Spring Break

Beckett spent the day with us. We had a ton of fun (as shown in this picture)! He brought his skateboard, and we taught him how to Indo Board.

Lucy is precious!

The Angel game started our Spring Break off right! We thought they won when we left at the top of the 8th inning, but it wasn't to be.

Some of the fun caught on camera.

Our seats were terrific! We were in a secluded little corner looking at left field.

Thanks Mom and Dad! We had a great time.

The Getty Center was our next adventure. This is Natalie's favorite bed.

Tanner helping to show perspective by standing next to this massive painting.

We were lucky to have Grandpa and Grandma Stevenson spend the day with us.

This was the children's first time at the Los Angeles Temple.

It was a quiet, beautiful day at the temple.

Riley's Eagle Project

Riley finished his project, and life has slowed down enough to document it! Maybe you noticed last week I posted a picture. It was a couple years old, with no text. Here's my attempt to do better.

Riley and Trevor loading the wood into Trevor's truck.

All good scouts wear eye protection- and every good scout troop has a leader with a beard.

Beautiful Brooke.

The whole crew cutting the shelves to size.

Gettin' 'er done.

Show me "sand the floor." Mike is filling in for Mr. Miyagi. (Karate Kid)

Look how smooth that wood is!

Alicia is focused.

A bonding moment.

Only one casualty. We checked a week later, and he wasn't playing possum as some suggested.

Safety first.

T.K. was so generous to donate dinner the night of the project.

In the PE closet with the jump ropes.

"Bracketology."

Clark was kind enough to help us out!

Look at how sturdy that shelf is!

The finished project.

San Diego Auto Show

We got to visit the San Diego International Auto Show on New Year's Day, courtesy of Scripps Healthcare. Our family tradition is to try to find cars that match the kids' personalities.

Here's Lauren with the Mercedes Benz CL 500 Coupe. This car is a 400 HP, 5400 CC V8 beast that goes zero to sixty in about 5 seconds - not bad for a car that weighs 2 1/2 tons. And all that for only $107K! Look how she just belongs behind the wheel of this luxury cruiser. One drawback - she's not a fan of the "wood paneling".










Gratuitous photo of the CL 550 coupe. I had to add this as you can't see much of the car in the photo above.











Brooke at the helm of a 2009 Volkswagen Jetta. It's a cute and sensible car for Brooke. This is actually not the car that Brooke looked best in, but we didn't want to wait in line for thirty minutes to get a shot of her in the BMW 650i convertible.












This is two straight years Riley hasn't been able to come with us. Last year it was basketball practice, this year it was work. So in honor of his dedication to his job and saving for his mission, here's the cars he was hanging around with.












Alicia behind the wheel of the 2009 Mazda MX-5 Miata. This is two years in a row that this little two-seater has fit just perfectly with her attitude - must be destiny.













Tanner got to sit behind the wheel of a Mustang Shelby GT500KR. This is an $80K, 540 HP road rocket that had quite a crowd of folks around it (all guys). Tanner got a big laugh from the crowd when he stepped out of the car and proclaimed "it's ok". Too many people were around to get a good photo.





Natalie is definitely a Mini girl in my opinion. And this is the exact model for her - the John Cooper S Works in red with the black and white checked roof. It's the perfect combination of sporty, sassy, and cool, just like Natalie.

Of course all this may change next year...

Area Champs!

Tanner is at it again. Last weekend and today were the AYSO area 11R playoffs (most of San Diego County). Tanner's team did well enough to make it to the semifinals as the 4th seed, and this morning beat the first seed 2-0, who they lost to last week, also 2-0. This afternoon they beat the second seed 3-1 to win the championship. Next comes the section playoffs, which covers L.A., Orange, and San Diego counties. Congratulations Tanner!

Tanner before the game - it was windy and rainy throughout.

Right after the game.

With the new medal.

Tanner played well and had several steals in the two games. Congratulations Lightning! Next game may be somewhere near you...

Christmas Pictures

Field Hockey, Cont.

We had the pleasure of going to Alicia's field hockey banquet last Thursday night, and got to meet other parents and see how much fun the girls all had together. The coach had some nice things to say about Alicia, who started many games on defense this year.

He mentioned that she is very aggressive on defense and her attitude is that she may not get the ball, but the offensive player won't either even if it means knocking them to the ground (which is fine with the coach). He also loved her team spirit and noted that after a disappointing loss in strokes (like a shootout in soccer), she was the first to run over and cheer and console the goalkeeper.

Congratulations, Alicia!

I did want to note that though Alicia and her teammates didn't notice Riley and his friends storming the field after the last game, the coach did, and mentioned it at the banquet. He called it the best storming of the field he had seen at San Marcos High.