Christmas Hair Cut

Last week Audrey told me that she wanted her hair cut short. These last few days she has really been bugging me to do it. At first I was hesitant and wanted to have someone else do it even though I do cut Ethan and Caden's hair and have trimmed Audrey's hair her whole life. However, to drastically cut it and make it have shape made me a little nervous. But after watching a couple youtube videos on doing a basic bob cut, I felt like I could do it.

So today while Caden was napping I did it! I whacked off about 5-6 inches. Let's just say it was a success! Audrey totally loves it and keeps stealing glances in the mirror of herself. I'm happy with the way it turned out and got a little boost of hair cutting confidence! Here's to the new and improved, cute little Audrey!

The Jumpitz at Balboa Park

Today we went to Balboa Park for the annual December Nights event. We went during the day because the kids favorite group the Jumpitz were performing. They recently added a new guy Nathan to the group and changed their look a little and they were so much fun! I really think they are going to make it big someday. We got there early before the show and got to talk to them and take pictures. Ethan had fun visiting with his old high school buddy Adam, or Jake and catching up on life. You can check out their website and click on Events for info on their little free holiday concerts this month. They also have a new DVD out- something to wrap up for under the tree! The park was also fun and festive although I'll miss seeing it at night. We love the Jumpitz!

Happy Halloween!

I can't believe we are already approaching the end of the year! Christmas will be here before I can blink! We had a nice Halloween this year. The night before, we got together with our good friends, the Kirby's and carved pumpkins. The kids liked scooping out the gunk and playing with the seeds. Ethan decided to carve out John McCain while I carved Dwight from the Office, one of our favorites! They both turned out pretty good. You can find patterns online for pretty much anything.

Audrey made a very cute Cinderella this year while Caden went as a little frog. We thought that was appropriate because from a young age, he has always hoped around when he's excited, or do "happy hops" as we call them. He was dang cute and really got into the trick or treat thing. He actually would go up to the door and say trick or treat and thank you. He normally is super shy around strangers, but I guess the whole candy thing makes everything ok!

Caden and Audrey loved having easy access to candy all evening. They did well!

Lake Cuyamaca Getaway

Last year after busy season we rented a little cabin up in Lake Cuyamaca near Julian for the night and had such a nice time that we decided to do it again this year. Maybe this is a new tradition for us! We invited the Russells (Ethan's sister's family) to come along and rent the other side of the two sided cabin. We left the day after we got back from Utah since Ethan still had time off. Ethan did a lot of fishing and the kids all ran around exploring and picking little apples from the trees. That night we ate stew and hot dogs then enjoyed some delicious Julian apple pie with ice cream! The cabins come pretty well equipped with everything you need plus games and movies. After putting Caden to bed, Ethan, myself and Audrey stepped outside into the cool mountain air, laid a blanket on the ground in the parking lot and watched the stars. It's incredible how many more stars you can see up in the mountains without city lights to drown them out. It was a great moment.

The next morning we picked more apples, Ethan fished, we ate a massive breakfast fit for like 4 families, walked around the lake, then packed up. On our way out, we rented a little motor boat to take around the lake and fish some more. The kids loved being in a boat and Audrey even got to drive for a bit. Ethan caught a nice size trout that he cooked on the BBQ in foil for dinner. It was surprisingly the best trout I've ever had. Good times!

Pretty Caden

It's bound to happen when a little boy is around girls all day. I was getting ready for the day in my bathroom while the kids where having their own fun in the next room. I'm sure daddy is so proud! Hee hee.

Trip to Utah

After Ethan's busy season ended October 15th, we headed out the next day for a little family vacation to Utah. Mainly just to get away and to visit with friends and family up there. We stopped on the way up to Richfield, UT where my oldest sister Heather and her family just moved to a couple months prior from Poway. The kids loved hanging out with their cousins again. We miss you guys!

After a long day of being in the car, we finally arrived into Spanish Fork where my brother Kevin lives with his family. The kids did quite well in the car with a big thanks to the wonderful invention of the portable DVD player. We had a wonderful time visiting with Kevin and Tami in their beautiful home, and our kids loved seeing their cousins Brooklyn, Isaac and Jack. Audrey and Caden thought their trampoline was the coolest thing ever.

We enjoyed spending time on BYU campus, going to the Dinosaur museum at Thanksgiving point, visiting old friends, hiking up to the Timpanogos caves, walking around temple square in Salt Lake, visiting the conference center, going to the Church History Museum and visitors center and lastly, going to a pumpkin patch in Santaquin. It was a very fun trip and the weather couldn't have been more perfect. We miss Utah and those gorgeous mountains. It was nice to be back for a visit. Here are a few more highlights of the trip:

Standing under a HUGE dinosaur at the Dinosaur museum

Cousins sitting in a little cave at the museum

It was a steap climp up to the Timanogos caves, but such a beautiful hike!

We made it!

Caden found a little green pumpkin at the pumpkin patch

Fieldtrip to Oma's Pumpkin Patch

Audrey had her first field trip to Oma's Pumpkin Patch in Lakeside 2 weeks ago. This is a very fun place that we will make a yearly tradition. I was happy to go with her and ride the long bumpy bus ride there- her first real school bus experience. We took the hayride around the cow farms then had some free time to enjoy the other many activities there such as sliding down the cottonseed hill, milking fake cows, playing on the playground and petting the animals to name a few. It was a fun day!

Singing and dancing with the Jumpitz!

Audrey is such a cute little singer. I got some good footage here of her singing to the Jumpitz. She even picked out her own harmony! The girl is musically gifted, in my opinion. Caden kind of got in the way at the end which is so typical of him and his need for my attention! Please excuse the whining.

Storytime

I had to capture the moment earlier this morning when I heard Audrey reading to Caden in the next room. She has been bringing home little reader books from school so she got one and read it to him. I thought it was so cute that she could read a whole book to her little brother and the little hideout place under the end table that they chose was priceless! It's so fun to see them grow and interact together like this. It will be so nice when she can read any book to him!

Have no fear...Happy Man is here!

Ok, I just have to post these pictures because they make me laugh! We had a superhero party two Sundays ago at Amy and Rich's house to celebrate their boy's birthdays. Ethan really got into it as you can see. When we arrived, he snuck around back, got into his costume and surprised us all through the back door. The kids loved it. We forgot his cape so he had to improvise with the car windshield window shade. He was his own superhero called "Happy Man". When the kids got grumpy or sad, he would flash his happy paddles and make silly sounds till they smiled. Because the wetsuit was a bit toasty, he didn't last long as Happy Man, but it was pretty hilarious while it lasted!

1st Day of Kindergarten "Take Two"

Audrey started at Monterey Ridge Elementary in 4S Ranch on Tuesday. We transferred her there after a rough start at Painted Rock. She is in half day Kindergarten in the afternoon and is in school for 3 hrs 20 min compared to over 6 hours at Painted Rock. Lets just say, she enjoys her new school so much better! It's definitely a better match for her. I can't believe the district changed to full day Kindergarten this year. It's just not necessary! Monterey Ridge didn't have the classroom space to have full day but will have to comply by next year I believe.

She loves her new teacher, Mrs. Kasner and has already made some new friends in her class. Here's to a fresh new start at a new school with many happy memories to come!

Radiohead

Diana and I went to the Radiohead concert on August 27th at the Cricket Ampitheatre with our friends the Sommers. For those of you who don't know who Radiohead is, they are a 5-member band from Oxfordshire England. They got popular in the mid-90s, and are arguably the most popular band today. Here's a Wikipedia article and the Official Radiohead Website. Their latest album, In Rainbows, was released via download only, and they had the revolutionary idea of letting people pay whatever they want online. They still made millions on the album, even though I am sure many people didn't pay anything. In March during the College Basktball tournament, a local San Diego radio station set up a radio music tournament of 64 of the greatest bands in the last 40 years, including the Rolling Stones, U2, and Led Zeppelin. The songs from each competing band were played against each other, and listeners voted online as to who the champion was. Radiohead won the #2 spot as the greatest band of the last 4 decades.

There was a lot of traffic getting into the concert. I thought the Cricket Ampitheatre could only hold 20,000, but it seemed like at least 100,000 people were there. Most of the crowd was Gen-Y and younger than us. We were on the grass toward the back. The stage was set up with a lot of long halogen lights that flashed different colors with the music. They mostly played from their new Album, such as this song, titled "Recokner"

It was a great concert although it was crowded and we decided to leave early to avoid the parking lot traffic jam that ensued afterward (our friends did not get home until 2 a.m.). For those of you that are Radiohead fans, here are the songs they played:

1. 15 Step 2. Airbag 3. There There 4. All I Need 5. Nude 6. Talk Show Host 7. Where I End and You Begin 8. Weird Fishes/Arpeggi 9. The Gloaming 10. Faust Arp 11. How To Disappear Completely 12. Reckoner 13. Optimistic 14. Jigsaw Falling Into Place 15. Pyramid Song 16. Climbing Up The Walls 17. Bodysnatchers 18. House of Cards 19. You And Whose Army? 20. Just 21. Paranoid Android 22. Street Spirit (fade out) 23. Videotape 24. Lucky 25. Everything In Its Right Place

Goodbye 4Runner

Boy has it been a week! A very stressful one that ended with a bang, literally. Yes, I was in a car accident and smashed the front of our Toyota 4Runner. First off, we are just fine and were not hurt other than me having a sore neck later on, but not bad. Only Audrey was with me as we were just coming back from meeting her new teacher at a new school we just transferred her to within the district. That's a big story in itself and the reason for my stressful week but briefly, Audrey did not transition well with full day Kindergarten at Painted Rock and we found out a school was still doing half day and had openings for afternoon Kindergarten so we signed her up at Monterey Ridge Elementary, a brand new school out in 4S Ranch. We are very excited for her to go there starting Tuesday.

Anyway, Caden was at home napping with Kathy, thank goodness. I was coming down a hill (Camino del Norte) getting into the right hand turn lane to turn onto Carmel Mtn Rd to go to Inn and Out and looked down for a moment to fiddle with my phone which was in my lap(big no-no) and SMACK! The cars in the lane ahead to turn right were stopped up sooner than I had thought and I hit a Mercedes SUV jamming my front side in so tight under his bumper that a tow truck had to pull us apart. Audrey was scared obviously and started crying and said her neck hurt from the seat belt. She recovered very quickly though. The guy I hit was with a friend both probably mid 40's but both super friendly. They were so nice about the whole thing and had this attitude of 'Oh well, no big deal, everyone is ok and these things happen, don't worry'. The cop that came was also a very nice man and very helpful. No one even questioned me or what I was doing, they just let it all be. The guy's Mercedes had minimal damage on his back side. Those are tough cars I guess. We had to wait around a while for the tow trucks to come and Audrey was so patient the whole time. She was a great sport and again, I'm so glad I didn't have Caden running around. My friend Christy Sutherland came and picked us up since everyone else was not available and she even still took us to Inn and Out for shakes since that was where I was taking Audrey originally. By then we needed some comfort food!

My car is sitting at a tow yard now and the insurance company will send out someone next week to assess the damage. We are all guessing it's going to be more money to fix and be considered 'totalled'. We were thinking about replacing the car sometime next year anyway, but we'll just have to do it sooner. But in the mean time, my parents had an extra car, a Toyota Matrix, that my grandparents gave to them and they were thinking about selling it but for now, we can use it, thankfully! Hey at least I'll be getting better gas mileage now! We're so sad about the 4Runner. It has been such a fun car and it will be greatly missed.

Caden turns Two!

The terrific two's are here! Caden celebrated his birthday last night with both sets of grandparents at our house- how lucky are we! He had a great time opening lots of presents. Among his favorites were a drum, cheap plastic toy helicopter, T-ball set, magna doodle and toy phone. And since both kids love to make music we got them each a harmonica and .88 cent recorders. Hey, we could start a family band!

Since Caden is a ball fanatic, I made him a baseball cake and he was very proud of himself for blowing out the candles all by himself! He really is becoming such a little boy now and can talk very well in small sentences. He likes to sing and something you will always catch him doing is jumping, or "happy hops" as I call them since he does it when he's excited. He is so much fun to have around even when he's whiney and cranky. We love you Caden!

Our little school girl

I can't believe the day finally came but yes, we have a Kindergartener! Audrey started today at Painted Rock Elementary, a wonderful school. She had been very excited leading up to this day and walked in happily with her princess backpack. She did great! No tears or hanging on to my leg. I was the one with the tears but I at least held them in until I got in the car to drive off. Ah, our little girl is growing up. Caden and I missed her during those long 6 hours, although I do enjoy having time to myself everyday while he has a nap. I got a good report from her when we picked her up and of course her favorite thing was doing arts and crafts. It will be an exciting year!

"Unconditional Surrender"

Last weekend Ethan took us downtown next to where the USS Midway museum is stationed to have a picnic dinner next to this HUGE statue named "Unconditional Surrender". It is a 26 ft tall recreation of the famous photo taken when news of WWII ended in Times Square and this ecstatic sailor grabbed some random nurse in the street and gave her a big smooch. No, they didn't know each other and they went their separate ways right after. The photo was on the cover of Life magazine in 1945. I guess this statue was in Florida for some time and now it's in San Diego but temporarily. Here is the original photo, then one of me and the kids in front.

Here was a silly one of Audrey with a statue. They had a grouping of statues nearby and Audrey got a kick out of them.