Fairy Princess Party

We got together with the Richardsons today for a Fairy Princess Party. It was a fun excuse for a party. I think I got into it more than the girls although they had a wonderful time. (Sorry Mom, I now understand how sad you must have been that I never played princess. I know you tried to get me to wear a dress but I was too much of a tomboy. Well, I'm making up for it now.) The morning started with a princess wand craft, followed by dancing, tea, swinging, and lots of creative play.


Craft Time

Finished Wands
Dancing
Steve and the Princesses

Tea Time

Princess that lost a shoe just like CinderellaSwinging Mommy with Princess Victoria
AdorableSo, the Dads weren't too happy about these photos...but they're adorable!
I can't help but smile everytime I see this one.
Such a Princess!

Yes, they did turn into pumpkins (cranky pants) at the strike of 12 noon. They're napping now and hopefully having sweet dreams about happy princesses.

Arizona

After work on Wed the 10th we drove through the night...ALL night from 6pm to 6am to get to Phoenix for Jeff's Grandma's memorial service on Thursday. The drive went pretty well. The kids slept the majority of the time. There were a few moments with crying from everyone though. I took the first shift and drove until we were just outside of LA. Thanks to cheap gas station coffee and flamin hot cheetos I was able to stay awake and alert. It was actually kind of nice to drive. I was able to have quiet time. That's looking at the bright side I guess. Towards the end of the drive Tori informed us that she thought flying was much better. We agreed!

It was important to us that we celebrated and remembered Jeff's Grandma and that we were there to support the family. It's been a long road of illness for her and a lot responsibility for Mom and the rest of the family. We know Grandma is at peace now and in Heaven without any pain so it is a good thing although she will be missed. Of all things, a great uncle also passed away on the same day on Jeff's Dad's side of the family so there was also a memorial service for him. We saw a lot of family in a few short days. It was very good that we were there. We stayed in Phoenix at Shelley's (Jeff's sisters house) for the first part of our trip. Thanks Shelley. She has an amazing saltwater aquarium and it was fun to watch the undersea adventure. It was a great entertainer for Siah. We'd sit him in his highchair and he'd be content to watch the wildlife for a long time. We stayed inside most of the time in order to endured the heat. It wasn't that bad considering how hot it could've been but we were anxious to get up to Prescott where Jeff's parents now live. It's cooler and really pretty. Here are some pictures of our trip-

Cuddles with Grandpa and Lucy

Auntie Shelley

Huge Saltwater Aquarium

The Whole Family in PrescottThis is the cool lake that we can see from their house. It's really unique.He looks so old to me in this pictureThese wild sunflowers were everywhere near their home.We went to this lake for a picnic. It rained a little off and on but we had a nice time.
Family Photo Tori found the water fountain and decided to wash the bunnies. Josiah thought it was a great idea and joined in too. They LOVE water.

So after all the adventures we headed home at 2pm on Saturday the 20th and arrive at 3am Sunday. It's taken a couple days but we're finally back to normal. We miss our family already and we're looking forward to flying back after Christmas.

Fairy Princess, Happy-Messy Kids, Potty Training Trains

Fairy Princess Tori
Having fun dressing up and playing in her fairy house.

crooked wings
Pixie Face

Josiah learning to eat

Do I have something on my face?

Mud Fight

Best friends Tori and Makenna making up after sandy mud fight.

OUCH!

Josiah was leaning on the screen door when Tori opened it up and he spilled out onto the ground. Both were crying and wanting to be held. Tori felt so bad that she'd hurt her baby and of course baby Siah's face hurt.

Potty Training Trains

I would say that Tori is officially trained and very proud of herself. We are constantly called into the bathroom to see what a good job she's done and she hardly has accidents anymore. Finally, thank you Thomas Trains! As you can see, she's earned a lot of them already. Unfortunately she doesn't want to share with her little brother.

Classic pout and oblivious baby Siah

What we've been doing lately

Washing the car with Daddy

She was really excited to help.

Bathtime

Josiah loves the bath and splashes the entire time. He also likes to keep this fish in his mouth the whole time. Tori likes to squirt him with the fish.

Learning how to eat
What a mess but he was having fun.

Teething- ouch!

He got 5 in the past couple weeks. Not an easy time. Another one is on the way.

Tea time with Teddy Bear

Holding baby Chase

Tori sat and held my friend Bonnie's week old baby for near to an hour. She was such a little mommy wanting to wrap him in a blanket and keeping the paci in his mouth. She even reminded us to keep quiet so we didn't wake him.

Learning to Drive

Hakone Japanese Garden

We went to the Hakone garden in Saratoga this pass Saturday. It was pretty and Tori loved feeding the fish. Josiah loved the bamboo and didn't want to let go.

Little Panda Bear

Playing with Fuzzy Wuzzy the catapillar

Tori was excited to play with a fuzzy wuzzy catapillar. These were always my favorite find in the yard so it was fun to see her excited about them too. (That black spot on her arm is the left over Thomas tattoo that she wouldn't let us wash off.)

Video



Playing at the Park
Tori taught Josiah how to climb up the slide and then slide back down. He actually did make it to the top. Pretty good for a 10 month old.

Video

Summer Fun

We love summer time. There are so many fun events to take advantage of...

Thomas Train Days

Tori loved seeing Thomas but didn't want to ride which was fine by us since it's not cheap. She was just as happy getting her picture taken. Baby Siah didn't know what to think. Tori loved the bounce house and got in immediately with all the other kids.
We even got baby Siah's face painted... just a little bit since he wasn't too happy about it.

Boardwalk .75 cent night

Shhhh...we were suppose to be at a church meeting but we decided to played hookey at the last minute and met our friends for a fun night of rides. Look at that amazing sunset.

Tori and Selva had soooo much fun together. They rode all of the kiddie rides.
Again, he doesn't know what to think about everything he's seeing.

I got to ride the dragon with Tori. It was actually really fun because you can go up high and see the ocean.

While Daddy's away, we play...and cry.

While Jeff was backpacking this past week my friend Alica stayed with us so we stayed busy and went to the beach, the pool, the aquarium, tried to see the movie Wall-E (sat down and Tori started to cry so we left), we went to a friends house for dinner and out to Cambodian food, we also bake Friendship Bread (thanks Michelle). It was a full week! I even managed to watch a few chick flicks (Sisterhood..., Bella, & 27 Dresses) and eat lots of ice cream. The only thing I didn't do was get SLEEP. Josiah was really tough! He was awake every 3 hours and would cry non-stop for an hour. During the day he'd whine but didn't want to be cuddled. I was worried about him. He does have 6 teeth coming in but it seemed to be more than that. Last night I finally realized what was really wrong- he missed his Daddy. I don't know why I didn't realize it sooner. He was so cute when Jeff came home and played with him. Over night he only woke up once. Jeff got up with him and was able to sooth him relatively quick. I'm so glad Jeff is home for many reasons. He had a great backpacking trip and is feeling tired but refreshed.

Oh, so here's the latest on potty training. Tori wants to wear panties so I let her and she's doing ok...ish except for #2. So, last night I took my friends advice and told her that she had to clean her own poopy panties thinking this would deter her (I sent her outside with a plastic bag and wipes). Instead she thanked me and said, "this is so fun. Thank you for letting me clean myself." Ummm...what am I suppose to do about that????