Rose Parade

Here's a flashback post - the annual Rose Parade. It's a big deal out here and the boys really like the parade, too.

The only problem is that you have to park your car a mile away and trek it to the parade route. At least we've got the wagon for the boys.

One great thing about the Rose Parade is the seemingly unlimited supply of donuts. Here are the boys eating their donuts. In the morning it was a bit chilly, but it got pretty warm by the time the parade started.

Here is donut #2 for Casey. I can't remember if he ate 3 or 4 donuts.

Of course, I've got to get my fill of donuts. It's all about the food, don't you know.

Casey is all ready to go and waiting for the floats to show up.

Yes, the parade is very serious stuff.

I had to get at least one picture of the parade. A cool float with an airplane. Till next year!!!

Snow Day!

Who says I need to be in Utah to have snow. We got a "bunch" of snow overnight during the big rainstorms last month. Beaumont schools were closed for the day. I only wish Utah would have closed schools for 2 inches of snow. It really was more slushy than anything. By midday most of the snow was melted. This is how I like my snow - gone by the end of the day!

These are shots of our front and back yard. I'm trying the new Picasa collage with these pictures.

Loads of Dirt

Melissa and I decided to finally start on our backyard. We got the sprinklers taken care of with the help of Brandon (Melissa's cousin). Now it was time to do the grass. We decided against sod since it was cost prohibitive, so the next best thing was this really crazy idea about bringing in 20 cubic yards of stinking (literally) top soil.

This is just one load (10 cubic yards). This one was dumped on a Friday afternoon and another one was delivered Saturday morning. Needless to say it was a lot of dirt. After the first day I could barely move. Oh, so much pain!!!

I was able to borrow a couple of wheelbarrows, but it really was not fun. By the way, that's not a smile on my face. :)

I had to move the dirt from the front all the way to the back. One wheelbarrow at a time.

We made all this these dirt piles so afterward we could just level it out.

The final product.

Thanks Donald for helping me and my hometeacher. Of course, Melissa, too.

HALLOWEEN

Hi everyone!!! I'm back blogging after a little break. Ok, a long break. I don't want to see any nasty comments. :)

Here are pictures from Halloween. Enjoy.

We tried to get Casey to be a lion, but Casey had different ideas. Apparently, Casey doesn't want his parents deciding what he will be for Halloween.

Casey really wanted to be Lightning McQueen.

Ryan and Casey at the preschool Halloween party.

And of course since Ryan and I have been playing LEGO Indiana Jones, he wanted to be Indiana Jones.

Ryan won 3rd place for his costume at the Ward Halloween Party, although they thought he was dressed up as a miner. He was carrying around a lantern.

Someone in the Ward put together some great Halloween decorations.

House Pics

Alright everyone here you go. We have finally got around to taking some pictures of the house. Enjoy!

Drum roll...

Here is our house. We're in a nice little cul-de-sac.

Here is the front room or living room depending on who you talk to. These chairs will eventually go upstairs and will be replaced by furniture we are getting from our parents! We haven't put anything on the walls yet, Melissa won't let me.

Here's a shot from the front door looking up at the stairs.

Here is the family room. The kitchen is behind me. We moved things around several times before we decided on this setup.

Kitchen - I love it!!!

My oven - I love it too!!

I had to get a picture of the boys in here, so here they are in Casey's new bed. Of course, I love them most (and Melissa)!!!

Here is Ryan and Casey's room.

Ryan and Casey's closet. Lots of walk-in closets. Melissa was pretty excited when she figured out that the boys dresser would fit IN the closet. Talk about a space saver, and it's not even cramped in there.

Ryan and Casey's bathroom

Master bedroom, this room needs the most work, there are a LOT of boxes on the floor that are just to the right of this photo.

Master bathroom

The 3rd bedroom. Ryan calls this room the "baby room" because that's where the crib is as well as all of our other baby stuff, swing, bouncer, clothes, etc. No, we are not making any announcements. :)

The fourth bedroom which is currently the playroom.

Upstairs hallway

Backyard. Very exciting!!! (this is only showing half of it) This photo was taken from the play room, upstairs.

Here is the other half.

One more picture for good measure. Now I just gotta get it finished. Ryan says almost everyday "I wish my backyard had grass."

The Big Move

We made the move to our house two weeks ago. Here's a picture of our stuff all boxed up in our apartment. We'll try to get pictures up of the house real soon. It's been busy getting everything unpacked, but we're loving the house!!!

Here is a picture of the kitchen/family room. Lots of unpacking to do.

Ryan and Casey's favorite place in the house - the stairs.

Stay tuned...

Angels Game

While my brother and his family were in town we went to an Angels Games. Casey started off the game in a very grumpy mood and refused to look at anyone. He is the one that put my arm across his face like this.

It was entertaining trying to explain to Ryan what was going on. We kept it very simple. It was the red guys vs. the blue guys, we want the red guys to win not the blue guys. Now for the rules, the guy standing on the big circle throws the ball at the guy with the bat so he can try and hit it. If he hits it he has to run the bases (those little squares on the dirt) before they get him with the ball.

Donald left with Payton to get a hot dog and came back with a pink rally monkey. Payton was thrilled and adorable all dressed up in her Angels cheerleading outfit.

So, I didn't get a picture of my own family. But here's my sister family, Donald, Payton and Jennifer.

Casey was finally happy after a few innings. I almost wished Casey would have stayed in his somber mood, it was much easier holding him, but I'm glad he enjoyed himself.

The game wasn't particularly exciting, the Angels lost :(, but we still had fun.