Family Fun

February was a rough month for Michael. He worked a lot of long, hard hours and we didn't see him very much. When the stars aligned at the end of the month giving him a day off and the kids free of illness, we took advantage of it and had a fantastic night out. We took the kids bowling and they loved it! Trevor loves balls and even though he couldn't pick up bowling balls, he still like to touch them. Lynette kept trying to give Trev pointers and kept insisting on carrying her ball all by herself. Michael and I are really super awesome bowlers and we had a fierce competition going to which I won one round and he won another. Trev kept trying to chase after the ball and fell a couple times on the slick isle. He entertained a couple other people nearby with his antics. It was great.

Afterwards we headed out for Chinese. MMmmm yum. Trevor enjoyed the eggroll...and would try anything else and Lynette nibbled a bit here and there. Its a good thing we liked it because that "Family meal for 3" fed us for 5 days!!! Yeah, it'll be a while before I want to go out again for chinese. So much fun, though. Times together like this this past year have been few and far between, making each one of them so important. Sure do love our little family.

Trev's turn- everybody chips in to help.

Miss thang.

After Lynette's turn she would turn around and walk away. She just like to push the ball and go- oh and dance. The girl likes to dance.

Gettin' down.

Made me a little nervous watching her carry that thing around.

Perfect form.

And what's a post without a cute picture of Trev doing what he does best- make messes.

Day at the Beach

You can't take a trip to California and not go to the beach, no matter how short your stay. So on the morning of the day we were to leave California we bundled up our kids and set off with Michael's siblings to a nearby beach. It was cold- not what you hope for. But still, its a beach, and even though the kids were wearing their coats, they still enjoyed it.
We drew pictures in the sand, kept and eye out for shells and pretty rocks, and basically just enjoyed the sound and smell of the ocean. We were only out there for about 1 1/2 hours before the cold finally drove us back indoors, but it was nice.

Trev was extra cuddly on our beach excursion. He liked walking around for a little bit and even once I had to chase him away from the waves, but he always came back to mom for extra warmth.
Aunt Tara was Lynette's buddy. They drew pictures in the sand and had a great time. I really wished we'd have brought some pants for Lynette to wear, though.

Michael really enjoyed catching up with his siblings. Its been a while since we really got to spend time with them.

Blowing bubbles in the wind was a highlight.

My CRAZY sisters-in-law Lacy and Tara couldn't leave without taking a plunge. They charged out in the water screaming and splashing and encouraging us to join them. Uh, no thanks.

Michael is such a ladies's man.

Disney on Ice...again

So in January our cousins called us up to see Disney on Ice with them again and we had so much fun the first time around, how could we say no? My cousin works for a law firm that has a box up at the top we all got to sit in, it was a lot of fun. I don't recall the name of this performance but it had something to do with holidays...they just went through every holiday and celebration. The kids loved it...eventually. Lynette, just like last time, got totally freaked out by the dim lights, cold temperatures (afterall it is an ice rink), and the LOUD music. Okay- so why the loud music? Honestly, everywhere I go they just play music way too loud and it drives me nuts. Sports games, dances, restaurants, movies its all just WAY TOO LOUD. Are they trying to make us deaf? I get pretty irritated by it because I have sensitive ears and since I'm a musician I really would like to keep them that way! But of all places- why at a kiddie show? Children do not like loud music. It scares many of them- and my daughter is no exception. It took quite a while for her to get accustomed to it and then once she finally did the program went into its "Halloween" portion and do you know what that consisted of? All of the villians...on ice...at the same time...dancing to scary music...and plotting evil deeds. It terrified her.

So here's our happy cute family.

Here's Lynette at the beginning of the show. Some kid had given her a disney toy to play with and do you see how she's clutching onto it for dear life? It took a lot of coaxing to get her out this far...she wanted to stay in the box far away from the loud music and Cruella DeVille and Maleficent and Jafar and...

A little further into the program we coaxed her out even further..

And once Mickey had gotten rid of all the villians the girl finally started to enjoy herself. That's better.

Unfortunately Disney on Ice does not make for very good pictures. Lets play a game- can you guess who's in this one?

How about here? (Okay, so I know this was the princess segment)

And here? I know one of them is really hard to tell but if you can figure out the red hat girl you just might get them all.

The Grande Finale

And here we are all cute again. Fun night. Thanks Chandlers!

Walking in the Garden

This is my last wedding post- I promise! The home Lanara's reception was held had a gorgeous garden that the kids and I ventured through. It was lovely, every turn had new surprises- pools, waterfalls, japanese garden area. I couldn't resist taking pictures.

Such a tired boy.
Love that face.

Pixie in the garden

Its a rare thing to have a picture of just the two of us. So it's treasured, even in bad lighting.

I don't know how I kept landing in the bright sun in all these pictures- must be my Ray heritage.

Hmmm...not our best.

My sister-in-law Lacy and Lynette.

Good-looking guys.

Cutie-patootie

Fun with the camera.

Mama's boy.

I don't know what this is but I thought it was cool.

My handsome boys.