VBS round #2

we signed kaia up for 3 different Vacation Bible School's this summer...after tomorrow, she'll have one more in a couple of weeks. it's not that i'm trying to "pawn" her off...but, she really enjoys it. i have to say though, yesterday leia and i were killing time before it was time to go pick her up and $120 later, we sure killed time but killing time sure can get expensive. target and the dollar store are dangerous places. all those $1 items and things on the clearance racks can really add up quick!

i love you baby!

so excited!!!

we just bought tickets to see Jason Mraz on september 13th. and, not only did we get tickets...we got center, 3rd row tickets! that's all...i just had to tell someone! :)

comment of the day #3 (i think):

as you all probably know, we had a decent sized earthquake here in SoCal today (BTW, derek and i think it's kinda funny how people are over reacting a little). anyways, it happened while kaia was at vacation bible school this morning. it was a pretty good sized one (a 5.4), but i really didn't think there was anything to worry about. just in case, i called the church where kaia was to make sure the kids there were okay & they told me that everyone was fine, but i still couldn't help but wonder if kaia was scared. i think every earthquake we've experienced since we've had kids happened while they were sleeping, so it was kinda like kaia's 1st one. i left a little early to go pick her up & when i saw her, i expected her to tell me something to the effect of the fact that an earthquake had taken place...no, nothing. so, i decide to ask her, "so, kaia, did you feel the earthquake?" she calmly replies, "yes". i ask her, "so, were you scared?" and she says, "no, i just thought it was a giant walking outside". hmmmmm...pretty brave girl, if i thought there was a giant outside making a 10-15 second rumbling sound, i don't think i would have been so calm about it.

slippin' & slidin'

our friend's, the collins', had us over for dinner and got the slip and slide out for the kids to play. kaia was really into it for a while and leia walked up and down it a few times and then she was done...
here's kaia going back for more...
weeeeeeee!
here's leia (barely even wet), heading for the swing set...she even said, "mama, i no yike (like) it" and "i'm done" :)
this is more like it...nice and warm & dry...
here's leia and derek swinging together...after this they were in the playhouse together. it was funny, leia was on the play phone holding a little pan (like she was on the phone while cooking dinner for him) and derek ran out of the little house with a plate of food on it. they looked so cute playing house ;)
we finished the night with a trip to our new favorite new frozen yogurt place...yum!!!
thanks again guys for having us over...see y'all tomorrow!

breakfast with the bennett's...

kim, john & caleb came over for breakfast this morning and we snapped a couple of pics...the look on caleb's face is so funny in this picture...he was DONE posing! :) thanks for being a good sport for as long as you did, baby.
then we went out back and tried the swing...he liked that for a while, but it was kinda sunny & he didn't look very comfy in that hard swing...baby caleb really likes his comfort! :)

back in action...

well...my plan of finding a cheap, used treadmill went right out the window. we got this one at costco today...we justified it by saying we wanted to get one there because they have such a great return policy and warranty. so, monday morning i'll be up and running (literally)...again.
another added bonus...before we throw the box away, the girls (well, kaia at least...leia would NOT dare enter it) got a fun little playhouse. maybe leia will warm up to it tomorrow? :)
kaia put My Little Pony in it & says, "i think she's gonna be looking out the window for a really long time". she's so funny.

what do you think?

we went to Laguna Beach last night for our friend Jakey's wedding. he a very artsy guy...so, at the reception he had a friend that he went to art school with, draw caricature/portraits for the guests. it was pretty cool, it's a pretty unique idea and a fun way to go home with a special "souvineer"...


hmmmmmmmm...

pray for this family

i was about to blog about our day at the circus today (i had just talked to kim and told her about how we saw the aftermath of a horrible car accident on the way and how it took us 3 hours to get back because the police were still taking care of it). we hung up, and i sat down to blog & the phone rings...it's kim again telling me that the wreck we saw was Pastor Greg Laurie's 33 year old son & that he died it that accident. he had a wife and a little girl & a baby on the way. i can't begin to imagine what they're going through, but i know that they need prayer. so, i you pray, please do that now.

Circus Day!

we took the girls to the circus for the 1st time last thursday & had fun for the most part...towards the end, kaia started saying, "this is really long mama" and started yawning. they loved the trapeze part of it the most, that was definitely their favorite...
we couldn't believe the price of the cotton candy...$12!!! crazy.
see...at the beginning they were so into it...
they didn't know where to look, there was so much going on!
leia's enjoying herself...
kaia was in her silly mood...
here's leia about 1/2 way through, getting sleepy...
lei lei loved the popcorn (but we don't let her eat the kernels yet, for choking reasons), so we had to disect each piece she ate :)
the tigers were so cute, for some reason i felt bad for them :(
leia was so funny...even though we were like 10 rows from the front, for a little while leia was more interested in watching the show from the lady's camcorder in front of us as she filmed...i guess she needed a change of scenery! :)
kaia's zoning out...
just like dumbo...
leia wasn't "feelin'" the hat...we had to sneak a pic! ;)

the $1,000 walk...

wanted:
yes, that's right...our treadmill "went capoot" this morning. i was getting ready for the circus & i hear the treadmill start & i thought, "oh good, derek's getting some use out of the treadmill too". then i thought i was hearing things, it started making sounds that i'd never heard it make when i run on it...but i just think to myself, "wow, maybe he's just really pushing it to it's limit (but he's only walking on it, that's strange)". about 10 minutes goes by and all of a sudden i hear a noise like the treadmill was actually screaming, "get off of me!" okay, i'm being a little dramatic, but it sure was a horriffic sound". then, nothing...silence. so, as i'm doing my hair, i call in to the other room, "ummmm, babe, what was that noise?" and derek tells me that he thinks he broke it. great!
i go in there so investigate & sure enough...it was too late, it even smelled like smoke. so, if anyone lives in SoCal and has a treadmill they don't use...i want it! (no, i'm not begging for it, we'll pay for it if it's cheap). in the meantime, i'll be treadmill window-shopping online.

summer pics...

she graduated...

to a potty seat (or whatever they're called)! yay...no more dumping pee & poop out and cleaning out the little potty (not that i really minded doing it that much since i was so thankful that she was actually putting it to use!). oh, and derek and i have our bathroom to ourselves again, we had all the "old" potty stuff in ours cuz it's bigger, but now that we're down to a couple of stools (1 for the potty & 1 for the sink) and a potty seat kaia and leia are sharing a bathroom. ahhhhhhhh, so nice. in case you're wondering...when i brought the new seat home tonight and put it on the toilet, she got on it instantly & went poop...like A LOT! she was on that thing for like 10 minutes...i really hope she keeps this up.

a couple of squares...

yes...this is supposed to be me & derek...kaia was very busy this morning creating her piece of art. then, when she was done, she told us to come look at what she built & informed us that it's mama & daddy holding hands. i have to say that i was pretty impressed!

home sweet home

we got the girls got a new doll house yesterday and they were playing with it this morning...boy do they have some good imaginations. some of the things i heard them saying as they played were pretty funny. one of the funniest things they did was when they got the idea to have barbie be part one of the "members of the doll house family". they came running out of their room saying, "mama, daddy...come look..."
so, we did & this is what we saw...barbie on the potty. hey, with all the potty training going on around here, i guess they think that even their dolls have to go too...
never a dull moment around here! :)

4 hours later...

we survived kaia's very long recital. no, this recital isn't a little hour long thing where you watch a few little kids as they perform 10 little dances & you're on your way. there was at least 50 dances and the ages ranged from 3 year olds up to kids that just graduated high school. it is a BIG ordeal, and it was fun watching her, but i'm (along with a lot of other family members) glad that it's over. anyways...i'm not complaining, but i'm just glad to be home in my jammies and my platforms happily put away in my closet (that i stood for most of the 4 hours in). thank you papa, nema, great grandma grace, uncle john, auntie kimmy & caleb for coming with us and supporting kaia...it meant a lot to her. love you guys!




leia was in charge of keeping an eye on kaia's trophee and thanks again for the rose great grandma "G".

our new favorite...

there's this kinda new frozen yogurt shop in town and it's a self serve yogurt place. anyways, it was SO great that we went after lunch and then auntie kimmy called us and said that she wants to go back after dinner...so, we did. the girls loved it because of the whole self-serve thing...they thought it was so fun! it tasted a lot like pink berry, but it had like a ton more flavors...yummy!
i know...we felt kinda cheesy taking pics...but, oh well. oh yeah, and i got my hair cut (i feel very "mom-ish").
thanks for meeting us there kim, john and caleb...it was fun hanging out for a little bit. :)

we'll suffer for fun...

we told the girls that we'd take them to a water park before the summer ended and we were kinda free today, so today was the day. we headed over to (Knotts Berry Farm) Soak City and it was pretty fun. for those of you who plan on taking your young kids...here are a few things i wish i had known before we went: 1. wait until at least one of your kids are at least 42 inches tall (kaia's like 41", but they're pretty strict about that apparently), cuz you can't really do anything except for the wave pool & the baby slides & the "lazy river" (which was closed today!!!). and...2. don't put your flip flops in the locker, WEAR them around the park...cuz', between the extremely HOT & very ROUGH cement, our feet were killing us (and still are). i'm not kidding, i have a pretty high pain tolerance and it felt like we were walking on hot coals with needles stabbing your feet (and, no...i'm not being dramatic). besides those factors...it was just great! (yes...if you're sensing a little sacrasm, you're right. ha, ha). anyways...i am glad we went, at least they loved the wave pool A LOT!