A general update with A LOT of new pictures!

Hi everyone,

Here are some of the latest photos from here. I'll put little comments explaining them as they appear. We hope you are all doing well. Stay in touch!

Shell did a swap with some of her friends. The theme was the children story "The Gruffalo" or something like that. Anyway, she received little outfits of characters from the story, and Layla is trying on the snake and mouse ones.

These pictures were of the Easter egg hunt that the kids had. The plastic eggs were filled with chocolates and toys and the kids had a fun time.

Due to the weather turning colder, we have moved the kids picnic table into the house. They were eating popcorn and watching Toy Story 2.

Shell and I learned a valuable lesson the other day...when Layla is quiet, it isn't necessarily a good thing. Layla had a good time playing with Shell's make up bag!

We have been woken up the past few mornings by Layla SCREAMING for Shell from her crib...so, we have decided that it's time for her to sleep in a big girl bed. We took the front off of her crib and she loves it! Saying that though, tonight we were watching TV after putting the kids to bed. The cat was down the hall and we heard Layla say hi to her. Shell walked back there only to find that Layla had her puppy in her doll's stroller and was walking it around her room. So...it continues to be a work in progress.

Shell has been helping her friend make slings, and one of their products is a kiddy sling. Here is Layla sporting the latest fashion...too cute.

We also tried to get Talor to ride his bicycle without training wheels. He REALLY wanted to until he realized just how wobbly the bike became without them. It didn't last long and the training wheels are now back on the bike. Again...a work in progress.

I have also been able to play softball a few times these past few weekends. It's been a lot of fun and the kids have had fun too. Talor and Layla were able to run around the park like crazy and REALLY liked all of my girl's softball gear. They are probably already good enough to play for the Arizona Diamondbacks, but need to improve their skills a bit before they are good enough to play for the greatest team in baseball...the Detroit Tigers!

Talor's New Digs

Hi again,

Yesterday we found a cool set of bunk beds for a great price and were able to pick them up and put them together. Talor was so excited and decided that he wanted to sleep on the top bunk. So...last night was the first time and he has been excited about sleeping ever since. Eventually Layla will be on the bottom bunk, but for now we'll leave it empty (especially since we still need to get another mattress for it). Enjoy the photos and stay in touch when you can.

2009 Pakuranga College Senior Girls Softball Champions

Hi everyone,

For those of you who didn't know, I have had the priveledge of coaching the 2009 senior girls softball team for Pakuranga College. The girls didn't have the best 2008 but turned it around this year. They won all eight games and had a lot of fun. Here are some of the photos from the last game against Selwyn College. Congratulations girls!

Final Scores:

Game 1 - 17-0, Game 2 - 5-2, Game 3 - 9-3, Game 4 - 15-0, Game 5 - 20-1, Game 6 - 5-1, Game 7 - 23-4, Game 8 - 7-0

Aimee and Dougal's Wedding

Hi everyone,

Last night we went to Shell's cousin's wedding. Everyone looked nice and had a good time. Here are some of the pictures of the night. The little girl that Talor was playing with is his cousin Ayla. She looked so cute! There is also a picture of the wedding cake that Shell made. It looked and tasted great and I think a huge weight was lifted off of Shell's shoulders after it had been delivered.

Nothing new really...

Hi everyone,

Nothing new here, but I just thought I would add some new pictures. One of Talor's many girlfriends (below) has moved away to Australia so that has been sad news for him. At least he still has the three girls next door.

Both kids are growing like weeds and doing well. Shell and I are also fine and staying above water with the chaos of me working far away and coaching two nights a week. By the way, my girls softball team is now 3-0 and doing well. Their play is not pretty, but it's effective!

Summer is coming to an end so we are hanging on to the warm weather for as long as we can. Today, Shell and I are celebrating our 6th anniversary by going out to dinner and a movie. It's hard to believe she has kept me around for six years!

Have a good weekend everyone, and stay in touch when you can.

February Update

Hi everyone,

Here are some of the latest photos of the kids. Talor was goofy and not really wanting his picture taken. On the other hand, Layla was more than happy to pose for the camera. Enjoy!

This is also one of Shell's latest ventures...she made plum jam, peach/nectarine jam, and marrow chutney. Isn't she good?