HOLLYWOOD

Our little guy has been wanting to visit Hollywood. I think he was really hoping to see some movie stars, but had to settle for the stars on the walk of fame instead. He was excited to take a lot of pictures there . Our girl didn't want to take pictures with the stars. I told her that was okay, but if we saw Snow White's or another princess' star I was taking her picture. Well, funny enough about 10 steps later there was Snow White's star and I got my picture.


Grauman's Chinese Theater

We hiked (part way) to the Hollywood sign so the kids could get a closer look at it. We went by the Nickelodean building where some of their favorite shows are filmed and H-girl was thrilled to find the Hello Kitty store and get a little souvenir. We had lunch at Hard Rock Cafe and then browsed around the outdoor shops. B got a hat that will be part of his Halloween costume. It was such a great day. We were reminded how fun and important it is to take time away from the busyness of life to do something out of the ordinary together.

Summer Vacation to San Francisco

After our time with Todd's family we drove to San Francisco for a family vacation. San Francisco is such a fun city to drive to with kids because any time you cross a huge bridge to get to a destination there's a definite "we made it" kind of excitement. Our kids were thrilled when we crossed the Bay Bridge from Oakland to San Francisco. The next day we went across the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. The kids thought the Golden Gate was so cool and wanted me to take pictures from every angle. We had a family take our picture in front of it and as we talked we found out that they are from the same city as us. Such a small world.


We went to Pier 39 to see where the sea lions hang out. We saw one sea lion apart from the
group and the kids decided that he was in time out. Gotta love how a child thinks.



Getting ready for their first cable car ride.


One of the highlights was going to a Giants vs. Dodgers game. The Dodgers got swept that weekend, but it was still so fun to be at the beautiful Giant's stadium overlooking the San Francisco Bay. I don't think my little Dodger fan will ever forget it!


This was such a fun vacation. Other things we did while we were there were Lombard St. (the crookedest street), Fisherman's Wharf, Ghiradelli's (can you really pass up a famous chocolate shop), and a cool children's museum called Zeum. Here we got to make our own claymation starting with the clay figures all the way to the storyline and filming.

Cousin Time

Well I'm going backwards in time, but I wanted to post a few things about our summer (end of July, 2010). My sister-in-law and her family were visiting from Colorado so we all met up at my in-laws for a few days together. We had such a great time and the cousins had a blast! It's so great to see how close these four kiddos are despite the distance. Grammy and Bonka have a pool with a slide and the kids had a ball entertaining themselves! They put a big raft at the bottom of the slide so they could slide down and "surf like daddy/Uncle Todd." They seriously did this over and over and over. The slide was like an assembly line with the kids sliding down, lining up, sliding down, lining up. It was so fun to watch and listen to the happy voices and laughter while they played.


These two cousins are only 6 months apart
and are the best of friends.


I love this picture. You can see how much
these two love each other.


Joy brought Aunt Monica home for a couple
of days and we had a family birthday celebration.

Birthday Weekend

Big B turned 7 this weekend. The weekend was filled with a lot of fun activities. Saturday he had his birthday party with friends. He chose to have a Big Time Rush party. We had a pinata, a scavenger hunt, a karaoke machine, and watched the Big Time Rush movie. The karaoke was a last minute idea and I'll tell you, I think it was the biggest hit of the whole party. The kids were all so cute singing and performing for each other.




The next day the four of us celebrated together. We had a birthday dinner, leftover cake and opened gifts. B said the sweetest thing about his gifts, "I like family presents a lot because you know what I like. But a lot of people at my birthday party know what I like too" So friends, your gifts were appreciated as was your attendance at the party. Thanks for helping to make his party a success.



Then Monday we celebrated with extended family. We had a swimming party and he got the #1 gift on his wish list, a DS. I'd say B had a great birthday week.

On a personal note...This boy has been such a blessing to our family. He is so much fun. His personality has just grown and grown over the years. He is witty and smart. He is sweet and cares about others. He tries hard and loves to learn. We are so proud of you, son and we love you!!! Love, Mommy

one more school pic

I love this picture. I think it totally captures her excitement about the day.

First day of school

My kiddos started school this week. It's hard to believe that H is in kindergarten and B is in first grade. They each have friends in their class and got the teachers they were hoping for, so that made for a smooth start. It is hard for me to believe that they are old enough to both be in elementary school. Where does the time go? I just think they look so grown up in these "first day of school" pictures.