The adventures of Big Boy, Boopy and their parents

Big Boy's Party

2010-02-09T22:57:00.000-08:00

We spent the rest of Big Boy's 6th birthday back at our house. Papa Vaughn of course made the requested birthday cake. This year Big boy asked for a truck cake, so what better truck to make than his favorite, a fire truck. A bit hit as usual, Big Boy was quite pleased.

Big Boy was spoiled with a plethora of presents. Pretty good outcome, especially for a poor kid with a birthday RIGHT after Christmas!

A Thomas card! Still a favorite!

Big Boy is at an age where he still loves Thomas the Train and Cars but, he's ventured into "big boy" territory and has found a love of Transformers, airplanes (any kind), monster trucks and most recently dinosaurs. I love how his mind gets more and more curious about learning about things he loves. He's still our sweet, gentle boy who takes everything to heart. I'm so proud of who he is going to be.

Where oh where did my blog go?

2010-01-30T00:33:00.000-08:00

Oh my has it really been since September since I wrote a blog post? Oh my...goodness. Well, now since it's nearly February 2010 (!), I think I better catch up. What's crazy is that I really truly love keeping a blog of our family events. Life just got too crazy I couldn't keep up and then before I knew it, there was too much to catch up on and it was nearly February! So, without further ado - the crazy adventures of Big Boy & Boopy have returned!

One of the most exciting things that happened to finish off 2009 was that big Boy turned 6!!!! I can't help but sound like every other parent out there when I say that I can't believe how fast the time has gone! While five was a big deal, I think that 6 is even bigger. Big Boy is in kindergarten now and it's so great to see how much he has grown in maturity and learning. Being 6 means that you need TWO hands to show how old you are and it really really means you are a Big Boy now. :) He is SO excited to be six. This year for his birthday we chose to do a party at Gymnastic Beat where the kids attend gymnastic classes once a week. It was a great idea since it gave both the adults and kids to have a great time play to their hearts content. For the party we had the entire gym to ourselves which was really cool to be able to try out all the equipment. After our time was up we invited everyone back to our house for cake, pizza and presents. Really a great way to celebrate Big Boy and to start off the new year!

The kids LOVE this trampoline and LOVED that they could jump all they wanted on it!

Big Boy showing off some of the things he's learned in class

Even Papa Vaughn got into the action.

The kids took turns trying to learn some new "tricks" - cartwheels, backwards rolls, etc.

Big Boy got to spend plenty of time on the rope, swinging and climbing to the top - his favorite activity at the gym.

Well, that's about it from the gym....have to get to bed so I'll save pics from the rest of the party for my next "resurrected" blog post. :)

Putt-a-thon

2009-09-28T22:01:00.000-07:00

This past Friday evening we got to experience one of our first family school events! Big Boy's school has their first fundraiser of the year. Instead of a traditional "jog-a-thon" they put on a "putt-a-thon" where the kids got to take a hand at miniature golfing. What made it extra fun was that there were hot dogs or tri-tip sandwiches to purchase, bounce houses to enjoy and fun social time to be had.

This was actually the first time that the kids have miniature golfed with us. It was funny trying to get them to actually use the golf clubs the right way. We finally figure that at least they weren't picking up the ball and throwing it in the hole!

I must say that so far "school" life is a blast! Can't wait for more school events and fun!

Treats from Hawaii

2009-09-20T17:45:00.000-07:00

Papa just got home from a two week work trip to Hawaii and spoiled the kiddos with lots of neat treats. Boopy was happy too see him and to get to wear her new Hawaiian dress.

Big Boy was also anxious about getting to his goodies. The kids like their mini "guitars".

Showing Papa her fairy costume from Clovis Fest.

Hardcore fairy rocker

Showing off her new Hawaiian purses

Trying to look at his new map without it rolling up. Don't worry, we got him a frame for it today.

Later in the evening the kiddos had to do "projects". I love that they love to do school type work for fun - hope the love stays.

Big Boy used his whiteboard to draw a picture of the new train Papa brought him.

He then decided to draw his new submarine, but then changed his mind and made it a rocket.

Clovis Fest!

2009-09-20T16:53:00.000-07:00

So after watching the balloons and having a nice breakfast the kids and I ventured back to downtown Clovis to wander through the craft vendors. They had been sent a little treat money so I told them they could pick out something for $5. I ended up splurging a bit too and got Big Boy a toy wooden plane (which he pitched in his $5 toward) and Boopy a fairy outfit.

They talked me into riding the over priced cheesy train. The smiles below made it worth it.

Such a girl....she picked out "lipstick" and a hair clip with her $5 and then immediately had to put on her lipstick.

Showing off our new things.

Big Boy liked checking out the cars and had to make sure we knew where the engine was located.

There are many times I just don't know where this child came from! She's so dramatic.

I gave the kids a choice, ride a carnival ride or go in the bounce house. All the rides are way overpriced so I told to pick wisely. I think buying the tickets was almost as much fun as the rides!

Boopy, daredevil child, chose the plane ride. She would have been the only kid on it except for this little girl who came along and then wanted to ride in the same plane with Boopy.

Big Boy really wanted to ride on a train-like ride but unfortunately was just a bit too small so he chose to go on the fun house castle slide ride. Boopy ended up doing that too since some nice teenage girls gave us their leftover tickets!

On our way back to the car, Boopy tried her hand at taking a picture of Big Boy and me.

I in turn had to take one more of her!

Up, up and away!!

2009-09-19T20:06:00.000-07:00

I've decided that I really am a bit crazy at times. Despite having an exhausting 2 weeks while Papa has been away in Hawaii (yes, rough life!) for work, I decided to get the kids up extra early on a Saturday to go watch hot air balloons take off as part of the annual Clovis Fest. Big Boy looked at me like I was nuts when I woke it him while it was still dark. He told me it was too early and hid under his covers. Thankfully the lure of hot air balloons eventually got him to get up and dressed. Oddly, Boopy, who is usually the crabby morning child, woke up quite well when I told her we were going to see hot air balloons. Overall happy excited kids!

Teddy bear couldn't miss the balloon festival.

He was absolutely mesmerized.

Big Boy is getting quite good at photography, don't you think!

Although a fast early morning balloon show, it was worth the lack of sleeping in. The morning was spent with wonderful time with my kiddos, exposing them to something new. It was even more special as the annual hot air balloon festival was something that was a big part of my childhood. I remember going with my parents and my friend's parents who own a hot air balloon. We even used to help be "chase" vehicles for following the balloons to help when they landed. After all the balloons lifted off this morning, the kids and I had a simple little breakfast at IHOP and then went back to downtown Clovis to check out the craft fair and carnival rides which I'll share in another post.

Hopscotch!

2009-09-16T21:55:00.000-07:00

The kids LOVE a show called "Special Agent Oso". In it a "secret agent" bear helps kids with a lot of various needs. In one episode he helps a couple of kids learn how to play hopscotch. Tonight was such a nice evening, the kids were playing outside when I got home. We took advantage of the nice weather and stayed out there for a while. They got very excited when I helped them create a hopscotch game on our driveway. Such simple fun!

Darren also had fun playing with Papa's airplane.

I think there is rarely and evening outside that Boopy doesn't collect rocks.

More chalk fun

The aftermath!

Preparation for the Fair!

2009-09-07T21:36:00.000-07:00

I've decided to enter the Fresno Fair again this year. I haven't had time in far too long to scrapbook so no scrapbook entries for me, but I do plan on at least 4 photos (2 color and 2 black & white). Here's where I need you're help. I'm posting some of the ones I'm considering. Vote for your favorite for color and black and white. I'm only picking pics of the kids and only ones I've taken within the past year (a requirement). Give me your favorite 2 for color and favorite 2 for black and white. If you think there are pictures of mine that you've seen that would make better choice, feel free to let me know! I have to have my entry mailed in by the 12th so vote soon please! I'll let you know what I choice so you can keep an eye out for them at the fair in Oct.

COLOR:

A.)

B.)

C.)

D.)

E.)

F.)

BLACK & WHITE: (You'll see some duplicates as I couldn't decide which way I liked better.)

A.)

B.)

C.)

D.)

E.)

THANKS!!!

King of the Day!!!

2009-08-28T15:09:00.000-07:00

My sweet big boy, who LOVES kindergarten, got to be "King of the Day" today! In his class all the kids get to be King or Queen of the day once and then they switch to a "Lion" of the week. As you can tell he was quite proud that it was his turn today!

When Sam asked him what a "King" does when she picked him up from school at noon today, he told her that a King eats chicken and fries, so she indulged and got him his favorite Happy Meal from McDonald's for lunch!

First day of Kindergarten!!!

2009-08-12T14:21:00.000-07:00

We made it! We got the school clothes and haircut over the weekend and talked all about how much fun Kindergarten was going to be. We even read two special Kindergarten story books last night (thanks G&G Vaughn for "The Night Before Kindergarten"). Big Boy woke up with a huge grin full of excitement!

The first thing this morning was checking out his new backpack and getting to open the letters that G&G Prohaska wrote to them that arrived in the mail yesterday. The kids immediately had to make a picture with the stickers on paper. They know the rule well that stickers ONLY go on designated paper or sometimes themselves. Hmm...betcha you know how they learned this! If you've been over to our house, check out the side of our coffee table and you'll figure it out.

Papa and I took the day off to spend with our sweet Kindergartner! Had to get the traditional leaving the house first day picture! All grown up! By the way, he picked out what he wore today. I gave him a choice of 5 new shirts, so he was quite happy with himself today.

The parking around the school was complete madness, not surprising for the first day. Lots of parents like us having taken the day off. Anyway, we had to park a couple of blocks away. Big Boy was so excited still that he practically skipped/ran down the sidewalk.

Outside the door to his classroom!

Meeting his teacher and putting his backpack in his cubby.

Putting on his name tag

Aunt Kat got to go see Big Boy off on his first day. She's visiting for a bit before she moves to Washington DC for her new job.

We all did okay until it was time for the parents to go. Big Boy had a few tears and was very clingy to Papa. Can't say I blame him, Aunt Kat and I had teary eyes too. Overall though we all did good and big happy smiles!

While Big Boy was at school we asked Boopy what she wanted to do. We didn't quite have enough time to take her to a movie or do anything big. She told us she wanted to go to a store. So we took her to Wal-Mart and let her pick out a treat. Papa picked out a first day of school treat for Big Boy and I picked up the classroom donation requests his teacher had handed out. Finished up our shopping and headed back to the school a bit early to wait with the other excited parents. I wish I had gotten a picture of Papa peaking through the fence to watch Big Boy at recess! The kindergartners get released not long after recess/snack time, so out came a happy sweaty boy!

Happy day and happy for his monster truck treats

Hope the rest of the days go as well! The real test will be the rest of the week and Monday
when we will be on a normal schedule with Sam dropping and picking him up.

National Night Out!

2009-08-05T22:14:00.000-07:00

Last night we ended up with a spontaneous night out. We went to National Night Out at Target off west Shaw, not far from where we live. Honestly, sad to say, I had never heard of this annual event. Papa Vaughn was going out to it for work as he was set to take pictures of the Air National Guard booth so I decided the kids and I would join him. They had police cars, firetrucks, an ambulance, swat truck and the air national guard training seat to climb in and explore. There were FREE hot dogs, sodas, chips, coloring books, stickers and face painting. A very fun event! Unfortunately when we got there, Papa Vaughn had already left to go back to the Air base to help with the media regarding a fire that broke out there just as the event started. With Papa not there with his camera I only had my camera phone to chronicle the outing. At least I got a few fun shots.

Sitting in the trainer for the planes

Standing in the back of the Swat truck

Boopy really liked driving the police car.

We ran into our neighbors Shannen and Noah. Noah had fun hanging out with the kids.

Hello? Anyone there?

2009-07-26T21:21:00.000-07:00

On the way home from dinner tonight the kids decided to make phone calls. Good thing they have flexible bodies in order to put their feet phones to good use!

Visit with Cousins

2009-07-26T21:18:00.000-07:00

So my cousins had never been to Fresno before. Laurie came to California with us last year and we took her to San Francisco for a couple of days. This year we had both Laurie and Garrett visiting so we brought them back home to our house. Wednesday the 8th of July we spent the day driving back from Shasta. Great drive for Garrett to see the terrain of northern California. Thursday we slept in a bit, went out to see Children's Hospital for Laurie (we'd LOVE her to get a job there) and then we out to the base for a tour with Papa. I think the kids enjoyed it most of all, especially since Papa hooked us up with a great tour of the fire station!

The kids loved getting to climb into the fire truck!

They even got goody bags!

We even enjoyed a nice "cooler" evening hanging out with the neighbors and ice cream.

Friday I left the plans up to Garrett. Since we only had the one last day for sightseeing they had the choice of going to the beach or to Yosemite. Tough choice for someone who had never been to the west coast. After much deliberating, Garrett choose to go to Yosemite. I think it helped that it meant a little less time in the car!

Overall a wonderful visit! Garrett was happy with his choice. We figure this just means that he has to come back another time so we can take him to the beach! Hopefully we didn't scare him off!

Family trip to Shasta!

2009-07-22T07:24:00.000-07:00

Like last year we got together with my side of the family. Since we are so spread out and getting together for the holidays gets harder and harder each year, a summer vacation together is working out well. Unlike last year though, we had to shorten the visit length due to everyone's schedules and cost. Regardless, any time together is wonderful! This year we met from July 5-8th, a little more in the middle vacationing at Lake Shasta in northern CA. We actually got the shortest drive this year at 5 1/2 hours, which is no worse than our regular drives to Vegas so the kids were troopers in the car. Our 3 days were spent hanging out on the lake, hanging out at the rental house and a quick hike to some pretty falls in Dunsmuir near the Sacramento River.

Waiting for our boat to be ready. We managed to rent a party boat for a 1/2 day. It worked out great - had a bbq and bathroom on it!

Papa Vaughn got elected to be Captain. He let his crew take a turn at the wheel. Thankfully we didn't crash into anything!

Big Boy was SO excited about the prospect of fishing. Big Boy, Boopy and Jakub (nephew) all got kid size fishing poles to fish with Grandpa.

They really enjoyed the worms, especially Boopy. Just wish that one of them had actually caught a fish.

We found a nice little cove to dock the boat, ate lunch and too a swim.

Look at me Mama! I can do it myself! She's a bit too brave sometimes. Now to get them real swim lessons some time!

Sweet little nephew, Alex (Theo) enjoyed hanging out with Grandma.

That is until nap time!

Staying cool with shades and watermelon!

Back at the house there was no lacking fun. The night before boating the kids pulled out their fishing rods (Big Boy has a "Cars" pole and Boopy has a "Barbie" one) and practiced off the couch. No worries though they didn't have hooks on them. They came with practicing casting things on the end.

Alex (Theo) is such a happy little 9 month old!

I loved getting to let the cousins play together. Distance makes it hard to do it often, but since they are so close in age they play quite well when we are together.

The house had a hot tub that the kids wanted to take full advantage of. They talked Papa Vaughn into joining them.

For this years family trip, cousin Laurie from Illinois decided to join us again. (Yay! - we're all trying to convince her to move out west. She just graduated from nursing school and hoping to work with kids so if anyone knows of any good job openings out here, please pass them my way for her!) As you can tell, the kids enjoyed her company.

The "Prohaska" girls!

Just hanging out with Grandma & Grandpa Washington.

Adorable nephews - Alex (Theo) and Jakub

It wouldn't be a family vacation without games being played!

Lunch at the waterfalls. Beautiful scenery and weather!

Along with cousin Laurie visiting, we also got to have one of the youngest cousins out this year. Garrett (first one on the left) is 15 and from Arkansas. It was so great to have him visit and get to know him.

The whole group!

Visits like this make me wish we all lived closer.... at least though, we are making a point to do trips like this each year!

Stay tuned for pics from Laurie and Garrett's visit with us in Fresno and Yosemite. They had quite a west coast trip starting out in Seattle with my brother and parents, visiting Shasta and then driving back to Fresno with us.

Bob the Builder!

2009-07-16T23:28:00.000-07:00

Wow am I behind!!!! The sad thing is that I had this post started at the end of June and just never got finished with it to post it. Ugh...I love summer activities but this is starting to affect my sad blogging life! :) Don't worry at least as I work toward catching up I will have plenty of pics to share.

So the day before Father's Day we trekked downtown to the opening day of the Bob the Builder exhibit at the Fresno Met. I love that they are bringing in more family fun exhibits. The kids are loving it! Helps that my co-workers daughter works there so we're getting an inside scoop and passes frequently.

We started with helping to color the giant picture of Bob the Builder they drew with sidewalk chalk.

The first floor of the MET has fun hands on stuff. Most of it is way over the kids heads as in brainteaser puzzles, but they have fun nonetheless.

We ventured up to the 3rd floor where the hands on fun Bob the Builder exhibit is and promptly took a picture with the fake Bob.

Oh, and then the REAL Bob showed up! For anyone who plans on visiting the MET while the exhibit is there, from what I was told, Bob will make an appearance every day at 11 am and 1 pm.

Getting to climb in the construction vehicles was lots of fun!

There were building blocks to play with and walls you could help build.

Plumbing lesson from Papa Vaughn. Boopy decided she really like working on the "sink" and pipes. Perhaps a future plumber?

Saws are pretty fun too!

Hard at work!

Working hard to help Wendy in her garden.

Puzzles and ball games proved to be highly entertaining.

In the same area as the Bob the Builder exhibit, they have another hands on exhibit called "Have a Ball". Definitely a hit with my two!

The MET has a classroom on the 4th floor where kids can make crafts, etc. Since the opening was the day before Father's Day, the craft was a Father's day card shaped like a tool box and complete with a hammer! Papa Vaughn didn't mind helping. :)

In honor of the opening day there was a construction digger for the kids to explore, climb on and play with. The guy supervising was really nice and let them mess with any part they wanted. I'm sure that if he let Boopy have the keys she would have taken off down the street ready to put it to work!

Hey look what this digger dug up!

Two cute and crazy creatures!

Even though it was terribly hot and not much shade, Big Boy had fun playing with the giant soccer ball the museum had out for entertainment.

A big draw of the opening day of the exhibits are the activities the museum set up. This time they got Home Depot to donate crafts. Big Boy chose a wooden race track to build and Boopy picked a flower pot pencil holder. Very cool family crafts.

After our afternoon at the MET we decided to continue the family craft fun. Once we got home we set up paints and let the kids paint some ceramics we picked up at Michael's and then they painted their wood crafts they made at the MET.

Loads of summer fun!

More fun post to catch up on will be:

Family Trip to Shasta Lake, Tour at Papa's work (Air National Guard Base), Yosemite trip, Obon Festival and a fun visit from out of town friends!

Tree Fresno!

2009-06-21T22:23:00.001-07:00

Last weekend on Saturday morning we skipped gymnastics and headed out to a ponding basin across the street from the Clovis Costco. There we joined in on a tree planting community outreach set up by Tree Fresno. Papa Vaughn had seen a flyer at work and thought it would be a great family outing and something we could do to start building a desire to help the community in the kids. Even though our initial reasoning was to just help out, I think we got more out of it as we had a fun time as a family and created a great sense of pride in ourselves.

The weather was beautiful. The kids had fun checking out all the tiny little frogs hopping around while we were listening to the introductory comments and tree planting procedure.

Don't you just love the supervisors!

My "poser" had to pose at least once for me, of course! Boopy insisted on wearing this particular hat, even though she had pigtails and wouldn't leave the car without her necklace. Guess you just can't plant trees without looking your best!

Both kids got to take turns stomping down the dirt before placing the trees in the hole.

Boopy got to help Papa put the plastic tree guard around the base of the tree. After the first time helping she pretty much did it herself on the other trees we planted!

At least one family shot of us.

After the hard work of tree planting, we rewarded the kids with the fun time on the playground next to the ponding basin. It's nice to see more of these neighborhood parks popping up around town.

Such a big boy. He pretty much handled the rock wall all on his own.

Of course our daredevil, Boopy, had to climb the rock wall too, although she needed help only because her little legs weren't quite long enough.

The kids LOVE monkey bars! Getting a little help from Papa.

A view of the ponding basin after the tree planting. Some day we can come back here and see great big tall trees and know that we helped it to look so good!

I hope that overall the kids remember a fun family outing but also reflect on (one of hopefully many more times to come) the time spent helping the community.

Run Frog, RUN!!!

2009-06-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

Last Friday night we ran some errands after work. Driving home into our culdesac, Papa Vaughn saw a frog in the middle of the road. As soon as he pulled into our driveway, he and the kids took off chasing the poor thing into a neighbors yard and then brought it up to our porch for the kids to "play" with briefly. I just wish I had my camera handy fast enough to catch them all running down the street chasing the poor frog!

My frogs checking out the neighborhood frog.

Close up especially taken for Grandma Washington who "loves" (okay, can't stand) frogs!

Don't worry after a few minutes of "play", the frog was returned to our front yard bushes and left unharmed and happy to go find it's frog family!

Another Vegas Weekend

2009-06-09T06:32:00.000-07:00

The kids and I took another quick trip to Vegas this past weekend. This time we went over to spend time with "Guya" since her birthday was June 4th. I hadn't spent a birthday with her since our grandpa's funeral 4 years ago, which incidentally was on her actual birthday. Yes, that was a rough year for us, but that's another story. So...since Papa Vaughn had drill weekend, just the kids and I drove over. "Guya" decided to keep the weekend low-key. We spent most of the day just hanging out at the really cool park in the pictures below, shopping at Kohl's and hanging out at Guya and D's house.

We packed a picnic lunch to enjoy at the park before shopping. Big Boy was not thrilled that I made him stop to eat before he was allowed to play. Food is definitely not his priority.

I have seriously "ruined" this child. Boopy LOVES to pose for pictures. She would eat a bite of her sandwich, then go out to the grass area and lay around posing wanting me to take her picture. Of course I have to oblige!

I actually managed to get a picture of both kids together, looking at me (mostly) and being super cute. It's getting harder to get them to both sit long enough for a decent picture together.

I loved the entrance to the park. It had these wooden painted flowers up high above the arched entrance. I had Boopy sit up on Uncle "D"s shoulders so I could get them in the background with the beautiful blue sky.

The rock wall proved to be a big hit for my daredevil children.

Of course I had to try out the twisty slide with Big Boy.

The kids favorite thing at the park was this really cool caterpillar "monkey bar" type structure. After an initially cautious climb, Boopy discovered it wasn't so difficult and she could scale it just as easily as Big Boy. They would have played on this structure all day if we let them.

The park even had tube slides, caterpillars to balance on, tunnels to hide in and other structures to jump and climb on. With all the bright fun colors I couldn't help myself with the camera. Just wish we had parks like this in Fresno since it would be a fabulous park for young kid family picture sessions!

I LOVED the brightly colored stairs.

Overall another lovely summer weekend. Happy birthday Guya! AND happy birthday to Grandma Vaughn, who celebrated the day before on the 3rd!

Outdoor Adventures - Up, up and away!

2009-06-03T21:07:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the delay (again) in blogging. While we haven't technically had major plans lately, I have been staying rather busy with my photography sessions. This has been great, but it does take away from my pics of the kids and time to blog about them. So this past weekend I did make sure to take Saturday "off" and we played as a family. We spent time at gymnastics in the morning and then went straight to the movies to see "UP". Highly recommend it by the way, very sweet movie.

Anyway, nice day of just hanging out, had lunch out and spent the afternoon snooping around the deals at Gottschalks. Since the weather was still so nice when we got home in the late afternoon/early evening, we let the kids loose in their favorite place - the backyard. They are so my kids in some ways - they both run around everywhere barefoot. If my feet could be naked year round and not freeze, they would be! So with the kids playing I had to play too, so I grabbed my camera and tortured them a bit. At least this time, Big Boy was a very willing subject!

Yes, they are quite acrobatic! My flying "Peter Pan" kids!

Boopy was funny - being barefooted and all she stepped down and shrieked when she stepped on something wiggly. Once she saw it was just a little worm she kept talking about how cute it was and how she just loved it!

Papa helped them put the worm in a much safer place rather than directly under the swings.

Had a little fun playing with some settings on my camera and managed to get a few fun evening shots.

Hope life has been treating you all well. While I've still got more pictures to edit, don't worry, I'll still keep trying to get over here and update you all on our adventures!

Memorial Weekend 09

2009-05-25T23:13:00.000-07:00

Our Memorial weekend was wonderful! No real plans and no true agenda to be had. And while there were many chores that should have been done around the house, we really didn't do any of it. We spent most of the weekend playing, hanging out, sleeping in (a bit) and generally enjoying being a family. It was wonderful!

Saturday, Papa Vaughn participated in a motorcycle ride in the morning with a group from the base for a fundraiser. It finished with a small bbq that we joined him for. After that we spent the afternoon at home. Boopy decided that she needed to freshen up her "make-up" getting into my powder. While she's generally a totally tomboy, it's fun to see that she has her "girly" side too.

She's such a little poser - I think I've got her hooked on my camera, unlike Big Boy who often makes me chase him to get his picture - hence the fact that this blog post has many more Boopy photos than Big Boy shots.

We went from putting on make-up to her room where I had to play "Polly Pocket" with her. She got some for her birthday and just loves them. If they weren't such tiny pieces that I'm sure are going to get lost all over the house, I might love them more for what they do to her imagination.

Showing off her room and her "Polly Pocket" clothes.

We did manage to peal Big Boy away from Papa and cartoons with the enticement of a popsicle and chalk in the front yard. While I totally miss the tiny baby he once was, I love the big kid he's become and his independence.

Boopy had me trace her hands for her.

In true kid fashion, and in honor of Peter Pan, they played with their shadows for a bit.

We rounded out our afternoon with some fun backyard fun too.

As for Sunday, well I literally didn't leave the house at all. It was marvelous! Papa and the kids ran a few errands. Papa got the lawn mower working again and put it too good use. I did do laundry, which wasn't so fun - I never tire of hating laundry - it's the chore that NEVER ends... Anyway, that was our Sunday.

As for Monday, the holiday, we lazed around in the morning, got ourselves together for the afternoon and spent it hanging out at the zoo. I didn't bring my camera but did catch a few pics on my cell phone. Oh by the way if you look closely in the picture below take notice of Boopy's shoes. my nice responsible Big Boy was offered his flip flops or his tennis shoes to where to roam the zoo. He appropriately chose the tennis shoes. Boopy on the other hand insisted on her dress shoes because she considers them her "princess" shoes and we all know she's quite the princess. So, yes, she was the one tromping around climbing on everything at the zoo in her dress shoes from Auntie Jenn's wedding.

We finished the day off with a family walk around the block, some play time with the neighborhood kids and getting ourselves ready for the rest of the week when we have to go back to the real world of alarm clocks and chores that can't be ignored. Here's hoping that you all had a relaxing and fun filled 3 day weekend!

Boopy's official birthday...

2009-05-19T21:16:00.000-07:00

Since Boopy's actually birthday fell on a Tuesday, both Papa and I had to go to work, but we woke up Boopy with sweet happy birthday hugs and lots of morning kisses. Sam treated Boopy, Big Boy and Gaby to a fun morning at the new bounce place in town, Bounce U. From what Sam told me and the pictures she sent via her phone, the kids had a ball!

After Papa and I got home from work we took Boopy to Red Robin per her request for her birthday dinner. She was very excited to have the staff sing happy birthday to her.

When we got back home it was still early enough to give the kids some time to play outside for a bit. Our neighbor friends were out in their yard playing with Noah's Slip N Slide and even though it was too terribly hot, the kids jumped right in and had a good time. All in all, a wonderful fun filled birthday for our crazy 3 year old!

The Princess Party!

2009-05-18T12:50:00.000-07:00

This Tuesday, May 19th, Boopy will officially turn 3 years old. I seriously can't believe that our little girl is three! We celebrated this past Saturday with a Princess themed party at our house, per Boopy's request. Before I go into party details, I want to brag about my wonderful husband. He designed and made Boopy's requested princess castle cake. He was up until 2 pm the night before working on it, but at least Sam (who watches the kids for us) and I helped bake a bunch of the cakes the couple days beforehand since Papa Vaughn was out of town from Tuesday until Friday. (Thanks Sam!) Didn't the cake turned out awesome! He's really set a standard now after this and Big Boy's pirate cake.

Our princess posing after coming down all ready for her party. Aunt "Guya" helped get her dolled up. I found her dress at Sams Club for a mere $12!! I loved how pretty it was AND if you look closely in the black and white pattern right above each flower is an actual sketch of Cinderella, Belle & Sleeping Beauty.

Shortly after the guests arrived, we encouraged everyone to have a bite to eat. We served hamburgers, hot dogs, my dad's recipe potato salad, southwestern chicken salad, watermelon, princess punch, iced tea, basically the usual BBQ food. While the kids were eating, the gal playing Cinderella showed up. I smuggled her inside to the bathroom where I had the Cinderella costume waiting for her. Once she was ready, I smuggled her back outside via the garage where she then waited and rang the doorbell. At that point we told Boopy to answer the door as she had been greeting all her guests. It was so funny when she peered out the front door window. She was so stunned and surprised, she just froze with her hand on the doorknob. Papa had to go over and "help" Boopy to open the door. It was so cute!

I think it took Boopy a minute to realize that, yes, Cinderella REALLY was at HER party! The real fun and reason we set this up was that Cinderella is one of Boopy's favorite princesses. Of all the characters we saw at Disneyland in April, we never managed to see Cinderella. Boopy had commented on this fact more than once, so the idea of having "Cinderella" at her birthday party was just too good to not have happen. One of my friends managed to find "Cinderella" for us through her cousin's drama class - gotta love Facebook and great friends!

"Cinderella" was wonderful! She sat with all the girls, helped Boopy hand out goodie bags and helped her to open her presents.

Boopy and friend, Gaby, had to point out the Cinderella figure to Cinderella. Every Cinderella thing Boopy got as a gift, she pointed out as well saying, "look it's you!" to Cinderella.

Singing Happy Birthday and blowing out her candles.

After Cinderella and all Boopy's guests left, the kids sat back and enjoyed all the new presents Boopy got. Big Boy managed to sit in one place long enough that I finally got a picture of him. He spent most of the party outside on the playset and trampoline even though it was 100 degrees outside. I swear he would live outside if we let him!

Boopy got some fun "Princess" make-up from cousin Kennedy. She promptly put some on in the evening and insisted she do it all herself. Didn't she do a lovely job! (wink, wink!)

We finished out the birthday celebration on Saturday watching the boys take a nap, playing with toys, me messing around with pictures and overall relaxing. Sunday was wonderful as well as we simply went to Target to spend Boopy's gift card money from Grandma & Grandpa in Washington and then did some more relaxing at home. All in all a very nice birthday weekend. One I hope Boopy has very fond memories of in the years to come!

Disney - Sneak Peek....

2009-04-30T12:03:00.000-07:00

To tied you all over as I continue to muddle through our massive amounts of pictures from the past couple of weeks, here a cell phone pic of the kids at Disneyland. They got to pick out custom mouse ears. You pick the base, then the color/style of ears and can add patches. Great idea and lots of fun!

Belated Easter Pics

2009-04-29T21:31:00.000-07:00

So again I find myself a bit behind. I've had client photos to work on, which I also need to catch up on, and then there was this fabulous trip to Disneyland this past weekend, not to mention enjoying Vintage Days with friends the weekend prior. So you see, we've been a bit busy. I've finally found a spare moment to actually sit at the computer and can't believe it's already Wednesday night. Not that I'm complaining, I can't wait for the work week to be over, but I'd really love a few days with nothing planned so I can play with pictures, blog and I suppose catching up on the ever expanding pile of housework would be good too. So on to my real reason for this post - catch up on Easter pictures. Thought I'd finally share pictures from our morning at home before driving up to Merced to spend the day with GG, Grandma & Grandpa Vaughn and cousins.

Easter baskets all set! The kids woke up to find these at their doorway.

Then it was off to the hunt! The Easter bunny did like he did when I grew up which is to leave coins and candy all along the floor leading to where the Easter eggs are hidden (in this case downstairs).

They were both so excited that the Easter bunny also hid eggs outside on the front lawn! (Thanks for good weather!)

A bit of fun with their new bubbles from the Easter bunny.

*Stayed tuned for more belated Easter pics, Vintage Days and our fun at Disneyland!

Bunnypalooza!

2009-04-14T21:55:00.000-07:00

We kicked off our Easter celebrating on Saturday. The local museum, the Fresno Metropolitan Museum held a fundraiser, family outing called "Bunnypalooza". Sad to say, having lived here nearly all my life, I had never been to the Met before, so what better way to enjoy some culture and support the museum (they're having major money issues - but then who isn't) than to spend a day as a family with bunny time fun. We ended up staying the entire time the "Bunnypalooza" ran, which was 11:00-3:00! The kids made bunny crafts: bunny baskets (from milk containers - very creative idea that my teacher friends should steal!) and bunny ears. The also got a plant to plant in the yard at home, their faces painted like a bunny and they participated in the egg hunt at 2:00pm. We even spent quite a bit of time in the actual museum. Boopy being cute in her Easter hat and Cinderella glasses - it was a beautiful BRIGHT sunny day, although it was rather windy making it a bit chilly.

Papa helped Big Boy with his crafts, while I helped Boopy.

Finished milk jug bunny basket

Working on their bunny ears.

Looking cute in their bunny ears - Boopy put hers on a bit crooked, she really did have 2 ears. Big Boy stole Papa's glasses since he didn't have his with him. I think he thought he was pretty cool.

Getting their faces painted

After the crafts we ventured inside the museum. Big Boy would have stayed all day in the hand-on displays if we let him. We're hoping to go back this summer when they have a Bob the Builder exhibit.

Big Boys favorites were the next three - a computer game, microscope and Spirograph.

This was a fun wall where you selected the items and put them in the correct section: recyclable or non-recyclable.

The kids were split up by age for the egg hunt, so Papa went with Big Boy and I went with Boopy.

We even ate a fun lunch of hot dogs, nachos, popcorn and Jamba Juice.

All in all a very fun afternoon. Even now, 3 days after, the kids keep asking if we can go to "Bunnypalooza". I would definitely recommend a trip down to the Met, if for nothing else but to support them. The kids loved the first floor hands on displays. The actual art displays upstairs are great too, but our 2 aren't at an age that they really cared much so we only took a quick glance around.

Coloring Easter Eggs

2009-04-13T07:15:00.000-07:00

Friday night we pulled out the coloring kits and went to town. Papa Vaughn helped each kid while I took a backseat and mostly took pictures.

Big Boy liked the camouflage stickers that came with one set, as well as the face stickers that came with the other.

Posing with their handiwork. They really liked the faces on each egg as well as doing one with their name on it.

All in all a fun Easter egg dyeing night. I think if we let him, Big Boy would have slept with the eggs in his bed. As it was, he woke up Saturday morning worried and wondering about his eggs. I think he was hoping that the Easter bunny would have come Saturday morning.

Opening Day - Grizzlies!

2009-04-12T18:02:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, in the midst of feeling really crummy from a cold that I had hoped was only allergies, we ventured out to the Opening Day for the Grizzlies. Papa Vaughn got tickets from work as he needed to be there to photograph the Air National Guard Honor Guard preform the flag ceremony for the National Anthem.

I indulged the creatures and got them each an ICEE. Don't quite understand why they don't have child size ICEEs at the ballpark?

If you look close (yes, it would have been much easier and better if I had remembered my telephoto lens) you'll see Papa Vaughn in his uniform crouched down getting ready to take pictures of the honor guard. And no his uniform isn't the orange fuzzy headed person. That happens to be Parker the Grizzlies mascot.

The one shot I managed to get of Big Boy where he wasn't covering his ears from the fireworks. He was showing me how they pitch the ball.

Papa Vaughn showing of the cool camera he gets to play with from work.

Believe it or not, but this great shot was taken by Big Boy! Just think how well he could have done if I'd remembered my telephoto lens!

Random Outside Cuteness

2009-04-06T21:37:00.000-07:00

The fun thing with staying home all day Sunday was getting to play and enjoy the gorgeous spring weather in our backyard. The sun was so wonderful and the kids so happy I just had to have some play time with my camera. Enjoy!

First the kids played on the play set.

Then we all jumped on the trampoline. Both kids like to play like they died and then have me come magically wake them up. Boopy pretends she's a princess and Big Boy, well he just likes me attacking him.

A fun part of spring in our backyard is that we have a mama bird living in our planter. She's been sitting there for quite a while. Can't wait to see the babies!

While I can still manage to get a good number of pictures that I like of Big Boy, he's gotten to an age that he'd rather not have me take his picture, at least not the quantity I like to take! He's also got this thing about giving us the "Okay" sign for just about everything. I'm wondering if he was a "Fonzie" fan in a past life!

Not sure which effect I like better for this shot.

Same here - which one do you like better?

And while Big Boy tolerates my picture taking for short intervals, Boopy eats it up. She's become quite the little poser and tells me to take a picture of her. Good thing she's cute!

Long Lost Family and Weekend Recap

2009-04-05T22:42:00.000-07:00

April is indeed gearing up to be a crazy busy month. Granted we have a ton of fun squeezed in, but it's still jam packed nonetheless. This past weekend was drill weekend for Papa. We also had a visit from my uncle Kirk and his wife Cheryl. They came up from southern California to pick up stuff that we'd been storing for them from my grandma's house last year. We hadn't seen Uncle Kirk since Big Boy was 6 months old and I'd never met his wife, Cheryl. Pretty crazy since they've been married for nearly 13 years!

Since they came up a day earlier than expected, I took Friday afternoon off and played. We started out at Chuck-E-Cheese for lunch and games. After that we went to the Underground Gardens which I had never even been too. I've lived here most of my life and only heard of the gardens in more recent years. While it wasn't that cheap to go to, I felt good that we were supporting a local historic site. And while I don't plan on making it a regular tourist site with out of town visitors, it is worth a couple visits there and something you don't see everyday or everywhere for that matter.

Boopy fell in love with the horse game.

Big Boy of course was in love with the train!

Even Uncle Kirk got into the action!

The Underground Gardens made for a great place to sight see given the fact that Friday afternoon we had wind warnings making my original plan of going to the zoo not such a fun idea. The only downside of the gardens is the parking. You have to park ON Shaw Ave. NOT fun trying to get out of the car.

Believe it or not Baldassare Forestiere actually lived underground in rooms that he dug out by himself! He even ended up bring down electricity and had a wood burning stove. His goal was to create a complete underground resort.

Here's his bathtub and a cute pic of Great Uncle Kirk and Boopy.

While they are technically "Underground Gardens" as you can see there still was plenty of light and access to the sky above. Very impressive overall.

As for Friday evening, we just hung out and had a nice dinner at home. First pic: Great Aunt Cheryl, Boopy, Great Uncle Kirk, Big Boy. Second picture I had to share because Big Boy took this one! He's becoming quite the photographer!

Uncle Kirk and Cheryl left on Saturday morning. After they hit the road, we had a quick visit from Boopy's godfather and one of our groomsmen, Ric. He was on his way back home to southern California as well. Then about 10:45am, the kids and I rushed out of the house for a photo shoot at Rio De Oso park (a beautiful park by the way). The rest of the day was spent at home playing and then dinner with Darren and Carolyn.

Sunday, I thought about taking the kids to Big Hat Days in Clovis, but opted to stay home and catch up on pictures, housework and playtime. Neither kid seemed to mind.

They love climbing on our bed and terrorizing my laundry piles. They hide in as many towels and blankets as possible while watching a movie in comfort.

Just some more random cuteness. Doesn't Boopy look like Popeye?!

Hope you all had a wonderful Spring weekend! Sure wish the weather stayed this great all year round!

Kindergarten, Already??!!!???

2009-03-31T15:29:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it's time to think about Kindergarten already. I came into work late this morning after registering Big Boy for starting school in fall! Yes, he goes to a speech preschool, but it's only one day a week and he's been in daycare/preschool off and on since he was 6 weeks. And yes, I work full-time and am not with him all day long, but really, Kindergarten!??!! When did my Big Boy get so BIG! Before you know it, he'll be in college, getting married and making me a grandma (hopefully in that order!).

I totally get what people say about how fast time flies and how there's something special about your firstborn.

Monsters Vs Big Boy & Boopy

2009-03-29T22:20:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we enjoyed a wonderful visit with Grandma & Grandpa Vaughn. They came down Friday night to be able to watch the kiddos at gymnastics Saturday morning. After gymnastics, we ventured to the movies and lunch. And from my title you can guess that we went and saw Monsters VS Aliens. Turned out to be a cuter movie than I expected. Of course the kids enjoyed it and now want to collect all the lovely McDonald Happy Meal toys that go along with the movie! After the movie we stopped by the sporting store and picked up small hand weights for the kids. They had been complaining that they couldn't exercise with Papa without weights when he uses his. I slacked off and totally neglected my camera, but Grandma Vaughn did snap this cute picture of Boopy with her camera phone.

After Grandma & Grandpa Vaughn left we took it easy the rest of the weekend. Spent family time watching "Bolt". As for Sunday, I ended up doing an impromptu photo shoot for a friend (which will show up on my photo blog in the next week or so) and then Papa Vaughn and I went out on a lovely date night. We had a great time at the "Rock and Worship Roadshow". It was definitely a concert worth attending again next year if they make it back to Fresno.

She's such a HAM

2009-03-29T12:47:00.000-07:00

What can I say, Boopy loves the camera. Big Boy obliges me on occasion but Boopy, she hams it up frequently. A couple of weeks ago they tagged along for a photo shoot with some good friends of ours. Boopy decided to ham it up and I couldn't resist her cute little face. I stumbled back upon this pic while working on the picture set, which I'm still not quite done with. I'm not sure which photo effect is my favorite, so here's all three for you to see.

Friday Fun!

2009-03-22T12:06:00.000-07:00

Fridays are always wonderful. The evenings are usually more relaxed, knowing that we don't have the early hustle and bustle Saturday morning like the rest of the week. This particular Friday Papa Vaughn took advantage of our unplanned evening to start out with the new exercise workout video he got. The kids were too cute and had to participate too. Papa had picked them up their own "yoga" mats at Circuit City on clearance so they could be just like him.

Once the kids had enough of exercising they disappeared in Boopy's room. Can you find them?

Peek-a-Boo!

Once I found them they took to other activities. Big Boy brought his truck and crane into Boopy's room to play and Boopy decided she wanted to do her homework. For some crazy reason she calls cutting up little pieces of paper, her homework and takes it quite serious.

Deep in concentration

Just some cute fun faces.

That is until I got "ROARED" at!

All boy - he LOVES trucks and construction vehicles.

Then the neighbor boys were outside playing and enticed the kiddos to come out and join them. We finished the beautiful spring night with a family walk (with the neighbor kids joining us) and some jumping on the trampoline. A wonderful night.

What We've Been Up To Lately

2009-03-17T21:23:00.000-07:00

So what have we been up to the past month....plenty, as usual!!! I've started getting busier with photo shoots now that spring is here. They are mostly for friends, but hey that's a great way to keep me in practice and spread the word, right? So aside from my constant editing of pictures, the kids and I made the trek to Vegas a week and a half ago to finally see Guya and D's new house. We enjoyed the spring weather and spent most of Saturday at the Springs Preserve which was kind of like a desert zoo/museum on the nature of the Vegas area. We had most of the park to ourselves and the kids enjoyed all the hands on activities. After Vegas we rushed home to host dinner with some friends at our house. Turned out to be a bit crazy with the 7 hour drive home, but our dinner company was delightful and it finished of a fun lovely weekend.

We're also enjoying having Papa Vaughn home every night. March 8th marked the last night for the Fresno Circuit City to be open. While the extra income was helpful, the time off is very nice for Papa and having family time. I'm just so thankful that Circuit City wasn't Papa Vaughn's full-time job as it was for quite a few people that worked there. Unfortunately they are not alone and we know too many people that are being affected by lay-offs. Anyway, I'm just so thankful.

The kids are still busy with weekly gymnastics. Big Boy was actually brave this past Saturday and decided to follow his sister and fly like Peter Pan over the trampoline. The two classes were merged for part of the morning due to small class sizes. Boopy started off the flying with no fear and giant smiles. I think her bravery helped encourage Big Boy when it was his turn. I'm so proud of them and I love watching how much they love gymnastics. One of these days I'll bring my camera back with me and get so more fun pictures. On a side note with the gym, we found out that parents get to use the treadmills, weights and a few other pieces of equipment for free while their kids are in class, so Papa Vaughn and I are on a mission to get ourselves in shape!

It seemed like the past couple years, our weekends in summer time were always filled, lately I'm finding that our weekends are filling faster. The next few months are already booking up with fun things to do. We'll be heading to Disneyland at the end of April (a wonderful military deal we just can't pass up!), Papa & I are looking forward to a fun concert at the end of March, I've got more photo shoots lined up, somewhere in there we'll celebrate Easter and an event at the local museum. Plus we have a couple of friends birthday parties for the kids to attend and then before you know it, it will be Boopy's birthday in May! Phew - kinda makes me tired already just thinking about it all!

And because I have a hard time doing a post without pictures - here are the latest from our recent Vegas trip.

The Vegas strip from the Springs Preserve. It was kind of weird realizing this park is in the middle of freeways and housing and only minutes from the Strip!

I love this group picture! Being bears in one of the cave areas at the entrance.

The had really cool water displays.

The kids got to dig in dirt and ride a stationary train.

Rather interesting idea - they had a ton of various types of video games all of which had to do with nature and recycling, water waste, and various "going" green ideas.

More displays and an outdoor city scene where kids could build the walls and design the buildings. Lots of fun!

Desert animal displays were full of creepy crawly creatures. Love Boopy's expression as she points out the tarantula - especially since being that close didn't seem to bother her much.

Cute pic of Boopy and Guya

Big Boy LOVES to run!

Just sweet faces I couldn't resist.

The park had a great play area for kids complete with a sand box, train, giant butterfly display and giant fake snake to climb. It wasn't easy getting the kids to leave!

Believe it or not they even had a garden area with flowers - yes the desert can be beautiful!

Later at Guya and D's house, Guya set up a special dessert project for the kiddos. They made "sushi" Twinkies and chocolate dipped fruit. Big Boy helped for a very short time then decided he'd rather chase the dogs, so Boopy took over. She of course had to sample while she worked!

My cutie pies being sweet siblings!

I actually managed to get myself in a photo and it's one I like (thanks Guya)!

A bit behind - WA Trip Part 3

2009-03-06T16:24:00.000-08:00

So I'm a bit behind these days with no real excuse than regular life has been keeping us busy. Kids are still in gymnastics on Saturday mornings and LOVING it. Boopy even got to fly like Tinkerbell above the trampoline. She had a blast. Big Boy on the other hand, thought it was more fun to watch. Otherwise, photo sessions (go see baby Max and I'll have 3 new sessions to post in the next week or so), cleaning house and chasing after the kiddos are taking up my time lately. I did, however, finally load up another set of pictures from Washington for you to enjoy! These are from the small park by Grandma & Grandpa Prohaska's house. We hung out there after the baptism.

While walking to the park with the train tracks, Boopy was concerned that Grandma's nose was cold and insisted she keep it warm! Too cute!

Monday of the trip we drove into Tacoma and spent the afternoon at the Children's Musuem. Small but all hands on displays. The kids loved it!

Have a great weekend everyone! We off for another fast trip to Vegas!

WA Trip - Part 2

2009-02-15T15:32:00.000-08:00

The original reason to take our visit to Washington was for Alexander Theodore's baptism. The baptism was held on Sunday, Feb 1st. Even though it was too be a long busy service, I chose to keep the kids with me as they don't really know anyone at the church and I figured they'd enjoy getting to watch the baptism. I'm so proud of them for being so well behaved especially considering that there were 2 baptisms and 3 confirmations.

My brother Five (Frank), nephew Jakub, sister-in-law Kathie and guest of honor, Alex Theo.

Just being sweet.

Boopy couldn't get enough of her new baby cousin. She kept telling me she was going to hold him because he was a baby and just born. It was cute listening to her talk about his little tiny baby hands, especially considering he's not really that much smaller than her!

We had a private lunch at a lovely restaurant courtesy of Kathie's great uncle Ted. The kids loved getting to watch the dessert being prepared. Big Boy enjoyed his peanut butter and jelly sandwich not being the daring food connoisseur that Boopy is, while Boopy got special made fancy macaroni and cheese and ate half of my squash soup!

All in all a busy Sunday afternoon, but nice to be with family!

Stay tuned for our adventure at the Seattle Zoo, the Tacoma Children's Museum and just more hanging out.

Our WA Trip - Part 1

2009-02-10T12:46:00.000-08:00

The trip to Washington was wonderful. Not only were the kids fabulous on the plane rides, there and back, but we were able to relax, play and get some good quality visit time with grandparents, nephews and aunts and uncles, not to mention honorary grandparents! After our easy Thursday night flight, we got up Friday to attend the Home and Garden Show in Tacoma. We've attended the ones in Fresno frequently, but my parents had never been to one before. Anyway, we bundled up and headed to the Tacoma Dome to enjoy exploring and getting ideas for my parents for their backyard which they plan on working on this spring. The perk of having me go with them was that the 1st 150 people got $20 gift cards to a local nursery, so now my parents have $60 to play with!!

The nursery giving out the gift cards had this cute plant guy set up on a bench to visit with.

Taking a walking break.

View of all the displays from the top of the Tacoma Dome. Funny how everything was indoors. We're used to the home and garden shows being indoor and outdoors at the fairgrounds. Just that's the fun of living in CA vs. WA!

Grandpa's a sucker for her cute little face! She weaseled many shoulder rides!

Friday night was relaxed at Grandma & Grandpa's house. Big Boy loved watching Grandpa play his computer game because it had pirate ships and dragons in it!

Honorary grandparents Harriet and Victor came over to see us and Victor drove to the Seattle airport with grandpa to pick up Guya and Uncle D. I let the kids wait up for their arrival. We spent our time having stories read and being entertained by Big Boy and Boopy's gymnastics and wild imaginations.

The kids showed off the skills they are learning at gymnastics. They put their feet up on the walls to start learning the basics of handstands.

Boopy decided to put on her princess dress we brought up to play with and her new crown grandma and grandpa bought her. They had a tickle war going on as well as pretending to see crocodiles and pirate ships. They LOVE anything that has to do with Peter Pan!

Saturday was spent having fun with Guya, Uncle D, Grandma & Grandpa Prohaska and Victor and Harriett. While the boys went to the grocery store, the girls went to get their nails done - Grandma's treat - (thanks!), although Grandma actually stayed home for some peace and quiet since she's not a nail person. I do wish I had planned better while at the salon as I brought my camera for Boopy's first salon manicure but didn't pull it out before starting on my manicure and therefore couldn't get it out with wet nails. Oh well. Boopy did have a great time and was VERY proud of her $3 manicure! She picked out pink nail polish (of course!) and they painted little polka dots on her nails since flowers are a bit hard on tiny little fingers!

Later us big girls let the guys in charge of the kids and took off to see a chick flick. We saw "New In Town". It was cute but not really worth the money for seeing it in the theatre. Regardless it was nice to get out!

Boopy and I helped Guya make a blanket for cousin Jakub.

Guya is a master at crazy faces!

Guya spoils them rotten!

A rare moment where I caught them both!!

More trip to come....baptism, Children's Museum of Tacoma, Seattle Zoo and hanging out with the cousins!

We made it!

2009-01-30T21:28:00.001-08:00

Just a quick note to let you all know we made it safe and sound to Grandma & Grandpa Prohaska's in Washington! The kids had flown before but it'd been quite some time (big Boy was 2.5 and Boopy was 6 months) so I doubt they remember it. I wasn't too sure how they'd do, although they are great travelers so I wasn't too worried. Boopy is a bit loud at times and I was more worried about her bothering other passengers with her talking than them being rowdy. They made me quite pleased and handled everything beautifully! I really couldn't have asked for better kids! Aside from the fun adventure of cramming all 3 of us into the teeny tiny airplane bathroom, the trip was a breeze!

While I obviously already have taken a ton of pictures so far, I only have a few cell phone pictures to share for now.

I let the kids each load their own backpacks for the plane. Big Boy came downstairs with a VERY full backpack, two trucks in hand AND his very large city scene play rug. I did have to explain that the rug was a bit too big to take on the plane.

Here we are having a snack while we waited to board. I had us there a couple hours early to the Sacramento airport so we had plenty of time to eat and watch airplanes.

All buckled in and ready for take off! Big Boy loved looking out the window while we took off then took advantage of the late time flight (we left at 7:55pm and got to Seattle at 9:45pm) and fell asleep after the snack and drink. Boopy just wanted to color and be read to after that. Honestly a wonderful flight with my super travelers!

Hope you're all doing well! We'll be sure to share more of our fun adventures soon!

Lack of Posts

2009-01-28T12:25:00.000-08:00

I'd love to come on here and tell you all how busy we've been and how that equates to my lack of time to post. In reality though, it's finally slowed down in our lives the past couple of weeks that I've been able to just sit back, relax and work slowly on reclaiming my house after the holiday madness. That and enjoy fun time, like going to the zoo and gymnastics with Big Boy and Boopy. And while I still haven't posted any Christmas pictures or the really fun Snow Day we took on Jan 1st, I've kinda enjoyed my self imposed break from blogging. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE blogging. I blog for me and the hope that anyone that wants to read our little family blog enjoys a peak into our lives, but it was nice to kinda force myself away from the computer and focus on home. That said, there will still be a lack of current posts this next week, but not due to my self imposed blogging vacation.

Big Boy, Boopy and I are packing up and heading up to the freezing cold Pacific Northwest to meet the newest family addition that joined the Prohaska clan in October. Baby Alex "Theo" will be baptized on Sunday with almost all his family there as witnesses. Due to the cost of plane tickets and Papa Vaughn's work schedule, we'll unfortunately be leaving him behind. At least he'll have some great weather to enjoy as the sun is currently shining and it's warmed up to the mid 60's. Me and the kids, however, are packing gloves, scarves, and piles of clothes to layer us up and stay warm in the 40 degree weather we'll be enjoying. I can't help that we've been enjoying the early spring fever here in central California! Regardless of weather though, we're really looking forward to meeting little Alex and getting a chance for the cousins to play together, sure makes me wish we all lived closer in proximity. That certainly doesn't mean that you'll catch me wanting to move north any time soon, it is pretty up there but way too cold for me! (And yes, I know Aunt Kat, cold is relative since you're dealing with even colder temperatures in Connecticut and you too Grandma in Virginia!)

So enjoy the weekend and know that yes, posts are forthcoming. Just think, I'll have even more to share when we return!

Oh my, I can SOOO relate...

2009-01-28T08:27:00.000-08:00

Oh my, I can SOOO relate. I don't know what it is, but Big Boy gives us so much trouble when it comes to trimming his nails. Boopy sits there so nicely handing us her hand or foot and watches with little or no wiggling. Big Boy however, acts as if we are about to murder him and wiggles, cries, and begs us not to cut his nails. Seriously, the last time we trimmed his nails Papa ended up hanging him upside down to stop his squirming so I could finish trimming his toenails. It's kinda like when you try to bathe a cat, lots of arms and legs everywhere. Anyhow, I read For Better or Worse daily and had to laugh the other day when the comic above appeared!

Our attempt at watching Extreme Homemakeover Live

2009-01-11T23:48:00.000-08:00

With all of Fresno a buzz with the news of Extreme Home Makeover in town , we thought we'd join in the community excitement and take a trip down to see the house in production. Really not a big deal for us considering our good friends, Darren and Carolyn live only 2 streets over from the house being built. So off we trekked for a Sunday afternoon walk to see what we could see, with plans to go back to their house for dinner.

Excuse the horrible picture quality - I just liked being able to show what a nice afternoon it was and a fun walk for the kids.

This unfortunately is as close as we could get...

Apparently, due to the high number of people parking nearby and walking in to spectate, the people in charge of the production, in order to maintain better crowd control, were only allowing spectators if you rode the shuttle into the production area. Shuttles for convenience were being offered for free downtown at the convention center. From what we were told by the police at the end of the street where the house is, there was at least a 2 hour wait to board the shuttle. Big bummer for us that it didn't matter that Darren and Carolyn live only 2 streets over, we were still told that we would have to go downtown, just to come back. Pretty silly, but yet understandable for keeping better control of the production and crowds. Needless to say, we didn't think it worth it to drive downtown just to wait to come back! The walk at least wasn't a waste since it was a glorious late afternoon and the kids got to see a fire truck!

We did catch this tiny view of the house being framed on one street over. If you look through the trees you can barely see it. We might try to catch a glimpse of the house after it's all down and yes it was a disappointment they wouldn't let us down the street to see the work in progress, but at least we had a great visit with Darren and Carolyn.

Argh Matey! Big Boy Birthday Madness!

2009-01-07T22:35:00.000-08:00

While I need to blog about our wonderful Christmas, I have so many pictures I haven't finished going through them all. I do have for you though, Big Boy's 5th birthday party that we held on Jan 3rd. (This was actually the first time we haven't actually had his party on his actual birthday, Dec 31st!) Since it is well known that our kids like to bounce, we figured it would be worth it to splurge a bit and have most of Big Boy's party Pump-It-Up. We then invited everyone back to our house for pizza, cake and presents. So without further ado, enjoy the following of Big Boy's party!

Me and "Guya" & Boopy and Uncle D

Miss daredevil, Boopy would not wait for Papa Vaughn, Big Boy and Uncle D to go down the slide with her. She had no fear and simply slide herself down on her belly!

Look at that I actually managed to snag both my kiddos for a quick picture. Pretty amazing when there was non-stop fun to be had!

Pooped out from lots and lots of bouncing!

Big Boy loves air hockey

Saying thank you to everyone for coming!

We started the party at Pump-It-Up at 10 am and finished up just in time for lunch. Since it was so much cheaper for us to share pizza at home, we opted out of the party room provided and ordered up Divinci's for everyone back at our house. This also helped because I don't think we could have safely transported the awesome cake that Papa Vaughn made for Big Boy. I'm so proud of his effort on this cake, especially considering Papa had to work until 11 pm the night before the party. He really wanted to make Big Boy's birthday cake so he ended up being up until 2 am working on it (however, that includes the baking time and he made cupcakes too!). Granted he did ice it in the morning after a run to SaveMart for gummy sharks, alligators and a few candies to help with the decorations. Overall, a wonderful cake that Papa should be very proud of. Plus, Big Boy was SOOO thrilled and excited about his cake.

Boopy got to have one of the gummy alligators.

Finally it was time to open presents. Big Boy REALLY REALLY wanted to open his presents. We almost couldn't get him to leave to go to Pump-It-Up because he wanted to open presents. Then on our way back home, poor Boopy got distraught because it wasn't her birthday and she wouldn't be getting presents. What can I say but it's hard to be little. She ended up being really good and watched Big Boy open the presents and only helped him when he said she could. It's a good thing too that he loves his sister and shares really well with her.

A little after half of our guests left, I had a realization that we never broke the pirate pinata I splurged and let Big Boy get! What can I say, busy mom's are far far from perfect! Regardless, those that stayed had fun breaking it with us, even if the handle broke and the kids ended up just beating it open on the ground! HaHa!

Big Boy got the first swing.

I was a bit worried that poor "Uncle" Chris would end up with a black eye or bruised shoulder!

All in all, a wonderful and happy birthday celebration. Now to let it sink in that Big Boy is really 5 years old. Seriously where does the time go?

I want to fly like Peter Pan!

2008-12-29T12:59:00.000-08:00

Saturday, Dec 13th, we took the kids to see their first on stage play, Peter Pan. I had originally tried to take them on my own to the matinee show at 2:00pm that day, but found out the tickets were sold out. There were tickets available for the 7:30 show, which was a bit late, but allowed Papa to be able to go as well. Plus when I took the kids downtown to get tickets we stumbled across Christmas in the Park right across the street from the Veteran's Memorial building where the play was being preformed! The parking area at the Fresno Watertower was turned into a lovely winter carnival with carousel rides, bounce house, free Christmas crafts for kids, food and wonderful choirs singing Christmas carols! It was definitely a day we will remember and one we will try to repeat next year!

Our family just before the show. Since it was the last showing of Peter Pan all the souvenirs were discounted so we splurged the few bucks and got Big Boy a Captain Hook set and Boopy a fairy princess wand and crown. Too fun!

The kids were SOOOO good during the performance, even with how late it was. Big Boy at one point in the last intermission did ask if it was done and could we go home. He is the one though, that is not much of a night owl and by this time it was nearly 10 pm! We did get lots of compliments on how good they were and how well they sat through the show. Big Boy sat mostly in his own seat but on occasion sat with Papa to see better. He wasn't thrilled with the clapping and any loud noises and would cover his ears. Otherwise, he was in awe and loved it! Boopy did better than I expected. She sat mostly on my lap to see better and her little jaw dropped when the play started and Peter Pan came on stage. She is in love with the theater! All she wanted to do during the intermission was have Papa fly her like Peter Pan.

After the show, the cast was in the lobby and we got to take pictures with them. The kids were in 7th Heaven!!

One of the girls in the play heard us tell Boopy that Tinkerbell was probably sleeping and we couldn't see her. She turned and asked us if we'd like to see her. Tinkerbell was simply a green light on the stage, so I wasn't sure how in the world they were going to show us Tinkerbell! But, as it turns out they actually had a small glowing green Tinkerbell! Boopy was thrilled, even if Tinkerbell was actually sleeping. (wink, wink)

We spotted more pirates Big Boy wanted his picture taken with.

All in all a wonderful experience topped off with a quick drive past the Christmas lights on City Hall. Definitely a family memory to repeat!!

Sneak Peak...

2008-12-22T22:54:00.000-08:00

I still (as always) have a ton of pictures to catch you up on, but, I couldn't resist a sneak peak of our impromptu photo shoot this past Sunday. While working in the backyard, trimming the flower bed, I had Big Boy help smash the cuttings down in the green wast can. Boopy of course had to join in the fun and we turned it into a quick cute winter photo shoot! Once I catch up a big more on the past couple of weeks, I'll share a few more winter pics!

Base Christmas Party

2008-12-22T21:57:00.000-08:00

December 10th was Washington Grandma's birthday, but it was also the Kid's Christmas party at the Air National Guard base where Papa works. Last year the kids had a grand time watching Santa get brought into the party on a fire truck. This year, they were even more surprised when the whole party walked down to the hangers and watched Santa get brought in on an F-16! There was quite a crowd so I wasn't able to catch a picture of Santa getting out of the jet, but I did catch a picture of Big Boy and Boopy getting to look inside the F-16! Big Boy at first didn't want to see the jet up close since it meant staying behind as the rest of the group followed Santa back to the cafeteria. Once he climbed up the ladder though, he decided it was worth it. Although both he and Boopy insisted that we run to catch up to Santa!

Once back in the cafeteria, the kids sat together below the stage and waited for their name to be called by Santa's helpers. (Each parent had brought in a gift for Santa to deliver.) Boopy was very excited when it was their turn!

The Operation Ready Families group on base had put together fun goodie bags for the kids and even had snowman balloons to pass out. All a great distraction for our two to play with while Papa took pictures of the party for part of his work on the base.

Once Papa took a break from taking pictures, the kids were able to open their presents from Santa.

Boopy got a Cinderella doll like her friend Gaby has. This one though can even go into the bathtub with her! It was quite a hit, especially since it came with "Gus, Gus" the mouse!

Big Boy is always easy to please if the item is a truck! This one, however, is unlike some of his others since it actually hauls cars around on it!

Just a cute picture of Papa and the kiddos! Notice silly Mrs. Claus in the background!

My Wonderful Day, What the Holidays are About!

2008-12-20T10:33:00.000-08:00

While I have a lot still to catch you up on, I want to share pictures from one of my favorite days ever! A week ago, last Tuesday, Dec 9th, I took a random vacation day to spend with my kids. It was the annual Mom's group "Birthday party for Jesus" at People's Church. I was actually asked to help take pictures of the moms and kids that attended, which I thoroughly enjoyed. I asked "Teacher" Sam, who watches the kids for us, to come along to help my kids to enjoy the actual party. The kids had a great time listening to the puppet show and the story of the silent night. They even got little cupcakes and sang "happy birthday" to Jesus. Afterwards they went and played in one of the school classrooms and all the moms got to enjoy a lovely brunch. It made for a wonderful morning.

Mikayla and Boopy

I asked Big Boy and Boopy to hold hands. Big Boy is getting to that stage. He wipes of kisses, doesn't want to hold hands and acts like such a boy....ugh, I thought this wouldn't happen for a while. Ultimately he did cave and held Boopy's hand for a short while.

Story time and cupcakes

As for the afternoon, I figured I'd spend time with the kids shopping and then making cookies. We shopped a bit a Target and they enjoyed looking at all the toys. Sam met us their with my friend and coworker's son, Rocky, who she also watches in the afternoons at my house. Anyway, I suggested she leave Rocky with me that afternoon and enjoy the afternoon off which gave her a chance to work on some school appointments. Anyway, the kids and I left Target to head home for an afternoon of fun. We ended up picking up Rocky's sister, Gaby, from her daycare on the way home since she'd had an accident and didn't have any change of clothes. This only increased our level of fun!

First the kids painted pictures, while I pulled out the cookie making stuff.

Then Kristen and her boys, Danny & Grant came over for a visit and joined in the cookie baking fun. (Which was great, since I realized I was a little bit crazy doing the cookie baking with 4 kids by myself!)

Excuse Boopy's hairdo - she insisted on putting in her hair clip herself.

Natalie got to my house for her 2 kids just in time to help decorate the cookies, which was a lot of fun! Here's the finished product!

After cookies, we just hung out, ate pizza and I played with the camera. I helped take some Christmas pictures of Danny & Grant and after which my little ham, Boopy, wanted her picture taken! She's such a little cheese!

I did manage a nice picture of my two kiddos.

Big Boy didn't want Boopy to kiss him, but he was willing to kiss her, especially when he figured out he could antagonize her with his kisses! Oh, sibling fun.

The 3 musketeers - Big Boy, Danny, Boopy

All in all, a wonderful fun, friend filled day full of the Christmas spirit!

What a week!

2008-12-15T22:21:00.001-08:00

Again, like last year, this time of year is flying by and jam packed with activities. I've got pictures to share with you, but I haven't transferred them all into the computer yet, so here's simply a quick recap and preview of posts to come.

Tues. Dec 9 - Kids Birthday Party for Jesus and a wonderful day off with the kiddos for me. Baking cookies, and playing with our friends.
Wed. Dec 10 - Sing Happy Birthday to Grandma Prohaska in Washington. Go to kids Christmas party at Papa's work (Air National Guard Base). Santa even came in an F-16!
Thurs. Dec 11 - Semi-normal crazy day.
Fri. Dec 12 - Semi-normal crazy day.
Sat. Dec 13 - Took lunch to friend Anne, tried to get tickets for matinee of Peter Pan, instead got tickets for the evening performance and stumbled across "Christmas in the Park" downtown. We spent over an hour enjoying the rides and Christmas crafts. After doing some shopping and playing at the mall, we picked up Papa from work and went back downtown for the the Fresno Children's Musical Theaterworks performance of Peter Pan. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful experience! Long, long day but well worth it!
Sun. Dec 14 - Lounge a bit in the morning, then when Papa got home from work we left for the mall for some more errands, then to the airport to pick up Aunt Kat who's plane was delayed, then back to the mall for seeing Santa. Dinner and another long day, but enjoyable!
Mon. Dec 15 - Normal work day, busy with Christmas related errands.

Oh, and I still haven't shared pictures from my Christmas Tea two weekends ago! And, today we had a crazy hail storm that Sam managed to catch pictures of the kiddos playing in as well as the fun gingerbread houses they made! My, I guess I have more to catch up on then I thought!

This might be a challenge for Santa....

2008-12-12T20:12:00.000-08:00

We've been prepping the kids for Santa Claus and the magic of what Christmas morning brings. In preparation we've been asking them what they want for Christmas and explaining if they see stuff they like they need to put it on their Christmas list and ask Santa. Darren's requests have stayed pretty much the same. He saw a firetruck he like in an ad for shopping the day after Thanksgiving and had to show it to everyone! This was definitely something he was going to add to his Christmas list. As of today, a firetruck is pretty much the only thing he says he wants. Pretty easy request for Santa.

Boopy on the other hand, has a list that might just be a challenge for Santa. When you ask her what she wants for Christmas, this is what she says, "I want a kitchen, a trampoline, a hippopotamus, pencils and that's enough." Yes, Boopy, I think that's enough. While I'm pretty sure Santa can handle the kitchen, trampoline and pencils, I'm just not sure that he can fit a hippopotamus in his sleigh. I guess I should thank Teacher Sam who watches the kids for sharing the "All I want for Christmas" song!

(Sorry the video is so dark - it's not dark at all like this on my cell phone. It is a new phone though so many there's some adjustments I need to learn. Either way, you get the idea!)

Build A Bear!

2008-12-10T00:05:00.000-08:00

We got to enjoy our first Build-A-Bear experience this past Saturday, Dec 6th! We went there to help Gaby celebrate her 4th birthday. Birthday parties there were so cute how they wrangle the kids and include a special heart in the birthday kid's bear. They got to choose between 5 different types of "bears". Big Boy chose a dog and Boopy chose a Koala bear.

What is neat with the hearts for the birthday kid is that each party guest gives their love to a heart and then stuffs it in along with the birthday kid's heart into the birthday kid's bear. Sweet treat and memory for the birthday kid!

Showing off their "bears" and giving them a ride to the next station.

Which was giving our "bears" a bath!

Also for birthday parties, they take the group out in front of the store and do a group picture - bears and all! All in all a fun experience!

Decorating for Christmas

2008-12-09T22:43:00.001-08:00

Ever since we picked out our tree, the kids were so anxious to get it decorated and set up Christmas stuff. Big Boy especially was really excited to get my Christmas village put together. We had managed to pull out all the boxes of decorations but with such a busy weekly schedule there wasn't time to put anything up until last Thursday night. Big Boy had been so cute each night until then leading me to the stack of boxes of my Christmas houses asking to put them up. Poor kid is so excited about Christmas we made him suffer until then to see it all put out.

Big Boy had so much fun finding the ornaments that had his pictures on them and the ornament that Grandma & Grandpa Prohaska had given the kids last year where they recorded a Christmas message. Both Big Boy and Boopy have listened to the ornaments so many times that as much as I love my parents voices, I'm a little sick of hearing them say the say thing over and over and over!!

Big Boy is in love with our village. I let the kids play with the people as long as they leave the houses alone. Big Boy is such a good helper though, he knows how to turn on the houses and Christmas tree lights and loves having them on all the time.

We finished up the night with yummy cups of hot chocolate and marshmallows!

O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree!

2008-12-01T22:37:00.000-08:00

Yesterday we headed out to Cobb's Christmas Tree Farm to pick out our Christmas tree. Unlike the last couple of years we managed to have time to go during the day and were therefore able to cut down our own tree. The kids really enjoyed getting to help Papa with the saw.

Hunting for the perfect tree.

We found it and a little sibling love!

Boopy REALLY wanted to help cut the tree the whole time.

She did let Big Boy have a try and then had to try again by herself.

Big Boy checking out the cutting progress.

Boopy seriously thought she could help lift and carry the tree by herself. As it ended up, I nearly tripped on her walking since she had to touch the tree most of the way to the netting and loading section!

Boopy went with me to pay for the tree while Big Boy and Papa got it loaded on the top of my car. She enjoyed all the decorations they had on display and after I asked her to take a picture in front of one, she insisted on taking a picture with all of them! She's really become quite the ham for my camera, asking me often to take her picture.

After loading the tree we thought it would be fun to ride the old fashioned fire truck around the farm. Surprisingly, Big Boy was concerned about leaving the Christmas tree and getting it home that he at first didn't want to go. He even went as far as climbing in the car, buckling himself and insisting that, no he didn't want to ride the fire truck. Since Boopy really wanted to ride it, I took her while Papa hung out with Big Boy. Thankfully for Big Boy there was a line to ride it so by the time he decided the tree would be okay and he wanted to come too, the boys made it just in time to catch the last ride of the day with Boopy & me.

Thanksgiving Pictures

2008-11-30T21:30:00.000-08:00

I finally loaded the pictures from Thanksgiving! Enjoy!

Here Boopy convinced GG Cedarholm to color with her. I don't think it took too much convincing.

Big Boy was thrilled that Grandma & Grandpa Vaughn had a toy box set up for the kids. A favorite treat was the electric train set! It even made a presence at the dinner table!

Little Miss Boopy, who really thinks she is in charge, insisted on being a helper in the kitchen. I'm certain that the mashed potatoes tasted better simply because she helped stir them!

A nice family dinner.

Notice the train box? Boopy wanted me to take a picture of her taking a yummy yummy bite of turkey. Yes, she's the girl who eats everything and anything. Papa and I feel bad for her future dates!

Big Boy couldn't be out shined! A great job for a boy who is super picky! I was very proud that he tried the items we requested.

All in all a very nice relaxing Thanksgiving! Here's hoping that you all had a great one too!

Thankful

2008-11-28T21:54:00.000-08:00

As Boopy told everyone on the phone yesterday, "I am thankful for you!". For all our family & friends, near and far, we love you all and are VERY thankful for you. We hope you all had a lovely and relaxing Thanksgiving (even if some of you ate pizza as opposed to turkey - wrong dear sister, just wrong!) Anyway, we had a lovely and relaxing dinner at Grandpa & Grandma Vaughn's house. We also shared company with GG. Just the right kind of day, easy and low key! Thanks for cooking Grandma Vaughn, I truly enjoyed the break this year especially with my stupid lungs and nose acting out on me.

I did take pictures, of course, but haven't loaded them to the computer yet. When I do, I'll be sure to share.

We joined the insanity that is Black Friday today, which honestly, I really enjoy. While I don't love the crowds and long, long, long lines, I love the hunt of a good bargain. And yes, there were bargains out there that were so worth while, even if we had to take the kiddos out with us. I just didn't feel right asking anyone to come babysit at 3:30 in the morning. So, anyway, we did a lot of shopping for our "cousins and friends", get it? We told the kids if they liked something they could just add it to their Christmas list. And yes, there were items we made very sure that they didn't see. For those Papa and I split up or just one ran in to the store and we covered stuff with blankets. Thankfully the kids we probably too tired to be curious about everything. Not the best way to shop but our kids are troopers. Crazy though that Big Boy stayed awake from 3:40 until our family nap at 1:30 today! Boopy on the other hand, passed out in line at Wal-Mart. (see picture from my cell phone below). Yes, we were one of those that were adventurous enough to brave Wal-Mart. I am thankful that people were very nice in Clovis, unlike the horrible news on AOL's front page of a Wal-Mart worker getting trampled to death - seriously awful!

So, I wish you all a restful rest of the weekend and hope you are starting to get into the Christmas spirit! Which reminds me....for all of you that attend my annual Christmas tea, yes, I'm still having it. Just lost most of November and didn't realize how late it was in the month. I do have my invitations finished (finally) and will be mailing them but, regardless, no invitation is needed, bring a friend and come join me to kick off Christmas on Sunday, Dec 7 at 1:00pm - 3:00ish or whenever. Usual plans, bring a treat of any kind to share, a Christmas idea or story (if you want, not required) and simply enjoy the festivities. If you wish to join in on the charity this year honoring Nutcrackers, I have chosen to help out the school food drive at Riverdale High School. My coworkers, son teaches Ag there and they are in desperate need for help for many of the families there. So, feel encouraged to bring come non-perishable food items. No need to spend more than $5-10. Every little bit helps and pitching it all together can make a small impact an even bigger one. If you would like to come and need my address, please email me or leave a note in the comments. I'd love to have you - the more the merrier!! :)

They preform for food. Anyone need cheap entertainment?

2008-11-25T22:24:00.000-08:00

I've discovered that my children are part animal and part showbiz seekers. Last night after spending a fun evening baking cookies with Papa Vaughn, the kids sat on their stools and preformed as circus dogs for me. They were rather easy to train. In minutes I had them barking, turning in a circle and begging. Encouraged by cookies, they preformed quite well.

Preparing for a taste of cookie dough.

Meet our circus puppies. Bark, Bark, Beg, Beg, Yummy, Yummy Cookie!

Then they preformed a free show as robots.

Cute Cookie Face

Oh, and tonight, we had an encore performance. This time for popcorn. While the kids and I were both entertained, I did have to put a stop on the game when it went a bit too far and they both decided it would be fun to eat popcorn from the floor like a dog. Too bad I didn't have a camera for that trick!

Bouncing, Somersaults, & Balance Beams!

2008-11-22T23:00:00.000-08:00

Boopy is forever scaring people with her adept ability at being a daredevil. She jumps from our bed, frequently, and it's not a low to the ground bed. She often falls, nearly on her face, yet gets up laughing and does it again. We have an simple exercise "ab roller" which is just her size apparently for using as a hanging bar or laying on top of and flipping over. yes, she is a daredevil. Based on this and the fact that Big Boy also loves to hang from jungle gyms, we decided we should seriously consider looking into gymnastics for the kids. So, this morning Big Boy & Boopy got to go to a trial gymnastics class at Gymnastics Beat. Not surprising, they LOVED it! They can both go at the same time in their own individual class and yet they are in one large area so we can watch them both. This gymnastics school goes from "Mommy & Me" classes to adults so there is room for them to grow if they continue liking it in the future. We definitely plan on looking into signing them up.

Please forgive the quality of the pictures. I didn't want to turn on my flash and distract any kids or instructors, but how could I not take pictures of their first day at gymnastics!

Boopy will be in the Little Pre-K class which only had 4 kids, including her today. She had no problem figuring out what to do and just jumped right in. Although I did have to walk over to the other side of the gym from the parent area at the start until she warmed up to the teacher and what gymnastics was all about.

They have a "tumble track" where the kids get to jump along on a trampoline then go through a series of obstacles to get back tot he trampoline. She loved it!

Big Boy will be in the Beginning Gym Jr. They worked on backward somersaults, the rings, hanging upside down from the uneven bars with their feet on the bars. He also got to go on the tumble track which he LOVED!

Here Big Boy is learning how to do a backwards somersault.

They had each kid in his class work a station. Here he was instructed to use both feet and jump over the mat as a precursor to learning a cartwheel.

Here are the two of them immediately after their one hour session. They received star stamps on their hands and stickers. What do you think - you think they liked it?

It just so happened this afternoon that there was also an Open House going on at a brand new Little Gym today, not far from our house. Papa Vaughn had to go to work at noon so after we dropped him off at work, the kids and I met up with my friend, Natalie and her kids Rocky & Gabby for some free afternoon play. What was great, was getting the chance to let the kids try out some of the Little Gym stuff in comparison to Gymnastics Beat. While Little Gym is great and has a lot to offer, the growth factor at Gymnastics Beat as well as the trampolines (which the kids LOVED) makes me feel better about our decision to attend there. Overall the kids had a great happy and bouncy day!

They both LOVED the balance beam and actually did very well.

At the Open House they had other activities like a bounce house and crafts which we took full advantage of. Both kids made a Thanksgiving turkey.

I Like to Move It - Move It!!!

2008-11-19T21:48:00.000-08:00

Big Boy and Boopy are obsessed with Madagascar, the movie. The kids and I went with my coworker and friend, Natalie and her kids, Rocky & Gaby a couple of weekends ago to see Madagascar 2. Ever since then Big Boy and Boopy have had to watch our copy of Madagascar (the original). While it is a cute movie, 3 times in one day is almost torture! Although I will say the highlight is at the end when they play the "I like to move it, move it" song and both kids jump up and dance like crazy wild party animals. Big Boy asked me to rewind the ending credits 5 times (REALLY!) just so they could keep dancing. Cause you know, they like to Move It, Move It!

To top off the obsession and prove my point, last night after tucking Boopy in bed and giving her her nightly petting (yes, she refers to rubbing her back and hair as petting - it's awfully cute when she asks you to "please pet me". But then she does think she's an animal), we had the following conversation, seriously.

Boopy: "Goodnight mommy."

Me: "Goodnight Baby Girl. Sleep tight."

As I walked toward the door....

Boopy: "Guess what mommy?"

Me (slightly exasperated by the little girl who has become a master at stalling): "What, Boopy"

Boopy (with a giggle): "I like to Move It Move It!"

And with that she threw the blanket over her head and closed her eyes. Ahhh, the things that come out of that girls mouth....

Veteran's Day

2008-11-11T07:19:00.000-08:00

Today is Veteran's Day. Regardless of your political opinions, our veterans dedicate themselves to our country and us. Be sure to take a moment to thank those veterans you know and perhaps even those you don't know.

Happy to have Papa home from training for the Air National Guard - last October. He was only gone for 3 months and thankfully in the United States. After that experience, I have a whole new respect for families that are separated for military needs!

I couldn't resist sharing this again from last year.