Pumpkin Patch 2011

Today we visited Oma's Pumpkin Patch in Lakeside, California. They had lots of fun things to keep Finn busy and tire out Jamie and I. We spent a couple hours running around the hay maze, swinging, playing with trucks, sliding down a cotton seed mountain, and trying not to get stung by the zillions of bees. (Success) It was a fun morning and resulted in a nice nap, extra points!

Amanda Gets Married!

My sister Amanda got married in September!  It was a beautiful wedding, she looked gorgeous and the decor was amazing.  She did an outstanding job and everyone had a wonderful time.  She and her husband flew to Bora Bora for their honeymoon, and refused to allow me to hide in the suitcase!  I love you Amanda!

 The fam before the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner.

 The beautiful bride at her rehearsal.

 I was proud to be her maid (ok, matron) of honor.

Finn was a DANCING MACHINE that night! He and his two friends literally danced for hours, it was hilarious!  Best time ever!

Goodbye Abi, Adrianne, and Christian!

Today one of my dearest friends moved to Texas to start a new adventure.  Finn and Abi have been best buddies since Finn was born and it is hard to see them leave.  We will miss them terribly but are excited for the new life they will find.  Thank goodness for texting and Skype! :)  We love you!

Came home today with the remnants of lion whiskers.  It can be upsetting when whiskers wash off; luckily they can be drawn on again another day.

Things to be grateful for...

I have been sick since Thursday, no fun!  Being sick makes me so thankful for my family's and for my good health.  We are rarely sick and usually just for a day or two if our bodies do succumb to a bug.  Finn brought home something from daycare (YAY!) but luckily he was only down for a day.  I would much rather it be me than him!  I won't be posting any photos as I look about 10 years older right now. :) 

Oh yes, another thing to be thankful for...MAKE UP!  (Amazing how much better I look with the magic of Bare Escentuals!)

That brings me to another thing...my husband....who says I look more beautiful without make up. 

Also, white lies.... :)

September will be a busy month!

So far in September we've fed the ducks at Lake Murray, watched the first OU football game (they killed it), visited Birch Aquarium and attended a pool party.  And today is only the 4th!  My sister Amanda gets married this month so we have a bachelorette party next weekend and her wedding on the 16th.  Some friends are coming to stay with us for the week of the wedding and then I fly to DC for a conference for work.  My birthday rounds out the end of the month.  Whew, I need a nap just thinking about it all. :)

 Feeding ducks is serious business around here.

 A little half-time BBQ.  It's a guy thing.  Finn told me in private that football is not his favorite show, but I told him he might change his mind in a few years. 

 Learning about tidepools with Gonah.

You see Mom, that is a Sea Star. They are very strong and colorful.

Cheers!

Jamie and I celebrated our fifth anniversary this week by spending a night downtown in the Gaslamp.   We enjoyed some much needed "grown up" time and experienced a couple new places.  It was a wonderful night, too busy having fun to take more pictures! 

I love you Babe!

Sunny Day in June

I love living in San Diego.  What a funny face.  Will try harder to blog more often; there are so many fun photos to share.

Catch Up

I can't believe it's been almost 5 months since I last blogged, pathetic!  We've been busy, but of course that's no excuse.  To try to get back into the groove I'm posting a few highlights from the last few months.  We are going on vacation to Disneyworld soon (YAY!!!) and I want to blog when we get back. I took a couple extra days off work so I will do my best to find time.

 The boy and I made a trip to Yucca Valley, California to visit "Big Gonah", AKA my Grandma Janet.  We love her so much, had a wonderful visit.  Also got to hang out with my Aunt Nickie, Uncle Mark, and their girls Madison and Kaylee for a few hours.  They shared their hamster with Finn, he was in heaven.

 Jamie works one weekend day now so Finn and I have decided to have adventures when he's at work. His is a water monitor from Asia, taking a stroll on a nice spring day.

 Happy Easter!

 My brother Geoff came down for the weekend and we had a cookout at our house.  My mom made some delicious strawberry shortcake which the boys really enjoyed.  The dogs are trying their hardest to enjoy some as well. Sorry dogs, no dice.

 Happy Mother's Day!  Finn's school had a Mother's Day Tea the Friday before the actual day again this year. It's a really sweet little party.  He made me and Gonah a necklace and gave me a little lady bug garden.  I was so happy because Tiggy ate my necklace from last year! :(  I can't believe what a lucky woman I am to have this little boy as my own.  I am so blessed.  Being a mother is the what brings me the most happiness I've ever felt.  I love this child.

 Baby elephants!  The Safari Zoo has a huge area for the elephants to roam and there are several families with babies!  Finn and I watched them for a very long time, he got a kick out of watching the little ones play and chase each other around.



 We finally made it up to the Safari Zoo, formerly known as the Wild Animal Park, up in Escondido last weekend.  It was a beautiful warm day and our two favorite things were the carousel and the elephants.

Nana comes to visit!

Last weekend Jamie's mom, aka Nana, came to visit from Texas.  It was a quick trip but we made the most of it, going out for Mexican food (everyone's favorite), visiting the beach, and just having fun at home.  Thanks Trish, hope we see you again soon!

 Nana brought Finn some authentic Texas Cowboy boots.  They are ADORABLE, I just love them.  And of course, dinosaurs are always welcome in this house.

 The weather was nice so we headed to La Jolla Shores for the beach playground. I love SD!

 He loves climbing the rope bridge, getting to be a pro.

 Contemplating the vastness of the ocean.

We took the Tig on a walk and then sadly it was time for Nana to go.  

Visiting with cousins in Anaheim

In the early part of January we met Jamie's sister and family in Anaheim, CA.  Stacy had a conference and the rest of the family got to go to Disneyland.  How cool is that?!  We went up Saturday night and hung out and then had breakfast in Goofy's Kitchen the next morning. It's a Disney Character Dining experience, a big buffet where several Disney characters come around to see the kids.  It was really cool, the kids liked it.  Some were shy at first but by the end they were all in to it.  Sydney LOVED Minnie Mouse, it was really cute.  The boys liked most of the characters, lots of hugs and high fives. 

 I took four pictures, this is the only one with at least two kids looking at me. Finny, Wyatt, and Sydney.

 The Kellys and Petersons, what a fun bunch!

 Holding hands with Minnie while Wyatt give her a pat.

 I told Finn to say hi to Mickey.  He said, "Mommy, Mickey doesn't talk."  Smarty pants!

 Kickin' it, watching cartoons with Goofy. No biggie. :)

This was the night before, the boys were running wild around a fountain in Downtown Disney.  This picture turned out cool, everything is blurred except Wyatt in full run.

Christmas 2010 Favorites

Rather than putting up a million Christmas pictures I decided just to share a few of my favorites.  We had a really nice time this year, Finn was excited as he had a pretty good idea about what was going on.  He didn't quite get the Santa connection, though liked to talk about him, so next year is going to ROCK!  My sister and her boyfriend spend the holiday on the East Coast with his family so we missed out on having them there, which was a bummer. But I know about sharing holidays. :)  Jamie's dad came the week after Christmas as did my Grandma Janet, had a dinner for everyone then. Enjoy the pictures. :)

 This is the One Dad, it's the perfect height for a double-decker star hanging.

 My mister helping decorate the tree.  The rest of the season was spent slying stealing candy canes and bringing us decorations to ooh and ahh over.

On December 30th we went to the Holiday Bowl Parade downtown. Finn really enjoyed it, but you can't tell from his face here. I love this shot, so funny.

 Jamie and his Dad

 The weekend before Christmas we had our annual Christmas Cookie Party.  Finn loved rolling out the dough with his Gonah and of course decorating his cookies.  His looked more like he drowned them in icing but hey, he had fun!

 Singing Christmas carols at the annual daycare Christmas Sing.

 Here we are on Christmas Eve.

Look at that happy little face.  Sigh, melts my heart.

Christmas pictures (and maybe even Thanksgiving) coming soon...here are a couple of my favs

 He needed some height for the Holiday Bowl Parade downtown

 I don't know what's going on here but it cracks me up!  I think I was trying to get him to give me a kiss

Chillin' on his first trolley ride