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Sunday, January 31, 2010

Mormon Battalion Celebration

The Mormon Battalion center reopened with a big celebration. The new center is amazing and definitely a must see if visiting San Diego.
The kids had fun panning for gold,
pumping water out of the well,
and pulling up the bucket for more water.

Todd was able to go in and find his great-great-great-grandpa Philemon Merrill on the computer. Philemon was a member of the Mormon Battalion.
Kye was chosen to dress up as a soldier.
Hank's friend Sister Redd is serving a mission at the center. How cute is she?!

The kids enjoyed making their own old-fashioned dolls, bricks and toys. It is such a neat place. It really makes me appreciate all we have and all our ancestors have suffered on our behalf. It's amazing to hear how the Mormon Battalion never fought in a battle yet were able to do so many things that helped to shape Southern California and Utah, I geuss really the west in general.

Super star


Our little Miss Perfection won the Super Star award in her class. Mrs. Thomas kept repeating what a joy she is to have in the class and how she does everything in class she is asked to do and then some. She even works extra hard to do her homework while at school so that she doesn't have to bring it home. What can I say she's super!

Tuesday, January 19, 2010

The young Jedi's

While at Disneyland the kids were chosen to train to become Jedi's.
When Kye came up to fight him, Darth Vader said " I feel the force is very strong with this one". I told Kye that means he has the power to do a lot of good. I think I'll continue to remind him of this when he does something wrong. I'll say "Kye you're turning to the dark side" and I'm sure he'll shape up immediately!


Disneyland (again)















A visit from the Jolley's would not have been complete without a trip to Disneyland. It was the best day ever. It rained in the morning and scared everyone off. There were no lines for any of the rides. We were able to do everything we wanted in both parks!

Life in the land of endless vacations

One of the best things about living in such a beautiful place is that we always have visitors! Hayley, her kids and my mom came down for Lucy's gymnastics meet. While they were here we hit one of our favorite spots, the tide pools.
The tide pools certainly didn't disappoint we saw all kinds of creatures.


We had a night out without the kids to celebrate my mom's birthday. Yummy dessert included!

Sunday, January 10, 2010

Granny

Our trip to Arizona wouldn't be complete without a visit to Safford to see Granny Helen. She's all spunk! We love her so much!

Saturday, January 9, 2010

New Year's Eve

We had a wild crazy New Years Eve at Kami and Steve's house. We pretty much spent the night eating, eating and more eating!



Even Little Miss Lola rang in the New Year. There was no way she was going to miss the party!

3rd Christmas

After Christmas morning we headed to Arizona for our 3rd Christmas as Ashton calls it. Once again the kids got very spoiled and had so much fun.



The best Christmas ever!

Ever since riding Dumbo at Disneyland, Lola has been obsessed with elephants. Santa brought Lola a rocking elephant or Dumdo as she calls it.
I've never been able to sleep on Christmas Eve. I used to make my 4 younger siblings stay up with me all night. This year was no exception. We told the kids they couldn't get up until 6:30. At 6 I was lying there awake and heard Ash and Kye in their room. I decided to let them stay in there and let the anticipation build until 6:30. Oh, the torture!
Kye chose to go through his stocking before opening any of the large gifts. In his stocking he found a slinky and a watch. He exclaimed "This is the best Christmas ever!" Boy, if we'd only known that he'd think that after just opening the small stuff.......



Kye asked for a mini pool table, dart board and a super surprise (no pressure Santa). He was thrilled with his surprise, a scooter that sparks!
Ash's greatest wish was for skates.
Santa always brings the kids a game for the family to share. It comes half wrapped in Ash's wrapping paper and the other half in Kye's.
The great thing about living in San Diego is that you actually get to go outside and enjoy your new gifts!