Disney on Ice...Again!

Disney on Ice comes to town every February and October.  Brooke and I go to Disney on Ice every February and every October.  The day the kids tell us that they don't want to go anymore might be the end of the world.  Thank goodness for Emi being little and being the next kid we get to take to see Mickey and Minnie.  It's almost as good as Disneyland.  Seriously.

It's a tradition to go with the Mello family, so my kids are always very excited to go and spend time with their friends.

 For some odd reason they found this GIANT Pepsi cup pretty intriguing.

The kids HAD to have popcorn and they HAD to have snow cones.  They are lucky that their moms like popcorn and snow cones.  And nachos and pretzels.  And Disney on Ice.

Basketball...If You Want to Call It That

When Tyler was in kindergarten we signed him up to play basketball in El Dorado Hills. (Pee Wee Basketball).  Their CSD had an established program and his other friends weren't playing so it didn't matter to him that he wouldn't really know anyone on the team.  1st Grade was a whole different story.  Tyler wanted to play in a league with his friends on his team and his friends as opponents, so we signed up for the local league at the Cameron Park CSD.  It started off on a sour note...they took our money.  No, in all seriousness, we thought this was going to be a really fun season for Tyler.  He had a bit of experience under his belt and had gotten fairly competitive.

The season starts off with a clinic taught by the Ponderosa Bruins basketball players and coaches.  Then the games started the following week.  In this league there weren't practices and the coaches didn't really have time to teach the players anything...unless they made time on their own to do this.  Our coach did not.  We were lucky if he showed up to the games on time...or at all.  Our team was the Bulls; Phil Jackson our coach was not.

The boys played hard and tried to do their best!

 Tyler hustled and did what he was taught the prior year, so that part was good.  The referees, unfortunately, didn't know the rules of the game, though, so the boys were doing things that they shouldn't (like traveling and fouling) and not being told that they were wrong.  Hopefully they didn't pick up too many bad habits that will have to be broken the next season.

This picture makes me laugh with his tongue sticking out.  We were the Bulls.  Maybe he is a Mini-Jordan.

His 2012 Basketball Photo.

Why do photographers insist on ruining our basketball photos by tucking in the shirt way too far?! (2011 Basketball Pictures)

Buddy Pictures:  Tyler, Bobby, and Lucas

The Bulls 2012 (And again, no coach...)

Dolphins Play Indoors?

The new sport for this year is indoor soccer!  Tyler was asked to join this team and he was really excited to try it out.  And then he got on the field and he might have been a bit intimidated...but he's not the type to give up.  The coach, Mr. Cowen, is a teacher at Tyler's school and he was really excited to be on his team.  It also gave him a chance to play with some new friends and learn some new skills.

The Dolphins

 The first game of the season Tyler was a little nervous and was trying to figure out the game.  Indoor soccer is a much faster pace than outdoor.  And you can play the ball off the wall.  The boys thought this was the best part.

 During the second game (the one pictured) he was a lot more aggressive.  He even had a face that he made when he was going for the ball to show that he was going for that ball and it was HIS. 

The Dolphins played indoor for two sessions and it was a lot of fun.  It definitely helped Tyler to improve on his ball skills and knowing where the ball was going to go when someone kicked it.  We hope to play again next session!

Valentine Treats

Pinterest has ruined changed my life.  There were so many cute ideas and printables for Valentines Day notes.  The kids chose the designs they liked best and we printed them and made some really fun Valentines.    Having a son and a daughter means they both want different things.  Surprise!  Lucy chose the "You Rock Valentine" printable for the boys and the "I'm Bursting With Happiness You're My Friend" for the girls.  I had seen the "Extra" one on the site as well, but then I couldn't find the pin again.  I had to make one on my own.  It wasn't hard to make, thank goodness. 

Lucy's Valentine Choices

Tyler also wanted the Pop Rocks Valentines and the Extra Valentines for his teacher, but for the girls he wanted something a little less pink and friendly.  He thought the "Fish In The Sea" print out was very plain and didn't send the wrong message to any of the girls.  Silly kid.

Tyler's Valentine Choices

The clear goody bags were purchased at Target.  There are 50 to a pack for the smaller bags.  The Valentines were printed on cardstock and hand cut.  Then we just stuffed the bags with Pop Rocks, Starburst, or Swedish Fish and stapled the cardstock to the bag.  They were fairly easy and turned out pretty cute.  However, I do believe that we've set a standard for ourselves and will have to continue this year after year.  No more store bought Sponge Bob or iCarly Valentines for us.

Um...Are We Nuts?

Are we crazy?  Do we WANT to get divorced?  What are we thinking?

We decided to try and play soccer on a co-ed team together.  This has to be nuts.

Happy Valentines Day

Happy Valentines Day!  In our house we use any excuse we can to eat junk food celebrate and buy little gifts.  Thanks to Pinterest again I found some cute labels to put on candy and give Zach a little treat.  The kids got some love notes and sweet treats.  Nothing too exciting.

This right here, though, was VERY exciting.  Zach drove out of his way to get me this Cupcake flavored Popcornopolis popcorn that I REALLY wanted.  Like really.  He does love me. 

Valentines Day is supposed to be for lovers, right?  Well, these kids take up space in my heart and make my world go 'round, so they are my Valentines too.

But, if we're celebrating little lovebirds, then I want to celebrate this kind of love.  Big smooches and just going for what you want. 

Pennies for Patients

Each year at Tyler's elementary school they have a fundraiser called Pennies for Patients.  The kids are to empty their piggy banks (if they want) or ask family, friends, and strangers (not really) for change for their bucket.  Tyler wanted to earn a TON of money for the cause, so we came up with the idea of making cards and selling them for whatever price people wanted to pay. 

He's a pretty creative little dude, so he took some of the ideas that people gave him and made cards or he made up some ideas of his own.  He ended up earning $125 in donations on his own.  Pretty awesome!

The principal, Mr. Stewart, made an announcement to the whole school that he would shave his head and dye his hair blue if each class raised $100.  Well, the whole school did do that and Tyler was able to help with the dyeing process since he did such a cool thing and earned so much money.  Pretty proud Mommy moment.

The Newest Member of the Family

After Barkley passed away we were going to be a one dog family.  Things were going so well with just BB and she was able to go everywhere and she was just the best dog ever.  Ever.  And then Zach discovered duck hunting and just HAD.TO.HAVE a labrador retriever.  He found the one that cost the most had the best hunting lines and reserved her.  Pepper has been costing us warming our hearts since day 1.

 Sweet, sweet kisses with that puppy dog breath.  This might be the sweetest thing I've ever seen.

In all honesty, I really didn't want another dog.  I didn't want to spend the money, have the responsibility, do the potty training, deal with chewing and destruction, get up at night any more than I already do, and find one more thing to give attention to.  But, she's pretty dang cute and I fell in sort-of love with her pretty quickly.  (As a side note, since I'm writing this blog WAY behind...don't ask me how I actually feel about her this second in time...)

The other family member that we had to worry about was BB.  Would she like her new little sister or be just as annoyed with her as Jenn is now?  The progression of their relationship is below:

First Meeting

Getting To Know Each Other Slowly

Finally Getting Snuggly

Full On Playing and Becoming BFFs

It must be rough being so dang cute.  Zach bought Pepper this duck toy on the first day he got her.  She LOVES this toy and chews it daily.  Almost to the point of wondering if she has an obsession with this duck.  She's a duck dog for sure.  And she seems to like shoes, and stuffed animals, and soccer gear as well...