Our New Toy

my sweet husband bought me a new camera (ok, so it was after a couple months of nagging and begging, but i have it anyway, so why nitpick over silly details?!) ha ha. i will be putting up more posts (i have been camera CRAZY lately - can't figure out why since i got such a good upgrade lol), but for now i just wanted to put up a quick post to show you the difference in what i had been using versus what i have now. first are a couple pictures of a wnba game i attended last year. the next ones are of a game this year. i am sitting in very similar seats distance wise, so it really is a good comparison. i am soooooo excited, and you can look forward to many more posts on the blog because i am taking so many more pictures! p.s. if you click on the pictures to enlarge them, they are much better to see the difference.

 
now see how much less blurry the players are, and the color is no longer all yellowish! i LOVE it! (i know there are even better cameras out there that could take even better pictures than these, but i was just so excited to show the difference in what i was using compared to what i have now!)

Pool Play

here are some fun times with the kids at the pool.

first, zachary & kyle self propelling themselves into the water...

 
i happen to think kyle has the most fun with this activity... check out the facial expressions!

 
of course the girlie girl spends her time making sure she looks pretty by the pool!

what fun is the pool without splashing the children?!

 
and one of my new favorite photos in kyle's life... check out the launch on this kid! the best part is he bobs back up out of the water all smiles and wants to go again! no wimps around here!

A few random pics

just a few pictures to keep you updated on some fun recent events.

fun on the slip & slide (this is great because the facial expressions never stop being funny!)

we had some great fun on our trampoline. i know the pictures are fuzzy (we need to update our camera for one with an action setting!) but if you click on them to enlarge them, some of these are really funny despite the blurriness!

we just recently took a very short trip to utah, and these are a couple of pictures of the kids playing outside at stephanie's.

finally, here is jordan having a grand time blowing bubbles. i especially love these photos because they really capture jordan's personality - very dainty looking and feminine! i think this particular dress really makes her come across so sweet in these pictures!

Avoiding middle child syndrome

ok, so you always hear about "middle child syndrome." kyle always seems to fit right into this stereotype, and i have yet to figure out why! i have realized he is not as prominently displayed on our blog as the other two, and did not want yet another case of the forgotten child occuring! partly he is not in some pictures out of his own choosing - he doesn't want to participate in some of the activities the other two are involved in, or he gets grumpy about wanting to be in the photos. also, the other two are such big hams that they are always wanting their pictures taken, and kyle is usually content to not be involved. sometimes i think he has middle child syndrome on purpose! so here are a few cute pics of kyle from this year...

at disneyland getting ready to go on the toy story ride...

getting some cuddle time with daddy...

put your hands in the air and wave 'em like you just don't care oh yeah! (this is actually a direct quote from kyle himself!) 
well, ok, so the other two hams managed to sneak their way into a couple of pictures too, but i just thought these were so sweet!...



and speaking of being a ham, have you ever heard the expression you are what you eat?....

Kids at Play

a few cute pics of the kids playing outside (photos courtesy of angel)

Bowling Gal

Jordan joined a tiny tots bowling league a few weeks ago. it's so cute all these little kids (ages 2-5) rolling these bowling balls that seem to be bigger than them! she is having a blast and really enjoys her teammate - a 4 year old boy named brayden. the following are useful tips from jordanland for you would be pro bowlers out there! ha ha

tip number one: throw the ball as far out onto the lane as possible before letting it land. this is absolutely necessary if you are to reach your goal of being the noisest bowler in the center - the sound of the ball crashing down onto the lane is a kid's dream! tip number two: when you miss the spare a pouty face is essential

tip number three: leaning to one side produces a desirable outcome in controlling the destination of the ball as it rolls down the lane (many believe this is only a myth, but as jordan demonstrates here, it seems to actually work!)

fourth and final tip: when it's not your turn, make sure to amuse yourself thru other means, such as turning the bowling center swivel chairs into a jungle gym!

Beautiful Babycakes!

now i know i am biased since i am the mom, but are these not two of the most beautiful pictures ever of jordan?! (i especially like the bottom one) i can't take credit for taking the pictures, that was angel, but they just turned out so gorgeous! anybody know a good modeling agency (ha ha)

Zachary's Lost Tooth

ok, zachary is about to make a large withdrawal on the tooth fairy's bank account! i know every kid goes through this, but it is very amusing to me now that it is my own child! he actually has already lost one bottom tooth, but it wasn't really obvious because the adult tooth was already growing in behind it, and therefore didn't leave much of a gap. but this is great! the one next to it is wiggly, and his other bottom tooth is about to come out any time now. maybe we'll start calling him gaps.....?

Karate Testing

it's that time again - testing for karate! zachary is going for his green belt, and jordan will be moving up to a tiny tiger brown belt. they both did an excellent job and most of you would be surprised to hear that they both stayed quiet for most of the 2 hours! master jackson tells all the kids if he catches them talking, he will tear up their test papers and have to wait for the next testing date in 4 months - i guess that's good enough motivation for keeping their mouths closed! lolthis is the forms part of testing...

are we boring you yet, jordan?!

well maybe this will wake her up - i know it's very fuzzy (i still have to figure out how to take action shots in low lighting with my camera), but check out our instructor chris's flying side kick! he really gets up there - if you look, you will see the girl holding the bag up is standing on a platform about 2 feet high!

moving on to sparring...

and last but not least, here is zachary breaking his first board! last time he had to break it over chris's head. this time they let him break a thinner board, so hopefully the next time he will have the confidence to break the regular size one!