What We've Been Up To Lately

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)!

Lack of Posts

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!

Our life is never dull!

I figure I'm long overdue to give you all a family update. Aside from our little outings here and there, we've made some changes and adjustments to our daily life. Don't worry, nothing bad, just stuff that keeps our life from being dull! So, primarily our change stems from the need to downsize our outgoing monies and trying to get Big Boy into speech programs being made available to us. Like most everyone right now, we're finding finances to be rather tight, making options in life a bit frustrating. And like everyone else we're trying to find ways to save and be smarter with our money. So....we've made a change in our daycare set-up.

Currently, the kids are not in daycare. We removed them as of July 4th. Yes, we LOVED where they were at but the cost ($1500/month) was really rough on our budget. The horrible thing is that the cost is very reasonable compared to a lot of other facilities and the care was fabulous. So, what are we doing instead, you ask? Well, until our trip in August to visit family in Washington, my absolutely wonderful friends are pitching in to help us out. I've configured a "Big Boy/Boopy Summer Camp". Each friend that was able, included my sister-in-law, has taken a week or couple of days within a week and is watching the kids. So far, it's gone quite well and the kids are getting rather spoiled! They even got to enjoy Vacation Bible school with Mikayla! I just hope they don't wear anyone out too bad! After we return from our trip in August, we have a wonderful gal set to be our "nanny". She was one of Boopy's teachers at the daycare that left the school for various reasons but we have stayed in contact with her. I know the kids will have a ball hanging out with her as I'm sure she will plan lots of fun activities and keep them well entertained.

This will all be in addition to trying to take advantage of whatever resources we can for Big Boy. While daycare has been fantastic for his speech, we really want to make sure he is Kindergarten ready and won't have any issues due to his slow speech abilities. Last year, we were made aware of a preschool type program a couple of days a week through our school district that was geared directly for kids like Big Boy who need more help with their speaking abilities. Last year, however, Papa Vaughn was gone for 3 months of training for the Air National Guard and there was no way I could juggle the program, 2 separate daycares and work a full-time job. This year, however, depending on how the program is laid out, we can take advantage of it by having a nanny who can drive him there. We're also trying to get him into the HeadStart program, but I'm finding that it's not as easy as I was first lead to be. We may have some difficulties because regardless of Big Boy's need, on paper we look like we rich. Sure wish we were! So, anyway, there we are on the kid front. I'll keep you updated on the HeadStart progress. Wish me luck!

One other change going on is temporary, just don't know for how long. Papa Vaughn left this morning for an 8 day fire fighting training in Sacramento. At the end of the training, if the need for help in fighting all the California fires is great enough he'll be shipped off to one of them, for a possible to 30-45 days. While I really don't relish the idea of doing the single mom thing again like last year and having Papa miss out on our trip to Washington, the pay is really really good. And while I don't want the fires to continue, especially when Papa Vaughn's wonderful Aunt & Uncle are in an area being directly affected by the northern California fires, we could really use the extra income. So, pray that if Papa's help is needed he'll be safe and well taken care of. Oh, and pray for Boopy and my sanity. That little girl has only begun her terrible two's and I'm hoping we both make it to her three's!

So, I hope you're summers are going well and hopefully a bit calmer, quieter and more relaxing than ours. At the same time, you can never get bored with the going-on's of our crazy hectic life. By the way, I really do plan on posting some circus, Obon Festival and Grizzly game pics. Celebrating Papa's birthday over the weekend, packing him, shuttling the kids, working on paying customer pictures from our Vegas trip and oh, yeah, sleep, has taken priority much to my dismay. If only I had more time and a monetary windfall, I'd consider my dream to work from home doing my photography and spending more time with the kiddos. One day maybe, one day....