Sunday Nights

Sunday evenings I take the boys to their great grandparent's house to visit.  Much of the family gathers then and it was a nice way to pass the time while Mike was teaching a class at church.  Hunter carefully picked the petals off of Grandma Rosie's flowers then deposited them into a small pail he found.  He added handfuls of soil he scooped out of the potted plants then carried it inside and proudly dumped it on the dining table.


Uncle Dax gave Fisher quite a ride on the tree swing.  He was learning to use his legs and during one of the swings back slipped right of the seat and fell to the ground.  We quickly cheered for the unexpected exit and he stood up, brushed it off and bravely got back on.

Blessing Tea

Egg Hunt at Gee Gee's

Fisher paused mid-hunt to make a phone call.  It went something like this "Hi.  You bailable?  Yeah, we need help, you bailable to help us clean up this big mess?"



Hunter got the hang of it and enjoyed searching for eggs.

Teta's New House

Teta and George moved into a new house in Murietta Lakes, near Temecula.  Now that they are only a one-hour drive from San Diego we are able to visit more often.  We stopped by the day before Easter to visit with extended family and hunt eggs.  Fisher played with his cousins from Seattle and helped Aunt Nagla in roll dinner roll dough in the kitchen.  

Fisher and Mike had a little running race during their afternoon walk around the lake behind her house.  Aunt Nagla told Fisher "you won!"  To which he responded "I not one, I three."

The favorite Easter basket goodie was this toy iPhone and earpiece.

Easter

Aunt Duh-Jean (Janeen) came over to help us color eggs.   Oops, I bought brown eggs without thinking.  We were surprised at how vibrant they turned out.  Maybe we'll try brown eggs again next year.  By the way, she's wearing Fisher's sushi apron which isn't quite her size. 

BOYS!!!

Hunter was playing happily by my side while I worked on the computer. Moments later I looked over and Fisher is calling him "Hunter Pirate". This is shaving cream very quickly applied to a very tolerant little brother.

I have learned there is always a price to pay for any time I can work peacefully at my desk. In this picture I am thankful for: Fisher self-initiating #2 on the potty. Good job! That only water is splashed around the bathroom and nothing else, that everyone is happy, there were no injuries or permanent damage done. While Fisher is doing his business on the little potty next to the toilet he using a toilet brush he brought in from the garge to swab the bathroom, Hunter is unwinding toilet paper to play with and they are splashing around, flooding the floor with joyful exhuberance.

Mommy's Helper

Fisher is becoming a delight to have around. This week he surprised me when we arrived home from Costco. I was finishing a phone call with Mike after we pulled into the garage so I just reached back and unbucked him from his carseat. Several minutes later this is the scene I find. He unloaded the apple juice first, using it to prop open the garage door so the groceries could be carried in. He brought his step from the bathroom to help him get in and out of the back of the van. He hurled onto the garage floor any items not in bags (fortunately the Cascade survived the fall) and continued eagerly and cheerful working. What a blessing he is!!! And "Helpful Hunter" was happy to be a part of it all.

Med Cruise Part 1 - London

Med Cruise Part 2 - Barcelona, Monaco

We boarded the ship in Barcelona, Spain but unfortunately did not have time to explore the city. It was exciting to enough to just get settled into our staterooms and unpack. The spaciousness of our family verandah suite made hanging out in the room comfortable and fun for everyone. There was a bedroom with separate sitting area where with a twin bed and crib for the boys. The rooms divided with a sliding door perfect for early bedtimes.

Med Cruise Part 3 - Florence, Rome, Naples

Med Cruise Part 4 - Athens, Istanbul, Mykonos, Venice

We made our stop in Athens a family day and took everyone ashore to explore the Acropolis. During our brief stop at the Plaka (outdoor market) Mike and I purchased a painting of Mykonos to remind us of our visit. At a traditional Greek restaurant on the water the waiter brought out whole, uncooked fish for us to select from for lunch. A short time later the fish we had selected reappeared at our table delectecably cooked. We ate the entire thing!

A view of Istanbul from our balcony. I spent five days in Istanbul with a girlfriend during college and was hopeful to recognize the major sites and remember favorite places we had visited. Strangely enough, it felt like I was visiting for the first time because nothing looked familiar. The Grand Bazaar was both grand and bizarre. A quiet lunch with live Turkish music redeemed the experience. This time I did not buy a rug :).

Hunter and Kayla at the Greek island of Mykonos, our last port.

Mike was invited by the Ship's Captain for a rare bridge tour. While up there alarms sounded, the crew scurried to the controls in response and he witnessed the beginning of problems that would put one engine out of service for the remainder of the cruise and prevent us from visiting our last scheduled port, Split, Croatia. After his bridge tour, while enjoying lunch in the dining room, without kids, Mike observed "see Jill, even big ships have engine trouble sometimes." The inconvenience was nicely compensated for with a shipboard credit we enjoyed spending at the spa, ahhh!

Mike has been a fan of Igor Medvedev and purchased this piece on board. The art gallery was probably his favorite stop while walking the ship. We took the boys to the "Fun Factory" on board almost every day. Fisher went crazy in the ball pit and Hunter practiced walking with a little push cart in the toddler room. They played on the outdoor slide and one day swam in the kiddie pool.

We disembarked in Venice, Itlay and stayed overnight in a hip Marriott hotel near the airport. Hunter took his first steps at this hotel walking between two suitcases set outside out hotel room door the morning we were leaving.

Althought we arrived at the airport in plenty of time to catch our flight our check-in took much longer than expected and we barely caught our flight to Vienna, where we were to connect to a flight Zurich them direct to LAX. Unfortunately due to our delay the flight arrived late and we missed our connection. We were re-routed through JFK. Although I was completely exhaused (that combination of morning sickness, exhaustion, etc) the kids were amazing! They stayed awake for most of the nine-hour flight from Vienna to JFK, where we had to claim our luggage, clear customs, transfer to a different terminal, pass security (that's never easy with sleep deprived little ones in arms and a double stroller to empty out and fold). Thank the Lord we made it to our gate just in time to board. The boys and I had the entire back row of the plane to ourselves. Hunter stretched out across two seats and I made a cozy bed for Fisher on the floor in front of us. They both slept the entire way and with earplugs and my comfy neck pillow I caught some sleep too.

Kayla's parents drove all the way from El Centro to meet us at LAX. Her dad persuaded security to let them through so they could meet her at the gate. This was the longest she had ever been away and was so relieved to see them. Amazingly, Mike was able to think straight to file a claim reporting our lost luggage, which was not a big surprise, in light of having missed our originally scheduled flight. We eventually made it out of the terminal with half our luggage, caught the shuttle to the parking garage and began our drive home in the early morning hours.

Hunters 1st Birthday

We celebrated at GG-Pa's house (Fisher's way of saying GG and Pa, Jill's parents) with a casual lunch with friends. His big gift was a tandem extension for his big brother's tricycle. He is tickled to have his own seat and to be a part of the action now. Good thing there's a seatbelt!!

Fall Fun

Papa Sam, Jill's paternal grandfater, stops by for frequent visits with the boys. At 79 years old he still gets down on the floor to play with them and tests his strength lifting Hunter. Hunter's middle name, Thomas, is after this great-grandfather, Samuel Thomas.

I have taken up knitting as a hobby. Here Hunter is modeling my first finished project.


Fisher used to race around the house leaving Hunter crawling behind him. Now they are finding more ways to play together and really enjoy it.

Introducing Habanero

We are embarking on yet another adventure.  Read all about our new sportfisher Habanero at www.teamhabanero.blogspot.com

New News

The end of October we went on a Mediterranean cruise to celebrate our 10th anniversary.  We brought along the boys, and a babysitter!  A few days into the cruise we were surprised to find out Jill's expecting!  The due date is within a few days of Mike's birthday, July 3rd.  Now that I'm over a tough bout with morning sickness, jet lag, cold and flu I can sort through our photos and start posting.  Keep checking back for updates!