The Petersens

Horray for shark week

2008-07-27T11:07:00.000-07:00

Today marks the start of one of my favorite weeks of the year. Shark week on Discovery. It should be a national holiday!!! Enjoy some of the pictures of the stars of the week.

Here is the Great White doing a full breech out of the water. Originally found doing this aournd South Africa as they would hunt seals.

Here is the Tiger Shark, the unofficial garbage can of the ocean. Found in all sorts of water temperature, including around Hawaii. They have literally found garbage inside these giants of the ocean. Known to have one of the most devastating bites of the big sharks.

Here is what shark experts have voted as the #1 most dangerous shark, the Bull Shark. They can grow up to 10 feet, but what makes them truly dangerous is their ability to swim into fresh water. Some have been found in the Mississipi as far north as St. Louis and some have even swam the cooler waters of the Illinois river and have been found in Lake Michigan.

Broadbent Family Reunion

2008-07-27T09:44:00.000-07:00

For the week of 4th of July, our family flew to Missouri for Rebecca's family reunion. It was fun tiring, and HOT. Being a CA boy, I am sure not cut out for the humidity, but it sure was green. Gas prices were cheap, relatively speaking, and there are plenty of bugs around. Here are a few of the photos I took while we are there highlighting the trip. The cousins sure had a blast with each other as you can tell from the photos. Thanks to those in MO that helped organize this event, especially Emily and Cammie. Thanks to the Ben Broadbent family for putting up with us in their house. Thanks to Grandpa and Grandma and Uncle Jesse and Aunt Emily for being the host houses and putting up with the army of kids that took over their houses. I know that they didn't leave them any cleaner. Also, thanks to Grandma and Grandpa for paying for the super activities, we enjoyed going on them.

One of the kids favorite things was to run and roll down the hill behind Uncle Jesse and Aunt Emily's house.

Here is a video of Little Jesse trying it out.

These are the kinds of fireworks you can buy in Missouri! For a pyro like me, it is like Christmas. I didn't even have to worry about running from the cops. This was our grand finale, but there was plenty where this came from. Funny that the kids just prefer to play with sparklers than to watch the show. I don't think the fathers cared if there was an audience.

Here is a little sample of the show. Photo work by Big Jesse.

Some of the parents took the kids fishing. It was hot and only the true fisherman were catching anything worthwhile, but I think the kids had fun. With catches like these, there was no need to buy dinner.

The family went to six flags and spent most of the day at the water park portion. Needless to say 92 is not the same there as in Folsom. I admit, I am a wimp when it comes to humidity. After we went to Steak N Shake for dinner, a few of us went back with the older kids to do some rides. Here is one of my favorite shots of ALL TIME. I love the looks on the kids face.

On the way out of the park, we got a chance to hang out with the characters and get some photos. Here is Aunt Cammie and I along with Cecilee, (going clockwise), Jeremiah, Chloe, Porter, Blake and Brigham.

Here is the watermelon crew.

Here is Jesse getting some time with Grandma Kathy and Grandpa Steven.

Here is Uncle Ben with daughter Ali, nephew Garrison and Little J. I call him the baby whisperer.

I think Garrison could fit one more finger in there if he tried. This is Aunt Miriam's oldest. He is a little character.

This is towards the end of our stay. I think we finally wore their batteries out. Here is Quinn and Jesse sharing some nap time together.

He is so tired the thumb isn't even staying in.

Easter Break at Tahoe with the Cousins

2008-07-24T22:23:00.001-07:00

We had a lot of fun with the Rebecca's sisters and their families that came to visit us over Easter break and her mom. Grandma brought the kids some bouncing balls. All the kids like to do was eat oranges and race on the bouncing balls, and we were all out of oranges. I think the girls were glad to have the noise outside of the house for at least a little while.

The kids took turns on the tire swing. It was kind of like a roller coaster for them. Too bad I was the motor. Here are the oldest boy in each of the families: Porter, Blake and Drex

Here is Ellie, Chloe and Cecilee having some fun.

Mary Jane, Quinton and Jesse having some fun.

Libby and Jesse both had a hard time not having the swing. Charlie and I found a solution to that. They actually seemed OK with it and what a fun photo it made.

With all the snowfall this year there was still plenty left, although not the best quality. That didn't stop the kids from playing in it and having snow/ice ball fights. Charlie was even cool enough to dig out this tunnel...

...and make this slide.

Snowy Days

2008-07-20T09:25:00.000-07:00

Don't the kids look cute getting ready to play in the snow?

Jesse had a hard time walking up the sleding hill, so he mostly just sat and ate snow. I wish it was cleaner snow, but I tried to put him in a clean pile, you know, no yellow snow was around.

Blake had the most fun of all. He did it without complaining about walking back up to. Not even I wanted that much exercise

Here is what happens when you sled on crusty snow and have a wipeout. 4 month later I can still see part of the evidence on his face. He kind of wore it like a badge of honor and seemed a little happy about the attention it brought him. Oh boy!

Doesn't Cecilee look cute in her glasses. I took her and Blake with me skiing. Cece just preferred to lean on me as we skiied down the hill. I think she will do some more lessons next year if she wants.

Blake really enjoys it so we went one more day on our way home from Tahoe. Cece and Mom went to the Princesses on Ice show. Blake's favorite part of the run was going through these trees. He never missed the opportunity, even skiing around people to get there. We really had fun together.

Swim Team

2008-07-19T13:49:00.000-07:00

So, we had our first year of swim team with the kids. We just thought we weren't busy enough on Saturdays and I got to sleep in too much. Fortunately 6 and under (both Cece and Blake are in that age group) get done around 11, so there is still some time. We are very proud of our two very good swimmers. At the beginning of the swim season they didn't even know how to swim the strokes and by the end of the year they were competitive in their age groups. Of course, they have fun still just free swimming.

Here is Cece swimming and her post-race smile. It's a winner.

Here she is ready to start back stroke. Despite a late start she took the lead, but lost it at the end and came in 3rd. Gotta work on the conditioning!!!

Here is Blake swiming in his relay. You can just see him on the other side ready to start and in the other one, his arm is poking out of the water. I know, it is like National Geographic quality photo work.

Here is Blake swimming the backstroke. He was sick today, but toughed it out. Way to go!

Here is Jesse jumping in. I just wish he would not jump so close to the steps. The other one is a swim position I like to call, "The Jesse".

I swear I saw this as a movie poster shot. Who doesn't fight evil with oversized squirt guns?

Summer at Tahoe

2007-11-10T20:22:00.000-08:00

Yeah, yeah, I know I am posting in November and showing you some summer pics. I got a little busy when we decided to sell the house. If you don't like it, deal with it, or skip to the next posting ;)

Now that we are in escrow, hopefully in between getting the house ready to move I will have time to post a few things on the blog. As usual, we had a fun summer up with family and friends up at Tahoe. Some have already seen some of the pictures on the Blackburn's blog. We had a lot of fun up there with them. We were so used to having them close by to us up here. It was good to see them again and have the kids play together. It also gave us the chance to know baby Libby a little better. What a sweet heart. I think it was after that trip that my kids starting to ask about getting a baby sister. If only it were that easy!

Some fun pics with the cousins!

Charlie, you are a friggin' stud for making it up this post. It's not like I wasn't strong enough to make it up the post myself, I just didn't want to chance the slivers otherwise I would have been right behind you.

The week we were up there was right after that big fire in Tahoe. We were on the opposite of the lake from it, but even we saw evidence of the fires. Here are some burned out embers of the fire that washed ashore. From one vantage point of the lake, we could see smoke and steam from the area of the fire.

This picture of Jesse cracks me up and sums him up well in just this photo. He is laughing while holding an animal that wants to do him physical harm. By the way, that little guy did get his finger. He did drop him, but did that keep him from picking him up again. Noooo. I wish this was all that Blake was teaching him. (Mom, if you see this picture, it isn't a regular thing to let crawdads in your house. They are to stay outside, but since they were there, I snapped the photo.)

Slip-n-slide in the meadow is pretty fun when we don't have time to get to the beach or don't want to schlepp all the stuff down there.

Here are the kids with their friend, Lexi. The girls have so much fun with all the wild flowers that grow in the back of the meadow. I left the one out of Blake with one in his hair, figured he might get mad at it hitting the internet.

It seems like every year we have a birthday celebration up there. This time it was our friend, Jenn's. You will notice that Jesse decided they were having a lot of fun. Wonder if he was looking to join their family permanently?

Here is a great shot of Jesse and his nursery buddy, Calista (or Lissy for short). The lone blond Poggemann. This is the shot that official earns Jesse the nickname Linus. That fargin' blanket is with him everywhere, and of course if the blanket is not, the thumb is. (I know I ended in a preposition, too lazy to change it.)

This is the picture of the stick that my friend Felix said that I needed to check out, and I quote, "Dude, you got to check out the picture I took of this stick. It looks exactly like doodie." Ahh, one of the many reasons why digital cameras are such a dream, otherwise this dreamy shot would have cost me a couple of bucks. Nothing like guilt free picture taking!

I don't know what Jesse is thinking here, but it is either, "This is better than my bed at home," or "Hey, there is a duck up there, maybe he knows where my blankie is right now."

Jenn's birthday present was a Wii. We all had a lot of fun with it. Jesse liked to get in a comfy spot and watch, and yes, with is blankie and thumb. Felix and I would actually be sweating by the end of our boxing matches. You need to check out the video of the two girls boxing. I doubt they knew what they were doing (especially Cece), but they sure looked cute boxing.

Kitchen Remodel

2007-08-20T21:37:00.001-07:00

As some of you may have known, we are doing a little kitchen remodel at this time. It is nearing the end and even though quick by remodel standards, I am glad it is almost over. Life without a kitchen kind of stinks, which is why I guess we all pay more for good kitchens than we do for other parts of the house. I know a lot were wondering how it looked so I am taking the time to show before and after shots. We did our master bath too, but I don't have it to show, but it looks good, we used a different piece of slab for that one.

Before

You will notice that we had a two level island. Although we have only had one level island for a week now, I have to say, we love it. Before, it was like we had two counters in the middle, now, just one huge one. Also, now we can have stools on the island if we want. It was too tall before, and now we are adding tile.

We are very happy with it. Our friend, Shawn (see below) has been doing on this nice work. For those interested in his services, I am sure he will be glad to help you out. His company is Pueblo Stoneworks, out in Rancho Cordova.

After

UFC in Sac Town

2007-08-09T22:07:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of Randy Couture, current UFC Heavy Weight Champion. My friends and I went to the weigh ins to see if we could get some pictures with some of the fighters. Too bad we didn't realize the sport is soooo popular now that you have to practically camp out early in line to get the chance. Still, I managed to get an autograph picture of Randy, a photo and actually shook his hand. This guy is a stud, let me tell you.

Here is one of the friends that came with us. His name is Shawn. I would tell you a little about him, but I think the picture says enough.

It was a little sunny outside so when he found a pair of sunglasses for free...I think you get the point.

Shawn figures on being a MMA fighter someday. I don't know if he actually gets a sponsorship from Tap Out (click on the picture to see it bigger) by writing their name on the sunglasses with a sharpie, but that fighting stance just might! Randy (above) is one of his idols.

Boating with the Carruths

2007-08-09T21:10:00.000-07:00

We hadn't seen our friends the Carruths for a while so we decided to go boating. I think the time the kids enjoyed the most was just getting out of the boat and swimming. They also really loved the tube. I was driving, otherwise I would have gotten a great photo with Jesse on his brother's lap with a giant giggle mouth. That was how he looked the majority of the time that he was out there.

The kids liked it when Scott would throw them the rope and then pull them in real fast.

This is the view that I had every time that I stopped the boat and moved to the back to either help someone or go swimming. This boy LOVES the water. Any chance he gets, he goes in. It is fun watching him trying to keep up with his older siblings. He will actually fall in face first off the side of the boat, about a two foot drop, because he sees his older brother learning to dive in. He always comes up lauging.

When I stop the boat after they are done tubing, he will quickly head to the side of the tube and drop in.

I don't know how these adrenaline junkies ever get started. Hmmmmm.

Cowgirl and Cowboy

2007-07-24T15:18:00.000-07:00

We were shopping at a Safeway at Tahoe when Cece found the hat rack (schocker). She does look very cute even with the ketchup on her face still. Blake not to be outdone shows us how rugged he looks. After the picture, Cece says, "Dad, can we put that on our blog when we get home?" Well, here you go girl.

Nostalgia

2007-07-24T15:08:00.001-07:00

I was buying fireworks at this parking lot when I spotted this boat out by the stand. What memories this image brings, however, ours was more of a disco orange color and later instead of brown and later it was closer to fire engine red. Even the trailer is the same. Notice the flat bottom on that boat. That made it super bouncy on the lake. Kidney belt anyone?

Take a look at the inside. We had an "eight ball" gear shift knob and our pedal had an outline of a bare foot. AWESOME.

See that? That is not a propellor, that was a jet boat and there was lots of bubbles coming out of there. Not the smoothest skiing to go behind, but it still was fun. You might notice the small bump where the engine was. A Chevy 454 that was so loud that we were always noticed. We even went fishing with this boat once. No trolling motor needed. Did we catch anything you ask, well no. guess that proves that fish are scared of loud noises. I think the other fisherman already knew that and were very glad that we left.

Blakers loses his first tooth...make that teeth

2007-07-04T13:51:00.001-07:00

Blake called me at work at the end of June and said, " guess what dad, I have a grown up tooth." Sure enough, when I looked into his mouth I saw that he had his new tooth coming in. Too bad it didn't come up under the other tooth since that meant he had to have it pulled. Although, now the dentists don't pull teeth, the wiggle them. When he went to the dentist they could see from the x-ray that the one next to it was also having a problem dissolving the root, so he might as well wiggle them both out.

Before

The tooth fairy came and took his teeth and left some pixy dust behind. Apparently she gave Blake a kiss because there was pixy dust on his cheek.

After

Cecilee's pretty dress and Clown Jesse

2007-07-04T13:40:00.001-07:00

Cece wanted everyone to see her fluffy dress.

Can you guess who got into the markers?

Baseball Blake

2007-07-04T13:23:00.000-07:00

Blake had a lot of fun with baseball this year. Ok, maybe it was a long season with a lot of games and not a whole lot of action during innings, but at least he got a trophy like Porter, or as Blake calls them Troophy.

Cece with her friend Josie. Josie's brother Andrew played with Blake on the team.

Disneyland

2007-05-29T20:55:00.001-07:00

At the beginning of May, we put our season passes to Disneyland to good use. We went with our friends, the Fifes, who were there for the annual CDA (California Dental Association) convention. We were originally going to go for three days, but we were having too much fun to stop so we made it a full four days worth. We were going to go for a partial fifth day, but poor Jesse's asthma started to act up, and it turned out that he had pneumonia. We made it back in time for him to get medical treatment and he did much better the next day. I made some of these pictures smaller due to the number of them, but if you click on them, you can see them full size.

Here you see Jesse just chilling out in front of the door in Toon Town. You will notice his little friend on his back. I used to think that parents that had their children on a leash were guilty of cruel and unusual punishment of the children, treating them like animals. I no longer feel that way. He didn't like having the harness at first, but he got used to it. We didn't have it the first day and we worried so much more. The moment we tried to help the older two kids, he was running off into the crowd. We weren't the only parents in the park to use them. Also, Jesse was fond of the Carousel, but not so fond of characters, they had to be on the other side of daddy.

Cecilee was very patient during what I call "Princess Day." She waited for about 1 1/2 hours for hair and makeup. Then she waited an additional 2 1/2 hours for a place at the Ariel dinner party, where she got to meet Ariel and four other friends. You can see she got pictures with some of her favorites. By the way, don't be surprised if you see this same dress on her for Halloween.

Blake was a little more interested in meeting characters and getting their autographs this year. He didn't even get scared off by Cruella DeVil. She was absolutely nasty to all the little kids that came to her. Many of them left the picture from her crying. She asked Blake if he had any dogs, we don't, so she asked him to bring the neighbors dog. Also, Blake was one of the 30+or- kids that was chosen to train to be a Jedi Knight. They let him borrow their robe and light saber, taught him a few moves, and then he fought Darth Maul. The kids on the top of the stage got to battle Darth Vader. At the end the Darths were scared of all the young Patawans and left. Blake got a certificate to prove he is trained. He told his mom, "I am a Jedi Knight now!"

Here are a couple of cute pictures of the two. They are sticking their tongues out to show that the gum I gave them did indeed turn their tongues blue.

You noticed each of the kids getting a little more tired as the days went on. Blake and Jesse decided to take a nap during some down time when mom and dad went on a ride. Don't worry, our friends were watching them. You will notice Jesse still has his blanket. I had to tie that thing in a ball every day so it wouldn't drag on the ground. Lucky we have a 2nd blanket that is identical to it so he could have a clean one for bed time.

Blake's and Cece's favorite ride was probably Space Mountain. Blake had to act a little older to be able to ride alone, but he was not scared. He always seemed to have a smile on his face before and after.

When we came off the Star Tours ride, I noticed some posters for sale, but they didn't have the faces of the Star Wars characters in it. Then I noticed the camera. It was free to try (of course they encouraged it), so we did it with Blake and Cecilee. In case you didn't notice that really isn't Harrison Ford and that is not Carrie Fisher. Kind of weird seeing our little 5 year old with chest hair. Of course, now you see why it was free to try, we just had to buy.

Mother's Day

2007-05-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone had a good Mother's Day. Our friend, Beth, sent us this Hallmark e-mail greeting card she received. I think it is hilarious. If you do not it could be because it hits a little too close to home. I recommend you turn you computer volume all the way up in order to experience the full and true effect. Copy and paste this link into your browser: http://www.hallmark.com/ECardWeb/ECV.jsp?a=3352062435883M200276125Y&product_id=

King's Game

2007-05-11T14:54:00.000-07:00

Blake came to me for the last King's game of the season. Not a great season overall, but at least we get to be in the lottery for once after nine years. This was at the game vs the Warriors. It may not get a lot of press, but the King's were the reason they are even in the playoffs. We let them beat us on this game and then we beat the Clippers, that were ahead of them for the eighth seed. Since we were getting blown out, I took Blake down to about the tenth row back in the fourth quarter, and then the let the kids 15 and under go shoot a free throw on the court.

It was better lighting for the picture down here. I don't have a flash on this camera phone.

You can barely see him, but that is Blake right below the foul line taking his shot. That blur just above the lady's head is the ball. Needless to say, it was a tad short.

Easter

2007-05-11T14:35:00.000-07:00

Again, we didn't have a camera so the pics aren't the best. I don't know where are time goes now, but I have a feeling it is going to get worse before it gets better. We decorated the Easter eggs on Easter sunday. Then we all went into our rooms to allow the Easter bunny to come hide the eggs and fill the basket. Friggin' bunny left half eaten carrots throughout the house as well, but the kids liked looking for eggs. Then we went to Stacy's and Scott's for Easter dinner and the egg hunt. Jesse went out first with cousin Mason. Jesse was more interested in the swing set (two things top his list: swings and water). I convinced him that the eggs have something yummy. They held his interest for 30 seconds, then he was off to the swings. Next year should be different.

Meanwhile, the other two had their own fun. I did notice that, much like soccer, little ones bunch up together and go for the same egg rather than spreading out. So, when I pointed out an egg about a foot from Cecilee, I noticed Blake come from the other side of the lawn running for it. She did a good job of boxing out and he ended up falling over his bucket and not too happy for a while, but he recovered and his search resumed.

Moving day in Roseville

2007-05-11T14:07:00.000-07:00

We had to move our Roseville office at the beginning of May. I was hoping to be sick, but I didn't catch the flu bug this year. Since I had nothing better to do that weekend, I spent some quality time with my bros-in-law and up to 2 in the morning on one of those days. We watched our master mover stack up 20 boxes of files on this furniture dolly. No, he isn't family, but I just like to see a quarter ton stacked in Jenga fashion.

This is more for my buddy Felix that is getting grouchy that I haven't put pics up in a while. Hey, why don't you use that time more productively and respond to my e-mail on Bullard's Bar you slacker!!!

Blake's Eye (Warning! View at your own discretion)

2007-05-11T13:54:00.000-07:00

It has been a while since I have posted, so I figure I have to catch up some, but I will have to do it little by little. If any of you have allergies and have lived in the Sacramento Valley, you will know that is not a good combination. Gratefully, I have lived here most of my life and have never had such an issue. Unfortunately, Blake has only been here 5 years and has not been so lucky.

So one day in March he goes to his mom and says, "my eye itches." So like any good Mom, Rebecca checks it out. She sees nothing. But Blake persists, "my eye still itches." So Rebecca tells him, "just rub it then." Well, rub it he did. Then later that evening when I was ready to put him to bed, he showed up with his eye like this. Unfortunately our camera broke at Cece's party, so these could have been much better quality, but I think you will get the point. This is what happens after you mash on your eye all day. For the record, I don't recommend it.

Fortunately, with the help of a retired eye doc and Aunt Lisa, we located some allergy drops that changed this back to normal in 5 minutes. Otherwise, I was going to have to buy him a bionic eye. At least he would have been able to see the TV better.

Sunny Ski Day at Tahoe

2007-03-19T21:24:00.000-07:00

I went up with the kids for the last ski day of the year on Saturday. It was about 80+ in Folsom and about 57 up at the ski resort. I felt overdressed withwhat I was wearing and it felt good to get into shorts and flip flops at the car.

Blake and Cece had a really good first year snow skiing. Blake is able to go down the bunny hill himself, he didn't want me to help him at all. Cece still needs some help, but I think she had enough fun to continue next year. At the end of the day, my friend, Scott, and I took the kids out early and went on the chair lift. It was such a thrill to them and they made their dad proud as they got on and off without incident.

Unfortunately, I am reminded each year that I am getting older and more out of shape. After a couple of bumps, my knees and back hurt and I am ready for the blues again.

Cecilee's Birthday Party

2007-03-12T22:23:00.000-07:00

We are very grateful to you for sending Cece birthday greetings. Here you will see her very willing to pose for the camera in her "Birthday Girl" shirt. I think she has had that shirt for over 6 months. I don't know where Mom hid it, but it has managed to stay clean. We celebrated her and her cousin's (Tyler) birthdays yesterday at our house. She had fun opening up all her girl presents, while Tyler was just happy getting CASH. It was a beautiful day, about 77 outside, so the kids mostly played out front.

It seems we have a new Petersen family birthday tradition involving a pinata. We didn't want to break the trend, so we hung it out front on our underdeveloped tree. It worked fine, but we realize that with the next pinata we will need to blindfold the older boys as they are starting to play baseball and getting pretty destructive with the bat.

Afterwards, Rebecca had a lot of fun with a fun game of musical chairs. It was fun to see the kids dancing around the chairs as they waited for the music to stop. We had a few tears as some found themselves without a chair, but then they got their goodie bags and it didn't take long to recover.

Here you can see that Mom (and Dad) treated Cece to a manicure and pedi for her birthday. She picked a lovely shade of pink and got a flower on her big toes and thumbs. She was obviously pretty excited.

I didn't have a birthday party shot of Jesse, but this was a cute one. Jesse was pretty involved during the birthday party. He was very excited to take his turn whacking (tapping) the pinata with a stick. The happiness turned into a stomping, ragging bull when Mom tried to move him out of the way. Mom was able to restore order with a sucker. Jesse is also getting to the right height to just see over the top of the table to see what is going on. You can just see a couple of eyes peering over and then a little hand reaches up to retrieve some frosting.

As I mentioned, Blake is starting T-ball for the first time this year. He is on the Blue Jays. At first he wasn't very excited about the idea, but he warmed up to the idea after I told him I would be his assistant coach. On Saturday he had his first training in drills. He may have been more excited about the donut and candy bar, but he has been very excited about practicing every night that we are home. He has his first "unofficial" official practice in one of the parents backyards tomorrow. The coach has played college ball and has taught summer camp to youth, so I look forward to learning from him. I am just glad Blake is enjoying playing and having fun with the kids on the team.

Monster Trucks

2007-01-31T20:14:00.000-08:00

When my kids kept talking about the Monster Truck they saw on the way to school, I knew that I needed to find a way to educate my kids about what a real Monster Truck looked (and sounded) like. We got the opportunity on January 26 to go. I suckered in 27 other people to come with us to the event held were we go to see Kings games. Needless to say, there wasn't much room for them to showcase their skills, but it was my kids first time (and mine) to a real live Monster Truck event. I would like to go again if I can find a venue where they have more room to maneuvur. Plus, I have to get Jesse out next time.

Afterwards, we went to the nicest McDonald's I have ever been. They had corian counters, hand scooped Breyer's ice cream, crown moulding, metal work, and real flowers in bud vases. You might think that we were in a posh area, but it was closer to being in the hood.

This truck could show up to your Birthday party for the right price! If only they would let you drive it!

Bulldozer won the freestyle competition. Here he is getting some good air.

The crowd favorite was Grave Digger. He beats Arachnaphobia here in the head to head. He was tearing it up on the freestyle, but ended rolling over. It looked a little planned, but the crowd loved it.

Week at Tahoe

2007-01-31T19:42:00.000-08:00

We decided it was time for a good winter getaway over the Martin Luther King weekend. It was a busy time outside of Glenbrook up at Tahoe, but for the most part, we had a peaceful week. We ran into some friends while we were up there and got to catch up at least a little bit. I took Blake and Cecilee skiing for the first time. I felt like the worst Dad ever when I got them to the mountain because it was 5 degrees when we got there, with a wind chill of -15. I was even too cold and stayed in the lodge the whole time reading up on my insurance literature. I would go out to take some photos/videos, but I could hardly hold the camera still. Luckily, the kids were taken in and out of their lodge often so they stayed warmer than me for the most part.

I was very impressed with their program. By the middle of the first day, Blake and Cece were going down the very gentle slope solo. They think Blake may be ready for chair lift at the middle of the next lesson. I am glad they are having fun. The second time there, Blake specifically asked that he not get a helmet. I guess he felt like a sissy for wearing one.

I took them again on Monday with my friend Scott. Cecilee couldn't join us because she started with a fever. It was a much better day skiing and I enjoyed skiing on parabolics for the first time. It was like getting 10 years younger.

Jesse enjoyed going out into the snow with the other kids. He came back as cold as a cucumber, but he was still mad that he had to come inside. He gets cabin fever worse than his daddy!

Blake also found a new past time while at the Lake, ice throwing. We got a good stick to break up the ice near the lake and then he would throw it. He would be lucky to get a foot or two, but he could do it for hours. Too bad we ran out of ice. It was even more of a bummer that the golf cart ran out of power on the way back and I had to push it uphill. I never thought it was that heavy of a cart, but I guess 8 car batteries gets a little heavy.

Christmas

2006-12-26T21:08:00.000-08:00

We continued the tradition of Christmas Eve at Gigi's (Grandma) house. The children were willing participants in this years Nativity. Jesse was not so much, but we still stripped him down into a swaddling diaper as the baby Jesus. He would make an appereance now and then, usually off cue, and decided it was a better use of his time to scavenger for cookies while there was no competition and little supervision. Hey, at least he was quiet.

Santa paid a visit to the children before making his big nightly run. Blake and Cece got new lightsabers (spring loaded so they shoot up on their own) and Jesse got a Slinky Dog (which has a spring in it too, I sense a theme... not really).

Well, after they party, Santa found our house. There was some question whether he would make it since the kids had forgetten that they had to be nice:)

Rebecca found a new love in checking out Christmas lights this year. We had fun except for the problem she and I have in climate control. I have it too cold, she too hot. If only I could drive the car from the outside that would be something. Or perhaps with the next car we will get seat heaters!

As you can see, Jesse was his normal, smiley self. BTW, Dad is very happy he is now officially nursery age. I can finally go and hear a lesson.

Jesse still hasn't learned the ropes when it comes to this present opening thing. Big Sis and Bro Bro were happy to help show him the way. I have a feeling next year he will not be as willing to receive the help.

This picture looked easier than it was. Jesse isn't one for standing still for long. It was new act of speed and entertainment for the parents to get this shot.

Blake and Cece were very happy to get there Leapster game systems. Dad when out and bought a recharger kit since Blake blew through the first set of batteries in a little over 24 hours.

Cece was very pleased to see she got her Arial bike. She wanted to know what those things were on the side of the handlebars.

A couple of hours later she was showing the excitement had not worn off.

Darth Jesse

2006-12-20T18:24:00.000-08:00

Rebecca had to call me at work to ask what it is with boys and their sticks and swords. She said Jesse was busy carrying around two lightsabers most of the day. When I got home, he would hand me one of them and want to have saber fights.

The other kids get into it as well. As you can tell, Cece gets into it as well, guess it is not just for boys. As in any game, "...there has to be a winner and a loser." - ACE Ventura.

Looks like Cece was the loser this time. I think Blake caught her with a fake to the head and moved in for a body slash.

Christmas Lights

2006-12-18T21:49:00.000-08:00

Some friends told us about a block of houses in Rocklin (another town like Folsom on the other side of Sacramento) where pretty much everybody on the block does lights and most of them go the extra mile. One of my favorites, one that I forgot to get a picture, was Santa getting arrested by CSI Rocklin because he was drinking too much Cocoa and ran into their roof. There is a lot of Disney themed homes as you can see from the pictures below which may it really fun for the kids to walk around. It is getting a little cold here in No Cal (in comparison to So Cal) with balmy temperatures tonight at 40 degrees, so the kids were a little bundled up. There is a steady supply of traffic pretty much every night with buses and at one point we saw five limos driving through. We talked with some home owners that say that when you sell a house there you have to disclose the amount of traffic you get during the holidays.
Here is Blake in front of one of Rebecca's favorite nativity scenes.

Here is Cece in with her favorite Princess, Arial!

I think Cecilee wants to be a model for new cars, she does this so naturally here!

Here is Rebecca's favorite. This display was placed inside the owner's third car garage and they had little lights with stars twinkling. The owner can just close the garage at night to keep it safe.

Blake is next to his alter ego, Dash.

Little J Man was mezmorized by the Santa display, but was very glad that he was safely located on Daddy's back.

School Photos

2006-12-16T01:34:00.000-08:00

Since I started the Blog, Rebecca thought that I might as well add our kids preschool photos. The photographer was really good with them. There is no way any amount of bribs, threats, teddy bears, stickers, candy or other tactics we could have used as a parent would have gotten us photos like these.

Here are Blake's pre Faux Hawk.

I particularly liked these two. It reminds me of some prom photos for pre-schoolers :)

Photo Cleanup

2006-12-15T18:01:00.000-08:00

Well, it has been a while since I organized our photos, so I spent the last 2 ½ hours doing that. I realize some of you have seen our family more recently than others, but I thought I would throw a few pics out there. I tried to e-mail, but it was too big for the e-mail service, so I decided to start a blog. So now you can come visit it more often.

Blake had his first year of soccer this year. It took some time, but I finally teased him so many times about styling his hair into a faux hawk, that he wouldn’t wear his hair any other way. I think he looks like a regular soccer hooligan, too bad he played like one too. I never thought 5-year-old soccer could be so riveting! Oh the suspense of it all. Blake did as well as any first year soccer player, he liked to watch what others were doing and didn’t know where the ball was half the time, but occasionally the ball ran into his leg. I guess the blind squirrel really does find a nut every now and then. He is also becoming more the ladies man. All the younger girls keep putting the moves on him, like this cute blonde at the Christmas party. She kept trying to hold his hand at the party, she is in his carpool. Blake does already have a type, he does prefer blondes. So who knows, in 18 years you could see the announcement of their nuptials.

Unfortunately, both Blake and I received the gift of food poisoning at the ward party. Cece didn’t have much luck either when she put her top tooth through her bottom lip just before we left for the party. Just the month before, Blake had to get three staples in his head due to an inch gash caused by a pony ride gone awry by the babysitter. At least now we get free babysitting.

You can tell from the Cheerleader shot, that we have a real girlie on our hands. Last week she came to me real sad because after a thorough search she had realized that she could not find either of her two skirts anywhere. She sadly told me, “Mommy hid my skirts.” I looked at Rebecca who looked at my and quietly nodded, but said she didn’t tell her she was doing that. Cecilee will pretty much find any excuse to wear a skirt or dress, no matter how cold. If they look the slightest bit clean, then you have a real battle of wills. Sounds like Mom might have met her match. I didn’t think I would have to get between Mother and Daughter issues until teenage years. No wonder I spotted some gray in my hair last month!

Then there is Little Man, J Man, JJ; he has many nick names. Jesse sure took his time getting mobile, but boy is he there now. He is easily our busiest of the three. At 16 months he climbed into the kids electronic Jeep and started driving it around. All the ornaments on the tree are about three feet up. As you can tell he was Jack Jack for Halloween. Rebecca got him to wear the mask by Peer or better said, Sibling Pessure. She put it on while he was looking into the mirror and had the other kids clapping. Also, you might be able to tell, that he has an affinity to water. At his 1 year birthday, he was sticking his face into the water fountain jets at the park. Next summer should be fun at the pool.

Well, I know this is a long update, but I don’t always get to this pics and when I do, I figure it is a good time for an update. I know Rebecca keeps in touch, but I don’t really know what she discusses. Just last week I found out that one of our good friends is 8 months pregnant.