Malia Walking

I was super worried that Malia would start walking while she is with Ben in Utah. I wasn't very happy about it either. Lucky for me, she took her first steps yesterday! I'm convinced that it's because she wants her mom to be happy. :) This video is the second time she walked. . .after trying to get her to do it again for well over an hour. The little stinker! See it Here.

Simon's Bubble Trick

Simon learned this trick at school. Who knew you could do that with a little soap and water? See it Here.

Super Fast

I'm sitting outside on a blanket with Malia. We're watching the kids ride their bikes. . .LOVING the fantastic weather! Anyway . . . Isabella made up a cheer. This is how it goes. . .

Bella: Who is supa fast and not so slow?
Mom: Bella! Bella!

Repeated a gazillion times.

Beaches, Bikes & Birthdays

Here are some pictures from our latest trip to Myrtle Beach. Ben was supposed to be running the marathon, however, he hurt his leg in January and wasn't able to run. We had the hotel room booked already, so we decided to go anyway! It was a little depressing that Ben couldn't run the race after training so hard, for so long. (The last run he did was 18 miles) But we did have a good time. I do miss the mountains. . . a ton. . .but I could see myself being a beach girl. I really enjoy the ocean. . .almost as much as the mountains.
The first picture is Malia in the car eating chicken nuggets on the way there. She was so happy to have those nuggets! I love how she scrunches up her little nose when she's super happy.


We went to Broadway on the Beach one night. If you've ever been to Disneyland, it's just like Downtown Disney. . .a whole bunch of stores and such. Anyway, we gave each of the kids $10 to spend. Nolan and Simon immediately found their favorite stuffed animal. Bella bought $10 worth of candy. . .and it was gone five minutes later. That girl has a serious sweet tooth!

We got the kids new bikes and helmets. They were thrilled to death! We got them on a Friday night. The next morning, Malia and I woke up at 8:00. . .the kids never sleep in that long. . .ever! I went to go see what they were doing and they were all outside riding their new bikes! Simon had helped Bella and Nolan get their helmets on, and they were having a grand time!


I had my 29th birthday. Ben surprised me and came home early to take us all out to Chili's. I was very glad I didn't have to cook! We also went to Target and Ben told the kids they could each have some money to buy mom a present.
Nolan said "I know what I'm going to get. . .a fishing pole!"
Ben replied, "I don't think mom will want a fishing pole, Nolan."
Nolan, in a very matter of fact sort of way, said "Well, I'm going to get it so she can share with me."
Love that boy! :)

Simon turned seven yesterday.
I can't believe my baby is seven! I tried to get a couple of good pictures of him. He was itching to play his new Pokemon game. . .so this is the best we could do. . .


Then, today Malia turned one! She was so happy today! I think she must have known it was her birthday. :) Here are some pictures that I took of her little party and a few that we took in the yard, just for kicks and giggles.





And I just think this is a cute picture of the sisters. . .

Explanation and Myrtle Beach

So I decided to make my blog private for a few reasons. One of them is because Ben showed me how to get our HD videos on the computer. . .I'd like to put video on here occasionally and I'm not terribly comfortable with the videos of the kids being accessible to all the crazies in the world. Another reason is that a while ago, the people who lived in our house before us searched for us on the internet and found our blog. The lady read one of my posts that said how dirty the house was and how we had to do some major cleaning (and it was disgusting!) and got offended. She was worried that our neighbors would read our blog and think less of them. She also thought that we should have been grateful for getting new carpet yada yada yada. Anyway, among some other things, we decided it would be best to only allow our friends and family to view our blog. :)

Anyway, if you are interested, click here if you would like to see the video from our latest trip to Myrtle Beach. I will try to post some pictures soon. This is a sort of long video. . .but you should at least watch the end of it to see Malia on the beach. Trust me. . .it's worth it! :)

Going Private

Our blog is going to go private in a few weeks. If you would like to continue reading the horribly infrequent updates, you can leave a comment with your email address. I have changed the settings so I have to approve any comments. That way, nobody will be able to see the email address you leave but me. :)

Family Pictures 2010

Out of over 400 pictures taken. . .we got one good one. I guess that's all that matters, right? :)
The individual pictures of the kids weren't nearly as difficult! Thank goodness.



Simon



Nolan



Isabella



Malia

Our Little. . .Friend

Here is our lovely visitor. It was living in the garage. . .yikes!
And after pictures. . .it got squished by a wonderfully big shoe.
I hope you enjoyed your stay little spider! :)

Part One

I realize that I haven't been very good at blogging. Things keep happening and I think that I'll post about it. . .and then I remember that I haven't posted for a long time and I need to do the earlier events. . .then I put it off. . .and one more event gets added into the cue. So, I decided that instead of cleaning while the girls are napping, I'll get everyone caught up on our life. :) (Ben will be so happy. . .HA!) Here it goes. . .

Simon started first grade this year. He loves it. The only thing he has a hard time with is getting up early. He really, truly, begs me to get him to bed early. If he's not in bed at 7:00. . .even if it's two minutes later. . .her breaks down and worries about not getting enough sleep. The reason he sometimes doesn't get enough sleep is because he has to be at the bus stop at 6:52! That is sooooo early! We are getting used to it and he hasn't been complaining about lack of sleep lately. Here he is on his first day. . .

Simon also started soccer. That is his favorite thing to do. The only problem. . .he has practice until 7:30 on Tuesdays. . .that doesn't go over well. Poor Buddy. :) He has his first game this Saturday, so I'll try to be good and post some pictures.

Nolan started preschool! :( It makes me sad when the kids start school. That means they are growing up. . .I want them to stay little and tiny. Nolan loves school! I was worried he was going to hate it (since he hates going to class at church). On the first day I asked him how he liked it and he said "I like school, it was fun. . .except for the part where you have to sit on the carpet. They told us that we have to keep our mouth shut and be quiet. . .it's so stupid! I don't like that part." Since that first day, he has gotten a lot better about "keeping his mouth shut." His teachers tell me that he is really good! Yay Nolan! Here he is on his first day. . .


Isabella started dance class today. I think I was more excited for her than she was! It is so much fun to have a little girl in dance! She did an awesome job too! She did everything the teacher did, and actually listened!! They don't allow parents in the room, but they do have a video streamed into a waiting area. So, I got to watch her do her thing. I wish I could have taken more pictures and recorded some. . .but these will have to do.


Malia is growing like a weed! She is almost sitting up! She is such a good baby. Here's a few pictures from the last four months. . .


We had a super busy Summer. The best part was going to Utah! We had tons of fun. I'll let the following pictures tell part of the story. . .


I have a lot more pictures from Utah but they are on Ben's computer. I'll post those later. Right now, I'm holding Malia. . .and she's trying to grab the keyboard. . .such a helper! I'll post more on our Summer adventures soon!

My Sweet Malia

We just get home from a month in Utah! I'll post more on that and the last four months another day (hopefully soon). For now, here is a picture of Malia that Katie took. Malia is getting so big so fast! I still need to look through the pictures that I have but I love love love this one. . .