas bingo, and ended with a $10 gift exchange.

 

Nathan enjoying Christmas Eve dinner.

 

 Nathan helping with the chimes

Spoiled - Christmas morning

 Nathan did not want to participate in the "before you open your presents" picture

Anna all ready to go

 Andrew borrowed Uncle EJ's sweat band - he thought he may need it with all the present opening

EJ ready to go

Nathan decided it was too early and went back to bed.

Andrew and his Joe Jonas doll

Anna and her digital camera which I will have to borrow since it is nicer than our current one.

Nathan and his favorite toy, that of course only cost $1.

After a great Christmas, we kept the greatness alive by going to San Diego to see family and friends.  A highlight was a special surprise from Allyson.  She made quilts for everyone made out of shirts from Danny's dad.  What a great way to remember him.  I am thankful for Allyson's thoughtfulness and sacrifice in putting these together.

Anna piano and dance recitals

Time to catch up!  Before Christmas, Anna had a piano and dance recital.  For her piano recital she played Good King Wenceslas and Rondeau.  The highlight of the evening I am sure for everyone was when I played a duet with her of Silent Night.

 

For her dance recital, her class was able to choreograph and perform their own dance solo.  Anna danced to Walking in a Winter Wonderland.  I have a great friend who has her degree in costume design that helped me transform Anna's costume from last years Wizard of Oz for her performance.  I am so thankful for friends that help me in all the many skills I am lacking!

Andrew

I finally got around to getting Andrew's 4 year old pictures.  He sure is cute, when he is happy.  Now we just need to figure out how to keep him happy all the time.

 

 

 

 On another note, since our attendance to Stadium of Fire during the Fourth of July, Andrew has been obsessed with the Jonas Brothers.  He wants to sing with Joe and dress like him too.  They have even made it into his round of coloring pages.  Should I be worried?

Reflections 2009

Anna participated in the Reflections PTA program for her school again this year.  She entered something in 4 different categories.  Two of her projects (photography and poetry) were chosen to go on to district.

Anna with her paper plate butterfly creation.

Anna's winning photography picture - this view is right out our front door.

Nathan turns one!

I can't believe Nathan is already one.  Time sure does fly by fast.  We had a pretty low key birthday for him, but it was still fun. 

 He wasn't too sure about this stuffed, walking gorilla that grunts.

The birthday boy with his zucchini chocolate chip cake.

Yummy!

I think he likes it.

I need to include his 1 year old stats from his doctor's appointment.  He is still a big boy.

Weight - 24 pounds (70%)

Length - 30.5 inches ( 75 %)

I don't know what to think

I think this picture of Nathan is so funny.  What is he doing with his hand?

Halloween 2009

This is the best group shot I was able to get.  Let's start with Nathan's Halloween.  He wanted nothing to do with his pirate costume.  I am sure he was thinking, why are you putting these clothes and hat on me.  He did, however, discover suckers.  He found one lying on the ground and was quick to get the wrapper off and I could tell by his face that he thought he was in heaven.

 

 

Anna had a great Halloween.  Here she is at her school's Halloween parade.  She wore a costume her grandma and aunt brought back from Spain.  Her highlight was that for awhile on Halloween night, her and her 7 year old friend went trick or treating all by themselves. This was not meant on purpose, but will be explained in Andrew's Halloween night.

 

Here is Andrew after his preschool parade.  He was a teenage mutant ninja turtle.  He did not have a very good Halloween.  If you notice in the group shot, he has two stick swords.  He was convinced that he could not be a ninja turtle without these swords.  Anyways, on Halloween night, Danny took Anna and Andrew to his preschool for a quick dinner that they have.  Afterwards, they were going to go trick or treating and stop at Anna's friends house.  Well, Andrew threw a major fit because Danny wouldn't let him take his swords with him.  It was so bad that Andrew lost all privledges to go trick or treating.  At the same time, he was throwing his major fit, Danny arranged for Anna to go trick or treating with her friend and another adult.  Well, there was some miscommunication and Anna and her friend ended up going all by themselves. Luckily, we figured out the miscommunication pretty soon and Danny was able to find the girls.

So, it was an interesting Halloween.  It will be interesting to see how this will affect Andrew.