January Happenings

We always start the new year with a bang - Justin's birthday on the 9th! Such a cute 4 year old. Justin fell in love with Walle over Christmas, so that was our birthday theme, cake and all. He received the movie and the biggest box of snacks he has ever seen from Tamara. He got exactly what was requested. Overheard at Christmas was Spencer and Justin making plans to attend each others birthdays once they realized they are the same month. So sad to live apart.
Justin's birthday also fell on the night of the high school's winter formal. So Jaelyn was off to dinner and the dance with friends. She was able to find a nice dress in Arizona. I think she tried on half the dresses in the Junior department. She almost picked the same dress as her friend up here. We talked her out of it because of length and coverage. They all had a great time and looked beautiful. I worried about getting Jae out the door because she kept saying her dress made her look fat! hah! She is stunning in red.

Dale had Martin Luther King day off of work so we had a family picnic. After Christmas, Dale purchased a gas grill. We decided on a camping one so we could use it at home and be portable. He was excited to take it to the park and try it out on the go. We went to a large park with a lake and small train in Los Gatos. Unfortunately, the lake was about dried up and the train not running, but we brought bikes for the little ones and no one was disappointed. It was a very busy day at the park, but we got a nice spot by the playground. A hike was involved for the bathrooms. After lunch we played bean the monkey in the middle with a play ground ball and then a round of kickball. The little ones liked this better. We gave them just one base to run to. Dale likes to take that grill everywhere. He took the kids to the park a week ago, while I got my hair cut, and cooked them up some hamburgers. Nathan is a pretty good sport and goes along to play with his little siblings. Lucky for me, Dale has tomorrow off! President's day landed on my birthday. He will grill at home because we are finally getting lots of rain.
On a side note, Justin and Jaden are now soccer players. We signed up for the once a week classes back to back. They seem to enjoy it and get lots of running in. Beka gets a couple of hours at the playground right next to the field. I have even gotten to know some of the other moms. People are so interesting. One little boy is also in Justin's preschool and his mom is from Egypt. It is fascinating to hear about that part of the globe and how she came to the Bay area. I will leave you with this final picture/commercial ad for 'Got Cheese?' taken by Tamara. One little girl did not want wait for mommy to finish exercising. Helping oneself is much better!