March

 In the few months leading up to March 4, Ben could often be found looking like this (sort of). This picture is courtesy of our friend Jared, Ben's next-door office mate. March 4th was PhD qualifying exam day, which, for those who know, means you live at your office and don't see your family much in the time preceding the exams. Afterward, you sleep and veg for a week to help your brain recuperate. Thankfully, Ben passed and he doesn't have to repeat this happy process.

 Gordon's natural habitat in the morning. Breakfast and a "show" of some sort. At least he's using the bed-in-breakfast trays. 

 Another wonky outfit from Gordon. He loves this "skeleton shirt."

 Ev and Jill took part in their school's 'Jogathon,' and Ben helped Ev's class count laps. They had to jog around a track for 40 minutes I think. They all got popsicles afterward. The girls even helped Gordon run around the track a few times. 

 Uncle Dan came over for dinner one night and taught the girls, "Stop hitting yourself!" 

 Gordon climbing in bed for morning snuggles. 

 And being silly after waking up a bit more. 

 I think we were leaving to drop Gordon off at his little pre-school group. There's the toddler I baby-sit. (She's moving away in about a month). Her and Gordon can play together really well, and then they can get on each other's nerves really well. As soon as Jilly comes home from school, the truce between these two ends because Jillian is the favorite playmate of this toddler, and Gordon knows it. 

 Jilly was conjuring her inner-giraffe. 

 He still dumps it all on the floor. 

 Jilly is still wondering why Daddy's taking random pictures of lunch. 

 But, we were all happy the big exams were over. 

 Family movie night remains a favorite weekend-night activity. 

Getting our little garden ready for planting. Each year keeps getting better. 

The kids staked out this abandoned plot as their own for the winter/spring, and had fun landscaping it with excess garden pots, stakes, and sticks. It was recently re-assigned to someone else, and my kids were disappointed as they had to pull out all their work (I did tell them this would happen). I do think the plot looked better when my kids were taking care of it.  

 Our neighbors from the ward invited us to grill at the Commons one Sunday afternoon. It was a good excuse to stay out of the house for a few hours. 

 I went somewhere with the girls - shopping I think - and Ben took Gordon down to get ice cream at Stricklands. He was happy.

I've been a target of pictures while sleeping the last few months - I found several pictures I didn't know about while combing the files for these recent blog posts. I still have a snuggler. 

 I can't believe Gordon can still cram into this monkey suit. It's 18 months to 2 years old, and he loves it. 

 Playing with his buddy Jack at the pool. 

Literally chilling and eating a hot dog.

 Jilly knows how to sunbathe. Except for the part where you're supposed to be in the sun.

 Evelyn finding a better use for the kick board. It is easier to sit than swim, right? 

 This is the part where (I'm trying to get them out of the pool, and I've given them their warnings, and they get out, but run to the other side of the pool complex and jump in the kiddie pool) I begin telling these three pool rats they'd better get out and stay out. We go through this every pool season, and by now, they're pretty good at listening. 

 One Sunday afternoon some other friends invited us to a barbecue at their apartment, and we discovered they have quite the cool toy. Ben took all the kids on a ride. Gordon couldn't get enough. Even I squeezed on there with Ben, and I felt like I was going to fall off. I could hardly keep my feet off the ground. 

I think Evelyn was trying to help start the motor. She wanted to ride it all by herself. (Let's wait a few years Ev). 

February and Visitors

 More bike rides. Ben escorted the cub scouts in our ward along the Santa Ana River trail. 

 I bought a bike to make short trips to the bank and store near our home, and to ride with the kids. Evelyn has loved riding with me, as she can keep up. 

The kids were very excited about the prospect of me having a bike, since everyone else had a bike. I have loved having it and wish I had more opportunities to ride it. 

 Still art by Jillian. There was also a microscopic picture of our not-awesome carpet, complete with a crumb centered in the shot. 

Evelyn and Jill had a music share assembly, as they call it at her school. Ben came for Evelyn's, and I forgot to take the camera with me to Jill's. 

February was also the month in which an influenza bug came to our house, resulting in missed days from school for Ev and Jill, but it honestly felt like a little vacation to me. It was nice. 

I took very few pictures in February, so we luckily had Grandpa and Grandma Gibbons visit, and they always take lots of pictures for me. 

 One of the things we did was eat at Roscoe's House of Chicken and Waffles, a legend in Ben's California history. It was packed with people, and we waited quite a while for our food. It was good food though. 

I also booked a Newport Harbor pontoon cruise one afternoon. 

 Grandpa and Ben took turns putting around the harbor at no-wake speed. We saw lots of seabirds and even a few sea lions. 

 The pontoon was big enough the kids could run around on it. 

Ben told the kids to "Be yourselves!" in this picture, and this is what came out. Classic. 

Ronald Reagan Presidential Library

We made the drive north to see this museum. I don't think any of us had been to a Presidential Library before. It didn't look big from the outside, but we (the adults) could have easily spent all day just reading signs and looking at objects. 

As you walk through the library, you chronologically walk through Reagan's life. 

 Presidential podium silliness. 

 I don't know if my Dad meant to pull this face, but it's funny. 

 There was a replica of the Oval Office, and many of the objects found within were once part of the actual Oval Office while Reagan was President. 

There was this exhibit about Nancy Reagan and some of her most famous dresses. All of us girls liked this exhibit.  

 This was about half-way through the library, and Gordon's devil side started coming through. 

 We got to tour Air Force One, and this was probably the part of the visit the kids remember the best. They've never been on an airplane before, so they were pretty excited. We weren't allowed to take any pictures inside the aircraft. 

 Reagan's limousine. 

 Gordon getting tired. I think we'd been here for somewhere around 2 hours by this point. 

 A picture comprised entirely of Jelly-Bellies. 

 There was a whole room dedicated to Reagan's love of horses and had several of the saddles he'd used and been given as gifts on display. 

Lastly, Disney had a temporary exhibit on display. I remember all the costumes and props they had out for many recent films - Princess Diaries, Pirates of the Caribbean, both Tron films, Enchanted, Captain America, Ironman, and others. It was fun to look at, but the kids were pretty much done by this point. So I headed outside with them while Ben finished looking. 

This was a cool place to visit, and I learned a lot. I enjoy the mini-vacations of relatives visiting.