Tom surprised me with a new digital camera for my birthday.  It is the Nikon D40, and boy, do I love it!  I still have a lot to learn about using it, but I've already taken tons of pictures with it. Below are 2 shots I took for fun.

Valentine's Day

On Saturday we visited Bass Pro Shops up in Rancho Cucamonga.  The store is full of fishing, boating, camping, and hunting equipment. It is very similar to Cabela's, but bigger. We also celebrated V-day with dinner at their restaurant. It was a fun day!

This is the front of the store.

This is the restaurant which is attached to the store.

This is the second level of the front of the store.

We had to rest our weary legs after looking at the entire store.

Kelly sits at the pond and checks out the raccoons.  There were all kinds of stuffed wildlife throughout the store.

Kelly shows off the alligator she was eating.

It's a little blurry, but it's the only "couple" shot I have from the day.

Another Birthday Comes and Goes

Mandi's 32nd Birthday

On Friday night we celebrated my birthday with a yummy chocolate cake.

Happy Valentine's Day

Kelly went to school yesterday dressed in her Valentine's Day outfit.  They didn't have a party, but exchanged Valentines before the end of the day.  I did a craft with her class to make heart pins.

Here's Kelly making her heart pin.

Kelly loved her Valentine present from Mimi.  It was a pajama set that she and her American Girl doll, Felicity could wear.  Thank you, Mimi!

Friday Night at the Seling House

On Friday night we gathered at Rob and Kristin's for our weekly Friday night fun.  This particular night there was cause for a celebration-Tom's promotion. Yes, this week Tom found out that he was selected for Major-yay!!!  We celebrated with yummy cake and ice cream. 

Congratulations Major-Select Brannan!!!!

Lou plays the fiddle while Tom strums the banjo.

Tom pickin' away on his tenor banjo.

Musical talent runs in this family. Andrew plays violin while Rob plays the guitar.

Andrew strums the guitar.

The Beach

Kelly and I spent a little time at the beach on Saturday morning.  The weather was so beautiful, about 70, but the water was cold.  We went in as far as our ankles, that was enough!

Kelly made this "OCEAN" sculpture from the myriad of smooth stones that were on the sand.

The cold water didn't keep surfers away.

It was a nice time to lounge in the sun.

The two of us had a lot of fun!

An Afternoon at the Oceanside Pier

Monday was gorgeous and it was the perfect day to take a walk on the pier.  We met my friend, Lisa, who was visiting from Virginia.

There were a few pelicans hanging out waiting for someone to give them food.

As you can see, these pelicans could not be frightened easily.  These 2 guys were hangin' out at the end of the pier.

We didn't see any dolphins, but this cute seal was waiting for food too.

We ate lunch at Ruby's Diner, which sits at the end of the pier.  It's a great place for burgers and shakes.  You can enjoy the view while you eat your food. Lisa's youngest, Clay, plays with the helicopter that Kelly gave him.

I had such a great time catching up with you, Lisa!

Today we visited some museums at Balboa Park in San Diego.  Every Tuesday a few of them are free.  Today we saw The Museum of Man, The San Diego Museum of Art and the Botanical Gardens.  Our main reason for our trip was The Museum of Man.  The kids are studying Egypt this packet and the museum had Egyptian exhibits.  There were even real mummies.  It was a fun day.  The weather was beautiful and we had a great time.

The architecture in Balboa Park is amazing.

View of El Prado from the balcony of The Museum of Man

Entrance to the San Diego Museum of Art

There was a Children's Discovery Center at the Museum of Man.  In this photo are Andrew, Kelly, Annie and Emma sitting in Pharoah's throne.

This is all I could get Kelly to wear in the "dress up" area.

Kelly sitting on her throne.

This is only one of the many mummies from the exhibit.

Nice Day for a Ride

Sunday was an absolutely beautiful day.  Actually, it was hot, but the day did cool off as evening approached.  While Tom helped the neighbor with his car Kelly rode her bike around the cul de sac.  Here are a few pics of her riding. Notice the UGGs with shorts...she's definitely a California girl!

Sushi, anyone?

Tonight for our friend, Jameson's birthday, we went out for sushi with friends from church. We went to Harney Sushi in downtown Oceanside. It's fairly new, opened about 6 months ago. The place was packed for a Sunday night. The food was delicious.

Here is Tom, Jameson and Mike.

Some more of our friends.

Here's some of the yummy sushi we ate.

I had albacore roll and it was delicious!

Even Kelly tried the albacore roll.

The birthday boy and his wife, Jill.  That yummy dish in front of them is the special surf-n-turf roll.

Our Family

Fun at the Park

On Wednesday we rode our bikes to the park to meet friends from church. We were blessed with some beautiful sunny weather. The kids enjoyed playing and riding their bikes.


Kelly climbed this cool rope jungle gym. She was pretty high up.


Jenna spins Kelly around and around. Jenna doesn't seem to mind, but Kelly was getting dizzy.


Jenna, Kelly and Jaden take time out to rest on a rock.