Christmas Program

Ashlyn had a little Christmas Program this morning at her school. Gabe and I went to watch her little performance and she did a great job! She sang 3 songs along with the 2nd grade classes and it was really cute.

Here she is just waiting for the program to begin.

You can tell she spotted us. The kids weren't

allowed to wave at their parents.

The choir teacher is really weird!

Wild Animal Park

We went to the Wild Animal Park today for a playdate and had a lot of fun with our friends!

Gabe curled up in the egg. I think he was trying to sleep.

We got some nectar and went into Lorikeet Landing.

Oh my! These birds go nuts when people walk in with nectar.

I had one on my head, one on my shoulder, and three on my arm.

Here's Gabe holding the nectar for one while another

rests on his shoulder. He didn't freak out at all.


This mama lion was right up at the glass.
She kept stretching up on her hind legs
and pawing at the glass.



And, since our last ones came out blurry,
I decided to try to get a good head shot of Gabe
to print in 8x10s. I think this one will work!

Santa Sighting

We went to Ashlyn's school on Saturday for a fundraiser breakfast with Santa. The food was actuallly really good (catered by a local cafe) and the kids got to talk to Santa and pose for a picture with him. Gabe told Santa that he would really like cars, airplanes, and trains for Christmas this year. (This was the first time he has asked Santa for anything.)
Ashlyn asked for just one more Webkinz.

The Santa wasn't all that great, but he rode in on a firetruck so I suppose that makes up for his crappy costume.

Gabe's Portraits

Ashlyn just got her portraits done at school and I like to have Gabe's done around the same time. So Gabe and I went on a playdate at Quail Botanical Gardens and we took a few pics there. Here they are:

I'm not even sure what he was laughing at!

This is Gabe's fake smile.

This would have been a great shot if I had
checked the camera first and noticed that it was
set to the "landscape" setting.


Cute shot in front of the tropical waterfall

A Great Thanksgiving

So my parents and grandma drove to So Cal to see us and share Thanksgiving. We had SO MUCH fun with them while they were all here. The visit was so much fun that they were easily persuaded to stay just one more day.

Mom, Grandma, & I went to see Twilight on Sunday and we loved it. Grandma wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but she enjoyed going out to a movie anyway. We also visited an antique store, walked up and down Main Street in Fallbrook, and visited a nursery where Mom & Don picked up a couple of Hibiscus plants for our front yard. (Thanks guys!!)

We made Thanksgiving dinner together on Thursday (everything turned out great!) and enjoyed it at the brand new dining set that my parents gave us as an early Christmas gift. (We LOVE it!!!)

On Friday we all went to the zoo and had a great time seeing all of the animals. We lucked out with the weather and Grandma really enjoyed the scooter that we rented. After the zoo, we went to dinner at On the Border and then Mom and I went shopping! Yes... we sure did a lot of shopping. I got all of my Christmas shopping done for the kids!

We really had a fun visit with them all and we are so grateful to have been able to have family here to spend the holiday with us. Thanks Mom, Don, and Grandma for making this Thanksgiving memorable for us!! We love you and miss you already!

Gabe actually dug a lot of this hole himself.

Good job, buddy!

Ashlyn was so excited to help

plant the Hibiscus plants.

Grandpa got the plant out of the pot...

and Ashlyn put it in the ground.

Ahh, finally time to relax.

Gabe showed Grandpa his favorite Xbox game,

Lego Indiana Jones.

Here is Grandma in her scooter at the zoo.

Look at the smile on her face!

She really enjoyed driving it around!

There were 2 baby tigers in the enclosure.

There goes Grandma... still smiling!

I think Don liked the Polar Bears! ;)

Ashlyn playing with a Polar Bear statue.

Ashlyn & Gabe hugging a Panda Bear.

Gabe, Grandma, Grandpa, & Ashlyn

Why is it that you can never get everyone

looking at the camera at the same time?

Cute Koala!

Spider & Fly

I love this picture of Gabe with his Grandpa.

Me, Brian, Grandma, & Ashlyn at the restaurant.

I'm so proud!

Of my little brother Jared! He has his private pilot's license and he can fly!! He and a friend of his rented a Cessna 182 and flew it down to our little airport here in Fallbrook. They are busy logging more hours and Jared is working on getting his Instrument certification (?). Apparently Fallbrook's airport has a very short landing strip (2000 feet) and Jared was a little nervous, but he landed it! He spent the night with us last night and then I took him to the French Valley Airport (only about 17 miles away) so that he could meet up with his friend and head home today. That airport's strip is 6000 feet long so I think he'll be flying into there next time! ;) We didn't have time to go up for a ride, but definitely will next time. The kids had fun checking out the cockpit though!

Ashlyn, Gabe, & Brian playing in the cockpit.

Jared in front of the plane.

Gabe & Jared pose for a pic in front of the plane.
Gabriel is very excited to have a pilot Uncle!

We're very proud of you Jared! Thanks for flying out to visit us and please come back again soon!

A First...

So this morning at 4:35 am, Brian and I were awakened by... an earthquake! It was so weird. I actually woke up just before the shaking by a loud noise, kind of like a buzzing. The whole thing was over before I knew it and none of my friends even knew there was a quake! I guess I am a light sleeper. It was a good shake though at 4.1. My brother had flown in yesterday and spent the night last night and I ran down right after the quake to see what he thought of the whole thing. He didn't feel the shaking, just heard the loud noise. He thought the kids were up making the noise. That was the first earthquake I've ever felt! Am I a real Californian now?