The Brenemans

Christmas 2011

2012-01-09T22:47:00.000-07:00

Santa was very nice to us all this Christmas...as can be seen by all the presents below including a new telescope for the whole family from Santa.

Summer was the first one up and was so excited to open all her presents. But first she posed for a quick pic with our new reindeer Rudolph.

Summer's number one item on her list was a Fijit and Santa did not disappoint.

As for Jacky he got not one, but two of his must have number one item...a Nerf gun.

Summer posing with her new Ooh La La Salon from Uncle Gabe and Aunt Krissy.

Ireland and her Tangled Vanity from the Brenemans for her new room.

Jacky double fisted and ready for action.

Three beautiful Christmas cousins.

Breneman Christmas babies.

The Brenemans.

The Kishes.

Summer making good use of her new salon with her first client Ireland.

Jacky and his new dinosaur that farts...yes really...one if its features is that it farts if you pull its tail.

Uncle Gabe and Jackson looking mighty handsome while putting together all of Jack's Lego sets.

We had a great day celebrating with family, yummy appetizers and Christmas chili. A fun day was had by all.

Santa Sighting

2012-01-09T22:13:00.003-07:00

Well what would Christmas be without a real live visit from Santa and the wife. They came into our neighborhood one crisp December night and Jackson and Summer had the pleasure of meeting jolly ole St. Nick to advise him of what they really wanted for Christmas.

Student of the Month

2012-01-09T22:04:00.000-07:00

Well we got an envelope sent home in Summer's backpack in December which was top secret. Summer was going to be honored as student of the month for December and we were invited to surprise her at school when they presented her with her award. She is doing awesome in first grade with straight As and all Os for outstanding for her performance. She is a rock star! Keep up the good work Summer.

Jack passes his test!

2011-12-08T20:25:00.001-07:00

Way to go Bucket! You passed your test. Mommy, Summer and I knew you could do it! We're all so proud of you!

Now, enjoy kicking and learning the next steps.

Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific

2011-11-25T22:01:00.001-07:00

Today we decided to head to Long Beach with the Kish clan to visit the Aquarium of the Pacific. We had a lot of fun seeing all the fish and getting to pet and touch many different creatures.

They've got the whole world...in their hands...

Time to pet some baby sharks at the shark lagoon.

Feeding time for the lorikeets. You can buy some nectar before entering the exhibit so that you can feed the birds.

Too many Nemos to count.

What I Want To Be...

2011-11-25T20:33:00.001-07:00

When I grow up. The kids had a career day where they were supposed to dress as what they wanted to be when the grew up.

Jackson dressed up as a track star (wearing Daddy's medals):

And Summer dressed up as a teacher (carrying her school portfolio):

Summer's First Grade picture

2011-11-25T20:05:00.001-07:00

The classic "I am missing a couple of teeth" picture.

Jackson's Kindergarten picture

2011-11-25T20:03:00.001-07:00

Not quite a smile but not every picture is going to be perfect. He still looks handsome though.

Summer's Big Boo Boo

2011-11-25T19:49:00.001-07:00

Well I guess every three years Summer is due for some kind of personal injury. A day before her third birthday she split her chin open and had to get stitches. So on the first day of school everything was going good until later that evening. Summer was down the street at the neighbor's house and tried their skateboard. She lost her balance and fell off and hurt her arm. It was pretty late in the day by then and we weren't sure how bad the damage was. So we immediately iced her arm and gave her Tylenol as we wanted to try and assess how bad the situation was. She was really tired from the first day of school and passed out about a half hour later. Erick was prepared to take her the the ER in the middle of the night if she woke up but she actually slept the whole night through. When she woke up in the morning and came in our bedroom we knew it was bad. Just one look at her sausage looking super swollen arm was enough to tell us that something was definitely wrong. So we dropped Jackson off at school and headed to the ER where we were told that she did indeed break her arm. She got to pick out her own cast color and chose bright green. She was all smiles once the cast was on.

She was actually really excited to get the cast on and go to school. She couldn't wait to have all her friends sign her cast as can be seen below.

And just in case Summer felt left out, her friend Marizel broke her arm about a week later on the monkey bars.

Can't wait to see what's in store for her in another three years. Hopefully it doesn't involve any more broken bones or stitches.

First Day of Kindergarten and First Grade

2011-11-25T18:58:00.001-07:00

Well the time has finally come for Jackson to join the ranks of school age children. He officially became a Kindergartener this year. He was so excited to get his first backpack like Summer. And Summer started the First Grade. We sent them both off on their first day of school without any real problems. Both of them were excited to be getting back to school and to see their friends. Here are Summer and Jackson ready to go to class with their back packs on.

Here they are getting ready to say goodbye to us.

Jackson found out his friend Mays was in his new class and was so excited.

Jackson getting used to his new desk in Kindergarten.

Summer found some friends while waiting in line to meet her new teacher. Notice they are all holding up the number 1 for First Grade.

Summer taking one last look at me before settling in to her new first grade classroom.

Things have been going good for both of them so far this year. We will find out more in December when they bring their progress reports home but so far, they are both doing great.

Jackson Turns 5

2011-11-16T21:56:00.000-07:00

Well the big day finally happened. Our little man officially turned 5 years old. His only request was mac n cheese and beans for dinner along with a pumpkin bundt cake for dessert. He is all about pumpkin these days.

Chuck E. Cheese

2011-11-13T21:21:00.000-07:00

So part two of Jackson's birthday consisted of a small party at Chuck E. Cheese with a couple of friends.

Cake time!

And what would a party be without meeting the big cheese himself...Chuck E.

As part of the birthday package you get to go into the ticket blaster and the object is to collect as many tickets as you can before your time runs out. Jack was not quite sure what to make of this at first but he did get into it in the end and actually caught a good amount of tickets to turn in for a prize at the end.

Legoland

2011-11-11T20:49:00.000-07:00

Part one of Jackson's birthday consisted of heading down south to Legoland on the Friday before his birthday. It was the first time for all of us to visit this park. He was really excited to see the new Star Wars mini land exhibit and it did not disappoint.

Hmmm....where should we go first...

How about a ride...

Our next stop was the Star Wars mini land exhibit. They set up scenes from the various movies with mini legos. This was the best part of Legoland by far. Darth Vader was there to greet us at the start of the exhibit.

While going on a boat ride through Fairytale Land we came across Prince Charming. Notice the cell phone in his hand...

Jack met Mother Goose.

Summer and I.

The three lil pigs doing a lil jig.

Throughout our adventures that day we encountered many great characters including Harry Potter and Hagrid.

Indiana Jones.

Santa Claus.

A friendly lion.

Bob the Builder.

And two little monkeys...oh wait...that's our kids.

A fun day was had by all.

Summer got Glasses

2011-11-05T21:23:00.002-06:00

So, we never mentioned this, but...Summer was told a long time ago that she would likely need some glasses. Well, she's started telling up a little while ago that she was having some difficulty reading the board at school. Well, no way we could let that remain that way. So, we headed to the eye doctor last weekend, and today we went and got the glasses.

So, yep, had to take some pics. We (I) couldn't decide which to put up, so I HAD to put up a bunch.

She actually really likes them. They are Sponge Bob glasses and she has a cute Sponge Bob case. She likes to be goofy, so here she is.

She's going to look so studious, too.

So, another...

And one last one. (And, you can see her "new" smile, as the one front tooth is coming in.)

Halloween

2011-11-01T12:10:00.000-06:00

So, what a year for Halloween. What with the yard a complete dirt pile mess, it allowed for some fun decorating.

Jess and the kids picked out their costumes quite a while ago, and I bought a scary face mask and cape and was just going to wear black. But for some reason in the morning while getting ready for work, I decided to dress up, and since I can't wear a mask at work, I painted my hair black and spiked it, then had Jess put on some eye-liner and such. Then I totally went for it and got some face-paint and teeth at work. Check us out!

There was a school parade, where all the kids walk around the block. Jess took the entire day off and walked with Summer's class. I showed up and walked around, too. I scared some kids, which was pretty funny...you know I'm fake, since it was so sunny. Hah. Here are a couple pics of Summer and her friends.

And Jackson with his class. It's so cool to see everyone getting into the spirit.

So, of course the kids went out Trick or Treating. I stayed home to give out candy and try and scare the kids, which worked a few times. When Jess got home with the kids, they spilled out the candy and got to have some...yummy!!!

So, that's about it. This was the best Halloween, EVER!!!

Jackson is learning to Swim

2011-10-20T12:54:00.000-06:00

Jackson is taking swim classes. This isn't the best quality, since just taken with my phone, but that kid being pushed into the pool is Jackson. Notice how he comes up to float on his back. That is the point of the class. Survival. He's doing good and will be taking his official test in two weeks. The official test is being pushed into the pool when he doesn't know it's going to happen, AND he has to be wearing clothes and shoes. The idea is being able to be OK if he falls in on accident.

Erick's 40th Birthday

2011-10-08T20:12:00.000-06:00

I know you can't believe it, but it actually happened. Erick turned the big 4-0. I suck at surprises but somehow I managed to pull one off for Erick and he swears he really had no clue. His evening started out with dinner with some friends and then we headed to a pool hall where I had reserved a section with pool tables, ping pong and air hockey. When we walked in the door Erick had no idea it was surprise and that his friends were waiting for him in one of the rooms. We got a little crazy, but had a great time ringing in the new decade with Erick. Here's the birthday boy at dinner.

Our friends Patrice and Troy at dinner with us.

Surprise! Friends and family all ready to celebrate.

And the party continues...

Cake time.

Jacky and dino hiding in a jungle of favors after the party.

MN State Fair - Jack Needs More Room!

2011-08-27T12:00:00.000-06:00

Look at all those people, and he has the only open area, all to himself? How'd THAT happen?

When I see this I think to myself what Jack is thinking...or Doing?!?! He must have said, "Hey, get outta my way!" Why else would they all be so far ahead of him.

(Also, total aside...that guy on the left with the tank top. How random is it that his feet are EXACTLY on that water stain such that it looks like a shadow? Bizarre!)

Summer's 6th birthday

2011-06-19T22:17:00.000-06:00

Summer wanted to celebrate her 6th birthday with a lil pampering. She had a spa party with 7 of her best girlfriends on Saturday. They got facials and mani/pedis and they all left with big smiles and sparkly nails. First up for Summer was the pedicure.

Meanwhile, Ireland got to start with a manicure.

Time to sing Happy Birthday!

Her parting gift of lip gloss and nail polish.

This morning (her actual birthday) she got to open her presents from us. She was very excited about getting the DS.

Here she is six and sassy.

She made me dress like her today. :)

And another happy birthday cake today to celebrate with ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins.

Class of 2023

2011-06-19T21:42:00.001-06:00

Yep. That's right. Summer is officially the high school graduating class of 2023. She had a promotion ceremony on Friday to end her days as a kindergartner. She had a great year and learned way more than we did when we went to kindergarten back in the day.

Here she is getting ready to take the stage.

Saying goodbye to her teacher Ms. Olguin.

She was very excited about her purple lei.

Hanging with some of her best buds.

And lastly, a family picture to commemorate the day.

Chicken Licken

2011-06-19T21:18:00.000-06:00

Summer's kindergarten class had reader's theater at the end of the year and the class put on plays for four fairytales. Summer was Henny Penny in Chicken Licken. Here is the playbill from the evening along with a list of characters for each story.

Me and Jacky waiting for the show to begin.

Summer coming out and getting ready and during her performance.

Summer giving big hugs after her performance.

Whale Watching

2011-06-19T20:51:00.000-06:00

Well we found a deal through Living Social that we couldn't pass up...whale watching. So we set out on a sunny, little bit breezy day but it was absolutely beautiful outside.

We saw some sea lions along the way sunning themselves on anything from buoys to yachts. Yes, that is a big ole huge sea lion laying on top of that yacht.

The kids made a new friend.

And we had fun just hanging out and looking for sea life.

Erick and Jackson looking for whales with their binoculars.

And we did see two Baleen whales while we were out but it we couldn't catch them on film.

And since the boat took off by the boardwalk we stopped to enjoy some ice cream and take a leisurely ride on the ferris wheel.

Our awesome view from the top of the ferris wheel.

Night at the Grammys

2011-06-19T20:14:00.002-06:00

So as part of the kids after school program they put on a music show at the end of every year. They practiced for a couple of months and then invited all the parents to the big event for the Night at the Grammys. Jackson got to dance to "Gettin Jiggy With It" (Orig by Will Smith) and Summer got to dance to "I Will Survive" (Orig by Gloria Gaynor) We did take videos of both of their numbers and hopefully we can get links posted soon. But for now here are a couple of pics to share from the fun night.

Jackson is on the left in the back.

Summer is in the middle.

And here they are celebrating after the successful evening.

St. Patty's Day

2011-06-19T19:53:00.000-06:00

We all got our green on in honor of our Irish heritage for St Patty's Day.

March Palm Desert Trip

2011-06-19T19:34:00.001-06:00

When Bob and Bumpa came out in March we got to get away for a weekend and headed to Palm Desert for some golf, spa time and relaxation.

Here is the view from our room.

Here's Erick's views while out on the golf course.

Just loved this staircase in our hotel.

Getting ready to hit the town for a night out.

When we were leaving, we ran into Dora and Sponge Bob. We definitely have to come stay at this hotel again with the kids. They have Nickelodeon themed camps for kids and they would love it.

Valentine's Day

2011-06-19T19:20:00.000-06:00

Just a quick Valentine's Day post to show off Erick's continued culinary skills. He baked and decorated this cake for us.

February Trip to Big Bear

2011-05-18T21:02:00.002-06:00

The first weekend in February we went to Big Bear with Gabe and Kristin and Kristin's family. We all rented a house together and had a blast playing in the snow.

On our way up to Big Bear we stopped to go tubing and the kids had a ton of fun. They were ready to take on the biggest hill in no time.

And what would a day playing in the snow be without making snow angels.

Erick hadn't been boarding in at least eight years and it was definitely time for him to hit the slopes and give it a try. He was doing awesome until he got a little too adventurous and went for a bigger jump. He didn't quite make the jump and landed pretty hard and got a concussion so he didn't get to board the second day...but he still had a blast and can't wait to hit the slopes next season with Summer and Jackson in tow.

Speaking of Sum and Jackers, this was their first time out and Summer wanted to learn how to ski and Jackson opted for boarding. So we signed them up for lessons. Summer is in pink in the picture below just heading up to the stairs to take her lesson and you can see Jackson getting off the bus.

Here's Summer getting ready for her lesson, doing practice drills and looking pretty.

And here is Jacky to the left of the instructor during his lesson. Note that his bib is all undone. He got too hot even before he started the lesson.

And if you look in the background you can see Jackers tearing it up down the hill.

And lastly, here's a shot of Jack looking super cool after his lesson.

When the kids went back to the cabin after their lessons, Jackson wanted to try out Ireland's board and show us the tricks he learned that day.

After a long day, the kids and Uncle Gable settle in to play a game on the Ipad.

Summer Lost Her First Tooth!!!

2011-03-25T21:21:00.000-06:00

How friggin' exciting is this?!? Check out Summer's smile.

Yeah, she is excited. Here she says, "Look at my tooth!"

A cute little close-up of the tooth.

So, this morning, Summer said she wanted to make soup for dinner...from scratch. I said, "OK." We all went about our business. When I went to pick the kids up at daycare she told me a friend bumped her and her tooth was loose. I checked it, and yep, it sure WAS! I told her good thing she wanted soup, because it would be softer than the normal Friday night pizza.

So, we went home, started making the soup (Peas, Carrots, Green Beans, Potatoes, and water (and I had her add a little salt, pepper, parsley, and veggie stock. So, yeah, totally homemade. Almost worth a post itself, but, the tooth overshadows soup.) Then we had her shower and THEN...the Tooth.

Dang, her mouth is small. It is hard to get big adult hands inside a little mouth to pull out a slippery small tooth, especially in the front, and with no nails. So, I had her get it started a bit, then we both took turns rocking it back and forth. Then I had the idea. Toilet paper. I was using it to dab up the little bit of blood and realized it dried the tooth off, so I could probably get a grip if I used the paper. So, I tried a bit, rocked a bit, tried some more, felt it was coming, got a bit of nail under the ridge and Pop!

I learned about teeth falling out just last week. She told me a friend told her they just fall out. I thought the big teeth pushed them out. Well, what do you know. It can be a little of both. When your body thinks it is time, it tells the tooth to start absorbing the roots. That loosens it up. Then a tooth pushing, just regular growing, OR a head knocking your chin and having your teeth get jarred together is enough to make it come out (with a little tug to finish it off). That's why the tooth is squared off at the top (the body absorbing the roots, not getting hit in the head, silly). I'm sure some of you have gone through this before, and know this, but it was news to me!

Another reason she was so excited...MONEY!!! She keeps hearing from all her friends that the Tooth Fairy brings money when you leave your tooth under your pillow. Yay!

So, yeah, no posts in a while, and then this happens. I just had to post right away!

Monster Jam

2011-02-13T00:37:00.001-07:00

Tonight we went to Angels' Stadium in Anaheim to watch the Monster Jam! I hadn't been in what seems like forever, and Jessica had never been to a Monster Truck show.

After a long crazy morning, we all ended up napping and headed out of the house a bit late. Stressful...but fun was coming! One of the first things we saw when we walked in was Grave Digger, The Legend

We missed most of the racing, except GD in the last run. Then they had a Crash-up derby, trailer-cross dealie. After that, the place was littered with pieces of cars and the trailers. Perfect time for an intermission as they cleaned the place up. After that was time for the main FREESTYLE competition. There were 16 competitors. One of Jackson's favorites was Iron Man, which is sitting in the middle of the lineup. He went first and did all-right, but was not one of the front runners.

Just a good view of a jump.

The Grave Digger, The Legend was doing great, but he popped an entire tire off the front and had to cut his run short. But check out his AIR!

And here is Maximum Destruction. What to say, this guy let it all out.

I'm glad I decided to start trying to take a pic at the end of a jump, because this was just awesome to see what the truck sees when it lands.

Oh, and that was at the very end of the bonus time, he went to hit the side of the hill you see in the image on the left (the one by the purple cars in the pic two above). Hitting this caused him to totally flip sideways and on his back, he kept gunning the engine and rolled around over the top of the ramp and down on the other side.

Grave Digger tried giving it a good run, here he is coming out of the lineup to begin the run.

And he did the slowest tail-stand of the night. Straight up all the way across the track. He was putting on a great show, but it just wasn't good enough.

Well, who won? Maximum Destruction took the night, easily! Best run and the most awesome crash right at the end, with perfect timing. Congrats to the driver, Tom Meents, and the crew. Great show!

Well, the kids had a blast, even though Jack said he didn't, as we walked back to the car. I'll see if I can get some pics off our cell phones later, but for now, I just wanted to get these up.

Raking Leaves

2011-01-16T18:29:00.000-07:00

Raking leaves is never any fun, right? Well, the kids seem to like it...

Well, it looks like I get to enjoy doing it again. :-D

Student of the Month

2011-01-09T12:57:00.003-07:00

For the month of December, we got notice that Summer was going to be Student of the Month for her Kindergarten class. So we secretly showed up and waited outside the auditorium until it was her turn to be called up and then we got to walk in and surprise her. She was so happy to see us and quite proud of being selected as Student of the Month. Her teacher said she was a good sharer, good listener, good friend, well on her way to reading and writing and the budding artist in her class. Way to go Summer!

Christmas Food

2010-12-26T21:32:00.003-07:00

One thing that HAD to happen, that happens every year, is making Christmas cookies! This year they got to make them with Grandpa Mark. The previous post showed them rolling out the dough. Here they are decorating. Looking good!

Oh, boy! In the oven and almost ready.

Setting out for Santa, along with some carrots for the reindeer. :-)

So fun, and yummy, too.

Thanks grandpa!

Not to be left out, Grandma Debbi got make "Ginger Bread" houses with the kids. (Sorry these are blurry, I assume there was a nice finger print on the lens...oops.)

Summer is so intense, trying to make it just right.

And, there's Jack. Grandma is helping put on some "mortar."

Thanks grandma!

Christmas Day!

2010-12-25T21:40:00.001-07:00

So, Santa sure left a lot of loot under the tree this year! Thank goodness we had our faithful watch-cat on duty until we woke up!

No better way to start off the morning than a little stocking opening.

Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves opening all the boxes the toys came in, as always.

Jackson was super happy to have gotten Ironman!

And Summer was tickled pink when she got her "My Little Mermaid" doll.

Speaking of mermaids...what's a mermaid without water, right? Well, to stick with the theme, Summer also got a cute Barbie Doll puppy learns to swim set. The set came with this cool little pool. The mommy dog teaches the little baby how to swim.

A bit later, Ireland showed up with Gabe and Krissy.

One of Jack's favorites was "Rock-em, Sock-em Robots." Here he is playing with his daddy.

Speaking of daddy, here he is, with grandpa. Ain't they a pair?

The kids were so happy that grandpa and grandma could come for Christmas. Here they are smiling. I think they had a good time.

Now for a few posed pics. Summer and Ireland with their new dollies.

The Breneman Clan.

Erick and Jess looking good for the camera.

Then the Kish's, Gabe, Kristin and Ireland.

Whoa, now that's a lotta Brenemans.

Just the kids. They are a cute bunch!

The two Kish kids (Jess and Gabe) with their families.

The outta towners. ;-) Mark and Debbi! Yippee!!!

Grandma and the girls and tea.

The two girls set up the table all by themselves.

Ahhh, time to kick back and enjoy the refreshments.

Later in the day, Erick's (and Jess') friend Yolanda showed up to say hello and exchange some gifts.

Let's finish up with another pic of the kids. Jack with his new Buzz Lightyear wings and all three enjoying a nice tea.

The day went so fast, and so much more happened, but these pics show some of the day.

Grandpa and Grandma are Here!

2010-12-24T19:06:00.000-07:00

And here is a shot of the kids with grandpa making Christmas cookies.

We've already been having SO MUCH fun!!!

Jackism for the Day

2010-12-24T13:02:00.000-07:00

Jackson is jumping on the air mattress Summer is sleeping on in his room. I told him, "that is like a big balloon, and it can pop. If it pops I am going to take 350 dollars out of your piggy bank."

Jacks reply? "No you're not, I lost the key."

Thanksgiving

2010-12-02T16:33:00.000-07:00

Yes I know. We have family out here for Christmas right now but we still needed to get our Thanksgiving pictures in before the end of the year. So here goes. This was the second year that we went over to Aunt Krissy's sister's house to celebrate Thanksgiving with their family. It is really great because you only need to bring one dish for the price of admission and you get eat all you can and have no dishes to clean up afterward. The cousins got lots of play time in so it was great break for us to just be able to hang out and not worry what the kids were up to for the most part. Here are some pics to share from the day.

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and that the New Year only gets better from here. Will post pics soon from Christmas and Grandma and Grandpa's visit.

Jackson's Fourth Birthday Party

2010-11-27T15:10:00.001-07:00

Well Jackson was all about Star Wars this year so we decided to go ahead with that theme for his birthday bonanza. We made light saber cupcakes, Erick made a death star individual cake, we bought some decorations and ordered some pizza and a bouncy house for the big event. We started the morning with Erika stopping by to help decorate and curl Summer's hair.

And here are Summer and Bo waiting for the guests to start arriving.

Yummy cupcakes that Erick baked and awesome lightsaber decorations that his friend at work made out of molding chocolate.

Notice the Deathstar cake and lightsaber sticks.

Boys just wanna have fun.

And let's not forget the girls too.

The Kish clan.

Jordyn and Hayden playing in the bouncy house.

Its Pinata time.

Time to sing Happy Birthday.

More play time.

Just another place to store your broccoli until ready to be eaten.

Happy 4th Birthday Handsome!

Summer Wrote a Book - I See a Boat

2010-11-11T02:28:00.000-07:00

I See a Boat
-by Summer Breneman

Lauren's 30th Birthday

2010-10-29T11:12:00.000-06:00

So our friend Lauren turned 30 and decided she was going to have an 80s movie themed party. So we got into the spirit of dressing up and showed up as Princess Leia and Han Solo from the Empire Strikes Back and we had a great time!

Lauren as Madonna and Jess.

Elvira and Pee Wee. Pee Wee was awesome. He even showed us his dance moves.

Erick thought this was so funny. Old skool crock pot to heat up the cheese.

Han Solo aka Erick rocking out to some karaoke.

And at the end of the night, we went to get the kids' from Lauren's house (they had a babysitter) and look how cute they are all cuddled up!

Pumpkin Carving Time

2010-10-29T10:53:00.000-06:00

So Summer and Jackson each got to pick out their own pumpkins at the pumpkin patch and the the fun began. They each picked their template of what the wanted carved on their pumpkins. Summer thought the pumpkin guts were gross. But she was a trooper and scooped them out.

Erick and Jackson getting ready to start his pumpkin.

Summer's finished product. An awesome bat that Erick carved.

And here is Jackson's ghost that Jess carved.

And voila. The finished product.

Forneris Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-29T10:31:00.001-06:00

Well we had so much fun last year that we decided to head to the same pumpkin patch in Mission Hills. The kids got to climb a haystack, play some games and ride the train. But most importantly they got to pick out their own pumpkins to be carved. Here are some pics on the farm.

Summer had a ton of fun playing the games. She did really good at the crow game knocking all three crows down with the ball...might have a future softball player on our hands. And Jackson did awesome at pumpkin bowling. They both won a few prizes as can be seen below.

Some Jackson School Art

2010-10-24T11:27:00.001-06:00

I don't think we've put up a lot of art by Jackson, so here is a little book he put together for school.

Walking with Dinosaurs

2010-09-11T13:14:00.001-06:00

If this show comes to your town you should really make the effort to try and see it. It is fun for both the grown ups and kids. While Erick took Summer bowling, Jess decided to take Jackson to see some "real" dinosaurs. When we first got there he was a little nervous and scared because all you could see was the stage with a giant dinosaur mouth around it and we could only hear eery sounds playing in the background. But once the show started, he really had a great time and now thinks that dinos still exist. Here are a few pics of some of the dinos we got to see.

I am sure you can't tell from the pic below, but they definitely saved the best for last. This is a BIG T-Rex mama with her baby. Keep in mind that this pic was taken from up above as we had the cheapy seats if that gives you any indication of how big she was.

And now ladies and gents I know you are not going to believe this, but we are actually all caught up on the blog (well for now at least).

Hand Puppets

2010-09-11T13:05:00.000-06:00

For Summer's birthday she got a lot of great presents. One that she really enjoys was from Aunti Yoli who got her a hand puppet kit. So last weekend Summer and Jess decided to get crafty and make a few of the puppets from the kit and here are the puppets they created.

Jess made a mermaid:

They both made this Hawaiian puppet.

And Summer made this puppet.

A Day Out of the Summer

2010-09-11T12:58:00.000-06:00

So in July, Summer was invited by her best friend Hailey to a tea party/dress up for her birthday. I got to take Summer to the tea room and Erick took Jackson on a special date to lunch at this great place that has airplanes on its premises that you can check out as well as yummy food. It is called the Proud Bird and it is right by our house. We gotta take Bumpa and Grumpa there on their next visits out to Cali.

So for the tea party, all the girls get to pick out a dress, shoes and jewelry and a lady does their hair and make up. Then they sit down to tea and lunch and then finally dessert. Well they were so cute when they were all dressed up! Here are a few shots of our little lady from the day.

For Erick and Jackson's date they ate lunch and then went to check out some cool planes and here is what they saw.

Newest Breneman member

2010-09-11T12:36:00.000-06:00

Well a few months ago Erick caved in to Summer's request for a puppy. They had been having negotiations back and forth and Erick told her she would first have to wait until she turned five and then he reminded her that she would have to scoop the puppy's poop, play with them, walk them and feed them. So we made the trek down to the Long Beach Animal shelter after Erick saw a profile of a dog he thought would be a good fit for us.

And this is what we ended up with. Meet Rainbow Dash -- Bo for short (since he is a boy).

And here he is getting used to his new home and companions/playmates.

And here is Summer making a bed for Bo to sleep in her room. He was really comfortable that day but has not slept in her room since. They BOTH get too excited and start playing instead of trying rest.

So where does Bo sleep? Erick swore he would never allow a dog to sleep on his bed. Well guess who is snuggled into Erick at night on OUR bed?

As for Jackers, when he turns five he too will be allowed to pick out a pet. So far it looks like we will be in for a bearded dragon...but that is still a little over a year away so who knows what he will want by then.

Summer's First Day of Kindergarten

2010-09-08T10:07:00.000-06:00

Summer's first day of kindergarten started off well. She woke up, got dressed, ate her Graham Cracker oatmeal. Then she asked mommy about picking her up after school, sadly, mommy had to tell her, no. Summer has to go to after-school care at Rainbow River. After she heard this, everything went downhill. Here are some photos to show the story.

Dinosaur Bone

2010-09-05T23:49:00.000-06:00

Fun times!

Jack Catches a Football

2010-09-05T23:27:00.003-06:00

Jack has little, if any, fear. Even when learning to catch a football, he stands firm and doesn't waiver!

Summer's First Truly Solo Ride

2010-09-05T22:10:00.003-06:00

OK, I've gone out with Summer a few times, holding onto the back of her bike, or her back. She always needed a bit of help. Well, not anymore. I was happy Auntie Jamielin got Summer a razor scooter for her belated birthday. It helps teach Summer balance...

And here she is riding it.

This was early when she got it. On Saturday, we went about, what, half a mile to the farmers' market, and she rode it the entire way. Giving her a LOT of practice balancing AND confidence.

So, today was a date for me and Summer, and separately for Mommy and Jack. Mommy and Jack went to see Dinosaur Live, which will shortly have a post, and Summer and I went bowling, and then bike riding.

When we got back, Summer wanted to ride on her smaller Strawberry Shortcake bike. I let her, for the confidence, since that is what she wanted. Well, here are two videos to show how she did.

So much easier when riding my bike behind her, versus running. She only fell twice. Once pretty softly, albeit on the street, and another more hard, when I got too close to her on the side, which scared her and she careened into me. Oops. Both times, though, I was able to sit with her for a short bit, help her shake it off and get back up. The first loop, is about 1/2 mile just around the block. When we got back and jumped on the Barbie bike, we went mostly around the block, but she wanted to continue on and not go straight back, so that ride ended up being about 1.5 miles, so a total of 2 miles she rode her bike. Yes, she stopped a few times. Those falls, of course, and probably 2 or 3 times to just rest, and a bunch to pull over and stop for cars. By the end of it, due to all those stops, she is now able to start off by herself, and stop by herself!

Wow, is all I can say. I am so proud of her! Way to go Summer, you are AWESOME!!!

Strike Out ALS

2010-09-05T15:24:00.008-06:00

Jess got invited to a bowling charity event with Erika and some friends this summer and got to meet a couple of really cool football players. The event was a fundraiser for Eric Scoggins (former San Francisco 49s player) to raise money for awareness about ALS. So she got to bowl, have some fun and get her football signed by a few former 49ers.

Here she is on the red carpet with Erika and Angie.

Here are some pics of the girls just having fun.

Jess with Ronnie Lott and Keena Turner from the 49ers.

Jess showing off her signed football. She got signatures from Ronnie Lott, Eric Wright and Keena Turner.

Jess favorite part of the night...getting to meet and talk with Adrian Young (drummer from No Doubt). He was part of the auction. Apparently he is an avid golfer so one of the items you got to bid on was a round of golf with him.

It was a great and fun event. The best part is that Erika won a bid she placed to Hawaii and Jess and her are going in October.

4th of July

2010-08-28T12:50:00.009-06:00

We just stayed home and had a BBQ and fired off our pyro booty on the street once it got dark out. It was fun to watch everyone in the neighborhood lighting all kinds of fireworks off once it got dark.

Street view of our block with flags on all our lawns.

Erick looking dapper while firing up the grill.

Nothing says 4th of July like enjoying a little Guinness float on a hot summer day.

The kiddos enjoying their 4th of July feast.

Jackson devouring his third piece of watermelon with some neighbor friends.

Summer and Daddy being silly.

Summer twirling her sparklers.

Birthday Party

2010-08-28T12:41:00.005-06:00

The kids got to go to a few birthday parties this summer but their friend Luke's was the best. There were water balloons, squirt guns, a slip and slide and two bouncies to entertain them. There was supposed to be a water balloon toss but the kids didn't quite get the concept so it turned into an all out water balloon attack (on the parents). They had a blast as can be seen from the pics below.

Local Library

2010-08-28T12:30:00.005-06:00

Our local library has readings and fun activities every Saturday during the summer so we decided to check it out. The kids got to do some arts and crafts, read books, learn about volcanoes from a volcanologist, play with bubbles with a bubbleologist, watch a magic show/sword swallower and learned about reptiles. Jackson even got up close and personal with a frog which he loved. Below are a few pics of them from the summer program making fish to decorate the walls.

And here's Jacky checking out the frog.

Summertime

2010-08-28T12:03:00.014-06:00

Well we have been running around all summer busy with different things. So below you will find some of our summer happenings in review. A more detailed post of a few summer outings will soon follow.

When we were getting ready to move, we went to a friend's house for a yard sale. We brought the kids with us and they had a blast because they got to play dress up and Summer got to sell lemonade with her friend Aiden.

Here are the kiddos on a playdate with Jordyn and Hayden.

The kids chilling out in the back of the car.

Summer and Jackson playing around and fighting neighborhood crime as caped crusaders.

Summer dressing up like Mommy.

Summer getting her hair cut, swinging (all by herself) and showing off her painted face from school.

Jackson just being silly and enjoying the motorcycle.

And lastly, one must rest after a day of play, play, play. And yes, Summer really was asleep in the Home Depot shopping cart.

Grandpa Mark and Uncle Andy Visit

2010-08-22T17:36:00.008-06:00

When Grandpa Mark and Uncle Andy came to visit and help us get our new house in order at the end of April, they didn't get to play and relax much.

But here is a pic of Uncle Andy watching a movie with Summer and Jackson.

And here are some pics from Hermosa Beach. We stopped there for lunch one day and decided to check the water out.

This picture is priceless. Uncle Andy took some seaweed Jack had been dragging around on the sand and wrapped it around his neck like a necklace.

The Daves

2010-08-22T17:29:00.004-06:00

The Daves came to visit us in March right before we were getting ready to move. They came in for just a short weekend visit. So we decided to take them to Long Beach. We had lunch and decided to walk around the harbor and take a boat tour. Here are some pics from their visit.

SeaWorld

2010-08-22T16:48:00.024-06:00

Okay...back to catch up time again. We never did get around to that SeaWorld post.

We went to SeaWorld New Years Eve and got to see the killer whale show:

We even got to meet Shamu himself.

We also got to see some penguins, a beluga whale and some sea lions.

And even a sleepy turtle and fossil of a shark's mouth.

But the cutest animals we saw by far were these two penguins Penny and Pete:

Kid Stats

2010-07-17T16:24:00.006-06:00

Just checked.

Summer is 44 inches and weighs 41 pounds.

Jackson is 41 inches and 36.4 pounds.

They grow so fast! Jackson is definitely taller and heavier than Summer was at his age.

Rainbow River

2010-07-01T01:35:00.001-06:00

Rainbow River is Jack's new daycare and Summer's before/after-school care. We especially moved them for Summer. She needs to go so she can meet some of the kids that will be starting kindergarten with her, before heading into an actual classroom setting. To keep it easier, with only one drop off location, and a bit more reasonably priced, etc., we decided to move Jackson, too.

The very first day, we all walked together. (Did I mention, it is CLOSE?!)

First Day at Rainbow River

It's a great move, and we're excited about it, for sure. However, I (Erick) started to get a bit sad. I didn't think I would, but I did. The friends they've both made at the Launching Pad will be missed. I'm afraid how they will react. All we can do is wait and see. Another reason I am a little sad is that the new school doesn't have a parent committee that raises money for events. I thought to have Summer's "graduation" was kind of silly, but it was actually fun, and pretty cool. Helps them get prepared and thinking about moving up to the next step. RR doesn't do that. However, they are tightly affiliated with the grade school, even on the same campus, so, he doesn't need to get as prepared to leave all his friends, as 80-90% of the kids in the daycare go to the same school.

Summer's Birthday!

2010-06-19T23:57:00.023-06:00

Wow, can ANYONE believe it? Summer is FIVE! Yep, 5!

For Summer's birthday, we got cupcakes for school on Friday, the 18th. That was also the day of the petting zoo. So, the kids had an AWESOME day, with another to follow on Saturday! And to make it even cooler, both mommy and daddy were able to go to the party!

Summer Holding Court
Jack Joins the Party

So, Before the day got underway, we let Summer open up some of her toys before mommy and daddy started cleaning. There was a LOT to do before the party!

Summer Opening her Family Gifts
It was then time to PARTY!

Of course Summer's cousin Ireland showed up!

Ireland looking good
Posing with the Piñata
One of the first things we did (of MANY! Jess did awesome setting up a great themed birthday party with games and things to do!) was play pass the snake, which went perfectly with the cowgirl theme.

Everyone Getting Ready
Jack Made it to the Last Two
CAN HE WIN?!?
Of course he can
and he did!

Summer digging her cowgirl outfit!
Some of Summer's Gal Pals. Jess's Friend Lauren's girls.

Hayden and Jordyn
Another fun thing Jess set up? The kids got to make their own trail mix. This consisted of mini-marshmellows, M&M's, chex mix, chocolate chips, and who knows what else. Too fun!

And, what would a party be without hitting that piñata?

Summer gives it a whack!
It never ceases to amaze me how fast the kids swarm and pick up ALL the candy.

Jack and Tanner showing off their bags of loot
Huh? What is this?
After all of the fun, there is one thing left. CAKE!

Summer showing off her cake
Whew...what a long day! The happy parents!

I think we pulled off a pretty great party!
Thanks Jess!!!
And of course, what is a party without the inevitable...

aftermath!

Petting Zoo

2010-06-18T16:49:00.000-06:00

These guys are the spitting image of dinosaurs!
Well, we're getting close to the end of our time at the Launching Pad. Summer will be starting school in a 2 1/2 months (GULP!), so we're pulling both kids to head to Rainbow River. We get to partake in a few events before we leave. These events will be sadly missed. Like snow-day which they had recently...and now, just a week ago, they had the petting zoo.

The Zoo
Jack Taking a Pony Ride
Summer's Turn
The kids didn't go at the same time, which is good and bad, I suppose. The sad part is that I, Erick, went to one, and Jess went to one. It would have been super cool if we all could have gone together. Pretty great time, though.

Jack Petting that Dinosaur...oh, ah, the Turtle

Some Cute and Cuddly Bunnies

Summer and Friend, petting the Bunnies

A Feathery Rooster

The Girls Posing with a Goat

Llama, bama, bo-bama...

Jack Brushing a Sheep
And there you have it. One of the best parts of the Launching Pad. One of the fun events they put on for the kids!

Summer's Graduation

2010-06-11T01:43:00.001-06:00

Happy Graduation Pandas!
So, the year has come to an end, and Summer has officially graduated from Pre-K!

The Launching Pad goes through a little ceremony. I (Erick) totally thought this would be silly, a waste of time, etc. I was so surprised to be taken in by it. It actually makes sense for a school like this, where all the kids pretty much go their own way to their own kindergartens. I think 4 of them are going to the same school, otherwise, it's fewer to any individual school. Summer will have one other kid from the LP going to her kindergarten, however, that kid was in the Koala's. So, she's not a close friend, and she may not end up in the same kindergarten class. So, yep, having this sort of event makes sense. It really is signaling a big change. The school really prepares them for the separation.

Standing by their chairs during the processional

Singing Songs
After the diploma presentation and everything else, it was time to play. All of the kids got to decorate their own cookies. Oh, and notice the graduation t-shirts they get!

This truly was a day to celebrate!

Friends and Family
Best Friends
Well, we have to give a great big thank you to Summer's primary teacher, Miss Courtney. She was the absolute best. She gave Summer the nickname of "Buttons", and it was so special, that if WE tried to call Summer that, Summer would stop us right away. Miss Courtney has babysat in the past, and will, hopefully, be able to babysit in the future.

Buttons, Hailey and Miss Courtney

Quick bit of the House

2010-06-09T02:48:00.000-06:00

Some shots of the place before, and during. I put these together for the housewarming party. The "afters" I'll get up shortly (yeah, right, shortly...we'll see about that).

First things first. Right when we showed up, dad got busy with the door opening! Holy COW! Those two pics on the right REALLY show how that opened up the wall and makes the room look MUCH BIGGER!

Next to share...the BANE of my existence the last month or so...this kitchen has been a true pain in the... (However, since it was so bad...it is the best feeling for getting things done. I still have a lot left, and it's definitely nowhere near perfect, but it looks pretty darned sweet! You'll see in the final pics later. We just have to get through the party and clean up to take a few good shots.)

And here's a bit more of the kitchen, along with some other rooms/hallways thrown in for good measure.

And here are a few more rooms. Dad putting in the water line from Summer's shower, through the wall into the kitchen. The hallway being swept up, Jess painting Jack's room, and the BEAUTIFUL PINK "master" bath.

Our kids are awesome. They certainly have their difficult moments, but they LOVE TO HELP!!!

A quick shot of the acoustic ceiling and a portion of it being scraped away. That was a VERY difficult task. So much to do in fact, that after the three bedrooms, and 10-20% of the front room, we had to give up, we just ran out of time.

The two guys that really helped make all of this possible!! (and I'm in the pic, too.)

Easter Sunday

2010-04-24T16:37:00.007-06:00

On Easter Sunday, we all got gussied up to go to the next door neighbor's house for an Easter egg hunt and brunch. Take note of the boys in their ties. They looked quite handsome.

The Easter bunny really outdid himself this year. He left lots and lots of eggs and goodies for the kids. Jackson and Summer scored BIG.

And here are some candid shots taken throughout the rest of the morning. As you can see, a fun time was had by all.

And here is one tired daddy after a fun but long Easter morning.

Easter Prep and Morning

2010-04-04T19:10:00.003-06:00

Well, last night we were making some preparations for tomorrow's potluck. Summer poured in the powder, broke the eggs, stirred, mixed and poured the batter into the cups. I put the pans in the oven, took them out, and spread on the frosting, and then Summer did the final decorations. This was fun and she did awesome!

So, for the morning, I made the kids some themed pancakes.

OK, that's it. Will try and post some pics from the day itself in a little bit.

Two More Jack-isms...

2010-04-04T12:57:00.003-06:00

Yesterday when I was giving Jess a gift, jack walked up and said, "What in the world is going on here?"

Today at an Easter party he was wearing a tie and was very cute, and he knew it. When our neighbor Mindy told him how handsome he was, he pulled out his tie and said, "It's my tie."

What a funny guy.

Snow Day in LA

2010-03-30T23:08:00.011-06:00

Snow in LA, in late March? Yep. When it is delivered on a truck! This is what 9 tons of snow can get you. The kids had a blast! Daycare does this every year. It is a hit hit hit!!!

Jackson went first in the morning. I was there to help out a bit, but I mostly had time to take some pics and videos...

Sadly, well, not really sadly, it was awesome helping, but I had to help more when I went during Summer's time, so I took fewer pics and movies. But I did break away to take a few. Summer loved the slide, too.

Nearing the end of the day, everything starts melting away...even the snowman loses his cool...and his entire head!

We REALLY need to get them up to the mountains to go sledding, or even to try snowboarding. They are definitely old enough to give it a go. I know we're looking forward to seeing the kids trying!

Catching Up

2010-03-25T20:14:00.008-06:00

For those of you who may not know, we have been super busy and stressed out. Turns out we got killed on taxes this year because now we can't claim some write-offs like we used to. So that put us in overdrive to try and figure out how to fix the all the tax problems. Which led us to think about buying a house. So we have been super busy trying to find a house, in a good neighborhood, with great schools. Well we think we found a gem and are now in escrow dealing with all the paperwork etc. they need to close escrow. So long story short, this does not leave us much time for anything else including posting.

So quick recap here. First up is a picture of Summer on Valentine's Day displaying her yummy breakfast of heart shaped pancakes courtesy of Erick.

And since we have been going non-stop we decided to take some time out last weekend to go bowling. Summer was really into it as was Jackson, except the part where Jackson had to wait his turn. So we were only able to get one game in but it was still fun.

Here we all are with our bowling shoes...yes even the kidlets have to wear them now.

And here was the final score.

And as if we didn't have enough chaos already, Erick was training for and ran the LA Marathon this year and did awesome! We were so proud of him. Here he is after crossing the finish line. Summer saw him and ran up to give him a hug and kiss.

And here we all are celebrating his win (including Yoli).

And here are the kids helping their Daddy stretch after the long 26.2 mile run.

And now hopefully we will have some more pics to post soon since the Daves will be in town for the weekend starting tonight.

The fun never stops at the Breneman house.

In the Eyes of Jackson

2010-01-29T08:15:00.002-07:00

So we just had to post this before we forget. Last night Jess was sitting eating dinner with Jackson and he wanted to show her his new talent...he can now cross his eyes. So all of the sudden he says (while eyes are crossed) "Hey Mommy, I can see your sister!" Erick and I both completely lost it.

December

2010-01-22T21:28:00.008-07:00

And now back to December. Our police department has a Santa that comes every year in our neighborhood. So this year we made sure not to miss out on ole St. Nick. I think he may have been hitting the bottle though that night. He seemed a bit tipsy. I guess that is what makes him a jolly ole St. Nick. Seriously, click on the picture to enlarge it and you will see what I mean.

And here are the cutie pies getting ready for bed in their new PJs and putting out Santa's cookies.

Here are the munchkins on Christmas morning all ready to go tearing open all the fun stuff and playing.

Later Gabe, Krissy and Ireland stopped by and the kiddos got to open up some more fun stuff and play.

And now it is time for the parents to relax after an early morning.

Still more to post believe it or not...but I think this is a good start.

School pictures

2010-01-22T21:20:00.008-07:00

And finally here are some school pics of Summer and Jackson we haven't been able to post until now.

November

2010-01-22T21:12:00.004-07:00

And to round out the November posts, here are just some general pictures of things that transpired during the month.

There was an arts and crafts day with play-doh.

Followed by one evening of funny faces.

And one day we walked in on Summer reading to her friends.

And last but not least here's just a cute pic of the boys to round out the month.

Thanksgiving

2010-01-22T20:38:00.005-07:00

I don't even know where to begin. So I'll just start here with pics from Thanksgiving. We went to Krissy's sister's house for Thanksgiving and it was quite a cultural experience Filipino style. There was tons of good eats and great family time to be had by all. There was most of the usual fixings served for Thanksgiving. The only real difference I saw was that there was ham served instead of the traditional turkey and of course there was lumpia. Here are some pics of various family members:

And here are a few pics of the cousins playing together.

Summer's Artistic Talent is Blossoming

2010-01-09T15:16:00.004-07:00

OK, So, Summer wanted to paint this morning, so she made this for her friend Hailey.

So, this is...

A sunflower, note the seeds, with a butterfly on top. Note the big green eyes and antenna. Very detailed, and SUPER awesome! Good job Summer!

It's Been Too Long...AGAIN...(Bit of January)

2010-01-06T21:44:00.005-07:00

Looking back I feel bad that we keep saying we're going to try and be better about posting. Kids are too young, we both are too busy with our jobs, and trying to have somewhat of a moment to watch TV and hang out with each other. So, I'm going to just do this quick one from some things in the first week of January. Better than nothing. Oh, and a super quick aside, this isn't related to January, but thinking about how we miss posts and then do a lot of pics at once...those large posts still work out and look good in the books we have made. What, nobody mentioned that? We use this software from blurb.com.

Check it out...if we hadn't shown it already. Yep, a nice hard-cover book. Instead of the blog we worked on this for a while, since Jack always got upset that Summer has TWO books and he had none.

The kids got a science experiment kit from Bob, so I (Erick) played with them on one of our days off, and after doing the first three, I remembered rock candy for some reason and wanted to make some. So, here it is after a few days. It's still crystallizing. Hopefully I'll remember to take some more pics when it's done. It's getting pretty big/cool. Jack's is the yellow and Summer's is red (she says it's pink).

Lastly, for the Month of January is this diaper cake Jess just finished making for our friends Gus and Chellei. They had a THIRD daughter recently. This is our 4th (at least, possibly fifth) cake we've made. I swear it is at least 5.

Just a shot of Summer playing with some Playdough. The kids love projects.

And for some reason, we decided to get some fish for the kids. All three of the main things in front have bubbles, just didn't get any caught in the shot. Some are seen in the second photo. Anyway, the kids kept saying they wanted some fish...but after we got them Jack just kept saying he wanted to eat them. So now we think they just wanted fish for dinner! :-D

And a bit closer. How do you like that Dinosaur coming out of the egg? Jack picked that one out.

OK, so that's ONE item off the list. We'll back date some, so expect to miss a few posts, as we try and catch up on...Halloween, School Pics, Generic pics from November and December, Sea World (That was AWESOME! (in both a good and bad way), Christmas day and related things and last but not least Thanksgiving...yowsers...that's up to 7 posts, depending on if/how we combine some items... Catch you later...I'll just leave you with a hint of Sea World.

Merry Christmas!!!!

2009-12-25T10:26:00.001-07:00

Have a happy day!

Christmas

2009-12-25T09:54:00.000-07:00

Merry Day!!!

Yippee - It's Christmas Time!

2009-12-05T14:15:00.002-07:00

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

New Job

2009-11-23T07:27:00.002-07:00

Hey hey hey!!! Congratulations to me and good luck!!!

Today is the official first Monday of my new job! (Saturday was the truly official first day.)

I've been promoted to Section Head. This is a low level functional manager. I'll be overseeing 12 employees. Responsibilities include helping them with their career progression, mentoring in the position, reviewing at mid-year and year-end, making sure they have work commiserate with their abilities and to keep them busy, signing time-cards, attending staff meetings, being a process owner (meaning I can get a process to focus on and see if/how it can be improved), interface with technical managers to support my people if/when rewards, or problems arise...and who knows what else, a lot of other little things.

Am I excited? Yes.
Am I scared? Yes.
Am I ready? Yes!

Go go go!!!

Holy Moly! Jack is THREE!!!

2009-11-16T20:52:00.009-07:00

Happy Birthday, Jack!!!
That pic was from when we were all singing happy birthday to him at his party on Saturday. As you can see, he absolutely LOVED being singed to. Truly, when everyone started he started to beam with a smile from ear to ear!

But, let's take a trip throughout the day.

Start with the last preparations for the party. We were all outside setting up and even Spike wanted to help. Spike likes hanging out with everyone and that includes playing with the kids on the climber/slide.

We only had modest decorations. It was a Dinosaur themed party, which included this happy birthday banner and dino-hangers. We also had a table-cloth, center piece, and of course cupcakes topped with Dinos and plates and napkins. Lastly, what is a kid's party nowadays without a goodie take-home bag? (And one last thing you'll see in a second.) Fun times!

After setting up and such, people started to arrive. We got our old buddies Edwin and his family, Lauren and her's, our neighbor girl Matty, and three families from Jack's class. We were all just running around playing, eating and conversing for the first hour.

After the big free-play time we played a game we bought. Another dinosaur theme, of course. Pin the skull on the skeleton! :-D Jack and Summer took the first turns, but the winner ended up being Jack's pal from school, Noah. No one was believing it, but we were watching...even with the blindfold OFF, I don't think Noah could have done any better. He put it dead center inside all of the dotted lines, even rotated the skull as he was putting it in place. Insane! So, he won the big prize of a blue ribbon button. Anyway, here are Jack and Sum taking their turns.

Then it was time for cupcakes, singing and some more playing! Gotta run those kids ragged!! Start off with Jack getting ready for his song and blowing out his candles (the best picture is up top).

And here is an awesome shot Jess got of Summer finishing up her cupcake.

And, Jack is now good friends with one of Summer's longtime buds, Sofia.

All the kids loved the playhouse and were in and out of it all day.

Whew, finally it was time to open the gifts. Jack was very excited (not as excited as he was tonight, though. He could hardly slow down while eating, even Summer scarfed down her food so Jack could open his gifts). But, anyway, back to the party, here he is opening some gifts.

Of course, what would a kid's party be without a little help from your friends and siblings in opening your gifts.

Well, that was about it for the party. After opening gifts, the kids were in and out of the house playing with both old and new toys. A few boys got into Jack's room, and someone set up this little "fight scene" between Spiderman and Buzz Lightyear. I like to think Spiderman is the good guy and apprehending Buzz to bring to the police. ;-D

Well, I don't know about you, but just writing, and reading over, this is getting me tired again. You can hardly imagine what it was like living through it! But, to try and get across the idea, here is me and Jack watching the quiet-time show before bed...

Yeah, we couldn't make it through about 10 minutes of the show. Everyone but Jess fell asleep on the couch. And it was ONLY 7 o' clock...about 2 hours early for the kids! Gosh he is one cute kid!

So, that was his party day. Today was somewhat typical. I brought the kids to school, Jack got his party in the classroom (which I wasn't able to attend due to work stuff), we went home and had dinner. Other than the classroom party the only special thing was the cupcakes and opening the last 4 of his presents. The main one from us was a Batman Boombox. Jack loves it, and the CDs he got from Bob and Bumpa. He went to sleep listening to Little Einsteins, holding his "Cuddle Dinosaur." This little baby dinosaur that grunts and growls and rolls its head around. Very cute. Jack also got a lot of other great things from friends and family...so much that I can't even remember it all! What a spoiled HAPPY kiddo.

Halloween Parade

2009-11-05T08:22:00.008-07:00

So the kids had a parade at school and got to march out to awaiting parents who were eagerly waiting to see the costumes.

First up is Jackson coming out with his class.

Now here comes Summer.

After the parade the kids went back to their classrooms for more Halloween fun. Here is Jackson back in his classroom and posing with his friend Malia.

And here is Summer posing with her class and some of her girlfriends.

And lastly here is Summer posing with her new face painted bat.

And yet another pumpkin patch visit

2009-11-03T08:29:00.010-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Jess took the kids down south to visit Jen and her munchkins for the day and they ended up hanging around another pumpkin patch.

First off we have Summer running through the patch.

And here are Jen and Shayne making beaded jewelry with the patch in the background.

The kids all really wanted to try their hand at washing clothes the old fashioned way.

Here's Shayne showing Summer and Jackson how to make flour.

Some cute pics taken around the patch with Jackson.

All the kids together posing for a photo op.

And here are the munchkins with their newly decorated faces.

Had to add this extra picture of Jackson...notice all the apples he has coveted...and yes he ate them all!!

More pics to come soon. Still gotta post pics from the kids' school Halloween parade and Halloween itself.

Astro Boy - Movie Theater

2009-10-25T23:03:00.004-06:00

Super duper quick post. This morning we went to see Astro Boy at the mall. First, I didn't grab my wallet, since we just recently put my stuff in a drawer to keep it out of the kitchen...so, I had to pull my own super hero act flying home to get it so we could get tickets and get into the theater. Of course I made it with plenty of time to spare.

The kids had fun. Jack seemed to get tired here and there (but ended up not passing out for a nap until 4:15PM). And there were a few loud parts and scary, bad-guy, moments, but they had fun. Especially Jack running out of the theater swooshing and shooting. He is ALL boy. He had to run back in to use the restroom, and on the way out (for the second time) he noticed these statues of Alvin and the Chipmunks. So, I got him to pose for a quick picture from my cell. (I cannot WAIT until I get a new phone with a decent camera. Although, this shot is not that bad. Just a touch grainy, but in decent focus, yay!) Here is my little guy:

General Pics from the Zoo (Oct 17)

2009-10-25T21:51:00.010-06:00

OK, so, we recently went to the World Famous Sand Diego Zoo. Kids 10 and under were free, so Summer was free (Jack would have been anyway), and we got discount tix from my work. It's nice working at a large company that gets discounts for just about everywhere. :-D

We had a good time. We started out not seeing a lot of animals and were thinking it was pretty lame. But later the animals started coming out. And taking a ride on the double-decker tour bus and the sky-tram made up for it...and we did end up seeing a lot of animals, as you'll see in some later posts. First up is this Hippo guarding one of the walkways. ;-) As seen from the tour bus, when she GUNNED it and I missed being able to get a great shot.

And, here are the kids climbing on a hippo. This was right near the hippos you'll see later in the underwater picture.

As I was saying. We walked around for a while, and we didn't see much except for some birds in some aviary exhibits. No real good pics in there. Oddly not a lot to see. But, never the less, I still had the camera out and got some pics. I always laugh when Jack puts his hat on this way. Yes, he puts it on himself!

I had to chase after him, and then he started walking with Mommy.

Far around the park we finally got to a few things, the tiger, the hippos, and then one of the really cool things. The pandas. There is quite a line for them. They don't just let people crowd up to the rail. You have to stand on a sidewalk, and of course, after a while Jacky needs his uppies.

So, as I was saying, there were a few ways to get around. Which was nice, since the place it pretty darned large! We brought the stroller, but to get back and forth, we really needed to take advantage of the sky tram.

And what's flying across the park without a few pictures of us with the kids?

Hey, what about a video? Maybe give a better sense of the height?

And lastly, taking this tour on the bus was kind of cool. We thought the kids would fall asleep. At least Jack, but nope. They stayed awake the whole time. And, really, what kid would want to sleep when you are on top of a bus looking down on everyone?

Here are a few more pics from that So Cal historical area where we took some pics of Summer. LA is littered with Tar pits. There are oil rigs here and there, which always seem out of place. And in a in the middle of a neighborhood there is a tar-pit area, just because they can't clean everything up (or, because they like to preserve SOME things. :-D)

Here is a wall of many things that lived in So Cal, long long ago (and some are still around today).

Lastly Jack points at a cute woolly mammoth.

And that's it for the zoo. (Well, I posted these in a reverse order, with this being the first I wanted you to see. The others follow with subject specific posts. :-D And, with this one we are caught up...except Jess went somewhere just yesterday with the kids and is at a concert tonight...so, expect more, as always. And we promise to do better, for a while. We're frightened about the coming holidays and if we don't stay on top of things, we'll never get this all posted. We hope you enjoy! :-D

Hand Art (SD-Zoo Oct 17)

2009-10-25T21:45:00.004-06:00

Yeah, it's a bit pricey to get the frames, but if we hadn't we would take months to get to the store and buy them. The art itself was reasonable, and they turned out great. What am I talking about? Well, check it out! The kids hands turn into animals.

Summer First - I'm sure you can already see the 2nd pic, but can you guess what animal it is, just from her hand-print?

Yep, her favorite...a giraffe, of course!
And here is Jack's. He's a boy after his daddy's heart. What could it be?
Here's a bit more.
And the final product all framed and ready to hang.
And, yep, they are both hanging in their rooms. I hung them low, at their eye level, so they can appreciate them.

Summer's Elephants (SD-Zoo Oct 17)

2009-10-25T21:39:00.005-06:00

OK, quick little one for Summer and her elephants. In the area showing So Cal 12,000 years ago, the entrance starts with how elephants were depicted back through time. They each had little displays that Summer posed standing next to. Check 'em out.

Zoos are also for traveling back in time and learning things. Pretty cool! :-D