Latest goings on...

There have been many goings on since X-mas. But mostly we have been just kicking back and having fun...
Here is Silvia and Meghan on a Sunday morning.

Sean recently lost a second tooth.

At 5 yrs old, Sean is already an avid FPS PC gamer. He likes Republic Commandos. It is all about the Star Wars.

The Yermacks go fishing...

So I had invited Warren to go fishing a month or so back in an email. What I didn't realize was that the exclusion of his sister Cassie made it all that more important. It was always my intention to include everyone who wanted to go. In the end, it was Sean who wanted to stay home.

Warren initiated himself into the sport of fishing by playing with the net and falling into the lake.
Warren then recovered by cathing a 2 lb catfish in the middle of winter.
But it was Cassie who led the way with two fish caught. The first was a little farm trout and then she simulteneously caught a catfish of equal size to her brother. At $4.50/lb our trip was concluded.

The joke of the day was that a catfish is so dumb that it is dead and doesn't know it yet. And when it finally realizes it is dead the information isn't of any use to it.

Here is a picture of the girls before bed on New Year's Eve.

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.