Long Beach here we come!

The kids riding the "walkelator" at the Seattle airport

The day after Halloween, we headed to California for a little fun. We arrived at the Long Beach airport on Saturday only to be welcomed by Ty Pennington from Extreme Home Makeover. Ok, so he didn't welcome us, but we did see him and I think he smiled at us.

After we got our car, we headed to find our hotel and BEACHES!! We ended stopping at Huntington Beach for some splashing in the waves. It was beautiful. Lots of surfing and a ton of dolphins. After watching the sun set we headed back to Long Beach to meet up with the Titeras for dinner. Dinner with 6 kids is, needless to say, not that relaxing, but the kids had fun. After dinner, the kids boogied to a street performer on our walk back to the hotel. We all were exhausted and ready for bed.

The next morning, we headed to Universal Studios while the Titeras headed to church (way to make us look bad). We rode rides and saw a lot of famous characters from TV, and saw some very entertaining shows. Most of the shows were considered "scary" by Kiya who cried at any explosion or ghost/monster. We chose a good day to go because it was raining in the mornig and then cleared up to be a really beautiful day, but not crowded at all. No crowds ment none of those dreaded lines:) We stayed until the park closed then headed straight to the hotel to put the very tired kids to bed.

Jaws!

Coopers favorite! Scooby Dooby Do, Shaggy (and the Mystery Machine)

Dave's new girlfriend

At one of the shows, Kiya volunteered. This is a video of her experience. Very exciting!!

Monday ment Beach day!! We met up with the Titeras for breakfast (once again chaotic with all of the kids). Then followed them to Balboa. We found a really nice beach with waves that were too big for the kids to play in. But, they were still able to have a ton of fun and get really sandy and wet. Good weather and good friends...what more could you ask for. After a long day on the beach, we headed to a little local mexican restaurant. Not quite as chaotic this time. I think the kids were so tired. After dinner, we headed back to Long Beach and the Titeras headed back to San Fransisco...hitting LA traffic! Yuck!!

The Daddys playing in the waves the kids couldn't play in!


Tuesday we decided to do the "Walk of Fame" in LA. It really wasn't that exciting. Most of the stars were of people I have never heard of. But, it was kind of fun to see people dressed up like characters from movies. We were a huge target (with 4 kids and all). So, Jack Sparrow made the kids swords and gave each one and then asked me to pay him....nice! I couldn't take them away. After a huge banana split, we headed on the road again. Next stop..Malibu. Once again not too exciting. I always imagined it as being a quaint beach town with a lot of character. Not at all. Just a bunch of not that nice houses blocking the view of the water. When we finally found a beach the kids were itching to get out and play. It wasn't that great of a beach to play in the water, but the kids took a walk with Dave and chased hundreds of pelicans. The day was pretty much done. It was time to head to the airport. On the way to the airport, we drove through Santa Monica and wished we had stopped there to play instead of Malibu. We'll know better next time:)

Very elaborate costumes!

And maybe a bit uncomfortable!!

All in all, a good trip.

Halloween!

Wow! Halloween was really fun this year! Kiya was going to dress up as Hannah Montana then decided to to be a twin butterfly with her friend Louise. Cooper was Anikan Skywalker, Lincoln was a darling pirate, and McKay was a sweet lion. Halloween started a week before the actual day. The Stake had their normal Trunk-or-Treat. Kiya and Cooper were very independent and make the rounds on their own, I took Lincoln around, McKay slept through the whole thing in the car, and Dave dressed up as a gorilla with a Laffy Taffy tongue.

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The next night, we carved pumpkins. Dave worked with Kiya on her own design and I worked with Cooper on one from a book. We cooked up some pumpkin seeds and enjoyed the benefits of fall.

Lincoln's American Flag pumpkin

Kiya and Dave's original jack-o-lantern

Cooper and my spider pumpkin

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Halloween day finally arrived. It began with a breakfast potluck in Coopers class. Kiya had a party in her class also at the end of the day. Both came home with really cute Halloween crafts...masks, cheese cloth ghosts, and other decorations. Right after school, I picked up the kids from school and headed straight for Queen Anne Avenue. All of the businesses hand out candy. Lets just say that with 3 kids trick-or-treating, we brought home A LOT of candy! The evening ended off with a really fun party with our ward; pictures, homemade root beer, and chili. Fun was had by all!

Soccer time!

This was Cooper's first year playing soccer. He was really good. He was fast, scrappy, competitive.

Dave decided to be one of the coaches. I think the boys really enjoyed having him as a coach. Apparently some of the parents started calling him "Super Dave" because of a certain shirt he wore to practice.

The league really wasn't competitive. The only games the kids played were scrimmages the coaches put together. It was really fun to see Cooper making new friends and learning more about soccer. This is him with the trophy he earned. He was so proud!

Here is Cooper and Dave's really cute team. Oh yeah...I mean really competitive, focused, capable team.

You've got to move it! Move it!

Don't worry, our children are not going to school at a prison. These are just their Move-A-Thon shirts. John Hay Elementary has a move-a-thon every year as a fund raiser. They take pledges from neighbors, friends, and family and then they run their little hearts out.

Here is Cooper...I don't know if he ever took a break. He was very dedicated and focused and ran 7 laps in 1/2 hour. I think it equals out to be about 1 3/4 mile.

This is such a fun day for everybody. Lincoln loved hanging out with Kiya, even ran a little with her. All in all, I think Kiya ran 6 laps which is about 1 1/2 miles.

But...the favorite part is always the Top Pot Donoughts and Jamba Juice at the end.

Bring on the Tooth Fairy!

We are so excited because this is Kiya's first tooth that she has lost. I think the last person to loose a tooth in her 2nd grade class. Who would've known the Tooth Fairy toted around $2 bills. Man kids these days are so lucky!

Sweet baby growing too fast!

McKay 7 mos.

Oh the 4th child:)

So, by the time you have the 4th child, you give them just about anything to play with. I had given McKay markers to play with before. In fact, he loved gnawing on them. But this time, he somehow got the lid off. It just made me laugh!

Do The Puyallup!

Yes, we did it. It took 2 hours to get down there, but we had a lot of fun. My favorite part is unknown to me. Dave's favorite part...the pygmy goats, and the kids favorite part...well, I'll give you one guess!!

Visiting Cousins

The kids were really excited when their cousins Ryan, Avery and Sophie came to visit. We all went to the zoo and the kids played and played. Then, of course, what is a visit without a shared bubble bath?!?!? So fun!

First Day of School!

My babies continue to grow and get older and progress in school. Kiya is now in 2nd grade and Cooper started Kindergarten. Amazing!! I miss having them around all the time, as it was during the summer. Lincoln, McKay and I get to have some quality time doing younger kid things now though. I think Lincoln is starting to really enjoy that part, although he almost looks forward to his naps knowing that when he wakes up we get to go pick up Kiya and Cooper from school.

Mohawkin'

Dave Finally Did It!!! He had been threatening to give Lincoln a mohawk and finally followed through. Lincoln actually likes it much to the demise of myself. He gets looks from everbody. Mostly people smile at him.
This was almost as bad as when Dave gave Cooper a mullet however I have to admit it was pretty cute. I gave it a week and buzzed it off.

See What I mean!

Prince McKay

Kiya is always making things for McKay. One time she put a sticker right in the middle of his forehead and made me keep it there all day. This picture shows a crown she made for him, making him wear it as long as possible. He didn't seem to mind...but had no idea what would follow later.

Summer days at the park

Gotta love Seattle in the Summer!

Fun in Africa!

We got really lucky seeing the lions up so close this day at the zoo. Lincoln didn't care so much about the animals as he did about playing though!