ashes to ashes

New Year, New....

2012-01-04T18:00:00.000-08:00

...everything! Well, sort-of. I gave my blog a facelift, and I'm going to realize my goal of having a website to showcase my art and promote my work. And also try and utilize social media with all that. Seems daunting? A bit, but it's a long time coming.

Christmas 2011

2011-12-31T13:51:00.000-08:00

For Christmas this year Mason's youngest sister C.C. came to visit. Our girls love it when C.C. comes. She's lots of fun and the girls just have a good time with her. A few days after Christmas we went up to the Exploratorium in San Francisco. It was the girls' first time. They had such a good time that we are planning a return trip very soon!

Christmas Eve

Keira showing us a star while we read a poem about the symbols of Christmas

Mason and Ava leading us in Christmas carols

Grandma and Serena

Grandpa and Serena

The tree after Santa came

Christmas Day

Since we had church in the morning, we let the girls see their gifts from Santa, then opened the rest when we got home

Some pictures of everyone after church

Our silly girls! (Minus Serena, who was napping)

Getting warm by the fire!

Onto the presents!

Exploratorium

2011-11-05T13:33:00.000-07:00

This is a painting I made for Norah's room.

Two years ago.

more art

2011-10-02T17:16:00.000-07:00

As a busy mother of four, it's been tough for me to find time to devote to my artwork. Over the past two weeks (and watching Conference solidified my resolve) I've decided to put forth more effort. And now that my kids are getting a little older, it's a little easier. I'm not perfect, and maybe I should do more, but for now my goal is one sketchbook page a day and working on Serena's bedroom painting on the weekends. And to kick it off, here a cute little zebra from last week.

So happy drawing to me!

hello holiday season

2011-10-02T12:39:00.000-07:00

To ring in the next three months of holiday fun, last night we made ghost cookies. They are pretty simple really, but tons of fun to do with kids. They are Nutter Butter cookies dipped in white chocolate with mini chocolate chip eyes. The girls had a blast making them, and Mason had a fun treat waiting for him when he came home from the Priesthood session.

Happy Halloween!

preschool picture time

2011-09-28T17:05:00.001-07:00

We do a preschool co-op with Keira (I did one with both Ava and Norah). Here's a picture from today. Why haven't I thought of taking pictures of the kids when they are at my house? I think I'll do that the next time I host.

Talk and other updates

2011-09-28T16:38:00.000-07:00

Last Sunday Ava gave her second talk in Primary. She gave her first one back in March, but she was so shy that Mason read it for her. But she has come a long way! Mason still went up with her, but she read the whole thing herself, including the scripture. Way to go Ava!

Serena is now starting to roll over. She'll flip from her back onto her tummy, and that's it. Half the time she gets her arms pinned under her belly, which causes her to cry until we pull them out. Silly little baby!

Norah is enjoying preschool. She now wants to walk from the car to the door of her preschool all by herself - because as she puts it, "I'm a big girl now!"

Keira is still a force of energy. Enough said.

Serena - Four and Five Months

2011-09-14T20:39:00.000-07:00

Serena is now five months, but here are her four month stats:

Height: 24.5 inches
Weight: 11 lbs 4 oz

She is quite the belcher. By far a champion when compared to our other girls. Her burps are loud and looooong! And usually followed up by tons of spit-up. Not quite as much spit-up as Norah had, but still waaaaaay more than either Keira or Ava.

Serena is also very mellow. She babbles and coos on her playmat, even when all her other sisters come to fawn all over her. And she loves to giggle and smile on the changing table.

But by far the one thing that has helped me out with juggling four kids is the fact that Serena is an AWESOME sleeper. She has one nap in the afternoon for about 4 or 5 hours, and then she sleeps for 12 - 13 hours at night - without interruption! Score! That allows me the much needed rest to be a mom everyday.

Love our Serena!

First Day of First Grade!

2011-08-18T16:04:00.000-07:00

School started today! Ava is now in first grade. Her teacher is Mrs. Hedgecock. Ava also has lots of friends from kindergarten in her same class, which I thought was fun and eases the first-day jitters. Again, I love, love, LOVE the fact that we are across the street from school, which makes drop-offs and pick-ups a breeze. Here are some pictures (Ava of course still has her My Little Pony backpack):

Stay tuned for Norah's first day of preschool!

Seattle

2011-08-13T10:14:00.000-07:00

During July I had the opportunity to travel to Seattle to see some good friends and fellow college roommates. Sans kids to boot! (Don't worry - I do miss my girls when I'm away from them, but it having the time to myself did wonders for my sanity).

It was great to see Lisa's lovely home, as well as to finally meet her kids as well as Camilla's kids. Of course it was almost like no time had passed - we even played Ligretto!

Sadly I don't have too many pictures from the trip. I'll have to bum some off of Camilla's FB page.

I just hope the next time we have a roommate reunion that we can ALL be there! Kat, Wendy, Steph, and Becca - you were missed!

Serena - Two Months

2011-06-26T20:55:00.001-07:00

Last Thursday was Serena's two month check up. (She was really 10 weeks, but whose counting, lol!).

Here are her stats:

Weight: 11 lbs, 6 oz (55th percentile)
Height: 23.5 inches (88th percentile)

She is by far our biggest baby out of all four girls. I think she'll take after Ava in the height department.

We also had Serena's baby blessing today, which is always a wonderful event. We love being surrounded by friends and family for the special occasion.

While we love Serena to bits, she really isn't doing a whole lot except eating, sleeping, and pooping. She has smiled a few times in the past week. I don't care if it's gas or not - her smiles are adorable! She is a champion sleeper though. At night when she goes down, she'll stay asleep for 9 - 10 hours. That gives me my much needed rest! Keeping up after four kids is very energy-consuming.

Ava, Norah, and Keira are all great big sisters. They will put Serena's blanket back on her if she kicks it off, and put her binky back in her mouth if she spits it out. Keira though will tease her by putting the binky in, then taking it out again.

All in all, life is good! Busy, but good.

Kindergarten Open House

2011-05-26T20:05:00.000-07:00

Tonight we went to the open house at Ava's elementary school. Open House is where all the classrooms are opened up for family and friends to see what the students have studied during the year, and to view various projects. It was fun to see what Ava has done during the year, as well as to see her friends and her teacher (who has been on bedrest for the past few months). It brought back memories of when I was in school and was excited for my family to see my classroom and all the work I had done during the year.

Ava's teacher, Mrs. Yu

Ava's kindergarten memory book. It contains projects and pictures from each month

Photo wall (and Jimin, one of Ava's friends)

Classroom whiteboard

Self portraits

Ava showing us more projects

Ladybug project

Keira turns 2!

2011-05-17T15:55:00.000-07:00

On Cinco de Mayo our third daughter, Keira, turned 2. We celebrated with dinner at Chevy's, followed by cupcakes and opening presents at home. She is definitely a force to be reckoned with. She's fearless - she climbs on and over anything and everything, and can hold her own with her two older sisters.

Some stats on our little firecracker:

Height: 32 inches
Weight: 25 lbs

- loves to say "Don't be late!"
- favorite toys are her baby doll and stroller
- will often walk around the house wrapped up in her blankie
- when she wants to be held, she will back up into your legs
- loves to pat baby Serena on her head
- will eat almost anything
- enjoys building towers on the Lego table

Fun times at Chevy's!! We always knew Keira was a party girl.

Introducing Serena Christine

2011-04-27T16:21:00.000-07:00

Our newest member of our family, Serena Christine, was born on Thursday, l April 14, 2011 at 2:26 am. She weighed in at 8 lbs 7 oz and 19.5 inches long. And she has dark hair, and lots of it!

I went in to see my doctor on the 12th, which was my due date. I had been dilated to 5 cm for nearly a week, and my OB was quite surprised I hadn't gone into active labor yet. So at my request (because I was done being preggo!), she put me on the induction list at the hospital for that evening.

Well, the hospital was extremely busy with other women having babies, so they didn't call me in until the following night at 9:00 pm! It was around 11:00 pm by the time I was hooked up to the Pitocin. A few hours after that, my water broke on it's own, and around an hour later Baby Serena was here! Again, I didn't have an epidural. I just prefer not being hooked up to tons of IVs. Plus, I feel like the recovery is faster (and I really don't like having a catheter).

We just love having Serena in our family. Our other girls love her too - they like watching her sleep and putting stuffed animals into her bassinet.

Onto the pictures!

Couch Potatoes

2011-03-09T10:16:00.000-08:00

So maybe I shouldn't let Keira watch TV, but they all looked so cozy while they were watching "Go Diego, Go."

Ava turns 6!

2011-03-07T20:49:00.000-08:00

Today our oldest daughter, Ava, turns 6. I can't believe how much time has flown by! She is turning out to be a very caring, helpful young girl. We are so blessed to have her in our family. Some things about Ava:

- she loves her kindergarten class
- she enjoys throwing the frisbee and playing catch in the backyard
- she loves doing crafts, as well as drawing and coloring
- she'll read to her younger sisters
- she'll also remind her younger sisters of the house rules, lol
- she has a very vivid imagination
- she loves to learn

We love Ava!

Ava's presents

Opening presents with the family

Norah turns 4!

2011-02-28T15:31:00.000-08:00

Today is Norah's birthday! She is four years old. We call her "Noo-noo" for short. Some things about Norah in a nutshell:

- she LOVES dinosaurs at the moment
- she loves to snuggle
- her favorite toys (besides the dinosaurs) are animals of all kinds
- she enjoys picking flowers in the backyard
- she will comfort Keira in the car if she is crying
- she is still apprehensive about being in Primary (she's a Sunbeam), but she's adjusting
- her favorite thing to eat is a quesodilla

We love Norah!

Norah's presents

Norah's dinosaur cake

She's excited!

Norah really loves dinosaurs

Day in San Francisco

2011-02-28T15:22:00.000-08:00

On Saturday in honor of Ava and Norah's upcoming birthdays, we took a family day up to San Francisco. We visited the Aquarium of the Bay at Pier 39, then went to the Rainforest Cafe for dinner. The girls had fun looking at all the sea life, especially the tide pool area where they could touch sea stars and other creatures.

Looking in the tide pool

Norah making stink-eye faces in line for the carousel

Norah and Grandma on the carousel

Ava on the carousel

Mason, Ava, and Keira

They are watching

2011-01-20T12:21:00.000-08:00

In addition to her weekly homework, Ava has monthly homework of things she needs to complete during the month. For January, one of the things she needs to do is draw a picture of each member of the family, and then write a sentence about them. She was pretty accurate in describing us!

Mommy: Mommy goes to the store.

Daddy: Daddy does lots of projects.

Norah: She plays with me.

Keira: Keira goes everywhere with her blanket.

Ava wanted to be completely accurate that she even illustrated us in what we were wearing that day. And she chased Keira around to make sure she got her eyecolor correct, lol.

Maybe she will turn out to be an artist....

Christmas 2010

2011-01-01T10:30:00.000-08:00

We had a great Christmas at home this year. We attended the Night in Bethlehem again, sponsered by the First Baptist Church in Santa Clara. It's all live and in costume, complete with camels, sheep, a donkey, gypsy dancers and Roman soldiers. (And of course Mary and Joseph, lol). There are booths to show what life was like during the time of Christ's birth, including brick-making, a wine-press, unleavened bread, and jewerly.

We didn't make it to San Francisco this year, but we decorated cookies, made snowflake ornaments, and other Christmas crafts.

Christmas morning was quite the feat! I heard Ava and Norah playing in their room, quite loudly I might add, at 4:30 am. I told them they needed to go back to sleep, but Ava said that it was hard. She then also told me she had peeked at the toys Santa had left! Luckily though they went back to sleep until 8:30 am.

Around 9 am we opened presents, then had a breakfast of homemade cinnamon rolls. Overall it was a great holiday season for us.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

They really do listen!

2010-11-04T16:08:00.000-07:00

Every Wednesday in Ava's class they have computer time, which involves three things - drawing a picture using a kid-friendly drawing program, drawing 8 items that begin with the letter of the week, and listening to a story, then drawing a picture of their favorite part of the story along with a sentence describing why it's their favorite. Then a paper is sent home (along with the illustration of the favorite part of the story with sentence) which tells the parent how their student is doing in each area. Each task is rated with one star, two stars, three starts, or four stars - one being the lowest, and four being the highest.

Ava's been really good at the first two tasks, but not so much on the third. Which was odd to me, since she loves drawing pictures! She wouldn't draw a picture, and only write half a sentence. I finally had a talk with her about it last week, about how important it is to listen to the teacher and complete classwork.

Yesterday when I picked her up from class, she was bursting at the seams to get something out of her backpack and show it to me. She presented me with her weekly computer center paper, only this time she had FINALLY completed the third task! Illustration AND complete sentence! She was really proud of it, and I was happy that she finally did it during class.

So kids really DO listen when you talk to them about things!

Star of the Week

2010-11-04T16:04:00.001-07:00

Every week in Ava's class, a student is chosen to be Star of the Week. This was Ava's week! She filled out a poster with pictures of her family, and all her favorite things - like her favorite food (carrots - which I wouldn't have guessed!), her favorite animal (a unicorn - definitely my child!), and what she wants to be when she grows up (a car driver - she must get that from Mason). In addition, the chosen Star of the Week takes home the class bear over the weekend, Beebear, and writes in a journal what they did with him over the weekend. Since we had Beebear last weekend, we had all sorts of Halloween fun with him.

Today she presented her poster and her Beebear journal entries. Such a fun weekly activity to do with the students!

PSA

2010-10-28T19:40:00.000-07:00

Just in case you didn't know, we are expecting baby #4 in April.

I'm currently 16 weeks, and we find out in 3 if it's a boy or a girl.

Whoo hoo!!

Lovely Language

2010-09-14T17:00:00.001-07:00

Today Norah surprised me with the phrase:

"I burped out of my butt!!"

*facepalm*

Faith in the future

2010-09-05T19:35:00.000-07:00

Today at church we had fast and testimony meeting. I was really impressed by the testimony of one of our youth. She mentioned that for a recent school project, she and her classmates were assigned to do a "Me Board," where they share different aspects of themselves. One part of it was to include who they would like to emulate in the future. She said that many of her classmates spoke about wanting to be like celebrities or business moguls. But she didn't feel like she could do that. She wanted to put on her board that she wanted to be like Christ and Heavenly Father, but part of her was afraid of sharing her testimony.

But when it was her turn to present her board, she had a picture of the temple and Christ on it. She talked about how she wanted to emulate Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ, because she had felt their unconditional love in her life. She felt the Spirit present, and was so glad that she followed its promptings.

After hearing that, it gave me renewed faith in the future. I'm amazed at the strength of our youth, and the courage they display in sharing their testimonies and standing for what is right. Sometimes I get bogged down in the doldrums of life, and get a bit pessimistic. But then I hear testimonies like these, and I know that if we keep the faith, hold to the rod, and endure to the end, everything will be alright.

First Day of Kindergarten

2010-08-19T14:42:00.000-07:00

Today was Ava's first day of kindergarten. She was so excited that last night I thought she would hardly sleep at all. Here she is with her new shoes, new outfit, and pony backpack. Norah got new shoes too, so we took pictures of her. Norah was bummed that Ava would be eating lunch at kindergarten, so I took her out to McDonald's as a special treat.

Oh,and both Ava's and Norah's shoes light up when they walk.

Keira - 15 months

2010-08-15T14:42:00.000-07:00

As of her 15 month appointment a week and a half ago, here are Keira's stats:

Weight: 20 lbs (10th percentile)
Height: 29 inches (30th percentile)

She still is a tiny baby, but to us she really chunked out the past month or so. She's now walking, and consequently getting into everything. Ava and Norah love playing with their Ponyville and Polly Pocket toys (which have very, very VERY tiny pieces), so I'm constantly telling them to play with them on the kitchen table, or else close the door to their room. So far Keira hasn't swallowed anything, and Ava and Norah are very pretty good about keeping those tiny things out of her reach.

Keira loves to dance, pull out all the DVD's from our TV unit, and snuggle with her various stuffed animals.

Beach

2010-08-15T14:13:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we headed out to Santa Cruz. Ava has been dying all summer to go to the beach, but we've been having really mild weather (and when it's mild where we live, it's just cold at the beach). But we went anyway. Of course it was overcast and chilly, but we still had fun. Ava and Norah loved wading in the surf with Mason, and I chilled in the sand with Keira.

Keira and me

Just Keira

What is Ava pointing at?

The crazy mass of people going for an organized swim in the freezing ocean

Mason and the girls

Fourth of July

2010-07-10T13:25:00.000-07:00

Next to Thanksgiving, the Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. Good food, friends, family, and fireworks! Plus, I love having the chance to be patriotic and feeling overall thankful for the country that I live in.

Some of our Fourth of July decorations

Our backyard table set up for our holiday bbq!

Ava waving the flag

Backyard Fun

2010-07-10T13:01:00.000-07:00

Today we decided to try out our new sprinkler toy. It was a bit too cool at the beach, but it was warm at our house, so we played in the water. The girls had fun, and we had fun watching them. Now I want to get a Slip 'n Slide!

Sleep?

2010-06-09T20:38:00.000-07:00

Last night this is how I found Ava and Norah asleep as I checked in on them before I went to bed myself:

I sooooooooooo need to make a collage of all the crazy sleep pictures I've accumulated over the years. How they fall asleep like this is beyond me.

7th Anniversary!

2010-06-07T16:06:00.000-07:00

Last Monday (May 31st) was our 7th wedding anniversary! I can't believe it's been seven years already. With a lot of love, good times, and three kids, the time sure does fly.

A perk this year was that our anniversary fell on Memorial Day, so Mason already had the day off. We took advantage of that and headed up to San Francisco for the day (our daughters stayed with Grandma and Grandpa). We rode the cable cars, shopped, and ate dinner at Fisherman's Wharf. It was fun having a day to ourselves.

I love my husband dearly, and hope to have many more years together!

Conversations with a 3-year old

2010-05-19T09:30:00.000-07:00

Last week for dessert our girls discovered the joys of making hot fudge sundaes - complete with sprinkles and peanuts. A few days ago, my husband was eating some peanuts as a snack. This is the convo that followed:

Mason: Ava, would you like some peanuts?

Ava: Uh, no thank-you.

Mason: Norah, would you like some peanuts?

Norah: Yes, with ice cream please!

Keira Turns One!

2010-05-07T20:16:00.001-07:00

Wednesday was Keira's first birthday! Yes, she was born on Cinco de Mayo. And as I made dinner that night (stroganof), it occurred to me that last year on May 5th I was making THE EXACT SAME THING for dinner when I realized I was in active labor. Bizarre!!

So here are her stats as of today when she had her check-up:

Weight: 15 lbs 13 oz (yes, she's not even tracking on the 5th percentile for weight, but making her own curve below that one!)
Height: 28 inches

Still petite, but cute as ever!

Wednesday night we had a family get together for cake and presents. Ava and Norah were very excited to help Keira open her presents. As Ava said, "Norah will open one, and I will open two!" Um, right.

Here are some pics!

The Cake

Cake and Presents

Keira and Mommy

Opening Presents

Eating Birthday Cake

Where's Grandpa?

2010-04-18T14:11:00.000-07:00

Last month my dad had knee replacement surgery, so he hasn't been to church in the last few Sundays while he's recovering. But apparently my girls miss him, because here's what the conversation was in the parking lot this afternoon as we were getting ready to go home:

Norah: (sees Brother Thompson across the parking lot) "LOOK!!! There's Grandpa!"

Me: "No, that's not Grandpa."

Norah: "Yes, it is!"

Ava: "Norah, that's not Grandpa. That's someone else. Grandpa looks different, and his name is "Gary."

Yes indeed Ava!

Keira - 11 months

2010-04-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

I haven't weighed Keira, but she can't be more than 16 pounds - seriously. She's such a lightweight that people ask if she's 3 or 4 months old, and they are always shocked to hear that she's nearly one year old. But it doesn't really bother me - it means she stays a bit more baby-like longer!

She's now beginning to cruise, as well as bop up and down once she's standing. When we hold her, she loves to nibble our noses. It's only a problem when she tries to do it to Ava or Norah - they run away screaming that Keira tried to bite them. It's kind of funny, but I guess I should be more sympathetic, LOL! It's just hard to when Ava and Norah are so melodramatic about it, and Keira just looks like an innocent lamb.

Keira is also distinctly saying "Ma Ma" and "Da Da." Just some of my favorite words these days!

Ava turns 5!

2010-03-20T16:58:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago Ava had her 5th birthday party (we had it on Saturday the 6th, since her actual birthday was on Sunday the 7th). It was a Lightening McQueen themed party! Truth be told I was kinda bummed that she didn't want a pony party (there's still hope with Norah and Keira, LOL!), but it was fun all the same.

She invited friends from preschool and church (and who am I kidding - they are all from church too!). We played Pin-the-Wheel-on-McQueen, colored pages with the Cars characters, had an obstacle course in the backyard, and of course a Lightening McQueen pinata. The pinata was the pinnacle of the party! Everyone was so excited for a turn to hit it - then once it fell to the ground, it was a bit Lord of the Flies-esque with the ripping to get the candy out.

All in all it was a very fun party! Then on Sunday we had a family gathering for her actual birthday.

Playing Pin-the-Wheel

Eating Birthday Cake

Obstacle Course!

Pinata Time

Norah turns 3!

2010-03-04T13:02:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday, the 28th, was Norah's birthday. She's now 3 years old! I can't believe it. We had a family dinner with my parents, then cake and presents afterwards.

Some Norah highlights:
- she loves dinosaurs and animals
- her favorite phrases are "WHAT??" and "Oh my gosh!"
- she loves to be tickled
- her favorite movies are "Bolt" and "The Land Before Time"
- at night she MUST have her flannel heart blanket to go to sleep
- she loves Nursery - every Sunday, halfway through Sacrament Meeting, she always asks "Is it time for Nursery?"
- her favorite things to eat at dinner are stroganoff and mashed potatoes (not necessarily together)
- she prefers bananas over strawberries

The Cake

The Presents

Opening the Presents

Peeking through the Presents

T is for...

2010-03-03T10:12:00.001-08:00

Last week in Ava's preschool, it was "T" week. They learned about all sorts of things that began with the letter "T." They also made various projects revolving around "T." One such project was making the letter "T" out of Tootsie rolls. When the teacher presented them at the door to take home, I had a very different thought of what it looked like:

Yes, I thought "T" is for turd!!!

Keira - 9 months

2010-02-13T10:39:00.000-08:00

At her 9-month appointment, Keira weighed in at 14 lbs, 4 oz, and measured at 26 inches long. She's a petite baby, but she's growing! And she's proportionate. All around she's just a cute little bundle of baby joy!

She can crawl fast enough to keep up with her older sisters, and she's now pulling herself up to stand. Keira hasn't quite figured out how to cruise yet - but all in due time.

I also noticed that she has not one, not two, but THREE more teeth coming in! That now brings the total to seven. She is a picky eater, so it's been slow to introduce new foods. But in true baby style, she does like to nom on Cheerios.

And to top it all off, she's just as happy as can be! It doesn't take much to get her to smile, giggle, and squeal. Our favorite thing to do is give her raspberries on her tummy. She will then just burst out in fits of laughter. So cute!

Already??

2010-02-02T12:46:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I registered Ava for kindergarten. KINDERGARTEN!! I still can't believe that she's nearly 5 years old. And that I have two other girls. Where has the time gone?

Anyway, while registering you'd think it was the Spanish Inquisition. In order to prove residency, I had to have:

1) A copy of our rental agreement
2) A current PG&E bill
3) My driver's license

And if that weren't enough, additional things I needed were:

4) Ava's birth certificate
5) Ava's immunization records

Once I was at the school, I had a small folder of paperwork to fill out. Which reminds me, I still need to get back over there to give them a self-addressed stamped envelope so they can mail out the acceptance letter in April.

Good thing we live across the street! One of the many reasons why I love our new place.

Bedtime Delay Tactics

2010-01-19T18:12:00.000-08:00

Normally Ava and Norah go down for bed without a hitch these days. However, lately Norah has developed a new delay tactic. It's hard to resist, for she's very cute. She will now get out of bed, come to us and say "Hug and kiss!" When we go to give her a hug and kiss, she will run down the hall and say, "NOOOO!! Hug and kiss in bed!!!!!"

My, how they get so sly, LOL!

Los Angeles

2009-12-21T15:59:00.000-08:00

About a week and a half ago we took a family vacation down to Los Angeles. We met up with two of Mason's sisters. While we were there, we went to Disneyland, had a tea party at American girl, saw "The Princess and the Frog," and had an early Christmas at C.C.'s place. All in all it was a fun trip, and we were glad to catch up with family.

Waiting for the train as Disneyland

Head of Main Street. This was my first time seeing Disneyland decorated for Christmas.

Haunted Mansion

New Orleans Square

Cinderella's Castle

Norah and me

Ava - this summed up the first few hours at Disneyland (we didn't have very happy campers)

C.C. and Sage

Nancy, Sienna, and Kai

Mason and I taking a silly picture while waiting for Space Mountain

All the cousins (except Norah) posing with Minnie

The castle at night - so pretty!

Main Street at night

Our tea party at the American Girl store. We had drinks and finger-sized food.

The cousins' early Christmas at Aunt C.C.'s. Ava and Norah loved their dinosaur.

Keira - 7 month update

2009-12-17T18:05:00.000-08:00

Today Keira went to the doctor for a weight check. Apparently she's taken after Ava with having a month of losing weight, and being overall a skinny baby. Her doctor wasn't too concerned after seeing the trend with Ava, but he wanted to be on the safe side all the same.

Keira weighed in at 12 lbs, 9 oz - about a pound heavier! While it's not a huge gain, at least she's trending up. She's just an active baby - crawling around and exploring, and also Ava and Norah love playing with her. She even has three teeth now!

But we've started to supplement with formula, so that's helping a bit. We just love our tiny babies!

Wake-up Call

2009-11-24T20:47:00.000-08:00

This morning I was pleasantly surprised to discover that our kids were sleeping in a bit. Well, Keira will normally sleep until 9 am or so, but Ava and Norah are usually up around 7 or 7:30 am. But at 8:30, they were still asleep.

But not for long.

I looked across the hallway into their bedroom to see that Ava had indeed woken up, and she was sitting on Norah's bed, patting her head. She was telling Norah,

"Wake up, WAKE UP!!! The sun is out and it's time to play! Wake up Norah!"

Norah just gave her stink eye.

Keira - stats

2009-11-24T20:44:00.000-08:00

At Keira's 6 month check-up last week, she came in at 11 lbs, 10 oz and 24 1/2 inches. Needless to say she was below the 10th percentile for both. Apparently she's taken after Ava in that respect. Her doctor wasn't too concerned, since we went through this with Ava, (and she's hitting all her milestones in terms of activity) but all the same she's scheduled for a weight check next month.

She also has teeth! Her bottom two teeth finally poked through on November 9th. Compared to Ava and Norah (who both started to get teeth at 9 months), she's a teeth prodigy!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-14T21:11:00.000-08:00

I know I'm just a wee bit late in posting our Halloween fun, but here it is. We started the day by taking a walk to my parents' house - they literally around the corner from us. After everyone's afternoon nap, we carved pumpkins and baked cookies (although we didn't get to decorating the cookies until the next day - at least we attempted!). We rounded out the holiday with that coveted of all traditions - trick or treating!

The quote of the day belonged to Ava. We approached this one house that had motion-sensor zombie bodies. She said she was scared and didn't want to go up to the front door. I told her we could on to the next house. What did she do? She stood on the edge of the porch and said,

"NO! I will stand right here and THEY will bring the candy to ME!"

Gotta love her persistence!

Norah giving us her Halloween moon

Keira and my dad

Mason and Keira on the walk home

Ava and Norah on the walk home

Mason as the Cat in the Hat and Keira as a bumblebee

The family together (of course I'm behind the camera!)

The girls - Ava is Star Catcher and Norah is Pinkie Pie. And for those of you not in the know, those are My Little Ponies.

Norah showing off her cutie mark

Ava showing off her cutie mark

Keira - 6 months

2009-11-05T17:33:00.000-08:00

Keira is now six months old! Her personality is really starting to shine through. She loves to smile and giggle, but she has also developed a piercing, shrieking cry, unlike anything her sisters produced when they were babies. It's so loud that we've taken to calling Keira our little velociraptor! Or Raptor Baby for short.

She's also started to get up on her hands and knees to rock back and forth - I foresee crawling very, very soon!

My Little What?

2009-10-30T16:23:00.000-07:00

At the risk of sounding silly and juvenile, I write this post. But it's Halloween, and everyone who knows me usually finds out at some point that I collect ponies and that I moderate at a pony forum, so there.

It's become a tradition at the MLP Arena to switch up people's user names for Halloween. This morning I had a wonderful surprise waiting for me from a fellow mod when I logged in.

Oh what a name.

I'm now TwinkleLittlePoo!

Happy Halloween everyone!!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-10-28T12:49:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday we took the girls to the pumpkin patch. There were loads of activities - a petting zoo, pony rides, a bounce house, and even a haunted house! Ava and Norah only wanted to see the animals in the petting zoo and jump in the bounce house. After they were sufficiently worn out, we chose our pumpkins to carve and were on our way! We'll carve them probably tomorrow or Friday - whenever we have time, LOL!

Keira and Me:

A rare photo of the girls and me:

Keira and Daddy

Ava feeding the llama

Norah feeding the llama

Ava petting the goats

Ava and Norah going down the slide of the bounce house

Aboard the what?

2009-10-09T18:03:00.000-07:00

Ava has preschool three days a week. Today the theme was "exploration." In addition to learning about Chirstopher Columbus and various places in the world, they made ships out of cardboard boxes. (They were pretty cool, IMO). Using dowels and posterboard, sails were made to go on each ship. The teacher asked each child what they wanted to christen their ship.

And what did Ava choose?

USS Scooby-Doo.

Gotta love her personality!

Keira - 5 months

2009-10-08T16:47:00.001-07:00

Our little baby is now five months old! I can't believe it. Time just flies by so quickly. She is such a cutie-patootie. In addition to rolling, she grabs her toes and sucks on them. It's quite hilarious to watch. Still no teeth, but that doesn't surprise me - her older sisters didn't cut their first teeth until the 9/10 month mark, so that's probably when they'll start to show.

Ava and Norah love to play with her. Ava has now started to call her "Keira Koo-Koo." I'm trying to thwart that nickname. (But my efforts are in vain I think, since we called Norah "Norah Noo-Noo when she was a baby). Today when Ava addressed Keira by that, Keira got the pouty lower lip and started to cry. She knows she doesn't like it, LOL!

Ava, 4 1/2; Norah, 2 1/2

2009-09-26T15:59:00.000-07:00

Our oldest two, Ava and Norah, love playing together. Which is great, because it's fun to see their relationship flourish and grow. My only hope is that they continue to be close as they get older, and that Keira will become a part of their circle as well (which I think she will - they already love to play with her too).

They have such vivid imaginations. From pretending to go on campouts and picnics, to pretending to be dragons and princesses, Ava and Norah always have a great time together. Well, except when they are in bad moods, LOL!

Having a campout

Wearing hats when it's still summer

Keira - 4 1/2 months

2009-09-25T21:04:00.000-07:00

Inspired by a friend's blog, I've decided to try and update the progress and growth of our girls.

Operative word being "try."

Keira is now in what I like to call "prime baby mode." She rolls, she coos, she smiles, she giggles, she grabs our fingers. All the cute things babies can do, she does. She is even attempting to try and crawl. She'll roll onto her tummy, and push her little legs up behind her to try and push herself forward. It's quite amusing to watch, but utterly frustrating for Keira, since she starts to cry after three or four attempts.

Keira in sunglasses. We do things like this because we can, LOL!

Keira just being cute.

Keira the baby-reading prodigy.

I Couldn't Help Myself

2009-09-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

This week I gave in - I decorated for Halloween! I just love, love, love this time of year. I've been chomping at the bit ever since we moved into our new place to start holiday decorating. I really tried to wait until October, but I couldn't resist. When the stores start putting out the candy and the costumes, I just want to join in the fun!

Ava and Norah were pretty excited about our decorated house too. I did most of it while they were napping, so they had a fun surprise when they woke up. They went from room to room, oohing and aahing at the pumpkins, the bats, the haunted houses, and the lights. Yes, I even have a black Halloween tree with orange lights. I think now I'll go take some pictures to share!

Okay, I've got the pics!

Here's our front porch

Now the hallway to the left as you enter the house:

Here's some shots of the living room:

And the dining room:

And the kitchen:

Our bathrooms are also decorated. I do plan on putting lights outside in the front and the back - and perhaps something hanging from our trees. Oh the possibilities!!

Animals at the Farm

2009-09-15T17:12:00.000-07:00

Today for playgroup we went to a local farm. Ava and Norah were really excited the whole car ride up (it was about 35 minutes away). Once there, we saw some cows, horses, sheep, and bunnies. There were even some peacocks wandering about, although they didn't spread their tails.

The farm has an event every week called "Toddler Tuesday" where they show the kids how to shuck and crack corn, and then they feed it to the goats. I admit, I never knew what cracking corn entailed until this morning, LOL! You put the hard kernels into a funnel attached to a crank, and it grounds up the kernels.

Norah was a bit scared to feed the goats, but Ava gave it a go. I had some corn as well, and I showed her how to just put her open hand up to the goats, and they gobble it up! (Their lips kind of tickled). I think it startled Ava a bit, because once the goats took a bite of her corn, she immediately dropped it on the ground! But she said she enjoyed that, and then promptly asked if we were going home, LOL! During this whole procedure Norah was whining. I guess I don't have country kids.

Fun for Labor Day

2009-09-10T16:41:00.001-07:00

Over Labor Day weekend my brother and his daughter Isabelle came for a visit. Ava was so excited to see her. They were fast friends, with Ava calling Isabelle her best friend by the time they left. It was so cute to see them play together.

We had loads of fun with them - our big adventure was touring the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield. We saw all the different machines that it takes to make those tiny treats. Everyone who takes the tour has to wear one of those old-fashion wedge hats - I was amazed that my parents kept theirs on, LOL!

After the tour we went into the sweet shop to load up on our favorite Jelly Bellies. I love the watermelon flavor - right now Ava and Norah just love any of them. There was a tasting bar which featured new flavors, old favorites, and the reject pile. The reject pile includes vomit, booger, and dog food flavored beans. My brother actually tried one of those! I didn't have the courage to try one - just looking at them was somewhat revolting. I tried the chocolate mint ice cream flavor. It was good, but I'd rather have the ice cream.

Since Mason's birthday fell on Labor Day this year, we had a fun date night out sans kids. My parents kindly had our crew plus Isabelle for the night. It's amazing how peaceful dinner can be without the background noise!

Heart-stopping Moment

2009-08-19T16:02:00.000-07:00

We know that life with kids is busy and hectic. We manage to contain the craziness. Yet on occassion that too can get away from us, and we are left with those few moments that 1) feel like an eternity and 2) make us feel like the worst parent on the planet.

Case in point: I was at Trader Joe's this morning, picking up a few items. Of course I had the whole crew with me - Keira buckled in her carseat in the front of the cart, Norah content to hold her plushie Sweetsong pony in the main part of the cart, and Ava walking next to me. We were just about done when I decided to pick up some pita chips and hummus for Mason (since that's one of his favorite snacks, and we haven't had it in a while). I was perusing the various kinds of pita chips. I knew I would end up getting the regular ones, but I wanted to check out the different flavors. After picking up a bag of cinnamon ones, then putting them back, that's when I heard it.

CRASH!!!

My back wasn't even turned away from them when it happened. Looking down, Ava was pinned under the cart screaming bloody murder, Keira's carseat had tumbled out but managed to land upright, and Norah was giggling, but still in the cart (sort-of). Apparently Ava had climbed on the side of the cart - but since TJ carts are a bit smaller than regular grocery store ones, and with the absense of my steady hand on the cart, her weight pulled it down.

There was a flurry of feet and hands, all helping me to right the cart and to make sure everyone was okay. I looked at Keira in her carseat, and she was sleeping! How she managed to sleep through that, I will never know. I guess it's a magical baby power. Norah was laughing and smiling. It was only Ava who was crying - and no wonder too, because the cart had fallen on her. She had a scrape on her leg and her elbow, but she didn't appear to have a concussion or a limp. An elderly TJ employee came by to offer some help - perhaps some lemonade for Ava or a package of frozen peas to put on her leg. Ava didn't want any of that (I think she was also a bit embarressed), but when the lady offered a balloon, well, what 4-year-old can resist that?

So balloons and stickers all around for everyone, we paid for our grocery items, and left. Of course I had my moment of feeling like the worst mommy in the world for not keeping my hands on the cart at ALL TIMES. But kids do bounce back - as evidence in the parking lot as Ava bounded towards the car chattering happily about her balloon.

Love that song and a Surprise

2009-08-18T19:47:00.000-07:00

Tonight while I was feeding and rocking Keira right before I put her down for the evening, I decided to sing to her. I admit, I don't sing with my kids very often (usually because I think I am tone deaf, LOL!). But I thought a little song would be nice for her right before bed. I sang the Primary song "I Am a Child of God," and immediately her face lit up! She gave me the biggest smile, and cooed the whole time I sang. It just melted my heart.

She must either not mind my singing, or she must really like that song!

Ava also had a good evening - we found a special treat on our front porch. It was a giant chocolate chocolate-chip cookie, with a card addressed just to her. It was from her Sunbeam teachers, saying that they were glad she was in her class. She was very excited about the surprise treat, so here's a thank-you shout out to her teachers!

Smart in different ways

2009-08-12T18:10:00.001-07:00

Since Ava now loves writing her name, we got her this dry-erase mat that has the alphabet you can trace on one side, and then pictures on the other side to play alphabet-related games. It's been helping her to write more than the two letters of her name, as well as practicing more control of a writing implement.

I got one for Norah as well, but for now she's just content to point out the letters and then just scribble over them. But, she knows her animals! She loves it when we pull out the animal flash cards - she can identify a kookabura, a howler monkey, and a manatee among other obscure animals. She also loves to play with her Noah's Ark felt book. She carries those felt animals around everywhere! I wouldn't be surprised if she became a vet, LOL!

It's fun to see how our girls learn and grow in different ways.

Crazy Coding!

2009-08-07T21:34:00.000-07:00

You may notice that my blog has a new look. With the help of my husband (who knows html code waaaaaaaaaaay better than me), I was able to take the background that I created in Photoshop and customize my blog. He even helped me change the look of my header (from the dreaded all cap title to the dotted and thick border lines). The only drawback is that during the process the links to my friends' blogs were lost, so I need to add those back in.

I still want to change some things around, but I like the direction I'm taking. Who knew I would be able to understand html, let alone change it to suite my taste?

You'll be missed, Mr. Gomez!

2009-07-19T10:20:00.000-07:00

Yesterday afternoon I was notified that one of my most favorite teachers in high school, Bob Gomez, had passed away that afternoon. In the back of my mind I always know that death is a part of life, but when it happens to those whom you have admired, it still comes as a shock.

Mr. Gomez was my high school's band director. And as I was on the color guard for four years, I spent quite a bit of my high school career with him, lol! We had practice with the band on Tuesday and Thursday evenings for about 2 - 3 hours, then 5th period was also mandatory practice. On occasion we even had Saturday practices. Not to mention all the band reviews and other sorts of activities we participated in. So yes, I think he was the teacher I saw the most!

The most vivid memories I have of Mr. Gomez are him threatening us with "F's" if we didn't get our butts out to the football field fast enough during 5th period, telling the guard to think of him in a Speedo in order to help us to smile throughout our performances (but that usually made us cringe!), or that he thought we should wear white go-go boots because that would stand out nicely against the green field.

Mr. Gomez was definitely one of a kind, and I'm sure that everyone at Cupertino High who passed through his music room will miss him.

Me and Mr. Gomez at my high school graduation. Man that seemed like a lifetime ago!

Fourth of July

2009-07-16T21:40:00.001-07:00

Truly the Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. Who doesn't love grilling, eating outside, fireworks, and celebrating this free land that we live in? Good things all around.

While we didn't watch fireworks this year (Ava got terribly frightened by them last year and didn't want to see them again this year), we did celebrate with a picnic dinner at a local park. After dinner we had fun playing catch, frisbee, and watching the ducks in the ponds.

Ava being cute

Ava dancing with a fork - I think we kept a safe distance from her!

Norah being her cute self

She just loves to laugh!

It's rare to get the two of them together in a photo!

The girls and their dad

And me!

Keira was there too - although she likes to sleep through family functions.

Early Baby

2009-05-08T12:54:00.001-07:00

In a complete surprise, our third baby girl decided to make her debut early! Keira Rhys was born Tuesday, May 5, at 9:07 pm. She was 6 lbs, 9 oz and 19 inches long. I think it's pretty interesting that all our girls had their own timetable - Ava was on time, Norah was a week late, and Keira was a week early.

I was having mild contractions all day on Tuesday. I didn't think anything of them since I had exprienced false labor with Norah. So I just went about my day - even going out to get a baby memory book for Keira.

After we all had our afternoon nap, my contractions were a bit stronger, but I still gave them no thought. But something did tell me that I should get the girls' overnight bags together - they would be staying with my parents while I was in the hospital.

I began making dinner, and noticed that my contractions were even stronger - but still not painful. Mason wasn't home yet (which surprised me, since he's usually home by then). Around 6:30 though, I got my sign that I really was in true labor - the mucous plug! I called Mason, but he wasn't answering his cell phone (I knew then he must be on his way home, since he can't answer his phone on his motorcycle, LOL!). I then called my mom, and she promptly came over.

Mason came home around 7 pm. I told him he needed to eat fast because I was in labor! It was still a bit surreal to me, since my due date was a week away. Mason mentioned that the reason why he was late was he was getting things together to work from home for the next few days - he had a feeling the baby was coming very, very soon.

We got to the hospital around 7:40 pm. At 8 pm they checked me, and I was dilated to 6 cm, with my water still intact. I chose to leave it that way since it acts as a cushion. At 8:40 my contractions were noticable stronger and getting more painful - they checked me and I was at 8 cm! Then 10 minutes later my contractions were very strong, and I was at 9 1/2 cm. The nurse paged the on-call OB, who then broke my water. I began pushing a few minutes later. Keira was then born at 9:07 pm. I didn't have an epidural or any other pain meds.

So onto some pics!

This is right after birth

Mason in the nursery with Keira

The hat Mason picked out for Keira. He said the nurses didn't like it, LOL!

Whoa, two months went by?

2009-04-27T21:27:00.000-07:00

I just realized I haven't updated in about two months. Time just flies - that and I'm a lazy blogger. I freely admit that!

Ava and Norah each had their birthdays - Ava turned 4 and Norah turned 2. We just had a family get together for Norah, but Ava had her first "friend" birthday! We did a safari-themed party complete with an alligator cake - at Ava's request. It was fun seeing all her little friends together and doing crafts and playing.

Ava has had fun being in preschool - she can now write her real name, and not just H-boot anymore!

As for me, I'm two weeks away from my due date. I soooooo can't wait to deliver this baby girl! It's difficult keeping up with two kids when you can't run as fast after them pre-preggy body. That, and I want to be able to paint my own toes again, dang it!

"H, Boot"

2009-02-25T21:02:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend Mason and I decided to try and be a little more pro-active in helping Ava learn to write a bit. She knows her letters and can recognize her name, so we started with that. Yesterday morning before Mason left for work, he tried to help Ava write her name. She of course, being the almost-4-year-old that she is, refused to copy the letters. Mason went to collect his gear for work, then Ava approached him with her piece of paper. He asked her if she practiced the letters, and she said she had. He then looked at the paper, but instead of seeing the letters "A-V-A," he saw what looked like an "H" and then a picture. When asked what they were, Ava replied, "H-Boot! My name is H-Boot!!" Mason then just rolled his eyes, and had a bit of a laugh.

Fast forward to that evening at dinner. Mason told me that we needed to get creative in helping her to want to write. I told him that she will practice her letters in preschool - and I even showed him her papers that she brought home earlier that day. It was full of "M's" and "N's" that Ava had practiced. Up at the top of the paper however, Mason noticed something. The teachers all write the students' names at the top in dotted letters so they can practice writing them. On Ava's paper however, next to her dotted name was - you guessed it - "H-Boot!"

Mason was just speechless, LOL!

Valentines and Crazy Birds

2009-02-20T20:17:00.000-08:00

Last week in Ava's preschool class, they exchanged Valentines. Ava was super-excited, and she picked out "Bolt" Valentines to give. We also had fun Valentine-themed pencils to go along with the cards. Needless to say, I was quite amazed when I picked her up that day! She had a box filled to the brim with Valentine goodies from her classmates - not only pencils, but erasers, play-doh, and an assortment of goodies. It was like Christmas all over again!

Then this evening it was attack of the crazy birds! Outside in the courtyard of our complex, there is an arbor where some birds have had their nest for a few years. The grill is also out there, and while I was grilling some meat for dinner, the mother bird decided it was time for her last chick to leave the next. There was a kerfuffle of feathers, the baby bird flopped onto the picnic table, then onto the pavement, and scuttled under the grill's gas tank. The mother flew away, and in the process hit my head with her wings. I felt bad for the baby bird, but I had to keep Ava and Norah from trying to touch it (just in case the mom came back). I guess it's not everyday you see a baby being kicked out of the house, LOL!

Can't say THAT!!

2009-02-09T21:17:00.000-08:00

I've been keeping a log of all the funny things my kids say - but last night really had me in a fit of laughter. While at my parents' house for dinner, Norah needed to be changed. So my dad (giving us a bit of a break from diaper duty), promptly offered to do so. Ava followed him to the bathroom, then reported back to us that Norah had "passed wind." My mom told her to say that Norah "fluffed," and then Ava matter-of-factly told her "I'm not ALLOWED to say fluffed!"

Needless to say we just broke down into the giggles. Gotta love the things kids say!

New Year already?

2009-01-06T20:39:00.000-08:00

Holy moly, I can't believe it's 2009! This year already has started with a bang - we bought a new car on New Year's Day. Our third baby is due this May, and my Jeep just won't handle three car seats across the back. We finally decided on a Mazda CX-9. It's super sexy with leather seats. Yes, we spoiled ourselves, but hey - we're going to have this car until Ava's in college!

Yesterday we had our ultrasound to find the gender of our baby - only to have the sonographer say that she was 70% sure it was a girl. Apparently this little one was a bit more shy than Ava and Norah were. In all honesty I'd be surprised if it was a boy, but just in case, we'll have two names on hand, and a few boy outfits. (Yes, I'm an obsessive planner).

And I finally have a custom My Little Pony! Whoo hoo! For all you non-pony people, it's a My Little Pony that's been stripped of it's original symbol and hair and totally customized. It's of my online pony persona "ashes" (so now you know partly why this blog is called "ashes to ashes"). It arrived yesterday, and I totally love it. You are all probably thinking that with my art skills I should be making my own ponies, but hey - with two little ones at home, I'm still lucky I can find time just to draw and paint!

Here are pics of my custom pony. The artwork in the background is my own, which I sent to the customizer for reference.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T20:47:00.001-08:00

Merry Christmas to everyone! This truly is a beloved time of the year. Soft twinkling lights, smiling children, and hope seems to burn a little brighter and everyone is a little kinder.

Yesterday was spent over at my parents' house. Ava and Norah loved seeing their tree and wondered which presents were for them. Dinner was fabulous, followed by a dessert I remember from my childhood - peppermint ice cream served in homemade chocolate cups. Ava and Norah still aren't up to having a full Christmas Eve type "program," (with them still being so young) so their bedtime story was the account of the Nativity from the New Testament, of course followed by a reading of The Night Before Christmas.

Ava was so wired that we could still hear her rustling around in her room at 11:30 pm. But that didn't deter Mason and I from setting up "Santa's presents." For Ava it was the Cherry Blossom Market complete with play food, while Norah's was a baby doll with a stroller and carrier.

We were all so tired that Ava didn't wake us up until 9:30 am. Of course we didn't know how long she had really been up, LOL! We asked her if Santa came, and she said, "No" but then we asked her if he had left presents, and she coyly said, "Yeeeeeeeeeees....." She and Norah were excited to see the bounty that Santa had left.

The toy of the day for Norah was her battery-operated puppy. You know those yappy things you see tied up outside the front of toy stores? Well, she's totally in love with it. She carried that thing around all day, and ran away every time Ava asked to see it.

Ava on the other hand, spent equal amounts of time between her market, her RC My Little Pony Scooter (although Norah had fun making it do donuts - no joke!), and her books and other toys. My parents came over later in the day for more presents and dinner. It was a fun day all around.

I think tonight we will all sleep soundly. :)

Night in Bethlehem

2008-12-13T15:20:00.001-08:00

Last night we took our girls and my parents to see Santa Clara First Baptist Church's production of "Night in Bethlehem." I must say it was quite a sight! The participants had wonderful costumes, the animals were amazing (complete with camels!), and the Roman guards were definitely cranky.

Facades and booths were erected to look like the town of Bethlehem - complete with a census taker, the inn, and facates of what life was like long ago - brick makers, bakers, woodworkers and wool-weavers to name a few. Ava and Norah each had a bracelet made for them.

The wise men and shepherds each had their own dramatic scenes outside Bethlehem, then entered the city to seek the newborn King. Mary and Joseph too were seen entering the city, cast away from the inn, and finally settling at the stable. It was very well done, and we highly recommend it to all of our local friends. It was a wonderful way to help celebrate the season.

One of the wise men's camels

The donkey at the entrance to Bethlehem

Norah and me outside the entrance.

Ava having her bracelet made.

The Nativity.

Favorite Holiday

2008-11-27T12:55:00.000-08:00

Yup, that's right - Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. A time for great food, friends, and family. It's a holiday that everyone can enjoy, regardless of religion or nationality. This year I'm thankful for many things, but here are the ones at the top of my list:

-I'm thankful for my wonderful, loving husband, and our two girls. And I'm thankful for one on the way! (although we don't know yet if it's a boy or a girl).

I'm thankful to live near family, and that my girls can grow up near grandparents.

I'm thankful for my dear college friends, who even though they all live in other states, we remain close through email and phone calls.

I'm thankful for the many miracle babies I've seen born to many of my friends recently.

I'm thankful for this free country.

I'm thankful for the MLP community! It's so fun to have others share in the joy of collecting.

So huzzah for turkey and other fixins', let's get together with those we love and find joy in being thankful. :) Oh, and here's a little turkey, California style!

Halloween, pumpkins, and babies

2008-11-04T19:40:00.000-08:00

For Halloween, Ava was a witch and Norah was a black cat. They were really adorable. They were even more adorable trick-or-treating. Norah would say "Thank-you, bye-bye!!" once she got a piece of candy. Ava said "Happy Halloween!" most of the time.

We had our Halloween party again this year. Fun was had by all, and I would have pictures of it, but our camera was stolen earlier this week (along with my iPod!). Bummer, I know. We replaced it though, and at least I was able to take more pictures of the girls' costumes.

This year we carved pumpkins as a family for the first time. One was a traditional jack o' lantern, and the other was the silhouette of a cat.

But our most exciting news is that we are expecting our third baby! I had an ultrasound on Monday to confirm the pregnancy, and I was further along than I thought by about a week. My due date is May 12th. I know Mason wants a boy, but in all honesty I think I'm having another girl. But we'll be happy either way. This time around my cravings have been for Cheetoes. Before this, I can't remember the last time I ate Cheetoes!

Costumes

2008-10-07T16:32:00.000-07:00

Last night we finally nailed down what Ava was going to be for Halloween. After weeks of her going from being a pony, to June from Little Einsteins, to a wolf, to a baby buffalo (no joke!), and then back to a pony, she finally settled on something. And being the cutesy parents that we are, Norah's costume will go along with it. Hers isn't the same as Ava's, but they do go together. I figured next year Norah can have more input on her costume. :)

This morning was spent gathering up all the items for the costumes. I won't say what they are because I want to reveal it in photos. But I think they'll be super cute. Hey, what little kids aren't cute in their Halloween costumes?

Hooray for autumn!

2008-10-03T12:19:00.000-07:00

I just have to say that I'm sooooooooo glad it's autumn. It's my favorite time of year - the beautiful colors of the leaves, the crisp air, the cool nights, and of course so many holidays to celebrate! (And I get to go crazy with the decorations). It's one of my dream vacations to visit New England during this time - the trees look absolutely gorgeous. Now I just need to get into baking mode...

Pastimes

2008-09-19T20:06:00.001-07:00

Today Ava wanted to play that classic of all outdoor games - hopscotch! We took out the chalk (even Norah attempted to help) and made not one, but TWO hopscotch games.

Ava really got into it

Norah, not so much

But Norah was into all the items that Ava brought out as "pebbles" for the game.

I think Ava was attempting to try and just make one giant hop over the numbers. Look at all those "pebbles!"

Celeb Look-Alike

2008-09-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

So after I dropped Ava off at preschool, I noticed that my front left tire was still leaking air. Mason had patched it up on Monday, but I decided to just take my car in and get a new tire. While I was waiting with Norah (I ended up getting ALL new tires), another customer came up to me and asked, "Do you know Steffi Graph?" The name sounded vaguely familiar. Then he said, "You know, Andre Agassi's wife? Well, you look like her!" I think that's the first time anyone told me I looked like a celebrity. So who do you look like?

Birthday Dedication

2008-09-07T13:11:00.000-07:00

For Mason's birthday, I gave him a super-special dedication on my pony forum, the MLP Arena:

So today's Pony of the Day is especially for him, LOL! At least I chose a manly trucker pony for him.

Ida - HO!

2008-08-19T15:51:00.000-07:00

Last week we took the drive up to Idaho to spend time with Mason's family (his sister, her family, and his parents). The drive went better than I anticipated. Although our kids barely slept through those 14 hours (Norah took two catnaps and Ava finally conked out for the last 20 minutes as we rolled in to Pocatello), it went well! I think it was mainly due to the portable DVD player.

Once we arrived in Pocatello, Norah fell to the ground at Pam's house as if to say she was glad to not be in the car! Pam's kids took to showing her how to travel up and down the stairs right away.

There was so much to do at Pam's house - jump on the trampoline, ride the Power Wheels and bicycles, play basketball, and of course, the air hockey - even Carter and Ava had a round!

After a few days in Pocatello, we headed up to Driggs to view our condo. While up there, we visited the Grand Teton National Park and hiked around Jenny Lake. With one teenager, one kid, two 3 year-olds, and a toddler, there were no complaints! Amazing! Everyone took turns carrying Norah, Ava, and Carter at some point. The scenery was spectacular.

On our last day in Pocatello, we went waterskiing. While it was fun, it wasn't the best idea since Mason and I were SORE to the bone during our drive home! Ava and Norah were a bit crankier on the way home, but we were glad to have visited our family there.

Five Guests

2008-07-29T16:42:00.001-07:00

This morning there was some excitement as we had five little visitors waddle into our garage. Mason had the great idea of feeding them (of course then it was difficult to get them to leave!) Norah thought they were great, as she tried to catch one, but Ava ran back into the house crying. I guess they were intimidating to her!

Jewelry Box

2008-07-17T20:08:00.000-07:00

Today my parents dropped off the last few boxes of my childhood things from their garage. I was weeding through them when Ava came over to see. She pulled out my old jewelry box - the kind that played a song while a ballerina on the inside twirled in a circle. She hugged it and wanted to take it to her room. After a few minutes, I went to see what Ava was up to, and she had placed the jewelry box on her table and was watching the ballerina dance. I asked her if she liked the ballerina, and she told me that is wasn't a ballerina, but a princess! I then told her that the box was mine when I was her age. She then pointed to the figure and said, "That's you Mommy. You're a ballerina!" I just wanted to melt. :)

Junior Museum Time

2008-07-12T15:08:00.000-07:00

Today we took Ava and Norah to the Junior Museum in Palo Alto. There were fun things for them to explore - magnets, how green energy works, machines powered by tennis balls and a tunnel among other things. The best part of course were the animals. The zoo was small, but there were reptiles, sharks, fish, ferrets, raccoon, bats, and all kinds of fowl to behold. We got a surprise when the peacock decided to fan out his beautiful plumage. I had never seen a peacock do that in real life, so that was a fun experience. (He then tried to intimidate the rabbit that shared his pen, but the bunny looked as if he had seen the peacock do that one too many times). Of course I forgot my camera!

I've Joined the Ranks

2008-07-08T20:23:00.000-07:00

I've finally done it! I'm now officially a blogger. Will I become more eloquent? Funnier in my delivery? Who knows - at least I can now (hopefully) keep track of the events that are my life. And post pictures of my husband and daughters.