Easter '09

Jesus is risen...He is risen, indeed! :) Easter was great! Patrick enjoyed 3 Easter egg hunts this year: at church, inside the house, and in the backyard! Of course the Easter baskets were fun, too. PT even helped Daddy color the eggs from Grandpa Tom's hens...so exciting! We went to church and had brunch at our house afterwards with family. It was a beautiful day to relax outside. We are so lucky to live in sunny SoCal!

Fun with Friends :)

We so enjoy spending quality time with friends. Here are pics of our recent trip to Irvine Park with Andrea and James. It was so fun riding the train and feeding the ducks! Shane and Madden (my friend Melissa's son) had fun playing together, too. And my best friend Delshad (and very cool boyfriend Matt) came to visit the boys...and Mommy and Daddy had a night out on the town in Laguna Beach with them!! Thanks Grandma and Papa for babysitting! :)

Patrick's 3rd Birthday!

We had fun celebrating Patrick's 3rd birthday 2 days in a row! We had a family party at Grandma Cylene and Papa Pat's house with PT's cousins -- Elise, Kate, and Luke -- and Aunt Jacki and Uncle David. And the next day we had a big party at our house with aunts, uncles, and grandparents from both sides of the family. PT chose "Go, Diego, Go!" for the theme and helped Mommy make his cupcakes. Such a big boy! We can't believe it's been 3 years already. He is such a blessing to us. :)

A Few More Snow Pics...

The Snow!!

We recently went up to Bakersfield to visit my sister, Jacki, and her family: husband, David, and kids Elise, Kate, and Luke. We had a blast! Patrick especially enjoyed getting to see the snow for the very first time, as we made the hour-long trek from their house up to Frazier Park to visit my aunt and let the kids play in the snow. We all had so much fun throwing snowballs, making snow angels, having tickle-wars in the snow, and of course, building a snowman. The snow and weather were both awesome and we had such a wonderful time. As we were driving back down the mountain, Patrick would wave outside and sadly say with a sigh, "Bye bye snows....I love you snows..." Too cute! :)

The boys

It's hard to believe Shane is almost 7 months old and Patrick is almost 3! They are both growing up so quickly. Shane is sitting up pretty much on his own and is practicing crawling! It is so cute to watch him inch across the floor. :) And Patrick is saying so many words and sentences now...his new thing is loving to dance, jump, gallop, and march. Anything that involves movement! :)

1st Times!

Shane is now 6 months old and is enjoying his rice cereal -- his very first food! He loves to make a mess! And big boy Patrick (almost 3) went to Nickel Nickel for the first time with Grandma Cylene. He drove a speed boat, played skee ball, and even won a tiny plastic jet. PT was thrilled! What a fun way to spend a VERY rainy afternoon! :)

Visitors from Boston!

My best friend from college, Autumn Carlson-Luna, recently came out to visit with her husband, Scott, and stepdaughter, Julie. They loved meeting Shane for the 1st time. We had a blast with them at her family's house in Corona and out at our home on New Year's Eve! Who knew Balderdash could be so much fun?!? Patrick sure loved playing the keyboard...he thought he was quite the rock star! :)

Grandpa Frank's 80th B-day Bash!

We had so much fun at Grandpa Frank's Frank Sinatra-themed 80th Birthday Party! Gotta love my Grandma Barbara's blue boa! :) My Uncle John and Aunt Colleen from Washington state were in town to join us which was wonderful. And it's always fun to see my Aunt Melissa too! They sure enjoyed cuddling with Shane. Patrick had so much fun chasing around cousins Elise and Kate...he just had to lay down and take a rest (which is rare) with Elise! :)

Christmas with Family...

*Patrick's new nativity scene from Santa

*Shane enjoyed playing with cousin Luke

*Spending time
with Grandma Cylene

*Our special "present" Shane (almost 5

months old now!)

Christmas Train!

We went to Irvine Park to go ride the ever-popular "Christmas Train" and boy, was that FUN!! The lights and decorations were gorgeous and Patrick sure enjoyed seeing Santa. Mommy and Daddy were a tad chilly (it was a cold night!)...but it was wonderful to see Patrick so happy. :)