Disneyland - November 2010

These two kids were AMAZING on our trip down to visit my family for Thanksgiving! Grampy fly up to Northern Cal and drove down south with the kids and I. The trip down was easy sicne we were able to break the drive up between the two of us.

The week was spent with family and friends. We were able to catch up with some of the kids buddies from our old street and Calvary. Kaydes was in heaven when her and her best bud Audrey reunited. It was a priceless sight as I watched them embrace for a good 5 minutes just giggling and smiling from ear to ear. I hope this is a friendship we can continue for years to come.

Thanksgiving was so enjoyable this year. Being with my parents and enjoying my mama;s cooking was so nice. We really missed Rick, as he traveled to SOuth Padre Island to get some Gaels wins, only to come home 1-1. Having said that, it was a good trip as some of their goals were accomplished but he was tired and missed his babies. Just as we missed him!

We ended our trip with a night's stay at the Grand Californian and a FULL day at Disneyland. It was the best day at Disney, not crowded at all - so much fun!

We drove home on Monday - I was solo in the drivers seat - and my kiddos couldnt have been better. They were perfect siblings. Didnt complain once and napped and enjoyed the 6 hours together. I could do that drive every weekend if I was guaranteed that behavior. We all know that wouldnt happen but they were THAT good.

Happy Holidays to all...

I hope you all had the opportunity to reflect on the many blessing in your lives. We sure did and I will carry over my greatfulness throughout the year, as I continue to be amazed at how much I have to be thankful for!

"I'm Thankful" Feast

To kick off the week long Holiday break for Thanksgiving, Kaydens class hosted a party on the Friday prior to the week of Turkey day. A full feast was enjoyed by the class, especially the pumpkin pie with LOTs of whipped cream!

The teacher went around and had each kid say what they were thankful for and Kayde said " I am most thankful for my family". Love her! And we are so thankful for her!!

Valle Verde - 50th day of school Celebration

Kaydens Kindergarten class celebrated the 50th day of school with a 50's themed party - kids dressed int heir best poodle skirt and rolled up blue jeans with white t-shirts a slicked back hair. They boogied on down to 50's tunes, including hula hooping. And finished off the day's celebration with rootbeer floats.

I was so happy to be able to see my girls smile throughout this fun day!

Halloween 2010

Shooting Stars Soccer - End of Season Pizza Party!

Valle Verde Halloween Parade

Here comes Pippi LongStocking a hope and a hay and a hope shah-nah!

Kaydes rocked her Pippi costume this year and had the opportunity (pre-Halloween) to model, I mean march in the school parade. The Kindergartners wore their costumes and paraded around their playground area for all the parents and family members, and then continued through each classroom. All the older kids admired how they too once loved getting all cutesy in costume and showing it off to anyone who would look.

Just look at that face!

Halloween Celebration at Valley Vista Tennis Club

Valley Vista Tennis Club (Grammies work and Mommy's new workout place) has a wonderful Child Care facility. JRob frequents "Club Kid" as it is known and has made a handful of friends there as well. He loves it to say the least!

For Halloween they hosted a Trick or Treat/Costume party.

Buss LIghtyear attended with his cousin Jojo the Pirate. They enjoyed each others company and grabbed a few sugary treats while they were at it.

Scarecrow Day at Northcreek Preschool

Scary Scarecrow?...Not so much! Adorably CUTE??? Most definitely!!

JRob's Basketball Class - Fall 2010

JRob hasnt done much in the way of organized sports - of course, as a family we can get a mean game of soccer going on or one on one basketball, but JRob is quite a trooper to say the least, as he has watched his sister participate in soccer and various other activities.

For a child with a natural love for all sports, you are wondering why the heck dont I sign the kid up! Well....for the most part, no one offers classes/teams for 3 yr olds. Most classes and such start at age 4 and if they are classes for anything younger, they usually require parent participation- something JRob would not be too keen on.

We were excited to find a class throught the city of Walnut Creek recreation that would allow him to take a 4-5 yr old class. He has loved every Tuesday afternoon, "going to basketball camp" as he calls it. Because of Daddys busy schedule, he designated Tuesdays as his day to be with JRob . We typically would meet at Walnut Creek BART station for an exchange of the hooper and he would take him to his class. They would typically grab lunch or a treat ont he way home, especially if JRob beat all the kids in the relay dribbling races. Needless to say, JRob home many - a - treats but more importatnly, it has been as exciting start to his athletic career.

Classes are done for the Holidays but he will be joinign Coach Domingo and his classmates in January for another session. Additionally, JRob made the cut off for T Ball and will be playing that in the Spring....

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!

Warriors Basketball Camp

Tons of fun watching all 4 Croys participate in the Warriors Basketball Camp!

Shooting Stars Soccer - Fall 2010

There is one word to describe this girl on the soccer field......STUD!

She is amazingly fast and super competitive. Such a joy to watch (that is, when I can calm my overanxious, crazy soccer parent in me)!!

"Annie" - September 2010

While my mom was up helping to move us into our home, we planned a fun afternoon of lunch at the Cheesecake Factory and a show at the theatre downtown. We saw the musical "Annie" and shared this fun time with our Nor Cal family!

We had an amazing time together

KINDERGARTEN

Kayden started school three days after we made the "big move" ! I dont think any other 5 year old on the planet would have done as well as Kaydes did with all this HUGE changes! She quickly met friends and loves her teacher. She will forever impress us with her ability to adapt to any situation. She is an incredible blessing this sweet girl is. This is only the beginning of greatness!

NORTHERN CALI....HERE WE COME!

We had to say "see you later" to our So Cal friends and family in August. It wasnt an easy decision to make but we feel Rick accepting the job at Saint Marys College was an amazing opportunity and a hard one to turn down. We planned a little get together and although the pictures dont do this fun night justice, we are forever going to remember our great friends and family and this special night. It is overwhelming the love and support and most importantly the impact you realize you have on peoples lives , that you would never know you had unless you move or some kind of "change" takes place. Otherwise, people rarely share the meaning you had in their lives. Well, Rick and I experienced an overwhelming amount of love and encouragement as we emotionally made this decision to move our family to Northern California. We feel so blessed to have shared almost 10 years of our lives together as a couple, with alot of these people- we know that the distance is great but the friendships are forever!

Summer of Fun!!

PALM SPRINGS

STREET BALL WITH THE BOYS

CITRUS BASKETBALL CAMP

CONCERT BY THE LAKE

FOURTH OF JULY IN THE CREEK

THE ANNUAL "PIXIES IN THE PARK"

LEGOLAND/ROCK AND ROLL HALF MARATHON WEEKEND

SUMMER FUN ON PREAKNESS DRIVE

FUN AT LAKE MISSION VIEJO

PLAYDATES WITH BUDDIES

LEMONADE STAND

WEENIE ROAST AT DOHENY BEACH

OC FAIR WITH SOME GREAT FRIENDS, GRACIE AND NICK

"PRETEND CITY" WITH OUR BUDDIES, DREW AND BROOKLYN

SUMMER GYMNASTICS CLASS

KNOTTS BERRY FARM WITH COUSINS!

SWIM LESSONS

Whew! Did we have crazy, silly fun, or what!!! Great summer....Summer 2011 is going to have a hard time matching 2010!