Festival of Lights

We went down to Riverside to meet Karen after work and went ice skating for the first time this evening. Or, more specifically, EMMA went ice skating for the first time. Me? Not so much. WAYYYY more unstable than on roller skates. I took two steps out onto the ice and said, "Nope, not gonna happen." Emma did really well though. She was a bit wobbly but hung tough. Then we all had a nice time walking around and checking out all the displays in the Festival of Lights.

Fun with Friends!

Today we met up with some friends to go to the cheap theater to see Puss in Boots and then we all had lunch at McDonalds. The ironic part was that everyone always laughs because I usually have TJ (& sometime Mikayla) with me but today it was just you and I. But our friends who only have one kid each brought an extra kid along with them! So you had a lot of friends to play with but Mommy had a relaxing day only watching one child. :)

New Year's Baseball Game!

In the morning, we headed out to the local high school field for a "friendly" family game of softball. We even got Mom out to go play. It was a lot of fun, despite realizing how incredibly out of shape we all are. It was also REALLY hot out. Almost 90 degrees... on JANUARY 1st!!! Either way, it was a lot of trash talking, a little bit of athletic skills, and a LOT of fun. We are going to try to make this an annual event. And we were still home in time for the Raiders vs. Chargers game at 1pm. :)

New Year's Eve Extravaganza!

We rang in the new year with our family again this year. Tim & Jen have a nice big house with plenty of floor space for everyone to crash out so we had a giant family slumber party/ game night with all kinds of snacks and libations. We had fried chicken, posole, jalapeno poppers, pesto breads, salami, cheese, crackers, fresh fruit with fruit dip, angel food cake with pineapple dream fluff, and chips & salsa. Scott's girlfriend, Janice, even brought a chocolate fountain and all kinds of dippers. That was a huge hit with the kids! Emma (and Scott) both fell asleep long before midnight, but everyone else held tough and played board games all night long. The little ones enjoyed the Wii and running around the house with Nerf guns while the adults played Guesstures, Dexter, Monopoly Deal, and Tumbling Dice. It was a fun evening had by all and the best part was that no one had to be out driving on the road that night. We all slept in the next day (till 7 or 8) and then got up to some leisurely coffee and breakfast. Some of us got up on our own and some of us, like Grandma, had some "help" getting going. (*see the picture above!). But the coffee helped out and then we were ready to face the day!

Countdown to Noon!

Being the parents of preschoolers, there is generally no chance that our little ones will be up with us at midnight to ring in the new year. So a few years ago, some of us started getting together for a "Noon Year Party" instead. The kids have a great time playing together and still get the experience of counting down and celebrating. We had all kinds of goodies and we just hung out and snacked and visited and played together and played at Erin's. It was a good morning today!

Disney on Ice - Toy Story 3!

Karen & I took Emma, TJ, and Mikayla to see a Disney on Ice show last night. It was ToyStory 3, which is a favorite of all 3 kids and kind of "butches" up the ice dancing for TJ a bit so that was nice. The funny thing is that the first half of the show was more of a compilation of all 3 movies so Emma kept turning around and exclaiming "That's not from ToyStory 3! That's from Toy Story 1!" Too funny. We went on opening night and the show started at 7:30, which meant that it didn't end till after 9:30. That's a bit late for Em and she was getting tired so she actually started dosing on my lap for the last 20 minutes or so. That would have been fine, except that she missed the finale by the whole cast ensemble. So when I woke her up to walk out, she just crumpled and burst out crying because she had missed Mickey Mouse. :( Poor kid. She didn't throw a tantrum or anything but she just quietly wept all the way to the car and for a good bit of the ride home. Now I remember why we usually opt for afternoon matinees instead...

Dress Up Day!

I stocked up on some discount costumes after halloween to replenish the kid's dress up supplies and got quite a few cute ones. We played dress up this morning and they both looked so freaking cute! Emma got an Alice in Wonderland dress, a Cinderella dress, and a Tiana dress (from The Princess and the Frog). TJ got an Area 51 Alien costume, a scary pirate costume, and a Beyblade guy costume. So much fun! Emma also got the matching barbie sized dolls to go with each of her outfits so she can play with them in her new house. She loves it.