herold babies

snow!

2012-01-13T14:12:00.000-08:00

I'm not very good at keeping this updated. The whole Christmas season went by with out one single post. Christmas as always, was busy, and fun. This is a short one, but I have to share this video, makes me smile.

my first phone dump

2011-12-02T21:48:00.001-08:00

Our fall day at the park

escape

2011-11-14T07:53:00.000-08:00

Yesterday for the first time in 6 1/2 years, I had a whole day to myself. It was my best friend of 20 years(whoa!) birthday. She rented a bus and we all headed to Temecula to go wine tasting. I had never done that before, it was a lot of fun, a BEAUTIFUL day, and a great mini escape.

Halloween

2011-11-05T21:37:00.000-07:00

a quicky today

On Halloween this year we, again went to Trunk or Treat. We went with friends this time, and even ran into cousins and got to slide and bouncy house with Avery!

2011-10-13T08:54:00.000-07:00

Well Unless I want to pay for more storage, I guess I need to limit my picture posting. We went to Bates Nut Farm a few times this year, riding ponies, petting farm animals, going through a maze, and going on hay rides. It is fall, and today is the first cold blustery fall day. I had to trade in my flip flops for boots. We even have a tree in our yard turning yellow! We have gardens full of lettuce that are liking the cool weather, and the kids get to ware leggings, cute boots, and comfy jackets to school. And we have survived the first end of the year holiday (is Halloween a holiday?). At the end of the night on Halloween after the kids were in bed we did actually note that we had survived Halloween. Every one had a fun night, it was just a bit crazy with 3 kids going 3 ways all night. It is fall!

summer's still in full swing

2011-09-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

Summer's days are numbered. It is getting cooler outside, everyone is back in school, and the calender says we have only 5 days left. We are still squeezing every last bit out. Last weekend we ran around Moon Light Beach, then yesterday we we had fish tacos under dry grass umbrellas, and stayed till the sun set. Sure we were hugging the out door heaters a bit by the end, but it wasn't too cold.

Pics from our favorite thing to do on the Moon Light Beach playground, or any play ground for that matter

of to a good start

2011-09-06T10:59:00.000-07:00

We got to go see Rhiannon's class room, meet her teacher, and learn the goals of this first trimester, on Wednesday. Rhiannon's clip just happened to be moved up to "Star Student" on that day. Today she was asked if she did anything exciting over the 3 day weekend, she said "no... I did something exciting today! I went to school!" Her teacher is a new teacher and her enthusiasm matches Rhiannon's. My favorite teachers were always the newer ones. We are so far very happy with her new school, and her teacher. Some how she has no home work till October! The only thing she is working on at home are her sight words. 250 words they want the kids to know "quick as a snap". No sweat, she's got this.

and speaking of chickens...

2011-09-01T13:01:00.000-07:00

what the what? First chihuahuas, then chickens. It takes all kinds I guess..

http://littlehenrescue.co.uk/Hensandtheirjumpers.aspx

(link, just in case you want to learn how to knit sweaters for your chicken)

good morning

2011-09-01T07:14:00.000-07:00

how fresh are your eggs? I have decided, chickens are the best pets, like ever. And I have had a lot of pets. They are so easy, quiet (as long as you don't have a rooster), the kids can still pet and hold them, they are much more entertaining to watch then most TV, they make the best back yard decor, and oh yeah, eggs!

first grader

2011-08-25T09:23:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was back to school for Rhiannon. She had a great day, and came home happy. She missed going to school, and she is happy to be back in. And a bonus, at her 6 year check up after school, she did not need any shots! Yay! Kaitlyn was not as lucky, but I found the secret. She got two shots to her bum, then I quickly picked her up, stuck a sucker in her mouth, and all better. Shots were completely forgotten. Must remember that one. It is also time to finally move her out of her baby car seat, she is officially to big now. A combination of I don't want my baby to grow up, and it's so much easier to let her fall asleep in the car and carry the seat in so she STAYS sleeping, has lead me to not yet move her out of her baby seat. Safety says it is time. No matter what I do, she keeps getting bigger! Last night was also Mikey's meet the teacher night. Those programs both make me excited about what my kids get to do at school all day, and completely drain me. I am no social butterfly. It doesn't help that I am quite use to and comfortable with spending every day with my kids, not at work or some where that would force me in to daily social situations. Rhiannon and I are polar opposites in that way, and I am glad. Rhiannon IS miss social. This is a good thing.

pool party!

2011-08-07T00:16:00.000-07:00

This year Rhiannon wanted a pool party. Not having a pool, we opted to have her party where we spent our whole summer anyway, at the YMCA pool. It was nice, we had the pool all to our self and our own life guard too! Mom's and Dads could totally kick back and relax, though I think most of them jumped in the heated pool too. We had the pool for 2 hours, and those were the fastest 2 hours ever! Some how we swam, ate ice cream cone cup cakes, grilled hot dogs, had snow cones, and opened presents.

My biggest little one is now 6, and off to first grade in less than a week! Time for packed school lunches and real back packs. And real home work, maybe? Last year she had home work, but it was not really work. For all the challenges of raising Rhiannon, getting her to do her home work has not been one of them. She can not wait for school to start.

2011-08-06T14:56:00.000-07:00

Rhiannon's first summer camp experience was a hit. Misson Hills put on a week long afternoon camp, and she got to spend the week with her 3 best buddies. I was impressed with this camp. Our church's youth department is the best I know of. Mikey can't wait till next year when he will be able to go too. He missed the age deadline my 2 months.

They sang and danced, played water sports, and worked on a cheerleader routine. On Friday she got to stand on stage with all eyes on her (and her group) and demand all to Cheer, and they did! As I teenager I would never for a moment want anything to do with cheerleading, but that was right up Rhiannon's ally. "Everyone watch me perform! Now Cheer for me!!" She was trying hard not to smile, but she was diggin it.

After the performances, which were very impressive for just having a week to prepair, and a slide show, they had a huge slip and slide set up out side. Lots of fun.

I love that they have been friends for half their little life's. The original Misson Hills 3 year old pre-school room. I hope they stay friends for a long time.

2011-07-21T11:49:00.000-07:00

The Wild Animal Park is the hottest place you could possibly be in San Diego county,

most days.

Unless you wait till late afternoon, meet up with some friends, check out the baby gorilla for

about 90 seconds, then head for the water!

And then get some ice cream and sit eating it and playing tag till the voice comes over the intercom that the park is now closing and can you please get out

sun flowers and water play

2011-07-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

This thing is getting huge

We will for sure do sun flowers again.

It has been hot, which means lots of water play. Between swimming lessons 3 times a week, we have a water table, slip and slide, and garden hose and sprinkler fun. Yay for back yards! This house has no AC, but plenty of windows to get a good breeze going through. That and just not being in hot hot Escondido, summer has not been to bad.

I love this wrap around little baby dress. This one is a little big on her, she has another that fits better. They were made by great grandma for her children and grand children. The pattern that made these is now in my living room! Now hopefully I can complete this project before summer is over and it is too cold to use it.

the 4th

2011-07-08T09:31:00.000-07:00

On the 4th of July this year we joined friends for some hot dogs and hamburgers, and a way noisy little dance party

Mikey was totally out numbered! But he didn't mind. I said something to him about him being the only boy and he said, "no. What about Beff?" Beth is Rhiannon's friends little sister, the same age as Mikey. Mikey knows she is a girl, but she is a tough one. She tries with all her might to lift Mikey off the ground, he is a bit heavier than her, but she is sure she can do it. She also runs faster than any 3 year old that I've seen. And she is not afraid to pin Mikey if he starts it, all smiles and giggling. That's Mikey doing the giggling. Michael loves to play with these girls as much as Rhiannon does.
Then we checked out the fire works in our new city. It was less crowded, and the sky was not blocked by trees like the Escondido fire works, so that was nice. In Escondido though there is the Marine band leading up to it, and patriotic music blaring during the fire works so the bangs and booms are not so startling. That part I liked better in Escondido. The company made up for it though. We hiked it to the park in the wagon, and the kids got to run around with out stepping on people, lots of free room. The kids had fun.

Happy Birthday USA! Glad I was lucky enough to be born here

our fair

2011-07-04T09:27:00.000-07:00

The Del Mar Fair (cause who wants to say 'The San Diego County Fair, at the Del Mar Fair Grounds'?) no people, it's the Del Mar Fair. Any way, we did the fair this year in spurts. We had a fair long pass so we showed up at opening, and left as the crowds got crazy many times. Just before the fair opened I found a big red wagon with two seats for $20 at a thrift store. Perfect! And we will never again go to the fair with out a wagon. So much easier to keep track of a 3 year old and a 5 year old in an insane crowd when you are pulling them along in a wagon. Baby was strapped to me. And yes, I do believe I lost some weight, and put on some muscle in the last month. Who needs a gym? Life is my gym.

We did lots of rides

Played some gamesRaced Cars

Saw lots and lots of animals

And Mikey wanted to pet every one of them. We saw pigs with names like Snookie, Optimus Prime, and even Mikey. Kaitlyn breaking the "don't touch the cows" rule. Although we were not really the ones touching. Friendly baby cow that wanted to taste my leg. Did you know cows have tongs like a cat? Goat milkingAnd piggy racing.
Mikey's whale wall. He loved this wall so much he even posed for a picture with it. This kid is a hard one to get a picture of, but he hammed it up for his whale wall. We did some shopping, including making cute little name necklaced for Rhiannon and Kaitlyn. I offered Mikey, but he was not into it. He went for the giant blow up T Rex instead. And Kaitlyn learned how to say "Pillow Pet". We saw some cool things. We walked through the air conditioned galleries when it got hot, no taking pictures aloud in there. Yellow cars! Michael's favorite thing.Noisy remote control cars flying over dirt mounds. Cars!

And we ate some yummy food, and lots of lemonade.
We stayed away from fried. Our taste is more for the sweet. :) The strawberry tower and the corn were our favorites.

The fair is an awesome kick of to summer. The rest of the summer will be lots of time in the pool, some time at the beach, maybe a water slide park? or two?, and some warm summer nights spent some where fun our side. Till next year fair..

hello sun shine!

2011-06-27T23:23:00.000-07:00

From funny little sprouts in little sun flower seed helmets
reaching up in the sun lite window

to scraggly little slug eaten shoot

to rising 4 feet, 6 feet, 10 feet... still rising...

to a 12 footer with a bud!

then.............

Hello sun shine!

another school year done

2011-06-25T01:42:00.000-07:00

Rhiannon's kindergarten days are over. Wah. Next year she will be in first grade, all day, 5 days a week, away from us. The separate life away from Mom begins. "What did you do at school today?" "nothing." Maybe I'll volunteer and sit in the back of the class all day, every day, to watch her. Ok not really. She is now going to be one of the "big kids".

Bye bye Central school

Bye bye Mrs Sotelo

Mikey is edging closer to that too. He is done with year one of preschool. This year he only went 2 days a week, next year it will be 3. So he will be gone a little more too. I have yet to experience the "the kids are at school, I'm alone!" thing, I always have a baby with me. What will it be like after 8 years (by then) of always having a baby on my hip, or pulling on my leg, when Kaitlyn goes off and leaves me to go to school? Ah! I don't want to think about it.

The above picture was just about how Mikey looked the whole performance. Funny kid. As his teacher says, "he wears his feelings on his sleeve." He had no nap that day, and needed one. He had on his "sad smile", but he sang every word. The cutest thing ever was when they sang "there's a fountain flowing mm and mm" (deep and wide). I don't know, 3 year olds saying mm is just cute. Miss Kristy had to open her card before Mikey would go home.

This summer will be spent at the fair, and in the pool. My 3 little fishies.

opening day

2011-06-12T10:20:00.000-07:00

It was an empty fair on opening day. No lines for anything! It started to get crowded around 6:30 when every one got out of work, and that"s when we took off.

I have a pass, and the kids are still free so we will be going to the fair lots this year, as always.

our back yard right now

2011-06-07T23:22:00.000-07:00

So much to sit back and watch in our back yard

We have our own petting zoo. Our Kitty Mister has gone missing, I think there is a strong possibility someone grabbed him. He is extra fluffy, with extra monkey toes, and extra friendly no matter who you are. If he went rubbing up on some person passing buy, they could easily have taken him. He has no collar, but is micro chipped, so we will see if we get a call some day. That is also a nicer thought then the alternative.

His buddy still hangs out in our back yard though. Our neighbor kitty that spends all day, every day watching the show that is our back yard. Kids, animals, shady trees, and unruly grass, he loves our back yard. See him up there? Looking at... yes our goats. We are growing fruits and veggies, hens for eggs, why not just dive in? I may have lost my mind, but goats make milk, we can have goats here. Hey why not.

They are totally like dogs, only they eat our trees. They greet you when you get home by waging their tails and climbing in your lap. They are super sweet, even just standing there while Kaitlyn tells me "eye! eye!" poke!

fuzz butt

THIS came from a tiny little seed we put in the ground. That is so crazy. And is growing so fast. Hopefully we will get a flower soon. Little chickens in the shadeThat is my hand, HUGE leafs. Look, we have grass! Not just weeds!ArtichokeBlack berriesStrawberriesNeighbor kitty hanging with the goatsMint. So much mint! Want some mint?Zucchini, mmmTomatoesorangesThis little guy is trying really hard to be a watermelon vine. Hopefully we will have some warmer nights soon so our patch will grow. figs! I love the big leaves on this treelemonsBelow is the tiny green beginning of a Mandarin orangeNeighbor kitty resting in the shadepomegranates! This is my favorite tree in our yardA few more radishes were left to grow when we harvested them a few weeks ago. Dude, we harvested. From our back yard. KumquatsCharlot the goat And the white butt below belongs to David the goat. The goats were names by Rhiannon. Hi goatee!Carrots take a long long time to grow. more lemons grape vine reaching for the sun mm avocado

We love our back yard.

Kaitlyn walks!

2011-06-02T18:47:00.000-07:00

Finally got it on video, and of course as soon as the camera came out she was done, but she's a walker!

Legoland, a mega photo bomb

2011-05-22T21:40:00.000-07:00

We scored $12 tickets to LegoLand, yay! I have been wanting to take the kids, but the cost is a bit crazy. $12 we can do. They even let us upgrade our $12 tics for park hoppers for $10, so we got LegoLand and aquarium x2 for $22 each. We spent two Saturdays in a row, fun stuff. We manages to talk Matt into taking a Saturday off, well most of the day anyway. Mikey needed Dad to help him brave Bob the Builder. He was just made of Lego's, the costumes my kids would go no where near. We searched out all the "big kid rides" while we had Dad to ride with. Mikey the brave, I have been on one of those slides with him, they are no joke, but I am kind of a wimp. What happened to my days of riding Goliath roller coasters and Zipper ferriswheels? I do not know. I have grown wimpy. We saw the Star Wars set ups, and even ran into Colin! Small world I guess. We ate lunch with Colin and Aunt Colleen, and they showed us to the Star Wars area. Then to more rides. Matt took Kaitlyn home so he could get a little work done, the dude never takes a day off. We stayed until they kicked us out, and I got a turn to ride some rides. Note to self, do not give the kids yogurt smoothies on a hot day, then get on a roller coaster. Poor Mikey. After that we stuck to the easy rides and play areas. Mikey says "all aboard!"Aaand day two. The second time was just me and the kids. We did rides baby could go on, checked out more play areas, and the aquarium. They built their cars and raced them down the track. And more rides. Rhiannon said "are you scared? are you scared of the dark cave?" She perches on the toes of just one foot as she trys to climb higher. I don't think it will be long before I am pulling her off of the low play tables at home. She loves to climb. Kickin' back, eating some lunch

Then Mikey and Rhiannon dig for dinno bones. While Kate would not unplaster her self from my legs. The bags under her eyes probably give you a clue why. Nap time. While Kaitlyn slept wrapped to Mom, we headed to the aquarium. Some very cool stuff in there. When she woke up we were in a room surrounded in on all sides with swimming fish. That must have been very surreal. She sleepily opened her eyes, then poped her head up and her eyes fully open, pointing and grunting at the fish. One more ride for the road. Check out thoses curls!Then do you think we went home after that? Nope, we stoped by the beach for some BBQ, birthday cake, and very nice sun set. And we got to see Katie. Check out that horse, I mean dog. He has got to be the most melow dog ever. Mikey ate 4 peices of watermelon, that I saw. He loves his watermellon.

And that is the end of my novel in pictures. We will for sure be back to LegoLand, but maybe when the kids are a little taller, so they can ride more while I watch. :)

Easter

2011-05-02T14:41:00.000-07:00

Too many pictures! But finally, here is our Easter. We decorated way to many eggs. I'm hoping next year I will not need to buy our eggs to dye.

Dying them is good and all, but it is more fun to paint, color, and sticker them.And make them into dinosaurs.Our first Easter egg hunt was almost a bust, but we made it, sorta. We arrived after all the kids had already filled there baskets, but some eggs were saved and thrown into the grass real quick so my kiddos didn't feel shafted. Thanks Annie!We were happy to find out there was more to it than the hunt, so we didn't miss it allEaster Bunny puppets, Easter egg cookie decorating, lots of snacks to eat, and the Easter Bunny.....?..

This was all put together by a Mom of 3, 3 boys younger than our kids(respectively), and closer together in age. And I could not even manage to just show up on time. She is super Mom for sure. There was even a photographer!

Eggapalooza was egg hunt # two, and we made sure to get there plenty early. We stayed for 3 hours, me with 3 kids, one that does not walk. Did I bring a stroller? Or even strap her to me and wear her? No, I guess I didn't think that far ahead :P We had fun though riding, jumping, sliding, holding fuzzy cute animals, and got a free lunch! It was more a carnival then a egg hunt, but there was that too. That was a crazy egg hunt. Rhiannon was in the 5 year old to 5th grade group. A stampede of kids charging towards the eggs!Jump!Ponies that make me want to move to the country. Wee!Kaitlyn was mad that I didn't let her go in and grab the chickens. But she loved her snow cone! It was a hot day, and she dug in to that nice cold snow cone. I mean two fisted grabbing and shoving hand fulls in her mouth. I didn't even try to keep it off her dress, she was enjoying it to much to be bothered with Mom helping her eat more neatly. Then Easter morning the kids woke up to filled baskets and a back yard full of hidden eggs. (hunt#3) Then it was off to church, where Rhiannon got to see her best buddies. Three of the 4 girls that started Misson Hills 3 year old class on the first day the school opened, and buddies ever sense. Then to Granty Chris's house for dinner, cousins, grantys and.. gruncles?? heh. We are so lucky to have Daddy's family so close to us. This is why we don't up and move to the country. We have family all around us here, and that's better than ponies.Egg hunt #4And fun with cousins. They always have so much fun together. Kaitlyn loves doggies. We were missing 3, can't wait till we can get this pic with all the kids in it. We had too much fun as we always do on holidays, stretching them out to make them last for weeks. And we learned quick, don't leave your basket where the baby can reach it, she WILL steal your Peeps. This happened twice.

today

2011-04-27T23:40:00.001-07:00

Today we had no where to go, which is rare and nice. We hung out at home and relaxed. Kaitlyn today went from just climbing on the desk seat and sitting, to attempting to climb up on the desk it's self. This girl scares me. I redirected her to painting a picture, and she actually did really well. It was a hot day, so after nap time we searched for containers and some toys for water play time outside.And the chickens joined us. We have been hand feeding them oat meal and now they will not leave us alone. You go out side and they come running and stand on your feet waiting for there oats. Silly birds. A good use for all those plastic Easter eggs. The camera got smudgy so the last pics got all fuzzed.Kaitlyn's new love is dinosaurs. We have tons of those Shleich toys from farm animals, horses, cats, dogs, bunnies, wild animals, sea life, but she just wants the dinosaurs. "Raaaar" she says. Easter pics to come

o n e

2011-04-18T14:44:00.000-07:00

Tell me, how did this happen?

Boy do babies grow up fast. She is still little, but she is so big! She has the personality in her face of a little girl, not a tiny baby. She is taking steps on her own. Her new fav game is "here you go", where you hand a toy back and forth saying "here you go" "thank you". She has yet to say thank you, but she does a really good here you go. :) If the kids are watching TV she climbs her self up into the little rocking chair, sits, watches, rocks. She also climbs herself up into big sisters desk and sits pointing and talking about whatever drawing Rhiannon left there. She's one.

Oh my gosh I'm in a picture! But I had to tell Matt, "now take one without my head cut off". sigh..

Some how my babies always end up like this at their first birthday parties. Asleep in Grandpa's arms.

This girl loves stuffed toys. She totally guilted me into buying her a $15 miny pillow pet a couple weeks ago. She just got so sad when we walked away. She bounces out of her skin when she sees a live animal, and I think the stuffed ones are the next best thing to her.

Rhiannon finally got to have the party at her house she always asks for. We had a Christmas and a Thanksgiving at our home when Mikey was brand new, but that was forever ago to her.

She kept that hat on till it fell off. She loves to where hats, head bands, sun glasses.. She gets a huge grin, and the head gear stays on her head! She feels all pretty and keeps it on. We'll see if that one lasts!

Not afraid to get messy

Cheese grin

And of course, they needed the pinata. And again, it was not too look like a person or animal. They would not let me get the cute lady bug one. Even the sun's smiley face was a bit iffy for Rhiannon.

Kaitlyn watched hanging on to her non candy pinata loot. Notice the chickens. It may or may not have been a good idea to let them run around while small children swung a big stick wildly through the air, often making contact with the ground. I was worried for a moment when the first of the candy hit the ground and they came running to check it out, but they at least were smart enough to not get close. I don't know if smart is the right word to describe a chicken, but it all turned out ok anyway.

And our girl is one. If I think to hard about it, it is horribly sad that her little baby stage is over so quickly. But on the other hand, I watched her fall asleep on my lap tonight looking at her so grown up face thinking about how she will soon be a 3 year old like Mikey, a 5 year old like Rhiannon. I get to watch another little person become who she will be, and that is so cool.

chicas

2011-04-06T08:54:00.000-07:00

We are growing our "edible garden" in our rural, yet not home that came complete with chicken coop/run. So what did we do? We added some cute little hens that will hopefully some day soon give us more eggs than know what to do with. We have been to the feed store to see the mass amount of chicks they have on "chick days" before, but this year we were going to pick our chicks. They grew from fuzzy little puff balls to tinny little hens soo fast! And Kaitlyn's first word after "this" was "Chicken". She lights up when she sees them. Above is Bitty, our littlest chick

Baby Cakes

And Bat Man. Can you guess who named Bat Man? And yes, Bat Man is a girl.

Pics taken once a week.

Bitty turned out to be not the type of chick they said she was. She came in all curly, which is still cute.

A comb!

Our chickys have chicken butts!

And of course sense Bitty was not the chick they said she was, we added one that was. This is Bunny, who will lay blue eggs! Hopefully soon.

And finally they are big enough to go outside. This was one of the first times they went out in the little pen we don't use any more. They have run of the back yard all day, and go in the covered coop at night.

They are great for our organic garden loaded with slugs. They bop around eating bugs and pulling weeds. They are funny to watch going about their chicken business, and the kids love them.

Who would have thought, pet chickens. They are cute though.

Happy Birthday to Daddy

2011-04-06T08:49:00.000-07:00

(posted a day late)

strawberries

2011-03-31T12:27:00.000-07:00

We have strawberries! They are teeny tiny little things, but they are so much tastier than the ones from the store. Hopefully they will get bigger as our plants mature.

1???!

2011-03-29T15:07:00.000-07:00

Miss Kate will soon be one. How can that be? Was that night in the hospital really almost a year ago? I can't believe it, but her birthday is weeks away. This is the first birthday party that we have a house to have it in! The first 1st birthday party not in a park! Rhiannon (who wants to be the cake boss when she grows up, right after she becomes a doctor and a fashion designer) wants fancy cup cakes for her little sister, so this was our first trial. Not too bad. We did learn everything needs to stay cold. Warm fondant is sticky and floppy and rips, and warm frosting melts and looses it's carefully piped look. Just ignore the santa and his slay part :)

car love

2011-03-25T15:14:00.000-07:00

''Mommm I wanna ride in my carrr!" "I'm riding in my car! Life is awesome!"

"look Mom I can stand up in here!"

"aahhh, why did you take me out? I wanna ride in my carrrr!"

and repeat. again.. and again.. and again..

Yes I am still here

2011-03-15T22:13:00.000-07:00

Long time no blogging. So what have we been up to? This..

This is what a yard looks after a year of nobody living in a house. So so many weeds.Remember this storm? We so would have been up there, but that weekend was moving weekend, so instead we drove past it, or under it, over and over moving our home. Yay new house!We unpacked some, but mostly we gardened. It is that time of year to get things in the ground. When we moved in there was already an orange tree, a guava tree, 2 lemon trees, 2 fig trees, a cherry tree, a pomegranate tree, an avocado tree, and 2 who knows fruit trees that have yet to grow back enough leafs to identify. So, we are going with it and continuing our edible garden. We have added 8 blackberry bushes, 20 strawberry bushes, 2 kumquat trees, a mandarin orange tree, and we put a bunch of sunflower seeds in the ground, we will see if any sprout. Can you see how high this trellis goes? That will be a mass amount of berries one day. Kaitlyn the tree inspector, and pro stander. She moters around the back yard pushing her dolly stroller. She has walked holding on to/with only one hand, and she has stood up from siting with no support, but not quite taking her first real unassisted steps yet. See the big old pom tree behind Matt?Mikey's rainbow. If you see him, you should ask him to sing the rainbow song. He's got it down through indigo and violet. Mikey is all about rainbows, slugs, worms, lady bugs, flowers, if it is outside, that's what he is interested in. Ah the freedom of side walk chalking in your jammies..The yard came with a lot of weeds, but it did come with some pretty stuff too.I need to find a before shot of this strawberry row. Man that was a lot of work. Blackberries growing already!and the sun set looks very nice in our back yard

working on it

2011-01-03T08:37:00.001-08:00

(Christmas post below, don't know why they posted out of order. )

I'm working on that Christmas post, but here are some pics of our littlest cutie for now :) These pictures were taken before the crawling started. She wouldn't sit in one place that long now. The days of putting baby down with a toy and finding her in the same spot when I turn around are coming to an end!

a month of Christmas

2010-12-26T15:54:00.000-08:00

Our December was packed, with going to Jungle Bells to see the lightsand some animalsand hot chocolate, mmand Santa. We also went to see the lights at Sea WorldAnd Christmas parties with friendsAnd learning to crawl!We watched a very long parade. So long we walked home for Mikey to use the potty, then Rhiannon and I walked back to catch the end. Mikey said he was done, and it was nap time for Kaitlyn, so they opted to stay home with Dad and miss the end. The kids made a ginger bread house with NanaAnd the school performances! The 3 year old class was very cute to watch, even if only half of them were singing, and only half the time. I was sure Mikey would just stand there, and I was wrong. He didn't just stand there, he sat down. heh. Godda love 3 year old Christmas performances. Sense that day he has actually started singing quite regularly. He now loves to sing deck the halls, so what if it is now 2 weeks after Christmas. He had lots of support there to see him though. Mom, Dad, 2 sisters, Grandma, Nana, Papa, Uncle Donny, and Grandpa. We all got the tour of his classroom. Mikey and his teachersRhiannon was awesome in her performance, smiling for her fans and singing so I could hear her over the rest from the back of the auditorium. She loves the stage :)Rhiannon and her teacherChristmas Eve we spent at Grandmas house, then driving around looking at lighted houses on our way home. She was in aweRhiannon's thing this year was Calico Critters. Kind of cool, I remember collecting those when I was a kid, and now she is all into them. The classics trump flashing lights and battery operated. Christmas morning at our house, afternoon at Nana and Papas, And in between we were at Granty (is that how you spell that?) Chris' house where we got to see all but 3 of the cousins. It is fun to watch them all together. Kaitlyn's huge dress, that was Rhiannon's on her first Christmas. Made by Nana, who by the way also made Rhiannon's dress this year, and Mikey's vest, Dads vest, and Moms skirt. We were all matchy matchy. Busy Nana.

December was packed, and lots of fun. And now we are recovering. whew

Thanksgiving

2010-12-08T21:54:00.000-08:00

Turkeys, family, food, tracing and painting hands into turkey families on paper, fun fun.

Yes Rhiannon's turkey is wearing a diaper and a head band.

Rhiannon and Mikey helped make fruit salad and potatoes. They both are very into helping cook anything and everything.

Our hand turkey family

And out first family picture. Yes this was the best pic of Mikey.... Sigh.. Trying to get everyone smiling, and looking forward, in the Christmas pic should be fun..

We watched some foot ball, and some parade

Fun day. There are never many words in my post, but baby calls and now I have to go, and soon it will be time to pick up kids from school. Oh well, at least I'm getting this up before Christmas :)

Thanksgiving, Halloween... so I'm a little behind

2010-11-21T22:27:00.000-08:00

Maybe for Christmas I'll have some Thanksgiving pictures up. :)

Last month, or a few weeks ago, that sounds better, we went to Bates Nut Farm. One of our favorite things to do, that we look forward to all year.

Pony rides

Farm animals

And pumpkins!

Baby Kate's first time of many.

This year we also took the kids to Julian for the first time. Apple cider, apple pie, and well, apples.

They were some good apples too. We found a you pick place that had dwarf trees so the kids could reach. I didn't know that dwarf trees meant tiny tiny apples, but they were really good. Next year we are filling 2 bags. :)

The week before Halloween we went to the YMCA carnival, then the night before Halloween a church carnival in Escondido. Then on Halloween we did trunk or treat at our church. whew. We did not wast any Halloween fun this year.

Fun! And tomorrow we eat turky! I realy need to get more on top of this blog thing. Ah well

birthday boy

2010-09-28T08:25:00.000-07:00

As requested we had a very Tomas Birthday party for Michael. All he wanted for his party was "a cake with Tomas and tracks on it", and all he wanted for his birthday was train tracks. He got both, he was a happy boy. Uncle Donny hung the pinataIt was hot hot, like 101, but it was also windy, so that helped, and we were mostly in the shade. The next day was more like 114 in Escondido, so a windy 101 day suddenly seemed not so bad.Avery is so dang cute.. Some how Rhiannon is now the big kid that knocked all the candy out of the pinata. These kids grow at supper speed.

Ah, ice on a hot day... So our little man is 3 now, and starting preschool on Tuesday. Which means, yes we finally reached the title of potty trained! yay! Just weeks before turning 3 he decided he was ready to be a big boy. They really do potty train when they are ready to. A year of trying and not getting anywhere, then when he was ready it happened in 1 week. I can't wait to see how he does in school. And I can't believe he's 3! It's sad how fast those babies grow. Slow down!!

The Gardens

2010-09-13T08:44:00.000-07:00

I am so bad at keeping up with this blog thing. So this was weeks ago, but Uncle Kevin was in town and we hit up Quail Gardens. I have only been there once for a wedding, never knew this place for the kids to play was here. We will for sure be going back. Lots of fun.

For fear of this never getting posted, I am going to leave it at that and post. Maybe some day I'll get too putting up picks of Balboa with Uncle Kevin..... That was fun too.

little fishies

2010-08-26T22:53:00.000-07:00

Rhiannon has been taking swimming lessons over the summer, and over her last week of summer break she had a lesson every week day. She has graduated up to the "eel" class. (Make that the ''Ray" class. Wow, up 2 levels in one summer..)

She can jump in and swim back to the side of the pool...

She is working on her "ice cream scoops"

And floating on her back

She also picks up rings from the bottom of the shallow end. She swims under water easily, but she's still working on keeping her head up while swimming. All of my kids love the pool. Michael is the only kid in his parent and me class that does not cry when he dunks under water, he gets to move up to no more Mommy or Daddy in the pool with him next week. Kaitlyn surprisingly loves the pool too. I was sure she would scream at the cool water, but she is happy going in up to her arm pits. She just splashes, laughs, and giggles at big sis in the water. My water babies.

2010-08-04T23:18:00.000-07:00

Saturday Rhiannon had her Build a Bear birthday party.

It was very well organized, they were lead through the choosing, stuffing, "fluffing", dressing, and naming by an employee that sounded like she could have been a preschool teacher. She made it fun for them. (like it wouldn't have been fun... She made it more fun)My wide eyed fist sucker. She does love those fingers.Rhiannon's flower head band she picked out for her "last day of being 4" day.Michael fluffing "Charger"So much to choose from....Ta dah!Rhiannon's kitty on skatesAnd more presents, "oooooh!"

After building the bears/puppies/kitties we went to picture people and got a pic of all the kids and there new little buddies. They all had lots of fun. Rhiannon says next year she wants her party at the park, so she can have a pinata. She's thinking ahead...

Half a decade

2010-07-30T22:18:00.000-07:00

I asked Rhiannon what she wanted to do on her birthday and of all things she said she wanted to go to the mall. I opted to take them on a day Grandpa could go with, I don't at all desire a day at the mall with just me and 3 kids. So Rhiannon dubbed it her last day of being four, and we celebrated it. Grandpa Rambo is the one and only person who braves going out with me and the three EVERY week, and it is usually a bit crazy, but without that we would not get to do all this fun stuff, I couldn't, wouldn't do it my myself right now.

So we played in the play area...

We picked out candy in the candy store.....

and picked out flowery head bands and butterfly hair clips.

Then to our favorite spot to eat, soup plantation.

mmm..

After lunch a trip to toysRus where Rhiannon and Michael checked out toys with Grandpa while Mom snuck around and hid bags in the back of the van.

I'm glad I took pictures the night before because I woke up to Michael peaking in to my room asking "can we open presents?" Instead of answering him over the sleeping baby I quietly started getting out of bed, which I guess he took as "go for it!" cause he ran back to the living room and I herd him say "she said yes!", then I herd mad ripping sounds. I ran out, grabbed my camera, and took pictures of jammied, messy haired kids ripping into presents. It was like christmas. Then we sang happy birthday and ate cake way to early in the morning for that much sugar. Good thing they mostly like cake for the novelty of it, and don't do much more than pick at it.

Then to Shakys for some games, pizza, and some Nana, Papa, and uncle Donnie time.

Kaitlin watched the light on this game go round and round while flailing her arms and legs and gasping. It was just amazing how that light kept coming back around again and again.

With the help of Dad, Papa, and uncle Donnie they ended up with a whole lot of tickets..

Rhiannon and uncle Donnie were having a "lets see who can close their eyes right when a picture is taken" contest.

And both of them!

After watching Rhiannon get gifts all day Mikey was thrilled to get one of his own.

Princesses are all ways a winner when you're a 5 year old girl.

This play doh set is by far her favorite, and most messy, thing she got for her birthday. And I can't even count how many times I have said "put your play doh away, it will dry out!"

5 years old..... and starting kindergarten in just weeks. Man this goes by fast.

mmm summer

2010-07-22T23:40:00.000-07:00

Just sayin...

grandma's house

2010-06-29T00:08:00.000-07:00

My Mom moved into her new home. The kids love all the space. It's nice, on a hill with a view, and quiet, well till we get there anyway.

The kids love playing out side, and running out the front, around the house, and back in through the back door. Round and round, reminds me of playing at my grandparents house.

They now have room to put plants in the ground, not just in pots, and they are waisting no time starting vegetable and flower gardens.

The view. I love the palm trees. In my dream home back yard there are palm trees with a hammock over sand, right next to the back yard bonn fire and heated pool. :)

Every time we go there Mike hunts for snails to chuck over the wall and down the hill... He is obsessed with snails and spiders right now.

What could be better than ice cream on the front porch of grandma's house?

Lots of windows , so they have a great view and a great breeze flowing through on hot days.

Kaitlyn was very comfy, she also loves siting out side watching the trees.

We look forward to making lots of memories there.

too much good

2010-06-22T01:03:00.000-07:00

This weekend we had lots of fun in the sun. On Saturday we went to see Katie's new place in Pacific Beach and spent the afternoon at the beach.

Mikey finally got to play with his tonka at the beach, and he could not get enough of it.

And it's always nice to have extra arms to love on baby.

Kaitlyn enjoyed the view while the kids played in the sand and ran around in the waves.

Then on Sunday we spent the morning at the fair with Grandpa.

Rides and animals, and yummy fair food.

Then it was time to celebrate cousin Addie's 2nd Birthday.

Lots of kids to play with, and fun things to do.

Addy assisted Dad in filling up the pool.

We also finally got to meet Addie's new baby sister Kacy, who looks so so much like her big sister!

And it's always nice to see Great Grandpa.

A fun filled weekend, and Mommy is wiped out.

almost summer

2010-05-27T16:47:00.000-07:00

It has been so nice out, we all went out side to play .

Rhiannon flies around on her trike now.

Mikey would not give up blowing out this flower, I'll huff and I'll puff...

Frisbee!

The only way to prove I was there is a self portrait :)

Kaitlyn watched the world go by.

And Mikey pushed around his dump truck

Hooray for summer! well almost..

more Greats

2010-05-18T00:51:00.000-07:00

On Mothers day weekend Great Grandma and Great Aunt Pat were in town. Rhiannon and I have not seen them in 4 years, and Mikey and Kaitlyn had never met them at all, so it was very nice to see them.

A new person that would endlessly push them on the swings. They would stay on those things forever, as long as you keep pushing.

"This little piggy....."

Grandpa + swing at the beach = squealing, giggling 4 year old

Great!

2010-05-07T11:11:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Kaitlyn had her first visit to Great grandma's (Mimi)For Mikey and Rhiannon Mimi's means gram crackers and Matryoshka dolls. (had to look that one up) I remember playing with dolls like this at my Grandma's house when I was a kid, but I don't think I ever knew what they were called.

Then on Sunday Kaitlyn had her first visit to Great grandpa's house.

And of course Mikey and Rhiannon needed to pick and eat mass amounts of oranges.Mikey needed that one waaay up there...So of course Papa climbed up to get it for him. Great grandpa's roses are all blooming, so Nana and Rhiannon filled up a vase to bring inside.

While Kaitlyn relaxed inside. It was a very nice day for the kids to play in the back yard, we've got to get one of those.

Kaitlyn is here!

2010-04-21T13:31:00.000-07:00

Kaitlyn was born Monday April 19 at 4:59 am, 7 lbs, 8 oz, and 19 inches long. The hospital stay took forever but real labor only lasted about 2 hours, going from 3cm at 3 am, to born at 4:59 after a whopping 4 minutes of pushing. It was very cool to see her come out and get to hold her right away, I didn't get that with the other two. She is perfect and gets lots of love from big brother and sister.

Katie and Kaitlyn at about 5:30 am after a sleepless night.

Grandma, big brother, and big sister meet Baby for the first time.

They love their little sis.

Kisses..

Grandpa meets Kaitlyn.

And Amy came to see us too.

She is 2 days old today, and it really does feel like she's been here forever. I know, they always say that about new babies, but it's true. She fits in perfectly, and we feel like a complete family of 5 now. 5... wow..

fun in the snow

2010-02-07T23:04:00.000-08:00

After 5 days of rain there was lots of snow on Palomar Mt. to go play in.

They both had lots of fun.

And I was happy to go back home to our snow free home when we were done, yay San Diego! :)

2010-01-09T21:49:00.000-08:00

This is last month's ultra sound where the RN said baby looks "girlish". A few days ago I went in for my "real" ultra sound and the doc confirmed it is a girl and showed me her "girl parts". Before any ultra sound I felt like this was a girl, for one thing because she moves around and kicks me allot just like Rhiannon did, Michael was much less active. We got a surprise with Mikey, but I think we are safe saying this one's a girl! She measured right on for her gestational age, so the due date stays April 19. 3 months to go....

Knott's

2009-11-25T23:10:00.000-08:00

Last month we took the kids to Knott's Berry Farm. They had lots of fun riding the rides in Camp Snoopy. Even Michael was tall enough to ride almost all of the rides. There were a few that had a max height aloud to ride, but no minimum.

This was Michael's favorite, he called it the train, until he saw the real train. Still they had to do this one twice. It's fun watching them do things I remember doing when I was a kid.

I love this picture, Rhiannon riding the "big boy ride" heh.

Rhiannon and Dad paned for gold. She was very proud of the few tinny flakes they found.

Exploring the ghost town.

And we got to ride the train, Michael's favorite part.It was a little hot, but that just makes playing in the water more fun.

Halloween

2009-11-05T21:08:00.000-08:00

Fun at bates Nut Farm.

Pony rides!

The Big Mac's.

They climbed around in the pumpkins, but they were not interested in the "normal" pumpkins, they liked the lumpy bumpy, different color and the little ones.

This year we again did Trunk or Treat at Misson Hills Church. It was fun that a lot of people recognized the kids by name from Sunday school and Rhiannon's preschool. Michael told almost every one that gave him candy "roooar, I'm a dragon".

Rhiannon the kitty cat.

They had lots of fun. Mom got tired walking them around, but they did not at all. A fun night..

.. that ended in WAY too much candy.

Michaels birthday, yes I am very behind

2009-11-05T20:24:00.000-08:00

Michael had a fun birthday full of " choo choo's". It was in September, so I'm a little behind. That week was really hot, in the upper 90's, but the day of his party it cooled off. He had lots of fun opening presents and singing along with the birthday song.

And trying, and trying to break the pinata. We did not have a bat, or even a very big stick, and it was a super pinata or something. Mikey tried....

Uncle Donny tried...

Papa tried....

Rhiannon tried...

And tried....

Colin tried...

And Rhiannon again...

The killing blow was Uncle Donny's supper kick.

Ta da!

Mmmm candy. Michael had a lot of fun. 2 years old! How does this happen?

4 years old!

2009-08-13T14:51:00.000-07:00

My camera went dead so I didn't get a lot of pictures, but I'm hopping Grandpa got some. Rhiannon for the first time invited friends, and it was fun watching her interact. We were at Chuck E Cheese's, but Rhiannon didn't want to go play, she was having fun bringing her friends cups, party favors, and what ever else. She had a big smile making sure every one else was happy. Another year older, she says she is almost a grown up now.

Fun in the back yard

Michael's slick dance moves.

Jump!

The 4 year old tude. 4 going on 14, yesh

promoted

2009-07-09T22:17:00.001-07:00

Rhiannon has been "promoted" to pre kindergarten. It was not a graduation, it was promotion day. Heh. It was cute, they preformed, showed off what they learned this year, and had a pizza party. Rhiannon made her teacher a card, she wrote the message herself, 'Thank you for being my first teacher, Love Rhiannon Herold'. I told her the letters to write, all but her own name, but she wrote it all. She couldn't to that at the beginning of the year.

Rhiannon's class, and the back of Rhiannon's head, with director Miss Lupe and teacher Miss Janet.

The Fair!

2009-07-06T21:49:00.001-07:00

Lots of rides, food, animals, lots of fun. Mike is a very laied back kid and most of the rides were a bit much for him, but he liked the boat ride and the carousel. Rhiannon went on anything she was tall enough to ride. She even did the big slide by herself.

We even got Daddy to go this year.

Uncle Donny helped Mike catch a fish.

Tea cups with Nana

Roller coaster with Dad

Michael really liked the animals. He is really very gentle with our kitten at home, and he pet every animal he could reach at the fair.

Rhiannon and a baby chick.

Cow!

More cow

Rhiannon and Grandpa

Had to get the kettle corn

Swings!

Mikes favorite ride

Fun stuff

I love how Mike had his arm hanging over the side of the boat. Just cruisin'

Yay May!

2009-05-12T14:04:00.000-07:00

May is a good month, back to the beach and the pool.

They like to play back to back for some reason. They kept ending up like that.

All we need are some shovels, buckets, and sand, and we are happy.

Nice and sunny

We stayed till it got chilly.

Goofy boy

Rhiannon started her first swimming lessons with no Mommy in the pool. The YMCA just opened their new pool, and she can easily reach the bottom, yay.

I asked her what part of swimming she liked the best, she said "the swimming part" heh. She swims very well with a floaty, still working on the floating with out one part. Rhiannon sinks. She has no fear of the water though.

And more beach...

Something is so fun about sitting in a hole

As we were filling up the hole, Mike climbed in.

yay for May!

bugs, slugs, and water play

2009-04-15T21:49:00.000-07:00

I am very slow. These pictures are actually from March, I'm just now getting to posting them. Ah well, better late then never I guess.

Rhiannon has a thing for bugs lately. They have been learning about bugs at school, and now she likes to hold them and talk about how cute they are. She actually made a discovery, did you know slugs breath out of the side of there body? She asked me why there is a hole opening and closing on his side. She now knows a slugs nose is on it's side. Well I though it was very scientific of her any way.

She named him Slimy.

We also had some hot days so we got to play with the water table. We are still waiting for the swimming pool to warm up, Mom's a wimp when It comes to cold swimming pool water.

And Michael is becoming a pro with a fork! It's so much better when he can feed himself, according to him. Sense he first started eating solids he has screamed for more between every bite. I can never move fast enough for the poor starving child. He is much happier feeding him self.

Cheesy boy

The just about daily walk down to the mail boxes with Dad. If they are out side, they are happy.

Sea Life

2009-03-29T16:47:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday we went to Lego Land's Sea Life Aquarium. They had a walk way and slide over aquariums,Lego figures in and out of the water, everything was made for kids including floor level holes for kids to look into.

Lots of cool shaped aquariums that bubbled out of the wall, one you walk through, and a room where all 4 walls are an aquarium you are in the middle of,

and a Lego sand castle to help build.

Rhiannon and Michael are in a fish tank! It was lots of fun for the kids, and I liked seeing the fish, sharks, sea horses, rays ect ect.

2009-03-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

We did this weeks ago, and I didn't even take most of the pictures, but I still wanted to share. We took a walk around Shelter Island with Katie. Very pretty, and they had a play ground, always a good thing.

We left gray and rainy in Vista, to mostly blue skies in Shelter Island.

We love swings.

"mmmm fingers"

Fun stuff.

zoo

2009-02-02T13:12:00.000-08:00

Last Friday we went to the San Diego Zoo with Nana, Papa, Uncle Donny, and Uncle Kevin. It was our last visit with Uncle Kevin before he went off to boot camp.

We go to the Wild Animal park allot, but this was the first time in a while that we've been to the Zoo.

"Shhh... no talking near the Pandas"

Those are some strange looking monkeys.

It was a little rainy, but the only time it was really raining was when we were eating lunch under an over hang. The animals were much more active in the cool weather, so it turned out to be a nice day to go.

"look Ma, no hands" On the way up the escalator to the aviary.

Checkin out the birds in one of the big aviaries.

This was just cool. He was posing just for me. "Kay, now stand by the sign and smile for the camera"

The Zoo has so many monkeys and apes...

We got very close to a family of tigers. They were big babies.

It was a fun day at the Zoo.

whale watching

2009-01-28T13:16:00.000-08:00

A couple of Saturdays ago Rhiannon and I went whale watching with Grandpa. We did see a Gray Whale, but of course I didn't get a picture of it. We also saw pelicans, dolphins, and lots of California Sea Lions. The best part for Rhiannon was going in and out of the harbor. That and the Cheetos she got in the ships galley.

At first I thought this guy was fending off the attacking pelicans, but no. I don't know what he was attempting to do.

Rhiannon has her priorities.

what a place to live

2009-01-26T13:46:00.000-08:00

It has been a little cloudy in San Diego, but it makes for some nice sun sets.

winter wonder land

2008-12-24T08:52:00.001-08:00

On Friday we headed up to Palomar Mountain so the kids could see their first snow.

We made snow men..

went down a slide on our rubber door mat...

and had lots of fun.

It was bright and sunny, and there was no wind. The kids didn't complain about the cold till the end when all of our pants were wet from melting snow. If we make it a habit to go play in the snow we really need to get some snow pants.

Then on Tuesday (yesterday) Rhiannon and I went ice skating. Her for the first time, me for the first time in 12 years. She did really well for her first time, and for her age. They have little walkers for the little kids, and once I let her go on her own using one, she didn't fall down once.

Basket Ball

2008-11-30T09:35:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago Rhiannon and Dad got to try basket ball. 3 is a little young to really play the game, but running the drills was fun for Rhiannon.

There were a lot of kids and a coach that encouraged them to yell often. A far cry from ballet, which we are taking a break from.

Running, jumping, throwing a ball...

Dad got a work out too. He was actually tired after this class.

Just call her air Rhiannon.

Next is soccer. This class is a new sport every 2 weeks. Fun stuff.

Welcome to the world baby

2008-11-21T20:51:00.000-08:00

Today we got to meet Abigale Elizabeth for the first time. She was born on November 1st. Another new friend to play with! Matt and I went to school with Abigale's parents, so we have known them for a long time.

"what? we didn't do it"

We also got to see Aiden who is 3 on December 9th. As soon as we got there they were off and playing.

They were so funny to watch. Life long pals.

Yeah, not shy.

Michael, Abigale, Rhiannon, and Aiden

"Good bye!"

Happy Birthday Avery

2008-11-18T14:42:00.000-08:00

Saturday we got to go to Avery's birthday party. There were lots of little ones for Rhiannon and Michael to play with.

Rhiannon always looks forward to seeing Avery and Isaac. When ever we see Avery, Rhiannon says "she's so cute, I just love her". It's really funny. Rhiannon really wants a little sister.

He does all his own stunts. Isaac was loving the slide. Mike liked the slide too, but he can't get himself up there on his own yet. It's amazing what a few months can do at this age.

Two big one year olds.

Gymnastics

2008-11-17T15:34:00.000-08:00

Rhiannon's favorite thing to do. We started in the Mommy and Me class when she was 18 months old, and she has not grown board of it yet. It actually is a confidence booster for her, because when she says "I can't do it" about anything, like climbing into the car, I say "you do it in gymnastics", and she tries. Now I always tell her "use your gymnastics muscles", and she'll try anything.

Rhiannon's "forward role"

She can't quite climb the rope, but she can hold on while you swing her.

She can now get her feet up on her own.

Balance beam. Everything we pass while walking becomes a balance beam.

Not a great picture, but her feet are off the ground. She holds herself up on the bar.

Doing "bear walks" on the parallel bars. She climbs up on this one by herself too.

Rhiannon the gymnastics star.

Halloween

2008-11-03T16:36:00.000-08:00

We got all dressed up and ready to go to a carnival that started at 3 pm.

The carnival had a jumpy and games for Rhiannon. She won herself a cup cake, and Mike a ball.

Michael is a climber. He even scaled a big rock on his own.

Then we had dinner at Mission Hills' cafe before going "trunk'or'treating".

Glow stick! I didn't know how going from car to car in a parking lot for candy would go, but Rhiannon actually had fun. Every one had there trunk and area decorated, and most cars also had a carnival game set up for the kids to play. She even did a gold fish walk 3 times. She did not win the gold fish, which is probably a good thing.

Rhiannon got the duck with the 'x'. She kept saying "did I win the the race?"

Ring toss.

Mike was mesmerized my the crowed, the costumes, and his glow stick. It was getting near bed time and he was sleepy, but still good. We finished and headed home by 7:45.

Rhiannon and her loot. I asked her if she had a fun Halloween and she said "yeah, Halloween is not scary." She had been worried about that.

Bates Nut Farm

2008-10-23T15:56:00.000-07:00

Again this year we hit up the pumpkin patch. To Mike they all look like balls to play with, so he had a blast.

We walked all over checking out the "big macs"

Daddy's rule is you have to be able to pick up a pumpkin to get it, so here is Michael picking up his pumpkin.

We also saw all of the animals, and fed some of them. Every one else was also feeding the animals, so most of them wouldn't really take the food, but the lama did.

Farmer Mike in his farmer pants, checking out the pig.

This emu spent the whole time we were watching it eating invisible food in the air. Maybe it was trying to convince some one to throw it some food. Matt tried, but emus are not good catchers.

Nana, Michael, Rhiannon and Daddy looking at the animals. We also went with Papa, Grandma, and Grandpa and Uncle Kevin too.

There's Papa and Grandma.

Mikey really wanted to eat the hay. He kept telling me "ih goo" (it's good)

Waiting to ride the ponies.

Rhiannon with Daddy and Michael with Papa. Every one had a good ride. As soon as Mike was put on the pony he was rocking and kicking like "lets go". When the ride was done he cried and was reaching for the pony wanting more. Papa had a hard time walking away, he really wanted to pay for another ride and stand in that line again to put him back on.

Uncle Kevin and Rhiannon found a good spot on a big rock to check out Bates Nut Farm from above.

And then we all watched Grandma ride of into the sun set.

Another fun day.

Happy Birthday Michael

2008-10-07T16:09:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday Michael!

Thank you every one that came to Mike's party. It was a fun day. Michael didn't know what in the world was going on that day, and he wasn't to sure about the cup cake, but he is enjoying his new toys.

The park was the best place to have his birthday, because we ended up inviting a lot of people, and it ended up a nice day to be at the park anyway.

Colin and Rhiannon have been buddies sense Rhiannon was born.

We had to make sure to get a pinata that did not look like a person or an animal. Rhiannon has real problems watching kids bash Dora with a bat. I don't think she would have any part in that.

He can't eat the candy yet, but he had fun picking it up.

Michael took his first step before his first birthday with hours to spare. Just before bed time he took a step from a chair to Daddy. I remember with Rhiannon the year between one and two was the funnest year. They can walk and talk some, allot for Rhiannon, and they start to get more of a personality. They still think every thing you do is wonderful, and they are still all cuddly, and giggly. It's a year full of firsts, which is fun. All that and no attitude yet. They also have no fear yet, which can be scary but... I am looking forward to a fun year.

Sea World

2008-09-26T15:45:00.001-07:00

Rhiannon loves Sea World. When she was still very little she would tell people we were going to go see the orcas. Not Shamu, the orcas. I didn't want to tell a one year old those huge animals she loved watching so much were called killer whales, so they have always been orcas to her.

Uncle Kevin has been waiting till Rhiannon got old enough to climb on these ropes. Now people won't look at him so funny when he's climbing and flipping around with all the little kids. That's the fun thing about having kids, you get to play again.

All 5 of Sea Worlds orcas. I thought that was cool to see.

And they have a Michael sized area to play in too. So much fun.

Sea World is just another thing I have fun memories of as a kid, and now I get to take my kids there.

Last Tuesday I had my first back to school night as a parent. The preschoolers did a few song and dances, then Rhiannon got to show us her room and all the things they do at school. It was cute, and now I feel old.