Containing Their Fun?

Today Mary Jane and Betsy rode in carts with us to The Container Store.  There we bought some bottles and other things which make the kitchen more accessible.  Nothing really else to add here.  But Daddy did take them on a good 40-minute stroll earlier in the day.  Now it's nap time.  Maybe you should take one too.

Our Valentine Models

Tis the Season for Cuteness

 Mary Jane and Betsy and looking quite festive for their Valentine's Day shoot.

Big Smile for MJ

Betsy Has Her Pearls

The Sky Is the Limit

Whee!

Looking out of the Slide House

Sisterly Kiss

Daddy Is Home!

Chase the Beach Ball

Betsy Enjoying the Day

The Double Dunk

Here is the real time action of the double baptism of Betsy Jo and Mary Jane.  Betsy Jo goes first and you can hear for the rest of the video clip that she was not that enthralled about the dunking.  I guess that's why the parents pass them off to the godparents.  Well, if you're baptizing two that is.  Because Mommy and Daddy went right on to holding Mary Jane for the second dip.

Double Baptism Photos!

Yes, I am considerably behind on my blogging.  So sorry... with two young girls, it's difficult to find time to find photos and write.  But here are a few photos from our double baptism at St. Joan of Arc on Feb. 10.  It wasn't a large gathering... heck, most of those who know us think that Mary Jane and Betsy Jo have already been baptized   Well, the wonders of adoption and paperwork slowed us a bit but here are some photos of the grand day.

Right here to the left is the christening of Betsy.  Look at that photo as everyone intently watches the action.  Even Mary Jane turns in to look as she wonders what is next.

 Alas, Betsy didn't take too kindly to having cold water placed on her forehead.  Mommy is there to provide consolation.

Betsy still seems a bit distraught but Mommy is there to save the day.  Not only that but Brent and Pat, her godparents, are there to make sure that she's OK.

 With Father Jim in the background, Betsy and Mary Jane form a triangle of white in this photo.  There's Betsy's hair typically flying free while Mary Jane's hair stays flat as a pancake.  Hmm... pancakes.

 Mary Jane standing before Fr. Jim.  She calls him "Fadda Jim" which is pretty darn good for a two year old.  Note: way in the background is the statue of St. Joan of Arc looking over the parish and our two girls.  May they have the same ferocity about life and faith as Joan of Arc did... but hopefully live a longer life.

Someone has their baptism candle!  Now please don't use that as a weapon... especially on your sister.  That's just bad form.

Betsy is celebrating form!  Either that or she's telling the parish that she's caught a fish THIS big.

 Aunt Pat gives the candle to Betsy with Daddy watching.  Mary Jane readies to stick her candle in Daddy's ear.

Ah, the group photo!  Dad (aka Grampa Erb) is to the far left with Pat, Brent, Daddy, Betsy, Fr. Jim, Mary Jane, Mommy, Brendan, and Stephanie to the far right.  Happy day for all!

Busy Days in the Desert

 As the previous video stated, Miss Jill and Mister John were out visiting family in Arizona over Presidents' Day weekend.  Nothing quite says the desert like riding through the dry wilderness as seen on the picture to the left.  Mister John is looking stylish in his prescription Ray-Bans.  Being cool and being able to see; there's a combo for ya.

Grampa Kendall kept an eye on the girls in the back yard.  Betsy Jo and Mary Jane walked here, there, and everywhere in search of birds, lizards, and rocks.  They found many of each.  Mary Jane was looking for a rabbit in a rabbit hole when suddenly a lizard popped out!  Oh goodness!  Hopefully she won't be afraid of lizards for the rest of her life now.

Here Miss Jill is getting the Desert Mobile ready to ride through the dry Arizona desert.  Not much to show there of cacti.  Some other pictures had them but not with Miss Jill styling behind the steering wheel.  She made sure that she hit the bumps nice and fast to scare her husband into thinking she was trying to kill him.

There's Doug the Dog.  He showed up on Saturday and Betsy and Mary Jane didn't really know what to do.  They prefer rabbits and most of the dogs they have met were of the scrawny kind.  At least Doug was a real sized dog, not one of those who could be carried by idiot Hollywood starlets.

Betsy Jo wasn't big on it at first but she managed to like being carried by her dad in a walking carrier.  He put in a decent hike with her as the sun set behind them in the Arizona desert.  Note: such rosy cheeks in Arizona for Betsy.  Maybe it was the dry climate.  Ironic as she was born in Lake Havasu City... you'd think she were a native city girl with her reaction to the desert.










Miss Betsy struggled a bit with the weather but did get in a solid 2+ hour nap on Sunday.  While the rest of the family thought she was asleep, she broke out of her confinement and Mister John found her smiling.  Guess the nap was over for Miss Bets.

Off-Roading

While Mary Jane and Betsy Jo were napping in Arizona, Miss Jill decided to take Mister John for a ride through the desert.  Due to Mister John's lack of ability to drive a stick shift, Miss Jill took it upon herself to ride through the bumpy desert as seen here.  This is only a 30 second snippet; otherwise this might have been a bit too nauseating to watch.  While Mister John claims that the stadium where the Super Bowl was held is off to the right somewhere, it is quite difficult to see.  Maybe a little pause and some squinting will help.

None of the cacti were injured during the filming of this video.

Huge Day for the Stars! (More to Come)

All the Stars celebrating the big night of medals.

Mary Star of the Sea's two full Academic Decathlon teams did something absolutely unprecedented.  They won both Division II and Division III titles this evening out at Alemany High School.  I will supply pictures and stats at some point over the next day or two after I calm down from jumping into the air for an hour or so.  I would also like to thank the power of the Pengoon and Deborah the Zebra for helping lead our teams to victory.

Shabazz!

84-73.  Go Bruins.

Heidi is out and about.  She is happy as well.

No Parade for Phillip's Re-Inauguration

Very little celebrating happened on Dewey Street this weekend as Prince Phillip was "reinaugurated" for another term.  The whole word irritates Phillips as he says that princes are not reinaugurated but rather reassure others of their sovereign rule of the land.  Everyone knows of the "divine right of rabbits" and that's just the way it is.

Ruby Jane did not run against him the Bunny Elections in November 2012, as many had thought.  The former rivals are much more amicable these days and share many ideas over blades of grass and orange slices.  There is also one agreement that has united the divided rabbit coalitions since the last election: Mary Jane and Betsy, the two new potential usurpers to the throne.

Mary Jane was born shortly after the previous two-year election cycle started.  Potential human usurpers wasn't even a topic in the previous election debates.  It was only food, water, free time, and airplane noise.  All the rabbits thought that Mister John and Miss Jill were perfectly happy to let their back yard be ruled by long-eared, fluffy tailed overseers.  Alas, that did not seem the case as Mary Jane (and later Betsy) arrived to chase, grab, and laugh at the noble rabbit line.  They felt completely humiliated by little children who couldn't even wipe their noses after sneezing.

"I'm thumping mad," said Ruby Jane.  "No way two little girls -- no matter how cute they are -- are gonna chase us off our lands."

Heidi and Cookie Sue, relative newcomers to the Erb household, really didn't have much of an opinion as their major concern is just food.

Prince Phillip in royal pose.

As for Mister John, he is trying to stay independent of the whole situation.  "It ain't my thing right now," says Mister John, as he types up more Decathlon notes.

Every Day Is and Ugg Day

Mary Jane creates her own fashion.  And don't make her call Grandma!