Margeaux's 1st Birthday

We joined in the celebration of the birthday of our friend Margeaux who was turning one. Margeaux's Mommy (Sherylle) worked with Linda at Performance Technologies. Margeaux's older brother, Philip, has spent many play dates with our boys, especially when we was younger. It was a nice big celebration, catered with Filipino food and plenty of games and fun for the kids.

Happy 1st Birthday Margeaux! Thanks for the great party.

Softball Night

Tonight was the last game in Leon's softball league. He played for our church (St. Andrews) in a men's league through our local recreation department. The games were Friday nights for one hour, slow self pitch and started from as early as 6 PM or as late as 9 PM. Leon just joined the team in mid-season and had a good time playing. He hasn't played softball since back when we first met in 1998, but he still did great and made some unbelievable diving catches in the outfield. It's not your traditional 9 guys on the field, they play with 10 players not counting the pitcher. The team did okay, there's definitely room for improvement, but the most important thing was that they had fun.

The boys loved to be at the ball field, chewing sun flower seeds with Mommy, tossing the ball to each other and cheering on Daddy. They got such a kick out of seeing Leon play, especially since all their baseball experience has only been seeing the Padres play. The season will start up again in the Spring and Leon will most likely be playing again. Until then, our gloves our hung up for the season.

Click on the photo to go to the photo album:

Bowling Night Celebration

In celebration of our friend Brandon's actual birthday, we joined him and his family at a local bowling alley near by. This was the first time that the boys have really bowled. Previous to this experience, they've only bowled with plastic bottles and a bouncy ball or played it on the Wii (don't laugh, Leyton is actually pretty good on the Wii).

For those of you who don't know or remember, Leon and Linda bowled together in a league soon after they started dating back in 1999. We knew the relationship was going somewhere since we committed to bowling together for 16 weeks. Our bowling balls were a bit dusty since we haven't bowled since having the kids. It took Linda a couple of tries until she finally found a ball that fit her hand correctly (her personal ball that she's had for over 15 years didn't quite fit the same anymore). Her score was no where near her old average of 160, especially since it took a while to warm up with a good ball. On the other hand, Leon scored decently with a 159, pretty close to his average, not bad for not playing in a long time.

The boys had a great time playing with a 6 pound ball. Both Lincoln and Julia (Brandon's little sister, same age as Lincoln) used a ball holder to help them get the ball rolling, while Leyton and Brandon actually tried to throw the ball down the lane on their own. It definitely helps having the bumpers up for the kids so that the ball never goes into the gutter. Our boys were so happy and excited to be bowling, they kept asking "is it my turn now?" To say the least, our family will be coming back for more bowling since it was such a hit with the kids (and Mommy & Daddy love to play too).

Click on the photo to go to the photo album:

Veteran's Day Fishing

Well the Wirschem fishing crew were at it again. Since Leon and the boys had a holiday from work and school, we met up with Grandpa Lee and the Wirschem cousins for a day of fishing at Cuyamaca Lake. It was a beautiful day with hardly any wind, which made it nice to be on the water even though the temperature was in the high 60's. With our big group of fishermen, we ended up taking the pontoon boat out for a spin. We were probably over the limit of number of people allowed on the boat, but with that many kids (6), you need as much adult supervision as possible.

There's only so long you can contain 6 kids (5 under the age of 6) on a boat, so eventually we docked and fished from the pier and shore. No bites on the boat until we docked on the pier when Leyton caught the first and biggest fish of the day all on his own. Leyton definitely has true fisherman blood running through his veins because when the boat docked, all the other kids wanted to play on the shore. Leyton came ashore for a brief period but he soon returned to his casting spot on the front of the pontoon where eventually he caught his fish. Meanwhile, the rest of the gang were running around on the shore, back and forth to the boat, climbing anything and everything they could find, hardly staying still for anything. I guess it was a good way for them to try to stay warm. Cousin Isabel also caught a fish with her pole. And cousin Will's fishing pole caught a crayfish even though he wasn't there to reel it in. It seems that the kiddie poles have more luck then the expensive adult poles.

Eventually it was getting dark and the temperature was catching up to us and the kids were all bundled up. If it weren't for freezing temperatures and a handful of kids, I know that Leyton, Leon and Lee would still be out there fishing. It seems like it's become a sort of tradition to dine in the restaurant at the lake after a day of fishing. We all go inside for some shelter and get warm with a cup of hot chocolate or hot cider and a nice meal.

It doesn't happen often, it's not easy with 6 kids, but it's always worth it to be out there to enjoy the lake and it's surroundings and every once in a while catch a fish or two. It's also a bonus when a kid doesn't take a dip in the water and when no fishing poles were lost from loose hands casting.

Enjoy the photos!

A birthday celebration for a close friend!

Today we celebrated the birthday of a dear family friend, Brandon, who is turning 5 later this week. Brandon and Leyton are best friends and it's wonderful to see them play and interact together. If you don't recall, Brandon and his sister Julia are part of the Date Night Babysitting swap we share with our friends Gretchen and Larry. Their family and friendship is invaluable to us and I wanted to take a moment to give Brandon a shout out for his 5th birthday! The boys had a great time, especially since it involved making your own sundaes with all the toppings you can think of.

A new member of the family!

Today we finally got to meet our newest member of the family, Brighton Avery, daughter of Wendy and Travis (Leon's brother). She is a week old and doing great. We tried to meet her at the hospital last week before we headed to Disneyland, but unfortunately the circumstances didn't work out. Their family went through a rough but short phase of the stomach flu that affected each one of them (cousins Tally and Maddyx included) except for Mommy and Brighton fortunately. Brighton looks just like her big sister Maddyx when she was a baby. Our boys were excited to meet her, especially Lincoln who has such a fascination with babies.

Welcome to Brighton, we look forward to when the boys can play with her.

A special Date Night!

Today we had the honor of attending the wedding of our friends Tom & Renny. Tom was Linda's coworker when she worked at Performance Technologies. We've known Tom since he moved to San Diego over 9 years ago. We are so happy that he found the right person to spend the rest of his life with. Congrats to the newlyweds!

This was a special date night for us because Linda's sister and husband (Angela & Mike) babysat our kids not only for the duration of the wedding and reception but also had the kids sleepover. This was the first time that the boys have ever slept somewhere else without us. The only time Leyton has ever stayed overnight away from us was when Lincoln was born and we were at the hospital, but he stilled stayed at home with the grandparents. Lincoln has never been away from us overnight and he's almost 2 1/2 years old. We were a little worried about how Lincoln would cope with the separation, we knew that Leyton would be fine. The kids did great, a couple of mentions from Lincoln as to the where abouts of Mommy & Daddy but nothing serious! I would definitely say that I thought of them a lot and it was strange going to bed without having to tuck the kids in or being awaken by them in the morning. But at the same time, it was great to be at the wedding and reception and not have to worry that we had to be home by a certain time to get the kids from the babysitter. In fact, we took full advantage of the kids staying away for the night by burning a hole in the dance floor all night until the party was over. If you didn't already know, we both love to dance and this was a great opportunity to tear up the dance floor.

Congrats again to Tom & Renny and a special thanks to them and Auntie Angela and Uncle Mike for giving us a special date night!

Leyton's Preschool visits Victoria's Garden

Leyton's Pre-K class went to Victoria's Garden today. Instead of going to a pumpkin patch before Halloween, his class opted to go after, partly due to timing and availability. It turned out to be a great day since most of the schools have already done their pumpkin patch, the place was not crowded at all which left plenty of room for the kids to run around and have fun.

Fortunately there was a "packaged" deal for the kids to try one of everything available for $10 each, which normally I guess cost $20. The got to go on a hay ride, play in an obstacle course and bouncers, pet and feed animals, pony ride, train ride and even take home a medium size pumpkin.

Luckily, Lincoln was also able to join in the fun and got to do all of the same things with Leyton's class. The most endearing part of the day was when the kids were playing on this giant bouncy slide. Keep in mind that the kids are between 4-5 years old and there was our little Lincoln and his 2 year old self. That didn't stop him from wanting to play in the bouncy and climb up the hill to go down the big slide. If you haven't seen one of those giant slides before, there typically is a rope and some type of "steps" to help you get up to the top because it is kind of steep. Well you can imagine that Lincoln was a little small to easily climb up the steps to the top. Kids were passing him left and right as he attempted to hang on to the rope and climb up each step, not giving up hope that he could get to the top. Leyton was such a sweet big brother as he tried his best to help Lincoln get to the top by holding him up from behind and kind of pushing him up to the next step until he reached the top. It sure took a long time for Lincoln to finally go down the big slide and the look on his face when he came down was just priceless and wanting more. So back he went to the steps, trying desperately to get up again. This time Leyton AND a handful of his classmates stopped to help Lincoln make his way up again, with much quicker success then the first. All in all, Lincoln made it down the slide 3 times with a lot of help from Leyton and his classmates and he loved every minute of it. It was difficult to tear him away to move on to the next activity.

The highlight for the boys at the pumpkin patch was to hand feed the animals which included rabbits, roosters, goats, sheeps and a very hungry alpaca. They've pet them before but this was the first time that they were both brave enough to hold food out in their hands for the animals to eat. They also got to experience their first pony rides, of which neither have been brave enough to do before.

The kids had a great time and maybe we'll come back here next year. Click on the photo below to go to photo album.

2 Day Get-Away to Disneyland

Well I've finally given up on trying to first update the blog with all the cool stuff that we did during the summer. As I worked on the photos and chronology of events, I seemed to get further buried and behind the current events happening. So I've decided to just start with the current stuff and keep you all updated to today and slowly add in the highlights from the summer. Keep in mind that the blog lists events in chronological order with the most current being first. So if you have the time and want to get caught up with us, take a few minutes (or more) to read about the events that are listed after this one!

Our most recent big event was 2 fun filled days at Disneyland/California Adventure. The trip all started because our timeshare company offered us a free 2 nights stay at their new resort just a little over a mile from Disneyland. With an offer like that, we couldn't pass it up. We came up Sunday and relaxed at the resort which included an evening swim in the "heated" pool. Well it wasn't freezing but it could definitely have been warmer. It didn't seem to bother the boys much because they loved swimming and hanging out in the water. They have become such fish in water, especially after all the swim lessons and water activities over the summer.

Monday morning we hopped on a shuttle to Disney and in no time were at the gates of Disneyland. We finally broke down and bought annual passes (just the M-F, no weekends). It completely made sense since it costs $134 for the pass (park hopper included) or we could pay $94/day. Two days visit and it already was worth it's money, of course you can only go on weekdays, which works great for us because who needs the crowds anyways!

If you remember from our previous blog listing, last January was our first trip as a family to Disney. This would actually be our 3rd trip this year. This trip was the first time we went to California Adventure. Fortunately because of either being a weekday or the "cold" weather (maybe high 60's, don't laugh East Coast), we didn't have to wait much in any lines. The highlight of our Disney trip mainly revolved around Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster and Toy Story Mania, 2 rides that we went on many times (5 and 3 respectively). The boys couldn't get enough of the laser and 4-D target shooting games. We still couldn't get Leyton to volunteer for the Jedi Training Academy, but we are still working on him. If Lincoln were big enough, he would probably already be up there. Darth Vader gave us a good scare while we were watching the training from the side, which made Leyton jump out of his seat and did not help our cause. The boys were brave as we took them on Pirates and the Haunted House, they looked a bit frighten but made it through fine and actually enjoyed it afterwards. The only ride that Lincoln didn't go on was California Soarin', which Leon and Leyton fully enjoyed.

The best highlight of our time at Disney was on our 2nd day. We dressed Lincoln in his Buzz Lightyear costume from Halloween (without the head cover, oops forgot it at home) and he walked proudly around the park with many adults and kids stopping to admire him in his outfit. You often see little girls wear their princess outfits, but rarely do you see a boy wear one, kudos to Lincoln!!! And of course we had to have Lincoln get Buzz Lightyears autograph and photo taken with him... too cute for words!!! Memories to last a lifetime!

Enjoy the photos from our trip, click on the photo below to go to our album. With an annual pass now, we'll be heading back more often with our next trip sometime in January!

Halloween Night

It was finally Halloween night, the boys have been looking forward to this day for a long time, mostly because they were so excited to wear their costumes. This would be the 3rd time that Leyton has put on his costume and Lincoln has worn his (or parts of it) 4 times. In the spirit of Halloween, Leon became the "blue" Power Ranger and Linda was "Mommy Woody" as Lincoln liked to put it.

Trick or treating this year took place at Auntie Angela and Uncle Mike's new house (just a few miles from our house). Their neighborhood was very family friendly and plenty of trick or treaters to keep the streets busy. Cousin Grace and Robbie (with Uncle George and Aunt Nancy) joined us as we hit the road in search of treats. Grandma Becky stopped by just long enough to catch the kids in action. The kids did pretty good trick or treating, considering that this was the most number of houses that they have ever gone to before (>25). As the night progressed, you could see Lincoln starting to slow down from house to house, mainly due to his heavier load of treats in his bucket. We finished the night back at the house with some home made pizzas and seafood linguine!

The kids looked so cute in their costumes... you just gotta love Halloween for that!

Click on the photo below to go to the photo album... enjoy!

Halloween at Leyton's Preschool

It was nice that Halloween actually fell on a school day and a Friday. Leyton's preschool started the day with a Halloween parade around the courtyard for all the parents and teachers to enjoy. During their "snack" time, they enjoyed a little Halloween party followed by a classroom trick or treating among the classmates.

I was especially proud of Leyton today for 2 reasons. First of all, he let me color his hair red to match his red Power Ranger outfit. Leyton is a very meticulous type of kid and doesn't like too much out of place, especially his hair. But today was an exception and he got into the spirit of Halloween. The second reason I was so proud of him was that he was the only Power Ranger in his class while there were 5 other boys who dressed in Star Wars gear. As you may remember, Leyton was Anakin Skywalker last year, he's still a Star Wars/Clone Wars fan but he's also become fascinated with Power Rangers. He could easily have chosen to be a Star Wars character again knowing that his classmates were also into Star Wars, but he stuck to his conviction of wanting to be a Power Ranger. I noticed after class that some of the boys were playfully "picking" on him about being a Power Ranger but he stood his ground and handled the teasing with grace and courage. I was so proud of him for not letting the teasing get to him, a good sign of a strong self-esteem that will hopefully stay with him throughout his life.

The class day ended with happy kids and a bag full of treats! Click on the photo below to go to the photo album!

Halloween Carnival at Lincoln's Gym Class

Lincoln is enrolled in a gym class that is run through the El Cajon Recreation Department (both boys took an Art class through them this summer). The El Cajon Rec Dept. put on a Halloween carnival for kids between 1-5 years old for a small admission fee and it was held at the same facility of his gym class.

Lincoln wore his "lighter" version of Buzz Lightyear since the days were still warm, while Mommy put on her day version of "Woody." Lincoln was joined by his good friend (and classmate) Julia and cousins Gracie and Robbie. He played a little in his gym class and then we went to the game room where there was plenty of things to do. I was very impressed with the number and quality of games that were set up for the kids to do, lots of sorting, matching, color and number recognition... all kinds of games that were very age appropriate for the kids. The best thing was that they didn't hand out a piece of candy or toy for every game played. Instead, the kids received a ticket when they succeeded at the task and at the end of the carnival, they turned in their tickets to receive a goody bag full of toys and treats. Lincoln had a great time and was so proud and happy to win at the games and collect his ticket! Thanks for a great carnival El Cajon Rec Dept!

Click on the photo to go to the photo album:

Lincoln's Preschool Halloween Party

You may recognize the background of the photos from Lincoln's preschool because it is the same classroom that Leyton was in last year (his 4-5 preschool with Mommy). Fortunately, Ms. Suzanne (his teacher) didn't turn the Halloween party into anything extravagant. It was a nice, simple celebration of Halloween enjoyed by 21 kids (between 2-3 years old) and their parent. You can't expect much from 2-3 year olds, especially that many of them together in a classroom with their parent.

There was plenty of activities for the kids to do, including painting on shirts for Halloween. This year, Lincoln made a black spider out of his hand prints on a white shirt (you can see a picture of it in the Halloween Night blog, along with Leyton's version). Last year, Leyton's class made white ghosts from footprints on a black shirt (Lincoln made one too). They always turn out so adorable and a great keepsake that captures their size at this particular age.

It's funny how loud and out-going Lincoln can be at times, especially around his brother, but in the classroom, he still remains reserved and observant to everything going on. Leyton was the same way at first, we'll see how Lincoln turns out. The featured attraction at this Halloween party was Toy Story, with 3 Buzz Lightyears and 1 Woody.

Click on the photo to go to photo album:

Pumpkin Carving

It was that time of the year for us to break out the pumpkin carving tools and pattern books. We were joined by Auntie Nancy, Uncle George and cousins Gracie and Robbie. We had 6 pumpkins to turn into Jack-o-lanterns and a week to go until it was Halloween. Of course most of the dirty work is done by the adults but this year, Leyton was much more involved in the entire process. He had a great time pulling the guts out of the pumpkins and he even helped carve his own Bat jack-o-lantern (with a little help from Daddy). Mommy took on a special shadowing effect with a spider and web, unfortunately it didn't work quite as well as she hoped. Lincoln didn't care much for the feeling of the pumpkin guts, so he stuck to his quick and easy pumkin decorations that are inserted like a Mr. Potato head. Maybe next year he'll want to be more involved in the process.

In any case, there were some great carvings that graced the walkway to our doorway. Unfortunately due to the heat wave we were experiencing, most of the pumpkins did not make it to Halloween Night. Our front entry was still decorated for the occassion but yet again we did not receive any trick-or-treaters. Our decorations are fun for us, the kids loved seeing them as we came home at night and it was definitely a warm-up for our Christmas decorations.

By the way, great carving by George and Nancy who took on a pirate ship and bat. Maybe next year, their kids can be more involved in the process.

Click on the photo to go to the photo album:

Halloween Carnival in Descanso

Since the boys don't actually go to a big school yet, this year we decided to join the Wirschem cousins out in Descanso for their annual school Halloween carnival again. It was great to see all the cousins dressed up in their outfits. There were a handful of games that the kids enjoyed playing and they especially like collecting winning tickets that were exchanged at the end of the night for a bigger prize. The highlight of the night was when all 6 Wirschem grandkids participated in the cake walk in an attempt to win a cake to celebrate cousin Will's birthday. It took only 2 rounds to when our Buzz Lincoln won the cake, of which Will picked out since it was his birthday. After the carnival, we headed back to Grandpa Lee's house and celebrated Will's birthday.

Click on the photo to go to the photo album: