Pre Christmas

So after we returned from Cincinnati and before we left for Michigan there was so much to cram in.  First we had to decorate for Christmas and for those who know me I go a bit crazy.  Then I wanted to fit in Santa, the zoo, Sea World, Del Mar Christmas lights.....etc.  I have to give San Diego props on their commitment to Christmas even without any snow - they love lights (and so do I).  Our neighborhood especially.  Just about every house was lit and the amount of stuff people put up was awesome.  Every time you come home it was a winter wonderland.  My 17 strand of lights for outside was weak in comparison.  Then I found Candy Cane Court it was awesome and FREE.  It was this neighborhood where every inch of house was covered in lights.  So besides our neighborhood and Candy Cane there was Del Mar Fairgrounds which is highly advertised I had to find out how wonderful it was.  It cost like $15 a car and it was the worst light display I have ever seen and you have to drive around the race track which took a painful 20 minutes.  It was so bad I had to apologize to Phil and the girls for wasting 20 extremely slow minutes of their lives.  I made up for it by taking Reagan and Harper on the train in Balboa Park which was lit.  They both loved it and the merry-go-round.  Enjoy the pictures  Click Here

 Harper on the tricycle

 Harper pretending she is a reindeer

 Harper enjoying her applesauce and licking the bowl clean

 - she is very proud of herself

 Giddy up Breyer

 Harper taste testing the cookies

 Reagan helping out with the laundry

 Reagan on the merry-go-round

 Harper on the train

 No matter what they never look at the camera at the same time

Cookie Monster

Thanksgiving in Cincinnati

We have had a very busy last couple months.  The holidays came and went so fast when did the New Year happen?  We spent the Thanksgiving holiday in Cincinnati visiting with Phil's family.  We hit all the hot spots - The zoo, the aquarium and of course Skyline Chili.  Reagan loved the chili - crazy girl.  I can only take one visit a year so the second time we went I was able to find a non-chili dish.  I was a big fan of the zoo but an even bigger fan of the aquarium.  Surprisingly it was better and bigger than the San Diego one.  The weather was cold and there were a few morning with ice on the ground.  The girls handle the cold weather like pros.  I had to laugh one morning when I ran out to get milk and coffee.  I went to the grocery store and I just had to pry open the door to the car b/c it was frozen shut - it was COLD but I was in the midwest where frost is like a cool summer morning because I saw the crazy one wearing shorts in the grocery store.  What was odd though was that not only was he wearing shorts and a tshirt but he was keeping his toesies warm with his boots.  Enjoy the pictures click here

 Harper watching the bowling action

 Reagan eager to start bowling

 Reagan watching the polar bear swimming

 Harper enjoying her snack at the zoo

 I couldn't get a pic of them together or without there milk cups - Here is Thanksgiving with Harper

 Here is Reagan

 Reagan the snow bunny

 Harper sporting the fuzzy headband

Happy 1st Birthday Harper!!

The Hoods came into town to celebrate Harper's (and Grandpa's) birthday.  It was a crazy busy week, we crammed in so much in one week.  We trick-or-treated, went to Sea World, the Temecula wineries, the SD zoo and Disneyland.  Believe it or not I did a horrible job documenting the week with pictures, especially Disneyland.  It was one of the hottest weeks in Southern California all year so the parks we especially hot.  I will just have to take the girls back to Disneyland and re-meet all of Mickey's crew.  We had the best visit to the zoo ever.  All the animals were out playing; the Panda and her baby were out walking around, koalas who sleep like 20 hours a day were walking on their branches (probably looking for a new sleeping position), the polar bear was swimming, the baby chimp got mad at Papa Hood (Reagan calls Grandpa - Papa) for teasing him, the snow leopards were even awake and meowing.  Disneyland was awesome and the kids loved it too.  Reagan got to meet Donald Duck, who she loves, and was very upset when he had to go use the Ducky potty.  She met the whole crew except for Daisy and Pluto.  Their end of the day parade was definitely a highlight.  Reagan was in awe through the whole thing. It was a whirl wind of a week but we all had so much fun.  It was really cute the morning after my family left.  They left before Reagan woke up and when she came downstairs she grabbed my hand and led me to the spare bedroom and just looked at me.  Please come back soon.

Harper got hooked up for her birthday.  Tons toys and clothes and plenty of cake.  I can't believe she is one.  Enjoy the pictures  click here.

Helping get the spare bedroom put together

Harper imitating Frankenstein

Reagan and her new friend the Sea Lion

Getting ready for Trick-or-Treating

Splashing in the water with Papa

Harper sporting Goofy's Hat

Reagan loved the merry-go-round

Harper preparing to dig into her birthday cupcake

Goofy!!!

Harper loved her cake

Pre Halloween

Reagan fell asleep on the ride

Reagan's 1st Pony Ride

Harper found a pumpkin she can carry

Reagan as a Leopard (or a kitty as Reagan calls it)

Harper as a Fairy

Reagan's ears ended up being too big and fell off

Birthday Girl's Tutu

Reagan being silly

Harper as the headless baby

Harper trying to zoom away on rocket

We went to Sea World for their Spooktacular event and it was insane. The Park sets up areas so kids can go trick-or-treating before Halloween on the weekends leading up to Halloween. The lines were insane and 1 and 2 year olds don't do lines so we just walked around and visited with Shamu and others. The girls did get dressed up and they were too cute. Reagan's ears for her leopard (kitty) costume didn't fit they were huge and Harper's costume may have been a bit snug especially with a onesie under it. I was surprised b/c it was a 12-18 m but I guess it ran a bit small. I set the bar high because these costumes were too cute so I don't know what I am going to do for next year. We definitely got our moneys worth for these costumes; we hit Sea World, 2 toddler parties throughout the week and then Halloween. I picked up a big pumpkin trick-or-treat bag that I found and they provided us with some laughs putting it on their heads and walking around. These 2 are comedians.

I finally was able to fix this blog to let me put captions under the pictures.  I am not computer savvy 

Enjoy the pictures click here

Pumpkin Patch & Palm Springs

We took the Halloween season by storm and went to the pumpkin patch 4 times. We went to 1 twice b/c they had the best rides and the slide that Reagan loved. Plus a petting zoo where they got to meet a baby goat. The pumpkin patches seem to wear them out so it was a chance to get outside and come home with tired munchkins.

Then off we went to Palm Springs for Phil's firm retreat. For the second year in a row we had a sick kid so I couldn't enjoy the adult festivities that were planned. Harper got croup the morning before we left so Phil rushed her to the doc's office to get some meds to help reduce the coughing so she wouldn't be up all night. Too bad those meds didn't help her sleep in. I think she averaged 5 am the 3 mornings we were there. It was a really nice hotel because they had a kiddie area where the water was 1-2 feet deep (both girls thought they were really cool to walk in a pool) and a sand beach for the kids too. Then there was the lazy river; I took Reagan on it and she fell asleep which made for a relaxing hour in the sun. It is always nice to get away even if I couldn't enjoy some a night out without the kids.

Enjoy the pictures click here

Swim Class

I have a couple of fish. Reagan has been in swim class on and off since she was four months and Harper since she was 5 months. Since we travel frequently; I have to be removed from the swim schedule and when I return I have to squeeze myself back in. With 2 munchkins it is harder to squeeze back in. So my last sessions of 9 classes finally ended the week before Halloween and they started back in May. We couldn't get in all summer because they were so busy so these classes lasted 5 months. I usually go during the day so I could never take pictures b/c I have to be in the pool and Phil is at work. We were finally able to schedule a make up session where Phil could jump in the pool and I was able to snap some pictures and take a few videos. One video ended up being 8 minutes, I forgot what I was doing.

Other than pool time we have just spent time goofing around. Enjoy the pictures click here