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Las Manzanas

First Day of School

I managed to snap some pictures of Cham's first day of first grade, and Tee's first day of pre-school. My camera battery pooped out right after these shots, but at least I got some. Cham's first weeks in school are a lifetime away from the drama and tears of last year, thank goodness. I wouldn't have imagined this last September! And Tee-- well, he just jumped right in! He's hesitant the first few minutes of drop-off, but by the time I pick him up in the afternoon, he's his bright, smiling self. His first day, he declared "I like my school. Wann' stay!"

Bright-eyed & bushy-tailed

Waiting in line

"I'm a big boy now!"

Last Day of Summer 2010

One of our favorite rides!

The kiddos and I decided a trip to Disneyland would be perfect for our last day of summer vacation. Our last day of summer vacation? WHAT?!?! I know, it totally came and went in a blink of an eye. So sad. I'm still trying to figure out what I did in July! So much for all my projects, including this poor old blog.

Anyway, I was slightly (make that very) nervous, seeing as it was Tee's first visit to DLand since he started walking. I used to truck him around with us when he fit in a Baby Bjorn, but now that he's mobile it's a little harder. Lately, too, he just loves to do fun things in public places, like run away from me or roll around on the floor crying, so I think my paranoia was justified.

I shouldn't have worried! It turned out Tee was our magic "easy" button. We got there in plenty of time, NO traffic whatsoever, we got a parking space literally right in front of the elevators, there were a million spots open on the tram, and there was practically no one at Disneyland. It was a little eerie! To top it off, the day was absolutely perfect, weather-wise: 78 and absolutely lovely. The kids and I hit all of our faves (minus the roller coasters, much to Cham's disappointment, but she understood it was "Tee's day"): Jungle Cruise, Tiki Room, Tea Cups, Small World, etc. Tee loved it all! He even liked his visit to Pixie Hollow, mostly because he got to check out hot fairies. Hmm. Never gonna take him there again.

Visiting the Big Mouse

Striking a pose with Tink & Vidia

I think we can make this a regular outing from now on! It was a perfect send-off to our summer vacation. Come Monday, Tee, Cham and I go back to school, and other adventures begin: Cham starts first grade, and Tee starts Pre-school! WHAT?!?

Wicked smiles!

K Grad 6.16.10

What a difference 10 months (and amazing teachers) makes! Cham was all smiles for her graduation and the last day of school. It's been a crazy ride, but so completely, totally worth the early tears! We love this little school!

June Bug

Yay, I finally get to blog about Cham's sixth birthday! We had it at the Bower's Kidseum, a fantastic kids' museum that really means when it says "hands-on activities". There were dress-up stations, puppets and a puppet theater, musical instruments to bang on and strum, art projects, face-painting, and lots, lots more. We only invited a handful of kiddies (mostly cousins and Cham's school friends) and the museum wasn't packed, so it felt like all these fun events were held just for us.

The boys in blue

Hamming it up with their "surprised" faces

Baby Mo!

The next day was Cham's dance recital. The amount of hairspray, curlers, and sparkles involved was breathtaking. :) Cham did a cheerleader-y routine that cemented her dad's decision never to let her join a cheer squad (but I thought it was adorable). It was bittersweet, too, since we've decided to take Cham out of dance for a little while to free up her time for other things. She's been with the same group of girls in dance for the last 2 (almost 3) years, and it's been such a fun experience. With any luck, we can make room for dance again in a few months. I hope by then we can also go right back in with this same class!

Yosemite 5.8.10

What a lovely day it was for a wedding. Congratulations, Missy & Josh!

The view right outside the chapel

Cousins

Silly mugs

Hangin' with the boys

Pine-cooooonne

Spring Break

What a busy spring break! Here are some of the choicest pictures:

Pixie Hollow fo' life

Silvermist aka "Bubble Girl"

In The Mouse's house

Our two chickens!

And chillin' with Poppy & Nonna:

T's wearing Poppy's PMA Class of '60 hat!

We love Poppy!

Tee's newest obsession

Easter 2010

My posts are getting to be so redundant with the "I can't believe it's already (insert holiday or special day here)!" introductions. But really, I can't believe Easter has passed! What in the world --? Time waits for no one, I guess. It makes me sad that I can't seem to find time to scrapbook like I did a year ago (admin. credential classes and other stuff have made life hectic lately), but at the very least, I still have this blog.

Our Easter was at Tee Jean's... hmm, do I smell a tradition? Maybe someone should tell Tee Jean we've nominated her home as the Easter go-to spot from now on? There were only 4 kids (two who really knew what was going on), so the egg hunt was kind of quiet. In fact, more than a couple of people asked, "So, when's the egg hunt?" about 30 minutes after the egg hunt had ended! So much for good communication. Still, the 2 older gals had a great time finding eggs, and the 2 little boys just kind of waddled around.

Such creative Easter eggs!

"Wow, we totally scored."

"Beep!"

Hangin' with Uncle Jason

"Daddy... beep!"

We spent the weekend at Nonna & Poppy's, which is always fun for their apos. At one point, Chamina looked at me and said, "Are we staying here forever?" with a hopeful smile on her face. Tee had no problems at all being the center of attention from Nonna & Poppy, of course. He waltzed around the house like a little prince, getting everything he wanted and being spoiled rotten. He didn't take very well to Nonna's occasional rebukes but he was Poppy's buddy through and through, mostly because Poppy let him do whatever he darn-well pleased. He tried out a few new phrases: "Watch! Watch!" when he wanted us to look at him, "Good morning (Nonna, Poppy, Mimi, Mommy, Daddy, Annie, Row-row)", "I-- love-- YOU!", and "More (insert food name), peeeez." He calls his Uncle Randy "Annie", which I may start doing as well.

Here's a short video of the two ragamuffins: