Father's Day Car Massage

Benjamin was pretty excited when I told him what we were making Mike/Dad for Father's Day. It's hard for him to keep secrets and he almost lead his dad to the hiding place the day before.

We found this idea on Pintrest. It's a shirt with a road map on the back. The kids get to play on their dad while he gets to relax with a car massage. Mike thought it was a great invention.

Below is the print out of the road map with the shirt.

Here is more detail. I added a duck pond to give it an additional personalized touch for Mike.

The front of the shirt has a hand print of each of the boys. That was Ben's favorite part!

Both boys had a fun time with their dad. Happy Father's Day Mike! The boys sure do think you're the greatest!

Valentine's Week

We had a week full of Valentine's fun and food. I let Benjamin pick the Valentine's he wanted to give to his preschool class and teacher. I tried to convince him to do something else, but he's a determined boy.

For his class, we made superhero lolly pops. I got to help out with the craft for his Valentine's Day party and helped pass out all the treats and cards. The superheros were a hit with all the kids. Benjamin knew what would make his classmates happy.

His teacher got a bouquet of cake pops. I've never made cake pops and after reading a few pins on Pintrest I figured I could manage my way through a batch. They are fairly time consuming, but not as complex as I thought they would be. I have dipped chocolates before, so that was helpful.

Benjamin did help by eating the sprinkles that didn't stick to the chocolate. He also helped bag the cake pops and eat a few of them.

The finished product was very festive.

 Our next project was to make some sugar cookies. We made a big one for Mike.

Ben helped draw the heart and spell his name.

We enjoyed several treats. Mike got me strawberries and a cupcake from Cravings. Yum!

We then enjoyed our traditional heart shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's. Throughout dinner Benjamin came around giving Mike, Levi and me hugs and kisses. I'm so happy that I have my family and hope they enjoy these memories we create together.

San Diego Christmas Trip

Christmas day we got up early, packed the car and the kids and left for the airport. It was cold and snowy with icy roads. We thought we were going to miss our flight, but managed to get there 10 minutes before boarding started. We've never been on an airplane when it's been snowing and got to experience deicing of the plane. It was a fascinating but long process.

We were thankful to arrive in San Diego with warm weather. However, leaving the cold was only the beginning of our adventure. The car rental agency overbooked rentals that day and set us up with another agency. The car was 4x the amount we budgeted, but we were promised that we'd be reimbursed for the difference. That night Benjamin got sick and ended throwing up. He was miserable and freaked out. Even later in the evening, I was sick going through the same thing Ben did.

We stayed at a vacation rental condo by the beach in Oceanside. The first two days of our trip we were recovering and relaxing. Finally everyone felt better and we ventured out to Old Town San Diego. We found the historic site of the Mormon Battalion. We went through the visitor center and enjoyed the presentation they had.

At the end, Ben got to pan for gold...

and pump water for washing.

I got Mike to pose with Ben.

Ben's highlight of the trip was the Old Town Model Railroad Depot. He ran around and around enjoying the trains. We even went back on the last day in San Diego and spent an hour there.

 The detail was amazing. There was even a hobo on the tracks.

The rest of the trip from here on out I was sick but managed to go along with our plans. I was able to enjoy the boys excitement of the things they got to see.

The San Diego Wild Safari Park was nice to see animals in as close to their own environment as possible.

We went to Sea World and saw several shows.

 Legoland was a fun place to take Benjamin. It was very interactive.

Ben got to build his own boat and float it down the water way.

Ben enjoyed going on rides all by himself. I think he felt all grown up. Good trip and it will be fun to take Levi again when he can go on rides and play with the Legos as well.

Levi's First Christmas

We tried to keep the Christmas gift giving simple this year since we were going on a trip, but we still wanted to make it fun for the boys. After all, it was going to be Levi's first Christmas!

We started off by telling the Christmas story and tried as best we could explain to an excited 3 year old that Jesus was our first gift.

Benjamin helped everyone take out their stocking gifts.

Here's Levi opening his first gift.

Mike's favorite gift below. ;)

Benjamin helped Levi open his gifts.

The Piano Guys have given Benjamin a love of music and hopefully this will encourage him to explore the musician he can become.

We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas!

Colorado Adventure

We went to Durango, CO and met up with my parents. First day in Colorado we went to Mesa Verde National Park. To start the day, Mike showed Benjamin the proper way to eat a waffle.

 On our drive we stopped off at a scenic overlook. 

Here is my classic shot of Mike taking pictures. Benjamin also got a chance to take pictures. He managed to get a hold of my camera and took a picture of every single hiker on the way back up from seeing the Spruce Tree village. I think I deleted 50 pictures of people's waistlines.

Benjamin had a fun time visiting with Nonna and Abuelo. He thought Abuelo was the best for taking him up and down some of the stairs.

Here's a nice picture with my parents. Mom hung out with me and Benjamin while Mike and dad went on a tour of one of the bigger cliff villages. We watched chipmunks scurry across the parking lot looking for crumbs.

The next day we took it easy in Durango and went for a Sunday stroll along the Animas River.

We went out to eat at a Mexican restaurant and Benjamin got a hold of my camera again and took this lovely picture of me!

The following day, we boarded the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad train. This was the highlight of the trip for Benjamin.

In Silverton, we picked up a little choo-choo-train and here he is showing it off to our conductor.

Abuelo spent some time with Benjamin teaching him about cameras. He finally became so exhausted with the train rocking back and forth that fell asleep with camera in hand.

Outside the train station, Benjamin discovered a huge pumpkin that fascinated him.

Our final day we spent lunch in Ridgeway at the True Grit Cafe, surrounded by John Wayne memorabilia. Then we went to Ouray to walk Main Street and visit the gift shops. It was a pleasant trip!

Wedding Fun

 

Our niece, Hannah, got married last month to Phil. We were able to celebrate with them and had an enjoyable time. We wish them every happiness!

 Benjamin played the part of cuteness and had fun being doted on.

Benjamin's closest cousin (in age) is Vera. They got to spend a few moments together, but they were always on the move. I caught the blurry shot above, and below is Corinne's picture of them running around. We're glad we got to spend time with them and look forward to seeing them in late spring.

Waffle Loves Valentines Flowers and a Movie

On Valentine's Day, Benjamin and I delivered some Valentines and then met up with my sister-in-law, Lan. We had a great time going over to Thanksgiving Point to get a Waffle Love treat. The biscoff waffles are very tastey! Benjamin and I had a tug-of-war with the waffle we shared.

When we arrived home from our outing, we found flowers had been delivered for me from Mike. They're still blooming and make the house smell pretty. Benjamin and I got Mike an oreo ice-cream cake, which didn't last very long.

Mike and I went out (without Benjamin) on a date to dinner and a movie, The Monuments Men. It's the forth movie I've been to in the theatre since Benjamin was born. What a treat!

Christmas ~ Disneyland ~ Case of the Disappearing Toothbrush

We had the opportunity to spend Christmas in California. We had a great time and loved seeing Benjamin enjoying himself. We didn't know what to expect with Benjamin's reactions to the rides and huge crowds, but he did well. He was very curious and did a lot of observing. We're thankful that my parents and sister came to meet up with us in Aneheim. Benjamin loved hanging out with Nonna, Abuelo and Aunt Ariana. They would stick around with Benjamin in the park so that Mike and I could enjoy a ride together.

Below are pictures from our trip. But first I have to tell about the missing toothbrush.

Our little Benjamin plays the part of a monkey very well. This little monkey was playing on the bed. Momma was in the bathroom washing her face and daddy was trying to get little monkey to brush his teeth. One little monkey started making a pile of pillows; jumped on top and bounced right off. Monkey's toothbrush flew out of daddy's hand as he dove after the little monkey. Momma came in the room and scooped monkey off the floor. No more monkey jumping on the bed for the rest of the trip! The little guy was comforted and checked for bumps and bruises. Only one bump on the forehead and thankfully nothing else. Once everyone was calmed down a thorough search of the hotel room was done for the toothbrush. It was never recovered. That night, the little monkey got away with getting his teeth brushed. And so, the Case of the Disappearing Toothbrush goes unsolved and will forever be a mystery.

  Benjamin's expression throughout our trip...wonder and amazement.

 Mater from Cars.

 Mickey after lighting the Christmas tree at California Adventure.

 Mike's childhood home in Thousand Oaks.

 Exhausted!

 Western town at Paradise Ranch in Malibu.

 Feet in sand at Zuma Beach.

 Waiting to go to the Tiki Room. Benjamin was fascinated and danced.

 Pirates of the Caribbean.

 Dancing to the 80z All Stars.

 Space Mountain is one of our favorites.

 Benjamin loved "it's a small world"!

 After the Disneyland Christmas Fantasy Parade...it snowed!

Tow Mater's Tractor Pull.