Fun giveaway!

One of the blogs Ive been researching is doing a little giveaway that Id love to win! Go here yourself to try and win a $50 shopping spree at iherb!

Little Ninja

Gavin graduated last night to a white-leader belt in tae-kwan-do. The best part was when the little kids got to go break a board. One front snap kick later (not to mention a little help from some pre-scoring) and it broke clean in half. The surprise on their faces was priceless! Yay Gav, we are so proud of you!

Derek turns 3!

Each morning, before I go to work, I go into the boys' rooms and whisper good morning. Each day for the past few weeks, Derek has answered me with, "Is it my birthday today? Am I 3 yet?" He finally gave up asking earlier this week, no doubt tired of hearing my answer- "Not until January 22nd baby." (Frustrating I am sure to a kiddo with no concept of the calendar). So on Thursday morning I went in and kissed him and said "Happy birthday Derek." He looked at me in utter amazement and responded with "It's my birthday? I'm 3? I can eat cake?"
The joy at realizing that the elusive word "Thursday" finally came!

Thanks to Auntie Devon for coming out on Sunday and for the rest of the family for celebrating Thursday night. And just look at the pics- construction and chef get-ups. Is this kid his father's clone or what???!!!

Christmas 2008

Dinner at the Harpster's

Every couple of months we have dinner with the Harpster's, the Ramsey's and the Schoonderwoerd's. This month Tracy and James hosted and as always we had so much fun. The kids pretty well entertained themselves, but I have to say baby Myla was the best behaved! Can't wait for the next dinner night....

Christmas Dinner

Last night my mother-in-law hosted a beautiful holiday dinner for grown-ups only. We had a wonderful time....

Happy 5th Birthday Gavin!

Gavin turned 5 years old last week! Time zooms by, doesn't it? We celebrated this year with just a family party at home. Jeremy barbecued burgers and hot dogs and I made the cake. It was very mellow and Gavin had so much fun. The next night we took his best bud Ashton to Chuck E. Cheese. I would post pics but my camera died. Well, actually it said quote "camera exhausted." Isnt that a bit dramatic for a camera? Anyhow, Chuck E Cheese on a Monday night with just one friend is the way to go. Fun, but not crazy. Thanks to all the family and friends who remembered his special day!

Making Cookies

Derek loves to be in the kitchen. It seems like the only time I can get him to follow directions so we've been spending a lot of time in there! (I'm kidding about that... kind of). Here we are making reindeer cookies. The boys ate half the m&m's instead of making Rudolph's nose, but they had fun.

BTW: nutter butters, red m&m's for the nose, chocolate chips for the eyes, pretzels for the antlers and icing as the glue (I know you were squinting trying to see them)!

Benjamin

So many of you have asked for pics of Dino and Terri's new babe so here he is. And yes his eyes are blue for those of you wondering if he too inherited the Portillo eyes..... apparently my 2 boys are the only babies in the history of the family who don't have 'em! Grrrr...

Isn't he beautiful?

Disneyland

My friends the Cassidy's are so wonderful. They invited us for a day at Disneyland and we didn't have to pay a nickel...... do you know how fun that place is when you haven't invested $300 dollars into your day? We had a ball and the place was pretty empty. We went on 18 rides (that's incredible) and I only counted Buzz Lightyear once when we actually went on it 3 times! The only things we waited for were Autopia and the new Toy Story ride at California Adventure (my new fave ride, btw). The kiddos were close to perfect and the weather was lovely. Couldn't have asked for a better day!

Maui

Kaanapali sunset

Kimo's in Lahaina

view from our hotel

What a wonderful week Jeremy and I had in Maui. I would love to sit here and write about all of the exciting things we did and sights we saw, but I would be lying. We didn't do much at all but relax and enjoy the breathtaking views. It was truly one of the best vacations ever. I have been lucky enough to visit Hawaii multiple times and I never tire of the place. In fact it probably makes me love it more. Many thanks to all the relatives who pitched in with babysitting/driving/entertaining of our children, etc. And of course thanks to my two new nephews who made sure they entered the world before we left... thanks for simplifying matters. Auntie is forever grateful. :)

Benjamin Dean

Jeremy's brother Dino & his wife Terri welcomed baby Ben on Dino's birthday, November 4. He weighed 7 lbs even. I don't have any pics yet, but he is super adorable and has tons of black hair! Two new nephews in 1 week.... what a blessing!

Joshua Timothy

Welcome to the world my beautiful nephew!

My Caped Crusaders

I hate Halloween. Always have. Even when Iwas a little girl I couldn't stand it. I feel bad about this so I tend to overcompensate for my kids. I don't want them to be a big scaredy cat like their mom so I go out of my way to make sure they have fun. Gavin had a parade at school followed by dinner at our house with homemade mac and cheese and dump cake. I love hosting our extended family and this turns a dreaded holiday into something I look forward to instead. Seriously, if you tried my mac and cheese you'd agree. Halloween is absolutely yummy!

We skipped the church "trunk-or-treat" this year and opted to do it the ol' fashioned way instead. Jeremy, Dino, Grandpa Rich and Grandpa Jerry took the boys and Macey around the neighborhood door to door. They had a ball. Of course it was not near as much candy but please.... it's still more than enough. I think their favorite part of the night though was answering our door and passing out candy. They would literally sit on the stairs in our entry waiting for the doorbell to ring. And if too much time passed they'd open the door and holler out to kids on the street! It really was too cute. Even I have to admit: it was a fun Halloween this year.

Added bonus Tim's wife Sarah went into labor after we went to bed last night. Stay tuned for details!

Pumpkin Carving

My good friend Stacy hosted a pumpkin carving party at her beautiful home. We had a lot of fun and although the kids were more interested in playing than in carving pumpkins, the dads and mel did a great job. Thanks Stace for starting such a fun tradition!

Pumpkin Patch

If you can recall last year's post about our trip to the pumpkin patch, you remember that my children's concept of a pumpkin patch is a giant bounce house in the Kohl's parking lot. Not exactly what I, kindergarten teacher extraordinaire, want for my kiddos. This year I was determined to drive their little behinds to a real life pumpkin patch with dirt and all. Last week that was. This week I had the privilege of taking my kinders on a field trip to one of them real patches and you see, I really didn't feel like going again. It's kinda dusty and I have allergies and petting zoos sorta give me the heebie jeebies. With Jeremy and I working opposite schedules these days I thought it would be the PERFECT opportunity for him to spend some quality time with the boys. So, he invited his dad and they headed out for Live Oak pumpkin patch. Pumpkins on the vine, petting zoo and a castle built out of hay. Now that's what I had in mind. And of course everyone was happy, even without the bouncers. (me too)!!!!!!

Field Trip to the Fire Station

Gavin's preschool had a fun morning visiting the local fire dept. And no I did not pick out the bright purple and yellow tshirt. And no its not because Gavin loves the Lakers either. Its the school shirt they were told to wear today. I suppose that if someone got lost, the teachers could ask, "Have you by chance seen an adorable 4 year old running around in a horribly ugly purple tshirt? You couldn't miss him. In fact it may have damaged your vision when he ran by???"

You can tell I love the shirt. And wouldn't you know .... it really is one of G's favorites. Blech!

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Have you met Mimis?

Pronounced "mee-mees." I feel a bit guilty journaling about our lives without mentioning this ever present member of our family. Well, sort-of. She is a cuddly blanket type thingy with a lamb head. Sounds like no big deal, but I am telling you-I do believe that there are many days when Derek prefers her to the rest of us. Think Linus and his blankie- peanut butter and jelly. If it were up to him, he'd take her everywhere. The market, the park, even the bathroom if we let him. Anyhow, now you've met. So if we have a play date or something prepare for 3- Gavin, Derek, and a reasonably well behaved bodyless farm animal....

Seven Years!

Monday night Jeremy and I celebrated our seventh wedding anniversary. It actually seems like so many more than that. As most of you know, we met in middle school. I was 12 and he was 13! Although we didn't date back then we can certainly say we've been friends for almost as far back as we can remember. Those of you who knew jeremy back then probably have a hard time remembering that he is the same guy from back then. He is such a wonderful husband and father. Here are my favorite things about Jeremy and my marriage to him.
1) He always tells me how beautiful I look even when I'm fat and cranky. (I'm vain, what can I say)?
2) He makes me feel safe.
3) He held me while I screamed in agony for HOURS after I lost our 2nd baby even though I was huddled in the corner of our room with blankets over my head like a crazy woman and he never once complained or told me how to feel.
4) He works so hard to support us- he even took on a second job when we needed it without any grumbling.
5) He plays endlessly with the boys and is their absolute hero.
6) He understands my need for me time.
7) He is totally silly and is kind of goofy- he makes me laugh all the time.
8) He can cook like a super star- I just need to figure out how to get him to do it more often!
9) He is a hopeless romantic.
10)His eyes.

I love you Jeremy and am SO blessed that you are mine. Happy Anniversary!