I'm tired...

I'm not supposed to mention Nicole completed a triathlon this morning. She doesn't want anyone to know. So while she is taking a nap I'm not blogging about it.

And I'm not talking about how her neighbors and in-laws came out to support her...

And no words on how she swam...

or biked...

or ran...

Not going to mention how happy she was to finish...

Or how sad her son was when she ran by without stopping for him (look at the previous picture too)...

But all this not mentioning stuff is getting me tired. Love you babe. Good job today.

Canyon Lake - version 7.0

(Nicole has been a little busy so I thought I'd help her out with a few posts...)

One of Nicole and my first "outdoor" type dates involved going on a hike near Canyon Lake. It eventually turned into an annual tradition to head up to the lake and get a picture each year. Even after the kids started arriving we have somehow managed to continue with the tradition.

This year, like last, we were a bit late from the traditional June trip but we finally made it. The kids hiked up the hill without complaints and were great. Dylan even reminded Nicole and I repeatedly to "Be Safe!" as we slowly made it up and down the hill.

Dylan's Dollhouse

The day after Dylan's ice cream birthday party we had our family come over to celebrate with us. We were leaving for California the following day and wouldn't be home on her actual birthday so we celebrated before we left. We had an ice cream bar to make sundaes and I think everyone had a great time.


Todd's brother had built a huge bookshelf for his own daughter a few years ago that was shaped like a house. You know, those huge ones Pottery Barn Kids was selling for a small fortune? Well, he had built one and his girls had loved it. A few months ago he sent Todd an e-mail asking if we were interested in taking it off their hands. I quickly jumped at the chance as I knew I wanted to get Dylan a dollhouse for her birthday this year. This was going to be perfect. It was huge, it was well built and it was free!!! Dylan had seen this bookshelf in our garage for months, and it was always called a bookshelf. Never a dollhouse. She took it at that and never thought twice about it.

I started on a search for the perfect doll furniture and was having a tough time. Because this thing was almost 6ft tall at the peak, I knew the furniture needed to be large. Finally I was able to find what I was looking for and spread the word to family and a few friends to offer ideas for the perfect gift. I couldn't have planned it all any better.


Todd and my brother-in-law brought in the dollhouse and set it behind Dylan as she opened her presents. As she opened a new set of furniture, we had her put the box on one of the shelves behind her. When she was done, I had her come stand next to me so she could see all the furniture in each "room" of the house. It took her awhile, and some help, but eventually she realized that this bookshelf was really a huge dollhouse. And she loved it. The furniture was opened immediately and she and Isaac set out to create the perfect rooms. Not only that though, she also got her very first Barbie doll and it was the perfect size doll for the house and the furniture. She loved it!

I Scream, You Scream

Let's make some Ice Cream!!!

Dylan turned four last weekend while we were out of town (more on our vacation later) so before we left, we celebrated her birthday with a few of her friends.

The theme? Ice cream of course.

We started out with some adorable invitations that my mom and her friend made for me, I mean us (Dylan and I). We added the wording to the invites, and handed them out to three of her friends. Four little girls for a four year old sounded just about right. These girls get together once a week to play, so we just made the party their get together for the week.


I'd spent some time getting things organized for the party and when party day arrived, we were ready. Pink balloons on all the chairs, pink table cloths and pink party dishes. It was a lot of pink!


My mom came over to help me out, and the watch the scene as it all unfolded. Dylan's friends started to arrive and they sat at the table with a new box of crayons and a dot-to-dot ice cream cone and coloring sheet. It was an easy first activity.


Afterward I gave the girls some stickers (ice creams of course) and let them decorate some empty baby formula cans. Once the cans were decorated to their liking, we put some flavored milk (chocolate and strawberry) into separate ziploc baggies and added them to another bag filled with ice and rock salt. We stuffed these bags into the cans and the fun began.

The girls paired up and got to shakin'. They jumped up and down with those cans, danced, rolled and did everything they could think of to get those cans moving. When they got tired, they rolled it to their partner, or just handed it off so they could take a break and the next girl went crazy. By the end, the girls were all jumping together whether they had a can or not, and they were tired.


BUT, they had made their ice cream. We took the bags of ice cream and put them in the freezer for a few minutes while the girls moved on to their next activity.

Pin the Cherry on the Ice Cream Cone!

I took a piece of posterboard, drew an ice cream cone (in pink) and cut some foam circles in red. The girls wore a pink beauty mask to hide their eyes, told me how many times they wanted to spin around, and did their best to place the cherry on top of the ice cream cone. I think they had a good time, and did a pretty good job too.


Finally the ice cream was ready. The girls went back to the table, and received a large dish full of strawberry, chocolate and vanilla ice cream. On the table was an array of toppings for the girls to choose from. Sprinkles, M&M's, nuts, cherries, Oreo cookies, chocolate chips, hot fudge, caramel sauce and whipped cream. It was a free for all.


At least it was supposed to be. I don't know who these girls are, but the topping choices were minimal. They did eat all of the cherries, and each had whipped cream, but for the most part, there were only little bits of this or that taken. It didn't matter though, they loved it. They also each got an ice cream cone cupcake. I baked cupcakes inside of store bought ice cream cones and added pink frosting to make them look like a cone. They turned out really cute. I would totally make them again. Each girl added a cherry and a few sprinkles before eating.


There was some outdoor play here and there in the back yard in between activities and even some chocolate or strawberry milk. Then it was time for presents.

Dylan got some cute gifts from her friends and I think all in all they had a good time. When it was time to leave Dylan handed out her buckets of fun.

The buckets were just large tin cans covered in scrapbook paper with each girls name on it. We nailed a few holes into the sides, added some ribbon and it was an easy gift for the girls to carry home with them. Inside, the ice cream theme was carried out...

ice cream cone bubbles
cake batter ice cream flavored lip balm
an ice cream cone notebook
their pink ice cream dish and spoon with an individual serving of ice cream tucked inside
ice cream flavored hard candies
a magnet of their initial to put on their buckets
and a candy bar with ice creams on the front that read Dylan's Candy Bar



I think it was a great success, and Dylan told me it was her best day ever, but looking back, it was a lot of work and I'm thrilled I don't have to host another birthday party like this for at least another year.*


* Isaac won't have a party with his friends until he turns four. There will be a post in another couple of months talking about his family celebration though.

My Shopping List

Today as I walked into the kitchen, I found Dylan sitting at the table, pen in hand writing on a pad of paper. I asked her what she was doing and she told me she was making me a shopping list.

I asked her what was on my list and she told me the one and only thing she'd written: Cheetos. Yum!

She asked me what else we needed from the grocery store, and I asked her to let me know what she thought we needed. Together we started my shopping list. As we came up with each item she asked me how to spell the word and wrote them very carefully.

Here is our short list:



If you can't read it (which, in my opinion, each of you should be able to) here is what our list consists of:

Cheetos
yogurt
tortillas
milk
vitamins
ice cream

Considering the girl has only learned to write the first three letters of the alphabet at school (and her name) it's not bad for a soon to be 4 year old.

White men can't jump.

We already knew he had no dance skills but the kid also has about a half inch vertical.

If you listen carefully you can hear the back of the ring hit the edge from where he is jumping from.

Brown Shoes

Funny conversation that happened today.

Daddy standing in kitchen on Sunday morning hears little foot steps running down the hallway.

D: Look daddy, these are my church shoes!

Dad: (Looking at little brown shoes) Nice.

D: They are also my jumping shoes.

This is immediately followed by two "JUMP! JUMPS!" and my daughter showing me her 2 inch vertical. Then she runs off back down the hall. This is quickly followed by a loud thump and crying.

Dad: Are you ok?

D: No I fell down.

Dad: Well are those your running shoes or your church shoes?

D: (now smiling) These are my church shoes AND my jumping shoes.

Dad: But not your running shoes? Are they your walking shoes?

D: Huh?

Dad: Are they your walking shoes?

D: Yep.

Dad: How can that be? Are they your church shoes, your jumping shoes or your walking shoes?

D: Huh?

Dad: Are they your brown shoes?

D: Yep.

Dad: So they are your church shoes, your jumping shoes, your walking shoes AND your brown shoes?

D: Yep.

Dad: That is a lot of shoes.

D: Yep...but not my running shoes! (as she runs off).