This is where we spent Christmas day this year. The air temperature was near 80 degrees. The water temperature was near 50. But after about 3-4 minutes, numbness replaced the sensation of cold. In the picture is Warren, Cassie and Sean.

X-mas 2006

Christmas this year heralded the inclusion of a new addition, Christopher (9mo.). As is customary, we celebrated the arrival of the Yermack clan with a birthday party for Cassie who turned six on the 19th.
With six children now in the household, space was a premium. So the kids slept two to a bed. This strategy had its flaws. I think the parents ultimately suffered the greatest by them.

A Christmas eve shot of Wilson guarding the presents. He ate Santa's milk and cookies. I hope Santa was understanding in this regard. The morning pictures are too gruesome to post. There is a lot of child drama usually involving some crying.

Here is Sean and Meghan in the midst of unwrapping their many gifts...

We got shirts for all the kids to wear for the group picture.

It was such a beautiful day that we suited up and went to Huntington Beach for the afternoon. The water was about 50 degrees, but the kids didn't mind.

Fun was had by all! We look forward to next year....

Sean lost his first tooth...

Sean came home from school less a tooth today.

Tiling the fireplace...

So this Thanksgiving I tiled the mantle. It only took me 3 months. I guess next weekend I will grout it.

Sean's 5th Birthday...

I would like thank everyone who contributed to making Sean's 5th birthday special. I think it was more of a 'birthday-week'. First, we went to Las Vegas. Sean went bowling at The Orleans Casino. He said,"I really like bowling, Dad." That evening Tia Marisol made a great chicken dinner. Sean's friend Jacob came over and they played "Army." I am not sure of the rules; but it apparently involves three basic components: loud yelling and wild gyrations coupled with the intricate staging of army men figurines. Then we had cake.

After cake, Sean's parents and Tios went to see "The Who" in concert. During the concert it appeared as if some of the audience were playing "Army" but substituted the setup of figurines with alcohol consumption.

The next day, we drove home and had ANOTHER birthday party in our back yard with a jumper and local friends. Here are the pics.

Halloween in CA

Here are the pics from Halloween. We went to the La Palma park carnival after doing some trick or treating.

Here is the pic...

Here is the most requested pic from Marisol's wedding. No she is not in it...=)

Marisol's Wedding....

Last weekend Marisol got married. I have no words so here's the pics.

Meghan's Second Birthday/Trip to Las Vegas

Meghand shares her birthday with our anniversary. She got a new tricycle as well as the horse "Tacky." That weekend we went to Las Vegas to get Sean and Rob fitted for Rob and Marisol's wedding.

One ongoing project... the hearth.

Here is the latest pics of my progress on tiling the hearth. First there were bricks. Then there was a hole. Now there is hardy back. Next is the hardy back to cover the front bricks and then tile. I am planning to use those big 16" sq. tiles. Something light and sandy...

Trip to the beach...

The family went to the beach on Sunday... I stayed home and did projects. I have three projects half finished.

Meghan too...

Here is Meghan at school during water day... They had a jumper with a bunch of 2 year olds in it. What you can't see is that it is nearly 90 degrees that day. The teachers were wilting...
Sean has soccer on Saturday mornings. But Meghan has really taken to the sport and is an excellent dribbler.

Fireplace project....

Sean and I are taking out the original brick work in fron of the fireplace. He is a good worker who listens to instructions and doesn't mind helping to clean.

Knotts Field Trip...

Sean and I went on a field trip with his pre-school troop this week. Sean successfully made it onto the school bus taking us the 3 miles to Knott's. There were a few moments of anxiety on various rides. The second picture is of us on the Log Jam ride. I carried him kicking and complaining the whole way. His fear was only matched by Ishika's. We had a lot of fun and hope to go to get to the circus in two weeks.

Sean's first day playing an organized sport....soccer (futbol)

So this was Sean's first day playing soccer. He did really well. He listened and paid attention to the coach. He was also able to successfully master all the drills like dribbling and passing. At the end Sean was a little upset that they didn't actually PLAY soccer. It seemed there was a lot of waiting in line. Oh, and it was HOT at 9am. As much fun as the kids were having, I think that the parents were more interesting to watch - Like helicopters at a freeway sig alert...Below are the pics...

What do "four and a zero's" do....

They join Rotary. I remember in high school, that many of our community leaders were members of Rotary. I am now able to position myself to start giving back to my community... Here are the pics of my being accepted as a Rotarian this week.

Gone fishin'...

Sean and I went fishin' for the first time. This is at Huckleberry Pond in the Santa Ana lakes. You just show up and they give you the pole, bait, bucket and stuff. They created a little pond and stock it with catfish. You can catch a fish almost immediately which is great b/c four year olds don't have much patience. The catch (pun) is that they charge $4.50/lb for the fish you catch. But at least they fillet them for you. We caught two fish in about an hour of fishing and it cost us (me) $21. At least we were able to cook them for dinner. Catfish is ok, I guess. I prefer trout. Here's the pics...

Jenn's Wedding...

I went to Florida for Jenn's wedding. It was very nice. Here is a picture of the kids and a picture of Jenn and her father.

Goofin' on a Saturday...

Here Wilson is taking one for the team....

A moment of time where these two are not at each others' throats. Even more amazing is that I photographed it.