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!

The Flying Bat

Jena's kindergarten class decided to call themselves the "Flying Bats." Each child gets a chance to take home their class mascot. Jena has been so excited and after months of waiting, she finally was able to bring the little guy home. She wanted to do everything with it. Plus we had to take pictures and write a little story/poem from the bat's perspective of the time he had at our house. Here was our adventure...

Dear Kindergarteners,

Today I decided to try something new,

I’d write my journal entry with a rhyme or two.

Jena took me home at the end of the day,

It’s been really exciting because she really likes to play.

We went to the park. I liked the slides and swings,

They’re almost as magnificent as having your own wings.

We played with her siblings and some other friends from school,

Exploring we did go, until it got a little cool.

We went to her home, bundled up and watched a movie,

Then her dad turned some music on and we got a little groovy.

Dinner was delectable, then to the bath the kids did go,

After my shower at Delaney’s, I decided to say no.

They were bathed and dressed. Good nights were said,

But instead of going to sleep we stayed up talking in her bed.

The next day was busy with all the family plans,

We drove around a lot, but luckily she has a van.

After a plethora of activities, we had a little rest

We had some snacks and chocolate. Yes, the chocolate was the best.

Then we drew some pictures of animals, plants and such

Jena’s been happy to have me here and says she’ll miss me so much.

Because soon it will be dark and another day will be done

And our time will be up, but we sure have had some fun.

I love visiting my friends and meeting new ones too.

Who will I stay with next… maybe it will be YOU!!!

Thanks Jena for a glorious time!

Love,

The Flying Bat

Spoiled in Paradise...too!

Now I know you are probably thinking that we lucked out on our vacation and our kids were left behind, but our three little children enjoyed their time in Paradise too.

They were completely spoiled... they played at parks...

We love this picture of Cody!

Went to the beach...

Ate cookies and played with a doggie at Aunt Julie's house...

Went shopping or dressing up...

went to the zoo...

played and ate with cousins...

Fed ducks, slept over at Parker's (I mean Bart and Heather's house)... and a million things and pictures more. Sue said Jena was a little sad the first few days and mentioned that she missed us, but she bawled the last day because she wouldn't be seeing Parker ever day like she had this week :) Amazingly the week went very smoothly and the kids loved their special time with their Grandparents! They are very VERY lucky kids!!! and so are we!!!

WE LOVE YOU, ROD AND SUE!!!

Spoiled In Paradise

Ryan's employer met a huge milestone last year and decided to take the whole company to Hawaii for their kick off meeting and awards ceremony. Rod and Sue graciously said they would take the kids, so Ryan and I could spend our first vacation without them... and it was absolutely wonderful! Especially since it was also our eighth year anniversary.

We stayed at the Grand Wailea on Maui and were beyond pampered. The Grand Wailea is one of the most amazing hotels we have ever stayed in. Seriously, google it, but luckily the company paid for our stay because it definitely wouldn't be in our budget.

We spent our time laying on the beach, reading books, eating, shopping... I guess that is what I did because Ryan still had to work a few days that we were there. We did go scuba diving together and saw these amazing turtles hanging out on the coral. They didn't even seem to mind that we were a few feet away from them. We also did a cliff dive which was very crazy since we were down about sixty feet and we couldn't even see the bottom. Another day we took a canoe ride and saw a manta ray after jumping in the water with our snorkel gear. We even got in some whale watching as we traveled to our snorkel and scuba locations. We love the water!

The company had a Hawaiian Luau and a great dinner and rewards ceremony. I'm so proud of Ryan and all he does for our family!

We had a few non working days at the end of our trip and headed out on the road to Hana and to the pools of Oheo. It was truly beautiful, but the curvy roads almost got the better of me. On the way there we stopped at many waterfalls and went on a few hikes. The hike up to this waterfall had an amazing bamboo forest. Maui is absolutely beautiful, but next time I think I should take a boat or helicopter to enjoy certain areas :)

We had the most amazing time in Maui! Thank you so much, Rod and Sue!!!

Happy Anniversary Baby!

And the Celebrating continues...

The day after Christmas we packed everyone in the car and set off to Grandma and Grandpa's house to celebrate with the family. It was a constant party with all the cousins together. We went bowling, on a hike, watched movies, went shopping, played games and stayed up way too late every night. We had such a great time!

And now we're here and tomorrow we start real life all over again. For the last two weeks we have been everywhere, doing all sorts of things and we can hardly believe that Christmas is over. Ryan jokingly said that it all ended with the Grinch coming to our house because one night it was decked out with all the Christmas trimmings and the next day everything was gone.

With all the adventures of 2010 finished, we can't wait to see what happens in 2011. Happy New Year!

This was one of the cutest things... Olivia insisted that Taylor help her out with every shot and together they waited to see how many pins would still be remaining. We sure love our cousins and grandparents!