Last Few Days

Last Thursday Brianna had her track banquet. They had a really good season and the Coach said many school records were broken this year! One happened to be one of the races Brianna is in! Here is her plaque she received! We were so proud!

Here is Brianna with some of her track buddies.

Track season was very exciting this year, we can't wait until next year!

Saturday night Brianna went to Morp (Prom backwards for those of you who don't know). The theme was Kicking off Summer.
The girl in the brown dress in a Palm Tree if anyone was wondering.

Brianna and Mari wore dresses they made that were ocean inspired!

Trouble?!?!

I was just saying last week or so ago that Jake isn't as mischievous or getting into things as James was at this age. I don't know if you remember James cleaning his Cars with toothpaste or hand lotion. Using Brianna's toothbrush to clean his Cars. Climbing on to the counter to get candy. Throwing rice all over the floor or trying to help by dumping loads of cereal on the high chair for Jake. Well I guess I spoke too soon...
As I was upstairs folding laundry Jake was downstairs getting into the left over Easter candy! Taken with my phone, so a little blurry! :(

I don't know how much he ate because Ricky was right there with him eating candy as well! But here were all the wrappers!

Hopefully this isn't the beginning of trouble!

Brianna's Confirmation

Wow, what a crazy week this was. Tuesday night I came down with the stomach flu. Coming out of both ends! (Sorry to share!) It happened all very quickly and was over with after 5 times each way! Wednesday I was exhausted though and laid around all day. I went over to my Mom's because I just couldn't take care of the boys. That afternoon James came down with the diarrhea. Thursday he was fine after breakfast so I sent him to school. I had a lot of errands to do to get ready for Brianna's Confirmation Saturday. I told him to tell his teacher if he went diarrhea so she could call me. I told him about three times before I dropped him off. When I picked him up I asked him if he went poopie and he says, "Yep, I went diarrhea!" Guess he shouldn't have gone to school...oops!
Friday was going to be a very busy day of getting ready for the celebration at my Mom's house we were having after Brianna's Confirmation. Friday morning my Mom calls me and says she got it! I couldn't believe it. Not only did she get it but Tom got it and Tom's Mom, who lives with them. That meant my Mom could not cook the food for Saturday. OMGee I was going to have to do it all! I was so stressed. I woke up Craig and told him that he needed to watch the boys ALL day. I dropped Brianna off at school and went right over to my Mom's. I have never cooked for 40+ people before!! And not only did I have to cook and and clean the backyard, but I had all of my stuff that I was planning to do that day! There was no time to waist! I had to be done by 6:00 because we had rehearsal at 7:00. I was working like a mad women! Thank goodness my Mom had already made the 90 meatballs and 4 cartons of ice-cream days before! I got to my Mom's house and started frying 50 sausages! Then put on 3 pots of sauce. While they cooked for the first hour I ran to the grocery store and got that done. Came back home, transferred the meat in the pots, then went to Trader Joe's, came back and made 5 flower arrangements while it cooked for another hour. The sauce was done. Brianna got out of school that day at 12:45, thank goodness, so I was off to pick her up. We then stopped at Party City, because I forgot dessert napkins. Stopped at Trader Joe's in Brea because I already bought all the flowers at the one in Yorba Linda and I needed some filler flowers. Then we stopped at the Jewelers Touch to try to get a gift for my confirmation candidate I was sponsoring, Emily, Brianna's friend. No I didn't leave it to the last minute. I did buy her something online and was to pick it up at the store and then there was a mishap and they didn't have it. So...here we were and didn't find anything! Then we went to the strawberry stand to pick up our long stem strawberries. Stopped at Flame Broiler for lunch and then back to my Mom's. 2:00. I then cleaned the backyard while Brianna made the 50 chocolate covered strawberries. We ran out of chocolate so we were headed back to the grocery store. Back to cleaning. Done cleaning at 5:00. Made some ice-tea, washed 3 heads of lettuce for the salad and cleaned up kitchen. We were done. I had to stop at Rite Aid for my Mom and go back and drop stuff off, get gas and picked up a pizza for Craig and the boys and we were still home at 6:00!! YAY! I did it! Brianna and I were off to rehearsal. Out of there a little after 8:00 and back to my Mom's house to decorate the chocolate strawberries. Oh-no. They weren't dried and they are looking quite weird. So we decide to put them into the refrigerator, which we should have done to begin with! Ok, I guess they won't be drizzled with white chocolate. We are leaving and Brianna tells me she needs a sweater for her dress! Oh LORD! We stop at my Brother's so she can borrow one from the girls. (Brianna's 2nd closet). Which was fine with me since I was able to sit down for once that day and have a glass of much needed wine! We then decide that we can't have the party at my Mom's house with all those people who are sick. So, we were having this party with Brianna's friend Emily. I was Emily's sponsor and Emily's Mom was Brianna's sponsor. So I called Emily's Mom at 9:30 and asked if it would be ok if we have the party at their house! Oh I felt SO bad! I call my Mom to tell her and she says good idea! Tom has just taken his Mom to the ER! Oh my goodness, now I feel terrible! I started this whole thing! I get to bed that night at 11:30 and have the worst night's sleep! Craig told me I brought this all on myself and I shouldn't have gone over to my Mom's house! Thanks, like I didn't know that now! That is the last time I will go over there sick!
The confirmation is at 10 and we have to be there at 9:00. AND I have to cook some more before! I get up at 6, shower and get ready. Get to my Mom's at 7 to prepare the food. I cook 6 boxes of pasta and prepare mostaccioli bake, which is like lasagna, in the big roaster oven. I finish with 10 minutes to spare in which I have to put on my make-up and get dressed. I am at church at 10 after 9! IT'S DONE! I could not believe it! I pulled it off! Even sitting down in church I kept telling myself, it's over, you can relax now. It took me so long to relax. My stomach hurt, my mind was going, I couldn't slow down! Finally about half way through I did. Pictures from the Confirmation will be coming soon! We weren't allowed to take pictures, they had a professional.
Then the other hard part, transferring everything all over to the other house!
We made it!

The other thing was, I was scared about how everything would taste. I have my Mom's sauce down, but I have never made this dish before! Everyone always looks forward to my Mom's cooking and I had some of my BIGGEST critics there! Not only the sauce but the salad! Everyone said I did good and it tasted just like my Mom's! YAY! It was a success!

Robyn, Ian, & Jade

The little kids had a great time playing with balls...

Barrett

And jumping on the trampoline...
Jake and Michael

Brianna and her friends, Emily, Meghan, & Brooke

James and Brooke

Brianna and cousin Maddox

Brianna and the Stull cousins

Joe and Brianna

The best family pic we could get!

Craig and Jake talking over some dessert.

James and his silly face

It turned out to be a great day. I was sad my Mom missed it! I learned I COULD do it, although maybe we should have gone with that Taco Man we were originally talking about! It would have saved me so much stress! I was glad when it was over, Craig and I could sit down with Emily's parents and enjoy another much needed glass of wine!

Mother's Day 2011

Mother's Day this year was so nice! I slept in a little bit before I woke up to go to church with Brianna, James, my Mom and Tom.
Then we all came back to our house to a wonderful breakfast with mimosas that Craig had prepared! We all enjoyed it!
We could not get a picture with Jake not screaming in it! And James giving a silly face!

After Jake took a nap we headed down to Craig's Mom's house where we had a great dinner with his whole family. Amy included! She was home from Afghanistan!

James watching Patrick playing Angry Birds. i thought this was so cute because it is Jake who is usually watching James play and James never letting Jake have a turn!

It was such a fun, nice, relaxing day! Just what I needed, and all I asked for! Thanks Babe!
I also got this card and flower pot from James that he made at school!

I have to write what is inside...

My Mom is special because she likes to eat golden candy.
I like when my Mom plays with me.
My Mom can do many things. I think she is best at doing the dishes.
My Mom has a pretty smile. I like to make her smile by making something for her.
My Mom is pretty as Speed. (Lightening McQueen)
My Mom is smart. She even knows how to play cars with me.
Isn't that so cute!!!

Mom's Day

Last Thursday was Mom's Day at James' school! Yay! Finally my turn! We had to go to the church where our little ones were waiting for us!

They sang lots of songs for us!

James did so much better this time singing and doing all the hand moves.

Then we went back to their classrooms where we could do crafts with them. James and I made a necklace.

Then we went outside and had ice-cream. It was a western theme and they had all these games set up.

James just mostly wanted to play on the playground, so I watched him!

Here is a little video...


It was a fun day and I can't wait till next Mom's Day!!

Firsts for Rides!

A few weeks ago we went to Disneyland. We were so excited that Jake is now tall enough to go on the Autopia! He loved it!

We also went on the Tree House for the first time! James was nervous something scary was going to happen!

And it was the first time the three of us all went on the rockets together!

A couple days later we went to Irvine Spectrum and James wanted to go on the ferris wheel! He has never wanted to go on a ferris wheel so we thought we better go while he wanted to! So Jake, Daddy, and James went on and the boys LOVED it!
You can't really see Jake in the pic! :(

Then last week we were going to Disneyland but went to California Adventure because James wanted to go on the ferris wheel there! We were shocked because that one is huge! There are two kinds of gondolas on the ferris wheel. One that stays still and one that swings back and forth. We of course were in line for the one that stands still. We didn't want to freak James out. Right when we are about second in line James is looking at the two different gondolas. I see his eyes looking back and forth checking out the difference, then he looks up to see them swinging. He says to me, "Mom, which one are we going on?" I tell him we are going to go on the one that stays still. Then he says, "Oh, I want to go on the bouncy one!" Craig and I looked at each other and thought who is this "new" kid! I told him if he likes it then we would go on the bouncy one next time!

Yay! They both LOVED it!

We are so happy James is becoming more adventurous! We hope he keeps it up!!

Hot Weather

Last weekend we thought we would take advantage of the hot weather and we decided to take the boys out on the Duffy. We hadn't been out for awhile but last time they did so well!

They love going out on the boat!

Jake did very well, listening and being careful!

James drove the boat all by himself! He even drove under the bridge! At one point Craig was talking to him and telling him where to go as Craig was looking straight ahead, he could not see James behind him. I looked back at James and James is turned around NOT even looking!! A little too young not to be right by his side!!

What a fun day!

James 4 Year Check

Last week I finally took James to his 4 year old doctor appointment! This was a major appointment! I didn't know he would be doing so much! They first tested his eyes. Then his hearing. Both of which I don't think were very accurate and neither did the Dr. The eye test he had to say the pictures. He went further on single a eye than he did with using both eyes! Then on the hearing he had to raise his hand when he heard a beep and he was not raising his hand and the nurse asked him if he heard the beeps and he said yes, she said how many, in which he said 4! Then he had to pee in a cup for the first time! He was a little unsure about this and didn't want to do it. I told him to just pee like he is peeing in the toilet but I am going to put this cup there and just go in the cup. He was whining, so I said just go and I will catch your pee. So he finally went and when I caught it he thought it was pretty funny! When the Doctor came in James talked his ear off! He was telling him how he didn't like fruit and veggies but we are growing them at home! Great way to start out the appointment! He told him all about school, his room, his favorite color, monster trucks, anything that came to mind! The Dr. said I guess he has no problem with speech! James weighed 46 lbs. and was 42 inches. He is still in the 95th% for both height and weight! Craig and I are both wondering when he is going to slow down! We have no idea how we can have a child in this percentile! There must be some tall genes in there somewhere! After James did SO well with the Dr. the nurse came in for shots. This went SO horrible! The Doctor told me they were going to prick his finger to check his blood and then he would get 5 vaccinations. He said I can either split them up or do them all now. He said at this age it is hard to get them back into the office the next time for the shots! They remember it all too well! Well I am glad I listened to that and got them all at once! There is NO way James is ever going back! The first one where they pricked his finger wasn't that bad. He did good actually compared to the shots. When it was time for the shots he sat on my lap sideways and I held his head and shoulder against me and then held his hands down and his legs in between mine. When the first shot came he screamed bloody murder, kicked his legs and squirmed around! The nurse pulled out the needle and said I will be right back, I need to get another nurse! The second nurse came in to hold his legs down while I held his hands! As soon as it was over James said, " I am not coming to the Doctor again and this was a bad day!" Awe, poor guy! I told him we could go get frozen yogurt to help ease the pain!

We Gave In!!

James has been wanting to change his bedding to CARS bedding for awhile now. I didn't want to have a CARS themed room. I just felt like it is so cheesy. But James also sleeps with NO covers. He sleeps with a sheet and a little CARS blanket. He sometimes wakes up at night and I think it is because he is cold, he wears no clothes to bed! I thought well maybe if he has a CARS comforter he will sleep with it and be warmer at night. Also Jake will be out of his crib soon and we will need matching bedding! James spotted one at Target and ran over to get it and threw it in our cart. I told him we couldn't buy it right now and that we would have to ask Daddy, (my excuse not to get it)! SO my Mom, with my permission, bought them the bedding for Easter! They were ecstatic!

It isn't that cheesy...right?
Now Jake just needs a bed so he can use his!

EASTER

Easter morning was much more fun this year since James totally understood the whole concept and Jake was old enough to find eggs!
The Easter Bunny left the baskets out...Jake and Brianna's basket

Jake was the first one up of course and I tried to distract him from the basket but that didn't work! He LOVED his basket!

James woke up about a half hour later and Jake was excited to show James his basket. James loved his pinwheel, he had been wanting one of those!

Already getting into the chocolate!


The Easter Bunny always hides the eggs outside but this year the Easter Bunny should have hid the eggs inside. The Easter Bunny wasn't thinking very well, it was all wet outside in the morning and the eggs coloring was all running off the eggs! :(
So the boys put on their rain boots and headed out to find the eggs! As you can see they didn't mind!

Ricky helping finding eggs!

James found another one!

Which are the eggs and which are the golf balls??

All Jake's eggs! Yay!

After finding eggs we went to mass and that was the first time Jake had been to church since Christmas! He did very well! We always get a family picture at church and we didn't this year! I was so rushed I forgot the camera.
After church and a nap we went over to Aunt Rochelle's house for dinner. The kids had fun playing...

Ian and Michael

Aunt Rochelle had an Easter eggs hunt for the kids!!!
Jade and James checking out their stash.

Daddy helping Jake. They were real eggs and Jake was throwing them into his bag, so all of the eggs were breaking. His bag stunk!




Everyone looking for eggs!

So much fun!!!

The boys

Family picture, even though Brianna is the only one still in her church outfit! It was a bit chilly for the boys in shorts and me in a dress that we changed into warmer clothes! Oh well, better than no picture at all!

Happy Easter!!!