Joy School Visits Chino Hills PD

 

The Joy School kids got to visit the Chino Hills police department.  They had a great time! The officers were wonderful and the kids really enjoyed themselves.

They got to see the motorcycle and a regular car. Can you find Grace in this picture? She loves her "big" boys...

They got to sit in the front seat and each one got to turn on the siren! This was by far their favorite part. After that they got to have a nice question and answer period. One of the boys asked him if he had been eating donuts all day and Jack told him that his dad has guns. Ugh!

 Then they got a little tour. The got to see the holding cells and talk about the lack of privacy. They got to see the detective offices and the briefing room. Then they got a nice McGruff goody bag.

So for the past two weeks Jack has decided that he wants to be a police officer, but don't worry about Grace, she still wants to be a princess. :)

New Year's Eve and Daddy's Birthday

On New Year's Eve (which is also Daddy's birthday) we headed over to two papa's house.  The boys played a bit of poker, while the kids, Grandma, Great Grandpa, Kristi, Bryce and I hung out. It was a nice year for me, the kids have no problem sleeping away from home and they're easy to get to sleep. I would have had plenty of time to play poker with the boys if (1.) I wasn't sick and (2.) I wasn't pregnant.  It's a little sad to think that next year, I will be back to struggling to put a baby to sleep in a strange place while his/her daddy and uncles are super loud.  But it's also nice to know that it's a short phase. Here are some pictures from the evening:

It was SO cold, we HAD to have some hot cocoa!

 Grandpa with some of his great-grandkids...

 Great-grandpa and Bryce

 There were more Christmas presents from some of the Lindstedt family that we missed on Christmas Eve...

 Jack got a little bit of training in poker.

 Daddy had angel food cake for his birthday for the first time in all of the years that I have known him (almost 13).

 

 Happy 2011!

Christmas Day ~ Evening~

After church and some more time at home (this was the most laid back Christmas for us - ever), we headed over to Danny, Kristi and Bryce's house. 

I cannot even explain how much Jack loves this little guy! He is so cute! They also loved Kristi's Alvin and the Chipmunks Christmas decoration and they turned it on over and over!

Grace and Jack had a great time making him laugh...

Jack couldn't believe that he was down and Jack was just dying to hold him.

 They enjoyed the fire...

 Grandma Karen and her grandkids...

 Is this one of Charlie's Angels?

Of course their Aunties, Uncles, grandparents and great grandparents spoiled them - big time.

She was so excited that she was shaking!

 

And then it was time for dessert!

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Day

Santa left lots of surprises for the kids...

 And a little note for the kids...

 I wish I could say that they were super excited, but the truth is, we woke them both up... Maybe next year...

 When they finally were up, they got really excited!

 It took Grace quite a while to wake up. :)

 Jack begged for this blaster... How did Santa know?

The stockings were stuffed! Jack's favorite thing, perhaps of all his gifts, was his batman "shaver." It's so cute, everyday he tells me that he's going to go shave now.

 Most, actually all of what Jack got was Star Wars. He is SO obsessed right now.

 Grace is much slower in her gift opening. She likes to savor the process.

 But Jack speeds through it.

 This is the gift that Jack picked out for Grace, he was so excited to see her open it.

 This is her dress up trunk... It came with three outfits, jewelry, shoes and all, but I think the best part is that we now have a place to store all of the dress up clothes!

 Grace got her very own Star Wars figures, Padame and she is kind enough to share them with Jack.

 She got a whole set of doll things: a swing, crib, high chair and stroller. She had been asking for them and I think it will be really good for her when the baby gets here. She'll be able to parallel play with me and our new baby.

 Time to enjoy all the gifts!

He's setting up all of his new guys!

 

After all of the excitement and some yummy pancakes, we had a talk with the kids about Great Grandma and got ready for church.  We thought it was a good time since they would have a while before, during and after church to ask more questions. It also prepared them for the evening that we spent with the Lindstedts... all together, but missing Great Grandma.