Cienna - 11 Years 1 Month... Kaylee - 8 Years 8 Months!

Daddy and Kaylee said goodbye as Mommy and Cienna headed to Idylwild for 5th Grade AstroCamp!  Almost 60 5th graders from Cienna's class had a blast.  There were dorm rooms for each the boys and the girls.  Two male chaperones and four women were in charge of 4 groups of about 15 kids as we learned a lot about different kids of science, ate in the dining hall, enjoyed plenty of activities including zip line, rope walks, rock climbing, and many hikes day and night!  One evening after dinner the staff also made Cienna and another friend Birthday cakes for us all to celebrate.  Meanwhile Daddy and Kaylee had fun playing miniature golf, having lunch dates, and playing with the Natal's who had just arrived for a Disney trip!  They all made signs to welcome home Cienna and wish her a Happy Birthday.  The Natal's left before Cienna and Mommy came home, but as a BIG surprise we all joined them the following day at California Adventure.

Keeping with the Disney theme the following weekend the girls had their first gymnastics meet of the season at the Disneyland Convention Center.  They had fun and did great.  After the meet we headed to Lakewood High school for Talent Show dress rehearsals.  Then on Sunday they both did wonderful performing on stage for the real Show.  This is Cienna's last talent show at Carver and she got to participate in the 5th Grade Finale as well as a Troop Act.  Kaylee hummed with her class on the kazoo and danced with the Girls Scouts.

Better late than never, we had Cienna's Birthday party at the house with lots of her friends.  We did cool crafts, some super cool water experiments, and played some fun games while eating delicious burrito before having cake.

Then it was time for cookie selling again.  Super Bowl Sunday is always a good day to go door to door selling cookies, even when it is raining.  We had an impromptu party at the house with good friends and neighbors.  Luckily we all enjoyed the company since the game wasn't much to watch.

Mommy left for Boston again for work and missed the family, but has some good meals while away.  Kaylee and Mommy went to Jalynn's 90's theme Birthday party the next weekend.  Then that week Cienna had her first clarinet concert.  It was short and sweet and fun to see her progress.  Also that week was Valentines Day on Thursday so we did our usual Family Date Night at BJ's.  Then Friday Mommy was invited to a Carver Founders luncheon and was awarded for continuing service as a volunteer.

To end the month the last weekend was the girls second gymnastics meet.  The Long Beach Open was held at the LB Convention Center.  They didn't win the diamond earnings that were given to those who got 1st place all-around, but they did perform fantastic and as always had a great time.

Photos at link below.

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Cienna - 11 Years Old... Kaylee - 8 Years 7 Months!

Schools out for Winter.... Well before that we had some gifts to make and give to be sure our teachers have a great break from the kiddos.  The girls were sad to say goodbye for a couple weeks, but were excited for the holidays to come.  We made sure to set the groove by enjoying and finishing the outdoor decorations.  First thing we headed to get Kaylee her very first brand new mattress (not a hand me down from her sister).  She has had nothing but successful sleeping since. (She had been great prior to that as well : ))  We had a few tremendous days that we all spent enjoying each others company.  We went to parks, playtime, and adventure parks including Knott's!  We wish we could have those everyday!

The girls enjoyed finishing their advent calendars in anticipation of Santa coming to visit.  They left carrots and cookies that we all made together.  Christmas Day was as unforgettable as they can be.  We spent all morning enjoying being together.  Then headed next door to the Snow's to be with more "family", then ending the evening at the Ferrario's with even more "family".  The friendships we have are incredible and never ending.

We didn't take long to clean up after the big day, but are going to miss the train till next year.  The best part of the rest of the week, before heading to Big Bear, was watching the girls enjoying each others company and playing like they haven't gotten too for awhile.  They like their sister time.
Come the New Year, we spent this one at home for the first time in quite a while.  We were certainly thinking of the Sklenicka's and new baby Riggs.  Hopefully we get to meet him soon!  We had a wonderful time with neighbors and the girls worked very hard staying up for their very first midnight celebration.  We all had a couple of winks or two before, but we were all (briefly) awake at midnight.

For our next adventure, we were lucky enough to head to Big Bear, thanks to the Chavez families.  They have a magnificent cabin that was available for us to use.  There was still snow on the ground at the cabin where we played outside, and plenty of games inside before heading for a beautiful day of snowboarding at Bear Mountain.  Even though the girls only get about one day a year on the slopes, they keep improving.  There is never one complaint when we spend the day snowboarding on a mountain!

Back to School and work for us.  We miss more time with just us, but we all knew that the New Year has so much to bring. Since school began after break, we have had a few talent show practices and fun times with friends. Soon up and coming is the 5th Grade Astro Camp, that Cienna has been raising money for which Mommy won the lottery to be a chaperone.  Cienna's Birthday  is the Monday to follow, and both girls got exactly the parts for the school play that they had hoped for and then some.

Kaylee is Mrs. Potts which she get to sing a solo, and Guard 1 as an extra.  Cienna is going to be Cogsworth which was her number 1 choice and LeFou!

Meanwhile, Mommy lost many pictures during a fluke of a factory reset of her phone, but luckily we back-up often.

Thinking of all our amazing friends and family!

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Cienna - 10 Years 11 Months... Kaylee - 8 Years 6 Months!

Another memorable trip to Northern California to visit our amazing family.  We went straight to Grammy and Grandpa's.  The girl's got spoiled from the start.  The next morning after a wonderful breakfast we went to Mommy's old gymnastics center.  The girls had fun watching the Optionals workout and getting to do as they please around the entire gym.  Mommy wore her old coaches shirt and team jacket!  Later that day we met up with Poppa at his property to help clean up the land and prepare for the next phase of rebuilding.  We re organized the tire swing and climbing rope and dismantled the zip line to be reconfigured another day.  That evening we headed our to see the new Russian River brewery and get a couple boxes of Pliny, and some great food as well.  We headed back to the gym once again the next day.  Kaylee got her flyaway off the high bar by her self and a double back with the belt on the trampoline.  Cienna got super close to her cast to handstand and her ariel on the floor.

We then had our first Thanksgiving dinner at The Marty's.  It was completely delicious and so much fun hanging out with family.  We stayed for the evening, walked the pups and kids in the rain, which cleared up the smokey atmosphere, then enjoyed our Thanks Christmas present opening.  Thanksgiving Day Grammy and Grandpa had many activities planned including a visit from Riley and Chris, and the Payne's.  We played in the yard, enjoyed company including the Marty's and Poppa, as well as the crab and roast!

Grammy and Grandpa did the last impromptu hosting of our third Thanksgiving feast with a beautifully prepared turkey compliments of the McFarland's who unfortunately were not feeling well and could not make it.  Auntie Carrie got to come as well as the Natal's with more food and plenty of deserts!  It's truly amazing to have such great family and friends!!

We made the long trek home more enjoyable with a now becoming family tradition by stopping half way home at Harris Ranch for the evening and fun in the pool in the morning before coming the rest of the way, unpacking, and preparing for the work/school week ahead.

Christmas upon us, we had our Gymnastics Holiday Show just around the corner.  We had practice for over a month.  Mommy got to choreograph the Optional's routine, and the girls were very excited to perform.  They had two extremely enjoyable performances in one day.

We finally got around to decorating the house and getting our Christmas tree.  It was a true family effort.  Even included a trip to the train store to get more train accessories and additional track.

Kaylee's Brownie troup had a nice gift exchange and lunch at Bucco Di Beppo.  Then we all enjoyed an outdoor movie night with the Snow's/Mitchell's.  Daddy brought a projector next door and put on Polar Express for us all to watch with a delicious chili dinner, hot chocolate, and smores afterward.

Cienna's Junior troop also did a gift exchange and some neighborhood caroling to celebrate the holiday season.  Mommy and Kaylee were the first to see the bright Naples Christmas lights on a fun trolley with her Brownie troop.  The whole family family then walked the lighted route with the Bakx and Marshall's.

There was a couple more gymnastics holiday parties as well including one for the coaches at Cal Bowl, then one for the girls to do another secret Santa within their gymnastics team.

Happy Holidays to all of you!

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Cienna - 10 Years 10 Months... Kaylee - 8 Years 5 Months!

Cienna was very excited to bring home her clarinet for practice the following week before the school had their fundraising bubble Olympic day at school.  All classes got to represent a different country and represent wearing those colors then playing many different games together.  We then had a great weekend with the family getting some stuff done which included finishing up the costumes for Halloween.

The next week was red ribbon week at school and many great activities were planned at school including the annual helicopter landing on their blacktop.  That Friday we had many Halloween plans including Trunk-O-Treat as school then splitting the fun and heading to another party at the gymnastics center where Cienna, again, won a prize for her costume.

The weekend was not only filled with the families soccer games and Daddy refereeing, but we also were joined by the Casper's to go and watch what ended up being the Galaxy's last game of the season. Even though they were so close to moving to playoffs, we still had a blast watching them and then playing a pick-up game afterward to avoid leaving with the rest of the crowd.  When we did get home it was pumpkin carving time!

The girls were filled with sugar parties at school as Halloween was on a Wednesday, then we joined the Marshall's for some pizza before heading out to Trick-O-Treat with the Lanai group.  After we got home, as usual the highlight for the girls was giving out the candy that they just got to those coming to our front porch.

Unfortunately the next Saturday was Cienna's first game of the Belmont Cup which they won and put them in a great position to move forward.  Unfortunately it was her last game since she couldn't make the next one to help move her team along.  But she did amazing and they all had fun!  As day light saving came we had to start cutting practice short, and combined the two teams to get some fun scrimmages before the next games.  Mommy and Daddy also got to hear wonderful things about the girls from all of their teachers during parent teacher conferences during the week.

Wildfires struck California again both in Southern and Northern California.  The Camp Fire in Butte County unfortunately took Daddy's Aunt and Uncle's home but they were able to evacuate in time thanks to the first responders, great neighbors, and family.  They are currently figuring out next steps in Auburn staying with good friends.

To end the week the girls came home with their School Spring Pictures and then Cienna got to join her Girls Scout Troop for a Krav Maga (Self defense Martial Arts) class that took over where Soccer City used to be.  That Saturday after Kaylee's soccer game in the morning the girls had a in house practice gymnastics meet to help get ready for the upcoming season.  They both did really great for just learning their routines and had a great time with their teammates!  Unfortunately this is why we missed Cienna's team's last game which they almost pulled off the move on.

Kaylee had another game on Sunday, then Mommy took a day off to stay home with the girls who had Monday off for Veterans Day, which also was the day Grandpa Sam was born (a very memorable veteran for our family!)  We headed to Knott's for just one ride since it was a busy day, but didn't mind just spending time together in line for a while.  Mommy then had to head to Boston/New Hampshire for work the next day, not to return until just in time to pick up the girls from school on Thursday.  Meanwhile Daddy took care of everything and the Marshall's helped get the girls from school till Daddy got off work.

Thursday night we had a fun time recognizing the great soccer season that we had with both of the girls teams with a party at Straw Hat.  It's fun to bring both teams together as they got to know each other through the season having practices back to back for both teams.  Mommy and Mac somehow made time to come up with some creative awards to give to each kid, and it was fun to hand them out and encourage them to keep playing soccer.

We also welcomed another Sklenicka into the world.  Riggs Joseph Sklenicka was born November 10 and mommy, daddy, and brother Jackson couldn't be happier.  We are excited to meet him!!

One last weekend of soccer for Kaylee's team came as they progressed through the Belmont Cup.  They won on Saturday which guaranteed them two games on Sunday before we headed to our Thanksgiving trip up north to see family.  Before that we also got to attend the UCLA/USC party at the Ferrario's with some wonderful friends for run as always and delicious food.  Kaylee's team went on to win in the morning to make it to the championship game.  They came the closest of any team this season of winning the champions, but took second place for the cup!

After a shower for all and the last of the packing we headed for our Thanksgiving vacation!

Daddy had also dealt with trying to get the 50cc Quad up and running to drive around Poppa's property, let's see how it goes!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/LTbDZBcqDMqTcUiD7

Cienna - 10 Years 9 Months... Kaylee - 8 Years 4 Months!

The girls were celebrated for all their hard work over the last gymnastics competition season.  At the banquet, each of them got their move up recognition and continue to improve their level 4 skills.  After the banquet, all the gymnasts got to enjoy a pool party at the Y.  We left a little early to go and watch the CSULB girl soccer team play a great game and Cienna's team got to play on the field during half time.  The rest of the weekend we painted our side gate and made make shift carts out of the give away pile in the garage.

Porter then made his first escape, going through a mid-life crisis through the front side gate to meet up with his girlfriend down the street.  The girls also had picture day at school, and a playdate with London.  A busy Saturday followed with many soccer games as well as soccer pictures scheduled for each team.  After pictures we made it to see the Shoenberg's beautiful re-model for their house warming party.  The girls were inspired and decided to do their own fort building in the backyard.    Then, next we headed down the block to Ulysses's birthday party.

When Daddy took off for a quick trip to Vancouver for work late the next week after rushing to get a current passport, the girls had to have date night without him.  However we did call to keep his presence their for a little bit.  When Daddy got back we sent the girls for a sleepover at the Marshall's and Mommy and Daddy went to Temecula for our neighbors son's wedding.  Dave and Serena had a wonderful location for the ceremony and reception.  Many of the neighbors were invited to dance the night away together.

Cienna then finally lost one of her big baby molars and Kaylee was featured in a picture for the Long Beach School News Paper representing Carver.  We enjoyed an amazing walk in the rain one evening watching lighting and listening to the following thunder as it was still warm.  We don't get to see much weather very often.  Unfortunately soccer games were cancelled but we got to play lots of games, and put up our Halloween decorations.  Cienna got to enjoy Shawna's Birthday party at Round 1 then the whole family picked up the Marshall kiddo's and went to play handball together at Carver.

The girls were very excited to pick out material and supplies for their costumes this year for Mommy to make and hope we get a little free time to get them done by the Halloween adventures to come  : )

https://photos.app.goo.gl/n7LCk4CUKnUyC4o49

Cienna - 10 Years 8 Months... Kaylee - 8 Years 3 Months!

The end of summer...

Uncle Joe came to visit and we were all super excited as always.  It was only for one evening, but we made the most of it.  One of many fundraisers, the soon to be fifth graders had a very successful bake sale just down the street.  That weekend, we also got to watch Porter's girlfriend Lula.

Meanwhile the girls got another outing with their previous Kindergarten teacher and her daughter who was Cienna's fifth grade buddy when she was in Kindergarten.  They enjoyed getting their nails done and Yogurtland!  Mom took a couple days off before school started on Wednesday.  We had a ton of fun including a few play dates and an hour or so at Knott's which seemed like we were the only ones there.  It was AWESOME.  We also had lots of family time that weekend including re-building gates and playing catch.  Mommy and Kaylee got their nails done, while Daddy and Cienna spent time together at home.

Then came soccer.  Two practices a week and they love it.  Mommy and Mac are coaching and Daddy is doing plenty of referee time to earn points for the girls team, as well as helping at practice anytime he can.  They were excited to meet new friends and get their uniforms.  Kaylee's team is the Spicy Red Peppers and Cienna's is the Electric Highlighters.

It is Cienna's last year at Carver..... It's been a lot to take in for sure!  Mostly for Mommy and Daddy as Cienna is of course ready.  The girls were both excited to see their friends and start the school year!

Finishing the summer with a bang after the first few days of school the Bakx had an amazing backyard camp out for the end of summer/Labor Day/Joan's Birthday.  Lots of pool time, outdoor movies, rocking out in the garage and sleeping in tents!

The next week we had a fantastic visit with Grammy and Auntie Bridget who flew in to spend lots of time with us and go on some adventures in Southern California!  We all loved every moment of their visit.  After hanging out one evening with Grammy, Bridget arrived the next day and was brave enough to make the walk to school and surprise the girls at lunch time.  Then they headed to the Queen Mary for an evening of haunting adventures.  The next day Grammy and Bridget picked up the girls from AJ's, where they are so happy to go to after school when Mommy can't pick them up, to show them all around the Queen Mary as well.  Of course indulging them with sweatshirt paraphernalia.  We then all met up for a local date night dinner before they headed onward to a trip to Catalina.  When they got back we had more time together at  nearby hotel swimming and making a delicious spaghetti dinner.  It meant so much to all of us for them to come visit.

The next pool time was at the Chavez's for Ovi's 4th Birthday.  Then the following week Girl Scout meetings started back up for this school year.

The girls were both very excited to get to play their first soccer games!  They both are really loving the sport and the friendships that come with it!  It is so much fun to watch them smile throughout each of their whole games.

We had a great Harry Potter themed get together next door after school the next Friday to celebrate Haiden turning 8.  And the next day Kaylee got to have her first sleepover without Cienna at the Marshall's for Nicki's 9th birthday.  We got to have Lex stay with us, so it was pretty much a sister swap for the evening.  To end the summer, Mommy got to finally play soccer since her Fall Sunday Women's Outdoor team started again.

Enjoy every day!

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Cienna - 10 Years 7 Months... Kaylee - 8 Years 2 Months!

There was twin day for the last themed day Friday morning gymnastics practices before more summer fun came this last month.  Afterward we went on our way to camping at Dog Wood with most of our camping crew.  The first evening we got the great news of Cobi and Bri's engagement who were joining us the next day.  After their arrival we spent time on the inflatables and water slides at Lake Gregory which unfortunately didn't have nearly enough water to be considered a lake.  We all had fun playing many games, taking nature guided and non guided nature hikes, and making up plays on the nearby stage.

The following week was one of the hottest and of course was the girls AYSO soccer camp.  They didn't once complain about the heat and just enjoyed playing soccer with the great coaches and friends that they met.  After soccer camp on Friday they joined in on their gymnastics team beach day at Seal Beach.  All the girls had so much fun getting to hang with their teammates and just play in the water.  Daddy took the girls to practice the next day since Mommy had to do a U12 soccer coach clinic to ensure being able to coach both girls soccer teams this year.

Acting Out camp came next.  The girls had been talking about this camp since last summer and it surely didn't disappoint this year!  Their was a smaller group and one included the main teachers niece from out of town.  They made great friends and worked really hard to put on an amazing show for all the parents at the end of the week.

Meanwhile we were preparing for a quick trip to Mammoth for Bluesapalooza.  Most of the Netters and Bakx were already there, then Daddy left on Thursday evening with Roman and Mike Netter to see TajMo Friday evening. Mommy and the girls left after their Acting Out performance on Friday.  We all stayed at the Ferrario/Bakx fantastic cabin.  While the adults were having a blast at the festival, the girls stayed with the teenagers at the cabin and had fun going to the movies, eating ice cream, and playing many games.  On the way home we all had a great lunch together then headed our separate ways to prepare for the upcoming week.

Monday night after gymnastics was movie night.  All the gymnasts and family watched "Full Out" until about 10 pm (very late after a big weekend in Mammoth).  The next day was the girls first soccer practice of the season.  Luckily we got to make practice times for both teams back to back and on the same field since Mommy is coaching with Mac again.  Then we got to pick up a couple of special guests to stay with us for a few days.  Ashley and her friend Sydney flew in by themselves to see Dan and Phil (??? youtubers) at the Staples Center.  They came just in time for Parent Night (a.k.a Make fun of your Dad night) at gymnastics.  Each kid brings parents to participate in two hours of gymnastics practice where they are the coach.  Ashley and Sydney will confirm that it is pretty awesome.  Thursday the Natal's were headed for The Great Wolf Lodge at the end of their vacation and dropped off Buster and Lou while the girls were at Y camp.  After Mommy picked up the girls from camp we headed back to soccer practice while Daddy brought Ashley and Sydney to the "concert".  He picked them up after when we were all in bed.  They said that they had a magnificent time!  We had a little time to play on Friday morning before we took them back to the airport to say goodbye.  After gymnastics practice on Friday the Natal's came back to pick up the pups and we got to hang out for a while before they too headed back home.  That evening Mommy volunteered to stay with the girls for the annual sleep over at the gym.  About 45 girls ranging from 7 to 15 in a gymnastics center.  Not much sleep happening their after a big week.  But they certainly had some good times and memories!

That Saturday we had the pleasure of joining the Dunbar's vacation when we met up with the them for dinner at Bubba Gumps in Downtown Disney.  We had a lot of laughs and enjoyed catching up.  On Sunday the girls got to have a play date with their previous teacher, Ms. Ahrens.  We had won an auction at the school carnival that gave them the opportunity to go to Paint and Glaze, followed by a Pizza lunch.  She then of course continued to spoil them by following up with frozen yogurt.  They all had such a fun afternoon!  Then we picked our multitude of tomatoes, onions, and peppers and made some pasta sauce as well as two large containers of both mild and hot salsa.  They all came out delicious!

As if they don't get enough, gymnastics camp came the next week.  It's pretty busy when you have gymnastics all day then either gymnastics or soccer practice to follow each evening.  You'd think they'd get tired out, but it must be nice being so adaptive because they didn't complain once.  Only exciting stories and proud moments of their accomplishments.  Also during that week we got to have Lula as a house guest which was as wonderful as always.  Next guest to arrive at the end of the month was Uncle Joe.  We had a busy fun-filled day even if the girls didn't succeed on getting him on the trampoline.

We also got to go to the Ferrario wild animal park while they were off  backpacking to take care of the plants, finch, chickens, raccoon, squirrel, coy fish, cats, and dogs which is pretty cool to do.  Unfortunately we did have to say goodbye to one of their dogs, Kona.  She was peaceful in her bed when we arrived so we took care to keep her safe until they came back home.  She was a great dog and we will miss her.  We were told previous to our visit that this may be coming.  She had such a great life with a great family!

Less than two weeks before school starts.  Let's make the most of that time and everything that is to come.

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