Happy New Years!

Tonight we celebrated with those five hours ahead of us!  No need to stay up after a busy day and get grumpy.  Olivier and Mason had their party hats on most of the afternoon looking forward to celebrating with "poppers".  Here is Olivier (a.k.a. Batman) sporting his party hat.  

 Ready to ring in the new year!

 Then we had a toast of apple juice (not fans of the bubbles, Mason says it is too spicy).  Ha ha!

And the real excitement, poppers!

They did a lot better this year with the noise and Anna was excited that she wasn't scared this year.  

We hope that 2014 is full of good health, happiness and love for all!

Up the hill we will go!

Last year on New Year's Eve we made the hike up the hill we enjoy a view of all year long and it was a great day to do it again!  We started off with light sweatshirts on and those made it about two minutes.  Much warmer than last year, and unfortunately, much drier.  It took 30 minutes to go up and 30 minutes to come down (with a lot of sliding again this year).  

 And Rufus joined us this year.

 Mason hasn't been very willing to take a photo lately but he liked being able to see himself when I took this one with my phone.  Great smiles!

Part of the view from the top.

And here are a couple of panoramic views:

Rufus couldn't figure out why we were just hanging out at the top.

 The kids enjoyed the rocks.

 And pointed out Bishops Peak.  :-)

 And a glimpse of the damage done on the way down from sliding on the slippery trail.

 Olivier took the lead which was a bit of a surprise, especially with how many spills he took.

Choo Choo!

The kids have been begging (a.k.a. whining) about wanting to go on a Mommy bus (they know which are City, School, and Regional - Mommy).  Today we decided to make an adventure out of it and keep it a secret from the kids!  :-)  Even better!

We started off by strategically placing our cars for easy retrieval at the end of today's adventure.  Then it was off to catch the bus going north.  The only thing the kids knew is that we would be having a picnic so they were excited when we told them we would be taking the bus to our picnic location.  

Olivier sat (wiggled) with Daddy.

 Anna sat next to me.

 And Mason was a stinker who sat with me but didn't want his photo taken.  This is the best I got.

 After the bus ride we went to the park and kept pushing them to eat quickly.  They weren't happy about the lack of a play structure and were preoccupied with that until we started the discussion that there was more to the surprise.  They started guessing and all of a sudden Mason guessed right.  Needless to say they were surprised and a "bit" more motivated to eat quickly!  Of course the train was delayed a bit so we had three very anxious kids on our hands but once we were on the train they had a blast!  We sat in the parlor car (we think!) on the upper story with tons of windows.  It was a very full train due to holiday travelers.  Lots of grins and giggles!

 Great shot of Anna with the amazing view behind her.

Here are a couple of very short video clips from the ride.  They loved the tunnels.  We went through a total of five (four when the first clip was taken), and we were going through the fifth during the last clip.  Amazing to see the brightness!

 Toward the end of the trip we went to the baggage area and enjoyed more space and they got to see the full size of the train.

 Our happy crew!

 Once we got off the train, we waited on the bridge for the train to leave so we could wave goodbye.  It was very loud and when the train sounded its whistle just before leaving all three kids jumped about two feet into the air.  It was LOUD!  Olivier didn't want to be put down or uncover his ears until we got back to the car; loud noises and Olivier do not mix!

 Mason, me and Olivier, and Anna on the bridge.

 Before the horn went.  :-)

It was a great day and we are all throughly exhausted tonight!

On a silly note, the kids got these sucker for Christmas and we call them pacifiers.  Sounds bad but it is amazing how quiet three kids are when they have these!  And they sure look silly too!

Monarch Butterflies

Today we wanted to get everyone out of the house and enjoy the great weather.  With that in mind, we headed out to see the monarch butterflies that flock to the beach very close to our house.  It was a great chance for the boys to try out their telescope too!  Matt set it up so they could see the butterflies and they were surprised to see so many in a cluster.  

 They were fascinated with these large monarch signs and insisted a get a photo of them with one.  Of course you really can't see it because they wanted to be in front of it.  Ha ha!

 My favorite shot of a butterfly resting on a fence post.

 And then we walked to the beach.  The kids really wanted to walk to the ocean but we decided not too because it was getting close to lunch.  Olivier showing off how he can make a mess in the sand.

 This photo should have been great, and probably would have been, if Mason hadn't been wearing his hat like his Grandpa Pierre!  :-)

 More butterflies.

 And the butterflies warming up in the sun.

The warm weather has been nice but rain would be great right about now.  It has been too long!

Christmas afternoon!

After a busy Christmas morning, the kids were excited for rest time in their new sleeping bags.  Nice perk for Mom and Dad!  After rest it was off to celebrate with the Arnold's.  The gift opening started as soon as Gus woke up from his nap and went from youngest to oldest.  Anna and Lina helped pass our the gifts.  Needless to say all the kids gathered around Gus to see him open the first gift.  I think this is the only photo I got with Lina in it too. She was a busy one this year.  

 Then it was Eli's turn.

 And Miss Audrey.

 Olivier and Mason went out of order.  Olivier was being a goof and put his jacket over his head again.  Not a good photo.  Mason was happy to show me his new car.

 And he enjoyed spending some time with Uncle Tom, even if he was ignoring me.  After this my photos started getting out of order since there was so much going on.  

 Gus was having fun with his Bilibo, rolling out as he tried to spin himself.

 Anna was so excited to get a Barbie, and one that rides a walking horse at that!

 And the boys got a telescope!

Lots of fun was had by all!  It was a wonderful blessing to spend the holiday with all of our families!

Christmas morning!

After a very busy day yesterday, the kids were all up promptly at 7 a.m. when their clocks changed to let them know it was okay to get up.  They don't understand the idea of sleeping in, but then again, who does on Christmas morning.  :-)  

They started with stocking by the chimney.  

 Then it was off to the tree to open the packages.  The all had larger boxes under the tree and of course those were the first ones they wanted to open.  They knew right away what was inside.

 Olivier in his Lightning McQueen sleeping bag.  Happy Boy!

 Mason in his Spider Man sleeping bag.

 And Anna in her pink princess sleeping bag!

 The next gift was jackets!

 Anna got pink (it even has a bow) which made a happy girl.

 Olivier got green.  :-)

 And Mason got blue!

 A few more random photos of gifts from Dad and Mom.

 Anna got an Easy Bake oven.  She made cookies for us which we had with lunch.  She is a happy girl.

 After all the gifts were open they climbed into their sleeping bags and played.  They are napping in them now as a matter of fact.  And not in the sleeping bag on the bed, on the floor.

 Mason in his Spider Man hat, in his Spider Man sleeping bag.  Anna oddly decided to watch Planes with Mason.  Sweet to watch them spending time together.

Nap time now then off to more celebrating later this afternoon and evening.  We are blessed!