Palm Springs, CA

Dan had a Novartis Drug Company conference in Palm Springs this past week. We stayed at a very beautiful resort that had great gardens, pools, and food. We were treated quite well. Anika joined us on the trip while Kailee stayed with friends.

(In the lobby where I saw Liv Tyler and son.)

Palm Springs boasts of 350 days of sun; we hit the other 15. Being Californians we didn't really mind. The rain is so refreshing for us who hardly ever see it! The other guests from the mid-west were quite disappointed.
The hotel had very interesting decor. I don't know if Anika was too impressed.

This is the chair that Anika didn't want Milo (Liv Tyler's son) to sit in. Quite embarrassing!


We rented 2 different cars on our excursion. Since I'm the driver when we go as a family, I chose the vehicle. This Mustang looked fun, but I was very happy to part with it. (When the kids are out of the house, a Mustang will not be on the list! There are much better choices out there!) An Altima, though quite boring, was adequate for the rest of our travels.

Gym and tree

Katie Talsma asked for some help cutting down this tree. Her brothers Kyle and Kurt (visiting from Minnesota) were around to haul off the branches. A kick butt chain saw made quick work of this tree.

I love STIHL tools-Thanks Ted and Dad!!! They make any job much more fun. This wood will have to dry for next year's romantic fireplace enjoyment (err... maybe it's the only source of heat after California goes broke and slips into Obama induced anarchy-just a thought). The main trunk, 16-18 in. diameter and 8 ft tall went to Westra's dairy were Richard has a splitter.
Kailee and Anika go to "Tots in Training" at the Lifestyles gym every Saturday. Afterward we played for a bit in one of the group exercise rooms. Pink weights were a hit. Pink anything for that matter. Kailee got new Nike's which she wished were pink. I picked blue for something different.

Maryann Doornenbal is trying to get shy and stubborn Kailee to move to the music during Tots in Training. Anika is just out of site behind the other instructor to the right. Anika and Kailee love to play with the large parachute. All the kids hold the edges and shake it making noise or cause plastic balls to bounce erratically on the chute.

Saturday stuff

Anika and Rachelle were trying out the new curlers. Anika actually tolerated them which she won't do with the electric iron. Also Anika took a few photos of barbie and a really close-up shot. One photo show Anika chewing on her toes?! I don't think that is Walhof flexibility.

Mystery Dinner

Dan and I attended a "Las Vegas" mystery dinner on Saturday evening. Dan was Security Sam hence the earpiece. I was a rather lowly character. I didn't take a lot of pictures knowing that our children might look at them. I'll just say that some of the characters had some very realistic Las Vegas costumes, to say the least.

Dan trying to get information from Princess Trump.

Even Elvis is impressed with those cupcakes!

Princess party

A regular day at our house - coloring a fairy. The girls were being quite silly when they saw the camera come out. At least I got some "normal ones" as well.



We were invited to a princess/prince party last night. It was Cinderella's (Reagan's) 3rd birthday and, of course, this was heaven to Kailee and Anika.
You know who was the most determined in this picture. . . Dan made sure it broke open after all the kids had their turns.
Grabbing the loot - what are we teaching our kids???

Plumber Dan

What a talented husband I have! He not only looks at 100s of cows in one day, but also can come home to install a water softener. Glad he has the knowledge and energy to do it all! We are all enjoying the difference in our water.

I was quite embarrassed to see my last post was SO long ago. Although a little bit of pregnancy sickness can be a good excuse for a while, right? Fortunately things are looking up, I am feeling better now that I am in my second trimester. Future posts will appear much quicker.

McDermont Field House

Saturday afternoon we had a great time at this entertainment field house. It was formally a huge packinghouse, converted into a sports and entertainment destination.
We met our friends, the Kostelyks, and the kids ran around together. Our only job was not to lose the kids. (Dan and I did enjoy the rides/bounce houses too.)

This was one of the highlights: even Nora and Anika went up and down this mega slide. "Again," they would say when they got to the bottom.

Anika preferred this way of going down. She's looking at Kailee, sitting at the top.

Nice form: pointed toes, arms out

Hours of fun, all in one place

Outside of the Field House

Roller Skating

There's always an odd one in the group, right? We wanted to take this picture for Grandma A since she gave us these outfits for Christmas. We love them!
The remains of our very dry Christmas tree. Dan was eager to use his new toy.

We tried skating yesterday. You can imagine how well that went. Dan and I were both exhausted after one time around with a flailing girl. We now know what we need to work on at home. (first of all, find some skates!)

Mysterious little stocking. . .

Kailee and Anika are pointing out an addition to our mantle this year. Anika called it "the mouse stocking." Rather than confuse anyone, we thought we better label them.


We are looking forward to exciting events in 2010! God's blessings abound.

Christmas cuttings and cookies

A new toy of Dan's - his chain saw. Good thing this tree was already dead. He probably would have cut it down anyways, just for fun.

We were all hoping (from inside the house) that this tree would fall the right way.

It did

We made and decorated Christmas cookies as part of our preschool time this week. I was quite impressed with how well they did. I guess it's just like play-dough except edible!

Christmas with Grandparents (a week early)

Anika was treated to Grandpa painting her toes. Now it's not only dad that paints toes at our house!
We had a very eventful early Christmas party at our house last night. It started with graham cracker houses, a wonderful dinner and decorating houses in between, then ended with presents. What a fun, memorable evening!

Three houses were constructed. Two of the houses were completed quite quickly. . . look whose house is still in pieces. (He blamed it on the cheap Walmart crackers - - - excuses, excuses.)

Not surprising that Cinderella wanted to build a castle.

Meticulous Daniel

Helping Grandpa and Grandma open their small presents

If anyone needs a tree cut down, you now know who to call.

The finished products

Avila Bay with Grandpa and Grandma

Presents from Grandma

We had a wonderful time at Avila Bay this past week. Dan's parents came last Saturday night and we left on Sunday afternoon for the coast. The temperature was in the higher 60's and when the sun was out it felt even warmer. We had such a wonderful time on the beach, in the hotel, and exploring the area.

One of Kailee's Christmas presents was the game Sequence for kids. Both girls loved it and it was hours of entertainment.

View from our room

Anika's gift called Find It. Dan was entertained for hours. He would come in the room and sit down and work on this. One piece has yet to be found. (Although Dan claims he saw it.)

Swimsuits in December

On the beach (obviously not in our swimsuits) with hotel in background

The beach to ourselves - very nice!

One night we ate out at a local restaurant. It was great food. Kailee fell asleep on Grandma before her food arrived. (Food is NOT a priority on her list.)

This is a pier close to our hotel that you could drive your vehicle on. A couple restaurants are located at the end of the pier. Local wildlife (pelicans and sea lions/seals) compete for the food as well. Many sea lions were under the white fenced area. Grandma was not at ease with them being so close to us.

Ugly Christmas Sweaters!

We went to our first "Ugly Christmas Sweater" party last Saturday. These 3 were some of the worst, although all were pretty bad! And, yes, that is John in the middle in his very feminine sweater.
Matt and Kristy came up with some great games that night. One of them was to wrap a present blind-folded as fast as you can. It didn't have to be pretty, but covered. It got pretty interesting!

My neighbor girls helped me pass out little Christmas goodies to give to our other neighbors.
We went to the Visalia Christmas parade a while back. It was a little cold and plenty long!
For some reason, most ornaments were placed at her height. A mysterious tree fairy came and evened them out later that night.

Anika shooting photos

Anika was capturing the world from her view.

A taste of fall

I caught Rachelle doing a little yard work on a breezy fall day.

A few more from MT

It was one of my more fun birthdays since I could be home. (Can birthdays over 30 be fun?)

Clean, clear air! Wish I could take it back with me!

Cousins Natalie and Devan

The work horse

Massive icicle!

Out for pizza with my parents and Uncle Vern and Aunt Pat.

Bridger Mountains near Bozeman

Dan with Bryce (2 months old already!)

SNOW!

We visited Wyatt and Savannah (my cousin's kids) on Monday morning. Savannah loved having other girls to play with in the house.

Anika tried on a flower girl dress for my cousin Mindy's wedding next May. The problem was I couldn't get it off of her without a small battle.

Before winter hit - jumping on the trampoline with bare feet. Now the trampoline has a foot of snow covering it.

We celebrated my niece, Natalie's, birthday together. We were a few days late, but none of the kids cared.

Thursday morning - The first whole day Dan was here. (ha, ha! Some you know how much Dan loves cold weather. . . not!) Dan went hunting with my dad and brother while we tried to dig our way out of the driveway.

Yesterday we had the opportunity to get together with 2 of my high school/college friends, Jodi Venema and Mary Kimm. Our time was much too short; we had a wonderful time.

2 kids each (Mary is due in May!)

Dan plowing. . . the yard?

The trees were beautiful this morning.

My Mom set up "Fox and Geese" game in the backyard. We got our exercise for a brief period.

Montana Family and Fun

A little birthday party for me. I stressed to NOT make a big deal. My great uncle and aunt joined us for cake and ice cream.

My dad planned a day with other tractor fanatics to plow near Churchill. They were even interviewed and seen on TV later that evening.

Both girls loved sitting on one of Grandpa's tractors.

My mom and dad built this house for another couple this past spring. It turned out beautiful. I could easily move right in. It's located just 2 houses away from my parents.

Craft time with Grandma

We ventured out to the bluffs yesterday morning. We looked for deer, but didn't see any. Hopefully there are a few for the guys to hunt when Dan comes.

My new LITTLE nephew Bryce - he is now over 5 lbs and doing great! What a miracle from God.

Youth Group Trip to Morro Bay

Here the 1st CRC youth group in vans off to the annual beach treat over the Oct. 30 weekend. The guys did have fun with Halloween pranks, candy, and masks.
We had a church family come up and cook/organized the camp as host/hostess. We ate very well. Thanks Wallens!
Jordan Taylor and his wife Leslie really did a lot of work to keep the ball rolling. Here Jordan takes a load of rental boards to be sacrificed to the waves.
A few brave girls and one leader, Melanie, took to the waves.
View of Morro rock from our main surfing stage for the day. Waves were kind of small, but nice temp of 78. Totally needed wet suit to tolerate 56 degree ocean. It took minutes for your feet to go numb.

Guys are waiting for the next set of waves to ride in. Quite a bit of time is spent waiting for the right one or frantically swimming through the surf of the killer waves you missed.
Couple of guys riding a curl- or ripple in this case.
Large guys need large boards to float our carcasses. John Schaap on my right was athletic and intellectually astute.
The guys got worn out later as the waves got choppy/small with some wind. Food, sea gals, and mischief ensued.
These guys are getting the pains of surfing corrected.
Hearts for those wondering.
Elaine is holding Fact or Crap, a fun game played numerous times as groups milled around relaxing by the fire. John Doornenbal is pondering the plausibility of some obscure question.

Fall Fun

This morning we went to Hillcrest Pumpkin Patch near Reedley with Kevin, Sharon, and Emily. It was a beautiful day. The girls loved the corn, pumpkins, and train.

Anika contemplating life. . . I guess tasting her hair helps.

Our growing girl: those legs are getting long!

Riding the train

Kailee's version of Ariel. She was disappointed when I wouldn't tape her blanket to her.

We had an extra princess in our house Friday and Saturday. Norah Kostelyk was an angel. She fit right, enjoying all our girl stuff!

It's the end of October, but never too late to put on a swimsuit and eat a cupcake outside!

Normal Days

Nothing too exciting over here. We are enjoying the beautiful fall weather. Dan planted new flowers last Saturday. Our grass is like green carpet right now. . . Dan's doing, of course.



Anika and Allison being very silly while I was trying to get ready.


Anika helping me on the kitchen counter, like always.

It's raining!

Kailee was creative by putting a white skirt on her head for the veil. She is getting ready to marry daddy (again).
It's raining today!!! We love it! We haven't seen rain like this. . . well, we can't remember. Was it May? Kailee was outside before she ate breakfast. In fact, she woke me up, saying, "Mom, I hear something outside!"

I'm not quite sure where she found the blue. . . but she obviously knew where to put it!

Sidewalk chalk in swimsuits: October 11.

Finally Fall

Kailee and our neighbor, Savannah

Neighborhood Gang

We had a great pumpkin patch exploration on Friday. My friends, Sharon and Tena, and I tried to keep track of all these kids.

Picking out their pumpkins

This is what occurs when she knows I would like a nice picture of her. . .

Anika and Sarah

This is the only boy she may kiss for many, many years. (besides Dad!)

This is the best idea I've had in a while! Savannah WANTED to learn how to iron. Have at it! She did 10 of Dan's shirts.
Meanwhile, her sister was self-teaching herself on the piano.

Camping at Don Pedro Lake

We had a great weekend with the Fichers, Zylstras, and Pausmas. The kids loved playing all around the campground. We enjoyed a little boating as well. (in October! Not something I would do in Montana or Iowa.)


We did a lot of this - sitting around the campfire talking. It was relaxing especially because the kids entertained themselves so well.
Jonathan was thrilled about eating. Anika was grumpy.

Jason and Ashley

Crazy girl

Anika's first tube ride ~ she yelled, "Go faster!"

3 giggling girls

8 adults and 10 kids

Dan doing well on the wakeboard.

California Autumn

Our days are still HOT but our mornings and evenings are enjoyable. Dan took these pictures a few days ago on our street.

Ballerina Kailee

Dan's book order this week. I'm still working on Atlas Shrugged, the book he recommended last spring. He either has more time on his hands or just makes time. It's still to be debated.

Kailee and friend Emma at Boingos

Sisterly love. . . sometimes

This was my project this week. My mom and dad gave us a dresser and rather than just paint that I decided to paint the whole room. Kailee loves it. Now if only it would always stay this neat and clean.

Saturday evening excitement at our house. . . not so much. But we are loving our new suburban! We're glad it fits in our garage (barely!) and we love the extra room it has. We are still getting used to the fuel bill though. . .
Officially California licensed. (I did give a sigh of relief when I completed this process yesterday.) For those of you confused, you can read our blog around September 12.

County Fair

We went to the Tulare County Fair last night, taking our friends Zach and Alli along as well. It was quite crazy, as always, but I think the kids enjoyed it.

Saturday morning craft time

Kailee and Zach

(Sorry my camera was on the wrong setting! All these pictures are pretty pathetic.)

Alli and Anika

Zach and Kailee loved this ride, but the younger 2 were a little more hesitant.

Alli clung to Dan the whole time. Anika was quite mesmerized.

The highlight of the evening: Dan showing his mighty strength. :) To him it was worth the $5. To me, it was not worth the huge Dora we have in our house now.

Quick trip to Utah

Imitating dad

Preschool morning at our house

Kailee and I made a trip to Utah Friday morning, exchanged vehicles with my parents, then came home on Saturday. It was kind of a whirlwind trip, but it went really well. I was glad to have Kailee along. She traveled well and it was nice for a little conversation along the way. When I was quite sad about my Maxima leaving with my parents, Kailee said, "Mom, you cannot have 2 cars." She was quite right. "And," she added, "you'll see your mom and dad again in a little bit." Wisdom from a 4 year old; just what I needed.

Short but sweet time together

Very sweet!

A little tired. . .but we perked up after our morning coffee.

It's been quite the car saga over here. To make the story short: our car wouldn't pass the smog test. Rather than put a lot of money into it we decided to get a different vehicle. We couldn't sell our car legally in CA, so DAD to the rescue! My dad found this suburban for us at Danhof Chevrolet and was also willing to drive it halfway to us. Montana will take our non-smogged car. (Sigh. . .) I know we will really like this bigger vehicle though, especially when family/visitors come. Hint, hint!

Enjoying the roomy drive back home

Kailee colored for hours. She didn't want to drink anything because then we would have to stop. I ended up being the one who needed to get out and stretch.

I watched for the space shuttle, but just missed it. Bummer.

Dan's "prize" from my parents for surviving without his wife for 2 days. :) It's Hunter Dan (who actually looks like Dan quite a bit. Weird!) Now he can play barbies with his girls.

Anika's gift from grandma. She was glad to see us again.

Happy Labor Day!

Anika is a "band-aid freak" lately. I have to hide the boxes or they will all be gone. One time I thought, 'wow, she's really playing so nicely in her bedroom.' Only to find 20 band-aids all over her body. In this picture her nose hurt. Amazing the power of band-aids!

"Mom, this is what princesses do." (How long does this stage last?. . . )

Enjoying the local park last night. It was beautiful weather. The girls had fun running through the water and playing on the playground.





This morning some friends and I ran a 5K to raise money for the Christian School athletic teams. We were the "stroller crew." It's sure a lot easier to run without a 77 lb. load to push, but it was worth it. It made eating at the pancake breakfast even more enjoyable.

After the race: finally getting out of the strollers and running around.

Playing on the playground at the Christian school.

Preschool

My good friend Alicia VanderTuig and I are going to teach our preschoolers this year. Her daughter, Renee, and Kailee are about the same age and have very similar personalities. We will meet once a week, taking turns at each house. Should be fun!

The first day: they were SO excited. They kept saying, "This is so fun!" back and forth.

Using an apple to print on paper

Representing "1"

Recess Time

Anika helped Dan wash his truck the other night. The sweatshirt does NOT mean that it was cooler out. I'm sure it was still about 95 degrees, but that's what she wanted to wear.

Stealing daddy's mocha

Dan likes to come home for lunch and make a coffee drink. If he's not watching Anika will help herself. He goes back to work feeling better: I get left with a little girl that refuses to nap.

Kailee drawing. . . again.

Playing with neighbor Brooklyn Robb

Love that ice cream truck! (Some of us anyway)

It was a lucky day: we bought ice cream from the truck that comes by almost every day. Usually I'm the "not-so-fun" mom that gets popsicles out of our freezer IF we've already eaten dinner.

The other ice cream bar always looks better. .

So sometimes you just have to try it!

Anika loves to "help" me bake.

Obsessed with the princesses? Kailee is doing something with princesses most of the day.

Happy Birthday Daniel!

Kailee with her pre-school buddy, Renee. They can't wait to begin soon! Renee's mom, Alicia, and I are going to team teach them both this year. One will teach and the other will keep the other siblings under control. Should be fun!

Emily enjoying the park too

Kailee practicing her ballet moves. . .

We celebrated Dan's birthday this past Saturday. We had many friends over and the weather was beautiful! We could eat outdoors comfortably - no bugs or oppressive heat. With 12 adults and 10 kids, there was a lot of activity at our house. I think Dan enjoyed his day. . . even though a few gray hairs are coming. (I keep saying it's a sign of wisdom!)

Silly faces

Can't get chocolate milk fast enough. . .

All day wedding

On Saturday Dan and I attended the wedding of Stuart and Tessa Hall. Stuart and Dan worked together for 2 years at the clinic. Stuart now works at another clinic in Exeter, CA where he works on other animals besides just dairy.
The wedding itself was longer than Dan and I are used to, but it was very nice. The reception began about 2:30 pm and lasted till. . . ? Well, we're not sure. We had to leave at 7:00 pm to travel the 3 hours home to rescue our friends (from our children)!
It was a very unique wedding because Stuart is from England. A lot of his family could participate or attend the wedding. We loved listening to their accent and also enjoyed their sense of humor.