Kya goes back to preschool

Kya went back to school yesterday for her second year of preschool. I cannot believe that next year she will be in Kindergarten! She did really well. She was very excited to see her teachers, friends and make new friends. The pictures I took are basically the same ones from last years first day of school. It is so fun to see how much she had grown in one year. I wish I knew how to link you back to last years blog, so you could see for yourself. One difference is that I noticed last year, Kya took her little stuffed duck to school to make her feel safe. This year she took nothing, but did get two time outs! I guess that means she feels real comfortable at school.

See..a big smile and no lovey.

Seth and the diving board

Ever since Kya 'jumped' off of the diving board two weeks ago, Seth has been begging for his turn. Well, today he finally got to have his turn. He was so excited! Until he got to the end of the board and realized that the board was a bit wobbly and he was so high up from the water.



Here he is still excited in his bright orange life vest.

Very bravely walking the plank....


...walking a little slower, but still walking towards the boards end.....

....and then he runs right back to safety towards the handrails and his Daddy. Here Daddy and his lifeguard instructor give him some encouraging words. Can we say he is definitely related to his sister Kya?

...he again goes to the end of the board, only to become frozen in fear. He totally became a statue and would not move a muscle. I could hear all the other parents around me commenting on how still he was.

So Daddy decided maybe Seth would jump if he got in the water to catch him instead of the other lifeguard..... When that still didn't work, the lifeguard got up on the board with him to give him some more encouraging words and support....

...yeah, that still didn't work. So when all else fails....pick him up and drop him in! (my mom sooooo disapproves of this)

...right into his Daddy's big, strong, loving arms.

He told us all the way home that he did NOT want to EVER jump off of the diving board again. Poor kid. Hope we didn't scar him for life.

Here he is all smiles once again holding onto his certificate. Even though he just turned 3 years old and a child here is supposed to be 4 years old to go in to Level 1, that is what they recommended for him. But we are not taking anymore swim lessons this year, so next Summer he and Kya will both be in the same swim class together.

and just in case you were wondering what the girls did during his swim lessons, here are a couple of pictures.

My birthday at the beach

For my birthday, we decided to go to the beach as a family. I only had my camera out for a few minutes and then I put it away so that I could better enjoy my family. Here are the few that I did take.

We started off by eating a picnic lunch on the grass. I am sure everyone is going to give me grief over this picture when they are older, but I couldn't help but crack up over their facial expressions.

Then we made our way down to the water, which we could not keep Elsie out of. She is such the water baby.
Seth enjoyed both sand and water, but I think he spent more time in the water or at least playing right next to it.


Kya prefers to spend her time on shore creating things with the sand. She is definitely the artist of our family. She also found a little friend to play with. I love that she can make friends just about anywhere she goes.


Of course, she did enjoy some water time too. Here she is getting her daddy to go out with her to the deeper part of the waters.

and of course, Elsie could not be left behind!


A shot of the birthday girl (ME!) with my kiddos.

Oh, and when I say beach, I meant Mothers Beach, which is really just the marina leading out to the ocean.

Keith Urban with Lady Antebelum

On Sunday night, my friend Michelle whom I have known since the 9th grade, treated me to a very special evening for my birthday. We started out the evening by going to eat at Ciudad's, a fabulous Spanish restaurant owned by the ladies of Too Hot Tamales. From there we took a limo over to Staples Center to see Lady Antebelum followed by Keith Urban. Sugarland was supposed to open for him, but Jennifer's doctor put her on voice rest. I was soooo bummed, as I really, really wanted to see them. Turns out to be okay though, because Lady Antebelum were really good too. Keith's show was AWESOME and very energetic. It was so nice to be able to have a nice girls night out with my dear friend. Thanks again Michelle!!!




Here we are just getting dropped of in front of the Nokia Theater where American Idol is filmed. For those non Southern California peeps, Staples Center is directly across the street.
A self portrait of us inside the limo. What a couple of silly mommy's!

Inside Staples Center, waiting for the concert to begin.

Lady Antebelum! (click on any picture for a better view)

KEITH URBAN!!!!

Here he is performing on the front center stage.

Keith and his band. Michelle had a thing for the bald guy. hee-hee

Half way through the show, Keith made his way (via security guards) toward the very back of the stadium and performed 4 songs on this little stage. The crowd went wild!

Besides the drunk college kids next to us, it was a fabulous evening. I realized I may not be as stylish and hot as I once was, but I still like to have a good time. Maybe this getting older business isn't so bad. ;)

Seth's Guitar Party

Seth asked months ago if he could have a guitar party. Of course I said yes, but then I had to figure out just how to go about this, as there are no "guitar themed" stuff at the store, except for Hannah Montana. I did find a guitar shaped cake pan, so I knew we would have that at least, but what did I do for everything else? Then a couple months ago, I was walking thru Target and came across these invitations and thank you cards. Perfect! Then on the next isle over, they had solid orange and blue plates, napkins, cups and plastic ware on sale. Score! This party was starting to take shape. All I had to do next was think of games and find some clothes that went with his theme.

Dinner consisted of Turkey, Ham and Roast Beef Sandwiches, Turkey, Swiss and Cream cheese Wraps, Salad, Fruit and Spinach Dip with Crackers. It was light and refreshing on a very hot day, as well as super easy.

For the game the kids played "Pin the Pick on the Guitar". Wayne drew this guitar free hand and I made extra large picks, perfect for little hands. Because the kids are all so young, there were no winners or losers.

I tried to cover Seth's eyes with a tie, but it kept sliding off. Covering his eyes with my own hand seemed to be a better choice.

With Kya and Grace, I just held the back of the tie to keep it from slipping. It was kinda funny to watch these kids maneuver without being able to see, as they have never done such a thing before.

Grace originally put her pick (the green one) way over on the tv screen. My brother made a big deal about me helping my kids cheat (which I did not!) and I could see by Grace's face that she felt bad about it too. I let her go again and the second time she got it right on the guitar and her face lit up too.

The two babies of our family were both allowed to just put their picks on the guitar without having their eyes covered.

Caleb didn't want to play at first, so I made his dad help him out. Once he put the pick on, everyone started clapping and cheering. I wish I had a picture of his face, because he got the biggest smile on it and started to clap too. So cute!

Here is Seth in his guitar shirt standing next to the game's finale.

Present time! My mom even drew this electric guitar on her present to him.

His gift from us was his very own guitar! It just about swallows him up. lol Of course, he can only play it when Daddy is home to help him out. He is such a natural on it already.

Jamming with Daddy

I just love how precious he looks in this picture.

Time for cake! Let me tell you a little secret....I will never become a professional cake decorator. This cake took me 3 hours to decorate, but my boy is soooo worth it! Too bad the strings cracked as the icing dried in the refrigerator.

Blowing out his candle like a big boy After cake and ice cream, Seth was anxious to break in his new toys. Since it was starting to get a little cooler, we all headed outside to play a little T-ball. I think almost every man joined in too!

He wears his helmet ALL DAY long! I can't wait till next year when he can actually join a t-ball league.

Elsie's Swimming Lesson

Since Seth had his doctor's appointment yesterday and we had already paid for 10 days of swimming lessons that we obviously wanted to get our monies worth on, we decided to let Elsie go in Seth's place. We are so glad that we did too, because she loved every minute of it and did not want to get out of the pool.

Luckily, the kids and I were able to make it over to the pool in time to see her for the last half of the lesson.

Giving me her big 'ol grin!

Jumping into the pool (Daddy's arms) while singing Humpty Dumpty.

Next Summer we will definitely get all three kids in swimming lessons, as they all love the water so much.