Let the Countdown Begin...

Tomorrow Kailani and Zachary will get to choose one book each day until Christmas:)

Family Art Night

Tonight was Family Art Night at Kailani's school. We had signed up a while ago and tonight was finally the night! There were three art projects to choose from. Kailani chose to do a Georgia O'Keefe flower painting. She first drew a flower with pastels and then colored it in with water color. Zachy got to participate too. I am so happy with all of the neat things her school does. Friday is the winter craft festival!

Starting to Look a lot Like Christmas...

Today was a stay at home day because it's back to work and school tomorrow:( We decided to get into the holiday spirit and decorate a little. The tree will come later...

Surfin' Santa

This weekend we've been able to get a lot done around the house. We finally got the garage organized enough so you can see floor! We have a huge pile of stuff to give away, including the last of the baby stuff. Friday night we had dinner at Becky's and got to see my mom. She came out to stay with Becky for a while since George leaves for deployment this week and the baby is going to come soon. On the way home we stopped at the NEX to get Kailani a new bedroom set while it was on sale. She has finally outgrown her toddler bed and is ready for a full-size twin bed. She is very excited. We've got some work to do before the furniture gets delivered.
Today we got the back patio cleaned up so the kids can play outside. They love to be outside. Afterward, we got ready to head to Seaport Village. Lately Zachary has been wanting to dress himself. What ends up happening is we'll leave the house with his pants and/or shirt on backwards. Yesterday it was both; luckily today it was just the pants. We packed our lunch and ate by the water at Seaport Village with Becky and Jaylynn. We watched Santa arrive by pirate ship and then watched him ride through the Village in a parade. We stood in line to "surf" with Santa for a picture. Kailani posed for a picture while we waited in line for Santa. The kids rode the carousel and Zachary loved it.
Kailani posed for a picture in front of the poinsettia tree. She loves posing for pictures lately. Here she is with Zachary:)
Kailani is getting excited for Santa to come. Zachary seems excited too, but I'm not sure he quite understands yet.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today we enjoyed a day at home! Jaylynn came to play this morning while Becky, George, and Makenzi went to the movies. We did our normal meat, cheese, veggie trays early in the afternoon to hold us over until dinner. After the movie, Becky, George, and Makenzi joined us. The kids had a great time playing together. Zachary helped cook almost all of the meal. He helped stuff the turkey, make the mashed potatoes, make the salad, and make the rolls. He is our little chef! We enjoyed a delicious meal together. This is the third Thanksgiving we've been able to spend together with Becky. After dinner, the kids decorated turkey cookies and played some more. We are thankful to have such a perfect family:)

Stay at Home Mom for a Week

I always enjoy a break because I get to pretend I am a stay-at-home mom:) I'm not sure I would truly be happy as a stay-at-home mom, but sometimes I do wish I was able to be at home with the kids more.
This week I've been able to be active with the meetup group. On Monday we went to Ikea for breakfast. On Mondays, breakfast is free (eggs, potatoes, and bacon); normally it's $1.99 and includes french toast sticks. The kids enjoyed breakfast. Zachary even asked to go to the bathroom during breakfast and actually went. He's been doing really well with the potty. He goes to the potty all of the time at school and usually does at home if I remind him. He isn't able to tell when he has to go yet.On Tuesday, we went to My Kids Clubhouse. I had a Groupon for 5 visits for each child that I hadn't even used yet. The kids love it there so I am glad we go to go. I'll have to go back again soon or I'll lose the remaining visits.
Today, I hosted a meetup at Heritage Park. We walked up and Kailani stopped to pose for a picture at the smaller park on the way. I brought all of the goodies to make edible turkeys. The kids made turkeys, enjoyed eating them, and played at the park. We brought some bread to feed the ducks. Sometimes they don't want to eat anything, but today they were aggressive! They were taking bread right out of the kids' hands.After the meetup, we did two laps around the walking trail at the park. At my school, "a healthy lifestyle" is one of our goals for all kids. In order to promote this more, we decided to do a schoolwide challenge where each child, parent, staff member posts a fitness goal on our "Commit to be Fit" board. When you make your goal public, it forces you to be more accountable:) My goal is to walk the trails at the 32 parks in Chula Vista that have walking trails. It is actually a citywide walking program with maps, logs, etc. Now I can check one park off the list!

Old Globe Tree Lighting

Last year we went to the Old Globe Theater's tree lighting ceremony and we really wanted to go again this year. After a few days of watching Facebook for the contest, I was able to win tickets for us to go. Unfortunately, it was supposed to rain right about the time the ceremony was starting. We tried to get out of going, but the kids really wanted to...so we braved the weather. It started raining on the way there, but stopped just as we got to Balboa Park. We listened to a few songs they performed and got to see the Grinch and the Whos. The kids watched as they lit the huge Christmas tree and Zachary's mouth was wide open. He was so excited! Just as the lit the tree, the rain came down and everyone headed out. We're glad we were able to make it even if the weather was less than perfect.

SDSU!

Today Kailani participated in a cheer clinic offered by SDSU. The cheerleaders taught the girls a cheer and a dance that they performed at the game against Boise State tonight. Unfortunately, SDSU lost, but the girls did great!

Yay for Vacation!

We had a busy week leading up to the start of our Thanksgiving vacation. I had been sick over the weekend and finally went to the doctor on Monday, to confirm that I had a sinus infection and to get medication. Monday night we went to the book fair at Kailani's school. The kids each chose a few books. I love Scholastic because I can always get a good deal on books.
Tuesday night we went out for dinner at California Pizza Kitchen. There was a fundraiser for Kailani's school, so 20% of every check goes to her school's PTO.
Wednesday night we actually had a break, but Jason had to work late so I was on my own with the kids for once in such a long time.
Thursday night Kailani had a Daisy meeting. She missed the last two because of being sick and having cheerleading so it was nice for her to be able to go. The girls decorated a banner they will be carrying in a parade at the Otay Ranch Town Center on Saturday night. Unfortunately Kailani will not be in the parade because she'll be performing in the half-time show at the SDSU game instead.
Today Zachary had his last basketball practice. He really had fun because the coaches had ramps set up that the kids rolled over before shooting the ball in the basket.That was his favorite part.
At the end of the day today, I am so glad to be starting our Thanksgiving vacation!

Go Broncos!

Today we were up bright and early for Kailani's cheer competition. We dropped Zachary off at Becky's and picked Makenzi up to go along with us. The competition was in Del Mar, at the fairgrounds, and we had to be there by 7am! The girls had some time to eat breakfast in the parking lot before heading in to the competition. Here is a picture of the girls getting ready to walk in from the parking lot.Kailani's team was up second and they did awesome! The did all of their stunts perfectly. I am very proud of Kailani! After the girls performed, the football players gave them leis and the parents gave them cheerleader build-a-bears. Each bear was wearing a gold megaphone necklace for the girls. Kailani wanted to wear the necklace right away.We had to stay at the competition most of the day to wait until the awards ceremony. We were able to watch two of the older Broncos team perform. Unfortunately, Kailani's team did not place, but they did get a participation medal. The two older teams got second and third places in their divisions. We did not stay to watch the oldest cheer team perform...it was a long enough day already.
On the way home, we took Mer to The Mongolian Grill, which we all love.
We took Mer to the airport tonight and both kids fell asleep on the way to the airport. They had a very busy weekend!
Now that cheer is over, I feel like our weeks are going to be just as busy. We've got something planned for every night this week except Wednesday! There is just so much going on here:)

Mer's Visit

Last week was so busy it seemed to just whiz by. Kailani had cheer every night (Monday-Wednesday) in preparation for her competition. On Thursday evening, we picked my friend Mer up from the airport. She came in to visit for the long weekend. It was nice to have a visitor. It seems like such a long time since anyone has come to visit...and she was the first official visitor in the new house.
Friday morning Kailani had cheer practice. Then we decided to spend the afternoon at the zoo. The nice thing about having passes is that we don't always have to spend the whole day there. We were there for a few hours. Kailani wanted to see the pandas first. They've changed the panda exhibit since we were last there. After we walked around and looked at some of the bigger animals, the kids played for a while in the children's zoo.Jason watched the kids on Friday night so Mer and I could have a night out. We met up with Becky and a few friends of mine from work. We had a good time at The Shout House, which is a dueling piano bar. It was nice to get out.Saturday we couldn't do much of anything because it was raining pretty much all day. We thought about heading to a museum, but the kids were in rare form so we decided to let them nap instead. Kailani had one last cheer practice Saturday night at a cheer gym so she could practice on the mats. They were able to watch the competitive cheer team that was there perform a routine. The girls performed for the competitive team too. It was good practice for Sunday's competition.
Since we hadn't done anything all day, we decided to treat the kids to John's Incredible Pizza Company for dinner. We ate lots of pizza and played some games. The kids had a great time.

Rainy Day = Cancelled Plans:(

Today I took Kailani to Kid Ventures for a birthday party for one of the little girls in her Daisy troop. Kid Ventures is an indoor play area. We've been there only once before. The party was fun and Kailani enjoyed herself. I think she enjoyed the parachute the most!We had intended to head downtown this afternoon for the annual Fall Back Festival to celebrate the end of Daylight Savings time, but the rain forced us to cancel our plans. We were all ready to leave (jackets and all) and it started to rain. The kids were both very upset and wanted to go in the rain anyway. We went a few years ago and had a great time, so we were looking forward to it. Instead, we were able to get some things done around the house.

Last Game and AJ's Kids Crane

This morning was Kailani's last game for cheer. The boys actually WON...the only one of the season. They deserved it though, because the other team was just plain mean. Zachary enjoys the games because he's made a little friend throughout the season. The "future Broncos" are the same age (one day apart). Here they are together!I had to leave the game early to pick up our Daisy troop's nuts, but the girls got a medal at the end of the game. Kailani is very proud of her medal. We've got one more week of practice and then competition is on Sunday. There will be one last cheer event on November 19. Kailani will be working with the SDSU cheerleaders all morning and then performing with them at the halftime show of the SDSU-Boise State game in the evening. Jason and I are excited to go see her!
Tonight we headed down to AJ's Kids Crane to donate toys for Rady Children's Hospital. Each year, the radio DJ goes up in a crane and literally doesn't come down until he collects a certain number of toys. This year (same as last), the goal is 100,000 toys. AJ went up in the crane yesterday, and the Mayor of San Diego declared November 4th AJ's Kids Crane Day. It's the tenth year for the event. I think this is our third year going. Zachary was pretty amazed at the whole scene. There were tons of people there standing in line to GIVE toys. We actually waited in line for about an hour to donate our toys. They were giving out Legoland tickets to everyone who donated. Although we have passes, it's always nice to have extra tickets. Zachary wouldn't get in the picture, but here's Kailani with the crane in the back.