Isaac Is Four!

My little baby turned four on November 5th. I can't believe it. I feel like it wasn't so long ago that I was 5 days late with a big huge belly. And now here he is.  He is a sweet little boy and I am trying to enjoy every minute I get with him before he goes off to school and becomes a really big boy! Right now his world consists of speech, preschool, friends and mama! He loves Mario. He was Mario for Hallowe'en, so of course needed a Mario-themed party! He was sick on his actual birthday so we pushed it back a few days and then invited over Grandma and Grandpa and the cousins. He had a blast! 

The Gassers

When Derek and Heidi came to visit on the week of Hallowe'en, I took a few pictures. I wanted to post a few for memories sake. I have a few more to come that are adorable of Addie and Mason. Here are a few for now...

Hallowe'en!

This Hallowe'en was so much fun! A little extra long, it seemed, but still fun. My good friend Sharon offered to make the kids' costumes this year, and just look at how amazing they turned out! She is in one of the last photos with the kids. We just love her! Hannah was a gypsy, Jaxon was a dementor (Harry Potter), Mason was Luigi and Isaac was Mario. We were also so excited this year to have Heidi and Derek and the girls stay with us for a week over Hallowe'en also. So the morning of the 29th, Jared ran his first half marathon and we were soo proud and excited for him! I am going to get a few pictures from Jenna so I can post them here too. Derek and Heidi arrived around 9:30 a.m. and we sat and chatted for a while, while the kids reconnected and played. Later that day Jared and I took the kids and Addie to a Hallowe'en party at the Lowder's in Santa Rosa which had horse rides thanks to Jed and Kalleen, and plenty of games and fun for the kids. After that we headed back to Petaluma for our ward Trunk or Treat. And that was the 29th! We still had 2 more days til Hallowe'en! On Sunday the 30th I took some family photos of Derek and Heidi which I will post a few of here later too. On Monday the 31st, the kids had a fun Hallowe'en parade at school, and then we had a fun evening of Trick or Treating with the Gassers and Sharon also. For a few days after Hallowe'en we had very sick kids, so Heidi and I stayed home and relaxed and enjoyed each other's company! It was soo nice! I miss that girl. Enjoy these fun photos from Hallowe'en!

Family Pictures 2011

    I had my good friend and fellow photographer, Nitny, take our family pictures this fall. Last year I was to busy to even think about it and I felt like we just had to make it work this year. After one failed attempt in September, we got ourselves all dolled up once again and headed to St. Vincent's School for Boys in San Rafael for our pictures. The kids did NOT want to cooperate but Nitny managed to capture a few cute pictures! 

Jared Turns 37 | Sept. 2011

     Jared's birthday was pretty fun this year. He had gone to the "float tank" in the morning with Brett, and came home to birthday fun with the kids. They had worked hard all morning getting their "gifts" ready as well as their birthday video (on my iphone) and little "present hunt" for Jared. It was adorable. He kept telling them how much fun he was having and how it was the best birthday Ever. That's why I married this amazing guy. He rocks. Hannah's expressions sure show how happy she was. Love it.

Labor Day Weekend!

     So this September long weekend was another fun opportunity to go to Sea Ranch for Labor Day. It is a vacation we all look forward to, a couple weeks after school begins. This time we stayed at a house with Jenna and Travis and their three cuties, Jenny and Maya, and Brad, Jed and Kalleen. It was a full house to say the least. The more the merrier though, so the kids were in heaven! We got to relax, eat, and enjoy each other's company...with a bit of an adventure when Will and Maya decided to escape in their footed pajamas for long enough to terrify everyone. They were found safe and sound, but scared, and we all said a prayer of gratitude and were just a little more careful locking those doors! We also got to see a few of the other uncles and aunts that were there, which made it more fun also!

Mike and Linda's Visit!

I was so excited when I got a phone call from Linda a couple weeks ago, telling me that they had decided to come spend a few days with us here in California. It was extra cool that Joy and Malia were able to come with them!! We had a blast! The first day we went up to Sugarloaf State Park and had barbecued hamburgers and hotdogs. We forgot the flipper so Jared used a CD..it worked anyway! I took some family pictures for them up there too, which I posted on my website. We are up at Sea Ranch right now for Labor Day and I have a crying Isaac on my lap, who is dying to play computer..so I need to quickly upload these pictures so I can get him home. We are at Julie and Scott's house, since they have internet access!


A shot from Maya's second birthday party!

All the kids slept in Isaac's room so Mike and Linda and Joy and Malia could have their own rooms, they loved it!

Mike and Isaac having quality computer time!

 Girl time! Pedicures..

Pool time!  

Isaac's first day of preschool!!

 Mason was student of the week, and the girls wanted to color the poster! Love it!! It was fun discussing the ways Mason is special. Funny, smart, helpful...he is a sweet, sensitive boy.

A trip to San Francisco....

First, pictures at the Palace of Fine Arts!

Followed by dinner at Mum's Cafe in Japan Town

We had SUCH a fun time, and were so sad to see them go. :(

The Kids.

I realized I never posted the pictures I took of the kids last May. Probably because I didn't edit them until our trip to BC when I had the time. These kids are amazing. Its so incredible how each child is born with their own distinct spirit and personality. We help to mold them, but I feel like we're learning from them daily. Hannah has such patience with me. If I get mad at her, she keeps her cool. If I get mad at Jaxon, he reflects it right back at me. I adore these little beings and look forward to many years with them. I'm grateful every day that they get along 90% of the time. It makes doing anything as a family so fun and enjoyable. And I'm thinking that will only get better. I love how they are so interested in spiritual things. They have lots of questions and really contemplate the answers. They inspire me to be better spiritually and emotionally and physically. Honestly though, I get too irritated in general, too often. They do not deserve it, and neither do I. I'm working on it, and probably will have to work on it for a while! Here are a few images.
 
Love this beautiful girl. Love how she is such buddies with her brothers, especially Jaxon. When she's not around, he's bored and has a hard time finding things to keep himself busy.

My Jaxon. This little man cracks me up. He was loving getting his picture taken this particular day, and keeps asking when we can do it again! He is very sensitive and a deep thinker. I need to be always aware and sensitive to that.

Mason and Po (as the kids call him...). These two are growing too fast. Isaac's going to be 4 in November. Boo for that. I love that both these kids love to play with my hair. Constantly. There is always a set of hands getting tangled in there. They love their snuggles with their mama and I love it too. 

Together. They love each other! And that makes me happy! :)

First Day of School!!!

School is back in session!! Hannah is now in 5th grade, Jaxon is 3rd, Mason is 1st, and Isaac will be starting preschool. Mason had a bit of a hard time but the teacher said after 30 seconds he was fine. Phew. The pencil cake at the bottom is their reward for the first day! And mine, too. YUM!!!

Last Days of "Summer"

Which doesn't mean end of heat. It means end of sleeping in, lots of video games and much less swimming. Boo. Back to school is way too early around these parts. I was recently inspired by a blog post entitled "Ten on Ten" meaning, post ten random pictures from a random day, on the tenth of the next month. So a couple days before school started, I attempted to do just that. And because I failed to take a picture every hour that entire day, I'm going to cheat and post them today, instead of waiting til the tenth. I'm going to try it again before the tenth of September...so check back! So here was the beginning of a typical summer day...

The time I normally woke up. Awesome. First summer in 10 years I've been able to do that.



What I would normally find, upon arriving downstairs. Note the wii, laptop and iphone are all in use. Note also, major brain melting going on.



Isaac at the laptop...He's surprisingly good for a three year old. 



Just a cutey. Patiently waiting his turn on whatever device was available next.



My workout essentials. Water, pre-workout drink, music. Garage is not in the picture, but also essential. Too much of a mess to be captured at this point.

Workout is followed by grilled cheese lunch, and this particular day we decided to go see Smurfs...so this is a picture of the kids in front of the theater. And then I forgot to take any more....to be continued!!

A few more shots from BC that I forgot to post...

Ahh, BC.

Our Canada trip this year was much anticipated and well worth it! We had a blast! We were there for three weeks so it is definitely good to be home...but it was fun catching up with very very loved ones! I noticed, as I was prepping pictures for the blog, that I didn't get enough pictures of Matt or Al! I think Jared took some on their "guys trip" so I'll have to add those next! So the first set of images are from our day trip to Queen's Park in New Westminster. They have a great waterpark and playground. My mom spent a stressful morning/early afternoon preparing salads to go with the KFC for dinner. It was worth it...we had so much fun! Mike and Linda had just gotten home from Europe, but were able to come with Joy and Malia. Burgarts and some of their kids were able to come too, as well as Matt and Taryn. We all chatted for ages and had a blast. 

The last set of images is from our outing to Whonnock Lake, with my good friend from high school, Kim Krawchuk. She just had her fourth baby and we couldn't believe that we both have 4 kids, and each of us has a girl as our oldest and then 3 boys. What are the odds! We thought it would've been pretty funny to know that back in high school days. We had soo much fun with them, and spent a couple days with them. Can't wait to see them again next year! What's funny is that I seem to remember this lake as being much, much bigger when I was younger!

Addie Musson...

So while Laura Lee was up with the girls, we had the chance to take some pics of Addie in her ballerina costume, in the backlands of good old BC...gorgeous!

iPhone images...

Little Kate and her ice cream at a quick stop on the drive up north.

Kira and I

Hannah and Addie having pool time in the bath on a rainy day.

Jaxon building his model.

Papa and Addie

Little buds Addie and Isaac, watching a movie on the iPad.

Laura Lee making her famous pazookies!! (Chocolate chip cookie dough--baked, then topped with cake batter ice cream and hot fudge..heaven!)

Mormor and Isaac

A treat from Tim Horton's!

Still working on those pazookies!

The finished product...

Me eating a little bit of heaven!!