Trunk or Treat 2011

Our 2011 trunk or treat theme: Garden

Ok, we'll admit, it's a bit of a stretch. We created our family theme based on Owen's huge desire to be Transformers Bumblebee.

lady bug, bug catcher, and our little bumblebees

There were only a handful of decorated trunks this year and most were Halloween theme based- but there was one under the sea trunk that went all out and another that did Charlie Brown pumkin/ghost theme. Cute!

As usual, the kids had a blast. Owen loved the cake walk (new this year) and Tucker couldn't help but walk in a circle turning the #s upside down. Tucker's favorite part of the night was definitely the candy- the kid loves it.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day!

random updates:

I came home from work with my two sweet little valentine's to a clean kitchen and a beautiful bouquet of flowers- such a sweet an unexpected surprise!

The boys had a party at school and today was their Preschool Prom photo shoot. We wanted, but forgot, to get cute shirts for their picture over the weekend. Oh well! Their teachers told us they cooperated and that they got some great shots. Now I can't wait to see them.

Yesterday, we went to a kids Valentine's party at a friends' house. It was great fun. Cathy (the mom) had lunch bags for the kids to decorate and exchange valentine's, a scavenger hunt, yummy snacks and desserts, and all sorts of toys for the kids to play with inside and out! Our friend Miki took photos and the ones of Tucker were especially great!

Babysitter - NYE

It was easy for Kris and I to go out and celebrate this year for New Year's Eve since we knew the boys would be in good hands with one of their daycare teachers and that they would be playing with their own friends during the night, too.

Before our sitter arrived, our friends, Mika & Mark Galvan and their two boys Aiden & Evin, joined us for dinner. This gave the kids a chance to play together while us parents were still around to witness the chaos and fun. We enjoyed a yummy Thai takeout meal with two babies and two very loud three/four year olds. And by the time Ms. Samantha arrived, they had made their way through dinner, rode the bikes throughout the house, and had a dance party demonstration for us.

We knew it was time to leave when Owen gave me a goodbye hug and said, "something is stinky, mommy it smells like a "kunk". A couple of tries later, he spit it out clearly, "skunk". We all laughed, and I thought, hmmm, so much for putting on perfume!! A few minutes later, we took a group picture, the two older boys bolted upstairs without any concern, and we left for the party smelly and all.

As the evening progressed, we all found that it was so easy to enjoy ourselves and relax because we received frequent texts about the boys through status updates and cute text message pictures from Samantha. If this doesn't justify the cost of the recent smart phone upgrade, I don't know what will.

This one made us all smile.

And this one made me feel reassured and gave me the peace of mind to stay out much later than we originally planned.

(how is it that there are only a few days until my sweet little baby is going to be one)

We had a blast at our New Year's Eve Party. We're grateful for such a great babysitter and we feel quite lucky to have such good friends that indulge us as we share text updates and photos during a special and rare adult-only party. I promise, we didn't talk about our kids all night long, but gosh it was nice to whip out the photo of Owen and Aiden tapping their apple cider classes just before we toasted to the New Year ourselves.

first hubby & wife photo of 2011

Happy New Year!!

A Merry Christmas - 2010

We had a very special winter holiday season this year. With friends, we kicked off the season at the Folsom Christmas Tree lighting ceremony in old-town Folsom. We hunted for our Christmas tree in Apple Hill, walking through the trees on a blanket of white snow. After we found our tree, we drank hot apple cider and took a train ride around a pretty pond. Some of Owen & Tucker's pals (and their fun parents) came over to decorate Christmas cookies and play way past bed time. Kris and I had a date night out for his second annual Winter Party and danced the night away at the Sacramento Convention Center. Okay, we only danced a little, but we closed the night out with a terrible attempt at a swing dance - it was VERY fun until Kris almost dropped me for the dip!

Our baby learned to walk and our nephew came for a visit. Santa's helper and his friends made a stop on our street to pick up canned food for charity and gave candy to the kids in the neighborhood. One night, we had an impromptu pot pie dinner with friends while my sister was visiting. I spent a long lunch with a good friend decorating a Christmas tree at the Folsom Zoo for the first annual Zoo Lights celebration (unfortunately we missed the night time festivities due to bad colds and chilly weather). As a family, we baked yummy coffee cakes and made a new batch of homemade hot chocolate mix. Owen had a holiday extravaganza gymnastics show with two of his pals and Tucker was able to play on the gym floor and loved it! We went to four very fun birthday parties!! We watched a dance movie and watched Owen do incredible dance moves!

We had two very special Christmas parties on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day - where we spent time with our families and watched the kids open way too many presents thanks to our families' generosity. We took lots of pictures and ate yummy food and relaxed as we visited. Luckily, for us, our Elf (Elf on the Shelf) magically came with us to Grandma & Grandpas and we're pretty sure he told Santa that the boys were very good, since Santa brought the boys a bunch of great gifts there!

Later tonight, we are set to close out the holiday season and the year at a New Year's Eve Party, where we will give thanks for an incredible year and make wishes for this upcoming year. What a season!! Happy Holidays!!

Many of the memories from these fun outings and special days were captured by others on their cameras, but we still have a hodgepodge of photos to share:

cookie decorating party

Owen & Morgan at Tricks Winter Extravaganza 2010

Tucker going down the gym slide at Trick 2010

in front of our tree

our two boys in their new matching sweat suits

2nd annual Winter party

Folsom Sanctuary tree decorated in front of the bear exhibit

Mommy & Tucker Christmas morning

checking out the stocking stuffers

Tuckered out after the big morning