January

Hasn't felt much like January here this year. Probably because the majority of the month I wore shorts, t-shirts, and flip flops. And on the weekends we've been able to hang out in swim suits at the beach! Sure love living in Southern California!

Ya, this was taken after school one afternoon. Out in swimsuits, playing in the water at 3:30pm in January - crazy!! 

But as much as I like the sun and warmth, it's been so darn dry here and actually this coming Sunday we've been asked by our Area Authority, President Garns, to dedicate our fast to the relief of the drought situation in California. On Sunday I was reminding the primary kids about our special fast coming up. I was telling them how much our Heavenly Father loves us and that if we go to him in fasting and prayer, with faith, he will help us and give us the rain that we need. Then the coolest thing happened - we walked out the doors of the church building and it started to sprinkle (rain was not in the forecast either)! I forgot how much I love the smell of rain! It was awesome!! The girls were so excited that they set up camp outside in the backyard. We didn't get much - just a little sprinkle, but in my mind it was a sign - a sign from Heavenly Father letting us know that we will be blessed from our fast.

Our area has been asked to pray for drought relief before. It was about 10 or 15 years ago when the result was what they called "Miracle March". Record breaking amounts of rain fell - it rained almost everyday for a month! I'm so excited!!

A few other little things to document from this month . . . 

Madi and Elle's Martin Luther King weekend sleep-over! There's just something extra exciting about sleeping on the floor of your bedroom rather than in the bunk beds! 

We love our Camarillo Library and go at least once a week! It's been fun discovering new favorite authors that we all love and can't get enough of, like - Robert Munsch, Keiko Kasza, Wiliam Steig, and our new favorites - Mo Willems and Bill Peet.

Not even dinner can stop the dress up and constant acting out of "Frozen" - Elsa (Madi) and Anna (Elle):

New consequences were implemented this month for those who choose not to listen and obey the first time. I have a feeling we're going to have a really clean floor this year!

I taught Elle's joy school group on the 22nd. We made Q shaped soft pretzals, painted with Q tips. made a rhyming Quilt, wrote Questions, read Q books, and had Quite a grand time!! 

We had an early birthday celebration for Grandpa Al this past Sunday! Wish I would have taken pictures of the cards the girls made him - they did some pretty awesome drawings! And Spencer cooked some pretty amazing Pad Thai. Happy Birthday Dad!

Elle had a "cooking class" with Boppi back in November that never got documented (so why not throw it into January right?! :). It's so nice when grandparents are able to take the time to do things that I always seem to loose patience doing with my kids. Elle was beaming from ear to ear when I picked her up from her class with Boppi!!

I sure am grateful that Boppi's willing to share her cooking skills with my kids. A couple weeks ago the girls were able to help Boppi do a little baking after church. Not much beats watching my kids enjoying time with their grandparents. 

Grandpa Al is always great about keeping Cal entertained!

And just to tie it all back to the warm weather we've been having this month, here's a homework assignment that Madi had. She chose to write to her cousin Ani in North Carolina:

22 months

At 22 months Cal's become quite unpredictable! I never know what I'm gonna get. At parts of the day Calvin's a complete angel - so sweet - full of snuggles, hugs, kisses, and laughs. I love how he's quick to ask "please" and good about saying "thank you". I love how he's the first to fold his arms for prayers and now joins us for family prayer - on knees, arms folded and head bowed (never lasts through the entire prayer, but it's a start)! He's fun to play with and loves just sitting on my lap, reading story after story. But he's definitely growing out of his sweet little boy stage and becoming a kid - a rough and tough BOY! He requests the "park" anytime he sees one, runs around the house getting into all the drawers, climbs on the table, and is my first kid to help himself to the fridge, freezer, and pantry. Today he pulled open the freezer, got out a bowl of ice cream with plastic wrap on it, takes the plastic wrap off, throws it into the garbage, then goes back to get his ice cream. Luckily I'd been watching the whole thing and was able to intervene. I grabbed the ice cream, gave him a couple small bites, then distracted him to another activity. But then an hour later, he pulls the can of peanuts out of the pantry and brings them to the couch where I was reading stories with the girls. For some reason it's just so funny to me, probably since my girls would never just help themselves. They know they have to ask first and I usually don't allow snacks so close to dinner. But I kinda like how Calvin takes care of himself.

Just a little obsessed with hats and helmets!

Cal's definitely becoming more opinionated and puts up a royal fit when things don't go his way (I really have to crack down and discipline him when he screams). He's thrown some pretty intense tantrums this month and has shown an especially angry side which I don't like seeing. I have to remain super calm with him and I've found it better to laugh when he gets angry - sometimes he'll start laughing too. But boy is it hard to keep my cool when he flips out. He's started a new thing of waking up cranky form naps (Madi used to do this and it drove me absolutely crazy- I don't like moodiness and wondering what I'm going to have to deal with when they get up).  

Cal and Elle play really well together. But once Madi comes home it's a different story. Three's a crowd and Cal usually becomes the odd man out. Oh how I want a little brother for him. He's finally starting to make friends though. It's fun to see him getting along well with other kids - even happily sharing his toys! It's a miracle!

Cal with his buddy Violet. Took them both to Costco while Madi and Elle were at school and was amazed at how well they did together.

Visitors

Had to document some fun memories we got to make with Aunt Joci, Uncle Michael, baby Collin, Aunt Corrine, Uncle Morgan, and cousin Bailey while they were visiting over the holiday break! I sure love when aunts and uncles take the time to play with and adore my children. I especially love hearing my kids talk about how much they love their aunts and uncles. Makes me want to be an extra good aunt and try to make special time for my nieces and nephews. If only we all lived a little bit closer. . .

Uncle Michael is always so much fun! I love how he just jumped right in (literally:) and had a great time with the kids! When we went home that night, the girls couldn't stop talking about about how much they love Uncle Michael.

Since everyone stays at Spencer's parents when they come to visit, we usually go over there to hang out with everybody. But its always fun when they come over to our place to hang out!! We sure loved having Jocelyn and Michael join us for pizza and game night! And we all loved spending time with new baby Collin! He sure is one handsome baby boy!

We didn't get to spend as much time with Morgan and Corinne as we would have liked (mostly just Sunday dinners and one afternoon when Corinne watched Calvin and Elle while I had a doctor's appointment), but we did get to keep Bailey for an afternoon/evening. Sure loved getting to know that sweet spunky girl a little bit better! She and Calvin were super cute together (they're just a little over 5 months apart). We were bummed that Bailey's sleep-over didn't work out. But we loved every minute that we did get with her!

Wrestling with Grandpa Al . . .

A Happy New Year from Oceanside

After spending 5 days with my parents here in Camarillo, we packed up and headed 2 hours south to Oceanside. It was nice to get away and do something different to enjoy our last few days with Gram and Papa. And as luck had it, my mom was able to get on and book a 3 bedroom penthouse at their timeshare in Oceanside! It was as if the girls had died and gone to heaven! They couldn't stop talking about how perfect everything was - jacuzzi tubs in every bathroom, bathrobes in their closet, a TV in their room, not to mention the pool and beach just out our back door! I love little kid excitement! We had a total blast!!

We had beautiful weather most of the time, but on day 2, after a morning in the pool, we were just about ready to pack up for the beach when we looked out a noticed a think blanket of fog rolling in. We contemplated changing plans, but I'm sure glad we didn't! What fun it was to walk in the clouds!!

Coming home cold and wet isn't so bad when you know you've got a big bubble bath waiting for you!

We had a little bit of down time spent indoors (which was great since we'd brought along lots of stuff for the kids to work on):

Spencer had to work the first day we got there and my dad had a huge conference he was preparing for which kept him busy a lot of the time. Gram, the kids, and I spent the majority of our time at the pool and hot tub while the guys were busy. Then we'd head off to the beach once they were ready for a break.

What a great start to 2014! Thanks mom and dad for the fabulous week!