Kids birthday party

We celebrated the kids birthday at the park by our house this year. It was another successful birthday party with so many friends and kids. We got a balloon guy who does amazing creations. He doesn't just do your typical sword or dog. He uses probably 50+ balloons on each one he makes. We also got an amazing painting artist who drew on the kids arms and faces. Most importantly the kids had a blast!

Caiden's 5-year check-up & Grace's 3-year check-up

Caiden weighed 40 lbs. (45th percentile) and 42.3 inches long (37th percentile). He was a rockstar and passed his hearing, eye and blood pressure tests. He also got two booster shots and will need to get two more next summer before he starts Kindergarten. 

Grace weighed 30 lbs. (45th percentile) and 35.9 inches long (27th percentile). They performed the same hearing, eye and blood pressure tests that they did on Caiden and she did so perfect during each one and passed them all! Dr. Roberts said that only about 10% of 3-year olds actually perform those tests so he was surprised she sat so well and did all three of them. Such a good listener! I asked the Dr. about her leg aches at night and he said growing pains are completely common in preschool kids and that she'll eventually grow out of them.

Summer Camps

Both Caiden and Grace did a summer camp at the new school they will be starting at in the Fall. The camp was two weeks, Monday through Friday from 9am-12. I had no clue how Grace would do at drop off -if you recall Caiden screamed bloody murder for the first three days when he went to camp.

The teachers decided to keep them in the same class for camp which at first I wasn't a fan of. I thought Caiden would be bored but they do the same activities for all of the Preschool through Kindergarten kids so it didn't make much of a difference. There were kids from 3-5 in the class (although Grace was the youngest of all since she's still not three).

Them being in the same class was actually amazing. She marched right in there on the first day, said, "bye, mom" and off she went and sat next to Caiden for morning circle. I'm not sure it would have been the same experience if Caiden wasn't with her. And she loved it! She is so excited to start school now and I'm hoping even though they won't be in the same classroom she'll be familiar with the environment and jump right in.

Marc was able to drop them off a couple of days! Selfie time!

Caiden did Outpost Summer Camp the past two weeks also. He really loved it and asked if he could go more days.  The first day after I picked him up he said, "We didn't spend anytime in a classroom, it was all outside! We trekked through a jungle (really just some palm trees and bamboo on about an acre), left some food for a panda, and found a snail trail!" Grace was quite pissed when she couldn't stay so I kept promising her she'll do it next year when she's old enough.

The first day when we picked him up he had paint all over his body. Grace was quite intrigued when she saw him and wasn't sure what to think. He said he was painted with tiger stripes.

The second day they tie-dyed a shirt. Caiden could not have been happier to wear it the next day of camp.

For the rest of the summer Caiden is doing swim lessons twice a week, we're going to hit up the beach...and wait for Baby Cousin to arrive!!!

4th of July 2017

We spent about 6 hours at the beach this year and skipped naps. We had a huge group of people and even though it's a pain parking and dragging yourself through all the people it's the only place I would spend the 4th! And since the kids didn't nap they went to bed when it was still light out!

I regret to say these are the only pictures we got. It's so hard dragging your phone around in a wet and sanding swimsuit.

Caiden played with this stick and red cup for a couple of hours. He said he was doing something with the sun but I can't recall exactly...haha

2017 San Diego County Fair

Hands down the best fair day we've had! Caiden has been looking forward to it since last year. He asks for the 'Fair Story' at least once a week before bed.

We strolled in around 11:30 and walked around looking for some signature fair food. We got some roasted corn on the cob, a couple of turkey legs, fried chicken, french fries and Grace and I snuck off and got some ice cream with sprinkles. Then we headed into the animal building to feed some goats and sheep and ride on some tractors.

Then it was time for the Fun Zone. Last year was brutal because Grace wasn't tall enough to ride any of the rides so she just got pissed and wanted to run around and get lost. She was easily the smallest on all the rides this year and barely slid in over the 36 inch minimum height. Almost every worker managing the rides would make her stand against the measuring stick. I would push her feet back and tell her to stand up straight with her head up otherwise they wouldn't let her go.

This year her and Caiden rode on all the rides together and he even held her hand when one of them was pretty intense and she needed a little confidence. He even watched out for her and waited for her on the mazes and walking attractions.

If you look close at this picture you can see them holding hands so tight. I think Caiden even liked the idea of having a hand to hold because they chose the highest seat on the dragon which really throws you up high in the air.

On every ride that went around in a circle Grace would wave and say, "Hi, Mom and Dad!" as they went by. Caiden on the other hand was too busy looking out trying to see what ride he wanted to go on next.

The last stop of the day is for Kettle Corn. This stuff is amazing...you can't stop eating it. Caiden has been talking about the "Kettle Corn guy" since last year. He wanted to make sure we got a big bag this year because Marc and I ate it all after they went to bed last year. 

I'm sad this day is over, we all look forward to it so much. The kids went all day without a nap and at 8pm Grace was still bouncing off the walls while Caiden was half asleep while we brushed his teeth...how different they can be.

Lake Tahoe

We spent last weekend in Lake Tahoe with my parents. My Dad had never been and has always wanted to fish trout on the lake. We stayed in a killer house a half block from the lake that had a hot tub, air hockey table, ping pong table, bikes and Caiden's favorite -bunk beds! Each night he slept in a different bed because he said he needed to try them all out.

On Saturday we rented a boat and headed out with Tahoe Sportfishing. They were so wonderful and tried so hard to get us all to catch a fish. We only got two in the four hours we were out. It was so cold and windy that day that it messed with everything. But the kids loved being on the boat and didn't complain once about being cold.

Family selfie time on the beach by our house!

On Sunday we headed to a little pond where you are guaranteed to catch however many fish you are willing to pay for. Caiden and Grace caught fish after fish within the 40 minutes we were there. Caiden said, "This is so fun. I could do this all day!". He had a blast. Grace was into it for about 10 minutes then just squealed every time one of the fish in the bucket would flip around, it was so cute.

On Monday it snowed! Yes, snow! It lasted for a few minutes here and there throughout the day but it was still wacky.

Caiden had the most fun. He said he wants to move to Tahoe so he can fish. He cried the night we came home because there is no fishing in San Diego...and now wants bunk beds, too!