February

 Ben took the kids to California Screamin' by himself one evening, probably because I had to work. 

 Cars Land. 

 Valentines Day flowers for the girls and I from Dad and Gordon. 

 My good friend and neighbor Emily got hers too. Ben and Jared had gone together to get them. 

 Gordon had to spend time with Ben at his office one day. 

Playing with a few of the toys Dad has at his office. 

 Playing on the tablet. 

 I got a road bike!

 Getting ready for church, and Evelyn already trying to take a selfie. No!

Gordon and his self-styled mohawk. 

 Gordon figured out you can grab big boxes at Costco and make cars out of them. 

 One of the first rides on the bike, going around the small lake in Woodbridge. 

 Jilly got an award at school and we were there for an assembly where she was presented with it. So cute how they were all walking together. 

 A picture of the photographer trying to photograph the kids. They kept making goofy faces. 

 Like this. 

 This was one of the first times we explored Tom Sawyer's island. It was a fun place to run around and burn off some energy. 

 One of the very few characters Evelyn would pose with. 

 The lights on the Teacup ride at night are so pretty. 

 We stayed late this night, even though it was a school night. 

 A rare rainy day. 

The kids made and ate their snack inside that day. They may have been playing restaurant. 

Christmas

The Bible Study group I joined for the 2013-2014 school year had a very fancy Christmas tea, just the sort you'd expect from Newport Beach. 

I accompanied Jilly's first grade class to a production of The Nutcracker, and bought Ben and Gordon tickets so they could see it at the same theater at UCI. Evelyn had seen it in a previous year. Everyone enjoyed it. 

Gordon loved riding the bus with Dad. 

The University Hills ward Christmas Party. Jilly was afraid of Santa again. 

Gordon using the box Grandma and Grandpa Cows shipped their Christmas gifts in as his seat to watch "Whit Christmas." The kids have loved this movie ever since they were very small. 

Decorating the gingerbread house that Grandma Chickens sent us. 

Christmas Eve picture with our skinny tree. Uncle Dan spent Christmas Eve and Christmas morning with us. 

Enjoying their new set of paints. 

And a contract that Mom and Dad need to remember as the kids become teenagers. Mom told the kids the story of how when she was 10 or 11 she told Grandma and Grandpa Cows she wouldn't be a bad teenager and they wrote up a contract and had her sign it. Mom did remember as a teenager that she had signed it, and that helped her remember to not be a naughty teenager. 

Merry Christmas From Lego Santa and Gordon

More to come soon.

Gordon and others

Gordon loved Superheroes and Legos at this age. He still struggled with how to actually play with Legos, but loved visiting the Lego store with Dad and looking at the sets. Dad didn't mind helping him put them together one bit. 

Dad and Gordon being silly with a new camera app. Gordon was four years old here, and finally starting to sleep completely through the night except for needing to use the bathroom some nights. Mom was thrilled! 

The girls wanted to make cupcakes and frosting and Gordon got to frost his own, which he immediately ate. The blue fingernail polish is a nice touch. 

In his favorite pair of pajamas and coordinated accessories. 

Gordon took a tumbling class and loved it. He could literally run circles around the rest of the kids and never got tired. 

Playing in a container of flour. This provided so much mess entertainment!

Evelyn built this monkey/toy fort of sorts. Gordon even at a banana to complete his outfit. 

Another superhero treasure for the superhero-loving kid. He also loved watching Dad play Lego Superhero video games. 

Mom and Gordon would go shopping at Target and he always wanted to sit on the big red balls. I don't know if it had anything to do with the bouncy balls on the Wipeout game show, but he liked to perch on them. 

For months, his favorite ride at Disneyland was the Monorail. He eventually branched out to California Screamin' and Grizzly Mountain River Rapids.  

Winter in California

Bike rides in the cooler weather are nice. 

Visits to the beach were much less crowded, though it was too cold for swimming. 

The kids were content to play in the sand, but they really wanted to wear their swimsuits and get in the water.  

Visiting the beach is free therapy. 

Winter is also when we frequent the playgrounds that typically fry during the warmer months due to their lack of shade. 

Disneyland is beautiful during the holidays and much cooler, thankfully. 

Coming into Tomorrowland 

Gordon loved the Buzz Lightyear ride in Tomorrowland. 

It might be winter, but you can still try a water slide for the first time. Peter and Melinda Andersen spent a few days at one of the Disneyland Hotels and invited us one afternoon for swimming. 

Winter also means clear and cool sunsets. Fashion Island is silhouetted against the sun.