Here are some pictures that we took from this weekend. Here is Zoey outside of the Long Beach Aquarium. If you watch Grey's Anatomy, I think she looks like meredith on the show in this picture:





Here she is inside the aquarium. it is a fun place for us to go. We race through it in just about an hour and always stop at something different. Outside is lots of stuff to run around and see as well, so it always makes for a neat half day.



here is Max walking through a little maze thing. He loves the fish for about 20 minutes and then wants to play. His favorite are the Jellyfish- he knows exactly where they are!!


Not much else happened this weekend. Hope you all are well.

I am just testing something, so this is just a photo of us

eBay, MILK and Paper People

What??? Do any of these things go together? Sort of. So for those of you who have never experienced bidding on ebay, let me tell you, it can get pretty intense. Laugh if you will, but any time I do it, I get so caught up in the bidding that my heart is beating like crazy when it is all through and if we won the item, it is time to celebrate, if we didn't win, you feel really let down and disappointed. And what gets people is that when your in the bidding race you get so into it that you often spend more than you say you would, because you just don't want to lose! We have only done this a couple of times, but it is really fun. Ross finds a lot of parts for his chopper on ebay for a really good deal, and this was the case a couple of days ago. He wanted to bid on two different items that were ending at the same time! So we set up a command post, I was on one computer, Ross was on the other, ready to bid and WIN!! I know it sounds a little silly, but for me, I don't even care about the thing I am trying to get, actually I don't even know what I am bidding for most of the time, and I still get into it!! So we sat down with about five minutes to go. We checked on the kids, they were both playing fine, so the bidding began. Long story short, we were successful! So Ross spent his Christmas cash on chopper parts, Mom and Dad:) And is very excited about it. As we were in the midst of craziness talking to each, I kept hearing the refridgerator door open. As many of you know, Max LOVES milk and he often goes into the fridge and brings you the gallon of milk. Well, while we were busy, he did this:





All he said was, "look, mom-mom, daddy, MILK!!" It was hilarious. And two of those are full!! He's a pretty strong little dude who really wants his milk.

As for the paper people, I am changing the subject. Zoey has started this, all on her own, and we may be sending one to YOU in the near future. She takes paper and cuts or rips out bodyparts (like body, head, arms, legs, ears, etc) and puts them together with tape or staples to make characters and people!! And she puts faces on them. Sometimes she makes a ball for them to carry or kick. They are really good. So here they are, it might be a little hard to see, but you get the picture:



Signing off for now- self-proclaimed ebay bidding CHAMPION!!

Eternal January

Is it just me, or does January seem to last forever? I feel like this month should be over already!! I think it is because it starts on New Years (yeah I know, duh... but stick with me) and at that time you are still in the holiday spirit, probably on vacation and just not in the normal routine. And yet, it is still the same month that we are in today, and it is only 22 days later!! It isn't even close to being done. I used to really hate January in Massachusetts because it was always so cold and so dark, like one continuous freezing night with a few light hours that you looked at through the window but didn't venture out to, thus really feeling never- ending. (don't worry, I already know I could never live in Alaska) All I am saying is just give some days to February, already!! I figured there was a possibility that I may be solo on my thoughts and observations, but not so... Some guy has determined through some self-derived equation that today, Monday, January 22, is actually the most depressing day of the year. Now I wouldn't go that far, but he made up this fancy equation that calculated how many days it had been since the holidays and how much money we are in debt compared to what we paid and how long we have in the future to look forward to something new. Seems that his equation always figures some Monday in late January to be a pretty depressing day. I can't believe that he is actually getting credit for this and that his name is known to the msn internet people of the world. It's just what I have been thinking all along... January, just roll on through, we have other things to do...

Happiness is...

the irony of this kind of stuff cracks me up...
Our next door neighbors are an elderly (late 70's) couple who are pretty grumpy. The guy has been nice on occasion, but the lady is always just yelling, usually at the other neighbors. I don't know anything about her, except that she rarely gets dressed and has yelled at everyone around, including Max, who was playing in OUR yard. I have actually never spoken to her. Basically, they are just grumpy. Anyway, I parked behind one of their cars on the street today and for the first time I noticed they had one of those things that outline your license plate that says on top, "Happiness is" and usually the bottom says something like skiing or surfing or in Ross' case knitting (hee, hee, j/k).

But theirs said nothing!! It was all scratched out. I got a little chuckle out of it. Hopefully you did too. And I hope they actually do have stuff to be happy about. Happy Friday;)

Move over Martha....

That's right, Martha Stewart better watch out... Check out my domesticity (is that a word?) in action:





I made this Challah bread and did not stage the two little hands sneaking in for a taste. I have made it before, so the kids knew what it was. It was really yummy too. We added soup for dinner just to make it seem like we weren't just eating bread as the entire meal, but that is what we did!! Clearly we are not following the Atkins diet in this house. And although I did make the bread from scratch, with Zoey and Max's help of course, Martha doesn't need to sweat, I don't have the desire to bake all day or make crafty things that would either be eaten/smashed/broken within seconds. Here they are helping me in the great bread bake-off. The kitchen was COVERED in flour!!!





Zoey had a Pajama Party at school today. They are learning the letter "P" and everyone dressed in PJ's and ate Pizza. All the kids looked so cute running around the playground in the PJ's. Even the teacher's dressed up. I was wondering if they changed at school or just drove from home that way!! Zoey wouldn't let me take her picture. But she is wearing the PJ's in the picture above.

The Amazing, Flying, Face-Planting ROSS

It seems Ross is stealing the show lately with his goings-on, so this one is all about him again. We went to a store yesterday and he ran back to the car for something. On his return he decided to jump over a bush, only his sandal got caught on a plant, and he tripped, and face-planted into the street!! Lucky for him, no one saw it, not even me, and he was up and back on his feet within a nanosecond. Besides his limp and actually telling the story to me, we have other proof. His cell phone busted. It has a crack so that the screen is totally busted and you can't see anything. It is even a flip phone. The sad thing is... this is not the first time this has happenend. The exact same thing happened to the screen of his last phone. He kept it in the cargo pocket of his BDUs and one day just hit a door or something, I don't know. Anyway, I think his next phone needs to be THIS

FYI, his phone still works, he just can't see who he is dialing or calling.

Touche Jeff-

In whatever attempt guys have at making fun of each other for whatever reason... it seems a war is brewing between Ross and our new BIL, Jeff. Now this is all in good fun, so hopefully the humor continues as the war rages on:) Before I share the latest, photo included, I better go back to fill you in...

Ross and I were thinking of living where Ross would have a commute to work and so he actually thought of buying a commuter car, Jeff made a crack at Ross driving a mini weeneenee (that is the sound it makes) vehicle.

Score: Jeff 1, Ross 0

At Jeff and Bree's wedding Ross decides to enlighten him about the "MAN CARD" and offer to give him one, entitled Jeff Sievers-Johnston and attempt to take points away for shopping at certain stores.

Score: Jeff 1, Ross 1 ... all tied up

But Ross pulls ahead with his Brokeback Mountain DVD for Jeff's Christmas present...

Score: Jeff 1, Ross 2

And now, to tie it up once again, we get a little delivery in the mail telling us Ross will be receiving a subscription to GQ, that's right, Gentleman's Quarterly, not a motorcycle magazine or tool magazine or anything like that. As most of you know, it is the perfect anti-Ross gift. Touche Jeff, I may even give you 2 points for that one. Here is Ross with his gift:


I think I may read it more than he does.
Anyway, boys will be boys I guess...

Our Future Lawyer

Zoey was really tired and grumpy this evening and was just fighting us on everything. So Ross had a funny conversation with her:

Ross: Zoey, you need to listen to me.
Zoey: Listen is not a word, I don't need to do it.

His only response, "Oh, Zoey, you and Daddy are going to butt heads later!!"

And she is only 4!! It is a constant battle with her sometimes, I can only imagine what is to come. She will argue anything you tell her, and at times she puts up a pretty good fight, if not an amusing one. I am already praying for help on dealing with things in the future. It is funny and ironic I suppose, that the things about Zoey that make her challenging to us right now are all because of personality traits that I am really glad she has, for later!! She is mentally and physically tough, she is very strong willed, she is quick to state her opinion and stand strong, she is independent and when she knows what she wants, is not shy about it at all, and she has an amazing brain and memory.

She also has the sweetest heart and does the nicest things for all of three of us, most of the time. A plus now,too, is that she also has a quirky sense of humor, so at least we always get a laugh out of things. She has a lot of traits that I (jill) don't have, and so I really look forward to watching her grow and seeing what she will become. Anyway, at the end of the day when they finally go to bed and you see them sleeping so sweetly, it always puts a smile back on my face and allows me to face another day.

Three day weekends are always so nice too. It gives us a day to rest and a day to play and a day to just get things done around the house. We went to the aquarium on Saturday. We got a year pass. It pays for itself in 2 visits, so we have already gone twice this year. The kids love it. I think by the end of the year, Zoey will know all the names of the fish and sea creatures. Max really loves it too, so it is a fun thing for us. Outside of the Aquarium is a nice pathway to walk along and see the ocean and see the city of Long Beach and the kids can just run all around. A nice day for all!!

Zoey Singing

Just trying to add video to this blog thing!! Here is Zoey singing, with drink in hand, a song she sings at preschool!!

Why we live in Southern California...

People thought we were crazy when they found out that not only were we moving here, but that we had chosen it and were excited about it... But this is one of the reasons... today was 78 degrees and we were playing in the yard wearing shorts and short sleeves!! Gotta love that on January 9th!!

But WHY???

People told us that this would come... we weren't sure when it would happen, but the never ending why question is now upon us!!

It was almost like a switch. One day Zoey didn't ask why, and then the next day, she did. Sometimes it is just like how people joke about it,
Zoey: Why are there four people in the car?
R/J: Because that is our family, Mommy, Daddy, Zoey and Max
Zoey: But why?
R/J: That is just how many people we have
Zoey: But why?
But why? But Why?

Sometimes it is very detailed why questions...
Zoey: Why do we live here and everyone else lives somewhere else?
Me: Well, we live here because daddy's work is here.
Zoey: But why does daddy's work have to be here, why can't it be somewhere else?
Me: It can be somewhere else, remember we used to live in Massachusetts...
Zoey: But why did we live in Massachusetts, why didn't we live somewhere else, like Florida??...

You get the picture, it is never ending. But it definitely makes for interesting conversation and it is very neat to see her learning process. Not to mention, she remembers everything. The other day she asked why we didn't go somewhere and I told her it was really far away and we could get stuck in traffic, she asked why there was traffic and I sarcastically said there was just way too many people and cars in California. Today we were driving along and she asks about all the people and cars in California and why there are so many... I started to get into a whole discussion on immigration with her, but figured I should keep it to myself. I guess this is just the beginning!

Christmas Photos- a little late!!

I finally have pictures from Christmas to put on here. Here is a great picture of Zoey by the tree at Grandma and Papa's house:


And here is Max before going to church:


Here are Max and Josh playing trains. Josh gave us his Thomas stuff and Max is loving it!!

This one is funny. It is Josh and Zoey eating seaweed and rice... probably not the most common thing for two young ones to be eating, but they chowed down!!



A cute one of Rachel and Max:




And a bunch of them... not everyone is looking but it is Zoey, Rachel, Max, Tina and Joshua!!



So we had fun. I didn't take too many pictures, but these were kind of neat ones with the cousins. I should be back to more regular blogging now that things are getting more settled after the holidays!!

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to all!!
I wish you all a very blessed 2007, and for the Lucas family, also a very speedy one!! We have been out of town or visiting with family, so I haven't had very much time to blog. But since we were actually visiting with the people who probably are reading this, it was pretty much an even trade. I still have to put some cute pictures from Christmas on here.

With the new year and talk of resolutions, I have been hearing a lot about internet addictions and spending too much time on-line. There are definitely some very weird things out there, especially in the land of blogs (I think they call it the blogoshere, but I am not sure). Anyway, since my intention was to keep friends and family more in the loop with the daily adventures of Max and Zoey and just stay more in touch, I don't think it has become a problem on my end. I am enjoying sharing and hope that you all post more if you desire. It is great to read your comments. It is easy to post. You just have to create an account, which is free, and comment away.

As for me and New Years, I am always a little behind with resolutions and stuff, so I may have to get back to you on that!! I did read a good idea about making it more of a quarterly goal and write in your calendar on Apr 1, Jul 1, and Oct 1 to evaluate your goals... It keeps them a little fresher in your mind and thus a little easier to achieve. I thought it was a good idea, so just passing it along. Anyway, many blessings to you all in the New Year!