Hot tub time!

After our zoo trip we cooled off and relaxed in Nana Paula's hot tub. Thanks Nana!

Kindergarten Zoo trip!

Ok, so I have gotten a little behind in my blogging. I have been busy trying to keep the kids entertained and trying to stay cool (our airconditioner hasn't been working for the last week). Thanks Barbara for having us over this afternoon and helping us stay cool! I also have a new obsession that has been occupying all he free time I can muster up, collecting free digital scrapbooking stuff and organizing it. If you are into this, check out my frequented sites section to the right and there are 3 or 4 great places to check out. Anyway, there are a few other things going on too, and you'll hear about some of them in an upcoming blog!


I was very fortunate to have been able to chaperone Jacob's clas fieldtrip to the zoo on June 5th. There were only 3 kids in my group, Brooklyn, Mikayla and Jacob, and I was able to bring Ben and Peyton too! Here we are in the reptile house...
Ben, Jake and Brooklyn

Since Tyler works right across the street he was able to pop over for a little while, it was so nice to have him with us, even if it was just for a short time.
Here is my group, Jacob, Brooklyn and Mikayla
Jacob was checking out the Lemurs
Ben and Jake

This is Jacob's kindergarten teacher, Mrs. DeAmaral. He was so fortunate to have her. She was the perfect teacher for him and he learned and grew so much in her class. Thanks Mrs. D!!!

Happy Birthday Benjamin!!!

On June 3rd, 2008 we celebrated Benjamin's 3rd birthday with family and Luke, one of Ben's good friends. Ben is such a light in my life and in those that know him. He is my constant companion, always at my side, no matter what is going on. He is my helper and my playmate. He brings me more laughter than I ever thought possible, I love you Ben.

Peyton is so happy and ready to celebrate Ben's big day.
Micah, I don't remember what he did or said, but it was something that made us all roll with laughter and this was his response.
Yay, a new pool for Benji, Thanks Nana Paula!!!
Micah, Ben, Jake and Luke. Ben is behind the one cake that did turn out, yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

My Amazing Cake

Ok, since you all are always posting your beautiful cake creations, I thought I would post mine. It was pretty much a disaster, mostly because I forgot to grease or spray the pan. Not to worry, it ended up to be a pretty good mistake. Here is how it looked after I managed to get most of it out of the pan...

Well, I decided to mix up some pudding and crumble the cake into it. I called Tyler and asked him to pick up some gummy worms on the way home and added those in too.
Then, to make it look and taste better, the kids helped me crush up some oreo cookies for the top, YUMMY! This was June 3rd for Benjamin's 3rd birthday.

Pasadena 3

Another day is ending and it was another good one. We all got up and got ready and had breakfast downstairs. Then we took Tyler to the TMC (traffic management center for Cal Trans) in Glendale (LA) and went to the kidspace children's museum. It was such a neat place. We could have spent the entire day there easily. There were so many things I'll have to do another blog and post some of the pictures I took today. When we were done there we came back to the hotel and I fixed lunch and Peyton napped and then we went to pick Tyler up. We picked up Subway on the way back, and some swim shorts for Tyler at Target. We ate dinner in our hotel room and went swimming again. Ben is really swimming now. He can go quite far, he can also swim to the side and pull himself out. If only he could come up to breath! So now we are back in our room and Ben is in the tub, Peyton is sleeping the big boys are watching Sponge Bob and Tyler is watching the Lakers and Celtics basketball game.

Here are just a few of our pictures from yesterday...

Pirates of the Caribbean at the Wax Museum
Star Wars
The kids marveling at the wonders at Ripley's believe it or not
Trying to break the record of 3 hits per second

Pasadena 2!

Ok, so there are several other blogs from the last week that I really should be posting, but this is the one I want to do now, because this is what we are doing now! So, the next few blogs after this trip will actually be from the past week. We have had so much fun today. We hung out at the pool most of the day, with just a few breaks for Peyton to nap and for us to eat lunch. Ben has become quite the swimmer and Micah and Jacob had so much fun having him swim to them. Who knows, a few more days in the pool and he may not need lessons after all! The kids just love swimming when the water is not too cold. They also have enjoyed going from the pool to the spa and back again. Peyton was an angel as always and just enjoyed watching us all from her stroller. The weather here is perfect, sunny and warm but not unbearably hot. The only reason it's still perfect to swim is because of the slightly heated pool.

After Tyler got back from his training we headed to Hollywood and had dinner at McDonalds on Hollywood Blvd. I know, of all places, McDonalds. It was just the first place we ran into and the kids were all hungry and cranky from getting to bed so late, getting up early, and then falling asleep in the car on the way there and being woken up. So, McDonalds it was, and they couldn't have been happier. After that we went to the Wax Museum and then Ripley's Believe it or not. I'll post some of those pics tomorrow, they're still in the camera. After that we got lost on the way back to the hotel, but it wasn't so bad, we got to drive through Bel-Air and Beverly Hills and see all of the insanely large homes, and Jacob said a very sweet prayer when he was worried about us being lost. The whole time we were gone Peyton didn't eat and she was a doll hanging out in her stroller again. Good times, good times. Oh yeah, Ben is finally starting to tell me when he needs to pee. He told me when we were getting into the car leaving Ripley's, so what do I do, let him pee in the parking lot of course!

Benjamin, my little fish.

I love this picture, the boys hanging out in the spa.
Ben swimming from Jake to the steps.
My happy little Peybie Baby.
Swim time! They really didn't want to stop for pictures.
Last night, so excited about the Television, and yes, we are still tv free at home, I know, crazy. This is the boys side of the room.
My and Tyler's side of the room, and Peyon's too, her pack n play is just to the right of the slider.
Best Friends, Jacob and Micah.
Little Ben, all the way on the other side of the bed.
Peyton and her doll, snoozing. I was a little worried she wouldn't sleep being in the same room with us all, no problems though. How did I get so lucky?

Pasadena

Yay! We are on vacation. Tyler had to go out of town for work again so he brought us along with him since the kids are out of school. The hotel is great, we have a fridge and a microwave and they serve a full hot breakfast in the morning too. I took the boys swimming at the pool tonight too, which is slightly heated, we also sat for a bit in the spa. We aren't doing much, so I'm pretty excited, it's like a real vacation! Tomorrow we are planning on hanging out by the pool with breaks back in our room or Peyton's nap and the boys can watch TV! I'll post pictures soon, I'm so glad I brought along the laptop. Oh yeah, there are two TVs, so I can watch hgtv while the kids watch cartoons! There are almost 2 rooms, no door between them, but there are two areas. I think it should be fun.