Harvest

President's Day turned into a yard beautification day.  We've had such beautiful weather, that it was refreshing to spend the day outside.  Our tangerines came off the tree today.  They are a bit too sour to eat, but do make tangy juice.

 

I have lobbied for a tree in the backyard for YEARS.  The prospect of digging a huge hole in the middle of the lawn has always been a point of debate.  Now that the grass is dead, no more debate and today was the day!  The winning choice: Brisbane Box for its tall, narrow shape and evergreen leaves.  I am sooo happy!  

Amazing to think that our scrawny looking twig can someday become this:

 

We've toyed with the idea of replaced the grass with turf, but reseeding turned out to be the most economical decision.  The rope is to keep the kids out during the process.  Wish we had a way to keep out our hungry little birds too.  Who knew that grass seed would be such a huge attraction?!

Back Bay Loop

Along with loosing teeth, Ruth has finally reached the milestone of riding a bike without training wheels.  Now that we don't have to pull two kids in the trailer, the idea of family bike rides is a lot more appealing.  So, Saturday morning, we loaded up the van and took the kids on the Back Bay Loop Trail in Newport Beach.  What appeared to be a nice easy loop turned out to be a three hour, 10.5 mile excursion.  I wasn't sure if Ruth would make it the whole way, but she did!

The winter months are a wonderful time to visit California not only because of the weather, but because many birds migrate here for the winter.  We saw so many birds along the ride, including an Osprey and a Blue Heron, two of my favorites.  In this photo, we are standing opposite the bay from where our car is parked and still have over halfway to go.

Emmy got really grumpy towards the end (understandably), so I told her to put her head down and take a nap.  She took my advice!

Champion Ruth!  10.5 miles on her very first bike ride.  You go girl!

How many hats?

Look who lost a tooth!

When your're five years old, everything is exciting, especially when it comes to loosing teeth.

Holly comes to town!

Holly and darling Eliza paid us a visit last week.  The weather cooperated nicely, so while it was 8 degrees in Colorado (home for them), it was 65 degrees in CA.  Not a bad tradeoff!  We took some nice walks, ate yummy food, shopped, and even made it to Legoland!  Eliza was so darling with the kids.  She joked with the boys and pampered the girls.  Every morning, the girls were read to, dressed up, and given cute hairdos.  They loved her for it!  Holly treated us with beautiful piano playing every day and on our last night, entertained the kids with stories around the beach bonfire.  Thanks for coming, Holly and Eliza!

January wrap up

As mentioned, January has been off to a busy start.  I am teaching 5 dance classes per week: 3 out of my home and two at the studio.  5 hours doesn't seem like much on paper, but the preparation does require additional time.  I have also been juggling physical therapy every few weeks for an ouchy knee.  I have weeks where it feels great, and weeks where it hurts.  I have learned a lot in physical therapy, however, so I am hoping that with strengthening and stretching it will get better over time.  

Joseph suprised me with flowers a few weeks ago!  No special occasion either!  :)

David's pinewood derby car this year was "The Mad Hornet".  He did pretty well and placed first in the webelos.  Last pinewood derby (sniff).  James, you are next!

January is always a great time to get sick.  What I mean to say is that we are always sick in January.  Ruth had a fever for a few days and Emmy had a monster cold.  They were so cute with their family room set up, that I couldn't help but take a photo.  This reminds me of my sick days as a kids when the couch was my best friend.  Lucky for Ruth, she can lay on the couch and still feel in the center of life's activities.

Legoland

Wow!  First post of the year and it's already February!  We gifted 3 month legoland passes to our kids for Christmas.  So far, it has been a huge hit.  The kids know that they have to do their morning chores before we can go on Saturdays, so it is a great motivator to get things done.  The first day we went, they had a special display of snow.  I never knew that you could play with legos in the snow.  My kids enjoyed it for the first 10 minutes and then decided they were done.  We are certainly not brave when it comes to the cold!

James and Ruth rode this ride atleast 5 times.  

David attended a mindstorm class.  This robot was so cute; he could shoot cannons, pick up balls, and be programmed to go anywhere.  

Overlooking Miniland.  Recognize anything?