On the road again to an fantastic time with family! First stop was the Natal's. They are always so welcoming and we all had fun talking the night away. Then the girls came down shortly after going to bed exclaiming that the littlest lost a tooth. So Grace decided that bedtime with cousins was the best time to pull that tooth out. The next morning Uncle and Auntie went for a Trot and we spent more time with cousins before heading to The Marty's to unpack for a couple of days. Shortly after us, The Marty's, Poppa, and The Natal's met back up at a great performance of the Little Mermaid put on by the SRJC. Afterward we all treated ourselves for a late lunch at the new Bear Republic in Rohnert Park. We had a great evening at the Marty's then let them sleep in a bit and went for a walk around their neighborhood. After a wonderful breakfast we all went to play miniature gulf at Scandia to get out of the house and into the rain : ) We spent the rest of the day enjoying family and smoking a tri-tip before waking up a little earlier to our first ThanksChristmasMorning.
Later that afternoon we headed out to Kenwood to let the girls stake their claim of what was left of Poppa's property. They had heard so much about the fire and were so curious and awe struck once we let them see. They kept some cool memorabilia that we have set in our backyard. That evening we headed to the Payne's house to do some hiking out their backyard and spend time together before going to Grammy and Grandpa's house for the night.
We spent most of the next morning relaxing as Grammy taught the girls a Ukulele and hula performance to show the next day when family came for Thanksgiving Day. That evening Grammy and Grandpa spoiled the girls as Mommy and Daddy met up with Abbey and Shaun for some drinks and dinner in downtown SR. It was so great to see them even if we didn't get to see the kids this time.
Thanksgiving Day Poppa, The Marty's, Natal's, McFarland's, Chris and Ryli, and other family friends got to spend time together! It was our first time meeting a new cousin Ryli and the girls had a lot of fun together. The following morning we did another ThanksChristmasMorning enjoying everyone's company including the rest of the McFarland clan. After being spoiled with gifts, we all took a walk to help out the nearby neighborhood that had be ruined by fire by spreading wildflowers in burnt but thriving areas. The girls mentioned how much it meant to them to be able to help any way that they could.
Then came our road trip back home, but we had a little time and decided to stay at Harris Ranch for some Rydman time. The girls loved the adventure and getting to play in the pool and Hot Tub with Daddy while Mommy watched and held Porter. It was nice to only have to go the other half of the way home on Saturday to have some time to unpack and get ready for the next week of school.
Now it was time for Christmas decorating, but first Kaylee got to be in the Belmont Shore Christmas Parade with her Brownie Troop. All our outdoor lighting looks amazing thanks to the girls and Daddy! We even took a drive to make sure and do a Choose and Cut Christmas tree this year. The girls brought it in the house themselves after Mommy and Daddy made it secure and cleaned up in its stand. We took some time decorating it throughout the following week during the nights that we had a little time. It's always fun to take time checking out the past ornaments that we have all gotten or made.
The next week at school Kaylee had an amazing field trip to LBState to see their production of White Christmas, which we have watched, and loved as a family, on TV. Then Cienna said goodbye to her student teachers with a party that the class had planned and help with a gift planned by Mommy.
Then all the practicing at gymnastics for the Holiday Show was upon us. Started with rehearsals then came the big day. The girls were fantastic in two shows that they had to do that day. Both girls got to do a solo routine in the second show of the day. Cienna on floor, and Kaylee on beam.
Finally Daddy got us all to understand the amazement of a train and convinced us to buy a new one at a local train store to ride around our Christmas tree, replacing the childhood one that we could no longer buy replacement parts for. Once we completed the train set-up, Mommy had a great YMCA gymnastics staff dinner at Lucille's.
Highlights of the following week included a Holiday Performance by Cienna and her Chorus then, our Team Gymnastics Holiday party, and immediately followed by Mommy and Me Party for Kaylee's Brownie Troop. We spent most of last Sunday together, then Daddy planned an awesome day with Brandon, Larry, Jerry, and Roman which Larry was gracious to host. The girls went to Barnes and Nobles and Pizza Rev in the mean time. Then next day was fun caroling in the neighborhood with Cienna's Junior Troop.
Both of the girls highlights from the month after asking them were... "All of it!
More fun and time to appreciate the things we have is upon us. Enjoy the pictures.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/R3lRCDf3L4kwpyTy1
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Friday, November 17, 2017
Cienna - 9 Years, 10 Months... Kaylee - 7 Years, 5 Months!
We certainly made the most of Halloween this year. It got started right off the bat with the school Monster Mash celebration. There were games and treats all around. Luckily Mommy was on top of it and had just finished making the costumes that the girls had designed for the year. We got to make a Peacock and a Deer this year. And the girls made mommy and daddy as peanut butter and jelly. The Bakx re-instated their annual party with plenty of fun and music the next evening for the second chance to dress up. That Sunday the girls really wanted to finally show Daddy how well they have learned roller skating, so we went as a family and had a tremendous time! It took a little while for Daddy to remember, but it's just like riding a bike!
The following week leading up to Halloween weekend was Red Ribbon Week at school. And Mommy and Daddy took a very much anticipated trip to finally get to help Poppa visit his property as soon as we were allowed to assess the damage and help in any way we could. We are lucky to have such wonderful friends. The Marshall's kept the girls in Long Beach with very little interruption to their busy lives for two nights so they didn't miss anything at home and we could focus on helping family. Tom and Peggy Payne graciously came to help sift through the ashes and make it a better experience for all of us. We dropped the girls off at gym on Monday evening to start our drive up North, then came back Wed. evening to bring them back to the gym just in time : ) They missed us, but loved every moment of having a two day play date with their great buddies. The trip was very quick (got a lot done) and was great to get to be there with family.
After we came home more Halloween fun continued with a decked out gymnastics center full of characters and mazes. The next day, after soccer we joined the Chavez's for more food and friends. As we prepared for the actual Halloween, Mommy and Kaylee made Mummy wrapped wieners for daddy to take for his work party and we had a great time getting messy as we carved pumpkins to display on the front porch.
We once again joined the rowdy group of friends on Lanai to parade through the neighborhood and collect candy before leaving them and visiting neighbors on the way home to give away all the candy that the girls had just gotten to the later trick or treat-ers at our door. That week was also parent-teacher conferences at school. They were both very positive and we were re-assured that we have wonderful students as children.
After soccer the next weekend we had planned the Junior troop's very first camping trip... in our backyard! It was a complete success even though it was one of the only nights that it has rained pretty much the whole year. They stayed outside (since it is camping) and made their own pizza's, played lots of games, and just had a great time together. In the morning they had cocoa, and made crepes (finally getting to come in the house from the very wet backyard). At they're girls scout meeting the following week they got to learn about science from Ms. Delaney.
Mommy got an extra full day with the girls since they had the day off school for Veterans Day. They did a great job helping get all the errands done in the morning so they were spoiled, getting to get their nails done, then have frozen yogurt, and working together to build a shoe shelf for themselves to put in the front closet that afternoon before heading to gymnastics.
We had a very busy and fantastic following Saturday. Both girls had their last soccer game of the season and had so much fun before heading to their first (practice) gymnastics meet of the season at their gymnastics center. They both did a tremendous job along with all their teammates. They especially liked bringing home some buddies (Sadie and Shelby) for a play date after the meet that evening. We had Cienna's end of the year soccer party that Sunday, and Kaylee's this past Tuesday. We really enjoyed both teams this season! We are all looking forward to the upcoming holiday and trip up North today to have much desired family time for the upcoming week!
Cienna was very excited to win the most creative/homemade Halloween costume at the gym party, and she deserves it with how much she anticipates designing hers and her parents each year. She has also began some pretty awesome gift making for some of her family to see in the near future. She is continuing to excel at school and is growing like a weed.
Kaylee is keeping all of us in tune with our handball skills and has convinced daddy to let her play against the garage as long as she doesn't dent it. She spent a couple hours coming up with a cute short story that she wrote, edited, corrected, and is now proceeding to type into the computer just for fun.
Till next month.....
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zMkreJhZGzPnJUqa2
The following week leading up to Halloween weekend was Red Ribbon Week at school. And Mommy and Daddy took a very much anticipated trip to finally get to help Poppa visit his property as soon as we were allowed to assess the damage and help in any way we could. We are lucky to have such wonderful friends. The Marshall's kept the girls in Long Beach with very little interruption to their busy lives for two nights so they didn't miss anything at home and we could focus on helping family. Tom and Peggy Payne graciously came to help sift through the ashes and make it a better experience for all of us. We dropped the girls off at gym on Monday evening to start our drive up North, then came back Wed. evening to bring them back to the gym just in time : ) They missed us, but loved every moment of having a two day play date with their great buddies. The trip was very quick (got a lot done) and was great to get to be there with family.
After we came home more Halloween fun continued with a decked out gymnastics center full of characters and mazes. The next day, after soccer we joined the Chavez's for more food and friends. As we prepared for the actual Halloween, Mommy and Kaylee made Mummy wrapped wieners for daddy to take for his work party and we had a great time getting messy as we carved pumpkins to display on the front porch.
We once again joined the rowdy group of friends on Lanai to parade through the neighborhood and collect candy before leaving them and visiting neighbors on the way home to give away all the candy that the girls had just gotten to the later trick or treat-ers at our door. That week was also parent-teacher conferences at school. They were both very positive and we were re-assured that we have wonderful students as children.
After soccer the next weekend we had planned the Junior troop's very first camping trip... in our backyard! It was a complete success even though it was one of the only nights that it has rained pretty much the whole year. They stayed outside (since it is camping) and made their own pizza's, played lots of games, and just had a great time together. In the morning they had cocoa, and made crepes (finally getting to come in the house from the very wet backyard). At they're girls scout meeting the following week they got to learn about science from Ms. Delaney.
Mommy got an extra full day with the girls since they had the day off school for Veterans Day. They did a great job helping get all the errands done in the morning so they were spoiled, getting to get their nails done, then have frozen yogurt, and working together to build a shoe shelf for themselves to put in the front closet that afternoon before heading to gymnastics.
We had a very busy and fantastic following Saturday. Both girls had their last soccer game of the season and had so much fun before heading to their first (practice) gymnastics meet of the season at their gymnastics center. They both did a tremendous job along with all their teammates. They especially liked bringing home some buddies (Sadie and Shelby) for a play date after the meet that evening. We had Cienna's end of the year soccer party that Sunday, and Kaylee's this past Tuesday. We really enjoyed both teams this season! We are all looking forward to the upcoming holiday and trip up North today to have much desired family time for the upcoming week!
Cienna was very excited to win the most creative/homemade Halloween costume at the gym party, and she deserves it with how much she anticipates designing hers and her parents each year. She has also began some pretty awesome gift making for some of her family to see in the near future. She is continuing to excel at school and is growing like a weed.
Kaylee is keeping all of us in tune with our handball skills and has convinced daddy to let her play against the garage as long as she doesn't dent it. She spent a couple hours coming up with a cute short story that she wrote, edited, corrected, and is now proceeding to type into the computer just for fun.
Till next month.....
https://photos.app.goo.gl/zMkreJhZGzPnJUqa2
Saturday, October 21, 2017
Cienna - 9 Years, 9 Months... Kaylee - 7 Years, 4 Months!
The whole month was filled with soccer! At least for the girls which hasn't left Mommy and Daddy a chance to play their games on Saturday very often. They are having wonderful seasons this Fall!
For the beginning of the month, after a pool play date at Kamryn's, we started with Back to School night, getting to visit both of the girls teachers and hear what they have in store for the rest of the school year. Mommy got to join the girls for the book fair when their classes got a chance to go. Then the first weekend Mommy joined Erin and other friends for dinner to celebrate her Birthday. The following week came school picture day already. Then the girls were excited to pick out costumes and head to the fabric store before walking our way down to Ulysses's Birthday Party.
We finally got back to doing a little work on the house, or at least the backyard. Filling in some trees that got blown over and some plants that were trampled by a puppy Porter many years ago. We then went as a family with some friends to watch the Women's LBUSD soccer team beat Hawaii in such a fun game. The girls even got to give hi fives to the players on the field and score a goal during half time! Kaylee then had a fun Brownie meeting the next week before we said goodbye to Daddy as he headed for a long awaited 40th Birthday with AMAZING friends to Colorado for the Great American Beer Festival.
While Daddy was getting to enjoy all of his planning efforts for the festival, the girls had their gymnastics team banquet at the main YMCA which was followed by a night swim party. The girls got awards for such a great previous year and moving up to the competitive team. Even Mommy got fun notes from the gymnasts and a pretty awesome Under Armor backpack as a gift of appreciation. We got a chance to take Lula for a walk and play date with Porter as the Marshall's spent the day in SD. And after much desire from Cienna, Mommy got to begin making her Halloween costume, and she began on Mommy and Daddy's.
Daddy then came back home to us. It looked and sounded like they all had a great time from the pictures and stories we've heard! We had help from a neighbor friend Sara to bring the girls to school so Daddy could get to the airport early with the Netters on the way there. Then the Netter girls came to watch them when Mommy went to pick them up.
Unfortunately the next morning a tragedy happened. We are all happy to be safe and loved! We did suffer some loss and tough times with the major wild fire hitting our home town and devastating our good friends and families lives. We are so sorry what has happened and what they have gone through and want to do all we can to help. It has been tough to continue daily routines helping how we can from here, but I imagine that nothing compares to having gone through it first hand. We are still waiting for the evacuation to be lifted from Poppa's house to be able to come and help move onward from here.
The girls did have a class picture day followed by a run around Soccer picture and game day for both of the girls. Kaylee then enjoyed a roller skating Birthday party for Alyssa. She has been wanting to go for a long time. Meanwhile Mommy has been scrambling to get both of the girls costumes done in time for their School Halloween Bash in just a couple days!
Cienna has yet lost another tooth. Pulled it out first thing one morning. She is excited for her Peacock costume for the Halloween fun. Soccer has been awesome and she still gets so many comments on how she just doesn't stop smiling while she is playing! Pears are her favorite snack and she has enjoyed learning more things in the fourth grade.
Second grade has been great for Kaylee! She has been a model student for her teacher and is often one of the few to move up in her behavior clip to the highest spot. She has been loving soccer as well and even practices with Cienna's U10 team sometimes. The parents ask if she can join their team too! She had wanted to go roller skating for a long time and it was tough at first but she kept at it and by the end of the party was doing great. Mommy however was still very nervous about all the girls falling. She had to get skates and go on the rink with them : )
"The love in the air is thicker than the smoke"
https://photos.app.goo.gl/hhm5oc84ugv4cYQh1
For the beginning of the month, after a pool play date at Kamryn's, we started with Back to School night, getting to visit both of the girls teachers and hear what they have in store for the rest of the school year. Mommy got to join the girls for the book fair when their classes got a chance to go. Then the first weekend Mommy joined Erin and other friends for dinner to celebrate her Birthday. The following week came school picture day already. Then the girls were excited to pick out costumes and head to the fabric store before walking our way down to Ulysses's Birthday Party.
We finally got back to doing a little work on the house, or at least the backyard. Filling in some trees that got blown over and some plants that were trampled by a puppy Porter many years ago. We then went as a family with some friends to watch the Women's LBUSD soccer team beat Hawaii in such a fun game. The girls even got to give hi fives to the players on the field and score a goal during half time! Kaylee then had a fun Brownie meeting the next week before we said goodbye to Daddy as he headed for a long awaited 40th Birthday with AMAZING friends to Colorado for the Great American Beer Festival.
While Daddy was getting to enjoy all of his planning efforts for the festival, the girls had their gymnastics team banquet at the main YMCA which was followed by a night swim party. The girls got awards for such a great previous year and moving up to the competitive team. Even Mommy got fun notes from the gymnasts and a pretty awesome Under Armor backpack as a gift of appreciation. We got a chance to take Lula for a walk and play date with Porter as the Marshall's spent the day in SD. And after much desire from Cienna, Mommy got to begin making her Halloween costume, and she began on Mommy and Daddy's.
Daddy then came back home to us. It looked and sounded like they all had a great time from the pictures and stories we've heard! We had help from a neighbor friend Sara to bring the girls to school so Daddy could get to the airport early with the Netters on the way there. Then the Netter girls came to watch them when Mommy went to pick them up.
Unfortunately the next morning a tragedy happened. We are all happy to be safe and loved! We did suffer some loss and tough times with the major wild fire hitting our home town and devastating our good friends and families lives. We are so sorry what has happened and what they have gone through and want to do all we can to help. It has been tough to continue daily routines helping how we can from here, but I imagine that nothing compares to having gone through it first hand. We are still waiting for the evacuation to be lifted from Poppa's house to be able to come and help move onward from here.
The girls did have a class picture day followed by a run around Soccer picture and game day for both of the girls. Kaylee then enjoyed a roller skating Birthday party for Alyssa. She has been wanting to go for a long time. Meanwhile Mommy has been scrambling to get both of the girls costumes done in time for their School Halloween Bash in just a couple days!
Cienna has yet lost another tooth. Pulled it out first thing one morning. She is excited for her Peacock costume for the Halloween fun. Soccer has been awesome and she still gets so many comments on how she just doesn't stop smiling while she is playing! Pears are her favorite snack and she has enjoyed learning more things in the fourth grade.
Second grade has been great for Kaylee! She has been a model student for her teacher and is often one of the few to move up in her behavior clip to the highest spot. She has been loving soccer as well and even practices with Cienna's U10 team sometimes. The parents ask if she can join their team too! She had wanted to go roller skating for a long time and it was tough at first but she kept at it and by the end of the party was doing great. Mommy however was still very nervous about all the girls falling. She had to get skates and go on the rink with them : )
"The love in the air is thicker than the smoke"
https://photos.app.goo.gl/hhm5oc84ugv4cYQh1
Wednesday, September 20, 2017
Cienna - 9 Years, 8 Months... Kaylee - 7 Years, 3 Months!
After we reminded the girls that we had an attic, of course they wanted to explore. So of course we let them during a play date with family friends to spread the fun. The next day a gym buddy had a swim party at their home to end the summer and get the team together outside of the gym.
Then we got a opportunity that we couldn't pass up with four free tickets through the gymnastics center to watch the women's gymnastics national team compete at the Anaheim Convention Center. We decided to make the most of the weekend and included a stay-cation at the Hilton that we've enjoyed before. It has a little water park and a great environment, full of awkward Pokemon chasers, but otherwise a very inviting area. Amazingly Mommy's old gymnastics coach Darcie was staying at the same hotel for a gym coach convention and we got to hang out in the lobby to catch up for a little while! Cienna lost another tooth during the stay, which was still not the one that is supposed to be being pushed out. After going to a cool pizza take out place for dinner, Kaylee carried all 3 pizzas back the hotel room.
Two weeks before school, soccer started! They both had their first practice and met their coaches and teammates. One of the coaches for Cienna is Mommy since we needed to get practice adjusted to fit into our schedule! Mommy and the girls also had eye doctor appointments that week. Kaylee got some prescribed glasses for reading and Mommy got a slight upgrade. Kaylee loved trying on a few different frames and picking the ones she liked the best. That weekend we had a tremendous last camping trip of the summer to Lake Casitas. Such great friends, a water park, Kan Jam, Corn Hole, scooting around, day and night adventure bike rides, and board games completed a fantastic time. On the way home we hit up a great place called The Dudes Brewing Co. with the Bakx family.
Once home we headed straight to another end of summer swim party at Cienna's buddy Jaiden's house. Then Mommy took the Monday and Tuesday off before the First day of school. We got school supplies, played around, finally got around to baking the apple pie from apples we picked at Poppa's, and enjoyed every moment.
Then came the beginning of Second and Fourth grade. It was very exciting and confusing. How did this happen? Can anyone tell us? The girls were excited to see all their friends and to be in class with their new teachers. The school year is off to a pretty perfect start. Both girls are very into it and are always ready to go the next day.
After only a couple of days at school we all got a three day weekend for Labor Day. We had more family play time, a swim Birthday party for Cienna's classmate Bella and a fun-filled swim and game time BBQ at the Bakx house. During the next short week at school, Kaylee had her first meeting as a Brownie.
Then soccer was on. First games of the season, they got their jersey's, team names, and banners! We had a play date with Shawna, did a ponytail extravaganza on Daddy's hair, a couple family rides around the neighborhood and to school. Then getting ready for the first full week of school, Cienna finally looses the tooth that we have been waiting for. She was relieved to not have to think about getting it pulled by the dentist. After gymnastics that evening we headed next door for ice cream and cake to celebrate Haiden turning 7!
The month did not slow down for the last weekend. Both girls had soccer games, between the two games Mommy earned points for Cienna's team by referring her very first game ever, Kaylee went to a fun fly away camp at gymnastics, then we all had a great time at Nicki's "un-slumber" party that evening before heading home for bed to be up early to be ready for our trip to San Diego. We got to enjoy Jackson's 1st Birthday party during a quick trip and afterward headed back home to enjoy watching Cienna's Girl Scout troop bridge from Brownie's to Juniors! Cienna surprised everybody as the first one to go by doing a back handspring as she went across the bridge.
As mentioned Cienna has lost the long awaited loose tooth. She did get a pretty good bump on her head during one of the many pool parties, but nobody would have known by the smiling way she handled it. She has enjoyed cooking her own and others scrambled eggs exclusively by herself. She's excited to have homework again and is very happy every time she is on the soccer field.
Kaylee was very excited to see how the new school year was going to go and who was in her class. She has really had an amazing attitude toward school and has been one in a few of her class to "mover her clip" to the highest level and get a prize from the box. She has still been the one to initiate many family game time as always, which we all love. Her new experience with glasses has been extremely positive! She was excited about it ever since the doctor mentioned it was the right thing to do for when she is reading or writing for a longer period of time. She is very responsible with them, and they are quite adorable.
I loved all the experiences of summer, but now on to new ones! Time Flies!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ejMeoCpG5Ovyp6223
Then we got a opportunity that we couldn't pass up with four free tickets through the gymnastics center to watch the women's gymnastics national team compete at the Anaheim Convention Center. We decided to make the most of the weekend and included a stay-cation at the Hilton that we've enjoyed before. It has a little water park and a great environment, full of awkward Pokemon chasers, but otherwise a very inviting area. Amazingly Mommy's old gymnastics coach Darcie was staying at the same hotel for a gym coach convention and we got to hang out in the lobby to catch up for a little while! Cienna lost another tooth during the stay, which was still not the one that is supposed to be being pushed out. After going to a cool pizza take out place for dinner, Kaylee carried all 3 pizzas back the hotel room.
Two weeks before school, soccer started! They both had their first practice and met their coaches and teammates. One of the coaches for Cienna is Mommy since we needed to get practice adjusted to fit into our schedule! Mommy and the girls also had eye doctor appointments that week. Kaylee got some prescribed glasses for reading and Mommy got a slight upgrade. Kaylee loved trying on a few different frames and picking the ones she liked the best. That weekend we had a tremendous last camping trip of the summer to Lake Casitas. Such great friends, a water park, Kan Jam, Corn Hole, scooting around, day and night adventure bike rides, and board games completed a fantastic time. On the way home we hit up a great place called The Dudes Brewing Co. with the Bakx family.
Once home we headed straight to another end of summer swim party at Cienna's buddy Jaiden's house. Then Mommy took the Monday and Tuesday off before the First day of school. We got school supplies, played around, finally got around to baking the apple pie from apples we picked at Poppa's, and enjoyed every moment.
Then came the beginning of Second and Fourth grade. It was very exciting and confusing. How did this happen? Can anyone tell us? The girls were excited to see all their friends and to be in class with their new teachers. The school year is off to a pretty perfect start. Both girls are very into it and are always ready to go the next day.
After only a couple of days at school we all got a three day weekend for Labor Day. We had more family play time, a swim Birthday party for Cienna's classmate Bella and a fun-filled swim and game time BBQ at the Bakx house. During the next short week at school, Kaylee had her first meeting as a Brownie.
Then soccer was on. First games of the season, they got their jersey's, team names, and banners! We had a play date with Shawna, did a ponytail extravaganza on Daddy's hair, a couple family rides around the neighborhood and to school. Then getting ready for the first full week of school, Cienna finally looses the tooth that we have been waiting for. She was relieved to not have to think about getting it pulled by the dentist. After gymnastics that evening we headed next door for ice cream and cake to celebrate Haiden turning 7!
The month did not slow down for the last weekend. Both girls had soccer games, between the two games Mommy earned points for Cienna's team by referring her very first game ever, Kaylee went to a fun fly away camp at gymnastics, then we all had a great time at Nicki's "un-slumber" party that evening before heading home for bed to be up early to be ready for our trip to San Diego. We got to enjoy Jackson's 1st Birthday party during a quick trip and afterward headed back home to enjoy watching Cienna's Girl Scout troop bridge from Brownie's to Juniors! Cienna surprised everybody as the first one to go by doing a back handspring as she went across the bridge.
As mentioned Cienna has lost the long awaited loose tooth. She did get a pretty good bump on her head during one of the many pool parties, but nobody would have known by the smiling way she handled it. She has enjoyed cooking her own and others scrambled eggs exclusively by herself. She's excited to have homework again and is very happy every time she is on the soccer field.
Kaylee was very excited to see how the new school year was going to go and who was in her class. She has really had an amazing attitude toward school and has been one in a few of her class to "mover her clip" to the highest level and get a prize from the box. She has still been the one to initiate many family game time as always, which we all love. Her new experience with glasses has been extremely positive! She was excited about it ever since the doctor mentioned it was the right thing to do for when she is reading or writing for a longer period of time. She is very responsible with them, and they are quite adorable.
I loved all the experiences of summer, but now on to new ones! Time Flies!
https://photos.app.goo.gl/ejMeoCpG5Ovyp6223
Wednesday, August 23, 2017
Cienna - 9 Years, 7 Months... Kaylee - 7 Years, 2 Months!
All the cookie selling this spring led to a trip for the new
Brownie Troop 2283 heading for some fun at Adventure City. They had a bigger new roller coaster which
was the hit of the evening until we came back home to celebrate Corey turning
30 next door with a full on Luau. Pig,
dancers, and the works.
We somehow managed to get one more thing glued on a model
car that was last seen over a year ago, and the girls got to sew on Mommy’s
machine when they came up with the great idea of using stuff we already had to
make gifts for Grammy. We also pulled
out a couple of forgotten crafts from the
storage and did some cooking and baking!
We also got into the garden to harvest our fruit, veggies and hops.
There were gym theme days during this summer and Friday
practices were in the morning, one of which we cleaned out the entire pit which
took an hour past the end of practice and would have been longer if some of the
amazing team parents didn’t stay to help put the pit blocks back in… what a
crazy mess but the girls found treasures at the bottom including some guys
wallet who lives in Canada. There was
one night after practice (late) that the team all stayed to have pizza and
watch the movie Nadia projected on one of the gym walls. Then the big sleepover at the gym that Mommy
had to volunteer to stay with about 30ish+ gymnasts overnight so that the girls
could also take part in the fun. Awesome
part is that Cienna and Kaylee were the first ones asleep even though it was
still quite late for them. However, since
pretty much all others weren’t participating in the sleeping thing, Mommy got
to stay up and make sure all were safe…almost ALL night.
We had a couple more Birthday’s that we got to
celebrate. Kaylee met a friend at the
YMCA camp who invited us to their home for a party, and we headed over to the
Bakx for fun, food, swimming, singing, and musical instruments to celebrate
Danny who came to visit for the weekend.
The girls got a special camp week at “Act It Out” camp. They went every day of the week and loved
every second. They each got to learn a
monologue, a small group skit, and an ensemble with the whole cast of 10 great
kids from ages of 7 to 13! They got to
perform for the family and friends on Friday, the last day of camp. It was amazing to watch! They even handed out specialty awards to each
of the kids.
We finally remembered to check the off season for snowboard
equipment that we need. We got a great
find in a used board for Cienna. We made
pizookies that evening to celebrate : )
Road Trip. We left on
Thursday to spend a weekend up north with family! Auntie Bridget and Vickie flew to SR and we
had to go hang out! Trip there was great
and we started with dinner at Poppa’s.
We woke up in the morning and the girls immediately wanted to jump in
the pool. The Marty’s came soon after to
join. After we helped Poppa move his
office to a new room, Grammy, Bridget, and Vickie came to enjoy the pool and
company as well. That evening we all
headed to Lucas Wharf to meet up with the Natal’s during their camping trip in
Bodega and be treated to dinner by Grandpa.
It was delicious. The following
morning we all got treated to a great brunch at Grammy and Grandpa’s. We were joined by Auntie Carrie and other
friends. We had a great time catching
up, watching the kids, celebrating Uncle RJ, Betty’s birthday, and Grammy and
Grandpa’s Anniversary. The girls even
got a Ukulele lesson from Grammy, and we got to enjoy the performance. Then we crashed Cousin Jacob’s birthday party
at Sean and Jamie’s. We played crazy
outdoor games and enjoyed jumpy time with good people. We headed back to Poppa’s before leaving for
some fruit tree picking and packing up for the LONG trip back home.
The following week the girls had gym camp. Seriously can’t believe how much gymnastics
they did in that one week. It was only
Monday through Wednesday, but 6 hours of camp then 3 more of practice is a BIG
day. They were troupers and enjoyed all
of it. They played plenty of games and
even set up a slip and slide on mats in the gym. At the end of the week, Sam (one of the
gymnasts) held a pool party after Friday practice at her house to celebrate the
end of this month.
Cienna can’t wait till next month just to do acting camp
again! She has learned again that
playing with her retainer WILL break it.
Luckily this time it could just be soldered, but it made a point and
she’s doing better. However she has
another tooth coming in which is great, but there is a baby tooth in the way. The orthodontist told her it may have to be
pulled so she’s been working on it.
During the trip up north her tooth fell out… however it was the wrong
one. Still waiting for the right
one. She has much improved in her
swimming skills this summer and continues to read pretty much anytime she is
not busy doing something else.
Kaylee for the first month since November got not only one
but two front teeth peeking in. After
being skeptical she also wanted to go every day the rest of the summer to
acting camp. She has been choosing to
read on her own anticipating school coming soon. She’s learned some songs on the Clavinova,
been self-motivated to help out around the house, and been the lead in starting
family game time.
We look forward to the crazy fall with introducing soccer
into our crazy schedule!
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
Cienna - 9 Years, 6 Months... Kaylee - 7 Years, 1 Month!
What to do with school out of session... We thought of a couple of things. After Kaylee bridged from Daisies to Brownies, the family took a road trip up to Bass Lake to meet up with more family. We stopped at a hotel in Bakersfield on the way to make a more laid back trip. After a BJ's dinner, Kaylee loosing a tooth at the hotel (which the girls were prepared for and brought the tooth fairy pillow), and a laid back awesome continental Father's Day buffet breakfast we only had a couple more hours before our big camping adventure at Bass Lake with Poppa, Marty's, and Kyle's. We were the first to arrive and scoped out the best spot for all of us!
A great place to camp, and it wasn't long before the rest of the family arrived! We spent the day setting up and scoping out the place and celebrating the amazing dad's that were there with us, along with a couple extra gifts for Kaylee's birthday.
After a small incident involving a brush and Mommy's head in the morning (not self inflicted), we planned a day on the lake with a magnificent rental boat that could accommodate all of us, a BBQ for dinner burgers and dogs as well as being able to pull a tube at a decent speed behind! So much fun, and great weather for hanging out in the lake. We headed back to camp and played a little LRC with the whole clan before a good night sleep anticipating our trip to Yosemite the next day.
After a little bit of a road trip, we saw so many beautiful sites, and such amazing water displays in between some great hiking trails! Of course along the way enjoying each others company! We had a bit more of a relax day at the campsite the following day with some bike riding and a lot of pool time as well as teaching many of the fellow campers how to play Kan Jam and glow in the dark Bocce Ball! A very memorable trip indeed.
We then headed home to not really unpack, but re-pack to head right back to camping after one night in our own beds to Doheny with many great friends. We even convinced the Marshalls to come join our crazy group! While in Doheny for that short weekend we got to celebrate Rylee's Birthday which sparked and impromptu soccer game in the street, a surf competition and festival a short walk away, many of corn hole games, and ending with another birthday celebration for Michele before we left.
Finally getting home, it was back to work and the girls first week at YMCA camp. They enjoyed camp from the first day. Still during the week they already missed friends from school, so we had some play-dates. It was quiet at gymnastics since most girls were in Georgia for competition. We had fun on bike and scooter rides to the school playground and around the neighborhood.
Then the weekend began the 4th of July celebrations. Cara/Keira/Misha's block had a wonderful party with water slides and super band. Then we had extra days off work and spent time on the 4th at the Ferrario's enjoying pool time, always great friends, and games. We ended the 4th at the neighbors with more pool time, great food, and views of the nearby fireworks.
Mommy spoiled the girls the next day since she had it off with a breakfast followed by... yes a shopping spree at Toys R Us. They had so many gift cards building up that hadn't been used since Mommy is not a fan of shopping. They pretty much got to pick out anything they wanted in the store. It was actually amazing how responsible they were with checking prices and being conscious about the cost.
Porter got his best buddy, Lula, to come stay for a week starting that Saturday. Mommy finally got to build a bench out of her very first snow board. The girls got another play-date with London before we helped celebrate Uncle Keith's 60th birthday next door with a fun and delicious party.
The Natal's came on Monday as a stop on there way to a family vacation in San Diego. They had a fun idea to leave their pups and take our girls for the day to spend some quality time on Tuesday. Then Mommy brought the pups to pick up the girls and spend a couple more hours of quality time (Mommy even went almost all the way into that freezing cold ocean : )) the next morning before bringing the girls back home on Wednesday.
We then had a very rare weekend of not doing much accept the necessary up keep and just spending time together. The girls brought out the entire broken up all combined Lego Friends pieces and we proceed to put each together booklet by booklet. It was great family time. The girls also each learned to roll and count all there piggy bank money that they have been collecting since birth. They sorted, counted, and hand rolled all coins to be put in their bank accounts! We of course had to get stuff done, so we washed cars etc. and went to breakfast once again before the girls enjoyed their next week of camp!
We managed to order a few chapter books that Cienna has been looking for and they came in, so she has done quite a bit of reading. She just doesn't stop until they are done. She was proud of herself making new friends at camp by asking.... What's your name?. She says her favorite part of the month was tubing on Bass Lake!
We are happy that at least one of Kaylee's front teeth is making a strong appearance since it has been gone over 6 months and she has lost 4 since that one. There is still one more about to come out. She misses school friends but is easily made many more at camp. More time in the water has made her a pretty good swimmer, and even went way into the ocean with Uncle RJ to boogie board in SD. She loves building things, wouldn't stop till all Lego Friends pieces were built and accounted for : )
Can't even believe that we are this far into the summer and we will have started fall soccer by the next time!
This is all till next time.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/sIVhO80ulKuMuh2G2
A great place to camp, and it wasn't long before the rest of the family arrived! We spent the day setting up and scoping out the place and celebrating the amazing dad's that were there with us, along with a couple extra gifts for Kaylee's birthday.
After a small incident involving a brush and Mommy's head in the morning (not self inflicted), we planned a day on the lake with a magnificent rental boat that could accommodate all of us, a BBQ for dinner burgers and dogs as well as being able to pull a tube at a decent speed behind! So much fun, and great weather for hanging out in the lake. We headed back to camp and played a little LRC with the whole clan before a good night sleep anticipating our trip to Yosemite the next day.
After a little bit of a road trip, we saw so many beautiful sites, and such amazing water displays in between some great hiking trails! Of course along the way enjoying each others company! We had a bit more of a relax day at the campsite the following day with some bike riding and a lot of pool time as well as teaching many of the fellow campers how to play Kan Jam and glow in the dark Bocce Ball! A very memorable trip indeed.
We then headed home to not really unpack, but re-pack to head right back to camping after one night in our own beds to Doheny with many great friends. We even convinced the Marshalls to come join our crazy group! While in Doheny for that short weekend we got to celebrate Rylee's Birthday which sparked and impromptu soccer game in the street, a surf competition and festival a short walk away, many of corn hole games, and ending with another birthday celebration for Michele before we left.
Finally getting home, it was back to work and the girls first week at YMCA camp. They enjoyed camp from the first day. Still during the week they already missed friends from school, so we had some play-dates. It was quiet at gymnastics since most girls were in Georgia for competition. We had fun on bike and scooter rides to the school playground and around the neighborhood.
Then the weekend began the 4th of July celebrations. Cara/Keira/Misha's block had a wonderful party with water slides and super band. Then we had extra days off work and spent time on the 4th at the Ferrario's enjoying pool time, always great friends, and games. We ended the 4th at the neighbors with more pool time, great food, and views of the nearby fireworks.
Mommy spoiled the girls the next day since she had it off with a breakfast followed by... yes a shopping spree at Toys R Us. They had so many gift cards building up that hadn't been used since Mommy is not a fan of shopping. They pretty much got to pick out anything they wanted in the store. It was actually amazing how responsible they were with checking prices and being conscious about the cost.
Porter got his best buddy, Lula, to come stay for a week starting that Saturday. Mommy finally got to build a bench out of her very first snow board. The girls got another play-date with London before we helped celebrate Uncle Keith's 60th birthday next door with a fun and delicious party.
The Natal's came on Monday as a stop on there way to a family vacation in San Diego. They had a fun idea to leave their pups and take our girls for the day to spend some quality time on Tuesday. Then Mommy brought the pups to pick up the girls and spend a couple more hours of quality time (Mommy even went almost all the way into that freezing cold ocean : )) the next morning before bringing the girls back home on Wednesday.
We then had a very rare weekend of not doing much accept the necessary up keep and just spending time together. The girls brought out the entire broken up all combined Lego Friends pieces and we proceed to put each together booklet by booklet. It was great family time. The girls also each learned to roll and count all there piggy bank money that they have been collecting since birth. They sorted, counted, and hand rolled all coins to be put in their bank accounts! We of course had to get stuff done, so we washed cars etc. and went to breakfast once again before the girls enjoyed their next week of camp!
We managed to order a few chapter books that Cienna has been looking for and they came in, so she has done quite a bit of reading. She just doesn't stop until they are done. She was proud of herself making new friends at camp by asking.... What's your name?. She says her favorite part of the month was tubing on Bass Lake!
We are happy that at least one of Kaylee's front teeth is making a strong appearance since it has been gone over 6 months and she has lost 4 since that one. There is still one more about to come out. She misses school friends but is easily made many more at camp. More time in the water has made her a pretty good swimmer, and even went way into the ocean with Uncle RJ to boogie board in SD. She loves building things, wouldn't stop till all Lego Friends pieces were built and accounted for : )
Can't even believe that we are this far into the summer and we will have started fall soccer by the next time!
This is all till next time.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/sIVhO80ulKuMuh2G2
Sunday, June 18, 2017
Cienna - 9 Years, 5 Months... Kaylee - 7 Years Old!
Not a bad start with date night at Ballast Point. Then the beginning of Kaylee's turn to be scholar of the week at school which she gets to take Sammy the Seal class pet home then post the pictures of his adventures during the week on the class site.
That Saturday was non-stop. Soccer first, help building the playground at school next, then a daisy tea party, followed by Hailey's Birthday party, finishing down the street with a Birthday/College Graduation party for Taylor. On Sunday, we just prepared for the upcoming week. We built a bottle buddy of Walt Disney, and gathered items for Kaylee's scholar week.
Daddy took lunch time on Wednesday to have lunch at school with the girls and Mommy then read a book to Kaylee's class. The book fair was also that week along with Open House where the girls showed us all the amazing things that they along with their teachers have worked hard to put together. Everyone put in so much time and effort! We also went around and introduced ourselves to the 2nd and 4th grade teachers for next year... yikes. Cienna put on her first full production of Sleeping Beauty as Merryweather to the 2nd and 3rd grade classes.
As a start to Memorial Day weekend, the girls made and omelet and toast breakfast for Daddy before we picked up his truck after getting a new paint job on the roof. Sunday we had breakfast at Crooked Duck fueling up for a big hike to the Hollywood sign, then having the Marshall's over to play that evening. Memorial Day was great at home, the girls got some things from neighbors that were cleaning out there old toys and we made delicious ribs with broccoli.
The following week was Cienna's big and final Merryweather roll in Sleeping Beauty for all who wanted to come, Kaylee had her first of many date night deserts and there was field day at school.
That weekend we did a little more prep for Kaylee's party the next weekend before heading to Chula Vista for the girl's State gymnastics meet. They both competed level 3 and did an outstanding job! We were all SO proud of them. We were lucky enough to get to stay with the Sklenicka's and spend some quality time with Jackson along with Joe and Dana. During the week we had a Daisy meeting and Kaylee got a fun as always birthday gift from Auntie Bridget and Vicki.
More parties came as we went to celebrate Dylan's 5th before hosting a very successful vacation destination party for Kaylee's 7th. Before each destination they got to watch an amazing slideshow made by Daddy of the place they would be going. They stood in ice water and played fun games in Antarctica, then flew to Hawaii to make lei's and play limbo before heading to Italy for pizza and pasta. The final destination was to Kaylee's house for cake and celebrating.
The last week of school was then here. There was not much learning going on, but it sure was fun-filled. Cara's birthday party was that Wednesday, then the last day of school which happened to also be a special young lady by the name of Kaylee's 7th birthday. It started off with Strawberry Shortcake for breakfast, pizza party at school, then all of a sudden school was out for summer. Here we come 2nd and 4th grade.... WOW. Kaylee made her choice to go bowling with the family since Mommy and Daddy both took off work early to hang out. After bowling at the arcade the girls actually hit the jackpot in the ticket spin of 1000 tickets! They decided on a used real bowling pin as their prize. After the arcade we went to Claim Jumper for dinner and her last date night desert!
To complete the month Kaylee bridged to Brownies and Cienna's troop had a cookie reward party.
Cienna finally used Daddy's old Polaroid camera and her film to take her first picture. It was of the Hollywood sign. Her class went to the Planetarium for a field trip. She was in the toughest division for the State meet but her 9.2 score on the bars got her on the podium in 4th place which she was extremely proud. Being Merryweather was also very rewarding and fun for her. She had many lines to learn and nailed them all. In school she really enjoyed being able to do all her school work in cursive.
Kaylee really enjoyed bringing Sammy the Seal to take pictures with for her Scholar week. She lost her 3rd tooth in the top middle but still no sign of any growing in. It's been since November since the first on the top. Her class trip was to the Discovery Science Center. After tripping up on her first vault which was her first event she got right back up and got a 9.05 on her second one. For her Birthday Party she had the best idea of changing outfits with each destination! Then she turned 7. There are no words to explain how proud we are of how she's grown in what seemed to be such a short amount of time. My eyes are now too blurry to write more about that.
Welcome summer and next month we'll get to start by writing about our first week which we get to spend together on a camping vacation!!
https://goo.gl/photos/YajVQX5n5QWQ8YFk9
That Saturday was non-stop. Soccer first, help building the playground at school next, then a daisy tea party, followed by Hailey's Birthday party, finishing down the street with a Birthday/College Graduation party for Taylor. On Sunday, we just prepared for the upcoming week. We built a bottle buddy of Walt Disney, and gathered items for Kaylee's scholar week.
Daddy took lunch time on Wednesday to have lunch at school with the girls and Mommy then read a book to Kaylee's class. The book fair was also that week along with Open House where the girls showed us all the amazing things that they along with their teachers have worked hard to put together. Everyone put in so much time and effort! We also went around and introduced ourselves to the 2nd and 4th grade teachers for next year... yikes. Cienna put on her first full production of Sleeping Beauty as Merryweather to the 2nd and 3rd grade classes.
As a start to Memorial Day weekend, the girls made and omelet and toast breakfast for Daddy before we picked up his truck after getting a new paint job on the roof. Sunday we had breakfast at Crooked Duck fueling up for a big hike to the Hollywood sign, then having the Marshall's over to play that evening. Memorial Day was great at home, the girls got some things from neighbors that were cleaning out there old toys and we made delicious ribs with broccoli.
The following week was Cienna's big and final Merryweather roll in Sleeping Beauty for all who wanted to come, Kaylee had her first of many date night deserts and there was field day at school.
That weekend we did a little more prep for Kaylee's party the next weekend before heading to Chula Vista for the girl's State gymnastics meet. They both competed level 3 and did an outstanding job! We were all SO proud of them. We were lucky enough to get to stay with the Sklenicka's and spend some quality time with Jackson along with Joe and Dana. During the week we had a Daisy meeting and Kaylee got a fun as always birthday gift from Auntie Bridget and Vicki.
More parties came as we went to celebrate Dylan's 5th before hosting a very successful vacation destination party for Kaylee's 7th. Before each destination they got to watch an amazing slideshow made by Daddy of the place they would be going. They stood in ice water and played fun games in Antarctica, then flew to Hawaii to make lei's and play limbo before heading to Italy for pizza and pasta. The final destination was to Kaylee's house for cake and celebrating.
The last week of school was then here. There was not much learning going on, but it sure was fun-filled. Cara's birthday party was that Wednesday, then the last day of school which happened to also be a special young lady by the name of Kaylee's 7th birthday. It started off with Strawberry Shortcake for breakfast, pizza party at school, then all of a sudden school was out for summer. Here we come 2nd and 4th grade.... WOW. Kaylee made her choice to go bowling with the family since Mommy and Daddy both took off work early to hang out. After bowling at the arcade the girls actually hit the jackpot in the ticket spin of 1000 tickets! They decided on a used real bowling pin as their prize. After the arcade we went to Claim Jumper for dinner and her last date night desert!
To complete the month Kaylee bridged to Brownies and Cienna's troop had a cookie reward party.
Cienna finally used Daddy's old Polaroid camera and her film to take her first picture. It was of the Hollywood sign. Her class went to the Planetarium for a field trip. She was in the toughest division for the State meet but her 9.2 score on the bars got her on the podium in 4th place which she was extremely proud. Being Merryweather was also very rewarding and fun for her. She had many lines to learn and nailed them all. In school she really enjoyed being able to do all her school work in cursive.
Kaylee really enjoyed bringing Sammy the Seal to take pictures with for her Scholar week. She lost her 3rd tooth in the top middle but still no sign of any growing in. It's been since November since the first on the top. Her class trip was to the Discovery Science Center. After tripping up on her first vault which was her first event she got right back up and got a 9.05 on her second one. For her Birthday Party she had the best idea of changing outfits with each destination! Then she turned 7. There are no words to explain how proud we are of how she's grown in what seemed to be such a short amount of time. My eyes are now too blurry to write more about that.
Welcome summer and next month we'll get to start by writing about our first week which we get to spend together on a camping vacation!!
https://goo.gl/photos/YajVQX5n5QWQ8YFk9
Wednesday, May 17, 2017
Cienna - 9 Years, 4 Months... Kaylee - 6 Years, 11 Months!
The girls enjoyed the rest of their Spring Break at YMCA camp. We even went one day to go swimming even though they were playing with Mom at home that day, then we all went to lunch afterward. Porter got to have a friend, Izzy, stay for a couple days while the Adams had work done on their house. We finished up the week with early celebration dinner for Daddy and some make your own creations from stuff in the garage projects.
That weekend the four of us had a great time at a Galaxy game against the Sounders. The girls got a special meet and autograph with Dave Romney for being Girl Scouts. On the way out we ran into Gyasi Zardes who was very friendly and also gave them an autograph on their T-Shirts we made for the game.
Back to school the girls enjoyed the week with friends and Girl Scout activities. Then another busy weekend was upon us. Uncle Joe came to visit!! After the girls had a fun art class with friends, we came home to hang out with Uncle Joe and made him ride a bike down to Beach Streets near by where they closed off main streets around the neighborhood encouraging people to walk and ride bikes to check out local vendors and enjoy free activities and entertainment. The following day we helped one of Mark's co-workers (Fady) celebrate a surprise wedding proposal on a beautiful gazebo in Irvine.
We prepared for the following week to appreciate our teachers and anticipate Daddy turning 40! The girls made Daddy a special breakfast before he had to head to work. Then Mommy contacted some of Daddy's co-workers to join them at Steel Craft for lunch as a surprise. The big Brewfest weekend was coming next, but not before the girls got their new team locker to share at gymnastics.
Daddy left first with Uncle B and Alex. But Mommy followed the next morning to join them at Brewfest for the first time in 10 yrs. The girls got spoiled with a sleepover at the Marshall's house. The had fun playing and hiking in El Dorado Park before settling in with some movies and a late night of "sleep" with friends. Meanwhile, Mommy and Daddy were having fun with our friends. Camping, dancing, gallivanting, and most of all celebrating and finally sleeping on an Aerobed that fits in the back of our truck under the camper shell. Even the rain didn't slow us down but made packing up the next day loads of fun :(.
The next day the girls went to a pool party for Alyssa's 13th birthday. The following Friday was a terrific Carver school carnival! Mommy spent much of the day helping to set up before Daddy came home early so we could all enjoy the event before heading to the last gymnastics practice before the exciting home gymnastics meet. It was only our team but they were all decked out in their leo's and very excited to perform. All the girls on the team did exceptional. We were all so proud of Cienna and Kaylee. Be sure to notice that some "pictures" are actually videos of their routines from the weekend. Both girls were in the same level for awards and each place in 3 events and all-around! Most important they had a great time and were proud of themselves!
For Mother's Day the girls let Mommy lay in bed till 8 and in the meantime made a project together of a game that we could all play first thing when we got up. They cut and painted a large circle in blue with glitter (which Kaylee suggested would be best done outside) then cut out 7 continents from green construction paper. We had our own initialed die to roll onto land, if we landed in the water we had a consequence card of cartwheels, jumping jacks, etc. We had a blast playing as a family before we went for a family run and then headed off to a wonderful brunch at Joan and Larry's. Afterward we did home projects including finishing our address sign and fixing sprinklers before making dinner to eat in the bed of the truck in our driveway to carry on our Mother's Day tailgate tradition.
Cienna earned her very first (out of four) medals during her gymnastics meet and one of them happened to be first place on floor! She is loving gymnastics, continued to excel at during her science portion this month, and actually enjoys that she is starting her 3rd grade SBAC testing.
Kaylee continues to surprise people with her capabilities, people forget that she is only 6 during gymnastics. She showed her swimming abilities when challenged to a test across the pool to get to the deep end. She has enjoyed learning about France for her upcoming project and presentation next week.
Don't forget that there are some short videos included. Enjoy!
https://goo.gl/photos/gGUoKpoEryhvhCJu5
That weekend the four of us had a great time at a Galaxy game against the Sounders. The girls got a special meet and autograph with Dave Romney for being Girl Scouts. On the way out we ran into Gyasi Zardes who was very friendly and also gave them an autograph on their T-Shirts we made for the game.
Back to school the girls enjoyed the week with friends and Girl Scout activities. Then another busy weekend was upon us. Uncle Joe came to visit!! After the girls had a fun art class with friends, we came home to hang out with Uncle Joe and made him ride a bike down to Beach Streets near by where they closed off main streets around the neighborhood encouraging people to walk and ride bikes to check out local vendors and enjoy free activities and entertainment. The following day we helped one of Mark's co-workers (Fady) celebrate a surprise wedding proposal on a beautiful gazebo in Irvine.
We prepared for the following week to appreciate our teachers and anticipate Daddy turning 40! The girls made Daddy a special breakfast before he had to head to work. Then Mommy contacted some of Daddy's co-workers to join them at Steel Craft for lunch as a surprise. The big Brewfest weekend was coming next, but not before the girls got their new team locker to share at gymnastics.
Daddy left first with Uncle B and Alex. But Mommy followed the next morning to join them at Brewfest for the first time in 10 yrs. The girls got spoiled with a sleepover at the Marshall's house. The had fun playing and hiking in El Dorado Park before settling in with some movies and a late night of "sleep" with friends. Meanwhile, Mommy and Daddy were having fun with our friends. Camping, dancing, gallivanting, and most of all celebrating and finally sleeping on an Aerobed that fits in the back of our truck under the camper shell. Even the rain didn't slow us down but made packing up the next day loads of fun :(.
The next day the girls went to a pool party for Alyssa's 13th birthday. The following Friday was a terrific Carver school carnival! Mommy spent much of the day helping to set up before Daddy came home early so we could all enjoy the event before heading to the last gymnastics practice before the exciting home gymnastics meet. It was only our team but they were all decked out in their leo's and very excited to perform. All the girls on the team did exceptional. We were all so proud of Cienna and Kaylee. Be sure to notice that some "pictures" are actually videos of their routines from the weekend. Both girls were in the same level for awards and each place in 3 events and all-around! Most important they had a great time and were proud of themselves!
For Mother's Day the girls let Mommy lay in bed till 8 and in the meantime made a project together of a game that we could all play first thing when we got up. They cut and painted a large circle in blue with glitter (which Kaylee suggested would be best done outside) then cut out 7 continents from green construction paper. We had our own initialed die to roll onto land, if we landed in the water we had a consequence card of cartwheels, jumping jacks, etc. We had a blast playing as a family before we went for a family run and then headed off to a wonderful brunch at Joan and Larry's. Afterward we did home projects including finishing our address sign and fixing sprinklers before making dinner to eat in the bed of the truck in our driveway to carry on our Mother's Day tailgate tradition.
Cienna earned her very first (out of four) medals during her gymnastics meet and one of them happened to be first place on floor! She is loving gymnastics, continued to excel at during her science portion this month, and actually enjoys that she is starting her 3rd grade SBAC testing.
Kaylee continues to surprise people with her capabilities, people forget that she is only 6 during gymnastics. She showed her swimming abilities when challenged to a test across the pool to get to the deep end. She has enjoyed learning about France for her upcoming project and presentation next week.
Don't forget that there are some short videos included. Enjoy!
https://goo.gl/photos/gGUoKpoEryhvhCJu5
Tuesday, April 18, 2017
Cienna - 9 Years, 3 Months... Kaylee - 6 Years, 10 Months!
The garden is weed free and before long was full of soon to be veggies. But first in the long line of Birthday parties was a fun little tea party for Mandy, which Kaylee enjoyed with her friends. Next came STEAM night at Carver put on by all the student teachers from the LB State program. They were very creative with gas filled balloons to learning how oil ruins birds feathers.
Mommy then turned 40, and we got to go to a new date night dinner location with yummy Thai food. She got spoiled from all the love and birthday wishes from friends and family! The next morning, Daddy surprised Mommy by taking the day off of work so they could spend time together...just the two of them. Complete with a run together, breakfast at a new spot, surprise lunch with the girls at school and ended the adventure with a foot massage. Then got to start the garden off right with a trip to the best garden starter spot to get dirty with the family, planting in the garden!
Soccer was thrown into the mix, before London's girl day spa birthday party again for Kaylee and her friends.
The girls donated to the school and got some wonderful gifts at the school Spring Boutique before Spring picture and a fabulous Career Day at school.
A 40th celebration BBQ was held for Mommy at our house filled with tremendous people and fun! Thanks to all that came to hang out and have a good time! The Bakx, Ferrario's, and Netter's (and of course Daddy!!!) helped make it all happen! Next party up was Kaymryn's 7th, Paris themed party!
Next were fun check ups at the dentist before Mommy and Daddy set off with 10 other remarkable friends on a pretty unique adventure. The 12 of us ran back and forth through the trails of Southern California from Huntington Beach to Coronado. We followed each other as we ran one at a time for 34 hours in minivans! Mark's was the first and Cherie ran the 6th of the 12 legs. We each had the pleasure of running 3 total. Mark had the longest run of his life (8 miles) at 4am in the morning on his third and final run of the event and Cherie had every single extreme up hill run in the race (over 200 flights of stairs in one day... and the next day had plenty as well). Even with no sleep, we had great company and therefore a good time. We did sneak away to head to Stone Brewing Co. at Liberty Station while waiting for the rest of our team to complete there legs.
Meanwhile we relied on amazing people in our lives to take care of the girls. Sara from down the street got to our house at 5:45am when we had to leave for the run and got the girls to school. Joan picked them up and spoiled them along with Larry and the Bakx for the rest of the weekend full of fun, delicious dinners, ice cream, pool time, play time, even including a movie at the theater.
After a staff meeting at the YMCA and a full work week otherwise, the girls were ready to start Spring Break that Friday before Easter. We loved on Daddy before he left for work and missed him as we enjoyed a day which started out with a run/bike ride. Along the way Kaylee found a cool knitted heart with a note stating that she got to keep it and it was spreading the word of always being nice to people. We then headed for a fun game of bowling, which we realized that Cienna hadn't been in about 3 years, but Kaylee has been a few times. Cienna picked it right up and we all had fun before heading to the attached arcade and then Baskin Robbins... since we had gift cards and all : ).
Before we prepared for Easter at Auntie Kimmie's, Mommy and Auntie Kimmie went to our scheduled annual Birthday Manicure/Pedicure together. It was great as always to spend alone time just to chat. The family then, together, prepared a French Toast Casserole to bring for Easter brunch, painting eggs, and playing games in anticipation for the Easter Bunny!
Good thing the bunny came so we could lure the girls into our bed after they awoke for a show at 7 before the big hunt. They had a great time and got some cool robots that we spent time together building before we headed next door!
The Snow's put on an AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL spread as always for Easter "brunch"! They have amazing family and are happy they invite us into it. There was another egg hunt and more Easter baskets. We even came home after and were very successful fixing the washing machine before heading out on a family bike ride.
The last two days the girls spent at YMCA camp and have Loved IT! Park days, Swim days, Kaylee even got to go to Chuck-E-Cheese's today with her group. They look forward to Thursday when they get to go back but are happy to stay with Mommy tomorrow.
We even got an extended family member yesterday. Izzy is a good friend's dog that gets to stay with us a couple days while they are out of their house.
Cienna just inherited another upgraded bike from a neighbor, which also means Kaylee gets her bigger one and they are looking forward to another run/bike ride tomorrow after transferring all their cool spoke and other bike accessories to the new ones. They continue to grow beyond our comprehension. Love gymnastics. Cienna is excelling in typing, Kaylee reading over a half hour a day. Both making new friends at camp with ease and fit in to an unknown situation better than they ever have.
It's been busier than we had thought, but I guarantee we have enjoyed all of it!
https://goo.gl/photos/sEZoaWWz7ZU3rnFt7
Mommy then turned 40, and we got to go to a new date night dinner location with yummy Thai food. She got spoiled from all the love and birthday wishes from friends and family! The next morning, Daddy surprised Mommy by taking the day off of work so they could spend time together...just the two of them. Complete with a run together, breakfast at a new spot, surprise lunch with the girls at school and ended the adventure with a foot massage. Then got to start the garden off right with a trip to the best garden starter spot to get dirty with the family, planting in the garden!
Soccer was thrown into the mix, before London's girl day spa birthday party again for Kaylee and her friends.
The girls donated to the school and got some wonderful gifts at the school Spring Boutique before Spring picture and a fabulous Career Day at school.
A 40th celebration BBQ was held for Mommy at our house filled with tremendous people and fun! Thanks to all that came to hang out and have a good time! The Bakx, Ferrario's, and Netter's (and of course Daddy!!!) helped make it all happen! Next party up was Kaymryn's 7th, Paris themed party!
Next were fun check ups at the dentist before Mommy and Daddy set off with 10 other remarkable friends on a pretty unique adventure. The 12 of us ran back and forth through the trails of Southern California from Huntington Beach to Coronado. We followed each other as we ran one at a time for 34 hours in minivans! Mark's was the first and Cherie ran the 6th of the 12 legs. We each had the pleasure of running 3 total. Mark had the longest run of his life (8 miles) at 4am in the morning on his third and final run of the event and Cherie had every single extreme up hill run in the race (over 200 flights of stairs in one day... and the next day had plenty as well). Even with no sleep, we had great company and therefore a good time. We did sneak away to head to Stone Brewing Co. at Liberty Station while waiting for the rest of our team to complete there legs.
Meanwhile we relied on amazing people in our lives to take care of the girls. Sara from down the street got to our house at 5:45am when we had to leave for the run and got the girls to school. Joan picked them up and spoiled them along with Larry and the Bakx for the rest of the weekend full of fun, delicious dinners, ice cream, pool time, play time, even including a movie at the theater.
After a staff meeting at the YMCA and a full work week otherwise, the girls were ready to start Spring Break that Friday before Easter. We loved on Daddy before he left for work and missed him as we enjoyed a day which started out with a run/bike ride. Along the way Kaylee found a cool knitted heart with a note stating that she got to keep it and it was spreading the word of always being nice to people. We then headed for a fun game of bowling, which we realized that Cienna hadn't been in about 3 years, but Kaylee has been a few times. Cienna picked it right up and we all had fun before heading to the attached arcade and then Baskin Robbins... since we had gift cards and all : ).
Before we prepared for Easter at Auntie Kimmie's, Mommy and Auntie Kimmie went to our scheduled annual Birthday Manicure/Pedicure together. It was great as always to spend alone time just to chat. The family then, together, prepared a French Toast Casserole to bring for Easter brunch, painting eggs, and playing games in anticipation for the Easter Bunny!
Good thing the bunny came so we could lure the girls into our bed after they awoke for a show at 7 before the big hunt. They had a great time and got some cool robots that we spent time together building before we headed next door!
The Snow's put on an AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL spread as always for Easter "brunch"! They have amazing family and are happy they invite us into it. There was another egg hunt and more Easter baskets. We even came home after and were very successful fixing the washing machine before heading out on a family bike ride.
The last two days the girls spent at YMCA camp and have Loved IT! Park days, Swim days, Kaylee even got to go to Chuck-E-Cheese's today with her group. They look forward to Thursday when they get to go back but are happy to stay with Mommy tomorrow.
We even got an extended family member yesterday. Izzy is a good friend's dog that gets to stay with us a couple days while they are out of their house.
Cienna just inherited another upgraded bike from a neighbor, which also means Kaylee gets her bigger one and they are looking forward to another run/bike ride tomorrow after transferring all their cool spoke and other bike accessories to the new ones. They continue to grow beyond our comprehension. Love gymnastics. Cienna is excelling in typing, Kaylee reading over a half hour a day. Both making new friends at camp with ease and fit in to an unknown situation better than they ever have.
It's been busier than we had thought, but I guarantee we have enjoyed all of it!
https://goo.gl/photos/sEZoaWWz7ZU3rnFt7
Saturday, March 18, 2017
Cienna - 9 Years, 2 Months... Kaylee - 6 Years, 9 Months!
We saw the aftermath of last months storm as we started the month going for a family run through the neighborhood parks. We then had our first, of close to 10 throughout this month, Girl Scout Cookie selling booths before having a tremendous time bouncing around at Ava and Ricky's Birthday Bash having the entire Sky High Sports rented just for the party crew.
The following Monday the girls didn't have school, so the they were lucky enough to get to play with the Marshall's all day while Mommy and Daddy were at work. Then the Drama Club for 2nd and 3rd graders began with an early morning orientation which Cienna had been waiting for. That Friday after Cienna's class Scholar store during the day, we had free a Pizookie during date night since it is Mommy's Birthday month before heading to the Gymnastics for Team parent night where the girls got to teach Mommy and Daddy how to do cool moves on all of the events. As just a couple of examples, Kaylee got Daddy to do a pull over on bars and Cienna had him try handstands on the high beam. Mommy even got to prove she's "still got it" with her kip to hand-stand impressing the gym's director.
Sunday we got the Carver Parent Ragnar Crew all together at our house for a meeting to discuss details of our running trek to San Diego. Daddy got the first leg, which for his 3rd run of the 24+ hour race he gets to run over 8 miles, but does get to be the first of 12 to complete his legs of the journey. Mommy got a good slot if you only look how the miles play out having the longest run first and slowly going down in mileage for the next two, however it happens to be all up hill pretty much the entire time for all 3 of her legs.
During the next week the girls brought some books to school which they got to exchange with others who participated. Then they made their move to competitive level gymnastics (Level 3). This changed our weekly schedule around as their gymnastics nights got all switched up. Mommy had to cut back on a soccer game or two during the week, but it actually gives more time to make dinner and spend together after school for homework and playtime on the nights without gymnastics. Also meant that Mommy is now part of the competitive team coaching staff. The girls also participated in dress up at school for Read Across America honoring Dr. Seuss's Birthday before the weekend was underway.
The girls went to Cameron F.'s Jedi training Birthday and Cienna prepared for her Drama Club "Sleeping Beauty" audition that happened on Monday after school. She practiced and tried out for every spot. While waiting for the results to come on Friday, the girls both got to walk to the nearby Marshall Middle School to watch their production of Peter Pan. Cienna was very excited to find out that she got the part of Merryweather. She's gets a bunch of stage time during the play which isn't until after a couple of months of practice.
After many practices, it was time for the Talent Show Dress Rehearsal. The girls all did great and were excited for Saturday. The show was in the afternoon and was so much fun to watch. Both of their acts were so much FUN!
Sunday we headed to a Nerf War Birthday party for Aaron R. in Cienna's class. The two girls along with Hailey A. held there own among the sea of boys.
St. Patrick's Day started the last weekend of the month. After walking the girls to school, it turned out that the sub Ms. Ahrens (Kaylee's teacher) thought was going to cover her, never showed up. So, Mommy somehow found herself teaching the class for the morning (under staff supervision) until things got somewhat sorted out. The principal even came in to watch for a little while. We made Corned Beef dinner, wore green, and the girls of course got treats at school. Then the month ended celebrating Auntie Kimmie's Birthday. We went over to say Happy Birthday and ended up staying for dinner and desert : )
Cienna has been over excited this month with getting a part in the play that she really wanted and moving to competitive level gymnastics. She was so proud of herself getting her last skill to complete all her routines, her front hip circle on bars. She also had fun selling cookies which came to an end and we believe she sold the most in her troop.
Kaylee had gotten her front hip circle a little earlier in the month which was also her last skill needed to complete all her Level 3 routines as well. Even being the youngest one on team, she certainly holds her own and loves doing so. She was sad to see cookie sales come to an end but definitely sold her fair share and then some!
Not as many pictures this month, but there still are some cuties to see.
https://goo.gl/photos/kwtos1smyzGKGX7dA
The following Monday the girls didn't have school, so the they were lucky enough to get to play with the Marshall's all day while Mommy and Daddy were at work. Then the Drama Club for 2nd and 3rd graders began with an early morning orientation which Cienna had been waiting for. That Friday after Cienna's class Scholar store during the day, we had free a Pizookie during date night since it is Mommy's Birthday month before heading to the Gymnastics for Team parent night where the girls got to teach Mommy and Daddy how to do cool moves on all of the events. As just a couple of examples, Kaylee got Daddy to do a pull over on bars and Cienna had him try handstands on the high beam. Mommy even got to prove she's "still got it" with her kip to hand-stand impressing the gym's director.
Sunday we got the Carver Parent Ragnar Crew all together at our house for a meeting to discuss details of our running trek to San Diego. Daddy got the first leg, which for his 3rd run of the 24+ hour race he gets to run over 8 miles, but does get to be the first of 12 to complete his legs of the journey. Mommy got a good slot if you only look how the miles play out having the longest run first and slowly going down in mileage for the next two, however it happens to be all up hill pretty much the entire time for all 3 of her legs.
During the next week the girls brought some books to school which they got to exchange with others who participated. Then they made their move to competitive level gymnastics (Level 3). This changed our weekly schedule around as their gymnastics nights got all switched up. Mommy had to cut back on a soccer game or two during the week, but it actually gives more time to make dinner and spend together after school for homework and playtime on the nights without gymnastics. Also meant that Mommy is now part of the competitive team coaching staff. The girls also participated in dress up at school for Read Across America honoring Dr. Seuss's Birthday before the weekend was underway.
The girls went to Cameron F.'s Jedi training Birthday and Cienna prepared for her Drama Club "Sleeping Beauty" audition that happened on Monday after school. She practiced and tried out for every spot. While waiting for the results to come on Friday, the girls both got to walk to the nearby Marshall Middle School to watch their production of Peter Pan. Cienna was very excited to find out that she got the part of Merryweather. She's gets a bunch of stage time during the play which isn't until after a couple of months of practice.
After many practices, it was time for the Talent Show Dress Rehearsal. The girls all did great and were excited for Saturday. The show was in the afternoon and was so much fun to watch. Both of their acts were so much FUN!
Sunday we headed to a Nerf War Birthday party for Aaron R. in Cienna's class. The two girls along with Hailey A. held there own among the sea of boys.
St. Patrick's Day started the last weekend of the month. After walking the girls to school, it turned out that the sub Ms. Ahrens (Kaylee's teacher) thought was going to cover her, never showed up. So, Mommy somehow found herself teaching the class for the morning (under staff supervision) until things got somewhat sorted out. The principal even came in to watch for a little while. We made Corned Beef dinner, wore green, and the girls of course got treats at school. Then the month ended celebrating Auntie Kimmie's Birthday. We went over to say Happy Birthday and ended up staying for dinner and desert : )
Cienna has been over excited this month with getting a part in the play that she really wanted and moving to competitive level gymnastics. She was so proud of herself getting her last skill to complete all her routines, her front hip circle on bars. She also had fun selling cookies which came to an end and we believe she sold the most in her troop.
Kaylee had gotten her front hip circle a little earlier in the month which was also her last skill needed to complete all her Level 3 routines as well. Even being the youngest one on team, she certainly holds her own and loves doing so. She was sad to see cookie sales come to an end but definitely sold her fair share and then some!
Not as many pictures this month, but there still are some cuties to see.
https://goo.gl/photos/kwtos1smyzGKGX7dA
Monday, February 20, 2017
Cienna - 9 Years, 1 Month... Kaylee - 6 Years, 8 Months!
Cienna's 9th Birthday party on her actual birthday set the month off to a great start! Everyone had a great time enjoying leisure sports up the wazoo. The minimal rain that we get down here subsided just long enough for the party. During the following week, Cienna got her first bee sting during P.E. at school. She handled it like a trooper, just wanting to get back to class. Mommy was helping in Kaylee's class and was there to help since the school nurse was out for the day. Cienna also got her PTA Reflections project awarded as it has advanced to the next round again this year.
Then began Girl Scout cookie season. We helped pick up the first load from the warehouse and haven't stopped selling yet. Door to door, cookie booths, etc. The girls are enjoying the business aspect and engaging in conversation with neighbors. Cienna's Troop had a cookie kick off party and Daddy took Kaylee to go bowling and hit up the arcade. That evening they girls made friends with a snail and we made Strawberry Shortcake that Porter ended up finishing the following week since it was left on the counter.
We finally had a tiny bit of time to fit in an open gym, like we don't get enough gymnastics. That evening after Mommy and Daddy put the girls to bed they had a good neighbor Sara come over to stay at the house while they went an enjoyed an evening to celebrate Kristen's 39th Birthday. It was a great time and good company.
We had plenty of play dates as usual including an extra special one with Vera who came to hang out for a few days because she's awesome! We were all excited to spend time with her. Mommy and Vera took a lot of time exploring Long Beach and Vera introduced Mommy to a massage place that is quite amazing. Mommy and Kaylee took Vera to Joe Jost's for her first pickled egg!
Uncle Joe's 40th Birthday party was a great reason for a quick trip to San Diego to hang out with the Sklenicka's and enjoy Helix brewing company. The girls also found that a brewery is a great place to sell more girl scout cookies.
Lincoln's B-Day was a day off of school for the girls, but not for Mommy and Daddy so they had a special day with friends. They got to go to a movie theater to see Lego Batman and learned how to make slime from Mia.
We enjoyed making cards for each other for Valentines Day and truly loved the half of a day storm that came through to end the month. It's pretty fun to see weather when you don't get it too often. Mommy and Daddy played in the down pour while moving a fallen tree off of the trampoline in the backyard.
As mentioned, Cienna was a trooper through her first bee sting, and is excited that her reflections project is again going to the district level. Now that she's nine things have changed dramatically... not really. She is still just as amazing and we couldn't be more proud.
Kaylee on the other hand.... just kidding. She really has grown this month. She's trying her hardest to respect her teacher and not laugh every time her classmates try to joke around. She keeps advancing with reading, but still enjoys math a bit more. The snail friend gave her some new perspective on "cute" animals. The very last day of the month Kaylee made her last gymnastics skill that she needs to complete all her level 3 routines, the front hip circle.
Enjoy the photos!
https://goo.gl/photos/ud9ano2diWPVhjdZ6
Then began Girl Scout cookie season. We helped pick up the first load from the warehouse and haven't stopped selling yet. Door to door, cookie booths, etc. The girls are enjoying the business aspect and engaging in conversation with neighbors. Cienna's Troop had a cookie kick off party and Daddy took Kaylee to go bowling and hit up the arcade. That evening they girls made friends with a snail and we made Strawberry Shortcake that Porter ended up finishing the following week since it was left on the counter.
We finally had a tiny bit of time to fit in an open gym, like we don't get enough gymnastics. That evening after Mommy and Daddy put the girls to bed they had a good neighbor Sara come over to stay at the house while they went an enjoyed an evening to celebrate Kristen's 39th Birthday. It was a great time and good company.
We had plenty of play dates as usual including an extra special one with Vera who came to hang out for a few days because she's awesome! We were all excited to spend time with her. Mommy and Vera took a lot of time exploring Long Beach and Vera introduced Mommy to a massage place that is quite amazing. Mommy and Kaylee took Vera to Joe Jost's for her first pickled egg!
Uncle Joe's 40th Birthday party was a great reason for a quick trip to San Diego to hang out with the Sklenicka's and enjoy Helix brewing company. The girls also found that a brewery is a great place to sell more girl scout cookies.
Lincoln's B-Day was a day off of school for the girls, but not for Mommy and Daddy so they had a special day with friends. They got to go to a movie theater to see Lego Batman and learned how to make slime from Mia.
We enjoyed making cards for each other for Valentines Day and truly loved the half of a day storm that came through to end the month. It's pretty fun to see weather when you don't get it too often. Mommy and Daddy played in the down pour while moving a fallen tree off of the trampoline in the backyard.
As mentioned, Cienna was a trooper through her first bee sting, and is excited that her reflections project is again going to the district level. Now that she's nine things have changed dramatically... not really. She is still just as amazing and we couldn't be more proud.
Kaylee on the other hand.... just kidding. She really has grown this month. She's trying her hardest to respect her teacher and not laugh every time her classmates try to joke around. She keeps advancing with reading, but still enjoys math a bit more. The snail friend gave her some new perspective on "cute" animals. The very last day of the month Kaylee made her last gymnastics skill that she needs to complete all her level 3 routines, the front hip circle.
Enjoy the photos!
https://goo.gl/photos/ud9ano2diWPVhjdZ6
Thursday, January 19, 2017
Cienna - 9 Years Old!... Kaylee - 6 Years, 7 Months!
Don't think there was one dull moment during this last month! It started at a very nice get together with neighbors that we don't see too often at Stewart's house for dinner and desert. The next day we enjoyed celebrating Lexie turning 9 at her Harry Potter themed Birthday before heading to Belmont Shore to see the Christmas lights with the Bakx's, Joan and Larry. The following week was a gift exchange and pizza break during gymnastics practice and a Daisy gift exchange party at Mandy's house in which Daddy was Kaylee's date for the evening. The next day was the last day of school before break and we got to enjoy a Sing Along at the end of the school day put on by Cienna's class.
Then Christmas Eve with the four of us we came across a great opportunity to go watch the two best teams in the NFL...hahaha play at the Coliseum. It was the 49ers vs. Rams! We did our own tailgate, got upgraded seats thanks to foresight of a not so packed stadium, and even ran into neighbors Terry and Taylor. 49ers won, but we left just a bit too early to see the comeback. That evening we had a family dinner, and decorated cookies for Santa before heading to bed. It was a JOY to be all together for Christmas morning. We got up slowly together after the girls came straight to Mommy and Daddy's room without looking in the living room. We took time opening gifts from family, friends, Santa, and each other. Then had Snowman themed breakfast and put together and played with some new items before heading to the Bakx as part of their family to enjoy another great Christmas memory. Had a wonderful dinner, plenty of Shenanigans, and a great time!
For our next day off together we enjoyed more family time and smoked ribs! During the rest of the week we had a breakfast out, some scooter riding and impromptu play dates before another big weekend.
We had a smooth drive up to Big Bear where we met up to begin our 6th New Years there with Joe and Dana. This year we had a new addition to our party. We finally got to meet our buddy Jackson! We had so much fun holding and loving on him. We also spent time at the nearby park, making snowmen, playing Bocce ball, and even visited the Donlons for sledding. New Years Evening we had amazing snow which we all enjoyed then and the next day for snow play and ice sickle eating. We said goodbye to the Sklenicka's but not Big Bear when we headed next to The Betraun's cabin. Daddy had to head home for a couple days and the girls enjoyed time stranded in a cabin with a great sledding hill just a quarter mile away. We spent lots of time there, sledding, snow boarding, making snowmen, and rolling around in the snow. At the cabin we played every game in the house, including the girls first time using the Xbox, and it was Mommy who let them. After Daddy got back with Porter we showed him all the fun stuff there is to do, we also hit up the Brewery during a rainy day, then went the next beautifully sunny day to Big Bear Mountain to ride the lifts and Snowboard down the Mountain. It was so much fun and the girls did great. The last run of the day, it always is, Kaylee got plowed into. Not by a random out of control person, but by Chip a snowboard instructor. She got a few good bruises, but after he promised hot chocolate when she got down the mountain, she toughened up and forged her way! We surely found him when we got down and she got that hot chocolate! Not too eager to get home we slowly started to clean the cabin, went out to the Bear Belly Deli for lunch and had a pretty uneventful drive home.
It was good to be home. The next morning the girls decided to be entrepreneurs and sell bracelets in front of the house before we went off to a tea party for Jaidyn's 9th Birthday. When we got back, we finally got to celebrate our Holiday gift exchange with the Snow's. We were all spoiled by them as always and enjoyed spending our time together.
The girls then went back to school and Mommy spent her last day of vacation preparing to get back into reality. Then Natal's stayed for a quick night sleep before extending their vacation at Disneyland. While we waited for their arrival back on Saturday, we did get to see watch Annie Netter as a lead Lost Boy in a Peter Pan production. Before the play we had dinner out with the rest of the Netter's and the Bakx's.
The Natal's came back and the cousins didn't waste any time enjoying every moment together. From plays to petting zoo's, dress up, and creative activity, they had fun. Sunday they decided to dress as a couple of twins and we all went for a long run/bike ride together. To end the month, another Rydman tooth was lost, by Cienna this time.
Pretty sure that Cienna only has 3 teeth left to loose. She was excited to start the Harry Potter book series. She really got into snow boarding being so proud to make it down the hill without falling once! Her excitement about school continues as she expresses all the new subjects that 3rd grade has to offer and tells us about all she is learning each day. She got her mill circle on bars and won't stop doing them. She's already looking forward to trying out for the school play in a couple of months.
Kaylee is no doubt tough, more proof this month thanks to Chip. She working on ignoring friend distractions in class. Continues to show interest in technology. Loved hearing Uncle Keith explain an old rotary phone. Couldn't get enough of baby Jackson, but wished she could have stood up to hold him cause that's what he wanted. Very imaginative in so many ways!
The girls had so much time together this month that it could either drive them apart or closer together. They certainly showed that they are true best friends and have a great time playing together. From games, sports, pretend play, and more. Of course there were times they had to do there own things, but they figured that out too.
Let's see what the next month has in store! It's going to start with somebody's 9th Birthday party!
Lots of photos for lots of great memories!
https://goo.gl/photos/rG3C6iYV2PgdJ6Uu6
Then Christmas Eve with the four of us we came across a great opportunity to go watch the two best teams in the NFL...hahaha play at the Coliseum. It was the 49ers vs. Rams! We did our own tailgate, got upgraded seats thanks to foresight of a not so packed stadium, and even ran into neighbors Terry and Taylor. 49ers won, but we left just a bit too early to see the comeback. That evening we had a family dinner, and decorated cookies for Santa before heading to bed. It was a JOY to be all together for Christmas morning. We got up slowly together after the girls came straight to Mommy and Daddy's room without looking in the living room. We took time opening gifts from family, friends, Santa, and each other. Then had Snowman themed breakfast and put together and played with some new items before heading to the Bakx as part of their family to enjoy another great Christmas memory. Had a wonderful dinner, plenty of Shenanigans, and a great time!
For our next day off together we enjoyed more family time and smoked ribs! During the rest of the week we had a breakfast out, some scooter riding and impromptu play dates before another big weekend.
We had a smooth drive up to Big Bear where we met up to begin our 6th New Years there with Joe and Dana. This year we had a new addition to our party. We finally got to meet our buddy Jackson! We had so much fun holding and loving on him. We also spent time at the nearby park, making snowmen, playing Bocce ball, and even visited the Donlons for sledding. New Years Evening we had amazing snow which we all enjoyed then and the next day for snow play and ice sickle eating. We said goodbye to the Sklenicka's but not Big Bear when we headed next to The Betraun's cabin. Daddy had to head home for a couple days and the girls enjoyed time stranded in a cabin with a great sledding hill just a quarter mile away. We spent lots of time there, sledding, snow boarding, making snowmen, and rolling around in the snow. At the cabin we played every game in the house, including the girls first time using the Xbox, and it was Mommy who let them. After Daddy got back with Porter we showed him all the fun stuff there is to do, we also hit up the Brewery during a rainy day, then went the next beautifully sunny day to Big Bear Mountain to ride the lifts and Snowboard down the Mountain. It was so much fun and the girls did great. The last run of the day, it always is, Kaylee got plowed into. Not by a random out of control person, but by Chip a snowboard instructor. She got a few good bruises, but after he promised hot chocolate when she got down the mountain, she toughened up and forged her way! We surely found him when we got down and she got that hot chocolate! Not too eager to get home we slowly started to clean the cabin, went out to the Bear Belly Deli for lunch and had a pretty uneventful drive home.
It was good to be home. The next morning the girls decided to be entrepreneurs and sell bracelets in front of the house before we went off to a tea party for Jaidyn's 9th Birthday. When we got back, we finally got to celebrate our Holiday gift exchange with the Snow's. We were all spoiled by them as always and enjoyed spending our time together.
The girls then went back to school and Mommy spent her last day of vacation preparing to get back into reality. Then Natal's stayed for a quick night sleep before extending their vacation at Disneyland. While we waited for their arrival back on Saturday, we did get to see watch Annie Netter as a lead Lost Boy in a Peter Pan production. Before the play we had dinner out with the rest of the Netter's and the Bakx's.
The Natal's came back and the cousins didn't waste any time enjoying every moment together. From plays to petting zoo's, dress up, and creative activity, they had fun. Sunday they decided to dress as a couple of twins and we all went for a long run/bike ride together. To end the month, another Rydman tooth was lost, by Cienna this time.
Pretty sure that Cienna only has 3 teeth left to loose. She was excited to start the Harry Potter book series. She really got into snow boarding being so proud to make it down the hill without falling once! Her excitement about school continues as she expresses all the new subjects that 3rd grade has to offer and tells us about all she is learning each day. She got her mill circle on bars and won't stop doing them. She's already looking forward to trying out for the school play in a couple of months.
Kaylee is no doubt tough, more proof this month thanks to Chip. She working on ignoring friend distractions in class. Continues to show interest in technology. Loved hearing Uncle Keith explain an old rotary phone. Couldn't get enough of baby Jackson, but wished she could have stood up to hold him cause that's what he wanted. Very imaginative in so many ways!
The girls had so much time together this month that it could either drive them apart or closer together. They certainly showed that they are true best friends and have a great time playing together. From games, sports, pretend play, and more. Of course there were times they had to do there own things, but they figured that out too.
Let's see what the next month has in store! It's going to start with somebody's 9th Birthday party!
Lots of photos for lots of great memories!
https://goo.gl/photos/rG3C6iYV2PgdJ6Uu6
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