Matt is BACK!

At this time every year Matt goes out of town for work for close to a month. This year he was able to come home a week early! He got in late last night so the kids got to see him when they woke up. Ella was so happy and at first just wanted to lay with him and cuddle. Then she immediately went in to daddy mode and wanted to wrestle and have piggy back rides and all the fun stuff you do with your Dad. Kash was a little shy at first, but quickly got over it. He finally let Matt pick him up and he put his head down on his shoulder and just laid there giving him hugs. It is so great to have DADDY home.

Ultimate Bath Time

My kids have always loved bath time but nothing quite compares to bath time at Nana and Papa's house! They loved their massive tub! I guess it reminded Ella of being at the pool because she would say, "look I'm swimming!" A few times they even had the bubbles so high that they were spilling over the sides.


One night after diving I was so cold that I decided to try out the tub! It is so relaxing, I never take baths but maybe I will have to start. I have a feeling it might not be quite the same in my tiny tub though...

Look A Like

Does Kash not look like the kid from A Christmas Story? My dad put his glasses on him and we were all dying laughing!

Almost

Ok so I am ALMOST completely certified. I have finished all of the book work, passed the final exam, and finished all of the skills in the pool. We went on our first beach dive and guess what, I didn't die. I am so happy! I did NOT sleep at all the night before the dive and was so sick to my stomach. Walking into those waves was so scary, I wanted to back out. When I had a wave knock me over with all of my gear on I was ready to cry and run back to the car! haha but once we got out there I was totally fine. It was the coolest experience ever! I am so glad that I did it and can't wait to do it again. We have 3 more dives to do (at Catalina) but aren't going to be able to do it this week because of bad weather. So we are going to have to make another trip to CA to finish it up and then I will be a certified scuba diver! Yay!

This is probably the most embarrassing picture I have ever posted of myself but I am feeling too proud to care too much. Now, I am not the skinniest person ever, but please keep in mind that we are each wearing two lumpy wet suits! (or thats my excuse anyways) haha Whitney looks good of course!

An update...

Matt is out of town for a few weeks on business so I brought the kids to my parents house in California. We are having tons of fun and I just can't get over how perfect the weather is. The kids are having so much fun playing OUTSIDE for a change! I have been super busy because I am getting certified for SCUBA diving!! When I got here my dad said he was going to pay for Whitney and I to get certified so I couldn't pass it up. We are taking private lessons to try to get it done in a week. Tonight will be my first time in the water (just in a pool of course) and I am to say the least...a bit nervous. I have a STRONG fear of drowning so scuba diving shouldnt be an issue right?:) I am hoping my next post will not say that I freaked out and sreamed and cried and ran away before I even got in the water. I do have motivation to do this though: My entire family is going to CANCUN in June! So my first real dive as a CERTIFIED scuba diver will be in the crystal clear oceans of MEXICO. My mom, dad, Matt, Nikki, and soon to be Whitney and I will all be able to dive while we are there. So I can't back out right?

Pirate Island

We took the kids to Pirate Island Pizza and it was a lot of fun. I had no idea how big it was and all of the stuff there was to do. They thought it was great that they could just run around and play games. We had a 45 minute wait to be seated, so all of that time was spent playing! I think more restaurants should have a play area for kids, I would definitely choose to go there when I knew there would be a wait!

They both had fun on the play set.

Kash didn't know what to think of the gun...

Ella LOVED the guns, she spent a lot of time "shooting"...or so she thought;) Here is Audrey helping her out.

The McLaws trademark: tongue out while concentrating. Matt got that from his Dad.

They could have stayed in that arcade all night. Ella cried and cried when it was time to go. She kept saying, "more games Mom, more games!"

Our attempt at a picture of the four of us.

We are definitely going back to this place, it is great to take the kids and make a night out of it. I recommend going if you have the chance.

Where is my trash can?

Last night I went outside to take out the trash and this is where my trash can was....


Matt's friends think they are pretty funny!

So Sweet

The other night we had some friends over to play games. We set Ella and Kash up in our room to watch a movie so we could have some "adult time." Matt went to check on them at some point and found them like this:

Kash vs Ella

Just before bedtime Kash and Ella had a full-on wrestling match. I heard them both laughing hysterically in my bedroom so I went to check it out. They were on my bed tackling each other! It was so funny to watch because even though they were doing choke holds and body slams they were laughing so hard! haha This went on for quite a while so I was able to take a few pictures.
Ella was being super aggressive, as you can probably tell. I was really surprised because Kash is obviously a lot bigger than her, and she knows he can take her! In fact, when Ella is crying or yelling for help, I usually find Kash sitting on her. They are too funny.

Jumpin' Jacks

I finally took the kids to Jumpin' Jacks and it was so fun! For those of you who don't know what it is, its an indoor place with TONS of bounce houses. It is so great for the kids to go and run around since it is so cold outside right now. I met Chelsey there and she brought her two girls. Kamryn and Brynlee are so adorable and our kids had so much fun playing together.

Kash trying to keep up with the girls...

Ella and Kamryn, Brynlee was having too much fun to pose for a picture.

Kash was so funny, he would randomly just lay down.

Ella HAD to go on the merry go round, so all 3 girls went together.

Kash and Ella in one of the rides.

They have an area where you can sit, eat, and play other games.

I thought Kash might be too little for all of this, but he loved it.

It gets pretty tiring...

I definitely recommend trying this out! Thanks Chelsey for hanging out with us!

Auntie Corinne

Corinne went to Disneyland over Christmas and brought Ella and Kash souvenirs. HUGE suckers. She gave Ella one that was literally as big as her head, and Kash's was just slightly smaller. She doesn't have kids yet so she likes to be the fun Aunt that can give the kids tons of sticky messy sugar! She thought it was great and so did the kids. Luckily after a few minutes I was able to distract Ella enough to hose her down and hide the suckers. Thanks Corinne.....you know I will be getting you back in a few years!:)

Christmas Morning

The kids were really fun this year. Ella especially was so excited about everything. Her stocking was a Dora backpack which she loved! She put it on right away and didn't want to take it off to open the presents that were inside. One of Kash's favorite presents was this dog that folds into a pillow. He loves soft things and kept laying on it all day. The real hit though was what Nana and Papa gave them. Their own bounce house! They loved playing in that thing and throwing the balls around. We had a really great Christmas and hope that next year everyone will be celebrating Christmas with us in our new house! Santa didn't deliver a new house like Ella asked for, but he is working on it! Late is better than never.