Family of Six

2008-05-19T20:34:00.000-07:00

My Blog has Moved!

2008-05-10T09:45:00.000-07:00

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Our final port day was in the oldest of the three cities,

Puerto Vallarta. It was the most tropical, and probably had the most charm. I know the picture below is not the best quality, but I thought it would be worth including. First of all, check out the warriors to our left and right. I'm only 5'3", so that gives you an idea of their size. Second of all, look at Caedmon's face (if you click on the picture, it should enlarge). As Ryan and I like to say, he was all "funned" out that morning!

As we got off the ship that day, there was a woman with a beautiful tropical bird. Below are Nikolai, Gavin and Liam holding the bird.

So then we loaded on a bus and headed to a beach resort for the day. At this point in the trip we had dubbed these three below, the "Little Rascals", and you can see why. They spent most of their time together wrestling, hugging, screaming (just to test how loud they could be), giggling, growling (it seems to be fun for them), running in circles chasing each other, and talking to each other in 2 year old language.
Driving through Puerto Vallerta on our way to the beach.

The little rascals again. Ryan says this is just minutes before they starting fighting over buckets and shovels. So once again, I caught them in a good moment.

The boys waiting to get harnessed up for the trampoline.

Beautiful!!

The pool was beautiful and it's coolest feature was a waterside bar. Here's Gavin enjoying a Pepsi.
Uncle Kevin and Caleb

2008-05-08T14:04:00.001-07:00

Mazatlan, Mexico

A mariachi band greets us as we leave the ship and head into town.

We first went to a Mexican Folklorica, which is like a show with traditional Mexican dances, costumes, and customs. I don't have any pictures to show of the neat costumes. I do have a picture of Delaney's new braided hairdo that she got while we were watching the show. You should have seen how fast these young Mexican girls were braiding her hair! The highlight of the show was when the Mexican "Flyers" climbed up this really tall pole and then danced at the top before swinging down gracefully. Kristi told me that Nikolai wants to pack up and go live in Mexico now and he wants to be a Mexican "flyer" when he grows up! If you go to You Tube and type in Mexican Flyer you can see a video of their incredible act.

Caedmon getting messy on the beach! No, mommy doesn't want to hold you now!

The kids loved the ocean. Uncle Yuri rented a boogie board and they got to learn how to ride it. We're ready to try out body boarding here on our own beaches now! It was really fun.

This picture is for those of you who have seen the SpongeBob Squarepants Movie. We saw this sign and laughed that we had found Shell City!

Our cool taxi ride back to the ship.

These two just couldn't make it back to bed. They crashed right on me as soon as the taxi got moving. And we were really moving! Kids can sleep anywhere.
Delaney got to ride up front.

2008-05-03T18:14:00.001-07:00

Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Our first day in port was at Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. It is at the very tip of Baja California, which is not California, but Mexico (kind of confusing). It was nice and hot out and we got to "tender to shore", which is the way you get from the ship to the shore when the port is too shallow. So we took a short boat ride to the dock and then walked right over and got on a catamaran. This was a fun excursion for those in the group who enjoy boating, and not for those who get sea-sick! It took us up along the coast to some beautiful rock formations. We also tried on authentic Mexican sombreros for a picture. I couldn't believe the little ones sat and let the photographer put a gigantic hat on their heads. The kids were excited because they got to drink Coke, especially Caedmon. After the boat ride, we took a van to a beautiful seaside hotel where we ate lunch (drank more soda ) and took pictures out on a seaside veranda. It was beautiful, but all of the moms and dads spent most of the time telling the kids to please keep away from the edge, or please don't climb up on the rocks! It was nice to get back to the ship, lay the little ones down for a nap, and get some soft serve ice cream! Yes, they have a machine out all day long! Yes, real life is not that cool.

Getting on the catamaran.
Grandma Joni and Grandpa Chris
Anneliese and Nikolai

Hola!
Someone in this picture didn't like the sombrero hat.

2008-04-30T16:45:00.000-07:00

Getting comfortable...

The boys getting comfortable in our room and checking out our port hole.

Dinner time! Our group was too large for one table so we split up into two. Here's Delilah looking cute during dinner.

About 45 minutes into dinner, the boys would get restless and escape from their chairs to see the beautiful views of the ocean.

...and it would quickly degenerate into this!

Gavin and his trusty "Seapass card" on his cool Adventure Ocean lanyard. He got to enjoy the benefits of being 10 years old, the oldest grandchild. He had a small amount of money put on his card and he could use it at the kids arcade. For a 10 year old, this is as adult as you get!

2008-04-30T16:15:00.001-07:00

Mexican Cruise

Day One-

We drove down to L.A. on Saturday and got on the ship Sunday afternoon. It was pretty crazy dropping off 4 families and LOTS of luggage at the curb in front of the cruise terminal. Grandma Joni and the moms had the responsibility of corralling 10 kids away from the street and all sorts of other mischief they like to get in. We were really excited to get on the ship and we made it through all the necessary lines to finally get to our rooms without too many meltdowns. My nephew Caleb and Caedmon spent most of the time on the ground wrestling and the other part of the time being told to get up and please stop. If I haven't mentioned before, we went on this family cruise as a gift from Ryan's parents. Our party included, Grandpa Chris and Grandma Joni, Uncle Spencer, Uncle Yuri and Auntie Kristi and Nikolai (5), Aleksei (4), Anneliese (2) and Mikhail (1), as well as Uncle Kevin and Auntie Lacee and Caleb (2) and Delilah (9 months). Our family rounded out the gang with Ryan and I and Gavin (10), Delaney (8), Liam (5) and Caedmon (2). So that's 19 people total! Even better is that the kids outnumbered the adults by one AND 8 of them are 5 and under! And no, those smiles weren't forced, we were actually having a great time.

Ok, say cheese, and we can get on this ship- CHEESE!

Waiting to get on the ship.

Outside the cruise terminal- it was cold that day!

2008-04-14T08:25:00.000-07:00

T-Ball Tales

Liam has been really enjoying his first t-ball season. His team is the Indians and he loves putting on all the gear for each game and carrying his bat bag. He's slowly learning some skills and hit his first ball from the coach(and not the tee) a few games ago. He's also learning those very important lessons about being a "good sport" when he feels frustrated (which can be often for Liam). His first lesson was- don't throw your glove down when you're angry or coach will put you at the end of the lineup. Aren't sports fun?

2008-04-06T13:22:00.000-07:00

Can somebody say "Cousins"!!!

I thought some of you would appreciate a picture of all the "nieces and nephews" I mention in conversation all the time. I don't have a recent picture of the Rippee side, but here's the Fernandez side. We lined them all up in birth order, with the twins on the end. My sister Heather is due next month, so you can imagine another little one down there on the end. Yes, that makes 12! I got to go visit them all over spring break and had a great time getting to know them better, especially the little ones. Sammy (third from the right) even said her first words to me, "Tank you, Auntie Jenny!" I loved it! I'll be sure to post a picture of my other nieces and nephews after we return from the family cruise.

2008-04-03T16:13:00.000-07:00

Update on Aleksei

Ryan visited Aleksei yesterday at Stanford Children's hospital and took a few pictures. For those of you that have prayed for him this week, thank you! God has been extremely faithful to him and gracious in so many ways. As the days have passed since his surgery last Thursday, the surgeons have shared more information about how sick he really was and how life-threatening the surgery was. God really protected him throughout it all and was faithful to keep all infection away so far. He is slowly healing and beginning to eat, which is great! This smile on his face is such a blessing. He was very frustrated earlier in the week, and yet would still ask Kristi to pray with him before scary things like "pokes". Kristi has been miraculously sustained and has been able to care for him at his bedside, despite having little time to sleep and rest. Continue to pray for his quick healing and coming home soon!

2008-04-03T15:59:00.000-07:00

Where's Caedmon???????

The other day I was busy making dinner and started asking the kids, "Where's Caedmon?" After peeking in each room, which only takes 30 seconds in our house, I started feeling nervous. I sent the kids to look in the backyard and I started looking in random places, when I heard Gavin call my name. Gavin and his friend Jacob were laughing and pointing to the boys room. I followed them and they lifted up the lid to the toy/costume box and there was our boy, fast asleep! Gavin said he had decided to look inside because all the costumes had been taken out. Caedmon must have climbed in for fun and dozed off! So, I had to take a picture. Ryan says Caedmon must take after him, because when he was small his parents called the cops on a missing child report, and ended up finding him asleep under the bed!

2008-03-27T20:21:00.000-07:00

Aleksei's Surgery

I posted this picture of Kristi and Yuri and the kids so that you could take a second and pray for Aleksei. He's the one sitting next to Yuri. Aleksei is our nephew who has severe food and other allergies. He had an emergency surgery done this afternoon to fix a perforated bowel. They think the perforation happened during a Colonoscopy that he had done yesterday. He's at Stanford Hospital right now. If you want further details click on the carepage link we have to the left. He's in a very fragile state right now, with a real risk for sepsis. I ask you to pray because this is serious. He just turned four in February.

2008-03-10T21:27:00.000-07:00

Where's Fudgie???

Who knew that these simple words could create terror in a 2 year old? Ok, I'd better back up and tell you the whole story. So, on Saturday Liam had his baseball team pictures at Sunset Park here in Brentwood. It was a beautiful day, and there were families and kids in baseball uniforms everywhere. They had food booths and t-shirt booths, and balloons and, for the importance of our story, an ice cream stand. An ice cream stand that sold "fudgesicles". So here we are standing around chatting with Dave and Chere from church, waiting for Liam's team to finish taking their pictures. Down the path, coming towards us, is an 8 foot brown Fudgesicle Pop with a hat that says, "Fudgie". We point it out to Caedmon and wave at him/her friendly-like. Caedmon's eyes get huge and he does this cling-on move to Ryan where he glues himself as close to Ryan's chest as he can! So, we keep saying, "It's alright, it's just Fudgie the popsicle!", but he's havin' none of that. So Fudgie walks away, but every now and then Ryan asks Caedmon, "Where's Fudgie?", and he immediately grabs one of us in the cling-on move again. He was terrified of this popsicle-man! We even asked him later when we were at home, "Where's Fudgie?" and he froze and looked around in terror! I know- we're sick parents. Well, anyways, I'll include pictures of Liam's first t-ball game. Unfortunately I didn't get any of Liam looking at the camera. This seems to be his new phase. He either smiles really goofy, or he looks away with the "serious" pose.

2008-02-28T13:56:00.000-08:00

The Flu Bomb Has Gone off!

It hit last week and ravaged 5 members of our family. Gavin and Liam were hit first with fevers and chills and headaches. Delaney and Caedmon were hit second and got fevers on the same day. They were so cute, cuddling on the couch with wet washcloths to cool them down. Just check out those rosy cheeks on Caedmon. But being kids, when they felt better they found time to play. Delaney organized the puppy dress-up one of the days she was home from school. I've been feeling fine so far. I'm taking my Airborne tablets 3 times a day and trying not to become too stir crazy. Delaney and Caedmon still are having low grade fevers and coughs at night, so we're not quite through this yet. Pray for Gavin, as he is BURIED under make-up school work from last week.

2008-02-14T11:23:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day!

Hey there! I thought I'd take the chance to post Kristi and Yuri's "Carepage" link. They've had a lot going on in their family lately, and I know some of you might want to read her Carepage posts to see how you can pray for them. So... if you click on the link to the left it'll take you to the sign-in page. You'll have to create an account and then type TREBOTICH for "patient name" and mikhailtrebotich for "carepage". Make sure to click the box to receive email updates when Kristi creates new posts. Have a blessed day!

2008-02-12T09:05:00.000-08:00

Ew, Gross!....How cute!

Caedmon has been sick this week with a cough and fever, but there still has been some fun to be had. Like this picture for instance. Ryan is reclining in his leather chair and Caedmon decides to stick his face in between dad's feet and say "Hi!". Why hug with your arms when you can hug with your feet?

2008-02-05T09:44:00.000-08:00

Oops, forgot to secure that gazebo!

(Click on the picture to enlarge it). Remember that bad storm a few weeks ago? We came home to find that our gazebo had done a Mary Poppins act of flying over our fence and landing in our side yard, denting our shed. It used to sit on the deck next to that barbeque!

2008-02-04T22:01:00.000-08:00

Liam's First Season of Soccer

I'll finish off my 2007 year in review with a picture of my Liam. This fall he had his first soccer season, and here he is with his prize. This is very special because he'd been looking at Gavin's shelf full of trophies for a while, and now he has added his own. His team was called "The Crickets", and he spent most of the time staring at the sky or spinning around or even doing somersaults. But he loved it! Here's our boy!

2008-02-03T20:23:00.000-08:00

How many sugar cubes does it take to build Mission Santa Cruz?

...The world may never know. We're not sure either, but we know it takes many, many hours and not just Elmer's glue, but hot glue as well, and a cheese grater to form those nice rounded edges. Don't forget popsicle sticks, paint, felt, a hand saw, and some strategic 10 year old engineering. What does this all mean? Yes, Gavin has reached the 4th grade in which he has entered into the brotherhood of those of us who have been forced to create a "California Mission Project". Oh, the dreaded mission project! It actually went rather well. I had to step back and let him be the master of his project. That was difficult for my creative side, but Ryan laid down the law. So here it is documented on film, or was, for now it lays peacefully in the trash.

2008-02-03T20:15:00.000-08:00

Will you just stay little, please??

Probably one of my favorite times of the day is when Caedmon comes out of the room after his nap. See those rosy cheeks? He toddles out with those cheeks, rubbing his eyes, with his hair all tousled and his blankie dragging behind. This is why I ask, Can you please just stay little?

2008-02-03T11:10:00.000-08:00

Harvest Festival 2007

Delaney was little Red Riding Hood, Gavin was Han Solo from Star Wars, Caedmon was a pirate(complete with gotee) and Liam was at a friend's house that day and borrowed a Rhino costume!

2008-02-03T11:06:00.000-08:00

Gavin and his Mini-me!

2008-01-28T10:45:00.000-08:00

2007 Pictures- Continued!!!!

This is a continuation of the previous post. Ok, I guess Blogger just doesn't like me! It will only let me post one picture today. So here it is, Gavin and Delaney on their first day of school 2007.

2008-01-22T11:01:00.000-08:00

2007- What you missed!

Here are the pictures I promised! I can't seem to post pictures and get the words to post next to them so I'll have to tell you about them here. The first picture is grandpa John and the boys shooting off rockets on Christmas Day. The second picture explains why 2 year olds aren't allowed to brush their teeth by themselves! Gavin is holding his sugar cube model of the Santa Cruz Mission for school( that was a lot of hours!). The next picture is our family at the Logging train near Yosemite this summer. The next picture may embarrass Ryan, but it was taken out here on the Delta when my parent's took us out on their boat this summer! The next two pictures are supposed to be a "before and after" except they are switched! The kids love going out on the boat with Grandpa John at Bass Lake! He's one wild and crazy driver! The next picture was back in June during our week of "Avalanche Ranch" Vacation Bible School at our church. Ryan got "wrangled" into being the cowboy mc of the week! This next picture was taken on December 24th, when Delaney and I went to see the "Nutcracker" at the Oakland Ballet for the first time. The last picture is the kids intertubing this summer. I have more pictures to post but Blogger is refusing to upload any more for me so I'll have to post them on a separate post!

2008-01-06T16:15:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas all you Bloggers!

So, hopefully this will be my return to the blogsphere? I hope everyone has had a great Christmas holiday so far. We are in full "vegetable" mode, hunkering down here at home, watching movies, having friends spend the night, watching the rain drizzle outside, drinking lots of coffee and hot chocolate. Because I haven't posted in well, months, I'll post up a few pictures to document the rest of 2007. Lets see, first day of school, kids in Halloween costumes, birthday parties, . That should get you up to date. Caedmon turned two in September, Delaney 8 in October, Jen 33 & Liam 5 in December. Gavin will be turning 10 in a few weeks. Our current hobbies and interests include: Caedmon- His current favorite cartoon character is Mickey Mouse "Mitty Mouse". He finds him everywhere we go, and is thrilled that his face in on his current size 4 diapers! Liam really likes "Diego" and of course, legos, like his big brother. Between him and Gavin, we have now run out of room to store lego sets and they're busting out of closets and shelves. He's also gotten pretty good at building puzzles. Delaney and I saw the Nutcracker for the first time at the Oakland Ballet on Christmas Eve. It was a really special time for us to spend time as mother and daughter (away from the "boys"). Delaney likes to make bead necklaces and bracelets and to cook and shop with me, and she was pretty excited to now have her room to herself (Caedmon has moved in with the boys in his new toddler bed). Gavin still enjoys drawing and has expanded his porfolio to include 2 new comic "books". One is called "The Origin of Super Kible Dog" and the other "Hamster Wars", inspired by his favorite movies. He's also addicted to the "Captain Underpants" book series. He thinks they're hilarious. I guess you have to be 9 to understand. He's also now "in a band" with his friend, Jacob, from church. They have been practicing in our garage for the last two months and they actually don't sound too bad. Gavin is finally putting his drum set to use (thank you grandparents!). I'm doing well. I'm taking the women's leadership class at church (taught by Ryan- oh boy!). He's got me reading books and doing devotionals, It's like college again. I'm actually really enjoying it. We have 5 ladies over, every other week, for the class and it's been going great. Mostly, I'm just trying to enjoy my kids, keep up with the laundry, try not to scream every time I enter the bathroom and my sons have "missed" the target, and be at peace with whatever comes my way. Ok, that's enough for now. Here are the pictures, and God bless!!

2007-05-15T11:08:00.000-07:00

Chocoholic
I was hoping the capture the love Caedmon has for anything chocolate. I think that muffin was as big as his face.

2007-04-22T19:37:00.000-07:00

Easter

2007-02-07T10:57:00.000-08:00

Say "Cheese"!
Grandma Pam and grandpa John came to visit and Delaney decided it was time to yank those wiggly teeth and collect some money. She wiggled both of them out in one night!

2007-02-07T10:14:00.000-08:00

Gavin's 9th Birthday

2006-12-28T19:59:00.000-08:00

Fernandez Family Pictures

Here's the lastest pictures of my family. There are 21 of us now! These were taken at Amy's parent's house in Napa. We learned from past experience that a little bag of M&M's is very handy at keeping them smiling through family pictures, group pictures, and a grandkids shot!

(click on the picture to enlarge)
Top (from left) Amy, Aaron, Keira, Heather holding Shay, Scott holding Carson, Matt, Lauren holding Samantha, Jen holding Caedmon, Ryan.
Bottom (from left) Cameron, Pam holding Maddison, John holding Ava, Liam, Delaney, Gavin.

2006-12-28T15:42:00.000-08:00

Anatomy of a Frown
This was Sunday morning and I asked Delaney to stand in front of the tree for a picture with her Christmas dress on. She blinked on the first try, so I asked her to smile again. She blinked again, so I asked for one more try. You can see she was not in the mood!

2006-12-28T13:19:00.000-08:00

December in Review

December is now almost over, but it has been a good month for our family. We celebrated Liam's 4th birthday, as well as my 32nd birthday on the same day. It was a medeival theme and Liam is really enjoying his new "castle" with all the knights and horses. I'm enjoying my new fluffy robe and gift cards. We also had a breakfast with Santa here in Brentwood at the community center, and we visited the Smith Family farm to get our Christmas tree. It was a lot funner than driving over to Home Depot and throwing it in the back of the truck. Gavin and Delaney both had Christmas programs at their school that we enjoyed as a family, despite Caedmon's wiggles. The kids got together with the Barton kids and sold mistletoe again this year. We drove around downtown looking in trees until we found some and asked to cut it down. It was a fun way for them to do a little work and make a lot of money. They even learned how to budget so they could buy presents for each other and their friends. We had our church Christmas banquet, and I sang in a women's ensemble for Christmas. We baked for two days straight with friends and with Grandma Joni and did some last minute shopping. And then there was Christmas Eve with Ryan's family, and Christmas day with mine. I'll let the pictures do the talking!

Getting the Christmas Tree

Breakfast with Santa

Liam's 4th Birthday

Gavin & Delaney's Christmas Programs

Christmas Eve at the Rippees

Christmas Day at the Grandma Pam & Grandpa John's house

2006-11-29T12:42:00.000-08:00

More Cruise Pictures

Delaney and Gavin on the rock climbing wall.

Liam with some things he won at the Adventure Ocean kids program.

A day excursion to Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

We went swimming with the stingrays while we were at Grand Cayman Island. Gavin is holding one and he even gave it a kiss.

2006-11-29T12:34:00.000-08:00

We're back in business!
I guess you just wait 2 months and then Blogger decides to work again. Well this was my test photo. This was our first day on the cruise and we managed to get all the kids to sit and take a photo for us. Grandma Joni bought the cute outfits. From the left: Nikolai, Liam, Delaney, Anneliese, Aleksei, Caedmon, Gavin and Caleb. We had such a great time, the kids are still asking if we could go back on the cruise ship. They liked being served at meals and having their room picked up and beds turned down. They especially liked going to the kids club and playing the special cruise ship game, "Gaga ball".

2006-10-19T08:37:00.000-07:00

Well, you might have noticed that their are no pictures with our last post. I haven't quite figured out what the problem is, but Blogger is having issues. I'll try to get it up and running soon.

2006-10-16T10:10:00.000-07:00

Cruising in the Caribbean
We've been planning since last Christmas, and our family cruise has finally come..and gone. We're sad it's over, but we'll share some of our photos with you. When I say "family cruise", I mean the entire Rippee side of our family... all 17 of us! Traveling with 8 kids, 6 of them age 4 and under is all the things you can imagine, but we did manage to have a lot of fun. We visited Ocho Rios, Jamaica, swam with the stingrays at Grand Cayman Island, and relaxed on the beach in Cozumel, Mexico.

2006-09-17T23:04:00.000-07:00

Caedmon's First Birthday

Plans had to be postponed for Caedmon and Keira's party after he came down with the stomach flu. But we did manage to get together and celebrate anyways!

2006-08-15T14:12:00.001-07:00

My baby's going to preschool!

Liam's been looking forward to going to preschool for a long time now. What could be better than going with your "best buddy", Conner. Of course in true Liam spirit, he changed his mind at the last minute. There were a few tears, ok well, there were a lot of tears, but when we picked him up he was all smiles(as you can see in the pictures). He was trying to tell me about a song he learned. He said there were crocodiles that ate monkeys. Pretty cool stuff. Can he just stay 3 forever?

2006-08-13T08:29:00.000-07:00

You can't separate a man from his Curious George.

2006-08-10T10:20:00.000-07:00

For those of you that are more familiar with the Rippee side of our family, here's a picture of the 3 smallest members of our extended family. From left to right, Caedmon, Anneliese, and Caleb. These pictures are from the last week of July (remember we were "squeezing every last inch of fun out of summer"). What do you do when it's 113 degrees in Brentwood and camping outdoors is unbearable....you go to Marine World! So here we are, in all of our sweaty glory. The Justice League Superheros parade was pretty cool for the kids (see photo of Kristi & Yuri and the kids). Most of all it was nice to feel the Vallejo breeze and spend some time together.
*Check out the new links to the left<<<<<<<<<<

2006-08-06T20:59:00.000-07:00

As you can see, opening day for soccer is kind-of a big deal out here. There were opening ceremonies, and then the teams paraded around the football stadium with their banners and whatnot. Check out the picture of Liam. He insisted on wearing his "uniform". Kev & Lacee- it's the Italian jersey you got them! It's his new favorite thing to wear (24/7). He even has cleats on. Next year he'll finally be old enough for under 6's. I think he's got a big career of hacking ahead of him.

2006-08-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

They're Back to School

The first day of school has come and gone, but not without some embarrassing pictures to document it. This year's picture is on the left and last year's is on the right. I need a moment to collect myself, okay I'm fine. Yes, they are growing up fast. I've noticed another thing that is growing...my plant on the porch there. Last year's plant looks completely dead... how embarrassing.

2006-08-03T12:33:00.000-07:00

So, here we are (ok, only 4 of the 6) enjoying what's left of the summer in our pool. We've been battling this crazy pool all summer to keep it blue (notice the green tinge). But it has been a good summer for us. We are still adjusting to the extreme hot weather here in Brentwood. It was 113 degrees last week-Ouch! Ryan has been studying hard to prepare to teach 150 high school students at summer camp. The camp was last week and it went great, but I think it's a relief to have that behind him. I've enjoyed taking the kids from pool party to pool party. We've spent a lot of time with friends, at sleepovers, visiting grandparents and cousins, and trying to squeeze all the fun we can before the kids had to return to school. Gavin is 8-1/2 and jumped off the high dive for the first time this summer and did some kneeboarding behind his grandpa's boat. Delaney is now 6-1/2 and this summer really enjoyed Vacation Bible school and staying at grandma Pam and grandpa John's house in Napa for a week. She got to spend some time with her old friends there. Liam made the most improvement in his swimming this summer. In June, he refused to stick his head under the water until I told him it would only be "a little bit" scary, not "a lot-a-bit" scary (in his words). He then walked over to the edge of the pool and jumped in and went under. It also helped that we bribed him with a Slurpee! After that, he became our daredevil. He blew me away when he jumped off a 5 ft. high rock waterfall at a friend's pool in July. He amazes me at 3-1/2 years old. Caedmon is a joy for our family. He cracks us up all the time. He is very silly and his new nickname has become "little rascal" (notice what his t-shirt says to the left). He already loves to wrestle with his dad and growls and grunts and is very manly for 10 1/2 months old. The kids love him, except when he pulls hair, which is his new favorite pasttime. That and screaming when we put him in his high chair. I guess I can thank the Lord for 9 peaceful months! That's it for the first post. The kids are now back in school (3rd and 2nd grade) and the soccer season has started. We volunteered to coach Delaney's team, The Sharks. We thank the Lord for good health, for safety, for family, for a wonderful church and for the many blessings we have. God Bless!