beaches...

We spent two days at the beach on our California Adventure. Saturday, we went to Huntington Beach and enjoyed the sea shells and the pier with ice cream from Ruby's. Sunday, we hit Laguna Beach, and loved the big waves and soft sand. We saw seals and dolphins. We had 83 degree weather and stocked up on vitamin D...it looks like we will be needing it as we head into another Oregon winter.

Jon buried all of the kids. They loved it! This is always a hit! And, the sand they get in their crevices is super.

Dollar tree in California had no beach buckets and shovels, so we got cauldrons, jack o' lantern buckets, and kitchen spoons. The kids had fun sifting out shells and digging with nice steel spoons! I am sure we looked like the Beverly Hillbillies. Especially at Laguna Beach!

He loves to jump into his little piles!

Beach pedi, anyone?

Fabulous beach weather. In October. It does NOT get better than that! Oh, how we mourn for you, Cali! We hope to return soon!

The happiest place on earth!

Our Disneyland trip was amazing. Really, really magical. It's was like a breath of fresh air after a lot of stress, sadness, and chaos. It was exactly what we were missing, needing, and I think, deserving! We only went for two days, so we opened and closed the park! The kids were troopers! The lines were short and the weather was 72 degrees! The stars aligned and we all had a wonderful time playing together and remembering what life is all about! Here are a few pictures, although I took a million, none of which I am in. Oh well. The memories are burned in my mind forever! Here is Ian on King Triton's Carousel riding a fishy! Ian had the most fun of us all, I think. He was so excited over every single thing and character, and had a hug for each and every one. He wasn't scared of anything! He was devastated when they wouldn't let him go on Goofy's Go-Coaster over a measly quarter inch! He made us all giddy!

Chip and Dale!

We waited an hour to see the princesses, but Molly assures me that the line "wasn't long at all!" We saw Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, and Jasmine.

Hands down Ian's new favorite. He loves Mickey. He didn't even know who he was until we went, and he loved visiting his house, giving him a big hug, a huge kiss, and a high five. It is priceless to see Ian recount this experience with actions and spot on facial expressions!

Halloween at Disneyland. The verdict is: scary! Space Mountain is super scary with very eerie ghosts, and lots of the rides have surprises that my scaredy cats did not appreciate at all. Of course, we made them do every ride, because let's face it, Disneyland is not cheap, and we needed to get our money's worth! This meant that Max's head was buried in my lap on most rides, but c'est la vie...

What else is there to say? I am a convert! Disneyland truly is the happiest place on earth!

the grand finale...

For Olivia's party, she chose the theme, "Alice in Wonderland." She is obsessed with the new Tim Burton movie! She invited 8 friends, all of whom came, and it was a super fun night!

Here is the invitation:

Everyone had to drink one of these little sugary/waxy drinks and enter through the rabbit hole!

Yep, there's the rabbit hole. Oh, how I wish I had video of the girls going through it!

We made "Mad Hatter" hats. These girls were so creative and FUN with their hats. I was super impressed at their detail and style! They did such fun, unique hats and loved decorating them.

Then, we had dinner (pizza, of course). And, then we had a tea party with lemonade and these little mini-cupcakes and ice cream. Every girl had a unique tea cup and saucer (thank you Deseret Industries). The girls got so into their little tea time.

tea party!

Pin the tail on the Cheshire Cat (aren't we original?) Same friend drew this AWESOME cat!

All the girls in their Mad Hatter Hats.

Great party! I still can't believe my baby is ten! She is such a darling, happy, giggly, sweet girl!

Max and Molly go to school!

Max and Molly started preschool last week at a fun school just up the street for us. It is a Christian preschool and they teach a fun phonics based program while incorporating fun Bible stories. The teachers and staff have all been there 20+ years and just love the children. We couldn't be more thrilled to have Max and Molly involved in such a great environment! Here is Max outside the door on his first day!

And, Molly, too!

Cute Molly in her class!

Here she is doing an activity with teacher Becky.

Max is in the class next door. I opted to separate them so they could each have their own experience. They each have a friend in their class from church, so it wasn't all strange faces that first day. Max is putting together a puzzle with his friend, Sam.

We can't wait to hear the adventures they have in their new school. We are already overflowing with artwork and Molly is singing Bible songs like she's in the choir! Also, Ian and I are enjoying our Mommy/kid dates three mornings each week! It will be a great time for us to have some one on one time!

to the Batmobile.........let's go!

The long awaited Batman party finally arrived. Max could barely stand the anticipation. Next time, he gets his first! He was so excited to have his own party, with his own boy friends! He was so excited about who he was inviting and had a cute reason why he wanted each friend there! Love it! For the favor, some friends and I made some cute batman capes! They turned out so cute, and I really am so thankful for my great friends, once again, bailing me out on another one of my hair-brained schemes! Each boy got a batman cape and face paint (if they wished) when they arrived:

I just had to show this AWESOME beanbag toss our friend drew for us. He is so amazing and went above and beyond helping us out on this.

The boys loved throwing bean bags at Batman and Robin!

Little Bat-boy joined the festivities.

Same friend drew this awesome Batman for "pin the bat on the Batman." So GREAT!

Here is Bat-Max pinning the bat on Batman! So close!

Here are all the attendees in their capes!

Cupcakes!

FIVE candles!

We also made fun bat planes and flew them. The boys were really into that! I learned how different a group of boys is than a group of girls. I bagged the last few games at the end just to let them play, because their attention span is just a wee bit short (the girls could have done crafts for the entire two hours!). They had so much energy and were just so much FUN. Max loved his special party and got lots of great gifts.

A great party for a wonderful boy!

Ready, set, kick!

Let the games begin!

Molly's party

Thank you, dear Molly, for choosing butterflies as your theme this year for your party! It made Mommy's job so easy and FUN! Here is the cupcake cake I made (idea stolen directly from Kim, I have no originality) and it turned out FUN!

Here are the darling little butterflies enjoying said cake!

Molly got this excited about EVERY gift. I just love how much she enjoys life!

Pinata+9 girls=near death experience and LOTS of candy!

Pin the antennas on the butterfly!

Here are some of the little butterflies. We took this before the last four arrived, and then I forgot to take another! Oh dear! Aren't they all so darling in their wings???

We also did a butterfly walk with lots of fun prizes, made antenna headbands, and did a cute watercolor butterfly craft using a coffee filter. The girls were all so fun and energetic! They giggled non-stop! It was a great time, and Molly was in h.e.a.v.e.n!!! Happy 5th birthday dear little Molly-heart! Now, promptly stop growing up!!!

Birthday Craziness

It is that time again, folks, where I overwhelm my blog with birthday photos from the crazy September 9th whirlwind! Here is a quick look at our fabulous day with more birthday party updates to come later!

We began the day with French Toast with pears and whipped cream. Olivia and Molly's choice, because Max doesn't care about food other than for the purpose of keeping him alive and fueling him to build another masterpiece. Then, we opened a few gifts. They got cute birthday outfits, but here they each are with their favorite gift from Mom and Dad:

Olivia-Alice in Wonderland DS game.

Max- The Batcave Trio Blocks. Can you tell he's excited. You should have seen the look on my face when I built it with him for the third time. He sure loves to take it apart.

Molly-a tea set you paint yourself and then bake it in the oven. She got this for a friend once and hasn't stopped talking about it. She has painted it several times, each time adding detail for extra beauty. When she gets it just right, we will bake it and then have a killer tea party!

Olivia headed to school and Max and Molly got to go to their preschool open house to meet their teachers. They are super excited to start this week! Then, we did McDonald's with some friends and Dad took lunch to Olivia and ate with her at her school! For dinner, the kids (again, Olivia and Molly) decided on The Olive Garden for dinner. It was YUMMY and we were so lucky to have Abby with us for the evening!

Then, it was home for cake and ice cream and, YES, more presents!

Max blowing candles:

Molly!

And, cute Olivia!

It was a super day for all. While I was driving Olivia to school I asked her what she thought about sharing her birthday with Max and Molly and she just smiled and laughed and said, "I think it's kinda fun!" That was music to my ears. I hope all of my kiddos had a really happy day and felt as special as they each are!

Fourth Grade...

OK, seriously. Fourth Grade! What happened? Wasn't I just blogging about kindergarten? UGH! She is so excited to be back to school, with the most favorite teacher she has ever had! Her school does 3/4 blends, so she is an upperclassman this year, you could say. The great thing about that, is there is very little transition, because she knows the ropes of this class and teacher so well. We are hoping for an awesome year this year! Isn't she adorable???

First day in her new class!

Reunited with a friend hanging up jackets and backpacks.

Here's to fourth grade! Go and get 'em Olivia!