The Boley Family

Memorial Day Weekend - Lincoln City

2011-07-18T09:36:00.000-07:00

Our friends invited us to spend Memorial Day Weekend with them at a beach house in Lincoln City. I'm not sure who was more excited...us or the kids! We really lucked out with the weather...we were able to spend most of our time outside and we weren't even miserable! I'd say that's pretty amazing for the Oregon Coast!

Olivia, Sienna & Ava ready to hit the beach!

Sienna & her bestest buddy, Olivia...ADORABLE!

What a BEAUTIFUL day!

Sienna, Olivia & Ava doing some digging!

Rob and the kids (minus Brayden who stayed back at the house with Chris...Brayden fell in the water the day before and was scared to go back!!!)!

Elijah, Olivia, Sienna & Ava

Lunch time! Olivia, Sienna, Ava, Logan & Brayden

Game time! Olivia, Brayden, Sienna & Elijah

More game time! Elijah, Logan & Brayden

Olivia & Sienna spent most of their "inside" time coloring pictures together...

Football Time! The boys spent most of the weekend throwing and catching a football!

Sienna & Olivia practicing their dancing skills!

It was such a FUN weekend!!! I can't wait for our next vacation with the Coleman Clan!

Brayden's Preschool Graduation!

2011-05-26T07:23:00.000-07:00

I can't believe how long it has been since I've had the time to post pictures! WOW! I have so many pictures to share, but no time to share them. I am STILL going through the Disneyland pictures from March, not to mention all of the pictures I've taken since we returned home. Last Wednesday I officially handed over my role as the preschool Treasurer! However, I also officially became the preschool's President! It is definitely going to be a fun and exciting year for me.
Ok, now on to the most important news of the day: Brayden graduated from preschool!!!!!

Brayden and Teacher Andy

Brayden is so sad to be leaving Teacher Andy. He has repeatedly told me that he wishes that he was only 4 years old so that he could stay in Teacher Andy's class! I can only pray that he loves his new kindergarten teacher just as much as Teacher Andy!!!

Sharing a Room!

2011-02-22T07:10:00.000-08:00

When my parents came to stay with us about a week ago, the kids both slept in Sienna's room! When we bought Sienna's new bed in January, we purchased the trundle to go with it, just for this sort of occasion. Brayden no longer has to sleep on our floor, or on the floor in the office. YEA!

I had a board meeting at the preschool and by the time I got home, Chris was reading the kids their bedtime books:

Time for bed! We bought Brayden Star Wars sheets from Target for the trundle since he can't have them on his bed (they don't make them in the queen size unless you spend $200 at Pottery Barn!!!). Needless to say, he was super excited to sleep in his new sheets!

The kids slept in the same room for 2 nights. The first night we must have gone up there 20 times to tell them to stop goofing off. But, the 2nd night, Chris only had to make 1 trip up to Sienna's room!

More Swim Lessons!

2011-02-21T10:06:00.000-08:00

And the swim lessons start AGAIN! Brayden & Sienna's friends, Logan & Ava, are in the class too, but missed the first 2 days because their family was sick. Luckily, Brayden and Sienna did great, even without their friends in the class! They also had a new instructor, which usually doesn't go over very well, but neither of them seemed to mind!

Water games...Simon Says!

Waiting for their turn to jump in!

Brayden did GREAT jumping in!!!

We kept telling Sienna to jump without holding his hands, but she never did...maybe this week!

Brayden's Field Trip to the Post Office!

2011-02-13T11:48:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday, Brayden's preschool class took a field trip to the Canby Post Office. Sienna and I were lucky enough to get to join them!

Brayden & his friend Lulu (Lucia)

Getting ready to stamp some mail!

Brayden's turn to stamp a letter!

Even Sienna got a turn!

The kids all wrote letters to mail home. Half of the class mailed their letters while the other half watched on the other side of the wall for the mail to drop. Then they switched places. The day after the field trip, the letter arrived in the mail and here is what it said (he wrote it all by himself): "I love you Mom and Dad. love Brayden". Best letter...ever!!!

I brought a letter for Sienna to mail, too!

Our turn to watch the mail drop! Of course, it dropped so fast that I never got a picture of the actual mail...

Brayden's preschool class with Teacher Andy!

Sienna's FIRST haircut!!!

2011-02-09T20:56:00.000-08:00

Sienna's BEFORE pictures:

Shawn getting ready to chop it all off!

Too late to turn back now!

Sienna's hair donation to pantene! Pantene only requires 8" and makes wigs for cancer patients: http://www.pantene.com/en-US/beautiful-lengths-cause/Pages/default.aspx?TID=b7f8e211-085c-4bc0-9de7-abc8a9f7752c

Now it's time to style the new short "do"!

Sienna LOVES the hair dryer!

Sienna checking out her new hair in the mirror!

Sienna and her hair donation...still looking at herself in the mirror! haha!

Sienna being silly in pigtails! Her hair is sooo easy to put in pigtails now...no comb needed!

Sienna's 1st Pedicure!

2011-02-08T08:11:00.000-08:00

My friend, Jackie, invited Sienna and me to go for pedicures on Super Bowl Sunday. I never turn down a pedicure, and I figured Sienna would have fun with her best buddy, Olivia! We went to a place at the Washington Square Mall that had 3 little chairs for the girls. How cute is that? I tried to get Sienna to smile in at least one picture, but she just wasn't cooperating. I asked her afterwards if she had fun, and she said she did.

Sienna, Olivia & Ava

My little "girlie girl", Sienna!

Olivia & Sienna waiting for the 4 of us ladies to be done with our pedicures. I sure wish that Sienna would smile, like Olivia, when I take their picture!

Pajama Party - Pictures & Video!!!

2011-01-31T19:55:00.000-08:00

The Canby Alliance Church had a Pajama Party on Friday night! Chris' mom, Jeri, invited Sienna and me and then we invited Sienna's best friend, Olivia! At the party, they had different stations set up for painting nails, braiding hair, dressing-up, having a tea party and for decorating a picture frame. Oh, and there was a huge area set up for the girls to dance, dance, dance!

Sienna & Me

Olivia & Sienna

Sienna had her hair braided first, but I forgot to take a picture. The girl who braided Olivia's hair did an AMAZING job!

Sienna and Olivia having a tea party!

The girls had SO MUCH FUN dancing together! It was shortly after 9pm before I could get them out of there!

Here's one of the videos that I took of the girls dancing:

Our "Broken" House...

2011-01-24T21:09:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning we woke up to a lake in our kitchen!!! Sometime in the middle of the night, our Instant Hot Water Filter cracked and started spraying water, creating a lake in the kitchen AND in our crawl space. Of course, we had no idea how bad the situation really was until we had the mess cleaned up and noticed the hardwood floors weren't looking so great. We called Chris' buddy, who just so happens to be our insurance agent, and he got us in touch with ServPro, who was nice enough to come out on a Saturday afternoon. Unfortunately, the guy wasn't full of good news. He discovered the lake in our crawl space and used his fancy water detector to figure out how far the water had spread...all the way under our cabinets and into the dining room. He set up a fan in the crawl space and an industrial fan/humidifier in the kitchen before he left.

Today they came back to vacuum the water out of the crawl space as well as set up a few industrial heaters/humidifiers. He also tested the humidity in the floors again and it had gone down quite a bit. If things keep improving, they won't have to take out all of our cabinets!!! We'll know more tomorrow or Wednesday if the cabinets stay or go! The one bright side of the whole ordeal is that we'll get all of our hardwood floors refinished 90 days after the floors are dry! All for the economical price of our $1k deductible!

Here are a few pictures of our quarantined kitchen and dining room!

THE DINING ROOM:

THE KITCHEN:

THE "ZIPPERED" DOOR:

THE OPENING INTO THE DINING ROOM:

For some reason, the kids felt the new location for the dining room table was an invitation to crawl all over it!

Sienna's New Big Girl Bed!!!

2011-01-23T20:13:00.000-08:00

We finally got Sienna a REAL bed! She's been sleeping in her "toddler crib" (no front rail) for the last 1 1/2 years and is actually longer than the crib! We ordered the bed on January 4th and it just arrived on Friday! Sienna picked out the bedding set all by herself...

We purchased the trundle to go with the bed so that Brayden can sleep in her room when Grandma & Grandpa Macnab come to visit (they sleep in his queen size bed and he used to sleep in the toy room on the floor). I'm sure they won't get much sleep in the same room (they certainly didn't when they shared a room for 5 nights in Bend at Christmas), but they are certainly exited to have their first sleepover in Sienna's room!

Christmas 2010

2011-01-17T07:21:00.000-08:00

The kids with our Christmas Tree, the morning we left for Bend!

Playing "Old Maid" with Uncle Scott!

Sienna couldn't get enough of Uncle Scott while we were in Bend...too bad he lives so far away (San Diego)!!!

Christmas Eve in front of my parents Christmas Tree!

How sweet are they?!?!?!?

Time for PRESENTS! YEA!

Christmas morning...Santa left some pretty cool presents!

Grandma & Grandpa gave the kids the princess and toy story/cars tracing boards they wanted from Costco...it was too cute watching them draw together!

Sienna got a new doll with a doctor's kit...Brayden found a new use for the stethescope!

Uncle Scott reading to Sienna.

Christmas at Grandma & Grandpa Boley's House...Brayden was a being a bit silly!

YEA for Lincoln Logs!

Our Sleigh Ride In Sunriver!

2011-01-16T07:21:00.000-08:00

While we were in Bend for Christmas, my parents took us all on a sleigh ride in Sunriver!

Chris and Sienna!

Sienna & Me!

We were all so excited to be in Central Oregon...we love SNOW!!! Brayden and Uncle Scott decided to have snowball wars...who do you think won?

Hmmmm...not much of a fair fight!

Direct hit! Way to go, Uncle Scott!

This picture cracks me up...if you click on it a couple of times and enlarge it, you can see the drool coming out of Brayden's mouth! LOL!

Sienna's turn to play!

After the snowball fights, we headed inside to get warm before our sleigh ride!

Waiting....

Brayden got a little crazy while we were waiting for our turn!

Our Sleigh! I sure hope all 5 adults and 2 kids are gonna fit!

It was a VERY tight fit, but we all manaed to fit!

We were packed in like Sardines!

There were 3 sleighs that went out at the same time...we were in the last one.

What a beautiful view from the sleigh!

The Children's Museum!

2011-01-15T07:46:00.000-08:00

We made 2 trips to the Portland Children's Museum in December. First we went for free (thanks for the passes, Jackie!!!) with our friends Jackie, Logan, Lisa & Koen. A week or two later, I checked the museum pass out of the library and took Brayden & Sienna. What fun...for FREE!!! Unfortunately, I forgot my nice camera both times, so I had to use my cheap camera I leave in my purse for just these sort of occasions...

Brayden with his buddies, Logan & Koen...after a bit of face painting!

The boys playing with lights inside the tree trunk...not really sure what that was all about. ;)

The museum had very cool huge "Lincoln Logs" that the boys had fun building with.

Ahoy Matey! Brayden & Koen playing in the pirate ship...not sure where Logan had run off to!

Brayden & Koen driving the ambulance...they are on their way to rescue people! Logan was actually climbing on the hood of the ambulance...I couldn't believe that Brayden could see around him to drive the ambulance! ;)

Brayden & Sienna at the museum!

The kids spent most of the time playing on the stage! At one point, they brought out hula hoops and jump ropes, but my slow little camera couldn't keep up with them!

Christmas Cut-Out Cookies!

2011-01-14T07:37:00.000-08:00

Brayden & Sienna's decorated Christmas Cookies! YUM!

The Oregon Zoolights!

2011-01-13T07:15:00.000-08:00

We finally made it to Zoo Lights this year!!! We got there a little early, so we headed to the Zoo Store to stay warm. Sienna found this cute mask to try on:

Brayden & Sienna looked too cute going through the "little" door into the Zoo Store:

Chris, Brayden & Sienna heading into the Zoo Lights!

The kids had a blast on the train! I tried to get a picture, but we were all crammed in too close and it didn't turn out. Here I am with Brayden & Sienna looking at all of the lights after our train ride.

We were only there for an hour, but we drank hot chocolate, rode the train and walked around the Zoo looking at the pretty lights. It wasn't raining, but it was incredibly cold, which took some of the fun out of it. But, it was still money well spent!!! With our membership, it was free to get in and then $12 for the 4 of us to ride the train. Then we wasted $7.50 on THREE hot chocolates! Next year we'll definitely bring our own hot chocolate in a thermos!

More Random November Pictures!

2011-01-11T09:25:00.000-08:00

Whoever heard of shorts and tank tops in NOVEMBER in OREGON?!?!?!?! Sienna, Olivia & Ava enjoying the November "SUMMER" weather!

Family Movie Night! I love to see my family all cuddled up together, even if they are watching tv. ;)

SO CUTE!!!

Brayden and his gazillion light sabers...you better not mess with him!

Sienna was using Brayden's Pirate Ship Cannon Lancher as a camera. With her hat and purse, I couldn't help but think she looked super duper cute! Please forgive the missing shorts/pants!

We went to the Canby "Light the Night" for the first time this year! To my surprise, BOTH kids actually talked to Santa and then posed for a picture with him. CRAZY!

Ok, so the picture isn't fabulous, but it is better than nothing! I still can't believe that they weren't scared of him!!!

Sienna & Her BESTEST Friend, Olivia!

2011-01-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

On Wednesday, we had Sienna's best friend, Olivia, over for the morning. Olivia is in 1st grade and is the older sister of Ava and Logan (twins in Brayden's class). Brayden and the twins are in school on M, W and F and almost every day we all meet at Bally's in the afternoon. Jackie and I get to work out while having "mommy" time and the kids have a blast playing together! In fact, if we skip too many days, all of the kids start begging to go back to Bally's! Unfortunately, Olivia is usually still in school when we all go.

Here's a quick picture I snapped of the little cuties!

Random November Pictures!

2010-12-21T12:01:00.000-08:00

I thought I would take pictures of the kids with their "Build-A-Bear" animals to give to Grandma Boley. Grandma B was the one who took them to build (& buy) their animals. I thought I'd have the kids made picture frames out of construction paper. We finished Sienna's, but we never did finish Brayden's frame. One more item for the "to-do" list! I thought the pictures of the kids turned out so cute that I just have to share them with everyone!

The kids received some money for Halloween, so we headed to Costco to see what they wanted to buy. Luckily, they both agreed on this princess tent! They did have a boy version that was black and grey, but I talked Brayden into this one because I thought the other one would be too dark. The tent ended up being MUCH bigger than I thought it would, so after a few days in the office, and then a few days in the living room, I couldn't stand it any more! So, we rearranged Sienna's room and it is no longer driving me crazy! :) Unfortunately, when we buy Sienna her big girl bed with our Christmas money, the tent will probably have to go away...there just won't be enough room in her room. :(

We watched Brayden's best friend, Logan, before swim lessons one day and then we met his mom and 2 sisters at the swim center. It was the first time we had ever had 3 kids in the car and I thought they looked so cute! Of course, I only took one picture and Brayden was right in the middle of blinking! But, it's cute of Sienna and Logan, at least!

Swim Lessons with Ava and Logan! We enrolled the kids in 2 different fall swim sessions with their friends, Ava & Logan...they had so much more fun swimming with friends! All 4 kids were basically scared of getting water on their face when the lessons started. After just a few short sessions, they kids were spashing each other like crazy...it was amazing!

Brayden jumping in!

Sienna jumped so fast, we missed it!

We took video of the kids going on the rope swing...someday I'll get around to posting the videos, too!

Brayden's Random 5th Birthday Celebrations!

2010-12-21T09:13:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Brayden's birthday at preschool on the 18th, which started the week of the never ending birthday celebrations! Sienna and I brought cupcakes for him and 14 of his classmates!

The next morning was Brayden's real birthday. Since his birthday party was that night, we decided the best time for him to open our presents was after breakfast. Luckily Chris was working from home that day, so it worked out great! We gave Brayden a Trio Batcave and a couple of Trio Batman Accessories. I think he was pretty excited!

I didn't want to make another cake for Brayden's family party, so we made more cupcakes! This was the birthday that just kept on going and going and going!

Brayden was acting silly because he was so excited to open MORE presents!!!

Sienna was being pretty silly, too! Please excuse her pajamas...she REFUSED to put clothes on. I have no idea where she got her stubborness...Chris and I aren't stubborn at all! ;)

Brayden was so excited about a Star Wars Trouble game from his cousins (& Aunt & Uncle)!!!!

Brayden talked for MONTHS about this Buzz Lightyear that he saw at the Disney Store. Nevermind that he already had a Buzz at home! Although, I do have to admit that this one is MUCH cooler than his old one. At least we have 2 now so the kids don't fight over him anymore. :)

What a fun week of birthday celebrations! Pretty soon I'll have to start planning Sienna's 4th birthday party, and I just don't think I'm mentally ready for that! I think I might actually try to make her 3rd birthday princess castle cake after the holidays...she never did get one since I cracked my rib the day of her birthday party and I never got around to finishing it!

Brayden's 5th Birthday Party!!!

2010-12-21T09:12:00.000-08:00

Brayden is REALLY into Star Wars this year, so we searched the internet for a Lego Star Wars cake. Once we found one that we both liked, I did my best to copy it. Here is my final creation!

This year we decided to have Brayden's "friend" party on his actual birthday, which just so happened to be on the same day as Sienna's pumpkin patch field trip. Talk about a VERY long day! 27 kids (not including babies) were able to make it to Brayden's party! I think Brayden felt pretty special on his big day!

Brayden, Sienna and his good friend, Koen!

Sienna had a blast on the obstacle course!

Here are MOST of the kids that came to the party!

Brayden and me with the Star Wars cake!

Brayden got some pretty cool gifts from his very generous friends!

Sienna felt a little left out, so she decided to help him open his gazillion presents!

It was such a great party, and the kids had sooo much fun! And, I had a great time getting to know some of the other mom's from Brayden's class better. But, we were all ready for bed when we got home...it was one of the longest days ever!

Brayden's Preschool Pumpkin Patch!!!

2010-12-21T09:11:00.000-08:00

Brayden's class field trip was the very next day! I won't bore you with too many pictures, but the kids did decide to venture out more and not spend the majority of the time digging in the dirt. ;)

Brayden's little pumpkin! I tried to talk him into a bigger one, but he was set on this one...

Brayden and Sienna got sucked into playing in the dirt AGAIN...but at least it was different dirt that the day before! ;) Brayden's best friend, Logan, is in the bottom right corner (wearing a hat).

Brayden and Sienna decided the scarecrow needed a bit more "stuffing"!!!

Sienna, Brayden, and his two best "girl" friends (Ava & Brianna) thought the cows might be hungry. But, the 3's class happened to feed the cows a ton of hay the day before and they were still stuffed! ;)

Brayden's class picture!

Sienna's Preschool Pumpkin Patch!!!

2010-12-21T09:10:00.000-08:00

Sienna's class field trip fell right on Brayden's 5th birthday! Teacher Andy knew it was his birthday and at the end of the day, Sienna's whole class sang to Brayden! To top it all off, it was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day! The sun was out and it wasn't even all that cold for an October morning!

Sienna and the pumpkin that she picked out from the pumpkin patch!

Teacher Andy had several different activities for the kids to do, but Brayden and Sienna spent most of their time shoveling dirt!

Although, they eventually took a break from the dirt to play with the play-doh. I guess I should add that they also did quite a bit of swinging!

Sienna's 3's class picture!

We ended the morning with a nature walk around Teacher Andy's farm. On the way back up the hill, I caught Brayden and Sienna holding hands! Words cannot describe how I feel about these 2 kiddos! They really are the best of friends...I can only pray that they remain so close as they grow older.

The next think I knew, one of Brayden's best buddies, Sam, joined them (they were in the same class last year). I tried to get Sam's sister, Ava, (who is in Sienna's class this year) to join in, but it all fell apart at that point. Maybe next time. ;)

Halloween Fun!

2010-12-21T09:09:00.000-08:00

I decided that I should get caught up on pictures because it's almost Christmas and I haven't even posted our Halloween pictures!

This year, we decided to keep the kids up late (they are usually in bed by 7pm) and head to the preschool's pumpkin carving night!

Brayden & Sienna with my cousin Mark and his son Canon (Mario!)

Chris did an EXCELLENT job carving the pumpkins!!!

This year, for the first time, we ventured out of our neighborhood and went trick-or-treating in Mark & Janis' neighborhood. I must say, their neighborhood is HUGE and the kids got way more candy than they used to get in our small neighborhood!

Janis pulling Sienna and Canon in their wagon!

How cute are these guys trick-or-treating?!?!?! They seem so grown up now that we don't have to go to the door with them!

Stay tuned for the preschool's pumpkin patch pictures...up next! )

Brayden's First Visit From the Tooth Fairy!!!

2010-12-16T07:30:00.000-08:00

We had our first visit from the tooth fairy last week!!! Brayden lost his first tooth, just 5 days after we discovered it was loose! The tooth fairy was nice enough to leave him two $1 gold coins!!!

Clackamas County Fair - August 2010

2010-11-22T06:39:00.000-08:00

Every year, Canby Community Preschool has a float in the Kiddie Kaper Parade that kicks off the Clackamas County Fair. Last year we had just joined the school, so we didn't participate. Since I am on the school's executive board this year, I decided to take the kids...despite the fact that I had VERTIGO! I had just been to the doctor the day before and was on drugs, but we made it there safe and sound. WHEW!

If you participate in the parade, you get into the fair for free that day (before 1pm). Since it was a Tuesday and Chris was working from home, he took off from work early and we walked to the fair! To my surprise, the kids had a BLAST! I wasn't sure how many rides there would be that they could ride on by themselves, and the last time we went to Oaks Park, Sienna wasn't really enjoying most of the rides. Luckily, we got quite the deal on the tickets for the rides. Before 3pm, you could buy a "pass" that allowed you to ride on 7 rides for $15! If I remember correctly, that was about 50% off the normal cost of 7 rides. So, we bought the kids each a pass and let them go on as many rides as they could. Because they went on a few rides that took less tickets than others, we actually got a few extra rides out of our "pass".

Sienna is scared of roller coasters, so brave little Brayden went all by himself! If you enlarge the pictures (click on them), you'll see just how much fun he was having!

WHEEEEE!!!!

Brayden had so much fun that he wanted to go again! Sienna decided she wanted to try it, but, as you can see by the look on her face, she wasn't having nearly as much fun as Brayden! ha!

Brayden even tried comforting her during the ride...he's the best big brother!!! I didn't get a picture of it, but during the last few seconds of the ride, Sienna actually started to enjoy herself and even had a smile on her face! Of course, when we asked her if she wanted to go again, she quickly said "no"!

One of the rides/games the kids did was a hammer game. No matter whether you hit the hammer hard enough to ring the bell, you got to pick a prize. The kids came home and were hitting everything in site! Unfortunately, Sienna's doesn't hold air for long, but Brayden's is still going strong (3 months later)!

I had such a fun day at the fair. I'm not really a big "fair" person, but watching my babies go on all of those rides by themselves was so much fun! Next year will be the last year that we can get into the fair for free (it will be the last year we'll be at the preschool), so I hope that we'll be able to enjoy another fun day at the fair for less than $30!

Random September Fun!

2010-11-20T08:35:00.000-08:00

The kids love "help" Daddy mow the lawn. We might need to invest in a 2nd bubble mower next year so they both can "help" at the same time!

Thanks to 40% off coupons from Joann's Fabric and Michael's Craft Stores, we have been having lots of fun doing science experiments! This experiment was all about colors and growing crystals.

After we completed all of the experiments, the kids had fun making their own experiments with the eye droppers.

The kids were entertained for HOURS and HOURS! It was well worth the $9 it cost for the kit. And, we still have all of the eye droppers, bowls and test tubes. After we ran out of the color tablets, we switched to regular food coloring, which was almost as much fun!

The kids are also good helpers in the kitchen...they took turns stirring the marshmallows (we were making rice crispies) and spinning the lettuce in the salad spinner!

Sienna was just barely tall enough...

Stephanie Klein Photography!

2010-11-14T07:58:00.000-08:00

Here are a few of the pictures we had taken by Stephanie Klein Photography last month! I wish the kids would smile better for pictures, but what can ya do???

Loon Lake - Spokane, WA

2010-11-13T07:52:00.000-08:00

Back in August (yes, that's right..we are still doing August pictures!!), we headed to Loon Lake with Chris' family. His grandma owns a cabin on the lake and the last time Chris and I were there, Brayden was only 9 months old!

The view from the back patio! AMAZING!!! Here is the view of the cabin from the dock. Brayden loved sitting on the big yellow "lifeguard" bench!

Brayden and Sienna playing in the lake and sand with their cousin, Jack.

Chris, Brayden, Sienna and Cousin Brian decided to check out the row-boat! Although, Brian got bored quickly and ended up jumping out of the boat and swimming back to shore, leaving Chris to do all of the rowing!

Sienna wasn't too excited about the lack of warm lake water! I couldn't agree more...the water was FREEZING!

Brayden adores his cousin, Jack...he follows him everywhere, even if that means into the freezing cold lake!

We brought the kids' bikes, but their training wheels didn't do so well on the gravel road. So, they were stuck riding in circles in the driveway...

We hope to be able to go again next year...maybe the summer weather will be better and the lake water will actually be on the warmer side!

Random August Fun!

2010-11-11T08:33:00.000-08:00

I'm back!!! Well, I wasn't really "gone", but I have certainly been busy! I thought I should try to catch up on the blog. Today I'm posting some random August pictures!

Brayden trying to "blast" me with his Nerf Shooter! I just love the look on his face. Boy, it is so crazy to see how much he's changed just since August!!!
Sienna and Daddy love to make snickerdoodle cookies together! Can you tell which cookies Sienna made?!?!?

In August, we met some school friends at the Oregon City Water Park. Across the baseball field was also a very cool playground. The kids were in heaven!

Sienna didn't like it when Brayden tried to get her with his water shooter!

Brayden actually ran into the water to pick up the cups they were playing with...I was impressed! Before they started swim lessons, he never would have even thought about rescuing the cups!

I turned 34 in August...how did that happen??? Right before Chris and I headed to downtown Bend for the night, I got a cute birthday picture with my kiddos!

My birthday dinner at Bourbon Street (Bend, OR). We had never been there before, but we were pleasantly surprised. :)

Next Up: Loon Lake (Spokane, WA) & Clackamas County Fair pictures!!!

Pumpkin Carving Night at the Preschool!

2010-10-28T08:11:00.000-07:00

Last night we headed to the preschool for the annual pumpkin carving night! We didn't go last year because it is was too late (the kids go to bed at 7pm and it doesn't usually start until 6:30 or 7:00), but this year we decided to keep them up late. We only got there 7 minutes late and it was already packed! Since all of the tables were taken, we found a nice spot on the floor and Chris started carving away. After the pumpkins were carved, all the kids had a little parade outside to look at all the lit up jack-o-lanterns! Then we sang songs by a very smokey campfire...luckily it was only sprinkling on us!

I only had time to get one picture off the camera...maybe I'll post the rest of them later. ;) Here are the kids with their pumpkins!

Brayden's 5th Birthday Cake!

2010-10-18T22:48:00.000-07:00

This is the cake I just finished for Brayden's birthday party at Pump It Up! Tomorrow he'll turn 5 and celebrate with 26 of his closest friends! Wowsers! That doesn't even include the babies and adults!!!

Accidents, Accidents & MORE Accidents!!!

2010-09-29T19:31:00.000-07:00

Tonight Sienna got her first bloody nose and her gazillionth fat lip. She decided to do a face plant on the coffee table. I'm guessing if she could do it over again, she would probably NOT jump across the couch and launch onto the coffee table...face first. Guess we'll find out... This was just ONE of the accidents that has occurred in the last 24 hours. Yesterday, Brayden launched into the coffee table with his hip, resulting in a huge bruise. Not 5 minutes later, he fell on the coffee table, face first and ended up with a huge bruise and a swollen cheek. I'm thinking at this point the coffee table has got to go! ;) And, today we went to the preschool for a Safety Event (police, ambulance, fire truck, etc) and Brayden fell on the playground and skinned his knee and shin...blood and sand all mixed in together. UGH. Oh, and did I mention that both kids have fairly yucky colds this week?!?!?! I am so ready to go back to a healthy, accident-free life!!!

Brayden's 1st Day of Preschool!

2010-09-17T08:20:00.000-07:00

Wednesday was Brayden's first day of preschool! This year Brayden is in Teacher Andy's 4's class (Monday, Wednesday, Friday) and Sienna is in Teacher Andy's 3's class (Tuesday, Thursday). Have I also mentioned that I'm now the preschool's Treasurer? This is going to be one busy year!!!
In the 4's class, they write their whole name in the sand!

Math games!

Brayden was so excited to be back at school! I hope that he always loves school this much!

I must say that it was MUCH easier dropping Brayden off at school than it was Sienna. Brayden has several close friends in class...it was so cute to see him sit right down and start chatting away. When I dropped Sienna off on Thursday, I was so scared that she wasn't going to want me to leave. She's such a mommy's girl and has NO IDEA how to play with other kids, without her "security blanket", Brayden. But, she did pretty good at drop off and did great after I left. HOORAY! Once she makes some friends of her own, I know I'll feel more relaxed. At least she told me that she "LOVES" Teacher Andy!!!

Sienna's 1st Day of Preschool!

2010-09-14T18:22:00.000-07:00

Today was Sienna's FIRST day of preschool!!!! It's hard to believe that just 1 year ago, Brayden had his first day of preschool! She wouldn't put her backpack on, but she eventually decided to let me take her picture with her lunchbox. :)
I decided I should make Sienna's first day my first parent help day, too. Between Brayden's class (4's) and Sienna's (3's), I have 23 parent help days this year. I figured Sienna wouldn't let me leave, anyways, so I might as well make it count! Since we had to arrive 30 minutes early, Sienna and Ryan (his mom was also parent helping) helped Teacher Andy put all 15 name cards on the board!

Then Teacher Andy showed Sienna how to draw the first letter of her name in the red sand.

Then it was Sienna's turn to draw the "S"!

She surprised me and drew her first "S"...and it was perfect! I wish you could see it in the picture, but the "S" didn't really show up. Darn!

After signing in, the kids go directly to the math games table.

After math games, Sienna had fun playing with dye, eye droppers and ice cube trays!

Sienna's "Rainbow Girl"!

Snack time!

All 15 3 year old's eating their snacks!

What a fun day! I was a little nervous having 15 kids in the class (Brayden's 3 year old class only had 11), but they all did pretty good. Sienna even did good until snack time was over, and then she must have gotten tired because she wanted me to hold her and threw a small tantrum. But, I expected that to happen the entire day, so I still consider it a success. Now we'll just have to see how she does on Thursday when I drop her off...hopefully she'll want to stay and won't start crying! Tomorrow is Brayden's first day of school...I expect that to go smoothly since Brayden LOVES the school, and Teacher Andy!

Sprinkler Hopscotch!

2010-08-27T07:31:00.000-07:00

One of the best water toys we have bought, has been this hopscotch "sprinkler"! You can adjust how high the water comes out, which is perfect for kids who don't like to get their faces wet! Of course, the weather didn't cooperate this year so we didn't get to use it much. These pics were taken back in June!

Even Chris took a turn, which was by far, the most fun to watch! haha!

Random July Fun!

2010-08-18T08:50:00.000-07:00

The kids were finally up late enough to do some sparklers when Aunt Kari & Uncle Rich came over to hang out! I'm not sure who was having more fun with the sparklers...Brayden and Sienna or Uncle Rich (dancing in the background)!!! haha!

The kids were having fun playing together one day and they kept wanting me to take their picture together...of course I couldn't resist! You can see just how much they love each other!

This is my personal favorite! It appears as though Sienna just punched Mr. B in the face, but really, he was being silly laying on the couch and Sienna was just dancing around with her arms all crazy. But, she never came close to touching Brayden! haha!

Brayden jumping into the pool! If you remember in my other posts, he wouldn't jump in unless he was holding the instructor's hands. However, after taking them swimming in Bend and making him jump in without holding our hands, he came back to swim lessons and was able to jump in without holding their hands! Go Brayden!We still have Sienna's pack 'n play set up in her room for those nights she won't stop getting out of bed. Well, the kids decided it was the perfect spot to play!

This is what happens when you stay up too late and then wake up earlier than usual. I love to sleep, I don't know why these kids don't! ;)

During our last trip to Bend, Grandma & Grandpa Macnab took the kids fishing! Well, really it was just Grandpa. Grandma and I were the official photographers. ;) They took us to Shevlin Park where Chris and I got married!!!! It was the first time we had been back since we got married 8 years ago!

I forgot to mention in a previous post that while we were in Bend for July 4th weekend, my parents had 2 bird nests in their yard. When we came back 2 weeks later, the little baby birds in the front of their house had hatched and looked like a pile of fuzz! The birds in the back of the house had also hatched, but they were MUCH bigger and we couldn't figure out why the parents kept feeding them! By the time we left, all 3 babies did fly away. How cute are these little fuzz balls?

Legacy Park & Murase Park!

2010-08-06T08:18:00.001-07:00

Legacy Park!!!
At the end of June, we met my good friend, Catrina, and her 2 kiddos at a park for one last playdate. After 6 years in Portland, it was time for them to move back to humid Oklahoma. Just in case you don't remember, I met Catrina at Gymboree in January 2007. I'm not sure how it all started, but we quickly became friends when we found out that not only were our boys only 1 month apart, but we were both due with our second babies in June. A few months later, we both found out that we were having girls, who ended up being born 12 days apart. We will certainly miss the Edgar family...I'm not sure I would have survived the last 3 years without Catrina!
Teeter-Totter fun! I wanted to ask the random girl in front of Brayden to get off so that I could take a picture, but I didn't think that would go over very well. :P

Water break! It was so hot that all the kids had red cheeks and were guzzling their water!

The kids were still pretty hot when we left the park, so we stopped by McDonald's to buy 2 vanilla cones for $1! I thought they were going to be small cones, but they were regular size! The kids were very happy, but I made them eat them outside when we got home!

Murase Park!!!

The next day, we met my bible study group for some fun at a water park in Wilsonville. It was our first time to Murase Park, and it was absolutely packed, but it was still loads of fun!

Sienna's 3rd Birthday!

2010-08-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

These pictures are only 1 1/2 months late...Sienna's 3rd birthday was on June 10th! Oh well, better late than never!

June 10th, 2010: Grandma & Grandpa Boley, Uncle Rich, Aunt Kari & Cousins Brian & Jack came over for dinner, cupcakes and presents on Sienna's birthday! That morning, the kids and I baked the cupcakes and then decorated them with pretty pink and purple sprinkles...Sienna's 2 favorite colors!

Sienna (& Brayden) opening her presents (we gave the kids BBQ gear for Sienna's birthday)!!!

Sienna sportin' her new princess crown and Ariel flip flops from Aunt Kari, Uncle Rich, Brian & Jack!

June 12th, 2010: Sienna's Gymboree Party!

Back Row (left to right): Lilya, Mark, Catrina, Kathy, Shelley & Karley.

Front Row (left to right): Anne, Canon, Wyatt, Avery, Ashley, Brooke, Sienna, Koen, Brayden, Eli & Gabby

Sienna LOVES to jump!

More jumps!

Brayden loves to jump, too!

Boys will be boys! Most of the boys spent the entire time tackling each other. I'm pretty sure that Brayden was the big instigator of the group. UGH.

Big jumps with Cousin Mark!

Big jumps with Teacher Brandee!

I'd just like to say that I had every intention of making Sienna a princess castle cake for her birthday. I had the majority of it done, but then I ended up cracking a rib the morning of her Gymboree party and spent the entire morning/early afternoon in the ER. I am so thankful that Grandma Boley drove 40 minutes to the ER, picked up the kids and took them to Costco to help Sienna pick out her "new" birthday cake! It is certainly no "castle cake", but at least we had a cake to feed the kids! Hmmmm...that reminds me, I think we still need to pay Grandma Boley back for the cake!!! OOOOPS!

Tiny Hawks Soccer!!!

2010-07-30T08:01:00.001-07:00

This week the kids had a 4 day, 45 min soccer camp! The first couple of days, the kids were so shy at the beginning of class that I wasn't sure we'd make it through the whole week! But, they eventually warmed up and by the last 2 days, they joined right in when we got there...they even managed to have fun when they were put in different groups!

Day 1: Brayden and Sienna were in the same group, along with their friend Ashley! They played all sorts of fun games including Red Light, Green Light and "Swiper, No Swiping" from one of their favorite tv shows, Dora. Day 2:

Before dividing into small groups, they all get to save the "dinosaur eggs" from the "dinosaurs" by putting their foot on the soccer ball. It was so fun to watch them run around protecting all of the soccer balls!

This picture was actually from day 1, but it's too much work to move it! Another fun game they played was "Simon Says"!

During "Red Light, Green Light", if the coaches yelled out BLUE light, they had to jump as high as they could! PINK light meant they had to do a silly dance.

Sienna & Ashley ended up on the same team on Day 2, but Brayden was in a different group, which didn't seem to bother either of them. Whew!

Water break!!!

Day 4 (I didn't take any pictures on Day 3): On day 4, Brayden, Sienna and Ashley were all in different groups, but once again, none of them seem to care. YEA!!! Sienna was the only girl in her group (besides the coach), but she didn't seemed to care. And, as you will see, Sienna actually had a blast playing with all of these little boys! Unfortunately, on days 3 & 4, Brayden was on the other end of the field and none of the pictures turned out all that great...

Goal! YEA!!!

Good Job, Sienna!

Sienna having tons of fun playing Simon Says!

Her and the 2 boys to her left were all cracking themselves up...it was too cute!

I am so sad that soccer camp is over! Next year they will both be old enough to go to Mini-Hawks (ages 4-6) where they get to learn about 3 different sports! It is 3 hours long for 5 full days. I can't wait! I just wish there was some other sports activity that they could participate in before next summer. It has been so good for the kids to run around while having fun and listening to instructions!

July 4th Weekend in Bend!

2010-07-27T09:35:00.000-07:00

I already posted pics from our stay at the Oxford Hotel for our 8th anniversary, but here are the rest of the pics from our weekend in Bend! I'm finally getting caught up on some photos!!!!

Grandma & Grandpa took the kids out to play "tennis".
We took the kids swimming in the FREEZING swimming pool!

Could you ask for a better view while swimming?!?!?!

Grandma & Grandpa brought the kids down too our hotel on July 4th to watch Bend's annual Pet Parade!

Brayden got bored and wanted to go up to our room to watch the parade!

The "flying" dog, which was by far the best part of the parade! You can't tell from this picture that my dad took, but the dog was floating (they had cables so he didn't float away) and the poor doggie was moving his legs like he was trying to run...I'm guessing he was just a little freaked out by being so far above the ground!!!

Chipper Preschool Rides at Oaks Park!

2010-07-12T08:09:00.001-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, we met some friends from Brayden's preschool at Oaks Park! I always think it's fun to see how much the kids have changed in a year...here are the pictures from our 1st and 2nd trips to Oaks Park last year.

Brayden, Avery & Koen getting ready to ride on the Tilt-A-Whirl with Lisa (Sienna didn't want to go). Brayden had so much fun...the 4 of us (Chris, Brayden, Sienna & I) all went on it last year and the kids didn't enjoy it...Sienna was screaming to get off the whole time! She apparently doesn't take after me...I LOVE RIDES!

I just love this picture of Koen!

Brayden and Sienna have changed so much since last year. This year when we rode on the hot air balloon ride, they actually spun us the whole time...last year we just sat there and let the force of the ride give us a couple of slow spins. How fun!

They had a blast!

Next stop was the roller coaster! I was a bit hesitant to let Brayden ride the roller coaster with just his friends, but they did great and had a blast! They were in a middle car and Sienna, Canon (my cousins' son) and I were all squished into the very last car. Sienna did NOT enjoy her ride. I was actually surprised that she wanted to go on the roller coaster because last year she went on it and didn't like it, either!

Canon, Brayden & Sienna riding the rockets!

Sienna actually loved the frog hopper last year (you can see how scared she was in the pictures I posted last year)

Brayden and Sienna driving a car! BEEP BEEP!

Sienna rode the motorcycles while Brayden & Canon rode in the big tug boat (which I was forced to ride on right before we left the park because Sienna decided she wanted to try it again).

One last picture of Sienna, Brayden & Canon at the park!

The Rope Swing!

2010-07-09T16:48:00.000-07:00

Today was the last day of their 2 week long swim lessons. On the last day, they take them down to the rope and let them swing into the water. Two weeks ago, both kids swung with the instructor, and I was amazed that they'd even do that! I mean, these are the kids that wouldn't even run through a sprinkler 4 weeks ago! Well, today, they amazed me again! This time, they both swung on the rope by THEMSELVES! Unfortunately, I forgot to bring our nice camera, so I didn't get very good shots. Grandma Boley got a good video of Brayden swinging on the rope, but Sienna took off before Grandma was able to start the video. The kids start another 2 week session on Monday, so hopefully in 2 weeks, I'll have my act together and I'll remember to bring our flip camera!

The kids anxiously awaiting their turn on the rope!
Sienna getting ready! I just love her little "cheeks" hanging out of the swimsuit. haha! This was actually not her swimming suit, but a friends and it was a bit baggy on her.

And she's off!

My two favorite kids!

After Sienna's first swing on the rope, Brayden sat really close to Sienna and started rubbing her arm. How cute is that?!?!?! He's going to be the BEST big brother EVER!

Brayden's turn on the rope!

Like I said, I didn't have a great camera, and the lighting is so bad because the bright sun shines through the sky lights. Brayden's pretty much just a blur in this picture, but you get the idea!

Our 8th Anniversary!

2010-07-07T07:53:00.000-07:00

While we were in Bend for the 4th of July, Chris and I were able to get away for a night at the new Oxford Hotel! Our room was awesome, and being the germ-a-phobe that I am, I was super excited to stay in a hotel that had been open for less than a year!

Here we are enjoying the bottle of champagne waiting for us in our room!

We were on the 3rd floor and had a small little patio. The patio was one of my favorite things about the room...most hotels don't even have windows that open!!! Plus, it was a great location for people watching. Not to mention that we had a good view of the "Pet Parade" the next morning (I'll post more about that when I post the pics from our weekend in Bend).

We decided to try out the Oxford's restaurant "10 Below" for dinner. I got the filet, which tasted fabulous, but wasn't as tender as one would think for $32! Chris got a burger (big surprise) for 16 bucks! After the waitress convinced us to get a dessert to take back to our room (we were both stuffed), we got the check and saw that she gave us the dessert for free because it was our anniversary! YEA!!!

After dinner, we headed to the Wall Street Bar to play pool and video poker. Unfortunately, we played pretty poorly at both. I guess that's what happens when you only play pool once every year or two!

Mollala Train Park

2010-06-29T19:54:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went to a birthday party at the Mollala Train Park. We had SO MUCH FUN!

Some of the fun little trains!

Chris was going to take both kids on the train, but Sienna got scared and got off and helped me take pictures.

And, they're off!

While we were following their train around the park, this little "Thomas" train drove by us...how cute!

After the boys were done, Sienna decided to go for a ride. I wasn't going to go for a ride because I was wearing a skirt (I was going to a bridal shower after the b-day party), but I changed my mind and took Sienna on her train ride. She was still a bit frightened (kids have to sit on a bench or on the floor, not on your lap), so she wanted to hold my hand. :)

What fun! Oh, and the train is open every Sunday (May-October) and is FREE! All they ask for is a donation. I can't wait to go back!

The Children's Museum (& Zoo)

2010-06-21T09:08:00.000-07:00

There's nothing like a free trip to the Children's Museum! A few weeks ago, I checked the Children's Museum Pass out from the library and we set off for a free morning at the museum, then a picnic lunch at the Zoo! Although, it ended up being colder and cloudier than they had originally forecasted (big surprise!!!), so our picnic lunch ended up being inside instead.
The kids spent over an hour in the "digging room"...if only I had brought a book to read!

I finally got the kids out of the digging room and into the "water" room!

On the way to the "store", the kids made a quick stop to brush the alligator's teeth!

The kids took turns doing the grocery shopping and being the "checker"!

Next stop: Installing the plumbing in a house!

The kids weren't ready to leave the museum, but it was lunch time. So we walked across the parking lot to the Zoo, which just so happened to also be free since we are Zoo members! After our "picnic" lunch inside, the kids talked me into buying them some cotton candy!

I was surprised they ate as much as they did, which wasn't all that much, since they both hate to be messy/sticky!

What a fun, free morning with the kids! It was definitely one of my favorite outings and I can't wait to do it again!

Swimming Lessons!!!

2010-06-16T07:03:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day of the kids' swim lessons. If you know the kids at all, you know that they do NOT like water! We can barely get them to run through the sprinklers, let alone go into our inflatable baby pool! You can imagine their horror when they got to the pool and saw just how big it was. Their previous excitement about swim lessons vanished in the blink of an eye. Luckily their first day was on a day Chris was working from home, so he could help me coax the kids into the pool.

Sienna was the easiest one to talk into sitting on the edge of the pool, and after a few short minutes, she let the instructor pick her up and set her on the toddler platform in the pool. At this point, Brayden was still clinging to Chris and refusing to get anywhere near the pool. I finally talked him into sitting on the edge and dangling his feet in the water. Step 1 complete!
After a few minutes, he still refused to get into the water with Sienna. So, I grabbed both of his hands and lifted him off the edge while the instructor grabbed him and carried him into the water. Step 2 complete!

Since he didn't seem too traumatized, they started playing "Simon Says". As you can see, Brayden still wasn't sure what to think, so the instructor helped him play the game while he was getting comfortable with the water. Behind them, you can see that Sienna is doing GREAT!

Then Sienna went for a swim in the pool, and loved it!

YEA SIENNA!

The kids had 2 instructors...one female, one male. Sienna absolutely did NOT like it when the guy got anywhere near her! She would start crying and Chris would have to come to her rescue.

Brayden's preschool friend, Brianna, tried talking him into going for a swim. How cute is that?!?!?!Yea, Brayden decided to try it! We thought it was pretty funny watching Brayden work so hard to keep his head as far above the water as possible!

More Simon Says!

Sienna even learned to blow bubbles in the water!

Then it was time for all of the kids to get out of the pool so that they could JUMP in!

I was pretty sure that this wasn't going to go well, especially since Brayden was first in line, but to our surprise, he did it!!!

And, loved it! He ended up jumping 3 or 4 times!

Next up, Sienna!

At the end of class, the instructors gave all the kids high-five's! Of course, Sienna refused to give the guy a high-five! Hopefully she'll warm up to him soon because the class is only 2 weeks long!

We were so proud of the kids for doing so well!!! It made my day and I can't wait to take them back today. I'm on my own, so hopefully they'll remember just how much fun they had! Oh, I guess I should mention that after the 30 minute class was over, Sienna started crying. When we asked her what was wrong, she said that she didn't want to get out of the pool! YEA!

Random April & May Pictures

2010-06-14T08:11:00.000-07:00

Here are the last of the April & May pictures that I haven't had time to share! Next on my list is to catch up on our June pictures, including Sienna's 3rd Birthday (June 10th)!!!

In April, the weather wasn't great, but I decided to take the kids to the Zoo, anyways! It was the first time that we went without meeting any friends, and it was so much fun to hang out, just the 3 of us!

I just love this pic of the kids, even though Brayden has a funny expression on his face...I think he was trying to tell me something.

Brayden's last day of preschool...next year he'll be in Teacher Andy's 4 year old preschool class on Monday, Wednesday & Fridays (his birthday is October so he's super old for his class) and Sienna will have Teacher Andy on Tuesdays & Thursdays in the 3 year old preschool class!

The kids were so tired after the fun "last day of school" that they came home and watched tv. Usually they are running around playing while the tv is on, but they were too tired to play!

We also met our friends Katrina & Lucas at the Zoo earlier in the month. The kids had so much fun hanging out together...now that the weather is getting better, we plan to hit the zoo at least once a week!

VIDEO: Riding Bikes!

2010-06-11T08:10:00.000-07:00

Last month Chris took the kids on a bike ride behind our house and took a video of it with his cell phone. This was over a month ago and now Sienna can pedal so fast that I have to do a slow jog to keep up with her! Enjoy!!!

Brayden's Preschool Playdate at The Children's Museum!!!

2010-06-09T16:15:00.000-07:00

On May 1st, Brayden and I had a playdate at The Children's Museum with 2 of his preschool buddies, and their moms. We had so much fun hanging out...the moms got to chat while the boys all played together!

Brayden, Koen & Logan

Brayden surprised me and wanted to paint his face at the Hand & Body Painting station!

Fun in the water room!

Brayden & Koen driving the ambulance!

Brayden and Koen got a little wild playing chase around (and in) this pretend log, but at least they took a break for a picture!

We finished the day off with lunch at Big Red's! Luckily we got there before it got too busy because the kids were still pretty wild from the excitement of The Children's Museum!!

My first fondant cake since I took a class...

2010-06-07T19:01:00.003-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to try to make a cake using a new "non-marshmallow" fondant recipe. I used the "Wilton Rolled Fondant" recipe and it worked so much better than the marshmallow fondant recipe!!!! It was so much easier to work with, as well as make, and it tastes better than the pre-made fondant you can buy (which just so happens to cost a small fortune)!!! Here is my mini-cake masterpiece! I ran into a few snafus, but I think it turned pretty darn good!

Brayden's Field Trip to Wait Park!

2010-05-23T07:12:00.000-07:00

Last week, Brayden's class celebrated the summer birthdays by going on a field trip to Wait Park! The kids even got to ride the CAT Bus (Canby Area Transit) to the park from the school. I didn't get to go on the bus, but apparently all of the kids were wondering where the seat belts were! haha!

Here is Brayden with his class!
Brayden looking all grown up on the playground equipment!

Brayden having fun with his bestest friends, Koen & Logan!

Sienna even joined in the fun for a bit with Brayden's friend, Emily!

Mother's Dessert at Brayden's Preschool!

2010-05-21T07:05:00.000-07:00

The Tuesday night before Mother's Day, Brayden's preschool had a Mother's Dessert. At the dessert, we got the gifts that the kids had made for us...a plate and a flower. I didn't get a picture of the flower, but Brayden painted my face in the middle of the flower and then said what he enjoyed doing with me...playing Candyland and "picking up". haha!
Then the kids sang 3 songs for us. I was impressed that Brayden wasn't shy AND he even sang the songs!!! Too bad I didn't think to bring the video camera!

Next year I'll get TWO special nights with the kids...one with Sienna's three's class and one with Brayden's four's class! YEA!

Fighting Sleep

2010-05-03T07:41:00.000-07:00

Sienna has been waking up SUPER early to go potty and then refuses to go back to sleep. Despite her yawning and eye rubbing, she INSISTS that she is not tired. Well, yesterday she woke up especially early (5:50am) and by 10:30am, she was asleep in Chris' lap!

No matter what I do, blogger refuses to post this picture horizontally...argh!

Cake Classes!

2010-04-30T13:57:00.001-07:00

I've been to a cake class 3 times in the last 2 weeks! Last night was the Fabulous Fondant class and I had so much fun playing with fondant! Now I'm super excited to make Sienna's Princess Castle cake in June...hopefully I'll remember everything I've learned!

I wasn't too excited to make a hat cake, but at least I learned more about working with fondant!

Here are all the hats made in my fondant class!

I also finished the buttercream class, which wasn't nearly as fun. But, I did learn some useful tips and tricks, so it was totally worth it! Since we didn't use any colored frosting, I wasn't going to take a picture, but I changed my mind after Chris had a piece of cake. I definitely didn't take my time decorating the cake, so don't look too closely! Plus, I ruined the right side of the cake on the cake box. Oh well!

Spins Anyone?

2010-04-28T07:06:00.000-07:00

Before bed, Chris gives the kids "spins". They get to request which arms, legs, etc Chris holds for each spin. Here's where they "take off"!
Then the fun begins...

Eventually, they are flying through the air like SUPERMAN!

Sienna doesn't actually like to go very high, or fast...

She is not quite the daredevil that Brayden is!

I took some video a couple of nights ago while the kids were doing their spins...I'll have to post those later!

Mollala River State Park

2010-04-26T07:04:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, Sienna and I got to join Brayden's class for a nature walk at Mollala River State Park!

Here's a picture of Brayden's class. I didn't realize that Sienna was in the group picture until I got home and downloaded the pics (and she doesn't look too happy to be smashed in with all those kids)...whoops!
I love this picture, mostly because you can see just how long Sienna's hair has grown...I'm sure if I stopped to watch her hair, I'd actually be able to see it grow! haha!

They had a little race before snack time!

Snack time!

Cake Decorating Classes!

2010-04-21T08:21:00.000-07:00

After making 4 birthday cakes for the kids, I've finally decided it's time to take a class! Tonight is part 1 of the buttercream class at Ladybug Chocolates. Next Wednesday is part 2 of the buttercream class, followed by a fondant class on Thursday. I am beyond excited (and a bit nervous)! I'm hoping to learn a few tips and tricks to make things a bit less stressful while making Sienna's cake in June. Here are the cakes that I've made so far:

Cake 1: Sienna's 1st Birthday cake (June 2008) - my first attempt at decorating a cake!
Cake 2: Brayden's 3rd Birthday cake (October 2008)

Cake 3: Sienna's 2nd Birthday cake (June 2009)

Cake 4: Brayden's 4th Birthday cake (October 2009) - my first attempt at using fondant!

Sienna has requested a princess cake for her 3rd birthday. I plan on constructing a castle from scratch...wish me luck!

Painted Nails, Bikes & "Driving"!

2010-04-20T07:08:00.000-07:00

While I was painting my toes on Friday, Sienna asked me to paint hers, too! At first Brayden didn't quite understand why I wouldn't paint his toes, but he finally decided to accept the fact that boys don't wear polish!
Sienna finally got a chance to ride her new Dora bike outside!

Brayden and Sienna still love to pretend to drive. As you can see by Brayden's facial expression, he was really getting into his driving!

Cousin Brian

2010-04-16T07:13:00.000-07:00

When I was going through my pictures, I found this one that was taken back in February (Sienna was still in a sling!), and I thought it was too cute not to share. Chris' brother and his family came over to hang out and Brayden and Brian were having so much fun with the little airplane. Brayden had a blast pushing his 10 year old cousin all around the house...how cute is that?

Random March Fun

2010-04-12T07:40:00.000-07:00

We stopped giving Sienna naps because she wasn't going to bed at night. That worked for a couple of weeks, but then she started getting up a gazillion times a night, giving us every excuse in the book as to why she wasn't in bed. We tried going back to afternoon naps, but then she wouldn't stay in bed at bedtime AND she was still getting up a gazillion times a night. So, we went back to no naps. However, she wanted me to hold her during "quiet time" and it never failed that she would fall asleep in my arms. Sienna would be so sound asleep that I could move her to the couch and she wouldn't wake up! Part of me loved snuggling with my baby, but another part of me just wanted some time to myself. I just love to watch my babies sleep...they always look so cute and sweet!

Lately the kids have been pretending to take naps in Brayden's bed...if only they would stay there for more than 5 seconds! This one time Brayden wanted me to take their picture...aren't they cute?!?!?! The kids have only slept in the same room once and it didn't go all that great...it sure would be nice if they really could share a bed when we traveled away from home!

What is it with kids and baskets? When the kids decided to spend most of their day in these 2 baskets, it brought back memories of them when they were babies...both of them loved to climb in the toy baskets and toy box. One of the first pictures I ever took of this was when Brayden was just 11 months old (click to follow the link).

Attack of the kids!

Girls Only Playdate! Avery, Sienna & Maggie Jane...all were born within a month of each other! For Chris' 37th birthday, I decided to surprise Chris with a special "Guinness" cake! They couldn't actually use the word Guinness, or it's logo due to copyright protection, but you still get the idea!

I surprised Chris with the cake at our friends house!

Earlier in the evening, the kids decorated cupcakes to celebrate Daddy's birthday!

Brayden vs. the Door Knob

2010-04-09T06:55:00.000-07:00

Door Knob: 1 Brayden: 0

Don't ever get in a fight with a door knob...the door knob will win every time!

(click to enlarge)

Easter Fun!

2010-04-06T11:09:00.000-07:00

Our Easter weekend fun started off with an Easter Egg Hunt at Bauman Farms! Grandma Boley and our nephew, Jack, joined us in the Easter fun!

Brayden and Jack hiding from the rain and wind before the Easter Egg Hunt began!
All three of the kids were in different age groups, so it was lucky that there were enough adults to go with each of them. Sienna and I were in the first group of egg hunters!

Then it was Brayden's turn. As you can see, the rain didn't keep anyone home...it was super crowded!

Chris and Brayden after the hunt was over!

Sienna and me!

We headed inside after Jack finished and Grandma Boley bought us all yummy doughnuts!

Brayden even learned how to blow up balloons this weekend! He mastered it on Easter Sunday, but I didn't get a picture of it...

Easter morning, the kids woke up and started hunting for all the eggs the Easter Bunny hid for them!

That was one tricky Easter Bunny!

The kids checking out all the candy they got in their eggs!

After they ate a few pieces of chocolate, they were ready to open their presents from Grandma & Grandpa Macnab!

They both got bubble rockets! Now we just need some nice weather so we can play with them outside. Luckily you don't have to use the bubbles, so the kids are able to play with them inside for now. :)

After church, we gave the kids the Easter presents we bought them.

Brayden got a super cool Hot Wheels race track!

And Sienna got a new big girl Dora bike! Both kids had a blast riding it around the house!

Now all we need is the warm sun to come out so we can take our new toys outside to play!!!

Pump It Up

2010-03-17T07:00:00.000-07:00

Back in February, the kids were invited to their friend, Koen's, 4th birthday party at Pump It Up. Chris was sick so he stayed home, but luckily for me, it was still very relaxing because as it turns out, Sienna can do EVERYTHING by herself now! She climbed up the ladder on the big slide all by herself AND she made it though the obstacle course by herself...wohoo!

At first, Sienna wasn't so excited about doing much...she peferred to drive around in the baby cars. Every so often, Brayden would come join her in a race!
Here they are doing the obstacle course together!

I took some video of Brayden and Sienna going down the big slide together, but I haven't gotten them off the camera yet. Here's a shot of Brayden at the bottom of the big slide!

Driving, Cookie Dough & Bikes!!!

2010-03-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, has it really been almost a month since my last post? I have so many pictures from the last couple of months that I just haven't found the time and/or energy to share. Sienna's been giving us a run for our money at night so we've all been pretty exhausted lately. Here are a few pictures from February I thought I'd share. Hopefully this is just one of many posts to come this week!

Before the kids were born, Chris got the x-box steering wheel for me, thinking it'd make it easier for me to play racing games with him. Well, I've never once used it (mostly because Chris tried it out and found that it was actually NOT easier to use), but the kids LOVE playing with it.
In December, I had my 2nd endoscopy and the biopsy results came back positive for eosinophilic esophagitis. This was actually GOOD news for me because I had felt miserable for over a year and I was getting discouraged that no one would ever figure out why! After going through a couple of rounds of allergy testing, they found about 5 items that could be causing the reaction (dairy, corn, eggs, peas & pork). Since I was supposed to go without these 5 items for 3 months, we bought an egg replacer to use in Chris' delicious cookies! Now that we aren't using real eggs, the kids get to lick the cookie dough off the beaters, and they couldn't be happier about it! On a side note, I go in for my 3rd endoscopy in May...hopefully avoiding these 5 foods will give me good biopsy results this time around!

Sienna found a new spot to watch tv...she sits in the upstairs hallway and watches the tv in the living room.

During the few days of nice weather, we broke out the bikes, trikes & big wheels! Unfortunately, Sienna's legs aren't long enough to reach the pedals on anything but the tricycle, but that doesn't stop her from at least trying. I guess this year she'll be getting a bike for her birthday!

Brayden riding his new big wheel that Grandma & Grandpa Boley gave him for Christmas!

Sienna is even starting to pedal for herself on the tricycle!

Sienna attempting to ride Brayden's big wheel...

Sienna attempting to ride her big wheel from Grandma & Grandpa Boley. I can't wait for summer...both kids are now at an age where we can actually enjoy being outside without having to worry about them walking off sidewalks, running in front of a car, etc. Hooray!

Sienna's Fractured Arm

2010-02-20T15:59:00.000-08:00

Friday afternoon, Sienna "fell" off of Brayden's bed. At least, that is the story that I got. Sienna did cry after she fell, but she wasn't screaming and her arm appeared fine (I checked it over several times). Grandma & Grandpa Boley even came over to babysit so Chris and I could go out to dinner and she seemed fine while we were gone. This morning, she still didn't seem to be using her arm much and she had also developed a bruise in her armpit. After we took the kids to the dentist, I decided to take her to the doctor, just to make sure she was ok. The doctor decided to x-ray her arm, and low and behold, there was a fracture in her upper arm! Even the x-ray tech seemed surprised! Here she is decked out in her new sling (we still have to take her to an orthopedist this week):
Here is a picture I took of her x-ray. (click the x-ray to get a close-up of the fracture)

I'm guessing that the sling isn't going to last long...

All she wants to do is take it off, and she is supposed to wear it for 2-3 weeks!!!

Work, Work, Work!!!

2010-02-01T15:40:00.000-08:00

All the kids ever want to do is work, work, work! If only they could make "real" money, then Chris wouldn't have to work so hard!

One would think that Sienna would be bothered by the hair that is constantly hanging in her face. She hates having her hair touched, and unless we are leaving the house, I don't try to touch her hair. I guess she's going to be a tom boy like me! Although, she is pretty adament that she does NOT want anyone to cut her hair...although, I'm not sure if it is because she likes her long hair, or if she just doesn't want anyone touching her hair. ;)
Brayden and Sienna LOVE to work on their cash registers (we had to buy them an extra one for Christmas so they'd stop fighting over the McDonald's register). They are sitting on comfy chairs that I made out of the couch cushions...

Sick Kiddos

2010-01-24T08:48:00.000-08:00

This week the kids have been sick, sick, sick! Wednesday night we took Brayden to the doctor because he was just laying around, crying. I knew he had a high fever, but when the nurse took his temperature and said it was 104, I was shocked! The doctor wasn't sure if he had the flu or not...we just had to keep an eye on him and bring him in if he got worse, or if he still had his fever after 3 days. Luckily his fever finally broke on Thursday! Unfortunately, that is also the day that Sienna woke up sick. UGH!

The kids have been laying around and watching tv all week. Brayden refuses to watch anything but Backyardigans and Sienna will only watch Dora...needless to say, I've OD'ed on cartoons, which I didn't even like when I was a kid!!!

Sienna's 1st Playdate...WITHOUT Brayden!

2010-01-21T08:44:00.000-08:00

While Brayden and Wyatt were at preschool on Tuesday, Catrina and I got the girls together for their first "girls only" playdate!!! Sienna and Avery played together in Avery's room for all of 15 minutes before they came out to find us...they just weren't sure what to do without their big brothers around to entertain them!!! Even though the girls hung out with us for the majority of the morning, it was still one of the most relaxing playdates I have ever had and I can't wait to do it again!

Christmas Cookies!

2010-01-08T07:15:00.001-08:00

Where does the time go? For some reason, our blog, which was once at the top of my priority list, is now at the bottom. Maybe I'll get back on track now that the holidays are over. Here are a few pictures of the kids making cookies before Christmas. I bought them their own little rolling pins, thinking they'd have lots of fun rolling out their own dough. Unfortunately the cut-out cookie dough was too hard for them... So, I rolled the dough out on my amazing roulpat (if you don't have one, you NEED one) and then let the kids use their rolling pins on the dough.

This year, they were both old enough to use the cookie cutters by themselves!

Since I only have one roulpat, the kids had to take turns. Brayden was super excited when he finally got his turn!

We didn't have time to frost all of the cookies, so each time the kids were given a cookie, they also got a dab of frosting (& sprinkles) to decorate their cookie with. It actually worked out great because it spread out the cookie decorating fun and gave them more incentive to eat a good dinner!

Cookies, Christmas Trees, Race Tracks & More!

2009-12-22T07:59:00.000-08:00

Four days after Thanksgiving, I had surgery so my parents came to take care of the kids for a week. The Civil War game was on while they were here, so we all sported our orange to support OSU! Unfortunately we weren't able to pull off the win, but it was still a good game. My mom brought fun Christmas Tree cookies for the kids to bake...gotta love pre-made cookies!
While my parents were here, my Dad fixed the hinges on the toy box that he made for Brayden's 1st birthday. Now it can double as a bench, as it was intended. Of course, the kids think it is such a fun spot to sit now. :)

While I laid on the couch trying to recover from my surgery, Chris got all of our Christmas decorations out. The kids were super excited to get the Christmas Tree Advent Calendar out again.

Chris and the kids also got our Christmas Tree out of the box and built it together. I don't know why people are so excited about getting "real" Christmas Trees...we spent just over $100 for our tree about 7 or 8 years ago and it still looks like it did the day we bought it. Plus, we don't have to get all bundled up and go out into the freezing cold rain to find the perfect tree. Oh, and it also makes WAY less mess...no pine needles to vacuum up every day. And, no tree to water!

Once the tree was decorated, Brayden and Chris put the tree skirt around the tree. We bought new "shatterproof" ornaments and lights at Costco this year and we were still looking for a new tree skirt and tree topper. I'm not sure why I ever bought a blue tree skirt...we've NEVER had blue ornaments!

The kids have special personalized ornaments that we bought for them last year (the pictures are at the bottom of the post) and they put those on the tree last.

The next day, while I laid on the couch, Chris went out in search of a new tree topper and tree skirt! Here is the finished product! Next year I'd like to add a red garland made out of beads. I'd also like a nicer tree topper as the one that we eventually ended up with was only about $5 and doesn't really match the rest of the tree. I'm always disappointed in how our Christmas Tree looks in pictures...it is so much prettier in person!

Last week, Brayden and Sienna received late birthday presents from one of their friends. Brayden got this super cool race track with super fast 4 wheeler trucks! I should have taken a video because I kept hearing Brayden giggling while watching his cars crash into each other (he likes to have them race in opposite directions....such a boy)!

More Random November Fun

2009-12-15T07:06:00.000-08:00

The kids still play with the legos more than any other toy we have...they never run out of ideas of things to build. Here is one of their big lego towers that they built together!
I got an idea from a friend to do a "letter of the week" activity with the kids. Unfortunately, we've been so busy that we haven't had time to make it to the 2nd letter of the alphabet! First the kids used glitter glue to paint their letter A's...

Then they colored the different pictures that start with the letter "A". As you can see, Sienna did NOT want me taking her picture!!!

The more pictures I took, the more upset she got!

Finally it was time for Brayden's favorite part...GLUE!

Sienna eventually let me take a picture of the finished product...sheesh!

I couldn't resist taking this picture of Brayden wearing my hat backwards, sitting around in his underwear!

Once again, the kids are pretending to take naps in the office!

Brayden and Sienna love to make a "rocket" using the couch and blankets. They use their McDonald's cash register as their control panel.

I don't remember the last time they watched the Little Einsteins, but they started patting their legs to fly the rocket...too funny!

Thanksgiving Week in Bend!

2009-12-09T08:42:00.000-08:00

This year we headed to Bend for Thanksgiving...we were so disappointed that the only snow we got to see was in the mountains, unless you count the small patches of snow scattered throughout town.

My parents got my old Cabbage Patch kids out of the attic for Sienna to play with. Unfortunately she wasn't as interested in them as we thought she would be...I think she pushed them around in the stroller for all of 5 minutes.
A month before Thanksgiving, I posted pictures of Sienna's new "big girl bed". As you can see, it was not all that different from her crib since we simply replaced the front with a "toddler rail". Since there is a queen size bed in the room where Sienna sleeps at my parents house, we decided to see if she would sleep in it, instead of the pack 'n play. At first Sienna said that she didn't want to, but she eventually decided to give it a try. And, except for losing her "blankie" in it a couple of times, she slept great!

My parents also got my brother's old space legos out of the garage...Brayden, Chris and Grandpa spent most of their time building space shuttles and other various space vehicles.

Thanksgiving Dinner! We actually got the kids to try one bite of turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes & cranberry sauce!!! Of course, we had to bribe them with a pumpkin bar. ;)

Brayden and Sienna had fun decorating Grandma & Grandpa's window with these fun Mickey Mouse decals...along with tons of tiny hand prints!

Brayden reading a book to Sienna:

Sienna getting ready to "help" Daddy do a puzzle. Her way of helping was to open up another puzzle and mix some of the pieces up...whoops!

Chris getting some "quiet" time on the puzzle while the kids watched tv.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, we headed to Wanoga Snow Park with my parents, my Aunt & Uncle and my cousin and his family. It only took 2 hours to get the kids all bundled up. ;)

Sienna and I decided to watch Chris and Brayden go down first...

Brayden had SO MUCH FUN!

Sienna, on the other hand, was scared to go sledding. And, to be honest, I was scared to! The hill was a huge sheet of ice and every time they went down, they caught air and it didn't look too fun landing on the hard ice! Sienna did let me pull her around for a few minutes in one of the sleds before...

deciding to go sledding with Daddy! However, she didn't like it and that was her first and last trip down the hill!

After awhile, Brayden (4) and Canon (3 1/2) decided to go sledding together. It was the cutest thing I've ever seen!

I can't even tell you how many times they sledded down the hill together!

As soon as Brayden got to the bottom of the hill, he couldn't wait to get back to the top and go again!

The last couple of times down the hill, Brayden actually went by himself! I was so proud of him!

I'm pretty sure that the day he went sledding was one of his favorite days, ever!

Brayden and Canon: Canon wiped out on his last time down the hill and ended up with a bloody lip and a scratch on his cheek from the ice. Poor guy!

Grandma & Sienna building with the wedgits.

One of the nights that we were in Bend, the kids were upstairs watching a Veggie Tales movie. They started out sitting so nicely. Then Brayden decided to give Sienna some "brotherly love" and lay on top of her. She eventually made it out from under him and decided to stand a safe distance away from him. ;) Poor Sienna...big brother's are so mean! ;)

November 2009

2009-11-24T15:21:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure how it happened, but November is almost over! We haven't done anything too exciting...just a few random pictures to share.

Brayden spends "quiet time" in the office every afternoon, most of which is spent on his HEAD!

Brayden and Sienna are still BEST FRIENDS! They do absolutely EVERYTHING together. He's even been trying to convince me that Sienna doesn't need a nap so they can have "quiet time" together in the office!

I couldn't resist taking this picture of Sienna...her hair and sunglasses are just too funny. After seeing the picture, she reminds me of Michelle Tanner from Full House (the Olsen Twins)!!!

Brayden did have a bit of an accident a few weeks ago. He loves to ask Chris to wrap him up like a "burrito". Chris rolls him up in a big blanket and he usually just lays around trying to get out. For some reason, he ended up on his feet, walking around on the hardwood floor. All of a sudden there was a huge thump and Brayden landed face first on the hardwood floor, with no arms to break his fall. He has never screamed so loud in his life. After we got him calmed down and his nose to stop bleeding, we saw that his lip was HUGE! We moved him to the couch so that we could put ice on his lip and he immediately closed his eyes and became unresponsive! I finally started talking very firmly (almost yelling) to get him to snap out of it. At this point I was pretty scared because he has NEVER acted this way, and he's had 2 other semi-serious facial accidents. A couple of hours later Brayden was starting to act more like himself, so I wasn't as scared to put him to bed. He slept through the night and when he woke up, his lip was much better. In fact, by lunch time, he could eat and drink fairly normally. NO MORE BURRITOS FOR BRAYDEN! ;) An hour after the accident:

(click to enlarge)

48 hours after the accident (click to enlarge):

Chris and the kids made a bat jack-o-lantern the weekend after Halloween. Maybe next year we'll actually find time to make ours BEFORE Halloween!

While Chris and the kids were playing with pumpkins, I was out with Chris' mom (Jeri), sister-in-law (Kari), and Kari's sister. We went to the Woodburn Company Stores "Shopping Extravaganza". After a day of lunch, mimosas and shopping, we headed to Spirit Mountain Casino where I won $100!!! I was beyond excited because I NEVER win anything, which is exactly why I never gamble! What a fabulous day!

Random October Pics

2009-11-16T20:09:00.000-08:00

Sienna loves to "work for money" on the computer...just like daddy!
Brayden loves to "fix" things with his Black & Decker tools...he usually spends a few minutes each day under the coffee table and/or dining room table.

Brayden and his buddy Koen from his preschool class!

Brayden made a "trailer" for the airplane using the stroller and car...I love watching his little 4 year old brain in action!!!

Brayden loves to surround himself with toys & pillows!

Sienna stole Brayden's birthday hat from school...I just love the look on her face when she got caught! ;)

Sienna's newest fashion trend...underwear on top of pajamas!

Happy Halloween!!!

2009-11-06T15:07:00.000-08:00

This was by far my favorite Halloween! Not only was this Sienna's first Halloween without a cold, but the weather was amazing!!!

Last year I bought the kids' Halloween costumes a bit too big, so this year we decided to save money and stick with the same costumes. This is probably the last year that I can pull that off...the older they get, the more opinions they have on what they want to wear! Check out how much they have changed in the last year: Halloween 2008. I just love Sienna's short, curly hair...I can't believe how much it has grown over the last year.

Brotherly Love: When trying to get a cute picture of the kids, Brayden grabbed Sienna by the neck! As you can see, Brayden thought it was funny, but Sienna wasn't as happy about it...
After taking what seemed like a gazillion pictures, we ended up with a semi-decent picture of Super Girl & Mr. Incredible!

Before dinner we headed to downtown Canby for a little trick-or-treating fun! Our first stop was Papa Murphy's for free mini-cheese pizzas! Brayden wore his Mr. Incredible mask for all of 30 seconds....

The kids ate the pizzas for dinner, although, they didn't really eat much of them...as you can see, they didn't turn out great. I popped the HUGE air pockets, but the pizzas were never the same again....bummer!

After dinner, my friend Leslie and her family came over to trick-or-treat. Her son, Eli, and Brayden were twins (by accident)! Don't worry, despite Brayden's expression in this picture, he was super excited to go trick-or-treating!

The whole trick-or-treating gang!

Just like last year, the kids did great walking up to the doors by themselves. A few times Sienna stayed at the front door so long that I thought we'd have to go get her!

Trick-Or-Treat!

Sienna was the cutest Super Girl...EVER!

The boys were so excited to get more candy that they kept running off and leaving Sienna behind. Luckily, Sienna wasn't afraid to take off in a sprint to catch up! Although, towards the end of the night she did end up falling 2 or 3 times...she must have gotten tired!

Brayden rang this doorbell about 15 times, despite the fact that I was yelling at him to stop. Lucky for him he still got candy because they gave out FULL SIZE candy bars! In fact, 3 houses in our neighborhood did that. It is very generous, but do the kids really need full size candy bars with all of the candy they collect on Halloween?!?!?

Brayden was so hyped up at the end of the night (he hadn't even had any candy), he started doing funny dances. Sienna just stared at him like he was a bit strange!

Brayden's 4th Birthday!

2009-10-29T19:23:00.000-07:00

We were finally able to celebrate Brayden's 4th birthday on Sunday. His party was originally scheduled for the previous Saturday, but we had to postpone it due to fevers, colds, soccer games & 2 cases of the swine flu! YIKES!The last 2 years we had Brayden's party at Pump It Up, but this year we decided to save money and have it at home. I was a little worried about how we'd keep so many kids entertained, so I bought a pinata and a Pin the Tail on the Donkey game. As it turns out, most kids don't want to put the tail in the wrong spot...Brayden was the only one that didn't try to take the blindfold off before "pinning the tail on the donkey"!

Here is a random collage of the kids brave enough to wear the blindfold. Even Chris and his brother, Rich, gave it a try. Although, they cheated just as much as the kids...they used their hands to feel where the kids had put their tails.

After the game, it was time to eat cake! This was by far the hardest cake that I have ever made... I plan on taking a fondant class before attempting Sienna's cake in June!!!

We finally got a family picture where everyone was looking at the camera...AMAZING!!!

Happy 4th Birthday, Brayden!

After cake, it was time for the pinata! I bought a pinata stick, but as you can see, it wasn't very strong. I think the pinata might have been demolished sooner if the stick would have been stronger!

All of the little boys had the funniest faces when hitting the pinata:

After the little kids had 3 or 4 turns, we had to bring in the BIG boys! It even took Brian and Jack several tries to break open the pinata...we definitely got our money's worth!

It got a little crazy once all of the candy hit the ground!

Time for presents! This year I actually had a hard time keeping up with Brayden! In previous years, he'd get distracted and want to play with each toy he opened. I guess he's growing up!

Before bed, we let the kids have a little treat. Since we hadn't cut into "Mike", we let the kids choose what part of him they wanted to eat. Brayden, of course, wanted to eat his big eye!

Mike was actually a big rice crispy treat, covered in marshmallow fondant...YUM!!!! The kids liked the marshmallow fondant better than the cake & buttercream frosting.

Only six more months until I need to start planning Sienna's 3rd birthday!