Wednesday, November 17, 2010

My Little Panther

This soccer season has been so much fun and Tyler has improved so much over last year. He has scored so many goals he's lost track. It has been a pleasure to coach him this year (well, other than his disdain for practice) and Zach has had the opportunity to be his coach in most Saturday games. We're proud of our little Panther.Top Row: Coach Jenn, Tyler, Cameron, Lucas, Jillian, and Coach Zach

Bottom Row: Elena, Noah, Sophia, Haley, and Ava

(We're missing Nick!)
Let's hope we get another picture like this next year. Tyler says he wants to try football...

Disneyland 2010

Click here to view this photo book larger

November 1 to 5, 2010 was our second trip to Disneyland. We had a really great time as a family...other than the almost 100 degree weather we were experiencing. We had dinner at Goofy's kitchen and met Pluto, Goofy, Chip, Dale, Snow White, Minnie, and the Fairy Godmother. It was our first time getting an autograph book for the kids and they had a great time getting signatures and posing with the characters.

The next day we spent the whole day in the Disneyland Park. Zach and Jenn had made blankets for a charity and got a free ticket into the park. We made the most of Disneyland and rode all of our favorite rides and met a TON of characters. Then when it got too hot and we got too hungry we returned to our hotel and played in the pool and used the water slide. It was our saving grace in the weather!

Since we had been to Disneyland and California Adventure a year ago we tried to just relax and enjoy this trip. We went on the rides we knew we liked, new rides that Lucy was finally tall enough to go on, watched parades and water shows, and took advantage of our hotel. We really had a nice trip.

On the last night the kids were hungry and Zach was tired, so the kids and Jenn went down to the PCH Grill in our hotel for a little bite to eat. Tyler was eating a roll and bit into something hard...and it was his tooth! The waitress was so nice and she gave Tyler an envelope with "My Tooth" written on it and had turned the O's into Mickey Ears. We put the envelope under Tyler's pillow and instead of the tooth fairy finding him...Tinkerbell did. She left a bouquet of balloons, a gift card to the store, some Tinkerbell pins, and some autographed pictures of Buzz, Woody, and the Disney gang. Tyler was so excited! It was one more magical thing to happen to us on our trip.

It would be nice to say that we can't wait to go back next year, but Zach has put a moratorium on Disney trips for a few years. The memories will make us smile for a lifetime!

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Halloween Festivities

This was our first year to attend the Harvest Festival at Tyler's school. The kids were excited to get dressed up and play lots of games. Mommy wanted to eat some food, but that didn't happen! We arrived first thing and checked everything out. Once it started to get crowded it was time to volunteer in a booth and then go home. The night passed quickly, but everyone had a good time.

Luigi and Dorothy posed outside the school

Tyler played the cake walk and won!

The kids got excited every time they chose a prize for a game. It was like trick or treating two days early! Next year we will remember to bring our trick or treat buckets to collect the goodies.

Sometimes they do actually love each other

On Halloween we hung out with the neighbors (like we always do) and set off for trick or treating. Tyler actually wore his mustache!

And Lucy wore her wig!

Both kids looked so cute! We enjoyed this Halloween season, with the exception of the kids being scared of ghosts and goblins. Let's hope next year we don't encounter any of those!

Field Trip to Zittel Farms

The kids had their second field trip to a local pumpkin patch called Zittel Farms. It was a good experience for the kids to see how pumpkins grow and to learn about animals. It was also a short field trip for the kids (and volunteers) just to get out of the classroom a little bit. Luckily Jill and the twins were able to come along, so Tyler and Mommy got to hang out with their best friends. It was a great day!
The whole class!
Best Friends!
The kids (and me) learned that cows do not have teeth in the front. The cow used his tongue to eat his corn. That cow might just rival a giraffe on long tongues...
The kids and a few parents were able to go on a hayride. Good times!
This little pumpkin holds a special place in my heart
Aw...I got them to sit still for a minute so I could take their picture. Pretty cute boys!
I feel really blessed to be able to take a half a day off work to go on field trips with Tyler and his class. This kind of stuff is why I had kids! I just wish all these pumpkins had yielded a pie of some sort...

Kindergarten Halloween Party

Tyler's class had their Halloween party on October 30th and I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to volunteer in class. He was excited to wear his costume to school! Tyler and Lucas both dressed up as Luigi for Halloween. They are the best of friends! His class had 3 Luigis and 2 Marios. It's easy to see what's popular among the six year old boys this year. The class played some games and Tyler just couldn't wait to figure out who had the pumpkin. Randomly it was Lucas who had the pumpkin and Tyler was clued in by someone saying, "It's your best friend!"
The kids had a snack of popcorn, a chocolate chip cookie, and some orange soda. The kids enjoyed stuffing their faces. Not that you can tell by Tyler's face here...
It was fun to help out in class and see the kids in action. I try to volunteer as much as I can and soak up the experience. Those kids can be exhausting, though! I was ready to go back to work and relax.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Halloween At Tumble Time

During Halloween week Lucy was able to dress up for dance and gymnastics. She is actually being Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, but she didn't want to do gymnastics in a dress, so she put on a hand-me-down pig costume. She's pretty cute as an oinker, don't you think?
Balancing on the Beam...and Avoiding Pumpkins She really LOVES her class!
Lucy is doing really well in her class and she's been moved up to the next level. We're pretty proud of our little piggy.

My Little Honey Bee

It's time for school pictures! The photographer that takes the pictures for Lucy's school does a really good job and I'm normally very happy with her work. We found a beautiful dress for Lucy, made her hair pretty, and hoped for the best. She told me she was going to stick her tongue out when asked to smile, so we just weren't sure what kind of photo we were going to get. This is the final product, and we are pleased... The 2010-2011 Honey Bees Class at Busy Bees Preschool