Love the Swing!

Sometimes when he was a baby I would let him fall sleep in the swing and just rock and rock... Apparently as a bigger boy it still can have the same affect!

Off To The Zoo!

We figured we needed to get out and do something just for the kids. We haven't been to the Santa Barbara Zoo since Cody was born and Ryan figured it would be the perfect place to go. We told them we had a surprise, but it would take a little time to get there. At one point Jena said she thought we were going to the beach, but changed her mind once she saw the "Zoo" sign. That little smartie!

This is such a great little zoo. The kids love being able to walk around and only jump into the stroller when they need a little rest. Jena liked seeing the snow leopard, wild cat and the lions (yes, she is my daughter!) Taylor liked feeding the giraffe and watching the elephant grab food out of the container high above his head and then eat it. She thought it was really funny. Cody liked running around and eating a churro. He also liked making animal noises when he saw certain animals... like roar and bock.

But as exciting as the animals are... everyone needs a little break at the kids play ground.

They climbed...

and slid down the hill... Jena surfed/snowboarded down...

and played in the rope web!

What a perfect break from our regular life and a GREAT way to spend the day! We love the ZOO!!!

CHOCOLATE MILK!!!

Usually I make this little guy drink out of a sippy, but since there were a few leftover boxes from Taylor's party I figured why not give the boy what he wants :) And he couldn't be happier with chocolate milk all over his head!

We're Going on a Bear Hunt!

Taylor just turned four years old and we decided to celebrate it with a "Going On A Bear Hunt" Party. We kept it small with only two other families, but we still managed to have nine kids between the three families. It was our favorite party so far and it was so much smoother with all the extra parents around.

We started by making bear necklaces. We had foam bears with each kids name on them and then they were able to add colorful beads to the strings. After that, Ryan very energetically read the book "Going On A Bear Hunt." Our kids love this book so much. Cody was literally bouncing to the rhythm. After that we went on a bear hunt of our own. We went through tall wavy grass... green crepe paper taped across a door opening. A deep cold river... a blue tarp folded to look like it had waves.

Thick oozy mud... a wet sandbox.

A big dark forest... a little detour through the bushes and trees in our yard. A swirly whirly snow storm... walking through bubbles from the bubble maker. A narrow gloomy cave... a black tablecloth draped over a door opening. And then...

It's a bear!!! After they each found their bear, everyone was able to dress up like a bear. I made face masks out of stiff felt for everyone, colorful tutus for the girls and fleece scarves for the boys. Then we had food, cupcakes and ice cream while the kids ran around in the backyard. I found a game online called "Mr. Bear Are You Sleeping?" One person is the bear and they pretend to be sleeping. Then everyone says "Mr. Bear are you sleeping" and then takes a step or two closer to the bear. They keep saying it until they are close and then when the bear wants he/she growls and chases everyone until he tags the next person to be the next bear. The kids really liked that one. The party ended with a few rounds of Bear Bingo with gummy bears as the place markers.

We had such a great time and can't believe our little girl is getting so big!
Happy Birthday Tay! We love you!