First beach day....

It's that time of year again! We've been enjoying the mild spring but now the temperatures are starting to creep up so it's time to head to the beach and pool again. Unfortunately the water is still a bit chilly at both places but it doesn't stop Whitney from enjoying herself. Last week we headed to V. Beach one of the days Jim was off to play some disc golf at a course down there and then headed to the beach. Whitney enjoyed bodysurfing in her life jacket and playing in the sand. Maren would turn and run every time the water came close to her feet. I don't blame her it was cold! They spent the rest of the time digging in the sand and being buried by their dad. Yesterday, the girls and I walked over to the pool and spent about an hour swimming.

Gymnastics and Crossfit...

Whitney finished up her gymnastics class this week with a little performance and awarding of medals. She seemed to love all the attention and liked showing off and being silly. I wished that would have translated over to her Primary talk today which she refused to give. Guess she needs to go to bed earlier and practice a little more next time so we don't have the meltdown. The girls are becoming little Crossfit junkies like their parents. We were at the park the other day and they both loved playing on the monkey bars trying to do pull-ups. Whitney commented that these bars need tape on them because she was getting sores on her hands. Check out Crossfit.com if you're looking for a tough workout, it's kicks my tail daily! Earlier this week I was planning on going for a bike ride with a friend up to Yorktown. Jim decided the night before that he wanted to come along. We ended up riding 50 miles on that ride. He's not so sure he wants to go ride with the girls anymore especially without any warning on the length of the ride.

Strawberry picking...

On Friday we enjoyed a trip across the water to a local strawberry farm with some friends. We had gone last year and thoroughly enjoyed it and the berries were so delicious so we were anxiously awaiting strawberry season again this year. Whitney enjoyed running up and down the rows and picking buckets of berries with her friends. Maren just enjoyed stuffing her mouth full with berries and she didn't care if they were red or green. It was a nice cool and overcast day which made it perfect for picking. I came home and made three batches of freezer jam so we should be stocked up again for another year.

Little climber...

Over the last few months we have discovered that Maren has a penchant for climbing. Frequently she is found on the table, in the window above the couch, or at various heights around the house that she can get herself to. She's now getting smarter and starting to find tools to aid her ascents. I caught her the other day carrying around a small fold-up camping chair to use for climbing onto the computer desk. When necessary she'll stack her items to get higher. Below is a picture of her using a container of cookies on top of the bathroom stool to be able to reach the bathroom sink and counter. A future 5.13 climber in the making!

Are you my father?

So Whitney has been on this kick lately of calling me mother (too formal for me personally but whatever). Today she tells me "Mommy, did you know that Daddy is my father? I didn't know I had a father!"

Swimming in AZ....

W: We had so much fun hanging out at Nana and Papa's house in Arizona last week. The weather was nice and warm without the high humidity that we have here. My favorite thing to do each day was to go swimming at the pool. Kids were only allowed from 4-6pm so every morning I would ask if it was 4'o clock yet so I could go swimming. I'm getting pretty good and swimming by myself until I have to breathe again. Maren even joined us a few times and she is getting to be a brave swimmer just like me! Mom enjoyed swimming with us and being able to go golfing most days. Thanks Nana and Papa!

Happy Birthday week!

Ms. Whitney had a fun week celebrating her 4th birthday this week. The festivities began last Saturday with a party at Nana and Papa's house in AZ. She, of course, was well spoiled by her Nana and Papa and their friends that attended along with Nana-san and Papa-san that were visiting. Earlier that day she got to go shopping with her grandmas to pick out some of her presents with the money Nana & Papa gave her. When she was opening gifts that night she would ask the ladies sitting next to her to read the cards. However due to the poor light and lack of reading glasses on them it made it entertaining to watch them try to make out the words on the cards until they eventually gave up and said "It says Happy Birthday!". Whitney was satisfied with that. She celebrated her actual birthday with a trip to the beach with Dad (Mom had to stay home with tired Maren) and dinner at Chick Fil A (her choice). Today she had a fun party with her friends. We were going to do it at the park but the 80% chance of rain changed the plans to having it at the house. The weather was actually pretty nice until just towards the end when it began pouring rain. The kids enjoyed doing a butterfly craft, a picnic in the backyard, and pinata along with the cake and presents. (We ended up having to tie a noose around the butterfly's neck as the anchor had ripped out of the top before the kids broke it open.) Happy Birthday, princess! Here's my quick attempt at a butterfly cake:

Snow to sun....

We've been slacking in our posts but have an excuse at least for these two weeks. We're off having fun visiting family in Utah and Arizona. We've gone from snow in UT to 90 and sunny (with no humidity!!!) here in AZ. Mom and Dad have had fun rock climbing, mountain biking and doing a triathlon (they decided to sign up for one in UT while we were there.) Even Whtiney did some rock climbing! Dad had to go back to work but the girls are having fun swimming and golfing in AZ. Whitney can't wait until 4pm each day for the kids swimming time to start at the pool. We'll post some pictures of our adventures upon our return!