Takapuna Beach

The "Haka"

Dear Family,

I hope that I can now "post" on the family blog spot.  Thank you, Jared, for making it possible.  I loved being with all of you for a while in October!  It was such fun to see all of the precious grandchildren.  Hopefully I can learn how to add pictures, etc.

Love,

Grandma Callister

Kings Canyon Nat'l Park

Grandpa came to visit and when he was here, we decided to take him to Kings Canyon park. It is home of the General Sherman, the world's largest tree. Sequoia trees are relatives of redwoods and are much wider and stockier than their taller cousins.

Just fooling with some of my camera settings.

Despite the mud and dirt, Norah insisted on sitting down, so we placed her on a slightly cleaner bench.

Do you ever get those pictures?

Do you ever get the kind of pictures of your kids where you can't help but think, "I'm so glad my kid isn't really that ugly!"

Well, here's one of those pictures:


Okay, now to redeem my truly beautiful baby:

Happy (late) Birthday, Grandma!

They are all growing up.

This one is old enough to play in the grass,
sit up,
and get dirty (not to mention she scoots now, is growing her first tooth and eats "real" food).This one is old enough to love all things Star Wars,
and help feed his baby sister (and button things, hold real conversations, and keep underwear clean and dry).
This one is losing her first tooth and can read all by herself.
And these two. . .
. . .you can tell these two are growing up because all of a sudden their shirts fall off those little-kid hangars and it's getting harder and harder to tell their socks from Nate's and mine when sorting laundry.

Spring Stuff

Here are some shots of Norah, Mom and Dad when they visited in April, and the cherry blossoms.

The Garden

Here are some pics from the garden that my roommates and I planted a few weeks ago.

We planted watermelon, cantaloupe, zucchini, cucumbers, bell peppers, peas, carrots, strawberries, tomatoes, and corn.

SAFE!!

At the ripe age of 2, Will is a veteran sports fan. He's been to a myriad of his older brothers' soccer, basketball, and baseball games. Apparently, he's learned a thing or two spectating. Check out the video...

How does this look, Dad?

Reed had been asking for a tie for about 4 or 5 months before his 6th birthday. Heather and I told him he'd have to wait for his b-day in March (not sure why we didn't just fulfill his righteous request earlier). Fortunately, his eager anticipation was met with a tie of his pleasing on the big day. The next Sunday before Church, Reed walked up to me with tie on and no shirt. "How does this look, Dad?" he beamed. "How in the world did you do that?" I asked. Reed walked over to the coffee table, picked up the January edition of The Friend magazine, and opened it up to a How to Tie a Tie article. Apparently, Reed had known of this article for some months and was dying to try it out.


We'll see how long his enthusiasm lasts.

I finished and Tanner medaled.

My time was 2:32:49.80 (my goal was between 2:30 and 2:45).

Tanner finishing. He finished 2nd for his age group, 30th overall out of 326 kids aged 6-12. His time was 7:31.15.

This was taken before we knew Tanner placed. He also got a 2nd place medal.

Recent Norah Photos

Hey guys, it seems like forever since we've posted anything, but you guys have inspired us. Here are some recent shots of Norah.

We'll try to put some up of the cherry blossoms as well.

Easter with the Saporiti Side

The Dalebouts, the Nathan Callisters, the Whites (with their current exchange students), Charles and Grandma, Casey's kids, and Karen Hess all met up at Irvine Regional Park on Saturday for lunch and an egg hunt for the kids. We missed everybody else!

Here are the pictures:


This was the day we had. The weather was perfect and the day was incredibly beautiful. (Ignore the hand print -- I took this picture through the car window.)
















HAPPY EASTER!!