More Rocky Point

If you want to see more about our Rocky Point trip (including a cool video of an octopus!), please check out Shari's blog:
http://zerbbt.blogspot.com/

Oh what do you do in the summertime?

We go to Mt. Graham.

(I ask Heath to smile, and he gives me a Richard Nixon impression...?!?)



We celebrate Heath's 5th birthday.

(He requested the same cake as Luke, "except with a five.")
(Can you tell which sprinkles were put on by kids who like eating sprinkles even better than cupcakes?)



We let the kids color on the floor with Sharpies...



...and then tear the floor up


(even Luke gets in on the action!)



Ian goes to soccer camp.

(He's showing his team Brazil spirit!)



We relax on the beach in Rocky Point...
(That's Anne and Shari observing.)

And show off our muscles!
(covered with sand!)

April Celebrations

Last week was Luke's 2nd birthday. He got a birthday sticker in the morning from the Pediatrician's office, then proudly told us all day long that it was his birthday. However, if you asked him how old he was, he insisted, "I'm four," waving random numbers of fingers to prove it.

For presents, he received a Little People airplane and not one, but two lightsabers, which he now brandishes many times each day, sweetly asking "You wanna fight?" as if we have a choice! But the big hit of the party was the water table from Grandma Utah. I thought she might like to see all four boys enjoying it:




(Yes, I do call Luke "Heath" in the video, but that's closer than "Wes" or "Justin," which I regularly call the older boys!)

Now back a few days to Easter...

The fun new thing the Easter Bunny brought us this year was cascarones, which are real colored eggs which have been emptied out, cleaned, and filled with confetti. They're good for smashing on people's heads.



After smashing cascarones on each other in our damp backyard, we thought it was cool that we all had decorated feet for Easter as well:


I think we have a new Easter tradition.

(By the way, I don't know how the Easter Bunny got his cascarones, but I heard they were selling them at Wal-Mart!)

...and we dance

Back in Rocky Point

This is what we do in Rocky Point:

Play in the sand...

Find sea creatures...

Go swimming...

(Okay, only Adam goes swimming in the ocean in February)

(The rest of us prefer the heated pool)

Relax...




Turn cartwheels...



Gaze at the cool beach sand that is made up of tinier and tinier seashells...

(Mostly it's just Michelle who's fascinated with the sand)

Eat at the Blue Marlin...

(Whoops...was too busy enjoying the fish and shrimp tacos and fresh limonadas to take a photo)

We're having a great time in Rocky Point this week and already looking forward to coming back in September!

Christmas Pajamas

I felt like I ought to blog something about Christmas, so I'll brag about the pajama pants I sewed myself for my cute little guys this Christmas...



Yes, I know that pajama pants are just about the simplest item of clothing you can sew, but it doesn't take much for me to impress myself! (Full disclosure: This photo was actually taken December 30, because that's how long it took us to get all four pajamas clean and all four boys clean and happy at the same time!)

I even managed to sew some pajama pants for my cute big guy:

Luke is holding the baby he got for Christmas -- the first baby doll this Welker family has ever owned! Even now, a whole two weeks after Christmas, Luke still loves his baby and sleeps with it every night.

We had a great Christmas break, hanging out together, playing lots of games, sleeping in, and drinking lots of cocoa. I hope yours was great, too!

A Christmas Carol

**UPDATE: I removed the video clips. If you absolutely must see them, just email me!***

Adam and Ian are in the Sahuaro High School musical "A Christmas Carol." Because of copyright issues, no one is allowed to videotape it, but I couldn't resist using my hidden camera techniques to get a few highlights for far-flung relatives. The following clips were from last night's dress rehearsal.

This first one is a duet by Tiny Tim (Adam) and Bob Cratchit. They disappear from the camera for a few seconds, but don't worry -- they come back.

This second clip is when the Ghost of Christmas Present is showing Scrooge how happy everyone is celebrating Christmas together. It starts with Tiny Tim's solo, and goes on to a big group number. If you want to hear Ian's one-line solo, go to about 5:50 ("I hope that his dinner is cold"). You can't see Ian well, because he's being carried by one of the girls, but you can kind of see his white leg dangling down.

Adam and Ian have been spending lots of late nights at rehearsals and are a little sleep-deprived, but they seem to be having a great time, making friends with lots of cool high-schoolers and loving being on stage!

Hopefully I'll be able to post some still photos soon...