Vertex Climbing Center

This afternoon Emma Jo's Girl Scout troop had a field trip to the Vertex Climbing Center. It was our first visit but most likely not our last. The girls had a great time climbing the walls and navigating the obstacle course. I'm hoping to convince Jason or Grampa to build an obstacle course at one of our houses for the kids.

I loved seeing how much Emma Jo was enjoying herself.

Outside

When we get home from work and school, Cooper refuses to go into the house. He has decided that instead of going in the front door, he likes to go through the gate straight into the back yard. Usually Daddy is back there waiting for us and with the great weather we can stay back there and play. Last night Cooper was having fun giving toys to Lucy and playing with the "Clompers".

Sorrow

My heart breaks for the Jacobson Family from St. Helena who lost their lives in the plane crash in Montana on Sunday. Although I grew up in St. Helena I didn't know them personally, but I know many people who did.
This morning as I watched the news and discovered that one family lost two children and five grandchildren in one instant it hit me hard. My family has two children and five grandchildren. I can't imagine the pain and heartache of the Feldkamp family and each other family involved. It is unthinkable to me...

"F" Week

Each week at school Grace learns a new letter of the alphabet. Each day of the week they practice the letter, learn about things that start with the letter, eat foods that start with the letter and learn a song about the letter. This past week was "F" week.
On Wednesday the kids got to have "Fancy Nancy and Flamin' Hot Wheels" party. The girls dressed up like Fancy Nancy. The boys brought in hot wheels, wore t-shirts with cars, and had a toy car race during the day. Emma Jo was a fantastic big sister and spent a lot of time with Grace helping her to pick out the perfect outfit.

I thought that would be the highlight of the week, but it turns out a Fireman came to school for sharing on Friday. Grace was so excited to tell me about how to Stop, Drop and Roll. She had Jason check the smoke detector. She also told us about how firemen's coats have zipper (because they are faster than buttons) and how firemen crawl when they enter a burning building since the air is clearer down there. Grace told Grampa all about the visit and he let her borrow his very own firehat from his volunteer days. She brought the hat home so that she can bring it for sharing during "review" week.

Yesterday was Emma Jo's final day of selling Girl Scout cookies. Her troop was focused on gathering donations for the military this year. They set a goal to collect donations of 100 boxes to be sent overseas to the soldiers. With 1.5 hours left of sales they had already hit 106 boxes!

Madness

I've done it, finally. I've gone ahead and descended into March Madness with the rest of the masses. Now you are probably asking yourself "how did this happen?" since just about anyone who knows me knows that I don't like watching basketball on tv. Sure I played basketball in school and I definitely understand the game. I like watching it live, but I can't sit and watch a televised game. There are so many better things to watch on tv (like Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice, NCIS and Lie to Me). I'll tell you how it happened, a friendly little bet. In years past, some of the guys at work have participated in Fantasy Football and NCAA brackets. They've shared some good natured ribbing about wins and losses. This year Linda and I insisted that we wanted to play too.
Since I don't follow college basketball I did a lot of research into how to fill out my bracket for the Tournament. My main strategy was in regards to mascots. For each match-up I evaluated which mascot was tougher. Bear vs. Bird - clearly a bear could eat a bird. Warrior v. Animal - Warriors have spears. Everyone I've shared my strategy with has laughed, but so far it seems to be working out. I haven't actually watched any games yet, but I've checked my results on-line and as of Friday morning I'm 12 for 16 with a possibility of 186 points. Sure, I'm in last place, but only by a point. Jason says it really only matters if I have the Final Four correct anyway.

Maybe I'm starting to like college and professional basketball. I sure did enjoy the Warrior's game that Mom and Dad took us to a couple of weeks ago. It was especially fun that we beat the Mavericks.

Spring

Spring is in the air. The kids have been enjoying playing outside after school now that it is light later. Tonight Jason and the kids planted the first flowers of the season.

Cousins

Each time we visit with John and Tracy I love watching how the kids interact. They only get to play together a handful of times a year and yet they pick up right where they left off and have a great time.

Cooper keeps a close watch on his older cousins. He clearly wants to do everything that Mays and Dallas can do. I'm secretly hoping that he doesn't learn quite all their tricks. But the more I've been around little boys I've realized the saying is true, boys will be boys.

Grace loves being a ringleader and enticing the boys to get into lots of mischief.

It is always great fun to all be together as a family. This time was especially nice as we were celebrating Grammie's birthday!

Aquarium

We took the day off on Friday and headed south to the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We were met there by Kim, Micah and Ruth. We arrived right when they were feeding the otters and the kids loved seeing the otters zooming around the central tank. Grace and Cooper were amazed by the whales floating from the ceiling, especially the Shamu. The kids area was a huge hit. Gracie and Ruthie (who look like they could be sisters) enjoyed climbing in the penguin egg shell.

Cooper liked the slide.

We got all five kids to climb into the giant clam. It is not the easiest thing to get a good picture of five squirmy children, especially when four of them are under five years old.

After lunch the girls and Jason watched a movie about the deep sea and Cooper and I went for a walk. I guess the aquarium was not as much fun for Cooper without his sisters so he fell asleep in his stroller.

While Cooper was sleeping we checked out the rest of the aquarium including the outdoor deck.