Toy Store

Neil and I took the kids to Vans Skate Park tonight so Emma and Andrew could go skateboarding. Andrew had been waiting all day to go and was really excited to do some tricks. However, by the time we got there there was only 15 minutes left before they closed for a different session. (I even called first, but was given the wrong info, I hate that!) Anyway, we decided to take the kids out to eat instead. While we were waiting for our food, Ryan was getting a little rambunctious, so I took him outside to walk around. We found a really cool toy store a few stores down from the restaurant. It was a total "boy" store. It had Star Wars figures, Transformers, even Twilight actions figures of Edward and Bella and all sort of shirts for guys (we are at the Block of Orange, remember?) Ryan was going down isle after isle looking at all the action figures, some which can be a little scary. He was looking and pointing at all of them and saying "I like that one!" We then turned the back corner and there is a whole isle of Disney Princesses. Pink everywhere. I said look at all the princesses Ryan. He pointed to one and said "that's the Little Mermaid....DISGUSTING!" in his loud Ryan voice. I guess even at four, Ryan is a total boy!

Blinker update

Okay, I have to write this. As you are well aware of, our guinea pig "Blinker" died a few months ago. Neil and the children decided to bury blinker in the canyon behind our house. I stayed with Ryan and Leah, so I did not attend the memorial for Blinker. Blinker was buried in a box with cards that Emma and Greta made for her. So...a few days later we decide to go for a hike in the canyon as a family. Emma and the kids always run ahead and we are always yelling at them to stay with us. Emma comes running back to us to tell us that the coyotes ate Blinker and that her fur is all over the path. No, I tell her. It must be seed pods on the path or some sort of fuzzy weed. So the closer we get to the spot, I realize that Emma is right. Those coyotes dug up the box, ripped it open and ate poor Blinker! Her fur was all over the path and so were the cards that the girls wrote. I think Neil dug a hole about 6 inches deep and just put a pile of dirt on top. That didn't work. Uggh! Emma was picking up the box and I was trying to get it away from her without touching it. I told the kids that it was the circle of life and the animals were given a chance to live with Blinker's nourishment. I put my arm around Emma and told her that Blinker didn't feel a thing. She responded, "of course not Mom, Blinker was dead!" Okay, okay...just trying to help. We are probably not going to get another pet for awhile!

Happy Birthday Ryan!

Ryan turned four on June 29th! What a big boy! For his birthday I took Ryan, and only Ryan, to Disneyland for the day. I hired a babysitter for the other kids and we stayed from 8:30 till 10:00 o'clock at night. He was such a good boy the whole day and it was a treat to spend the whole day with just him! We got there really early and I decided that we should hit the big rides first. He was JUST tall enough to go on all of the roller coasters. We went on Space mountain, Splash Mountain and all the rest. He would tell me "I brave" after each one, and he would say it in his deep Ryan voice. His favorite was "steam mountain" which was the Matterhorn. It has steam in one part, so he named it that. There was no way he could pronounce Matterhorn. We even bought a pass, so when the big kids are in school we can go with Leah. We will be riding the tea cups with her. Hope I don't get motion sickness on the baby rides!

Blinker

Oh, now I understand the pros and cons of pet ownership. Emma had been begging for a pet for years and we finally gave in. On her 10th birthday we adopted Cracker, who we then named Blinker, from our neighbors across the street. Blinker was a sweet white, black and brown Guinea Pig whom Emma just loved. She would come home from school and always hold her. Emma was also trying to train Blinker to do circus tricks....Blinker was a trooper! I have to say that Blinker was already 4 when we adopted her, so we knew she didn't have that much time with us. However, I thought we would have more than 3 months. Emma found her one morning before school and she had already gone to Guinea pig heaven. Oh, my! Poor Emma was so upset. Greta and Emma made cards for Blinker and we waited till Neil got home so they could have a burial ceremony in the canyon behind our house. The next day Emma drew this picture (in Math class no less) of Blinker with her "babies" in heaven. So Sweet. I think Emma needs to be a vet when she grows up, she just loves little animals.

Baby Leah

I guess Baby Leah is not such a "new" baby anymore. I was telling this to Neil and he said that as long as she uses a diaper, she is still a baby! Okay...okay....I get it. She just isn't as small. :) Here she is with Greta and Aunt Kristi . She loves to laugh and has just learned to sit up!

Andrew's First Communion

What a wonderful day for Andrew's First Communion. He was so excited and had been talking about it for months. As a family we were able to go up with Andrew to communion. We were blessed to have Grandma Patty and Grandpa Greg there with us, along with Aunt Kristi and her awesome fiance Andrew. We then had brunch at the Golf Course, where Ryan decided to use the flower bushes as a potty. Nothing better than a just potty trained three-year-old! Oh well, I looked around and thankfully none of the golfers seemed to notice.

Happy Mother's Day!

What a great way to start my blog... Mother's Day. We started the day bright and early at 8:30 mass with Emma and Andrew singing in the choir. They did a great job and had a lot of fun. Then out for our brunch at Norm's, where we dined on pancakes, french toast and omlets. We are a very formal family, where only the best will do. ha! The kids all helped clean up the house and then we went for a really cool hike up to "robber's peak"...we could see all the way to the beach, and on a clear day, you can see Catalina island. The children gave me some beautiful cards that they made in school. Andrew's 2nd grade class had the most wonderful performance in their classroom. His teacher really outdid herself. I taped just one of the songs, because I was holding Leah and trying to keep Ryan quiet the whole time (very stressful). The song was "My Girl" and it was all the little boys in the class performing. When I watch it I almost cry...I can't believe how fast my children are growing up. Good thing Leah is still very little! I still need a baby to squeeze!