The McGee's Musings

Couch Bouncy

2012-02-05T12:17:00.000-08:00

When we went to IKEA recently we bought Clara a little bench so she could get onto the potty by herself, however it wasn't tall enough. So she found other uses for it. Couch bouncy being one of her new favorite things. She was saying "cheese mommy, cheese", bc she wanted me to take her picture while she bounced. I'm so glad I did bc they pictures are HILARIOUS!! I was laughing so hard when I downloaded them. But then daddy came home and ended all the fun. I guess it was a "Parent Fail" moment when I allowed her to basically bounce on our couch, lol! But it was funny while it lasted.

This picture reminds me of pageant hair, lol!!

After bath her hair was wet.

She's so darn cute, and cracks me up all day long, everyday!! Love my little Clarabear!!

Misty's 32nd Birthday

2012-01-30T17:13:00.000-08:00

32 Reasons to Love Misty

1. Absolutely HILARIOUS!! Literally I get an ab work out when we get going on something funny!!

2. She's the MOST organized person I know, I aspire to be 1/4 as organized as her.

3. She's is so thoughtful!! She thinks of things I could never even think about, so detailed in her actions!

4. She is definitely the most ambitious person I know. When she has a goal, you bet your fanny she's gonna obtain it!!

5. She also obsessed with goals, she always has something brewing that she's working on.

6. She's a CLEAN freak!! Cleanest person I know hands down.

7. She's amazingly smart, and constantly doubts her spelling ability. She can work computer programs like no other. I'm always calling her to help make me a spread sheet or slide show, or anything I could never figure out.

8. She has the most awesome white girl dance move you could ever see!! Hand in the air, booty swaying side to side, it's rad!

9. She doesn't know how to say NO!! That's not necessarily a good thing, but she's an amazing friend.

10. She makes beautiful and tasty Cakes, and any food item she makes is usually delish!

11. She's the busiest person I know...Master's school, full-time job, home owner, friend to 100's of people, girlfriend, cake baker, marathon runner, concert goer, she's always got something going on and still makes time to come hang with me and my little ones.

12. She's a beautiful woman inside and OUT!!

13. She's a shoe whore...and wears clownsized shoes but still has a million pairs.

14. She's the sister I never had. I can be 100% myself around her, I can say ANYTHING to her and know she's not gonna judge me. She knows ALL ALL ALL my business!!

15. She is the nosiest person I know. If we are out in public she straight up will be looking through you, at the people behind you to see what they are saying. And she has a certain look on her face when she's doing it, so you know you've lost her at that point.

16. She is the BEST auntie. She LOVES my children so much and they just adore her!! Aunt Fishy for life!

17. She's scared of death like no other. So am I, we definitely have that in common. But she don't like talking about it or dealing with it.

18. She HATES to be sang to. She thinks it's creepy when people are looking at her while they sing. Happy Birthday is a nightmare for her.

19. In high school she ate nothing but ORANGES and PRETZELS when in training for cheerleading.

20. Misty was the only one at first with a car in high school, she taxi'd us around everywhere. We'd hit up taco bell at 3 in the morning in her car lol!!

21. This is how great of a friend she is, she let me sleep in her twin bed in high school when I stayed the night at her house, while she slept on the couch or the floor. Show's how bad of a friend I am to allow her to give up her bed...shame shame.

22. She will lie to you while in labor and tell you the contraction is almost over, even though she has no clue what the machine is telling her.

23. She sings POD beautifully!!

24. She's become a hard core animal lover. Almost wrote her thesis on it. Her dogs are her children!

25. She doesn't care for meat unless is burnt a bit or ground turkey.

26. She also is not a fan of the ends of fries. She prefers the middles.

27. She's obsessed with the world's tallest or biggest things. If there is one nearby where she is traveling she will find it and take a picture with it.

28. She chops up her eggs so weird to the point that they are mush. bleh.

29. She loves her some seafood, we do not mesh on that one at all!!

30. She HAS to shower twice a day or she freaks out bc the pits and feet must be washed.

31. She HATES feet, they gross her out to the point of vomit.

32. The funniest thing in the entire world to her is.....dun dun dun....watching ME run!! Run AUBREY Run!!!

My best friend Misty turned 32 and to celebrate Mike made her a pancake brinner!! She LOVES Mike's pancakes, and he's been making these new silver dollar pancakes that are divine. So Clara and I decorated for Aunt Fishy's birthday. Clara can now finally say Misty but she still calls her Fishy. So far it's her new nickname.

Pretty sure I'm the only person in the entire world that has wounded themselves while blowing up a balloon. Really???? who does that??? yeah I do!!! I blew it up too big and it popped and snapped back on my neck and made me bleed. It HURT soooo bad, I literally cried. so stupid!!

So this is Misty's favorite outfit that I wear....NOT. The shorts that I am wearing were once maroon sweatpants that I wore to a high school football came when Thomas was in high school along with a orange t-shirt and maroon dock martins. Misty has NEVER forgiven me for wearing it and embarrassing my brother along with all of them I was with, lol. SOOOO when Mike and I bought our house, when we were moving she found my maroon pants and decided to dust furniture with them. So I snagged them up and cut them off and they are now my cleaning shorts. In honor of her, I brought out her favorite outfit, and wore it all night for her party, buahahahahaha!!

Uncle Eric and Jack Jack

Seriously that weekend Clara NEVER left Eric alone. She pestered him all weekend!!

Aunt Fishy with her babies.

When Misty walked in, Clara yelled Happy Birthday to her!!

The Bunting's came over and so did Stephanie, my mom and brother Bobby!

Misty had birthday assistants...Sarah and Clara

My parents and us bought Misty her Beats by Dre headphones for running. Eric also bought them (my fault I should have called him) and so he took his back and got her an awesome Dyson hand vac that she has wanted forever.

Steph brought the infamous birthday box!!

My mom made Misty a delicious cake and Mike's breakfast turned out awesome. I wish I would have taken pictures of him cooking it! Happy Birthday to the BEST friend anyone could ever ask for.

Misty's Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon

2012-01-30T14:59:00.000-08:00

In celebration of her 32nd birthday, Misty decided to run the very first Tinkerbell 1/2 Marathon at Disneyland. She's been training for months and months for it. Along with Misty were her friends Lisa, and Lindsi and my two friends since high school Sandra and Andrea. My mom went with me and the kids and we picked up Tom and Nicole at Tom's apartment in Northridge. We stayed at the Best Western Park Place, our favorite bc it's cheap and right across the street. What was really strange was being SOOOOO close to Disneyland and walking through the entrance area but NOT going into the park. :((( We are gonna save our money and plan a really fun, long trip at one of the Disney hotels hopefully in the fall!

When we first got there we loaded up the kids to go meet up with Aunt Fishy and Uncle Eric!

Mom and Cole

Walking through the middle of the entrances :(

Thomas chose to push the kids!

I'd never been to the hotel before, so it was pretty cool to see the hat!

When we got to the expo it was crazy busy with runners! It was really neat to see all of the excitement and stuff available to marathon runners. And they were giving away St. Jude's Hospital balloons at one of the booths, so Clara started freaking out and begging for a balloon non stop. We had already left the expo, so we asked where we could buy a Disney balloon and they said they gave them away for free at the front desk of the hotel. The Cast Member was soooo sweet and gave Clara a cute Mickey balloon. She was a very happy girl after that!!

Posing in front of the Lego store. We wanted to stop in there but there were gillions of people, so we skipped it.

Cole held Jack Jack in the carrier. He's half as tall as she is!

We popped into the Disney Store real quick in Downtown Disney and it was madness, so Aunt Cole and Uncle Thomis took the kids outside to wait.

Clara passed out on T

We went and ate at a place called Millie's and it was what Nicole calls "old people food" lol. I had a disgusting veggie burger that tasted like an eggroll. But we were all so hungry it didn't matter. Misty had to be careful of what she was eating, so she had turkey bacon, and eggs.

Nicole let the Minki touch her face and out she went. They slept in the fold out bed, which was like sleeping in a taco. Mom and I were gonna be up early to watch Misty start the race, my children decided to stay up till 12:30am. I could not get them to sleep for nothing. Mom had Jack while I dealt with Clara. So about 1am we finally fell asleep and had to be up at 3:50am. Tom and Nicole stayed with the kids while we went.

before bed the kids were watching Gabba and Pixar Shorts on DVD.

I was eating brownies.

4am!!! Lisa and Misty ready to run!!

Misty's number, with her corral section E on it!

Lindsi and Lisa in their cute outfits walking to the start.

THEN we found Sandra and Andrea and it was so exciting!! I was so happy to see them and support them through this amazing thing they were about to accomplish.

and then I was laughing at this couple that were doing these crazy stretches and so I made Travis and Andrea do it too, lol!!

The girls lined up in their corrals. Then they made spectators get lost! So we went to find a spot to see them pass us!

We chose Mile 4 marker to wait by and cheer them on. My mom ran back to the hotel to get the adorable posters that Nicole had made for Misty. They were quite a hit bc runners kept laughing at the one poster and talking about it as they passed.

Eric and I waiting for the race to start.

I kept laughing all night about how Eric kept taking my picture when I wasn't expecting and I had beaver teeth, so Travis posed with fabulous beaver teeth. AND he was a smart boy and brought a chair. What was I thinking not bringing one!!

Eric, Ma and I

This was the first runner to come through the Mile 4 area. She did not win however, bc I read that a man won the race. My heart was pounding when she came through, it was so amazing and exciting!!

The second person not far behind her. I didn't get pictures of Misty bc I was in charge of videoing while Eric photographed.

Hilarious story about Andrea though...we seen her coming and so we all start cheering and screaming, and flapping around like crazy people and we are literally about 4 feet from her and she has NO idea we were there. She just ran by us like we were fools. It was sooooo funny!!

Here's part of the cheer squad!!! After everyone ran through, we went back to the hotel to get the kids awake, fed and dressed, and away we went all the way back through downtown Disney again. Eric received text updates from Misty's GPS tracker that the race provides. So we knew where she was at most of the time. A lot of people had already finished, so when we got to the family meet up area, it was mayhem. There were runners everywhere, and all of them were sitting down all over the place, and I had to try to push my double stroller through everyone, lol.

the kids were still exhausted, I wonder why.

Love this optical illusion. I look like an average sized person here, so NOT the case. Great shadowing and angle, lol.

Here's Misty after she came through and was able to collapse. She was hurting pretty bad and had blisters on her toes.

Andrea came through with Misty, she did so AWESOME!! Andrea's heels were a bloody mess from blisters. yikes!

And then Sandra!! Yay yay yay!!

they all finished, got their medals, and some snacks, and then time to go rest for a bit.

Here's Misty with her full cheer squad!! woot woot!!!

Her beautiful medal!!

After Misty had to walk back to the hotel, which was torture for her, we decided to pack up, check out, and head to Cheesecake Factory in Glendale. Clara loved the escalator.

the "20" minute wait was 40 minutes, but well worth it!!!

I took Clara out to the fountain and let her throw in some pennies, good times.

There is NO way to express how PROUD I am of all the girls. It's amazing to see them endure and push on and get through so a difficult goal! They all set their minds to it and accomplished it. It makes me realized how much our bodies can endure and what they are capable of if you take care of them. It has been very eye opening and encouraging to watch them do it! They are inspiring, maybe I can make it my goal to do my first 5K next year!! Love you girls!!!

Jungle Climber

2012-01-19T13:16:00.000-08:00

We bought a Little Tikes Jungle Climber from our friend's the Delgado's for $40. It retails brand new for $299 online. I was super excited!! Clara LOVES slides and any chance she gets she wants to play on one. Mike went to pick it up at night and Clara started crying because he left, I told her when he got back that daddy had a surprise for her. So when Mike got home, she immediately was putting on her shoes and was saying "prize, prize, dada prize". Well Mike was tired and it was dark and it was in pieces. So I took her to the garage and showed her the pieces and said that dada was gonna work on it this weekend. She hasn't let a day go by since that she's talking about her slide. So Mike came home early from work today and put it together for her. She's soooooo excited!!

Jack Jack swung while Mike put it together and I assisted in holding pieces. Clara said "Clara do it, Clara push Jack Jack"

He loves the swing, he was really excited to play in it.

She kept posing for me and saying "Clara cheese". I love that she's starting to ham it up for me now.

I have been wanting to get something small like this for a long time. She's going to have so much fun with this. We will be spending LOTS of time outside now. Hopefully it wears her out!! And other kids will enjoy it when they come over too!

When Life Gives You Lemons....juice them & give them away!!

2012-01-18T21:52:00.000-08:00

So we received a letter from our home owners insurance this summer, stating that they were not going to renew our policy because trees need to be trimmed. I assumed they meant our large oak trees in front of our house. I was so upset because there were no large branches hanging over our house and it was going to cost about $500 to have them trimmed when it wasn't necessary. Then after speaking with my broker I realized they were referring to our LEMON trees on the side of the house. Last year we didn't even pick one lemon off our trees. We have 2 lemons and a messed up tangerine/orange/lemon bred tree. So needless to say they had completely overgrown and were out of control.

So David and Mike attacked them suckers in one day. We had well over 1000 lemons. I went out and was watching for a little bit and then I started picking off some lemons from the branches they had already cut. I did not realize lemon trees have ginormous thorns. I got stabbed pretty good, and finally found an unmatched pair of gloves.

Here's David cutting a HUGE branch that opened up the entire side of the house once he pulled it down.

This is what Clara and I did while they trimmed away.

Here's Mike and David attacking some more branches.

We went inside the house for a bit and played peek-a-boo.

This picture does not do it justice. The dump trailer was soooo full and high. They managed to get it tarped though.

Here's the after. We actually have 3 separate trees now, instead of one ginormous lemon bush. Our neighbor graciously let us in their yard to trim them bc all the branches were falling on their roof and yard. I gathered about 60 lemons that had fallen in their yard and left them in a box for them.

Our insurance company should be satisfied now!! David was able to get inside the tree and topped them off for us!!

This is just a 3rd of what we had. We gave away a TON to neighbors and even the neighbor's gardener came over and filled up his ice chest. We have so many more to give away and juice!!!

Mike's 30th Birthday

2012-01-10T17:33:00.000-08:00

My husband Michael turned 30!! When we met and started dating he had just turned 16. I can't believe he's 30! There are so many amazing things that I love about my husband.

1. He's an amazing provider for our family. He works so hard for our family, and has given me the best gift of all, to stay home with our children.

2.He's a hands on dad. He loves his children more than anything and has changed more diapers than any other dad I know. His children adore him.

3. The man can cook like nobody's business. Best pancakes hands down, and I'm not even a pancake fan.

4. He has a wicked sense of humor, one of the reasons I deeply love him, nobody except for maybe Clara can make me laugh like Mike.

5. He's straight up sexy. Sorry had to say it, but he's a hotty. Especially when I see him in his work truck working in his uniform. Whew!

6. He has some incredible friends, that love him very much. I think it's so important to have people that you can count on and Mike has been lucky enough to have a few really close friends that he can turn to.

7. He's willing to help anyone with anything, even if it means he's getting nothing done at his own home.

8. He actually has pretty good taste in movies, and enjoys a good chick flick, which I appreciate very much.

9. He has good hygiene. He always smells good and takes good care of himself.

10. He is the best hugger, and I think rarely people get to experience them except for his kids and I.

11. He generally has a positive attitude about things. He hates when I think negatively about stuff.

12. He has a genuine love for heavy metal music, that I just don't understand but I can appreciate it.

13. He knows me better than I know myself sometimes. He's pretty incredible in what he can see in me.

14. He's encouraging, he thinks I'm capable of a lot more than I think I am.

15. He's PATIENT!!! People have NO idea how patient he is. When I had all my serious medical problems, he was the biggest support to me and was incredibly patient with my recovery.

16. It takes a LOT to make him angry, unless you mess up his food. Other than that, he's a pretty calm dude.

17. He gives really good massages when I beg.

18. He's very knowledgeable about extremely random things. He's always popping off with random trivia.

19. He's a dog lover!! His dogs are so special to him. And he'd probably like to have a cat if I wasn't deathly allergic.

20. He's a shopping addict. He is obsessed with outlets, and shopping in general, which could pose a serious problem, hehe.

21. He likes old cars, and LOVES his landcruiser to go 4 wheeling in.

22. He also loves guns and has become quite the collector.

23. He laughs at such random things, such as the simpsons, or Supertroopers (everytime). And when he gets a good laugh going its a high pitch squeal kind of a laugh, otherwise he's kinda grunting when he's laughing.

24. He loves kids, he will hold anyone's baby it seems like. He was meant to be a dad.

25. He has a close relationship with his sister which is great because I love her to pieces.

26. He's also really close to his aunt and uncle and reminds me of his Uncle so much it's not even funny!!

27. I know for a fact he misses Jimi very much, all the time.

28. He's capable, and I don't give him enough credit sometimes. He can do almost anything he puts his mind to.

29. Michael may be nonreligious, but he is a good man, he's honest, loving, thoughtful, doesn't lie, cheat or steal, and has a good heart. He has the best of intentions in all that he does and I think that is very important. He basically lives by the golden rule, most of the time. Nobody is perfect.

30. MOST of all he puts up with ME!! Not too many men would be willing to tolerate my list of issues.

Happy Birthday Michael!! Here's to 30 more!!!

We had just got back from Utah the night before, so we decided to get together with friends and family Saturday at 6pm at Rusty's. Michael with his matching hat with Jack Jack.

Gus, Tyler, and David

Crissy and Nico

Grandma Virginia

Misty and Cousin

Michael and David

Eddie was in town and came to hang out and have beer and pizza, he had to leave the next morning to drive 20 hours back to MT.

He got all kinds of goodies for his birthday. His favorite present was a minky blanket that my mom made him. He's not willing to share it yet. I just snuggle with it while he's a work, he can't stop me.

Aunt Fishy and Jack Jack. We hadn't seen each other in over 2 weeks, she had just got back from Georgia the day we left for Utah. It was way too long. She also made him some delicious cupcakes.

cousin and Mike

Bud and Aedan eating a cupcake

bobby's fabulous mustache

Aedan and Gama

I was next in line for the mustache

I look awesome

Thomas is so inappro pro

Nico had to leave us to go back bc she had to leave for school the next day. It was very sad!! I cried a tid bit, and to get myself in check. They had a long goodbye, lol!!

Las Vegas

2012-01-10T16:32:00.000-08:00

One our way home from Utah, we stopped to stay with Mike's dad. We got into Vegas about 1:30am. It was a good drive and so glad to be getting closer to our home. We had a great visit and can't wait to go back to visit soon. The next day we woke up and Pop's made a fantastic breakfast, and then I stayed at the house with the kids while Mike and his dad went to Redwing so Mike could get work boots. Then later in the afternoon we took off to go shopping at the outlets, but Mike wanted to make a pit stop to go to Fatburger at the Texas Station. They have a fantastic veggie burger so I couldn't say no to that. I also gambled $7 and lost.

I did not notice until I uploaded these pictures that Clara was licking mustard off the table, that is sooooo gross.

Mike couldn't wait to tackle the XXL with Bacon.

We shopped for HOURS. We had so much fun. I scored some awesome deals on Disney ornaments at the Disney Store. And then hit the GAP outlet and went bananas on the clearance items. I got a really nice cream wool peacoat for $13, normally $80. SCORE!!

Pops with Mike and his grandkids

Late that night, Pops gave me my first Taroh card reading. It was really interesting and enlightening. I think people have a very skewed view of Taroh and think of it as evil, but it's not at all. There is a lot of history to them and very neat to learn about.

This playground was left at his dad's house when he bought it. He's offered to give it to us, if we can come get it. I'm really tempted, Clara has soooo much fun on it. I just worry that other people's kids could get hurt on it and fall off it.

Pops has 4 dogs and this one is Zachary. He is the sweetest thing dog ever. He was Clara's shadow the entire time we were there. I wanted to take him home with us.

I don't know if it's because I was so excited to be home or what, but the last 4 hours driving home from Vegas, felt like torcher. I was sooooo tired of being in the car and felt like I'd never make it home. Clara was "rocking" out on the way. We got home around 4:30pm and then I had just enough time to deal with the kids and get dressed and head back up to my mom's house for dinner with some friends.

Utah Trip

2012-01-09T13:27:00.000-08:00

We take an annual trip to Utah so see Mike's sister Alisa and her husband Blake and our nephews Ben, Brendon, and Billy. But this year we got to meet our new niece Gracie Adele! We also didn't get to go last year bc I had surgery and then had Jackson. So it was an overdue trip! We expected a whole lot of snow, so we bought all kinds of snow gear and boots and there was only small patches this year. Literally 2 years ago when we went the same week, it was the frozen tundra. It was iced over and full of snow and then this year, nothing. It was scary and weird. I guess there is a bad drought this year and people are worried. So we shall see. But I will say it made for a very easy drive and beautiful weather. I actually drove some of the trip this time, so Mike could enjoy the ride.

We stopped at Blueberry Hill in Vegas to have breakfast with Pops and take a break. The kids had a good time, and the food was super delish.

Once we got into Utah, it's seriously so nice. The roads are clean, the sky is blue, the restrooms are above standard, and they have awesome shopping. I cannot believe how filthy California is, however I could never leave it! This play ground was at a gas station in Utah, I think Cedar City, I can't remember.

Then we stopped in Spanish Fork, UT, to hit up Cafe Rio!! I had my favorite veggie salad there, and Mike tried the pork burrito that everyone raves about. He did NOT like it, bc it was sweet and weird. He's not a large pulled pork fan anyway.

We finally arrived to Vernal, UT about 10:30pm. We left CA at 4am. So it was a very long drive but now that I no longer suffer from anxiety, it was really nice! I actually enjoyed myself. This is me and my new niece Gracie. From the second I looked at her we were in love. She smiled at me and LOVED me! It was awesome. She would be crying and I'd pick her up and she'd just stop. First night she fell asleep in my arms. It's gotta be my soft plumpness that babies love, lol.

Here's Jack and Gracie together. They are 5 months apart!

The first night we got there, Biller Bob and Clara went crazy playing together. The older Boys were already in bed bc they had got in trouble and usually go to be around 8ish anyway. So Billy and Clara ran back and forth from the front door to the kitchen, just laughing and playing. They did that every night after the boys went to bed.

Here's the boys and Clara enjoying numerous otter pops.

Clara & Ben

Mike, Jack, Blake and Gracie

Alisa and I got a wild hair up our butt and decided to try curlers in Clara's hair. We were at Wal Mart and it just sounded fun, I had never curled her hair. We had family pictures the next day and I thought we would try a test run. Good thing we did, bc she was MISERABLE!! She cried and cried and cried. I think they were only in about 35 minutes before we finally took them out. But she was adorable!!!

Aunt Alisa had given her a handful of M&M's if she would stop crying, but it didn't help, lol.

Clara and Aunt Alisa

One day little Gracie's gonna be torchered with curlers too.

Jack enjoyed chewing on the curlers.

She looks so darling though. I'm gonna try it again now that we are home.

Then we headed out to a yogurt shop in Vernal called Farr's. They are the company that makes Dole Whip that is at Disneyland. I of course HAD to have it, and it was so freezing cold on my teeth that it hurt to eat. And once I tasted Mike's chocolate frozen custard and was bitter. That would have tasted so much better. I think Dole Whip needs to be eaten only at Disneyland, it just wasn't the same there, lol.

Clara a lot better once she got gummie worms and ice cream, lol.

Clara wanted to hold the "baby", so Aunt Alisa let her curl up in her lap and hold Gracie.

Uncle Mike and Gracie. The first time he held her she cried her eyes out.

Group shot of all the kids!! We woke up early the day we had to leave to decide whether we were all going to Park City or whether we were gonna go by ourselves.

Bye Vernal, see you in a year!! We all loaded up our kids and headed out for a fun day of shopping. Alisa had to pull Ben out of school to spend the day with us, Blake was off. We had never seen Park City or Salt Lake, so I was super excited. We got to the outlets in Park City and they were UNBELIEVABLE. So much fun. We were crunched for time, so we had to rush through them as fast as we could, but Mike takes forever to shop. And we didn't have enough time to go to Salt Lake so we drove by it and saw it in the distance. I seen my first ever Ski Slope. They are INSANE!! I couldn't believe our high they are and that anybody would dare go down them. Seeing them on tv gives them ZERO justice. It's terrifying.

Clara being promised candy if she behaved at the outlets. Once we got in the car she had not forgotten that I had promised her some, so I ran into Harry & Davids to see if I could grab her some candy. I about fainted over the prices. It was ridiculous. I found a small very small bag of gummy bears and they were $7. I get out to the car and open them up to discover a freaking M&M vending machine on the corner of the building. Talk about a schmuck!!!

We arrived to Cabela's. I HATE this store, it's so boring but it's Mike's favorite place to be besides a Volcom outlets. We were in there for almost 3 hours. I was dying of boredom. There's only so much dead stuff I can look at before I've had enough. Mike got a lot of work socks and some work shirts.

Group shot of the kids and Alisa in front of the waterfall.

We took the kids over to the fish aquarium. they are gross.

We said our goodbye's with Blake, Alisa and the kids at Cabela's, bc they still had a 3 hour drive home and Blake had to work a 4:30am. It's always hard to say goodbye. Alisa always gets this look on her face and it makes me cry. I did good and then once I got in the elevator after they left I broke down. But I was by myself so Mike couldn't make fun of me, lol. Then Mike and I began our drive home to get to Vegas, to stay with his dad that night. We hit up the BYU Creamery first on the way out and it was well worth the drive out of our way. I had Roasted Almond Fudge, it was divine!!!

Christmas Day at my Parent's

2012-01-08T21:44:00.000-08:00

So, this should be a long, wonderful blog full of pictures, HOWEVER, I forgot to charge my camera battery. I was so upset, Nicole got some great pictures on her camera but I doubt I'll get them from her, bc we will never remember to do that, haha. So this is all that I got...

It was the first Christmas at my parent's new house. Misty and Eric were in Georgia with Eric's family, and Jenny had to work, so it seemed a little strange. All that were present, were Kurt & LouAnne, Grandma Virginia, Tom & Nicole, Bud & Crissy, Aedan, Bobby, Mom and Dad and my family. My mom made all the dinner fixings and yummy desserts. It was a perfect day and we played white elephant which is just so much fun!! I ended up with a dog toy and Mike with a chop n' mix blender. Mitchell won the best of all a "cup" for men and sports lol. We got there around 10am and stayed till evening and then everyone left and had to go to their other family's houses. So we came home and played with the kids and then Mike left to go chop down a tree with David, Jimmy and Ryan ( I was very bitter about that) anyway...

We were all spoiled with tons of presents from everybody. My parents always over buy but we appreciate it!! The funniest part was I had got Mike a inverse table for his back and it was wrapped and sitting up. Clara ran over to it and just tore it open right when we got there and you could see a huge picture of what it was on the box. Mike just laughed and we were all cracking up! My parent's got me the coolest anatomy book, and a really nice craft light that I need desperately. So far this has been the best Christmas, we are all healthy and happy and my children bring me the most joy!!

Christmas Morning at Our House

2012-01-08T21:21:00.000-08:00

We woke the kids up early around 7am. Clara is still to little to understand the whole Santa thing, but she does LOVE Santa, and gets excited when she sees him. Santa had came and filled their stockings and brought them goodies.

Clara was so tired and out of it, she wasn't very interested in opening her presents.

She was the most excited about her M&M candy cane in her stocking and kept asking for a "M" to get her to open her presents.

Daddy giving her a "M"

We got her a travel aquadoodle which was great for on the way to Utah (post later) but we forgot about it in the car and the pen froze haha.

Jack got mostly teethers, and pacifiers, and one big truck toy.

more "M"s

We got her a Little Mommy kit, that came with a doll bed, rocking horse, stroller, baby food and doll. I also got her velcro doll diapers, a lots of panties.

Christmas Eve Party

2012-01-08T20:44:00.000-08:00

For Christmas Eve we went to dinner with the McGee family to Casa Munoz. It was delicious as always, and a lot of fun, hearing old stories and catching up with everyone. It's crazy how fast time has gone by. When Mike and I started dating his cousin Alicia's boy, DJ was a baby. And now he's in high school!!! We had a great time thanks to Jack and Sharon!

DJ, Mike, and Clara

Uncle Jack and Aunt Sharon

John and Debbie

Audra, Me, & Jack Jack

Mike's friend Frank gave Clara & Jack stuffed Mickey's for Christmas, and Clara took claim over both for now.

After dinner we headed up to my parent's house so Mike could drop off the Prime Rib. AND Cole was there, so we hung out for a while.

My mom let Clara open one present, it was a Hallmark book that's recordable. So now Clara can listen to my mom read her a story every night before bed and it goes back on the shelf in a special place. Usually Clara likes to sleep with the book that we read at night, but not that special book. She calls it her "Gama book".

Aunt Sharon and Uncle Jack got little Jack a nesting block set, that he LOVES, and Clara a magnetic paper doll set. It was the FIRST thing she ran too every morning for a few days after she opened it.

Apple Sharing

2012-01-08T20:09:00.000-08:00

Clara's been on an apple kick lately...so she decided so share with Brother Bear. He loved it!! I just had to capture these adorable pictures.

CALM Lights

2011-12-19T19:25:00.000-08:00

We went out to CALM to see the lights this year. We didn't get to go last year bc it poured rain almost the entire time they were open. I thought Clara would really enjoy it bc she loves see all the lights on the houses. We had a great time, & it wasn't too cold.

I think this is the second time Clara has rode a carousel. She was so excited on it and LOVED when I waved at her when she passed by.

Dada & Clara so cute together.

I thought this snake light was cool. Clara has this weird fascination with snakes right now, but when we took her to see the real ones, she wanted nothing to so with them. She screamed at them, lol.

Uncle Thomas and Aunt Cole with the kiddos.

Gama & the kids

Papa & Gama with the kids

This is my nephew terrified of Santa, poor little Aedan.

My brother Mitchell, Crissy and Aedan

This is the cutest picture of Clara ever, she so sweet and always poses when Cole is taking her picture.

Clara is so happy her Cole is home for Xmas break. She misses her so much, but thank goodness for facetime bc we get to talk face to face almost daily!!

Christmas Baking Party

2011-12-18T22:08:00.000-08:00

We had a cookie baking party at my mom's house. Aunt Misty & Uncle Eric will be in Georgia for Christmas this year so Misty brought their presents for the kids to the baking party. She also bought Clara a ginger bread house to make. My mom made her traditional white balls, and Crissy made ginger bread men, and Misty made adorable reindeer cake pops, and other goodies. I taste tested and played with the kids.

Clara got new vans, a cash register (that she's obsessed with), rings, bracelets, and new Toy Story Santa hat, and Jack Jack got new pair of vans!! Can't wait for him to actually fit them.

Uncle Thomas, Aunt Cole and Jack

Uncle Tom doesn't quite fit her Santa hat.

The baking party

Clara and Cole making her gingerbread house.

she taste tested quite a bit of the house, lol.

bobby practiced with his new camera.

Jack & Aedan played

After Nicole and Tom left, Bobby & Jenny took over gingerbread house duty!!

Aunt Crissy wrote Clara's name in icing, so cute.

Posing with Aunt Fishie!!

wearing a hair net just like gama!!

gama & boo

Glendale Americana Brand Mall

2011-12-18T17:06:00.000-08:00

We decided last minute to take the kids down to the Americana Brand Mall in Glendale. I read online that they make it snow at certain times, there's caroler's, a cool Santa set up and one of the largest live Christmas tree's in U.S. The Buntings were able to go and last minute the Nichols met us there too. It was so fun to just walk around and enjoy being with our friends and all of our kids running around playing. David took family pictures of all of us in front of the water fountain. He captured some adorable pictures of Jack Jack sitting in the flowers.

The kids just ran around every where in the bark and had a blast.

I had bought this new double stroller at JM's 50% off and couldn't wait to use it. It was awesome to have!!

Daddy with the kids

My cutie pie Jack and I

This BEAUTIFUL tree was from Northern California this year.

Clara seen some other kids with balloons and would not stop asking for one, so Mike found the balloon guy and bought her 2.

Katy, Me, and Lindsey, us girls have so much fun together.

So when we first got there, I headed straight over to get in line for Santa bc that's one of the main reasons I wanted to go. Well the line was was pretty long, but not bad, so I stood in line for about 15 minutes and then they announced that Santa was taking a hour break, so that meant I would have waited for almost 2 hours to see Santa. And then Clara started freaking out bc she had to pee. So I decided to skip Santa and I was so bummed out about it. Then we met up with everyone else, walked around, and then went and ate. It was 10 minutes till 10pm and so I zoomed over to Santa's workshop to see about getting in line again, and it already had the closed sign up and there were just 2 other couples waiting to get in. So I begged the security guard to let us in and she did!! We were the very LAST people to see Santa. I was sooooo excited and happy. Way happier than the kids were. Jack freaked out and as soon as I picked him up, he started smiling at the elf girl and flirting. He's too funny. Clara was so excited to see Santa, she got pretty shy with him but was happy to see Santa. And now she talks about Santa all the time!!

When we first were standing in line for Santa, they made it snow. It was so pretty looking but Katy said it tasted really bad and burned her eyes, lol.

We went to eat at Islands after hanging out. We are quite a large group all together, but our kids are a blast!!

Absolute Randomness

2011-12-18T13:08:00.000-08:00

This blog is dedicated to my iphone!! I take soooo many pictures on it daily of the kids. Just random, nothing pictures, but they are some of my FAVORITE photos. I recently washed my phone in the washer and I had literally just backed up all my photos 3 days prior. Thank GOODNESS!!

These are after bath photos that we take everyday after bath time. Clara begs to say "cheese" after bath.

Fishy face

mini bruin

Jack is literally the CUTEST baby I've ever encountered. I'm not just saying it bc I'm his mother, LOOK at him, it's quite obvious, lol.

so adorable in cousin Jimi's hat!!

Clara drinking her "baba" it's a soft nipple sippy, but I'm taking them away starting this week.

brushing her teeth, she only lets me do it, I think daddy is too rough. And she loves her "Cars" toothpaste.

This outfit came with a matching outfit for her doll. She's obsessed with baby dolls right now.

I LOVE her messy buns!! We are trying to grow her bangs out and she hates to have her hair done.

her favorite "blanket sweater" I thought we lost it recently at Olive Garden, but it was in her room, whew.

these two LOVE each other to pieces. They make each other laugh more than anyone else. They cuddle, hug, love, play. It's so sweet to watch them together.

This was a hilarious moment, I had Mike bring him to me bc I had his bath ready. Mike stripped off his diaper and didn't know he had pooped and it got all over his side and stomach, and he had literally just got out of the shower, so funny!!

Two UCLA Bruins!!

Sarah's Pink Birthday Party

Misty got an award at work, so I went to support her and her awesomeness!!

So I guess hell froze over bc I'm doing yard work. I vacuumed leaves and it was actually really fun!!

My adorable Izzy, wearing her xmas necklace. She's always being loved on and harassed by Clara. Love Izzy, she's my sweet girl.

Cochran Mechanical Christmas Party

2011-12-18T12:38:00.000-08:00

My parent's throw their company Christmas party at Pizzaville every year. I didn't get enough pictures at all. I was too busy trying to keep track of my two kids. Misty and Eric were in Sacramento and Tom & Nicole were still in school, & Mike was at work, so I didn't have much help with my two busy children, lol. It was a lot of fun and I ate so much pizza I was miserable.

My friend Erin & I sent this picture to Nicole bc she was hoping we were having a horrible time without her there, haha.

Clara played in these forever.

Jaiden and Clara played in these race cars almost the whole time. They were very serious about their racing, haha.

Papa & Gama's Tree

2011-12-18T12:27:00.000-08:00

Misty had a house warming gift for my parents so we went up Saturday evening to hang out. My mom and dad happen to have bought their Christmas tree that day, so Clara helped grandma and Bobby decorate it. We made tacos for dinner and just hung out and did nothing (our favorite thing to do).

Papa getting the tree ready for the stand!!

He gets the worst part of the tree decorating haha.

Their tree smelt so good and made me excited for xmas.

Clara's such a good helper! She'd do anything for Gama.

Mike enjoying a nice read on the comfy couch.

Bobby was telling a funny story, my mom was no impressed, lol.

Putting her first ornament up on the tree.

Jack Jack had fun watching Clara play and ring the bell.

Papa & Gama with their "New Home" ornament from Misty.

Papa, Uncle Bobby and Gama

Face Time

2011-12-13T11:09:00.001-08:00

We have been having so much fun with the face time on the iPhone. It's a great way for the kids to talk to my brothers and Nicole. And we take funny pics of each other when we can't get a hold of each other. It's quite hilarious.

Decorating Our Tree

2011-12-12T23:06:00.000-08:00

We immediately put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving. I could not wait for Clara to enjoy decorating the tree as I did as a kid. Daddy got it all set up for us, because we finally broke down and bought a fake one 3 years ago. Eventually we want to have a real one every year in the front room and the fake one in our living room. We have a great big window in the front that would be pretty to showcase a tree in. But it's currently a storage room full of junk.

she was a great helper and so excited to see all the pretty ornaments. I forgot I had bought a whole bunch of Disney ornaments on clearance after xmas, so that was fun to find all of those.

Jack LOVED the sparkly tree!

Holding his first xmas ornament.

the tree all decorated and our new stockings hung up on the brick!

Clara is obsessed with the Grinch Who Stole Christmas and she immediately wanted to hold hands and stand around the tree like the Who's do. She was singing "Welcome Welcome, dah who dah who" Probably one of the cutest things she has ever done!!

Jack's first picture in front of the tree.

Old Towne Pizza

2011-12-12T22:50:00.000-08:00

Black Friday we decided after everyone had went shopping and rested that we would go up to my parents house and then go to Tehachapi to eat at Old Towne Pizza. It's a local yummy pizza parlor, with the best salads!! The usual Cochran clan minus Bobby & Jenny bc she had work, and Misty & Eric too. The boys started drinking beer, lots of beer, and then after we had to stop at Rite Aid so they could continue their drinking binge at my parent's house. We had a lot of fun just hanging out and doing nothing, our favorite thing to do!!

big boy sitting in a high chair

grandma with Aedan and Clara racing cars

Thomas & Bud playing Air Hockey, not sure who won.

Dada a little drunk with his boy, lol

Thanksgiving 2011

2011-12-12T22:29:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving we went to both sides of our families. We started out our day at the stables with Jack & Sharon and her family. Everything was cooked outside in dutch ovens. It was absolutely beautiful weather, almost warm! Sharon had crayons, and bubbles and stuff to keep the little ones busy. We ate a ton of food, they had pumpkin soup, ranch beans, mashed potatoes, PW cranberry sauce, homemade rolls. It was so good.

Best beans I had ever ate, if I hadn't had to pick out all the bacon i would have ate the whole pot!!

This is Winston eating leftovers. Sharon and I called him Junior, he was the fuzzy runt of the litter, and he is absolutely gorgeous.

Then we headed to my parent's house for our second round of festivities. It was my brother Mitchell's birthday so my parent's invited his in laws for one big party. There were almost 40 all together. It was the first gathering in my parent's new house. My mom & dad worked their butts off to try and get unpacked as much as possible. It was a lot of fun. We were full from earlier so we ate dessert. I seen my grandma as she was leaving, and Tom & Nicole had to leave for her family's thanksgiving. The kids played and we read the black Friday ad's and just hung out.

Auntie's Misty & Cole

birthday cake time

Jack Jack's first thanksgiving!! Clara wore this her first thanksgiving too!

I do believe Cole fed Jack green beans, her favorite haha, and this is a traditional picture with my kids, I have one of her feeding Clara sweet potatoes on her first thanksgiving.

Uncle Thomas & Cole with Jack Jack

cousins Aedan & Clara playing

Yo Gabba Gabba

2011-12-12T19:34:00.000-08:00

Clara has loved Yo Gabba Gabba since she was about 6 months old. She would sit and dance up and down to it. I bought tickets this year to see them live. We had bought our tickets 6 months ago and it was finally here. Grandma went with us because daddy had to work. Biz was there, and Leslie Hall, and special music guess was Yacht. It was really fun, they had confetti everywhere, they made it snow, and leaves fall.

Jack looked like this the entire time!! He was just in AWE!!

Muno, Foofa, DJ Lance, Leslie hall, Brobee, Plex

My mom bought Clara both the glowing light toys. She was obsessed with them!!

Jack has snow on his head

After the show, we were starving and we went to our favorite spot, Frugatti's!! Daddy even got a break and came by real quick to say hi.

We had a lot of fun, and I'm glad I'm not the only crazy parent that knows all the songs and dances along. We were ALL doing it!

Parent's Moving Day

2011-12-12T18:56:00.000-08:00

My parent's were finally able to move to their new dream home (blog to come soon about the new house). I wasn't going to go to their house while they were trying to move bc I didn't want to be in the way with the kids and stuff. But they were blocked in by the movers and were starving, so I brought them Jack in the Box breakfast. It was a very bitter sweet moment. When I was driving down Fairfax I thought I saw the moving truck and I started bawling my eyes out in the car. And then I realized it was the wrong moving company haha. I grew up in this house. When I was 4 years old we moved here, to a one bedroom tiny house. Then my mom, dad and grandpa built the house I grew up in and tore down the other house, it became the driveway. I have 27 years of memories in this house. I had numerous birthday parties, Thomas & Bobby were brought home to this house as newborns, Mitchell & I got into many a fight in this house one which involved punching of my developing boobs and a swift knee to his balls, haha. I had my first kiss here, and a few boyfriends over to hang out, numerous slumber parties and hang outs, we met for Prom photo's here, I learned to ride my bike here, learned to hate yard work & spiders here, baby sat numerous babies, ate dinner almost every night at the table, loved and lost numerous pets whom are buried all over the yard, learned to swim here, was grounded numerous times from dessert, the phone, hair spray etc, kicked out of the big bedroom with the bathroom in high school bc my room was a mess, in high school I talked on the phone EVERYDAY to my best friend Frank for about an hour after school even though we had spent all day at school together haha, hung out with my best friend Misty almost every day after school at my house, and most of all I got married to Michael here & was raised by wonderful, loving parents here. I have so many AMAZING memories of this home, too many to list. We will all miss it but are so excited for my parent's new beautiful place and the gorgeous property.

It started out just a one story brown house, then they added the "new room" on and it was cream with green trim and now it's light yellow with white trim.

Clara was truly confused and upset by the emptiness.

The "new room" completely empty almost

This is the tree that bud & I had a 2 story tree house in and he fell out once and landed on two boulders. That's a crazy story.

Here's to new amazing memories at the new house!!!

Halloween 2011

2011-12-12T16:24:00.000-08:00

Halloween was really fun this year. Clara is still young enough that I can dress her in what I want, yet she will still have so much fun. I wanted the kids to match, so I decided to make them Tinker Bell & Peter Pan. Clara's costume was made of glitter tulle which left glitter on EVERYTHING. My sewing area is still full of glitter. And Jack's Peter Pan costume was made out of felt. Mike had to work, so my mom came over and we took the kids trick or treating at families houses.

Grandma came to help support and give advice to me as I sewed pretty much my first project.

I completely messed up Peter's first hat, it was the size of a doll hat haha.

Getting Clara ready, she got to wear make up for the first time. She was so excited and kept staring in the mirror at herself.

My had recently went to Disneyland, so I had her pick up a pair of Tinker Bell wings. The lit up and were adorable. Clara didn't want to take them off.

Jack Jack and Gama

We had numerous stops through the night. First stop was the shop to see Aunt Sharon. They filled Clara's bucket up with popcorn, cheese crackers, and other goodies.

Jackson James & Aunt Sharon

Next stop was Aunt Misty's & Uncle Eric's. They had her all sorts of treats. Clara got witch fingers, rubber snakes, snake sucker, ghost glasses and of course candy and delicious popcorn balls!

Uncle Eric making Peter fly!!

Next stop was Canyon Hills Carnival with Uncle Bud & Aunt Crissy. Jack Jack & Uncle Bud together.

Clara giving cousin Aedan kisses

Cousins Peter Pan & Munchkin

All the cousins together

Clara was having so much fun at the carnival. They had all kinds of stuff set up, giant slides, swings, and tons of food. Uncle Mitchell got some really cute pics of Clara with my camera. She was so excited to ride the swings.

Then we went by Grandma Terry's house bc she recently broke her leg, and I thought it would be fun for her to see the kids.

The last stop was to my parent's house to see Papa. Clara poke Papa in the eye with her wing pretty bad, but after that incident he loaded her up with a ton of candy. We were all exhausted and had so much fun.

The next day we tried on the ghost glasses. hahaha

Misty & Eric's Halloween Bash

2011-10-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

Misty & Eric hosted their first Halloween party. Mike and I had been looking forward to it for quite some time but Jack ended up getting a fever the night before, not sure if he's teething or catching a cold. And then his dad came to visit for Uncle Jack's birthday, so Mike stayed home with the kids while I went by myself for a little bit. Mike had a really cool costume Officer Dangle, he even grew a mustache for the last few months. Thankfully he shaved it last night!! Anyway, I never did get a costume together and so Misty loaned me her pirate stuff. I ended up looking more like Weird Al than a pirate. I had a blast with all our friends & family but I wish Mike could have came.

totally look like Weird Al

the bestie and I

Tapatio guy & the scarecrow

Wicked Witch of the West aka my mom

My brother bobby & I, he won most original costume!!

she's about to light him on fire

The doctor checking her heart, pretty sure it's stone cold.

Cutest Logger I've seen

Best Couple of the night, Border Patrol, and her illegal.

Andrea & I

Logger Thomas & I, always making me laugh

Hilarious Eric was Edward Cullins. See how his face glitters from the flash, hahaha?!

I wish I would have taken more pictures of everyone!!

Uncle Jack's Social Security Birthday

2011-10-30T14:12:00.000-07:00

Uncle Jack celebrated his birthday and had a BBQ at the Ranch. It turned out so nice, the weather was great, the food was delicious and all the brothers were reunited for the first time in a couple of years.

Jack, John, Treva, Mike, and Neil

Clara went for a ride with Aunt Sharon and Daddy to feed the horses.

Blowing bubbles. Clara LOVES it at the stables. She runs around, pets the horses and dogs, and likes the chickens.

She skipped her nap to come to the party, so she was a little tired.

Jack Jack's hair was sticking straight up when he woke up.

First time wearing his Quicksilver hoodie.

Nico's Boo-tastic Birthday

2011-10-30T12:49:00.000-07:00

Nico came to town for her 22nd birthday and for Halloween fun times!! She was dressed as a birthday princess, and looked so fashion!!

Nico & Eric

My fav girl and I

Misty, Jack & Cole

Kissy Kissy

Cousins!! Aedan & Jack

Grandma, Papa & Clara

Aunt Crissy, Uncle Bud and Aedan

Auntie Misty tickling Jack Jack

Eating smores mix and getting down.

Aedan dropping it like it's hot

Clara was helping Cole open her presents.

Uncle T and his beardedness

You can tell T is excited about Cole's giant rice krispie treat

Pretty sure this was her favorite present. YOnana's frozen banana maker. T just about puked, it was hilarious.

Loving her happy birthday song!!

Aedan giving Jack Jack some love

Clara eating some green frosting, not sure who fed her this, probably Jeannie or Clara's boyfriend DJ, haha.

God forbid Clara pose for a pic anymore. This was the best we could get lol.

Disney on Ice Toy Story 3

2011-10-23T21:29:00.000-07:00

I was able to buy some Disney On Ice Toy Story 3 tickets last minute from a friend of mine. I had already bought her tickets to see Yo Gabba Gabba back in May when they went on sale so I wasn't planning on taking her to Disney On Ice. But the tickets weren't very much and it just sounded really fun. I was only able to get 2 tickets, so it was just my girl and I. Mommy/Daughter date night!

Here she is all dressed up in her "Yo Yo" shirt ready to go!

Clara was so light, the seat kept popping up her legs, so I tried weighing it down with my purse and sweaters, because she did NOT want to sit in my lap.

Ready for the show! She had no idea what was about to happen.

Here she is wearing the alien hat that came on the cotton candy, that she refused to eat. The family next to us enjoyed it though. I think I wore the hat most of the night.

We had amazing seats!! Dead center and had a perfect view.

During intermission she was throwing a fit because she wouldn't keep her sweater on.

At the end we hung out for a bit, bc my mom was picking us up, so I didn't have to deal with parking. She had so much fun. She just lit up when they came out. She obsessed about Buzz. She wanted to know where he was at all times. I bought her a buzz light year light that spins and she kept spinning it and pointing it at him, haha!! Afterwards, my mom ran us through the taco bell drive thru and I forgot I had the hat on and the girl probably thought I was crazy asking for mild sauce, my mom thought it was hilarious though.

Dada also enjoys wearing the hat.

Murray Family Farms Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-23T18:07:00.000-07:00

We went to Murray Family Farms to the pumpkin patch this year. They have a bunch of activities on one side of the farm but Clara's not quite old enough to thoroughly enjoy it, so we just paid for the petting zoo and played in the corn. My mom, Misty, Bobby & Jenny with with us.

Clara's outfit is from grandma Terry's work. They have gift shop that has the cutest outfits in there, so when she told me about it, I had to get it.

Clara wore the same hat her very first trip to the pumpkin patch. Jack is so easy going.

Aunt Misty with baby Jack Jack, it's a tradition.

Grandma & Clara

Uncle Bobby & Aunt Jenny

Misty and I standing in the corn. I can't believe Misty jumped in there, she has such issues with her feet getting dirty. Clara didn't want anything to do with it, but I grabbed her and forced her in.

Jack Jack loved it and kept picking up the corn in his hands.

Jack petting a goat. He loves animals.

They all wanted to be petted, the one goat kept rubbing her face against Misty's purse. It was so funny.

Grandma, Misty and Jack, Mike forced Clara behind the goat haha.

Auntie getting her love from Jack.

Next year when Clara is older, we will do the maze, and the giant bouncy pillow, and the ant farm.

Clara & Sarah at the Park

2011-10-22T17:38:00.000-07:00

Lindsey & I decided to take the girls to the park to play the other day. They had so much fun. Sarah helped Clara overcome her fear of sand. Sarah was playing in it and Clara was afraid to even walk in it. But finally she gave in and decided to have fun. We need to go more often now that the weather has finally started to cool down.

Squeezy's place in Northridge

2011-10-22T17:28:00.000-07:00

Mike had a doctor's in L.A. so after we decided to go check out Tom's pad in Northridge. It was so much smaller than I expected, but so cute and perfect for him. He had a little kitchenette and has to share a bathroom with the guys next door to him. But he had a sweet set up.

Mike coming out of Tom's tiny bathroom.

This is by far the worst picture I have ever taken in my life. It will for sure be a "before" photo!!

Me and my little brother, we miss him!

Lincoln's 1st Birthday

2011-10-22T17:01:00.000-07:00

Little Lincoln Bunting turned 1 years old on October 8! Lindsey did the cutest theme for his birthday, and I didn't get any pictures of it. She did the Hungry Caterpillar. David and Mike made the most delicious butter cream frosting on his caterpillar cupcakes. They were so buttery and amazing.

Jackson chilling out in the bouncer

Carter embarrassed that I was taking his picture dressed up as Woody.

Clara chowing down on a cupcake cone

How many adults does it take to light one candle? a lot when the wind is blowing!

All the older kids were having a blast dressing up in all the play clothes.

Birthday boy about to eat his cake

It was a fun day, we had Lucy's 5th birthday later that evening, which was fun. I didn't get any pictures, but she had a cute carnival party. The kids were completely wore out by the end of the night. They slept really good!

First ride in the Land Cruiser

2011-10-22T15:08:00.000-07:00

Mike has been wanting to take Clara for a ride in his Land Cruiser for quite some time. I have been very reluctant because it doesn't have windows, or a roof. But after some convincing, she was more likely safer in his land cruiser than our mini van, I finally let him take her to get donuts.

Jackson's 6 month update

2011-10-22T14:56:00.000-07:00

My precious little Jack Jack is a big 6 months old now. He & Clara are the most amazing thing in my life. Jack is by far the happiest baby I have EVER encountered. He smiles ALL the time, and so easily. He is my sweet boy. He doesn't sit up yet, but he rolls and rolls. He hates being on his stomach and becomes very upset when he's stuck. He still sleeps all night long from about 10pm till 8:30am. He's drinking 6oz bottles of formula and eating about 7 different foods. He so far LOVES green beans and HATES carrots.

He likes his bouncy for a while and then gets mad after a while.

His hair grows in a natural mohawk, which I adore! I put a little lotion in it and it looks so cute!!

Those dimples are to die for!

Jack loves bath time, and likes to play with sister in the tub.

Clara likes to wear "hats" in the bath tub haha!

Uncle Eric

Nico feeding Jackson while home for a visit

At his 6 months check up, he weighed exactly 17lbs, and was 28 1/4 inches. Super tall, and average weight for his age. He got his vaccinations and his flu shot.

We had a play date with Oliver, my friend Wendy's son. He's 22 days younger than Jack and already is sitting up and trying to crawl.

This is what our normal nights looks like. Kids in undies and diapers just hanging out.

Jack eating babyfood

2011-10-22T12:46:00.000-07:00

I started Jack Jack on baby food at 5 months and 3 weeks. I could tell for a while he was ready for food. He LOVES to eat. We started off with rice cereal and formula and he gagged for days and refused to open his mouth. Then we did bananas, prunes, green beans, sweet potatoes, peaches and carrots, so far. He also loves oatmeal mixed with apple juice. So far his favorite is green beans.

After a couple of days of fresh blended banana, we had to add prunes to his diet...mmm

Fresno Zoo

2011-09-13T11:36:00.000-07:00

We decided to head to the Fresno Zoo before Cole left for UCLA this Friday. My sister in law Crissy came with my nephew Aedan and her friend Jamie & her little boy Luke, along with my mom & Cole. Clara has never been and I was crossing my fingers she would enjoy it. Unfortunately Storyland & Playland were closed, they are only open on the weekends now. So we will have to take another trip for that. I think Clara really had a good time, she loved all the animals. She kept singing "Rio" when she seen the Macaw's. It was quite adorable!

first time I used our double stroller, it was awesome!

Clara checking out a bear

Clara is at the lovely age where she refuses to pose for me. She will NOT take a picture unless it's her idea, This was the best we could do lol!

Nephew Aedan, so adorable, posing perfectly.

Luke had no shoes on, so he didn't want to stand in front of the sign either.

Clara feeding the giraffe with grandma

Crissy & Aedan posing in front of Nosey the elephant.

Forcing Clara to pose with me

Clara really like the elephant and kept calling them "bumbo"

In the petting zoo, Clara wanted to kiss the animals.

Clara really wanted to pet this sheep but he was a little busy, bleh. Clara did okay in the petty zoo, until dirt got into her shoes, and she started freaking out. My mom had to take off her shoes when we were done and wash her feet, she was having such a cow.

Jack Jack taking a nap in the Rain Forrest.

We went in to see the sting rays, but Clara wouldn't touch them, but she kept calling them "Nemo" because they looked like Mr. Ray

All tuckered out

This is an Orangutan's hand, with little Jack's hand.

Cole & Jack Jack

Kissing the frog

And then we ate at Cheesecake Factory, it was so delish! Then off to shop at Home Goods. We didn't really find much at this one, but I got a cute little treat for my friend Lindsey. It was super fun!! Next we will have to try the L.A. Zoo with T & Cole when we go for a visit sometime!

Butterflies Alive in Santa Barbara

2011-09-11T11:36:00.000-07:00

Every 3 months my mom has to go get shots for migraines in Santa Barbara. Nicole is leaving for UCLA soon, so we thought it would be fun to take a girls trip. Nicole seen that Santa Barbara Natural History Museum was having Butterflies Alive. Clara is not a fan of bugs and says "ewe" every time she sees one, but I thought she would LOVE the butterflies. I was very wrong, she could care less, but we loved it and so did Jack. We went in my mom's new Camry because my van desperately needs new tires, and needless to say, it's a good thing Nicole is tiny because she was so crammed in the back seat. I felt bad, but she's a trooper.

Clara refused to stand behind these and pose, but she thought it was hilarious that grandma was.

a beautiful butterfly

Clara & Cole walking up to the butterfly tent.

Jack Jack loves his grandma

Clara pointing to the butterflies

The butterflies were amazing and so pretty. I'd never seen that many. I could have stayed there all day minus Clara, and just hung out. But we had to be careful not to step on them, move slowly and keep your voice down. Pretty much impossible with a 2 year old.

Mommy & Jackson

He LOVED the butterflies. He just watched them and watched them.

I wanted to Clara to take a picture in front of the sign with grandma and then after she wanted to take a picture with her purse by herself in front of the sign. So silly!!

She so adorable with a backpack, I think it's soooo cute!!

Cole & Clara crossing the bridge, and then Clara threw a fit because there was dirt and it got in her sandals, so Cole was carrying her around.

I've never seen so many dead ducks in all my life. It was sad, and Clara just kept saying "bawk bawk" at all the different dead birds. Depressing, lol! And museums stink like death, I want to hold my breath when I'm in one.

Then we met up with Uncle T at Claim Jumpers in Valencia.

These two are quite the pair. Cole & mom helped me so much with the kids. I couldn't go anywhere without them. It's exhausting. On the way home Clara said she had to pee after we had already passed all the rest stops and places to eat. So we pulled off into the dirt and she refused to go. She held it all the way home almost 40 minutes and cried "Pee Pee" till we got home. AND Jack started crying after we stopped in the dirt and did not stop until I got home. Two screaming kids made me get anxious and I started to freak out but we just hurried home. I think Jack was just tired of being in his car seat.

Aunt Sharon's Birthday BBQ

2011-09-11T10:31:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Aunt Sharon's birthday out at the ranch with a BBQ. It was really fun. Clara loves it out there. She runs around, talks about the chickens (calls them bawk bawks), and chatted with all the men. She loves Uncle Jack & Ronnie.

Here she is drinking sprite and loving it!

Cousin Matt & Aunt Sharon

Uncle Jack & Clara, this picture cracks me up, Clara's so serious!

Sharon & I

The food was amazing, and I think she had a fun time. She deserves to celebrate, she's one of the hardest working women I know!! We love you Sharon!

College Bound for Tom & Cole

2011-09-09T21:40:00.000-07:00

These two, my brother Thomas (Uncle T) and his girlfriend Nicole (Cole) are leaving us for the fun of fabulous college. T is going to Cal State Northridge to get his degree in Mechanical Engineering. Nicole is going to UCLA to study history so she can get her law degree after she finishes her bachelors. No one in my family has moved out of town ,so this is a big deal for our family. Not to mention my daughter Clara is OBSESSED with Cole. She LOVES her Cole. Cole was the first person's name that Clara said besides Mama & Dada. My parents had a little get together to celebrate their huge accomplishment.

My favorite gift they received was from Misty & Eric. They gave them framed picture of themselves, so they won't forget them while they are gone, haha!! Along with gift cards. They got a lot of gift cards for food places around their campuses.

We got T a large box of "Adult Stuff" as he called it. Laundry soap, hand soap, toilet paper, clorox wipes, paper towels, dish soap, etc... us adults know the rest of the things he would need, boring but necessary. And Nico will be staying in a dorm, so I didn't know what kind of room she would have so, we got her candy and a chipotle gift card.

Misty made their adorable cakes. Apparently she had a crisis while making them but everyone LOVED them. And they tasted awesome!!

Grandma & Papa holding Jack Jack & Aedan

Cutie McGee, Cole gave me this shirt for him at my shower.

Jaiden & Clara riding the hobby horse!

Cole & Clara

T already left for school by the time I finished this blog, he's only 1 hour and 20 minutes away. Not far at all, and Cole will only be another 20 minutes from him. T has a really cute studio apartment, which I hope to see in 2 weeks. Cole leaves at the end of this week and I'm not handling her leaving so good. I see her quite often and she's my saving grace when it comes to my kids. We will be skyping a LOT. Love them both so much, and I'm so proud of them!!

Clara-isms

2011-08-09T17:54:00.000-07:00

Clara is at the funnest age ever, right now. She's such a crack up. I have said it numerous times, but she can make me laugh more than anyone else in this world. She's so animated, and makes the funniest faces, and says the most random things. Her vocabulary is multiplying daily. She says new things hourly almost. And I think I'm the only one who knows what she is saying.

1. The other day she whacked her foot on the table and was crying and saying "tisses, tisses" and I couldn't figure out what she was saying, until I realized, she was asking for "Kisses, Kisses" because I always kiss her boo boo's. It was hilarious.

2. She says "Otay" for Okay which cracks me up, she's like a a Little Rascal.

3. In the grocery store, she was pulling stuff out of my purse, she pulled out a tampon and was waving around screaming "Pee Pee", I wanted to die!! I had to remove the purse from her reach.

4. The other day she packed her purse to go to lunch with Misty and Eric, she had the following items: bikini, sunscreen, sunglasses, hand sanitizer, gloss, a book, a plastic ball, a hair clip and a rectal thermometer. You NEVER know when you might need one of those, haha!! She's so funny!

5. She calls Nemo, "memo"; and Toy Story "toy toy"; & Woody, "yodel yodel".

6. She loves to take baths and swim, she calls them both "plash plash" for splash splash.

7. She announces every time she passes gas "TOOT TOOT".

8. She's extremely girly, obsessed with hair spray, polish, lotion, hair accessories, lip gloss, makeup, purses & shoes.

9. Every time a movie ends, she screams "Mama" to get my attention so I can watch her dance to the song on the credits.

10. She sniffs EVERYTHING. I mean EVERYTHING!!

11. She calls anything with a paint brush or makeup brush, "eyes" because she watches me put on my eye makeup and that's what she calls it.

12. She claps her hands when she gets excited, which I do too!

13. She calls any snack a "cracker" and for the longest time it sounded like caca, and I HATE that word more than anything, bleh.

14. She's pretty much potty trained except for night time and naps.

15. She's completely and absolutely in love with the dogs, and especially Izzy "Zizzy"

16. She rarely poses for me for pictures now.

17. She also loves Jack Jack. When he cries she gets very upset and says "baby cry" and points. She's the first to announce when Jack is upset.

18. She also rolls her eyes at me, quite often & throws whatever is in her hand because she is mad.

19. One time she was mad at me and she picked up a drier sheet to throw it and it kept floating in the air and she was getting madder and madder and she kept trying to throw it and I finally started busting up laughing because I couldn't keep it in anymore.

20. She calls the remote, the "mote"

21. At night she takes a bath, and Mike takes her to bed and she curls up with her minky blanket, monkey and glow worm and goes right to sleep. Bed time is about 10:30pm and she wakes up about 8:45am.

22. When I was nursing, she was fascinated with my breast pump. She breaths in and out to imitate the suck sound of the pump. This picture is blurry but here she is pumping haha.

23. She is obsessed with keys. She carries them around everywhere and puts them in any crack or slot she can fit them in.

24. "If you're gonna spew, spew into this" mini Garth

25. She still flicks her belly button when she is drinking a sippy "baba"

26. She is the best little helper. She likes to dust, and help me in the kitchen and she likes to take things to the trash.

27. She LOVES her dada!!

28. She also loves to play, she does the weirdest stuff when she's in her own little world.

I thank God everyday for her and that he protects her and keeps her safe. I cannot imagine life without her!!!

Potty Training Clara

2011-08-02T19:09:00.000-07:00

When I took Clara for her 2 year check up, Dr. Pardo said it was time to start potty training her. I wasn't sure if she was ready yet. She didn't understand when she had to pee, and the sensation of peeing. But Dr. Pardo and my mom both reassured me that she would learn it with training. She suggested that I set up a calendar on the wall with some fun stamp markers that she can play with every time she sits on the potty, and then reward only poop with a treat. So instead of a calendar on the wall, I just decided to set up coloring central in the bathroom. I got all of her markers and paper and a tv tray for the bathroom and she would color every time she sat on the potty. We started on a Monday and by Monday at noon I wanted to quit, haha! It was so annoying and time consuming. She practically sat on the potty ALL day long. So Jack and I were in there with her ALL day long too. He was fussy, Clara was fussy and mommy was miserable. But I stuck it out. The next day, she seemed a little better. She was beginning to understand the urge to pee. I cleaned up a lot of pee and poo off the floor. Pooping in the potty was very scary for her we had numerous accidents. I would say a good two weeks into it and she had the hang of it. We still have a few accidents every once in a while, but NEVER poop accidents. She only goes in the potty for that. She has been amazing to me, how fast she learned the sensation and to go in the potty. She hates it at night when I put the pull up or diaper on her. It has been great that I won't have to buy diapers anymore for her. I have one last small box and only use about 1 a day at night. I'm not sure how night training works. And going in public is a little scary for her but she's been getting better about it.

Day one of the training

looking miserable with her box of crayons

so bored waiting to pee

She played with Jessie & Woody for a while on her table. She sang Yodel Yodel Yodel.

Asleep in her Nemo panties.

She pretty much hangs out in her panties all day long. She tells me right away she has to "Pee Pee" and then runs to the bathroom. She usually wants to bring something with her like: keys, hair bows, toys, just random things. She's obsessed with the step stool she uses to wash her hands. So far, so good. I think she's just about trained! whew, it was rough at first lol!

Eating our way through Las Vegas

2011-08-02T18:08:00.000-07:00

We were invited to Las Vegas to stay at the Stratosphere for Mike's dad's 60th birthday. We left the kids with Grandma & Papa and took off when Mike got off of work. We didn't officially get on the road until 8pm. On our way there, his dad called and said some friends of theirs were stuck on the I-15 dead stopped because of a fatal accident. So his dad has us take a back road. It was kinda scary because it was pitch black and creepy. Mike was worried a Coyote would jump out onto the road but that never happened. All I know is Joshua Trees are scary looking lol. It added on about 40 minutes to the trip but I-15 was closed for over 4 hours so we were lucky!! We go into Vegas at 1:30am.

creepy back road

The next morning we got up fairly early because my internal clock was still set for waking babies, lol. We got dressed and went to his dad's house and visited for a while. Then we went shopping at the outlets. It was SUPER fun. We got a ton of stuff! I got new shoes for walking, Vans for Jack, Toy Story stuff for Clara at the Disney store. It was only 104 but slightly breezy so it wasn't that bad. We hadn't ate anything for breakfast so Mike decided we should have frozen custard to start out the day, haha! It was fantastic. I had a Coconut Western, coconut frozen custard, hot fudge, hot caramel, salted pecans, and a cherry. It was stunning.

Only pic of us together, it's terrible but who cares.

We then went to Claim Jumpers for lunch at another mall clear across Vegas. Yummy cheese sticks.

Us with the birthday boy

Mike & his Pops

The BBQ birthday party was fun. He has a lot of great friends. We just visited with everyone, ate some amazing red velvet cake, and spinach dip. And then we went back to our hotel around 11pm.

I thought we were going to bed, but Mike had other plans in mind: gambling & drinking. So I decided to wear my new skecher's flip flops and got two horrible blisters on the top of my foot. I was very bitter and so ready to go home. Then we stopped and got that big ol' strawberry colada with vodka and things began to feel better. Then I sat at my favorite slot machine with the diamonds that bounce back, and won $21. I was quite excited. Then I had a Kahlua & Cream and was feeling really tipsy, so we got in a cab and went back to our hotel.

We at at this place called Roxy's in our hotel. It's a 50's diner, and they sing and stuff. I don't know if it was because I was tipsy or starving, but this was the most amazing grilled cheese I had EVER had!! It had a garlic butter and was served with a tomato bisque. It was fantastic.

Then on the way home, another car accident on the I-15 going south and traffic was completely stopped. So we took another back road. It literally added on almost 2 hours to our trip but it was a beautiful drive. This picture does NOT capture how cool those clouds were. It took 4 hours to get to Barstow, but as we were driving in, the radio said the traffic was still stopped on the I-15. Sooooo glad we took the long way. We had a great time, and missed my kids like CRAZY!!!

Sheryl Crow

2011-08-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

My awesome mom, got us tickets to go see Sheryl Crow at the Fox. I have LOVED her since I was in high school. I have all of her cd's except for her brand new, which I must purchase! She was absolutely unbelievably good! She played almost all my favorite songs. She even sang the song from Cars, which made me think of Clara because she LOVES that song. She was super itsy bitsy tiny. I knew she was small but it was shocking how tiny she was. She was beautiful! My mom and her were born in the same year, she looks like she's maybe 30, lol!

We had amazing seats, 11th row, dead center. It was perfect until the 7' man sat in front of me, lol!