Spring Blossom

One of our favorite activities whenever we are back in Torrance is visiting the local farmer's market. Once there the girls love to make a bee-line for the stand that offers free Gerber daisies for kids. Chloe picked one up on Tuesday morning, then later that day visited twin friends Annika & Sophia and picked a fresh lemon from one of their trees. She loves homemade lemonade, but she had a different idea - making the lemon into a vase. A great idea! Give it a try the next time you pick some flowers!

Park Fun

Brooke is 20-months-old now - a totally fun age. She's talking up a storm now -- we just can't figure out what she's saying! She loves the park and being outside doing just about anything. Her big accomplishment this week has been learning how to climb out of her pack-n-play. After 3 successful attempts today at nap time, it's time to consider some additional baby/toddler-proofing needs!

Shootin' the Moon

I can still recall my dad breaking out our telescope one clear summer evening nearly 40 years ago to show my brothers & I the moon. What kid hasn't been mesmerized by a full moon at some point? It was fun to relive some of that excitement through my girls last week as we set up the camera to capture this picture of a nearly full moon. Take a good look and relive some of your own dreams & memories...

Happy Birthday, Janelle!

Janelle notched her second birthday here in AZ over the weekend. To celebrate, we packed the kids in the car and headed for Joe's Farmhouse Grill, a great spot we first heard about watching the Food Network one night last year. Nothing fancy, but the food rocks! Much of what they cook with is grown right there on the farm. There's some great run-around space for the kids, a great walk around the farm, and a good playground a short walk away. And the diner offers free dinner on your birthday!

Janelle is a huge blessing to our family, and to many others as well. We thank God for her (not nearly enough, I'm sure). Janelle, may 2009 be the best year yet! Happy birthday!

Summer 'dos

As the East coast digs itself out from the latest snow storm, summer seems to be knocking on our door here in AZ. Over the weekend the temps were in the high 80s. Crazy, but nice! To celebrate the warmer temps, all the Stoops girls except baby Brooke are now sporting new, shorter hair. Don't they look fabulous?!!

In the barn

Fun shot of the family. This was taken over Christmas break visiting a friend's horses & mules in Palos Verdes. The girls had great fun feeding the animals carrots & apples and watching them all kick around & play when they were let loose to run around. They even got to sit on a real saddle. Thanks, Tom, for having us over!

"Hey, hey we're the Stoops girls..."

".... People say we monkey around, but we're too busy playing to put anybody down."

At the Worksite

One of the things keeping Janelle busy these days is a Daisy Scouts troop (Girl Scouts) that she started up and is leading. Back in November, the girls in the troop, including Elise & Chloe (far right) visited a nearby home being constructed by Habitat for Humanity to hand out bag lunches to the construction workers. We're proud of how all these girls worked hard to support a great cause in our own backyard.

Bathing Beauties

Bath time is also met with great excitement in our house... at least by the girls! What could be more fun for kids than hopping into a tub of water filled with toys?!

8 Years & Counting

Before heading back to AZ, we took advantage of the world's best babysitters - Nana & Papa Peterson - to sneak out for an early anniversary celebration. 8 years, 4 kids, and a heaping measure of God's grace later, we're going stronger than ever! As we close out 2008, it is with truly thankful hearts for a loving God who, among other blessings, brought us together in the unlikeliest of places (a remote city on the Central Asian steppe) back in 1999. Many of you have been a part of our journey before & since then, and we give God thanks for you, too! We wish His best for you in 2009. Happy New Year!

Happy Times at the Pier

A trip to the pier was a must for us while in Torrance for Christmas. Of course, after the pelican episode (see below), we may start thinking otherwise, but it is REALLY hard not to relax and have fun walking around the pier, especially at sunset. Our girls had a great time there with their cousin Lily snacking on churros and watching the sea lions and pelicans. May 2009 bring many more visits to Torrance and the pier!

2009 Resolutions

We resolve, in 2009, to teach our children the dangers of engaging pelicans on the pier...

Yes, this is the guy who seemed friendly enough for Chloe to want her picture with him. Had I known how unpredictable he could be, I wouldn't have ventured the close-up shot above... The pelicans and people on the pier seemed to be mixing well enough that it seemed fine for Chloe to stand near one for a photo. A very brief moment after snapping the shot below, however, Chloe attracted the attention of most of the folks on the Redondo Beach pier when the pelican decided he'd go on the offensive. Faster than you can shoot a herring in a barrel, he swung around and put his lengthy beak to work with a quick snap at Chloe's tummy. Let me just say that I way underestimated the speed and reach of these goofy looking birds! I think Chloe had her fill of the limelight. Now... what adventures could 2009 hold for us...?

P.S. - Chloe is a professional. Do NOT try this at home!

Merry Christmas 2008!

For the past several years, I've enjoyed trying to get a good shot of our Christmas trees and decorations as a way of documenting these fun family memories. We spent Christmas day (plus some extra time) back in Torrance with Janelle's family, but we still enjoyed setting up a tree to enjoy beforehand at our home in Arizona. So... here is the 2008 shot of the Stoops family Christmas tree.

Christmas Delight

Elise is great at bringing back memories of my own childhood and the incredible sense of anticipation experienced at Christmas time. It was fun to watch her delight at checking under the tree and think about what lay still hidden beneath the colorful paper and shiny bows, especially anything that had her name on it!

Brooke enjoying some Christmas goodies

At 18-months-old, Brooke is at a very fun age -- EVERYTHING is new, exciting, adventurous, and worth exploring, including Christmas treats! Here she is enjoying a cupcake at her Uncle Dave & Auntie Anne's house on Christmas evening.

Ballerina #2

Elise was absolutely stunning in her Christmas ballet performance (see below for a photo of Chloe's). She danced to a French Christmas carol that was as beautiful as the dancing, and she glowed the entire time. She really shines when she gets on the stage, and seems to have a God-given gift for dance.

Ballerina #1

Chloe & Elise had a FABULOUS ballet performance to finish out there first session at the local "Leap of Faith" dance studio. Both of them did a tremendous job, and, as you can see from the photo, Chloe had a wonderful time performing. I'll edit this post later to include a link to a YouTube video of her performance if I can figure out how to do it.

Thanks, Santa!

I wished I'd had a better angle on this shot, but it still captures some of Chloe's excitement as she received her gift (a sleigh bell) from Santa on the Polar Express.

Wide-Eyed Excitement

Our one concern in heading off to our Polar Express adventure was that 17-month-old Brooke would freak out when she saw Santa and spend the rest of the train ride clinging to us as she recovered. We were ecstatic when she instead encountered Santa with the kind of wide-eyed excitement that makes you want to be a kid again!

Polar Express 2008

Quick family photo for hopping aboard the Polar Express in Williams, AZ. We first heard about this from our good friends, the Youtseys, and decided to give it a try now that we're living in AZ. It was 6 hours of driving with 4 little ones in the back seats for a 90-minute train ride, but we still thought it was well worth it! The area was snow-covered when we arrived, which certainly added to the ambience. Upon boarding the train, cookies and hot cocoa are served, followed by a reading of the popular children's book The Polar Express. Shortly after that you arrive at the North Pole, a huge facade of a village done in Christmas lights, where Santa boards to greet each child and give them a gift (a sleigh bell - and a surprisingly nice one at that!). On the return journey to the train depot, everyone is led in singing Christmas carols (on our car, Elise, our little performer, helped lead the singing on most of the songs!). Lodging is available right next to the station. We didn't stay there, but know that it is available should you consider making the trek to Williams for yourself!