Yeah....we're still here. Kind of.

I promised myself I wouldn't let the blog go a year without a post, but it's getting pretty close to it (1 week), so I guess I should give an update.

I stopped blogging for a number of reasons, but mostly because life got in the way. It happens to everyone at some point in their life, I suppose.

I am so far behind, I don't really want to play catch up so I won't try--but I will give a few highlights. And do a little backtracking for big events like birthdays and such.

• The kids and I moved to Las Vegas
• Hannah started Kindergarten and Sammy is in 2nd grade
• We moved to Utah for 72 hours....and then moved back to Vegas
• Helene is potty trained and off the bink
• Hannah became a Girl Scout (well, at this age it's called Daisies)
• All the kids sleep in their own beds now and I FINALLY have the bed to myself
• I have discovered that the combination of diet coke (or diet dr pepper) along with chocolate and TV, really IS the answer to pretty much everything

 I guess we're officially back.

Pretend City!

Time to play catch-up on the blog.

I've been wanting to take the kids to Pretend City in Irvine ever since reading this post.

Dana was in town for most of December, so one day I let the kids play hookey from school and we drove down to the OC to meet up.

The kids were fascinated from the minute they walked in the door.

Then they turned the corner to see this:

I didn't even know where to begin and luckily the place was small enough that I felt comfortable letting them run around and do their own thing.

They all went for the mini golf.

But then they discovered the water play.
Fun for all ages with the water gun...

and fishing.

Helene did a little grocery shopping

and driving around.

Sammy found a car that was more his style.

Then they decided to dress up and put on a show

Owen had some serious dance moves.

Wheeeeeee!

We made pinwheels. Lucy was too cute!

Sammy loaded blocks on the conveyor belt.

A brief rest on a bench.

The farm area was my favorite.
There were a bunch of trees to pick fruit from.

And dirt to plant seeds and pick carrots.

And flowers to plant

Hannah and Lucy were so happy to play together after not seeing each other for so long.

This is my favorite picture.
The farm area was complete with baby chicks.
So adorable.

And, of course, the Dana and Doris outing
wouldn't be complete without a visit to In-N-Out.

It was so good to see Dana and Lucy and Owen--we've missed you guys!!
Come back and visit soon!!

Halloween Festivities

I'm either becoming a really lazy blogger...or I just don't have the time I used to.

Or maybe both.

Whatever the reason. I am doing one big Halloween post.
You know you love the long posts anyway.

So we started out the Friday before Halloween in full costume for our weekly music class.

Hannah hung out with Lauren.

While Helene just wanted to play with the swing.

Then we headed over to Hannah's class for a little party.
Helene spent a little time reading before we left.

And then setting the table and moving furniture once we got there.

Hannah was ready for snacks and goody bags.

But took a little time out to give Helene a sisterly hug.

Helene is obsessed with cats (big surprise, I know...)

We carved pumpkins that night.
And while the kids were excited to do it...

...they wanted absolutely nothing to do with the pumpkin guts.
Notice how carefully the spoon is being held to avoid any contact with the insides.

Helene being goofy.

Saturday was our annual Trunk or Treat for our church. I wasn't going to dress up, but at the last minute I remembered I still had some scrubs. And seriously, the only thing more comfortable than scrubs are sweats (or yoga pants). So instant comfy costume.
A win-win I say.
Helene was obsessed with this huge cat in the back of this van.

We lucked out and got the In-N-Out truck again.
(They first did it in 2008, but sadly I don't have any documentation on my blog about it. HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE???? I AM SO ASHAMED!
My only excuse is I had pregnancy brain at the time, I guess.)

You know I worked the refills as much as I could,
and even had my own 44 oz cup (was there any question?)
I had three in 2 hours. Impressive, I know. :)

Sammy was Spiderman this year.
A welcomed change from a pumpkin the past three years.

Hannah was a princess (of course).

Helene was Cinderella.
And she won't go anywhere without her baby...and a purse.

A super fun start to the Halloween weekend.

Halloween night started out like this.
Yep. Good times.
Helene wouldn't pose for the annual front door picture.
She was all smiles once we stopped trying to take pictures.
(I took this really quickly)
I made the mistake of telling the kids I like Almond Joys.
Do you see all the Almond Joys they got at that house alone?
Multiply that by about 20.
Yeah...I've got a LOT of those to eat now.
Although sweet of the kids to pick them out just for me though
since neither one of them will eat one.
Just don't be surprised if I'm 20 pounds heavier next time you see me.

Helene not too sure about what she got.

But once she figured out it was candy--she couldn't get enough.

The aftermath.

All smiles...albeit a little tired.

Happy Halloween!