Mom and I just returned from a fun vacation to see Jake, Hannah, and Molly in West Virginia where Jake is finishing up his MBA. They were great hosts and made sure we saw the sites. The picture above is of us in Pittsburgh, PA.

Here I am in front of the IRS building in D.C. Jake pointed out a quotation on the building I just had to get my picture with for Nathan, "Taxas are what we pay for a civilized society." Most people love to hate taxes, but Nathan is a tax lover.

Toward the end of our stay in D.C. we often found Molly in this position. I think she was saying, "Enough already!" She sure was a trooper though. We walked a lot!

Me, Jake, and Mom in front of the WWII memorial. We headed out in the evening to see the memorials lit up. They were really pretty, but the field trippers made site seeing a little difficult.

Me in front of the Washington Monument. I guess I was in a silly mood?

Here we are on the way home from D.C. As you can see in the background of the picture, there was quite the build-up of traffic. We weren't thinking clearly and left in the heat of rush hour. Let's just say we did a lot of singing, "I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee".

We stopped for lunch in a sculpture garden. It was very nice.

During our stay in D.C., we also saw the Holocaust museum - which isn't exactly uplifting, but very enlightening. It made me appreciate my life of free choice and comfort.

Morgantown, WV and D.C.

California Adventure

Well hello. Sunday we returned from a whirlwind trip to California where we met up with Crystal, Rich, and their kids, along with Grandma Cardon. We were able to stay with Mara and Ben at their apartment in L.A. Despite being very tired and worn out, we had a great time seeing the sites and spending time with one another. We spent one day in Disneyland, one at California Adventure, and our final day at the beach. I managed to burn my children's skin to a crisp by not applying sun screen to their little bodies. Ooops! Good thing they had so much fun playing in the sand. The girls had a wonderful time playing with their cousins Kelbie, Caden, and Macy. We had to do quite a bit of coaxing to get them on the rides at Disneyland - especially after we took them to the Haunted Mansion (BIG MISTAKE). Our day at California Adventure was just that. It poured nearly all day, and we got to spend $40 on ponchos in the gift shop. We were grateful to have them however. Here are some pictures of some of the things we enjoyed during our stay.

The Beach


Mia playing in the sand - and getting a nice sun burn.

Libbie and Kelbie spent a lot of time making "king's chairs" in the sand, and Uncle Rich pulled them around the water on a boogie board.

Mallory, Mia, and Macy playing in the sand. Let's just say there was not an inch of their bodies not caked in sand. Yikes! Mia and Mallory enjoyed sliding down a sandy hill.

The love birds!


California Adventure

Uncle Ben and Libbie on the bumper cars in Bug World.

Mia, Mallory, and Libbie in front of the ride all the adults liked the best at California Adventure.

Kelbie, Caden, Libbie, Macy, and Mia with Mickey Mouse.

A hilarious picture of Nathan and Mia in their ponchos and 3-D glasses before the Muppets show.

Here the kids are before we entered the park. Little did we know that it would rain for the rest of the day. Brrrrr...!

Disneyland

Cousins in a tea cup.

Daddy and Mia on a ride in Tomorrow Land.

We got to see Minney Mouse as soon as we entered the park. What luck!

Primm, NV

We made the mistake of booking a room in Primm, NV, on our way to California. When we got to our room, it was stinky, dirty, and ants were swarming our bathroom sink. I said to Nathan, "I thought you said this hotel had a high ranking?" He replied, "No, I said this hotel was the highest rated in Primm." Scary Larry.

Our latest family trip to the portrait studio was actually not too bad. We got some good shots of the girls and there was very little crying. We'll call it a success.

Hippity Hoppity

We had a great Easter weekend. Friday we went to Grandma's house and stayed there until Sunday morning. The girls had lots of fun doing many Easter egg hunts with Uncle Nathan, and we also had some good eats on Saturday night. Above is Mallory holding one of my decorated eggs - it wasn't too long before she chucked it across the table. It was fun while it lasted.

Libbie and Mia coloring eggs.

Apparently we didn't explain to Libbie that touching the dye isn't the best idea.

Mia with her two-toned egg.

Even Nathan was super excited to color eggs - HA.

Here the girls are just before church in their new dresses from Grandma Oyler.

The girls got this silly putty stuff in one of their eggs. They had so much fun making interesting facial hair with Uncle Nathan.

Here are some shots of the girls during our thrilling Easter egg hunt. We pretty much had to point out every egg to them. They weren't into looking for themselves.

This is just a sweet shot of Mallory. She just fell asleep sitting on the couch before nap time - very unusual for her.

These days, one of Mallory's favorite activities inclueds putting clothes on and then taking them off again - over and over and over. We have many a stetched out shirt now. She's even gone as far as wearing Courtney's dirty socks - sick (above). Whatever keeps her entertained is fine by me though.

We got a trampoline last week. The girls are having so much fun on it. However, the second day we had it, Mallory and Mia collided and Mia recieved quite the injury. She bit her tongue really hard, and it was bleeding everywhere. It still isn't a pretty sight to see. Hopefully that will be the last of injuries for us - cross our fingers.

These are the days of our lives

Libbie recently got a new bike for doing so well on her job chart for a whole month. She is still learning but anxious to be on two wheels soon. The neighbor boys have a little ramp she really wants to try out. Ha Ha.

Here the girls are before a Sunday walk. They all insisted on wearing Dad's hats. Mallory looks very excited to get outside. I love pictures like this. They crack me up.

Mia is very into having me take odd action shots of her. Here she is eating her lunch. All righty then.

She looks sweet and innocent.

Last week we went with Aubrey and her girls to the dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving Point. The girls had a great time digging in the sand for "fossils".

Mia, Alexis, and Libbie playing in the wet sand - creating a dinosaur habitat.