Owen's Field Trip

Today was Owen's first Field Trip to the mini farm near our house. We go every year for preschool and it was his turn. He was so excited and he kept talking about his "field trip" - I don't even think he knew where he was going or what he was going to do. He just knew it was exciting and that Brock was coming too.

One of the first stops was (what I'd like to call) the "Bunny and Guinea Pig Pit." It's an enclosed area full of rabbits and guinea pigs. Owen just loved it. Brock was a little afraid at first. We got there right when the farm opened so all the animals were hungry. Brock was very curious, but didn't want them jumping on him.
Owen was all to eager to hold the "bunnies" - he called them all bunnies even if they were guinea pigs. Brock eventually warmed up to the pit and wanted to sit on the log with all the other big kids. He wasn't interested in holding any animals but you couldn't wipe the smile off his face. So cute! (Elle looks a little worried here) Next the kids all went on a train ride. Brock made it a few laps before screaming so hard they had to stop the ride and get him off. I think it was too much for him to see me over the fence and go right past me. Owen seemed to love it! Here are all the kids (minus Brock) as they came around the bend. What a cute group of preschoolers!!! Lucky for the goats we still had more carrots. Owen (and his friend Londyn) really loved feeding all the animals - any animal that would eat from them - they would feed. After some sheep, a cow, lamas, an ostrich and more farm animals they took rides on the horses or in this case was it a Pony? Owen said he wanted the "black one" and that is what he got. This kid is a far cry from Paige. She was always terrified and refused to ride the horses whenever we came there. Good job Owen! What a fun trip - I was dreading bringing Brock but he really enjoyed himself and it wasn't that bad. Nothing a tube of anit-bacterial foam couldn't handle right?

Luck or Destiny?

Well this post will be a lot like Christy's so if you read hers there is no need to read mine. So here goes the story of our day at Aaaaaamerican Idol! (said like Ryan Seacrest)
So Annalee put her name on the list at the beginning of the season to get tickets to the show. She received an email voucher for four seats at this weeks show. So, Annalee, Lori, Christy and I arrange babysitting for, collectively, our 12 kids and head up to the Nokia Theatre. The instruction were to get there no earlier than 10 am and no later then 12:30. We got there at 11 and let's just say there was easily a few thousand, yes THOUSAND, people in line already. There was a lot of waiting, a little moving, more waiting and yes even more waiting. Needless to say a couple hours into it we got hungry (both Annalee and Lori are expecting) and I got resourceful. Thank you iPhone! I called a nearby Pizza Hut and our conversation went something like this:
"Pizza Hut, can I help you?"
"Yes, I'd like to order a Pizza."
"What is your phone number?"
"My phone number is ..."
"What is your address?"
"Well that's the tricky part. I'm in yellow and I'm on the corner of Cherry and 12th street."
"Um... ok... what would you like on your pizza?"
No more than 30 minutes later we received our half cheese half Hawaiian style pizza. Yum!
So here is where the luck or destiny comes in. It's now 3:00 and they have already let 1500 or so people in for the dress rehearsal. They aren't sure how many more they can let in for the show and it's not looking good since we are another 2100 or so people back. They think they can let in 1700... really not good for us. Annalee and I decide to get out of line and go look for an "alternative way" inside - aka BEG! No one wanted anything to do with us so we sat on some steps across for the Nokia and sulked in the hot sun. My feet were aching, my make-up was melting and I had used up all my favors -- just to not get in. Lori and Christy decide to bag the line and find us. Christy suggests going to the Nokia and just see what's happening. As we start walking over there Lori opens a box on top of a trash can and finds hundreds of wrist bands they handed out earlier for the dress rehearsal. We throw those on hoping for a miracle. As we cross the street we see a guy coming back with a hand full remaining tickets to give out to those in line. He was confused why we weren't inside with the wrist bands we had on. We confessed to finding them and he gave us tickets anyway. We couldn't believe what just happened in a matter of minutes we went from sulking to, not only getting in, but VIP tickets. Christy and I were in the 6th row and Annalee and Lori in the 8th row. Justin Chambers (from Grey's Anatomy) was in the row in front of us with all his kids. What can I say, as he walked by us to leave I had to ask for a photo! And yes, he is just as mysterious and serious as he is in the show. The guy never stood to clap and barely cracked a smile the whole show. (BTW they said no phones or cameras - here's to my iPhone who is so sleek and sexy and easy to sneak in) So here's the funny part, after the show was over we head out for a nice dinner. We are driving and laughing and talking AI stuff. We talked about Fantasia and her performance the other week. Christy says she liked it and I said I can't stand it - I hated the song and I thought she was terrible. Minutes later we are at a red light and right next to us is Fantasia. What do I do? Oh, only what any normal hypocrite would do - I roll down my window and yell, "I love you Fantasia, I love your song!" and then I snap a photo. We couldn't stop laughing at what a idiot I was. But really, what was I gonna say. "hey... aren't you Fantasia... you sing right?" We threw her a bone and she loved every minute of it. (She even waited as the light turned green for my to snap my photo)

A special thanks to Pizza Hut for delivering where ever and when ever you wish. A thank you to iPhone for creating such luxurious technology to get us around LA when we got lost, find Pizza Hut's number and snap all the photos that I wouldn't have got any other way. Thank you Annalee for inviting me and thank you Ticket Guy for caring when no one else would. Oh and Thank you Justin Chambers for sitting in front of us!
Alright Wendy, another special thanks to HDTV because without it you could not see us. We only recorded on regular TV and we couldn't see us that clearly. Thanks Wendy for the photo and photoshoped arrows.

The Trouble Maker

Talk about trouble. Trouble is this guy's middle name lately. If he isn't getting into Paige's "prized possessions" he is making a mess of Owen's latest masterpiece or better yet, emptying out all my cupboards and make-up drawers. This guy has hit is "terrible twos" at an early 14 months old. I tell you - we don't know what to do with him. I'm convinced the older two have corrupted him and they are all in cahoots to make my life difficult. Ahhh... lucky for him he is still so cute. :)

Happy Mother's Day!

We went out to breakfast Saturday morning and the kids were really excited. They love the pancakes at IHOP!
Friday morning Paige's class had a Mother's Day Tea. She made me this cute ;) bonnet and a lovely heart pin.
They sang songs that were so sweet that if you didn't shed a tear you had to have been dead inside.
Then they served us cake. It was really cute and really special.

Birthday Celebration

What to do? What to do to celebrate Paige. How about dinner with the family? Paige picked her favorite restaurant to go to with the family. She said, " I want to go to the place by the freeway with all the birds." So there we went!
After a CRAZY dinner (that is an understatement) the kids enjoyed a few rides on the escalator.
Apparently dinner with the family wasn't enough of a celebration so on Friday we picked up a few of her friends after school and went to Wendy's house to get their nails painted.
Then we all went to see the movie Nim's Island. I thought the movie was really cute and adventurous. Paige got a little scared when the father went missing. She had to come sit of my lap for a portion of it, but the other girls all seemed to really like it. Maybe it was the sugar high of all the candy and popcorn they ate. :)
After the manicure and movie we all went to the park and then to dinner. The girls were all so sweet to each other and I think they all had a really good time. I have to say it was nice being able to be with Paige and her friends without the interruption of Owen and Brock (they stayed home with a babysitter). There was one time when Paige asked me to stop talking - um... ok... I guess I'm not as cool as I thought. Be quiet MOM! Sorry sweetie - I'll just sit here and let you all chat it up! :) Man, I'm old.

My Baby Girl is 6 Today!

Gosh, I can hardly believe that this chubby little thing has grown up so fast. This girl was not only born with a full head of crazy hair...
... but a huge personality as well.
This girl came to our family full of life and laughter. She was such a doll and the cutest baby ever!
I can hardly believe that she has grown into such a beautiful girl who is still as spunky now as she was as a toddler.
Paige constantly dreams of becoming a teenager - just the other day she said she wishes that she could be 16 so she could get married. Um... not quite!
Paige you are such a sweet heart and a wonderful big sister to your two little brothers. We are so grateful to have you!

Happy Birthday Ragie Bug, Shnooks, Sweetie Pie, Paigie Girl!!!

Swim Lessons Again

Summer is just around the corner and what better way to get ready then swim lessons. We plan to go swimming a lot this summer and this kid here needs to be SWIM READY!!
The sad thing about this photo here is that he must have held this position for 5 minutes while each kid took their turn diving in the water... poor Owen was last, but he did it - we still have one more session so hopefully he can become a stronger swimmer!
This guy will be swallowing gallons of water gasping for air and still come up smiling.
Can't wait for the weather to warm up and Summer to begin... oh wait, am I really ready to get in a swim suit?!?