Saturday, December 28, 2013
Friday, September 27, 2013
Jog-a-thon
Jack the jogger ran 10 laps in 5 minutes! He had such a great time! He also raised over $300 for his school thanks to all our generous friends and family! Anyone still interested in donating, I don't turn in our donations until next week, so there's still time. These photos show his reaction to getting his participation certificate at the end of the race. Ribbon, cool. Certificate for a yogurt parfait at McDonalds, AWESOME! Doesn't get much cuter than that.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
First Day of Kindergarten
Today was Jack's first day of kindergarten. He loved it. His teacher, Mrs. Kubota, is wonderful. He already told us that he will miss her when he has to go to a new class one day. In his class this year, he has one friend from tae kwon do and another friend from preschool. He is also thrilled that the school's mascot is a lion, just like Harry Potter's school, Gryffindor. We all walked to school together as a family this morning to drop him off. Rob and I both held it together, but some parents had a pretty rough time at drop off--one especially burly fellow was furiously wiping away the tears as they flowed like a river. We returned at pick up and Jack was all smiles. We surprised him with a Happy Meal lunch (his favorite, NOT ours) and a trip to Target for a new backpack. It was the best day ever.
Tuesday, August 13, 2013
Guitar Hero
Lauren loves music. Today she was playing guitar in her room and she told me she was a rock star. Then she gave me her Barbies and told me to make them dance...she wanted groupies!!
Friday, August 9, 2013
Saturday, August 3, 2013
Italian Weekend
Friday night we traveled to San Pedro to join Andria and Roberto at his family's home for pizza night. Roberto's dad does masonry for a living and has an incredible pizza oven right in their backyard! The food was incredible and everything was homemade and handmade, from growing the tomatoes, making the dough and baking the pies. Perfect summer evening with great family and friends. Although I must say the highlight was watching my dad flip pizza dough in the air! 40 years later and he hasn't lost his touch!
We brought home a huge bag of garden tomatoes from Roberto's mom. I turned them into a delicious marinara sauce tonight. In order to show the sauce its well deserved respect I even made homemade pasta with Jack's help. It was fantastic! I have a feeling I'll be getting pasta tools for Christmas this year because we all want more handmade pasta!
Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Aliens
Jack and Lauren WANTED to sit together at breakfast today. On one hand they might just be really sensitive to the fact that I have a cold and they are trying to be sweet so I'll feel better. On the other hand they might be robotic children placed here by aliens who abducted my real kids. Probably aliens. 
Monday, July 29, 2013
Jack watching over Lauren
I snapped this photo Jack and Lauren as we were walking through the crowds at the balloon festival this weekend. Good to know that big brother is watching over Lauren.
Full of Hot Air
On Saturday we went to the Santa Paula Hot Air Balloon Festival. We tried a few years ago only to discover there were no hot air balloons. Apparently they lift off early in the morning and don't return until late afternoon. We were there midday. That was a LONG day. Wiser now, we went around 6:30. We got corn dogs and chili fries from the food trucks for dinner (and heart burn an hour later). We threw a blanket down and relaxed until dark. Finally the balloons were filled and they glowed in the night. They were really gorgeous. The kids loved it! Lauren cheered and danced. They were so sweet holding hands as we fought through the crowds. Jack took such good care of his baby sister, it made my heart burst with happiness. Despite Rob getting caught in the Kettlecorn line for 30 minutes I think we all had fun. He hates lines and crowds, but the kids were so thrilled when he brought it back that it made up for the frustration. Now the kids have seen the balloons and we don't need to go back for a while.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Water Paints in the Water Closet
What better place to contain the mess of water colors? The water closet! Ha! An entire room designed for wet messes. Brilliant! Wish I could take credit for this, but it was Jack's brain child. He's one smart cookie.
Get Cooking!
I am so relieved! The kitchen is finally reloaded and ready to go! I've washed every dish, glass and pan! Then organized my amazing, huge pantry and all the cupboards. It's hard to chose my favorite part. The pantry is so spacious and organized it definitely tops the list. I really like having the microwave above the range to open up more counter space. The Caesarstone counters are perfect. The new sink is enormous. I'm really happy with the newly painted cabinets. Best if all our contractor was fabulous! We feel like he gave us great ideas, high quality workmanship and a fair price. The subcontractors were all easy to work with and it was even finished in a timely manner. As challenging as a kitchen remodel can be, our was great. I am looking so forward to breaking it in now. 
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
Showers
Given the choice between a bath or a shower our little boy now prefers a shower-gulp! Losing teeth, starting kinder, taking showers-yikes! Next thing I know he'll be driving a car and going to prom-aaakkk!
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Tooth Fairy
The Tooth Fairy came last night! Jack has had a wiggle tooth for a few weeks now. Yesterday he said it felt funny, he grabbed it, and it fell out of his mouth! Of course, I have spent every day with him for the last four weeks, but it fell out while he was at Karen's yesterday...sigh!
He is so excited! He has been showing everyone he sees--yelling the news to our neighbors across the street and even as part of his introduction to the plumber this morning.
He carefully tucked the tooth in his little pillow last night and was up before 6:00 this morning to see if the tooth fairy came. You can see by this photo, he was pleased :-)
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Summer Vacation
We started our first week of summer break the right way. Swim lessons with our friend Amy, movie in the park Friday night, and Lauren's first trip to the movie theater Sunday. The kids have been staying up late and sleeping in every morning. We had glorious weather all week! Of course, the kitchen remodel is in full swing, so that is crazy, but exciting too. Thankfully it should be finished in about two more weeks.
Feeling better
Nikki came up to help with the kids while Rob shuttled me back and forth from the hospital. Kids had LOTS of fun! Slumber parties for two nights, driveway hockey, Legoes and more! Meanwhile I had a date with the DaVinci robot. So far, everything they claimed about this new technology seems true. I am now 24 hours post-op and feeling pretty good. I have 4 punctures on my abdomen, some swelling and tenderness. This morning I was able to walk a few houses down to the pool to see the kids do their final swim lesson of the season. They were awesome! Jack does full swimming, face down, kicking and big arms. And Lauren can go underwater like a champion and swim around the entire pool with her vest on. Amazing progress this year! They both got gold medals. 
Nikki sent this photo to me of the kids with their funny faces. Jack said funny faces make Mommy feel better :-). He's right!
Thank you!
Beautiful get well flowers from Nick, Paula and Grandma Dotte. I feel better already! Thanks so much. You guys are the best!
Monday, June 24, 2013
Tuesday, June 11, 2013
Lauren's Little Baby
Lauren is already a mommy in training. This morning she put Cookie Monster down for a nap in her bed. Then she came out and shushed me to quiet down so I wouldn't wake him. Finally, she brought him out, put him in her old highchair and gave him lunch. Note the Cheerios, both on his tray and (later on) one in his mouth. She is pretty cute!
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