El Nino!!

This week has been really rainy. I love the rain, probably because we don't get very much of it! And I really love when it pours and things get flooded. We have had rain every day, with three storms coming through since Monday. Thursday was the "big one". The news chanels were running "Storm Watch 2010", complete with it's own newly designed graphic, every hour. They said that the worst was coming sometime after 11 am. Isaac was at Joy School, and needed to be picked up at noon. I kept thinking that I should pick him up early and try to beat the rain. But the baby was sleeping, so I didn't want to wake him up.

I headed out the door about 20 to, leaving plenty of time to drive conservatively on the wet and already water logged roads. The rain had been steady all morning, but about a block away from the Joy School house, it started to come down harder and in bigger drops. I parked outside the house, left the babies in the car and ran.

By time Isaac got his shoes and jacket on, we looked out the door, and it was coming down in sheets. We took off running, Isaac clutching his papers to his chest, trying to keep them dry. At one point I had to carry him because the side walk was completely flooded, and I didn't want him to get too wet (lost cause anyway!). We were both soaked when we got to the car. He took off his jacket, while I stood there getting pelted by the rain and holding the umbrella.

Isaac was not too happy about being wet, and was pretty upset when he saw the desintigrating paper in his hands. I thought it was great! I was soaked to the bone, but it was fun and exciting. Until I turned on Carmel Mountain, and saw that the roads had turned into canals! The gutters were over filled and flooding halfway across either lane, and there was probably atleast an inch of rain across the whole road. I got to an intersection where I would usually go straight, but could turn. Except this time I couldn't do either.

The light was red, so I looked around, debating turning left, but there was a lake across that intersection, with a drain that I wasn't familiar how deep it was, so I couldn't judge how deep the water really was. in front of me was an intersection completely full of water, rushing down the hill from my left, across my lane, and hitting something that made it look like a rapid in the right lane.

The light turned green, and I didn't budge. There were only 2 cars behind me, going very slow, and not yet up to where I was, so I sat there and thought through my options. Of which I had very few! Could I sit there until the rain stopped and the floods subsided? What would I say to the rescuers who would have to save me and my 3 kids if I got stuck?!?!

I watched everyone around me, imagining the same grantic thoughts going through their heads. Suddenly (okay, not so suddenly, no one was going more than 10 MPH!) a little compact car traveling in the opposite direction went for it. His headlights were underwater at one point!! But he made it. About that same time, a truck to my right decided to go for it too. So I abandoned all my better judgement, and went for it!!! The truck was going too slow, so I passed him... I didn't want to get stuck, I wanted to get through and out of it.

Once we crossed the roaring river, I was laughing, and shaking, almost crying. It was such a weird rush, that I haven't felt in a while. Poor Isaac was freaking out. I tried to tell him to just look around and enjoy the craziness, it was an adventure.

We got home safely, and had to change every last item of clothes, I was soaked to the bone. And wouldn't you know it... 10 minutes later, the sun came out, the roads dried up to just creeks running along the gutter, and the worst of the storm had passed.

Disneyland!!

This year for Christmas my parents got the boys Disney passes. On Thursday we went up to get them and Aaron had his first glimpse of the happiest place on Earth.

My parents wanted to take the boys up Thursday afternoon and stay the night at a hotel. I wanted to go up Thursday afternoon as well, but was too cheap to get a hotel. Ben and I were going to stay at home and then join them on Friday. Then I decided to ask Ben's aunt Sandy if we could crash at her place in Orange County.

I made arrangements for Jillian to get picked up early and made arrangements with Sandy for us to stay with her. Too bad Ben didn't understand that in order for us to leave around 230, he had to be HOME around 230. (For being such a smart guy, sometimes the simple things really escape him). So Wednesday night he informed me that he had a meeting until 3.

So I called my parents, and made plans for them to pick up the boys, and we would meet them later. So my dad talked me into taking Roman out of school early so that they could leave even earlier.

I told Roman Wednesday night that I was going to pick him up from school at lunch time, so on Thursday, he woke up early and told daddy that he had to draw me a map so that I would know where to pick him up, because I didn't know where he ate lunch at. How cute is he?!? I LOVE having a kindergartner!

So I picked Roman up early and my dad came and got the two


big boys, and they were off! Then Jillian got picked up, and the baby and I were left pacing the floors waiting for daddy to get home.

By time we got up to Disneyland, parked, paid $300+ for our own tickets and actually got INTO the park... it was after 6 pm, and they closed at 8! It was weird for the baby's first Disneyland experience to be in the dark, but he didn't mind. We called my parent's, but they were on Pirates

and weren't answering, so we went over to Fantasyland (because I didn't know they were on Pirates, and thought they would be in Fantasyland). The baby's very first ride was the carousel. He didn't like it at first, but one he got used to it, he had a good time. Then of course, we had to take him on Dumbo. He liked that one a lot.

We reunited with my parents and the boys after Dumbo and went over to Small World. The baby did not really like that one too much. I was sitting there thinking, wow, he's not crying... and then the floodgates opened.

Isaac on the other hand, LOVES Small World. They still have the Christmas lights and theme throughout the ride. So the song alternates between "It's a Small World" and "Jingle Bells"... Isaac's 2 favorite songs in the whole world! He sang the whole ride... all FOUR times that we went in those two and a half days!

We all went on Dumbo again, just because we could, the line was really short. Isaac and I raced to a yellow Dumbo, and then we saw daddy and the baby walking along looking for a Dumbo. Aaron was holding the magic feather... until he suddenly decided it would be fun to throw it... into the water. I guess they don't have any back up magic feathers, because as soon as our ride was over, they had to try to fish it out!

Thursday night we stayed until the park closed at 8. Then we had to fight the rest of the crowd that was also leaving to go get dinner. We ended up at a Burger King in the good part of town at about 9 pm. You could tell just how bad the area was when you had to use a token or pay for the bathrooms.

Then we went our seperate ways to our lodgings. I tried to keep the baby awake so that Sandy could at least see him. We felt bad that the other boys weren't going to be able to visit, but they were beyond ready for bed. We got to Sandy's at a quarter to 10, and the baby was wide awake and ready to play. We visited for half an hour or so, and then headed up to bed. Aaron has never been a co-sleeper, but he was just crying in the pack and play. So i brought him into bed, where he quickly passes out right in the middle. So cute. (I did transfer him to the pack in play so that I could get some sleep).

Aaron slept from 11 pm to 650 am (he has the weirdest internal clock... no matter what time he goes down, always up at 650!). Crazy kid. And the only nap he took on Friday, was the tail end of the Nemo ride.

Friday was a lot of fun. I really enjoy Disneyland, and I enjoy seeing the boys have a good time.

We started on the Matterhorn, Roman's first time ever. He liked it, but didn't love it.

I don't know why, but we actually didn't get a whole lot done at Disneyland. We have a few staples that we ALWAYS do, that we didn't get in before our 3 o'clock lunch. That's the nice thing about having passes though.

We headed out to Downtown Disney for lunch, and they over to CA Adventure, were they had to show us the new ride first. It was a lot of fun. The boys had gone on it twice the night before, so they were telling us how to play. It is like 5 different carnival games and you play head to head. I was aiming at first, and Roman was beating me. About the third game, I realized it was about quantity, not quality, and just started shooting like crazy. Finally in the end I did beat my 5 year old son :)

My favorite ride is the Tower of Terror. I rarely get to go on it (besides the not going to D-land too often) because on other visits I've been pregnant, or it's just Ben and me with the boys. So I asked my parents to take the boys so that Ben and I could go on it.

I think it was about 6 pm, and my mom was done for the day. They still needed to stop at the store to get something for the TX girlies, and then there is the venture out to the car that can take the better part of the hour. So we said our thank yous and good byes.... and we headed back over to Disneyland.

The boys were tired, but Isaac wanted to go on Casey Jr. So we layed back the seat of the single stroller, and packed both big boys into it and headed back to Fantasyland. As we were walking past the Carousel and Dumbo, the baby pointed and wanted to go on those. So we ended up staying for another hour and a half! I was impressed that the boys made it that long... but mostly impressed that Ben did!

We finally left the park about 8 and were on the road by 9. The boys were asleep before we even got to the exit ramp of the parking structure!!

So I am now looking for anyone else who has season passes and wants to spend a few hours at the Happiest Place on Earth with me and the boys :) Let me know if you are interested!

My Goofy Baby

Aaron is a real goof. I love his guttural laugh. And he is talking a lot these days. Please excuse the mess in the back ground... never ending laundry. And be impressed with Roman's camera skills :)

Aaron's vocab includes:

cat, dog, ball, bye, night night, more (including rough sign), and he tries to say new things every day.

I love this baby!!!

Brookie got a chance to dig herself out of the snow and enjoy a few days of San Diego sunshine.

We started the beautiful day with a morning run. Bonding time between sisters, Dana was there too, so tender. Until pushed her "into traffic" as she would put it, and she got some mad road rash. For the record, there was no traffic, it was 530 am, and I... ahem, was trying to get her to fun behind the cars that had just gotten a green light. She skinned her hand pretty wicked but was a real trooper. I gave her my shirt to wrap around it (don't worry, I run in like 12 layers, so I was

still plenty dressed) and she wanted to run the 8 miles instead of our regular 6. At our last chance to turn around, I talked her into just going back before she lost too much blood. So we headed back to assess the damage. The hand was bad, she cried, screamed, woke the boys up, and finally we got it (kinda) cleaned and really bandaged. Then she checked the knees, a few little playground scratches, not too major. She also slid on her belly, so she pulled up her shirt, and there was asphalt in her waistband.

She survivied the first outting, went home, showered, and then headed back to my house for a day out with the boys. Ben had the whole week off, so the idea was to give him a whole day to get some things done around the house.

First we went to the WAP. What was it... December 29th. Well, I guess a lot of people have that whole week off. It was nice at first, we got there early and got a nice parking spot.


We saw about everything that we wanted to see, and started heading out. It was RIDICULOUS!!! We were fighting crowds to get out, and there were lines all the way to the parking lot to get in. Man, I was glad to be leaving!!!

So we decided it was too early to call it a day, and way to beautiful. So we decided to go to the Children's pool, or whatever it's called, to see the seals. Roman was really tired and wanted to go home. So we dropped him off with Ben.

The weather was PERFECT. And the waves were so peaceful. My only complaint was again,

ALL the people!!! We finally got a parking spot, I even parallel parked!! By then, Isaac was asleep. But we couldn't give up. We were on a mission. I got Isaac out and carried him for a bit.
Once he woke up, he was in a great mood. We had to walk a ways to get to the seals, but we stopped in a few different places to see the waves and the tidepools. The baby fussed that he wanted to get down, so we let him play in the sand for a while.

It was a great day, and I am so greatful to live in such a beautiful city. We definitely pay for it

, So I like when we are able to get out and just enjoy the sights :)

Thanks Brookie for a memorable day!! Love you.

Family Time

I just spent the better part of an hour in bed with my boys doing puzzle books. Roman and I were doing word searches, Isaac was doing hidden pictures, and Ben was reading his Glen Beck book. It was so much fun and just nice to be together. Such a simple thing, but it made me love and appreciate my family that much more. I really am so blessed.

Christmas 09 Pics

Roman tying up Isaac's helmet and scooter for the day. Roman's helmet is Transformers, and he wore it ALL day long! I can't believe I didn't get a pic of that! I LOVE the chaos after the presents are opened :)

Tired daddy and baby. Don't know if they will EVER do the 6 am thing.

Christmas morning set up.

Our tree :)

Christmas 2009

This year, as I mentioned, we were not doing a lot of presents. The boys just got scooters and helmets and some little gizmos in their stockings. We bought for the nieces and nephews, and got in on a few group gifts for my parents and grandparents. It was hard to not rush out and buy more, just because every one else was! There were sales everywhere, and every one I saw would ask how much more we had to do. No more.

Christmas eve came, and it was time to wrap and stuff. Stockings might be the most magical part of Christmas. I honestly do not know how a full grocery bag of things can fit into a stocking, and hang on a little hanger all night. It was quite amazing.

Christmas around the Kerby household was always the same thing. I would toss and turn all night, unable to sleep. We weren't allowed to wake up until 6 am.... so on the dot, I would run around waking my sisters up, and then we would all flood into mom and dad's room. My dad would tell us to go back to sleep, that the rules had changed, we would whine and argue that we had waited until 6. Then he would say he needed to shower and shave, we would whine a little more. Finally he would get up and go take pics of the tree and all the presents. Then he would come back and we would all go out together. We each picked a corner of the living room, I being the oldest usually snagged the couch :) and got to ripping into presents.

The Garcias adopted a similar routine. Except that our boys can't tell time, so they slept in until 715! Yay! Except my dad called at 630 to see if we were up. (When we went over for breakfast later, we found out that he had called Brooke at 630 too... on her phone, in her room down the hall. Poor dad, no one wanted to play the 6 am game any more) The boys came in our room, and had to wait for the baby to wake up. At 730 I checked on him, and he was just starting to wake up, so I grabbed him, and we went out to the tree. I took some pics before the boys could touch anything, and then all bets were off as they tore into everything under the tree.

Some how this year, we got the balace just right. Other years we had gotten them too many presents, to where they were overwhelmed and didn't appreciate any one thing. Last year I actually got them too few presents.... well, I had specified that I only wanted clothes for the kids, so that was what they got. They weren't neglected, and they had a lot of packages, but once they were open, there wasn't much to play with. This year was perfect. They loved the scooters, they loved the little $1 video games in their stockings... they loved everything. (It would have been too little if it hadn't been for presents from family and friends, but that was part of the equation.)

After opening presents and showering, we went over to my parents. My mom always makes a huge breakfast, with waffles, eggs, bacon, little smokies, and all the fixin's. We were late to breakfast, and got dirty looks from the sisters who were waiting on us to open presents, but that passed quickly as we filled our plates and tummys with good food.

For Christmas (and their birthdays) this year, my parents got the boys season passes to Disneyland. A very huge and very exciting gift.... but hard to understand for little boys. So my mom also got them Christmas snowglobes when they were on super sale... those were possibly the boys favorite toys of the whole day. Roman loves music boxes and Isaac loves Christmas songs. I think he can sing all 25 of the ones that his snowglobe plays. When we go to Disneyland later this month, they will realize how cool their grandparents are, but that day the concept was a little out of reach for them.

We rounded off the day at my grandparent's house with the other Kerby family. Their boys are all at school, so it is so rare to see the whole family together. It was a nice relaxing afternoon without presents or a lot of hub bub. Just family, the second reason for the season. My grandma is so funny though. We don't like to have her host things because she will exhaust herself baking and cooking and setting up. So she said she was just going to have snacks, like cheese and beefstick and crackers. We got there, and she had a whole ham. I gave her a hard time about all the food, and she said, well, it's just snacks. I don't know the last time that the boys said they wanted a snack and I offered them a whole ham!!!

Christmas was a lot of fun. I am enjoying my boys so much. I love that Roman and Isaac are at an age where they understand a lot more, and we can teach them the real reason that we celebrate Christmas. I also love that the baby is just figuring things out and that everything is new and amazing to him.

I realized about 3 paragraphs in that I forgot to put up pics. So I will post those seperately.

Well...

... I blew it.

I forgot to open the present to Jesus until AFTER they had torn through all their presents! So we opened it, and talked about how good we felt to do nice things for others, and how happy we made Jesus and Heavenly Father. But I had to tell them repeatedly to stop playing with their toys.

Next year we will do it again, and we will open the present on Christmas EVE.