Noah's Ark

Today we were invited to join Heather & her boys at the Skirball Center for the Noah's Ark exhibit. I've been wanting to go there for quite a few years so when she asked if we wanted to go, I jumped on it! I had heard how amazing the exhibit is, but was not prepared for it myself. It was absolutely breath-taking! No detail was missed. It was a beautiful portrayal of Noah's Ark. The animals were amazing, the weather experiments were interesting, the play areas were informative, and the spirit was perfect!

We had a wonderful day exploring there!
Thanks Heather for the invite and sharing your pictures!

Self Feeder

{still a little crusty-eyed & nose, but every day its getting better & better!}

I am LOVING this new organic baby food in the stores! It's so easy to take along and when you forget a spoon you can still feed your baby. Naomi has decided that she likes to feed herself these days, whether I have a spoon or not! She is so stinking cute and fun!!

Update on the rest of us:
John- still sounds awful, but feels better, hasn't stopped at all. worked lots & early morning seminary are full-speed ahead.
Jacob- is still a little whiny (but that's typical!) but hasn't had a fever in days. he still has a cough, but he went to school today!
Georgie- back and healthy!
Gram- still sleeping from the moment she walks in the door after work through the night until its time to get up for work again. her sinuses are killing her. her poor body had no defense system to start with thanks to chemo & radiation so she's taking the longest to heal and was hit the hardest.
I'm still hanging in there. my sinuses are sore, but i'm feeling pretty good...

Sicko's

Boy, whatever this is going around... it's a doozy! Our family has been feeling it for over a week now.

Jacob came home from school on Wednesday feeling fine, but by that evening he was coughing and snotty, had a fever and was sound asleep on the couch at 6pm. He spent Thursday and Friday sleeping... and most of Saturday too. Sunday morning he woke up his usual happy self but by this afternoon he sounded and felt awful again. Hopefully one more down day will be all he needs.

Georgia has had a bit of a cough and one seepy eye, but otherwise been her usual happy self. Until late last night... she sounded awful and was super whinny. She didn't sleep well last night, but woke up this morning feeling pretty good. By 6pm the whining had returned and she fell asleep on the couch. Hopefully she will sleep through the night... and feel better in the morning.

Naomi has been snotty and coughing for a week. Her eyes started seeping on Wednesday and she's woken up with eyes sealed shut since then. Thankfully this morning she woke up with a little crust, but she could open them! Her congestion seems to be getting better and she's happy most of the time so hopefully she's on the mend as well.

John slept most of last weekend and went back to work & seminary full speed on Monday... and has paid all week. His body is fighting as hard as it can, but once he gets home from work he crashes. He still has a terrible cough and now his throat is hurting too. He spent most of Saturday asleep also. He says he's feeling better so hopefully this weekend of relaxation will be what his body needs to fight off this cold and be ready for life again on Monday.

Gram has had this cold for a couple of weeks now. She starts to feel better and then it knocks her out again. She slept ALL day Saturday (we saw her once around dinner) and ALL day again today (we saw her for a quick second this morning and again at dinnertime). She says she's starting to feel better but her throat is swollen and her cough is awful.

I have had a bit of a cough and a runny nose, but (knock on wood!) I have felt fine otherwise. John and I just talked tonight about what would happen if I go down... and he knew right away that we'd be in big trouble! So... hopefully my body will continue to be strong and fight this -whatever it is- off!

** like how even when my kids are feeling awful they still smile for the camera! silly kids!!

Gram's Garden

Supposedly today is the first day in a projected week-long of rain. We don't get rain all that often so its a welcomed change, but we sure did enjoy this past weekend of 80* weather. We played outside, Gram worked in the yard, and I tried to capture some of the beautiful flowers and trees she has growing. She really has a green thumb and this incredible February weather is bringing all sorts of blooms to enjoy.

Naomi Jean is always trying to escape into the backyard, she loves being outside!

Poor John though, he caught something and since Saturday has done nothing but sleep whenever he has the chance. That man is sick. And having having the work-load he has, as well as seminary, and looking for a new job is not helping his body restore one little bit.

Crazy Toni & Goodbye...

On Dani's final day here Toni and her kids came over to spend some time with us. Toni lives in Northern California and she drove all day yesterday with her 6 kids to get here just to see Danielle this morning. She really is crazy. But, I love her so very much and it was so good to see her!!

Meme & her kids came over too while Toni & I were out getting lunch: Little Cesar's pizza for the kids and Caruso's Deli for the mommies. (yummmmmmm!!)

We let the kids play while we visited for a couple of hours. Then we tortured them with a group picture. (at least that's what you would've thought was happening with all the complaining going on :))

{{Jackson & Tommy, Norah, Georgie, Jacob & Naomi, Jayce & Jillian, Joshua, Justice & Jedidiah
just missing Dani's kids: Makenna, Parker, & Emi}}

And then we got a picture of us together...

Oh how I love these girls!!

And then it was time to call it a week and head to the airport.

We had a great week with Danielle here. We ran & ran & ran and boy, are we tired!
Thanks for coming to visit us and add some excitement to our week.
Thanks for visiting so many of our dear friends with me, it's been too long for me too.
Thanks for being my friend.
I love you.
Come again... soon!

and bring your family!

Disney Day

we're all ready for a FUN day!

since it was Dani's first trip to California Adventure, we stopped in to get her a '1st visit' button

John took the day off work to be there with us so Dani & I could ride rides.
He really is the best!
screamin'

I had no clue where the camera was...
but the second time Dani & John knew...

ready for Toy Story Mania!

a bird thought my shoulder was the perfect location, thanks bird.

Georgie wanted to be a horse... all the way from California Adventure to Disneyland, silly girl!
On our way across Meme & her kids met up with us, hooray!


Dani says Jake's a great driver. She wasn't scared at all.

yep, we gotta ride space mountain too -- thanks john! xoxo
and small world

and dumbo too.


we had a great day at Disney. we rode everything Dani wanted to ride. we ate our way through the park, we pretty much opened the park and closed it. it was perfect!

as 7pm grew closer my kids were all losing it so John took all three of them & the stroller and headed to the car to go home while Dani & I headed back over to CA to ride a few more rides and watch World of Color. it was the perfect ending to a perfect day and really fun to spend those last 2 hours with just the two of us.


love this old retro disneyland sign. its the one i remember as a kid.