Fun at Sea World

Every year Sea World is so generous and allows an active duty serviceman and 4 dependents to get into the park for free once during the year. We hadn't gone yet this year, and since Matthew had the day off we took advantage and went. We got to the park around noon and stayed until they closed at 5pm. It was soooo much fun. This year they have the new Sesame Street Bay of Play, which is perfect for our kids. Here are a bunch of pics of the day.

This was a huge bounce house type of thing

Too exciting for the twins :)

This was "Oscar's Rocking Eel". It was fun for the boys
until close to the end it got a little to fast for them.

"Elmo's Flying Fish" - The kids can control the fish going

up and down, so this was a favorite.

Yes, we were wearing short sleaves without jackets

in December.

The Shamu Show "Believe"

It was a fun day, and we stayed for just the right amount of time. Meaning: Eveyone was happy until we got home. We'll definitely try again next year if they let us in for free. So if any of ya'll want to come and see us in San Diego we can make a day of it. Hint Hint!

Funny Boys!

It's so funny to see how Grady and Ethan think. The other day, while I was trying to decide what to make for dinner, Matthew was playing with them and tickling them. The boys would squirm and run away and then come back for more. Matthew asked Ethan where he liked to be tickled, and after Ethan indicated his tummy, he got tickled there. Then Matthew asked Grady where he liked to be tickled. Grady thought about it and replied, "Burger King". That Grady is going to be a quick wit!

Road Trip!!!

We decided to take a drive around Southern California this weekend and had a really fun time. We went up the coast on I-5 and (after battling the traffic in L.A.) we stayed the night at the Navy Lodge in Port Hueneme. It's pronounced Why-knee-me. The base is right next to Oxnard, CA on the coast and is a really beautiful area. Matthew's feeding breakfast to the babies in this picture.

The next morning we drove around town for a while and then headed back toward L.A. We met Matthew's brother and his wife in town and had lunch with them. They have two kids, and the boys enjoyed seeing their cousins. After lunch the boys got to go outside and sit in their Uncles CHP patrol car. They loved it!! Especially the sirens and lights!

After Lunch we headed East towards Palm Springs, and stayed the night at the Twentynine palms Marine Corp Base. Our hotel room door opened right up to the playground. I think that might have been the highlight of the trip for the boys. Outside of Palm Springs we drove through a "Windmill Farm". They were fun to see. They don't seem so big at first, so it's always a little surpising how huge they are you get closer.

The twins did really well on the trip. They had the big boys to watch and toys to play with. When we stopped to stretch our legs we tried to find grass for them to crawl around in too. A fun weekend!

The Great Toaster Oven Disaster!!

Silence might be golden, but in our house it means someone is doing something they're not supposed to be doing.

Matthew went to a Navy training thing in Texas for a week and during his absence our toaster oven died. Not because it was old or working inproperly, but because a little boy decided to make "cake" with an ice cube tray. Ethan was the culprit, and I was the fireman. Seriously, it took me a while to even figure out that it was once an ice cube tray. It's a good thing for him that he's such a cute kid.

Bathtime!

Here's a cute pic of the twins at bathtime. They are so crazy when they're in the tub together. They try to crawl all over each other and often end up with their faces in the water. But they always get up looking surprised and then crawl all around the tub once again. They really seem to enjoy each other's company.

I know, I know, you're wondering what happened to Erica and the boys. We are still here, just busy, and a little lazy too. Grady started pre-school on the 2nd of September and although I thought I'd have more free time, it is a lot of work dropping him off and picking him up. I have to sign him in and out of class, so each time I have to schlepp all the other boys in and out of the car. Oh well, Grady really seems to enjoy it, so it's worth it to me.

Here's some cute pics of the kids. This first one of Grady and Ethan was at the Train Museum at Balboa park. Grandma & Grandpa Andres and Uncle Eric were visiting at the time.

We also did a tour of the bay during that same weekend. Here’s some pics of that too.

This was a shopping trip to Target. The big boys were dancing in the aisle to a bunch of demo music and Logan was enjoying the fun. But Wyatt, on the other hand, was very board with the whole thing. So cute!!!

Matthew is keeping busy with his internship. He’s just finishing up a rotation in OB and is now starting Internal Medicine. We think IM will be good for him. It really requires him to know a lot about everything. This is Matthew’s 4th rotation. It seems as if this year is already going by so fast.

Playing in the Sprinklers

I forget how such simple things can be so much fun for kids. I turned on the sprinklers while I was making dinner outside on the bbq and the boys had so much fun running around and playing. We had to eat dinner outside since everyone was wet. :)

A Big Boy Bike

Grady has graduated to a big boy bicycle. He was so thrilled! Of couse it has training wheels, but it certainly fits him better than the old tricycle (which is now Ethans').

We went for a walk around the block and let him ride. There is a little hill and he couldn't remember how to use his brakes while going down, so he screamed for help and just kept going faster and faster. I had the twins in their jogging stroller and while I yelled for him to use his brakes, I ran down the hill with the twins and caught him on his bike before he hit the curb at the bottom. I'm surprised I can still move that fast. :) Matthew had Ethan on his shoulders so he couldn't get to him in time. So after that, Matthew made Grady reluctantly go down the hill a few more times so he'd get used to his brakes, and he did much better.

A Day at the Park!

Matthew and I took the boys to a park I discovered with a friend and had a picnic. It was nice to have Matthew there so he could play with Grady & Ethan and take pictures. It was hard to choose which ones to put on the blog since there where so many good ones.

The Twins are sitting up!

The twins are finally starting to sit up. I guess 6 months isn't really that late. They are so cute! We sat them up facing each other and they were so pleased that they started telling each other all about it. Funny little boys!

Wild Animal Park

I'm thinking about naming our house the Wild Animal Park because my children seems so at home there. We spent half that day there and really enjoyed ourselves. We saw a pot-bellied merekat, and caracal that can jump very high at the animal encounter. We had a bit of a scare when Ethan got lost, but fortunately a Ranger and Matthew found him at the sponge bob square-pants statue. He was very sad that he got lost and stuck with us pretty closely for the rest of the time. Other than that, we had a great time and got to see lots of animal and even feed some ducks.

Grandma Andres and the Wii

After a sad start to her Nintendo Wii experience (Grady kept beating her in bowling), Grandma Andres finally got the hang of the Wii when she tried out the boxing. Grady and Ethan love the boxing too. Grady always says he's going to "ruin" his opponent.

F.H.E. at the Beach

We went to the beach on Monday night for Family Home Evening. Grandma & Grandpa Andres and Uncle Kevin came to visit and it was really nice to have them here. We had a picnic, which the seagulls finished off for us while we played in the water. The kids had lots of fun in the water and we all got sandy and wet.