Look what I made!

I know, many of you have probably made one of these tie blankets before but this is the first one I've made and it turned out so cute! It is a Christmas gift for my Grandma but I love the pattern and these colors so much, I really want to keep it for myself! I won't though, I think Grandma will really like it.

Christmas Program

Ashlyn had a little Christmas Program this morning at her school. Gabe and I went to watch her little performance and she did a great job! She sang 3 songs along with the 2nd grade classes and it was really cute.

Here she is just waiting for the program to begin.

You can tell she spotted us. The kids weren't

allowed to wave at their parents.

The choir teacher is really weird!

Wild Animal Park

We went to the Wild Animal Park today for a playdate and had a lot of fun with our friends!

Gabe curled up in the egg. I think he was trying to sleep.

We got some nectar and went into Lorikeet Landing.

Oh my! These birds go nuts when people walk in with nectar.

I had one on my head, one on my shoulder, and three on my arm.

Here's Gabe holding the nectar for one while another

rests on his shoulder. He didn't freak out at all.


This mama lion was right up at the glass.
She kept stretching up on her hind legs
and pawing at the glass.



And, since our last ones came out blurry,
I decided to try to get a good head shot of Gabe
to print in 8x10s. I think this one will work!

Santa Sighting

We went to Ashlyn's school on Saturday for a fundraiser breakfast with Santa. The food was actuallly really good (catered by a local cafe) and the kids got to talk to Santa and pose for a picture with him. Gabe told Santa that he would really like cars, airplanes, and trains for Christmas this year. (This was the first time he has asked Santa for anything.)
Ashlyn asked for just one more Webkinz.

The Santa wasn't all that great, but he rode in on a firetruck so I suppose that makes up for his crappy costume.

Gabe's Portraits

Ashlyn just got her portraits done at school and I like to have Gabe's done around the same time. So Gabe and I went on a playdate at Quail Botanical Gardens and we took a few pics there. Here they are:

I'm not even sure what he was laughing at!

This is Gabe's fake smile.

This would have been a great shot if I had
checked the camera first and noticed that it was
set to the "landscape" setting.


Cute shot in front of the tropical waterfall

A Great Thanksgiving

So my parents and grandma drove to So Cal to see us and share Thanksgiving. We had SO MUCH fun with them while they were all here. The visit was so much fun that they were easily persuaded to stay just one more day.

Mom, Grandma, & I went to see Twilight on Sunday and we loved it. Grandma wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but she enjoyed going out to a movie anyway. We also visited an antique store, walked up and down Main Street in Fallbrook, and visited a nursery where Mom & Don picked up a couple of Hibiscus plants for our front yard. (Thanks guys!!)

We made Thanksgiving dinner together on Thursday (everything turned out great!) and enjoyed it at the brand new dining set that my parents gave us as an early Christmas gift. (We LOVE it!!!)

On Friday we all went to the zoo and had a great time seeing all of the animals. We lucked out with the weather and Grandma really enjoyed the scooter that we rented. After the zoo, we went to dinner at On the Border and then Mom and I went shopping! Yes... we sure did a lot of shopping. I got all of my Christmas shopping done for the kids!

We really had a fun visit with them all and we are so grateful to have been able to have family here to spend the holiday with us. Thanks Mom, Don, and Grandma for making this Thanksgiving memorable for us!! We love you and miss you already!

Gabe actually dug a lot of this hole himself.

Good job, buddy!

Ashlyn was so excited to help

plant the Hibiscus plants.

Grandpa got the plant out of the pot...

and Ashlyn put it in the ground.

Ahh, finally time to relax.

Gabe showed Grandpa his favorite Xbox game,

Lego Indiana Jones.

Here is Grandma in her scooter at the zoo.

Look at the smile on her face!

She really enjoyed driving it around!

There were 2 baby tigers in the enclosure.

There goes Grandma... still smiling!

I think Don liked the Polar Bears! ;)

Ashlyn playing with a Polar Bear statue.

Ashlyn & Gabe hugging a Panda Bear.

Gabe, Grandma, Grandpa, & Ashlyn

Why is it that you can never get everyone

looking at the camera at the same time?

Cute Koala!

Spider & Fly

I love this picture of Gabe with his Grandpa.

Me, Brian, Grandma, & Ashlyn at the restaurant.

I'm so proud!

Of my little brother Jared! He has his private pilot's license and he can fly!! He and a friend of his rented a Cessna 182 and flew it down to our little airport here in Fallbrook. They are busy logging more hours and Jared is working on getting his Instrument certification (?). Apparently Fallbrook's airport has a very short landing strip (2000 feet) and Jared was a little nervous, but he landed it! He spent the night with us last night and then I took him to the French Valley Airport (only about 17 miles away) so that he could meet up with his friend and head home today. That airport's strip is 6000 feet long so I think he'll be flying into there next time! ;) We didn't have time to go up for a ride, but definitely will next time. The kids had fun checking out the cockpit though!

Ashlyn, Gabe, & Brian playing in the cockpit.

Jared in front of the plane.

Gabe & Jared pose for a pic in front of the plane.
Gabriel is very excited to have a pilot Uncle!

We're very proud of you Jared! Thanks for flying out to visit us and please come back again soon!

A First...

So this morning at 4:35 am, Brian and I were awakened by... an earthquake! It was so weird. I actually woke up just before the shaking by a loud noise, kind of like a buzzing. The whole thing was over before I knew it and none of my friends even knew there was a quake! I guess I am a light sleeper. It was a good shake though at 4.1. My brother had flown in yesterday and spent the night last night and I ran down right after the quake to see what he thought of the whole thing. He didn't feel the shaking, just heard the loud noise. He thought the kids were up making the noise. That was the first earthquake I've ever felt! Am I a real Californian now?

DisneyLand... again

Yes, we just love DisneyLand! Our passes are going to expire in December so we're trying to get more trips in while we've got them! Ashlyn had Monday and today off school for Veteran's Day so we went up yesterday morning and spent the day running around the parks. They were crowded, which surprised me a little. Usually when it starts to cool off, people don't go as much. We started at California Adventure and saw the Playhouse Disney show. We saw Mickey and his friends, Handy Manny, Little Einstein's and Tigger & Pooh and friends. Gabe really enjoyed it. We got in line for the Toy Story Mania ride (an hour line) but after only about 20 min, we found out the ride's power went out and it would be a few hours before they got it back up and running. Too bad, hope we get to see it soon! We hit up the Monsters, Inc ride and saw the Muppet 3D show before heading to DisneyLand.

Ashlyn & Gabe in front of a Christmas tree

in Toon Town

We waited in line and saw Mickey!

He signed our book and we got a pic.

Gabe wouldn't smile. :(

Ashlyn enjoyed it though and Mickey

kissed her on the hand before we left.

The kids in front of the Haunted Mansion.

This was a long line!

Between Halloween & Christmas the

Haunted Mansion is completely

redecorated inside and out with

Nightmare Before Christmas.

If you've never seen it, you really should!

Jack Skellington, as Sandy Claws

It was fun to spend the day with the kids but by the time we left (11pm), I was completely exhausted! Gabe was out and I had to carry him a lot of the way. Ashlyn was just about ready to drop! Both the kids were troopers throughout the day and we got to ride a lot of rides!

Potty Training

We have been really focused on potty-training with Gabe for the past two weeks and finally, some progress!! We've tried so many times before but he has been so resistant. It's obvious that he just really has to do things on his own terms. We have had a few power struggles but for the most part, he is staying pretty dry and every day he seems to do a little better. I can't tell you how happy this makes me!! My diaper changing days are over!

Bella & Jasmine

I've been meaning to get some pictures of the new kitties up but just didn't do it! I took these today while they were napping together. I woke them up. :) Bella is the gray tabby and Jasmine is the siamese. We adopted them about a month ago (part of a promise to Ashlyn when we moved) and we've really been enjoying them! They are a lot of fun to watch. Bella's quite a bit bigger than Jasmine, but we were told they were from the same litter. So Jasmine is either a runt or not from the same litter and a month younger than Bella. We don't really care either way, we just love them!

Happy Halloween!

Halloween this year was so great! We found out that we live in the BEST neighborhood for Trick-or-Treating!! I had bought 10 bags of candy and it was gone so fast. We were waiting for our sister-in-law and her friend to arrive to go TOTing and while we were waiting, Gabe's friend and his mom came over to go out with us too. Then Ashlyn's friend showed up with her family and they invited her to go along with them. So I actually didn't get a picture of the two kids together! But it all worked out and here are a couple pics of the kids in their costumes. (Please pay no attention to my messy house and the cardboard boxes!)

Here's Gabe... err, uh I mean Indiana Jones

Corpse Brides do not smile!

I just have to add that seriously, I could not believe all the cars in our neighborhood last night! They were pouring in... I think A LOT of people come to our neighborhood for Halloween. Our neighbors across the street also had an awesome Haunted House maze in their garage. It was so cool... Gabe went in 4 times!

Apple Picking in Julian

I took Gabe to Julian last week to meet our playgroup friends for apple picking at one of the local orchards. Julian is famous for their apples and more importantly, apple pie!

After filling our bag with apples, we all went to lunch together and then to the Julian Pie Co. to get a pie to take home. I got a Carmel Apple Crumb pie. It was SOOO good!!

Gabe picking his apples

Gabe eating his apples.

At one point he was eating three

all at once!

My sweet boy!

Brian's Bike

Brian has quite a commute to get to work from our new place and let's face it, gas is expensive these days! He's wanted a motorcycle for a very long time and although I am not all that excited about him riding this thing to work everyday, he is. So here it is... the kids helped him wash it today. Now he just needs his motorcycle license! :)

Pic of the house

Here's a quick picture of our new house right before Brian and the kids power washed it. This weekend, I've been working on painting Ashlyn's room. Brian and I got the whole room painted today but I will have to do the trim tomorrow. I will put up some before and after pics once it's done. Ashlyn chose a pink color named "Glamour". Now when you walk into her room, it feels like you're walking into a tunnel of cotton candy!

We just bought

A HOUSE!!! I didn't want to say anything too early (and jinx it) so I waited until we closed and got the keys. We found the house at the very beginning of August and put our offer in right away. It was accepted the very next day. It was a foreclosed property so we really got a sweet deal. The house is further away from Brian's job though so unfortunately, he will have to commute. It's in Fallbrook, which is still technically in San Diego County, but barely! We are closer to Brian's brother's home so that is nice. The house is 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms... yay, I get my own scrap room!!! =) We have A LOT of work to be done on the house, paint and flooring in pretty much every room, but it is all cosmetic and it will all come in time... we are doing a little at a time. Anyway, I will be sure to get a pic up ASAP, but it may take some time. We are moving in this weekend and I am actually sitting here while the cleaning ladies finish up. (I found an open network to get online!!) I still have lots of packing to finish up!

Palm Springs... here I come!!!

I have had a horribly stressful week but tomorrow morning, I am headed for a trip with girlfriends to Palm Springs!!! We'll be there all weekend on a scrapbooking getaway. I'm hoping to get lots of scrapping done as well as just kick back and relax for a couple of days. I can't wait!!!

1st Day of 2nd Grade

Ashlyn started her first day of 2nd grade on Tuesday. Last year, her school was housed in a temporary site while the middle school was being remodeled for the elementary school to move into (they built a brand new middle school for the area). The new school is closer to our house and really nice. They spent 4 million on the remodel and the building was only 10 years old to begin with!

Ashlyn in front of the new school sign.

Ashlyn and her very good friend.

We were so excited to find out they

were in the same class again.

After dropping Ashlyn off at school, Gabe and I went to "Pump It Up", an indoor inflatable play place for a playdate with some of our friends. Gabe had a great time, actually both of us did. We got quite the workout and we both especially liked the obstacle course inflatable.

Gabe going up the ladder stairs for the BIG slide.

Coming down the slide at the end of the obstacle course.

Gabe is a great climber and got really fast on this hill.

Ashlyn has had a great first week of school and really likes her class and her teacher. Gabe's been a little bored and doesn't want to take Ashlyn to school in the mornings because he wants her to stay and play with him. I've been keeping him busy though... Pump It Up and the mall on Tuesday, the Science Center and Kid City at Balboa Park on Wednesday, and McDonald's Playplace and a playdate with his buddy at our house yesterday.