Daddy's Little Helper

Nathan loves to "mow" the lawn with Daddy. He takes his job very seriously and has a great time following Phil all over the yard!

Cousins!

Zachary and Ainsley stayed with us for a few hours on Friday afternoon.

Allie and the boys had a great time playing in the backyard!

Good Exercise

Each year, Beth's P.E. teacher works with the students to build their endurance by jogging. They start with short jogs and work up to a 20 minute jog. When the kids reach their goal, the parents and grandparents are invited to join the children as they walk or run around the high school track. Beth was thrilled that Grandpa Tos was able to join her for the second year in a row.

Learning to Knit!

After Christmas, Phil took the girls to Target to spend some of their Christmas money. I was dismayed when Beth brought home a "Learn to Knit" kit. Although it said, "for ages 6 and up," I knew I would be no help to her, since I cannot knit! Today my mom spent the afternoon with us and taught both Beth and I some knitting basics. I am excited to learn a new skill- and Beth was thrilled to knit a row with her Grandma! She was very proud of herself - and cannot wait to finish her knitted purse.

5 rows down... 67 rows to go!

Easter Eggs!

Today, Allie's preschool class had an Easter party and an Easter egg hunt. I was able to go and help with the activities. The children all had to hunt for the five eggs with their name on it. After they discovered all of their eggs, we did a craft together and played some games. It was a busy morning and we all had fun!

Signs of Spring

One of our favorite parts of springtime is watching our yard return to full bloom. Many of our plants froze this winter but are now showing signs of life. We have enjoyed watching the tulip and grape hyacinth bulbs
(which we planted in the fall) come up and bloom.

I only wish they would last a bit longer!

We love books!

During my years of teaching, I accumulated a lot of stuff! Phil could probably tell you the exact number of banker boxes stored in our attic at this very moment. (After all, we've moved them several times since Beth was born!) Most of these items remain untouched and are just waiting for me to reenter the world of classroom teaching. But some of the books are being thoroughly enjoyed by our children. Each month, we dig into a different tub to pull out seasonal books.Today we collected Easter and Spring books. The kids were so excited that they couldn't wait to start reading them!

Allie sat on the couch with her pile of books and "read" them to herself until I could read them to her!

Our Cool Dude

Nathan loves to be like Daddy!

Here he is, wearing Phil's sunglasses.

Isn't he a cutie?

THE ZOO

This weekend we enjoyed a visit to the Fresno Zoo. We met Phil's sister and her family there and had a great time. Nathan was the most excited about the kangaroos, while the girls enjoyed brushing the goats, sheep and llama in the petting zoo. Nathan pet many of the animals too and took a special liking to one goat in particular. He greeted him, "Hi goat! I Nathan!" We were surprised that Beth was so excited about the giant anteater. Go figure!

Here are a few pictures from our outing.

Here are our kids with their cousin, Jack.

Lots of love for Daddy!

Nathan is all ready for our zoo adventure!

Welcome to our blog!

Hello Friends and Family! Since some good friends in Escalon began their own blog, we have enjoyed keeping up with their news and the growth of their daughter. We thought we'd try it ourselves! So, here goes! We plan to keep you informed about our growing kids and give you a glimpse into our everyday lives. Please add our blog to your "favorites" and check back often! We hope you enjoy it!

Please bear with us - or with me (Teri) - as this is all new to me. I think Phil thinks I've gone a little crazy!