Fun Stuff

 Ian is just being his creative little self.

 Ever wonder how to burn hard boiled eggs?  Wonder no more.  Just set the sauce pan to boil and forget about it! ;)  You may hear a popping sound at some point and then you will find this.

 Best buddies and brothers!

 Brooklyn's Christmas performance.  She's giving me "the look" because I totally arrived 10 minutes late and MISSED the whole thing!  I felt so terrible!  Luckily she's a forgiving gal.

 Here's Ian's Christmas nativity at preschool.  He was a shepherd. 

 A little distracted, anyone?

 Just trying to add a little something extra, I guess.

 The girls were so cute. They made perfect little angels and a very sweet Mary.

 Here's Brooklyn with my cousin Broklyn on her wedding day in the dress her mother made her.  My Brooklyn drew a picture of it and wanted to pose with the Bride who nearly shares her name.  I'm so sad that I didn't have the flash on my camera!  I'll have to get some better pictures of her.  It was very intricately detailed and unique.  All those layers of ruffles and lace reminded me of another December wedding last year...

 Brooklyn made a face of her snack foods at Ninie's house.

 Brooklyn shows her new puppy that she got for her friend's special birthday outing at Build-A-Bear Workshop.  Thanks Sandi! :)

 Light saber time

 Jack practicing the piano

 just like his big sis

Just Stuff

 Ian's Preschool Thanksgiving Feast- love those head pieces-too funny!

 Guess which letter we talked about this day for learning time? (The orange in the cupcake tin is called a cutie or sometimes a California Clementine, as a hint ;)

 This is probably this biggest expanse of rainbow I've ever seen.  I looked again and saw another rainbow above the first, a little lighter though.

 I saved my milk bottle lids for what seemed like a year (not really though) in order to finally put these little alphabet stickers on them...all 27 letters.  Thanks Jen M. for always inspiring us to do fun learning time activities, and for purchasing preschool materials online in large quantities! ;)

 Our expressive 4 year-old

 And his wiggly little brother! That six-tooth smile gets me every time!  Clearer and more recent photos coming soon!

Lily our neighbor came over one morning for a playdough date.  We pretended to make a zoo with the cookie-cutter animal shapes.

 Bath time for Ian.  He does not like to make faces...

 or play it cool.  Not one bit.

 On another day, here's a glimpse of Ian joining in on mom's exercise time - a.k.a. an excuse for Ian to wear the sleeveless hand-me-down Thomas the Train shirt.  Recently Ian asked me, "Mom, don't you need to do some Denise Austin today?"  The cat's out of the bag.  I totally have a Denise Austin work-out video that I got after testing out my mom's copy of it at her house.  She's been around forever, but I like how upbeat and happy she is, not all crazy, mean, and intense like a lot of other instructors this days who just think they are a gift to the world and think that their body is SO INSANELY AWESOME!  Anyway... I'm off the soapbox now.

After I took the picture of Ian in the bath, I had to go peak in and get a shot (modest of course!) of his big sister in her shower.  Yes, Amy C. taught me that when kids are in kindergarten in her house, they become self-bathers and it's in the shower.  Funny thing is, she often begs to bathe with her brothers.  She's too old for that now though.  Growing pains.
It's a mystery how these pictures got jumbled out of order.

 I love finding notes all around the house from our newest reader and writer in the family.  This sign describes her outfit and hairdo plan for the tall-short dance at school the next day.  The tall-short theme just means that each student is to bring a parent to groove with.  Brooklyn of course went with her dad.  I don't blame her.  He'd be my top pick too.

Sign translation: "Hairdo:  braid in one pigtail and then pigtail plain."

This and That, Old Stuff

 I'm still trying to catch on blog stuff, so here's a few pictures from the end of October and some of November.  It was moving time for us, so not much picture-worthy moments.  Above, our dad and some little munchkin helpers are washing the car at my parents house in preparation for the big trip up to Modesto.

 Above, Ian shows an orange from our tree out back.  We are so excited to have a lemon and an orange tree!  There's also a rosemeary bush and some lavender out there too.  Lots of possibilities in the kitchen with these fresh home-grown fruits and herbs! Happiness!
Ian celebrated his birthday in a huge elaborate party - not.  We just had a couple friends over for a gourmet dinner a la Costco frozen food section of orange chicken and pot stickers.  We also couldn't break tradition and enjoyed a nice whipped cream and strawberry topped birthday cake for dessert. 

 The boys playing together in the morning.  Apparently Jack was in the middle of changing out of his P.J.'s and into normal clothes and I just couldn't waste a moment of time here, the pictures had to be snapped before the child was dressed completely! Sorry for the partial nudity!  Showing off his baby brawn he was, I guess.

 I can't believe I'm the mom of two boys now(a girl too)! My boys have a brother!  They seem to have this natural bond, and of course they Ian has to show his seniority by roughing around with the little guy already.  No intentional injuries have been suffered thus far, to my knowledge. 
Last week Ian came home with a pledge/New Year's resolution to play nicely with and love his brother.  I couldn't hope for anything more.

Some extra friends appeared ready to rumble for learning time one morning. 

There's No Place LIke Torrey Pines

 When it was decided that we'd be moving to Modesto, CA in only 3 short weeks, I had to get myself here as much as possible.  I just knew how much I'd miss it!  It was the best escape, it felt like paradise every time I went there.  Everywhere I turned the view was just breathtaking!  It was a wonderful workout too because it was a scenic hike that ended at the beach.

 I loved sharing these last precious hikes with my two little boys.  I don't know if they'll remember them, but I'll never forget them.  This day we had to run back to the car because it started raining on us.  It was like what you see in the movies; it came instantly and poured down hard!  Gotta love it!

 No wonder the beaches were so empty!  I guess people actually have reason to check the weather forecast, even in San Diego.

 That's a view of the highway from a little way up the hillside at the beginning of our hike.

 Cielito Lindo

Last Days in San Diego

We didn't know it at the time, but these were our last photo shots of our lives in San Diego.
Above Ian sorted his crayons.  I love how the dog figurine made its way into the scene.

Here is one of Ian's last little sport classes.  We loved Coach Curry!  She was great at teaching our little tykes the basics of a variety of classic sports.  Unfortunately, Ian will forever remember this day as the time that A.J., the instructors very athletic son, "hit me in the privates." A.J. hit a line drive and Ian was right in the path of the ball (not pictured here).  I still can't convince Ian that it was really a mistake!

Here is our big boy looking so grown up in his rugby shirt!

Here Jack is holding steady to his big brother to get a better view of the computer.  I love how his left hand is placed on Ian's shoulder. So cute these two little guys!

This was the last visit to us in San Diego that these two lovely ladies made.  I think they were down to see Brooklyn and Ian's Primary program at church.

Here are some freshly cooked summer peaches or apricots before they became baby food.  I was loving the sweet smell that lingered in the kitchen after boiling these.

My tough guy