California! I have Arrived! -- Nicholas

Hey, everyone! It's me, Nic. Here is an overview of my trip to California and Sea World. Gramie took Mom to see Great Mas and Papa in California for her birthday. I was the only one who got to go and don't you know, I ate that right up.

We left early Thursday morning and drove all day. Okay, well, most of the day. Mom and Gramie had to stop a lot for potty breaks. Not ME though because I'm a big boy and I'm learning to hold it (if they say other wise don't listen to them). You wouldn't believe how many times they stopped. They were always interrupting my stories or movies. And Mom always insisted that I go.

Finally, we arrived at the hotel. It was so late and I was so tired, but check out my bed and it's all mine! Just take a look at the view we had.

I'm loving this!

The next day we went to see Great Mas and Papa. Oh, boy did they love me! I help clean their windows, scrub the floors and cupboards, pick oranges off the tree and shared lots of hugs and kisses. I sure do love them.

You won't believe where we went after that...SEA WORLD! I saw dolphins, turtles, sea otters, sharks, all kinds of fish and killer whales. I even touch a star fish and a sting ray.

There were a lot of sea gulls. Man, those sea gulls made me mad! We stopped to eat and Mom had to go on another potty break so we left Gramie to watch our food. While we were gone a sea gull swooped down and scattered Mom's food every where! What a mess! But a nice lady who worked there helped clean it up and mom got a new sandwich. That was nice of her. I yelled, "Hey, Get away!" anytime they came near, for the rest of the meal. I'm such a good Helper! What would Mom have done with out me.

We went to a dolphin show after we ate. There was a whole lot of people that wanted to see the dolphins but for some reason there was a lot of empty seat right up front. Something about a "soak zone"? Whatever, they where good seats! That is...until the show got started. People who were sitting in those seats, the dolphins got all wet. Not us though! They missed where we were sitting. But then they brought in reinforcements. There was a beluga whale that had much better aim and he got a direct hit on us!!! I was soaked to the bone! So was Mom and Gramie. Thank goodness for the gift shop that had a nice, dry, sweat shirt for me and... a plush Shamu.

Speaking of Shamu, mom didn't have enough of getting wet so she thought we should try the killer whale show. We had to sit in that "soak zone" area again. Thankfully enough the killer whales took pity on Mom and I and only got the people sitting next to us. Gramie wasn't going to chance it so she stayed way in the back and to the side where she would be safe.

When we got up the next morning Mom was looking for one of my toys and found someone else's undies, yuck!!!! Gramie call the front desk to let them know we were throwing them away. The lady on the phone was grossed out too and very apologetic. When we got back that night our room had a whole bunch of free stuff including robes and slippers for Gramie and Mom and a huge basket of goodies and movies for me. Just to name a few things. They sure were sorry about that. They should be, that's gross even to me and I'm a boy.

While we were out, we saw Mas and Papa again. Then went on a bus...or was it a boat ride. I thought at first it was some kind of weird looking tour bus but after driving around the bay the it went right down into the water and acted like a boat. We saw pelicans, egrets, blue heron, sea lions and dolphins, and yes MORE SEA GULLS... dumb birds. We also saw this ship with a familiar name. It carried brand new, foreign automobiles to the USA.

Can you see it's name?

That's funny how did they know we were coming.

The next morning we got up early to go home. The ride this way was not to much better than the ride out as far as stops go. In addition to the potty breaks, we made two extra stops.

First we had to get PopPop a very special treat from his very favorite place. Since we don't have them here, we stopped at Bob's Big Boy's to get him 4 hamburgers with a jar of special sauce. I was happy to get a chocolate shake, yummmy! Here I am posing with "The Large One". He may have better hair but I'm pretty sure I take the cake on cute factor. Don't I Mom!

Second stop was for Dad. He wanted us to go pick something up from Uncle Spencer. So I said, "Sure, Spencer's MY friend"! I was very excited to see him and his cool new house! He thinks I'm the best and he's right you know? I am. But I couldn't figure out why he had a kitchen chair in his bathroom. Oh, well. I love him.

The last stop we made before home was at Cove Fort. It's a really cool fort made of rocks, built by the Hinckley family, along time ago. Mom said it was beautiful. I just thought, "cool fort". Then home at LAST!! Next time I'm taking Dad, he never stops.

Happy B-day Mom At 10:30 and then good night. What an eventful four days.

I'm glad to be home in my own bed...sort of.

Slot cars and Shermie

This week Shermie went to the slot car race track with PopPop, Gramie, Aunt NaNa, Uncle Sean and Cousin Sheali.

After a little practice he had the driving down and soon he was able to stay on the track. He did a great job but I'm told Sheali stole the show.

She drove her car so good, she put everyone else to shame. Including her dad. Way to go Shea Bug!

Gramie and NaNa got to play "go-fer" so they chased the cars around to put them back on after they came off track. Yea, Gramie and NaNa! Sure sounds like fun!

But seriously, it does sound like something we will plan on doing again with all the boys. They would be fun to watch.

Manti Pageant

This last weekend I took the opportunity to go to Utah for my cousin, Andrew's baptism. My older boys had their last baseball game of the year so they stayed behind with their dad. The younger two and my sister came along for the ride. The trip there was uneventful and the boys were good.

We were so glad to see Tim and Sharon and their crew. It's always nice to visit with them, whether here or there. They did a wonderful job on their recent remodeling. My boys really enjoyed being with the big kids. Alexis was like a little momma to them. They had fun playing in the sand with Andrew. Branson and Holden made good tackling targets until they had enough and let the dog loose on Matt and Nic. It was hilarious.

The baptism was nice. It was neat to see Holden baptize his brother. We got a view of a great missionary. Thanks to the McCalls for the visit and the good food. We hope to see you guys again soon.

We then went down to Manti to catch the pageant on the temple grounds. We knew they would get a kick out of the "fighting guys". What I did not foresee was the reaction I got from Nic. He was up and down for the most part playing. Then jumping up for the parts that sound like they might be interesting to him. It came to the part where Jesus visits the Lamanites. The fire got his attention quick but the part that keep it was after, when the people were gathered and Jesus visited them. Nicholas saw Him and freaked. He started yelling," It's Jesus! Mom, Mom, It's Jesus! I need to go talk to Him"! Such is the faith of a child. It was all I could do to hold on to him. Despite my feeble attempts to explain, he was insistent that he should get to talk to Him and when Jesus left his was heart broken, which broke my heart. I told him he could talk to Jesus anytime he wanted which did not make up for me not letting loose of him. Later when Nic recounted the incident to his dad all he would say was," Mom wouldn't let me talk to Jesus". Oh, the tender heart of my Nicholas. We will have to go back when he gets a little older. Hopefully, when he understands, I will be out of the dog house.

Father's Day Weekend

Happy Father's Day to all! We happen to a have one of the best dads every! So we got him the best gift ever(according to us). A few weeks ago we were watching a show with Dad on how different things are made. It showed how they make Fisher Space Pens that write in space, underwater, and upside down. VERY COOL! We knew Dad and Grandpa needed one. Mom helped us go online to make our order. We all managed not to tell Dad. He was surprised we didn't spill the beans. Both Dad and Grandpa like them. They do make great gifts and are reasonable priced.

We had a nice weekend which started with a bike ride, or chase if your mom and dad, around the neighborhood. Shermie did circles around the loop while Matthew insists that he should be allowed to do the same, as we tried to complete the first loop. Nicholas went fast then slow depending on if he thought he could bet Shermie before he went too far again. We assured Tuffer that there was nothing wrong with his bike, as he tried to stay up right and on it. Then Matthew again tried to leave with Shermie. After about the third or fourth time we headed for the side with the hill. Dad at the top, Mom at the bottom to keep them from flying right out on to the next street as they came zooming down. We really get a kick out of this because its tricky for them to keep up their nerve as they get going faster and faster which results sometime in a bail out. Helmet are great.

Saturday Nic helped Dad mow the lawn and only missed a spot or two. Then we went to one of the older boys' baseball games. Shermie's first hit that game was a double and he had two other hits later that mom missed because she was chasing Matt and Nic. He also help get three outs. Tuffer did good too. The team is made up of fairly young kids so the haven't won a game yet. A lot of them (one being the here fore mentioned) are still in daisy picking mode from t-ball but they have gotten a lot better. It is so fun to watch them play, they try hard.

Next we headed to Gramie and PopPop's with everyone there. This means pool party. Shermie is doing really well without a life jacket but I still keep a close eye on him because it makes me nervous. The other boys and the girls have suits with built in floaties and they get around pretty quick in them. The suits make them look like super heroes so its a big laugh.

Sunday we went to church and then had Grandma and Grandpa over for a BBQ. For desert Grandma made a Filthy Wilma which everybody loved. It was a nice evening. I think the next thing I will add to the blog is a recipe section.

Yes!!!!!

After several hours I have figured out how to add a music play list. Yea, me. The songs are all pretty relevant. Each of the boys has a song I would sing them when they were babies and the others have a message or are just liked. Hope you enjoy it!

Tuffer and Matt's Graduation

Congratulations Tuff and Matt!! We enjoyed watching Tuffer play with his friend D.W. during his graduation from kindergarten. He really loved being in Mrs. Solawetz class. We were so sad to hear she would not be coming back next year but was retiring. Maybe we shouldn't have told her she'd have Matthew next. oops.

Tuffer is looking forward to going to full days in first grade because he gets to eat lunch at school. Mom is not so excited. He was giving her a break from the little lunatics. When he'd been getting home at lunch, his little brothers couldn't wait to lay with him.

Matthew's Luau Graduation was held a the park. the weather was great and we sure got a kick out of his singing. That's Matt, always the ham. He is looking forward to being at "Shermie and Tuffer's" school. He envies the bus ride. I fear for the driver.

Sad news: Our ferret, Johny Macho, died when he got out of the house and into the neighbors backyard with the big dogs. We will miss him. He was a very sweet animal. We are looking into getting another pet soon. Maybe a turtle. We will keep you posted.