Natalie's Play Debut

So I got this crazy idea to recruit some friends and sign them and Natalie up for drama....WOW - I wished someone talked me out of this one. Natalie loved it, of course but it drove me nuts!  It was poorly organized the teachers had unrealtstic expectations of 5 year olds and the play itself was awlful!

Here are some shots of Baba Yaga - it is written by a 7 year old and is a twist of Hansel and Gretel.  Natalie played the stepmother and did well learning her part.

She has moved onto Violin lessons now and those have started off well.  She does plan on acting more so stay tuned...

Dinner

Ally's dinner plate.

Natalie's dinner plate.

Dinner.

Why is it Natalie always seems to be the one that is a little too skinny.

Ally's Doggie Party

Ally's PupCakes - we couldn't find the perfect cake to make so instead we went with different breeds of pupcakes. We had a Beagle, a Maltipoo, a Chihuahua, and a Scottish Terrier

Too much fun in the kitchen the morning of the party!

Puppy Chow - made with chex, mini marshmallows, pretzel sticks, Cocoa Puffs, dogbone graham crackers...

No Doggie Party would be complete without a Fire Hydrant!

The Doggie Bags

It all started back in October when we borrowed a pink poodle costume for Allison to wear for Trick or Treat. She became obsessed with dogs! As the months went by she did not let up and low and behold when April came around Doggie Party was still on her mind! As a mom of girls and a party planner of most things PINK, I was thrilled to organize a NON-Pink party. We held it at the gymnastics place where Ally goes and Coach John and his sons made sure every one left needing a long nap!

We had lots of Puppy Love to share and the small scale made it one of the most relaxed and enjoyable parties I have planned yet. That is a lesson well learned

After the party Nana, Papa, Ian, Sandy, Gracie, Nicole, Hannah, Addison, Jess and Mike met us for dinner at The Lazy Dog Cafe. We even brought Willy!

The fun party ended in an impromptu sleep over with the Cohen girls and Nana and Papa - Jess and Mike stayed late for Ben's guitar and and a wonderful time was had by all! Ruff Ruff!

Paso Robles 2011

Here is the whole gang! Mom, Dad, Ben, me, Braydon, Jenna, Justin, Aunt Di, and Uncle Paul. We planned a trip for the 8 of us as soon as Ben signed the contract to fly the PC-12. The trip actually happened even though it was almost cancelled many times. Trying to get these couples together with out one of them traveling for work or pleasure is almost impossible. But here we are and the trip was amazing!

The weather was beautiful, sunny and cool. No rain, no wind - we flew up first thing Friday morning. We met at the local airport and packed light. Except for the on board refreshments. Mom and Di packed snacks and drinks and our good friend from our favorite Italian restaurant dropped off a pizza to take as well! The flight up was calm and lasted just an hour. Once we landed everyone was ready for the first winery, J. Lohr, a first time visit for most of our crowd. We then headed towards our hotel to drop off our bags and prepare for our day. We first grabbed burgers and sandwiches at a fifties diner in the square. Ben and Justin ate the triple totaling 1 lb of beef on each burger - Ben had to push his bun to the side and Justin powered through it. Hmmm...I wonder why Ben had trouble sleeping that night???

We visited Summerwood Winery and a few other new ones (Whalebone) before heading back for some relaxation. We enjoyed some time sitting around and chatting, getting set up for the weekend and preparing for a great meal at AJ Spurs. Food was great, portions there are HUGE! We headed back for some rest before meeting again bright and early for breakfast in the lobby.

We visited all our favorites on Saturday. Justin, Halter Ranch, La Cuvier where we ate a picnic lunch. We had a private tour of a friends car collections and their wine. This was the highlight of the trip and my parents really enjoyed it. That night we had reservations at Bistro Laurent a favorite French Restaurant in the square. We decided on the prix fix menu and we all looked forward to each course. The "kids" picked up the tab and nothing feels better then treating mom and dad to a great "grown up" dinner! This too, was a highlight!

Sunday was the day for a HUGE breakfast! We went to another diner, one where you can order a Jr. size omelette and it still has 3 eggs! Once full we headed back to the airport and flew home to see our girls who had stories to share and hugs to give. Hopefully we can take another trip with the "grown ups" again. Much thanks to my sister and Jess for the slumber parties they had with the girls while we snuck away.

What Ben dragged in...

You know some husbands bring home dinner. Maybe a few bring home flowers or chocolate. Most bring home the "bacon" but Ben brought home THIS!

It was my first cookie season and I was BUSY passing out cookies to the families of Nat's Girl Scout Troop. Ben was happy because he had a kitchen pass for the morning and was at the shooting range with his buddies. He ran in, I was distracted, he left and hollered over his shoulder "I'll be right back, I have to pick up something."

I wait, I am busy myself and the girls are in and out enjoying a sunny day in January. I hear a rumble come up the street and a huge green jeep climbs onto our front lawn. What? I'm confused. Where's dinner, my flowers...chocolate? NOPE!

Ben found this Toyota Landcruiser or rather it found him. And now he has made it his own. The girls LOVE it! They have custom camo seats in the back with racing 5 point harnesses and it barely fits in the garage it is so tall.

I worry about what will find Ben next. He always keeps me guessing - until then I'll hope for some flowers...

A Walk In the Park

This particular day it was cloudy and cold not a terribly great day to venture out. With two girls cooped up and a mommy that craves a little exercise off we went. We trekked down to the "trail park" as the girls call it and they ran more then they rode. I love days like this. These are the ones I am thankful for and the kind I need to remember when these two rascals are working against me. These are the days I hope to remember 20 years from now..

Polar Express

One of exciting moments of Kindergarten is when the kids get to host the parents for a parade! This month they did a Polar Express Parade. They got to wear their jammies to school and the families had to create a box car for their kindergartner to wear.

Natalie of course chose Princess wrapping paper and I decided she needed a smokestack but the silver glitter pipe cleaner smoke was all her idea! We added some wheels, and some festive suspenders and I thought we were through. Until....

She was checking out her best friend and classmate, Jillian's boxcar on Facebook. Then we had to add a name, so she dubbed her car the "Pretty Express". Not to out shine her best bud's, Princess Express.

The parade was a success! It was so much fun to see all the kids (about 120 of them) parade around in their different car-boxes. Even Allison was seated courtside with her friends.

Afterwards Natalie's class continued the parade down to the 5th grade classes and we drank cocoa and ate festive popcorn while Merry Christmas Charlie Brown played in the background. The kids were so excited about their fun day, a break from reading groups, math and writing, that they were chatting away sharing what they were hoping would under their tree.

Merry Christmas to my kindergartner girl! These are the tiny moments that we will forever remember, "when they were small".