Brent learning how to position his hands for "rocket".
Brent learning how to float on his back.
Brent in his group class with his two teachers. He loved being in a swimming class!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Brent's First Swimming Lessons
Blake and Brent were excited to take swimming lessons at the Irvine Pool. This is Brent's first set of swim lessons.
Farewell to Baby Birds
We got to watch the four baby birds each rise up from their nest and fly away. First was Mark and then Jocelyn followed closely behind. Each would fluff its wings, start flapping and then drop out of the nest. Mark-bird was a strong flier right out of the nest and made it all the way to the orange tree. Jocelyn-bird flew to the net on the trampoline and then tried again and eventually made it into the trees. Blake bird fell to the ground, tried again, kept falling down and eventually landed in the shrubs. We got a picture of the last baby bird leaving the nest, Brent-bird. He had been chirping to his siblings, but none of them replied, so we think he decided to go after them. He flew all the way to the trees on his first try! We hope all the birds are happy and safe wherever their bird-lives may take them.
The last of the baby birds in the nest - Brent-bird.
And this is the mess they left behind...YUCK!!!
It was fun to watch our baby birds hatch from egg to flying birds. But now that we are cleaning up the mess, we will enjoy this experience only in photos!
The last of the baby birds in the nest - Brent-bird.
And this is the mess they left behind...YUCK!!! 
It was fun to watch our baby birds hatch from egg to flying birds. But now that we are cleaning up the mess, we will enjoy this experience only in photos!Finding His Inner-Rat
Brent had the joy of pet-sitting Elise Gordon's rat "Ratty" last weekend. He took his charge seriously and did not leave Ratty's side as long as he was home. 
If Brent could have fit inside Ratty's cage, he would have slept with him all night!
Here is Ratty hanging out in his hammock. He was extremely patient with Brent's attention.
Brent definitely discovered his inner-rat!
If Brent could have fit inside Ratty's cage, he would have slept with him all night!
Here is Ratty hanging out in his hammock. He was extremely patient with Brent's attention.
Brent definitely discovered his inner-rat!Mark Lee Phelps
Mark won three 1st place ribbons at Saturday's Swim Meet against South Irvine team. Here he is in the middle of the Individual Medley. He not only took 1st place, but he also set the team's record for 9-10 year-old boys.
Mark pulling ahead of his competition in the backstroke (he is in the middle lane with all the water spraying).
Jocelyn getting ready for one of her swim events.
Good work kids!! We are so proud of you swimming your very best!
Mark pulling ahead of his competition in the backstroke (he is in the middle lane with all the water spraying).
Jocelyn getting ready for one of her swim events.
Good work kids!! We are so proud of you swimming your very best!
Day at the Museum - Friday, July 17
Last Friday I took the children to the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History. It is in the Exposition Complex, which includes the L.A. Swimming Stadium and Sports Coliseum used in the Olympics back when I was in high school!
Here are the Olympic venues...you can see how old (and relatively SMALL) they are compared with the 21st century stadiums built for the Beijing Olympics! (I still wonder where they parked all the cars during the Olympics???? Remember the last time we came here in June, they parked us on the grass!)
The swimming stadium...not nearly as beautiful as Beijings Water Cube, but still full of wonderful historic value! (And it is still in use daily!)
Enjoying the shade and tree climbing in front of the museum.
Blake was thrilled to walk in the doors and see the Sharptooth Dinosaur display in the center rotundum!
Mark and Jocelyn in front of a Sharptooth (T-Rex) skull. You literally could be a T-Rex's lunch!
The Aviary exhibit was world-class. There were literally 100's of birds on display. Here are just two photos of a much larger collection. Forrest would be thrilled to see the DUCK display. I had no idea there were so many varities of ducks in the world! My camera does not do these exhibits justice. The birds were so beautiful and so colorful!
Here are some owls:
Brent and Jocelyn in front of a birds' nest display. I was amazed at the different varieties of nests the many birds of the world can build! Brent kept saying how big the nest was in front of him!
Blake enjoyed visiting the Rainforest room. A sloth was on display hanging from a tree vine. The sloth does have the long claws that Mark and Jocelyn learned about in 1st grade. Now Blake is very excited to start 1st grade and work on his Rainforest project!
Blake in front of the Rainforest levels display:
The California seashell display included this enormous clam shell. Brent did NOT want his brothers or sister to share the spotlight with him!
Mark could not get enough of the Gemstones Exhibit. He would love to have his Grandpa Woodward or Great-Grandpa Woodward take him through the exhibit and explain how each stone is formed.
This is the personal display of a young gemologist. The biography explained that he had won several awards for the perfection of his stones and the incredible samples he managed to collect from around the world. His family had donated the collection after he passed away at the young age of 27. Thank heavens so many people are generous with their treasures and are willing to share them with the world, such as this family did!
"The Quagmire Sapphires" - who knew sapphires came in so many different colors? We are enjoying reading the books "A Series of Unfortunate Events" and part of the story involves triplet children (the Quagmires) whose family fortune are sapphires.
Now that is what I call a gem stone! It is bigger than Brent!!
Grizzly bears...and are they HUGE! The Grizzly on the left stands nearly 7 feet tall! He literally filled the exhibit floor to ceiling!
The Alaska Moose....now that is one BIG animal! His antlers were amazing. A full grown Moose will stand taller than a horse.
Some playful cougars....
Here are sea lions. The large bull really captures how imposing (and enormous) these sea mammals are. In the book "Island of the Blue Dolphins", Katrina, the girl on the island, must fight a bull to obtain its teeth to use for her spears. What an amazing battle she must have had!
Buffalo on the plains...wow, are they large animals!
I can't remember what animal this was...does anyone know?
The beautiful, carved wood ceiling of the museum's rotundum.
Now on to the African Mammals Exhibit room:
Ostrich with eggs....
A lion pride...what a beautiful display
The amazing Elephant display included several babies. WOW! The tusks were huge. This definitely gives you a better appreciation for how valuable tusks would be -- enough ivory for many pianos!
Rhonicerous
Blake enjoyed every animal!
Until next we visit this fabulous museum...a big RARRR to everyone!
Did I hear anyone say "Get that girl a Nikon D5000 with great Nikkor lenses. These photo exposures are pathetic!" I hope I did!!
Here are the Olympic venues...you can see how old (and relatively SMALL) they are compared with the 21st century stadiums built for the Beijing Olympics! (I still wonder where they parked all the cars during the Olympics???? Remember the last time we came here in June, they parked us on the grass!)
The swimming stadium...not nearly as beautiful as Beijings Water Cube, but still full of wonderful historic value! (And it is still in use daily!)
Enjoying the shade and tree climbing in front of the museum.
Blake was thrilled to walk in the doors and see the Sharptooth Dinosaur display in the center rotundum!
Mark and Jocelyn in front of a Sharptooth (T-Rex) skull. You literally could be a T-Rex's lunch!
The Aviary exhibit was world-class. There were literally 100's of birds on display. Here are just two photos of a much larger collection. Forrest would be thrilled to see the DUCK display. I had no idea there were so many varities of ducks in the world! My camera does not do these exhibits justice. The birds were so beautiful and so colorful!
Here are some owls:
Brent and Jocelyn in front of a birds' nest display. I was amazed at the different varieties of nests the many birds of the world can build! Brent kept saying how big the nest was in front of him!
Blake enjoyed visiting the Rainforest room. A sloth was on display hanging from a tree vine. The sloth does have the long claws that Mark and Jocelyn learned about in 1st grade. Now Blake is very excited to start 1st grade and work on his Rainforest project!
Blake in front of the Rainforest levels display:
The California seashell display included this enormous clam shell. Brent did NOT want his brothers or sister to share the spotlight with him!
Mark could not get enough of the Gemstones Exhibit. He would love to have his Grandpa Woodward or Great-Grandpa Woodward take him through the exhibit and explain how each stone is formed.
This is the personal display of a young gemologist. The biography explained that he had won several awards for the perfection of his stones and the incredible samples he managed to collect from around the world. His family had donated the collection after he passed away at the young age of 27. Thank heavens so many people are generous with their treasures and are willing to share them with the world, such as this family did!
"The Quagmire Sapphires" - who knew sapphires came in so many different colors? We are enjoying reading the books "A Series of Unfortunate Events" and part of the story involves triplet children (the Quagmires) whose family fortune are sapphires.
Now that is what I call a gem stone! It is bigger than Brent!!
The North American Mammals exhibit room had over 20 gorgeous displays of famous mammals in their natural habitats. These photos are taken with my camera's flash turned off. (After taking many, many photos that did not turn out, I am even more convinced that I need to buy a great DSLR camera where I can control the exposure!)
Seals
Grizzly bears...and are they HUGE! The Grizzly on the left stands nearly 7 feet tall! He literally filled the exhibit floor to ceiling!
The Alaska Moose....now that is one BIG animal! His antlers were amazing. A full grown Moose will stand taller than a horse.
Some playful cougars....
Here are sea lions. The large bull really captures how imposing (and enormous) these sea mammals are. In the book "Island of the Blue Dolphins", Katrina, the girl on the island, must fight a bull to obtain its teeth to use for her spears. What an amazing battle she must have had!
Buffalo on the plains...wow, are they large animals!
I can't remember what animal this was...does anyone know?
The beautiful, carved wood ceiling of the museum's rotundum.
Now on to the African Mammals Exhibit room:
Ostrich with eggs....
A lion pride...what a beautiful display
The amazing Elephant display included several babies. WOW! The tusks were huge. This definitely gives you a better appreciation for how valuable tusks would be -- enough ivory for many pianos!
Rhonicerous
Blake enjoyed every animal!
Until next we visit this fabulous museum...a big RARRR to everyone!
Did I hear anyone say "Get that girl a Nikon D5000 with great Nikkor lenses. These photo exposures are pathetic!" I hope I did!!Tuesday, July 21, 2009
California Adventure on a Hot Summer Day!
I took the children to California Adventure on Thursday, July 16. Could we have picked a hotter day to go there? I don't think so!! (Well, at least it wasn't 100 degrees!)
Blake after he cooled his jets in the water park by Bugs Land. He actually came over to ask me, "Mommy, do you have my towel?" Towel??? When I informed him he could "air dry" himself, he was shocked that I had not properly prepared for his water playtime!!
When you tell Brent, "You can run through the sprinklers to cool off a bit," he immediately interprets that to mean, "You can get soaking wet by standing in front of every water spout and standing under the water buckets." Not a single inch of him was dry after his 3 minutes of "cooling off" time!
Brent was so excited to finally be tall enough to ride "the airplane ride" - Soarin' Over California. He actually behaved half-good in line, which means he didn't annoy EVER person standing around us, just half of them! As we stood inside the hanger, I enjoyed reading the biographical notes of famous California aviators and astronauts. Brent loved looking at all the airplane photos. He keeps asking when will we take him on an airplane ride again! He absolutely LOVED dangling over the skies as we flew across the incredible iMax presentation of California's beautiful geography. The children were most excited to fly right over Yosemite Falls and point to the Yosemite Lodge where we have often stayed!
Leaving Disneyland we rode up the 5-story tall escalator all by ourselves. This of course gave the kids every opportunity to run up and down the moving stairs....up and down....up and down....up and down....up and down....
Hard to beat living near Disneyland!
Blake after he cooled his jets in the water park by Bugs Land. He actually came over to ask me, "Mommy, do you have my towel?" Towel??? When I informed him he could "air dry" himself, he was shocked that I had not properly prepared for his water playtime!!
When you tell Brent, "You can run through the sprinklers to cool off a bit," he immediately interprets that to mean, "You can get soaking wet by standing in front of every water spout and standing under the water buckets." Not a single inch of him was dry after his 3 minutes of "cooling off" time!
Brent was so excited to finally be tall enough to ride "the airplane ride" - Soarin' Over California. He actually behaved half-good in line, which means he didn't annoy EVER person standing around us, just half of them! As we stood inside the hanger, I enjoyed reading the biographical notes of famous California aviators and astronauts. Brent loved looking at all the airplane photos. He keeps asking when will we take him on an airplane ride again! He absolutely LOVED dangling over the skies as we flew across the incredible iMax presentation of California's beautiful geography. The children were most excited to fly right over Yosemite Falls and point to the Yosemite Lodge where we have often stayed!
Leaving Disneyland we rode up the 5-story tall escalator all by ourselves. This of course gave the kids every opportunity to run up and down the moving stairs....up and down....up and down....up and down....up and down....
Hard to beat living near Disneyland!
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