Blaine and Felicia's Family Blog
A place for photos, video, posts, etc. on what our family is doing.
Wednesday, December 30, 2020
Our Family Video for 2020!
Our Family Video for 2020 is available now. The password can be found by solving the puzzle below:
Feel free to add comments about the video to show you solved the puzzle, but don't give away the password to others. If you are impatient, there is an answer key.
Thursday, December 26, 2019
Annual Video and Puzzle for 2019
Our annual video and puzzle is available now. Simply solve the puzzle to get the password. Click on this link to the annual video and type the password to see what we have been up to in 2019.
Feel free to add a comment below to let us know that you successfully figured it out (without giving away the answer to others). We are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
For those that might still be struggling, there is an answer key, but please only click on that as a last resort.
Feel free to add a comment below to let us know that you successfully figured it out (without giving away the answer to others). We are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
For those that might still be struggling, there is an answer key, but please only click on that as a last resort.
Thursday, December 27, 2018
Christmas Puzzle for 2018
Our annual Christmas puzzle is available now. Follow the simple directions, eliminate those words and see what's left...
As in prior years, the reward for solving is a video Christmas card, but you'll need to figure out the password by solving the puzzle.
Feel free to add a comment below to let us know that you successfully figured it out (without giving away the answer to others). We are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
If you need help with the puzzle or if you missed the reference in our Christmas family photo, here is the answer to the puzzle. But try to solve it yourself before looking there.
As in prior years, the reward for solving is a video Christmas card, but you'll need to figure out the password by solving the puzzle.
Feel free to add a comment below to let us know that you successfully figured it out (without giving away the answer to others). We are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
If you need help with the puzzle or if you missed the reference in our Christmas family photo, here is the answer to the puzzle. But try to solve it yourself before looking there.
Monday, December 18, 2017
Christmas Puzzle for 2017
Our annual Christmas puzzle is available now.
As in prior years, the reward for solving is a video Christmas card, but you'll need to figure out the password by solving the puzzle first.
Note: If you need some help, the full answer is posted here, but try solving it without help first... it's more fun that way.
Feel free to add a comment below to let us know that you successfully figured it out (without giving away the answer to others). We are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
As in prior years, the reward for solving is a video Christmas card, but you'll need to figure out the password by solving the puzzle first.
Note: If you need some help, the full answer is posted here, but try solving it without help first... it's more fun that way.
Feel free to add a comment below to let us know that you successfully figured it out (without giving away the answer to others). We are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
Monday, December 26, 2016
Christmas Snowflake Matching Puzzle for 2016
Our annual Christmas puzzle is available now.
As in prior years, the reward for solving is a video Christmas card, but you'll need to figure out the password by solving the puzzle first.
Note: If you need some help, the full answer is posted here, but try solving it without help first... it's more fun that way.
Feel free to add a comment below to let us know that you successfully figured it out (without giving away the answer to others). We are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
As in prior years, the reward for solving is a video Christmas card, but you'll need to figure out the password by solving the puzzle first.
Note: If you need some help, the full answer is posted here, but try solving it without help first... it's more fun that way.
Feel free to add a comment below to let us know that you successfully figured it out (without giving away the answer to others). We are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
Thursday, December 17, 2015
Christmas Puzzle for 2015
Our annual Christmas puzzle is available now.
As in prior years, the reward for solving is a video Christmas card, but you'll need to figure out the password by solving the puzzle first.
Note: If you need some help, the full answer is posted here, but try solving it without help first... it's more fun that way.
Feel free to add a comment below to let us know that you successfully figured it out (without giving away the answer to others). We are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
As in prior years, the reward for solving is a video Christmas card, but you'll need to figure out the password by solving the puzzle first.
Note: If you need some help, the full answer is posted here, but try solving it without help first... it's more fun that way.
Feel free to add a comment below to let us know that you successfully figured it out (without giving away the answer to others). We are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
Wednesday, December 17, 2014
Power of TEN - Christmas Puzzle for 2014
Our annual Christmas puzzle "Power of TEN" is available now. Every answer is a word containing the letters TEN. For example, if the clue were "These keep your hands warm when playing in the snow", the answer would be mittens.
As in prior years, the reward for solving is a video Christmas card, but you'll need to figure out the password by using the first letter of each word. As a hint, the password could be used to describe an occasion such as the new year.
Note: If you need some help, the full answer is posted here, but try solving it without help first... it's more fun that way.
Feel free to add a comment below to let us know that you successfully figured it out (without giving away the answer to others). We are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
As in prior years, the reward for solving is a video Christmas card, but you'll need to figure out the password by using the first letter of each word. As a hint, the password could be used to describe an occasion such as the new year.
Note: If you need some help, the full answer is posted here, but try solving it without help first... it's more fun that way.
Feel free to add a comment below to let us know that you successfully figured it out (without giving away the answer to others). We are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
Monday, May 26, 2014
Cosplay fun at Fanime Convention in San Jose
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Sunday, December 15, 2013
Christmas Puzzle for 2013
Our annual Christmas puzzle is available now. Follow the simple directions, eliminate those words and see what's left...
As in prior years, the reward for solving is a video Christmas card, but you'll need to figure out the password by solving the puzzle.
Note: If you need some help, the full answer is posted here, but try solving it without help first... it's more fun that way.
Feel free to add a comment below to let us know that you successfully figured it out (without giving away the answer to others). We are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
As in prior years, the reward for solving is a video Christmas card, but you'll need to figure out the password by solving the puzzle.
Note: If you need some help, the full answer is posted here, but try solving it without help first... it's more fun that way.
Feel free to add a comment below to let us know that you successfully figured it out (without giving away the answer to others). We are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Jason's 12th Birthday - Indoor Skydiving
For Jason's 12th Birthday, we went to iFly Indoor Skydiving. It was a blast and we all had fun! Can't wait to try it again.
Check out the video of Jason's 12th Birthday - Indoor Skydiving
Check out the video of Jason's 12th Birthday - Indoor Skydiving
Friday, July 19, 2013
Amara's 10th Birthday Party - Olympics Theme
For Amara's 10th Birthday, she chose an Olympics-themed birthday party with various sporting events and party games. The party began with guests entering the "Olympic Village" and decorating their water bottles with markers and stickers.
The first events were Synchronized Ping Pong (like "Simon Says") and Basketball-bomb (like "Hot Potato"). That was followed by a Parade of Nations Quiz where the teams tried to match pictures of flags to their respective countries.
The rotating events included Candy Matching (like "Memory"), Javelin Throwing and Sailboat Racing. After each guest had a chance to compete in each event, we had the Gold Medal Piñata ceremony.
Back inside, as we were grilling hamburgers, we kept the kids busy with our version of Scattergories followed by several rounds of Olympic Events Bingo. Finally, Felicia brought out the homemade Gymnastics cake, with a fondant-wrapped cookie dough mat.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Amara's visit to Mission San Juan Bautista

Amara chose Mission San Juan Bautista since it was within driving distance for a visit and because she wanted to create a video of our visit to Mission San Juan Bautista.
Interesting facts about the Mission:Largest of the 21 California Missions. Its church is the largest in the mission chain and is the only with a main aisle and two naves. Was used as the setting for Alfred Hitchcock's movie "Vertigo" starring Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak.
Friday, December 21, 2012
Christmas Puzzle for 2012 - Snowflake Maze

Note: If you need some help, the full answer is posted here, but try solving it without help first... it's more fun that way.
Feel free to add a comment below to let us know that you successfully figured it out (without giving away the answer to others). We are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Halloween Costume Theme: The Four Seasons
For our 14th year of dressing up for Halloween, we chose a theme that is ideal for a group of 4: The Four Seasons.
You can see a movie and read more details on our costumes by clicking here.
Tuesday, June 05, 2012
Photos of the Transit of Venus, extremely rare event!

A transit of Venus across the Sun takes place when the planet Venus passes directly between the Sun and Earth, becoming visible against (and hence obscuring a small portion of) the solar disk. The event is visible for several hours.
Transits of Venus are among the rarest of predictable astronomical phenomena. They occur in a pattern that repeats every 243 years, with pairs of transits eight years apart separated by long gaps of 121.5 years and 105.5 years.
This transit of Venus occurred on June 5 in our location and is the last Venus transit of the 21st century. The prior transit took place on June 8, 2004. The previous pair of transits were in December 1874 and December 1882. The next transits of Venus will be in December 2117 and December 2125.
Venus transits are historically of great scientific importance as they were used to gain the first realistic estimates of the size of the Solar System. In particular, observations of the 1639 transit, combined with the principle of parallax, provided an estimate of the distance between the Sun and the Earth that was more accurate than any other up to that time.
Click on the picture above to see more pictures from our observation of the Transit of Venus.
Saturday, December 31, 2011
Ice Skating Fun!
Jason and Amara and a couple friends (Makayla and Samantha) all went to the local outdoor skating rink for some ice skating fun. While they were there, they met up with Amara's classmate, Lucie and her sister Isabelle and her friend Anastasia. Enjoy the video by clicking the play button, or click to view it on YouTube.
Monday, December 26, 2011
Christmas Day 2011 - Turducken for Dinner

Next we got the turducken ready for roasting. For anyone that hasn't heard of a turducken it is a deboned turkey, stuffed with a duck and finally a chicken. In between each bird there's a layer of stuffing. This was the first time we ever tried a turducken and it was a fun culinary experience.
After that we opened gifts, played some games and relaxed until dinner time. For dinner we had turducken, haricot vert, peas, mashed potatoes with homemade gravy and cranberry sauce. For dessert we had a pudding and berry pie topped with homemade candy cane vanilla ice cream. (The ice cream maker was a Christmas gift from the cats.)
Click on the picture above to view our Christmas photo album. You can also click on the 'Slideshow' button to see the pictures with captions.
Tuesday, December 20, 2011
Christmas Puzzle for 2011 is available now
Our annual Christmas puzzle is available now. It is called "Write the Right Word" since it involves homophones.
As in prior years, the reward for solving is a video Christmas card, but you'll need to figure out the password by solving the puzzle.
Note: If you need some help, the full answer is posted here, but try solving it without help first... it's more fun that way.
Feel free to add a comment below to let us know that you successfully figured it out (without giving away the answer to others). We are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
Note: If you need some help, the full answer is posted here, but try solving it without help first... it's more fun that way.
Feel free to add a comment below to let us know that you successfully figured it out (without giving away the answer to others). We are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
Friday, November 25, 2011
Photos from Thanksgiving 2011

Wednesday, November 02, 2011
Halloween Costume Theme: Early Explorers of the New World
For our 13th year of dressing in a family theme for Halloween, we chose to dress as Early Explorers of the New World. We entered two local Halloween costume contests and we won first place and second place respectively in the groups and family categories.
We had Amara as an "Indian", Jason as a Viking, Blaine as Christopher Columbus and Felicia as an English colonist. Michael and Rosemary opted to "do their own thing" this year, so Michael dressed as "The Creep" from the Lonely Island music video of the same name, while Rosemary dressed as Princess Zelda from the Ocarina of Time. Click the photo above to see a slideshow and other details on our costumes.
We had Amara as an "Indian", Jason as a Viking, Blaine as Christopher Columbus and Felicia as an English colonist. Michael and Rosemary opted to "do their own thing" this year, so Michael dressed as "The Creep" from the Lonely Island music video of the same name, while Rosemary dressed as Princess Zelda from the Ocarina of Time. Click the photo above to see a slideshow and other details on our costumes.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Camping, Hiking, Tubing at Zion National Park
0:00 Day 1 - Setting up the tent
1:08 Day 1 - Emerald Pools Hike
3:02 Day 2 - Interpretive Tour & Hiking the Narrows
5:14 Day 3 - Our Campsite (South Campground)
6:52 Day 3 - Hike to Angels Landing (Intro)
7:53 Day 3 - Hike to Angels Landing (Going up)
11:35 Day 3 - Hike to Angels Landing (At the top)
13:18 Day 3 - Hike to Angels Landing (Going down)
14:42 Day 4 - Tubing Down the Virgin River
16:31 Day 4 - Becoming Junior Rangers
1:08 Day 1 - Emerald Pools Hike
3:02 Day 2 - Interpretive Tour & Hiking the Narrows
5:14 Day 3 - Our Campsite (South Campground)
6:52 Day 3 - Hike to Angels Landing (Intro)
7:53 Day 3 - Hike to Angels Landing (Going up)
11:35 Day 3 - Hike to Angels Landing (At the top)
13:18 Day 3 - Hike to Angels Landing (Going down)
14:42 Day 4 - Tubing Down the Virgin River
16:31 Day 4 - Becoming Junior Rangers
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Tubing Fun at Alpine Meadows (Tubeville)
We had fun racing each other, spinning, performing running starts, riding backwards, etc. And when you got up some good speed, you might find yourself getting some air at the bottom of the run then doing a 180°. It was a lot of fun! Don't forget to check out the patent-pending "Dad Cam" views in this video.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Jason's Mission Project - Santa Ines (model)
It's that time of year when the 4th graders have to create a "Mission Project" (either a photo collage, video or model) of one of the 21 California Missions. Jason chose to build a model of the Santa Ines Mission which is near Santa Barbara, the 19th one built. He found a survey map and a view of the front and used that to layout the model.
His tip to others working on their Mission Project? Do a little bit each weekend or night so you don't get overwhelmed on the last day. The model was made by first drawing a floorplan of the mission in the desired size. The size was chosen based on some cute horse figures that were found at the hobby store. That was also where we purchased the trees (train model supplies) and the lichen (for the bushes). The model is made with illustration board, cut with an X-acto knife. The crosses and fences were made with rectangular dowel rods (balsa wood) which were glued with hot glue and painted.
Jason used a mixture of red and orange paint to get the tile roof color and an off-white for the walls. This is easier to do if you paint the models before they are all glued together. It also makes it less likely you'll get paint in the wrong places. To finish it up, he used a label maker to add the name of the mission and his name. And we also glued down a picture of the Santa Ines Mission just to show a comparison between the actual mission and the model.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Secret Video, if you can solve our Christmas Puzzle
This year we've hidden a secret video message as the solution to our puzzle. Only those that can spot the 8 differences in our annual Christmas Puzzle will be able to figure out the password. Are you up to the challenge?
Note: If you need some help here are some hints:
1. What order are the colors in the rainbow? 2. Shed some light on the subject. 3. Two for the price of one. 4. Is this a dagger I see before me? 5. Check out that wall 6. Gold is more impressive 7. Whoops, who hung that picture? 8. Every brick counts.
You can also get the complete solution here, but try solving it without help first... it's more fun that way.
When you solve it, please don't give away the answer but feel free to add a comment to let us know that you successfully figured it out. And we are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
Note: If you need some help here are some hints:
1. What order are the colors in the rainbow? 2. Shed some light on the subject. 3. Two for the price of one. 4. Is this a dagger I see before me? 5. Check out that wall 6. Gold is more impressive 7. Whoops, who hung that picture? 8. Every brick counts.
You can also get the complete solution here, but try solving it without help first... it's more fun that way.
When you solve it, please don't give away the answer but feel free to add a comment to let us know that you successfully figured it out. And we are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Our Halloween Costumes (Chess Pieces) won First Place!
As part of our annual Halloween tradition, we come up with a family theme for our costumes. This year we went as Chess Pieces. We entered two local Halloween costume contests and we won first place in group/family for both.
Felicia came up with our theme this year. It started when Michael suggested he wanted to be a knight. After tossing around ideas like "royalty" or "knights of the round table", Felicia noted that the knight is one of 6 different chess pieces. It was a perfect match!
All clothing (apart from my pants/shirt/vest) was sewn by Felicia.
Once again, Felicia deserves all the credit for her weeks of sewing and I'll take credit for the construction, painting and decorating. Oh, and did you notice the chessboard trick or treat bags? Felicia sewed those too. Each of us had a bag with our corresponding chess piece. I think that helped people figure out the theme.
Take a look at our costumes for this year and years past
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Swimming Fun with Sydney and Sara
I put together a short video entitled Swimming Fun with Sydney and Sara. Enjoy!
Production Notes: I used our waterproof camera to get shots of people in the pool and jumping into the water. Most of the editing was done in the latest version of Windows Live Movie Maker, but I had to use Sony Vegas for a couple "special effects". I think you'll know which ones once you see the video.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Rosemary's French Commercial, Le Baton!
So have you heard about this new useful product that everyone should have? If not, be sure to watch the commercial so you too can have one. Everyone should go out now and buy Le Baton!.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Video Thank You Letter to Jason's 3rd Grade Teacher
Take a look at their Video Thank You Letter to Mr. Fisher.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Christmas Crafts, Cupcakes, Stockings and More...
On Christmas Eve, Blaine sang with the church choir and Felicia played violin.
Christmas Day was the usual fun of opening stockings, having breakfast, opening gifts, playing games, eating a scrumptious Christmas dinner, etc. Click the link for our Christmas 2009 slideshow. If the slideshow doesn't start automatically, click the 'Slideshow' button in the upper left.
Friday, December 25, 2009
Can You Solve Our Christmas Puzzle for 2009?
All the kids had a lot of fun creating our annual Christmas Puzzle for 2009. It's a standard word search puzzle, so it shouldn't be too difficult, but there is a hidden message to find when you are done.
If you are absolutely stuck, you can find the answer here.
When you solve it, please don't give away the answer but feel free to add a comment to let us know that you successfully figured it out. And we are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
If you are absolutely stuck, you can find the answer here.
When you solve it, please don't give away the answer but feel free to add a comment to let us know that you successfully figured it out. And we are always looking for new ideas for next year's Christmas puzzle, so submit those too.
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