Fouth of July Celebration

We started out the day by going to a ward breakfast and flag ceremony at the church. I took the kids by myself, but amazingly they ate and played really well and stayed with me for the most part.
Then, this year we decided to have the festivities at out house. MJ went all out with the food as usual. We BBQ and had homemade strawberry ice cream. The food included: streak, burgers, chicken breasts, drumsticks, fruit salad, and salad. I was amazed that we all ate as much as we did! It was great to enjoy great food with great people.
Then we let the kids play in the pool for a few minutes. They loved being chased by their uncles and tasting the ice cream to see if it was done.




After bathing them and cleaning up dinner, we went back out and did some "popper" fireworks, since that is what is legal here. The kids had a blast and we were able to get away without going to a big fireworks display.





Then we had dessert! It was really good. MJ made two buckets full and we are still enjoying it.
The kids then went to bed and the adults stayed up a little later and played some games. Over all a wonderful day! Hope you had a wonderful 4Th too!

Friends from far away

We had some friends from far away come to visit us this week. If you ever ask Jessi who she is going to marry, the answer is always the same, "Asher, in the temple." Well, here is Asher and his sister Ivy, and brother, Canyon. They came and spent a few hours with us all the way from Dubai. We were honored that we were able to see them on their trip to the US and I loved catching up with their mom.


Here are the kids as play trying to put their feet up on the wall for the pictures.


Here is the cute group of 5 all together.

Summer fun!

We have had a fun summer so far. The weather has been great and we have been out enjoying it.

MJ entertained the kids one afternoon so I could finish a book and I found them outside playing with the wheelbarrow. They loved it. I think it wore MJ out though.

Jessi's turn.

Tanner's turn.

Both kids together.

Before and after shots of MJ.

Then we had our first two beach days. We go every Monday all summer unless we are out of town. There are bunch of women from our ward that take their kids and we are sometimes surprised with some dads being able to come too.
BEACH DAY 1:

Tanner had to help the big kids dig their hole. But one asked him to leave. One even tried to take away the shovel but he had none of that.

He was fine playing with the shovel on his own though. He did cut his toe a little though when he was digging.

These are Tanner's friends and him "playing".

Here is Jessi playing with her friends and sharing a snack.

The kids finally played together the last 5 minutes that we were there.
BEACH DAY 2:

Jessi was a little bored part of the day because we didn't have any little girls show up this week.

This was the one and only time Tanner got in the water and it was only because he wasn't watching. He wasn't so thrilled and ran away, but then he smiled when I asked if Jessi got wet too.

Tanner loved digging with the big boys. It got pretty deep. He looked like he may fall in a few times.

Tanner loved digging with the boys, but had to watch out for the waves as they came in.

Jessi finally decided that she could help when they filled it in with water. They ended up getting in a water fight and she was covered in sand from head-to-toe.

Then she relaxed and talked with her friend on the beach. I wish I could have heard the conversation.

Tanner decided to then go off and play by himself with another group of kids. He ended up knocking down all of their towers. Luckily they didn't mind.

We also filled up the pool in our back yard and the kids have played in it a few times. I think it hasn't been warm enough the times we were in it though because they didn't last long. It seems to get a lot more windy in the afternoon when we get in, and Tanner has no body fat to keep him warm, but they enjoy it while they last.

Greek Festival

The last week in May we went to the Greek Festival. There were a few things for the kids to do and some good food. We had a good time. Here are some pictures.


Jessi was able to make this umbrella with Tia and showed it off for us on Daddo's shoulders.

Tanner loved the jump houses. He has to go on both.

Memorial Day

We had a busy Monday. MJ was able to not work and so we filled our day with non-stop activities for the kids.

First we went to a parade and Festival that the local schools put on. Jessi was so excited to see everything and she even got to see Sharky and he stopped to interact with her during the parade because Tanner and her had on their Sharks hats. We let the kids play a few carnival games and they won some prizes. Jessi also got her face painted.

Then we decided to take the kids on a little hike after lunch.

We went on a little trail that MJ used to run on in high school.

Tanner was so excited to go up the hills. He just kept saying "hill, hole, bug" the whole way. He and Jessi liked to follow each other and run up the hill.

We found a bench to sit on and take a break. There were a lot of bugs around and Tanner ended up crying because he was so scared of them.

He clung to MJ for about 5 minutes with his eyes closed. Then when we finally got him to walk her started running down the trail with his eyes still shut! MJ had to grab him before he ran off the side of the hill. He didn't open his eye barely until we got back to the car because every time he did he would see a butterfly and scream "bug" and close them again.

I was going to get an after shot but this was the best I could do.

Then that evening we went to a picnic in the park with some friends and Jessi and Tanner barely stopped to eat anything they had such a blast.

Overall we had a great day and loved all the time we were able to spend together.
We look forward to the next holiday that Daddy has off.

San Jose Giants Baseball

We got some free tickets to the local baseball game and they advertised fireworks afterward so we decided to go. The kids had a blast playing with the other kids around us. We were sitting on bleachers way out in the outfield so we couldn't really see the game but I don't think that mattered to the kids. They had a ton of candy and Jessi loved the fireworks. Tanner didn't really know what they were and after a while decided that he was scared of them and hid his face in my shoulder the rest of the time. Overall it was a great Friday night activity and we were lucky enough to have Jessica and Adam come with us.
I didn't take many pictures but here are a few.

Mother's Day

We were able to go over to MJ's Aunt and Grandma's home on Mother's Day this year and enjoy a wonderful evening with extended family. We had a wonderful dinner and then took a nice walk to the Rose Gardens. They are a beautiful garden full of roses, which were all in bloom right now. We also were able to get some great pictures of the family.

We didn't have the stroller but Tanner loved sitting on Grandma Connie's lap for the walk. I am amazed that he always sits so still for her.


Jessi was in heaven with all the colorful flowers. She especially love the pink ones.


There was a fountain, that used to be a wading pool for the kids, that the kids liked to watch the ducks in. Can you find the picture that Tanner isn't touching with his feet?


Here is the group of us. We were lucky enough to have a bench at just the right height for this picture. I think it turned out pretty well for a timer. We are only missing Jenny and Greg. Greg was walking the dog around the perimeter of the garden, we didn't know that they weren't allowed and Jenny wasn't home from work yet.


Here is a more updated picture of our family. I couldn't get one of all of us looking good so I kind of cut and pasted us together but I think it turned out good. I love the one of the kids!