Summer is almost here!

We can't wait till it's warm enough to swim in the pool, but for now playing in the hot tub has been pretty fun! I think Jax and Ash are pretty close to swimming by themselves!

Family underwater photo

Jax doing the ring dive

Ash swimming for the camera

(we had to bribe her with 10 jelly beans!!!)

No need to bride Jax though

Jumping off the side of the spa

Underwater angle

Jax attacks!

MANcation

Ever get the urge to pee in a bush?

Go a day without brushing your teeth?

Eat only meat for dinner?

Burn everything you can find?

Well, if you don't, then you are not a man, and you would not have liked our overnight hike to Dobbs cabin in the San Bernardino mountains.

Our group consisted of: (From Left to Right)

Dane Winkelman, his son Jet, Cory Ferguson, Matt Horspool & Jason Tang

Jet is only three, but he still made the trek... of course, that's not too hard when your dad is half man, half amazing. Dane carried Jet on his shoulders for most of the way, with us giving him a break every now and then.

The hike wasn't very long, only about two miles in, but it was a very steep climb. The base of the mountain started out dry, but the higher up we got the more snow, and the more wet we got.

When we arrived at our campsite, we quickly made a fire so we could dry our all our clothes and start cookin' up our meal.

On the menu -- T-Bone steaks a la Winkelman.

What's that mean? Seasoned steaks, skewered and cooked over an open flame.

This one is a la Tang. Cooked on the hot rock. Good if you like your steak rare!

Unfortunately, steaks weren't the only things cookin'. Dane and my shoes ended up a little too well done.

The next morning we did a little fishing, and Dane was the only one that caught anything. He caught a small little trout (I think), and a little lizard that Jet loved.

Going down the mountain was pretty fun too. We did a little shoe skiing.

Looking forward to the next one!

Time MARCHes on

Another month has come and gone. SO, here is another picture-packed post to catch up on all the latest and greatest.....

Building blanket forts with Daddy. I can't remember where I was, but when I got home Jason had built this awesome fort with the kiddos. They were all in there, armed with flashlights and everything.

Visiting new babies. Matt and Melissa McIntosh welcomed little Elliot into the world. She is such a little sweetie and it was so fun to see her on her birthday! Ashlyn still tells us how much she loves her.


San Diego sight seeing. We spent the weekend with Kim and Dane Winkelman and their kidlets down south. We started off with the San Diego Zoo. Jaxon loved playing with this green mamba.
Ashlyn and Jet were inseparable. They had so much fun running all over together.


Ash loved jumping from one platform to another. That girl has no fear when it comes to jumping off things. She stuck the landing every time, too. We have got to get her in gymnastics!

Baby elephant riding. Loved this part of the zoo!

We stayed the night at Dane's parents' condo in La Jolla. This also where Jason and I spent our honeymoon. It is such a beautiful place! Ashlyn loved the "noculars" and trying to spot wildlife. That morning I watched a pod of dolphins from the window. They were hunting. It was amazing! There were tons of them just swimming and jumping in circles corralling fish. Then all of the sudden hundreds of birds came to get in on the action. It was like something from the discovery channel!

A short walk from the condo there are all these seals. It was pupping season, and some of the babies still had their umbilical cords. They were so cute!

Peek-A-Boo!

I just loved this picture of Jet. He's always chasing after something...whether it's Ashlyn or a bird!

Ashlyn is easier to catch though. So, Jet had been trying to hold Ashlyn's hand the whole trip, but in true girlie fashion, she was playing hard to get. On this walk, Jet was just kind if wandering around, seeing what there was to see, and not paying tons of attention to Ashlyn like he usually does. I guess she was missing his affection, so she says "Hey Jet! I thought you wanted to hold my hand!" That boy's face just lit up. He grabbed on so fast! They here laughing and giggling and just being so cute! But then they tripped and the fun was over.

We went to this look-out point (the name escapes me) with an incredible view. I just love how much the San Diego temple sticks out!

After that we went to Ikea, and then home. Thanks for the good times, guys!

Primary Activity-ing. It was Ashlyn's very first primary activity! Jason took her. I don't know how much she liked it, but she did win the candy jar for guessing the closest!

Turtle time! We went to LA to take my mom and niece to the airport, and then spent the rest of the day in Chinatown. While there, we stumbled upon these two little cuties. I just had to take them home. Now every morning, the first thing Jax wants to do is say "hi" to the turtles. It is so funny how excited he gets to see them every day!

Beach Going. Mike and Jason had to go to some meeting in Orange County, so Amber and I decided we wanted to make a day of it. We went down to Balboa, and it was a GORGEOUS day! I had packed all sorts of warm clothes, and as soon as we got there I was wishing we had brought our swimming suits! It was a perfect day...even with the Ruby's debacle.

More beach! Anthony and Valerie Huynh came in from Arizona to take their little guy to Disneyland for his birthday. We met up with them and had a bon-fire at Huntington. It was fun to see them and catch up.

Ashlyn and Tate hit it off, too. Maybe a little too much. At the end of the night Tate pinned her against the wall and planted a big kiss. I think she liked it though, because when we were leaving she asked if she could spend the night. Yikes! Gotta watch her like a hawk when she gets older!

Mmmmm. S'mores face.

I think Ashlyn misses going to the beach so often. That night she asked if we could stay there forever. I wish!

Ice-Cream walking. Tami and I decided to go on a 3 mile walk with our kids. It just happened to be that Rite-Aid round trip is 3 miles. We rewarded ourselves for a job well done with some delicious thrifty's ice-cream. I got root-beer float flavor and it was delectable! I think this needs to become a weekly tradition....well at least monthly!

Andrew and Josh

Tami

Kira, Caitlyn, and Ashlyn. I guess I uploaded the wrong picture. There was one with Ryan, too. Maybe I'll go back and fix it...when the computer with the pictures is free

Jax - eating Ashlyn's cone.

Yellow Tang

This is a Yellow Tang:

This is OUR Yellow Tang:

Earlier this month he decided he has no fear of water, and to our surprise, he even knows how to hold his breath. This is his first day of "swimming" by himself.

Suffice it to say we watch him like a hawk by the pool. We also hope Ashlyn is watching too, because she is still terrified of learning how to swim. As for Jax, he's getting better every time we get in the spa. His favorite is jumping off the ledge and kicking and paddling towards Mom or Dad. Stay tuned for a post about our San Diego trip with the Winkleman's!!

February

Oh man have we been SLACKERS!! Once again I am doing a catch-up post for an entire month. Whoops. So, here is a quick synopsis of our February happenings...

Beginning:

Kids busy tearing apart the house, dumping out drawers and emptying the contents of the pantry. At least they stacked it nicely on the table!

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Middle:

Park day

Valentine's Day. Jason surprised me with a "getaway" in the back house. It's tradition to eat pizza and rent a movie, but this was the first time we ate our pizza on fine china!

End:

Disneyland with the Miyahana's. They came out from Hawaii and we could not pass up on the chance to play with them. We closed down the park. What a fun day!

And last but not least, Ashlyn's new favorite activity...playing Uncle Tay's Wii. She's getting pretty good!