Holidays & Celebrations

I think it was a couple of years ago that Matthew really complained about this time of year. To him, it seemed like there was one thing after another that we had to "commemorate". He was complaining, I think, because he didn't really grow up making a big deal about these "days". It's not like they were super monumental in my family, but they were days that were just a little different than the rest...needed to be acknowledged in some way. It all starts off with Mother's Day. Then there's a little break, and then it's Father's Day, which QUICKLY rolls into our Anniversary. There's another two or three week break, and then it's my birthday and then we end the "season of celebrations" with Matthew's birthday. It was all a little much the first year we were parents (see, it all comes back to the KIDS! Funny, isn't it?!). I think without Mother's Day and Father's Day, it wouldn't have seemed like anything. But these days, Matthew's really starting to figure it out.

For Mother's and Father's Days, I think we both got just about exactly what we could have wanted. Some time for ourselves and some good quality family time, and a little bit of relaxation in between (we don't know what we'll do when the kids stop napping!). Matthew treated me to a Giants game for Mother's Day and Matthew got Star Wars I, II, & III (he and Wyatt have a "thing" about Star Wars). More than anything, we appreciate having each other as the 'other' parent.

Our Anniversary was last Friday. FIVE big years. It's pretty crazy how fast time flies. We packed up the kids and headed to Tahoe on Thursday night. Friday, Matthew had some work to do, so I took the kids down to Donner Lake where Matthew met us later. We played in the water, hung out on the beach, ate lunch, etc. Headed back to the cabin for nap time. Duplicate this for two more days and you can see how our weekend was. It was sooooooo great. The kids had so much fun playing at the beach or the pool. We got to play a LOT, relax a LOT and spend a great weekend all together with no "Have To Do's". A great way to celebrate five years, I think! Of course, I forgot my camera, so I bought a disposable. I think I can get the pictures on a disc, so if and when that happens, I'll add them to this post!

We have a three week breather, now, before the next celebration! Next week, we're headed to Washington for our annual Fourth of July visit. No, it won't be for 17 days like last year...but we'll be there for a week. The kids are excited...my parents are beside themselves!!!

We wrapped a mini-vacation around the San Diego Rock and Roll marathon that Matthew decided to run. My mom and dad flew down from Washington, to enjoy the fun - well, let's be honest, they came down to spend time with the kids in a "vacation" environment!!!

The weather was really mild the whole weekend. On Saturday, while Matthew went to the runner's Expo, the rest of us went to Sea World. It almost looked like it was going to rain, but it didn't. It was a little warm and humid. The kids had a great time. We sat in the "Soak Zone" at the Shamu show, only to not get soaked! Wyatt was determined to ride the Atlantis water ride, so he and my dad went for it. There, they got soaked! Wyatt had water to pour out of his shoes, and they were literally wet from head to toe. The smiles on their faces were priceless

Look at those smiles!
Yep, she made a hat out of her Shamu lunch box! Then, she proceeded to call herself Princess Leia, and the topper: "Like water polo!" That girl, she keeps us laughing!

Sunday was the marathon and the kids were really excited to see their Papa running. My mom got them "geared up" in purple and gold to really fuel their cheering and to hopefully give Matthew that extra little pump you need after running the first 12 miles! We were able to see him at mile 12 and then at the finish line. He was hoping to go 3:15 or less, but as fate would have it, hurt his back about a week before the race, which made him cramp up around mile 15. He came in at 3:38, which is exceptional in my book. I am so proud of him, and had to hold back the tears a few different times. Matthew's disappointed about not meeting his goal, but running 26.2 miles is a major feat, and not something just anybody can do.

Annabelle trying to do some yoga stretches like this lady!

On Monday, before we left, we headed down to the ships. The kids really liked the "pirate ship", the old submarine and the other boats.

The major highlights of the trip were Sea World and the marathon, but there was one other, too. I look at it as a highlight now, because I can laugh about it, but while it happened (two times!) it was and wasn't funny at the same time! Annabelle had a night terror on Friday night in the hotel. This hotel wasn't bad, but it did have PAPER THIN WALLS, so everybody could hear her freaking out! This was the first time she'd ever had one, and Wyatt never had any, so it was new to us. She was screaming an inconsoleable for about 45 minutes. After 15 minutes, I took to the car and drove around. She finally calmed down, and we went back to the hotel room for a very fitful night of sleep. The second thing she did was have a MAJOR meltdown in the most crowded terminal at the San Diego Airport. She basically screamed at the top of her lungs for about 20 minutes, while I held her and watched people look at me with a WIDE range of looks....from sympathy, to what did you do to her, to What the F? At one point, the person at the podium got on the loudspeaker and said something to the effect of "Please note that in the Southwest Terminal, screaming is not allowed!" This drew a decent chuckle, and at that point I was laughing, too. She eventually stopped and was fine on the flight. Exhausted, but fine.

Wyatt is the instant-adjust-to-vacation-mode kind of kid...maybe Annabelle is not?! We'll see how this continues to play out in the future!!! To her defense, she was coming off of being VERY sick, so I'm going to use that as a convenient excuse this time!

5 kids - 4 and under, 3 adults and a needy dog

As Matthew headed to Atlantis (yes, in the Bahamas), the kids and I headed to Boise, Idaho. It sounds like we got a little gypped, but really, it was my choice. The convention at Atlantis was too far to take the kids this time...it'll be there again in 4 years. We'll rip the kids out of school for that one, for sure! So, we went to Boise to visit my good friend Marisa and her family, who moved there from the Bay Area last summer. I know I can't write as eloquently as Marisa, so if you'd like, please check out her family blog. I echo everything she said! I will, however, add a little more about what we did:

The kids were spectacular on the airplane, both going and coming. You really can't beat the portable DVD player...or "traveling TV" as Wyatt calls it. It kept them happy the entire time. I don't think Annabelle actually sat back in her seat for the hour and forty five minute flight!





Annabelle made herself at home very quickly by donning Jake's batting helmet and working with his stamps and markers. (Have I mentioned her affinity for hats?! She LOVES them!) The boys picked up where they left off from their last visit together and started playing outside right away.

The household was busy, what with 5 kids, 4 and under, 3 adults, and a dog that was feeling very dejected. We were invited to a birthday party of one of Jake's friend on Monday evening. After a day of hanging around the house (it's HARD to coordinate that many kids and actually go anywhere!!!), Jake, Wyatt and Annabelle were really ready to hit the lanes at the bowling alley. The party was fun... the kids had a great time.

I was woken by Marisa in the middle of Monday night...she said Annabelle was calling for me, but didn't sound unhappy. I went to check it out...when I got in her room, she had taken her jammies off. I told her that it was still night time and she needed to go back to sleep. Her reply to me: "They all barfy." Hmmm... I turned on the light, and sure enough, barf all over! So, I did what needed to be done, and she eventually fell back to sleep downstairs with Wyatt and myself. She hung in there for the next day, and was sick only one or two more times, and then followed the next 2 days with it coming out the other end. That poor thing...she catches it all! She and I didn't go anywhere on Tuesday, but Marisa, bless her heart, took Jake, Faith and Wyatt into town to a bird sanctuary, lunch and ice cream.

Wednesday the weather finally started clearing up, so we hit BoDo (that's Boise's effort at a hip name for downtown Boise - apparently you can't find anyone who lives there that uses the name!). The kids had a great time "fishing" in a sculpture pond w/blue heron statues using twigs and whatnot, walking and running around the area where there's a fountain that wasn't on, and generally making things up as they went to entertain themselves. Who needs a park?!

Later in the afternoon, the kids had a fabulous time running through the sprinklers. Annabelle didn't actually get her body through them, but she liked putting her hand through them!

All in all it was a great trip. We didn't get to really SEE Boise - it's tricky with that many kids, and extenuating circumstances, but we did get to catch up and commiserate about life. The kids were great travelers and Marisa and Brian made us feel right at home. Thanks for the great visit, and we can't wait to see you in Tahoe this summer!

This weekend...we're off to San Diego to root on Matthew at the Rock and Roll Marathon!

It was a BUSY month!!

My brother and his family came for a visit mid-April. It was so great to have them here. Sean was nice enough to offer to pressure wash our patio and seal it...of course I took him up on it. He and Wyatt spent all of Friday working on it. Joelle and Karleigh were able to squeeze in a little shopping, so I think they were happy!That Saturday we headed to Alcatraz. It was the first time for the kids as well as Sean and his family. It rained a LOT of the day, but no one was worse for the wear. Everybody had a great time and really enjoyed the tour.

The kids were left in withdrawl when Uncle Sean, Auntie J and Karleigh-Barlie left. They keep asking where they are and when they will see them again. But...

The next weekend Grandma and Grandpa came for a visit. They had a great time, as always, being entertained by the kids. I'm not always sure who has more fun...

Again, the kids were sad to see Grandma and Grandpa go. They love having visitors around!!! Mama and Papa are soooooo boring!

This past week the taping and make-over was done on our family room for the HGTV show called Color Splash. It was a lot of work getting rid of furniture and clearing the room, but nothing compared to what the crew did to our family room! Our Tuscan-inspired family room came to life! We love what they did, and are so happy to have been able to have the experience. We'll find out during the summer when our show will air. Who knows how dorky we'll sound on TV!!!!

Last, but not least, Annabelle is pretty much all the way potty trained...except for nap and bedtime. Wyatt was pretty easy, but she was even easier! I'm knocking on wood, just in case, because really it's only been about 2 1/2 weeks since we started, but so far so good!

Oh, and Wyatt...he's taking showers now. The other night, as he's standing in the shower all by himself, he said, "Mama, I feel all grown up!" Aye-yay-yaye!!! Also, during lunch today, he asked me how the baby gets in a mommy's belly....GULP! He really is getting all grown up!

Happy Easter

Decorated eggs yesterday. This was Annabelle's first time. She loved it, of course. Wyatt is an old pro.

The Easter Bunny hid a few plastic eggs and the kids' baskets in the house overnight. The eggs had Jelly Bellies in them, which make a fantastic sound on the wood floor when the egg is opened at about chest height! Annabelle thought that was really cool, so she wanted to do that too! Even more fun was stuffing the jelly beans in her mouth. She was so distracted by eating her jelly beans, it was tricky leading her to finding her basket (that Wyatt had already staked out!). It took a little longer for Wyatt to find his basket...that bunny is a trickster! Both kids were really happy with all of the fun stuff. Annabelle continues to show her affinity for sugar, whereas Wyatt likes it, but is usually more interested in the other stuff.

We went over to Oma and Opa's house to see if the Easter Bunny had stopped there, too. He hid 4 dozen hard boiled eggs for Wyatt, Annabelle, and their cousins Jackson and Maile. They had a lot of fun hunting for the eggs and were great about giving each other fair chances. We had a nice brunch after. The kids were on their way down from the excitement and sugar, so we headed home in order to get everyone to nap early.

Matthew took Wyatt over to our community pool after his nap. It turns out that the children's pool isn't heated, but no matter...it was only about 68 degrees outside with a slight breeze...the pool felt to be about 50! Wyatt played around in there for almost 2 hours! Hopefully this will be a good indicator that swim lessons will be productive this year! Annabelle and I went over when she woke up. She REALLY wanted to get in, but I didn't bring her suit...she has a cold, naturally. We put our feet in, and after about 5 minutes, she was ready to be wrapped up in the towel!

It was a great Easter for our family! I hope it was the same for you and yours!

A little Pele in the making!

Wyatt had his first soccer practice today. It's through the town of Danville's parks and recreation. He was very excited when we talked about it the day before, but we were still apprehensive because Wyatt is the type that usually needs some time to get acclimated to a new situation (sometimes a loooooooong time - school? Cubbies baseball?).

This morning when he woke up, he asked if it was 'soccer day'...that was a good sign! We showed up right at 10 a.m. when it begins, and met Coach Marco. He seemed like a nice enough guy, and won points right a way when he asked all of the kids their names and then proceeded to tell the parents (and kids) that he was going to take the kids over to the other side of the field to talk to them and that we could hang out nearby, or do whatever. Swift removal and quick engagement wins big in my book!

I, of course, forgot my camera...okay, I actually didn't even plan to bring it...it was an oh **it moment when I got there and realized how great of an idea it would have been to have one! Anyway, I wish there would have been a way to capture the smile and energy on Wyatt's face! He has such a blast! It made me so proud! I will work on rembering it next week.

The practice is only about 30 minutes. They learn skills and terminology through fun games...I don't know if they will actually have a legit scrimmage. It's non-competitive, and seems to be a great start for learning a new sport. We HAD to head right out and buy cleats and shin guards, which were put on the minute we got home. We HAD to play a little soccer after lunch, and then again after his nap. At bedtime, Wyatt asked if tomorrow was another soccer day. Sadly, I had to break it to him. He doesn't understand the time concept of a week, yet, so it's tough. He is sooooo excited to play.

New Friends

My best friend from college came down for a visit with her boys, Jacob (6) and Nicholas (5). The boys became fast friends with Wyatt and Annabelle and had a great time playing while Michelle and I caught up on old times and new things. The last time I saw Michelle was for about 24 hours during which I got married. She had just moved from Alaska to Walla Walla, Washington, and had a three month old at home. I appreciated her making the effort to make it to my wedding, but the past 2 1/2 days have really been great. We are the type of friends that can talk once every 3 months, but it's like we haven't missed a day when we do. I think the way the kids took to each other could be a reflection of that! Wyatt and Annabelle were REALLY sad when we took them all to the airport...Annabelle continually asks, "Where's da boys?" and Wyatt keeps asking why they had to go home! We sure hope to see them again, before another five years pass!!!

P. S. Neither one of us took one single picture! Can you imagine???