May

Enjoying Disneyland before the summer blackout dates. 

 Just chilling while eating. 

We got to take a ride on the Lilly Belle train car one afternoon. Apparently it was Walt Disney's wife's favorite car, and she decorated it. This chair we were sitting in has had a lot of celebrities and dignitaries sit in it over the years. (It still felt like a normal chair). 

 I work for our apartment complex and we hosted an emergency preparedness event and got the Quake Cottage to come out. You sit inside and it rocks you like you're experiencing an 8.0 earthquake while viewing a video of a house that is unprepared for an earthquake (lots of destruction in the video). It was difficult to sit in the chair while the rocking was happening, and let's just say we don't need to experience this in real life. 

We had some super hot spring days, this one was 100 degrees. 

 Ben helped out on a ride a member of our ward organizes each year called "The Breathless Agony." It's a ride designed to make you feel like you may die, and finishing it is a major accomplishment in Southern California cycling. Ben took his turn dressed as the grim reaper, running alongside cyclists as they were climbing through a big valley, giving pushes and encouragement. He was sore from the running the next day. 

At the summit of the ride. It's a total of 114 miles and 12,000 feet of climbing. 

 I keep my cycling ambitions modest and local. Gordon was in preschool for a couple hours twice a week in the spring, so Ben and I had some cycling dates. 

Bringing Ben lunch on campus. 

 Adventures in masking tape. They were having a foot war, and their feet wouldn't stay together, so they taped them together instead. 

 Then Gordon taped them to a chair, like all little brothers aspire to. 

Beading one Saturday afternoon when I was on call. 

 Ben went to lengths to make sure I had an extra special birthday this year. I felt really spoiled! 

Dinner at the Blue Bayou in Disneyland. Dessert was my favorite. There was a cycling date and I went out with some friends for an evening a few days later as well.

 Ben took this very nice shot of the Newport Beach Temple. 

 In June, the kids decided to start having afternoon picnics with friends out in the backyard. 

The boy heading into Target with me. He loves to climb on top of the red balls (even though I don't love how close to the cars he is). He was my good buddy for the last year he spent home with me, but was so ready to head to kindergarten. 

April

April is a busy month! It's the kick off to spring and birthdays and holidays for us. 

 We took a bike ride one Sunday afternoon and happened upon this outdoor gallery of marble carvings. The kids now refer to it as La Luna Park ("The Moon" in Spanish. Statues mooning us, get it?)

 Out on a ride with Ben and Gordon, getting to know the Back Bay trails a little better. 

Such a pretty view! I think Gordon may have been pointing out the birds or something. 

 Eating breakfast during General Conference. 

Building forts during General Conference. 

Ev figured out how to run the sewing machine and patched these squares together that were laying in my scrap bag. I hope both girls learn this valuable skill, and Gordon can join in too. 

 Neighborhood Easter egg hunt.  

This was one of three egg hunts I think.

 Gordon turned five! He wanted a Batman birthday party, and he also wanted to watch Frozen. So the girls helped  him decorate in a Batman theme, and Gordon dressed up in his batsuit. Then they had pizza and brownie sundaes for dessert. 

 Turning five meant that Gordon got to get his kindergarten check up and immunizations. It went well until it came time for the shots. That was the not good part. He screamed and thrashed and ended up getting cut by the needle. I think I need Ben to tag along on future doctor's visits. 

We all got Yogurtland at the end of it. The girls were "so embarrassed" by the spectacle at the doctor's office. 

 Making baby carriers out of scrap fabric. 

First and last indoor pet (for a long time at least). Ev brought this crayfish home from school and we named her Gumbo. She lived in her tank happily for a few weeks, until she escaped one night. We found no trace of her for a few weeks until we cleaned out from underneath Gordon's bed. She had crawled all the way from the kitchen to the kid's room. Once we moved stuff around under the bed, we started smelling something gross and figured out pretty quickly what that was. I learned later that crayfish can be a bit tricky to take care of, and if their needs aren't being met, then they bolt. They are pretty agile escape artists as well. Sorry for not being better pet keepers Gumbo. ;)

March was bike and family month

This is a little blurry, but it was the only evidence of the one big rainstorm we had during the rainy season of 2013-2014. The kids tried to dam the runoff from one of the nearby rain gutters and had a lot of fun in this rare desert rain. 

A new bike/walkway was completed that runs toward the elementary school we attend, so one day we decided to ride bikes the 1.25 mile distance. 

 Jilly and her best bud Joseph at recess. I snapped the shot as I was leaving my volunteering gig in Evelyn's class. 

 Grandpa Chickens was in town for work and read with the kids one night after dinner. It was "The Horse and His Boy" from the Chonicles of Narnia. 

 Gordon and Max pretending to be Spiderman...I think. 

 We went up to Uncle Dan's and had late breakfast one morning. Evelyn was just learning how to cook scrambled eggs at this point.

 A Sunday afternoon bike ride to the top of the parking structure to see the view. 

 I also became the proud new owner of a road bike, and this was one of the first rides. Gordon rode the tag-along behind Ben and we went around the Newport Back Bay. It is a popular bird watching location. 

 Lyndsey and Ryan came to visit and see the Disney parks with us. 

 Spent one afternoon at the beach and employing Ryan's awesome digging skills to dig deep holes. 

 After church at Corona Del Mar. 

 Pandemic, the board game that became a family sensation. 

 Silly Symphony Swings.

 Jilly being emo while waiting for lunch. She looks like a celebrity. 

 I think we had to wait for a little bit for Flik's Flyers to start, so we started pulling faces. 

And kissing. Ew.