More Summer 2009

Here are the highlight's of a few other fun Summer Days!

4th of July is always a blast at Grandma Marcia's Real Estate "farm" extravaganza! Cassidy (No Joke) had 7 snow cones. Both kids loved decorating their bikes and riding around in a children's parade. There were fun games, bounce houses and good company (Thanks Leininger's for coming)!

The City of Thousand Oaks has a secret...and I am going to tell you. On Saturday of Father's day weekend, they have an event called Touch a Truck. It is AWESOME! There are literally about 50 different types of trucks, cars, vehicles....Cassidy loved getting dressed up as a fireman. There is a giant dump truck with blow up beach balls in it and it dumps them and the kids fill it up. There are even cranes that drop waterballoons on your head. Whether you like police cars, ambulances, limosines, etc it is a very fun family event.

Here's a picture above of Bradley, Kaden, Colin, and Cassidy eating ice cream:Kaden is never as happy as he is when he is with his best friend Colin. This is a picture of the kids enjoying ice cream cones in Newport Beach. I don't understand what exactly the boys are doing that is so much fun, but they never want to leave eachother and whether it is an afternoon or 4 nights of sleep overs, it is never enough!!!

Finally, it must be added that a majority of our summer was spent in Grandma Mona and Papa Chickie's newly renovated pool. Summer Days are a blast and I was sad to see them go...but soon enough they will be back, so Goodbye Summer and Hello Fall!!!!!!

Summer Fun 2009

Summer was fun--here are a few highlights from summer 2009!

Here are the kids at Disney World . The weather was stiffiling if it wasn't raining or nighttime. The kids LOVED it when it rained (that's what you get for living in a drought ridden state). Kaden loved the water slides at the hotel with best friend Colin and going to Typhoon Lagoon. Cassidy enjoyed it all but liked going to the different countries at Epcot and collecting tags to add to her mask!

We also did FIESTA again this year in Santa Barbara. Fiesta falls on the first full weekend of August. The kids dress up in traditional Mexican clothing and participate with their cousins in the Children's parade. The kids love being the center of attention as they travel down State street on their decorated tricycles.

More to come!!

There goes September

Where did September go. I can remember getting excited for school to start for both kids and worrying about silly things like which lunch box to "let them choose" , will she cry, will he cry, will they like it, etc. Now, we are in our full Fall routine and they seem to LOVE school. Why do we worry? Who knows. Kaden likes school and is a "late bird", which means he doesn't start school until 9:10 a.m. Matty and I wonder how other parents who don't have a stay at home mom juggle these random school times , although we are thankful for extra time in the morning. We are also thankful for our neighbor Jessica who is helping get Kaden to school on W/F because Kaden and Cassidy have to get to school at the same time. This is just the beginning of juggleing kids schedules. Cassidy jumps up and down with excitement when she gets to go to school and likes to stay for lunch bunch. She makes me laugh because I get the full "run down" of who played with who, what they played, and which art supply did or did not get to be glued to her paper...did I mention glue and tape are her favorite things.

September was fun and we were busy doing lots of fun family activities. Thank goodness for cameras or I might forget altogether what we have been doing. Seems like we have been crazy busy since we got back from Florida (gotta love Disney World). We had a great time at Grandma Mona and Papa Chickie's Labor Day Pool Party. All the cousins were there and the kids had fun in the pool playing, chatting on the waterfall, and eating ice cream sundaes. We went to a neighborhood block party and Kaden was THRILLED to be able to ride his bike in the street. He wanted to know when the next "festival" was going to be. We finished off Labor day weekend at the Rincon Beach with neighbors. There is nothing cuter than waching kids at the beach.

After that ,Cassidy started up preschool and got back to ballet at Teacher Ashley's house. Did I mention that Kaden started soccer and... hip hop at Teacher Ashley's too. Kaden was so jealous of Cassidy's ballet recital last year, that we had him join the fun of hip hop class (we'll see how long it lasts). He goes with his friend Rocky and they both seem to like it (although Uncle Josh keeps saying ahggghgg....how about football).

Heading up to cousin Cary's house in Ojai was a blast. The kids all swam, (jenny don't read this)jumped in the trampoline, played ping pong, held snakes, surfed in a pool, and petted goats. The big boys rode around on pint size motorcycles. Fun for all.

Josh heard the acronym for AYSO and we have found it to be so true...All Your Saturdays Gone. Kaden LOVES soccer and wishes he never had to take a break on the sidelines. Mom and Dad wish it were every other saturday so that every Fall weekend wasn't sacraficied to soccer, although we love watching him play. On a personal note, I love watching Matty out there as coach Matt.

We have had several visits from the Ross clan in throughout the summer and into the fall. The kids adore playing with eachother. And we love watching Alex balance 3 kids while Cameron is flying. You two are amazing the way you juggle it all! Sawyer is the highlight of each visit for Kaden. He ADORES that kid.

And finally, we headed down to Disneyland for a couple of days with Grandma Marcia. Good times always... Grandma Marcia celebrates the kids 1/2 birthdays because Kaden's is so close to Christmas time. So this time, it was Cassidy's 1/2 birthday and we headed to Build a Bear. After about an hour, we left the store with "Headband" and "Color", a pink bear with a purple prom dress and a pink sparkle heand band, and an electric blue bear covered inrainbow peace signs . The names are classic. After Build a Bear (DowntownDisney), we headed to Disneyland for "just one ride". One fire works show and several rides later it was 10:15 pm and time to go to sleep so we could wake up and do it again. They love it and have fun and that is what it is all about!

I guess that is about all for September!!!

Katie

Katie's First Blog

I have been wanting to start a blog for our family for a little while now, but am just now getting the nerve to figure out how to do it. You all know I want it to "look cute", but I have NO IDEA how to make that happen so this will definately be a work in progress.

Everyone keeps asking me what I am going to do with my time now that Kaden has started Kindergarten and Cassidy is in Preschool 3x a week. So far it has just been laundry, trips to the Target, and planning (what is next) once the kids get home. Matty and I have also had SEVERAL conversations that included me needing a hobby. Well, I think this might be it.

I can only think about how much I would enjoy getting a glimpse back into my childhood had my Mom actually had a blog. I imagine it would have said how stubborn I was as a young child and how Nick and I would bug eachother until Mom was blue in the face. How I insisted upon wearing high heels and boa to pick Nick up from school and that my room was pepto bismo pink. However, I think it would have also included a lot of great memories like watching waterpolo games when my Dad was coaching, going on "dates" with my Dad (which reminds me that it is about time for Matty to take Cass), Mom ALWAYS (Dad when he could)being at our activities (plays, chorus performances ...uhhh, cheerleading , swim team, soccer, softball, etc), and many more.

Well, consider this a gift to my children. I can also see my friends and family enjoying catching up on our lives. I am excited to chronicle little thoughts and nuiances of the kids that get easily forgotten when you don't right them down, sharing family trips/outings with others, and doing some reflection on life. I am excited to share this with you. Thanks for taking the time to read!