Much Needed Vacation

This past week has been quite a busy one for us. We started the week like any other but on Tuesday night we left our home and headed to the Jolly Roger Hotel which is walking distance to Disneyland. When we arrived, not only did it look like we had the entire hotel to ourselves but it also looked like it was closed down and being renovated. Slightly panicked Kelly headed to the closest hotel which we later found out owned the Jolly Roger Hotel and thankfully had our reservation.
In the morning it was off to Disneyland. We picked a perfect week to go but boy was it HOT! As usual, Disney went all out and decorated for Halloween. Even the characters were dressed in Halloween costumes. At California Adventure Minnie Mouse was out and Kora got to take some pictures with her. She loved Minnie Mouse. She ran right up to her and gave her a huge hug.

Mylie wasn't fond of the rides. This picture doesn't really do any justice for the way Mylie reacted to ALL of the rides. Sadly, with each ride she started to freak out more and more. She would claw at us and try to crawl up Kelly or My shoulder, bury her head then look around panicked. Poor thing.

These are my bugs at the Bugs Life Show. Hunter appears to be all smiles in the picture but before this picture he was freaked out. At one point he said he was going home. Kelly told him we would see him later and he actually walked halfway out of the tunnel. Kelly had to chase after him. He hates bugs. He watched the show and did just fine, actually, so did Mylie. I think it was just the movement of the rides she didn't like.

After spending 2 days at Disneyland, which Kelly and I have concluded is perfect. Neither of us could handle much more than 2 days. We were able to ride everything we wanted on Wednesday with little wait but Thursday it seemed like the whole state of California decided to go to Disneyland. It was packed with extremely long lines. We stayed to watch the parade (which the kids loved) but made the mistake of trying to leave when it ended, everyone else had the same idea. I think next time we'll ride a few rides after the parade ends and then try to leave.

The second part of our vacation we drove down to San Diego and visited the Midway. The Midway is a retired aircraft carrier for those of you who don't know (I was one of them before this trip). It was a great visit. There wasn't much for the kids to do but the little there was (like pretending to pilot a plane) they enjoyed.

Here Hunter and Kora were manning the controls in the Engineering room. I have to say that I actually enjoyed the Midway a lot more than I thought I would. They had headsets that explained the different rooms of the aircraft carrier. We didn't get to see everything so I can't wait to go back and finish the tour.

After the Midway we headed to the home of some very old friends of mine, Derek and Lupita. Instead of Day Care I used to stay at their home from Junior High to High School until my Mom got off of work. They had become like second parents to me. The last time I saw them was 2 years ago at my brother, Jeremy's wedding. Since they moved down to San Diego more than 7 years ago I haven't seen or talked to them much. It was great to see them and catch up. Hopefully the next time I see them will be a lot sooner than 2 years.

The main reason we were going down to San Diego was to visit the Midway and to go to the Zoo. When Derek and Lupita found out we were going to the Zoo they gave us free passes. Derek and Lupita have season passes to the San Diego Zoo and I guess when you have a pass you are allotted free tickets you can give to friends and family to use throughout the year. Thank You Guys! We had a great time.

I loved all the animals but I think I loved the monkeys the best. The San Diego Zoo has tons of Monkeys all throughout the park. They are so smart. While we were watching the monkeys one of them walked up to the window then turned around and sat right in front of the glass.

Hunter's favorite animals were the Tigers and Lions.

Here is our little Diva, "No Pictures Mom". Kora's favorite animals were the Giraffes and Elephants.
Sadly, like all good times they end way too quickly. It's great to look back at our pictures remembering the fun times we had. We are so glad we were able to take this little vacation. These are memories we will always have. The older we get the more we realize how important it is to spend good quality time with our children and get to know them better. This has been a wonderful trip that we will always remember.

Love and Hate

Looking at this picture you would probably think that Hunter and Kora really love each other. Actually, you would be right. Kora adores her brother. She loves playing with him and is always trying to do what he's doing. If Hunter gets in trouble or gets hurt she is the first one to run up to him and give him a big hug and ask him if he's okay. Hunter does the exact same thing for her. It's really sweet when they are so lovey with each other. That brings me to the next part of my title...Hate. How can two people who adore each other and show such love and kindness be so mean to each other? Throughout the day I am constantly breaking up mini battles of she's not sharing, he hit me, endless tattling, calming crying and silencing screams. I told Kelly the other night that this is Karma getting back at us. I said I remember the endless battles with my brother and Kelly says he remembers the same with his siblings. It's an endless circle that we as parents now get to see the other side of the fence. I'm really not looking forward to the long car rides (post car seats) when they start complaining the other is touching them, won't leave them alone...yada yada yada. This was big with Jeremy and I. I can see Karma slapping me in the face with that one. Right now the car is the only place I never hear complaining. I enjoy it. Don't get me wrong, parenthood is great. The sweet moments like those in these pictures is pure bliss and actually, they aren't arguing all day long. As a parent you just wish that they could always be as sweet to each other.

Chino Youth Museum

Yesterday we had the opportunity to go to the Chino Youth Museum with a few friends from Church. Hunter has been asking to go to a Museum for weeks if not months now so I thought I would finally plan a day to go. This was our first time to this museum and the kids loved it. It's a very small museum with the words "First National Bank" engraved on it. I'm guessing it was originally a Bank converted to a museum which explains or at least helps you visualize how small this museum was. It was set up like a little town including the Post Office, Bank, News room, Farm, Water Department, Home, Science Center, and Police/Firehouse. Each room had an enterance for adults but had small kid size doors for the kids to enter through.

Even though Mylie is just crawling she got in on the fun too.Hunter had to dress up like a Fireman. These stairs take you to a little ledge that leads to a pole you can slide down. Hunter didn't know what to do with the pole but he liked to jump off the ledge.

I love this shadowy picture of Kora. I can't take credit for it because I didn't have my camera. Thanks to my friend Amanda who took all these great pictures for me. Thank You!

Kora spent a long time on this motorcycle. She loved all the buttons. At one point she told me to get on. When I asked her where we were going she said "church". What a great imagination.

This is one of our new little friends, Peyton Horvath. She's 10 months old. She's a cute little baby and very good. I don't think I heard her make any noises. I love my little Mylie but sometimes I think of how nice it would be to have a nice quiet baby. I guess you're only allowed one per family. Hunter was our quiet, easy baby so I guess that's it? Well, Kora was easy too...but just a bit louder.

This cute little guy is Tyler Kelly. He is actually born on the same exact day as Mylie just a year apart. In the farm area there was a grocery shopping section with a lot of fruits and vegetables. He would bring us the foods and do the sign for more. Poor little guy was hungry and mad at us because we wouldn't let him eat the plastic food. Good thing his Daddy brought him snacks. He seemed content and ready to play after that.



This has to be one of my favorite pictures. As you can see...none of the children are looking at the camera. From left to right there is Peyton, Tyler, Hunter, Mylie and Kora all riding on the Motorcycle. Peyton is looking at the chaos us parents are forcing our kids to endure while Tyler is trying to push Hunter off his lap, Hunter is wondering when he can get off and finish the coloring page I made him stop doing while Mylie is screaming bloody murder because I forced her to sit with her brother and Kora is just too interested in driving to look at the camera. Classic! That's what we get when we force kids away from fun for a quick group picture.

Overall we had a great time with new friends. Can't wait for our next group outing!

Free Museum Visits

Did you know that Bank of America offers its patrons free visits to certain museums the first weekend of every month for the rest of 2008? All you have to do is show your Bank of America bank card and you get free entry. Check it out!

http://promotions.bankofamerica.com/museums/?cm_mmc=ENT-Funded-_-MSN-PS-_-museum-_-GeneralCalifornia

Night with Angels

Yesterday Kelly called me during the day and told me that he got tickets from work for the Angels game. I wasn't about to turn down free dinner and a fun evening with the kids at the Angels game so my answer was an ethusiastic, "Yes". We got to the stadium, found our seats and just waited for the game to start. While we were waiting we looked over at the big screen and our entire family was on it. The kids waved but really didn't know what the heck was going on. From that moment on Hunter kept looking at the big screen to see if he was on it again. I'm sure we were never on TV, but it was a fun thing that happened and I wanted to remember.

Since yesterday marked the 7 year anniversary of September 11th they had Marines walk the colors to second base. While the National Anthem was sung a group of poeple opened a giant flag and waved it at the end of the song. They had a moment of silence for the victims and families and it was amazing that even with all those people you could probably hear a pin drop. After all these years I still get emotional remembering that day.

By the way, to end a perfect evening the Angels beat the Mariners 7 to 3

Look Out World, She's Mobile

It's that time again, to go over the entire apartment looking for possible chocking and strangulation hazards. Our Mylie is finally moving. This task was a lot easier with one child because now Hunter and Kora contribute to the floor clutter. The funny thing is Hunter and Kora each started sitting at 5 months. Mylie has just started sitting and is still a little wobbly. Because she was a little slower at sitting than her siblings I thought for sure she wouldn't start crawling until later. Hunter started crawling at 6 and a half months and Kora started crawling at 6 months. It looks like Mylie is back on track. Although, I was hoping she wouldn't crawl until a lot later. Life is so much easier when they just sit there but it is fun to watch them develop, learn and explore.


The picture on the right is of Mylie sitting. She HATES sitting. She can do it, as you can see but if you sit her down she'll scream and then scream some more until you either pick her up or lay her on the ground. She's a funny baby but she sure knows what she does and doesn't like. I'm sure that when she realizes how much more she can see and do from this new position she will love it.

Kora's "2" at Last

Our sweet little Kora is finally 2 years old. The last few weeks we had been trying to hype up her birthday in hopes of getting her excited for the big day. We would tell her that she's going to be 2 and we are going to have a party but I think she's still too young to realize what that means. I let her pick out the party decorations, she chose Mickey Mouse, yet it still never dawned on her that we were having a party just for her. I think Hunter was more excited anticipating Kora's special day than she was. Nevertheless, the day has finally come. We had a nice small little family party, missing the family out of state and on vacation, but we had an enjoyable time with those that were able to share the day with us.

Among the presents Kora received she got a Little Mermaid push cart rider and happily drove it around the family room and kitchen. The seat lifts up and she stores her sunglasses in it. She would pull them out of the seat, put them on, sit on her cart and then do a cute little wave. I was trying to get a picture of her waving but for some reason kids refuse to be cooperative when it's forced. I guess that's why you need to have the camera ready at all times. I'm sure Kelly's favorite part of this new toy was when she picked it up and threw it on his foot while she was trying to turn it around.

By the way, yes, Kora's glasses are upside down. I guess she prefers them that way. As Kora opened her presents she started handing out the clothes saying, "this one's for Great-Grandpa, this one's for Kristin, this one's for Grandma..." It was nice of her to choose the teal shirt for Great-Grandpa because I don't think the purple skirt would have went very well with his shirt.
I can't believe she's 2 years old. I still remember the day she was born and how a dog named Joy put me into labor. Since I was so determined to have her on the 26th I waited the entire day to go to the hospital, certain they would send me home. Well, I still say they would have if the nurse hadn't purposefully broke my water. I guess she was ready to come and we were happy to have her. Happy 2nd Birthday Kora, We Love You!