Daddy Days!

Back in the day Nick used to have every Monday and Tuesday off with the kiddos...we used to call them "Daddy Days" (so original)! I remember those first few "Daddy Days" 7 years ago. I would call every hour to make sure Masyn's hair was brushed, I would make sure she had her bottle on time and I would make sure Dad and Masyn were both still alive! I was the typical, first time, overprotective mom who thought my way was the only right way! Then Zain came along and things changed. I stopped calling, he had no hair to brush, I realized he wasn't going to die if he had a bottle an hour later than usual and most of all I realized that the kids were having more fun with dad than they ever had with me! Dad was unstructured, carefree and LOTS of fun. The kids cherished their "Daddy Days" more than any other day of the week. But soon school came along and Dad had to work 6 and sometimes even 7 days a week. To be honest we all forgot about "Daddy Days"! Days off from school soon became filled with soccer, birthdays, play dates and other such things. We all missed dad immensely at first, but then grew used to this new schedule over time. Until TODAY... Nick and the kids had an entire day together and definitely made the most of it. They left behind household duties and mom at work and headed to the Long Beach Aquarium. They had a blast looking at fish, touching sharks and just being silly with Dad! After the aquarium they headed to a fun little lunch date. At lunch, apparently Nick is rubbing off on Masyn as her restaraunt standards have suddenly gotten much pickier. They went to "Bubba Gumps" at first, but had to leave as the service was horrible according to Masyn!! On the way home they even got to stop at Target and pick a little something out...Dad definitely spoils them. But most of all dad loves them and has fun with them!

HERE'S TO DADDY DAYS!

Masyn Turns 7!!

Happy Birthday to our big 7 year old (I'm a little late...it was last Monday)!! Since Masyn did not get to celebrate with a big party this year, she instead had a little day of pampering with 2 close friends. Masyn, Jalyn and Summer got manicures and pedicures at an adorable little nail salon called "The Nail Lounge" (I highly recommend it for any little girl, and they do parties too). After the neon pinks and oranges went on their nails they were ready for some lunch and a little dancing at Joe's Crab Shack. The three girls got along great all day and it was so cute to see them interact...they were like true teenagers! Check out some pics from our fun girls day...

Relaxing while getting nails doneDancing at Joe's....gooooo Romy, who got into it the most (love it)!!!

Pooped after a long birthday weekend! Auntie Shell-Shell and all the dogs reading a good-night book in bed...can't you tell how tired everyone is!We love Masyn because...
1) She challenges us daily...she never fails to keep us on our toes (hehe)!
2) She is the second "mommy" in the household. She loves to take care of anyone and anything and her caring heart shines through in all she does.
3) Her smarts...I swear she thinks she is 16, and sometimes we think she is too!
4) Her loving spirit!
5) Her perseverance...just when we think Masyn may give up on something, she continually surprises us and persists on with a great attitude.
6) She is a very responsible young lady and truly takes pride in all she does.
7) We love Masyn because of her strong-will (couldn't have left that one out for all of you who have known Masyn since birth)...after all, she was voted most likely to be a CEO in preschool!!!

HAPPY 7TH MASYN! WE LOVE YOU!

Happy Thursday!

Normally I would say Happy Friday...but this morning I woke up to the cutest little note on Masyn's bed. For everyone that knows Masyn, you know that she is NOT a morning person. But this morning was different. When I went into her room to wake her up for school I found this note she had written on her white board laying on the end of her bed. My first few thoughts were....

1) Did she get in trouble before bed last night? She normally writes apology letters when she gets in trouble. But nooooooo, no trouble last night!

2) Is she mad? Is it a mean letter? Nooooooo, not a mean word came to sight when I quickly looked it over!

3) Oh, no....she is never going to get up because she was up writing late last night!!

After, I finally took the time to read the letter I could do nothing but smile and crawl in bed with her to wake her up and tell her thank you for the sweet letter! I got a BIG SMILE in return (this is very rare at 6:30 in the morning)! It truly made my morning. Take a peek at her little note below!

giss = guys
stof = stuff
ovry boty = everybody
speshl trets = special treats

P.S. SHE FINALLY LEARNED HOW TO RIDE A BIKE ABOUT 5 DAYS AFTER HER BROTHER! YEAHHHHH!! I CAN HARDLY KEEP THEM OFF OF THEIR BIKES NOW. I LOVE IT!

More Milestones!

So all my posts lately seem to be about Zain...but I guess along with turning 5 some more milestones just seem to accompany it! Yesterday he learned how to ride a bike all by himself...literally! He said he was ready to try his bike (which in my mind I was thinking, "it's about time"), so we went over to the park to practice. We decided to make a little picnic out of it, so as Masyn and I were setting up the blanket and lunch, Zain just hopped on his bike and attempted to pedal. He got the hang of it very quickly. After only 2 pushes from me, he was on his way to making laps around the park! I could barley get him off of his bike to eat lunch. In fact he rode his bike from the park all the way home (uphill) without falling or stopping once...amazing!! Here's a peek at our new bike rider...now if we can only get Masyn to ride her bike (she learned a while ago, but has never ridden since)!!



Harley had a little milestone of his own...he can now rollover on command!! Take a peek...

Happy 5th Zain!

Our little boy is growing up so fast...last Wednesday he turned 5! For the first year ever, we decided to alternate party years for the kids (since both of their b-day's are in March). Being that it was Zain's 5th b-day, kind of a big milestone year, and Masyn has been alive longer to celebrate more birthday's we let Zain have a huge party. He celebrated last weekend with 25 friends, a bounce house, cotton candy machine and lots of games! All the kids had a blast and we were especially thankful it didn't rain. I thought it would be cute to list my 5 Favorite things about Zain for his 5th birthday (although I could list many more)...

1. He makes us laugh...A LOT! He is constantly saying the silliest things and loves to put a smile on everyone's faces, no matter what he has to do do get it there!!

2. He is a very compassionate boy...he truly cares for everyone around him.

3. His never-ending songs about God that go a little something like this, "I love God, even though I can't see him...I know he is there, somewhere..." (sooo cute and funny)!

4. His truthfulness...even when he gets in trouble and I am not around he can't stand to not tell me.

5. His ENERGY...and boy does he have a lot of it and it is never-ending!!

WE LOVE YOU ZAIN!!

Zainy Zainers!

So I really need to start posting some of the funny things the kids say. After all, we all know how bad my memory is, and this may be my only way of remembering things when they get older! Anyway, our little Zain says silly things that make us all laugh daily. He is such a goof ball and from what I hear at school he is already the class clown and loves to make the girls laugh.....great!?! He must be following in his daddy's footsteps. So here is how my conversation with Zain went the other night...

Me: So I just wanted to let you know that Grammy is watching you on Saturday and you are both spending the night at her house.

Zain: Where are you going mommy?

Me: Mommy is going to out with a friend from out of town.

Zain: I wanna go.

Me: Sorry baby, mommy is going to dinner with only adults and it will be too late for you.

Zain: Ohhhh, I know why (some hesitation)....you're going to a bar!

Big Bear!

Last weekend we spent some time up in Big Bear with family! It was a much needed trip for us all and we couldn't get there quick enough...literally!

The night before we had planned to head up the mountain our car broke down. It had just gotten out the shop for it's 60K check-up when Nick decided to drive it down to LA for a Lakers game. Lucky guy...4th row Lakers game tickets then Big Bear for 2 days of snowboarding!! Anyway, he wasn't so lucky when the car started smoking from the engine and leaking profusely. He had to have it towed 61 miles from LA only to find out the car shop forgot to hook up the coolant hose completely!!

Finally, 4 hours late on Friday morning with some eager kids we were headed up to Big Bear. Needless to say our first stop when we got there was not the cabin...it was a much needed drink and lunch.

We spent the rest of our days inner-tubing, eating, snowboarding, relaxing and eating some more. The kids tried snowboarding for their first time as they spent the day in lessons on Sunday. The lessons were pretty trying initially, but by the end of day they were cruising down the bunny slopes. It was the cutest, funniest and proudest moment to see them fly down those bunny slopes, crash and burn and then do it all over again!!

We all had a blast and thanks mom for a great trip! Can't wait to do it again!