Thursday, December 31, 2009

happy (kids') new year


this new year's eve i wanted to do something different and go to legoland. they ring in the new year at 6pm for the kids. i also had free sealife tickets that expired today, so it was perfect timing.

legoland had cute christmas decorations. it was a bit crowded so we didn't get to take pictures with all the other displays. the tree was really cool.


we were trying to get a good spot in front of the stage for the shows before the countdown, but micah didn't want to stay there and wait. so we went around miniland.

i couldn't resist taking this picture. he stopped to play with the sign, so i had to take it.

when it was finally time for the jumpitz, m&m and their cousins didn't want to stay for the whole thing so we left.

we managed to sneak in the slide, yummy barbecue, and apple fries before the countdown and fireworks.

everything was over by 6:30pm, the kids fell asleep in the car, and we were home by 8pm. it was great! i think we should do it next year. happy 2010!

Monday, December 28, 2009

christmas review


as always, we had a wonderful christmas. it came and went super fast though. above are a couple of pictures we took at jos' house a week before christmas courtesy of photography by roy.

on christmas eve morning, i greeted malia, "merry christmas eve, christmas is tomorrow." after a little gasp she said softly,"oh no, i don't know what list i'm on." i just started laughing. she's so funny. maybe i told her that her name was moving to the naughtly list one too many times.

we attended the 4pm kids mass on christmas eve at st rose. my kids missed the live children's nativity scene because they were too busy looking at the porcelain nativity scene in the children's (cry) room. (yes we were late so we were in there.) after that, the hubbies stayed to sing for the 6pm mass. so jos and i had all 4 kids in the car and headed for the sousa residence. we thought we were brilliant to come up with the idea.
well, we were wrong. it was cranky time and micah & joelle screamed for pretty much the entire 40 minute drive. joelle wanted jos and micah wanted me. we tried all kinds of things to distract them. but there was nothing else to do but laugh. poor malia was sitting in between the screaming kids, but managed to keep her cool up until 5 minutes before we got there. then she started complaining. micah decided to finally fall asleep right when i stopped the car. i told jos that we would not be riding all together again anytime soon.

it's always fun to watch the kids faces as they open christmas presents. micah got cars and malia got princess stuff.


both m&m woke up with a smile on christmas morning. then we all went downstairs together to see what santa brought. santa brought malia a belle dress up doll, just what she wanted. he also gave her a 'how to draw the princess and the frog book' since she likes to draw, and a warm jacket. "this wasn't on my list," she said as she pulled out the jacket. "santa knows you get cold easily," i said. santa brought micah a basketball hoop and some cars shoes. after putting on his shoes and making a few baskets, he grabbed belle and malia started making baskets. then it was on to opening more presents by the tree.


then we made brownies to bring to grandma's house. someone had a little too much fun mixing the frosting. i had to bring him upstairs so he would stop eating it.


wishing grandma letty a merry christmas. it made my heart happy to know that micah knows who grandma letty is now. he can pick her out in pictures already even though we've only shown him a few times.

malia was so excited to open her gift from grandma & grandpa. matching dresses, one for her and one for boo. she really wants to take that doll everywhere.

this drum set from ninong ray was such a fun present for micah and kept him busy during the charger game.
the christmas season isn't over just yet. we still have more presents to deliver. and we look forward to the christmas party we have in mid-january with some friends. but now i just have to figure out where i'm going to put all the new toys!

Monday, December 21, 2009

m&m on ice

we went to darius' ice skating birthday party yesterday at the kroc center in la mesa. malia was so excited to ice skate. i hadn't been ice skating in years, but i managed to do alright. for the first 3 rounds around the rink, malia wanted to hold on to the rail. then she became more brave and we were able to go around just holding hands. then we took a break and micah said to me several times,"i want to ice skate, pwees mama." how could i say no to those big brown eyes? so i got him some skates and brought him into the rink. he was okay at first when he just kept his feet still and i pushed him along. but when he moved his feet and realized how slippery it was, he wanted me to carry him. he went around the rink once and wanted out. then it was back to malia. she was really determined to skate and let go of me and did it all on her own! she was having so much fun she didn't care if she fell down. i hope to take her back there soon.

Saturday, December 19, 2009

eastlake snow

this was the second time we went to the eastlake village walk "snow". it's really just tiny bubbles that look like snow falling, just like what they use at disneyland. we had dinner at pat & oscars then enjoyed the snow. the kids love it. well, malia enjoys it a little more than micah does. he's done after a couple of minutes, but malia would stay there all night if she could. today, micah just wanted to eat his breadstick. aww, i love it when they hold hands and aren't fighting.

chrismons

(i've been christmas shopping, so that's why this post is so late.)
about a week and a half ago, we attended the chrismons service at our church. a chrismon is an ornament that is a christian symbol. i signed up malia as one of the kids who would bring up a chrismon to the christmas tree. she had such a concerned look on her face as she was walking down the aisle trying to keep up with the other kids. but she enjoyed it. she brought up the fish symbol. it was the first time we went to this service, it was cute.

Saturday, December 5, 2009

lowe's build and grow clinic

i've always wanted to take malia to a lowe's workshop. we finally got around to it because i saw it on a blog i read frequently. it caught my eye because malia had been talking about making a gingerbread house.

i thought it would be like any other class i've taken malia to. that my job would be just to watch or wait around while she does her thing with the class. but when they handed us the kit, a hammer and some goggles, i knew it was a project we would do together. (she's not wearing the goggles because they didn't fit on her face.)



it was fun! and she did a great job. her favorite part was putting on the stickers. we'll definitely go back for another project soon.

Sunday, November 29, 2009

gobble gobble

last week when i picked up micah from school, he told me that the turkey says, "gobble gobble." and he had a bunch of art to bring home. i just love school art, it's the best. plus i don't have to clean up the mess. malia doesn't have as much art now that she's in elementary school. no wonder why she's always asking me if we can do arts & crafts at home.
(lia's only thanksgiving art)
thanksgiving day was hot this year. micah's cheeks turned red from being in the sun at the cemetery. then it was off to roel's auntie cecil's house for lunch. there was a 2 year old girl there that had almost the same personality as micah's. so they both were saying "mine" and having little fits. such terrible 2's.
after that, we went to my cousin anna's house. malia just kept eating dessert with her ate jaelen, and micah was fascinated with the dogs. lots of good food! i don't know why i always forget to take pictures of the food. maybe i'll remember on christmas.
on black friday, jos and i ventured out at 4am for deals at the disney store, walmart, jc penny, and old navy. it was fun. after all, santa likes to get in on bargains too!
the long thanksgiving weekend came and went so fast, but we gobbled up good food and good deals.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

the tree is up

some people say you're supposed to decorate for christmas after thanksgiving. but everywhere you go, there are christmas decorations. i like to decorate before thanksgiving so i can focus on my after thanksgiving shopping. the kids helped me decorate the tree. micah was trying to play with the ornaments like toys at first, but he quickly learned he's not supposed to pull them off the tree. almost all of our ornaments are disney. the others are m&m ornaments from m&m world in las vegas, recordable voice ornaments of the kids, a chargers ornament for daddy, and a precious moments mother ornament. the precious moments mother ornament is always at the top just under the tree topper. it's for my mom because she always made christmas so memorable. i hope to do the same for the kids. they are already filled with christmas spirit. malia wrote her letter to santa on her own this year. and micah loves looking at all the christmas decor wherever we go. on his recordable ornament this year he said, "merry christmas." and he likes to hear himself say it over and over again. i love christmas!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

cyt showcase

it was the last day of malia's theater class today. so all of the classes put on a showcase. since the kids in her class are so young, their performance was very short. very short. but it was full of cuteness. the theme of their class was mary poppins and they performed 'a spoonful of sugar'. of course i'm speaking as a mom when i say that i think malia was a natural up there. we're so proud of her!

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

another field trip with micah



we don't go to the zoo much, so i thought it would be a good idea to go on this field trip with micah's school. at least i was able to get better pictures on this trip. micah really enjoyed looking at the animals.

we went to the children's zoo first. i have bad memories of going into the petting zoo because a goat started eating my jacket, but this time it was okay. micah was scared to pet the goats, he just pat one on the back really quick. also saw some insects in the children's zoo, so gross but he really liked that. then we watched a show with birds, a wolf, and a seal. then went to the reptile house. after that, we went on a trail behind there and saw tortoises and crocodiles.

then the hiking began, off to elephant odyssey. micah told me that the elephant's name was elephant. it was weird that there weren't very many elephants there when it's called elephant odyssey. we saw other animals up closer like the lions.

micah and i left the group when i knew he was getting tired. but we had to go all the way around and hike back up the hill. we stopped by the pandas on the way. they were awake and so cute, but right when we got in front of one, it went pee and poop. nice. micah wasn't interested anyway. then i was exhausted carrying micah in one arm (he wants to be carried when he's sleepy) and pushing the stroller with the other while going up the hill. now i know why we rarely go to the zoo, steep hills. it was tons of fun, just really tiring.

Monday, November 16, 2009

viva las vegas

roel's sister, lori, recently annouced that she was planning on getting married in vegas on 11/14. so it was a last minute getaway for us, but of course we couldn't miss her wedding! good thing we were well enough to go. we left on friday after everyone was done with school and work and arrived at our vegas timeshare at midnight. the drive was long with traffic, but the kids did okay and fell asleep. the funny thing is that they were wide awake when we got there and wanted to play.


on saturday morning, we met up with roel's family for breakfast at the venetian grand lux cafe. then we met up again in the afternoon for lori & jojeann's wedding at the little church of the west wedding chapel. malia was the flower girl. it was a short but sweet ceremony, very emotional. they are finally married! and we are so happy for them.



we had dinner at cravings at the mirage afterwards. it was super cold and windy outside. the only one who didn't mind it was micah.

on sunday, we had to go to m&m world before we left. the kids loved it, especially picking out their own m&m's. malia chose some pastel colored m&m's and micah just chose blue.



it was a rough ride home. lots of traffic. at one point, i felt as if we were never going to get home. we took a break in barstow. and that's where i will never forget that my sweet malia joy, without question, chose to share her kids meal that we just bought with a homeless man. i told her that God was smiling down at her.

the kids were sleeping by the time we got home. they had a good time in vegas, looking at all the fountains and the lights. micah kept asking me if he could play the machines. and all malia wanted to do was eat sweets. i would love to take them there again, i just don't want to do the long drive!


Friday, November 13, 2009

the flu with a side of asthma

it took a little over a week, but we are finally getting over whatever it was that got us. micah and i started off with ear infections plus some weird sickness. then malia and daddy started with flu symptoms. and then the 3 of them started with their asthma attacks. so whatever it was, i'm glad it's on it's way out, and thankful it wasn't worse. now we can get around to decorating for christmas.

Wednesday, November 4, 2009

6 year old malia joy


malia finally got her wish and turned 6 yesterday. she's been wanting to turn 6 even before she turned 5. i sent a cupcake cake with daddy so she could celebrate at school. when she got home, she was thrilled to open her gift from micah, which was a new backpack. we had planned to go out to dinner, but because all of our allergies and the paranoia of the swine flu, we just stayed home. she made her own party hat out of construction paper and princess stickers. and then we ate the ice cream cake i made for her. she had asked for a heart shaped cake, so i made it into an ice cream cake because she loves ice cream so much. she ate the middle of the cake, which was the ice cream part, and then asked me for a scoop of ice cream. we really should have just opened a tub of ice cream and put a candle in the middle. malia says she wants to be 6 forever. silly girl.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

all souls' day

i took malia with me to visit my mom for all souls' day. it was really crowded at the cemetery and we had to park far, but she didn't mind the hike up the hill. all souls' day is really tomorrow but my sister says filipinos go the day before. okay. anyway, on the way there malia says, "mama, did you know that when people die they are put in a special box so the germs can't get inside and hurt them?" she pauses and then adds,"and they have a blanket on their legs like they're sleeping, but really they're already dead." i asked her, "how did you know that?" her response was, "i just do."

we met my dad and jos' family there and did our prayers. ironically, there was a funeral taking place. it was close enough that we could see it, but thank God it was far enough so that they didn't hear when malia loudly said, "someone died over there." oh my goodness, she just makes me laugh!

halloween finally came

this seemed like the longest halloween ever since we did so many halloween related activities. at least the kids got lots of use out of their costumes.

on friday, we went over to the advento's to celebrate ninong joey's b-day. the kids dressed up and did candy hunting in the living room, followed by cookie decorating and pumpkin painting. again, micah just wanted to eat the m&m's and not decorate a cookie. he loves m&m's, and just chocolate in general.

on halloween day, we didn't make it out to the mall festivities as planned, so we headed over to the castillo residence to trick or treat with all the kiddies there. we were finally complete as 4 jedis. well, malia was padme amidala to be specific.

so now we have tons of candy that we shouldn't be eating. good thing there are dentists that are buying back candy to send to troops overseas.

(will update with pics later)

Tuesday, October 27, 2009

sea world halloween spooktacular

the kids are getting spoiled this year with all the halloween activities. we thought we would get the most out of our fun cards and take the kids trick or treating at Sea World last sunday. they actually give more candy than Disneyland, including healthy treats like bananas & natural peanut butter and cool stuff like the new crayola markers, but of course Disneyland has way more visitors.


the kids did some cookie decorating. well, at least malia did. micah just sat there and ate the m&m's while daddy decorated his cookie.

everyone loves the sesame street bay of play. micah wanted to go on the big kid's stuff with malia but he's still too short. he'll catch up soon. he's already catching up to her weight.

of course we couldn't leave until they touched the stingrays. and we got there at feeding time, so most of the stingrays were close to the edge.

lastly, who are these people? it doesn't matter, malia will take pictures with them anyway.

Monday, October 26, 2009

kalel

it's about time that micah know his middle name, kalel. i know it's my fault for nicknaming him micah jackson. so yesterday, i thought i'd call him kalel to see how he would react. malia was on the computer and he was trying to get his face as close to the monitor, trying to climb on the desk.

our conversation (micah says his name with an N)-
me: get down please kalel
micah: (gets down and points to himself) it's nicah
me: okay, but you're kalel too
micah: (points to himself again) it's nicah
me: okay micah kalel
micah: it's nicah

at least he didn't say he was micah jackson. later on, micah grabbed a superman toy and said, "it's nicah." funny boy. i just want to squeeze him all day.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

our disneyland trip

after more than a year, we were able to take our long awaited trip back to disneyland! we decided to celebrate m&m's birthdays there this year. after malia got out of school on friday, we headed up to attend mickey's trick or treat party at california adventure. m&m's cousins, jonah and joelle, met us there. we were late due to traffic and micah was screaming in the car, so i was already tired when we got there. plus i was so mad at myself because i forgot one of malia's costumes. we were all supposed to be jedi's for the trick or treat party. and i had spent so much time putting it together. so we ended up going as 3 jedi's and a mermaid. malia didn't mind. it was our first time to do the trick or treat party, so we were all in awe at the decor and the fun. micah couldn't believe he saw woody, but was reluctant to take a picture because he was scared of the green army men. it was pretty warm that night, so i ended up taking off my costume and giving my tunic to malia when she got cold. micah fell asleep at 10pm, but we still collected candy for him. we didn't get to do everything, but it was still so much fun. we are only going again in the future if we are early enough to beat all the traffic.

on saturday, we headed to disneyland. malia went as ariel again, and micah as a pirate. first on our list was 'breakfast with minnie'. we love character dining because of the photo ops. we don't get to do too many character pictures throughout the park because we move so slow with the kids so character dining is perfect. and the food is good too.

micah only goes to certain characters. and of course, he won't pose with them. but he's happy to give hugs. he was smitten with minnie. so i absolutely love these pictures.

we waited a long time to visit the fairies in pixie hollow. but it was worth it. a cast member had malia convinced that she was sprinkled with pixie dust to shrink down to the same size as tink.

micah had a few meltdowns because of the heat yesterday. and he had a fit in the store until he got his new buzz lightyear toy. (gotta love the terrible 2's.) his favorite rides were small world and the parking lot tram. he fell asleep right before shopping time, great timing!
hopefully it won't be as crowded the next time we visit. malia said we should go back in 2 weeks. sure if we lived closer. the drive isn't as easy for me as it used to be, especially if someone is crying and screaming in the back seat.

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

field trip with micah

micah's preschool went on a field trip to sea world yesterday. micah did great, no meltdowns. i didn't really get the chance (and micah didn't give me the chance) to take very many pictures, so that was the best shot i got. he's not fond of posing like malia is. it was nice to spend the day with him looking at the seals, fish, sharks and penguins. you can't do a whole lot in a group with 30 kids. he fell asleep during the shamu show so we called it a day. it was fun, but i'm not sure if i can do the other field trips, i was exhausted.