the adventures of rian and meg

2011 in REVIEW

2012-01-03T21:07:00.000-08:00

I was pregnant the first 4 months, nursing and living the newborn haze the middle 4 months, and settling into a routine in the last 4 months. There were days we packed full, weeks we kept simple, beautiful times and other just plain survival mode times. Here are things remembered from 2011:

Passing around winter colds ALL of January. Could have had a better start...

Attending, designing the newsletter, and being a table leader at a moms Bible Study called Nurture. A definite highlight of my week for so many reasons.

Saying goodbye to my sweet grandpa. So lucky to have had him in my life all these years and I look forward to seeing him again in the true eternal life!

Meeting Charlie.

Rian went camping with some of his best friends on the Channel Islands.

The first of our wedding series this summer. Rian's sister, Bri married Mace, and Wally was their ring bearer.

Wedding #2... Wally a ring bearer again and myself a bridesmaid in all my postpartum glory. Sara and Sean's beautiful whimsical wedding on sprawling greens. Loved!

So many peaceful summer mornings on the bay. The best.

Summer softball.

Camping in Malibu.

Joining the Y again... good workouts, great childcare and 2 hours to myself! Sometimes much needed bliss.

A wedding in Ohio. Rian's best friend Colby got married, and we got to "vacation" with just Charlie and enjoy good times with old friends. Seriously a fun weekend.

A weekend in Arrowhead with college friends.

Paradise Point with the Wallace Family.

Monthly dinner with these folks... plus starting a Life Group with them at our place.

Disneyland passes!

My Thursday night Mama's Group. What would I do without them? NO, really.

Starting "home-preschool" with Wallace and kind of Skyler.

A flight to San Francisco with my best girlfriends from high school. Time hasn't changed when we're together.

Mammoth ski trip.

Indian Wells with my fam.

Here's to a new year in 2012! Still working on our new goals. We're moving forward as a family of 5 and ready to see what God has for us!

Christmas at Indian Wells

2012-01-01T23:44:00.000-08:00

Our "surprise trip" this year with my family was to Indian Wells. We pulled up to this gorgeous rental home and enjoyed 4 solid days of playing, relaxing and enjoying family. We are so blessed. The boys played golf, the ladies shopped, we all cooked together... such good times. I love the drive to Palm Desert. It reminds me of my childhood in Mimi & Bumpa's condo and of anniversaries with Rian. :)

Our home for the week.

Lots of relaxing...

He wants to crawl so badly!!

The boys hitting the links.

One day we took the tram up the mountain and enjoyed some snow and views.

Some great neighborhood walks including one to the Miramonte Resort and Spa, where Rian and I have stayed.

On our last night we enjoyed a gorgeous sunset!

SERIOUSLY... Thank you again, Mom and Dad. These trips mean so much to Rian and I and now to your grandkids too. It is so fun and so special to be together. We love you!

Family Christmas

2012-01-01T09:17:00.000-08:00

The week before Christmas is so full of excitement and anticipation. I love this season and we are so fortunate to be surrounded by people we love. Rian and I have so enjoyed watching our kids this season. Everything is so magical. The story of Jesus. The angels. Wallace is starting to grasp why we do this, why we give gifts, what we are truly celebrating. This year my parents hosted both the Wallace and Bardwell family Christmas. They put a tent out back and we sat inside with twinkle lights, carpet and heaters.

My cousin Allison with Charlie.

The kids activity table.

Aunt Sheri and Charlie boy.

My dad reading the true Christmas story.

Wally and Blake, my cousin Kips youngest boy. They are a couple months apart and had so much fun playing this Christmas.

Mimi and Charlie... exactly 90 years between them.

Playing "Spoons" with my Bardwell cousins.

Kennedy Christmas. Joel came out from Arizona with his buddy, Levi. The Orrs in Oregon couldn't make it down, but we're hoping to road trip it up to them this summer!

Christmas morning around our tree...

Charlie, very excited about his stocking contents.

Christmas morning at my parents house! While Uncle Bumble was "upstairs in the bathroom", guess who showed up at our door.... SANTA!!!

neighborhood christmas cookie party

2011-12-31T16:37:00.000-08:00

Early in December we invited all the neighbors who live around our greenbelt and behind our garage to a Christmas open house at our place. We had a great turnout of those we see/talk to a lot and also those we've only said a few brief hello's to in the 8 years we've lived here. We have been so fortunate with such kind, trustworthy and fun neighbors. It's fun getting to know each of them more.

Reindeer cookies.

Warm apple cider.

Hot chocolate bar.

So this is Christmas

2011-12-31T16:36:00.000-08:00

The picture of Santa with the kids turned into Santa with the family after Skyler bolted for the door, Wally told Santa not to touch him, and Charlie got a bit emotional. But we pulled it off.

We did Peltzer Farms again, in Silverado, hunting for our perfect little Charlie Brown tree.

Rian cooked me an amazing sun dried tomato, pesto and pine nut dinner under the Christmas tree after the kids went to bed.

And Leo returned...

We enjoyed so many magical nights at Disneyland this Christmas.

A night out for our annual Christmas dinner with the girls. Rian stayed home and gave the kids a fun night with games and hot chocolate.

Xander and Jax's birthday party at Disneyland. The kids had a blast! Here's Wally and Liv:

Mammoth

2011-12-19T09:31:00.000-08:00

Rian and I dropped the 3 kids off with Gigi and Poppa Thursday night and drove to Mammoth to play with some of our best friends. Friday morning we were the first on the mountain.

Mammoth surprised us with "Free Friday"... lift tickets were free to all on the 1 day we planned to ride. The snow was actually decent and the crowds were light. So amazing!!

Each couple was in charge of a meal. Rian and I did a big Saturday morning breakfast to last us through our day of playing in the snow, taking walks, making sugar cookies, playing games, painting our nails, meeting a bear, things like that...

From left to right: Brian & Beth Jones, Rian & I, Sean & Sara Woolsey, Colby & Chelsea Long. The gorgeous home we stayed in was compliments of a family from Mr. Jones's school. So generous... this place was incredible.

Just snuggling up to check ESPN news.

Huge dinner at Angel's BBQ.

Last meal of the trip... Woolsey's Banana Pancakes.

Meanwhile at Gigi & Poppa's...

2011-12-18T13:18:00.000-08:00

The kids went to disneyland (check out Poppa rockin the ergo carrier).

They saw Santa and his reindeer over by Thunder Mountain.

They made a gingerbread house.

They had lunch with their great grandmothers.

And on a neighborhood walk they came across Santa (on the OC Wine Trolley) and voluntarily sat on his lap!

Happy Birthday, RJK.

2011-12-05T16:32:00.000-08:00

Rian got his Rum Cake.

And his dream gift...

The kids helped me make this back rub/racetrack t-shirt for him. Guess what he's been changing into after work each day...
Go here to make one for your loved one. :)

Thanksgiving in San Clemente

2011-12-05T16:31:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was celebrated at my Aunt Sheri and Uncle Chuck's home. I love being with family. Here's the turkey being carved by my cousin, Scott.

And our kids playing with their second cousins. They are so lucky to have such fun and sweet older cousins.

Disneyland

2011-12-05T16:26:00.000-08:00

Guess who got passes....GiGi & Poppa!!

Even Charlie enjoyed Mickey's Clubhouse on a quiet weekday morning.

On a good day, we're lucky enough to catch hairstyles like this. Check out his brother's curly poof on the left.

The kids finally got to drive their car on Autopia.

Waiting for the train to take us back to Main Street.

Lara's Shower

2011-12-05T16:15:00.000-08:00

Mom, here are the pics I wanted to show you of Lara's Sip'n'Sea shower. Lara's mom made the life saver on the door, here are my labels on Jessica's delicious jams, and Juliana's amazing cake she made!!

Super Super Super Hot Date

2011-12-05T16:09:00.000-08:00

Brooklyn, my friend Heather's daughter, was the star of "Annie" (Kids Musical Theater). Wallace accompanied me to the show where we met Juliana and Liv. Such a fun date. Look how handsome he is!

Liv and Wally

Waiting to get Brooklyn's autograph and give her flowers!

Melt my heart...

this is one of those...

2011-12-05T15:54:00.000-08:00

a kind of annoying post unless you really like our kids. here are lots of pics of them:

where he spends much of his time... peeking over the ergo carrier.

it seems lately charlie and i are ditched by the older two as they go off into make-believe land and play out all sorts of adventures.

me and my girl.

sunday drive.

shopping trip.

Harvest

2011-12-05T15:32:00.000-08:00

For Halloween, Wally wanted to be seaweed. Skyler wanted to be Buzz Lightyear, but at the last minute decided to be a fairy.

Charlie was a shark.

The fairy kept having to go potty.

We picked out some pumpkins. But only took the middle one home (Charlie) because the rest were too expensive!

Then we went to Mariner's Church for their Harvest Festival. So fun...

Skye, Wally and their best neighbor friend, Emi.

Sorting and trading candy took a good amount of time. And they didn't even notice that most of the chocolate was missing the next morning.

After Halloween is a whirlwind of our favorite things: our Anniversary, Thanksgiving, Rian's birthday, Christmas and then my birthday. Such a fun 6 weeks!! Here we are celebrating 9 years on a lunch date.

preschool...

2011-12-05T14:39:00.000-08:00

still going strong. for "F" week wally fed our neighbors fish, took flowers to some friends, talked about feelings, made fondue, visited a farm, played frisbee with gypsy, created some feather games.

for "G" week, wally drew a picture of GiGi, learned about goats, baked some go-go balls, and read lots of "G" books from the library.

for "H" week, we made homeless packages, did some painting with our hands, and then slacked off the rest of the week. we will continue on with our "studies" after christmas. december is dedicated to christmas story reading and art month!

Here we go...

2011-12-05T14:28:00.000-08:00

Has it been 2 months since I've updated?! We've been busy and enjoying life. Playing with Gypsy at our park (the old lady can still catch a frisbee):

Having the kids do our home projects:

Wally reading to his brother:

Supper swap is still going strong (here are some potatoes that Heather made):

And some stuffed peppers that I did:

Super cute picture of Noni meeting her great-grandson, Charlie, for the first time:

Our monthly "(ex)neighbor" dinner has grown, so we spill out onto our deck:

At Chels and Colby's house the kids watch movies while the "grown-ups" eat.

Chelsea's Fall dinner... so cute!

Rian's fam over for dinner:

Airplane ride with the girls

2011-10-18T20:34:00.000-07:00

I am lucky enough to have gotten another weekend away with my oldest girlfriends. The ones from childhood. We don't all share daily life together anymore, but when we get together, it's like time hasn't passed. The same things are funny. The same stories are told. We can do anything, say anything, look any way... and it doesn't matter. When you have history like this you are already known. We are understood and accepted even though we are all so different. This weekend was perfect, just like all the other weekends. A good mix of deeper conversations and catching up with a lot of laughing, teasing, relaxing, and being out on the town. Alissa hosted us at her home in Concord and she is amazing. This is her gift. Hospitality, cooking, serving, etc. She is so relaxed and her home is beautiful and cozy. Her husband, Tim, took their 3 girls to his parents in Napa for the weekend, giving us the whole house to ourselves. As sweet and thoughtful as it sounds (and is), he really was just escaping the seven of us together. We know the truth.

Other things we did? A photoshoot...

Makeup for our night out (yes, J is dancing in the background. Because it's funny)...

Pedicures...

Best mexican food ever - Carlos Santana's "Maria Maria"...

Biore strips, a board game, old movies, old photos...

Sleeping together is never a dull moment... someone's very articulate sleep talking, house alarm at 4am with multiple phone calls and a visit from the police, waking up engulfed in your deflated air mattress... things like that.

We ended the weekend with mimosas, morning jacuzzi, a long walk around the reservoir, and more stories added to our friendship. I love each of you so much!

Fall time

2011-10-10T20:46:00.000-07:00

Mimi brought us these adorable hats that a friend of hers from Town & Country made for Wally and Skyler.

Charlie's first time out of the bumbo and in the high chair.

For Fall, I made a moss and burlap wreath, bought my annual pumpkin candle and put up this burlap banner that the kids helped me make.

For "D" week: some DADDY time. His DAD was his service project this week. Wally did a DRAWING of DADDY and we took it to his office for his DESK.

DOMINO snacks...

Dinner at the Delja's (this was actually "E" week but we should have planned it the week before!)

For "E" week, Wallace got to pick out one item from the market: he chose EGGPLANT!

We enjoyed some "ENTERTAINMENT at the Cars II 3D playing at the $1 theater.

An ETIQUETTE lesson while having tea.

Wallace's service project for "E" week was creating and ENVELOPE and sending this ELEPHANT to his neighbor EMI. :)

Malibu Camping

2011-10-04T20:33:00.000-07:00

There is something about camping that makes you forget about everything going on in the real world while you just play, relax and enjoy everything around you. We spent 2 nights at Malibu Creek with some good friends of ours... the Rasmussens, Petars, and Bergmanns. We ate some amazing food, went exploring, had super creepy whirling dervish neighbors, sent the boys on a hunt for the rock pool, fought off bees (unsuccessfully for me), enjoyed wildlife, took drives, and actually got our kids to sleep in their tents while we enjoyed late nights by the fire under the stars. This is camping.

My friend, Sarah Petar, is a little domestic goddess when it comes to food, decor, and anything creative. She brought this banner for our campsite and family photos.

And she made these little hobo sacks for each of the kids.

Could Skyler be any more happy and content here with her brother? I love this.

Suzy and her "baby"... about to be a big brother when Coral arrives soon!

Finn Petar

If you're not dirty while camping, you're just not having enough fun.

Scarlett (one week older than Charlie) is very touchy-feely and Charlie is not sure how he feels about it.

Oh Tate... Sweet happy campers.

Feeling Coral move around in the belly!

My baby girl.

There was always something delicious to eat.

Yes, that's Starbucks on the table... we all napped our kids in the car while we drove down to Malibu for coffee and car rides. It was a break from the 100 degree afternoon for a while.

Wally & Skye hanging out.

Explorers...

The rock pool!!

Skyler has a thing for personal hygiene even while camping.

And for going potty in public.

This meadow backed up to our tents and we had deer passing through all day. And coyote passing through all night, howling like I've never heard!

My snuggle bear.

Wally and Ryder were together nonstop.

All of us on our last night.

Enjoying s'mores before bedtime.

Week B and C

2011-09-19T14:22:00.000-07:00

B and C week came and went so fast! B week was awesome, C week kind of petered out, but I have high hopes for D week...

The kids helped make Brownie Bites and we mailed off a big one to Uncle BUMBLE.

Then we made handprint BUTTERFLIES which I took no pictures of, but here's the inspiration:

Charlie continues to take naps like a champ...

so that we can do things like this:

We made BEANIE BALLS which were awesome. 3 balloons trimmed up, layered and filled with beans. Lots of ball tossing games that week.

Another special thing for B week was when Chelsea came and taught Wallace and Skyler about BARCELONA. They learned about the buildings, the language, soccer, and this guy (Messi). Thanks again Chels. Such a treat to have you do geography this week. ;)

Loving our neighborhood, all the kids, and the final warm nights of summer.

Been visiting the magic kingdom here and there.

For C week we made CATERPILLAR prints with balloons. We invited Wally's neighbor friend, Emi, over to join.

Then they did homework books out on the sidewalk before Emi went to her school (she's a "late bird" so they don't start until noon... fun for Wallace to have her around in the mornings this year).

For C week, we also went and visited these guys at the Centennial Farm with my friend Sarah and her little Scarlett (born a week before Charlie) and her oldest, Finn (born a month after Skyler).

Preschool -- "A" week

2011-09-06T17:39:00.000-07:00

Wally's first week of "preschool" went great. He loves it. We studied the letter A. This included a trip to the library to get our "A" books, many discussions, letter writing, Bible Stories, drawing & painting, visiting a pet store to look at Aquariums, and making our service project for (A)unt Bri.

Letter writing practice

Painting the Aquariums we saw.

Wally showing Skyler how to do his computer game.

Skyler doing her weekly chore.

Apple prints

Apple bread for Aunt Bri!

Wallace was so proud to have his verse memorized by Friday. "As the deer..."

Quiet Bags

2011-09-06T17:38:00.000-07:00

I did it. I made the quiet bags that I should have made 5 months ago. Here they are with the names given to them by W and S.
"The Matching Wheel"

"Curly Q's"

"Marker Bag"

"The Clothesline"

"Felt Flower Making"

"Animals"

"Guys"

"Number Matching"

"Paperclip matching"

"Sewing"

Click on the wheel and print if you would like a matching wheel of your own. I glued mine onto cardboard for extra strength. Enjoy!

More of Summer

2011-09-06T17:37:00.000-07:00

I love the boys softball tradition each summer and the warm nights hanging out with old friends.

So many mornings on the bay.

Charlie wanting to get out on the board.

Rian and Wally exploring through the boats.

Ready for Liv's Princess (and Prince) Party!

With the birthday girl.

Lake Arrowhead

2011-09-06T16:40:00.000-07:00

We were invited by our friends Shin & Sarah to spend Labor Day weekend in a gorgeous cabin on Lake Arrowhead. There were kids running around, delicious feasts, lots of time in the water, beautiful nights with games and great conversation. It was perfect.

Out on the deck.

The girls out for a float.

Sarah coming back from a paddle.

Fall Goals

2011-08-24T14:35:00.000-07:00

Updated Chore Chart

Summer is winding down and I need to get my act together. We've been in vacation mode for a long time and I think we're all ready for some structure. We decided to do preschool at home for Wallace (Skyler will join along for most of it). We may or may not send the others to preschool, but for now, saving almost 3K, enjoying more time with Wally before he spends 13+ years away from us in school each day, allowing more time for he and Skyler to foster their relationship... it all seems to make sense. Plus it's less running around for us and more time playing with friends and doing fun things during the day. Win Win. We're doing this preschool curriculum which I'm really excited about and I've got some other fun ideas. Here's our weekly plan (and if your kids aren't in preschool, join along!):

Monday: library and ymca (kids program and workout for me!)
Tuesday: field trip (disney, science center, zoo, ocean, museum, etc)
Wednesday: nurture at RH
Thursday: ymca and serve day
Friday: playdate with friends

I'm also considering waking up an hour before the kids do. I think I'll feel more refreshed and energized if I'm showered, dressed, and had a few minutes of quiet time time before the kids wake up. But in the moment (6am), none of those reasons seem to matter, so I'm still considering before I make a commitment...

September... we're (almost) ready for you!

Wally's Sleepover

2011-08-21T14:55:00.000-07:00

For Wallace's birthday, Lauren and Brian gave him a day and night of fun at their house. Rian had some meetings in L.A. Wednesday, so Wally rode the train up with him. Lauren and Brian picked him up at Union Station. Here he is leaving our house, so excited.

The train at Griffith Park.

Snort!

L.A. Zoo

Making Lemonade with Aunt Lo.

Playing on Uncle Bumble's drums.

Making Pizza.

Making a fort, eating dinner inside and watching Robin Hood (his fave)!

Pancakes for breakfast before heading back home. Wally was in heaven the whole time. We love you L & B. Thanks for the pics! ;)

Paradise

2011-08-21T14:51:00.001-07:00

Paradise Point came and went. Always LOVE this San Diego weekend with my extended family. Almost all of us leaving lunch at the Barefoot Bar:

A weekend of just this...

Rian and Scott back from a paddle.

Cousins Against Cancer. All the second cousins at their lemonade stand for HOAG in honor of Aunt Carol. :)

S'mores

Family share time...

More fun

2011-08-21T13:38:00.000-07:00

After Paradise Point, my family extended vacation by taking Monday off to play some more. We rented a duffy boat and explored around Newport Bay, then we lounged by the pool all day and finished off with dinner at Knowlwood.

OHIO.... for a wedding!

2011-08-10T16:32:00.000-07:00

Top 10 reasons I loved this trip
1. Ohio. My first time in the midwest was way cooler than I thought it would be. The quaint little towns, old homes, huge backyards, and woodsy areas totally charmed me.
2. Flying. There is something so thrilling about airports and airplanes. The people watching, the take-off and landing, the way the terrain changes as you fly over each state, the free drink coupons...
3. Vacationing with friends. Getting a rental car, driving in a new place, getting lost, finding coffee shops, admiring the neighborhoods. So fun.
4. A destination wedding. Something about everyone coming together from all different states (and countries), staying in the same hotel, eating breakfast each morning together, staying up until 1 or 2am. It felt like being back in the college dorms.
5. Chelsea & Colby's wedding programs. They were so cute. So unique. Ok, so the whole wedding was this way. And Chels & Colbs were so fun to watch together. So excited that they are married and will only living 20 minutes away!
6. Late night bonding in the hotel room with a bunch of girls who married or are dating other Japan boys. Laughs about their innocence but also their shenanigans, how sexy it is when they speak Japanese, and the bond that those boys will forever share.
7. The indoor pool. I love indoor pools. I love the chlorine and humidity that rushes your face when you open the door. Rian hates indoor pools. Because of the reason I just mentioned.
8. Fireflies on the wedding lawn while running around with sparklers.
9. Watching Rian dance at the wedding. Waching Charlie dance with Rian.
10. Bonding with Charlie. This was the first time (except for his first couple days in the hospital) that we spent significant time with just Charlie. Both Rian and I felt extra bonded with this guy. He was so sweet on the plane rides and we enjoyed snuggling and making him laugh the whole way. He is at such an easy age right now where he slept everywhere we went and we could take him anywhere at anytime in his little carseat.

Wedding rehearsal at Chelsea's parents house.

Rehearsal dinner and some of the best Thai food ever! Phil Nelson and some friends from college...

A bunch of Japan boys and their wives. LOVED spending time with each of these couples.

Charlie getting ready for the wedding.

Loved seeing all the boys together in their skinny ties and suspenders.

I love Chelsea's style. She looked gorgeous. Love this picture of she and her dad.

Praying over the bride and groom.

The Japan group.

Us.

Beth & Brian Jones, Shin and I.

The groom and his best men.

Charlie on the dance floor.

Classy family.

Send-off.

Another late night with some of the Japan crew after the wedding. Jacuzzi and hotel bar.

Wallace's Birthday Weekend

2011-07-26T14:16:00.000-07:00

Wallace turned 4 and had five birthday desserts throughout the birthday weekend. Not bad! Here's his birthday donut on the morning of his birthday (Friday, the 22nd):

The lion cupcake I made for his party:

Peach custard he requested for his birthday dessert at home Friday night:

Chocolate mini cakes that GiGi made for Saturday's celebration:

Chocolate cake from Rian's parents on Sunday:

Friday's Lion Party took place at Tewinkle Park with a few good friends of his (and mine!)

Wallace was very particular with the events of his party. Among other things, he wanted to make bags so his friends could go on an acorn and stick hunt:

Saturday morning we surprised him with Disneyland passes! A video of the surprise is at the bottom.

GiGi and Wally with his new remote control car.

Playing in the sprinklers at Grandma & Grandpa's house after going on a major treasure hunt for his birthday presents!

Skyler helping Grandpa pick tomatoes in the garden.

DISNEYLAND TIP
We bought three 4-day passes at Costco that come with the $50 gift cards. We're using the 4 days this summer when we would normally be blocked out with our passports. On day 4 we'll upgrade to the annual pass (you save money on Costco's price + you can apply the $50 card to the passport). This saves over $150 for us compared to just buying the passports alone. Nice!! Thanks Mr. Costco worker for the tip.

UPDATE: This deal actually saved us only $10 (plus 4 extra days during summer). Costco changed their deal and disney raised passport rates. But it's still worth something. :)

More summer...

2011-07-26T14:15:00.000-07:00

My sweet Charlie! He has the sweetest personality and is such a relaxed baby. Those big eyes and expressive forehead...he is so fun to stare at and make conversation with. Wallace and Skyler continue to love on him and help out when I need them.

Enjoying a morning at Centennial Farm.

Ahhhh... my 5 children on a summer afternoon.

I think it's so ironic that THIS child would pick THIS book out from my bookshelf and pretend to read it.

Waterplay with some friends at Suzy's house in Sunset Beach.

so overdue

2011-07-14T16:26:00.000-07:00

i'm finally making time to catch up. i'm throwing a few posts on here... watch out.

LOVE THESE 3.

charlie is "talking" and smiling up a storm. i love his little expressions.

bbq and a happy camper bottom right corner.

skyler in the district fountain with jude close behind her.

early morning listening to her music.

i had an eye appointment. wally was there too.

charlie's first shoulder ride.

made these waffle cookies a few weeks ago. wow.

charlie... about 2.5 months old

wally calls this "guy time".

4th of July weekend - a lot of pics

2011-07-14T16:25:00.000-07:00

friday night met rian's parents at the orange circle for frozen yogurt and hide&seek.

saturday morning we kept cool in our front yard with sprinklers.

saturday afternoon peyton saukkola had her 1st birthday party. so fun being with these friends and seeing our kids run around together.

after church on sunday, we enjoyed a pool day at my parents. wally is SUCH a fish. he loves jumping in and using his new "big arms" whenever possible.

sweetie pie. he still does this. all the time.

sunday night game night. booya. i won. j/k...i think we talked too much and lost track.

monday morning on the bay. so early, peaceful and relaxing.

4th of july afternoon at the hartmans. bbq and pool with old friends. the best.

hot mess luke hartman. after ravenously eating his dinner.

channel islands

2011-07-14T16:24:00.000-07:00

Rian got away on an amazing trip with old friends. Wednesday night, he, Phil and Chaz stayed at Colby's house. Thursday night they surfed and camped in Ventura. Then Friday they took a ferry to the Channel Islands and stayed until Sunday. They filled their days with kayaking, hiking, spear fishing, sea cave exploring, frisbee and who knows what else...

It was a long time for the kids and I at home, but I'm glad he was able to take the trip (and we filled our days at home with some fun times). Such beautiful pictures (Thanks Phil!) and great stories. We'll be going to Ohio in August to watch Colby marry his love, Chelsea. Can't wait!

Rian left me with a gift to open each night he's gone. And they were good. I love my romantic creative husband.

three kid update

2011-06-10T14:23:00.000-07:00

charlie is 8 weeks old (yesterday) and sleeps 7-8 hours through the night. he's usually down for the count by 10pm and up around 5am. he has been so easy. loves to just sit, chill and look around. he loves being held by anyone and has been giving out big smiles for the last week or so.

skyler is potty training this week. see next post. she is so helpful with charlie. she is fun. super rambunctious. especially in the morning. i love her energy. she loves riding her razor around the neighborhood and is faster and better at it than anyone in our family.

wallace turns 4 next month! we so enjoy being around him. he keeps up with long conversations and asks meaningful questions about people, places, how things work and why we do things. he loves to please us and do what he knows is right. he's super helpful around the house and has gotten a lot more freedom with where he can go, what he can do, how late he stays up, etc. he is awesome.

sleeping boys in the family room.

skye in her cigarette box.

pottytime

2011-06-10T14:22:00.001-07:00

here we go again. this time it's skyler's turn. we do potty training bootcamp. mostly because i despise it and i want to get it over with fast. skyler woke up tuesday morning to her first gift... big girl undies! a pack of 7 and she peed through all of them (plus a pair of wallace's :) before lunchtime. but that's all it took. the rest of the day, plus day 2, 3 and today... no pee accidents. she runs to the toilet herself and she loves it. POOP on the otherhand... she skipped out on it the first day, then day 2 and 3 she somehow snuck away and pooped in her undies. today she's yet to go and really nervous about pushing it out in the pot. i'm hoping it'll take one success to make it a regular thing. good times...

watching and waiting. enjoying "elmo goes potty" together in the bathroom.

we spent all of the first day outside or on the wood floor, which was a good call on my part (hello 8 accidents in the first 4 hours).

for grandpa

2011-06-10T14:21:00.001-07:00

rian's parents took wallace out on a special date to see pinocchio in the theater on wednesday night. the kids just eat up one-on-one time with the grandparents. i know they will love these memories. rian's dad also left us with goodies from the garden he started with wallace and skyler.

grandpa, the kids say thank you. they ate up your tomatoes like apples!

a(nother) wedding

2011-06-10T13:26:00.000-07:00

sara got married this weekend. one of my dearest friends and college roommate. it was beautiful. fairytale like. look at her and sean. i love them. so perfect for each other. she found a good man and sean... he scored big too.

little ring bearer with mama.

from the neck up, you can't even tell i'm 7 weeks postpartum!! ;)
thanks beth for the pics!

Memorial Day = Summertime

2011-05-27T14:15:00.000-07:00

To kick off the weekend, I decided to conquer my first solo trip to the beach with the kiddos. I am even more in love with our little bay spot as our family grows. It makes beach trips so easy. Here's where we park (see the rockin minivan in the background). The kids help me unload and clean up. I can click open the door from my beach chair and send one of them to get something for me. Or send one of them to timeout in there. Yes. Free parking, no long trecks across sand, no crowds. It's so quiet and peaceful here. Back home, the kiddie pool was set up and warmed by the morning sun. So easy to clean the kids before naptime. The car though... oh man. I guess summertime is here. Time to get used to sand in carseats, on my kitchen floor, in my bed...

makayla + charlie

2011-05-25T18:27:00.000-07:00

History repeating itself.

this week...

2011-05-25T18:00:00.000-07:00

good family times! that's grandpa in the back of the fire engine.

wallace learned how to use the computer.

met avery (one of my favorite friends from college) at downtown disney to catch up and let the kids run around. she is NOT the one holding the bird. those are just her kids. and mine. we each have a baby too. it seems we were on the same baby-making plan.

Wedding Weekend

2011-05-13T16:12:00.000-07:00

Rian's sister, Bri, got married last weekend. She was GORGEOUS. It was a perfect wedding with such sweet, loving details all planned out by her and Maceo. We are so happy for them! Wallace walked down the aisle as the ring bearer. He absolutely melted my heart in this little suit of his. And his sister... oh my, Skyler... that smile, those boots, and a little yellow dress...

Seriously? And the crooked dimpled smile?! Next thing I know he's going off to Prom. Stop!!!

So here we are.

Doing his job...

The Bride & Groom

A MONTH?!

2011-05-13T15:56:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow Charlie is one month old. I can't stand it. I can't believe how fast this is going. I'm doing a terrible job of taking pictures, especially of his first visitors. Adding this third kid has been different. We're definitely staying IN more. My house is torn up most of the time. The older kids have figured out they can get away with more lately. I'm so not on top of my game. I have to remind myself that it won't always be like this. I won't be stuck breastfeeding, I won't be changing diapers constantly, I'll have more time to shower and get dressed... someday. I will say, however, that I am loving each day. Living simple, staying in, saying "no" to events, really looking at each of the kids. Studying their faces, asking questions, snuggling, staying in pj's, trying to savor each moment. With Charlie changing so fast, I'm reminded of how quickly this season will pass. I am SO thankful for Southern California's beautiful weather. If we didn't have our front yard to escape to for running, drawing hopscotch and train tracks, playing catch... I think I'd go crazy. I am also thankful for so many friends that have been bringing us meals. Delicious meals. Fancy and creative and beautiful. We have felt so loved. Here are some pics from the last few weeks.

Wallace & Skyler walking out to perform the end of year show at Nurture. I've never heard Wally belt out a song like he did for "Farmer and the Dell."

All 3 enjoying time with Chaz and Uncle Pips (Colby).

I confess that W and S are sent to their room to play way too often lately, mostly so I can nurse Charlie without being climbed on or hit in the head with flying objects. However, they have gotten very creative with what they play. Here, they are playing "zoo" with all the animals being hung from the top bunk.

Charlie and I napping while Rian gets some help washing my car.

Picnic dinner on the bay. I went in my pj's. It was the most perfect way to end a day.

Rian brings Charlie in to our bed in the morning. So sweet to lay next to these two.

Bath time. What I would do for a bathtub like this...

Skyler and I enjoying conversation with Charlie.

Rian saved the day by bringing us lunch.

Charlie... the first week.

2011-04-23T20:37:00.000-07:00

We brought Charlie home last Friday at noon. We dropped our things, prepared lunch, and enjoyed our first meal at home with our boy.

It was such a quiet weekend without the older kids. A vacation. I relaxed with Charlie while he slept, ate, pooped, and quietly began taking in his new world. Rian worked on the nursery, painting over Skyler's pink stripes. Sunday night, Charlie was waiting with gifts when his brother and sister arrived home.

Me and my kiddos. I began to miss them by the end of the weekend. It was so nice to have them back. Charlie got them each a magnifying glass for bug hunting.

Skyler wakes up each morning asking (yelling) for "CHARLIE!!". Throughout the day when I'm holding him she asks, "That Charlie?" as if maybe I switched him with another kid. She gently kisses the top of his head whenever she leaves the room. I'm so glad she's into him.

Wallace is the sweetest big brother. The other day he and I were reading on the couch when Charlie cried from the swing. Wally jumped down and ran over, saying, "Don't worry Charlie, I'm coming. Your big brother is here." He loves to pat his belly, kiss his head, comfort him, hold him, tell him stories and jokes, and just be an overall protective big brother.

Examining the new kid.

Wallace & Skye have a new reading nook.

He pretty much just does this.

And this. He's kinda boring.

Rian went back to work on Thursday. I braved my first outing alone with the kids to their easter egg hunt. I figured it would be less risky than trying to stay home alone with them. I needed some girlfriend time, Wally/Skye needed time running around with their buddies, and Charlie...well he just slept in his stroller the whole time. I love these early simple days with a newborn.

Charlie and his dad.

Charlie in a bowl.

Tomorrow is Charlie's due date. I can't believe we were doing this just 10 days ago. I'm so glad we got to enjoy him early. I'm so grateful that he is healthy. And I'm so fortunate that God has blessed us with this baby. He is such a gift.

Hello Charlie

2011-04-19T12:03:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday afternoon Rian and I dropped the kids off at my parents to head to my 38-week appointment. My doctor ordered an ultrasound before leaving because I was measuring a little small. She said she’d call my cell if the fluids looked low. Rian and I headed out to Bluewater Grill to enjoy a child-free night at happy hour. My cell stayed out on the table, but we had no reception the whole time. Didn’t think it was a big deal, until walking out to our car I had 4 missed calls from Dr. Hamilton. She said my fluids are low, she wants to induce, get to the hospital. And here, the night began. I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve. We went home, gathered some things, dropped some stuff for the kids off, and headed to Kaiser Permanente in Irvine. They checked my fluids again to make sure we needed to induce and also found that I was already 4 cm dilated and this baby was ready to meet the world. Pitocin drip started at 11:30pm, epidural kicked in, then a couple pushes and at 3:23am Charlie was born. 6 pounds 12 ounces, 19.5 inches long. All on April 14, the date I was praying to deliver. God does care about the little details…

Riding out the contractions and a foot massage from my mom. From the look on my face I’m telling a story about something very exciting.

My midwife, Nancy. She was SO great.

Rian got to pull Charlie out. He was the first to see that we were getting another son and announce that it’s a boy. Juliana got an amazing picture of this and some other shots that tell Charlie's birth story so well. I will gladly show anyone... I'm just not brave enough to post them online.

Leaving to come home, friday at noon. My parents had the kids until Sunday night. It was a quiet retreat-like weekend we enjoyed before the chaos began.

What did they do while we were gone? They went fishing, made pinecone bird feeders, took long walks, went on shopping trips... The kids were in heaven.

Wednesday afternoon before my appointment, my dad wanted to take a picture of my belly. I’m so glad, because I was behind on my belly shots. So this is the last one taken… 12 hours later, Charlie was born.

April = Baby

2011-04-03T20:14:00.000-07:00

We have entered the month that we will be meeting the little one. We're all excited. Rian and I feel very ready. Skyler keeps yelling "out!" at my belly button. And Wally is all set to be the "baby holder". He's been practicing with his animals. This has been the easiest pregnancy of the three and I find myself feeling pretty good these final few weeks. But definately ready to have my body back to myself and range of movement to carry my kids, pick up the house and run more than one errand at a time. We took some time last weekend to capture these last days as a family of four. Below are some of my favorites. Thank you to my friend Juliana of Hilmerson Photography who can do amazing things with that camera of hers.

We took multiple shots with our boy/girl name choices...

After the kids had their way with me...

2011-04-02T22:58:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been filled with less outings and more soaking up time with Wally and Skye before we throw another one into the mix. I'm enjoying them so much. Wally is getting so grown up and fun to talk with. Skyler can be loud, rowdy and such a goofball but turn around and want to do princess spins, cuddle up and be such a sweetheart. Here she is mowing the front sidewalk.

We have LOVED and been so consistent with our monthly Jones/Kennedy dinners (3+ years?) and have recently added Sara & Sean to the mix. Here we are last weekend, with Sean and Wally in the barrels. And my tummy peeking up.

Skyler loving the fancy jewelry from Beth's collection.

We recently made the decision to do no preschool for Wallace. Why? Because if he was gone to school, Skyler would be hanging at my ankles asking me to ride the other tricycle with her all day long... and although I'm sure he'd have a blast, our list of reasons not to do preschool ended up longer than the list to do it. Which means, I still get 2 years with this kid at home before kindergarten and that is so awesome! I'm really excited.

We recently enjoyed an outdoor lunch with my two grandmas. I am lucky enough to have them living at the same retirement community only 10 minutes away, so the kids and I get to enjoy lunch with them quite often.

And did I tell you my grandma, Mimi, is 90 this month? This is her racing around the golf holes, getting the kids to chase her. She just doesn't stop. She is so much fun.

Skyler on her birthday night, very happy with the oversized doodle board she got from us.

Emma Hartman celebrated her 3rd birthday at a gymnastic warehouse called Wildfire. The kids all had such a blast. The dads too. Not sure who enjoyed it more actually. It was a very fun time.

Wally & Taylor throwing cubes at each other.

SKYLER TURNS TWO!!!

2011-03-06T12:35:00.000-08:00

It has been an adventure with this one. She is hilarious and fun. Up for anything. Stubborn and challenging. Loves her brother and is so sweet to him. Always asking him “You OK?” when he’s crying or coughs, sneezes, says ouch, etc. She will do anything for him. She loves to brush her teeth. Loves her daddy. Likes to do things on her own and is super independent. But also clingy and loves being held... a lot. She appreciates smaller groups and quiet areas. She laughs a deep raspy belly laugh. One of my favorite sounds. She is happy and compliant, saying “ok mama”, “ok dada” but she can also look at us with a 16-year old scowl when she doesn't want to do something. She sleeps like a champ, always has. She is a tomboy... fast, brave and will tackle anything and do it really well. But she is girly and likes her hair done, nails painted and can throw a good drama fit across the floor. We feel like we know her so well and have this girl figured out but then she’ll do something so out of character and blow us away. She is full of surprises. We love this girl and it has been such an honor to have her in our family these past two years and know that God chose her just for us and just for this family. Absolutely cannot wait to see what this year holds. So many special times, challenges, laughs and sweet memories ahead of us. Happy birthday, Skyler!

Zoomar's Petting Zoo

2011-03-06T12:34:00.000-08:00

For Skye's birthday we took the train down to San Juan Capistrano and hit up the petting zoo. My parents sent us off at the train station and then drove down to meet us. Here we are waiting... the kids were so excited.

It was such a joy riding the train with Wallace & Skyler. Every bump and turn brought squeals of delight the whole trip down. And Wallace was our tour guide... pointing out Saddleback mountain, our Costco, the Great Orange Balloon, kids playing soccer, etc. Super fun.

We started with breakfast at Ruby's. Skyler received a box full of princess clothes and girly jewelry from my parents. She was quite happy.

Walking from breakfast to the Zoo. San Juan is so quaint. Rian and I used to take the train down once a year for a relaxing day trip.

Skyler feeding the first guinea pig.

Nice lips.

Wallace straightening out this guys goatee.

Very happy with her train ride up front as the conductor.

Into March

2011-03-06T11:43:00.000-08:00

Farmers Market last Wednesday at 32 weeks. Tomorrow I am 33 weeks, feeling good and a lot smaller than I was with the first two pregnancies. So nice! I think having chiropractic care throughout this pregnancy has made a big difference. We've stayed strong with not finding out the gender and it's been easier than I thought. Although I do miss the planning and dreaming that comes with knowing I've got a little boy or girl on the way. We're almost 100% on our name choices for either gender. Getting really excited to celebrate when he/she arrives!

Wally's favorite thing to do in the bath is arrange his alphabet letters. He has to sing the song from the beginning with each new letter. Takes forever.

Owen's birthday party and our last time to play for a while since the Saukkola's are moving to Denver. We will miss their family so much.

Owen's grandma did a 30-minute story & song time for the kids and instead of presents each friend brought a wrapped book for a book exchange. Such a good idea! Here is Ryder watching Wally open his book.

Goodbye hug.

Been experimenting with a good chai tea recipe.

In between our 80 degree February days, we get a chilly day where we have to bundle up. Finally.

A warm picnic lunch out back.

Gypsy and Oliver waiting for some love at the back door.

Last Wednesday after dinner the kids got to enjoy ice cream out on the town for filling up their marble jar. Marbles have been piling in the jar the last couple months for staying dry while sleeping, eating all their dinner, being kind to one another, obeying the first time, etc....

camping!! or not.

2011-02-27T10:23:00.000-08:00

we reluctantly cancelled our camping trip this weekend with the rasmussen fam. we were tempted to brave it out, but with the rain and 34 degree nights in our thin flannel socal sleeping bags... we thought it might not be the most comfortable. we took a drive to doheny, to check out our killer spot. we were happy to see it (and all the beachfront spots) flooded out and knew we made a good decision to postpone our trip.

BUT we still camped. only we had no view and soundtrack of ocean waves and sand to keep the kids busy all day and night. we had a warm cozy home to play in the tent and enjoy dinner with our friends.

other february things

2011-02-17T16:00:00.000-08:00

on sunday nights i fill in the blanks of our fridge-posted planner for the new week ahead of us. sometimes i fill our days with plans and friends and big exciting outings each day. other times, it feels like we should keep a quiet week. maybe an appointment or a meeting with a friend scheduled weeks ago. but that's it. that's how this week has been and today was empty. too empty. wallace got crabby. skyler was fussy. so i gave up on my hopes to stay in pj's and do some design work. i busted out an emergency plan of fingerpainting, hopscotch out front, and a packed lunch trip to a new little park. the kids were thrilled. all crabbiness and fussiness disappeared and the morning ended up quite nice. the kids napped almost 3 hours once we were home thanks to the races i had them do all over the park while i sat and basked in the sun. plus i accomplished everything on my list (including putting pj's back on) during their long nap.

skyler fulfilling her plant watering chore.

supperswap is still going strong. i would be lost without it. or at least in the kitchen an extra hour each day from 4-5pm figuring out what to eat while the kids run aimlessly around me begging for attention. i made this chicken salad w/ avocado and blood orange a couple weeks ago that we all loved. so easy for such a fancy little thing.

the kids watching a movie in the weekend fort.

down the street is hutton centre, a business park with a lake full of ducks, jumping catfish, turtles and a couple geese. we like to go and serve lunch sometimes.

rian took wallace out for a boys night. so skyler and i stayed home, painted our nails, and snuggled.

the kids have been saving this milk carton for weeks because i promised we would make a birdhouse. it finally happened. and we haven't seen a bird in sight ever since.

my friend teri threw a sweet little valentines party for a bunch of us. the kids did crafts, ate beautiful treats, and she sent us moms home with a long-stemmed rose.

wally & skyler passing out their valentine granola bars.

January

2011-02-03T20:31:00.000-08:00

Where have we been the month of January, you ask? See below.

Taking care of sick kids. All. Month. Long. Our little family passed around a cold. All four of us got it bad. Fever and cough mostly. Then we were on the mend for a good week and then a new cold arrived. So nice. But we were still able to enjoy January a little bit:

Rian and I had a free weekend. His parents took the kids fri-sun and we enjoyed a dinner/movie night, breakfast on the beach, and accomplished some big projects around the house. It was just what we needed.

Sometimes when you're sick with a sore throat, nothing else makes you happy except an ice cream cone. I shared it with the kids. I don't know how we keep passing colds around...

We felt it was a good time to move Skye into Wally's room before the baby comes and takes over her room. It went so much smoother than we could have imagined. They are having a great time and love waking up in the same room.

I had the best date night with Wallace while Rian took Skyler out on the town. They went to get frozen yogurt and Wally and I hit up Starbucks and the bookstore. It's so nice to have alone time with him. We sat and talked about all sorts of things. I could have stayed there all night with him.

I've been getting the whole "are they twins" thing while out lately. Mostly when they're sitting and you can't see the height difference. But, I still think it's funny. And true. They do look alike.

And finally, for the month of January, some pics of our beach days. Nothing better than 80 degree weather in January. I love where we live. Here is Wally, Skye & Liv chasing the helicopters. The water was full of dolphins on this day. So beautiful.

Also, I'm a little obsessed with this girl.

And her raspy belly laugh. I love this laugh.

Christmas morning

2010-12-31T21:48:00.000-08:00

Enjoying one of their new books before heading to Gigi & Poppa's house for breakfast and gifts.

Skyler and I got matching aprons from my parents. The kids were given some bean bag chairs (behind Rian) for their reading nook upstairs.

The night before this (Christmas Eve) was spent at Rian's parents. Wallace received his long awaited dream of a Panda Pillow Pet. He was a very happy and grateful little boy.

Skyler on her new bike from Grandma & Grandpa.

And the night before this (Christmas Eve-Eve), I was able to enjoy a Christmas night out with my girlfriends, a tradition us 7 have had for probably more than a dozen years. It was perfect. And the best part? We all fit together in the new MINIVAN. We haven't done that since high school days in the minivans belonging to our moms! So life comes full circle.

Throughout the month our little elf, Leo, has been hiding around the house each morning. The kids loved waking up and searching all over for him. Here are some snapshots of him:

Post Christmas trip to Cambria

2010-12-31T19:09:00.000-08:00

Each year after Christmas we take a little vacation with my family to a secret destination. This year my parents revealed it ahead of time in order to plan for a slightly longer trip and farther destination... Cambria!! It was beautiful. The weather was perfect. The view of the coast from our house was incredible. I loved driving around finding ranch after ranch full of rolling hills, grazing cows and the occasional family of deer. The boys went golfing, us girls explored the town, we did a tour of Hearst Castle, watched the elephant seals on the beach, played games and watched movies.

Walking down our street to the beach.

Elephant Seals

Nothing better than a cheese stick and juice box with your Uncle Bumble.

The bus ride up to Hearst Castle was Wallace's favorite event of all.

More Pre-Christmas

2010-12-22T19:48:00.000-08:00

At the Grove in LA. Each December we meet up as a family to have dinner, see Santa, watch the "snow" fall and the fountains dance to Christmas carols, get warm drinks and walk around the shops. The Grove is pretty magical during Christmas.

Our annual (extended extended) Wallace Family Christmas party was at the Burgess home this year. Each year Rian and I leave saying how fun it was to hang out and catch up with all my second cousins, hilarious uncles and the rest of this family. I'm so lucky to have such a huge family full of people I love so much. A blurry shot of us kids after dinner:

Uncle Burge jamming on the piano with Skye.

Gift exchange and stealing!

Tee-Ball. Each week we think it's over... but it's stillllll going. Here's Wally during batting practice.

Wallace & Liv on the Christmas train. The far right one is this year and the others are previous years. Such a fun tradition!

We are so thankful to Rian's parents & my parents for all the free babysitting we get, especially during the holidays, allowing us to get out to some parties. Last weekend, the kids made gingerbread men with GiGi while they stayed there for the night.

And while they were decorating gingerbread men, we were enjoying ourselves at the Rasmussen's martini party:

A Lucky Day!

2010-12-15T19:51:00.001-08:00

Today my little notepad was featured on one of my favorite blogs, NieNie Dialogues (mine is the black and white pic near the bottom of her post). How sweet of Nie to pick mine out of the hundreds of homemade items sent to her. I've gotten some orders today and it's fun to be mailing off packages to Norway, England, Canada and within the states. I hope they get there before Christmas!

Our Tree

2010-12-15T18:12:00.000-08:00

This was back when we picked out our Christmas tree, Thanksgiving weekend. Wally & Skyler loved running through the trees...

a good start to the day

2010-12-14T12:22:00.000-08:00

we spent our early morning with sara & beth today. sara fed the kids toast and pulled a splinter out of wally's finger. beth showed me her new gorgeous office. i drank coconut iced coffee. then i mentioned that i'm a maternity fashion disaster and, as if i snapped my fingers, there was a pile of clothes in front of me to take home. i can't wait to try everything on. and i can't wait to go back to that cozy home (perhaps without kids), put my feet up, and relax!

favorite

2010-11-30T07:03:00.000-08:00

i've decided that thanksgiving might be my favorite holiday. families together, all the yummy food, the anticipation of christmas decorating, music & celebrations, people sharing what they're thankful for (instead of grumbling about the other stuff).... it's such a magical weekend, thanksgiving. here are some snapshots of ours:

some early morning football and breakfast... a great way to kick off thanksgiving day.

rian and the kids with the blue pacific in the background.

thanksgiving day at rian's parents home in fullerton. the kids put on a good show.

cooking with grandma.

joel came out from arizona (on couch with rian) and maceo spent some good time playing with the kids.

while the rest of the world was shopping on black friday and rian went into the office for a bit, the kids and i set up for christmas. the next morning we cut down our tree at peltzer pines in silverado canyon. it was a chilly crisp morning, with crystal clear views of the city below as we drove over the hill. we found a cute little tree, perfect for our family!

decorating.

ever since rian and i have been married (this is our 9th christmas!) we have slept under the tree on the first night. the tradition continues, only now with juice boxes, christmas cartoons and lots of bouncing around the tree.

Christmas time is here!

2010-11-29T15:07:00.000-08:00

Thanksgivings

2010-11-26T20:20:00.000-08:00

Five things I am thankful for this year.

1. Our home. Our game plan did not include us still living in the condo we bought 7 years ago. But here we are and I am so thankful that we chose a place that can easily hold all our kids, give us a back “yard”, a huge front yard, wonderful (and quiet!) neighbors, a fixed and affordable mortgage payment and to be so close to everything important to us. I have been feeling so content in our cozy home.

2. Rian’s work. While so many people are out of jobs or struggling to work multiple jobs to pay the rent, Rian’s work has been consistent and even enjoyable. It is such a huge blessing to watch your husband be excited to go into work each day. And an added bonus is that his office is 5 minutes away allowing him to have lunch with us a few days each week, stop by if we need anything, and be home minutes after he calls saying he’s left the office.

3. My Mama’s Group. Some are new friends, some I’ve known for years. I’ve been meeting with these girls for over 2 years on Thursday nights. Part of our time is spent discussing the current book we’re reading (books on parenting, marriage or spiritual growth). The other part of our time is spent sharing what’s going on in our lives and how we need specific prayer that week- for ourselves, each kid, and our husbands. People tell me what a rare thing this is. The depth of the things we share, the acceptance we have for each other, the parenting ideas we give/receive, and the constant reminder that we’re not alone in this season… it's an amazing thing to have these girls and my parenting would look totally different without them in my life.

4. My kids. It is a gift from God to be able to get pregnant and literally a miracle when the baby grows healthy and ends up in your arms nine months later. I am so thankful for Wallace & Skyler. They are truly a gift. They have brought so much joy to Rian and I. They have taught me so much about myself and given me perspective on God’s love for me as His own child.

5. Supper Swap. I am so lucky to have Juliana & Heather! The three of us teamed up over a year ago to swap meals each week. Every week I cook a meal three times, one to keep and the others for the girl’s families. They do the same on their certain days. So our week looks like this: Monday we have dinner delivered to us by Heather. Tuesday we have dinner delivered to us by Juliana. Wednesday there are plenty of leftovers. Thursday we eat our own meal and I deliver it to the other families too. Over the weekend I might cook once, or we’ll have leftovers or dinner out. I cook about twice each week and in return get a full weeks worth of homemade healthy and delicious meals. So thankful for how smooth this makes my afternoons!

L.A. by Train

2010-11-08T08:19:00.001-08:00

We celebrated our 8th anniversary on November 2nd and Rian planned an awesome weekend away in LA. We took the train from Santa Ana to Union Station.

We started in Little Tokyo at Rian's favorite ramen shop. It was amazing. Maybe even my favorite meal of the weekend.

Then we walked to our hotel, Hilton Checkers, and enjoyed some reading by the rooftop pool.

This was one view from our room.

This was the view out our other window. It was a gorgeous weekend. On the verge of rain, which never came, only big beautiful clouds

On our way to dinner, I tried to show off my bump in the hallway mirror.

Enjoying the bar at Chaya. Dinner however, brought us possibly the worst waiter ever. But the rest of the night made up for it.

Across the street from our hotel is the Biltmore. We got dessert and played cards while watching a fantastic jazz band play late into the night.

Sunday morning we enjoyed a yummy breakfast at the Original Pantry. It was really fun. The line was out the door around the building but they got us in really fast.

After breakfast we walked around LA Live and explored the top of the Ritz Carlton, towering over the city, which made my stomach almost fall out. We took a cab back and strolled around Grand Central Market, Pershing Square, and then sat at Starbucks watching people and hanging out.

Another highlight of the weekend was dropping the kids off Friday and meeting my sister and brother-in-law for dinner in Laguna Beach. They celebrate their anniversary a week before ours and we switched places... they left LA to come to stay in Newport for the weekend and we left for LA! We had a blast this night with them. After dinner we walked here to get shakes. And I'm really excited about something.

Here we are home from the weekend, watching the new addition to our family. GiGi and Poppa let Wallace pick out his first pet!

dan the handyman

2010-10-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

he's coming over today to look at our upstairs bathroom. i think we have a slow leak from our tub behind the drywall. we'll see...

also we took the minivan off-roading this weekend. she held up well but i don't think we should ever do it again.

in addition, rian is taking me away on the train to los angeles in a couple of weekends. we will celebrate our 8th anniversary there. he is doing all the planning and i am trying my best to stop ~~demanding information~~ inquiring about his plans.

pumpkin patch

2010-10-24T21:22:00.000-07:00

this is our 3rd year coming to this pumpkin patch. two years ago i was just about as pregnant as i was this year. here are the munchkins (liv, wally, jude, skyler).

skyler is a huge fan of nulls (tunnels).

the teepee was a big hit.

the kids did many rides.

so did i.

i painted wally's face. it's a lizard obviously.

here we are 2 years ago:

rockin it in the new minivan

2010-10-24T20:47:00.001-07:00

we had a really big car decision to make after my nissan xterra sold within a few days of putting a 'for sale' sign on it. we had 2 nights to decide between a minivan or suv, and then actually find one that we liked. we did a lot of research and tons of praying. on the second night before heading home when the car we went to look at had just sold, we found it... God had the perfect car for us waiting there. stats, you ask? 2006 toyota sienna limited. 42k miles. pearl white. i never thought i could love a car, much less a minivan, this much. it is awesome.

sometimes we drive around town with the kids out of their carseats. jk.

this tiny mirror allows you to catch anything naughty going on in the back without the kids knowing you're watching!

i don't really know what's happening here.

after watching a few sesame street podcasts from the ipod, we made it clear that car dvd's are only for vacations and rewards (ie: bribing them when we have doctor appointments and errands all day).

what we do

2010-10-22T14:57:00.000-07:00

i'm a big fan of taking a drive. especially early morning. or in the rain. or during a sunset. or under disneyland fireworks. or in my new car (more to come on that later).

here we are driving towards the beach during a beautiful post-rain day. this morning we had some ants in our kitchen so i said enough. the kids and i, in our pj's, loaded the car for a drive. we stopped at chick-fil-a to use my free breakfast entree coupon. then we drove. ok, we went through starbuck's drive through for a peppermint mocha. you know, it's almost christmas, plus i'm pregnant. that's the excuse i give rian.

today we had no plans so after the drive we did this craft. then we ate a picnic lunch out front (less crumbs to attract more ants). then the kids played alone upstairs for an hour (seriously). while they napped i did laundry and read 1 and 2 thessalonians. and then i got so hungry but there was nothing to eat. then rian came home from golfing with clients (second time this week. wth?). then he left for the office and skyler woke up. actually that's where i am now. i keep calling up to her room saying, "lay down skyler, it's not time to get up" even though it is but every time we do this lately, we hear her bounce back down and lay quietly for a good 10 minutes. it's this awesome new little trick we do with her. but then it stops working the second or third time.

and this was our day. plus it's friday, so i'm a bit ecstatic to have the weekend ahead of us. i will head to the chiro once the kids are up, then warm up our dinner of last night's leftovers and then celebrate the weekend with a family outing.

someone is awake making her dolphin sounds. and i hear wallace climbing out of his bunk bed. here we go...

2010-10-16T22:59:00.000-07:00

early october

2010-10-15T14:43:00.000-07:00

Skye at our first pumpkin patch trip this season.

Many of our lunches are picnics out front or back. So much easier to clean up!

Skyler fell into the corner of her dresser drawer, which required another trip to urgent care for liquid stitches.

24 hours later she smacked into our bedroom door while running around the corner. I promise I'm not just sitting on the couch all day, letting my kids jump off of things and run around crazy... Is this not the biggest goose egg you've ever seen?

We got together with our old lifegroup for a bonfire. It was so nice and I realize how much I miss these friends. I have such fond memories of meeting each week together.

Wally & Jayden.

Two cuties waiting to be loaded in the car.

Tball & dinos

2010-10-02T14:45:00.000-07:00

We decided to introduce Wallace to his first sport this fall. This morning we went to Citrus Ranch Park in Tustin for his 1st (of 8) Tball classes. He's been excited all week but this morning when he woke up, he wasn't sure he wanted to go. Halfway through during a water break he ran up to me saying "I LOVE it now, Mama!". He had a great time. Rian does a lot of it with him and I keep tabs on Skyler and talk to the other moms. Super fun and relaxed.

This is a familiar car situation. They love singing their "kid music" together. Excuse the blurriness... it was a backhanded blind shot took while driving.

Sweet sweet Gypsy. Skyler especially has taken to using her as a stool. And she puts up with it. Sweet dog. I have no idea how long they had been doing this when I finally came outside.

Skye and I staying cool on the 110 degree day last week reading her all time favorite book.

Wally loves do draw. LOVES it. Months ago his circles became suns with rays and those became faces and lions and now he's really into drawing dinosaurs.

2010-09-22T12:29:00.000-07:00

lauren & brian served the whole fam breakfast last weekend and then we walked around hancock park and got smoothies on larchmont. mom & dad missed out on the photo when they ditched us to get yogurt.

waiting patiently for the pizza they made to finish cooking.

met J, liv & jude today at the circle.

skyler on timeout for playing in the toilet again.

palm springs. again.

2010-09-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

i had the privilege of escaping to palm springs this weekend with my good friend and old college roommate, sara marashian, who had some venue research to do for her upcoming wedding. rian made it easy for me to go, sending me off in his prius and telling me all the fun things he'd be doing with the kids (thank you, babe!). sara had an awesome hotel booked for us. a place recently remodeled but was roaring in the 40's with an underground speakeasy and brothel! pretty much except for one outing to look at a venue and stuff our faces with burgers, fries and milk shakes at ruby's, we remained poolside the whole time. it was so nice to be lazy, be served, and lay out. we sunk into the huge bed and watched sex & the city 2 and then had a 10pm dinner at the poolside restaurant, where we also ate our huge breakfasts both mornings. we talked wedding plans, read magazines, napped, reminisced, talked about how cool sean & rian are, ordered more food poolside & watched people. and the pool was open 24 hours, all night long. we didn't go, i just think that's cool.

breakfast.

laying out. i really should have taken more pics.

it's out

2010-09-17T07:38:00.001-07:00

so the word is out that somewhere around april 25, 2011 we will have another one of these:

(wallace, 4 hours old. skyler 3 days old)

which means soon, i will look like this again:

(dropping wallace off after a big "last night out" for a few days while we brought skyler into the world and adjusted in at home)

in other news, skyler slept in til 8:15 this morning and i was served breakfast in bed. warm pancakes... amazing. while i was in bed rian and wallace had a conversation about rian's wedding ring tattoo. rian was telling him what it means and how much he loves mamma. wallace said he wants a tattoo also. he was told he can have the wash-off kind now and when he's much older he can decide to get a real one. wallace said, "i want a sheep tattoo". rian told him, "and that is why you will only be getting the wash-off kind".

palm springs getaway

2010-09-06T14:27:00.000-07:00

a trip with the mellema & hilmerson families to close out the summer.

lot's of lounging. when we weren't chasing children.

the boys were able to fit in a round of golf.

liv & wallace on a boat.

skyler and the jumping fish.

xander & skyler.

summer coming to an end

2010-09-06T02:53:00.000-07:00

emma & wally cheering on their daddies during softball.

skyler enjoying the dugout.

wallace & milly.

monthly neighbor dinner with the joneses. why am i a ghost?

another one to add to the books. skyler's puffy eye, thanks to a mosquito bite. a few days and it was back to normal.

backyard water play, waiting for daddy to get home.

more saturday mornings at the bay. we took gypsy and the paddleboard this time.

csa

2010-08-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

here is our first basket with south coast farms csa. so excited about it. if you're coming over for dinner in the next week (you know who you are) guess what you're having....

another perfect morning at the bay today.

out with brand new baby luke hartman. and he's just perfect!

in a month

2010-08-14T15:16:00.000-07:00

a lot can happen in a month. let's first discuss my baby girl skyler with her no-fear adventurous spirit.

a: jumping down brick stairs like her brother does and landing on her nose.

b: climbing up table and then falling while pulling off part of her ear.

c: flying off playground platform and biting into tongue.

i love this girl. and so glad she's still alive after all her stunts....

the next pics are from paradise point on mission bay (san diego). the whole wallace side of the family does this trip ever year. as always, it was a blast. i love every single person in this family. i am so lucky! the rest of the pics are on facebook. if you can't already tell, i am thinking about slowly phasing into no blog and all facebook.

also happing in the last month... we had colby & brian over for dinner while beth was traveling around europe.

wallace absolutely loves playing with brian and "uncle pippy".

picnic dinner & concert with the turners at peppertree park. dave was a little too excited about dancing to the music with wallace. the band was "open wide" my old orthodontist's band. wally got to give dr. meeks a high five afterwards.

the artist at work in laguna at the art festival.

an incredible dinner at the simpson's bayside house. wouldn't be complete without shooting guns out over the water.

birthday boy

2010-08-14T15:01:00.000-07:00

wallace turned 3 on july 22. here are a couple pics from his wild BYOB party (bring your own bike). the rest of the pics are here on facebook.

here are the pics from his family party. i made this delicious carrot cake recipe found by my friend teri here.

my most talented dad in the world made wally this awesome wooden jet. it hangs in his room and he LOVES it.

blowing bubbles with grandpa.

ladder ball...

watch out poppa!!

our little family... i can't believe my baby is three!

finally!

2010-07-16T15:59:00.000-07:00

camping pics and much more. i fasted from my computer for 2 weeks. actually, my hard drive crashed, so that's the only reason why. i found a computer miracle doctor who saved a bunch of stuff... but not everything. sad...

4th of july weekend at lake casitas, ventura.
kennedy's, hartman's, and rasmussen's:

us at breakfast

ryder & wally collecting "treasure" around camp

keeping the kids contained

ryder played so sweetly with skyler all weekend, always there to protect her if she got too close to the firepit too.

we rented a pontoon boat all day on sunday. we just relaxed and explored the lake, stopping to fish. the boys went out alone to fish in the afternoon while the kids napped and us girls hung out.

rian's rainbow trout... cooked to perfection.

s'mores!!!

yum!

so summery!

2010-07-16T15:25:00.000-07:00

hot date!! rian surprised me with tics to see kings of leon and dinner at javiers. here we are before leaving the house. the kids stayed over-night at my parents.

the heat is here! skyler & finn staying cool at the santa ana zoo. once a month is "free day" for santa ana residents, and we got finn and his mama in with us too!

one of our favorite things... juliana and i relaxed while the kids played and baby jude sat quietly in her lap (he is so perfect!)

the kids and i beat the crowds and did an early morning at the beach. so nice!

skyler took us to urgent care (the girl doesn't stop). they glued up her torn ear (from falling on the corner of her table) and she was good to go. wallace and rian even made it to their dodger game an hour later!

all smiles for the dodgers.

at dahlia's birthday party in irvine park, wally rode his first horse!

June

2010-06-24T13:57:00.000-07:00

Summer is in full effect. Here are some things that June brought us.

Wallace had swim lessons twice a week this month. They were semi-private lessons taught by Kylie at our YMCA. She was awesome and being with 2 other boys made it really fun for Wally.

Celebrating birthdays at the park.

Our neighbors passed around popsicles. I love Wally's dimples. He needs a haircut.

And here is Skye's one dimple. In other news, she attemped to jump the brick stairs at my parents house like her brother does. It didn't end so well.

phoenix, az

2010-06-13T20:14:00.000-07:00

we just got back from our big arizona trip. we left wednesday night at 7pm and our plan worked! the kids slept the whole 5 hours, giving rian and i a fun road trip to just hang out and drive through the desert. we arrived at the pointe hilton squaw peak resort a little after midnight. we were so bummed to see that our patio overlooked the parking lot... but after discussing the disappointment with them... we somehow got upgraded to a 2-story casita with practically our own private pool and jacuzzi out the front door. all at no extra cost! here is a pic of our pool from the front door. so after the kids went down at night (and nap), guess where rian and i were... laying out or sipping wine in the jacuz.

relaxing out at the main pool.

floating down the lazy river.

the kids were not fans of swimming under and behind the waterfall...

basically we swam and ate and slept.

the boys.

my little artist. he concentrates so hard while drawing.

our friend, melissa, from college lives in mesa with her husband, lee, and son aaron. friday night they treated us to a wonderful dinner in their home and we relaxed outside, enjoying the mild weather. we picked the best weekend for the temps... down to about 90 all weekend from 115 the previous week! thanks for such a fun night, stephenson's! we so enjoyed our time with you guys.

wallace & aaron were born only 7 days apart!

aaron is quite the musician. wally tried to keep up with him on the mic.

on saturday we went to joel's house (rian's bro) in tempe. he gave us a tour, we hit up the neighborhood park, and then went out to dinner for his birthday. afterwards we walked around downtown tempe. it is such a fun place! had we no children, we would have played downtown into the wee hours of the night... :)

we dreaded the middle-of-the-day ride home on sunday. but between solid naps, the doodle, the dvd player, snacks, and one stop... it was really pleasant. i'm not saying there were no tears (skyler)... but overall, it was a quick and fun trip home.

Waleppkenschlick

2010-06-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

My parents Bible Study does an annual family pool day bbq called, yes, "Waleppkenschlick". A little combo of their lasts names. Those clever old folks, you never know what they'll come up with! Here we are, not all of us, but most...

notice how perfect all the kids are sitting... except for the 2 on either end.