We have a new girl in the family now. Welcome Ruby!

This weekend I finally picked up my little girl from my friend Brian. She is a leopard gecko that was born with a deformed tail and trusted to us to take care of. Brian is a great guy and runs a site called geckodaddy.com where he sells some pretty stunning animals. Anyhoo the kids went crazy and our little Hazel nut couldn't get enough of Ruby. She actually laid down on the counter next to the cage and watched in amazement as Ruby slept. Then she laid her head down next to the glass and tried to cuddle with her. It was cute I tell ya... cute. Don't believe me, well then check out the picture


See... I told you so. Anyway we have some fun little kids. Check them out.

Happy Birthday

Today is 7-eleven, which is also Lucy's birthday. So we started off the day with a free slurpee over at 7-eleven. Then it was off to the Discovery garden down at Thanksgiving Point. That was very disappointing because nothing was open and there were ravenous mosquitoes sucking us dry as we walked the paths. After that we stopped off at the local Red Cross to top off and went to lunch at the local Carl's Jr. It was Lucy's choice so we thought it would be nice since the one we went to had a play area. OH MAN was that a mistake. Our kids got stuck in the play area and were screaming for us to help them. It was SOOOOOOO upsetting. I had to try and crawl up the dang slide to drag Lucy out kicking and screaming. Then Dexter decided to take the cue from her and pitch his own fit. The place he was was too small for Rainbow or I to squeeze into so he just sat there and screamed. ARRRGH! Never again will I let them go into a place that I cannot go.

So that was enough "fun" for us that day. Any more and I would have had to give them the "slap of love". These are trying times folks. So we came home and worked on the cake while the kids napped. Then they got up and it was dinner and cake followed by their new favorite thing... High School Musical 3. The wife got Lucy a Wildcat cheer leading outfit for her birthday so when we put the movie on and she put on the outfit she started yelling "What team!"... (Wildcats we'd answer) just like they do in the movie. She is so darn cute when she isn't throwing a fit. If she would just realize that if she stopped all that screaming she would be able to ask us for the world and we would give it willingly. As it was we almost took all of her presents back today. Yeesh! Anyway happy birthday little Lucy... you make our lives interesting.

The Weekend

I spent this weekend reading. It all started when I rented the City of Ember and was totally left wanting answers and details that were seriously lacking in the movie. So I went down to the library and picked up the book. I started it last week and finished it up Friday, Saturday I wen to the library again and found out that there are currently 4 books for the series. So Saturday I read The People of Sparks and today I started The Prophet of Yonwood.

It is amazing what you can do when you cut out TV time...

Anyway, my wife just found out that she passed her test in school and I am very proud of her. She is awesome and a good guesser apparently. ;) Sorry honey I couldn't resist. The fireworks display this year was bigger and better than last year. I doubled the amount of moola I planned to spend on them, but the highlight was this firework that shot an army man with a parachute into the air and then it's parachute opens and it floats back down. I think I liked it more than Dexter did, but we both took off running after it. That was awesome. I had those little army guys with parachutes when I was a kid and I always wanted to get them high enough to let them have some hang time. The best I got was the top of the stairs, which almost wasn't worth it. This one satisfied that desire in me all over again. In fact, when they put the fireworks on sale this year I plan to go an buy as many as I can to do it all over again.

New Tradition

Tonight we made frozen bananas for a 4th of July treat. I love frozen bananas, but rarely ever make them or have them so this was real fun for me. It was so fun in fact I think we are going to have to make it a new 4th of July tradition. My wife waned coconut on 'em, but I think coconut is nasty so we made some others with almonds and the kids pitched in with the Jimmies. After dinner they were frozen and the kids got to dig in. It was sooo funny watching them eat those things. Hazel looked like she had a beard or at least a real bad 5:00 shadow made out of chocolate. They were smiling ear to ear and their little white teeth stuck out against the dark chocolate circles around their mouths. We have some pictures of the fun so hang in there and I'll get to them sometime soon.

Lotsa Pictures

We just got back from a great vacation out to California and we have a ton of pictures. The slide-shows give a good overview of the fun events. Dexter got to celebrate his birthday in the magic kingdom and he had an awesome time. Lucy got to meet her favorite princesses face to face which proved to be too much for her to take. Hazel was loving life and although she spent a lot of time in the stroller she had a great time too. We also went to Legoland and it was a great time. The new pirate section of the park was wonderful, but the Aquarium was a bit of a let down. I must say that even Monterey Bay Aquarium was a let down for me so Legoland shouldn't feel so bad about it. I do however like how they designed it for kids by creating tunnels into the inside of the aquarium that they can then pop up in the middle of. That was pretty cool. We also got to go to my old stomping grounds in San Clemente CA. It was the first time the kids had gone to a beach with "waves" and they had a blast. Lucy liked it until one knocked her over, then she wouldn't go near the water. :) Funny, but events like that will keep people from venturing into the waves for the rest of their lives. Hopefully she will get over it when she gets to the beach again.

One of the best things we enjoyed was seeing the family and getting all the kids together. They had a blast and we quickly found out that this batch of kids is a motley crew for sure. One is like a little wrestler and will take on anyone. Unfortunately that means you ALWAYS have to keep your guard up or he may clobber you when you least expect it. It was real great to see all the friends and family and I really wish we all lived closer. Enough talk, lets see some pictures!

Happy B-Day

As you can see Hazel turned 1. Hurray! We all hoped we'd see the cake fly and we were not let down one bit. Rainbow made a rainbow heart cake for Hazel and cupcakes for the rest of the clan. Yummy! :) Hazel went crazy and the pictures tell the tale pretty accurately this time. The video is still in the camera because I just got my computer back together today... hence the post. Our next big thing will be a quick trip to Disneyland. Can't wait for that. Dexter just started soccer and we got him all ready to go but the rain canceled his first game this week. :( He was upset.

Hazel also started attempting to take steps. She had been standing for a week or so but has had no real interest in trying to walk around. She just stands up, looks around and then drops back down to go where she needs to go. It reminds me of those prairie dog-ish animals that you see on Discovery Channel. Well I was out mowing the lawn and my wife pops her head out all excited... of course I missed it. Today though the rumor was verified as I sat on the cozy chair and watched as she stood up, looked around and then stomped a few paces like she was trying to put out a fire or something, and then came crashing down on her tush. Exciting.

More Easter Pictures

I really don't have much to say but I do have some cute pictures to share. I've been letting Rich do all my blogging lately so I really should change the name. It's not so much Rainbow's Place anymore. Oh well. This blog really is about the Grandparents, so as long as it gets done, I am okay with whoever posts.
Easter was easy and great. The kids loved their baskets. They all got hats, sunglasses, flip-flops and those things that will be essential for out trip to California next month.
In upcoming news; Hazel will be ONE next Friday! I can't believe how time flies. She is growing up so fast and she has such a cute little personality. I love watching my kids grow up. Dexter will also be starting soccer on April 25th. Rich is planning on dragging out the video camera for that so look forward to video of the chaos that is 3/4 years running around on a soccer field with no idea of what they should be doing.
I hope you enjoy the pictures. They are from Easter and then a few of the adorable little dress-up outfit my Mom got Hazel for her birthday.