Snowman Cocoa

Tonight at Girl Scouts I helped the girls make snowman hot cocoa kits for their parents for Christmas. Did these things turn out cute or what?! They were so proud of their creations. :)

Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor!

Tonight Emma & I drove out to Rancho & met Jen, Charlene, & Hayden for dinner at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor. What a fun, chaotic, place. They girls had a great time watching the waiters/ performers sing & tell jokes. They got balloon hats in the shape of the little mermaid. And, after dinner, it was time for dessert. Emma was in awe of the giant, christmas tree- shaped sundae. Yum! Then Emma got to go home with Hayden for a sleepover and Mommy got a night of quiet. Win-win!

Pump It Up & Bass Pro Shop

We spent Wednesday out in Rancho with Lucy, Tim, & our friends. The kids enjoyed bouncing themselves silly at Pump It Up (bought on a free groupon months ago), having lunch at Bakers (free milkshake coupons & 60 cent burrito day) and partaking of all the free activities at Bass Pro Shop. They got to see Santa & have their picture taken, shoot pop guns, use bows & arrows, race cars, try out remote control gadgets, ride the glass elevator, see the giant fish, write letters to Santa - all for free. It was a great, fun, day and I only spent about $7 total... You can't beat that with a stick. :) We also found an "official red ryder carbine action dual range model air rifle with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time." HAHAHA... You'll shoot your eye out!

John's Incredible Pizza

On Tuesday we went to John's Incredible Pizza with the scout troop. Emma & TJ had a great time learning to be pizza master chefs & creating their own pies. I brought Lucy & Tim along as well to use up a couple of groupons I had purchased a while back. Everyone had a great time, stuffed themselves silly, played tons of games. and just had a great day!

I thought it was funny at the end of the event though. I told the kids we should stop back by the buffet and eat again before we left so I wouldn't have to make lunch as soon as we got home. They decided they wanted a "snack, not a meal" (their words, not mine). Apparently, the term "snack" has entirely different meanings to the two little ones. To TJ, it means a couple donut holes. To Emma, it means 2 kinds of pasta, a slice of pizza, a breadstick, and a bowl of soup. Lol. Crazy kids!

I LOVE our life!!!

We had such a fun, busy, day yesterday! First up on the list was a trip to Lowes where Emma built North's sleigh from the upcoming "Rise of the Guardians" movie. Then it was a quick stop at the store and heading to a make up gymnastics class. During this time Jon noticed that I had a nail sticking out of my tire, so he stayed with Emma at her class while I went to get it fixed. It's so nice to have someone to help me out and keep me company! Then we picked up lunch to eat in the car and headed out to Orange County where we toured the Operation Christmas Child processing facility with the girl scout troop. I think it was great for the girls to get to see what happens to the boxes they helped fill. There were recreated orphanage dorms & schools and a couple of young women who used to be orphans in Romania who received shoe boxes a long time ago but now they work with the organization. It was so neat for the scouts to hear about the love these girls felt and how they had never gotten a Christmas gift before. I think it really brought the message home. Then Emma, Jon, & I went to the beach for a couple hours. It was chilly out but Emma still had a great time running in the surf and chasing birds in the sand. And we had a fun with her! Then it was a drive up PCH and heading home for dinner. What a fabulous Saturday!!!

Logan's Candies

Last Christmas I found out about an awesome little Mom & Pop business out in Ontario that makes all kinds of handmade candies. Logan's Candies is especially famous for their candy canes. In fact, you can even take a private tour of the shop but you have to book it months in advance. So I put it on my calendar and forgot about for months. Then, in the first week of August this year, I contacted them and was able to book a group tour for our girl scouts this season! They are so popular though that, by the time they got to our group, December was all booked up. So we went this past Monday. It actually worked out perfectly since it ended up being Veteran's Day so all the moms were off work and able to make the drive out to Logan's without battling rush hour traffic after work. The girls had a great time learning how candy canes are made. They each even got to bend a warm candy cane into any shape they chose. Emma made a heart. :) Then they each got a small goody bag full of treats and the chance to beg their mommies to buy all sorts of other concoctions. :) We got some freshly made ribbon candy that was delicious and an awesome caramel apple. Yum. What a fun way to kick off the holiday season!

Snowy Saturday + Girl Power!

Saturday was a fun day for us this week. First off, Emma & I got up super early & headed to her final tball game of the season. We were out the door by 8am. Unfortunately, the league had apparently canceled the game due to rain on Friday but no one thought to tell our team that! So, after waiting outside a locked field for almost an hour, we all just headed home.
Then it was time to go to the snow. And no, we didn't have to drive for hours. TJ's school, which is just around the corner, was doing a Winter Snow Day where they brought in 30 tons of snow for the kids to play in, along with various arts& crafts, snacks, & photo op booths. Emma, being Emma, refused to go see Santa & Mrs. Claus because "It's not December yet... We'll talk next month." *sigh* This kid.... But we did get some other cute pictures of Emma, TJ, & Hayden. We also ran into Samantha, Carson, & their parents  so the kids all had fun playing together.
After a quick lunch at home, Emma & I headed out to Cal State for a scout event hosted by the Kappa Delta sorority. It was all about enabling girls with the self confidence to be themselves and know that they can accomplish anything. What a great message!
By the time this was over, it was evening and we headed over to Tim & Jen's for dinner. But, as we were driving, Emma was complaining that her belly hurt. I heard some gagging noises in the back and quickly pulled over. My little trouper unstrapped, jumped out, widened her stance, and puked all over the street. Yep, she came down with whatever TJ & Todd had earlier this week. But she didn't make any mess in my car, on her shoes, or in her hair! That is talent... especially for a 5 year old! So today was pretty much just a snuggle & relax day. Luckily this seems to be a short lived bug and she is feeling quite a bit better already.

Reign!!!

I don't know if I have mentioned it before, but I love to win contests and competitions. Prizes make things even better. Yesterday I won tickets on facebook to the local minor league hockey game. I had never been to one before but figured, why not. Especially since it was free. Since the game started shortly after gymnastics, and I had 4 tickets, I asked Jen & Hayden to join us. I didn't really expect Emma to be that into the game and I figured it might help to have a friend there... Wrong! Emma & Hayden LOVED it! They were hooting & hollering & heckling the losers. They were clapping along and singing "we will, we will, rock you!" Who knew my kid would be a hockey enthusiast? At one point, as the girls were stomping and cheering, I looked at Jen and told her, "5 years... 5 years I have spent taking her to ballet, classical music, live theater, etc and teaching her how to behave. I think I have undone that all in one fun-filled night." Lol. Oh well, it was still a lot of fun! :)

Maddy & Alec's 4th birthday!

On S

On Saturday we went to Karen's friend, Alicia's, house to celebrate her twins turning 4 years old. Maddy & Alec are such sweet kids and we had a great time. The party was crazy though. They had Ariel, Belle, Snow White, Aurora, a storm trooper, & Darth Vader impersonators there (all friends of Alicia's in costumes she bought), a professional balloon artist, a face painter, cotton candy & hot dog machines, ball toss & ring toss games with prizes, a candy/sweets bar, 2 huge pinatas, & a giant bounce house/slide. Plus all the attendees each got sparkly princess wands made out of giant pixie sticks AND light up light sabers. And the kids were only turning 4 years old... Wow!! Emma & TJ both passed out in an overwhelmed, sugar-induced, hyper-active, coma on the way home.

Happy Halloween!

   

 This year Emma decided to eschew the stereotypical princess garb of the past 4 years and embrace the darker side of halloween. Such is to be expected of a child who spends so much time with her super-cool, vampire-loving, teenage cousins. I think she looked awesome! I especially loved the fact that I offered Emma fancy black shoes to go with her ensemble but she just said, "No thanks Mom. I'll wear my tall shoes... I'm a punk vampire!" Love it! I refused to let her wear the costume to school however, so I came up with a fittingly spooky hairdo for the day instead. She loved it and her teacher called her up to the front of the room to show it off. We rock! Also, check out the handmade trick-or-treat bag Emma got this year! Grandma Charlene made matching ones for all 3 of the girls... They turned out awesome!!!