Loving the chance to live this life

Ringing in 2012...

2012-01-01T08:21:00.000-07:00

Ending the year is always hard. Not because it is sad or reflective or anything deep. It is because Hubby works insane hours. He works about 30 hours within a 40 hour time period. Luckily, we have VERY amazing friends who usually get together. The kids and I usually get to hang out with them. Not only are the adults friends, but also the kids...so it is win-win for all of us! Because of them, the new year is fun and awesome!

They were having so much fun outside, she did not want to stop and let me take her picture. But, I can be quite convincing :)Critter is very different from his sister. Where Pumpkin likes to be in the middle of the action, the kids and leading a group....Critter likes to do his own thing. He was up in the fort for quite awhile playing his own thing. He is perfectly content that way. He will join in the group for awhile and then go off on his own. He is not the social butterfly his sister is, that is for sure!

I have been trying to remember to get a picture of me with the kids lately. The face Critter is making is his new "cheese" face. When you tell him to smile for a picture, this is what he gives you. Not sure about that one! But, at least they will look back and know I was there!

Most of the evening/night we were dancing to a great dance game. The kids and grownups got in on the action. It was a workout both from the dancing and the laughing. It made the night so much fun! Pumpkin has been begging for the game at home now.

What party would be complete without sparklers? I don't think Critter has ever held a sparkler before. He thought they were pretty neat, but didn't move around too much!

My little adventure girl on the other hand was having a blast making designs in the air and moving all around.

We were trying to do a heart, but she got a little excited. She did not want to stop at just one heart, she kept making them! I love how excited she gets though...

This was near the end of the night. We stayed up for the 10pm countdown..then got ready to go home. It was a late night, but a blast. We were all quite tired the next day...and a little goofy at the end of the night!

Here's to a great 2012!

Christ.mas Day

2012-01-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

We had a beyond fabulous Christ.mas Day. It was different this year because we woke up in the morning with just the 4 of us. Usually my parents are there too...but I think they probably enjoyed not being woken up at 615am! :)

We had just a few things for the kids at our house...plus the big guys gift! :) The kids knew they had quite a few things waiting for them at my parent's house.

This was Critter as he woke up and looked for the first time. I don't know about your house, but at our house San.ta does not wrap his presents. The ones under the tree without wrapping paper are from him. So...the first thing the kids see is what he brought them....is is fun and cute!
They were super excited their aunt and uncle gave them new Wii remotes! We have been sharing the 2 white ones it came with for over a year. Now, no more fighting! I don't know who was more excited about this...the kids or Hubby and I :)

We gave Critter a cool Star.Wars ship set...isn't it adorable! :)

After getting dressed and setting up new toys, we were up at my parent's house the rest of the day. It was fun and relaxing. But....weird for me to not cook a meal. I have been cooking a Christ.mas meal for 6 years. I don't always know how to relax and this was proof. All week I kept thinking I was missing a present or something...it was driving me crazy. It was not until Hubby told me I was missing shopping, prepping and cooking the meal that it made sense...

He was so excited to open each gift.

Yes, that is a jar of pickles....yes, it was a Christ.mas present...yes, it was from my parents...yes, he was super excited about it! This kid loves pickles!

I totally forgot to get a picture of the kids sitting in front of presents this year. so...we did the next best thing. We gathered all the paper at my parent's house and buried the kids. They thought it was a blast!

One of the favorite gifts...it talks too.

Another favorite! He was SO excited to be like his big sister. He hopped on and was riding like a pro. Plus, he loved the little hill on my parents street.

What better way to burn off the dinner calories than a race on the street. We all raced..it was fun. I had the kids get Hubby though since I was wearing boots with heels that were not too great for running!

He wore himself out! No, I did not pose this. He just layed down in the street after racing and riding his new scooter!

We finished the night watching a 3D movie. It is one of the kids (and my dads) favorites and really cool in 3D!

It was a beyond amazing day. Everyone was so spoiled. We are still enjoying the feelings from then. I don't think anything is better than these two amazing faces celebrating...

Finally catching up...

2011-12-30T20:50:00.000-07:00

I have been so behind with updating on our life....It has been a little bit crazy around here. We have both been working so hard up until this weekend. I have wanted all spare time to be spent with the kids and friends. But...I really wanted to finish out the year updated on at least this! :) So....here is the last 2 months of our lives....

Christmas...Eve...

2011-12-30T19:10:00.003-07:00

We had a great Christmas.Eve this year. How could we not with the kids! :) It was a little different. Normally, my parents come down to spend the night with us on Christmas.Eve. We all go to mass and then I make dinner. This year, it was just the 4 of us. We met up with our close friends at church...which was awesome! We then came home for a nice dinner of soup. Then we put the kids in their pj's, made hot chocolate and drove around to look at Christmas lights. It was a great night!

Gotta do pictures before church!

I don't know how much longer I have to coordinate their outfits. I will do it as long as they will let me though. My guess is they did not realize I coordinated them this year though :)
This was before heading out to look at lights...we were tracking the Big Red Guys progress....I love that website each year! Such great motivation to go to bed :)

Yes, they let me do matching pj's too! Hoping I can get a few more years out of this tradition as well!

Setting out our treats...My favorite tradition...each Christmas.Eve right before bed I read The Night Before Christmas. I love doing this. It feels like it makes the night complete. Again, I am really hoping the kids let me hold onto these traditions as long as possible. They mean so much to me. Each thing we do brings us back to what is important. This holiday is not about the greed...about how much we can get. It is about what we do for each other, family and friends. As long as we keep that in mind...we are good.

The kids went to sleep so nicely without many peeps. They were so tired from running around for 2 days that is helped! They were super excited for the morning though...

A cute show

2011-12-18T08:29:00.000-07:00

The thing that I love about Critter's preschool is that it is a Christian school. So...at Christmas time, they celebrate Christmas! His class put on a little Christmas show. All the kids are 3 or just turned 4. Since he only goes to school 2 days a week, I was not sure how he would do with the performance. He is not the most outgoing in new situations, but he did great! I was amazed at how well he knew the songs. Some of these kids go 5 days a week so they have a lot more time to memorize the songs.

This last one is my absolute favorite!

This show just made my Christmas season....

Critter is four...

2011-12-08T18:55:00.000-07:00

I have no idea how his birthday came around again. I have no idea how he turned four! Each year is going faster and faster. He was so excited about his birthday. This was the year where everything made sense to him. He was involved in everything and it all held meaning for him. He is such a joy in our lives. He is my book loving, cuddling, growing too fast, shy and reserved in new sitations and fun loving and crazy when he is comfortable...kid.

We love you Critter. You have made this family balanced and complete. I can not see what you do in this next year. As long as you still stay my boy! :)

Walking a parade...

2011-12-03T18:46:00.000-07:00

All 4 of us walked in a great parade earlier this month. It was during a spell of rain...we were just hoping it held off. Which, it almost did! As we were walking it started raining more and more. By the time we finished the parade it started pouring! We had parked a bit away from the downtown area. So...we had to walk awhile. But, we had no traffic getting out of there! It was great fun. These are some of my close friends and the kids friends. It was so cute to see the crowd react to them. We had decorated their bikes and scooters...

Yes, I wore those ears on my head the whole time! You can't see the glow sticks around the ears. I will do anything to make my kids smile! It really was a great event, a new tradition for my group. Plus, the kids really liked being in a parade. They were so excited and could not stop talking about it. This was just one more holiday event we could enjoy with the kids. Really, this time of year is about family and fun!

Holiday fun...

2011-11-26T18:16:00.000-07:00

Both Hubby and I were working like crazy this holiday season. But, it was super important to me to do fun things with the kids. They should not have to sit at home and not do these fun things! We started with a fun parade where Daddy was working. It was a little hard because we were sitting right where he was working. The kids kept wanting to talk with him and be with him, they did not understand that he was working. But, it was fun to experience the parade "with Daddy"

Enjoying hot chocolate and popcorn before the parade started :)

My boy was happy to pose for a picture. My girl...not so much!
They loved all the floats and people walking. It was also perfect since we were going to be in a parade the next weekend. It gave them an idea what we were going to be doing. It was a little loud for Pumpkin though...she kept plugging her ears...

We got to see the man in the red suit twice! We were walking back to the car and happened to see the end of the parade again. The kids though it was super cool. Plus, they saw him get off of the truck and get on a golf cart. He was going to another area where kids to talk with him. However, when this mommy saw the line and the time....we decided to talk with him another time! :)

Taking the leap...on a bike...

2011-11-25T18:06:00.000-07:00

We decided the weekend after Thanksgiving to try to take the training wheels off of Critter's bike. He has been riding like a fiend and thought he was ready. It was so interesting to see how different the kids were. With Pumpkin we put her on the top of a hill and let her go...she just went! She had little fear and just tackled the challenge. Critter was much more reserved. He wanted nothing to do with the hill...at all. But, he also had so much more control of his bike. He started off and could pretty much stop without falling.

We had to put the training wheels back on for a parade we were in...but they are coming off again this weekend. He is so ready....I just don't know if I am! This just means he is growing up. Just one more indication of it anyway. I remember like it was yesterday when Pumpkin was learning to ride her bike without training wheels. Seems like Critter is growing up way to fast!

Turkey...Day...

2011-11-24T18:29:00.000-07:00

We had an interesting Turkey.Day this year. Poor Hubby got sick during the night. The problem was that he was going to take the kids to Turkey.Bowl with our friends. He was going to take the kids while I stayed home and cooked all the food. He had been prepping the kids to go with him for about two weeks. So...the cute kids looked at me after I put the turkey in the oven and asked me "are we going to go see oru friends now?" What else could I say to them. I took the break from cooking and took them. The grown up boys played flag football, the ladies chatted and the kids played. They had a blast!

Critter does not play football much. If he does play, it is with Daddy or his sister. So, it was cute to see him play with his friends. He did not quite get the tackling thing...he would just tackle anyone he could, not necessarily the one with the ball!

I love his pose in this one! He was trying to not let Grandma R get him....it worked! :)
He wanted the leg. He actually ate a fair amount of it...

We did the perfect thing after eating....we played more football outside. It was so much fun. Luckily, Hubby was feeling better by this point. He was able to be among the family and hang out a bit.

Turkey.Day is one of my favorite holidays. It is about family and friends...nothing too commercial about it! It is simply enjoying a day. I love hosting the day. Not much makes me happier than putting out a bunch of food and having a house full of family. Hope I get to host again next year :)

My 3rd Half Marathon...

2011-11-06T18:02:00.000-07:00

I decided to be crazy and run my 3rd Half Marathon back in early November. I was able to train nicely this time, with Jacob in school....that is what I thought anyway! A very good friend of mine was running as well. We had a GREAT pace up to mile 4. My right knee decided it wanted to go out on me. She ran ahead and I walked/limped/jogged/struggled for the next 9.1 miles. It was absolutely crazy.

Hubby and the kids were at mile 8 to cheer me on. You know you are in pain when your husband sees your face and then puts down the camera.
I did not realize how in pain I looked until I saw these pictures. It was a tough go...

My girl with my medal...

Critter was super sweet. He leaned over to Hubby when he saw me and said "See, Mommy won the race...she has a medal!"

I really appreciate the support of my family and my mom. They came out to support me on a chilly November day. Next year, I will run another one...but hoping the knee decides to cooperate with me!

A little late...but...

2011-10-31T15:51:00.000-07:00

Better late than never...here is Hall.oween!

The kids had a great time this Hall.oween. They ate dinner and then wanted to go trick.or.treating right away. It was hard to explain that we had to wait for people to turn on their lights and then we could go. Then we had a few issues with them wanting to only go with Hubby or myself. But...we got it worked out in the end!

He was super excited to wear his costume! I have a rule that we don't wear out costumes until the actual day. That way, they don't get ruined beforehand. But, after they can wear them whenever they want to. He wears this quite often :)
I was so excited that she still wanted to be a princess this year. I did not think I would get another year from her. I know she is growing up and will grow out of princesses one day. I am glad we don't have to grow up too fast yet!

Just about to go out...

At the last minute they wanted me to dress up....not too much to choose from! At least I had a shirt to make them happy....even though they did not listen to it! They did not give me their candy :)

It is hard to see...but Critter is soaked! He was so sweaty with the mask and the padded costume. Luckily he did not care too much!

This was actually the first year we carved pumpkins. We have always painted them in the past. I have slight issues digging out all the guts of the pumpkin. But, Hubby was home more this year....so he did it! :)

I LOVED Critter's face when he went to reach in. He decided it was not his cup of tea! :) What can I say, he looks like Hubby....but he is Momma's Boy!

The finished products. It was a really great (and busy) Fall. I can not believe that Thanksgiving is next week. I know there is so much I need to catch up on. I will get there at some point!

Our girl is growing up...

2011-10-23T19:00:00.000-07:00

I have no idea how this child is 7. She has grown into such an amazing young lady. She is no longer a little girl...even though I do not want to admit that! She is still her fiesty, independent, strong-willed child. She has a mind of her own and is not afraid to use it. Yet, when she is scared or hurt...she still wants her momma. I can not complain about that! She is the light of my life. She made me a momma and I would not change a thing about her.

Happy Birthday sweet girl. We love you so much. You made us parents and we celebrate you everyday!

Last Day...

2011-10-19T13:05:00.000-07:00

To best describe our trip....

This is how we found the kids when we woke up on Friday morning....

I have no idea how they were sleeping like that, but they were exhausted!
Saying by to the hotel...

We could not have asked for a more perfect vacation. It was beyond our expectations. The fact that we were able to surprise the kids with something like this was beyond awesome! After three days in the park....I am not ready to go back anytime soon! But, they are memories we will all cherish for a lifetime :)

Disney Day 3

2011-10-19T12:51:00.000-07:00

I can not believe we were still standing by the time Thursday came around. We were exhausted! Luckily, we had scheduled a character breakfast that morning. It was so much fun and some great food :) After cold cereal for breakfast for days in the hotel room, it was nice to have hot food! :)

Pumpkin was super excited and awestruck to see Jasmine. She is one of her favorites and it was great that she was there. We had the choice to do the princess meal, but decided for Critter's sake we would do the other one. At least this time he got her autograph, but still would not take a picture with the princess!
They were both looking forward to this guy!

The nice thing about the last day was that we all just did the rides again that we wanted to. We didn't do a bunch of new stuff. But....they both wanted to see the Star.wars show again. Both really wanted to be picked to be Jedi/in/training. Pumpkin was excited, but shy. She was not picked...but Critter was...

He has a tendency to be a little shy, but was super excited. He took it very seriously and listed to what he was supposed to do.

Here he is waiting to fight....

The Dark/.Side! I think it was his favorite part of the trip. I know it is a memory that will last forever for me! :)

I realize since I have the camera so much, I don't have many pictures of myself with the kids. I want to make sure they know I was actually around for all these fun things when they were kids. I was courageous enough to have this child drive me around again! Man, she is going to need good driving lessons :)

This was the only day where we stayed late for a night show. I knew the kids would get way to tired early in the trip if we did it earlier. But, this way we got to do some more relaxing things in the evening.

Nothing better than a sword fight while waiting for a show :)

This is how he left the park that night. I don't know how Hubby carried him! It is hard enough to carry him when he helps hold on. He was passed out and he is HEAVY! He made it for the light show, but was passed out by the time we walked to the front of the park.

Disney Day 2

2011-10-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

We did not get as early of a start on Day 2...which was nice! :) We got to the park right when it opened and got to go to the opening of Toon.town. It was really cute. They had a little ceremony w/all the characters. The kids loved it. Both really wanted to see Minnie....so we got in line to get her autograph.

Pumpkin knew she was going to this part of the park, so she wanted to wear her Minnie shirt. They were so excited.
As a surprise for her "birthday present" the girls went off and went to this boutique by the castle. They had options of hair, nails, makeup and of course the whole princess outfit. I had made the appointment for her with just the hair and makeup. I brought her Halloween.dress with me, but she did not want to wear it. That ended up being a good idea since it was almost 100 that day! As she sat in the chair her "Fairy.Godmother" did her hair and talked with her. She was excited but a little shy. I don't think she quite knew what to make of it...

This is one of the only smiling pictures i got of her. I think that is because all of her crazy long hair is standing straight up. I really do not know how these ladies do this to the kids hair...

Our little princess! What you can not see in this picture is all the glitter! There was glitter for days! Her hair stayed like this until Thursday night. It would have stayed in longer, but she really needed it down for a bath :) She did not show it, but she was super excited...

Let's say that Daddy is teaching this kid to drive! She was a nut! But...she had fun :)

It was REALLY hot this day. This was right before we went to find a place to sit in the shade and wait for the parade.

First meltdown of the trip. His sister spilt his drink and he did not want Daddy's drink. When it is almost 100 and you are very tired, that would cause a meltdown! But, the parade started soonafter, so we were good!

She was seeing the first princesses of the parade. Even though she turned 7, she still loves her princesses! I will take it as long as i can! This is one of my favorite pictures of the trip. She just kept lighting up and I could never catch it. This was why we went, for these smiles and memories!

He loved it all too. He was mesmerized by it all.

We lucked out a few times as we were leaving the park. We kept seeing characters we had not met yet. It worked out perfectly! :)

Loved all the pumpkins and the decorations for Halloween! It made it even more fun! The kids loved looking for the special little places as well. We left the park pretty early on Day 2 and had a nice dinner and early bedtime! We all needed it....

Disney Day 1

2011-10-19T09:49:00.003-07:00

We were able to keep the secret until we pulled up to the hotel. We were trying to get Pumpkin to read the signs, but she did not want to. The video camera in her face may have attributed to that! Then, Critter looks out the window and says..."That says Disney". The kids were in shock. It did not hit them we were actually there until we checked into the hotel.

The first pic when we got to the hotel lobby.
We woke up Tuesday morning to find Critter sleeping like this. We piled up lots of things on him to see if he woke up...he didn't! It was really hard to get the kids to sleep on Monday night, knowing they would get to go to Disneyland on Tuesday morning!

Our first ride...Dumbo!

First characters...Tinkerbelle :)

Hubby's parents came and surprised the kids as well. Luckily Nana likes the teacups...otherwise they would not have gone on them! It was great to see them have fun with a set of grandparents!

Critter loved the villans. The Queen of Hearts liked him too :)

For some reason, this is the smile he started giving when asking him to smile. Not sure why it started on this trip...but it is still cute!

We did so much the first day! We did both parks and were exhausted! But, that was the coolest day so I am glad we did so much when it was a little less hot. We thought we were going to escape the heat, but not so much! I never would have thought both kids would love roller coasters as much as they did. They were so great with listening and having fun!

Two more days to go...

The Beach...

2011-10-19T09:42:00.003-07:00

We have been planning a family vacation since July. We told the kids we were going to go to San Diego....but really we were planning a Disneyland Vacation! So, off we went last week on our amazing adventure. I am still not quite sure how we pulled off a surprise on these two. They are pretty smart, but did not catch on. To help with the surprise, we drove to San Diego and had a great seafood lunch and headed to the beach.

It was the most perfect beach day! We could not have asked for anything better...except maybe if I had remembered a towel :)
The two of them just took off into the water....they loved it. I have never seen them have this much fun at the beach. Now we need to plan a vacation to go to San Diego!

The water was pretty darn cold though!

We found some seashells...

Dug holes in the wet sand and watch them fill back up with water...

We found a sand dollar still alive. It was the coolest thing I had seen in a long time! It freaked Pumpkin out a little bit, but it was awesome. Did you know they are dark purple when alive and turn white when they die?

Now, it was time to load up and head to the hotel. On the drive from San Diego to Disney...the kids did not ask where we were going, what we were doing, etc. It was strange! We realized on the way up that even though we normally discuss all vacation plans with them, this time we didn't and they did not ask! It was pretty cool.

Now, onto the Disney part :)

Critter's Name...

2011-10-02T20:42:00.002-07:00

I have been trying to work with Critter on writing his name and letters. The kid is content as can be looking at books and being read to. Yet, we sort of by-passed the writing aspect of learning. So...we are trying now! He knows how to spell his name, but gets confused on what his letters look like. If you write it, he can copy it pretty well.

This was the first time he wrote his name where you could actually tell what his name is.

I had to take a picture of his with this though...since he wanted to give it to Nanny and Papa! Lucky them :( He was so proud of himself though. It was really cute. I just don't remember in our day to work on the simple things. He loves doing so many other things. He will get it one day. I am trying not to stress too much about it! We are getting there :)

Now that our bathroom project is almost done, I will hopefully be in this space more often. I have so many pictures and updates to put here. It will happen, at some point!

More fun at Nanny and Papa's house...

2011-09-08T15:43:00.003-07:00

We got to go up to my parent's house Labor Day weekend to celebrate my dad's birthday. Since it has still been SO hot...the pool was still perfect! The kids are little fish up at their house. I am amazed at how their swimming skills have improved this summer. Pumpkin was doing great last summer, but is fully competent in the water now. Critter has almost taught himself how to swim with all the jumping and throwing he has experienced in the pool. It was a really fun day. I just love to see how much fun the kids have with their grandparents.

Hubby actually took this picture of her. I do not know why...but she loves these goggles! She has had them for years and they really do not fit her anymore. But, she loves them!

Critter and Hubby were playing "tidal wave". They jumped at the same time and tried to see how big of a wave they could make "together". As you can see, most of the wave was done by Hubby! Critter thought it was the funniest thing :)

Of course they had to jump in together after the Daddy game. Plus, i love this picture with her feet in the water. I just love my camera!

Because of gymnastics, Critter loves doing flips. So...what better place than the pool. He was having a blast jumping in every way we would let him!

Why not end the day jumping off of Daddy's head!

Happy Belated BDay Dad! It was such a fun day. The kids were worn out! Gotta love being tired from a good day and good food...

Critter's Big Day...

2011-08-30T11:12:00.002-07:00

I am so not ready to write this post!

Today is Critter's first day of school! It seems like yesterday we brought Pumpkin to her first day of preschool. I was carrying Critter back then since he was not even walking. Now, he is marching off with the rest of the kids to start this new adventure. I am so not ready for it, but he is. We were walking home from bringing Pumpkin to school. I told him he could watch a little bit of tv before leaving. He said " No mom, it is time for me to go to school now". He was more than ready....not so much for me though!

Can you tell how happy he is! It didn't affect him when I said I would not be staying. He was telling me all about what he wanted to do in class.
I had Pumpkin take a picture of him and I before bringing her to school. She is getting quite good with my camera :)

At his school before going to the playground.

Daddy left work for a few minutes to drive down to see him. He got there just as they were lining up to go up to their classroom. He surprised Critter and he was super happy!

Walking in line to go to class! I am so excited to hear about his first day. I am so not ready for both of my kids to be in school. The really grow up to fast...

I got home from coffee with a friend (thanks B) and found this note from Pumpkin. Even though they don't always show it, they love each other so much. I know this note will be erased soon, but it is so sweet.

These guys are growing up way to quick. I want to remember some of the sweet moments that will fade too quickly:

~ I love when Pumpkin wakes up early and wants me to come cuddle with her until she is ready to wake up

~ I love when I go to Critter's room to sing him his goodnight song he lifts his arms up and i have to rest my head on his chest. If I try to lift my head, he pushes it down until I finish singing

~ I love that my girl gives me the biggest hugs when I have to leave to work or run errands

~ I love that the kids will sit in the front window when either Hubby or I have to leave. They sit and wave at us as we drive by

~ I love finding notes from Pumpkin in the most random places.

~ I love figuring out Pumpkin's phonetic spelling of things

~ I love how Critter has memorized his favorite books and wants to read to me now

~ I love when my kids are sick or hurt they still want their momma!

I know it is a part of growing up...but this momma is not ready for it. My kids are though. All I can do is go along for the ride!

Fun Family Time...

2011-08-23T08:31:00.002-07:00

We are now in the season of cherishing every moment of family time we can! My two businesses are starting to really pick up, Hubby has been working a lot and did I mention we are remodeling our bathroom! It has been a good year and a half since we had a house full of chaos and dust...so why not do it again! So, needless to say when the 4 of us can get out of the house and have fun it is great!

Our Alma Mater had their football inter-squad scrimmage this past weekend. It was free and on a Saturday morning...couldn't pass that up! The kids have been asking to go to a game, so we figured we would do this. My mom and I took the kids last year since Hubby was working. It is a great time. It was not too hot since it started at 8am. Plus, since it was not packed the kids could move around and not get too antsy.

I was really involved in campus when I was there, so I have different memories than Hubby. I love to take a picture of the kids in front of the Victory Bell. We are keeping our fingers crossed that this season this bell will be ringing a lot! :)
Anytime we see the mascot, we have to get a picture! Plus it was fun to see his new uniform for the year. You can't tell by this picture, but Critter loves this guy!

I realize I do not have nearly enough pictures of me and my kids. I am always behind the camera. I am really trying to get better about getting pictures with them instead of always just pictures of them.

I can not believe how grown up this girl is getting. She seems to grow a little every day. I miss the baby she was, but am truly excited to see who she grows into. The days have been tough with her lately, but she is my amazing daughter. Her fiery, independent, strong-willed personality will do great things for her in this life. She was enthralled with the cheerleaders during the game. She is really loving her gymnastics class right now and realizes she might be able to do these cool tricks one day.

He was loving the game! It was so cute. He kept asking questions about what the guys were doing. He was a little confused since it was a inter-squad game and run a little different. But, football season should be fun this year!

It was a great family morning. It was a great reminder of why Hubby and I are both working like crazy right now!

What happens...

2011-08-09T08:40:00.001-07:00

...when we are in a giggling mood and I get my camera! The other night we were just being goofy. Hubby and Pumpkin were reading together and I needed to get Critter out of the room. He was just being goofy...so I got my camera! I am so glad I did. These two just make me laugh :)

I told him to put his cheek to mine so I could get a picture....he took me seriously too. I tried to take the picture before his cheek was on mine and he corrected me!

He was pretending to be green lantern and fall on the bed. Not really sure why, but it cracked me up. He was making the funniest faces. Plus, he was wearing Pumpkin's.green.heart ring...so therefore he was green.lantern!

Getting ready to fall on me to protect me!

Pumpkin got done reading and was wondering what was going on....Critter and I were cracking up and she had to get in on the action!

There really is nothing sweeter in this world to me than these two laughing and smiling! Life may not always do what I think it is going to do....but I know I am doing my job well if I can see images like I captured this day. The summer really went by too quickly and Critter will be starting school in three weeks...It is hard to realize your kids are growing up much faster than you want them to!

Why Daddy is fun...

2011-08-08T08:35:00.002-07:00

It is good that Hubby and I balance each other out. We all know that both of us are just a little ;) Type A. But, we both know how to have fun with the kids in different ways. Sunday morning he was doing yard work fairly early in the day (it is hot!). The kids asked to go outside with him. The next thing I know I look out the window and see fun sprinkler time in their clothes! :)

This is why Daddy is fun...

The two of them had so much fun! It was really cute and honestly something I would probably not have done with them...at least without bathing suits. But, that is the joy of Daddy!

We have a lot of stress going on right now in our lives. Moments like this help me remember what the big picture is all about! If these two sweet faces can be smiling, then all is right in our world!

Summer Simplicity

2011-08-04T16:12:00.002-07:00

Even though our summer has been over for almost 2 weeks, I still have stuff to catch up on in this space! The end of summer dragged on a little bit. It was really hot and I ran out of energy for big elaborate entertainment. But...sometimes it is the simple things that make us the most happy....it was a good reminder :)

I love that Pumpkin likes to sit and "read" the comics. It is so cute....especially when it is next to Daddy on a Sunday morning...

She got to go to a birthday party with a face painter. She painted a beautiful butterfly and bracelet. Pumpkin LOVED them...unfortunately they had to be washed off that night. But, pictures last longer than face paint!

During the craziness of the hot afternoons...we rediscovered a love for coloring. We had some really nice, peace-filled afternoons filled with coloring. These were some of my favorite days of the summer!

Man, the days just go by too quickly to catch up completely! I think if we all go to bed with smiles on our faces, then we had a successful day. We are still getting into a rhythm with school back in session. Critter starts the last Tuesday of this month for 2 day a week preschool. So, once we get in a rhythm with Pumpkin we will have to figure it out with Critter! Days are good...but hot that is for sure! :)

A big first grader...

2011-07-25T15:37:00.002-07:00

Well, it is official....our girl is growing up! She is now a first grader! She was so excited to start school today and see her friends again. She got a little bit nervous walking onto the school campus, but was then good once she saw some of her friends. I told her that I needed to take a picture of her, but it was up to her if we took other pictures. She made me happy by taking pictures with all of us! Last year, we started the picture process later and got to school right in time for her to go to her class. This year, she knew she wanted to play with friends on the playground...so we were a little earlier!

Getting to be so grown up...
He is so proud of her....even if he has bed head! :)

I will always take it when she will take a picture with me! I do not get many of them anymore!

On our way....she was super excited to get a new backpack this year. Daddy even went to work late this morning so he could walk her to school and see her go to class. She was super happy!

Getting ready to go into class...

This year was much better than last! I still can not believe she is growing up so fast. However, I will be a wreck in September when Critter starts preschool!

Hope this is a great school year!

Gymnastics Class...

2011-07-23T14:49:00.003-07:00

It has taken us years since our favorite kid gym/play place closed to find a gym where we felt comfortable. We finally found this place and signed Critter up for a class back in February. He LOVES this place. He loves his class and he loves going to open gym. He has learned so much and I am amazed at how strong he is!

The kids were super excited to show off to my cousin when he was here. I had been meaning to take my camera with me to Critter's class and my cousin was a good reminder to do that!

He can hold himself in the pull up position by himself! I know I can not do that :)
They were helping him do flips on the bars this day. Since he can hold himself up, they don't want him getting bored.

I always knew he had a hard head....since bonks it so much! He loves to get himself into the headstand position, by himself! He is in the back of the picture with his feet up on the red mat. This class has been so great for him. It is great practice for preschool, since I get to sit inside and watch him do class by himself. He just loves it!

So, we decided to do the "mean parent" thing and force Pumpkin to take gymnastics. She needed to get into something physical and this seemed like a great place for her. She LOVES doing all the fun stuff at open gym, but was intimidated by class. We told her she would do a minimum of 8 weeks and if she left her first class happy then she could get a gymnastics outfit. She of course left happy :) She is in the pink top and purple shorts!

She has always loved bouncing! I can tell you she is much more flexible than her momma! :)

I could not BELIEVE how high she climbed on that rope! This was only her 3rd class and she was doing great. She is probably over 6 1/2 feet high at her feet there! CRAZY!

This has been such a great experience for me and the kids. I love seeing them active and having fun. It is so important to us that they have a few fun activities to do while being healthy. I can tell you the kids sleep good at night after class....just another bonus for me! Plus, Pumpkin has not asked yet when her 8 weeks is up....so she will keep doing it awhile longer. She is catching on really quick. The test will be next week after the 2nd day of school. We will get home from school, change, get a quick snack and rush off to class....wish me luck on that one! :)

An awesome visit...

2011-07-13T07:08:00.004-07:00

We had a super-fun visitor come to see us....my cousin came down from Oregon to hang out from the 3rd-7th. I don't know if we could have fit more activities into his trip if he tried! It was a nice little break for the kids too. Since we did not travel this summer, I was starting to run out of ideas! This was a little vacation, but at home :)

We started his trip at my parents house. The kids and I were already there, plus we got to go swimming on the 4th! What better to do in the heat of the summer but to make smores though ;)
Pumpkin had to get in on the "throwing the kid" game. She is not as big a fan as her brother though. She would much rather jump into the pool herself than be thrown like this!

The new throw for Critter was the "Super.man"! I was amazed that this kid could keep his body straight while being thrown. I will tell you after 2 weekends of swimming and playing at Nanny's pool, he is much closer to actual swimming than ever before! He kept telling us to let go so he could swim himself. I love his confidence, even though it makes me nervous! And yes, he is about 18+ inches above the water! My dad and cousin sure got their upper body workouts in while throwing this kid :)

Since we got to see fireworks on the 2nd, we went bowling on the 4th! My cousin was not used to the heat, so there was no way I was going to take him out to see the fireworks! The kids had a BLAST! They both love playing W.ii bowling, but this was even more fun. It was especially cute when Critter decided he needed to bowl like us...meaning with his one hand and not between the legs! We were not sure if the ball would get down the lane sometimes, but it did!

This girl seems to be good at everything she does! She beat me when bowling! She almost beat my cousin too! She even knocked down a split...it was crazy cool!

With family visiting, that meant more sweets and special things than normal. After Critter's gymnastics class we went to get a treat before going to Pumpkin's gymnastics class. We went to one of my favorite places!

A pink coconut cupcake with glitter...she was in heaven! :)

I love this pic...I have almost the same picture of the three of them from exactly a year ago. The kids have grown up a little bit though...

On Wed. we drove south to see a beautiful Mission. In all my years here I have wanted to make the drive, but haven't. Since my cousin LOVES history we thought it would be a nice place to go. He had only been here once before for my wedding, we had to show him another area of the state. Plus, this was a shorter trip than up North. The kids did pretty good with the sightseeing too.

The got to climb a little bit after the drive. There is not much better than climbing over rocks to get the wiggles out!

I am so glad we finally made it down here. I was amazed at the beauty. I of course took a lot of pictures, but am only posting those two :)

After we stopped for lunch, Critter was asleep before we even hit the freeway! It was a nice day, especially since Hubby was able to take the day off and come with us!

To say the kids loved having my cousin visit would be an understatement! There many pillow fights, forts, and lots of fun! I am glad we had 2 birthday parties to go to last weekend so they did not miss him too much. It was so nice for me to hang out with him as well. We have never lived in the same state, but when we were little our families would go to my grandparents house at the same time. I have so many memories of vacations with his family. In the last 10 years, we have seen each other only 4 times (this visit included). It is great to spend time as adults together and reminiscing about our childhood!

Thanks cousin for visiting! It was a great time. Next time, we will try to come your way :)

A fabulous 4th weekend...

2011-07-11T07:33:00.003-07:00

Once again this year, the kids and I went up to my parent's house for the 4th of July. Since Hubby always works the 4th, it is nice to get out of the house. Plus, it is fun since we can see the fireworks from my the front yard!

Watermelon always tastes better...outside! :)

This picture of Critter just cracks me up! He was in the middle of telling a story. I knew he took after me and talked with his hands...I just did not realize how much! I don't remember what the story was about, just that it was really important right at that moment :)

Did you know that the best way to wear a necklace is on your head? Pumpkin found this necklace and wore it on her head the rest of the weekend!

I forgot how much fun the glow bracelets can be! My mom gave the kids some so they could be entertained before the 9:30 fireworks. Of course since I had my camera that mean some fun pictures!

I never know how the kids will react to the fireworks. In all years past at least one of them have gotten scared of the noise. That is also part of the reason my parents house is good....we can just go inside if they freak out! But, this year they both seemed to enjoy it. My parent's community does a really awesome fireworks show. It lasts about 15-20 minutes and is quite impressive for a small community.

The best part was at the end though. We had been prepping the kids all day that the fireworks would make noise, but that the noise could not hurt them. Figured it was better to be prepared! At the end, Critter looks at my mom and says "Wow, I just thought there would be noise, not all that". The poor kid did not remember there were things to look at with fireworks, yet he was willing to sit there anyway!

I LOVE taking fireworks pictures! To me, it is a challenge and rewarding. There is something magical about watching this beautiful show. Plus, I love seeing the kids faces as they watch them and then see the pictures. It is almost like I can see the joy again and again in their faces!

Critter LOVES books! He will sit and look at books for a long time! If he is in a reading mood, we usually have to tell him we are done reading before he is! I love this about him since I am so happy when I have a book in my hand. One of his favorite spots is to grab a book and go to this corner and "read".

I got my love of reading from my parents...so I love that this picture captures both my dad and Critter reading before going swimming!

It was a really fun weekend. I am glad I got to relax a touch, since my cousin came to visit on the 3rd. The fireworks and activities were on the 2nd at my parents house. We pretty much did not stop when my cousin came. More pictures to come on that! It is so nice that the kids have both sets of grandparents so close so they can spend time with them. These are memories that will last a lifetime for them!

My 2 little fishies...

2011-06-29T15:10:00.003-07:00

The kids were up at Nanny and Papa's house this past weekend. It was on Pumpkin's wish list for the summer. It was nice to have some time to get things done around the house without our "helpers". Hubby and I went up there on Sunday to hang out and then bring them home. They had spent a fair amount of time in my parent's pool and were excited to show us what they could do!

Apparently all Critter wanted to do was jump to Papa from the edge. They taught him to ask every time, since he can not swim yet.

Not knowing how to swim does not make him fearful of the water though! Look at this! :) Funny thing is that his eyes are open the whole time!
Of course, Papa is there to catch him!

He did this time and time again. I love that Pumpkin is waiting her turn to jump as well! She is a little fish now. Papa taught her how to expel some air from her lungs so she can sit on the bottom of the pool. While this is a neat trick, it makes my heart stop every time she does it! There is nothing natural about seeing your child playing on the bottom of the pool. At least we all take turns watching the kids.

This picture is proof that I really have 3 children, not just 2. I could not believe what my husband was doing! My parents pool is not that deep, I can stand in the deepest part. But, the kids loved this....and Hubby did. I did turn my head a lot of the time (when I was not taking pictures).

So...since Critter has no fear of the water, my parents came up with this idea to give them a rest from him jumping in the whole time. I don't think he could fit many more flotation devices on his little body! He is getting really good with his swimming skills, which is a huge comfort. He blows bubbles, kicks, uses his arms, knows the grab the edge and can pull himself out of the water. So...we are getting there!

Hubby could not let Papa have all the fun.....

But, Hubby outdid Papa to the extreme. At one point, my dad looked at my mom and said "Now, you can not say anything about what I was doing with the kids!". The scary thing was that Critter was having a blast! I was not having the same fun watching them though. Plus....Critter has gotten really heavy! There is NO WAY I could throw them around like that!

Yes, that is Critter flying through the air...

Now let's go for over the head!

Nothing like a face plant into the water! Yet, he kept asking for more....he certainly does not get that adventure streak from his momma!

She was doing cannonballs off the ledge....she has a little of her dad in her as well!

CANNONBALL! :)

Her splash was not nearly as big as Hubby's, who jumped in after her!

It was a great day at their house. The kids had SO MUCH FUN! They both slept in on Monday and took a 2 and 3 hour nap! I sometimes wish we had a pool, but after seeing how daredevil they get...I am glad we don't! I know it will be just as crazy the next time we go up there.

Celebrating...

2011-06-28T08:11:00.003-07:00

This is a little late (but better late than never!). We had a nice Father's Day celebration with Hubby. We actually were able to have a whole weekend to just be the 4 of us! That was awesome :)

I started this project with Pumpkin when she was 2. Each Father's Day we make a cement stone with hand/foot prints and give it to him. I will say it makes coming up with his gift each year much easier :) This was the first year where besides mixing the cement and waiting for it to set enough....the kids did it all! They had so much fun. I was actually able to take pictures of them doing their project this year.

He took this very seriously. He did keep trying to fill his hand and foot print with glass and marbles....other than that he did great!

She of course, took her time and planned things out...

It is always so much fun to do this with them each year. Our goal in the next year is to re-do the backyard. We are going to incorporate these into the design. It is so neat to see how much they grow each year!

We just spent the weekend having fun with the kids. Life gets so full of errands, parties, activities and work that we don't get to just be. We took the kids to the splash pad in the morning. It was fairly empty and fun! It was not quite hotter than the face of the sun, so we were able to hang out for about an hour and a half! Critter was Mr. Adventure. He loved running through the spouts of water and having fun!

Pumpkin did not want to go in...so her brother held her hand and brought her to the water. It was really cute. I did not get pictures of it, but she started to use those orange circles as monkey bars. She would go from one end to the other, swing around w/o touching the ground and go back again. She did that 4 times without touching the ground. Hubby and I were sort of amazed at that one! She has a lot of strength in that little body :)

I think in their minds (and mine) we had a perfect Father's Day weekend. The kids and I got to hang out with Hubby for 2 whole days and just do what we wanted. The kids even got to do yard work with him while I cooked dinner. I wish we could do this every weekend.

It was the perfect celebration of a great dad! :)

One of our favorite parks...

2011-06-18T07:04:00.003-07:00

Last weekend we went to one of my favorite parks! It is about halfway between my parents house and ours, so it is a great meeting spot. Plus, they have a train, playground and carousal. We met my parents up there early on Sunday (before it got too hot) to celebrate my mom's BDay and Father's Day for my dad. The kids had a blast! It is so much fun to see them play and let their imaginations take hold. They always create fun games!

The way he was posing on top of this thing just cracked me up!
So, we can not find his cool superhero glasses he got for Easter. But, Hubby found a pair of glasses in the closet the other day. So, we gave them to Critter. They are a little big, but they fit. It took me a few days to realize who they belonged to....me! I got them when I left my sunglasses in a friends car. I can not go without sunglasses, so I got a really inexpensive pair. They have now become Critter's sunglasses. I don't know if it is a good thing that they pretty much fit him....at 3 1/2 years old!

I am trying to soak in this girl this summer. She is getting a little bored, but it is nice having her home. I want to make sure we are enjoying the summer and not running completely ragged!

He LOVES riding the train! I love the fact that my dad is into trains and will one day build a track for his model trains at their house. Between trains and golf, they have a special "thing" with him. I think that is so neat. I love that as they grow they will have certain special memories with each grandparent. Those small things are what will last them a lifetime.

I honestly could not believe that both my parents got on the carousal with the kids! It was such a fun day. The kids loved it as did Hubby and I. What a way to celebrate two great people!

Some Summer Fun...

2011-06-15T06:48:00.003-07:00

The kids and I were able to escape for Memorial Day Weekend up to my parent's house. That way, Hubby was able to get some projects done around the house without his "helpers". They LOVE heading up to Nanny and Papa's....they get a little bit spoiled! I love it as well since I get to potentially relax :)

We had a fun filled weekend. We started off by going to their music in the park that their community has. The girls walked and the boys took the golf cart. Critter is getting into having special "boy" time doing things. It is rather cute. I think this is one of my favorite pictures of Critter...

It was a nice relaxing time listening to some good music...until bed time though! My kids are so scheduled that even when I try to let them stay up or do things different, it does not work so well! They are like their momma....they like knowing the schedule of the day :)
The next day, Hubby was able to join us after finishing his projects. We had a cookout and then made smores! Not much better than that :)

The special thing about heading to Nanny and Papa's house is going golfing with Papa. Pumpkin has outgrown her first set of clubs and is doing really great! Critter does good...but often swings like it is a baseball bat. I absolutely love that they have this special thing to do with my dad. Plus....if I get to go with them I usually get some really fun pictures!

We are still working on Critter's stance a little bit. Plus, he has grown so much he has almost outgrown Pumpkin's old clubs. So...we will see what we do!

This time, he took them to the small driving range as well. Usually they only head to the putting/chipping green. He wanted (especially Pumpkin) to see them use their drivers and see them really swing.

Critter was trying to be just like Papa when putting his ball on the tee. It was really cute he kept looking over at my dad to see what he was doing.

It was a really fun way to start off the summer. Even though Pumpkin still had 2 days of school after this, I sort of thought of the weekend as the start of the summer. I know the summer will be over before I know it, so we are trying to soak in every minute of it! :)

Grad. pictures...

2011-06-11T13:45:00.002-07:00

I had to post some actual pictures of Pumpkin's graduation. They just told so much of the story of the day :)

I wanted to get a picture of her outside the front door just like I did on the first day of school....but it was not worth a fight! She wanted to stand inside, so that is where we went. Then....she did not want to "smile" for me. So, she smiled and covered her mouth. She unfortunately, is much like her mother. She gets a little moody when she gets nervous about a special event. I have sympathy since I am usually on the giving end of those moody times!

She was trying to convince her brother to make funny faces with her. He gets so proud of her when she does stuff. Each time she has had a performance at school or something special, he is an angel. He knows how much these things mean to us and to her. It is really sweet. Plus...who doesn't love it when kids pull up their socks like that! Every time he wears these socks he has to pull them up. Some hot days the socks happen to be dirty! :)

Her last picture in her Kindergarten classroom! She had such an amazing year in this classroom. I can not believe how much she has grown and how much she has learned. It is amazing.

We have been having a fun summer so far. I need to take more pictures of what we are doing. I will say that it is much harder to find a rhythm with Pumpkin getting bored during Critter's naps!

I can not believe how much I love this crazy family of mine!

No longer a Kindergartener...

2011-06-01T16:23:00.003-07:00

Our little girl is no longer a Kindergartner :( I am sad, yet so proud of who she has become. I was looking at pictures of her from the beginning of the year, and I can not believe how much she has grown! Once again, her school put on a really nice show. I can not believe how many songs these kids learned for the Fairytale Nite in April and then this now. Pumpkin would not practice at home because she wanted the songs to be a surprise for us.

Since Pumpkin is one of the tallest in the class she got to be in the back row again...next to her "boyfriend". This is a really sweet boy who is a dear friend to her. She was very happy to stand next to him :)

I may have gone a little overboard on the videos....but oh well! :) Our first born finishes Kindergarten only once! I have a bunch of pictures, but I will save those for another post...

The next video is the one that got me....I was not teary eyed much at all...until this one....

It makes you realize how quick they grow. Another mom started crying, then I started, then the mom on the other side of me started...it was sort of funny. I just could not believe I was sitting and watching this little girl be so grown up. I want to enjoy each moment of this summer, I know it will go by way to fast!

This summer is going to be filled with lots of adventures....I am truly looking forward to it!

A fun baseball game...

2011-05-11T13:25:00.002-07:00

We took the kids to a baseball game a few weeks ago. We love to go and sit on the grass. They are not the greatest seats for adults, but man it is easier with the kids! :) They just run around, play and get to just enjoy the atmosphere. We had such a fun time.

Every year I try to get a picture of the kids with the mascot. It is fun to see how big the kids get each year! They made a game of it at the game for who could find him first. Luckily we got over to him quickly when he came down to the grass. Kids just bombard him where ever he goes!

My goofy boy with his "fork 'em devils" fingers. He was attempting a cute wink at the same time....not sure about that one! :)

Me and my boy! The kids were getting cold. We brought one blanket to sit on, but ended up needing to cover the kids with it. He was cold, so he wanted me to cuddle him...how could I argue with that face!

She just loves to spend time with daddy. I think he enjoys it too :)

It was such a fun time as a family. We get so caught up in all we have to do that it is nice sometimes to just relax and have fun. These are the moments the kids (and us) will remember. They won't remember the home projects, the errands, the daily grind. They will remember spending time with us doing things we love.

Critter's Class...

2011-05-05T08:18:00.003-07:00

I have been searching for years to find a great gym for Critter to take classes.....I kid you not...years! I finally found this place and LOVE IT!! He has been taking gymnastics classes since the beginning of February. I am amazed at all he is learning. It is a nice transition to get ready for preschool next year. He gets to go to the class himself and I get to sit and watch. It is nice to see him branch out from me and explore the world.

I had to get some pictures of him being a crazy boy. I took him to open gym at the same gym and got to capture him having fun. He has learned so much and I am amazed at how strong he has gotten. It is such a great place for him, especially since it is getting hot out!

He loves this rope swing! I am amazed that he can get up there and hold on though....

He loves to run along this tramp and jump into the foam pit....

To say this guy gets his energy out is an understatement He does not stop moving at class or open gym. I love these days for nap time though! I usually have to wake him up to get his sister from school. He wears himself out, big time!

My goofy boy. I swear, this smile and personality melt my heart everyday! I am going to struggle with him going to school in the fall!

Not much I can say to this one....

It has been so nice to find a place I love and he is learning. He is truly becoming his own little guy. It is so great to see!

A Fairytale Night...

2011-05-02T13:38:00.003-07:00

I have a feeling I will have a lot of posts coming to update all the goings on in our lives! We had another special time at Pumpkin's school last week. They had a Kindergarten Fairytale Night. The kids have been practicing for about 2 months....yes 2 months, on all these songs. They got to pick a fairytale character to dress up as. Luckily Hubby was able to go. It was such a special night. I kept tearing up watching how grown up our girl has become. She has such confidence. I love it! There are a bunch of videos, not of all the songs, but of most of my favorites! Again, enjoy my mommy bragging :)

I got to get a picture with my girl after the performance. I am so proud of her! She did such an amazing job. I could not believe all the songs she knew :)

Of course, after the performance in her heels and nice dress....what does she need to do? Of course, climb a tree! That is what you always do in heels and a sparkly dress....right? I love this part of her personality. She loves to be a girly-girl...yet still likes a little adventure :)
Critter had to get in on the action too! He has to do what sister does :)

It was such a fun night. I am amazed that the school year has gone by so quickly. There are so many memories that I am cherishing from this year.

A special time at school...

2011-04-21T14:20:00.002-07:00

We got to go see Pumpkin at school this morning. Her school has a monthly flag raising ceremony. One grade gets to be up on "stage" and sing a song. This morning was the Kindergartner's turn! It was one of the cutest things I have seen in a LONG time. Of course, we brought the video camera. Hubby went in late to work to see and we got Critter excited about seeing his sister up on stage and singing.

The first video is of the performance while the whole school was there. So, since we were in the back, it was a little hard to hear. If you turn up the volume high you can hear. The second video is the second performance mainly for the parents :) SO cute!

Enjoy my moment of mommy bragging :)

2011-04-15T12:33:00.000-07:00

I got to take Critter to an AWESOME farm yesterday. It is filled with rescue animals of all sorts. The thing that I loved is that the kids could feed the animals, with scoops. For some reason it freaks me out when they do it out of their hands. Plus....the kids end up dropping most of the food. We were the first ones there, so we got a personal tour of the animals from the nicest guy. Of course Critter was totally shy...until he figured things out for himself. The cute thing was he was trying to pick the animals he wanted to feed. But....you did it through the fence and the really hungry/bossy animals were the ones up front. It sometimes bothered him....so cute!

He loved these goats. This guy he was feeding was the boss of the area. The guy who gave us the little tour actually went in to distract him so Critter could feed some other goats.

I had to get a picture of him with the "Zonkey". It is a zebra/donkey....Strange to see that is for sure. She was sure hungry for food though, she loved it when he fed her!

Your eyes are not confused....that is Critter feeding a HUGE camel! This guy was retired from doing rides at the zoo and brought here. He was huge! I love how Critter is looking up at him in this picture. He talked last night about how the camel was bigger than daddy!

There are not many times that I think Critter looks small....except here! Isn't that crazy :)

He really wanted to feed this deer, but the donkey kept getting in the way. So, when we went inside the barn area here he was! It made him so happy :)

This was right before we left. I wanted a picture of him....the funny thing is that the Llama stopped to pose as well. It just cracked me up!

It was such a fun day with my little man. I want to go back with Pumpkin too. It was so interesting to hear all the stories behind the animals and see what was there. It really restores my faith to see people who care so much about animals.

Helping Daddy...

2011-04-14T15:25:00.002-07:00

Hubby had an extra 2 days off last week. Since we can not really rearrange the furniture in the house much more....he decided to start random projects outside! :) He is taking up all the grass in the side front yard so we can put in rocks. We never grow this grass anyway, so it will work out great. Well....since his sister was at school, Critter wanted to help Daddy all on his own. He was having fun trying to do what daddy did....

He wanted nothing to do with the kids size tools, he wanted to use what Daddy was using.

There is nothing like trying to move something bigger and much heavier than you are! :)

Moving piles of grass/dirt = fun!

It was so cute to see him helping his Daddy. They don't get much time with just the two of them. He has been talking about his helping for the past week....such fun! :)

A fun time at the fair...

2011-03-27T07:23:00.005-07:00

Last weekend we had a great time at the Pinal.County Fair with Hubby's dad! I was so happy :) I have been wanting to take the kids to something like this, but had not been able to convince Hubby it was a good idea. This was such an awesome fair too. It was not too crowded and perfect for the kids. Beware....there are a ton of pictures in this post...the kids were having too much fun to not go crazy with my camera :)

The first ride of the day...of course she went with the pink car! The kids got wristbands to let them ride everything, which was perfect. They were fearless and wanted to go on almost everything!

This was the first time on a roller coaster for both of them...I think. Pumpkin was not too sure at first. We were cracking up with her expressions. Critter loved every second of it!

By the end, she realized she was having fun though....

This was a little haunted house. She was all excited to go in, then realized it was dark. I guess that is what daddy's are for though! He went in and held her hand....then she was fine!

I have such vivid memories of slides like this! I knew Pumpkin would be excited, was not sure about Critter. But...both LOVED it. Luckily we were at the fair when it opened and there were almost no lines. They went down this one 3-4 times in a row. They just got off the bottom and climbed right back up.....so much fun!

I LOVE his face! We had to almost tear him away from this one. Luckily there were so many they wanted to ride that it was fairly easy to distract him.

Hubby, his dad and I were cracking up at this picture. It is Hubby, but in Pumpkin. She looks just like he does. Observing the world....yet looking slightly disinterested/bored....gotta love both of them!

Yes, he took them up on the Ferris.Wheel! Nope...I did not go! There was no way you were going to get me on that thing. They kept stopping it to put more people on. The kids loved it, but I would not have been pleasant!

We watched a cool puppet show and grabbed lunch. It was perfect timing. Critter had too much fun eating his hot dog, but Pumpkin wanted to meet this puppet. She loved all of it.

She had almost outgrown some of the "kid" rides. Thankfully she fit in the kid swings....there was no way I would let her on the big grown up ones! She can't be getting that grown up!

So much fun...

They were so excited to ride the bumper cars...

She loved it....until she got stuck. She was in a corner and could not get out. Hubby and his dad tried to direct her, but she was in freak out mode. Luckily no one really bumped her when she was stuck. She did great waiting it out until it was done. I don't think she will go on these again for a few years!

However, Critter and I had fun! He wanted to steer into everyone. It was really cute...

It was so much fun to see them enjoy themselves. It was such a treat and a special time with Opa. He got a big kick out of the kids. I think we will make this a tradition with them. Luckily there was a bath waiting for them back at the grandparent's house though....not sure we left much dirt/dust at the fair!

Beautiful girl....

2011-03-21T12:31:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin and I finally got to have a little time together shopping and getting her haircut. It had been a LONG time since we got it cut. We kept joking that we would chop it all off for her....that did not go over well :) She LOVES her long hair. Convincing her to cut off just 2 inches was a battle. She does love going though since we go to the real salon and she can get her hair curled like a princesses. I try to do this....it just does not come out nearly as well. Plus, Pumpkin does not have as much patience for me!
I just love these pics of her. She is such a sweet girl. She and I have our issues with communicating sometimes, but I am proud of who she is as a person. She is going to do some amazing things in this life....I can't wait to see what those things are goign to be!

Funtime outside...

2011-03-20T21:25:00.000-07:00

With the weather so nice lately, we have been playing outside A LOT! it has been nice. We have some new neighbors who moved in this winter. They have kids too. The only problem is the fact that the little girl rings the doorbell constantly! I want Pumpkin to play with her new friend....but not at dinnertime or during Critter's nap time, or at 8pm at night! So, we enjoy playing outside....but are looking forward to re-doing the backyard so we can sometimes play with just the 4 of us :)

Football is always popular with Critter :)
She has gotten so good with her skates. I want to take her to a roller skating rink, I just don't think Critter could do it yet!

Not much is better than football with daddy :)

I LOVE these two of Critter! He looks so grown up throwing the ball :)

It is just fun to see the kids being kids! Plus, getting the energy out after dinner makes bedtime a touch easier :)

Our Irish eyes...

2011-03-19T15:21:00.002-07:00

It was so nice this year having Pumpkin home for St. Patrick's Day! We are in the middle of her 2 week spring break....and having lots of fun! We celebrated the day with our green clothing and a yummy dinner of steak and Guinness pie! Yummy :) Hope you had a wonderful day!

This was the only way I could get Pumpkin involved in pictures...she got to take one of Critter and me!

This is not too shabby considering Critter took the picture :)

My goofballs!

My little Irish girl :)

A new smile...

2011-03-08T13:21:00.003-07:00

We finally have an exciting new smile to share from our house! Pumpkin has had a wiggly tooth for about a month. It was REALLY wiggly for almost 2 weeks. We had a full week of being able to see the root when Pumpkin played with the tooth.

This past Sunday, we told her it had to come out. She is too much like her mother, she worries about things that have not happened. She was working herself to tears worrying about how it would hurt to come out. The funny thing is that once I got it out, she did not even notice at first that it was out! I can just hope we do not have as much drama with each of the next teeth! So.....here is the new smile! :)

The tooth in her awesome Tooth Fairy Box. She has been looking forward to using this for years. She got it when she was a baby. We did have to ask the tooth fairy to leave the tooth for mom and dad to keep though.....I think she can do that :)

Now that the tooth is out, she is super excited. She keeps laughing when she goes to play with the tooth though. She got SO used to playing with it during the day. The other tooth has already cracked the surface and coming in. I have a feeling we will be losing more teeth soon!

It makes me a little sad realizing how quickly she is growing up. But, I am enjoying each of these milestones with her :)

My cowgirl...

2011-03-02T13:27:00.000-07:00

I LOVE the fact that Hubby has Fridays off. It means I get to help out with Pumpkins class a fair amount. They do a lot of their special activities on Friday, so it works out perfectly!

Last week was Kinder Rodeo Day. They had 9 different stations set up for the kids to do. It was adorable! I got to help out in the "jail".....we took pictures of the kids in the "jail" and then they got to eat popsicles. Needless to say, there was a lot of energy in my station! I am truly amazed at the conversations you can have with a group of Kindergarten kids.....really amazed!

She took this very seriously! If you look close, you can see her tongue sticking out :)

They got to dress in their "cowboy" gear. She picked this outfit out all on her own....she has some pretty good fashion sense. She did pull the typical kid thing that morning though. The sides of her hat had come un-stitched from the main part. She asked me at 7:46 to fix it, we normally leave the house at 7:50. The ONLY reason i fixed it at the VERY last minute was because i knew the kids would be outside from 8:15-11. I do think it was worth it for the pictures too though :)

My beautiful girl. There are times I look at her and realize how quickly she is growing up. She is so fiesty and independent, yet so full of love! She was playing with her loose tooth here. I really do not know how this thing is still in her mouth. We can see almost the entire bottom of it when she plays with it. Yet, she is like her mother, so she is stressing about it. New things do not always go over well with her :)

Doing pretty good at horseshoes!

It was such a fun day with her and the other kids. I am going to take every opportunity I can to help out in the classes. I figure the longer she likes me in class the better! :) I love that I know her friends and who she talks about when she talks about school.

A day with my boy...

2011-03-01T13:12:00.003-07:00

One of the hardest things for me when Pumpkin started school was not being able to take her to do all the fun things we used to do. Then....I realized I had over 3 years of taking her fun places and I could now do the same with Critter. I have noticed that our adventures this have been a little longer and more adventurous due to Pumpkin being in school longer and Critter being older.

I was finally able to take him to the zoo the other day with a group of friends. It was so much fun seeing him play with his friends and explore without his sister telling him where to go! :)

Can you tell how much fun he was having!
My FAVORITE place in the zoo is the little monkeys. I love the fact that you can go into the exhibit and see them. I think out of every animal, i have the most pictures of these guys. This little guy was walking right over our heads....well not RIGHT over since we did not want to get covered in a present from him :)

He was having so much fun on these animals. I have cute pictures of both the kids last time we went, but we also had to sort of go along with what Pumpkin wants. This time I could just let Critter explore and do whatever he wanted to do!

It is hard to see, but this is his "WHEEEE" face. He was acting like he was a cowboy.....never mind that he was on a lion....he still thought he was a cowboy!

"We almost forgot the giraffe's!" That is what he told me as we tried to leave. We did not see the giraffe's first like we usually do since we were catching up with friends. Can you tell he is a creature of habit like his momma?

Speaking of like his momma....

I got him a new book at the zoo shop ( I am such a sucker for books, it is getting silly). He wanted to see it as we left. He walked out of the zoo "reading" his new book!

No, this is not posed. He walked out like this. :) I just love it though. He is my boy! How can I say no to him when he asks for books? This is even at the library. We now have to bring a tote with us to the library since we can not carry all the books he wants to bring home. Trust me, I am NOT complaining about his love of books though!

It is so nice to be able to spend such nice time with my boy. We signed him up for preschool starting in September, so I am soaking up as many moments with him as I can. These darn kids are just growing up WAY too fast for me!

Outdoor fun...

2011-02-19T07:28:00.002-07:00

It was a GORGEOUS weekend last weekend. So, Hubby decided it was time to pay attention to our cars. He spent all afternoon Friday and morning on Saturday taking care of his truck. it had some issues we thought we needed to take it to a mechanic for....but Hubby fixed it! He was so proud of himself. Then as a Valentine's gift to me, he detailed my car on Sunday. I loved it, even though now I don't want anything to spill in it or it to get dirty at all! :)

Since he was outside with the cars, the kids got lots of time to play outside. Since we do not have a play filled backyard, we play out front....so one of us has to be with them! They had so much fun.

Pumpkin has gotten really good at roller skating. She outgrew her first skates and got new ones this past Christmas. They are a little more grown up and she had to get used to them. Well....she is used to them now! :)

Yes....this is Pumpkin dancing the "robot" while skating down the driveway. I forgot to switch my camera to video for it, but it was so funny.....you can see her style looking at the 2 pictures. Scary thing is that she has better moves than her momma! :)

My boy. I was trying to get his furrowed brow. When he is concentrating or figuring something out, he furrows his brow. This did not quite capture it, but it is a darn cute picture!

I do not get these looks captured with my camera too often. I look for the smiles and happy moments. But...these looks are just as precious. This is his get away from me with that camera look! :)

"Oh MOM, I know we have been playing outside for 3 hours, but I don't want to go inside and take a bath!"

It has been so much fun playing outside lately. We have some new neighbors with kids and have gotten to know some other neighbors. Yesterday there were 8 kids playing outside after school. It is a lot of fun and this is why we moved to this neighborhood years ago. We could see this happening. It is neat when kids knock on the door to play outside with your daughter! There will probably be more pictures/video of outdoor adventures coming. I LOVE this time of year!

A love filled day...

2011-02-17T08:21:00.002-07:00

It is funny how Valentine's Day changes over the years. I remember when Hubby and I were first dating, we made a big deal out of Valentine's Day. It was filled with nice dinners out, flowers, gifts, lots of planning and commercial romance.

How kids have changed that! :) We spent Monday evening with a nice home cooked meal of Hubby and the kids favorite foods. We had heart shaped cupcakes and just hung out as a family. Even though times have changed....I almost like these days better! This is what life is about, the simple things and the love we share together. Hubby and I will have time once the kids are grown to go to dinners again, but for now, I am really happy hanging with the 4 of us!

My attempt at cute Valentine's pictures :) My adorable man this morning told me the cutest thing. I was carrying him back from bringing Pumpkin to school. The kid is HEAVY! So, I asked him if I could put him down. He said "No". I asked him why....he then grabbed my arm, cuddled to me and said "Because I love you too much!"......how could I put him down then?!
This is what I got when I asked him to put his hands together again. I like to try multiple pictures.....this was not quite the Valentine love I wanted to capture :)

My sweet girl. She was sad since she had school and church on Monday. But...she perked right up when she saw dinner and the cupcakes. Man....love these guys!

Hope you had a day filled with love, friends and family!

My sweet girl...

2011-02-08T08:24:00.002-07:00

My girl is growing up! There are times I look at her and realize how quickly the time is flying by....

She likes it when I braid her hair when it is wet, then it gets to be curly the next day. Since there was something sort of big on TV on Sunday, it was a perfect time for early baths and a good hair braid session! Since it had plenty of time to dry overnight....it was CURLY yesterday! Since Pumpkin has my hair, getting it to curl is quite a feat :)

She has grown up so much. I love that she is learning and expanding her horizons. She is still loving school and really picking up on reading. She still sometimes struggles with wanting to be home....I do hope that feeling stays for awhile though! It is nice to know she wants to be with us during the day. I am just so excited to see what she does in the years to come. I know she will be full of adventure and surprises!

There will be a post coming any day now with our first lost tooth! It is VERY wiggly and we can see the next tooth coming in. Very exciting times around here :)

Momma's Boy...

2011-02-06T11:04:00.002-07:00

This boy is my boy! To say this kid likes books is an understatement. One of his favorite places to go is Story time, whether it is at a friends house, bookstore, or library. He loves to read! The other morning before taking Pumpkin to school he grabbed a book to "read". I could not help but snap these pictures :)

He loves us reading to him as well. We read before naptime and bedtime. Whatever book we read to him, he wants to cuddle with while he sleeps. Usually Hubby or I get tired of reading before he does! I love it! He may look like a mini-me of Hubby, but he has my love for reading....

Fun Family time...

2011-02-01T13:43:00.002-07:00

Dear friends called us Saturday morning and asked us to go to the Zoo with them at noon. We had not hung out as two families in a long time....but it was during Critter's nap time. We debated and then realized that a nice family/friend day was worth a tired Critter! :) I am SO GLAD we went. It was a gorgeous day and it had been ages since we had been to the zoo...

For some reason (Pumpkin) it has been hard to get pictures of the kids where they are both looking at the camera and smiling...not making goofy faces. This was as close as we got. No matter what they are doing in the picture, I am cherishing the ones I get with them. I am trying to get better about getting pictures with them....so they know I was actually there for all these fun times :)
What better thing to do when you are at the zoo looking at animals....but to climb a tree! This is so Pumpkin. She is my princess tomboy! She loves adventure, but loves all things girly as well. I am so curious as to where this one goes in life...

They all had to take turns on this frog. What I love the best is Pumpkin "hiding" next to the frog. I told her I wanted pictures of each of the kids....I got it....sort of! :)

She had such a great time. I am glad that she still gets enjoyment out of days like this, especially when the other kids are younger than she is. But, she adores these friends of ours and it made her day to spend time with them!

Is it okay to get sad about how fast she is growing up?

One thing that all the kids talked about from the time we got to the zoo was the StingRay area. I love that Pumpkin asks every time to go here, but usually pulls her hand away before she actually touches any of the animals. When she does accidentally touch one, she is not sure how to react. I was holding Critter back....even with his sleeves pushed up they got soaked. He was trying to touch the bottom of this pool. He loved it! He is usually my Mr. Cautious...but not always. When he decides he likes something or wants to try it....he jumps in feet first!

What they were trying to touch...

Like I said, it is hard to get a "nice" picture of them. They are now into making all these goofy poses and faces. I do think it is pretty cute!

Thank you B and family for the invite :) It was such a nice day. I am so glad we went and we will have to do it again!

Now, onto more adventures!

My heart....

2011-01-29T09:23:00.002-07:00

I was driving yesterday on my way to a Thirty-One party, and this song came on. I had borrowed Pumpkin's CD and I needed to hear this song at this moment, but I did not know it. I had to put up the lyrics because it explained how I was feeling....

Never Grow Up

Taylor Swift

Your little hand's wrapped around my finger

and It's so quiet in the world tonight

Your little eyelids flutter cause you're dreaming

so i tuck you in, turn on your favorite night light

to you everything's funny

you got nothing to regret

i'd give all i have, honey

if you could stay like that

(Chorus)

Oh darling, don't you ever grow up

Don't you ever grow up

Just stay this little

Oh darling, don't you ever grow up

Don't you ever grow up

It could stay this simple

I won't let nobody hurt you

Won't let no one break your heart

and no one will desert you

Just try to never grow up

Never grow up

You're in the car on the way to the movies

and you're mortified your mom's dropping you off

at 14, there's just so much you can't do

and you can't wait to move out someday and call your own shots

but don't make her drop you off around the block

remember that she's getting older too

and don't lost eh way that you dance around in your pj's getting ready for school

(Chorus again)

Take pictures in your mind of your childhood room

memorize what it sounded like when your dad gets home

remember the footsteps, remember the words said

and all your little brother's favorite songs

i just realized everything i have is someday gonna be gone

So here i am in my new apartment

in a big city, they just dropped me off

it's so much colder than i thought it would be

so i tuck myself in and turn my night light on

Wish i'd never grown up

I wish i'd never grown up

Oh i don't wanna grow up

Wish i'd never grown up

I could still be little

oh, i don't wanna grow up

wish i'd never grown up

it could be simple

oh, darling, don't' you ever grow up

don't you ever grow up

just stay this little

oh darling, don't you ever grow up

don't you ever grow up

it could stay this simple

won't let nobody hurt you

won't let no one break your heart

and even though you want to

please try to never grow up

This song just touched my heart. I think as adults we sometimes realize how nice it was to be little and have someone take care of us and take the worries away. I look at our kids and see them wanting to grow up. Whereas i want them to just enjoy these fleeting days of childhood. Before they know it, they will be grown up....and before I know it, they will be grown up.....

Family Fun...

2011-01-24T17:07:00.004-07:00

We have been leading a very low key life lately. Yes, Hubby and I have been working a lot....but our main focus has been the two crazy little people in the house! We have been building forts, playing outside, walking on Daddy or Mommy's sore back, reading books, pretty much all sorts of relaxing family fun.

Just realizing that the moments of calm family fun are going to keep changing as these guys get older. I want to soak up each simple minute of it! That also means, I have been soaking up moments without my camera as much. I miss being behind my camera, but enjoy being present for my kids and family....

Here is some of the craziness we have been encouraging...

I bet you did not know....the best way to pose for a muscle picture is standing on Daddy's back while trying to balance. This was a competition who could stand there longest and had the "biggest muscles".

Critter of course had to put the face with the pose...

Daddy loves that the two of them love baseball! It is pretty cute. Both are doing great with it. I will tell you though....watch out when Pumpkin is at bat! That kid can hit the ball! :)

She does everything in life with gusto!

He gets so proud of himself!

I just love this family! It has been great to try to slow down and spend more simple moments together. The goal is not always acheived, but we try!

Randomness...

2011-01-12T08:58:00.000-07:00

Just a bunch of random moments of our family....

For his birthday, we got Critter a big boy bed! Yes, this big boy had been in a crib until he was 3. It really did look comical. He just did not try to get out and was fairly happy. He was SO excited when he got this bed.
He just looks so small in it! We decided to go ahead and get him a bigger bed, since he most likely will not be the smallest of boys. It has been a little bit of a challenge setting up his room, but we are making it work. He cool thing is that he will still (after a month) wait in bed and call for me to "get him out". Yeah! :)

Something about these pictures was just so sweet. We had a nice dinner one night and I had my camera nearby. I think these are some of my favorite pictures of the year....

I will ALWAYS cherish this picture. There is something so sweet about Pumpkin and Hubby.

Me and my silly boy! I have been trying harder to hand Hubby the camera (or let him take it from me) to get pictures of me and the kids. I have a hard time handing it over though :) But...images like this make it worth it :)

I am so not sure what he was doing in this picture. I think I was trying to get him close to me and told him to put his cheek next to mine. This is what we got. :)

These simple moments are what this next year are about for me. Life can get so crazy sometimes. We can get so caught up in work, school, activities, and just stuff. It is these simple moments of playing and just being together which make it all worth it. My goal for this next year is to remember what these simple moments mean to me and my family. If we lose sight of what is important, why are we doing everything else. We will continue to be crazy busy. We will continue to work hard to provide what we need and want for this family. But....the small simple moments are what lasts.

A nice/relaxing Christmas...

2011-01-11T08:22:00.003-07:00

We had a really nice Christmas. Unfortunately, I was not feeling well with stomach issues so I had to take it easy. Luckily, it was not so bad that I couldn't be out with people...I just kept my distance!

I heard the kids moving around and was able to get my camera before they came out. This was their first look at the tree. In our house, Santa brings only 1 present and fills the stockings. He also does not wrap presents, they are just sitting and waiting for the kids. So...the first thing they really saw was...
new bikes! Pumpkin had outgrown hers and Critter had a trike but no bike. They were SO excited. Especially since they got helmets they love....Spiderman and Princesses! :)

When Santa put these together, they looked HUGE! I did not think there was any way they could fit on these bikes. But..I was wrong. They are a little bit, but will last a few years. Pumpkin got a real BMX Bike. We are not telling her why the handle bars go all the way around or why there are pegs on the wheels. She is enough of a klutz without knowing that....and enough of a daredevil without knowing! :)

He was so excited about this helmet. He wore it quite a bit of the day. I think he finally took it off when his head was too sweaty :)

The kids were SO good this morning. We actually got up, looked at the bikes, opened stockings, had breakfast, got dressed all before they tore into the presents. I don't know if we will be that lucky next year. I have to say that our kids are so spoiled by people who love them. I can not thank everyone enough. We have still been playing with Christmas presents on a daily basis. Pumpkin loved this puppet. She loves to put on any type of show for us: dancing, puppet, singing, etc. and this bunny was a great addition!

Okay, he is so my boy! In the middle of opening presents he took one of his new books and decided to "read". He just sat there and did this for a few minutes until he was "done" with the book. He is a kid after my heart with books! He will sit still for me for at least half an hour to let me read to him. Usually it is me who has to say we are all done reading! I love it :)

We of course had to head out after eating to try out the new bikes. Pumpkins new one is MUCH heavier than her old one. It took her a few tumbles to get the hang of it. After Christmas Day, she has been able to get on and off without issue. Not too many tumbles. But....that is why we had her ride on the grass the first few days. It is much more forgiving than the sidewalk/street! :)

Critter hopped right on and started to ride! I was so surprised. Pumpkin got her first bike from Santa when she was 3 and we had to teach her what to do. It took her a few times riding before getting the hang of it. Not this boy! The only thing we have issues with are turning around on the sidewalk. When we play outside I let him go from our house to next door then turn around. I am still amazed though at how quick he picked it up!

At the end of the day, I realized I had no pictures of me with the kids. This was after everyone left and it was just the 4 of us. Luckily for Critter Sta.r Wa.rs was on. No, he does not watch all of it just the not violent parts. He has developed such a love of superheros and Sta.r Wa.rs, it is pretty cute!

It was such a nice relaxing day. I am glad I planned an easy menu and that my mom was here to help me out. I did not want to touch food or cook, not knowing what was going on with my stomach. It was hard for me to let go, but nice to know there were so many who could help. Everyone seemed to have a great day, especially the kids. That is what the day is about: family and laughter. That is exactly what we had!

A wonderful Christmas Eve...

2011-01-09T08:36:00.003-07:00

I realize I am a little late on posting these, but better late than never! We had a wonderful Christmas Eve this year. Typically it is a quiet night of going to church then coming home and having dinner. Usually it is just the 4 of us and my parents. This year, we got to celebrate with all of Hubby's family though! His dad has been in CA since November and came back for the holidays. We all wanted to be together. We headed over to my BIL and SIL house. We met my SIL and niece at their church since it was on the way to their house. It was going to be the "girls" at church and the boys at the house. But, about 10 minutes before we left, Critter decided he wanted to go. How could I argue with him wanting to go to church! :)

Them in their nice clothes after church, about to head into the fun @ my BIL/SIL's house. They are just so stinking cute, i don't know what to do sometimes!
It was a fun night of good food, family and really excited kids. I can not believe how good the kids were. At 7,6,almost 5 and 3 they took turns opening presents. We went around one at a time to open things. They took turns without crying, pouting or complaining! That is a successful adventure in my opinion! Critter was so funny. He wanted to open up each present and play with it. We could have spread out Christmas over a few days with this kid. He would have been totally content with that!

Pumpkin is still really into clothes for her bears. She saves every penny and asks me to save coupons (that's my girl) so she can buy her bears special things to wear. She wanted these sneakers but had not saved enough for them. I love how she appreciates the little things. Hubby and I try to encourage that and keep the kids grounded as to what is important!

The kids were both tired and wound up when we got home. This is the first year we had a mantle to put the stockings on. I am so glad that we re-did the fireplace last year. It has been so nice to have during the holidays. Pumpkin was big enough to hang her own stocking this year....how in the world did that happen!

Critter needed a little bit of help.

I attempted to get both of them to sit....but that did not happen. Too much going on! :) But....my girl does love her picture taken!

She convinced him to try to eat Santa's snacks.....just to help me get a picture of the two of them! My sweet thinking girl....

Off to bed to wait to see what would come.....

A great way to end 2010....

2011-01-04T16:42:00.004-07:00

We had a great end of the year (I will go back and post about Christmas a different day!). Hubby works crazy hours for New Years, so we headed up to my parents house. It was COLD this year for New Years, but that did not stop us from being crazy! We went up to this park on the coldest day in 5 years....yes it felt that cold. We thought we would be the only crazy ones here, but there were quite a few others there as well. It was not too bad when the wind was not blowing and the sun was out.....but otherwise it was COLD! We lasted about 4 1/2 hours. It was a great time and one we will not forget.

Can you tell how bundled up they are?
Okay....he had on a shirt, a sweatshirt and this jacket that was a little too small for him. He was a trooper.

Pumpkin loved the hyena's! They would follow you as you walked by. She started jumping and they followed by jumping. These guys came about at the right time. It was starting to be cranky time and these guys made the kids laugh until they were crying!

We got to go inside and see this beautiful bird and a snake. I was not able to hold both Critter and the snake, but could handle the bird. Poor Critter wanted the bird on his arm, but the bird would not go because he was not quite big enough. It was really neat to see the animals that close and have the kids love being close. Plus...it was really nice to head inside and warm up! :)

Heading out to the safari for the ride. We all got carrots to feed the giraffe and camel. Pumpkin was really excited. She just looks so adorable here :)

My boy....

Pumpkin feeding the giraffe....

Critter feeding the giraffe. You can actually see the giraffe's tongue wrapping around the carrot....pretty cool! Unfortunately, it was so cold that when my dad stood up to help Critter....he hurt his foot. He was a good sport about it, and i know Critter appreciated it!

Attempting a picture with my kids....the snow on the mountains is pretty cool! We don't get to see much snow in these parts :)

This was the last thing we did before warming up! The tigers and "trainers" normally go in the water to play, but not this day. Even the tigers would not go in the water. It was really neat to see the tigers play though....

Happy New Years :) Not really sure what is up with Critter's look

My mom had the crazy idea that before bed to let the kids run around for 4 minutes and blow the horns and just be crazy. Somehow neither of them got hurt and had a great time!

It was a great end of the year. I truly can not believe that 2010 is over. It was a year of so many experiences. Even with all the hard times and the things we are dealing with, it was such a great year. We grew so much as a family. I really can not wait to see what the next year has in store for us. No matter what, i know it will be full of excitement!

Let there be snow...sort of...

2010-12-23T07:15:00.003-07:00

We took a ride up North to visit Hubby's brother and wife. We have been trying to get up there more often this year to visit. They always come down here, and we want to even it up a little bit! :) Plus, the kids love going up there. We have had such a mild winter without much snow this year. Luckily, there was just a little on the ground. It was enough for snowballs and snow"women". The kids were happy with what they had...

Trying to remember what this snow stuff is all about!
Me and my girl.....with my boy wanting to get in there too :)

He still is his momma's boy! I will take it as long as I can!

Pumpkin posing with her snowwoman she made. She was very clear about the fact that it is a snow woman though :) Don't you love the rain boots! I love them for her. I figure that we really play in the snow once maybe twice a year...rain boots are more practical. Plus, they kept her feet really dry and she loved them....can't beat that!

She would throw snowballs at Hubby, he would catch them, then throw them back at the kids. It was cute. This is my BIL/SIL's backyard. Perfect for playing and easy to warm up afterwards :)

Running from the snowball she just threw at Daddy and is now being thrown back at her!

He was attempting to run and dodge snowballs....I think this is one of my all time favorite pictures of him! Pure joy and happiness on his face....i just love it!

This is why Hubby could catch the snowballs.....not quite considered small!

It was a great day trip up North. I hope we can continue to head up there more regularly this upcoming year....

Lights...

2010-12-22T06:21:00.002-07:00

One of my favorite things to do during the holidays is go to the Zoo to see their lights. We have been going since before kids, and I just LOVE it! :) I think we get as much out of it as the kids do. I had won tickets this year, so it made it an even better night! Pumpkin remembered from last year, but Critter did not. They were both enjoying all of it...until the cranky hit for being past bedtime!

His face had a look of awe on it most of the night. It was a chilly night, one of the first of the season. I did not realize how much his head had grown until i put this hat on him! It is supposed to fit a little differently! :)
She finally got happy...it was a rough start to the night, but she figured that being happy was better than leaving! I have similar pictures of her each year, she loves the lights and figuring how they work.

My adorable, crazy, munchkins!

We could not resist the carousal! Luckily I even won rides on this, so it was a perfect night for our wallet :) He got the biggest kick out of it. He could not get the smile off of his face if he tried...

She loves to ride the dragon. We were near the end of the line for this go around and I could not believe she still got on it. It made the night end very nicely!

Me and my girl. Hubby is trying to get more pictures of me with the kids. I have the tendency to just be behind the camera. I would like the kids to look back and know that I was actually at these fun places with them!

A great celebration....

2010-12-21T06:52:00.003-07:00

Critter had such a fun birthday party! We decided to split years for the kids. He got a big party this year and Pumpkin a small family one, then we will switch next year. He had quite a few of his friends come and play with him. He was adorable asking for certain friends to be there with him. He asked all week when he was going to his party. Then...he started calling himself the "Party Boy". Very cute!

We were so appreciative of all our friends and family coming out to celebrate out special boy. Thanks for the fun! :)

The fun bouncing slide! Man, the kids and adults love this one :)
The birthday boy getting ready for his cake

I started making their cakes last year. I am still working on the art of decorating and getting the cake out of the pan in one piece. But...at least home made cakes taste good no matter how they look! Also, did not know how hard it is to make RED frosting. Next time, it will be yellow, blue or green! I also realize though, that my audience was a 3 year old boy who could care less about the details as long as their were superheros on the cake!

Getting ready to blow out his candles...

He was the sweetest kid this day. He was having so much fun! He took his time with his cake and presents. He stopped to appreciate every thing.

The end of the day superheros. He has pretty much not taken off his new costumes since he got them. Sister had to join in as well :) It is quite fun having superheros in the house, I feel safe now!

It was such a great day celebrating this awesome boy. He sure is a blessed little boy with so many people who love him!

Three...

2010-12-11T07:10:00.002-07:00

Three years old.....I have no idea how three years have passed since this sweet child was born. Yes, his birthday was Wednesday, but I am only a few days late! :)

This "little" man has had my heart since he was born. He was a momma's boy from the start....and I was happy to accept that. He is loving, caring and cautiously adventurous. He follows his sister around wanting to make her happy...unless he is tormenting her! :) He has recently discovered Daddy is pretty cool. He finally let Daddy put him to bed 2 nights in a row while I was home! This was a big accomplishment in our home. It only took 3 years.

He has discovered superheros, star wars, and other things I am having to learn about! We are trying to raise him to be a gentleman (yes I know he just turned 3, but it is never too early to start). He already likes to open doors for me, which I think is adorable.

It is hard to explain what this little boy has done to our family and my heart. He has balanced the personalities in our family.

Happy Birthday Sweet Boy....we love you!

Can't forget sweet big sister :)

I love that he knew what this birthday was about....he is my sweet 3 year old!

Setting up the season...

2010-12-04T09:25:00.002-07:00

I love this time of year....

My goal typically is to have my list and budget for Christmas done by the end of October. That way I can keep my eye on sales and not be tempted to just buy, buy buy. It works well. This year I am not done yet....but almost. This way i can enjoy all the things the season has to offer. The kids are both old enough this year to really get both the commercial part of the season and what it is really all about. Our days are filled with reading our huge stash of Christmas books, decorating, crafting and special activities.

My favorite part of the year is always setting up the tree. I remember when Hubby and I first got this tree it was filled with generic ornaments and just married ones. Now, we can not even fit the generic ones on. It is full of ornaments made by the kids, given to the kids, or kid focused ones. I could not ask for a more beautiful tree! :)

Pumpkin LOVES to put the star on the tree. Luckily Critter does not get it yet, but I have a feeling next year it might be a fight :)
He gets so proud when his sister does things....

This is one of the last pictures I was able to take with my old camera. It decided to start giving me a lovely decoration of a black line on the side or bottom of pictures. At least I was able to capture some of these moments.

My goofy kids! I just love these moments of them being cute. I know pictures like this are the ones I will look back on years from now and just cherish.

Enjoy this season, i know we are!

I'm still here....

2010-12-02T15:01:00.002-07:00

We have been a little bit crazy around here.....

7 photo sessions

3 Thirty-One Parties

17 people in our home for Thanksgiving

A broken Camera

and a partridge in a pear tree....

It has been a fun few weeks, but really crazy around here. I feel like I am almost catching my breath now. We got our Christmas decorations up and are starting fun holiday crafts. No matter how crazy it is...I love my crazy kiddos!

My critter on Thanksgiving. You can see the chaos behind him, but he was having fun dressing up and running around before the 17 people came over!
My girl was not into her picture this day. She loved watching the parade and running around outside...

Don't ask me.....the funny thing is that is Pumpkin's bike helmet. It so does not fit him! It is funny to me to see him wear it :)

A pick up game of football in the front yard after dinner. This was the funniest thing of the day. The kids and grown ups running around like crazy. The younger kids really had no idea what was going on except to run around and say "i'm open"...pretty cute!

Yes, that is another bruise on his head. He fell into the garage-home door as i was taking the turkey out of the oven. I thought for sure it was another ER trip, but luckily not. He always hits the same side of his head though! Not sure why....plus the bruise is still there a week later. So...his 3 year pictures will have a little bruise on his head. Fitting for him i guess!

So, even though we have been crazy, we have been enjoying life!

A new tradition...

2010-11-13T07:27:00.003-07:00

I have been wanting to take my 2 crazy kids to my Alma Mater's Homecoming since they were born. I was really involved on campus and have such great memories. Since it is in October, it has usually conflicted with Pumpkin's birthday or Halloween. This year, it was on the 30th! :) The kids were old enough for me to handle in the big crowds without Hubby. We stopped for sandwiches on the way, found a spot and settled in. We may have gotten there a little too early, but lesson learned! They changed the parade route this year, so even though we thought we were at the beginning, we were at the end. All that meant was that the floats had given away most of their candy....and the rest was snatched up by some "lovely" children next to us!

Someone saw me taking pictures of the kids and offered to take one. I could not resist....even though I don't like handing my camera over to anyone!

They had a bunch of activities for the kids. We did not even make it over to the main kids zone. I really am not sure what kind of masks these were, but they were really cute. The kids loved coloring them. We spent some of the time at an alumni tent for a group I used to be in. It was fun seeing some old friends.

One of the highlights for Critter was seeing this Spiderman pumpkin. He even asked to have his picture taken with it! It was really cute. He has discovered the world of superheros and can not get enough. Not sure how he discovered them since we don't watch the shows....it is still cute :)

I have a tendency to want to spoil the kids. How could I resist the Sparky Horns! They are so cute in them. But...after no nap and being exhausted, Critter kept getting frustrated that they would not stay on his head well. Since he has gotten a haircut they fit much better though! :)

They were promoting this live show, and the kids wanted a picture with the backdrop. Critter almost knocked it over trying to sit with them though!

It was a really fun time. I am so glad I got to take the kids. I really hope we can do it again next year. This is part of the thing I love about motherhood, the great experiences I can give my children. The simple act of taking them to a parade can help create a lifelong memory. I love that my kids love to be active like me. Some days I feel like we just don't stop, but I look back on the pictures and realize all the amazing things we have done. I just love this stuff! :)

A fun sugar filled day...

2010-11-06T07:52:00.002-07:00

It was such a fun Halloween this year! Critter really got into it for the first time. It was quite a process to get him to pick a costume. For about a month he changed his mind every time you asked him. Once Pumpkin made up her mind, it was a little easier for him. So...I present Tinker-belle and Captain-Hook!

We met up with friends at one of their homes for a pot luck dinner and then going around their neighborhood. It was quite a crowd....8 kids and even more adults!

Yes....it is a family picture! :) We have so few of these, even if Critter is more interested in the juice it doesn't matter to me. It is all 4 of us! :)

We had such a fun time. We are one of those families who let the kids have a few pieces that night and then 1 or 2 pieces a day after that. We did feel really bad for Pumpkin though, when we went through her bag at the end of the night there must have been 7 or 8 houses who gave her empty wrappers ;) I loved seeing the pure joy on the kids faces this year. They got to be with some dear friends, get candy, and have fun. Hubby and i got to do the same! It was the best Halloween we have had in a long time...

Struggling with Six!

2010-10-31T20:14:00.003-07:00

My baby is six. The little girl who made me a momma came into this world six years ago (and a week). For some reason, this year more than most I am struggling with her getting older. That is the reason these pictures have been sitting here on this computer for a week now and i have not posted on her birthday. She is getting older....she can do so many things on her own....she is coming more into her own personality....she is my Pumpkin.

My Dearest Daughter,

You are now six years old. You have grown up into a beautiful, amazing, smart girl. You have a fierce determination in this world. Once you let someone into your heart, you love them to the core. You care so much for the friends and family you have. You want to protect them from any harm or insult. This year you started Kindergarten. You have had some struggles with kids not being nice to you and those around you. Daddy and I have tried to shield you from that for your life, but can not anymore. You are excelling in all you are doing in school. You LOVE science and music, but you don't realize you love science you just know the stuff you like. You finally got your wish of getting your ears pierced. I have been telling you that you needed to stop sucking your thumb in order to get that done, but we caved for your birthday. Not too sure what the next bribe will be to get you to stop the thumb sucking....

I am so proud of who you are my dear daughter. We have had a lot of moments lately where we butt heads, but that will continue for our lives together. I hope you grow up knowing that I love you. I may not agree with you or do as you wish, but I love you. If I am wrong about something, I will admit it. If I do something to offend you, I will say I am sorry. You will not always like me, but that means I am doing my job. I love you my dear daughter...Happy Birthday...

Pumpkin got to spend her actual birthday morning at the baptism of one of her favorite little boys! :) Our dear friends made sure there was a cupcake there for her so she could blow out candles. It was a really sweet morning. Then....we get home to this! The house was covered in balloons for her :) She loved it. The balloons lasted over a week and were lovely in her room after we took them inside. It was a very special thing for her.
What is better on a birthday than a birthday donut! We stopped at a donut place on the way home and had donuts at night for her bday!

I look at these pictures of her, and I wonder where my baby went. She has grown into such a beautiful person. It was so much fun taking her pictures this year. She picked out her outfit, how she wanted her hair, and where her pictures would be. It was a lot of fun.

Our girl at her bday party. We are flipping bday parties starting this year. Pumpkin had a small family only party and Critter will get a big one. Next year, they will flip that. It was really nice to plan for just the grandparents. She picked everything for the day. She wanted sausage, peppers, pasta for lunch and lemon cake for dessert. Let's just say the grandfather's were quite happy with the dinner menu! :) It was a really nice day and she had a great time.

I can't wait to see what excitement and adventure this next year holds! ;)

A short weekend trip...

2010-10-19T21:09:00.002-07:00

It has been ages since we have all been able to go to Flag to visit Hubby's brother and wife. Last time we were supposed to go, Pumpkin got a little sick so just Hubby and Critter went up there. This time, we were all supposed to go. Normally we just go for the day, since we spend the night at my parent's house either the night before or the night of the trip. This time, my dad got sick though. So...we stayed at Aunt M & Uncle R's new house. It was so much fun. In the past, the kids were scared of their dogs. After a few minutes, those dogs were these kids best friends. We took them for a walk in the woods...both the kids and the dogs. Everyone was chasing each other. They were so cute. For city kids....our kids do pretty good in the woods!

On our walk in the woods....
Critter was holding on of the leashes in his hands. He of course thought it was fun to play with it. For him, that meant hitting himself in the head with the metal clip! He got a lovely bump on his head and then had to be carried by momma. I love cuddles from my boy...but at 40 pounds he kills my back!

The next morning we took a drive to go for a short hike near the mountain. It had snow on it at the beginning of the day, but melted off by the end. At least this documents the fact that we were close to snow! :)

He was loving this! Except when we would not let him eat everyone else's snacks and then a major meltdown occurred. That is what we get from him when he misses a nap 2 days in a row! :)

Even though the kids do not see this Aunt and Uncle often enough, the adore them! It is so fun to see them bond over a hike and the littlest things.

The kids got tired at the end of the walk...luckily there were 2 tall guys to give them rides! :)

Our beautiful girl....who is just as happy in the woods as she is in her princess dress up clothes!

Tired at the end of the walk and wanted momma....he was off for a snack and a nap!

It was such a nice getaway to the woods. Even though it was only for a day and a half, it was nice to visit just because. We usually get together for family events, and it is hard to hang out and relax. The kids, and us, had a great time. I did not realize how good it is for me to get out of my environment and relax.

We did so much during Pumpkin's fall break. It was a lot of fun, and there are still posts to come on other things. This trip was one of my favorite things we did. I am hoping we can make an effort to head up north a little more often!

A fun time at the zoo...

2010-10-14T13:04:00.002-07:00

Pumpkin made a list at the beginning of her 2 week fall break of things she wanted to do. There were some that just could not happen, but all those that she wanted that we could....we have been trying to check off. One of the places she wanted to go was the zoo! It had been awhile since we went since it has been so hot. It was the perfect day at the zoo with Nanny :) We tried to go to areas we don't always go to...

For some reason we don't usually go down to the children's area...so we did! The kids loved climbing all over these animals. Luckily the zoo was not too crowded that day so not too many crowds.

Since my mom was with us...I got a picture of me and the kids! I really need to make an effort to get in more pictures with the kids. I am always behind the camera and don't hand it over often enough. I want the kids to remember not only all the fun stuff they did as kids, but that I was there too! :)

Since Nanny came with us, she treated us to a train ride. I don't always do them with the kids just because it is usually melt down time when i think of it. They had cute pumpkin stamps this time. Critter really liked his! Yes, that is a band aid on his head....yes he fell...yes again....but no stitches this time!

It was a really fun morning. Even though we have been crazy busy, it has been nice to be crazy busy with Pumpkin around. I love my fun times with her. I know Critter is going to be really sad when she goes back to school next week. I guess it means we will just need to make more fun plans for Winter Break....I should be ready for more of this fun by then! :)

A huge storm...

2010-10-12T06:57:00.003-07:00

Our fun October got interupted by a huge storm! Last Tuesday we had one of the biggest storms I have seen in my years here. It was a nice day, Critter was taking a nap, and Pumpkin was playing in her room. Then the storm hit! It was crazy! Hail, garbage cans flying down the street, trees falling down....it was nuts!

We normally don't see much hail here...especially kind that stays for more than a few minutes. This stuff stayed on the ground until the rain came again...
The piles were quite large...for here anyway!

Can you see the lake that covers the rocks in the front yard? Plus the rain flying off the roof? It was nuts!

This was an addition to our back yard for a few days...our neighbors tree! Luckily we tore down the playset that used to be in this corner otherwise the tree would have taken it down. The wall is now fixed, but it was strange.

I am used to Monsoon seasons here, but this was such a different storm. We needed the rain, but not that much in a short period of time! Luckily we were home and there was no major damage to our home or our friends homes!

The first of many posts about our October...the wedding...

2010-10-11T13:44:00.004-07:00

Our crazy month of October started off super special. A dear friend of ours got married! It was super special for us because Hubby was a groomsman and Critter got to be a ring bearer. He has had his outfit for quite awhile and each time we hung out with the bride/groom he would ask to wear his outfit to "be handsome". So...he was actually excited to wear it the day of the wedding. I did not put the bow tie on him until we got to the church....

Trying for a nice picture before we left...
My beautiful girl....

Of course he has learned he should pose for pictures from his sister. Not sure this is the way to land a modeling career though! Don't you love the shoes and socks :)

Again, posing! It was hard to get a serious or nice picture from him. He was so excited at the church. All he wanted to do was hang out with the groom. That worked well until the wedding needed to start though!

My handsome boys! The church is beautiful, it is a brand new church and our friends were the first wedding in it! That is pretty neat. I did not get any pictures of Critter walking down the aisle. I had to go in the back and help usher the kids to the aisle. The good news is he made it down the aisle, walking and holding the flower girls hands. It was cute from behind....I am sure it was more adorable from the front :)

She got cold, so had to wear Daddy's tux jacket!

My dancing fool...he has some nice moves :)

This is how they spent most of their evening...on the dance floor. The lasted a long time...until 11pm! That was a little bit crazy, but they were having so much fun!

My other dancing fool :)

So...my girl takes after my Aunt. I looked over and she is leading the conga line! She got the other girls to line up behind her and dance. It was really cute. She could not convince adults to join in just the kids...but it was cute anyway!

Me and my boy near the end of the night. It was a really long day, but a lot of fun. The kids had a great time and they are memories I will never forget.....now onto more memories from October!

Dunking booth...

2010-10-04T16:42:00.002-07:00

To say this past weekend was busy....well is the understatement of the year! It was the busiest weekend i can remember. There will be a post coming on the exciting wedding, which both Hubby and Critter got to be a part of. I just barely downloaded the pictures on that one!

Then...there was the fun event Hubby took a part of this past Sunday. He was a part of a Dunk-A-... booth at an Oktoberfest celebration. The booth was for a very special boy. Hubby works with this boys dad and has melted our hearts with his story. What better reason to get dunked by your family and friends :)

His brother was the first to give it a go....the taunting by both was lovely...

Critter had to get in on the action. This video is his first time. He did it again and actually got him in with his own shot. I have pictures of that and not video. Critter thought it was cool either way.

Pumpkin talked the entire morning about going to dunk daddy. Apparently on one of her shows they had a carnival and a dunk tank. But...when we got there she got a little shy. So, after her brother went she was all excited about it! Again, this is her first try at it and she did it herself later one, but I don't have video of that. She also got to go up and "fall" on the button when another person was up there.

It was a really nice event. Unfortunately, the weather was hot and then a little windy so it was not as successful as past years. We had fun though.

Much more to come on the craziness of our lives from the past few weeks. Pumpkin is on Fall Break for the next 2 weeks, so we will have lots of stories from this time as well...

I wanna remember....

2010-09-17T17:23:00.002-07:00

Critter has been cracking me up lately with things he is saying. He keeps saying things and I think I need to document them so I don't forget....well I forget! So...here are some things that have come out of his mouth that I just don't want to forget:

~ Critter comes running "Look at my face".
(Me) " Buddy, why is there marker on your face?"
"Pumpkin did it"
(Me) "Why did Pumpkin color on your face Critter?"
"Because Pumpkin is a mood"

~ Critter comes running (again) "Momma, play a game with me?"
(Me) "Sure buddy, what game do you want to play?"
"The Potato Chip Game"
(Me) "I don't think I know that game buddy"
"Yes you do"
(Me) "Nope, I don't think I know a Potato Chip Game"
"Yes, when Nanny and Papa here we all play it!"
....referring to One Potato, Two Potato game we played! :)

~ Talking with Nanny on the phone "Okay, love you, see you in a bit"

~ Anytime I try clothes on or look at new things in a store "Momma, you are beautiful/Momma, that is beautiful" How can I resist a reaction like that! :)

I know there are more, but I really want to remember these right now...plus these are all I can remember right now!

Happy Anniversary...

2010-09-14T15:31:00.002-07:00

Happy Anniversary dear Husband, even though you don't read this blog! :) It was been 8 wonderful years since we stood in a church in front of family, friends and God. Life is completely crazy these days, but together we can get through each day with a smile....at least most days with a smile! :) I did not think it was possible, but I love you more today than the day we were married. You are my best friend. Things don't seem real until you know about them. I know this year we get to celebrate by staying home and having dinner, but we are still together. One day we will have plenty of time to have peaceful dinners, but for now I am glad we get to enjoy our chaotic home and meals. There is no one else I would rather be exhausted with at the end of the day. I love you so much...

Happy Anniversary my love!

Remembering today...

2010-09-11T19:50:00.003-07:00

Today is one of those days where it is hard to not stop and remember what happened 9 years ago. I don't think anyone can forget where they were this day, watching the news and worrying about what was going on.

For years I have wanted to go downtown near us and see this Healing Field. It is a field filled with a flag for each person who is no longer with us due to the tragedy of this day. There were flags with yellow ribbons to signify the first responders who died trying to save others.

Each time I think about today, I can not help but think about Hubby. I finally asked him today the question I knew the answer to, but never actually asked. I asked if he would have been one of those who went down to help even on a day off or even if we were visiting that city. Of course he said yes he would. I knew the answer since that day, but somehow the answer still stopped me. I think of all the people who are left here to remember those loved ones. I can not help but especially think of the first responders families. If we lived closer to these tragedies, I could be one of those left behind after a hero went back in the building. But, this is why Hubby is who he is, he runs in to the dangerous situation when everyone else is running out. This is why we can be safe in our world with men and women out there doing the jobs others do not want to do...
We got to go together to this with Critter. He did not understand, but thought it was "awesome". There are few other words to describe the feeling of walking though and seeing a physical representation of the lives lost.

May God bless the souls still fighting, protecting us and running into the burning buildings instead of away from them...

A fun day at Nanny & Papa's...

2010-09-09T10:39:00.000-07:00

The 4 of us went up to my parent's house the last weekend of August to celebrate my dad's birthday. It was warm and we got to go swimming twice. This summer was so busy we did not get up to their house as much as last summer. This was probably the last weekend to have the kids swim up there. It was such a fun day of swimming, not napping :), eating and playing. I know we had a good time, and I think my parents did as well!

Pumpkin is now even more of a fish than ever. She LOVES to swim. She can hold her breath way to long for her momma's comfort and swim all around the pool. She does not like regular goggles for the water. She likes these...

She does not like water going up her nose, so she likes these. I just love her in them! She looks...well it is hard to describe! I have a feeling pictures like these might become bribery pictures later in life :)
Our princess tomboy! That is the best way to describe our girl. She was running and leaping off of the pool ledge. Eventually both Nanny and her momma had to go inside because we were spoiling the fun being worried about cracked skulls. She was getting some good height on the jumps though. This was her attempt at a Can Opener jump...she almost had it!

Critter would not keep his ear plugs in this time. He is getting like his sister and not liking them. I am hoping his tubes fall out by next summer so he does not need to wear them and I don't have to fight with him to wear them! But...no ear plugs did not stop his fun! :) He was loving his time in the water. I struggle to throw him like this now since he has gotten so big, not quite sure how hubby did it!

My parent's got the kids bikes for their house. She got them for $5 each, so even if they don't use them a ton it is worth it. My dad went to get the mail, and Critter had to go with him. I have such vivid memories of riding my bike with my dad, this picture just brings me back. I am glad he gets to help his grandson as well!

The reason we went up there...

It was a great day to celebrate my dad and spend some nice family time together. Pumpkin had the idea to put golf balls on the cake. I love that she knows her grandparents so well! Days like this just make me so happy...

A special day for my girl...

2010-09-08T08:26:00.002-07:00

I got to go to Pumpkin's class 2 weeks ago (yes, I realize I am a bit behind...but I am trying to be okay with that!). It was Green Eggs and Ham day! I thought how fun when the teacher asked for parent volunteers to make Green Eggs and Ham. Of course it made me happy to do this for her class. I am glad I spoke up to help, because no other parents helped by making anything. That of course made me sad...but I won't get started on that!

I was a little nervous telling Pumpkin I was coming to her class to help out. I never know if she is in a mommy mood or an "I really don't want you around" mood. Let me tell you the teenage years will not be fun around here, especially if she gets moody like her momma! :) But...to my surprise, she was excited for me to come! My heart was just so happy :)

Luckily it was on a day when Hubby was home, so I made up 3 dozen green eggs and ham and brought them to her class. I was impressed with her teacher before, but even more so after being there just a little bit. I dished up plates for all the kids while they finished up work. Not one of them got up and came over to me! That is pretty impressive in a Kindergarten class. They were quite and just working. It was really amazing to see my girl sitting at her table, working and just being grown up!

She of course would not look at me for the picture! I could only make the eggs this green. Something was just wrong about putting more food coloring in to make them really green. I know the kids would have loved it, but it just looked gross to me! :)
This is her table she sits at during the day. The little boy on the left is the one she likes to talk to during the "too long rest time". She kids were so cute eating their food. I got lots of thank yous and this is good! Since they read the story that morning, everyone tried it just like Sam in the book. It is cute too, since now when i drop her off all the kids know me as 'Pumpkin's mom". I love it!

I think it is so special I get to help out in her class. It is something I have looked forward to for a really long time.

My boy...

2010-08-27T20:30:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago, Pumpkin went to Hubby's parents house for the weekend. It was time with me and my boy. Actually with my two boys since Hubby was home for the weekend. It was so much fun. I missed my girl a TON, but it was nice for Hubby and I to spend time with Critter....

A fort and a fresh cookie....not much better in this boys world! :)

We took him to a splash pad. Hubby does not get to do much one on one with him. It was neat for Critter to show off to his Daddy. I love our family as a whole, but it is a lot of fun this year to spend so much time with my boy. He is going to go to preschool in a year, so i am soaking up this time with him. He is my momma's boy so I don't think he minds the extra attention! Even though he loves his sister when she gets home from school.

One of his favorite things to do at this splash pad was to leap and dive into the puddles. I don't knwo how he did not hurt himself, but he did not! He was so cute and had this huge smile on his face everytime he did it!

It was really hard on this momma having her girl away for the weekend. It is a great time for her to spend with her grandparents. It was also nice to spend time with my boy. I know before I know it they will both be too busy to have these relaxing moments. Hopefully we can keep them grounded enough to stop and just be.

The Kindergarten "Bug"...

2010-08-26T14:25:00.002-07:00

It took a month...but finally a bug hit Pumpkin. She missed her first day of Kindergarten today. I believe she came home from school with a migraine yesterday (she kept saying her eyes hurt and acted just like I do when I get one). Then it was the throat. It was a long night of waking every hour or so. So...we have had a relaxing rainy day in our house. It has been cute though. Critter has to have everything she has. If she says something hurts...so does he. If she had a pillow...he needed one too. It really is cute. Well except for the matching whining! That was a little hard on the momma. I am hoping she can be better for tomorrow.

In the meantime we will be watching some movies this afternoon, having soup and watching the beautiful cloudy skies!

Her class makes these cute hats to go along with a theme or color of the week! Loved her in the moose hat :)
The goofy kids. Every Friday in her class, they wear the color they learned about for the week. Well...since sister was wearing red he had to as well!

I love how they love each other. I really do not know how I got so lucky.

Our fun morning...

2010-08-21T13:27:00.002-07:00

We had a super fun morning this morning! We were out of the house by 7:15, which is early even for an early bird like myself! My Alma Mater was having a FREE Football Scrimmage today at the stadium. Since every time we drive by the stadium the kids ask to "go there" I figured this would be the best time. They are still a little bit young to go to a game, it just gets too loud and crazy for them. This was perfect! We got there as they were still warming up and the seats were in the shade. The kids got to have their picture taken with Sparky, the mascot, as he wandered through the stadium. It was so much fun!

I LOVE him standing up and watching. He was fascinated with what was going on. I think he would have lasted longer there if I had remembered to bring some snacks....silly mommy!
How cute is this! Critter had no problem what-so-ever with Sparky. I think it is because he has pictures of him in his room and lots of clothes/hats with him. He walked right up to him and climbed up to get his picture. Pumpkin did not want to wear her jersey this morning. There was nothing I could do to convince her to. She sure is stubborn when she makes up her mind....I have no idea where she gets it from!

This is the bell in front of the stadium. I am not sure who got a bigger kick out of this morning, the kids or myself. I have such fond memories of football games during college. I have not been back to a game since graduating. I remember meeting at the bell before and after games. It was just so much fun!

Thankfully my mom came with me and the kids. Otherwise, maybe the fun would have been a little less! Now the kids can say they have been to the stadium. I just have to keep reminding Pumpkin it is football not baseball. We go have been to quite a few baseball games, so there is a little confusion. I can not wait til they are older and we can get tickets to some of the games!

It was such a great morning. I love that we try to do fun and different things with the kids. I think it is great to share these experiences with them.