what we've been up to

Two weeks after the birth of James we had to evacuate our home in the middle of the night from one of the many San Diego fires. Mike was out of town and luckily my mother in law was with me and able to help. We evacuated to our church building. Later that day my mother in law flew back to Utah and I went up to Riverside and stayed with my parents until Mike returned home and things were safe. This photo is a view of the smoke from our church building.

Mike was out of town because he was setting up for his show at Plus Gallery in Denver, CO. Here he is on opening night and a view of the whole show.

James's first bath. He loved it. As soon as he got in the warm water he peed strait up in the air. His brothers thought it was the funniest thing they'd ever seen.

James's first smiles. William can't get enough of holding him.

Nate's first lost tooth. It was very loose and the new tooth was already coming through so Mike tied floss around it to pull it out, only it still wouldn't budge and the floss was stuck on the tooth. He called Uncle Ben (dentist) who advised us to grab it with a tissue, twist, and pull. It came right out with the floss still stuck tight.

Halloween. Andrew was a ghost, Nate a vampire, and Will a ninja.

Andrew won first place in his first raingutter regatta. He built a catamaran and named it carrot sticks.

We spent the week of Thanksgiving in Utah. The first half with my family, the second with Mike's. It was a great week!

The boys are adjusting well to the new baby. Andrew is very good at holding and rocking the baby to sleep and also cooking meals (cheese quesadillas are his specialty) for the family when I have to nurse. Nate and Will also love to help. What good big brothers to read to James while I make dinner.

"We saw Santa in his little house wearing his pajama shirt." --William

And what have I been up to? Nursing the baby mostly and taking care of all of my men!

James Robert

Our new baby boy is such a joy to our family. The boys love to take turns holding him. William can't wait for him to play video games. We love you Jimmie!

8 lbs 15 oz

Oct 5, 2007
















Smiling in between contractions



















Ewok Gatorade Whiting (as named by William)













4 boys!

Camping at San Elijo State Beach

A week after we got home from Seattle we decided we needed to go camping again. We camped a few miles from our home at San Elijo Sate Beach. We had a good time playing at the beach and hanging out at our campsite.











Nate tried to eat all of his lunchables in one bite.
























Getting buried wasn't as much fun as Andrew made it look.














At the campsite the boys spent a lot of time in the tree trying to see the trains go by. Andrew said the top of the tree looked like a small jungle. He took this picture to show us.

It's a boy!

We are having another boy. number four. He's due Oct 11. We are having difficulties coming up with another boy name. William thinks we should name him "Awesome Baby" or "What The". Andrew and Nate keep coming up with Pokemon names we should use. What do you suggest?

Road Trip

To start the summer we took a road trip from San Diego to Seattle and back again. On the way up we took the 1 and 101 the entire way along the coast. Our first stop was in Los Angeles where we ate lunch at Tito's Tacos. Our second stop was in Santa Barbara. We stretched our legs and the boys played at the playground on the beach. The next stop was in San Luis Obispo. We visited gum alley. People have been sticking their gum there since the 50's. The California coast is beautiful. We camped in Big Sur that night.

The next day we stopped in Santa Cruz and went on some rides on the Boardwalk then walked down to the beach. We ate curry for dinner in San Francisco and drove across the golden gate bridge in the fog. We stayed in a 50's motor lodge in Fort Bragg.

Our third day was mostly spent in the Redwood Forest. We drove through a tree and went on a hike in the rain looking for Ewoks. We didn't find any. We spent the night in a yurt on the Oregon coast.

Our fourth day we drove up the Oregon coast ending in Olympia WA. The Oregon coast is beautiful. We made a lot of stops. The kids loved running along the beach looking for rocks and shells. We stopped at Mo's for lunch and ate the best clam chowder and homemade bread. We walked to the top of Yaquina Head lighthouse, the tallest lighthouse on the Oregon coast. We toured the Tillamook Cheese Factory, ate free samples of cheese and yummy ice cream. Before heading to Olympia we made a stop to see the house from Goonies in Astoria. Goonies never say die!

In Olympia we stayed with our friends, the Pendrods. We were able to visit many friends and family in the Seattle area; my cousin Peter and family, friend from high school Miriam and her three girls, Mike's cousin Aaron and family, and Mike's Uncle Todd and his family. Mike worked on his sculptures at the skateboard park in Kent getting ready for the grand opening. The boys played on the climbing walls and in the bowls while he worked. It rained during the opening so there wasn't much of a bike and skateboard team performance. But a band played, raffles, prizes (Andrew won skateboard bearings), hot dogs, speeches from those involved with the park, and the ribbon cutting. Mike's parents flew out for the event. In Seattle we went through the EMP (experience music project), saw the space needle, walked through Olympic sculpture park and along the Puget Sound.

On our way south to San Francisco we stopped in Portland, Oregon and ate at VooDoo Donuts. They make the yummiest donuts with the craziest concoctions on top. Donuts with Captain Crunch on top, grape pixie stick, voodoo doll donut, and the evil donut to name a few. That night we stopped by Mt. Shasta and stayed in the Railroad Park Resort. Each pacific railroad caboose was a motel room.

In the Bay area we stayed with our friends, the Fullers (from Brooklyn) and I saw another friend from high school, Sara who just had her 2nd baby. In San Francisco we went through Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39, saw Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, drove down Lombard street and rode on a trolley car. The kids were definitely ready to get home by this point.