Beach Fun

We thought that the kids wouldn't be that interested in going into the water at Santa Monica pier. It was about 70 degrees and much cooler then in July when we were in Oceanside but kids and water definitely do mix.

The Princess reigns!

Aubrey ruled her kingdom with all the princesses of Disneyland coming to court. The only one she isn't too sure of is Mulan. Keri - you better start coming around more so she can get use to the features...

Thanksgiving in Phoenix

We had a great time visiting Stu and Jo and their family after Disneyland. Aubrey kept referring to their house as "Indiana Jones house" - I think Disneyland may have been fresh on her mind. JoAnn was a little nervous about preparing the whole Thanksgiving meal - but she had no reason to be. Everything turned out wonderfully. We all pitched in and had great food.

On Friday evening we met up w/ Dave's uncles and aunt who were at his Uncle Kent's house in Gilbert and we went to Organ Stop Pizza for some food and fun. Aubrey got really nervous of the scary music and ran to Grandpa for him to hold her. We were greeted by the protesters when we went to the Mesa temple to see the lights - not realizing that it was the first night they lit them so we fought the crowds but enjoyed warmer weather then we are used to when seeing temple lights. The kids had a great time spending time w/ cousins. Ethan will sure miss Brighton when he leaves on his mission. Can't wait to hear where his call is!

School pictures...My they grow fast

Ethan - 4th grade

Aubrey - 2 1/2 years

Devin - 1st grade

Kaleb - 8th grade

Halloween kids

I don't think I have to tell you what the kids are for Halloween this year.. The pricess Aubrey - when given the choice - was of course, Cinderella. Ethan tackles his friends anyway, so it helps to provide helmets. And we love to refer to Devin as Dr. Jones.
The kids all together...minus the 13 year old who is TOO cool.

Halloween

Lots of fun this year! The best part for us was that it was great weather. We enjoyed temps in the 70's during the day with just a little sprinkle of rain to keep the gobblins away.

Here is a pic of me with my co-workers. If you can't tell - Michelle is a deviled egg!

My friend Val always has a big shin-dig each Halloween at their house. They have donuts, chili, hot chocolate, a fire going - and this year thanks to Dave they had Monster House showing on the side of their Monster House. The kids enjoyed the outdoor movie in the great weather. Here is Val as a red-haired devil w/ her angel daughter - Aubrey's best friend Macey.

Blow my nose up

Sick kids are always a challenge. Everyone here has had a head cold. Luckily it hasn't been bad enough for anyone to really suffer much or miss school or work because of it. I thought Aubrey was old enough to blow her nose. You know, it takes kids a while to figure out how to blow the snot out and not suck it up. Well, apparently she thinks the correct way is to suck it back in...

HA HA HA HA....just kidding

A couple Sundays ago we were giving Kaleb's friend Tyler Black a ride home from church. He is a pretty funny kid, and was telling jokes. Aubrey all the sudden started laughing hysterically, then said "Just Kidding". It was so funny. I tried to get her to do it at home but it is not quite as funny.

Ethan's a daredevil

So since I just started blogging, I may go back to pictures from earlier and write about those events - since I have now realized I will never be able to scrapbook and keep up with the kids. This picture is of Ethan at Heber Valley Camp where Grandpa and Grandma Rawlinson are serving a mission. We were able to go up on the w-end and do a challenge course. It was pretty scary but makes you really feel like you have accomplished a lot when you get done. He was so cute as he started up the tree but you have to take the caribeaner off and re-attach it another wire. It is built for girls 12-18 so it was a HUGE stretch for the little guy.

Ethan said something funny on Sunday. For those of you that don't know - he is my little cleaner and helper. On Sunday I was beating eggs to dip the chicken in to fry it up for Lemon Chicken. Of course he was right in there helping and after he cracked the eggs in the bowl he kept asking me for the "yolker". "The yolker??? What is that???" Turns out it is a whisk to beat the eggs with. Devin and Aubrey always call things cute names but is rare the smart little 9 year old will.

Soccer

Well it is finally over and I must say that neither Dave or I are sad the fall soccer season has ended. When Kaleb played soccer in Idaho he was there mainly to cheer the other players on. He rarely kicked the ball and usually just cheered no matter who scored. Devin has taken his approach except that he really does run up and down the field a lot. I can tell that the socializing, treats and trophy at the end were the main draws for him. The pic to the left shows him actually running - and to give him credit he didn't wimp out like a lot of the kids there. The pic to the right show him doing what he usually did - talk to his buddies.

My little business

So I really am not making money off of these cute little mouse pads but I did give them as gifts to girls at work. I saw some at a boutique and thought it would be fun to make my own. I love the color and personality they bring into any room.

Devin in his element

So here is a picture that really displays the fun that he was having. He even bumped into his friend Caleb Cameron there. Seems kids can make friends with anyone. At McDonald's once he met a girl and played with her on the toys. When it was time to leave he said to me "mom can this girls come home with us. She is a sister and I don't have one". Glad we have Aubrey so he isn't just picking them up off the street.

My least favorite place...

It doesn't seem to be apparent to Aubrey, but if you look close Devin has the same look on his face as I am feeling. Chuck E Cheese is not my favorite place in the world but the kids just seem to love to blow endless amounts of money on getting stupid little tickets that they redeem for even more ridiculous prizes. Boy I sound really bitter there... They had fun and that is all that matters! I will get counseling to deal with my anger against the bad pizza.

Trouble

I know these boys look sweet, but don't let that fool you. (L-R) Jack, Ryder and Devin are great buddies and get into trouble with the best of them.

Dave's favorite time was when they took his brand new container of Chocolate Covered Raisins from CostCo (so about 20 lbs :) and threw them all over the side walk. Not only did it waste the precious calories that Dave sorely needs, but there was a nice mess to clean up later.

Pretty girl

I am still getting used to having a girl around. Everything at our house is "beautiful" or "wonderful". And she sings and dances for everything.

We went to see grandpa on Sunday at the rest home. He seemed a little more alert then last week and he let me cut his nails. Aubrey was really curious about this and had to stand right in between us while I did it. Her favorite part of the rest home are the animals. She loves to see the birds and rabbit. We spent almost as much time with the bunny as with grandpa and as we left there was an older man on the front patio to whom she said "Bye, bye Grandpa" - he was in heaven.

Here kitty, kitty...

Aubrey is trying to get Simba to come out from underneath the car so I can give him his medicine. He got really good at hiding under there after a few days of taking the nasty tasting stuff. Chad, you might want to stop reading this about now... I played the amateur veterinarian and ordered antibiotics on-line for him to save the ridiculous fees to give him the Cephalexin that I knew he needed to cure his absess. Of course the only way you can order it is if you buy the Fish version which I am sure tastes awful.

So far so good... Simba is looking much better and hasn't started growing gills.

Pic by the pool

Cousins

Half of the fun of the vacation was watching the kids with their cousins. Ashlyn is not a good influence on Aubrey with her barbies, ponies and pretty princess stuff. It is a good thing she is so cute!

Sea World after the Shamu Splash

When they say that there is a 50/50 chance you will get wet while sitting in the Wet Zone - it really is closer to 100 percent chance with the Rawlinsons

Aubrey cried until she could go and visit Grover and Elmo at Sea World, of couse once we had the chance to get a picture taken, she wouldn't go up by herself.

The beach

We had a great vacation in Oceanside CA. and I wanted to share with family and friends the fun. After our beachfront house we rented was booked at the same time by somone else - we weren't really sure how the place would turn out. As you can see by the pictures - we were pleasantly surprised. The house was on the market for 4.1 million and had lots of fun features including a beautiful pool and hot tub (with outside shower), amazingly decor inside and veranda on both the ocean and pool side.

Some of the fun places we visted were Legoland, Sea World and the temple. Mostly we just spent time on the beach hanging out and enjoying the kids playing in the surf.