The Bell Family

Kaitlyn's Dance Recital-Jan 21-22nd

2012-01-23T21:01:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how time as flown by this month! Kaitlyn was extremely busy getting ready for her dance recital. She had many long hours of rehearsals. She was in three different dances with different costumes for each (lyrical, jazz and ballet). I took a few pictures, but they are not in her dance costumes. I will have to see in a few weeks when I get the ones in her costumes, if I can post them. I know that the photographer who took photos during the recital will post them on the internet, and I will see if there is a way everyone who is interested can have access to view them... Anyways, it was a crazy, weekend. To see her dance was beautiful-bringing tears to my eyes, even now as I am remembering her dance.

December 30th, 2011

2012-01-01T19:37:00.000-08:00

On Friday, December 30th, we went and picked up the girls from Vanessa's house. They had had a sleep over the night before. James' friend, Eric had two of his nieces over as well and we went to see Dolphin Tale with them at the dollar theater.

We had driven to Utah on the 27th all day. We spent the later half of the week visiting friends and James' family. Wednesday night James and I went up to Salt Lake to a dinner at the Grand America Hotel sponsored by Henry Shein. We had an adult party, with dinner and games Thursday night at Josh and Emily's house, and a white elephant gift exchange on Friday night at Lori and Rick's house. Saturday, we traveled back to La Verne. On the way home we stopped in St. George and met up with Megan and Daniel's family at McDonald's for lunch. It was a fun trip and the time flew by so fast. I can't believe it's a brand new year today! One New Year's resolution will be to remember to take more pictures. I can't believe I didn't take more when we were in Utah!

Christmas Day!

2012-01-01T19:23:00.000-08:00

Since Christmas was on Sunday, we woke up and let the kids open just their stockings. Then we went to church at 10 and it was just sacrament meeting. Then after church they were able to open the rest of their presents. We tried to drag out opening the presents, but we were finished in less than 1 hour. For dinner, my mom cooked a turkey and ham. We had rolls, and yams and salad and mashed potatoes. All the yummy food! For dessert we could choose from mint Oreo pie, chocolate cream cheese supreme, or pumpkin cake. It was a wonderful day, I even fell asleep and took a nap in the afternoon.

Christmas Eve!

2012-01-01T19:07:00.000-08:00

After the kids got out of school on Friday the 23rd, we drove up to Fresno. The kids got to decorate the Christmas tree as soon as we got in. Saturday was spent making and decorating cookies. For our Christmas Eve dinner, we ordered in Pizza Hut with the gift card that my grandma gave us. We had root beer and salad as well. The kids played with the Kellogg's for a bit and read the Christmas Story in Luke. We also sang Christmas Carols around the piano, while my grandma played. Then, just before bed, the kids put out their stockings and cookies and milk for Santa. My parents and I watched some t.v. and took turns falling asleep earlier in the evening. But ended up staying up past 2am talking. Good times!

Ella and Andrew's Class Parties- Dec 22nd

2012-01-01T18:58:00.000-08:00

Ella's class had finished reading Charlotte's Web. Their party consisted of making pigs and performing some Christmas songs (one of which they played the recorder for), and having pizza for lunch, then watching Charlotte's Web, the movie and having popcorn. Andrew's party was filled with fun little center's that the kids rotated thru. James and I were in charge of Bingo. Oh, James came to school and helped out in Ella's class all morning and then helped in Andrew's party in the afternoon. He was there from 8-3 and then we played at the park for another hour before going home! What a long day-he took a nap after that!

Kaitlyn's Choir Performance- Dec 21st

2012-01-01T18:53:00.000-08:00

Kaitlyn is in her school choir again this year and is also in Honor choir. She sang in a quartet for one of the songs their school performed! She was so happy to have a new holiday dress and shoes for her big performance!

Karate Potluck Dinner- Dec 20th

2012-01-01T18:47:00.000-08:00

Ella's karate class had a Christmas potluck dinner. We went thinking there wouldn't be a big turnout because it was so close to Christmas and everyone is so busy. But we were way off. Last year, the potluck fell on the same night as Kaitlyn's choir performance, so we didn't go, but this year they were on different nights. SO, it was super packed! There was tons of good food! It didn't start until 6pm and our kids were starving so they ate a lot. They played musical chairs and then there was a visit from Santa.

Temple Lights-Dec 17

2012-01-01T18:41:00.000-08:00

We took a trip with some other families in our ward to see the Christmas lights at the Los Angeles temple. We had hot chocolate out in the parking lot after. It was nice to look at lights and walk around outside and not be super freezing cold. It was 65 degrees and drinking hot chocolate outside really warmed you up.

Kaitlyn's Class Party-Dec 16

2012-01-01T18:35:00.000-08:00

Kaitlyn's classroom had their holiday party, which included a book gift exchange. It was an hour filled with crafts, games and cookie decorating. I think everyone had a great time. What was really nice is that it didn't coincide with the other kiddos' class parties. James was able to come too, and be in charge of the games. He took his last final that morning for the end of the semester! Now he is off for 2 weeks.

2011-12-15T20:42:00.000-08:00

Our ward had a family Christmas dinner, complete with a Santa Claus. Our kids recognized him and said, "That wasn't the REAL Santa, it was only Omar Sanchez." They still sat on his lap and I was surprised that Andrew did, since he was adamant all evening that he was just going to stand by him. Ella didn't tell him what she wanted. I think she didn't see the point in telling an impostor. Kids are so funny.

Ella Tests for Purple Belt! - Dec 8th

2011-12-15T20:29:00.000-08:00

Ella tested for and earned her purple belt on December 8th. We were in a rush to see her test and be able to pick up Kaitlyn from dance at the same time. I was bummed that I didn't bring the video camera. She was so cute doing the Kata moves along with her sensi. We did at least take this picture at home before she got ready for bed.

It's Beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

2011-12-15T20:24:00.000-08:00

On December 6th, the elementary school had a "Family Fun Night." They had Christmas crafts, had cookies and milk and sang Christmas carols. It was a fun little evening.

James got a jump on the Christmas holiday, bringing home a little artificial tree for us to decorate for FHE. The kids had it decorated in lightning speed! The past two years we have not bothered with a tree at all since we would be traveling around the holidays, but this year they really wanted one. It sure makes it feel like Christmas time when there's a decorated tree in the house!

We met up with my parents on December 3rd at my Aunt Bonnie's house, who lives about 25 minutes away. We had a nice visit and Bonnie took us all out to eat at Marie Calendar's. We all enjoyed a great meal and wonderful company. I am sad to say I forgot to take more than just this one picture. We need to go back to visit Aunt Bonnie and get a picture with her in it!

Thanksgiving Weekend

2011-12-15T20:17:00.001-08:00

The Cook's came down from Northern Cali to visit for the Thanksgiving weekend. We had a yummy meal, actually meals, courtesy of Jason. The weather was beautiful. We even fit in a trip to the beach that we squeezed in around going to stores with Tiffany to scout out any great deals. Newport was wonderful, and here it is November! The kids and James and Jason actually went swimming too!

Kindergarten Friendship Feast-Nov 16th

2011-11-23T08:34:00.001-08:00

Andrew as an Indian

Andrew's class (there are a total of 4 kinder classes)

Andrew and his friend, Jacob

Andrew had a little program at school where they dressed up like Pilgrims and Indians and sang some songs. I don't know why they call it a Friendship feast rather than a Thanksgiving feast...I was proud of Andrew for wearing his costume, even if he took it off and handed to me immediately after the last song. They had little snacks for all the kids to eat afterward. I can't believe all my kids are in school!

Soccer Team Party-Nov 12 and Bowling-Nov 11

2011-11-12T20:56:00.001-08:00

Later in the afternoon on the 12th, we went to the FireBolts team party. It was at a pizza place and the boys were able to get their trophies. Wow, they are big! The soccer ball on it actually spins around like a globe and the plate has their name engraved on it. They sure had a super fun, undefeated season! It's been neat to see how much the boys have learned and improved in such a short time.

Friday the 11th there was no school, so I met up with the Burton's and went bowling. The kids sure had a blast! It was the perfect thing to do since it was a little chilly and wet outside.

Last Soccer Game and 50's Day!

2011-11-12T20:47:00.000-08:00

We weren't sure if we were going to play on Saturday, due to the weather forecast saying it was going to rain. We lucked out and didn't have much more than a few sprinkles, but the other team didn't even show! So all the boys played all the adults in a fun game. We then had all the girls (mom's included) against the boys and then all the adult guys against the boys. It was fun and the kids were happy to still get the chance to play.

The fifth graders celebrate the 50th day of school with a 50's theme. They get to dress 50's style and have a hula hoop contest, bubble gum sculpture contest and learn songs and dances from the 50's. They had In N' Out hamburgers and root beer floats for a special lunch. It was quite a production and a huge celebration that lasts the whole day!

Later that same day we went to Anaheim and met Lori and Rick, Ma, Rick's parents and Spencer for dinner. It was a fun filled night! They were all in town going to Disneyland that week.

Halloween!

2011-11-06T17:39:00.000-08:00

We had tons of festivities going on all day at the kids' school. They have an assembly where they get to parade around in their costumes. The school has a theme every year so that they are still able to do Halloween. Many schools don't anymore. This year the theme was "Back to the Future." It was pretty broad. All the teachers came dressed like hippies. They had a car from Back to the Future movie out on display at school too! It was a fun day with their class parties and then dinner at our friends house and trick or treating in their neighborhood.

Last Night at Gigi's House-Oct 30th

2011-11-06T17:24:00.000-08:00

My grandmother sold her house and she, along with my parents went down to Newhall clean out the last of the remaining things the end of October. We met up with them on Sunday and had dinner there. Erin and her family were there and also my cousin Cari and two of her daughters. It was nice to see some family, even if it was for just a few hours. Congrats to my grandma for selling her home!

Carving Pumpkins-Oct 29th

2011-11-06T17:15:00.000-08:00

These were the perfect pumpkin carving treats! They were apple slices with marshmallows stuck in the center with caramel sauce. They looked like smiling mouths. We also had popcorn with cheese and apples diced into it. Our kids really like the combo!

I can't remember the last time we actually carved pumpkins. It's not my favorite thing to do, and the kids have been happy to decorate them with out cutting into them. But this year, we went to our friends house and really had a super fun time carving. We had treats to eat and a book with lots of patterns and designs. After carving pumpkins we went to the ward Trunk or Treat dinner. It was combined with another ward so the kids literally filled their treat bags. They still haven't actually gone trick or treating yet and we have tons of candy!

Kindergarten Pumpkin Patch Field Trip-Oct 24

2011-10-24T11:30:00.000-07:00

Andrew's class went to the pumpkin patch that is near a little park by their school. It's so close we just walk there. He had so much fun! I was glad that I was able to go with him! I have some more really cute pictures I took on my phone, but I have to figure out how to get them on my computer first to be able to include them as well. My camera batteries were too dead to take the pictures when he actually picked out his pump

Soccer Game-Oct 22

2011-10-24T11:23:00.000-07:00

Andrew's soccer game is undefeated! He played against a really tough team on Saturday the 22nd. The other teams coach told our coach that they were also undefeated and we won them still! The close game really challenged the boys and they really stepped up and came through with another win for the Fire Bolts! Way to go Andrew!

Karate Tournament-Oct 18

2011-10-20T10:49:00.000-07:00

Ella once again participated in a karate tournament. She went up against 2 other boys and won first place! They were all so close the judge had them each go twice. She loves karate and it was fun for her to say, "Mom, I got first place for you on your birthday!"

Erin and her family came over and cooked us dinner on Sunday the 16th for my birthday. She made BBQ Chicken Kabob's, corn, and pilaf with a fresh strawberry pie for dessert! It all tasted so yummy and was a nice treat having company for dinner.

5th Grade Science Camp-Oct 11-14

2011-10-20T10:41:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn packed all her gear and warm clothes and some new hiking boots and climbed into a school bus and away she went up in the mountains almost 2 hours away! She went with the 5th graders to Science Camp from Tuesday til Friday. She has a blast! She was able to do lots of fun activities, like rock wall climbing, archery and hikes. We were able to send up some letters so each of the students were able to read some notes from home during their time away. It sure was different around the house having her gone, and we were so happy when she came home safe and sound!

Pumpkin Patch-October 8th

2011-10-09T17:57:00.000-07:00

In our town, right by the kids elementary school, there is a little pumpkin patch place. It's a tiny little farm with a few animals, an orange grove, and currently, a whole lot of pumpkins. We met up at the pumpkin patch with our friends, the Alva's after the boys' soccer game. It was a perfect fall day! We rode a tractor pulled wagon around the orange grove, saw some pot bellied pigs, rabbits, and baby chicks.

LA County Fair Day for Oak Mesa Elementary

2011-09-25T17:02:00.000-07:00

Ella and her friend, Emily.

Some of the girls in Kaitlyn's class.

Andrew's first ride on a school bus. He was super excited because he thought they wouldn't have to wear seat belts, but alas we have new buses with seat belts now!

Bear show at the Fair.

Waiting for a magic show

Girls with Smokey the Bear.

Shark Show-which was new this year.

A place to sit for a minute to rest/play with the hay.

Diver swam with the sharks!

The whole school gets to go to the LA County Fair. We went for the whole day on Sept 22. It ended up being a super hot day without a breeze! But we survived. I chaperoned in Andrew's class and they had so many parents that I only had to be in charge of Andrew. James chaperoned in Kaitlyn's class and he had seven 5th grade girls! Ella went with one other friend in her class, Emily and her grandfather. We all met up around lunch time and checked our kids out with their teachers and were able to stay longer. It was neat to be able to go on a field trip all together. James and the kids went on a giant slide ride. Then we got the kids all excited about going to get a slurpee at 7-11 to cool off.

Student Council

2011-09-25T16:52:00.000-07:00

She made her shirt and wore it a few times during the week of campaigning. Ella also made one to support her sister-she was able to vote as well.
Kaitlyn did her speech involving a story making an origami shaped large paper boat into a T-Shirt like the one she was wearing. It said to Vote for Kaitlyn for Secretary.

So Kaitlyn is a big kid on campus this year being in 5th grade. (Junior high starts 6th-8th grade). She decided to run for secretary for student council. She made posters, wrote an essay and a speech. We went the day of voting to listen to all the speeches and discovered that no one else was running for secretary! So she had a more relaxing weekend not worried about if she won, like the other candidates had to endure. She did a great job! We are proud that she took on the challenge to be a representative for her school.

Andrew's First Soccer Game

2011-09-10T19:41:00.000-07:00

Today, Saturday, Andrew had his first game. We had planned on going to the beach after the game, due to the triple digit week we have had, and then it rains of all things! So that part of the day was canceled, not his game though. He had so much fun. Her really hustled out there and did a lot of running and kicking. The game was tied 2-2. Not a bad way to start out the season.

Emergency Preparedness Fair

2011-09-10T19:38:00.000-07:00

Our Stake put on a Community Emergency Preparedness Fair today, and the kids go to talk to a paramedic in an ambulance. We came home with lots of useful information too.

Labor Day

2011-09-10T19:31:00.000-07:00

We were invited to go to some friends relatives' house for a swim party on Labor day. All the kids are in our ward and they all play really well together. It sure was a lot of fun watching them have fun!

Karate

2011-09-10T19:30:00.000-07:00

Ella started back up taking karate classes again. Here she is kicking a board in half. Sorry it's a little blurry.

Bingo Nite!-August 25th

2011-09-10T19:21:00.000-07:00

The kids school had a Family Fun Nite during the first week of school. It was crazy getting back into the groove of a schedule, getting up early and going to bed, so I almost passed on the whole evening. I was glad I packed them all in the car and went. It was really low key and fun. Kaitlyn got the first bingo and won a gift bucket of popcorn, red vines, milkduds, sunkist and the movie "Rio." Then Andrew won a raffle drawing of an In N' Out gift card and Kaitlyn won a Jamba Juice gift card! They were so excited! Well worth it! It was nice to see some of their friends there as well, after being out of school for the summer.

First Soccer Practice for Andrew!-Aug 16th

2011-09-01T20:08:00.000-07:00

Andrew had his first day of soccer practice on August 16th. He is standing behind his best friend, also named Andrew. They are super excited that they are on the same team! There are only 6 boys on a team so they get to play all the time. They are so cute!

First Day of School! First Day of School!!

2011-08-22T21:37:00.000-07:00

So back to the life of homework, schedules, PTA meetings, driving kids around, drop-off/pick-ups, soccer, karate, gymnastics and dance. The kids had a hard time falling asleep early Sunday night, but they were super excited to get up and going in the morning. Andrew, not so much, until I told him there was something outside for him. He started to get up, then asked if I could just bring it to him, but I said "no," he had to go look for himself. The PTA went around last night and put these signs up at each Kindergartner's house to make them feel special. Pretty neat!

Beach Saturday!

2011-08-22T21:32:00.000-07:00

So after the girls cut their hair we went to the beach to meet up with the Pynes. It was Jaden's 4th birthday and he wanted to go to the beach. Kaitlyn and James went out to boogie board and Ella and Andrew played in the sand. The kids sure had fun. So sad, it's the last weekend of summer, school starts August 22! The summer sure flew by!

Hair Cuts!

2011-08-22T21:24:00.000-07:00

The before photo

They cut Kaitlyn's off in the three small braids and Ella's all off in one braid.

The after photo

The girls each wanted to cut their hair before school started for a new look. We found out that a salon by us gave free haircuts if the hair was donated to "locks of love." So we went and they each donated 10 inches of hair! It's so crazy to see them with short hair! They look older, taller and sassier! They were happy to help and give of their hair. I only wish my hair grew as fast as theirs does!

Swim Fun August 17th

2011-08-22T21:15:00.000-07:00

This is the last week before school starts, so we took advantage and went to a park with a great splash/water area. We met up with some friends and spent the afternoon together, James even had the day off! They had these two water slides that the kids could go on. Andrew went down a few times before the lifeguard said he wasn't tall enough. But at least he got to go!

Karate T-Ball Party

2011-08-09T13:17:00.000-07:00

Well T-Ball ended on August 6th and Andrew's team had a party at a local karate studio. Boy were our kids thrilled to be able to participate! They played lots of games, learned some karate techniques and had pizza and drinks and Andrew received a little trophy for T-Ball. They each got a week of free lessons and a goodie bag. They all had a lot of fun and James and I just got to sit, relax and enjoy watching them.

Swiming in Fresno!

2011-08-09T13:04:00.000-07:00

Jaden is not always a fan of getting his picture taken :)
But give him a Popsicle...
It was pretty hard to get all the kids to jump at the same time!
Andrew is fearless, he sure is all over the pool!

So all summer the kids have been waiting to go to Fresno to swim. We finally went during the first week in August. The kids swam and swam and swam with their cousins. It was cheap, easy fun all day long (and night). Erin and her kiddos came up for the week too, so there were 10 cousins total!
We were able to go to the temple even after our car was broken into the night before we planned to go. The thieves probably thought that they were getting computers (our bags look like laptop cases). So we got our window replaced and our recommends voided and reissued. So all is well, except we no longer have temple clothing.
James and I were able to steal away for a few hours and go on a date. It sure has been awhile since we were able to do that! Thanks Mom and Dad for a wonderful visit, we sure appreciate all that you do for us!

Riding Bikes

2011-08-09T12:59:00.000-07:00

Andrew's friend got a new bike and he gave Andrew his old one. James was holding on to the seat of the bike as Andrew got on, he said to let go, and away he went! He just started riding it from the first try!

Water Fun at the Alva's

2011-08-09T12:50:00.000-07:00

It was Andrew Alva's birthday party (Andrew's friend) and the whole family was invited to come. It ended up with almost everyone getting soaked. I used the excuse that I had a camera, so I was spared.

Zoo and Aquarium Weekend

2011-08-09T12:34:00.000-07:00

We hoped on over to the Zoo on July 30th for a fast look around. The highlights were the gorillas and elephants. Erin and Jeremy met us there, just as we had to leave for a birthday party, bummer.

We took a quick trip to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach on Friday, July 29th. We were wanting to go to the beach, but the weather was a little too chilly for boogie boarding.

Pioneer Day Weekend

2011-07-25T13:42:00.000-07:00

Andrew played against his friend, Andrew Alva. They were looking forward to this game the whole summer. They sure have a lot of fun. After the game, they met up with their sisters who were playing at the playground in the sand. The only way we could get any of the kids to leave, was to tell them we would see them later on that evening at a Stake BBQ and swim party.

The Las Flores pool was reserved for our Stake for a pioneer BBQ and swim party. We had tons of food, including snow cones and cotton candy! Kaitlyn went off the high dive and Ella went off the lower diving board!

Hogle Zoo

2011-07-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

Nessa and Dirk were generous enough to treat us to a day at the Hogle Zoo. I had never been there before. The kids had fun seeing all the animals. It was a pretty hot day, so the dinosaur that sprayed out water was a big hit!

Union Square Pool

2011-07-25T13:30:00.000-07:00

We went swimming at our old apartment complex in Provo, Union Square. Dirk has a cousin that lives there and was nice enough to let us come over and swim. The kids sure get hours of entertainment out of a swimming pool! Who would have thought after almost 13 years of marriage, I would be taking my three kiddos to swim, last time I was there Kaitlyn was under one year old!

Mike's Bday BBQ

2011-07-25T13:26:00.000-07:00

We went over to the Anderton's house for a BBQ for Mike's birthday. It was fun for all the cousins to play. They had a blast being outside and enjoying the nice weather! Good times.

Hiking the Y

2011-07-25T13:22:00.000-07:00

Early one morning Vanessa took the girls on a hike up to the Y. They actually made it to the top! I stayed home and kept an eye on Temperance while she napped and Andrew was in heaven playing a star wars Lego video game.

Splash Pad and Movie Night

2011-07-25T13:16:00.000-07:00

One of the things the kids did in Utah was go look at some animals on a farm in Springville on their way to a new splash pad in Spanish Fork. The kids had a lot of fun in the water! It was a nice day to get wet. I don't have too many pictures because I had to leave to meet with our accountant, but Vanessa stayed so they could play a bit longer on the playground.Later that evening, we went to see Rio at the Dollar theater in Provo. It was in 3-D so we all got to wear really cool glasses. Andrew sure was silly in the pictures. Joryn met us there and joined us for the movie too.

Veyo, Utah

2011-07-25T13:08:00.000-07:00

The kids and I made a trip out to Utah. On the way there and the way back, we spent the night in Veyo with Megan and Dexter and then on the way back with Staci and Daniel. Dakota was so nice to let the kids shoot his BB gun. All the cousins played well together. It has been awhile since they have been together.

Kids Flossing

2011-07-25T13:06:00.000-07:00

James had a project for school and he took this silly picture of our kids flossing their teeth.

T-Ball Game, July 9th, 2011

2011-07-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

Andrew had a game on Saturday. He sure loves playing sports. Not so much the getting up early for the 8 or 9 o'clock games times. But it gets us up and going on Saturday mornings, instead of being lazy. He is very focused and plays is little heart out. I love watching him!

Fourth of July

2011-07-25T12:32:00.001-07:00

So to cool off during the day we went to Redlands where my sister's husband's grandmother lives and we took advantage of her awesome pool. We have been out there before and the kids really enjoy being in the water. James stayed home to study since he is now back in school for 4 weeks in the summer. He is also quite sick.

Later the same day the ward had a BBQ at the park right by the high school. They had various activities for the kids to do to fill the time between dinner and the fireworks show that night. There was also a watermelon eating contest which the Bishop joined in on with the primary kids. We live so close we actually just walked home. It was a fun fourth and the fireworks show was one of the best I have ever seen!

Ella's Baptism-July 2, 2011

2011-07-25T12:25:00.000-07:00

Yeah! I finally posted the pictures of the baptism! Thanks to Nessa for taking the pictures! And taking out Ella's huge scab on her chin, that was still healing from when it was split open, in the pictures! Ella was baptized by her dad in July. My parents and grandmother as well as James' parents were able to attend. Vanessa also came out for the weekend and was so nice enough to take pictures. My sister, Erin and her family came. We even invited our neighbors and their daughter who are not members to come. It was a beautiful experience. I was able to do the spot light on Ella. Our home-teacher, who is the exec. secretary was the member of the Bishopric that welcomed her into the ward after she was confirmed. I'm sure Ella felt the love and support of family and friends. It's crazy to think that Andrew will be baptized the year that James will graduate from dental school. Time sure does fly!

Kaitlyn's Dance Recital

2011-06-29T19:04:00.001-07:00

On the same Saturday, June 25th, Kaitlyn had her final dance recital. She did great! She is so beautiful and graceful when she dances. While she was rehearsing, the rest of the family went to a farmer's market and got a bargain on her fresh cut flowers. Ella was so sweet, she recorded all the events and happenings of the day and of the performance for Kaitlyn to read after the recital. She had all of us write Kaitlyn a little note on how well she did and gave it to her after the performance. Kaitlyn has been obsessed with the show "So you think you can dance." She loves to watch all the dancers and it never gets old for her.

T-Ball

2011-06-29T19:00:00.001-07:00

June 25th was a busy day, it started out early with Andrew having pictures for T-Ball and a game following right after. Here he is hitting off the T and the other picture is of him running from third base to home, James is on third base. James gets to help assist the coach, so it's a lot of fun.

Basket Weaving

2011-06-29T18:56:00.000-07:00

June 24th the La Verne library had a basket weaving class. I took Kaitlyn and Ella to it and they spent an hour or so making their very own basket. They turned out really cute! It sure brought back memories when I actually took a class in college (even had the credits count towards my design major!).

Chin Injury

2011-06-29T18:43:00.000-07:00

Ella tripped and fell and split her chin open on Thursday, June 23rd. She was a trooper about the whole thing. This is our biggest injury anyone has had in our family! The first picture was taken at our friends house, who is a nurse, before she cleaned it and used derma-bond stuff to make the skin go back together. The second picture is after the wound was glued shut. The right side is mostly a scrape. The pictures don't really do it justice. Hopefully by next week, when she is baptized, it will look a lot better. Poor Ella, she didn't laugh or smile for a few days, it was really strange to have her so serious and sedate. It was a good sign to see her make jokes and goof off with her siblings after a couple of days.

Staying Cool!

2011-06-29T18:38:00.001-07:00

Our neighbor, Camila had a slip n' slide set up one afternoon and it sure helped beat the heat. We are always trying to find ways of keeping cool and this did just that!

Big Bear Mini-Family Reunion

2011-06-29T18:21:00.000-07:00

We went up to Big Bear for a few days and stayed in a cabin with my sister Erin and her kids and my parents. The first day we went to the lake and the kids learned how to skip rocks on the water.

We went to this historical museum place where the kids got to pan for "gold." They each collected enough to fill a little container to take home. It was actually really addicting, to pick through the pebbles and rocks.
Here at the museum there was this old car that turned into a cute photo with the kids.
The last evening the kids played grandma's bingo game with their own roll of pennies to use for markers and when they won, they picked a special prize from the "prize room." This sure was a highlight for the kids!

Swim Fun!

2011-06-29T18:18:00.001-07:00

The kids were invited to swim at their friends house. Emma Lawes was in Kaitlyn's school class. Her younger sister was born on the same day and is the same age as Ella. They all enjoyed the swim and would have stayed in there all night!

Tow Truck Assistant

2011-06-29T18:11:00.000-07:00

James had to have his car towed to a shop since it stopped working right before his finals. After he finished with school tests, we found out all it really needed was new spark plugs. We also found out that there are some more major repairs in our future with this car we got for super cheap. It has helped save him more precious studying time being able to drive to school himself instead of relying on me and the kids and our schedule. It's nice when the car runs too :) Andrew got to work the tow truck levers to pull the car onto the tow truck, he was thrilled!

Andrew Preschool Graduation/Field Day

2011-06-29T17:58:00.000-07:00

June 3rd, Kaitlyn had a fourth grade field day party. The first girl is Emma and she is the same age as Kaitlyn! Kaitlyn is so excited to have a friend who is even smaller than her (because it's never happened before!) The other girl's name is Delanie.
Andrew with his friends, Louis, and Andrew. They sure had so much fun in preschool together. It wasn't until almost the end of school, when Louis and Andrew (his friend) were both absent for a week, that Andrew realized there were other kids in his preschool. He came home one day and said he made a new friend and his name was Lucas!
Andrew prefers not to wear the graduation hat for this picture. I was surprised he wore it at all!

Shaking the hand of his preschool teachers. He is so excited to be starting kindergarten in August!

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-06-29T17:05:00.000-07:00

The ride in the car-so exhausting! Andrew is actually faking being asleep in this picture! :) Baby Apollo and baby Juliet. Juliet looks a lot like Ella did at her age.
Of course there is always games being played. James and Kaitlyn discovered a new game called Dominion that they enjoy playing.
Andrew and his cousin Luke sure hit it off. They played the wii a lot and had a blast!
We drove to Utah to be a part of the DeHart's and Lund's baby blessings. This picture is of baby Temperance with Kaitlyn and Ella.

Ella had "ancestor day" at school. They had a potluck luncheon and were able to invite their grandparents. My parents happened to be coming down to that weekend and came by for the afternoon. It was a nice surprise for Ella, she didn't know until they walked in!

Ella's Actual Birthdate

2011-06-29T16:56:00.000-07:00

On May 24th Ella had a trip to the doctor to get on antibiotics. Kaitlyn had her end of the school year choir performance. (She is second from the left on the bottom row). It was a crazy day! She got a kick board for practicing her karate kicks and her very own watermelon.

Ella's Birthday Party

2011-06-29T16:51:00.000-07:00

We had a birthday party for Ella on May 21st for her 8th birthday. She wanted a water balloon fight and a bar-be-que. Luckily it turned out to be the only sunny day of the week (which had been rainy and overcast). She sure had fun playing with her friends and in the water.

Free Museum Day!

2011-05-19T08:37:00.000-07:00

Target stores sponsor a free Saturday at the Japanese/American Museum in L.A. once a month. I met up with my sister, Erin and her family on May 14th for a day filled with crafts and animals. They have different themes each month and this one was all about animals. The kids made cards, masks, puppets, ate snacks as well as get to pet dogs that were awaiting adoption and pet reptiles. Ella loved those stinky little reptiles (she may be a zoo keeper when she grows up)! There was also a balloon lady making fun shaped balloons for the kids. We may have to come back next month!

Hawaiian Dancers

2011-05-19T08:30:00.000-07:00

They had some dancers teaching the girls some Hawaiian dance moves. Kaitlyn and her friend Emma are both dancers so they loved this.

Hawaiian Luau

2011-05-19T08:25:00.000-07:00

The same day as the school assembly, May 13th, the school put on a Luau themed carnival. The kids each bought "passports" with their own money to spend on some games and activities. They had a blast going through a large blow up bounce house. I love to see how well our kids have adjusted to all the moves we have had and that they are able to make friends where ever we are.

School Assembly

2011-05-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

They sure do recognize and praise the students at Oak Mesa Elementary! Kaitlyn and Ella received awards for completing Study Island material that helps prepare for state testing. Ella also got an award for serving as her class representative for student council. Way to go girls!

Western University Dental Dinner

2011-05-19T08:15:00.001-07:00

On May 6th, James and I went to the year end dental dinner for Western University at Coco Palms restaurant in Pomona. We got all dressed up and had a nice dinner. The restaurant was beautiful. It was fun to go on a date!

Kaitlyn's Dance Performance

2011-05-03T11:04:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn had a ballet performance that was part of a celebration of local artists in the city of La Verne on April 30th. She and one other girl from her class performed a dance that they are working on for their June recital. I took some pictures of the actual performance, but they didn't turn out well, luckily we have it on video. These pictures are right outside before her dance.

She was even more excited that a lady was giving free starter lessons to learn how to knit, so both Kaitlyn and Ella spent the rest of the day with the yarn and needles knitting away. The lady was kind enough to let us borrow the needles for as long as we wanted. Ella was so engrossed in knitting during the other dance numbers that when I leaned over to tell her that Kaitlyn was next, she said, "no, she just went." She hadn't even been paying attention and thought that the previous dance had been Kaitlyn up on stage!

Flower Surprise!

2011-05-03T10:59:00.000-07:00

So last week I was surprised to see a bouquet of flowers on the table all arranged in a nice vase. My first thought was that James must have thought that that weekend was Mother's Day (which it wasn't) and then I thought, Wow, how much did those cost! But alas, after finding James studying away in the bedroom, he told me that he had gotten them for free! He had gone to a lunch meeting at school and they had these arrangements on all the tables and was able to take one home! Way to go, they are so beautiful and really cheered up my day!

The prettiest and ugliest egg winners!

2011-05-03T10:55:00.000-07:00

Ella and Kaitlyn insisted on me taking pictures of their favorite egg that they colored. Kaitlyn's won for the prettiest, and Ella's won for the ugliest. They were reluctant to part with their handiwork and finally decided to eat them.

Easter Weekend

2011-04-24T21:37:00.000-07:00

Andrew had a little egg hunt at his preschool on Friday, April22. We met up with a bunch of Western University LDS students/families for a BBQ and egg hunt in Chino Hills on Saturday. And the girls wore their "new" Easter dresses to church on Sunday.

Coloring Eggs

2011-04-24T21:29:00.000-07:00

Well, we colored eggs this week, prior to Easter. The kids had a contest to create the ugliest egg. Ella won, of course. She kept putting her egg in one color after the other. I forget how much my girls like hard boiled eggs, we should make them more than once a year. They are almost all eaten already!

The Beach!

2011-04-24T21:17:00.000-07:00

Well, Friday the 15th of April was a hot one, so we decided to spend the afternoon at the beach. We met up with some friends that were in town on a family vacation for Spring Break from Spanish Fork. We had fun catching up with them and letting all the kids play. It was super fun! And boy do the kids get sandy!

Awards Assembly

2011-04-24T21:09:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn earned her Accelerated Reader Award for reaching the "classic" level. To earn this she had to read 3 books that were 6th grade level and pass a computer test on reading comprehension and vocabulary specific to the book. She received a nice medal and a certificate. There are only a few kids in her class that have achieved this status so far, and they were also awarded a pizza party for lunch one day! She sure loves to read! Way to go, KK!

Rainbow Cupcakes

2011-04-06T14:23:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe online to make rainbow cupcakes and in my excitement I showed them to Kaitlyn. She loved them and asked me to make them for her school class for her birthday. So on April 1st (the school day closest to her b-day) I brought all 36 cupcakes! Be forewarned that this recipe takes patience! It took close to 3 hours to make two batches! Here is a picture! I only got this one picture before my camera battery died, boo.

PTA Bin-Purge

2011-03-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

Our PTA president sent out a cry for help to come organize the PTA storage bin that was a huge disaster. I, of course, was super excited! There were about 10 ladies that showed up for the challenge and we finished in a few hours. Many hands, make light work! Here are the "before" and "after" pictures she took. The "after" picture is a little hazy, but you can still see the difference, and the back of the bin. This was a happy day!

My Favorite Sheets

2011-03-16T09:50:00.000-07:00

Well, I have had to say goodbye to my favorite sheets. There was a little hole where the material had thinned out and one night every time I turned over, my foot got caught and ended up ripping a huge hole in the fitted sheet! I will sure miss the softness of these sheets. Too bad Costco doesn't make them like they used to! :( James had me smile for the pictures, even though I was sad.

Alf Museum Field Trip

2011-03-16T09:42:00.000-07:00

On March 8th Ella went on a field trip to the Alf Museum that is located in Claremont. It's a dinosaur, paleontology type museum. The museum stipulated only a few parents could come, since they have limited space. Well, this is hard for Oak Mesa Elementary school parents. We always have lots of parents ready and eager to help. So I didn't go on this trip, but received these pictures from a parent that went.

Ella's 1st Karate Tournament

2011-02-20T20:24:00.000-08:00

Ella has been taking Karate for awhile now. She started in 2009 in Utah and took classes in Las Vegas and now out here in La Verne. She loves her class and was able to compete in a quarterly tournament on Feb 22nd. She was awesome! She took first place! She is our amazing little martial arts girl!

Happenings in February

2011-02-20T19:56:00.000-08:00

Ella had a second grade patriotic program at school on Feb 9th. She had a little speaking part she had to memorize. She did great!
Andrew had a little Valentine's program in his preschool on Feb 11th. He was so cute, I especially liked the songs with actions.

I went on a field trip with Kaitlyn and her fellow GATE students to the Richard Nixon Museum and Birthplace. It was super fun and very interesting.

Andrew turned 5 on the 20th, we went bowling on Sat. the 19th to celebrate. He got a twin bed, too bad the first night in his big boy bed he ended up crawling in with us, he wasn't used to all that space, he's used to being all curled up! He also got a baseball and mitt. (I searched 7 stores to find one his size for a lefty!) He went to Target to use a gift card he got from Grandma and Grandpa Callahan and picked out a hot wheels track toy. He had a so much fun, and enjoyed eating the brownies he chose for dessert. Can you tell which piece of the brownie is his favorite?

Fun Times at the Library!

2011-02-07T11:43:00.000-08:00

Our little La Verne library had a Chinese New Year Celebration Party on Feb 5th in the afternoon. We went thinking the kids would color a picture and they would pass out fortune cookies or something... But it was awesome! They had a lady face painting with an airbrush, complete with glitter and stencils, she also did crazy balloon shapes, there was cake and drinks, we played a jeopardy style game with Chinese themed categories-our team came in third (at least we weren't last place, which was fourth), there was a treasure hunt throughout the library to find gold coins, there were treat bags filled with toys, chop sticks, fans and fortune cookies, and a craft to make a dragon out of foam board. The lady putting the event on designed the dragon craft and cut all the shapes out of foam board. You probably can't tell from the pictures, but there are four pieces that make up each of the dragons, pretty detailed. We were there for 2 and a half hours! James came with us, so that was the most we had seen of him all week! Best of all, it was all free!

Math Olympian

2011-02-07T11:25:00.000-08:00

Kaitlyn was chosen to represent her school and compete in the district Math Olympiad. She had practices twice a week after school to prepare. She had a lot of fun working with her team (4 girls and 1 boy). I guess boys are late bloomers...She even gave up sleeping in on a Saturday. It was held Feb 5th from 7:30 am til noon. We are so proud of her!

Snowboarding Birthday

2011-02-02T12:33:00.000-08:00

January 8th was James' birthday. He was so excited to go with a bunch of dental students up to Snow Summit for a day of snowboarding. Since he went on his actual birthday, his lift ticket was free! And not only that, but his buddies filled up our car with gas on the way home! These pictures are of the night before, getting ready for the big day. Andrew was in his underwear, good thing I made James put his clothes on for his picture!

Deep thoughts and Chocolate

2011-02-02T12:30:00.000-08:00

The other day Kaitlyn was eating a dove chocolate candy. I was in the kitchen when she was eating it and she was telling me she likes the chocolates because they have a message in the foil wrapper. I told her that was nice and was cleaning things off the table and was about to take her wrapper, she said, "no, this one is pretty good." I asked her what it said and she read the message: You don't have to clean like your mother. She laughed and said she wanted to keep it. I thought she was joking, but I found it in her room a few days later. She usually likes to keep foil wrappers and twist them into roses, but this one was carefully pressed smooth and flat.

Aquarium of the Pacific

2011-01-02T20:58:00.000-08:00

We went to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach with another dental students family, the Burton's. It was a ton of fun. Turns out that our admission is the same price as a year membership, so we can go back as often as we want! It was really cool to see and pet sharks, sting rays and star fish. They also have seals and sea otters along with a whole lot of fish.

Christmas

2011-01-02T20:32:00.001-08:00

So, right after school was out for the holiday break, we made the trip to Utah. We thought we lost our camera the whole time we were there! Bummer, because I didn't get any pictures while we were visiting. James' parents drove out and Clinton and Leesa flew out from Florida. It was fun to be with family. I took the girls to our old ward in Orem to see a bunch of friends as well. Well, the morning we were packing up to leave we found our camera hanging on a hanger that had been put up in a closet. So the only pictures I have are of when we are in Fresno. We made the 12 hour drive in one day! Whew, hadn't done that since we were first married. The kids did surprisingly better than we anticipated. We did all the traditional fun things: decorate sugar cookies, made little mangers out of popsicle sticks, ate lots of food and retold the Christmas story. We sure had a relaxing and fun holiday.

Kaitlyn's Choir Performance and Andrew's Preschool Songs

2010-12-17T10:48:00.000-08:00

For FHE we went to Kaitlyn's choir performance. It is made up of 4th and 5th graders. There were three other elementary schools that performed as well. They all sang some songs together and then each school performed a song by themselves. It was beautiful, when ever my kids perform it brings me to tears. The church they performed at is called "The Church of the Brethren" and it has been around since La Verne first became a city. It's super old. I wish I had better pictures or even videoed it, but alas, this is all I have.Andrew had a little holiday performance in preschool as well. He was so cute! I can't believe how much he has grown. I also can't believe they got him to wear those antlers on his head!

Fire Station Field Trip

2010-12-10T19:19:00.000-08:00

So on top of the school assembly, Ella had a field trip to the fire station. It's located down the street so it's a nice short walk. I went to help out. I was really impressed with how well the fire men and the paramedics taught the kids practical and helpful information. The highlight for the kids would have been taking turns adjusting the sprayer on the fire hose. It was a nice, warm day and some of the kids got a little wet. And yes, it's the middle of December!

School Assembly

2010-12-10T18:25:00.000-08:00

Today there was a school assembly. Kaitlyn was chosen based on a math aptitude test to be on the Math Olympiad team for Oak Mesa Elementary. There were only 5 fourth and 5 fifth graders chosen. They go on to compete at the district level in February. Go Kaitlyn!
Both Kaitlyn and Ella participated in the Reflection's program, Ella received an honorable mention in the Reflection's visual arts category for "best use of theme." She drew a picture of a jungle and monkeys. It was entitled "Together We Can Save The Rain Forest." Great job Ella-bean! They are both wearing red shirts and are in the front row, so they aren't too hard to find in the group shot. Ella also serves on student council and photo below is a poster she made to encourage kids to bring in their bottles and cans to recycle to raise money for student council.Ella was tested and earned her yellow belt on December 9th. She was super excited and has a blast in her karate class.

Still in the 70's in December!

2010-12-09T15:21:00.000-08:00

So Andrew was Super excited to get invited to a boy's pirate birthday party for a boy in his primary church class. The weather was beautiful! It was at a park in La Verne. He has some good buddies as friends that go to his preschool and church. It's nice he has some boys to run around with when his sisters are in school all day. I can't believe he will be in kindergarten next fall! I thought this picture was funny of him and two friends all drinking their root beer!

Afternoons in December

2010-12-08T18:14:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it's December and it's 76 degrees outside! I am loving the warm winter weather! The trees still have colored leaves on them! The kids love to play at the park right by their school, so I brought the camera along today to take some pictures. I even had to turn on the air conditioner when we got back in the car to drive home! The blond girl is Isabell she is in third grade (in between Kaitlyn and Ella), and her little brother is also named Andrew and goes to Andrew's preschool. All five of these kids could play all day, they are all really good friends. Isabell and Andrew's mom is an awesome lady, we have a TON in common. She and I sit and chat the whole time the kids play.

Nativity Display

2010-12-08T16:11:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, December 4th, we went to a Stake Center in Upland that had over 1,000 nativity scenes on display. They had various musical performances as well. It was fun to see all the different styles and materials used to make the different nativity sets. One of the nativity sets took up a large room and was pretty much the whole city of Bethlehem. Someone said it took them 11 hours to set it up!

Start of Holiday Season

2010-12-07T13:33:00.000-08:00

So Saturday, after Thanksgiving we went to little downtown La Verne where the kids got to sit on Santa's lap. Andrew kept reminding me that he was just going to stand by Santa instead of sit on his lap, so the girls did the same thing. They had a little program of singing Christmas carols and then lit a large decorated Christmas tree. It was a nice way the start of the holiday season.

Thanksgiving Break

2010-12-07T13:28:00.001-08:00

So Tiffany and Jason and their boys came down for a visit and had Thanksgiving Dinner with us. We had an amazing meal-thanks to Jason! I regret not getting my camera out earlier so there would have been more pictures with the cousins and family. On Friday, James really wanted to go on a little hike so we took the kids up in the foothills near our house and these are where the pictures were taken.

Future Car for James

2010-11-13T21:37:00.000-08:00

James would like to get a car like this after dental school. He was checking this one out at the car show.

Halloween 2010

2010-11-13T21:10:00.000-08:00

Kaitlyn was an angel, Ella was a black cat and Andrew was a football player (again).
Earlier in the day there was an old time car show at Heritage Park right by the girls school. We had fun seeing all the colors and styles of cars. Later, we went to old downtown La Verne, where the little stores were handing out candy. The kids had fun being interviewed for t.v. by the University of La Verne film students. Our ward had a dinner and trunk or treat that evening. It was a full, fun Saturday filled with activities. I was happy to find that the kids didn't even think they were missing out on anything the next day, Sunday, which was really Halloween. Plus, we have enough candy for a very long time. We barely got rid of the last of their Valentine candy!

Ella being silly in the car waiting to pick up Kaitlyn after school. It was western day, she doesn't always wear a bandanna in her hair.

Andrew had a Halloween party with his Primary teacher and class. He has all boys in his class and only one girl! He sure enjoys having his own friends that are boys.

October 2010

2010-11-13T21:02:00.000-08:00

It has been such beautiful weather here! I love it! I took the kids to a pumpkin patch at Cal Poly Pomona and had them take pictures with the pumpkins. We ended up getting ours from the grocery store. :) The kids just wanted to run and run through all the pumpkins in this large field.

Move to La Verne August 2010

2010-11-13T20:48:00.000-08:00

We moved to La Verne, California August 2010. It was a challenge moving yet again and trying to get settled into a new place, with James starting orientation days later. My grandma and parents came down for his White Coat Ceremony. That was really nice to have their support and show them Western University.

I must have spent the better part of the first month cleaning our little place. It was tough work. I took the kids and met up with a few other moms and their kids for a day of sand and sun. The beach is about 45 minutes away! We also went to Redlands for Jaden's birthday. The kids got to swim there too! Beautiful weather!

I got the kids all registered in school (they missed the last two months of school when we moved). The girls were able to start school in the middle of August in 4th and 2nd grades. Kaitlyn has been to different schools for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th grades! Andrew started in a preschool 3 days a week in the afternoons. He has two boys from his primary class in preschool too! The kids have all made friends quickly and it has made the adjustment to our third move in less than a year much easier! Hopefully we can stay here for the next four years and the kids can have some stability.