Daddy-Daughter Dance

These two had a ball! You never know what to expect at these things the school PTA puts on, but from what Brian & Ashlyn say, it was very nice! Ashlyn & I had gone shopping for just the right dress and then of course shoes and she was so excited for her date with Daddy. The dance was at the Vista Country Club and they had a sundae station, made crowns and danced all night! Brian thinks that Ashlyn will be spending a lot of time at dance clubs when she gets older, she's really good at shakin' what she's got!

Ready to go! Ashlyn has the invitation in her hand.

Ashlyn & Daddy. Awe!

When the Grandmas Come to Town...

all the rules go out the window. The kids stay up late, they get as many treats as Grandma can sneak to them, and they all have the times of their lives! We all had a great time really. I miss my mom so much and when we are able to get together, it's hard to do much else but have fun! Mom helped me paint my entire master bedroom (this is no small feat!) and she also helped me arrange and hang pictures on my walls. (They'd been bare this whole time!) We bargain shopped and found an awesome huge wall clock and some cool metal stuff. We hung all those, along with several pictures I already had and my house is really starting to come together.
Mom also got to go along with Ashlyn and her class on a field trip to see Cats at our local small town theatre. (It was G rated, don't worry!) She also got to go with Gabe to see the Thomas & Friends show.
One night we met up with Dan & Christine at the Oceanside Pier to eat at Ruby's Diner on the end of the pier. Yum! Good burgers!! Thanks for coming out Mom & Grandma! And thanks for all your help around the house... now move here! ;)

Brian, Me & Gabe on the pier at dusk

Ashlyn, Mom, & I at sunset. We took another pic since

Ashlyn had her book up, but it didn't turn out. :(

The day they went to see the show, the sidewalk was
very crowded so we went back to get a nice picture!

Grandma posed with Ashlyn and Gabe jumped in.

After hitting up the candy store we went to

The Firehouse Grill for lunch. Gabe loves this

restaurant because the kids can go up and

ring the alarm (loud!) and of course, who

doesn't like sitting on a saddle to eat?

Going Medieval

Sunday evening, we went to Medieval Times with some friends of ours. It's about an hour away, in Orange County and every time we go to OC, Brian says he really wants to go there sometime. We kept putting it off because it's a little pricey but when our friends asked if we wanted to go with them, we figured why not? So we booked the tickets and went! We got great seats. We sat in the Green Knight's section. These people take it serious too. They will point you out in the crowd and make you feel stupid for NOT wearing the paper crown.
They make you eat with your hands. You'd think that the kids might think that's fun. Well no. Little kids don't really want to pick their chicken off the bone with their hands. I had to debone all of Gabe's chicken and then he was cool with eating it. All in all, we had a good time. It was fun to watch and Brian kept saying lines from "The Cable Guy" so I had my own personal entertainment right there at my table. The kids really got into it. Gabe loved it. He cheered for the Green Knight every time he came out. He loved the horses and the battles. Ashlyn was happy to have her friend Marisa there with her. She enjoyed the show too, particularly when she got a flower from the knight.

Brian & Gabe

Ashlyn & Marisa

Check out Gabe cheering for the Green Knight!

Dr. Seuss' Birthday

Ashlyn's school had a fun morning the other day... "donuts for Dads and muffins for Moms". Yes, I dragged myself out of bed early and drove to her school to be there at 7am! We spent about half an hour sharing breakfast (donuts, muffins, fruit) and reading stories.

Ashlyn felt The Cat in the Hat was appropriate

for Dr. Seuss' birthday celebration.

And since I took a pic of Ashlyn, Gabe needed one too!
Here he is trying to imitate the same smile.

And after the breakfast, Gabe & I went to play

with our friends at PlayTown!

Ashlyn's Big Step

Ashlyn got a hair cut this weekend! Not just a little trim... She cut about 6 inches! She wanted it to be like her American Girl doll's hair and she was very brave. She says she misses her long hair a little but likes that she can brush it herself and is glad she cut it.

Ashlyn in December. Her hair was pretty long!

Ashlyn after her cut. She had to stand

to have it cut.

Cute!!