The Mann Clan

2011-03-23T21:23:00.000-07:00

Gavin is a Soccer STAR!
He truly is a natural athlete and has such a gift for the game.
When he is not playing soccer, he has a ball at his feet in the house, and is watching soccer on TV. He records and watches multiple games a week, of his favorite teams - Manchester United, Chelsea, Barcelona, Real Madrid...
Last year, his rec team was the 1st place, division 1 team for U8, and Gavin was scouted out by multiple select and comp teams.
After trying out for two comp teams, and being offered spots on both, Gavin decided to play for Placer United and has already started practicing with the Gold Team.
Soccer 9 months of the year? It's his dream come true.

He is just finishing up his indoor season with the boys on his last year rec team and many of them have also made it on the Placer United Teams too, so they are a very fun and competitive bunch of boys to watch play!

Here are some shots from last week's game...

Sweet Hannah Sue

2011-03-23T21:12:00.000-07:00

No, this is not the latest trend for 6th grade hair and clothes...
Avery was Harriet Sue Sven in the Saga of Sweet Hannah Sue at the Roseville Theater, a few weeks ago.

We put a wire hanger on her head every night for 7 days... and she was SO SICK, she lost her VOICE!

But, the show must go on, and she put a SMILE on her face, popped some Advil and went on stage and did her very best, fever and all.
I never get tired of watching Avery perform, she lights up the stage.
We are so excited to see her perform in Oakmont High School's Production of Annie, starting next week.
She has been having so much fun playing the part of the orphan, Pepper, and being part of the High School cast.
Jackson will be performing for his last time at his elementary school, as Tweedle Dum in Alice in Wonderland, JR, in the next few weeks as well.
He is very excited and we are so proud of him too!
Needless to say, we have a LOT of singing, dancing, and memorizing lines, going on around here.

2011-03-23T13:55:00.000-07:00

Olivia Turns FIVE...

With a Hello Kitty Extravaganza!

There was pink popcorn, pink cupcakes, chocolate dipped marshmallows on sticks, chocolate dipped strawberries and Papa's AMAZING cookies, O's and 5's.
There were so many SWEETS, we didn't even get to the cake!
Olivia and her guests played pin the bow on Hello Kitty, colored, and decorated the goodie bags, opened presents and then painted Hello Kitties and animals to take home!
Daddy painted the Hello Kitty sign for Olivia to put in her room, and she loves it!
Livie told me that it was her BEST birthday party EVER!
I think she tells me that every year.

2011-03-12T18:33:00.001-08:00

Olivia Jo...

Five years ago, on a beautiful winter day, you joined our family.
I always knew that someone was missing, and when you were born, our family was complete.

We were smitten with you.
You were a beautiful and happy baby.

And NOW, we can hardly believe our baby is FIVE years old!
Look at you NOW!

FIVE FAVORITES of OLIVIA at age FIVE :

Color: PINK
Animal: Horse
Book: Pinkalicious
Food: Dirty Rice

Favorite Toy: American Girl Doll and Barbies

You had been wanting your very own American Girl Doll for a LONG time, you even asked Santa for one. He told you that you had to be FIVE years old to get one and so...
Finally, on your 5th Birthday you got Kanani, the doll you wanted!
You were so HAPPY!

We love you so much, Livie.
xoxoxoxo

Let the Celebrations Begin!

2011-02-26T17:16:00.000-08:00

Olivia has been talking about Build-A-Bear FOREVER!
She has come to me with sad eyes and a little sad voice asking, "When can I make a bear, like Avery, Jackson and Gavin?"
I have to admit that I have put if off for a special occasion - for expense, and also because the nearest store is not very close to us.
Sooo, when my sister called to tell me that she and Izzy were coming up a week before Olivia's Birthday and wanted to have a fun cousin day, celebrating Olivia, I knew just where we should go!
We met Kendal and Izzy at Arden Mall and our first stop was Build-A-Bear!
Izzy picked out a very cute, grey kitty, and Olivia chose Hello Kitty.

The girls had so much fun "creating" their kitties and stuffed them, put hearts in them, watched them get sewn up....

Then they brushed and "fluffed" them....

And finally, they got to look at all of the outfits
and pick a special one out for their new kitties!

Olivia was so happy to finally have her very own, Build-A-Hello-Kittty!

We had a great rest of the day at the park, playing at home with Littlest Pet Shops, and
going out to dinner.
Thanks Kendal and Izzy for a super FUN day for Olivia!!

Go Pack, Go!

2011-02-06T19:37:00.001-08:00

It's a HAPPY Super Bowl Sunday at our house!
Jackson wrote and performed a "rap" to sum up his feelings on the Packers Big Win:

Go, Pack Go! It's now or NEVER!
Go Pack Go, we'll be watchin' you FOREVER
And you better hurry up or else this chance will SEVER
TOUCHDOWN! YEAH!
The Steelers gettin' pounded
TOUCHDOWN! YEAH! Uh, huh, the Steelers gettin' grounded!
When the Super Bowl comes around and the Pack put to the test,
Just look to the QB, cuz Rodgers knows BEST!
TOUCHDOWN! YEAH!
Go PACK Go!
TOUCHDOWN! YEAH!
Yeah, they can play in a dome or in the SNOW!
GO PACK GO!

I had to write this one down :).

Beauty and the Beast

2010-08-28T11:53:00.001-07:00

Last May, Avery and Jackson starred as Belle and the Beast in their school production of Beauty and the Beast, Jr.
I love that they got to share this experience together, as this was Avery's last of three elementary school performances.
They were AWESOME!
They rehearsed for 4 MONTHS!
We were in charge of putting their costumes together, which was probably the BIGGEST challenge of all... Avery need a village dress and a Belle dress and Jackson need to look like the Beast, and Prince.

Jay made the entire Beast costume! (Yes, he sews, I am so lucky :)
It was AMAZING!

Grandma and Papa Hall made Avery's Belle gown.... THANK YOU! It was beautiful!
My job? I had the village dress made from a costume designer online :).

Here are links to YouTube Videos of the show, featuring Avery and Jackson...
Avery has a page on YouTube with more of her work... songbirdie08

Jackson's best buddy, Ben was a wonderful Lumiere!

Olivia went to every performance and knew all of Avery's lines and songs by heart! She dressed up in her Belle costume one night.
Audience members bought light up roses and lit them up at the end of the show, SO CUTE!

Jackson's BEASTLY costume!

Beautiful Belle!

I am sooo happy that my kids go to a school that supports amazing activities for the students, especially the musicals each year. Both Avery and Jackson have benefited tremendously from being apart of them for the last three years.
They spent countless hours memorizing their lines, rehearsing at home and as a cast, and I am so proud of BOTH of them for keeping straight A's at school while being apart of the musical.
Am I a STAGE MOM?? Hmm....
I am a PROUD MOM!

Avery and Jackson, I love you both and LOVE watching you in whatever you do. I am your biggest fan!
xoxo Mom

You Go Girl!

2010-06-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

In April, Avery received the BECOME Award for her school and was honored at a ceremony where her Principal described her accomplishments and why she was chosen.
Below is what was written up in the school newsletter.

Avery Mann Receives Prestigious Award
Fifth-grade student Avery Mann was recently
named as the recipient of the City of Roseville’s
B.E.C.O.M.E. (Business, Educators and
Community Organized to Maximize Education)
Award which recognizes students for activities that
significantly contribute to the “maximization” of
education affecting schools or the community.
Avery was nominated by the staff of Vencil Brown
as a result of her unique contributions to the school
and will be honored on April 27th at Woodcreek High
School along with other winners of the Award
representing the schools within the City of
Roseville. The following is how the staff at Vencil
Brown described Avery’s contributions:
“Avery has been in the lead role for our school
musical the last three years; she is currently a
member of the school Safety patrol team; served as
a “Spirit Booster” on our Grizzly Council the last two
years. She has been a “Sing” leader for the past
two years for our Character Trait assemblies; Avery
has been on the academic “Principal’s List” the past
two years; she is creative; helpful to fellow students
and staff; has represented Vencil Brown at various
community events, including school board
meetings; she has sang the National Anthem at our
Constitution Day Ceremony this school year; and
finally, Avery is a positive person who always looks
for the good in people. We are honored to have
Avery Mann as a student at Vencil Brown
Elementary School.”

Congratulations to Avery Mann for her well

deserved honor.

Avery and her Principal, who has always encouraged her in all of her endeavors!

Avery's 4th and 5th grade teacher, who has played a big part in helping her succeed.
We love Mrs. Denney!

I am so proud of my Avery. She tries her best in EVERYTHING she sets out to do.
I am so glad that she went to such a wonderful elementary school and was given so many opportunities to BECOME a better student, friend, performer and leader, along the way!
Love you AVES!

A trip to the ZOO!

2010-06-24T13:18:00.000-07:00

THIS little girl had a field trip to the ZOO with her preschool, and she was
SOOO excited!

Mom and Dad went with her and when we got there we looked ALL AROUND for her teachers and friends...
But they were nowhere to be found.
That's because WE were at the Sacramento Zoo and THEY were at the Folsom Zoo!
Uh-oh.
Mom made a BIG mistake!
We decided to stay at THIS zoo and make it a fun day with our Olivia.

Just think, if we were in Folsom.... we would of never seen the giraffe's...

or THIS guy!

We would have missed seeing the FLAMINGOS...

and this LAZY lion!

AND, this ant eater with his TONGUE out!

Or this AMAZING snow leopard walking toward US!

Or this CRAZY animal... oh that's just DADDY!

We would have missed THIS orangutan!

We had a FUN afternoon!
I emailed Olivia's teacher, and told her about my BIG mistake.
Olivia brought a stuffed monkey she got at the zoo, for sharing the next week and told the story to her class about how she got it at the WRONG ZOO!
Her teachers laughed, and so did I.

Team Izzy!

2010-06-24T13:16:00.000-07:00

On a beautiful Saturday in April, friends and family met in Walnut Creek at Heather Farms and walked for THIS beautiful girl!
My niece, Isabel or Izzy as we call her, has Cystic Fibrosis and we are determined to FIND A CURE!

We were on Team Izzy and wore THESE great shirts... AND every last member of TEAM IZZY wore BUTTERFLY WINGS!

This was our third year participating in Great Strides.

At the starting line.....

We got to walk through a beautiful park...

And we carried this sign along the way....

Olivia Jo, and Auntie Jojo with their WINGS...

Izzy has SO many supporters and LOVED by many!

Avery and Gav.... he loved his wings...

Brad, Kendal and Izzy....

Our team raised close to 10,000 dollars this year toward finding a cure for CF!!!
We love this family, and especially IZZY!

Jackson Turns 10!

2010-06-23T22:08:00.000-07:00

Jackson turned TEN on April 14th!
I can hardly believe that a DECADE has passed with my boy.

TEN things about Jackson
2010
1. He loves sports, especially soccer, BMX and football.
2. He loves to hang out with his friends and tries to be a good friend to all.
3. He is an AMAZING reader! His favorite series is The Rangers Apprentice. He often finishes a book in 1 to 2 days and we have a hard time keeping up with getting him more!
4. He can eat like no other! I don't know where he puts it!! Pizza and ice cream are his favorite.
5. He starred in his school musical this year as the BEAST (more to come in a later post).
6. He LOVES video games and loves to play the Wii the most.
7. He made the Principal's List all THREE trimesters at school for 4th grade - perfect grades!
8. He LOVES being a cub scout - and won the Pinewood Derby this year!
9. He is very easy going and most of the time, he is a peacemaker.
10. He LOVES Disneyland and got to go there for his BIRTHDAY!!
His favorite ride? Tower of Terror!

Jackson was invited by his friend Griffin, who also has an April birthday, to go to Disneyland for a few days. We know the family well, and decided to let him go... He was sooo excited!

His favorite gift from US? His very own travel bag with travel sized soap, shampoo, deodorant, and toothbrush! He is so easy to please.

He was very surprised to also get his very own MP3 player loaded with music for his trip down to Disneyland!

On his birthday, we took him out of school for lunch, his choice.
No surprise here, he chose BURGER HUT!

Jack had a great time in Disneyland, we all missed him so much and he missed us too. When he got home he told us that Disneyland is fun but it's the best when you go with your family... love this boy!
Happy Birthday Jackson! xoxoxox

Spring Break 2010

2010-06-23T18:01:00.000-07:00

Yep, I have been a SLACKER on keeping up with my blog.
Yes, I am JUST NOW getting to blogging about our spring break, which was in March, I think.. or maybe April???
Here is our Spring Break in a nutshell.....

Daffodil Hill

We started out our week with a little road trip up to Daffodil Hill...
(We couldn't leave our pup Theo behind!)

Okay, here is our review of Daffodil Hill: tons of traffic on the road going in, lots and lots of people walking around so it is VERY hard to get pictures without people in them, and in the kids opinion, two thumbs down.
I did think the hillside of daffodils was beautiful and fresh...

Had to take a picture of my Gavin....

and Miss Livie with the daffodils...

Black Chasm Cavern

On our way out of Daffodil Hill, we made a wrong turn to avoid traffic, and ended up following a road that led us to the Black Chasm Cavern.
We walked up a small trail to the gift shop and found out that they had a tour of the cavern leaving a little while later.
To pass time, the kids had a blast sleuthing for gems....

The kids LOVED finding and identifying the gems!

Happy kids!

GEMS!

The BEST and most exciting part of the day was walking down the stairs into the cavern and seeing all the amazing formations including stalactites, stalagmites, flowstones and the vast arrays of rare helictite crystals, for which Black Chasm Cavern is famous.

Our tour was under an hour and we had a great tour guide, full of information....

Boys in the cave...

Hiking it up the stairs, back out of the cavern...

Volcano, CA

Our next stop was to drive through the VERY small town of Volcano, CA.. and I LOVED it! It's full of charm and nostalgia...

I had my camera ready to GO!

I have this one framed and up on my wall....

I LOVE the old buildings - churches, and a small school house with this porch...
Good thing my kids are POSERS! I have em' trained!

Love this shot of my Olivia Jo...

Avery LOVES her Theo!

Hidden Falls, Auburn

One morning, we got the kids up and drove into Auburn to find the trail leading to Hidden Falls...

It was a great hike for our family!

The falls were beautiful and there was a nice balcony you can stand on to see them...

So pretty and peaceful...

Once again, I HAD to take some shots of the kids :)

Grandma and Papa Hall's House....

The kids and I spent the last few days of Spring Break in the Bay Area with Grandma and Papa Hall. We went to the Tech Museum, saw movies, played with cousins, and the took the boys to a WARRIORS basketball game!
We had an Easter Party the day before Easter for the whole family.

We dyed eggs....

But did not dye this baby CHICK!

Izzy got 5 new baby chicks for Easter and brought them over for all the cousins to hold!

Izzy and chick...

My brother Nick, with a chick...

My sister Jordan...

Of course we had an EGG HUNT!

The kids wasted NO time finding the eggs, filled with candy and MONEY!

Cutie patootie, Helena wanted IN on the action too!

Grayson, Izzy, Livie, and Helena with their baskets..

Checking out their GOODIES!

Grandma and Papa gave all of the grandkids a toys, candy, and Grandma made these little girls these VERY CUTE twirl skirts!

I love these beautiful girls...

So that's it, our Spring Break in a nutshell.
I feel so much better now that it is blogged!
Now I can move on to April.... I am slowly but surely catching up!

Back on the Bike

2010-06-23T17:53:00.000-07:00

Jackson got back to the BMX track in March for practice and racing.
He picked up where he left off and has been having a blast racing on the weekends when he can.

At the gate....

Pushing through...

He never gives up...

I love watching my boy on the track...

He's a WINNER!

WICKED!

2010-06-23T15:46:00.000-07:00

Avery got tickets to see Wicked in San Fransisco for Christmas and guess who got to go with her? Yeah ME!
Avery has the whole soundtrack memorized...

We both LOVED the show and want to go back again before it leaves in September.

If you haven't been.... you MUST go!

My BABY is four!

2010-02-16T22:00:00.001-08:00

It's so hard to believe that my BABY girl is four today!
It seems like yesterday I was holding her in my arms, staring into her blue eyes and instantly falling in love....

Olivia Jo, you are my SUNSHINE...
You fill my life with so much light, LAUGHTER, and love...

4 FABULOUS THINGS ABOUT YOU....

1. You are the BEST snuggler and LOVE to sleep in MY bed and cuddle! You tell me you love me at least 100 times a DAY!
2. You are an amazing ARTIST - you draw and color beautifully every day! Our fridge is always covered in ART!
3. You make up the sweetest songs and sing them for me in a tiny, soft voice, that I LOVE! You also LOVE the GLEE soundtrack and randomly throughout the day will sing, "Bust a Move" or "Don't Rain on My Parade", or the Black Eyed Peas, "I've Got A Feeling"....
4. You are SASSY - I love that you have STRONG opinions and stand up for yourself. Not a day goes by without you making me laugh out loud with some of your stories or expressions about preschool or your brothers and sister.

Love this Olivia the Pig outfit, looking sassy!
I LOVE that you love clothes and "fashion" and playing dress-up - you are a GIRLY girl!

You finally got it - Strawberry Shortcake Cafe!

Grandma Ladybug came to spend your SPECIAL day with you and picked you up from preschool!!

You, me, and Grandma went to CPK for lunch.... and a BIRTHDAY sundae FOR YOU!

Matching pj's with your Bitty Baby, from Grandma and Papa - you said you want to wear them FOREVER!

Make A WISH!!!

I hope it comes true, Livie LU!
Happy Birthday!
XOXOXOXO

LOVE, MOMMA

Beauty and the Beast

2010-01-30T15:50:00.001-08:00

The kids heard the school musical this year would be Beauty and the Beast back in December, and they were both excited and signed up to audition.
They practiced their parts over and over and OVER! They had to learn a scene of dialogue and part of a song.
Avery and Jackson auditioned a few weeks ago, made it in and then had to wait to hear what parts they would be getting for a whole WEEK! Avery got a call back and had to sing the Beauty and the Beast song as Mrs. Potts.
We had a long talk about how she had the lead in the musical last year, Annie and that she may have a smaller role this year. She was mentally prepared for it and had a very good attitude about the whole thing, I was very proud of her. She has taken a lot of smack from kids saying mean things at school to her about the musical. Ultimately it is the teachers who pick the roles.
On Thursday, Avery had her call back and both she and Jackson RAN out of musical practice with huge SMILES on their faces!
Avery will be Belle, and ...... Jackson will be the BEAST!
Holy costumes!
They were excited, but more excited for each other, I love that.
Grandma and Papa were here and we went out to dinner to celebrate.
Looks like we have a lot of lines to learn, songs to sing, costumes to work on, and we need to work on bringing out Jackson's inner BEAST!
So excited and proud of them both!

Ice Skating

2010-01-30T15:35:00.000-08:00

Miss Olivia had a field trip a few weeks ago with preschool to the Ice skating rink!
She really wanted Avery to come with her, so I told Avery that morning she could skip school for the morning and come with us!

The girls had so much fun skating!

Livie LOVED when it started "snowing"...

And getting pushed around on the sled....

AND, she did great at the LIMBO!

She was so ready to get warm, and drank this hot chocolate all up!

Then she was a HAPPY girl again!

I loved spending time with my girls.
We went out to lunch and then took Avery back to school for the afternoon.
Super fun day with them!

Cousin Fort

2010-01-30T15:18:00.000-08:00

One Saturday in January, we headed down to the Bay Area and spent the afternoon with my sister, Brad, and Izzy.
The kids LOVE Izzy's house because there is always something fun to do...
Brad took some big boxes and made the kids a fort, and it soon became the....

(Love the rules they came up with!)

The kids made rooms and took in blankets, pillows, snacks... and Izzy's pet kitty, Brownie.

As I was taking pictures from the porch, this Chicken jumped up right next to me!
Izzy has three of them and they run around the yard... these are the same chicks that my children held in their hands as babies, on Easter!

The boys needed some trampoline time...

Which usually leads to THIS....

A FUN, simple, day. Sometimes a box is all you need.

A Very Merry Christmas Part 3

2010-01-30T14:52:00.001-08:00

Christmas afternoon, we packed up the car and headed to Grandma and Papa's house for Christmas with the Hall Family.
We spent the afternoon visiting, opening gifts, playing games, and EATING, of course!

How cute are these three? Avery, Annakin, and Helena.

Gavin and Livie love Grandma Ladybug!

Jackson was so excited to get this game, he plays it every time he visits Grandma and Papa, and now he has his own!

Livie LOVES her Olivia doll and books!

Avery opening some new books and craft projects! They have certainly kept her busy....

So, this was a BIG surprise for all the "Adult" children....
The Christmas Wheel of Gift Cards!
My parents are so fun and creative!
We each got to take a turn and spin the wheel and got whatever gift card we landed on...
I got TARGET! Yeah!!! my favorite.
We had so much fun seeing what everyone got!

Every year, the six of us kids help fill Mom and Dad's stockings with fun gifts and goodies...
This year we all got together and gave them tickets to see Michael Buble in concert.
They loved it! They had some pretty fun things in their stockings too.

The grandkids singing Rudolph... even Dominic, my 18 year old nephew, LOVE IT!

Little Helena's first Christmas.... This is how we all felt by the end of the night...
In fact, I did curl up on the couch and fell fast asleep with out even saying goodbye to everyone as they left... it was such a LONG, WONDERFUL Day! I was so glad that we stayed the night :).

Thank you to ALL of our family for making Christmas so special this year!
Love you! xoxoxoxo

A Very Merry Christmas Part 2

2010-01-30T14:29:00.000-08:00

After opening gifts at home, we headed over to Grandma Mann's for our traditional Christmas morning breakfast with the whole family.....Biscuits and gravy!

The kids exchanged gifts with their cousins and opened fun gifts from Grandma Mann. They each got a book and a fun toy from her.

Lucas so happy with his new laptop, and Nofo....

Theo and his cousin, Bert.
They were buddies.

My sister-in-law, Katie, MADE this beautiful blanket for Mom Mann, very special!

It really was such a nice Christmas morning with the family. Poor Heidi was sick with the flu, and we missed Chelsie, but it was nice to have everyone else together. It felt like what Christmas should be.

A Very Merry Christmas....

2010-01-30T13:56:00.001-08:00

The kids woke up to some wonderful surprises Christmas morning. It was so nice for them to have Mom and Dad there together with them to enjoy the day as a family.

Santa brought Avery (and me) tickets to see Wicked in San Francisco! She has been wanting to go for forever! So have I . She also received ds games, her Winnie the Pooh, books, a framed Beatles poster, some fabric, and Momiji dolls for her collection, and of course, clothes :).

Jackson was beyond THRILLED when he got his own DSI!
That was probably all he needed to be happy for a LONG time!
He also got 14 books, Scribblenauts game for the ds, a Packer's shirt, monskeys for his collection, an ugly doll for his collection, and magic tricks.

Santa knew that Gavin would love this air hockey table... this boy is so active and has a hard time in the winter, not being able to go outside and play all the time.
He was also so happy to get his new Fifa 10 for the Wii, books, clothes, a model of a shark to build, and Schleich animals for his collection.

I feel bad not getting great photos of Olivia on Christmas morning... it was so BUSY!
Miss Olivia was so happy to see a stroller for her Bitty Baby under the tree... along with a new "Belle" dress, Beauty and the Beast dolls, Littlest Pets Shops, and a new Leapster game. She loved her jewelry box from Daddy, filled with accessories, and also the ice-cream cone pillow he made for her.

Theodore had a GREAT first Christmas too. He was so happy to have some new tennis balls to chase around, and also to get his favorite treats from Santa!

Twas the Night Before Christmas....

2010-01-02T11:46:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve was spent at Grandma Mann's with the family.
There was delicious food, lots of cousins running around, topped of with a cousin talent show....
I pulled out my camera to find I had left the battery charging at home :(.
We headed back home and the kids were so excited to FINALLY be able to open a present!
Of course, they know what they will be getting, but they don't care - it's the fun of ripping open the paper and boxes and finding just what KIND of pj's they will be wearing!

My Christmas cuties all bundled in their new jammies...
Yes, this may be the last year for "matching" but when I found the owl Nick and Nora's at Target, I knew the girls would LOVE them!

Theo's first Christmas.....

The children were nestled, all snug in their beds.....

Santa quickly and quietly stopped at OUR HOUSE ~
And brought Christmas cheer to my four sleeping angels....

Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

December Fun.....

2009-12-31T21:58:00.001-08:00

One of our favorite annual December traditions is getting together with the whole family and decorating GINGERBREAD HOUSES!

This year, we met at Mom and Dad's, had some delicious soup and bread, and then got to work!

My brothers took their decorating VERY seriously....

Livie would eat a piece of candy for every piece she put on her house :).....

Avery and Annakin worked together on their masterpiece...

Papa helped Gavin with some finishing touches on his....

Each family left with a beautifully decorated house!

Mom and Dad packaged them up so cute for us to take home.

Before heading home, we made a stop at the Oakland Temple to see the lights....
another must-do for our family every December.

The nativity was beautiful...

A Day in San Fran...

2009-12-31T20:42:00.000-08:00

The kids and I spent the week of Thanksgiving at Mom and Dad's and we knew we definitely wanted to make a trip to the city.....
Our first stop? BOUDIN of course!

Yes, we have one in Roseville, but it's just not the same as eating a bread bowl of the best clam chowder while sitting outside at Fisherman's Wharf!

Next stop..... Red and White Fleet for a cruise around the Bay.....

The weather was incredible, clear and warm....

The views were amazing......

The kids LOVED it!

I loved taking pictures from a whole new view......

My kids are obsessed with Alcatraz, so they got very excited when we cruised by....

Under the Golden Gate Bridge....

Final Stop.... Pier 39!

We ended the afternoon with some cones from Ben and Jerry's and headed back to Grandma and Papa's..... the kids fell asleep in the car :).
I heart S.F.

2009-11-26T09:26:00.000-08:00

I am thankful for this......

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Happy Birthday Avery!

2009-11-12T16:20:00.000-08:00

My Avery Jayne turned 11 today!!
WOW, time has flown by.

Avery, you are so very special to me.
You fill our home with music, laughter, FUN and DRAMA.
You are an amazing BIG sister (most of the time), and help out so much around our house.
You are a SUPER student and love to be organized, and GET THINGS DONE!
I love to hear you sing and watch the dances you choreograph for Olivia.
I love to watch the "plays" you write and star in.
I am so proud of your persistence in soccer this year, you've been a great goalie and defender.
You make a great TACO SALAD and are always helping me in the kitchen.
You are an AMAZING artist and a GREAT seamstress.... you did NOT inherit those talents from me :).

Some of Avery's favorite things at age ELEVEN.....

Owls
The Beatles
Peace Signs
Broadway
Fashion
Project Runway
Sewing
Drawing
Singing
Dancing
Hot pink and Yellow
Sushi
Soup
Soccer
Family

HAPPY BIRTHDAY AVERY!!!! xoxoxo
Love, Mom

The BEST field trip!

2009-11-06T13:54:00.000-08:00

When I heard there was a 5th grade field trip to San Francisco, I was the first to sign up!
I love the city!
Avery and her friends were so excited to go to the Exploratorium and the beach!
80 + 5th graders and a ton of parents packed up in buses and cars and headed to S.F. for the day (a long day - we left at 7:30 and got home at 6:30pm)!

I hadn't been to the Exploratorium since I was young, so it was really cool to be there and watch the kids have so much fun.

Exploring.....

Now that's a HUGE dining room chair!

Making a tornado....

We ate lunch on the grass next to the Palace of Fine Arts, explored some more and then headed across the street to the beach near the Golden Gate Bridge.....

After taking class and individual pictures, the kids got to RUN FREE! This was Avery's favorite part.

What a BEAUTIFUL day it was!

I was so glad to be able to go with Avery... she is growing up and her "field trip" days are numbered.
Thanks Mom for swapping with me.... (she came up from the East Bay to watch the kids, while we went to the city).
I can't wait to go back to the city, we went so much growing up. My Dad was a pro at navigating down the crazy streets and finding parking wherever we went. My parents have the whole S.F. sight seeing tour down :).
Hopefully during the holidays.....

2009-10-31T16:23:00.000-07:00

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Here's a little blast from the past...

Jackson Halloween 2002

2 1/2 years old.

Love it.

!!

Toothless!

2009-09-25T14:30:00.000-07:00

Jackson, who is in FOURTH grade, finally lost his front tooth!!! Just in time for school pictures...
Gavin, who is in FIRST grade, lost the same tooth a few days later.... he is all caught up with big bro in the teeth department.

My "Baby" is Growing Up!

2009-09-11T23:36:00.000-07:00

Miss Olivia Jo is off to preschool!
She had been waiting for this day for months!!!
She knows her teachers names....
She picked out her bows for her hair all by herself....
Her bucket is painted and ready.....
AND...she can't wait to meet new friends!

She was so excited to go to school with her lunch and sharing in her bucket...
Part of her snack was a bag full of sliced cucumbers (one of her favorites), and when I picked her up and she was getting in her car seat, she told me one of the boys said, "Ew, yuck!" when she was eating them.
She asked me to pack her Cheetos next time. Too funny.

I am actually very excited for her because she is SO ready for this. She loves to play, read, sing, and she LOVES art projects and crafts....

She will be going twice a week for 3 hours.... Yeah for me! I will spend one day working at the elementary school and the other.... doing whatever I want for three hours with no KIDS!

Here is her bucket.... Daddy painted it for her favorite storybook character, Olivia the pig. Her name is written on the front. I love the buckets, so much easier for the kids to load and pull out their things!

Miss Livie - You are Momma's girl and I love you to pieces! Have fun at "school" with your new teachers and friends. Be nice, share, stand up for yourself, and learn lots of new things that we can talk about when you get home.! I can't wait to go on lots of fun field trips with you!
Love you!
XOXOXO
Momma

Back 2 School

2009-09-11T23:19:00.001-07:00

Watch out Grizzlies... the Mann Clan is back!
Avery, Jackson and Gavin started back to school the end of August - YEAH!

My Jacky - I can't believe you are in 4th grade!
You will love this year - learning all about California's History, doing your first science project, field trips, typing out your own stories and essays on the computer, division, cursive, book reports..... My hope for you is to have fun, be a good student, be a great friend, and be PROUD of your positive choices.

Gav - Oh how I am going to miss you this year! I can't believe you are old enough to walk with your brother and sister, to eat lunch in the cafeteria, and to be gone ALL DAY! You will love first grade with Mrs. Bengle in the Tiger Class. I hope you have fun learning to read better, writing, spelling, playing with the "big" kids on the playground, and being a good example to the kids around you!

My baby girl is a 5th grader!!! Avery, I can't believe this is your last year in grade school. You will LOVE this year, "ruling" the school. You are such a beautiful girl, inside and out. I am so proud of what a great student you have been since kindergarten. My wish for you this year is that you will continue to excell in all of your academic subjects, but also be a good friend and example to those around you. You are a shining star, let that star shine bright! Together, we will master learning all 50 states and their capitals :). I knew them all once......

Remember to watch over each other.....

I LOVE YOU!!!!
Love, Mom

Rewind to August...

2009-09-11T22:40:00.001-07:00

My beautiful niece, Isabel, turned 4 in August and had an amazing animal themed birthday party in the Bay Area. Kendal and Brad throw the best parties so we knew this could not be missed!

The Birthday girl!

They had giant stuffed animals everywhere - giraffe, bears, deer, zebras, lions... Gavin loved it!

The garage was transformed into an art studio where the kids could choose and decorate an animal mask... very cool!

My niece, Miss Ava

Avery painted a few... I love her elephant mask....

There was also a petting zoo.....

AND goats of course!

AND.... pony rides!

My newest niece, Helena. She is ADORABLE.

MAKE A WISH!

We had a great day with the family and ended the party in the evening sitting outside by the fire underneath the glow of the paper lanterns.... I loved these.
Happy Birthday Isabel!!!

Theodore Huxtable Mann

2009-09-08T22:53:00.000-07:00

The day after we returned from our 2 week vacation in July, we picked up our new pup, Theodore Huxtable Mann, and our lives have not been the same since!!! Theo has brought us so much joy. He is such a funny, good puppy with a lot of spunk. The kids have been very good about taking care of him, especially Avery. She trained him to sit and lie down and he just loves her. He loves taking walks and chasing the kids around. His favorite toys are Mr. Quack and his squeaky hot dog, which I have already replaced because the squeak went out :).
Theo is also a lot of work. It really is like having a baby, except he does sleep through the night.
The first week we got him, after his shots, he had a seizure and I thought we were losing him that night. He only weighed 2 lbs and had a bad reaction to his shots. Luckily, he made it through that rought night and now weighs over 3 1/2 lbs and is doing great. He will probably stay under 5 lbs... I like it that way, little dogs, little messes.

Here are a few of our favorite Theo moments:

Taking it Back to July... Vacation week 2

2009-09-08T21:37:00.000-07:00

We left Forest Springs on the 4th of July and began our trip to the Trinity Mountains. We made a stop in Burney on our way down to Redding. I love that little town - it was decorated so cute for the 4th and people were out on their lawn chairs with their flags getting ready to celebrate. We went over to Burney Falls and got out to walk around and check the falls out. They were really beautiful! I would definitely take my kids there again. We all got soft serve ice cream cones and sat around a picnic table and I couldn't help but think that this was all we needed on that day.... it was simple and beautiful and a little piece of America that we had never seen.
After 6 hours of driving, and the last 45 minutes of the drive was on the scariest roughest, rocky, road I have ever driven on, we drove into the most beautiful meadow full of deer and saw the sign for our next destination, Mountain Meadow Resort. I am so glad that Kendal found this treasure on the internet, it was hands down my favorite vacation with the kids, EVER. Mountain Meadow has a main lodge with the dining room and a deck with chairs all along it that connects to the game or rec room. You can sit on the deck and read a book and look out at the most gorgeous mountains at sunset, surrounded by beautiful grassy fields and tall trees. There are 10 cabins behind the main lodge and we spent the week there with 4 other families, some of whom had been going there for 20+ years and had three generations there! It was interesting because all of the families were from Berkeley and Oakland, and the owners are from San Jose.
We arrived just in time for dinner, and it was all American hamburgers, hot dogs, salad, potatoes, drinks, desserts.... Everyone was extremely friendly and the food all week was DELICIOUS! My kids and Izzy immediately met kids there same ages and that was it! Within the first hour, they had caught frogs and snakes and played volleyball and checkers....
We had our own little cabin that was connected by a porch with Kendal, Brad and Izzy. The cabins were very cute inside and felt very relaxing.
All of our meals were made for us and the meal bell would ring! The breakfasts were amazing, and if something ran out, they brought out more. After dinner each night, you could fill out tickets for bag lunches if you were going to be hiking the next day and pick them up in the morning. We did that a few times and took our lunches down to the river. One of my favorite things about the week was dinner. At 6:00 every night the dinner bell would ring and all the kids would go to dinner... no parents. The parents usually sat out on the deck and conversed over drinks or read books. Kendal, Brad and I usually played a mean game of Sequence. At 7:00, it was time for the adult dinner. While we got to go in and eat amazing meals, the staff of college aged kids, who were all amazing, took our kids out to the meadow for rec time and volleyball. So every evening, I had at least 2 hours of no kids. And even better, my kids were having a BLAST! We sat at tables and visited with the other families and learned so much about Mountain Meadow. Everyone that was there had been there before and knew all about the numerous hikes to go on. Some of them hard and some of them easy enough for our family to do. We spent the first few days exploring and hiking down to the river and fishing. Most of the other families went on all day hikes and would come home before dinner.
Some of the staff members kids, who live at Mountain Meadow all six weeks it is open in the summer, showed us frog meadow. We walked out into the meadow and there were thousands of baby frogs just jumping at our feet! Gavin was in heaven. Avery went on a half-day hike with some of her new friends to the Mines and had a blast. They came back and jumped in the pool. My kids were so dirty at the end of the night, they HAD to take showers before getting into bed because there feet were so black. On one of our last days there, we left Izzy and Olivia at the lodge with a babysitter (they provide that too), and Kendal and Brad and the kids and I went on a 5 mile hike to Kidd Meadow. I have to say that it was TOUGH for me but we made it! We did have a few tears, not from me :). The hike was beautiful, we crossed a little creek and along a waterfall, through beautiful trees and moss and wildflowers, until we reached the meadow and had lunch. I was very proud of all of us for making it the whole way up!
One evening, after dinner, Brad and I took some of the kids into the meadow and climbed up on a huge rock and watched the deer. It was so beautiful. On another day, Brad found a place above the river that was full of daisies and we called it Daisy Meadow. We hiked down there with the kids and took pictures and watched the boys cross above the river on a huge tree that had fallen. The scenery was amazing. Kendal and Brad hiked up the river farther than we had gone, and saw a bear climbing up the hill. I was a little freaked out about that later.... Brad played up on my fears when after steak night, he cut up little pieces of steak and left them on my porch! Lights went out at 11:00 every night when the generator was turned off. On that same night, just as soon as the lights went out, Brad banged on our door and had us all screaming our heads off!!! Brad had a good laugh with that. We had campfires a few nights and everyone would do skits or sing songs. Avery sang Tomorrow for everyone and Jackson got up and sang the whole song of We Will Rock you and had everyone clapping on their knees to the beat. That was one of my favorite Jackson moments. I didn't know he had it in him!
We left on Saturday, and I couldn't help but feel sad. I could have stayed another week. (Did I mention they had a washing machine and a line to dry clothes???) I felt like I had grown so much closer to my kids over the two weeks we were gone. No cell phone service, no TV, no computer.... just US and the great outdoors. I felt like all the heaviness and hardships of the recent months were lifted while we were gone. I didn't want to go back to the divorce, the unemployment, the possibility of losing our house... I just wanted to sit down at the river, on a big rock and put my feet in the cold water and watch my kids skip rocks and swim and fish.....
It was a great escape, and one that I will never forget. Not a day goes by when the kids don't mention it. I want to go back again... I have too. At least one more time. Thank you Kendal and Brad and Izzy for a summer we will never forget!

Warning: After this very lengthy blog, there are TONS of pictures.....

Burney Falls

This is what we saw as we drove into Mountain Meadow....

Gavin's second toad...

Our little cabin....

Frog Meadow....

Olivia hiking down to the river..... she hated it. She is not a hiker. She told me her legs were going to fall off and she couldn't breathe....

Avery and Izzy down at the river

Avery looked down and pulled this rock right out of the river! She brought it home. Perfect for Avery :).

Daisy Meadow.... love these girls.

Yes, these are snakes. Yes, they caught them all by themselves!!!

Gav and his girls on the tree swing!

Now, this is more like it. This is Olivia's style of hiking.
Jack was a good big brother!

Our hike to Kidd Meadow....

My sister, Kendal, and Brad....

Goodbye Mountain Meadow!!!

Taking it back to July... Vacation - Week 1

2009-09-02T21:26:00.000-07:00

I can't seem to move on and get this blog updated until I finish writing about our summer, and so that means we need to take it back... back to June/July and our 2 week trip to the mountains. Yes, two weeks straight. That was a lot of packing for four kids and myself :).
My sister Kendal, Brad and their daughter Izzy, invited the kids and I on a trip with them in the mountains. Our first week was spent at a beautiful property in Big Bend, CA called Forest-Springs. It took us about 5 hours to get there but it was a pretty drive. When we reached Big Bend, we quickly found out it was a tiny, hippie town of one store, a school, and very interesting people. We drove up a very rocky, bumpy and dusty dirt road to get to this property. I was totally freaking out, wondering where the heck we were going, driving my own car and following Brad. We finally got to our spot and met the caretaker of the property who gave us a tour and showed us to the guest house, which was a trailer with a log cabin facade built around it. It was too funny. Kendal and Brad stayed in the main log house and the kids and I stayed in the trailer where we did all preparing of our food that we cooked out over the fire pit. The "lake" that was advertised online turned out to be more of a "pond" but we had so much fun hiking down the hill and going fishing. Brad took each of the kids down quite a few times and out on the boat to fish. I think we all caught fish from that pond. We picked cherries off the trees and "swam" in the pool, which was actually a big tin tub thing. Each day was a new adventure.... we drove down the dust hill to explore new parts of the river. Some of our favorite spots we gave our own names, like 4 snakes (we found 4 water snakes there), the Pipe - which has a huge pipe laid across over the river that you can jump off of, no fish lake - actually not much of a favorite spot, no fish! We also hiked over to some natural hot springs one evening and cooked dinner down by the river. Brad bought one of those huge boxes of like 200 otter pops and those were eaten every day as we sat in the "pool" trying to keep cool. We were eaten alive by mosquitos and extremely dirty. I think we all wore the same clothes for a few days because we figured we would be getting dirty anyway. I had to really let go and not worry about make-up or doing my hair and it felt GOOD! I had fun getting down and dirty with my kids and watching them catch frogs and bugs and learn to fish. It was kind of a white trash vacation that turned out to be a blast!

Fishing in the pond....

On the dock...

Hiking down the hill to the pond everyday....

Our swimming "pool"

The fields were full of these giant dandelions.....

Jumping in at "The Pipe"

Brad and Jackson jumping off the Pipe!

The rope swing....

No Fish Lake....

Good fishing lessons from Brad though.

Miss Avery loved swimming in the river.....

Until we saw this.... (one of the four reasons we named it 4 Snakes).

The natural Hot Springs... this was fun until we had some company.... and they wanted to be nude. We got outta there real fast and roasted marshmallows by the fire quite a ways away :).

Gavin's first toad of the trip. He named him Bubba.

Each of the kids learned how to fish... and they all caught at least one!

Brad and Izzy, right before Izzy caught her fish.

We all got eaten ALIVE by mosquitos... but Gav had it the worst. Check out his back!! Ouch.

Our last day at Forest Springs... the 4th of July! Gotta finish off those otter pops!!!

A Day at the Beach....

2009-08-28T19:03:00.000-07:00

One beautiful August day, before school began, we headed to Santa Cruz with my Mom and Dad to see my sister and visit for the day. We had a yummy lunch at our favorite spot in Capitola, Gayle's Bakery and then headed over to New Brighton Beach. It was a perfect, warm day and we sat on the beach on watched as a group of dolphins swam by, a seal poked it's head out of the water, and the pelicans hovered over the water before swooping down to catch fish.

Avery and Annakin decided to go ahead and JUMP right in!

My beautiful niece, Isabel played in the sand and built sand cakes all afternoon...

FYI: Jackson is not featured in these pictures because he opted to stay back at my sister's and listen to music with his 17 year old cousin.... :).

Fun with the Mann Clan

2009-07-23T19:58:00.000-07:00

We have loved having Katie and four of her kids in Roseville for a visit this past week! We normally only get to see each other at Christmas time. The kids have loved getting to spend time with their cousins. July is a big birthday month for the Mann side of the family. We celebrated my nephew Nofo's birthday one day, and Ethan's the next evening at the water park in Rocklin. No one was there - it was 102 degrees but so nice to have it to ourselves!

Jack, Brett, Sera and Allie.

JUMP!

Katie made Ethan's "cake" - The Very Hungry Caterpillar.... it was vegan and delish!

Miss Livie marchin' around...

Summer Safari

2009-07-23T19:29:00.000-07:00

Okay.... I'm still stuck in June with this blog. IT"S SUMMER! We've either been gone, busy or too LAZY to update... until now, so here it goes.
We were invited to a summer safari one summer day in June and it turned out to be one of the funnest days we've had this summer.
We headed over to the parents home of one of my close friends. They have a ton of property in Granite Bay and have a beautiful ranch across the road from their home. So Trisha had a great idea to hide stuffed animals around the ranch, take the kids out on the golf carts, and have them see what they could find. Each of the kids were given a paper to check off what animals they found. We took the kids out in shifts, and everyone who stayed behind got to swim. I loved driving around with Amber as our tour guide, she had a fantastic Aussie accent and we laughed so hard when we took the cart out for a second spin around the property and ran out of gas! We were so HOT walking the cart back.....

Can YOU find the animals?

Love At First Sight...

2009-06-21T12:00:00.001-07:00

My kids are flipping out.... we are getting a puppy! After years of saying, "Maybe next year," I have finally given in. We have gone through so many big changes and really rough times as a family this year and I think this puppy is just what we need. I know it won't be easy, and we are definitely not going into this blind. The kids and I have been reading books and magazines and online articles to help prepare our family for our new addition.

We finally got to meet our boy yesterday and yes, it was LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT for all of us!

The kids decided on his name, Theodore, and will call him Theo.

I don't think his little paws hit the ground for more than 5 seconds before he was scooped up again!

Theo was super friendly with the kids, giving them lots of kisses!!!
He weighs less than 2 pounds right now!

Theo is a special gift from my sister Kendal and her family. Anyone who know Kendal, knows her love of animals, and especially her two yorkies, Brosie and Sparky. My kids have enjoyed her dogs so much. Kendal helped us find Theo from a good home and we are so grateful to her for helping us get the perfect dog for our family!
We will be bringing Theo home after we get back from our camping trip in a few weeks. It was hard to leave him yesterday, we could have taken him as he is ready to leave his mama, but taking a new puppy camping with four kids???? That would be crazy!
We headed to Target and PetSmart with Kendal and Izzy to get everything we need for Theo when we bring him home.
My eyes have been opened to just how HUGE the pet industry is! Wow! So many options to choose from! I am so glad Kendal was with us to pick out the very best food, bed, treats, toys, and crate for Theo.
So, here we go..... wish me luck with crate training!

2009-06-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

Cub Camp USA

That is the theme of this year's Twilight Camp and Jackson has been loving it! I got to go with him two days this week and had a lot of fun watching the boys enjoy so many cool activities.
Here is my handsome Cub Scout....

Here he is at the whittling station, learning about knives, and carving soap...

This was definitely one of his favorite stations... BB guns!

Amazing shot! (He is practically blind in one eye you know!)

I wasn't with Jack on day 2, but they built bird feeders, made a TeePee, and did archery! I heard that the closing ceremony was really cool.

They had invited a member representing each branch of the military in full uniform to come and speak to the boys.

There was a Marine

an Army soldier

A Navy Captain

and

an Air Force Pilot!

They each talked to the boys and Jackson told me he had a good feeling inside during this campfire!

On Day three.....

Jack and his buddy Kale, got chosen to come up on stage and show off their "air guitar skills" - it was to one of his favorite songs too..... Bon Jovi's Shot Through The Heart.... pretty funny!

Next was the obstacle course... just look at the determination on his face!

OVER.....

And UNDER....

At campfire, the boys ALL got to help retire a flag by each putting a piece into the fire.... It was pretty neat, the boys were all so respectful.

Jack is at his last night of Twilight Camp as I am writing this..... I know this might sound weird to some of you Mom's out there but I wish I was there with him. They saved the best for last.... bottle rockets, kickball, and carnival games! I have such an appreciation of the Boy Scout Program and the values and skills it instills in my son and I am so glad I got to spend some of this special week with Jackson... and a few hundred boy scouts in matching red shirts!

Our Afternoons....

2009-06-17T17:34:00.000-07:00

have been looking like this.........

I love lazy summer afternoons...... don't you?
Don't be mistaken though..... we don't have lazy mornings too. The kids have been doing their workbooks, we go on a bike ride, run a mile around the track, and then come home, eat lunch, clean-up AND THEN.... head to the pool. At least, this is how it's gone the last three days :).

School's Out For Summer!!!!

2009-06-14T19:45:00.000-07:00

Another one bites the dust! All three kids had a great year - but holy cow it flew by!
I can't believe that next year I will have a 5th grader, a 4th grader and a 1st grader!
All three brought home perfect report cards and Avery made Principal's list all three trimesters! She was honored at an assembly on the last day of school for her grades, making Principal's list and also for her science fair project getting recognized! I couldn't be prouder of her accomplishments this year - especially her grades and balancing them with also her role in Annie, and in her Sing and Dance Company. Jackson passed his AR goal three times over in this last trimester. He is just a reading machine. I have never had to worry about him.

Gavin finished out Kindergarten with a HUGE party for all 80 kindergartener's and their families! It was such a fun morning, I don't know who enjoyed it more, Gavin or Olivia! I was on the committee to help with the party and helped transform the kindergarten area into fun stations for the kids. We also had a BBQ and fun games.

Gavin was so happy to have one of his best buddies Jack in his class this year.

Whenever I couldn't see Gavin, I knew he was here, at the musical chairs... he ended up being the winner!

So proud of my boy!

Olivia LOVED getting her hair sprayed with color!

Gavin did too!

We all got Tattooed.... here is Gav's. Mine was a glitter fairy - couldn't get it off for days!

Bubbles are always a HIT!

They decorated their visors.... Gav chose pink.

Back to the BUBBLES!

Avery finished out her 3rd year with the Sing and Dance Company's spring performance on the last day of school and again on Saturday night. It was a really fun show - they perform with Upstage, so it's fun to watch the older kids (14-18 year old boys and girls) too!
Here are some shots from dress rehearsal.....
She got to dance to a fun Elvis Song - and had a small solo singing part too.

She also danced to a jazzy number "Business of Love" - very cute!

All the age groups ended up in red white and blue and sang a medley of patriotic songs together. Avery's group had just performed to the Globetrotters Theme Song, thus the basketball outfit :).

PIONEER FIELD TRIP

2009-06-09T15:02:00.000-07:00

Last week I got to go with Jackson on his 3rd Grade Pioneer Field Trip in Auburn. I love living in this foothills... so much history all around us. It was so fun to dress up and spend the day as pioneers and help the kids with "chores" and games as if it were a day in 1896. They baked, did laundry, did leather work and wood working, made dolls and button spinners and played marbles.

Off the bus, and ready to work!

Touring the Bernhard property with the boys....

Shooting marbles.....

My handsome boy......

I got to help the kids make leavings dolls and button spinners. Jackson had fun with his!

The kids loved doing the laundry.... go figure!

Each pioneer child made a crate doing wood working.

Jackson and his friend, Kale.

Jack's 3rd grade class....

I loved sitting on the lawn with all of the kids for lunch. Everyone had packed their lunches in baskets and tried to keep it authentic... (no capri suns, chips...) Jack and I had beef jerkey, cheese, bread, apples, and root beer in bottles.
It was such a fun day, but I must say that I was worn out at about 2:00 pm and ready to get back home and have a diet Coke :) . Being a pioneer is hard work!

Gavin's Kindergarten Concert

2009-05-30T20:20:00.000-07:00

It doesn't get much cuter than THIS.....

Last night was Gavin's Kindergarten Concert at the school (like I said, it's been a busy week).
It is really hard for me to believe that my boy is almost done with kindergarten and will soon be off to school eating lunch with the big kids and running around with the sweaty boys on the playground.... or maybe chasing the girls around. I hear boys do that. All four kindergarten classes, 80 kids, were on stage to perform for the parents. They were so stinkin' cute - I had tears in my eyes as they sang songs like, Zippity Do Dah, America the Beautiful, Each of Us is a Flower, The World is a Rainbow, and We Had a Great Year, to name a few.

Grandma Ladybug stayed the night and came to watch the performance too.

Gavin does NOT like to bring attention to himself and was pretty shy before getting on stage, so I was really proud of him when he didn't hold back a bit as he sang with his classmates.

It really has been a great year for Gavin and the Duck Class. I'm so glad he had Mrs. Flynn and has had a wonderful kindergarten experience. I've loved working in his class and getting to know the kids - they are all so cute and funny too.

A Walk Down the Red Carpet....

2009-05-30T20:06:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been a crazy and busy week! We ALL had the stomach flu over the past week and luckily everyone was better in time for the Annie Cast Party. I was on the party committee and got to help plan and decorate for the event. The cast members each got to walk in on the red carpet and get their pictures taken by the paparazzi (me), which we printed out and gave to them that night. We had a bouncer giving out VIP passes and sunglasses for each of them too. The kids LOVED the red carpet, they really worked it for the camera!!

Jackson reminds me of the Blues Brothers right here......

We had 140 people there for pizza, ice cream sundaes, and to watch the DVD of the musical they performed.

The VIP passes were a hit!

My two shining STARS love their sunglasses - they haven't taken them off since!!
It was a super fun night and I am soo glad it's OVER!!!! Thank you Mom for coming up and taking care of the kids on Thursday while I was busy working in the class, going to the party store, and setting up for the night! Thanks for getting Avery to dance, getting Gav and Liv dinner and EVERYTHING else you did to help me!!! Love ya~

Annie Jr.

2009-05-18T13:58:00.000-07:00

5 MONTHS of rehearsals, searching and MAKING costumes, learning lines and SONGS and singing them EVERYDAY (all of us), all came to an end on Friday night.
Avery and Jackson were SUPERSTARS!!!
They performed as Annie and President Roosevelt in their school musical, Annie Jr.
I loved watching them perform and went to all FOUR performances and with each one the whole cast got better and better!

I love that they got to experience it together, help each other with music and lines, and support each other along the way.

Straightening him up!

That's my Annie! Thank you to Grandma Hall for helping make the costume - Adorable!

Such a handsome President!

Singing with the cast.....

Bravo!

Getting ready to sing "Tomorrow"..... she was awesome!

Annie and Warbucks - (she was taller than him) :)

A NEW DEAL! Jackson only had a few lines but he stole the show as he turned his wheelchair at the end and pointed to the audience and said, "A New Deal!" He had the audience cracking up.

I am so proud of the two of them. They auditioned with over 80 kids and 40 were cut. Jackson now has the acting bug in him, and so does Gavin and Olivia. Olivia is still walking around the house singing, "Little girls, little girls....". She can pretty much recite the whole play, it's scary.
Last week was exhausting with the four performances and curling Avery's hair four times, ironing and re-ironing their costumes that would come home in balls in the bottom of their garment bags, and still keeping up with extra dress rehearsals, regular homework and a SCIENCE FAIR project... oh AND a book report!!!! We took the weekend to relax and now it is back to work. Next week we are throwing the whole cast a PARTY at the school in the evening. I am heading up the committee, hopefully everything will come together.

May Day and Lei Day!

2009-05-01T19:08:00.000-07:00

Today was Lei Day for kindergarten at our school. Even with rain pouring outside, the luau was not to be stopped.

The kids rotated between "stations".... here is Gavin making his fruit kabob and rolling it in coconut - YUM! I got to help the kids write postcards home from Hawaii and walk them to the office (in the rain, 5 different groups) to mail them! They also made flower lei's, and colored the Hawaiian state fish, and took pictures by the palm tree. Later, the kids had a luau feast with spam (they all LOVED it!), their fruit kabobs and poi, and fruit punch.

Gav and his favorite little sister Lulu!

I love this picture of Gavin - he is growing up too fast! I can't believe his kindergarten year will be over in a month! I can't handle the thought of first grade and being gone all day long! I love having the mornings with him. Maybe I will feel different after a whole summer with all four kids!

Walking for Izzy!

2009-04-17T08:39:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone!

As some of you know and many of you don't, my beautiful three year old niece, Isabel, has cystic fibrosis. Cystic fibrosis or CF is a genetic disease affecting over 30,000 Americans today. It is progressive and at this point in time, eventually fatal.

But I have good news. After 20 years of unsuccessful gene therapy experiments, CF research has taken an exciting turn and a cure is now in the first pre-clinical phase trial. Just last week, the CEO of the CF Foundation sent us an email announcing that a potential drug that treats the basic genetic defect in CF moved into phase 2a clinical trials. The drug, known as VX-809, will be tested in CF patient volunteers, but still has a way to go before it reaches someone like Izzy.

This is a critical time in CF research and we are participating in the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's largest and most successful national fund-raising event called GREAT STRIDES. This year, we are walking in GREAT STRIDES at Heather Farms in Walnut Creek on April 18th. We ask you to consider sponsoring us to meet our fund raising goal of $5000.00. Your generous 100% tax deductible donation will be used efficiently and effectively, as nearly 90 cents of every dollar of revenue raised is available for investment in vital CF programs to support research, care and education.

To learn more about CF and the CF Foundation, visit www.cff.org.

Together, we can make a difference in the lives of those with CF! Thank you for supporting the mission of the CF Foundation and GREAT STRIDES! And a special thank you from me on behalf on Isabel.

Here is a direct link to donate securely online:

http://www.cff.org/Great_Strides/dsp_DonationPage.cfm?walkid=5815&idUser=249287

Thanks!

Darcey

HaPpY 9Th BiRtHdAy JaCkSoN!!!

2009-04-14T16:35:00.000-07:00

I sure love this boy.
A few things about Jackson at age 9:

Favorite color : GREEN
Favorite books: Ranger's Apprentice Series, Leven Thumps Series, Percy Jackson and the Olympians Series
Favorite food: Pizza
Favorite drink: Root beer
Favorite sport: football
Favorite song: We are the Champions by Queen
Hobbies: reading, playing soccer, video games, playing football and basketball with Ben
What do you want to be when you grow up? A professional football player
Favorite subject in school: Math (Is he really my child?)
Favorite place to go on vacation: Disneyland (duh)
Favorite video game: Sonic Unleashed (just opened it 10 minutes ago) :)
Favorite Movie: Harry Potter - all of them
Favorite TV show: Spongebob
Favorite Restaurant: Round Table (going there later...)
Collections: Ugly Dolls, Monskeys, Webkinz
Favorite season: Summer
Favorite holiday: Christmas
Favorite flavor of ice cream: Rocky Road
Pet: Yoda the hamster
Do you want another pet? Yes, a yorkshire terrier please. (No way!)
Favorite snack: APPLES - every day!
Favorite thing to do with the family: go out to eat, go to the beach, go to the park....
Favorite sports team: Football - Green Bay Packers, Basketball - Warriors, Baseball - A's, Soccer - Manchester United.
Nicknames: Jack, Jacky, Jack Attack, Jacky Chan Mann

2009-02-17T14:42:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my baby is three! She truly is a princess to me, I love her to pieces. We celebrated Olivia's birthday on Saturday with a Princess Party! Livie loved dressing up as Cinderella and had so much fun with family and friends. The kids made crowns with stickers and jewels and we ate lots of delicious food.... chicken salad on crossiants, pasta salad, veggies, dips and Kendal's yummy guacamole! Grandma and Papa Hall brought tons of yummy treats too! We were so happy to have Tim the Piano Man come and play. We have seen him a few times over the past year and have all of his cd's. My kids absolutely love his music and can sing all the songs!
Olivia opened gifts, blew out her candles, and handed out her cute goodie bags and "wands" made out of star shaped rice krispie treats on dowels (turned out super cute).
Olivia hit the pink princess jackpot with her gifts! She loves her princess scooter and helmet, her dress-up clothes, coloring books, Ponyville stuff, tons of great books, cute clothes, Tinkerbell stuff, princess stuff and her Olivia the Pig Doll. Thank you to everyone!

The gang getting ready for the Piano Man.

Little Princesses... Livie and her cousin, Izzy.

Papa Hall's famous sugar cookies - with O's and 3's this time!

Decorating crowns....

She loved Tim the Piano Man.... he played some of her favorites! Here she is clapping along to the music! Tim performs all over for pre-schools and parties and has great cd's out... He also plays at PBK in March!

My sweet girl, opening her gifts....

With her cupcake.....

She loves her presents.... one of her favorites? Her Olivia the Pig Doll with clothes and accessories!

Here is my Princess, not long after her last guest left.....

Girls Day Out!

2009-01-25T15:40:00.001-08:00

This is exactly what I did yesterday with my Mom and all of my sisters to celebrate the upcoming birth of grandchild number ten! We decided to have a spa baby shower for Robyn and just spend time together getting pampered.

My sister Kendal, getting ready for hers...
We got manicures or pedicures.... I got a milk and honey pedi... and oh was it NICE!

My mom and younger sister Jordan.....

My sister Liesl and sister-in-law Robyn getting a mani....

After the spa, we walked down to Oasis Grille in downtown Pleasanton. The food was sooo yummy. Here is my shrimp and veggie skewer and cilantro chutney with seasoned rice...

I love these girls!

We all tied strings around our wrists and were connected as we sent good wishes and positive thoughts for Robyn and baby girl Hall, and then we cut the strings and tied them onto our wrists to honor a Navajo tradition. You are suppose to wear them until the baby has been born. Pretty neat.... Where does Liesl get these ideas?

It was a beautiful afternoon with the girls and it was nice to spend time together and put everything else aside for a few hours. I am so excited to meet the newest member of our family in a few weeks!

Snow Trip # 2

2009-01-16T08:53:00.000-08:00

We had such a good time in the snow on New Year's Day, so we decided to go back up with my brother Doug and his family and my sister Kendal and Isabel. We went to the same spot and had tons more fun in the SNOW!

Fun in the Snow!

2009-01-07T22:37:00.000-08:00

On New Years Day, we drove up to the snow with Jay's sister and boys, Mom, Taleisha, Chelsie, Lucas, and four of Katie's kids. We tried to go to Yuba Gap but it was crowded so we headed up to a really fun spot near Donner Lake, where there was only a few other families. The kids immediately started building snowmen, forts, having snowball fights, and sledding. They were busy for hours!
My sister Kendal, Brad and Izzy were in Reno and drove over to come play with us too!

Avery and cousin Caitlin, sledding.

Throwing snowballs...........

Building a snowman with Auntie Taleisha..........

Jackson, Brad and Izzy sledding.......

Daddy and his boys........

My sister Kendal and niece, Isabel.......

My sister-in-law, Heidi and nephew Joshua........

Relaxing in the snow, watching the kids play.

My handsome Jackson!

Gavin and his cousin Cole are in the beginning stages of making a snowman.....

Olivia's first time playing in the snow....... She loved it!

My beautiful Avery......

My little snow angels.....

More Christmas Wrap-Up

2009-01-07T21:44:00.000-08:00

I keep putting this off......But if I don't blog about it now, it will never happen.
Christmas morning, the kids came in our room at 7:00, which I thought was a reasonable hour. We all went into the front room together to see what Santa brought.

Santa brought Jackson a Nintendo DS and game and a new Ugly Doll for his collection, along with stocking stuffers (football cards, puzzles, candy, star wars figures, Webkinz penguin). Mom and Dad gave him his Nerf football and Green Bay Packers Jersey (He loves football and his best friend is from Wisconsin and a huge Packer fan)! He also got some drawing books and supplies.

Gavin asked Santa for a real dog and Santa delivered the next best thing.....
Here is Gavin with his new dog, Bert. He came with a collar and tag that said, "For Gavin - Merry Christmas". He loves him! He also got a Nintendo DS and game. In his stocking he found some Schleich animals for his collection, candy, football and Star Wars cards, a Webkinz fish, and star wars figures. From Mom and Dad, he got his David Beckham soccer jersey and some new Pirate Lego's.

Avery was so surprised that Santa brought her a cool pillow chair that she can hook her I-pod up to and listen to music while she does her homework. She also got the singing star set for her American Girl doll collection. She found cute knee socks, soaps, the Annie movie, a webkinz bird and other fun things in her stocking. Mom and Dad gave her her luggage, some American girl doll clothes, and some clothes from Justice.

Santa brought Livie the baby she had been asking for, Bitty Baby. She got her own American Girl baby doll, backpack, clothes and accesories for her. She named her Elsa. Mom and Daddy gave her her Yo Gabba doll and sweatshirt, magnetic paper dolls, and an Ariel Princess doll. She got an Ariel umbrella in her stocking, along with a coloring book, crayons, a Tinkerbell tiny doll, and candy.

After opening gifts, we got ready and headed over to Grandma Mann's house for breakfast and opening gifts with all the cousins. Here are 12 of the 13 grandkids, little Allie was asleep :).

Grandma had 13 boxes stacked in a tower, next to her tree, from largest to smallest. The kids were so excited to see what was in them!

The opened the boxes at the same time and each got a purple Sacramento Kings shirt with their last name and number on the back, according to the birth order. So cute and clever!

The cousins exchanged gifts and had fun playing with their new toys.

Later in the afternoon, we headed to my parents house, a few hours away. I love that Christmas day is casual at my parents. We always put out a ton of food, banquet style, and you can eat when you want. We always play games and visit and it is so nice to relax and watch the kids play.

Jackson with his new Lego's. Grandma and Papa gave him some clothes, a robe, a huge Marble Tower set, the new Harry Potter book, and an Ugly Doll.

Here is Gavin playing DS with his cousin Ava. He got a poster of his favorite European soccer team, Manchester United. Grandma and Papa gave his two sets of Star Wars figures, a cool Star Wars pillow for his bed, new pj's and a sweater.

Livie Lu got this adorable hat, scarf and mitten set and Tinkerbell coat from Grandma and Papa. They gave her the cutest Tinkerbell doll, the new Tinkerbell movie and some stickers. She also got some cute books. Her cousin Izzy gave her a cute sweater cardigan, snap n' style dolls and dogs, and a baking set for her kitchen.

Miss Avery got a dragon Webkinz from Annakin and this adorable hat and scarf from Grandma and Papa. They also gave her the Disney Sing It Wii game, American girl clothes for her doll and the Sisters Grimm books.

I got some cute jewelry and a very cute bench from Crate and Barrel that is in my entry. It has two baskets underneath it where the kids are now putting their shoes! I LOVE IT!
Thanks Mom and Dad!

We had a wonderful Christmas and are so thankful for all of our family. I feel so blessed to have such wonderful parents and the best mother-in-law I could ask for! Our kids were spoiled, but also are always appreciative and love their grandparents and cousins soo much. I am glad that we were able to spend time together, that is what is most important to me right now, TOGETHERNESS.
Things aren't perfect in this little family of ours right now, we have had many trials over the past few months but I am so grateful that we were able to be with those we love and have a very Merry Christmas!

Holiday Wrap-Up

2009-01-02T20:33:00.000-08:00

I am sitting here in the midst of my half-undecorated house and feeling like December came and went in a flash. We kept very busy during the month. Some of our highlights:

The SMUIN Christmas Ballet in San Fransisco on December 19th. This is a family tradition of the Hall side and we love the classic ballet mixed with fun Christmas songs. The best part? When it snows on the audience at the end as they dance to "White Christmas". The kids got to meet some of the dancers afterwards.

Avery's Sing and Dance Performance. Avery performed to Boogie Woogie Santa, I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday, Jingle Bells Hip-Hop and Sleeping on the Floor This Christmas.
Unfortunately, we did not get good photos this time.

The kids and I spent a few days at my parents before Christmas and we met up with my brother and sisters to go Ice Skating in Dublin. I was reminding everyone that this was the rink that Kristy Yamaguchi trained at when she was younger and a few minutes later, guess who was out on the ice?? Yep, that's her... Olympic Champion and winner of Dancing with the Stars! She was skating in the middle of the rink with her two little girls.

Two of my sisters, Liesl and Jordan. Aren't they beautiful? Good skaters too.

Everyone had fun - Jordan was a great sport taking Olivia around a lot. Olivia was loving it! And the rink didn't have any little skates with double blades either so she was really good.

I went around a few times.... It was harder than I thought.

Jay took the kids over to Grandma Mann's on Christmas Eve for dinner and fun with the cousins. When they got home, they got to open up one present each, new pj's...Surprise! They love this tradition.

After putting out cookies and milk for Santa, and carrots outside for the reindeer, the kids were tucked in for the night. Olivia, however, had different plans. Apparently she fell asleep at Grandma's and was now ready for action. She ended up staying awake until nearly midnight! Santa waited until she fell asleep on the couch and then quietly did his thing. She never knew what happened. I wonder what she was dreaming about?

Time to get back to work and put some ornaments away.... Christmas morning will have to wait.

2008-12-24T17:50:00.001-08:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS!

A new Christmas Tradition...

2008-12-07T18:45:00.000-08:00

I read about this on a blog last year and HAD to start this tradition in our family. Let me tell you, it has been a BIG hit with the kids. The elf, our kids named him Buddy, sits on a shelf or anywhere in the room during the day. At night, he returns back to the North Pole to report on the kids behavior to Santa Claus and returns the next morning in a whole new spot.
The first morning the kids were so excited that Buddy was no longer on the mantle but sitting under a small tree on our shelf. Jackson told me it was just a little freaky because it looks like the elf is really watching you no matter where you are in the room :).
The boys have been waking up early just to run out and see where Buddy has moved to. So far, the hardest spot to find him was in the tree. I love being able to say, " The Elf is watching you.....". I have seen a definite improvement in behavior this past week.
Thanks to Buddy the Elf.

No Black Friday Deal On This One.....

2008-12-03T08:54:00.000-08:00

I convinced Jay to go out for a little shopping on Black Friday with me. We didn't go out early, like I usually do, but left around 8:30 am. We went to our local toy store, Sam's Club, and Target and..... oh yeah, to the Toyota Dealership!
Here is our new car...... or I guess I should say - Jay's new car :).

Thanksgiving x 2!

2008-12-03T08:34:00.000-08:00

Our first Thanksgiving dinner was on Wednesday night with the Hall family. This has been our tradition for a few years, it pretty much ensures that all six kids and their families will be there. It also allows us to go to in-laws or spend time at home on Thanksgiving. I love being in my parents home on Thanksgiving... watching my Dad make his delicious homemade rolls, helping my Mom make her wonderful stuffing and set the table. They put so much thought and effort into every detail of the meal and setting for all of us to enjoy. My parents love to decorate their home, especially for Fall and Christmas.

Some of my beautiful family.......

The other half of my family, minus Jay and I....

My parents set a beautiful table.......

Thursday was spent preparing food to take to Mom Mann's for Thanksgiving with the Mann Clan. Jay cooked 15 pounds of mashed potatoes and made a really good Rachael Ray green bean side dish. We had a great time with the family, many of Jay's aunties and uncles were there that we hadn't seen in a while, so it was nice to visit. There were not a lot of kids so it made for a nice, quiet Thanksgiving. Louis and Melissa brought their dog, Bert so he was definitely the hit of the party. My kids love that dog!

Holiday Parade

2008-11-22T16:51:00.001-08:00

This morning was our city's Holiday Parade and Grandma Mann worked so hard on a float for the Public Library. She asked the kids if they would ride on the float with her and they were soo EXCITED!! They left early this morning and Jay, Livie and I waited and waited for this special float to pass us by...
Grandma was reading to the kids a story about a Blue Fairy that grants wishes (I didn't get a good shot of the Blue Fairy). The kids snuck waves in here and there, whenever they saw someone they knew along the road. Thanks to Grandma for inviting the kids to join in on the fun!

The Feast

2008-11-21T14:08:00.000-08:00

I am so glad that Gavin felt better this morning and made it to school for the big Kindergarten Thanksgiving Feast. The kids look so cute in their Pilgrim and Indian costumes, complete with hats and headbands with feathers. They all share what they are thankful for..... Gavin said, "I am thankful for my Mom"... I love this boy. The kids all gather around the tables and eat drumsticks, and other food that they helped prepare like fruit salad, cranberry sauce, butter and muffins, and pumpkin delight.
I am glad I was able to watch Gavin enjoy this day.
The kids are all out for the next week and we will head out to my parents on Monday morning for a few days of fun with the family... I can't wait!

Happy Birthday Avery!

2008-11-12T22:06:00.001-08:00

Some of her special gifts from Grandma and Papa: American girl stuff to add to her collection, her very own sewing kit, and the new David Archuleta and High School Musical 3 Cd's.

Opening her gifts....

Avery had been wanting the Flip Video camera for a while - she loves making videos and web shows with my camera and this one is so cool. She was so excited to open it! This was her only gift from us and she chose it over having a party!

I really can't believe that my baby girl is already ten. I remember so vividly the first moment I looked down at this tiny baby laying on my chest and thinking that she was so familiar to me. She was so alert, so tiny, so perfect. She was the happiest of all our babies, she always had a smile on her face and attracted attention wherever she went with her piercing blue eyes (she still does). I have loved watching her grown into such a strong, positive, beautiful, and talented little girl. She is such a leader in our home and loves to be a "mother" to her brothers and sister. Avery has been singing since she could make noises. She memorized songs and nursery rhymes very early on and has not stopped singing since. She has an amazing voice and has been able to share her talents with others in church, school, and our community and I love to watch her perform. I love that she still loves her doll collection and that she still asks me to pick out her clothes everyday because I know that far too soon she will be too old and too cool for that :).
I love my Avery Jayne and am so lucky to have her in my life. She brightens up our home with her energy and her love of life and spices things up with her drama.
Happy Birthday Aves! XOXOXOXOXO

It's November!

2008-11-06T16:34:00.001-08:00

My Livie Jo

Frosting cookies on Halloween at school.

Trick or Treat!

Walking to School in the rain on Halloween!

I've been a slacker with my blog. I just have issues with my camera and I don't get excited like I used to when I had great pictures to post and blog about. I just need to suck it up, get over it and post my just-okay pictures for a while, until I get a new camera.
Halloween was fun here at our house. I made a big pot of Autumn Soup and we invited family over to hang out and go trick-or-treating with the kids. We still have a TON of candy in my basket on the counter, all the good stuff is gone.

Some bad news.... Jay's car broke down and we found out it's the transmission....OH NO! It turns out that the 2003 Saturn transmission was only made one year and has big problems we did not know about. We bought the car brand new almost six years ago and have never had a problem with it. So the transmission is about the price of the car and we are basically left with nothing to do but to donate it and get a new car. OUCH! Why does this happen when property taxes are due and Christmas is right around the corner????
Jay took my car to the Bay Area this week, so I have had no car since Monday, when of course it rained right when the kids got out of school :). It really hasn't been that bad, we have been walking everywhere. It's forced us to slow down this week. Jay will be home tonight and I can't wait to have my car tomorrow to go ANYWHERE I want!
So there is all my negativity put out there, I'm sorry.
I really have so much to be grateful for and since this is November and the time where we really focus on our blessings, I just want to say that I am a lucky girl.
Here are just a few things I am grateful for:
1. A home to pay property taxes on.
2. Kids that love to walk to school.
3. A Safeway that is less than 2 miles away.
4. Umbrella's.
5. One running car that transports my hard-working husband to the Bay Area all week for work - THANK YOU!
6. A nice friend who dropped off some delicious pumpkin bread this week.
7. Friends to drive my kids to their various activities.
8. A sense of humor :)!!!!

2008-10-21T20:08:00.000-07:00

Holy cow - October is flying by! The days seem so short and there is just so much to get done.
Fall is definitely my favorite season of the year, I wish it would stay around longer.
Last Friday, my parents, my sister Kendal, Brad and their daughter Izzy came over to hang out with us for the day. Jay took the day off to go to Bishop's Pumpkin Farm with us and it was a beautiful fall day with the family. I've been wanting my family to come to Bishop's with us for years, I knew my parents would love it. We had a great time at the petting zoo, picking out pumpkins, watching the Pig Races, pony rides, and letting the kids run around through the hay and play on the trains. My kids love hanging out with their cousin, Izzy. We left with delicious apple cider from the farm and headed back to our house for a quick break before heading over to the Harvest Festival at our school. The kids all dressed up and we walked over to the school, where the Festival was in full swing. Our school went all out with the decorations, games, food and activities. My kids, of course, were drawn first to the raffle, where there were really awesome prizes like bikes, Ipods, digital camera's, a Wii, and a Nintendo DS and some other girly stuff. We did not end up winning, but I got a good idea of what my kids want for Christmas :).
Avery helped work in the Spooky Walk, and Jay and I helped out at the giant Bouncy Slide. Izzy and Olivia went down that thing over and over and over.... The kids each won cupcakes in the cupcake walk, and we left the Festival with pockets full of rubber spiders, rings, yo-yo's and stickers. We came back to the house to a wonderful smell of Fruit Cobbler that Kendal and Brad had made and brought up. It was a wonderful end, to a perfect Fall day. Kendal and Brad got some great pictures, I will post some when they get them to me.

Tahoe Again!

2008-10-09T07:42:00.000-07:00

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah!!! It's that time of year again... the leaves are changing, the weather is cooler, it's getting darker earlier, and there are no soccer games this weekend....It can only mean one thing....GIRL'S GETAWAY WEEKEND IN TAHOE! I am super excited to go up to Trish's cabin and get to scrapbooking the 500 + pictures I just developed at Sam's Club (yes, I am a little behind). I am even more excited because, despite the sun shining here in Roseville this morning, it is suppose to snow up in Tahoe over the next few days!!! I love being cozy up in the cabin with my girls, laughing our guts out, scrappin', watching movies, playing games, eating, going on walks, relaxing in the hot tub and breaking out the fart machine... Oh, did I just say that? I'll have to post about that another time, hilarious! There are some new girls coming up this time, it should be fun! Wish Jay good luck with our kids for the next few days! I am outta here!

Picking a Pumpkin...

2008-10-09T07:28:00.000-07:00

Gavin and his "little" pumpkin....

The Pumpkin Patch....

Running through the corn maze.....

House of Hay....

Mom and Gavin

Yesterday was Gavin's first time riding a school bus..... I love kindergarten, there are so many "firsts" to experience. I got to be a parent chaperone on the field trip to the Pumpkin Farm in Citrus Heights. It's not my favorite Pumpkin Patch, but it was fun for the kids. I love being able to spend time with the kids like this, you really get to know the personalities of the kids in the class. Next weekend we are going to Bishop's in Wheatland, my favorite Pumpkin farm. My parents, and Kendal and Brad and Izzy are coming with us, yeah! I love Fall!!!!

2008-09-21T20:55:00.000-07:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAVIN!

Six years ago today, Jacques Gavin Mann entered my life and I fell instantly in love with my beautiful baby boy. Gavin lights up our home with his energy. I love having Gavin around me, he puts a smile on my face. Here are six things that are special about Gavin.....

He is all boy. He is rough and tumble, loves to wrestle with Daddy and Jackson. He loves lightsaber battles and makes the best sound effects during battles and while he plays video games.
He loves animals of all kinds. Gavin spends hours reading books about animals, watching Animal Planet, and collecting bugs of all sorts. He wants to be either a zoo keeper or Steve Irwin when he grows up.
He is a natural athlete. From the moment he could throw a ball and hold up a bat, we knew Gavin would be great at sports. He ALWAYS has a ball in his hand or at his feet, inside or outside of our home. He loves watching soccer on TV, his favorite team is Manchester United and he can name most of the players. He is an amazing soccer player. In his first three games this season, he has scored 11 goals. During practice, coach has the whole team play against Gavin and one other boy. It is so fun to watch his determination and sportsmanship on the field. After games, he asks us when he can play again, he never quits!
He has an amazing imagination. Gavin can play in his room with his castle and knights or Star Wars figures for hours. He sets up amazing scenes and battles with all of his toys on his castle table. Sometimes I just stand outside his room and listen as he plays, it's like he is in another world :).
His sense of humor. Gavin cracks me up with his sarcasm and funny sayings. He calls me Mama Drama a lot. He always tells his Grandma Hall "Hey Grandma - I've got my eye on you!" He likes to place rubber bugs and snakes all over the house where they might freak me out. He hides Avery's toys or special things under his bed and cracks up when she finds them and yells at him. His laugh is wonderful.
He is the best snuggler. Gavin loves to end his day with hugs and kisses from Mom. He often tells me, "Mom - you, me..cuddle time!" He tells me all the time how much he loves me. He is very sweet with his little sister, Olivia. He loves to have group hugs with her and I before he goes to school.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY GAVIN!!! We love you soo much!

My boys make me smile...

2008-09-18T23:01:00.001-07:00

So Jackson and Gavin both play soccer, on different teams. Jack is under 10 and Gavin is under 6 co-ed. Gavin, however, is an amazing soccer player, he LOVES soccer. He always has a ball and is kicking it all over my house everyday. In his first two games, he has scored 8 goals! So Jackson's coach has invited Gavin to come out and practice with his team, because he know just how good Gavin really is. Coach Shane says that Gavin just gets it. Gavin gets out there and runs and runs and keeps up with these 9 year old boys like it was nothing!
So tonight, he was out there practicing with Jack side by side and they were running the length of the field with the team and Jack looked back to see where Gavin was and yelled, " Stay with me Gav!" and Gavin, who was really close yelled back to him "I'm right behind you Bro!". It just made my heart melt. Jackson always looks out for Gav and after practice he put his arm around him and walked off the field... I had to smile..... I just love these boys.

2008-09-14T20:03:00.000-07:00

Gavin's Birthday Party

Gavin had his "Indiana Jones" birthday party Friday night with 5 of his buddies. We had the party at our house and Grandma and Papa Hall came up for the weekend so it was so fun to have them here too. He technically doesn't turn six until next Sunday, but it was a good time to have the party. Gav was all set up with the hat and whip, the whip was a huge hit with the boys. We played some games and then each boy made their own pizza. While they were cooking we went outside to whip the snake out of the tree. The boys LOVED this, and we only had one real injury - a small welt across a cheek - it was gone before his mother came :). We used the real whip and Gavin's snake webkinz, poor thing. We also played a game where the boys had to dig for bones in the sand to find the special marked bones that Indiana needed to return to the museum. When they found the three missing bones, they were rewarded with a special treasure - a small bag of polished rocks. We ate pizza and "dirt" cups with gummy worms and Gav opened his gifts. Grandma and Papa hooked him up with a cool Razor scooter, Star Wars guys, and a new Star Wars Leapster game. He loved everything! Each boy left with a hat, a snake, and goody bag. It was fun, and I was glad when it was over - it was about a half hour too long - we had to keep the boys entertained with a game of Snake, Snake, Spider (Duck, Duck, Goose). Saturday came early with a 9:00 soccer game for Jackson, and 11 for Gavin. They loved having Grandma and Papa come watch. Saturday afternoon was great, I got to leave the kids with Jay and go shopping at The Fountains with my Mom and Dad. We browsed through some of my favorite stores - Anthropologie, Z Gallerie, Sur La Table.... We brought home In and Out burgers for the fam and after that is when chaos began. My kids started with the whip and before I knew it there was dancing, singing, wrestling, whipping and balloons flying all in the same room! I couldn't get the kids to calm down and that is when Olivia went behind a chair and tried to grab at some balloon strings that were near one of my matching lamps in the front room - my favorite lamps from Crate and Barrel that are NO LONGER available. Well, the lamp fell over and shattered. I am soo sad. I love that lamp and now my room is completely thrown off with only one, on one side of the couch..sniff, sniff. The kids were promptly put to bed and I soon followed so I didn't have to think about it anymore. This morning was early again, we had our Primary Program at church. My parents, who were staying at a hotel all weekend, came over and we headed over to church. I sat on the stand by the sunbeams, who are the cutest things ever, but very fidgety. For sharing time, we gave them cookies and milk and read them the comment cards that were filled out by the congregation - they loved hearing what everyone thought.
My parents are gone now, I sure do love them. They are always here for me and they help me so much with everything, especially the kids, they adore them.
Well, I guess my screen time is over, I hear the whip cracking, literally, and that means it's time to intervene before we have welts on the faces - we have school pics this week!

State Fair

2008-09-01T21:42:00.000-07:00

We went to the California State Fair in Sacramento for the first time on Saturday night. It wasn't as bad as I had it made out to be! Jay's sister, Taleisha, was dancing with her Polynesian Dance Group, Tofa. She looked so beautiful and is a great dancer! We hung out at the Fair for a while, the theme was Hollywood this year so there were a lot of fun places to pose for pictures. The boys loved watching the Motocross guys do there jumps in the air. The kids had a good time and a few hours there was enough for me :).

A bed is not just for sleeping!

2008-08-27T21:19:00.000-07:00

I'm on a roll today with my blogging so what the heck, here is another one just for the fun of it. We painted the girls room last weekend and set up their brand new bunk-beds! Finally, Olivia has her own big girl bed and she loves it! My mom was here today and we were at Pottery Barn Kids and got the girls the bedding we've been wanting... it is too cute, and perfect for both the girls ages. While the kids were at school today, Olivia and I decided to get the beds all set up and surprise Avery when she got home. Olivia was very excited for her new stuffed owl (I had to get it, it matches the bedding!). She was cracking me up - one minute she was laying on her bed, then she was swinging from the slats from underneath the top bunk, then she was up the ladder and back down again, then she pushed her owl around the house in her doll stroller and shopping cart. Needless to say, she loves her bed and especially her owl. I'm saving up to get new window treatments and maybe the matching bed skirt and an owl for Avery- that should only be 500 dollars or so.... just kidding.
Avery was so thrilled when she got home and went in her room, she screamed and jumped up and down - she loves it too!

Livie Dancing...

2008-08-27T13:33:00.000-07:00

Here's my two year old, Olivia, keeping me entertained while the kids are at school!

School Starts for the Mann Clan!

2008-08-27T12:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day of school for Avery, Jack and Gavin. I can't believe I have three in elementary school! I really can't believe I have a 4th grader, a 3rd grader and a kindergartener - what???? Am I really that old? Okay I had kids young, but still. Avery got Mrs. Denney - the teacher that worked on school play last year and she was so excited to get her as her teacher. She will most likely "loop" with her and have her for 5th grade too. Jackson got Mrs. Sirovy, Avery's teacher last year. I think he will have a good year - he has our new neighbor in his class and one of his really good friends from church in there too. Gavin started Kindergarten in the afternoon with Mrs. Flynn. He walked right in and put his backpack away and his snack in his cubby. He showed no signs of Mr. Shy Guy so I was pretty relieved. Right before we left to take him to school, my Mom pulled up. It was so great to have her here to see the kids first day of school. After we took Gav, we went out to lunch and shopping at The Fountains. Before we knew it, it was time to get Avery and Jack! Yes, I'll say it...time flies when you are having fun! Gavin had a great day. He did say there was a boy who was not very nice and said some mean things to the kids and then he kissed a girl and got in trouble. I told Gavin to stay away from that boy :). Mom stayed and we took Jackson to soccer, had a light dinner of shrimp and potato salad and sorbet for dessert, and put the kids to bed so I could start filling out the hundreds of forms the kids brought home from school that HAD to be returned today so they could get rewarded. My mom left and then showed up at my door a half hour later and ended up staying the night! It was so fun. She is a huge help to me and really helped me with the kids this morning with lunches, getting them breakfast and out the door! We took Gavin and Olivia to see Tim the Piano Man at Pottery Barn Kids this morning - we LOVE him! He came to Gavin's pre-school last year and we have two of his CD's that we play constantly in the car. He is very entertaining! He actually travels to Pleasanton and will be at the Pottery Barn Kids in Stoneridge Mall tomorrow morning - those of you in the Bay should take your little ones - it's a fun half hour! And you can purchase his Cd's there too. My Mom left a little while ago and Livie and I are watching the new Little Mermaid Movie - Olivia hasn't ever seen the original but loves Ariel for some reason. She is very into the Disney Princesses - especially the Barbie dolls. So here we are, back into the swing of things and a busy schedule, but I love it this way....at least for now!

Izzy's Painting Party

2008-08-22T23:51:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we went to my niece Izzy's 3rd Birthday party. Izzy loves art, just like her parents and she had the most amazing paint party - the kids had a blast. Brad and Kendal converted the garage into an art studio with numerous painting stations using different techniques. My kids loved the spin art machine, the bounce house, face painting and creating their own art. The highlight of the party was when Brad, dressed in all white, let the kids throw squishy balls soaked in paint at him. The kids were covered in paint head to toe - they LOVED it! Izzy gave everyone a frame to frame their favorite work of art from the party - such a cool idea! Enjoy the pictures...

Back from Idaho...

2008-08-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

We are back from a wonderful week in Idaho with family. We flew with my parents, my brother and his family and my sister and her family to Salt Lake City, rented cars and headed up to Driggs, Idaho on Monday. My Dad's family reunion was at the Piney Creek Lodge between Swan Valley and Driggs. We ended up making it to the reunion late that night, stopped in and said hello to about 100 people and headed over to our condo to get settled. The condo was amazing! It was nestled back in beautiful Aspen trees, the scenery was amazing. It was new and decorated very Tuscan. It had everything we could ever want and even a hot tub on the deck, yeah! Tuesday we headed up to the reunion and the kids went straight to the slide and never looked back! We got to visit with my Grandma, and her brothers and sisters and their kids, grandkids, great-grandkids, some of the aunts and uncles, cousins and their kids! We played outside on the slide, the swings, in the creek, played Hillbilly Horse Shoes, and on the outdoor bowling alley! The kids came in during crafts and made some cute stuff and then we had a nice dinner. Wednesday, we got up early and headed into Jackson Hole to go River Rafting. As we were driving, we saw Moose, and a herd of buffalo. We had a great time on our float trip - it was very mellow and the scenery was breathtaking. We got pretty close to a Moose and saw a few Bald Eagles. The trip started very warm and by the end the kids were huddled in a pile on the bottom of the raft in their sweatshirts and blankets! Wednesday night we spent more time up at the Lodge and then we headed home for Izzy's Princess Party - she turned three! Kendal and Brad had cupcakes made at the local store and decorated their condo with pink balloons. Each little girl had a crown, jewelry, and princess shoes. They also gave each of the girls an oyster they had to open and get a pearl out of, that went inside a necklace, that was really cool! And that wasn't even Izzy's "real" party - that comes this Saturday! Thursday we spent relaxing at the condo and then headed into Driggs for a Bluegrass Concert. The music was great! The sky started out blue and within an hour rain was falling and the thunder and lightening was crazy! I loved it - it reminded me of all the summers we spent in Idaho and Utah as a kid.
Friday was super fun. We drove over to Rexburg, about an hour, and went to Bear World. The kids loved the petting zoo and the bears! The bears walk right in front of the cars and are so close! My Mom, Doug, Kendal, Robyn, Ava and Gavin got to have a special private session with the baby cubs. They got to feed the cubs from a bottle and pet them. Gavin thought it was the coolest thing ever! I loved the baby deer and the baby cubs. The kids went on all the rides and we took one last drive through the bears before heading home. Saturday was another day of travel but the drive was beautiful. We had such a great time. I am so glad that my kids got to experience the beauty of Idaho with some of their cousins and Grandma and Papa. I know they will never forget it.