Cienna - 14 Years 4 Months Old! ... Kaylee - 11 Years 11 Months!

Spring break had its ups and some unexpected. Mommy took the week off to spend with the girls. Monday was a relaxed day, then Tues. didn't go quite as planned. We were looking forward to taking the train first to check out San Clemente Pier and then to Solana Beach for lunch and get home before gym. Turned out the train was delayed since it may have hit a trespasser on the previous stop. So after we had an adventure getting to the railway station with tickets in hand.....3 hours of waiting later we just took the car and had a great lunch in San Clemente. The girls got some souvenirs to remember our time not on the train. : ) Wednesday we headed to Knotts with some friends. Being Spring Break it was still a little crowded but we still had fun with Kamryn, Cane, and Adi. Then Thursday we brought Reagan and Josh to try something new. We headed to El Segundo in hopes to try out Top Golf. It turned out that the next available bay was 2 hours after we showed up.... so we made the most out of it by getting some brunch at a pancake house in Manhattan Beach and afterward the kids walked down to play in the ocean. Then right when we got back to they had just texted that it was our turn. None were very experienced golfers, but we all knew how to have fun with it!  And the girls got to see mom's work from the road for the first time since we were right next door. Then after a send off from the team for Cienna and KC after gymnastics practice, and finishing the garden planting the next day while Daddy finished work, we headed up north for a much anticipated trip to enjoy Cienna show all that she has accomplished this gymnastics season as well as spend time with family and friends.

We had an enjoyable car ride and then some delicious dinner from Cheesecake Factory after a little turmoil in ordering from the road. Cienna ate her spaghetti and meatballs and we all enjoyed our dinner relaxing in the hotel room. We made sure to decorate Coach George's hotel door before going to bed. Then in the morning before Cienna's competition we headed to Starbucks for breakfast then met up with Auntie Carrie and Grammy for lunch at Inc 82 brewery. Then it was time to get ready for the Regionals competition!

We met up with Poppa, Dana, Mike, Grammy and Auntie Carrie at the competition. Vera, Dani, and Juju also came with major support! Cienna did great representing her team truly appreciated her fan club being there for her, especially her sister being on the floor to route her on! The next morning we were happy to help out and route on KC for her first Regionals meet before we headed out for the road trip home. 

Next up was Roaklee's first birthday. He got a treat... off of a special plate, that's about it, but I'm sure he had a great day. Also Kaylee got to go on a Duffy Boat with some of her best friends from school for Reagans Birthday. Meanwhile Daddy headed to Brewfest to begin his birthday celebration and the girls had dinner at Ola for dinner at PCH and 2nd with the Marshalls before a fun long time waiting sleepover. 

Daddy had a great birthday camping weekend with his Brewfest buddies, even Uncle Joe made a come back bringing his buddy Jeff. We then had a special music show happening a couple blocks away showcasing Adi BV. The 3rd musketeer to Kaylee and Nicki. She sang amazingly along with many others at the PorchFest performance! I wish Bonnie did this more than twice a year!

Daddy and Mommy got a date night at Nicks on 2nd with the girls at gymnastics for Daddy's Birthday. It was super delicious, and we finally got to use the 4 year old gift card that we got for being awesome soccer coaches. After picking up girls from gym, we all celebrated with Lemon Meringue Pie, and ice cream to complete the birthday celebration!

Then we started on the run to the end of the school year. There are things like auditioning for Symphonic Winds for HIGH SCHOOL and all the end of the school year activities. Daddy also has gotten to go into his work more with great lunches and sharing views of the Hollywood sign from his building.

There was a pre-team tryout at gym and Cienna came to help coach and evaluate enjoying every moment at the gym that she can. That night we all had such a great dinner hosted by Tola and his family as well as Robert and Elissa. We had delicious burgers, goat curry, fermented limes, and time with a brand new puppy. We also got a cutting of a sweet pea plant to take home.

Arts In the Air was a great opportunity to show how much the girls have learned throughout the year. We were entertained by all the Marshall Middle school students with an amazing performance in the school field. Everything from beginning band to Vocal Ensemble. 

McKayla joined us for another Galaxy game with some of the Bakx's and Scott, although it wasn't the best game we all still had a great time before during and after. Even seeing coach Kristen again. Meanwhile Kaylee had fun celebrating Adi's 12th birthday hanging out at the beach and then a sleepover with the 3 musketeer's.

Cienna then got to have yet another wonderful experience with her friends to celebrate being together before high school. They enjoyed being 8th graders taking over Knott's!

I for one have enjoyed the living daylights out of all the times we've had and watching these kids (all three of them) grow day after day is unbelievable to me.

We now have more pictures than we know what to do with, but I try to sort through them all, and the more the better right????

https://photos.app.goo.gl/NXPNEsPrc9ktfLb66

Cienna - 14 Years 3 Months Old! ... Kaylee - 11 Years 10 Months!

Was pretty exciting to get to be back at a galaxy game. Scott joined us for a tailgate in the parking lot which was many of our first time touching a soccer ball in a while. We then headed inside for pre-game activities before the Bakx met up with us for game time. The Galaxy dominated but did end up losing.. oh well. We went home and after some baking we played with the automatic ping pong KiwiCo game that Kaylee made. The next day we helped Auntie Kimmie celebrate the next day as part of her family and had as much amazing food and fun as always. 

That week at school Kaylee finally got to go on an actual school field trip. On mommy's birthday she got to be a chaperone for the 6th grade class at the Grammy Museum in LA. The best part was that they got to to on a field trip. Other than that it was pretty cool. Kaylee got selected from her music teachers to be one of the 5 to go on stage and help be part of a music production presentation! That night Mommy got some thoughtful crafts from the girls and a homemade brownie ice cream cake.

Mommy took Kaylee to a new friends Birthday party the next weekend to play Laser Tag for the first time. She loved it and a good time hanging with new friends. That Sunday was the USAG State meet in San Diego. They both did absolutely amazing and went into the meet excited and confident to qualify for Regionals! There were a lot of firsts that meet and it was a great competition for both of them. They both qualified! There also were some upsets for teammates that they went through together. Regionals for Cienna is in Pleasanton and she is excited for family to come and watch her show her routines! She had worked so hard and deserves every moment. Her last event was vault and she nailed it. Didn't even need to do her second one : )

Daddy went in person for the first time to work that Monday. He made his way around and had fun as they had a courtyard festival welcoming party. We got a little rain, and the best way to take advantage is to go on the trampoline of course. Then after that more baking.

Cienna then had her first field trip of the year, in which only some 8th graders pretty much got to run around Knott's Berry Farm as responsible adults... they did great and had a lot of fun.

Then more fun began with a visit from Grammy and Maxwell. She's an amazing women. After spoiling the kids, she helped up finish cleaning the weeds in the garden for a major overhaul. We decided that we needed to cover the garden in weed preventative material and use the raised garden beds she gave us to tame it down for a while.

Roman came to visit and brew with Mark for Homebrew in a few weeks, but it turned into a full on jam session with all of us. It was great. The next day we made Grammy go back to Knotts but it was all about the Boysenberry festival this time. No Silver Bullet. Just meatballs and pie.

Wednesday when Mommy had time off work to spend with Grammy... of course they spent the time finishing the preparation for gardening. They completely rearranged everything in the garden and put down the weed preventer, set the beds and got them ready for some growing!

Cienna's vocal ensemble got invite to do a few songs in the Long Beach Grand Hotel. (Apparently it was a paid gig that their principal is a frequent member). Meanwhile, Kaylee spent some time building a KiwiCo that may or may not be for a present for somebody in the family, while she was excited for a late night birthday outdoor movie party with her buddy Frankie.  

After the complete re-haul of the garden we were ready to plant a late garden of goodness.... then.... We realized an opportunity to use our existing sprinklers to make it all automated for the first time. We just needed more stuff of course, a trip to Lowe's it is. Or two, or three. We hadn't used this irrigation in 18 years, but we had it routed just in case. 

We had a fun trip to Gomez Growers, then after quite a bit of work on our sprinkler valves we were ready to plant! It has been quite the great garden maintenance ever since. We are looking forward to was comes out of these plants! The day ended up with some delicious carrot cake made by the girls with full on "carrot cake" decorations!

Daddy spent some more time at work and took pictures this time. He has free lunch that he can take to a balcony that overlooks the Hollywood sign! The girls like the cool snacks that he brings home also!

Then comes Spring Break! We get the first part to enjoy the doggy company of Ash! He is such a sweetheart and just as spirited as Roaklee. They had so much fun as did we all. We also go to celebrate Lacy Cook's "retirement"/70th birthday in El Segundo. This guy has been there since day one and 27 years prior to Mommy's job. First supervisor and pretty much the reason Raytheon is what it is. However it gave us a chance to actually meet SO many of Mommy's co-workers that they've only heard about over the years! He luckily only retired on paper and is still working to make amazing things happen!

We came home ready to finally prepare for Auntie Kimmie's Easter Brunch. It's been years and she did amazing as it had ever been. It's hard to believe the amount of dishes she puts together for one day! If the food wasn't good enough, the kids had a great time with an Easter Egg hunt including a tremendous Golden Egg and a fantastic beginning to Spring Break!

Pictures are more than words!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/cZsUfJvBgapFuCmT9

Cienna - 14 Years 2 Months Old! ... Kaylee - 11 Years 9 Months!

On to Ontario. The girls had a great meet with many individual accomplishments, and of course a great crowd to cheer them on. They have had so much fun just being able to show off their routines again and enjoy the exciting surroundings. Not to mention, they have grown and improved more than you could imagine since the last time they got to compete!

We all were looking forward to the next weekend away at Big Bear with Trevor! He flew in to Burbank and Daddy picked him up on Friday night while the rest of us were at gymnastics. We left a bit early and met them at home before some final packing and a start of a pretty awesome road trip to the mountains. Before we made the steep climb to 10 degree weather we even brought the dogs into the cab to avoid frozen dog syndrome : ) It was cozy but fun. The next morning we all woke up excited to go snowboarding.  Everyone did a great job and the whole mood was happy all day long. That evening we had a great dinner and we had fun playing games inside and out. There was a new snow that we got to play in and the weather was perfect the whole weekend. We are so grateful to have wonderful friends that let us use their cabin to create life long memories! It was Roaklee's first time in the snow and he did amazing playing and listening. We cleaned up the next morning and had lunch in town before heading back to Burbank to get Trevor on a plane back home. After succeeding, we got ourselves home and unpacked ready for the next week ahead.

We had our yearly visit with our family friend/financial advisor Eric. It was short but awesome, he does so much for us. Especially this year with Mark's new job and my company changing our retirement benefits. 

We were so thankful to have a visit from Jamaica, Jasmine, and Grayson that weekend. It was great to catch up and to see how much the kids have accomplished. We hung out at the house and then took a walk down the street for lunch before the had to head out. 

The next weekend we took advantage of some time we had to work on the Bronco. We removed the carburetor and learned a lot of the next steps we are looking forward to tackling in this restoration. We played hide and seek as a family and realized that there are still more places to hide after all these years.  We also realized that the school performance was soon upon us and the girls needed their costumes. Kaylee did amazing sewing her own skirt as a townsfolk. She picked out the fabric and measured her width and length. It turned out perfect!

Both girls were rewarded with straight A's and E's the last semester. We are so proud of the girls that they are. Not only because of how they do in school but the people they are. Each of them has shown compassion to their schoolmates, and given extra time to help others. We actually got to step foot on campus and have a lunch on the lawn with Kaylee and all her 6th grade friends. That was extremely refreshing for all of us!

The girl's gymnastics next meet was canceled since it was in Camarillo and all the optionals were scheduled for Friday morning. So we made arrangements to have one at our own gym for another competition experience before States in 2 weeks. Cienna got to flip her Yurchanco on her home vault for the first time, and we put the bleachers down for the parents, family and friends to watch. It's been years since they have been aloud to step foot in the gym : ) Afterwards, Cienna enjoyed spending time with her friends at Addie's birthday party which was cancelled two years ago. Two year anniversary of Covid and all. The rest of us went down the street to Time Square plaza to enjoy dinner with the Marshalls and Vigliotti's. 

The next day the Marshman kids were back in production as Daddy brewed "Rydman Red" in preparation for Brewfest.

The awesome Middle School performance that the girls and all of their friends... as well as Mr. P was happening this last week. They had dress rehearsal on Mon and Tues. Mom was happy to be able to finally help volunteer on campus. I'd say all the rehearsals went great, but we were all excited for the show to happen as 2 years ago the production was stopped only hours before they were going on to perform. 

Both performances were so heartfelt and you could tell how much work they all put in to the show. Cienna got to perform as Middle Anna the second night, and Kaylee was in 4 additional songs the second night as well. Just watching how much both girls lit up when they were singing was heartwarming.

We see true happiness every time they are performing and showing what they can do!

Enjoy the photos and videos!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ocWiAsZH6eJ6m7HH6

Cienna - 14 Years 1 Months Old! ... Kaylee - 11 Years 8 Months!

We now have a completely amazing, well rounded, intelligent, independent, driven, thoughtful, creative, loving, outgoing, powerful, and athletic (adjectives from the family) 14 year old! She also wanted to add full of important activities. Cienna has made a lead part in the upcoming play, and is co-chairman of student site council for her school, 1st chair in Jazz Band, and in vocal ensemble. There is nothing she won't put her self out there for even with the fear of not succeeding. That doesn't even include the leaps and bounds that she makes every day at gymnastics in her "spare time" of 18 hours a week. She has showcased her progress on her private blog and enjoys every practice and meet as she continues to progress! She also got accepted to her school of choice for High School next year, "Milikan Quest", which is a scholastically chosen group of applicants. So, yes, she speaks for herself. And others speak of her.

Given all that I guess she deserved some balloons to wake up to as well as a good breakfast before school. Then a birthday song from friends before ice cream treats at gymnastics. Afterward she opened some gifts from family before yet another desert and celebration with just us.

She was very excited that she had a gymnastics meet the day after her birthday which happened to be in Anaheim. We made a whole weekend of it and actually got a hotel room that Saturday night. Cienna did have a great meet and we all got to enjoy each other in the hotel. The next morning we got up to support/coach Adi for her session before going back to the hotel so Kaylee could get dressed for hers later that afternoon before checkout. Kaylee had a solid meet as well and had fun with her teammates.

Daddy got his Meta Quest Headsets (one for work, and one for family play) that next week. We also prepared for a great birthday celebration. Cienna invited some friends to meet at the Belmont Shore Pool near the beach bike path. We all headed on a fun sunset bike ride to Ice Cream and Frozen Yogurt on the Boardwalk. Enjoyed sweet treats, and checking out the cool nearby shops before riding back along the path. They took advantage of photo ops and fun times to hang out together!

The next day we had our "Super Bowl" with the 49ers and the Bakx. It was a decent game even though the Niners lost, but the food was amazing. Lots of appetizers, and of course ribs! We played with the Meta Quest, Trampoline, and loved catching up!

The girls created many projects which included some intricate KiWi Co kits built by Kaylee and Cienna designed her Birthday thank you card templates. We also got time to hang out with the Marshall's and Vigliotti's for bike trip to ice cream at Handels. The girls also had fun getting some dollar store decorations for Valentines Day.

We were so happy and fortunate to be invited to Robert and Elissa's wedding. It was a beautiful day and we were all happy to share it with them. The next day we made and recorded a rap song for Poppa's 80th birthday. We all think it was amazing...maybe not so much, but Poppa loved it...maybe??? But no matter, we love Poppa.

We welcomed a visit from Auntie Bridget the next week. No matter our week schedule she only made us all better and enjoyed all the time we had with her. She hitched a ride with MiKayla on Monday. They got to enjoy dinner with Mark. Then Mommy and her Aunt had a blast at Knott's Berry Farm. Bridget got in using Grammy's annual pass that she bought last winter. Mommy loved spending the one on one time with her Aunt. We actually got to look around the Amusement Park and go on one of the best roller coasters there! 

Cienna continues to make very creative paintings as you will see in the Olympic background, we finally got Daddy a (or two) gym Dad T-Shirts.

We got to doggy sit Lula while her family was in Mammoth. That...actual Super Bowl Sunday we went to Knott's to ride Hang 10 since it was out of commission before going to the Bakx for game time. It was a good game, but better company.

Next up, Valentines Day. Girls had school off but Mommy and Daddy had to work. MiKayla was awesome and brought both Lucky and Ellie to hang out. It was fun for them to have 5 large dogs to play with throughout the day and MiKayla brought them to lunch at Panera to eat as they watched Encanto for the umpteenth time.

Mark had a "fixed" root canal from over 20 years ago because it may not have been done correctly, but is healing alright.

We could look at pictures of our kids all day long, but pictures definitely show a better story than we could write.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/RUQyLgGA1arwxive8

Cienna - 14 years Old!! ... Kaylee - 11 Years 7 Months!

Starting off the Christmas School vacation, the girls did some amazing surprise gift exchanges with friends. Loved that they all planned it out and were so thoughtful and appreciative of their friends. Kaylee's gift was money toward a phone case which it so happened that Mommy and Daddy had already purchased. She was happy to have gotten it that day! Thank you Reagan. All the girls and Mommy were then on vacation and Daddy was working through ending his 13 yr. long career with friends and co-workers at CraneMorley. We all celebrated with a family dinner at Tokyo Hibachi!

The girls have gotten into making fun videos with Cap Cut, and put their talents to use with plenty of videos during their sleepover with Clara and Francesca. The girls all enjoyed touching fire, walking around on the roof, of course trampoline time, they created a gymnastics holiday show since the gym did not get to do one this year, and they took the dogs for a walk in the rain!

We got some unfortunate news that Poppa was going to have to spend Christmas in the hospital due to an allergic reaction. Luckily he is a very intuitive and smart guy and was able to call for help since he was home alone. The Marty's were able to visit with him and keep him sane for the few days he had to stay until he was fine to go back home. Daddy would go to visit the following week to hang out for a bit and make sure all is good. He is doing great now and back to his Poppa self. He just needs to be careful what he eats and hopefully we can find out what the problem was that caused the reaction!

The days leading up to Christmas we had fun playing games together, making our Christmas card, doing stunts in the kitchen and finished up the last of our advent calendars. 

We stuck with our Christmas tradition morning where the girls come downstairs into our bed and we all cuddle and watch a movie, even the puppies. It was a little more crowded this year with the addition of Roaklee. Then we came out to open gifts and appreciate all that we have and can give. Then the Ferrario's took us in as family where we had more food, exchanged gifts, played pickle ball, and enjoyed the time together. Lastly we had a delicious dinner at the Snow's next door including a Peppermint cake for desert. We finished the day as we started, together watching a movie.

We spent much of the following days looking for new beds for the girls which was their big Christmas gift. We went to IKEA and thought we figured it out, only they were out of stock forever. Then Living Spaces, and back to IKEA. No luck and we were done looking, so we went to Mama's for date night and figured we take a different approach and look more online even if it would take a little longer and Kaylee wouldn't have it in time for her sleepover with Adi the following night. The girls along with Adi went to hangout at the park with the Marshall's after the sleepover. We also eventually found their full size bed frames, mattresses, and sheets during the week as we also prepared to head to Big Bear for New Years.

Luckily the Marshall's and Snow's helped take care of the puppies while we were away. We let them have most of the house to be safe and comfortable and they only got into a little mischief while we were gone for the weekend since the dogs apparently like coffee and can open pantry doors. The night before we left it was pouring rain in Long Beach and we seriously considered not braving the roads to Big Bear, but as it turned out the roads had no ice, and not even chains were required. No traffic either. There was however, plenty of snow on the ground for sledding and snow ball fights. It was great to get to spend New Year with the Sklenicka's again. We made a huge Prime rib, watched movies, took trips to the park for sledding and playtime. We also played bocce ball in the dark. Mommy, Daddy, and the girls all slept downstairs with the fire going. We left the next day after a relaxing morning and one last snowball fight. The trip down the mountain was thankfully just as easy.

An early birthday gift for Cienna from Kaylee had come in the mail. Her gymnastics bag was broken, so Kaylee wanted to get her a new one. While Daddy was at Poppa's the last week of Mommy's vacation and the girls first week back at school, the beds were delivered so we put them together. Not all the parts came at once, but there was enough at first to make Kaylee's, then Cienna's the next day. When Daddy got home we all designed floating shelves for their nightstands and built them together after getting the supplies we needed. We also finished fixing all the springs on the trampoline and put up the new net so they don't fall through!

The next weekend the girls had their first gymnastics competition of the season in Pasadena. Grammy wrote an inspiring note to all the gymnasts and a couple of the seniors read it out loud at practice the night before. The meet went great, they were proud of themselves and had fun!

Kaylee lost her very last baby tooth at school the following week, and we were able to meet up with the Natal's again at Downtown Disney for dinner. Cienna finally figured out a fun Birthday Party idea so we made the evite for a week after her Birthday since we'll be at their second competition in Anaheim her birthday weekend and we wanted to give a little heads up to her guests.

What a wonderful holiday break to spend together and with so many friends. We are truly grateful for all those that we have to care about and that care about us!

Plenty of photos to document this last month.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/J39j5iheSHQGemrv6

Cienna - 13 Years 11 Months ... Kaylee - 11 Years 6 Months!

On the road again... We excitedly headed up for much anticipated family time! Both puppies started in the cab of the truck, but both of them being over 50 lbs. It was a little much. They were way more comfortable being in the back by themselves. Headed to Grammy's first off. Had a great dinner and then big breakfast complete with unicorn marshmallow hot chocolate.  The girls then went shopping with Grammy and they got Mommy a hot sauce advent calendar. Afterward, Mommy headed for a beautiful hike with Courtney... meanwhile, Daddy and the girls were helping Grammy with some plumbing issues and finding the cleanout underneath her back deck. And then there was a small alert of Roaklee possibly getting into some rat poison in the side yard. All of it was accounted for and we continued on with our ever eventful holiday week. 

We headed to Poppa's that night in preparation for moving gravel, and fixing the game table in the morning. The Marty's also came over to help and play before Kaylee, Trevor, and Daddy went in the "heated" pool. The next morning we went back to Grammy's. Daddy went with Grammy and the girls to volunteer and help the Rainbow girls clean the lodge and Mommy got to spend a great lunch with Darcie.  After they came back from volunteering, the girls got to get a gymnastics practice/ fun time in at SRGC with their optional team. We had a very musically educational and fun evening before heading back to Poppa's for our first Thanksgiving.

We were able to make the most out of the amazing Cabana space as well as the rest of the property. Playing volleyball, playing games on the big screen, and enjoying each others company! We got to use the outdoor space to do up a delicious tri-tip, and Dana had all the appetizers and sides ready to go! We had Christmas morning in the cabana with the sun out. It was great to be joined by Auntie Sheryl and Uncle Jerry! We were all spoiled by the family, mostly by the time we got to spend with them. Poppa also got all the girls thoughtful matching bracelets with a knot that "ties us all together". We had leftovers and a movie night in the Cabana to finish off a great first Christmas for the year.

The next Thanksgiving was at Grammy's. We started first off with some food preparations for and early dinner and did some more jam sessions. Monica joined us in a very family fun day. The kids did their best on the ginger bread houses, and had a blast doing it. Then we all enjoyed the turkey from the McFarlands, and all the sides made from the rest. There was an impromptu soccer game at the nearby elementary school. Some talented kids.. and adults : ). I'm pretty sure it was a tie. We had fun with a sawdust pile, and then a snowball fight inside of Grammy's house !!!

Auntie Carrie and Anthony came over to play, and the cousins made an extremely creative fort creation as a sleepover in Grammy's living room in anticipation of Christmas present exchange the next morning. The girls appreciated all of their gifts, and more time with family. That afternoon we headed back toward home. 

We stopped by the gym to say goodbye to Darcie and thank her for all she does, and then were on our way to Harris Ranch. We didn't quite get a room there, but did find one a 1/4 mile away that was pretty nice, and the Baja Fresh Dinner was WAY cheaper and pretty darn good for what we all felt like having! The final trip home was easy and a fun family car ride.

Back at home we were ready to start some decorations... But not so fast. There were plenty of school activities to get ready for. The girls had their band and chorus winter concert the next week. Cienna had Jazz, advanced band, and senior, chorus, and some introduction speeches. She was as confident as always and it showed! It was Kaylee's first time and she played in band and chorus, she also was chose to do an introduction speech with her friend as well.

We then got to the decorations. The girls, as always, joined Daddy on the roof to put up the lights then help with making Roaklee's first Christmas stocking... not the best : ) It was an almost unanimous decision to get a blow up lawn decoration this year. The blowup  Santa with a snowboard seemed fitting for the family.

The Adams family got an group of long time friends dating back to Cienna's kindergarten for a festive party. It's been a while since we've all got to hand out together.

Mommy and Daddy then left the girls at home to fend for their selves just kidding. We have such great friends that we can rely on. Annie came to stay with them as Mommy and Daddy got to celebrate Uncle JB's 50th birthday in Corona. It was certainly eventful with a brewery tour and lots of music in the garage. Mommy even started a beginning drum lessons. It was a late night at the hotel with the Bakx, catching up on recent events.

The last week was theme day at school. The girls got to show school spirit with holiday socks, clothes, and other accessories. Each of the girls groups of friends made their own gift exchange between them. They both did a secret Santa during the last Friday at lunch time. It is really nice to know they both have a solid core group of friends.

Then there is the whole high school/college experience for Cienna. Just say'in there are so many options. We went to Millikan Site night and Cienna thinks that she found her pathway for high school (what??) next year. She is excited for Millikan Quest. We all know that she will be great in that program.

To finish off the month, it was party after party. Started with a Christmas secret Santa gift exchange at the gymnastics center for the team girls. They had so much fun hanging out together as just kids. Then Mommy had a coaches gymnastics party with a white elephant gift and gingerbread house making. We did our finishing touch of decorations with the train around the Christmas tree and are looking forward to more fun, and moving forward together as a family in all adventures to come!

Check out the photos:

Happy Holidays to come

Cienna - 13 Years 10 Months ... Kaylee - 11 Years 5 Months!

In the beginning of the previous month, Kaylee was left with a couple bruised knees from the ice skating fun, and Dad got to visit SpaceX with work. That weekend Dad had another fun bike ride in OC with buddies while the girls and Mom took the puppies to Wardlow, had the first of fun playtime with the Marshall girls, and went to the Fairbrook Manor Haunted House that evening. One of Cienna's friends was working and playing a spooky guy tormenting the people in line as we waited to go in. The next day the girls got their first taste of Boba with the Marshalls and Daddy, it wasn't too bad. The next day Kaylee had McKenna, a new friend from school, over to play and paint.

It was Red Ribbon Week at school and the last day Kaylee and the 6th grade got to wear their costumes. The 7th and 8th graders got that privilege taken from them from the principal because of a few bad kids. That night gymnastics practice was cut short and they did a little party with costumes, pizza, and treats for the team girls. Kaylee spent some time on building her Kiwi Co lantern and Cienna did some more canvas painting. Halloween Day we took Roaklee to get neutered in the morning. McKayla came over, we did some pumpkin carving, then after picking up Roaklee we headed to the Marshalls to hang out while the kids went trick or treating throughout the neighborhood. Plenty of fun and lots of candy sums up the evening.

The next day there was some very creative acting and video editing the following day from the girls, Lexie, and Nicki as Daddy prepared to head to New Jersey for a business trip. Mommy worked what she could from home while daddy was gone and Roaklee freshly in a cone. We had a great time bring out the dusty tools and knocking out some fun projects that weekend. We finally built and installed a shelf over Kaylee's clothes rod and used the rest of the board to make a shelf to in the corner where her desk is. Girls got to use the table saw and jig saw.

Kaylee lost a tooth during the following week and Mommy picked up the Natal's from the airport as they began their very Disney vacation. We brought McKayla and Daddy picked up Uncle B from the airport since he was coming for a convention in Anaheim, to enjoy a great dinner at Ballast Point in Downtown Disney with the Natals! 

Another busy weekend as we all went to a High School of Choice fair at one of the 13 that were represented that Cienna gets to choose from for next year. It felt like we were looking into colleges. This is too soon. Later that day Cienna went to another one of the high schools to do a dress rehearsal for the performance that her Vocal Ensemble was invited to perform in that evening. Meanwhile Kaylee went to the practice meet at the gym and competed as a level 8 in front of judges. After the meet we all made our way to watch Cienna and the others perform. She did awesome and really enjoyed being on stage. That Sunday we did some cleanup around the house. Finally used the grinder to cut through Mommy's old bumper to throw in the trash. I guess we're not going to use it as decoration in the garage. We also cleaned out gutters and finished installing Kaylee's corner shelf above her desk.

Most of us (Cienna was already at school) got to see the Natals one last time for a little bit before they headed to the airport. We look forward to the upcoming Thanksmas vacation with family and friends.

Check out the pictures that go with the story.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/fYKiJCn3zUhprBGS7