Cienna - 7 Years, 11 Months!... Kaylee - 5 Years, 6 Months!

Please bare with us on this one.

Kaylee has been waiting 2 years since Cienna got to have Pioneer Day at school to be able to participate in her own.  She even tried the knife shaving station :)  There have been plenty of fundraisers through school in the Holiday spirit.  Flippin pizza took really flippin long when the whole school showed up for dinner.  But everyone had fun regardless.  There has been three meetings to kick off the Daisy troop 2283, which currently has 19 little kindergartners, and is working out just fine!  We all enjoyed Addy and Lexy's birthday at BounceU before heading to a magnificent Thanksgiving week with family up North.

We started the Thanksgiving week with a stop at the Natal's.  Us adults had a great time torturing ourselves on an 8+ mile Turkey Trot while Ms. Laura did a great job with the kiddos!  All of us then headed to Sean and Jamie's for our first, early Thanksgiving with family!  It's so amazing to watch the kids... and adults play together!  We even fit in a photo shoot thanks to Megan, even if we weren't the best subjects to photograph, she put up with us and got some great photos.  The next morning Mommy and Jamie went for a nice run while Daddy had fun watching the girls and McFarland boys.

Next we headed to Kenwood to meet up with the Marty's and NorCal Rydman's.  The cousins' had a blast like always especially on the tire swing.  We did have to fix the tire swing after Mommy got on and it broke.  There was even a visit from the Payne's all the way from Oregon.  We got to get all the decorations out and had fun putting up the Christmas Tree together for the Holiday season. Somehow we also had a magnificent Thanksgiving feast together!  We enjoyed bundling up and heading outside to do some yard clean-up around the property.  We treasure the couple of visits to the hospital with the girls to visit Nana who got to give them their advent calendars for December and approved of Mommy keeping her rings clean.

We got home in time enjoy the annual USC/UCLA football party at the Ferrario's.  Kaylee was one of the winners of the football pool which she thought was pretty cool.  Then the YMCA gymnastics holiday show festivities began.  The girls both had an extra rehearsal day at gymnastics and the day of the show we all helped move the equipment to the local YMCA to set up for the crowd.  The girls loved every minute and it was a successful and adorable show.

After the show Daddy traveled back up North to visit family.  His sister Heather and Nephew Erik had traveled to Kenwood so the whole family could be together.  The Marty's completed the package. It had been a while since all the Rydman kids had been together.  This made Nana and Poppa.. and so many people very happy.  It was a short but memorable trip and, Daddy made it home safely after dropping off Erik at the airport and bringing a huge Rydman grown Douglas Fir home in the back of his truck.  That night Poppa called to let us know that Nana had passed away peacefully and we all tackled our great sorrow together.  This is extremely difficult.

We all appreciate the support from friends and family.  Our Christmas decorations went up beautifully, inside and out.  As always it was great to talk about memories as we hung our ornaments on our beautiful tree.  Luckily we have a high ceiling.

We got to watch Kaylee on the big screen (at her gym) in her debut part of the promotional video for the YMCA National meet coming this summer.  Then we took a short trip to San Diego for time with the Sklenicka's.  We went on a wonderful hike and got to make homemade pizza's for dinner.  When we got home we met up with Cienna's Brownie troop for some neighborhood caroling in the rain. Today we loved watching Kaylee participate in the pajama sing (another event she has looked forward to since her sister was in Kindergarten), and Cienna put on a puppet show that her and her friends wrote and produced by themselves.  We now get two weeks off from school and work, minus a few work days for Daddy.  We look forward to more together time among us, friends, and family.

Kaylee doesn't quite enjoy reading because it takes work, but she is extremely good at it.  However she does love to write... and is good at that too.  She officially has her back handspring all by herself now, but needs to remember to warm up first.  It was fun to watch her expression as she watched herself on the promotional video.  And of course she was happy to collect money... for college... from the football pool.  She talks about Nana quite a bit and brings up some great random memories at unexpected times.  One came out while Mommy was running and she was in the stroller.  She talked about how she liked Nana's loud crow sound.

Cienna has enjoyed being the older/helper girl scout in during Kaylee's Daisy meetings and has truly been nothing but helpful!  She absorbs anything new in school like a sponge and just wants to learn more.... seems like I've written that about her for her whole life!  There is nothing that she can't read and she is currently trying to figure out (learn as much about as she can about) history and science. She still loves every moment of gymnastics.  Even during tough conditioning when other girls twice her age are complaining, she is still... almost smiling :).  She really enjoyed the time in class with her friends creating a great puppet show.   Cienna's latest idea about Nana was to put more chocolate back into the advent calendars, that she had given them, after Christmas and close all the doors so that we can use them again next year.

Pictures................

https://photos.app.goo.gl/9HVzRYpZWMNKfZon8

Cienna - 7 Years, 10 Months!... Kaylee - 5 Years, 5 Months!

Kaylee had a video shoot for a YMCA gymnastics promotional video that she nailed, and had a great time doing.  The following day mommy had a great brunch celebrating the anticipation of another baby Chavez.  We then were lucky to get an invite for another amazing dinner at the Snow's where we got to finally meet baby Carver, along with enjoying great food and company!

The next week was red ribbon week.  Having it around Halloween worked out since one of the days was super hero day and Mommy had already made Kaylee's super hero costume for Halloween.  She did however have to make an extra one for Cienna.  Toward the end of the week we were sure to carve our pumpkins.  The girls are getting good at designing and creating their own designs.  Trunk or Treat at school had a great turn out, and it was so much fun seeing all the costumes.  We also got to see the pumpkins on display that each classroom had made.  Mommy spent quite a bit of time painting a rainbow for Kaylee's classroom Skittle theme!

Then of course it was a fun filled Halloween.  Mommy and Daddy wore the same costumes that they had worn the day after they had met in Chico a long time ago.  We were joined by Chloe and Corey for our treat-or-treat block party gang!  Then the girls actually handed out the candy that they got when we got home after getting prepared for bedtime.

We had fun eating dinner in a large homemade backyard tent the next day in preparation for some pretty awesome parent teacher conferences then next week.  It's amazing that we look forward to those conferences!  Both with after school care and their teachers.

Mommy went to the hair salon for the second time in 20 or maybe 38 years.  Then had parent girl scout meetings for both girls.  Cienna's troop had change in leadership and Kaylee's troop has just been organized!

During our day off on Veteran's day, unfortunately a quick flu had been going through the family and this was Cienna's day of not feeling great, but she was a trooper through a nice bike ride, making brownies and playing games together.

Cienna then had her second brownie troop meeting, first with the new venue.  It went great.  Mommy and Kaylee even got to take Addie to Walgreen's to pick up some pictures for the Purple Unicorn team mom's end of the year soccer gift.  Which leads us to the last soccer game and weekend of the year.  Proceeding each of the girls last games of the year were their end of the year parties.  Too much fun.

The next day, after Daddy spending many hours sanding patio furniture, it was time to paint.  We used our paint sprayer all over the place, luckily most of it was on the patio furniture.  The first coat was a success.  The last few days included the Carver Olympics at school and Pioneer Day for the Kindergartners (One more costume for Mommy to make).

Cienna had another orthodontics appointment to fix and tighten things up.  She really enjoyed learning about being thankful at her Brownie meeting.  She was acknowledged with her soccer trophy as the one that always had the biggest smile during every game!  Her highlight was finally printing out her self started and completed book that she entered in a contest and got to read to her class which inspired many other classmates to want to write their own book.  (The Magical Staircase).

Kaylee was so great feeding baby Carver all on her own.  She continues to be top in her class in her star reader books, and enjoys them most when we let her read at night multiple times procrastinating going to bed.  She is extremely excited about her Daisy group and getting to hang with her friends outside of school!  She is quite the dancing maniac and is sure full of energy... good energy!

Both girls really loved soccer this season and are sad that it had come to an end.  They have been practicing for their gymnastics holiday show and have both been into playing chess thanks to Mr. Josh who comes to the school and has an amazing way to get the kids very into the game!

Looking forward to holidays with the family!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yJZD6YNJ7rFDSC677

Cienna - 7 Years, 9 Months!... Kaylee - 5 Years, 4 Months!

Had a wonderful time at Haiden's 5th birthday party, then more fun with the Bakx and Netters for a much needed pool party.  We finally took out our peach tree from the backyard which was doomed with termites.  Bummer we don't have to clean up rotten peaches at the end of spring anymore : ). Our busy schedule during the week has increased some with Fall Soccer starting up.  We are making it work just fine, with a little crazy, and the girls are enjoying every bit of it.  The girls had fun with free dress on school picture day.  Then Mommy and Daddy went out after putting the girls to bed, and Clara coming over to keep them safe, to enjoy our good friend Erin's birthday party at a dueling piano bar downtown.

Our outdoor sink has been an ongoing "family" project that is now complete and we are looking forward to making good use out of it.

We all got to enjoy Cienna bridging from Daisies to Brownies on their self made bridge at a local park.  During the following week we got word of the much anticipated and healthy birth of Carver James Snow.  We can't wait to finally meet him!

Cienna's first Brownie meeting was soon after, at the troop leaders house with a Halloween inspired dinner.  The meeting was great, but we knew that we had The Natal's rolling up to the house for an amazing weekend at any minute.  So Mommy and Cienna hurried home to join Daddy and Kaylee who started the fun times!

They originally came to town so Megan could complete her second Marathon of the year and RJ joining for his very first one.  But we got to benefit with time with our family!  This also meant meeting our new family puppies, Lou and Buster, who are quite adorable!  Porter didn't like to see them go.  Neither did we after a quick but fun filled trip!  We had live entertainment every night which consisted of four very talented and spirited little girls!

Next came soccer picture day that also included 3 soccer games among the four of us.  Lots of running around, a normal now-a-days.  We then enjoyed a great BBQ with the Marshalls.

Lastly we had a great visit from Uncle Joe and Auntie Dana!  The girls were so excited they couldn't even speak... well for a couple seconds, then they couldn't stop!  After getting "booed" by a unknown neighbor with some cool Halloween inspired gifts, we finished the month with a 4 mile run/bike.  It was the first time testing if the girls could ride their bike instead of being pushed in the stroller, and they easily made it the entire time Mommy and Daddy ran together.  Didn't even complain once, just wanted water occasionally.

Cienna was so proud, knowing the entire Brownie handbook after reading it several times, as she walked over their bridge at the ceremony.  She won the ending game of hot potato at the end of her first brownie troop meeting.  At her eye appointment, we found that her eyes have only improved over the last two years which was expected as her eyes continue to grow.  She has not missed one word all year on her spelling tests, even including the advanced spelling words each week.  She does gymnastics constantly and doesn't stop smiling any time she is playing soccer.  She picked out the perfect material for her black cat costume to wear for Halloween coming up.

Kindergarten is exactly what Kaylee had been hoping for.  She loves every moment.  There was a brief time of drop off anxiety at CDC, but that is a thing of the past.  She was the first Star Reader in her class to make it to books!  She got to be Star of the Week ending her last sharing day with the blanket that Grammy had made right before she was born.  She also had her first eye doctor appointment which she loved because she was proud of how well she knew her letters and was impressed by all the technological equipment.  She is a dancing/acting maniac and can't wait to be a self designed super hero for Halloween.  She happens to be the shortest and fastest on her soccer team and continues to love gymnastics as well!

Porter had a great time meeting his new cousins and loves the occasional visits from Lula as the Marshall's continue to work on their house!

Enjoy the pictures!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/WjVn5bbfV7y5Xv7LA

Cienna - 7 Years, 8 Months!... Kaylee - 5 Years, 3 Months!

After a great summer at Pee Wee camp the girls got to show off their acts that they had been working on at a wonderfully produced talent show!  Daddy brought Cienna to enjoy Sara's Birthday with Geebo the clown.  While Mommy and Kaylee road bikes on the beach and after lunch on Second Street stopped off at a Tiki Festival along our path.  As summer was ending we joined a bunch of friends for one more beach day!

The last weekend before school started we make the journey up to SR to visit family.  On the way we took a minor detour and got to meet Julia, and visit with Vera, Toby and Dani!  While in SR we had such a great time with Nana, Poppa, and The Marty Family.  We also had a wonderful visit with Grammy and Grandpa, and Auntie Carrie!

Once back on our home turf we had a couple of days to play and prepare for the BIG first day of school!  Kaylee was more than ready to start Kindergarten with Ms. Ashcraft and Cienna was excited to get back to learning in 2nd grade with Ms. Ahrens!  It has been fantastic so far.  And both Back to School nights are under our belt.

Meanwhile, soccer season was approaching and Daddy and Mommy were getting certified for refereeing and coaching.  We also got to help Jamaica celebrate her Birthday, which was a great reason for a water slide.  We have made progress on our outdoor sink (things take time).  And there have been many plays and productions put on by the girls at home!

Cienna will be bridging to brownies, and since we couldn't decide on which bridge to use, the troop leaders' husband made one and all the girls pitched in and got to paint it together at a bridge painting party.  The next day was opening day for Fall soccer.  Both girls had so much fun playing and can't wait till the next game!  This last week was the school book fair and each girl got to bring their own money to school when it was their classes turn to go.  We almost witnessed a helicopter landing at Heartwell Park for a local event while on a family run, just missed the actual landing, but we stopped for a second so the girls could check it out.

Cienna was very excited to finally get some homework and always does it first thing!  She has been enjoying making up stories and trying to direct Kaylee to act them out.  She has finished writing, typing, and illustrating her own book that she has been working on the majority of the summer.  It is now on the computer and just has to finish putting it all together.  She continues to enjoy gymnastics and is very excited about her new soccer team The Green Seaweed!

Our little Kindergartner also loves homework and is 2 weeks ahead with it already.  She is on target with her star reader lists and is happy to have turned them in every day!  She made a card for June and Grace and decided that she was going to mail it to them.  So we learned how to address and stamp and put it on the mailbox all on her own.  She has enjoyed the Clavinova that we got to take home from Nana and Poppa and is currently learning Twinkle Twinkle.  Kaylee doing great with soccer on the Purple Unicorns with Mommy as coach, but still think that she likes the snacks the best!

Some cute pictures if you click below!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/67pRBBFM2wvReiuf6

Cienna - 7 Years, 7 Months!... Kaylee - 5 Years, 2 Months!

We kick started things with our BIG Family summer vacation.  It was an AMAZING week in Florida!  The four of us stayed in St. Petersburg the first evening after arriving in Tampa after a pretty smooth travel day, except for Cienna's very first ear infection.  That made for a miserable plane ride and a visit to Urgent Care the following day!  But she charged on, and was able to enjoy our time together other than some occasional bursts of pain through that first day.  We let them release some energy at a place called Great Explorations before we left for Sarasota and the Siesta Keys, after a nice lunch at St. Pete's brewery.  They got a little rest during that car ride.

When we showed up we saw the beautiful place that we got to call home for the rest of the week thanks to Auntie Bridget whom arranged for all of us to stay in the same complex of condos!  They were directly on the beach and had incredible views.  We spared little time before heading straight into the ocean, Mommy didn't even flinch since the water was just as warm as the outside temperature!

The next day was the big family reunion with all of Mommy's distant relatives that she hadn't seen in 20 years or so and the rest of us had never met, other than Auntie Bridget, Vickie, Grandpa Sam, and Marlies.  It was great to re-unite and have a great time together talking and partying.  Grandpa Sam got a well deserved lifetime of service award while we were all there as well!

The next few days was spent among Grammy, Grandpa, Bridget, Vickie, the Natal Family, and us. We had plenty of time in the ocean, being able to walk way out and still touch the bottom.  We even saw a Manatee swimming by where we had just been moments before.  We build sand castles, learned Hula from Grammy, arts and crafts lessons from Auntie Vickie which lead to adorable puppet shows, and party time with all of us and new friends that were staying in the same complex as well.

One of those days all of us had a wonderful adventure visiting the Ringling Brothers museum where we were treated like celebrities since one of its exhibits held the exact cannon that Grammy had gotten shot out of when she worked for the Zacchini's!  She even brought some pictures of herself to be put on display.  Each aspect of the museum was quite interesting and enjoyable, but the cannon was the best.  Another day Mommy and Daddy got to take some time with only Uncle RJ and Auntie Megan to go try out some drinks at the Daquari Bar in town while the girls got spoiled back at the condos.  The four blondies had such a wonderful time during the week spending time together and being spoiled by Grammy, Grandpa, Bridget, and Vickie! We all got spoiled another evening when Grandpa took us out for a family dinner in town which was followed by delicious ice cream!

The remaining part of the week we continued to enjoy every last second enjoying the company that we had and our surroundings, Cousin Mckayla also came back to join us in the fun and was a joy to have around!  We all got spoiled one of those evenings when Grandpa took us out for a family dinner in town which was followed by delicious ice cream!  The flight home was much more enjoyable for Cienna, but it was late and when we arrived in LAX it took a little too long for our shuttle to get us to our car.  Still the girls were great through it all.  It was a TRULY amazing Vacation!

We thought we'd continue spoiling ourselves when we got back and end the vacation of with a nice brunch at the Crooked Duck.  It was nice until we got back to the car afterward and it was detached from the bumper.  Turns a truck parked right in front of us and "clipped" the car on his way to the spot.  Then proceeded into his house without a note.  Luckily there was a witness and after waiting 1.5 hours for the cops (in the middle of which the owner of the Crooked Duck came out with Root Beer floats for the girls) we left after he wouldn't answer the door for them and they proceeded to tow his truck.  Luckily we JUST found out that he actually did have insurance.

Girls went back to camp and Mommy and Daddy back to work, but we continued to enjoy our time and had plenty more celebrating.  Tiffany's dancing 40th, Mikayla's super water slide 7th, and Dave's rock star 45th parties were all the following weekend.

We continue with bike rides to Carver, Togo's, the park, and all over the Leo Carillo camp site for our next mini trip.  We had a great easy going time with Joan and Larry, The Bakx, and the Jacobson's.  Lots of bike riding, hiking, time at (not in) the ocean, and campfire playtime.

The next week Daddy took off lunch to pick up the girls from camp and take them to Kaylee's Kindergarten Meet and Greet to say hello to Mrs. Ashcraft and see her new classroom set-up!  The last weekend followed with Mommy becoming AYSO U6 coach certified, and Kaylee getting awarded for her time spent on the gymnastics mini team during their yearly gymnastics team ceremony.  Then another 7th Aloha swim Birthday Party for Elliot.  The last two days for this month we got a taste of what's two come since soccer practices just got thrown into the weekly mix!  Each of them had a great time.  Coach Mommy got to meet the rest of Kaylee's team, and think the practice went pretty well.

Other than being her amazing self, Cienna got her first ear infection as previously mentioned, and also got her neck gear that she gets to wear at night.  She's had no problems or complaints with it from the get go!  She is excited for soccer and looks forward to every gym practice.  Has also become quite comfortable in the pool thanks to all the parties and neighbors!

Kaylee has also really excelled just over this last month in swimming.  She really likes the added freedom in the pool, but almost comes across a little too confident of course.  Gymnastics is going great and she even got a special award at the ceremony as "Most Likely to Become a Coach" due to her correcting teammates if they aren't doing something quite right.

They both look forward to school starting, although have enjoyed the summertime activities... We all have!

Needless to say there are plenty of pictures, and currently doesn't even include any from camping.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/tRm81fvxXZZscT3B9

Cienna - 7 Years, 6 Months!... Kaylee - 5 Years, 1 Month!

Started with our fifth and last official Pre-School end of the year field trip to the Cabrillo museum. We may crash it next year too : ).  Then we had a quick stop at Misha's Birthday party at Wardlow Park before we headed to our impromptu "staycation" for father's day at the Anaheim Hilton (Water Park Hotel).  We were all spoiled for Father's Day staying up late watching a movie and even had Prime Rib available with our overwhelming buffet breakfast.

The first two weeks of Summer without school started with a Junior Beach Camp for the girls at Belmont Pool, and they even got to go sailing each Thursday.  As if they weren't getting enough beach time, we still met up with school friends at the peninsula for more play time in the sun.  The first week Mommy had planned a special date for the three of us to see a musical that one of our good friends was in called Seussical the Musical!  Annie Netter did fantastic as the lead Wickersham Brothers and the girls sat amazed for the entire show!  That weekend we had a great time next door for the soon to arrive Carver Snow's baby shower.

Once we finally had a free day we knew just how to fill it... with a home improvement project.  We started the outdoor sink that we've been wanting for a while now.  The girls could only cut so much wood so we also headed out for more bike riding adventures.  The next week we took more advantage of park time with x-pre school friends Maddie and Darius.

Since Daddy got the Friday before the Fourth of July of, what better to do than have friends over to make beer for when we go camping in August.  After a successful trip to the grocery store, there was even a show put on by Cienna, Kaylee, and Chloe for all of us to enjoy!  We started our Fourth at the fabulous Netter Block party where Mommy and Daddy tied for second place in the ping pong tourney (last years ringer, who's college roommate was a pro, beat both of us.  Daddy technically got second since he was in the final).  We headed home for bedtime (the girls were done) until they started lighting home fireworks across the street and Daddy brought our the rest of the neighbors to enjoy the show! The next day we made a ton of delicious salsa from our garden veggies and brought some of them to the Bakx to enjoy an entertaining, world record breaking women's world cup soccer game.

The girls then switched to Pee Wee Camp at Wardlow Park near our house, which they will be at for most of the rest of the summer.  They love the games and adventures that they have had so far, including a city bus ride trip back to the Belmont Pool where the gave hugs to their previous counselors from Junior Beach Camp.  The following week we had another great swim/play date at Elliot's house.

The Month ended with a bang enjoying a Sunday with the Sklenicka Newlyweds who were persuaded to stay till past bedtime after reading plenty of stories.

To say the least Cienna had many of firsts this month!  You will see that she got braces... and has been the biggest trooper about it!  Very few complaints even when we could tell they bothered her a little.  She started with getting her x-rays done, then the following week she got her braces and has read through the instructions once, or twice, or way too many times!  She also got her very first haircut.  Her Flower hair needed to get trimmed.  Most exciting for her, she got asked to go to Pre-Team in gymnastics, which she has been working hark for and has been doing great with!

It was fantastic to be able to put the girls into camp this summer since Kaylee has turned 5.  She is the leader of every group that she is in.  She loves making new friends and figuring out how to make the most of the situation!  She was a little hesitant to be in a different group than her sister when they started camp this summer but got over it, in about a few minutes.  She is an agile and smart little one that can play games with all the big kids.  She keeps coming up with new expressions and ways to make us laugh every day.  Then on the other side learning to enjoy a little time to herself.

Side Note:  Mommy got a new job... well, not really.  It's a side no pay volunteer job that she loves! Turns out that Kaylee's gymnastics team is on Mon. and Wed. and Cienna's new team is on Tues. and Thurs. So Mommy would be sitting for way too many hours on the bleachers (Any amount of time is too long).  So she decided to do what she has always loved to do and volunteer coaching instead of sitting.  It has been wonderful for everybody.

Off to Florida!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
We are all just a little excited.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/vWKi3Fcua9WdbfwU8

Cienna - 7 Years, 5 Months!... Kaylee - 5 Years Old!

Warning.... massive month review followed with many pictures!

Just the first few days of the month were exciting enough to last all month.  Uncle Joe and Dana got married!  We headed down early on Thursday to attend the rehearsal and met many of their family. Afterward was a delicious dinner and plenty of fun which continued through the weekend.  After mommy and Stacey took a wonderful tour of Balboa park we all got to do some sight seeing before the big night.  The wedding and hotel were right next to Petco Park, so we had to cruise by during our walk around downtown.  Daddy and the girls did a great job supporting Uncle Joe and Dana the whole weekend and the wedding was a perfect event enjoyed by all of their friends and family!  We got to see the married couple the next morning for breakfast along with Matt and Stacey before heading home.

The next day we went to the neighbors who heard all about the wedding from the girls as we celebrated Dave's college graduation.  After an already long weekend we were lucky that Monday was also Memorial Day and we got to spend an extra day together.  So we thought what better than to finally invest in some bikes for Mommy and Daddy.  We set off for a huge bike ride around El Dorado Park, which was only the first of our many family bike rides this last month.

The next week didn't slow down either.  The school book fair, and DJ dance party were a blast, and we all enjoyed Carver Open House, meeting Cienna's possible next year teacher.  Of course then the next day was the school Carnival.  We volunteered in the class booth which brought back many memories for Mommy.

We had more parties the following weekend starting with a Daisy pool party at the neighbors house and a pre-school friend, Shane's 3rd Birthday party after that.  Mommy got enough courage to present to Cienna's first grade class for career day.  Then Kaylee's big So Cal YMCA State gymnastics meet finally came which also had a carnival theme!  She was a complete rock star and nailed all of her routines!  More importantly she had an amazing time with all her teammates!

There was a VIPS breakfast for Mommy and Kaylee since she has been a junior VIPS all year in Cienna's class.  Then that night was a Girl Scout party at Paint and Glaze which they earned and planned with their money from cookie sales.  The next morning the girl scout parents organized a surprise sisterly breakfast which we started with one of the daisies picking up one other surprising them to come to breakfast.  We went house to house till we finally surprised all of the girls and enjoyed a "quiet" breakfast at Ruby's.

That evening was another special occasion since we got to help celebrate Joan and Larry's 50th wedding anniversary!  They are such great friends and inspirations to our family.  As are their children.  Moving along in the month... the next day was Kaylee's 5th birthday party.  Almost all of her friends were able to make it.  We had a great time playing at home, then she led the entire party on a walk to Wardlow park where we had a scavenger hunt ready to go for all to find cool prizes! Then she led us all safely back home to enjoy some freeze dance and cake!  Kaylee enjoyed every moment and it seemed that everyone else did also!

That Monday Kaylee actually turned 5.  Mommy and Daddy are still in denial, but she insists that it happened.  If we were better with words you would all be crying with how we feel... so proud, amazed, a little saddened, but full of love!  She got to have her "Celebration of Life" at pre-school and Cienna's class got to walk to Wardlow Park for one last field trip for the school year.  She got her Birthday in the day before her last day of pre-school!  We have been going there for 4 and a half years and are going to miss the love that they have given our children over those years!  And the next day was then Cienna's last day of First Grade.  Here we come Kindergarten and Second Grade.... WHAT???  Cienna made it to the finale of the first grade spelling B.  Took first place in her class and really just had fun doing it on the last day of school!  Then the parents of her class organized a surprise retirement party for her wonderful teacher Mrs. Dowlen, which pretty much took over the rest of the day until she read a touching last day of school book to the children!  We're sorry she won't be there for Kaylee but wish her the best.

For the last day left in the month, there was no more school so Mommy took the day of work and all the girls went to Tanaka Farms for a Strawberry tour.  All of our fingers will be red for a while.

Our almost Second Grader finished the school year with getting a spelling B award, being voted Top Reader by her classmates, and earning scholar of the Month award from the principal along with her great friend Elliot!  She truly deserved all of it.  She was the only one in her class that voluntarily finished and extra 524 page Math book that they were given at the beginning of the school year.  She got a special Lego friend set as a prize from Mommy and Daddy for all her hard work!  Then, after more hard work at gymnastics she got invited to join the Pre-Team which she gladly accepted and gets to start next month.  A truly amazing child!

Kaylee is now 5.  She has such strength and determination in everything that she does.  Along with a ton of energy and crazy antics to go along with it.  You could see how proud she was to do her gymnastics routines in front of judges, and with a smile the entire time.  She also got a new desk to go in her room, for there are no longer nap times, she has moved on to quiet time.  Pre-school is behind us (one final field trip on Friday) and Kindergarten is next.  She couldn't be more ready in all ways.  Feeling too overwhelmed to write more.

Remember the warning, but enjoy!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/uSQQGsVHQpWeS9bz7

Cienna - 7 Years, 4 Months!... Kaylee - 4 Years, 11 Months!

Some BIG weekends started this last month.  First Mommy went to party with Dana for her wine tasting Bachelorette in Temecula while Daddy and Cienna did a great job helping Kaylee through her first practice gymnastics meet in preparation for the State meet coming up in early June.  Speaking of gymnastics, we also had a great dinner out with Darcie and her fantastic children Katherine and Eric as they were in town for one of Kat's meets.

Following that weekend was Daddy's birthday weekend which included Brewfest for Daddy and Dana's Bridal Shower for the girls.  Everyone had a great time.  After Daddy's nap when he got home on his birthday we celebrated with both of his favorite deserts that the girls made for him.

Teacher's week was to follow which we spent time making crafts and notes to appreciate all our teachers.  That week also included the big Talent Show event.  Cienna was a super star in both of her acts.  Both the Daisy Troop act and her classroom act were a lot of fun to watch and be a part of.

Mothers Day started a little early with an amazing Mommy's muffin Morning in Cienna's classroom.  They not only gave us muffins but filled us with love and songs from the kids.  Keeping with tradition we had our bagels and tailgate party in the Lowe's parking lot before we ventured in to get supplies for our home improvement project for Mother's Day.  We now have matching light fixtures all around the outside of our home.  We also had some pretty amazing ribs for dinner!  And not too mention a home pedicure and so much love.

We got to then have another successful troop meeting, this time in Mrs. Dowlen's classroom, followed by Hailey's 7th Birthday bring your dollies party!

They are getting into more abstract learning subjects in school such as history, science, culture, etc. and Cienna is loving every bit of it.  She is still such a great student and friend to all of her classmates.  We've noticed that she is growing up and is having a little trouble at times understanding all of the emotions that she feels and how to deal with them.  However, she is so kind hearted that of course she "usually" has the best reaction to them!  She gets to be the example most of the time in her gymnastics class and is excited for Fall soccer which we have just signed up for.

Kaylee is on a roll with her reading, although it is frustrating at times to be learning and just want to be as good as your sister already is.  But she is doing great.  Her artwork is also continuing to improve and has really gotten way more patient spending time and initiating fun projects.  Her physical coordination is remarkable and she loves putting it to use at gymnastics.

We are all looking forward to Joe and Dana's wedding coming this Friday, I know the girls are happy for them, but they're pretty excited about being the flower girls as well!

Enjoy the pictures!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/Lv2tHVYVosyQUrk49

Cienna - 7 Years, 3 Months!... Kaylee - 4 Years, 10 Months!

We got to start off this wonderful Spring season with family!  The Marty's came to enjoy Disneyland and we got to enjoy them!  Nana and Poppa got back on the road as well to come visit and share plenty of laughs with all of us too.  Everybody helped Mommy enjoy her birthday.  She got more than she asked for which was spending time with her family!  The girls were treated, with plenty of early Easter goodies, a new Barbie house, and we all got to walk Cienna to school one day where Ashley read a story to her class.

After we sent them on a safe journey home, we had more fun enjoying the sun around the house and preparing for Easter complete with water fun, crafts, and egg dying of course.  A couple more homemade step stones were added to the garden.  We spent a day at the OC Zoo with Cienna's Daisy troop.  Both Cienna and Kaylee earned a fun patch and learned a lot about the animals and their habitats.

The girls were very patient on Easter morning and even came to cuddle before looking for eggs and baskets.  They had their first egg hunt at home, then we headed next door to a wonderful feast at the Snow's, and another egg hunt.  We were, as always, spoiled with more goodies and lots of fun at the Snow's.

The girls enjoyed there Spring Break as we took advantage of our wonderful friends.  They got a day with the Snow's, one with the Marshall's, and had Clara come to the house for the third day that both Mommy and Daddy were working.  We took a long weekend and headed to San Elijo for a beautiful beachfront camping trip with the Bakx's and half the Netter's, etc.  Unfortunately the next week didn't start great since there was a bug hanging around our camp and many of the kiddos got a little sick.  Luckily it didn't stick around too long, and we were able to enjoy yummy paella and good music for Roman's Birthday the next weekend!

We finished the month with a neighborhood pizza get together followed by our monthly girl scout meeting.  Then a field trip to one of our local fire houses.  We got a great tour from Captain Vic and even all got to ride in the big fire engine!

Cienna now has a start date for her braces, the end of June.  She has enjoyed Girl Scouts and is almost ready for the troop talent show in a couple of weeks.  Her classroom represented France in the school Olympics and they all earned a medal.  She still enjoys reading anything that she gets her hands on, and has been helping Mommy more in the kitchen with breakfast and lunches.

Kaylee does such a great job joining the girl scout activities that the troop leader got her a future girl scout badge.  She has greatly improved with her reading and writing which leads to her enjoying it more and then of course continuing to improve.  She got to re-do her gymnastics team photos, which go on the wall in the gym, in her new team leo.  She also did her solo floor routine for the first time in preparation for this weekends practice meet!  Kaylee is still a great help in the kitchen, it just takes a little organization for all three of us to work together, but we have fun with it!

Hope Spring is bringing good times for everybody!
Enjoy the Pictures.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/jL6iQo9VJRwG7raB6

Cienna - 7 Years, 2 Months!... Kaylee - 4 Years, 9 Months!

As always, we know how to keep busy.  Mommy's taking charge of Cienna's Girl Scout Troop Talent Show act in May, so she led 2 rehearsals this month.  After the first one she went out and had fun with some other mom's to watch an 80's cover band play.  The next morning Mommy helped Roman judge for his team and Rylee's soccer tryouts.  After that the whole family met up again with all of the Bakx for Stone's sporty Birthday party at the park.  During the week Uncle Matt was in Los Angeles for work so we all got to meet up with him for dinner one night.  Long Beach Parks put on a Snow Day the following weekend at a local park, and we joined another Birthday party at the soccer park for Annie.

The next week was Dr. Seuss birthday, so there was plenty of reading and school activities including a fun reading assembly, and pajama day.  Carver also put on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math) night.  It was well organized and the kids had a great time.

We did manage to have some fun at home and at nearby parks and pet stores as well this month.  We even brought out Mommy's wedding dress for what we believe was the first time in almost 12 years.  We were also sure to make time to start our garden.  We had been prepping for a while getting the soil weed free and mulched.  All the veggies are doing great so far.

The last weekend for this month Daddy headed to San Diego to enjoy and celebrate Uncle Joe's bachelor party that he and Uncle Matt did a great job of planning.  Meanwhile the girls found "Where the Side Walk Ends" while riding their bikes to feed the ducks at the duck pond.  Then enjoyed a huge race car themed birthday party for one of Cienna's classmates.  All first graders were invited.

Cienna got to take a walking field trip to the Los Altos shopping center to learn about goods and services.  She also had 2 out of 3 planned orthodontist consultations.  Looks like that will be happening soon.  She earned another patch at her girl scout meeting, and got talent show yearbook pictures taken at school.  Continues to enjoy gymnastics, and has even had Sierra as a coach a few times this month.  Tooth number 8 easily came right before a bedtime.  One showcase talent for the month is her ability to be friends with everyone by her genuine kindness, even if others are beginning to explore their attitudes!

Kaylee got to try on and take home her first gymnastics team leotard.  She has been working hard on her tricks and routines, and loving every minute.  After growing an inch in two months, she now can touch her tippie toes, therefore ride the bigger bike with appropriate sized wheels : )  We had her, and ours as a family, final parent teacher conference with Ms. Deanna at Petite Montessori.  She is really becoming a great student and a class leader.  She even fit right in with the first grade class when we happen to be around helping out and they had an odd number of kids for their computer coding activity.

Didn't bring out the camera quite as much this much, still plenty of smiles!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/TfAMeANoq1uQCGSz8

Cienna - 7 Years, 1 Month!... Kaylee - 4 Years, 8 Months!

We started by having to say goodbye to The Natal's after truly enjoying their company.  Auntie Megan read to Cienna's class and all the girls and Uncle RJ got to listen.  We left Cienna and got to walk back to our house for a quick relaxing time before their long drive home.

That Sat. the girls went to their first open gym.  Getting to skip nap time to go wasn't even the highlight.  They really had a good time.  That night a get together was planned with many families of such great friends for Kristen's Birthday at Taco Surf.

During the following week, Cienna had her first Girl Scout Field trip, bringing food to a women and children shelter in downtown LB.  They had fun with the other children and it was a neat experience for all.

Then the Girl Scout cookies made their appearance.  We headed out the first morning that was allowed.  Good thing Kaylee was their to help Cienna with her confidence talking to neighbors (even ones she didn't know) door to door.  The Super Bowl was that evening, and we were happy to have the Bakx join us for a pretty exciting game with teams we didn't have much of a preference for, and good food.  Both girls had a dentist appointment the following week.

After a hoedown party at Carver, Daddy headed to San Diego to help Uncle Joe bring in another great year of his life.  Meanwhile the girls went to Shane's (a preschool friends) Birthday party.
It had been a while, so Kaylee and Mommy hit up story time at the library, then our monthly Girl Scout meeting was that evening, and we extended the night by joining Georgia at her Grandparents to enjoy celebrating her Birthday!

The next day, for Valentines, we invited the Marshall's (including Porter's buddy Lula), over for dry meatballs, ice cream cones, and a movie night in the backyard.  We then extended the weekend on Sunday joining the Bakx BBQ for dinner and some band practice (started early to accommodate Cienna before we had to leave).

Cienna enjoyed extending her Birthday as presents continued to come in the mail (still can't believe that she is 7).  She was a trooper going out of her comfort zone when selling cookies door to door. This month they focused more on science which she enjoyed learning new things, always her favorite thing to do.... learn new things.  She has taken advantage of her art party gifts which loaded her full of new art project opportunities at home.  And at the ripe age of 7 she was recommended by her dentist to schedule some orthodontist consultations to ensure those beautiful, healthy front teeth don't get knocked out to early in life!

Kaylee had quite a few firsts this month.  She got to hold the pet Millipede at school, she agreed to get her face painted, got to see her adult teeth since she sat in the dentist x-ray chair super still, and she had to pee in a cup and get blood taken for routine medical check (without a single tear or even a sign of crying!).  She deserved to get frozen yogurt for a treat after that!  She continues to show signs of wanting to know how anything, and everything works.  Sometimes that includes miss-use of items, but in the end is amazing what she can figure out on her own.  And she finally has, on occasion, moved away from the tight pants and tank tops as her daily outfit.

It's been said before in the blog, but they really compliment each other.  Whether in moments of love or torment, it works out!  As for Porter... Cienna said it best that she is like his follower and Kaylee is like his leader.  But the love is always there!

Not quite as many pictures this month, but plenty still.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/sz89TcKvw7mV3SHRA

Cienna - 7 Years Old!... Kaylee - 4 Years, 7 Months!

Starting with Winter Break and ending with Cienna's 7th birthday.  It goes with out saying that it was an eventful last month.  We truly enjoyed so much family time together.  We got plenty of projects done together as well as play/park time, enjoying Christmas decorations, a trip to Color Me Mine, it even rained on occasion so that we could enjoy puddle splashing.

After Lexie's Hello Kitty Birthday party, we began to prepare for Christmas.  We were so lucky to spend the whole morning together relaxing, then got invited to the Snow's in the afternoon, followed by being welcomed to The Bakx/Ferrario Family Christmas.

We spent time doing things we love, such as dancing and also experimenting with cooking food that we had not attempted before...  BBQ pizza, Lasagna, and Cheese Cake!

We took a family trip to the Aquarium, then headed to another GREAT New Year Celebration in Big Bear with Uncle Joe and Dana.  We got to help them celebrate not only the New Year but their new engagement.  It had snowed the day before and while we were there.  This lead to plenty of snow ball fights, angels, snow men, sledding, and relaxing as well as craziness with wonderful company in the warm cabin!

When we got home, we started and finished a project that we've wanted to do for a long time, the guest room closet.  We even added a computer station for the girls to do math work etc.  After re-grouping and more puddle jumping, we started planning for Cienna's big day.  The Natal's were on they're way to join in for the weekend, along with Chalula.  Chalula is the Marshall's Golden Retriever puppy, and one of Porter's new friends.  Cienna crafted up the idea of an art party, then we were headed to California Adventure on MLK day.  All of it was perfect and Cienna was very grateful.

Now the day is here, almost 7 years to the minute as I write this blog, and remembering the very first one that we created which covered the birth of the most wonderful newborn we could have ever had imagined!

Cienna got to get made over like a princess as a gift from the Natal's, then keep the hairdo for 3 days so she could wear it to school on her Birthday.  Kaylee and Mommy got to help out in her class, brought her a flower, and was able to share lunchtime with her and her friends.  She picked out homemade calzones to have for dinner after gymnastics, then got another cupcake which was made with love by Auntie Megan for her party.  Finally a nice bath before heading off to bed.

She is such a caring, honest, and capable little girl.  She's learning to have fun even when being pushed passed her comfort zone.  She loves to be challenged, but needs to realize it is ok if some things don't come easy, although once she works through it a couple of times she gets it.  She's been enjoying her new Daisy group and gymnastics.

Kaylee started the month with a cool looking bruise on her chin thanks to too much sisterly love and the hardwood floor.  She had some big changes and accomplishments this month too.  She got to upgrade her car seat, which was the first time she didn't sit in the middle of the back seat, whole new experience.  Also she was invited to join the mini team at her gymnastics center.  We gave her the choice and she was very excited to accept.  She is by far the youngest one but is doing fantastic!  It's amazing the amount of focus and attention she has during class, and is also having fun, smiling the whole time.

Now as I put a close to this blog, it is 7 years ago to the minute, that Cienna showed us an entirely new, unimaginable level to what already was a life full of love!

Enjoy

https://photos.app.goo.gl/41mCH3UiasDM9HHd8