Our Yard

This is what our backyard looks like as of this morning. A nice size for the city, but overgrown and uninspired. Our good friend Scot is helping us improve it (on a very tiny budget) and I can't wait to see how it turns out. I'll be updating here as the project progresses.
Check out Scot's amazing work here

Eva's Gift

Gus' best-buddy, Eva, turned 4 a few days ago and today we're going to her birthday party. When I asked Gus what he'd like to give her, he said he really wanted to bake her a cake. Eva's mom, Jessica, kindly agreed to let Gus provide the cake for the party and here's what he made:

He knew exactly what he wanted--Chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. Then he said it definitely need "beautiful sprinkles" because Eva likes beautiful things. He chose a #4 candle and then some pink and purple star candles for her to blow out. He then decided the cake needed a heart and a deer. I love how much thought he put into this gift. It seems so much more special than simply going out and picking a toy--although I couldn't resist buying her a dress! Hey--little girl birthdays are my only chance to shop on the "girl" side of a store. I have to take the opportunities when I can!

Peace Project

Max's school fundraising auction is this Friday and I volunteered to coordinate our classroom project, that will hopefully bring in lots of money. Here's what we did:

Using a stencil that Mark and I created (he drew, I cut), the kids added their fingerprints to create a dove. Each child used a different color paint. We then wrote 'peace' in each of the 3 languages spoken by the children in the class.



Each child then added one last fingerprint and signed their name underneath it to identify their color:

I then added their class information:

The final piece:

Another mother kindly offered to have it framed. I've heard it looks wonderful but haven't seen it myself. I am so proud of the kids for the hard work they put into this project. It turned out beautifully. The only problem is now I really want to buy it!

I cannot take credit for this idea. I found it on another school's auction blog. We modified it a bit, but the idea was definitely theirs. You can see their original piece here.

Disneyland - Part 7: Joy

Is there anything better than Disneyland?

Treats:



Imagination and wonder:

New friends to love:

Family and friends to share it with:

Disneyland - Part 6: Pirate Island

Visiting Pirate Island was definitely one of the coolest things we did. There was so much to explore. It was the perfect activity for the boys and gave us some down time from the rides.

Crossing a suspension bridge:



pumping water:

What boy doesn't love treasure?

Here we all are with our loot:

Disneyland - Part 5: Dumbo

Gus' favorite ride by far was Dumbo. We visited it more times than I can count. I think we started everyday on Dumbo. It was the perfect ride for him: outside (he didn't like the dark, "scary" fairy tale rides), it wasn't too fast, he could control the up and down motion of the car and the line was always quick (as were all the other lines--Disneyland is January is amazing)

Here he is about to take his very first ride:



Can you see Mark and Gus?

Posing in the Dumbo Car next to the ride:

Family shot:

Disneyland - Part 4: Max's Favorites

Max was just tall enough to ride every ride in Disneyland and he went on nearly all of them. He was most excited about riding Indiana Jones.
You can see the excitement in his eyes as he waits in line:



Another favorite was the Astro Orbiter.
Here's the riding spinning around at night (Max's favorite time to ride it):

And here's Max in front of it:

This is Max hysterically laughing as Gus and I nearly faint from fright on the HUGE ferris wheel in California Adventure. This was definitely one of his top 3 rides. The car we are in was on a sliding track so as we rounded the top, we slid and swung back and forth. It was terrifying! Max and Mark thought it was hilarious. Gus and I, not so much.