Legos and Artwork

Chad has always been very creative. He can build anything with any type of material, puts together puzzles better than I can, and loves to color and paint. We think that someday he might be an architect or some kind of building designer. He amazes us with his talent - especially because he is only five years old.

We borrowed some Legos from Grandma (he doesn't have any small ones yet because I have always worried about little ones choking) and I realized that he needs to have some. He has had so much fun and has spent many hours thinking up new things to build. It has been fun to watch....looks like Santa might need to bring him some of his own! Here are a few pictures to enjoy.




Last month in Chad's Kindergarten class they learned about Vincent Van Gogh. After learning all about his life and paintings, the students had the chance to create their own sunflower picture like the famous one from Van Gogh. When he brought this home, I honestly did not think he did this all on his own (I even had to check with the teacher to make sure!). He actually did and I was so impressed that I plan on framing it to hang up in my sunflower kitchen. Maybe Chad will be an artist??? I can't wait to watch him grow up and find out!

Veteran's Day

Thank goodness for holidays! It had been a long time since the kids and David were off and we (at least, David) really needed it! We decided to take advantage of our beautiful weather and take the kids outside for the day. Last year, Kylie's class took a field trip to the botanical gardens at UC, Riverside. It's funny that we live so close and had no idea they were there! They are truly beautiful, so we went as a family on Veteran's Day. We hiked around and looked at all the plants and flowers, and had lunch with a beautiful view of UCR, Riverside, and the mountains.

Disneyland...

...was so much fun this year! It always is, to be honest, but Cameron seemed to enjoy it so much more this season. We went with Angela and her girls recently to enjoy the Halloween and Thanksgiving seasons at the park. The kids were so cute, and Cameron has really come to love Mickey and Minnie so much more lately, so he was really enamored with them!

Halloween Fun!

Halloween this year was a blast! We had many opportunities to enjoy the spirit of Halloween! We have a fantastic pumpkin patch here in Corona that we have gone to the past couple of years, so we went again this year. They have games, rides, bounce houses and slides, and the kids had a great time enjoying them. We also enjoyed games, activities, food and a trunk-or-treat at our ward party - it was the first time Cameron put on his costume - he was so funny! He loved it and kept running back and forth across the floor of the cultural hall. We also did our traditional pumpkin carving. The kids were excited about the donuts and hot chocolate more than they were their jack-o-lanterns! And then, of course, the big night...our kids had so much fun with our family, oma, grandma and our friends, Art and Simone Norman and their kids - our neighborhood is always so much fun!

Chad's First Soccer Season

We just finished up a GREAT season of soccer. Kylie decided that she didn't want to continue to play soccer, so David was able to coach Chad's team. We were the Firecrackers and our team was awesome. This was the best group of parents and kids we have had in the three years David has coached soccer. Chad was a great little soccer player and scored many goals this season! It was fun to watch him get into the game and to really go after the ball. He had the opportunity to meet up with lots of little friends on the soccer field and loved it when we played Carter Plewe's team! Here are some pictures from the season - I love the pics where he is really fighting for that ball. We are looking forward to next season!!! Next up.....baseball in the spring (oh, and the ongoing dancing with Kylie!)

Go Temple....

For Family Night last week, we decided to do a little mini lesson about the temple. I had made these little blocks for the kid's rooms at a craft day at church and I wanted to give them to them after the lesson. We read something out of the Friend magazine (a kid's church magazine) and had a little discussion about what is so important about the temple. I have to admit that I was talking mostly to Chad and Kylie and even looking mostly at them. Cameron was eating dinner with us and just sat very quietly eating his dinner. After the lesson was complete, I gave the kids their temple blocks to put in their rooms. David and I sat there with Cameron for a minute and all of a sudden he said, "Go temple." I was so shocked that he was really listening to our discussion (at 22 months old), and seemed to understand the point of the lesson. It was so sweet and then we talked to him a little bit about the temple too.

We took them up to bed and Cameron laid down easily, like normal, and was quiet for about 15 minutes. We thought for sure that he was asleep. All of a sudden he started to cry, and we were wondering what the problem was. He started saying, "Go temple, go temple," over and over again and was really upset. We had to explain to him that we couldn't go that night, but that we would go see the temple soon. It was so cute and I was so excited to know that he was listening and that our little Family Night messages are touching our kids. From now on, I will be sure to speak to Cameron too when it comes to our next little lesson!

Chad Turns Five!!!!

Chad celebrated his 5th birthday on September 1st! I can't believe my little boy is five. He is growing up so quickly and it seems like he changes every day. He can be so cuddly and loving one minute, and the next be this macho grown up kid that wants to handle everything on his own. He can be funny and entertaining, and also the most serious little boy you've ever seen. He is a great big brother to Cameron and is so kind and gentle with him most of the time. They can get roudy and wrestle with each other, but I love it when Cameron is wanting to do just what Chad is, and Chad is patient enough to include him or teach him how to do something. It is going to be so fun to watch these two boys grow up together. I hope that they will always be great friends!

Anyway....back to Chad's birthday. The weekend before he had a bounce house/ waterslide party with all of his family and friends and we had a great time. Even David and I joined in on the waterslide fun. It was a perfect end to the summer and Chad loved it! On his actual birthday it was fun to bring popsicles to his kindergarten class at school, and then spend the evening with just him at Disneyland. Because we have our passes and you are able to get in free on your birthday, he received a gift card for $59.00 to spend on whatever he wanted. This is a VERY big deal, because we pretty much NEVER buy anything when we are at Disneyland. He ended up picking some candy (of course), a race car track, and a mickey mouse sports bottle to use for soccer (red, of course). We had so much fun hanging out with just Chad that night and can't wait to do it again!

Happy Birthday to one of the cutest little boys we know! Here are some pictures from his special day.

Fire!

Southern California has been on fire many times. Sometimes just down the freeway from us. But I have always told the kids that they don't have to worry about a fire coming towards our house. Not where we live. And I have always believed that.

I wasn't even worried when I saw the smoke on the other side of the hill. I was surprised that that hill was burning, but still not worried. It wasn't until I could see flames from our front yard that I started to panic. Everyone knows what a worry wart I am, and that day was certainly no different. I made David come home from work early, and started to gather our important pictures and family home videos. I actually thought that we should pack up some things in the car - just in case. I did realize that the fire probably wouldn't reach us, but I was very worried about the wind and embers blowing our direction.

Needless to say, the AMAZING firefighters put the fire out within a few hours. But those few hours were very unsettling. The air around our neighborhood was smoky, and although it was two o'clock in the afternoon, the sky looked dark and dreary. People in our ward were evacuating and we didn't know if they were going to get it out or not for a while.

I can no longer tell my kids that there will never be a fire within view of our house. But David took them up the hill to take some pictures as they were finishing up, and I think they felt better watching the firemen and helicopters do their jobs. It was a great lesson for everyone around us. We need to be prepared for any type of an emergency that may come our way! I am working on this more now than ever.....food storage, organized pictures and videos, etc. etc.

Here's the view from our street when the fire was almost out. I have never been so happy to see white smoke before! That entire hill was covered in flames hours before.

Dance Auditions

Every year at the end of summer, Kylie has an audition. Miss Kristy, the owner of her dance studio wants every student to know what dancing is like in the real world. She prepares them for when they leave high school and really do have to audition to get a job as a dancer. She makes it as formal and realistic as possible, yet provides an enjoyable experience for each dancer. Kylie has to prepare her dance bag with many important items a dancer should carry, learn dance terminology and recite and perform the steps, and learn a choreographed routine and perform it in front of judges at the studio. All while performing with a smile on her face - and she always does a great job!
Kylie participates in Kane Dance Academy's "scholarship" program, which means that we pay a flat rate each month, and she can take as many and whatever classes she would like to each week. This is a cheaper way of excelling at many different types of dance. She no longer plays soccer, and has decided that dance is her thing. She will continue to try other things along the way - but I really think she will be one of those girls that dances all the way through school. She loves it and is learning a lot!

Here are some pictures of her auditon day, and her new big sister at the dance studio. We are very proud of our little dancer....she is so fun to watch!

Getting ready for auditons - stretch, stretch, stretch. Everyone must wear a black leotard and pink tights.

Kylie and Sabrina - her new big sister!

At the end of auditions, students are called at home to let them know that they "made it." Afterwards, they celebrate at the studio with their new scholarship group of girls. Here is Kylie, ready to party!

Play Time

Well...obviously we haven't blogged in a while...and the weather has finally changed!!!! I know, it's silly to be excited for fall 85 degree weather. But we are just glad it is no longer breaking 100 around here. It has been nice to be able to play outside again and not just in the water. One day we decided to take some silly pictures while playing out on the driveway.






Cameron is getting really good at playing tee ball. He loves it and it is so much fun to watch. I'm amazed that a one and a half year old can actually hit the ball!

Kylie and Chad had fun competing to see who could dribble the basketball longer without dropping it. I think Chad can actually dribble longer - but they had a great time! :)

David put a new shed together in the backyard (which has been GREAT to have) and Chad and Cameron got to help. They had a great time and loved spending time with David. I know David is looking forward to the time when they actually will help with things like mowing the lawn. :)

For now - this is Cameron's attempt at mowing the lawn. He loves to follow David around and I think he really thinks he is helping. It is really cute - especially when he has no shirt on. It is so fun to watch him enjoy every part of his day. His happy smile can cheer up anyone!