A Very Busy December!!

December started out with a wonderful holiday concert by Aidan's band at school.

He plays the trombone, and we have enjoyed watching his interest in music grow!!

(Doesn't he look so grown up?)

Next, we celebrated Camille's 2nd birthday with a Dora Party!! Grandma and Papa Taylor came to help celebrate.
Camille knew just how to blow out candles and open presents. She had a great time!
Then there was the persimmon harvest.

Some of you may know that my(Staci's) favorite fruit is the Fuyu Persimmon, which is the delicious, firm variety. I have always felt that a home is not a home without a Fuyu Persimmon tree in the yard!! So I waited patiently for the landscaping to be completed to plant the best of all fruit trees. The landscaper brought a tree labeled Fuyu Persimmon, planted it, and we(I) waited patiently again for it to fruit.

Here it is!!

If you know anything about persimmons, you know that this is NOT a Fuyu Persimmon, but the other variety "that which must not be named". It is in fact a large, soft, fleshy fruit. I thought this might be true early in the season as the small fruit appeared on the tree. They were curiously tear drop in shape. I tried to remain positive, but at last I had to admit that I did not have a Fuyu Persimmon tree. Due to my dislike for this variety, I have googled recipes for jam. I will try to make the best of a bad situation. (I already have a spot picked out in the yard for my next Fuyu Persimmon tree!!!)

CHRISTMAS!!

We had a great Christmas! The kids woke up early to open their stockings. Santa is always so good to the kids! Camille wins the prize for the best bed head (we often sing My Hair Had a Party Last Night when we see her in the morning!) Then Grandma and Papa Taylor came by for breakfast and to open gifts. They went home for lunch with uncle Terry and Tori, but brought Tori back for Christmas dinner that evening. We celebrated Feliz Navidad with tamales and street tacos, it was delicious!!

SAN FRANCISCO!!

We planned before Christmas to take the kids to the San Francisco Zoo on the 27th, but the zoo was closed because of the recent tiger mauling. So, we went to Pier 39 and the Aquarium on the Bay. The kids touched sea life in the tidal pools (including sharks). We also walked through tubes underneath the fish tanks that surrounded us with the sea creatures you would actually encounter if you were diving in the bay!

Elise is feeling a sea cucumber!

Everyone got in on the action!!

Out on a pier, we posed for a picture. The bay is behind us, with Angel Island in the background. We had such a fun day!

We had a very busy and fun December!!

We Fish You a Merry Christmas!!

After two years of vandalism with Jack and Sally (The Nightmare Before Christmas), we have decided to change the the theme of our yard display.

This Year Santa is fishing!!
The Boat Santa has chosen is a Stiper just like our boat!

He has landed a marlin, while a sea lion looks on from atop a bouy. There is also an old pier post with a holiday greeting for the other boaters and passers by.

On the smaller side of the yard is our christmas card(most of the neighborhood has these), and a more traditional north pole scene. We also have a window scene with a snow scene including Mr. & Mrs. Claus, a Christmas tree and sledding snowmen in the garage window.

Merry Christmas!!

Halloween!!

Aidan decided to be a hobo for Halloween. I think he thought he could just throw on his dad's old jacket and call it a costume, but Brian had other ideas. In the end he had black smudges on his face and a garbage bag on a pole. I guess he still had to work for his candy!!Elise dressed up as an indian. We made her costume, and she looked so cute!
Isaac was a dinosaur again this year!

He loves this costume and wears it for dress-up year round. I think he wore it last year, and Elise wore it a few years ago, so we have certainly gotten our money out of this costume!!

Camille was the cutest pumpkin ever!! She loved dressing up, and wanted to wear her costume all day. She also enjoyed trick-or-treating and eating candy!!

We hope your Halloween was as great as ours!!

Vacationing in Bandon, Oregon!

This July we took our tent trailer and went camping in Oregon. We had such a fantastic time! We had not camped with all the kids before, so this was truly a

Kesler Family Adventure.
We all had a great time playing on the beach, but I think Brian may have had the most fun! He built a fort out of driftwood on the beach that we all played in. What a great dad!
This is the fort Brian Built!
I just love this picture of Camille!
While at the beach, the kids discovered sand dunes. Or, should I say they discovered rolling down sand dunes? They did this for the longest time! Yes, that is Elise rolling over Isaac in the picture. Let me assure you, he got up laughing and ran back to the top of the hill to go again!! When they were done they had sand everywhere, I think Aidan might still have sand in his ears!
We also went to the prehistric park to see dinosaurs.
The kids were almost eaten, and had to run for their lives!!
The next day we went to a wild animal park. This was a strange, dirty place. I (Staci) did not like it, but the kids had fun. Elise got to hold this baby opossum, which made her day!
We all had a really great time, and look forward to planning another camping trip soon.

Fishing with the Keslers!!

Isaac caght his first fish on the delta near Rio Vista!

We took the boat out for a day of fishing and swimming, and had a great time! The picture below is the view from the front of the boat where we anchored. It was a beautiful day, and a beautiful place to stop. The birds in the picture are egrets, and they were closer than this picture suggests. The land you see in the forefront of the picture is only visable because it is low tide.

Aidan and Elise also caught fish! In fact, we could barely get the bait back in the water before there was another fish on. All of the fish were too small to keep, but we had a great time catching them anyways!


This was also Isaac's first time swimmimg behind the boat with the big kids! We tie ropes to the kids life-jackets and attatch them to the boat so they can't float away(It is a river!).

Brian is holding a striper in front of his Striper!
Brian's fish was caught a week later on the San Francisco Bay!

Adoption Day & Gardening at Home!

We decided to celebrate adoption day by exploring a local botanical garden. Brian had to work, so it was just me and the kids. We had a great ime looking at plants, bugs, birds, rocks and whatever else we could find.
The gardens were just beautiful.
Isaac did what he loves to do, he climbed on rocks, and ran around the paths. We were not a quiet addition to this serene environment. Luckily, we were the only ones there most of the time!
Isaac rockclimbing!
Our Home Garden!

As you can see the kids love to help in the garden. We were planting a pear tomato in a pot. Last year our pear tomato took over our garden and part of our backyard, so this year it will have a new home in a pot. The kids were a great help, and 10 minute project took about 40 minutes to complete!! Oh well, we had fun!!
Here is Isaac next to what he considers HIS TOMATO! Last year he ate these tomatoes like they were candy!

Camille is Walking!!

We are so excited because Camille(14months) is now walking!! She also seems much happier to be up and around. She is getting faster and more stable, so she will soon be able to keep up with Isaac, Elise and Aidan.

Here she is walking!! Sorry the pictures are sideways, I fixed this on my computer (or so I thought!!)

Papa K., I have officially learned my lesson about turning the camera!!

These two sure love each other!!Camille walking has also made Isaac so excited! He keeps pointing at her and telling me she is walking. He has also told several strangers in the store about his sisters amazing walking skills. He is such a typical two year old sometimes!

Brian's Trip to Cabo!

In February, I spent three days relaxing with nine other guys in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. This was the view from our villa over-looking the town and marina of Cabo San Lucas. Not bad!!

We fished hard on the first day. I landed this striped marlin after a 30 minute battle! I was soaking wet as the boat chased the fish in reverse through rough seas. What a blast!! Just like you see on those TV shows.

On the second day, we played golf on one of three signature Arnold Palmer Palmilla golf courses. It was a beautiful ocean side course. I think I was about 12 balls into it before the 18th hole! Let's just say I won't be quitting my day job for a golf career.

On the third day, we fished hard again. I landed my first pacific sailfish!! For the trip, the group landed 11 striped marlin, 2 pacific sailfish and 16 yellowfin tuna. We brought 50 pounds of tuna back home. It was definately my most productive fishing trip to Mexico yet.