Knott's Berry Farm

This past Thursday we went to Knott's Berry Farm! It was the first time the kids had been there, and they both loved it. Knott's has a cute kids area, which was where we spent a significant amount of time. We also could all go on some rides, and that was the most fun! Riding on the Log Ride was a highlight for us all. Faith claims that it was her favorite ride! And poor Shane probably got the most wet! Another highlight was riding on a stage coach that was pulled by horses. Animal loving Shane loved to see the horses up close! Here are some pictures from our very fun day...

Faith on a race car

Shane loved the Merry-go-Round! Steve had Shane ride on a pig as Shane is even more into pigs than horses right now!

Faith was excited because she could ride on this ride all by herself!

She loved it!!

Steve and Shane on a balloon ride

Mission Impossible

I attempted the impossible today...well, better stated, what I attempted to do today turned out to be impossible! I tried to take a picture of the two kids together for our Christmas card. This is a process that began a month or so ago when I bought them cute, coordinating outfits (that was the easy part!!). Then today, I dressed them in the outfits (getting a bit more difficult). And finally, I set out to get THE picture! The one where both kids in their coordinating outfits are not only next to each other, but also looking at the camera, smiling and looking absolutely adorable. Like I said, mission impossible with a 3 1/2 year old and a 16 month old! So here are some shots that are not "card worthy". So view at your enjoyment, knowing that these aren't actually the worst shots! Those were deleted as soon as they were put on the computer!

They really are enjoying this whole process!

My battle most often was getting them to stay next to each other so I could snap a shot!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! There is so much to be thankful for! Faith was very thankful that Pumpkin Pie was on the menu for Thanksgiving dinner! While she has quite a sweet tooth (I have no idea where she could have received that from!!?), pumpkin pie has emerged as a favorite dessert! So, we needed to get a picture of Faith, Aunt Renee, and the delicious pumpkin pie that was consumed on Thanksgiving day!

And for the first time ever, I ventured out on Black Friday to do a bit of shopping! I didn't get up early (well, earlier than normal I should say!), wait in any lines, and I wasn't planning on shopping, but it turned out that Target had a certain item on sale that Faith had on her Christmas list! So, I went out, at 8:30am, battled the crowds at Target, and was successful in purchasing the big, exciting, toy for Faith!

Brotherly Sisterly love!

One of the joys I have experienced lately is seeing Faith and Shane interact and watch how much they love each other! I must admit that I never imagined the two kids would have so much fun together so soon! And the way that they have to do everything the other one is doing, well maybe that isn't always so cute (it can lead to toy stealing, which inevitably leads to tears!!), let's just say it keeps life interesting! But watching Shane want to read books as Faith does, it brings a smile to a mom's face! Here are a few pics of the great love they share!

Pretending to have a tea party

Active Shane doesn't sit still for long!


Teacher Faith makes sure he does what she wants!

I'll be sure to remind them of this love and these pictures when they get older!

The Kids' Room

A couple of weeks ago we were able to have Faith and Shane's room repainted. After the wainscoting was put up, everything needed to be repainted. And we of course wanted it painted before we put up the special decor we had to make their surfer room complete. Now that it's finished, here are a few pics of the completed (well, until Shane is ready for his "big boy" bed) project!

Faith's bed

New curtains

Hanging bubbles

Bed with the surf boards

With all the painting in the house the past few weeks, the kids wanted to do some of their own! Since I'm not into having them actually paint, we came up with a solution - paint brushes and water outside!! They love it!

Halloween

Happy November! It is hard to believe that we are already in the month of November and are looking towards Thanksgiving and Christmas and have Halloween in the rear view mirror! Time sure does fly by! The kids had fun dressing up for Halloween, and of course, Trick-or-Treating! Unfortunately, Steve had to work, but we made the best of it by going to a Halloween party at one of our friend's house. Here are some pictures of the little ones in their costumes...as you can see, we had a family theme this year!

Cowboy Shane

Cowgirl Faith

I tried desperately to get a really cute, both kids looking at the camera and smiling shot, but this was the best I could come up with!

Group shot of all the kids at the party

My friends Julie and Danica and I

Trip to Lake Havasu

We've had an adventurous past two weeks, but it was caped off with a great family trip! The first adventure was one of the painting kind. We had the kids bedroom painted, which was a necessity, but a little tricky when it involves and three year old and a one year old! So, the kids and I left the house for a few days to ensure that no dangerous fumes were inhaled and no wet walls were touched! With paint fumes lingering, I caught faith doing this!

Here she is playing "guitar" just like a rock star!

Our second adventure was much more fun! We took a short trip to one of our favorite vacation spots, Lake Havasu! While we didn't have the greatest of weather, it was still great to get away and spend some time together as a family. We even had the chance to visit with Steve's uncle who lives in nearby Parker, AZ.

Shane became a big fan of Faith's sunglasses! We used them often to keep him entertained!

Since the water and the weather were a bit on the chilly side, the kids did most of their swimming in the jacuzzi bath tub in our room! They had a great time!

Again, with the weather not being so "beachy", we decided to visit the nearby, historic town of Oatman. Despite the cold and strong wind, we had fun seeing an old town, looking in the stores, and looking at the wild burros walk the streets.

Faith on an old tractor

Pumpkin Patch...take 2

Yes, we went to the pumpkin patch again!! While once had been enough for me, Faith reminded me daily that we needed to go once again so that she could get a big pumpkin to decorate. Since we had some time this afternoon and have a busy upcoming week, today was the day to visit the patch once again! What made this trip memorable was the temperature...it was close to 90 degrees!! Typically, when I think of picking pumpkins, things like hot chocolate, coats, maybe even gloves are some essential items that coincide with the experience. Today, we needed ice cream or a swimming pool after sweating our way through the rows and rows of pumpkins! I guess that's Southern California for us!! Regardless of the heat, the kids had a blast, and I survived!

Shane picking out his pumpkin

The giant pumpkins...and staying true to himself, Shane is trying to eat a rock covered with mud...

Back home playing in the yard

Last year we decorated with pumpkins with stickers. It was easy, and Faith could do it completely on her own! This year, we stepped it up a bit and bought the Mr. Potato Head pumpkin decorations. Faith picked out a princess set to dress her pumpkin, which she named Cinderella! She loved playing with all the pieces and putting them in crazy spots once the initial holes were put in the pumpkin. At least an hour of entertainment for her!

And here is the finished product! Maybe next year we'll actually carve them...

The Pumpkin Patch

Today we had the chance to go to the pumpkin patch with Faith's preschool. After a minor glitch (why in the world would there be two pumpkin patches with the same name in Ventura?? It doesn't exactly help busy moms who skim the field trip newsletter!), we arrived at the correct patch and had a great time! Because Faith remembers visiting a pumpkin patch last October, she was extremely excited to go again this year.


After learing about pumpkins and squash and going on a hay ride, Faith was finally able to pick out a pumpkin! She picked out a beauty!

Shane was able to enjoy the field trip as well. A great bonus for being the younger brother. Both kids loved playing by the giant prize pumpkins.

Just soaking it all in!!

This was taken yesterday. Faith was very excited about going to our first MOPS meeting of the year. She was even more excited that she put her backpack on all by herself!

The latest...

Once again, it has been quite some time since the last post! And as always, I am going to blame the busyness of life as of late! For myself, things have been extra busy as I prepare for the upcoming MOPS year to begin. MOPS stands for Mothers Of PreSchoolers, and I am serving as the coordinator of our local group this year. While it is lots of fun, and I am enjoying it, all the work to get the year off and running has lead to more meetings and time spent on organizing things like kickoff BBQs! So that is what I have been up to!

Shane continues to work on walking and talking. He walks about as much or as little as he chooses. He can definitely do it, but at times prefers to crawl as he is so quick at crawling! And I think his vocabulary grows by the day. He keeps us on our toes as he is into literally everything! If we can't find something, all we have to do is look in the trash and we find that Shane has thrown it in there! He also has become quite the little dancer, which is very fun to watch. And he has his favorite songs!

Here's the little guy acting like a little character!

As I mentioned being busy with MOPS, one of the very fun things I was able to do for MOPS was travel to Nashville for the annual MOPS convention. About 4000 MOPS moms were renewed and refreshed at the convention. I attended with two of my good friends. It was great fun! And my mom was there as well as she is a mentor mom in the MOPS group at her church!

My friends Julie and Melissa and I at dinner in Nashville

While in Nashville, I was able to meet up with some of my roommates from college! We had not seen each other in over 4 years!! It was so wonderful to spend time with them and catch up with them!!!

Faith continues to love preschool and swimming lessons. We continue to be amazed at the transformation that her swim teacher has done! Faith now retrieves rings from the bottom of the pool, jumps off the edge, and attempts to actually swim! We are so grateful she is doing so well and enjoying it so much.

Those are the things she dives down for!

Here she is floating on her back with the help of her teacher

walking and talking

Many milestones are being reached by our little Shane man! Last weekend he began standing on his own, and then he took two steps. Of course, as soon as we took out the video camera, all he wanted to do was crawl! Today he took five steps to me, so he is making progress. What is really cute is that he is just so proud of himself. After he stands on his own for a bit, he sits down and claps and squeals for himself!

While Shane has been saying a few words for a while now (the standard mama, dada, bye-bye, etc.) Faith has taken it upon herself to really work on talking! She is constantly working with him on saying all the important things in life, such as Buck (as in Buck Owens), trash truck, and Target. It's cute to see her go up to him as she did this afternoon before we headed out to do some shopping at Target and say, "Shane, can you say Target?" Then when he attempts it, she laughs and tells me, "Mommy, Shane said Target!" She takes such joy in teaching him. And she is his official interpreter in case he says something that I'm not quite sure of. What a great big sister.

The pictures below are from this past weekend. My parents and sister were in town for Labor Day weekend. We had a great time with them!

Faith enjoyed a smoothie and PB&J by the pool

We couldn't let a football Saturday go by without watching our favorite team!