A Rare Oppurtunity ....

July we celebrated Alexis turning 4 years old and had a fun party at the gymnastics place in Redding. The kids love all the gym equipment made available to them for jumping, running, and swinging. A very rare opportunity that happens only about every 3 or 4 years is most of the family was all together. Will & Beth, Heather, Stephen Alexis & Taylor, & Stephanie, my brother Lou was here with 2 of his children McKynna & Lynden and before Bryant & Kim moved to Arizona they also came to the party with their kids Rebecca & Bryce. We were able to get most of the family all together in a picture. Only the two "mr funs" (Will & Stephen) didn't make it in the picture.

Here's the Latest!!!

Wow ... didn't realize it has been so long since I last posted! A lot has happened .... First off after 11 1/2 years at the same job my boss and good friend JC decided to close down the office. Due to some person issues he is dealing with he isn't really able to focus on work and many agents left the office thus depleting his source of income. He was very sweet in that he was concerned about what I would do and was willing to make some phone calls for me. I took the bull by the horns and immediately starting seeking out new employment and was able to get another job within a couple of days. I am doing the same type of work just in another office. I am now working at Re/Max Five Star. I knew a couple of people who already worked in that office so that made it nice. I have been at my new job for about a three weeks and spent the first couple of weeks cleaning and organizing my office as well as other parts of the office.
Stephanie just got over a bad cold that hung on for about 3 weeks. She wasn't sure she would ever get over it and really hated taking medicine for it but alas she is down to just a little cough now and then.
William has been very busy at work as usual and has been helping a friend out at his house. He usually gets home on Thursday afternoon and then hops back into his truck to go to Yreka for a couple of days helping Steve out. They resided his home and the next thing is rebuilding the front deck. He will do this until we start heading up to the ranch the middle of May. He is so ready for Memorial Day Weekend which will be a relaxing 5 day weekend for us.
Heather and family are doing great ... Taylor has been battling allergies (just like her father) and Alexis is just as funny as ever. Next weekend is Heather's 24th Birthday so we will be taking the girls overnight. Lexi wants me to fix her tacos so tacos it is!!!
Till next time ......

Taylor Turns 2!!! (Feb 27)

WOW .... It seemed like just yesterday we were watching our little redheaded ball of energy be born and here we are 2 years later. Taylor is her own little person and when they say red heads have attitude they were right. The girl keeps us laughing and she loves her big sister Alexis very much. I just hope they grow up with the same bond Heather & Stephanie have.

As well as the laughs she brings to our family it's like one day she woke up talking where we could understand her. Her vocabulary is growing everyday and I think she just finally figured out she can form her words so that we don't give her the "deer in the headlight" look when she talks because we can't understand her ... we were having to rely on Heather for translation and sometime she doesn't even know what she is saying.

Taylor had her birthday party at a Gynmastics place in Redding. The kids were able to run and play and have the place to themselves. With all the padding around we didn't have to worry about anyone getting hurt. The favorite place was the foam pit. A large area about 10x10 full of 6 inch foam squares. You run down the pad and jump in ... I'm sure it has a good purpose in the gynastics world but for these little ones it was just fun to run and jump. Even Heather & Stephanie took a turn jumping into the pit.

Never too old!

When Steph was small she had a love for Tonka Trucks. We bought her quite a few of the large metal trucks to play in the sandbox with. She would spend hours just having a great time creating her own world and moving dirt with her DumpTruck and DirtMover. While in Vegas she came across this kid ride and couldn't resist. Just goes to show you're never too old for a Tonka Truck!!!

Family Time....

..... what can I say. William's sister, Deb, and family were in town from San Diego. They haven't been up to Redding in a number of years so we thought a family dinner was in store. I took it upon myself to host the dinner due to Toni (Will's step-mom) doesn't do well with planning large family gatherings plus I thought Alexis & Taylor would be more comfortable at our home around many strangers. The head count went up and down with each passing day and we ended up having 18 people. Over all it went very well even though some miscommunication took place amongst family members. We are sorry for those who were unable to attend and hopefully will be able to see them soon. When all was said and done I will think twice before stepping up to the plate again.

Heather ... our cake decorator!

Last April for Heather's birthday we purchased her some Cake Decorating supplies and classes. She really enjoyed taking the classes even though she wasn't able to take the last session due to lack of participants. That hasn't stopped her however. She really has a love for cake decorating and will always give you a yes when you ask. She has done many birthday cakes for friends whose kids are celebrating birthdays and with her group of friends that usually means at least 2 or 3 cakes a month and then you throw in the family cakes ... it keeps her quite busy. She likes to try new things. If she keeps this up when the girls are in school she could have a job baking and decorating cakes.

Not much going on ....

Well not too much is really going on. The winter months are pretty slow for the family due to weather conditions. This January thus far we have been having amazing weather. We have been experiencing 75+ degree days for over two weeks. It's so uncommon for Redding. The bad news is the lake isn't getting any water and it is at recored lows that were last set in the 1970's. Not only is the lake not getting any water the ski park isn't getting any snow. Boy am I glad I didn't by a season pass this year. Last report the lodge only has about 1 ft of snow.

Heather informed me yesterday that Alexis has a double ear infection. This is one tough little girl because she never complains about anything. She woke up and said her ear hurt and she had a fever so Heather decided to take her to the doctor. When checked out both ears are infected. So now she has 10 days of yucky tasting medicine to take.

Stephanie had an amazing experience at dinner the other night. She was out with a group of 8 friends and some random stranger payed the entire bill for the group. He told the waitress that someone did it for him and a group of friends when he was younger and he wanted to repay the favor to another group of young adults. This made quite an impression and Stephanie and she said someday she plans to do the same.

Till next time .....