It's Christmas Time!

I LOVE this time of year.  I love the decorations and the music, the old tv specials (Rudolph, Charlie Brown), getting presents for my family, and making fun memories with the boys with our traditions.  I love, love, love the excitement in my boys as we get closer to Christmas. 

Well, this weekend we started the traditions with the annual tree hunt.  We set out just after lunch into the COLD weather.  The farm we went to has their trees ultra organized into sections and each section is labelled so we drove to the Noble area, parked and ventured out into the cold.  Now, we usually spend a fair amount of time looking around sure that a better tree must be over there or maybe over there.  Dean and I usually disagree a bit about the kind of tree we want so we keep looking for a compromise.  Well, this year we got out of the car, saw one tree that looked good but decided there might be a better one over there (here we go again huh?) and the spotted a tree that we both really liked so we cut her down.  It was an all time record for us!  10 MINUTES!

After the chilly tree hunt we stopped by Starbucks to warm up a bit and still made it home a little over an hour after we left!  Later that night we hung all the decorations on it and now our house feels really Christmasy. 

I hope you all are enjoying the Christmas season and can all celebrate the birth of Christ!

November Flew Past...

I can't believe how quickly November goes!  Of course we were SO busy that we barely noticed it.  Every year since 1998 and then 2000 we have had two birthdays to celebrate. This year we toned it down a bit and both Jake and Austin got to invite three friends over for a sleep over on their party night. 

Jacob got to have his on his actual birthday since Veterans Day is the next day and there is no school.  He and his friends had a great time having Nerf gun wars and then settled in to watch a movie and finally fell asleep around 11:30pm.

Austin had to wait a couple of days after his actual birthday since it landed on the day before Thanksgiving.  So that Saturday two of his buddies came over (the third wasn't feeling well) and got to spend some time with the family we still had at our house.  They played video games, had some cupcakes and ice cream, and watched a movie until late and then went to sleep.  Overall, they were both very successful!

The other thing that kept us on our toes was the two extra kiddos we had for a week.  On Wednesday the 18th we got a call about a brother and sister that were coming into care.  We called back and said that we would take them but then the case manager decided that they would do better with a full time stay at home mom.  After I hung up, Dean and I joked that they would probably call us back at 5 or 6 to say that they couldn't find a full time SAHM.  And guess what?  Our phone rang at 5:05!  BUT they were calling about a different brother and sister and we told them to bring them on over!  They were younger than the first set (5 and 20 months) and VERY cute but dirty.  Their case worker figured that they would be placed with family soon so we figured that once again we would only have them for a week.

Well, as the week went on, we were feeling a bit overwhelmed having gone from three to five so quickly but kept reminding ourselves that it was just for a little while.  The following Tuesday the case worker said that it looked like it might be awhile longer since at their staff meeting no one could agree on an appropriate relative.  But as roller coasters usually do, we were taken by surprise when on Wednesday, the case worker said that the judge ordered them to be place with a relative that day.  She came and got them an hour later.  Such is the whirlwind of foster parenting.  They were cuties and sweet but through this experience we learned that for now at least, we should just stick to one kiddo at a time.  So once again, we are waiting...

Soccer and Pumpkins

Soccer season is winding up.  The two games were spread out this past Saturday so we all only went to Griff's game.  (Dean took Austin to his early game.)

 

Here Griffen is getting ready for a kick off.

 

Power kick!

With the games spread throughout the day we didn't have time to go to the pumpkin patch like we usually do.  After Griff's game, we went to the store and picked out some pumpkins and then headed to the Sims' house to do some carving.

 You have to look closely to see the face that Griffen drew on his pumpkin.

 

 Everyone drew their own pumpkin faces this year.

 

And most did their own carving.

Griffen even tried...he ended up needing a little help from mom.

 

Griff's pumpkin.  When we finished his original drawing he decided it needed a nose.  I suggested using his original mouth for the nose and adding a bigger mouth.  He agreed.

 

 

Austin's finished pumpkin.  Done with only a little help from dad.

 

 

Jake did his all by himself.

 

 

 The finished pumpkins.  (Yes Griffen is missing.  He was busy inside.)

 

 

 Griffen the Hulk!

 

He needed those muscles when we left.  That pumpkin is heavy!

15th Aniversary Honeymoon...Part 2

So Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were more of the same, riding our favorite rides at both parks.  Tuesday and Wednesday it actually rained a bit which also helped to keep the crowds down. Though Dean and I thought it was kind of funny to watch Californians deal with a little bit of rain.  It seemed like more of a mist to us but everywhere you looked there were people in their ponchos and under umbrellas.  Living in the Northwest came in handy those days, we didn't even feel wet!

 

On Wednesday, we both tried a ride that we thought we wouldn't ever do.  Dean went on it by himself first but then I tried it.  It was the Maliboomer.  Last year we were scared off by the shields on the front of the seats.  We figured any ride that had shields to catch vomit wasn't a good ride.  Well, it really wasn't that bad.  The worst part was waiting for it to take off.  They sort of bounce you a little and then out of nowhere you're flying up to the top.  I'm glad we did it because it gave us one more ride to do.

 Dean getting ready for his first ride on the Maliboomer.

 

 Flying up

 

Back down

We did the normal tourist things like buying T-shirts and gifts for the boys.  Dean had to get this shirt when he saw it.  The boys think it's pretty cool too.

Thursday we got to spend some time with friends of ours that live about 15 minutes from Disney.  We hadn't seen them since the last time we were down there and they just had an adorable little baby girl this summer so it was really fun to meet her.  I of course didn't take any pictures there but they weren't all feeling that great anyway so they probably wouldn't have enjoyed getting pictures taken.

 

One of my favorite views at California Adventure

By Friday the weather was amazing!  It was beautiful blue sky and WARM!!!!  We only spent about a half of the day at the parks because we were getting worn out.  We were a little disappointed that we had saved the Grizzly River Run ride until it got sunny out because as we came up to the ride, ready to get cooled off, they had it shut down to fix a problem and didn't know when it would open again.  It never did open before we left.  

  

As we were taking a short cut to Tomorrow Land we walked past these two.  It was so funny because even though there wasn't anyone else around they were chattering away IN CHARACTER with each other.  At first we walked past them but then I decided to get a picture with them.  It is the only Character picture we took.

I also took the last pictures that I wanted to get.  This pumpkin Mickey was something I really wanted a picture of.  He is so cute and there seemed to always be crowds of people standing in front of him getting pictures.  This was a rare moment when there were only a few people there.

This is in the entrance plaza looking at California Adventure.  They changed the color of the letters since we had been there.  Last time they were blue and now they were browns and golds for autumn.  I also like this picture because it shows how blue the sky was on Friday.

It was a great week to spend with my sweety.  We had a great time together celebrating 15 years of marriage.  It was a nice vacation and time of relaxation.  We were refreshed and ready to come back to our boys, who we missed, though we wished we could've brought the sun back with us.  When we drove into Bellingham we were greeted with a HUGE thunder and lightening storm.

Anyway, Happy Early Anniversary Deano!  I Love You!!!!

15th Anniversary Honeymoon...Part 1

I know, it's not our anniversary yet but it was the week Dean had vacation and it was also supposed to be a great time to be at the "Happiest Place on Earth"...Disneyland!  Now I also know what you're saying (we heard it a lot), "You went to Disneyland WITHOUT your kids?"  The answer..."We sure did!"  We went as a family a year and a half ago and Dean and I missed out on so many rides because the boys wouldn't try them and they aren't any fun to go on by yourself so, we went on our own this time around.

We left on Sunday (the 11th) and got to Long Beach at about 9:30pm.  Above is the view from our room in Garden Grove, about a mile or so from the park (we could see the Crystal Cathedral in the distance).  We woke up bright and early on Monday (ok, so it was more like 9am) and caught the great shuttle that our hotel had to the park. Disney had the place decked out in Halloween decorations.  All of the characters were made out of pumpkins at the entrance.

 

We headed straight for Space Mountain when we got inside and began our vacation of standing in lines. Ha!  Actually the lines weren't horrible, and in fact we got a pretty good system down once we began to use the Fast Pass.  I had forgotten how fast Space Mountain was (in my defense it had been since I was in 5th grade) but it sure was fun.

Next up was Splash Mountain.  Dean was the lucky winner of the front seat.  I was right behind him.  Neither one of us had been on this ride before and it was fun but VERY wet.

Even in the second seat I got drenched.  I was pretty dry until the very last drop, which was pretty steep and long if I do say so myself!

This is the outside of Indiana Jones.  Also a fun ride.  It was one that we got to do last time.  Dean even got Austin to go on it.  But it was one of our favorites so we did it again.  Oh, by the way, there are some yummy chicken skewers at a little cafe across from this ride.

We spent the whole day at Disneyland.  Well, except for a dinner break.  We came back for some night rides.  Although we never actually went on the Tea Cups (did PLENTY of them when we were here with the boys) I thought this was so pretty at night.

We also did the Haunted Mansion which I have never been on before.  It was done up with a "Nightmare Before Christmas" theme.  I found out just how NOT scary this ride is.  I was way too scared when I was little to go on it.

As we waited for the Nemo Submarine ride we got to watch some of the fireworks.  Disney does such a great job with those!

Tuesday we headed to California Adventure Park and our favorite ride from last time, California Screamin'.  I realize that I haven't been on too many coasters but this one is the best one I've been on by far!  It is such a smooth ride and FAST.  We went on this one as much as possible.

I was really shocked when The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror became another favorite of mine.  I didn't really want to try this one last time but decided to give it a try.  Can I just say, "IT WAS SO FUN!!!!!!"

To top off our day we decided to give some Disney ice cream a try.  This yummy mocha almond fudge sundae was well worth the extra calories!  No such word as diet while on vacation!  Well, this post has been long enough.  I will post pictures from the rest of our trip in another post.

Soccer Update and Correction

OK, so I need to start of with a correction.  Austin's team IS 1-1-1 but they lost their second game with a close score and won their third game by a blowout.  The other team even got to play an extra player.  They did great today as well winning 5 to 2.  Austin is really looking like he is getting the hang of it and going after the ball and playing his positions.  Griff's team, on the other hand, was not that on top of things today (really, how on top of it are five year olds? HA!).  They seemed to spend a lot of time looking the opposite way from the ball.  Oh well, they had fun!

So it was another beautiful day out there today although a bit breezy at Austin's game.  I'm just super happy it wasn't raining!

Soccer

Soccer season has begun.  Well...it's actually almost half over.  This year we are again balancing two boys in soccer and we have added the fact that Dean is also a coach this season.  They league didn't have enough (or any) coaches for Griff's age group so Dean volunteered.  He has two assistants (also parents that haven't coached before) helping him.  The boys are having fun and Dean is doing well at his first venture into the world of coaching little boys (or herding cats as he calls it).  At their last practice he said the the boys were being really squirrely and not listening so he had them run.  Unfortuately they thought it was fun to run. HA!  The parents there (they tend to stick around for practice when it's their kiddos first time playing) were thankful that their boys were getting all of their energy out at practice and were looking forward to boys that would sleep well.

Griff's team looked pretty good at their first game.  They were going after the ball and made quite a few goals.  Griffen even scored one!  The best part was seeing how excited they were to be out there.  The second week, our little Griff got a bit too big for his shorts...The aggressive attitude went a tad far as we saw him say right in the face of a player from the other team, "You're goin' down."  Ummm...yeah.... not quite the good sportsmanship we're looking for Griff.  Needless to say we let him know that wasn't quite the right attitude.  That and the fact the team actually "won" (they don't really keep score at this age.)                                                 

This is during the first game.  We have been so thankful for the beautiful weather we've had each Saturday.  It has made being out at the soccer fields for a couple of hours each weekend not so bad.

Griffen is so cute sitting on the sidelines cheering on his team.  They all seem so little out their.  Their uniforms look HUGE on them.  You can't really see Griff's legs once he is all dressed with shin guards and socks up to his knees and shorts that hang down past his knees and a jersey that almost touches his knees.  It is just about the cutest thing you've ever seen!

I love this picture of Dean with his team.  I only wish you could see more of him.  Austin likes to be Dean's helper and looks SO big next to all of these little 5 year olds.  I am very proud of Griffen AND his daddy.  They are both doing a great job for their first time at this soccer thing.

After watching the little guys run amok all over their tiny micro-fields, it is strange to head to Austin's games.  They aren't quite on the regular size fields yet but their field is MUCH larger that Griff's as are their goals.  They also play with seven on the field and play actual positions whereas Griff plays three on three and everyone goes after the ball. 

Aussie's team is looking fairly good.  Their first game was a tie, they won their second one, but lost last week.  It has been fun to be with basically the same team since kindergarten and see how these boys have grown and being reminded at Griff's games just how far they have come.

Well, we'll be back out there tomorrow afternoon.  Let's pray for sunshine!  I don't really feel like getting wet.