Finally...our BUNGEE JUMPING videos!!

We'll be going back for more in the Spring if anyone wants to join us!! Can't wait!

Merry Christmas!

What an enjoyable Christmas we had this year! Grammy, Auntie Shell-Shell, Uncle Smitty, Auntie Jill and Baby AJ all came to our house for Christmas. The kids spent the day playing with all of their new gifts while the adults gorged themselves with food! We had a great Christmas dinner ( a 6 lb. filet mignon from Costco which I highly recommend) and just an overall relaxing day together. Take a peek below!

Masyn was on her HSM dance mat all day...she loved it!

Zain on his new Diego bike...go Zainers!OUR CUTIES! Thank you Jesus for blessing us with two amazing, healthy and happy kids!

Skipbo and Gingerbread Houses

We have some different traditions in our family when the holidays approach...every year the whole family gathers for a huge Skipbo tournament! I was never really into Skipbo until this last year. I suppose once you learn how to play and actually beat someone, you get sucked in for more! Anyway, this Skipbo party is completely professional. I'm talking rows of tables covered by white tents, dozens of Skipbo decks, catered food, trohphies and alcohol of course. The whole family, young and old, competes for the title of "winner"! Some of my cousins have been playing since they where 7 years old (I got a much later start in the game)!! It's loads of fun and a great time to catch up with everyone.














In addition to Skipbo we also get together with a bunch of the local cousins and make gingerbread houses. This has to be the kids favorite event by far! The get to make gingerbread houses piled high with candy with their cousins they absolutely adore. Unfortunately, I didn't get any pictures...sorry!

Breakfast with Santa

Every year the Montage has an event for all of the employees and their families called, "Breakfast with Santa". The kids absolutely love it, and it is such a joy to see their faces light up over all of the fun things offered. This year, aside from the great food and the big fat man in the white beard, there was face painting, cookie decorating, coloring contests, picture frame making, magic shows and karaoke (what kid does not like to hear them self on a microphone)!! We all had a great time and look forward to it again next year. Thanks dad for working at such an amazing place!

Bungee America Baby!

On Saturday I surprised Nick for our 6th year Anniversary by taking him bungee jumping off of a bridge (The Bridge to Nowhere) in the Angeles National Forest! For those of you who don't know my husband he is petrified of things like this. But there is a small side of him that he has mentioned on rare occasions that wishes he could be more daring...so I basically thought of my little gift to him for this very special day as "his wish come true"! When I gave him my talking anniversary card that so excitedly broke the news to him once we were at the bottom of the mountian, he didn't seem to happy with me at that moment! He was stuck out in the middle of no where, about to go on a trecherous 5 mile hike, to do something he hated...perfect, the true test of LOVE! Anyway, take a peak at our most memorable day together. He loved me even more by the end of the day!

This was at the start of our hike. The mountain we were hiking to can't even be seen in this picture. It was just beyond the farthest mountian you can see. It was a 5 mile hike that took about 2 1/2 hours. We hiked along side the San Gabriel River, crossing it about 7-8 times up to our knees (mind you it was freezing cold hypothermia conditions). The hiking trail could barely be called a trail most of the time as it gets washed out so often it frequestly changes. It was more like hiking through bushes, over rocks, through rivers and along steep cliffs!



Along our hike we saw some long horns (aka rams). There was an entire herd of them about 50 yards away. It was amazing to see wildlife so close by!
We finally made it to the bridge! Holey, moley it was a long way down! Almost everyone was having second thoughts (inlcuding me, and I've done this before in a gorge), but there was no turning back now. We were going to conquer that bridge!
I decided to do the back plunge! It was the most amazing, adrenaline pumping thing of my life. Of all of the things I've tried (skydiving, hang gliding, glider planes, para sailing, etc.) bungee jumping has to be the far most scariest. But I have to admit after that first jump it just made me want to come back up for more. I loved it!
Nick decided to go with the front dive. It only took him one count down from the group and he was falling no where but down! He came back up thanking me for making our 6th year Anniversary so memorable. He was also asking when we were going to do it again! I was so proud of him that he was able to conquer one of his fears!Once we were finished bungee jumping, we were left to hike back to the parking lot on our own or in small groups. I'm not sure which one was more scary...jumping off a bridge or afraid we were not going to make it back to our cars before dark? It took us about 3 hours on the way back as a result of some minor detours! It still amazes me that we were brought up there by instructors yet on our own to get back! I think we crossed that freezing cold river atleast 15 times on the way back trying to figure out the right way. Atleast we were with some friends we had meet over the course of the day...after all, we all know how great Nick and I are with directions!!

Happy 6th Anniversary Baby!

P.S. I will be posting the videos of our actual jumps soon...check back!

Our Little Zain!

We just found out that Zain has to go in for an adenoidectomy on December 29th! So in other words, he must have his adenoids removed. He has suffered from breathing problems and asthma since he was about 4 months old (poor guy) and has probably been in and out of the ER at least 7-8 times since birth. We are really praying that this little outpatient procedure finally gives him some long needed relief. Zain you are in our prayers and we love you!

Trimming the Tree!

Tonight we finally decorated our Christmas Tree. I say finally because Nick thought I was crazy when I put up all of the Christmas decorations, lights and tree on Thanksgiving morning!! I was a little excited for Christmas this year! It just seems as the kids get older Christmas gets even more exciting...I'm sure that this cycle will reverse again once they hit about 16 (hehe)! Anyway, after a visit to the mall to see Santa and ask him a very important question..."where do you keep the reindeer when you are at the mall?"...we went back home to decorate the tree. Merry Christmas !!

Mommy Time!

What a great Thanksgiving weekend! After all of the cooking, cleaning, and gaining 5 pounds, I was able to enjoy some quality time with just the kids and I!We were bummed dad had to work on Saturday, but the three of us were still able to make the most of our day together at the Santa Ana Zoo! It's a great little place that will provide hours of fun and costs next to nothing. Here are some pics of our day together!

I swear Masyn just does these poses all on her own...kinda scary!

Zain...my little monkey!

We Have So much To Be Thankful For...

FAMILY! And our first born, Masyn. She amazes us daily and is truly growing up so incredibly fast.

The best husband in the world who actually got to be there on this special day (yeahhh). And last but not least, Zain, who has got a heart of gold (he gets that from his daddy).

We had another great Thanksgiving! This year Auntie Shell-Shell and Uncle Smitty hosted the feast. There was a huge spread of food, wonderful family and friends to share it with, and a little game of pool to end the night. Uncle Smitty got his butt kicked at pool by Nick and I (hehe) and had to dress up in drag and sing "Like a Virgin". It was hysterical! We didn't want to embarrass him too much, so unfortunately there will be no pictures of his song and dance routine going up!

One Little...Two Little Indians!!

The kids both had their Thanksgiving Feasts at school last week! Masyn's consisted of a huge "Family Day", lots of food at 9:30 in the morning and tons of songs sung by the entire kindergarten class (it was the cutest thing ever). They all got to choose to dress up as either an Indian or a Pilgrim. Take a peek at Masyn below...she's showing off that Rainwater side!! Anyway, myself, Dad, Auntie Shell-Shell and Uncle Smitty had all planned on going. To my surprise, Grammy showed up all the way from Paso Robles to be there at Family Day as well. After all, Family Day wouldn't be complete without Grammy!
Zain got to have his Thanksgiving Day Feasts last Tuesday and Wednesday! He was the cutest little chief I ever did see! We got to enjoy lunch together and lots of pictures and giggles. Nick and I are honestly so thankful God has given us two amazing little children that put smiles on our faces daily.

So Long Lemonheads!

What a great 10 weeks of soccer Masyn has had...and boy did she come far!! This was her first season ever playing soccer. Making the transition from dance to soccer was pretty tough in the beginning for her. But after a few practices showing up in tears and a few games being petrified of the ball Masyn finally came around about half way into the season! It was just like a little light bulb went off in her head, and she showed all those girls what she was really made of. She scored some goals, took some good falls and still came out smiling in the end wanting to play more! We are so proud of her. She was even awarded most improved player at the end of the season. And of course the most exciting part...she received her first trophy ever!!
P.S. Take a peek at the video of Masyn scoring her first goal!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Nick turned the big 3-1 on Saturday. Now that the kids are getting a little older and more aware they were all about Dad's birthday this year. They picked out their own presents for him, wrapped them all by themselves, made their own cards (I think he got 5-6 cards from each of them), and managed to somehow keep it all a secret! Masyn picked out a nose hair trimmer for Dad that was desperately needed. Zain got Dad a race car that drives on walls! Mom got him a weight bench and a new suit for work. On Saturday morning, after soccer (stay tuned for pics), the kids spent the morning making Dad card after card, mom was in the garage getting his big present all set up and Nick had to head into work for a couple of hours. When Dad got home we all gave him his presents and then headed down to the beach for dinner. We decided to take the kids to their first nice dinner with us....Splashes at the Surf N Sand! They did pretty good and we all went out for ice cream afterwards. All in all, Nick had a great 31st birthday. We love you dad!!

T.G.I.F.

Remember when saying "Happy TGIF" was cool? Well, here are some things we still enjoy about TGIF:
1) Mom gets a night off from cooking dinner
2) No school the next day
3) The kids get to stay up later and watch movies!
4) No work for mom the next day (Nick celebrates his TGIF on Saturdays)
5) We all get to eat fun stuff for dinner...tonight the kids made their own pizza's all by themselves!

6) Hanging out relaxing and having fun as a family (our usual Friday night dance parties)

Last of the Light Oak

After 10 years of pass me down furniture (compliments of dear ole mom) we have finally upgraded to some new stuff! A few months back we got rid of our light oak entertainment center that gave us many good years of use. In fact, looking back at pictures, I had that entertainment center in college!! Most recently we got rid of our light oak dining room table. We were able to sell it in less than 48 hours thanks to craigslist. We have been wanting a new dining room table for quite some time now and are sooooo happy with the new one we purchased. The kids love the fact that they can sit anywhere on the bench they wish and we love the fact that all of our furniture finally matches. Take a peak below!The kids especially loved playing in the furniture boxes and turning them into race cars!

Sunday Funday!

Sunday Funday (brings back good ole San Diego memories)...we started out early at the Farmer's Market, then headed to Trader Joe's, then on to lunch with some old college roommates! It was definitely a fun filled day and it was good to catch up with Nicci and Andrea. My how times have changed since the partying college days. Obviously, Nick and I have two kids now, but Andrea is engaged (yeahhh), and Nicci has a great little place in Newport where she gets to party for all of us still (love ya Nic)! We all had a great time together as always. The kids enjoyed our fun filled day and they even got to see a few pictures of mommy and daddy from about 10 years ago. All they kept saying was, "you guys look weird"! It was pretty funny.
On the way back home I made Nick stop by my old preschool (after driving up and down every street in Costa Mesa) ! Oh what great memories I had there...although it is strange how I swore the playground used to be so much bigger! Below is a picture of the kids and I in front of it. We finally ended our day at the 4:30 FUSE service and a bit to eat. What another great day God has given us!

The Cozens Little Munchkins!

Tonight we took a step back in time...to our high school years! Although, it was pretty weird to be back at a high school football game with two kids in tow that were a part of the half time show! Masyn and Zain were asked to be a part of the homecoming game half time performance. The theme..."Wizard of Oz", the part...munchkins! And they were honestly the cutest munchkins I've ever seen. Zain was consistently a few moves behind the older kids, but it made it all the better! They both did a great job and overall the kids definitely stole the show. Thanks to Natalie (our wonderful El Toro High Babysitter) for including them in such a great show and for all of her hard work and patience when in came to teaching all the kids the moves. She did awesome! Nick and I had a great night and it made us realize even more what trouble we are in when are kids hit the highschool years....ahhhhhh! Enjoy the video!
P.S. Masyn is in the hot pink tutu with the blue lollipop and Zain is in the front with the yellow lollipop covering his face half the time...hehe!!

Wine Time!

Nick and I were invited aboard a yacht in Newport last night to taste over 150 wines...although I think we only made it through about 30 or so wines (yikes)!! We had a great time relaxing while cruising throughout the bay. It was even more relaxing knowing that the kids were with Aunti Shell-Shell actually behaving! All in all everyone had a great night and Nick and I got to spend some nice time together.