All About Me & Sometimes My Parents.

Lily's 4th Birthday Party

2012-01-27T12:06:00.000-08:00

Lily has been talking about having her birthday party at Pump it Up for about nine months. If you would listen, she would tell you.

What a difference a year makes! For her 3rd birthday she was scared, not so happy, and it took her a while to get into it. This year she was so happy, and was so into it!!

We rented out the room so the party was just for her! What a great party she had. She already wants to have her 5th birthday party at Pump it Up.

Words can not express how much we love this little girl! She's so kind and generous. She says the sweetest things and she can make me laugh so hard. She would be a great actress if she weren't so shy. When she gets into character, watch out!! She is really great at playing different parts. She is just too smart. And I don't mean book smart. She can negotiate for things that she wants. She is so creative and has imaginary friends. She loves painting, drawing, building with blocks, playing pretend, and riding her bikes and scooters.

Cute Even in Hats!

2011-11-24T14:45:00.000-08:00

Sedona

2011-11-20T14:26:00.000-08:00

We left Hoover Dam and drove to Sedona. What a beautiful drive! The speed limit was 75 and there wasn't any traffic so we made really good time. We drove into Sedona right before it got dark and checked into our hotel, and grabbed some dinner.

The next morning Lily played in the back of our hotel room, jumping, running and checking out the cool mountains.

We then headed into town and did a little shopping. I can't believe how friendly people are in Arizona. We talked to so many locals as if they were our best friends. I love California but we are such snobs!!

Hoover Dam

2011-11-19T20:25:00.000-08:00

We had planned to go to Phoenix for a week early this year. We were going to fly but Jeff had been working a lot of hours and I mean A LOT. So much in fact that his boss told him to take mandatory time off. So I thought why not just add to our vacation?

I made it into a road trip. This would be Lily's first road trip so we had lots of stops in between. Frankly, I think it's cruel to strap your kid in the car for hours even with T.V, Ipads, and such.

We stopped at the Hoover Dam. It was nice to walk around and check things out. Lily is too young to appreciate it, so we just stopped for about an hour. Jeff and I had already done the tourist thing years ago but it was neat to get a refresher.

Baking Cupcakes

2011-11-11T15:02:00.000-08:00

Lily loves doing a lot of things, but one thing she doesn't have any interest in, is baking, cooking, or anything related to the kitchen. I just started learning how to cook so I'm hoping that she will start to follow and want to learn as well.

One thing she loves, is chocolate and cupcakes. So, I bought a kids kit and gave it a shot. Oh my, she wanted to help out with everything! She had so much fun and couldn't wait for the cupcakes to be ready so she could eat them.

I hope this is a beginning of baking and cooking lessons for Lily.

My Adorable Kid

2011-11-10T14:59:00.000-08:00

Lily's Assessment

2011-11-10T10:05:00.000-08:00

Lily had her first assessment from preschool. Out of 49 areas she got 49 perfect.
Lily's teacher wrote that Lily is friendly and kind to all of her classmates, is very helpful during clean up time, is a very sweet girl and is a pleasure to have at school. That sounds like my kid! I must say I'm so proud of her!

What? Disneyland Again?

2011-11-05T23:06:00.000-07:00

If you go to Disneyland on Thursday what do you want to do on Saturday? Disneyland of course! We let Lily pick what we did for the day and Disneyland it was. She knows all the rides, and likes to order us around and tell us what ride will be next.

I was telling Jeff how lucky she is because in one week she went to Disneyland twice, Chuck E Cheese, trick-or-treating, bowling, and Mygym! All of those except trick-or-treating or normal activities.

Disneyland was filming their Christmas parade that is going to air on Christmas Day on ABC.

Lily is giving her famous dirty look. Maybe she gets that from me. I do have the angry11 lines between my eyes!

Disneyland

2011-11-03T22:48:00.000-07:00

Lily has a play date every Thursday with her friend Miller and this day we decided to go to Disneyland. Lily was so excited when I picked her up from preschool and told her we were going to Disneyland. You'd think we never go by how excited she was. It was a perfect day too. We walked on most rides, the weather was great, and the kids were happy to be there.

I tried taking a picture of Lily with her Star Tours glasses on but the flash was so bright she blocked her face.

The Sun

2011-11-01T22:41:00.000-07:00

Lily doesn't like the sun. Not at all. She doesn't like that she has to put on sunscreen, that the sun hurts her eyes, and that she has to resort to wearing sunglasses when she really can't stand the sun. She used to wear her sunglasses all the time but just stopped one day. Poor thing has to live in Southern California where the sun shines most of the time.

Here she is getting ready to ride her bike.

The OC Register

2011-10-31T22:55:00.000-07:00

Lily was on the front page of the OC Register. We had entered her in a Halloween costume contest and she won with 77,164 votes. It is so funny to see your own kid in the paper. I didn't know that she would even be in the paper if she won. She won a $100 gift card and $250 for her college fund!

Here is the link that was online: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/jake-324389-lily-contest.html

Halloween 2011

2011-10-31T22:21:00.000-07:00

I would have to say that this Halloween has been the best one yet. Lily was in great spirits and we got to get together with some wonderful friends, have dinner, go trick-or-treating, dance, laugh, talk, and do lots of karate moves.

I have pictures from this awesome night but to protect the privacy of the kids I'm not posting their photos.

Zoomars Petting Zoo & Pumpkin Decorating

2011-10-22T20:32:00.000-07:00

Lily really enjoys animals. She is so sweet with them. She likes to go to petting zoos and feed the animals. She has to make sure it's fair. So she will feed one animal and then the next. It's so neat to watch her do this on her own since she is an only child and doesn't have to share all the time. I don't know how we got so lucky with her but she is just so kind.

We then headed inside where Lily got to pick out two pumpkins to decorate. She picked out a big one and a little one. She took every sticker and found a place for it on the pumpkins. Once she was done it was time to feed the animals again! One animal at a time.

First Day Back At Preschool

2011-09-13T17:44:00.000-07:00

School starts later in the year down in Southern California and I love it! Lily did good at her first day back. She was happy to play with the dinosaurs!

Ballerina

2011-09-12T23:53:00.000-07:00

Lily started taking ballet classes with her friends. You haven't seen cute until you see 3 and 4 year old girls trying to dance! All the mom's are squished up to the glass oohing and awing and saying, "awe, oh how cute, sweet" etc. I love Lily in ballet and tap. She is so adorable and I hope she really likes it and wants to continue.

Happy Birthday Ashleigh!

2011-09-11T23:49:00.000-07:00

Ashleigh is 2 going on 10! I know people say that all the time but really this kid can't really be just two! She's a great talker, potty trained, and tells it like it is!

Meet and Greet At Preschool

2011-09-07T23:36:00.000-07:00

Lily started preschool the day after she turned 3 in January. She is very shy and takes some time to get warmed up so as soon as she could I put her in preschool. It was the middle of the school year but the her teacher Mr. Shane was great and helped guide her along.

This school year her preschool had some changes and she got a new teacher and director. Her new teacher Mrs. Amy is really nice, funny, and outgoing. Lily has grown so much in the past few months and really likes preschool. It's hard for her to adjust in the mornings because she says she just wants to stay home and watch T.V. Do you blame her? But when I pick her up she is all smiles and says she wants to do it again.

Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour

2011-09-04T23:28:00.000-07:00

We went to the Mission Viejo mall and stopped off at Farrell's for some lunch and of course ice cream. It's something that you should do at least once. It's a great place for kids. The place is really loud and somebody has a birthday every 5 minutes so you have to deal with that. Lily enjoyed it.

2011-09-02T23:26:00.000-07:00

Jail

2011-08-26T15:43:00.000-07:00

Lily and her buds. I can't believe how tall Lily is! Her twin friends are 5 months older than her and she towers over them!!

Lily Has Kids

2011-08-19T16:10:00.000-07:00

Lily has resorted to calling her ~~stuffed animals~~ babies, kids. She is now a 3 1/2 year old with kids! And she likes to take really good care of them. Here she was snuggling with them on top of the couch.

A Beautiful Flower

2011-08-15T15:57:00.000-07:00

Park day with Lily and me. What a great time we had just playing in the sand, making sand cakes, chasing a roly-poly, and talking. I am so lucky that I'm able to stay at home with Lily and watch her grow up into a beautiful flower! I say beautiful flower because two different people have recently said that about Lily. And I agree!

Play Dates At Disneyland

2011-08-09T15:38:00.000-07:00

From time to time I think about Lily's childhood and what she will think about it, when she is an adult. I think she has a great life right now. She gets to have play dates at Disneyland! I remember telling my friend that I take Lily to Disneyland for play dates with her friends and she just couldn't understand it. But living in Southern California and having annual passes, you understand 100%.

For three weeks, every Tuesday we met up with Lily's buddy, Miller for play dates. Lily really looked forward to it each week and still talks about it. What lucky kids!

Disneyland Day

2011-08-05T20:01:00.000-07:00

Just another day at Disneyland. Lily loves this place and has her favorite rides. Her new favorite is the new The Little Mermaid ride.

Chuck E Cheese

2011-08-01T19:49:00.000-07:00

Another day, another play date, another play date at Chuck E Cheese. Lily loves this place and I always get decent coupons, and she loves to just play so our tokens transfer over to our next visit.

Here she is with Nora. The pictures are blurry but you can tell how much these kids love each other!

Catalina

2011-07-30T17:37:00.000-07:00

Jeff has been wanting to go to Catalina since we have moved down to Southern California. We felt like it was a good time since Lily is 3 1/2 and I got a great groupon deal! :) Our friend JJ was coming down so we all went together. We had so much fun! We all got off the boat and we all fell in love. We were only there for about 30 minutes and we were already talking about buying a vacation home. It's only an hour and 15 minute boat ride over and you end up in paradise!

Since Lily is still a bit young we just walked around, checked out the beach, shopped, ate, and Lily even colored! There are so many things to do but you really have to be prepared and have lots of time available to you. I think next time we will stay over for a night or two.

Lily was such a good girl. She was so happy and jumping around with a smile on her face. But then again we were at the beach and she loves the beach!!

Jogurt

2011-07-28T19:27:00.000-07:00

Yogurt, Cherry on Top, Yogurland, Jogurt, Pinkberry, Golden Spoon, you name it we have it. One thing I really enjoy about having one child is that I can spend 100% quality time with Lily. This was after one of her summer camp classes. I walked a few stores down to try out the new Jogurt place. I loved sitting with Lily eating our yogurts and enjoying each others company. Life is really good.

Busted!

2011-07-24T19:11:00.000-07:00

My child loves sugar. I came downstairs and found Lily sitting just like so....

Why was she sitting in the corner, I wondered? I called out to Lily and she turned around and was eating cookies that she "stole" out of the freezer! She wasn't sitting in the corner for a way of punishment, but rather she was hiding from us eating her cookies. I guess she felt like if she couldn't see us we couldn't see her.

I was laughing too hard to really punish her so I made her take a photo of the evidence!

Happy 15th Wedding Anniversary To Us!

2011-07-20T19:09:00.000-07:00

We did it! We got married really young. (I was 19 and Jeff was 21) Jeff survived a brain tumor 7 months after we got married. We moved to another town with no jobs. Jeff got laid off from many tech jobs after 9/11. We were very poor but enjoyed the quality time we got with each other. What better way to really get to know someone,than by being so poor you have to talk for entertainment? I love this guy!

Jeff and I have been together for 17 years now. We have been through more things than most people go through their whole entire life. We can always fall back on each other and nothing seems to get us down. Once you've been told that your husband was going to die, nothing in life matters more that quality time with each other. No amount of money, status, material things, etc matter. NOTHING. We are so lucky that we were able to really find out what life is about at such a young age. We laugh, we play, we act silly, we enjoy life!

I love Jeff. He is the only person that is always there for me. He understands me. He accepts me. He is a great guy. He is smart, goofy, talented, and awesome!

We celebrated our anniversary in Vegas. We love Vegas and I get free rooms because I love Vegas so much! We got upgraded to a Suite and Lily was going crazy running into all the rooms. We spent three days hanging out and enjoying our little family.

It was the best anniversary yet.

Always A Comedian

2011-07-18T19:05:00.000-07:00

comedian

Birthday Party

2011-07-17T18:58:00.000-07:00

Here the girls are enjoying their goody bag treats. They helped Abby celebrate her 4th birthday. Abby is not shown.

All In A Day

2011-07-15T18:47:00.000-07:00

Blowing bubbles outside, in her PJ's.

Her sad, crying, but oh so sweet face.

Beach day BBQ with friends! What could be better than flying kites, eating, getting dirty, and running around with your BFF's?

It's a Lagoon!

2011-07-13T16:43:00.000-07:00

We've been to the lagoon before and Lily was so excited to go! A friends sister-in-law lives in the area so whenever she invites us over we drop everything and go!

Watermelon Tour

2011-07-11T16:22:00.000-07:00

I took Lily with a group of her friends to Tanaka Farms to do their annual watermelon tour. It takes place on the farm where you go out on a tractor-pulled wagon and you get to taste all the fresh vegatables along the way to the watermelon.

Lily is such a crack-up because she was miserable the whole ride over. She complained that it was hot, sweaty, and stinky and she wanted nothing to do with the vegetables. GROSS!! Honestly, I don't blame her. I'm not a country girl either!

But I think it was all worth it once she got to eat watermelon! She didn't try any of the other fruit they were giving out, but instead went back for multiple trips to get more watermelon. This kid loves watermelon!!

Buzz-y Bee

2011-07-10T15:55:00.000-07:00

After spending hours at the beach, and flirting with the life guard, Lily ended up stepping on a buzz-y bee and getting stung! She was laughing one minute, dropped to the ground screaming and crying the next. I was alone with Lily at the time and I scooped her up and ran her to our towels to see what was going on. The poor girl got stung right between her big and second toe!

The life guard came to her rescue and took good care of her. We ended up leaving the beach because she had never been stung before so we didn't know if she would have a reaction. She screamed the whole way back to our car. Luckily she wasn't allergic and still loves the beach! I am now a little scared myself. :)

Lake Arrowhead with JJ

2011-07-09T15:43:00.000-07:00

Lily is at the age where we can take her places and it is very enjoyable. She is a good kid and we are able to do more and more fun things with her. With that said, she can not stand being in the car! We even have the T.V's in the back but she wants OUT! So, we fly when we have to travel a ways and keep the driving to a max of 1 1/2 hours if we can. Which brings us to Lake Arrowhead!

She loves feeding the ducks. For .50 a bag she can feed for a very very long time.

Fun time with the fun mirrors!

Pretend City

2011-07-08T15:15:00.000-07:00

I don't know what it is about Pretend City, but it tires me out! The cost to get in is $11.00 per person including adult! I think this is just ridiculous and I refuse to pay $22.00 for Lily to pretend play for a few hours. So, I go on their buy one get one free days. She likes it, I tolerate it, then we go home and I get caffeinated!

Swimming Again

2011-07-07T15:10:00.000-07:00

My Beautiful Daughter

2011-07-06T18:50:00.000-07:00

Here is Lily wearing a dress that was made by her aunt.

Forth of July

2011-07-04T18:43:00.000-07:00

We went with some friends to see the fireworks show at one of the schools. Lily had so much fun dancing to the music, watching the fireworks go off, and playing with her friend. Since my friends are in the witness protection program I can't show their faces, so there is only one photo of Lily. :)

Block Patry 2011

2011-07-03T18:26:00.000-07:00

Another holiday another block party! We love our neighborhood!

I have a fear of fireworks, fire, loud noises, etc. I don't mind watching from a far distance but you won't find me setting them off, or anywhere near them in case one decides to have a mind of its own. I've never worried about Lily wanting to try a firework because she too is scared of all the above listed. When it came time to set the sparklers off, Lily went in line for a turn. WHAT?? I put Jeff in charge and thought Lily would freak out. She LOVED them and went back for more!! You think you know a kid!!

I was standing in the very back corner with a slight view of the fireworks to keep my distance and Lily is in the front row to get the best seat! I made sure that she was safe and my friend Trisha was in charge of her. I think I should be worried since Jeff had a fascination with fire when he was a kid.

Disney Ice Cream Treat

2011-06-28T18:12:00.000-07:00

We go to Disneyland a lot. YEAH! But we have never had one of the Mickey Mouse Ice Cream bars. We went for a play date and my friend bought one for Lily. How nice is she?

She loved it

First Swim Lesson

2011-06-27T17:11:00.000-07:00

Lily had her very first swim lesson! I was very nervous and proud. My Lily is very shy and very stubborn and doesn't like to try new things. I kept talking about her upcoming swim lessons, how she will learn to swim and will be able to swim in the big pool with her friends, hoping that, that would help!

Lily doesn't like to even get her hair or face wet in the bath! I knew this would be challenging. My goal for this year was to just get her used to getting her face and hair wet.

Lily did really great on her first day! She smiled, laughed, blew bubbles, and even got her hair ~~wet~~, damp! I am so proud of her!

I have to say that I really like her swim coach! He is very kind, patient, and really good with the kids!

I got caught with the camera!

Newport Beach Day

2011-06-25T16:32:00.000-07:00

When I first met Jeff over 17 years ago he was a "beach" person. Every week he would drive to the beach, go surfing, hang out and drive back. I was really never a beach person. It was cold, dirty and wet. Lily takes after Jeff and is a beach person too. I have come to love it as well.

When I tell Lily that we are going to the beach, she can't stop talking about it. When we drive by the beach she wants to go. When we are at the beach, she never wants to leave. She even got stung by a bee at the beach and still wants to go!

Going to the beach with the family has become my favorite thing. I can sit and watch Lily play, I can watch Lily and Jeff build sand castles, I can play in the sand with Lily, and I get to have a conversation with Jeff!

Lily took this photo of us. She did a mighty fine job!

Bowling!

2011-06-07T18:21:00.000-07:00

I signed Lily up for free bowling for the whole summer! We went for the first time with her friends Nora and Kyla. Lily bowled a few times but wanted to play with her friends instead. So, I bowled her turns and had so much fun!

I bought Lily and I some bowling shoes so now we are set for the summer.

Strawberry Picking

2011-06-06T18:07:00.000-07:00

We took a tour of Tanaka Farms and picked and ate our own strawberries! As we traveled along in the wagon we would stop and try all the fresh vegetables. While most of the kids at least tried and even liked them, my lovely Lily gave a disgusted look and told me how much she doesn't like those things! :) Her favorite part was throwing over the veggies into the field.

But she did enjoy the strawberries and kept eating them so at least she likes something healthy!

My Goof Ball

2011-06-02T13:03:00.000-07:00

Lily is really into making different faces and having me take a photo of each one. I'm not sure if this comes from me, or from Jeff's side of the family. (his sister Amy) I love her free-spirit and I'm so happy that she is so happy!

I think she looks just like me in the first photo. Maybe I have a photo just like that of me doing the same pose!

Princess Lily

2011-06-01T12:54:00.000-07:00

One of the many many many things I love about Lily is that she isn't 100% into "girly" things. She can keep up with the boys playing with trucks, trains, cars, airplanes, and even wrestling. But every once in a while she will become a "princess." On these rare days we have to call her Princess Lily all day long.

I love the fact that she is only three years old and she doesn't need or want to fit in with the other girls. She plays with the things she wants to, and is happy doing what she wants. It puts a smile on my face when she has her purse and the contents inside are army men! That's my girl!

On this day, she was Princess Lily and of course I had to take a photo of her doing her different faces!

Memorial Day Weekend

2011-05-28T17:34:00.000-07:00

We went to our friends beach house (yes, we know how lucky we are) and had a BBQ, went out on their boat twice and the kids ran around and played all day. They both were asleep in their car-seats before we hit the freeway.

We had so much fun, we did it all again the next day!

Different Faces

2011-05-26T19:44:00.000-07:00

Lily likes to use my iphone to take photos of herself and she laughs at all the photos she takes. She now likes it when I take photos of her making a different face or pose each time.

My Big Cutie

2011-05-23T22:06:00.000-07:00

Train Ride and Zoomars Petting Zoo

2011-05-21T21:30:00.000-07:00

It took Jeff's company almost a year to convince us to move down to Southern California. I, like most people, apparently view southern California as Los Angeles. I had NO desire to live in L.A. so I kept saying "no." Well let's just say that I'm so glad they flew us down and showed us around because I love being a parent in Orange County! Orange County is so different from L.A. It's clean, nice, safe, and kid friendly. There are so many great things to do here for Lily. I hope that she looks back on her childhood and remembers nothing but good laughs, fun adventures, great friends, and a loving family.

We can pick any weekend and do something different. I like to do the same stuff, like Disneyland, parks, museums, bowling, etc but it's fun to try something new for Lily to see.

This day we took a train ride on Amtrak to San Juan Capistrano, CA which is only a 15 minute ride on the train to go to Zoomars Petting Zoo. We've been to Zoomars once before but I wanted to take the train for some added excitement. I asked Lily if she liked the train and she said, "No, it stinks!" I love her honesty!

We had so much fun on this day. It was a nice relaxing family day. We walked around the town, ate lunch, had some ice cream and Lily met a new friend and played with her while we waited for the train.

Tents

2011-05-18T21:09:00.000-07:00

Just like other kids, Lily loves making tents out of pillows, blankets, and anything she can get her hands on. Here she is in her "house" in our bed.

Happy 40th Birthday Jen!

2011-05-14T19:15:00.000-07:00

We had a girls' weekend in Vegas to celebrate Jen's 40th birthday! We hung out at the pool, we ate at a steak house, (a salad for me please) went to a show (which shall remain nameless) went to a tattoo parlor shop (I didn't join in on the fun) gambled and had lots of fun!

I can't believe that I forgot my camera so these photos are from my iphone and the quality is horrible.

I love Vegas and my next and third trip for this year alone is already booked for July!

Oh, and Jen even got me in a D-R-E-S-S!!!

Just Lily and Me

2011-05-11T19:02:00.000-07:00

Lily and I went to the park together to play. It was a small community park and we had the park to ourselves for about an hour. It was so much fun hanging out with her, chasing her around, and playing with her toys.

So many times I'm in the middle of paying bills, doing dishes or laundry and Lily will want to play with me. I stop what I'm doing and I play. I'm so lucky that I used to be a nanny and know what it's really like to watch kids grow up right in front of you. I cherish every moment I can with her and try to be there for her. I love my Lily Bean!

Here she is drawing a line in the pavement. It's the line that she can't go past when riding her bike.

Mothers Day Luncheon

2011-05-06T16:14:00.000-07:00

Lily's preschool had a Mother's Day Luncheon. It was my very first Mothers Day Luncheon. Here is Lily posing with her picture that she drew of me.

She explained that it was my very big head, with my very big eyes, and nose, a mouth, and legs with no body! She said, "Isn't that silly, mama?"

I love,love,love,love,love, her!!

AWE

2011-05-04T16:11:00.000-07:00

Yogurt and Fountain Play-Date

2011-05-03T16:02:00.000-07:00

Lily and her buds enjoying yogurt and playing in the fountain.

Later that day, Lily played in our "backyard" and had a little swim.

5K With Adriana

2011-05-01T15:37:00.000-07:00

My friend Adriana is a go-getter! She wanted to run a 5K and asked if I would run with her. I haven't been running in months and in Europe I tore my ligament in my foot. My doctor told me not to run the 5K but I thought that I would just do what I could.

I ended up running a lot of it. I even had my best time yet! Mind you, I'm not a runner, but it's fun to do these type of events with friends and for a good cause. My best time was between 38 and 39 minutes. I don't know for sure because the OC Marathon got a lot of peoples bib numbers wrong so they are working on fixing it. I know it's not a great time but I have always been in the 40 minute range, so I'm happy about my time!!

Adriana, of course kicked booty! She was between 28 and 29 minutes!! She ran the whole thing non-stop. Maybe one day I could do the same.

Disneyland For The Millionth Time

2011-04-30T15:31:00.000-07:00

Friends Who Sew

2011-04-27T15:22:00.000-07:00

It is so nice to have a friend who knows how to make things. She is always making things for Lily. Here Lily is in her new dress. Lily got so many compliments on it. Look how stinkin' adorable she looks in it!!

Bikes and Scarves!

2011-04-26T15:12:00.000-07:00

One of the many things I love about having a three year old is seeing what she will put on for the day. I'm not one of those parents who fight with their kids about what clothes to wear. One, because frankly it's just silly and two, because that's a perfectly normal stage for kids to go through.

Here she is on a very hot day needing to wear her scarf. She told me it was very cold outside and she needed to wear it.

Happy Easter 2011

2011-04-24T20:55:00.000-07:00

I love that Lily is old enough to understand about the Easter Bunny. She was very curious as to how the Easter Bunny was going to get into our house and leave her a basket. She was very happy with all the gifts she got.

Happy Easter

2011-04-23T14:58:00.000-07:00

JJ walked with us over to the park to go Easter egg hunting with Lily. One thing that JJ got to see was that if Lily goes to bed late and wakes up early, she isn't the nicest sweetest girl ever! :)

Lily was super tired and was scared of all the people being loud. She was telling people not to run, that it wasn't nice. So I ended up picking up a few items for her basket.

JJ left and Jeff and I drove up to our friends Barry and Shelly's house. Somehow I didn't have my camera with me, so hopefully Shelly could send me some photos that she took of the kids.

JJ Visits Again!!

2011-04-22T14:46:00.000-07:00

We all love JJ.

I have been friends with JJ since I was a junior in high school. That's 17 years! He was my friends youth minister and he is just an awesome guy. Later when I became a mortgage loan officer JJ and I would work together. He sold houses. Now he owns his own real estate and mortgage company!

Lily loves to play with JJ. He is so great with her. It's funny though because he can't say no to her, so if she wants to play outside, or read books, or play hide-in-seek with him, he says yes!

He came down for one night and then drove up to the L.A. area to be with his kids for Easter and his big 50th birthday! Happy Birthday JJ!!

Lily and Her Guy Bud

2011-04-21T16:23:00.000-07:00

Irvine Regional Park Easter Egg Hunting

2011-04-20T16:27:00.000-07:00

We went Easter egg hunting with Erin and Ian. Lily of course had a great time. She was so happy today and was posing for all the pictures. She really liked this egg hunt because there was no running allowed and she was able to hunt for about 15 minutes. It was great for all the kids and she got to eat a lot of candy!

Love of Hats

2011-04-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

Easter Block Party

2011-04-16T20:47:00.000-07:00

We live in a great neighborhood. About every three months we get together with our neighbors and have a party. It is around holidays. The kids all have a great time and I love watching the kids grow up together.

On your mark, get set, GO!!!

Taking a break, just relaxing and having a conversation about juice.

Family Outing

2011-04-16T16:44:00.000-07:00

We went to Irvine Regional Park and rode the train, and rented a bike. Lily rode on the back of the bike and would inform us when a car was coming.

Then she came home and crashed! She gave up her naps when she was two!

Tax Day

2011-04-15T16:56:00.000-07:00

So we decide to go to Disneyland instead. Have I mentioned how much Lily loves Disneyland?

Welcome Home

2011-04-13T20:29:00.000-07:00

Lily welcomed us home with eggs, and cookies. She was soooo happy to see us as we were to see her!! She sat on my lap and didn't want to leave my side.

People have asked what it's like to leave your kid behind for two weeks and I respond with "awesome." I don't mean awesome like I'm glad to be away from her but awesome because I know she is in really good hands, she is having a great time, and she got to do some growing all on her own.

When we got back, she was talking more, she wasn't as shy, she was more out-going, and just oh so happy to have us back. Who wanted want that from their own child?

We just walked in the door!

Jeff handing out all of Lily's gifts

She wanted all of our attention on her!

Praha, Czech Republic Day Three

2011-04-12T13:22:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I toured the Jewish Museum in Prague with our wonderful tour guide Karolina. It was so sad to view all the tombstones and to see all the names of the Jewish people who died. We toured different museums in the Jewish Quarters and toured the wonderful city.

This is a picture of our wonderful tour guide Karolina.

Here I am taking business into my own hands. I love the look on the guys face behind me.

Praha, Czech Republic Day Two

2011-04-11T13:43:00.000-07:00

Jeff and I decided to stay an extra two nights in Praha after the cruise and we are so thankful that we did! It was nice to sleep in and take time to enjoy this beautiful city. We had such a wonderful tour guide that showed us around for the two days that we stayed.

This is a picture of a hand that was chopped off many many years ago. They say they have tested it and it is human.

Praha, (Prague) Czech Republic Day One

2011-04-10T14:09:00.000-07:00

We got off our nice 5 star cruise ship and bused over to Praha to check out the city. The weather was so nice on this day but I still needed a jacket for my southern California blood.

Beautiful Beautiful Beautiful!!

Vilshofen, Germany

2011-04-09T15:04:00.000-07:00

Vilshofen is a cute little town. It was a Saturday so everything was closed up and it was so strange to walk around a town with hardly any people and only a few cafes open. BUT, later that night we went to a beer fest! Oh my!! This was so much fun! I really enjoyed this part of the trip because I was doing what the locals were doing.

The beer fest was in a huge tent with tables all across. They had a live band singing mostly American music and this place was rocking. We drank big steins of beer and ate huge pretzels. I even joined in and danced all the table. Don't worry I deleted all the video of that!

Passua, Germany

2011-04-09T14:50:00.000-07:00

I absolutely loved Passua. It was so beautiful and peaceful and perfect in every way. I felt so happy and lucky to be able to experience this cute little town.

Cesky Krumlov,Czech Republic

2011-04-08T15:33:00.000-07:00

We bused over to Cesky Krumlov to go beer tasting. It was a neat little town to visit and I even tried some of the meat.

Durnstein, Austria

2011-04-07T20:02:00.000-07:00

Durnstein is like a special treat. It is a small cute town that looks like it was taken right out of a fairy tale story. I could imagine living the simple life here, picking the grapes off the vine, making my own wine, and chasing after Lily in the open fields. But they would have to have Internet first.

The great thing about traveling through Europe on a small cruise ship is that you get to see more of the countries, you don't have to pack and unpack, lug your luggage around, and get use to a new hotel room. The best part is meeting new people. We met so many great people on this trip! We even met people who live within 20 minutes of us and have a two year old son. We have already gotten together with them for a play date for Lily!

This is a picture of Doc and Lois. I loved listening to all the great stories they had to tell.

These are friends that we met on our ship.

I made it to the top of the castle! If I would've known that I would have been going on a hike this day I wouldn't have worn my flats!! Needless to say, I had to buy a new pair, but it was so worth it!

Vienna, Austria

2011-04-06T20:53:00.000-07:00

When I booked this vacation and I knew I was going to visit 5 great countries I was really looking forward to visiting Austria. When I first arrived I really didn't care too much for it. Then it started to grow on me and I fell in love. Vienna is such a beautiful city!

We enjoyed coffee and dessert in a cute little cafe, walked around and saw all the beauty Vienna has to offer and later at night we got to hear a choir (they were actually traveling with our group) perform at a cathedral in Vienna! I was so amazed that people paid money to go see a choir sing in a church. The people were running to get good seats in the front row! I just looked at all the people enjoying such wonderful music and it made me so sad to come from a country where people don't enjoy great music and culture as much as the European's do.

We got to spend three days in Austria!

Bratislava, Slovakia

2011-04-05T20:07:00.000-07:00

I loved this country. It is known for its beautiful women. It is also 'based' on the movie Hostel. I walked around this country with extra caution. :)

Budapest, Hungary

2011-04-04T18:40:00.000-07:00

We arrived! After traveling about 24 hours we arrived. Jeff was able to sleep on the plane, I of course was not. After a few hours of sleep we started our trip. We got to see the wonderful city, shop a little, eat, and enjoy life.

Just Grandma Metcalf and Lily Time

2011-04-03T12:20:00.000-07:00

My mother-in-law Kris is the best! She watched Lily for us for 12 days while Jeff and I went to Europe.

She had all kinds of fun things for Lily to do. She made jello, play-doh, arts and crafts, cookies, etc. This was such a special bonding time between them. Kris even put together 12 presents for each day that we were gone so Lily could pick out a toy and know that we were one day closer to being home.

Kris even kept up my picture a day of Lily. She took so many pictures and I love them all.

I heard so many good things from my friends about how amazing Kris was with Lily when they would see her at the park.

Lily had so much fun with her grandma and still talks about it today!

There is nothing that we could say or do to say thank you for keeping our sweet little girl safe and happy while we were gone!! We appreciate it so much!!

These pictures are from April 3-13.

Bon Voyage!

2011-04-02T12:14:00.000-07:00

We left for Europe on this day and Lily was playing with my hat. This kid looks good in everything! Okay, she is my kid so I think she is perfect!

Our Sweet Girl

2011-03-31T11:53:00.000-07:00

The Many Faces

2011-03-23T11:44:00.000-07:00

Busy Working

2011-03-22T11:40:00.000-07:00

Eating

2011-03-21T11:30:00.000-07:00

Sweetheart

2011-03-18T19:24:00.000-07:00

Just Because

2011-03-16T19:13:00.000-07:00

One thing that I've noticed about being a parent is that your own personality is justified. My lovely Lily is one crazy chick and let's face it, so am/was I! She does so many things like I do/did and I just love that about her! Go Lily!!

Color Me Mine

2011-03-16T15:11:00.000-07:00

When I was a nanny many moons ago, I used to take the kids to Color Me Mine in Santa Cruz, CA. Now I got to take Lily. She did really well and sat and painted her frog. I let her pick out all the colors and the item she wanted to paint. This was a fun activity to get to do with my daughter.

Our Little Artist

2011-03-14T19:06:00.000-07:00

Luckily Lily got Jeff's talent for drawing. She is really into coloring, painting, drawing, crafts, etc. She even beat the record for the longest coloring session at her preschool! She can sit and do anyone of those activities for an hour straight!

At The Car Wash

2011-03-13T18:52:00.000-07:00

Anybody who knows me knows that I am cheap. So cheap that I think it is a major waste of money to wash a car professionally more than 3 times a year. A car is to get you from point A to point B. Simple. Jeff gets to wash his car by hand. He doesn't mind because he has the best helper out there... Lily. She loves to sit in his car and pretend to drive. He gets a clean car, father-daughter bonding, and Lily gets to play "adult" for an hour, and I get to have quiet time.

Pretend City

2011-03-11T15:00:00.000-08:00

We finally got around to try Pretend City. Lily and her friends had a wonderful time. We were there for a really really long time. I even had to call and cancel Lily's next play date because she was having so much fun!

Entertainment

2011-03-09T18:42:00.000-08:00

Lily loves her babies and I mean LOVES them. I think she loves them more than us. She takes them everywhere with her, she takes good care of them, she talks to them, and she puts them in her own make believe T.V. show.

Here she is "watching" her babies on T.V. with her dear beloved Georgie right next to her.

Newport Beach

2011-03-06T11:08:00.000-08:00

I love Newport Beach. I don't even care that I have to pay for parking. It's easy to get to the beach, carry all your stuff down to the beach, and carry it all back when we are done playing. Plus we can walk across the street and go play at the Fun Zone.

Just Another Day At Disneyland

2011-03-04T11:04:00.000-08:00

What a Difference A Few Seconds Make

2011-03-02T11:22:00.000-08:00

A Day At The Park

2011-03-02T10:59:00.000-08:00

Lily and her buds! These girls love each other. They can go days or even a week without seeing each other and once they see each other they squeal, laugh, run and play!

Plasma Car

2011-03-01T20:01:00.000-08:00

Lily could spend all day and night outside riding her bikes, scooters, and plasma car. She has five bikes! She will ride each one the same amount of time. Here she is with her Plasma car. I only wish they made them for adults because I would be riding along with her.