Family Photos

The weekend before Thanksgiving, we headed to Matanzas Creek Winery to take family photos with my Dad. Here are some of my favorites. Thanks, Dad!

 

 

 

 

Halloween 2013

 

 

 

 

Birthday Girl

Miss A. celebrated her 8th birthday on October 17th. She chose Korean food for dinner that evening and a Sift cupcake for dessert. The following night, Alanna had her first birthday slumber party! The girls had tons of fun tie-dyeing pillow cases, playing Just Dance on the Wii, painting nails, making their own tacos for dinner, and ice cream sundaes for dessert. Alanna had a great celebration!

 

 

 

 

 

Peter's Pumpkin Patch

On the 5th of October, the kids and I visited Peter's Pumpkin Patch in Petaluma with Sharon, Hannah, and Amelia. The kiddos loved running through the corn maze, picking out their own pumpkins, and climbing the hay pyramid.

 

 

 

 

 

Superstar Sharing

Ethan was the "Superstar of the Week," in his class at the end of September. Each day we was allowed to bring in one thing to share and talk about with his class(no toys allowed!). He brought in his Legoland Driver's License, an abalone shell from camping, pictures from our trip to NY, and at the end of the week, he brought in Alanna to share! The class loved meeting Ethan's big sister. It was very cute!

 

Meeting Drake

Auntie E was thrilled to finally meet adorable baby, Drake! Courtney and Aaron make beautiful babies. It was a pleasure visiting with the Rhodes Family last Sunday.

 

 

First Day of School - August 21, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kindergarten Picnic

On August 20th, Ethan, Justin, and I attended a Kindergarten Picnic at Ethan's new school! It was an opportunity for us to meet his new teacher, classmates, and visit his classroom. Lucky Ethan, one of his best buddies, Amelia was assigned to the same class!

Ethan's desk

Having lunch with Amelia

Mommy and her Kindergartner

 

Surprise Trip to LEGOLAND!

A few weeks ago, my friend Allison asked me if we'd like to visit LEGOLAND with her family in the beginning of August. The kids (and Justin!) had been itching to go for awhile and we heard it was geared toward little ones, so we said, "sure, let's do it!" We decided to keep it a surprise and didn't tell Alanna and Ethan until Sunday (August 4th), when we piled in the car at 7 o'clock in the morning. They were totally shocked and excited! I am glad to report that the long drive went well, even with a broken DVD player. We made it to the vacation rental in under 9 hours. Hooray for a spontaneous end of summer vacation!

We bought 2-day park hopper tickets to LEGOLAND, which included a visit to their water park. We spent two full days at the park, exploring miniland (awesome!), riding rides, playing at the water park, and building Legos. Ethan was quite the daredevil and even went on a thrilling roller coaster ride with me. The kids had so much fun!

Wednesday, was a beach day. Alanna wasn't feeling well in the morning, so she and I hung out at the condo while the others went down to Carlsbad. Justin rented a surfboard and Chris gave him a surfing lesson. In the afternoon, Alanna was feeling much better, so our family headed to Oceanside for more beach fun. The kids loved jumping in the waves, collecting shells, and making a sand pyramid.

It was time to head home on Thursday. The drive home was longer, due to L.A. traffic, but the kids were troopers. We have discovered that Ethan gets carsick watching movies while driving...bummer.

It would have been nice to spend more time exploring San Diego...we'll just have to go back!

Legoland - August '13

Camping Trip with the Cuzzies

In the beginning of July, we headed up to McArthur-Burney Falls State Park to camp with Jon, Laura, Abby, and Henry. The kids had such a great time playing with their cousins!