Baby Cousin

For months we've been talking about Paige & Nick's baby cousin and we are so happy that he has finally arrived. The kids met Nolan tonight and they were so delighted to be around him. They both wanted to watch him, touch him, and give him kisses. Nolan is so sweet and cute and we are thrilled to be a part of his life. We look forward to watching them grow together. And, I'm proud to be able to call myself an auntie for the first time.

Outdoorsy

Brian was in Dallas all this past week, so the kids and I stayed with my parents. The weather was beautiful, so we spent quite a bit of time outdoors each day. One of our favorite days was getting together with our best buddies for some playtime at the park. What's so neat about their neighborhood park is there's a little creek and some hiking trails nearby. Although Paige took one good look at the creek and proclaimed, "Disgusting." Okay, so it's not the kind of creek you drink from. Towards the end of our little hike, Paige and Joe were holding hands and discussing their favorite tv shows. It was so cute!

Valentine's Day

Paige's teacher, Miss KC, had a Valentine's party for all the kids and their siblings. I don't know who had more fun, Paige getting tons of valentine cards and candy, or Nick playing with all the classroom toys. Nick was especially in awe of the new fish tank in the room, one big tank for one teeny tiny beta. Brian and I celebrated by dropping the kids off at my parents' and heading up to the Blue Bayou restaurant in Disneyland. We also rode all the big rides that we don't get the chance to do anymore. Gotta say the big coaster at CA Adventure was a little too much for me (am I really getting that old?). But, I still love Space Mountain and the Tower of Terror. Overall a very 'love'ly day.

Blahg

I'm not sure why, but I'm having trouble blogging. I feel busier than ever with the kids. Driving to and from preschool, household chores, family activities, squeezing in time at the gym has kept me on my toes. Don't get me wrong, I love staying busy! However, it's left little time for this here blog. Part of me has been wanting to spend more time being creative with my hands instead. Yes, writing is a creative endeavor, but not one I'm completely passionate about. I guess I'm saving all my journaling for the kids' scrapbooks. So, not sure how much longer I'll be devoting to the Unit blog, but I'm certainly not ready to depart it quite yet. We shall see.

The Spins

Paige and Nick have been finding new ways to play together and crack each other up. I was so happy I had my camera with me at the park the other day because they were having so much fun spinning and getting dizzy. I guess you could say they are practicing for those crazy spinny rides.

Puddle Jumpers

Whooo! It has been a wild wet week out here. We've been glued to the windows watching the wind and rain. The kids have been wearing their raincoats and boots and partaking in all the puddle action they can. Nick loves jumping as high as he can trying to create the biggest splashes. It's fun to add a little spice to our normally mild winters. I don't mind the rain one bit, in fact I love it!

A Day at Disney

One of my dear friends from highschool is out visiting and one our first stops was Disneyland. What better place to take seven kids! They loved riding rides, participating in the parade and on stage, and eating treats together. When we were there back in June, Paige joined the conga line. This time, Nick got to conga too. Besides a little fall in the beginning, he managed to wind his way around that conga line. At the Big Ranch Barbeque, the kids had so much fun singing on stage (except for those that were already snoozing in their strollers). Top prize went to Pete, who stole the show with his bear impersonations. I'm so happy that I was able to capture some of those precious moments on tape.

Quack, Quack

This morning, the kids and I went to check out Lake Poway, something I've been wanting to do for awhile. I heard that you could feed ducks there and I thought the kids would get a big kick out of it. What I didn't know was how awesome Lake Poway is. They have three play areas, tons of grassy hills to run around, paddle boats, leashed dogs are welcome, and hiking trails. I'm eager to take Brian there with us one of these weekends to explore more. What I didn't realize was Nick did not want anything to do with feeding the ducks. As you can see in the first picture, he is standing in the background, in the grass, and that's exactly where he stayed while Paige and I handed out bread. Paige loved it and she loved posing for pictures on all the rocks she was climbing while Nick, once again, shied away from the camera.