My babies are 4

Time is marching by. I can hardly believe it's been four years. But I must admit- having 3 four-year olds and an 8 year old is pretty dang fun. I think if I could freeze-frame time, this would be the moment in my life that I would like to enjoy forever. I have such sweet kiddos. How lucky am I? I'm trying to enjoy every little bit of life right now knowing that those dreaded teenage years are a mere blink away.

Here are Will and Nora on their birthday (back on June 24th):

Strong and Sassy

Enjoying the day at Liberty Park:

The birthday parties:

Will had a Diego Rescue Adventure party with outdoor fun...

...and Nora had an "All Girls, No Boys (or brothers!) Allowed Pink Princess Party"

Things I never want to forget about 4 year old WILL:

• Loves anything to do with a ball. Can play sports for hours.
• Has an insanely inquisitive mind. The questions never end.
  Definitely Nate's mini-me. He's like his dad in every way. Except for his cautiousness. (Not sure that's a word.) He got that from me. Sorry bud.
• Can beat any adult on Wii bowling. Trust me, his uncles have all challenged him and lived to rue the day.
• World's best (or maybe worst) back-seat driver. "Mom, gooooo!" (I can't bud. The light is red.) "Mom, go FASTER!" (I can't bud. This is a residential area.) And echoing the Garmin, "Mom, turn left. You're supposed to turn LEFT!" (In 0.3 miles bud.) On and on and on.
• Can out-whine anyone. Hands down.
• Insists on being carried in from the car. Which I should probably discourage but secretly adore. He buries his head in my neck and squeezes me tight. Oh that it may never end...
  
  

Things I never want to forget about 4 year old NORA:

• Nora is a perfect angel.
• No really, she is.
• "Mommy, I love you soooo much." I get to hear this about 20 times a day. Normally when she randomly comes to me for hugs and kisses. (See...perfect.)
• She laughs at anything and everything.
• She keeps up with her brothers just fine. Perfect blend of sensitive and tough. (See...perfect.)
• Much prefers her "pretty" toys to the dumb boy ones.
• "This is William. Me and him are twins." She loves telling anyone this little fact. And she insists on calling her brother by his full name.
• Regularly gives public singing performances. With full belt-style vibrato. In the grocery store. Driving down the rode. (She rolls down her window and serenades the world.) To the birds in the backyard. The neighbors love it, or at least they claim they do, but the have reported the need to close their windows when they are on the phone and Nora is in the middle of one of her concerts.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOODLES!

Now quit growing up so fast, okay?

Newport Beach

Holy smokes folks. I'm not sure I even remember how to post. Summer just flew by. (Right?) So I have a wee bit of catching up to do. Let's take it back to June, shall we...

The Horsley family headed to Newport Beach, CA for our annual family vacay. It was super fun (from what I remember). And being the awesome mom that I am I took tons of adorable pictures of my adorable kiddos and then promptly left/lost my camera in the bathroom at Legoland.

But here are the pictures I was able to gather from sibs and Nate's iphone. And you will just have to imagine in your mind's eye all the other shots of the kids...playing in the tide pools....discovering hermit crabs, lobsters, anemones, etc...the look of wonder on their beautifully sun-tanned faces. Yes, they were stinkin cute. I certainly hope whoever 5-finger discounted the camera from the bathroom stall is enjoying those pictures.

Tess on beach clean-up duty.

Picking strawberries

Oh and guys...Will got one too.

Baby Harrison (Dori's), 1 month

The infamous Legoland

Sea Life Aquarium

Dinner at The Ivy in L.A.

Tommy's Burgers was Nate's favorite place to eat on his mission when he served in Los Angeles a mere 22 years ago. And you betcha it's still there. (And still good!)

Nate and I were able to escape for a morning to Catalina Island for some scuba diving. Prettiest dive we've done to date (although not nearly as warm as Thailand unfortunately).

Yes, this may have been a full body shot, but I have made it a policy to never post pictures of myself in full-body spandex.

My brother's very fitting summary of our trip:

NEWPORT BY NUMBERS

4.5 - number of consecutive hours spent playing tennis by the Matts and Nate on Wednesday night (I have since confirmed that this is a new Newport Coast Villas record)

28 - Number of shirts packed by Chelsea for the trip, no I'm not joking. Apparently she never knows how she is going to feel and likes to "have options"

5,278 - number of times Tate has recounted the story of the "big downhill" at Disneyland (aka the Pirates of the Caribbean ride)

23 - number of times we listened to the "me song" from Tate's sing-along CD on the 10 hour drive home

16 - number of times I shanked my drive off the tee while golfing (mind you this is out of 18 holes)

70 - sun block grade handed out by Dad. I decided it would be easier and just as effective to wear a turtleneck down to the pool.

15 - number of minutes spent by Tyler enthusiastically describing his experience on the X2 ride at six flags. The description came complete with a reenactment and drawing session in which he diagrammed the coaster track with each twist and turn.

40 - number of minutes Crane spent playing the copycat game with Tate at Pomodoro in Laguna

4 - number of sushi restaurants Chelsea and I drove by before settling on Maki Maki sushi in the Irvine Spectrum. Never go there.

12 - number of movies that Eve brought on the trip. Apparently she was planning on being
really really really bored.

38 - number of ounces in the steak that Crane purchased at the Pavillions on girls night. Yes, he ate the whole thing.

**I am backdating this post to June so that it falls in the right place in the archives.

Tess' Baptism...Pioneer Style

We are so proud of our Tess. She was baptized June 6, 2009. In ice water.

The gas line to the font was broken. Which means that the water couldn't be warmed. Which means it felt like hose water. 'Cold' doesn't adequately describe it. Tess came out of the water gasping and immediately burst into tears, clinging to Nate in a sheer death grip. I started crying as well, not so much because I was feeling the spirit, but more because I was thinking, "Oh my word, what have we done to our baby?!?"

And then we went into the bathroom and all Tess could say between sobs was, "That was awful. That was the most horrible thing ever." And just as I had calmed her down, the next little 8 year-old girl walked into the bathroom after her plunge into the icy waters, crying her own little river. Folks, it was a dramatic day at the font.

But, after we had rubbed Tess' chilled skin warm and the color had returned to her cheeks, we talked to her about the pioneers who used to break the ice in a stream and get baptized right there because they didn't want to wait. And I think she felt better, more noble, like she was someone who'd had to sacrifice a little to prove her commitment to the Lord. Like a true martyr for the gospel.

We hope that in the end, it was a positive experience for her. I guess if nothing else, it was a memorable one.