Avery brushes up on her surfing skills.








Curtis took half a day off to go to the zoo with us. We saw the butterflies again and the girls were so happy to spend the morning, during the week, with their dad.









EASTER EGG HUNT/PARTY- The kids had to race with the balloons between their knees and then sit on them, popping them at the end. Avery opted out on the popping because she was scared, but I think the race helped her to know that balloons really aren't soooo scary. Thanks Jessica for throwing a fun Easter party!






Mikaya watches how the big kids do it and then thinks, "I think holding onto the egg will give me just the advantage I need to win this race."







Mikaya is very determined to win the sack race too!






My friend Jessica made delicious and fun ice cream cones made out of cake. So clever!





Beach buckets worked well for Easter baskets and now I don't have to worry about storing huge baskets until next year(with our limited space).

Avery Shows how to Share and to Love

How to Love- Just the other night, Avery woke up at 5:00 a.m. and I said, "Oh Avery, it's not time to wake up yet. You need to go back to your bed and go back to sleep." Avery said, "But, I love you!" I said, "If you love me you will let me sleep and go back to your room." She immediately replied, "Then, I don't love you. Can I stay!?" Even though I was so tired, I had to laugh.

How to Share- I told Avery that if she finished all of her cantaloupe, she could have a little ice cream. She started eating it again and then gave some to me. I said, "Oh no, you have to eat ALL of it to get ice cream." She smiled and sang, "Remember, it's always more fun to share with everyone!"






Mikaya's Birthday! She is our little sweetie!







Going to the library.








Finding ladybugs at the baseball park.








Pure determination.









Playing at the park.

Awhile back, (It took me awhile to get the pictures off of Coral's camera) we visited Aunt Bea while they were vacationing here. It was nice to visit with her. We hadn't seen her since we left Payson over three years ago. She is such a sweet, funny, and happy person! Amazingly, she is almost 100 years old! I'm glad we had the chance to sit and talk to her and enjoy her company.

We went to the aquarium on Saturday.



Pretending to be sharks...








It seemed as though Avery had some kind of strange connection to this cool orange and white fish. It just kept looking at her.









We took Avery, Coral, and Mikaya back to the wonderful Mexican restaurant for my birthday. Amazingly, the little ones ate tons!






To be a kid again!




We took the kids to the zoo last Saturday. (We are still trying to learn how to use our new camera. It's just a digital, but has options to set aperture and shutter speed)

Coral started Gymnastics when she was 6 years old. She has loved it. This picture was taken almost three years ago in Indiana.
When she was about 11 years old, it wasn't unusual for her to do a back flip almost everywhere she went. Then she went to Junior High and from then on stopped doing them in public. We are excited because she is a Freshman and just made the Varsity gymnastics team at her high school! Good job, Coral!

Forced Family Fun aka Making Family Memories

We were able to spend a couple days together as a family. We went to Knott's Berry Farm and stayed nearby a couple nights in a hotel. We stuffed ourselves at IHOP and then were off to spin in every direction at Knott's Berry Farm. It's amazing that we didn't get nauseous. We all rode together on the rides when possible, and Curtis and I took turns going with Coral on the big roller coasters. It worked out really well and we had a blast! Avery loved the rides, but Mikaya seemed a little scared like she was just tolerating most of them. She probably would have been just fine staying at the hotel the whole time. It's funny how exciting the pool, ice machine, and hotel beds are to little kids. Even the elevator is an adventure to them.

Curtis and I went to this wonderful Mexican restaurant for our anniversary. Curtis looked it up before hand and it had amazing reviews. They brought out samples because it was our first time there and we devoured them quickly. We finally decided on two meals between the two of us, but what we were contemplating was ordering a couple meals each and sharing the whole thing (taking the left-overs home if there were any!) When one of the chefs/cooks/owners asked us if we liked it we said it was excellent. He immediately said, "If you don't like it, I feel sorry for you!", with a smile on his face. When we moved here we thought there would be no problem finding good authentic Mexican food, but that is not the case. We finally found one that we can take family to and recommend to our friends.