Thursday, September 30, 2010

I Heart DWTS!

Getting DWTS tickets = awesome. 100 degree weather in LA = not cool! ;) After melting in line, we were thankfully let into the auditorium a bit early...the auditorium being air-conditioned.

Did I feel just a little guilty for sneaking my camera into the show...nahhhh! All though I only took it out for a second, quick photo with no flash, and back into the purse it went. Therefore, the only shot I got is a little out of focus, but you get the point.


About the show, love that Sarah Palin was in the audience and that I will now start using the word "exuberance" more often. Jennifer Grey is my favorite and she looks and acts like she is having a blast out there and I am so glad that Bolton is gone!

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The cutest part of the whole thing...I was telling J that I hadn't taken a picture where you could see what I was wearing (always a necessity when dressed up). The next day Vera comes out of the gym daycare with this little gem. Yep, that is me in my DWTS dress.





Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Hot, Hot, Hot


How J helped Vera to beat the heat during the hottest day of the year on Monday!

Monday, September 27, 2010

Cruising on my 3-Wheeler

J and I decided a walk/ride down by the harbor was the perfect way to end a HOT weekend in Santa Barbara. J, having more energy at that point, got to hurry after Vera on her two-wheeler as she roared down the path. My pace was much more relaxed following the little dude on his trike wearing his new cool kid helmet.


He made it at least a quarter of a mile before deciding that he had gone far enough and needed a break. Yes, I did think it is cute that he parked his bike by the other bigger ones to watch a party boat float by with music blasting and pelicans fighting over tidbits of food on the boat ramp.






I have to enjoy his trike days now, because the 3-wheelers time is limited. Christmas is coming and I know Santa already has a big kid bike planned!
One of our goals during this walk/ride was to see just how far Vera could ride. When J and I run, he has been pushing the kids in a double-stroller...not an easy task when their combined weight is 85 lbs. We toyed with getting a better model, but the chica is just a little tall to be sitting comfortable. It is time for her to get out and stretch those legs.

Friday, September 24, 2010

Will.i.am's Song "What I Am"

With Keller waking up at 6am (on a good day), sometimes it is all I can do to roll myself out of bed and onto the couch with my coffee and Keller's chocolate milk. As I suck down much needed caffeine, Keller screams out to watch MONSTERS! Monsters = Sesame Street and there are some real gems. This is my favorite at the moment and I like to rock along.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Disney Live!

Chalk it up as the first time that I have taken Vera to a theater production. With a few friends we headed to dinner and Disney Live!


4 kiddos + 4 adults at dinner = controlled chaos. For the most part, things went very smoothly...no drinks were spilled and food was eaten.

Vera taking a picture of the mamas.


Hello Mickey and Minnie, Vera was so glad to see you! Disney Live was a magic/song and dance show. The magic was impressive, although I cringed when the ladies were cut in half and then put together again with each other's legs. I can't even explain it well on my blog, there is no way I was able to explain it well to Vera. My favorite part, when Jasmine floated through the air. How do they do that?

Cute kiddos + Me


Enthusiasm to Learn


Vera at 4 and a half is the perfect age for preschool and J and I have had many discussions on what to do. Should she be in school? Will her not having gone to preschool socially or academically put her behind? There are so many ways to screw up our child, are we starting early? Parenting seriously is just one question after another on what to do that is best for your child. In the end, our final decision for now ;) is to keep her at home, but expose her to as many classes as possible in the next year. Well, not so many that she becomes a stressed out/burned out little munchkin. But, enough to keep her interested in learning and loving the process.

Her classes this fall are basketball as mentioned in the post before this, swimming, and Enthusiasm to Learn. Little K, Vera's BFF, has nicknamed the class, "The ABC Class."

The ABC Class is amazing. Mrs. Amy, who taught kindergarten at the school where I student taught can not be described in words. Watching her with the kids is inspiring. She has patience, energy, and enthusiasm for both the students and subject matter that she is teaching. I feel so fortunate that Vera gets to have her as a teacher.

As you might guess, the first week started with the Letter A. Vera made thumbprint ants, applesauce and cinnamon air fresheners, mashed an avocado, created an animal hand puppet, and pressed apple prints on the letter A. I have the arts and crafts to prove it...there is going to be a lot of space needed for her school projects.

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Itty-Bitty Basketball


In Vera's own words, " That was the best class ever!" Do you see my heart, it is growing. I love that she is loving basketball. Okay, I realize it is only her first day and things could change, but for now I am ecstatic that she loves my favorite sport.

Another perfect moment, we got home from the basketball class to find that Opa had mailed stickers to Vera. There were both horse and basketball stickers...AWESOME!

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Random Moments

Vera giving the cape tester at the Sea Center a go!


Two cuties reading!


Seriously, he would sleep with a bar of soap if he could. He loves to rub it all over his face and hair. Nice!


A visit from our Scottish relatives...


Family runs have started again now that Daddy's leg has healed after a stress fracture.


I am going to take as many pictures of that missing tooth as possible.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

8th Anniversary!

J and I celebrated our 8th Wedding Anniversary exactly how we celebrated our wedding, in our bathing suits. We made all of our friends trek it to the Lompoc Aquatic Center to play in the water. It was good times!

Here Keller is with his new mama. A huge shout-out to Am for swimming with Keller during the party while I took pictures and J played. Keller + water is never an easy time and she was awesome.


J playing:


Vera is starting to have an underwater pose. I tell her to go under and she does the thumbs-up sign. Love it!


So fun!






Running from the bucket. I love her expression in this one...cutie pie. After posting the pictures I realized two things. While I have pictures of other people sliding down the "big" slides, none of J and I. And, no bucket photos. A big bucket sits at the top of the play structure, every 2.5 minutes it fills up and the water crashes over the structure in a torrent. Can you tell that Vera was loving it?


After all that play, our crew headed to T-Bell for some munchies!

Thursday, September 9, 2010

Is this a horse blog?

There is something so fun about taking a picture of a horse.







Amapola Ranch

A co-worker of J's spends hours each week riding horses and splitting his time between two different ranches in SB. On Labor Day we were invited to visit him at Amapola Ranch before his morning ride, take a tour of their facilities, and of course see lots and lots of horses.

I found the tack room pretty darn cool.


Thank you Richard for the tour! Here a horse was giving him a little nuzzle. I missed the shot with the horses nose buried in his neck, but still think the interaction between man and animal is awe sweet.


Nothing says horse farm like a manure spreader. All that poo has to go somewhere. In the case of Amapola, it becomes organic fertilizer.






For all her talk, the little chica was nervous. It took her a bit to approach the horse and to feel comfortable enough to give Sunny a little pet.

I think I might be as in love as my daughter.


Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Random Pool Pics!



Monday, September 6, 2010

Ray's 3rd B-Day

A party in Los Alamos was on the agenda for Saturday because one of our favorite little friends turned 3. Happy Birthday Ray-Man!! I saw him in the hospital...how is he 3?


My kiddos wanted to spend the entire party sitting at the table waiting for cake time and in Vera's case, putting her finger in the hole where her tooth used to be.


Awesome orange dinosaur homemade pinata!


Hmm...can you guess which child had a hard time standing in line to wait for his time to hit Mr. Orange Dinosaur?


Very, very inspired by the cake! You go Mrs. P...so cool!


Last but not least, Keller's unhappy time-out face. Even at a party you've got to keep it in control Little Dude.