The Casey Family

Takeshi - 2nd Kyu Aikido Test

2011-12-30T12:54:00.000-08:00

December 29, 2011

On Thursday Takeshi took his Aikido 2nd Kyu test. His test was about an hour long, so I broke the video up into three parts. This way I can upload them to the blog.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Roller Skating Queen

2011-12-28T11:23:00.000-08:00

Hannah received some roller skates as an early Christmas present. She LOVES them, but needed lots of practice. Here is her first day at the roller rink. She's right next to the wall and fell down a lot!

Here she is a week later and her third time at the roller rink. She braved "the middle" of the rink and rarely fell. Her goal: To win the limbo contest.

Ernest - 2nd Kyu Aikido Test

2011-12-26T21:47:00.000-08:00

December 22, 2011

On Thursday Ernest took his Aikido 2nd Kyu test. His test was about an hour long, so I broke the video up into three parts. This way I can upload them to the blog.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Takeshi takes his test this Thursday!

Merry Christmas Colors

2011-12-15T13:12:00.000-08:00

Hannah and Rex

This week at school is "Christmas Theme Week".

Monday - Christmas Hat Day (Hannah wore a pink Santa hat)
Tuesday - Sock Day (Hannah wore Santa socks)
Wednesday - No School
Thursday - Merry Christmas Color (Hannah wore this outfit)
Friday - PJ Day

Hannah played "Deck the Halls" for her Piano Recital this year, so I thought this Gymboree outfit was perfect for her!

She even let me fix her hair cute too!

Henderson Winterfest

2011-12-10T22:39:00.000-08:00

Winterfest 2011

Today was the Annual Henderson Winterfest. Hannah and I had a great time there. There were vendors for crafts and food, as well as lots of free activities.

Hannah had her face painted, which didn't last very long. We wiped it off about 30 minutes later because she said it was itchy.

Hannah also made 2 kids crafts, slid down the giant slide and rode the carousel. We bought a caramel apple and a few things at the craft fair. Hannah's favorite was the pony rides.

She rode Ladybug the white horse.

American Girl Doll

2011-12-10T16:08:00.000-08:00

With the box she's been waiting for!

Hannah has been saving her money for a long time, and finally decided to spend it. She bought an American Girl doll, clothes and accessories.

Opening her doll...

A "My American Girl" Doll that looks like Hannah

Complete with blond hair, blue eyes and glasses.

Hannah named her Liv

Piano Recital - Deck the Halls

2011-12-09T10:40:00.001-08:00

Hannah's Piano Recital "Deck the Halls"

She did GREAT!!!

Michigan Trip

2011-11-28T12:17:00.000-08:00

Sleeping on the way to Papa & Nana's House

For Thanksgiving we traveled to Michigan to visit Jeff's family. Since we had to be at the airport at 4:00 am, Hannah was a little tired and slept on the drive to Papa's house.

Jeff bought his dad a fancy coffee maker for his Christmas present!

Hannah raked the leaves every day.

She loved the borrowed red scarf.

Here is Ally & Bubby and Makayla and Riley.

We should have brought Rex! He would have loved it!

This is the newest member of the family. Sweet little Madelyn!

Hannah's Photo Shoot

2011-11-21T20:06:00.001-08:00

November 15, 2011

This past week Stephanie took some beautiful pictures of Hannah. Here are a few of my favorites.

I requested a picture of Hannah's shoes... it's her first pair of high heels.

Thank you Stephanie!! We LOVE them!!

Pit Bull Attack

2011-11-19T07:34:00.001-08:00

Rex (a few months before the attack)

Before I tell the story... Rex is fine. On the evening of October 30th Hannah and I took Rex for a walk. As we were passing one of the houses I heard people yelling "HOLLY! HOLLY!". I honestly wasn't thinking "Big Black Attack Pit Bull" when I heard the name Holly. But it was. All of a sudden Rex went down and started yelping. I screamed "STOP!" and started hitting the Pit Bull with the plastic leash handle. As quick as I could, I grabbed Holly's collar and pulled her off of Rex. I held her as far away from me as possible because she was still thrashing around trying to get at Rex. By this time the owners boyfriend was on the scene and took Holly from me. I picked up Rex who went potty on himself because he was so scared. I was so scared too that I was shaking. The boyfriend said the kids had opened the door to put out their Jack-o-Lantern and Holly got out. We weren't even in front of Holly's house, we were two houses down! The boyfriend had me bring Rex into the garage to see what damage was done. We found this bite mark.

He said he would have the owner call me. When we got home, I gave Rex a bath and he seemed fine. I took him to the vet the next day and the vet found this scratch as well.

Both the nurse and the vet said that Rex was very lucky. We made sure that Holly was up to date on her vaccines, and the owner said she would pay for any vet bills. We went back to the vet a few days later because Rex was having some potty issues. The vet didn't think there was any internal injuries but put him on some medication. 2 days after the attack I went down to the Animal Control office and reported the incident. Hopefully Holly won't attack any other dog or anyone else.

You can bet we won't be going for any walks near Holly's house again!

Soccer - Fall 2011

2011-11-12T17:56:00.000-08:00

Fall Soccer

Today was our last game of the season, and a great one too. We lost one game, tied one and won all the rest! We have a wonderful coach who is committed to teaching the girls the game, and even though we won most, he's all about fair play (not winning).

Hannah receiving her trophy and metal

Our Team

Audri, Roo, Hannah, Audrey Ann, Madison, Kennedy, Noelle & Rachel

Go Shooting Stars!!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-01T15:22:00.000-07:00

Rex in Witches Hat

This year Hannah wanted to be Sleeping Beauty. She picked out the pattern, fabric AND trim... and I sewed it. I was so glad she had many opportunities to wear it:

School Trunk or Treat (10/26)
Church Fall Festival (10/29)
School Halloween Party (10/31)
Eating for Free at Sweet Tomatoes (10/31)
Trick or Treating with Daddy (10/31)

Face painting at Church

Piles of candy!!

We had 200+ kids come and trick or treat at our house this year!! Hannah also collected a lot of candy too. She went out trick or treating, came back to the house to pass out candy for a while and then decided she wanted to go back out to collect more candy :) She had a great time!

Pumpkin Patch Fun

2011-10-27T21:29:00.000-07:00

Tickets for a fun time!

Since there was no school today, Hannah and I went to the pumpkin patch. Hannah LOVED the bounce house obstacle course and slide. We bought 20 tickets and her favorite slide was only one ticket per slide... I think she did that at least 7 times!

Sliding down the BIG slide!

Waiting for the swings to start. Besides Twyla, she was the only one on the ride!

Just being silly

It wouldn't be as much fun if Twyla didn't have a turn too!

MY favorite part was all the pumpkins, along with the little girl in the picture.

Tuacahn - The Little Mermaid

2011-10-10T14:28:00.000-07:00

Little Mermaid Tickets

I purchased tickets to see "The Little Mermaid" a few months ago, so this past weekend we drove to St. George to the Tuacahn Theater to watch the play. It's set right at the base of the mountains... it's really beautiful!

Here's the actual stage, with the mountains behind it.

Our plans were to drive the 2.5 hours to St. George on Friday, watch the play and drive back the next day. However, since the play had been selling out I bought the tickets well in advance (before our soccer schedule came out). The soccer schedule came out a month or two later, and to our dismay we had a game at 8:30 am on Saturday! That meant no night at the hotel and a 5 hour drive in one day.

I thought the play was worth it, but Jeff didn't love it as much as we did. He was happy to spend time with his two girls though.

Hannah as The Little Mermaid

...and as Sebastian

We had a great time and Hannah and I will be doing this again!

I Love You

2011-10-03T18:02:00.000-07:00

Made by Hannah in Lakeshore Learning

Phineas and Ferb

2011-10-01T18:55:00.000-07:00

Live on Stage

I bought tickets to take Hannah to see Phineas and Ferb Live on Stage. She loved it (and so did Twyla).

Lunch with the Principal

2011-09-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

Award Letter

Today Hannah has lunch with the Principal. On Monday, Hannah came home with a letter from the school. It says she has been chosen for a special award (and a special lunch) because she has shown that she is C.A.R.I.N.G (Cooperative, Accepting, Responsible, Intelligent, Noble, and Giving). As you can see, she was pretty happy about it!

Lunch will be set up on the stage in the multipurpose room. There she will have pizza, soda and a cookie with the Principal and the other children who were also chosen for the award.

She wanted to look extra special, so this morning we fixed her hair into special flips and she picked out her outfit to wear. She wanted to wear a dress, but she also has P.E. so her capri's will have to work. She also picked out one of her toys... a special Halloween Kitty Glitter Globe that she wants to give to the Principal as a present.

This note was on the school bulletin board

Tying Shoes!

2011-09-28T10:13:00.000-07:00

Tied by herself!

On Monday I showed Hannah how to tie her shoes two ways. She liked the double bunny ears method better and to my surprise she got it right away! She's always had velcro shoes before, so this is her first "real" pair of tying shoes.

She is very proud of herself!

Disneyland Trip

2011-09-24T00:54:00.000-07:00

Halloween Decorations at Disneyland

We took our annual vacation to Disneyland, and had a blast! Of course Twyla came with us (luckily we didn't have to pay for her ticket!). This year Hannah was tall enough to ride Indiana Jones and California Screamin'. She loved Indiana Jones, but California Screamin' was closed (thank goodness!) so that BIG roller coaster will have to wait until next year. Everywhere we went in Disneyland people would call Hannah "Princess" (along with every other little girl). They would always look at her and say "Hi Princess! What is your favorite ride?" I assume were expecting an answer like "It's a Small World" or "Tea Cups".

Hannah's response every time...?

"Tower of Terror!"

(I believe next year her response will be "California Screamin')

Hannah and Twyla on the bus ride to Disneyland.

Riding on Alice in Wonderland

Hannah now has her own drivers license...

thanks to Disneyland's Autopia

Sitting in the stroller that we rented from Disneyland.

Knocking on Mr. Rabbits door

Love the (stationary) Teacup!

(the other ones make me motion sick!)

Twyla wanted to ride the Carousal

Riding with Hannah the first time...

And all by herself

(it was not crowded, so Twyla was able to get her own horse)

Hannah LOVES Disneyland!

Hannah and Daddy waiting for the Toy Story ride

In California Adventure, Phineas and Ferb have a mini dance party. Hannah loved it and was even more excited that she was able to participate!

They had the Fireside Girls in the front dancing and the kids copied what they were doing.
(Hannah's in the skirt and bright pink shirt)

This was our wettest trip to Disneyland. The weather was in the 80's so Hannah and I rode the water ride "Grizzly River Run" 3-4 times a day! This is a picture on the second day, where I was smart and wore a poncho. If you look close, you can see Twyla under the poncho. Hannah is SOAKED from head to toe! Every single ride she would say to the other passengers "I get the wettest on this ride!" Every time she would, and the passengers would say "You're right! You do get the wettest!" Luckily Hannah wanted to get wet, so it was all good :)

We didn't visit the Princesses or Faries even once this trip. We did see Aladdin in Adventureland, whom we had never met. Of course we had to get a picture and an autograph from him.

We also rode Splash Mountain. Hannah and Jeff went multiple times, and I just went once. Once was more than enough for me. No pictures to post, but I did see the picture when we exited the ride. Jeff and Hannah both had smiles, while I was screaming and crying at the same time. It was a nice end to our last day in Disneyland ;)

All Static

2011-09-22T21:00:00.000-07:00

The Midnight Ride

2011-09-15T19:06:00.000-07:00

from Hooked on Phonics Master Reader

Hannah's in first grade but she's reading at a high third grade, low forth grade level.

She read "The Midnight Ride" all by herself, quite an accomplishment for a 6 year old.

1st Graded Paper

2011-09-14T19:05:00.000-07:00

and she got 100%

After Doggie Day Camp

2011-09-12T22:22:00.000-07:00

Rex is one tired pup!

California Trip - September 2011

2011-09-06T16:04:00.000-07:00

Brush Fire - Not a Good Start to our Trip!

Over Labor Day we traveled to Newport Beach for a fun weekend. On our drive we stopped in Victorville to have lunch. While we were eating lunch, a brush fire broke out about a mile down the road. The fire was right next to the freeway and the smoke was extremely bad. The freeway shut down, forcing us to drive an alternate route, which added an additional 3 hours to our drive!!

We went to the beach almost everyday and had a great time! I buried Hannah in the sand multiple times, which she loved.

This is the perfect picture for Halloween!

"I Love You Mama" (by Hannah)

Another fun part of our trip was visiting Dave Hester's shop from the A&E show "Storage Wars". Here is the Violin from Episode 30 "Almost the Greatest Show on Earth".

Elvis Newspaper (I think from Episode 6)

We also visited Jarrod and Brandi's Shop "Now and Then, Second Hand Store". They even gave me an autographed picture of them

We stopped at a huge mall, where Hannah had fun at the Lego store...

and trying on cool clothes.

Although Twyla was the only one who bought an outfit.

We had a great trip, and on the way home we stopped at Bob's Big Boy. Jeff ate at these restaurants when he was a boy, so he wanted to make sure that Hannah had the same experience :)

1st Day of School

2011-08-29T21:11:00.000-07:00

Walking to School...

This year I have a First Grader (Hannah), Senior (Takeshi) and Sophomore/Junior* (Ernest). I only have pictures of Hannah for the "First Day of School". The boys are with their dad on Mondays AND it's like pulling teeth to try and take a picture of them. If I do get a picture, they don't want it on the blog anyway.

Hannah all ready for school.

Can you tell she's excited. She went to bed the night before at 8:15, but didn't fall asleep until after 9:45!!

Such a grown up girl!

LOVE Hello Kitty!

School at last... waiting for the bell to ring.

...and in her class

(she's in the front row!)

She had a great day, made 3 new friends and has a very nice teacher!

*Ernest is technically a Sophomore, but has enough credits to be a Junior.

Hawaii Trip - August 2011

2011-08-21T15:45:00.000-07:00

Slippers... The Official Footwear of Hawaii

This year Hannah and I took a 2 week trip to Hawaii. Jeff had to work and the boys decided they didn't want to miss their Aikido class for two weeks. We had a great time! Next time we are kidnapping Jeff and taking him with us. Work will have to make do without him for a few weeks :)

The day after we arrived Hannah and I headed down to Onekahakaha beach. It's a great beach for kids to swim with shallow and calm waters. This is the beach at low tide.

The water was very clear!

Hannah found this 14k Gold ring under the water, half buried in the sand. We put a "Found" ad on Craigslist, but no one responded. Now the ring is Hannah's!

Here's a video of Hannah swimming. There is a small area where the water is over her head during high tide, but that is close to the break wall. In most areas, the water doesn't go past her chest.

Twyla at the beach

Hannah giving double "I Love You's" to Daddy via text messages

Boiling Pots is a few minutes walk from my moms house, so we went there many times. Boiling Pots is part of the Wailuku River which is a 28 mile river that flows from the mountains and empties into the ocean by downtown Hilo.

Here is the view from the top of the lookout. It doesn't look like "Boiling Pots", but when there is a flash flood, the river looks more like it's name (the water is never hot, always freezing!). We used to swim here all the time (despite the cold water) when we were teens. Now the government has added bars and (more) warning signs not to swim here. Too many people have died because they swim in underground caves and can't get out or swim when there's a possibility of a flash flood.

Even though we didn't swim at Boiling Pots, Hannah was able to fit her hands through the fence and pick us lots of thimbleberries.

I was also able to find guavas! My favorite food ever!!

Best eaten after soaking in a mixture of Apple Cider Vinegar and Aloha Shoyu

We also drove to Kona (about a 2 hour drive) to see my sister Jenny. Almost the entire trip to Kona, there is a view of the ocean, which makes for a very nice drive. This is the Hamakua Coast.

Here is the Kona Coast. There is a view of the ocean beyond the rocks, but I was tying to get a picture of the Hawaiian "Graffiti" from our fast moving car. Before you enter Kona town, there are miles and miles of black lava. People bring white coral rocks and spell out their names on the black lava. Totally removable, so it's not really graffiti :)

After our Kona trip we came back to Hilo and filled our days with swimming and a little shopping. As we left the mall one night this was the view we had. Beautiful Mauna Kea with clouds above and below.

Hawaii has such beautiful foliage, here are my favorites.

Aloe - not typically a "pretty" plant, but I thought this one was beautiful. (Also useful, since I needed it for my sunburn!)

Plumeria - which we always used to make Leis.

Puakenikeni - These smell SO good!

Banyon Tree - These are HUGE and so much fun to climb. Growing up there was one in the back of our church building. After church, we would run out there and climb, swing and play while our moms were chatting.

Lilikoi - or Passion Fruit. When they turn yellow you can split the shell and eat the inside.

Apple Bananas - smaller and sweeter than "regular" bananas.

At my mom's house, Hannah was able to play with the dollhouse that my mom made for me when I was small.

I also took pictures of the ditch/creek that I used to play in. There were crawfish in the water, which my friends and I would spend hours trying to catch. Hannah wasn't that impressed.

And of course, no shoes in the house! I love seeing slippers by the door :)

Finally on our way home.

This is Molokai and Lanai... the view from my airplane window

And finally on our approach to Vegas.

We loved Hawaii, but it's good to be home :)

Shopping at Petsmart

2011-08-01T22:16:00.000-07:00

With our "baby"

Town Square Splash Pad

2011-08-01T18:33:00.000-07:00

Getting Soaked!

We had an errand to do at Town Square. All the shops are outdoors which makes shopping there in August temperatures very unpleasant. I promised Hannah a detour at the splash pad. Even though she didn't have a swimsuit, I told her that she could get soaked.

And she did!

After getting thoroughly wet, she played at the park area.

and had a great time.

This is how she rolls...

2011-08-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

...or at least plays

Manicures

2011-07-31T18:00:00.000-07:00

Done by me with Sally Hansen Salon Effects nail stickers!

Casey Family Visit

2011-07-26T12:53:00.000-07:00

Day at the Beach

From July 19th-26th, Jeff's brother Chris came to visit with his family. We had a great time with them! On Wednesday, Jeff and Hannah went with them on a day trip to the Grand Canyon. Then on Friday we all headed down to California to visit the beaches and the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Hannah LOVING the Bogie Boarding

Our hotel room had chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us!

Hannah doing flips in the pool.

Hollywood Walk of Fame

Elvis is in the building!

Hannah's favorite was Tinkerbell

Of course, no family visit would be complete without a trip to Bellagio!! Hannah waiting for the water show.

Me, Hannah and Jeff

Of course, I didn't realized I didn't get ANY pictures of Chris and his family until they had already gone home! :(

NEXT time I need to be snap happy with my camera!!

2nd Loose Tooth

2011-07-21T19:00:00.000-07:00

2nd Tooth Gone!

Hannah's permanent tooth was coming in behind her baby tooth, therefore it was not making her baby tooth loose enough to fall out on its own. So we stopped by our dentist to get it pulled...

Here you can see permanent tooth behind baby tooth.

It did hurt.

(her baby tooth in the bag)

But she was very brave!

Now she's ready for the tooth fairy to come!!

Color Me Mine

2011-07-18T18:57:00.000-07:00

Color Me Mine

Hannah had been wanting to go to Color Me Mine for a while, so I made it one of our Summer activities. You pick out (and pay for) any blank pottery item they have in the store and then choose from hundreds of colors to design it.

You leave the piece there and about a week later can pick it up.

Hannah made this plate for us.

"Vintage" Typewriter

2011-07-15T18:18:00.000-07:00

One Happy Typist

On a recent trip to RC Willy I pointed out the Vintage Typewriter (aka NOT electric). Hannah thought it was so cool that she immediately wanted one. We checked on eBay but they were selling for over $100.

We checked Craigslist but we only found the electric ones. She decided to settle for the electric one and she paid $25.00 to get this little beauty.

Prom Pink

2011-07-11T07:51:00.001-07:00

"Prom Pink"

Hannah decided a month ago that her room needed a change. It's probably because we watch a little too much HGTV and Design Star...

Here's some pictures of her room in the light purple I painted it

(when I was pregnant with her)

Bed with headboard

Fairy Wall Art

We went to Lowes and Hannah picked out the color.

Here she is putting on the first touches of "Prom Pink".

Room in progress...

New bedspread from Target

The Hello Kitty 'nook'

'Hannah' sign from Nana and Papa

Wall art from Target

Finished Room!!

She has the same furniture, but we gave away the headboard. That gave her about 8" of extra space in her room. We also left the mirror off of her dresser, but kept that because I'm sure when she turns into a teenager she'll want that back up!

Fireworks

2011-07-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

The fireworks were BEAUTIFUL!

You can see by the video how high and huge these are. The bright light up in the sky is a VERY TALL light pole. Near the end of the video you can see there were cars parked all along the freeway watching the fireworks too. The video doesn't show the true colors of the fireworks, but you get the idea.

Here's a list of all my notes that I want to remember for next year.

Arrive early (about 8:00) because everyone else has the same "unique" idea you did.
Make sure Hannah is all ready for bed before you go (bath, pajamas, stories, etc)
Put the seats down in the van for those who want to hang out in the car.
Bring snacks, drinks, blankets and something to do.
It's ok to bring fireworks to light in the parking lot... everyone else did.
Bring chairs to sit in the rocks. You can sit in the car, but the view is better from the rocks by the highway... and the rocks are NOT comfortable to sit in!
Even though the billboard SAYS fireworks start at 8:45, they really don't start until 9:00.
If you don't park near the exit, plan on waiting 20 minutes for the parking lot to clear out.
Exit via Office Park & Pebble. Don't take the freeway home, it's too crowded!
The ride home is almost as fun, you can see fireworks going off all over.
Hang out in the backyard when you get home, we could see more fireworks about 10:00 (only not so grand a scale)

Here's the satellite view of the fireworks and viewing location we loved. We parked by the twin white building, and the fireworks were shot from the amphitheater (green space) across the street at Green Valley Ranch. There are lots of rocks (grey area) between the freeway and parking lot, where many people (including us) sat to watch the fireworks.

View Larger Map

Enjoying the Rain

2011-07-03T20:19:00.000-07:00

...which is rare in Vegas

Request for Zone Variance...

2011-07-01T19:20:00.000-07:00

...Denied

Last year (for kindergarten) Hannah attended Estes McDoniel, which is an international school. They teach in English half of the day and Spanish half of the day. We though for sure she would be accepted for her 1st grade year, but due to all the budget cutbacks most (if not all) zone variances were not granted. "Must maintain space for children living in zone" was the reason given. It goes without saying that we are very saddened by this.

Utah Trip - June 2011

2011-06-26T16:34:00.000-07:00

Playing at Cedar City McDonald's (our halfway point)

This past week Hannah and I drove to Utah to visit my brother and family. From the moment we arrived we had fun things to do with their family.

Day 1 (Tuesday): We arrived in Utah about 5:00 pm, ate dinner
and then we hiked a trail by the Sundance Resort.

Hannah said it was a dream come true to touch the snow!

Here was our view - so beautiful!

and another view.

Day 2 (Wednesday): We had pancakes waiting for us when we woke up!

We went to the petting zoo at Thanksgiving Point. Hannah had 3 pony rides!

She feed geese, goats, chickens and a baby horse

She also went to "Jail"...

...with Twyla

We LOVED the baby bunnies, but weren't allowed to hold them.

The last thing we did at Thanksgiving Point was to ride in a carriage. Lots of fun!

Day 3 (Thursday): We travel to Salt Lake City and visited Temple Square

They had a Book of Mormon in Hawaiian at the Distribution Center. Very cool.

Day 4 (Friday): Not a lot of pictures from Day 4, but Hannah played more on the trampoline, played with the kids, cat and dogs. Hannah also loved their piano... she could play with headphones on! That evening we watched a movie (Letters to Juliet) in their backyard. We helped set up a projector and were able to watch it on the "big screen". It was lots of fun!

Day 5 (Saturday): We drove back with this little stowaway.
Her name is Muffy... but more on that later ;)

Father's Day 2011

2011-06-19T21:41:00.000-07:00

Jeff & Hannah

Hannah wanted this year to be a super special Father's Day for Jeff. She wanted to make a special room IN the Living Room where he could open presents and be the King. Ernest, Hannah and I stayed up Saturday night tying up string and hanging sheets, but it just didn't work. The sheets were too heavy. If you look on the picture above you can see one of the broken strings on the right. We did get one or two sheets to stay up which you can see behind Hannah in video at the end.

We ate at Lucille's, which is Jeff's favorite place.

Hannah made this HUGE heart for Jeff. It's supposed to say "Our Home" but when she asked how to spell 'our' I thought she meant 'are' and spelled the wrong one.

Daddy and Hannah

Hannah's Tribute to Jeff

Summer Fun...

2011-06-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

...every Friday at the Activity Pool!

swimming AND sliding

One Liners

2011-06-17T16:21:00.000-07:00

Hannah (during a Thrift Store shopping trip): "Why do people throw such good stuff away?"

Hannah: (while watching Little House on the Prairie, we commented that people then didn't have cell phones to call each other). Hannah said in a very confused voice "You mean they had to go up to someone to talk to them?"

"It's bad to kill animals to eat them. If people want meat to eat, they should just buy it from the store"

"When I have my own shop, I'm only going to sell modest clothes"

Hula Hooping

2011-06-03T21:00:00.000-07:00

Hannah has been practicing Hula Hooping incessantly! She was thrilled when she finally got it!

Field Day

2011-06-03T19:01:00.000-07:00

Hannah - June 2011

Each year Hannah's school has a Field Day for each grade. Kindergarten gets their own Field Day where they spend 2 hours outside playing games, doing relays and having fun.

Hannah and Emily

Potato Sack Race

Water Relay

New Floors

2011-05-27T18:30:00.000-07:00

Rex on our new floors

Our floors were in dire need of a makeover. The entry from the garage wasn't bad, but we decided to tear up the tile, so that the wood floors would flow throughout.

I know the kitchen doesn't look bad, but the laminate was starting to separate.

Family room...

a nice close up!

Here's the office... with chairs rolling around on the carpet and shoes everywhere, it was not a pretty site.

It took us a LONG time to pick out the flooring we wanted. We probably bought home 15 different samples from 4 different stores.

We chose a dark hand scraped laminate.

Not fun moving everything into the living room!

Finally our carpet is coming up!

And it's gone.

Lined up outside, I'm glad to see it go.

Starting at the entry to the garage

Into the office, family room and finally the kitchen.

The office all done!

Family room now flows right into the kitchen

Love it!

Spring Soccer 2011

2011-05-14T13:56:00.000-07:00

Number 6

Hannah had a great season this year! She loves everything about soccer, the practice, her friends, coach and the games.

Here's a video with an assist from Hannah, she also scored a goal that day (March 12, 2011) that I didn't catch on tape.

Waiting for the game to start.

My friend Stephanie took these amazing pictures and made trading cards for Hannah. She gave them to everyone she could think of... Family, friends, teachers, teammates, etc.

Coach Bob and Hannah

Last game of the season with the soccer after party.

Hannah LOVES her trophy!

Wizard of Oz - Live on Stage

2011-05-13T22:00:00.000-07:00

May 13, 2011

For Hannah's birthday I bought her and I tickets to see Wizard of Oz. Since she was in the play at school, I thought she would love to see it on stage.

Waiting for the play to start.

We had GREAT seats... I think we were in the 4th row.

Aside from a few minor sound problems, it was a great show!

Hannah was so tired she fell asleep on the way home.

Walkabout Night

2011-05-13T13:36:00.000-07:00

Carter and Hannah

The teachers at school created a wonderful "Walkabout Night". Each teacher taught the students about Australia, even the music teacher taught them theme appropriate songs. We attended the festivities last night and were able to watch the children perform in their classrooms and see all their works of art. It was a fun night!

Sr. Cardenas, Hannah and Sra. Saffian

(with the Sydney Opera House behind them)

Hannah's original work of art.

Principal's Award

2011-04-25T18:00:00.000-07:00

Hannah with Award

For turning in every homework assignment for the Second Trimester, Hannah received the Principal's Award at school. She is very proud!

Easter - 2011

2011-04-24T20:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter Peeps!

The Easter Bunny came!

Takeshi's Basket

Ernest's Basket

Hannah's

Hannah loves hers!

Ernest just doesn't like pictures.

I swear Takeshi is happy

(look he's even holding money in his hands!!)

At Church

Takeshi

Ernest

Hannah

Brothers

Reading to her Animanls

2011-04-24T17:21:00.000-07:00

Hannah set up her blankets, lined up her "Beanie Boos" (small stuffed animals) and read stories to them.

New Faucets

2011-04-22T22:25:00.000-07:00

New Faucet Fixtures

Our house came with cheap "builder's grade" faucets, so I paid Takeshi $20 per faucet to install new faucets in the upstairs boys bathroom (Total $40.00) I had already replace one faucet in the downstairs bathroom myself, but I wasn't strong enough to get the old faucets out of the boys bathroom. I asked Takeshi if he knew how to do it and he said "Yes". I asked him how many faucets he had installed before and he said "None". I asked "How do you know how to install them, if you've never done it before?" He said "I watched the plumber change some at Dada's house". I was a little worried, but he assured me that he could do it. He did a great job and we love our new faucets!

Old faucets

Eye Appointment

2011-04-19T16:20:00.000-07:00

Just thought this picture was so cute

Lied Discovery Museum

2011-04-18T18:15:00.000-07:00

Wind Tunnel - Simulates hurricane winds

Our friend Tisha put together a Spring Break field trip for a group of us moms. We went to Lied Children's Discovery Museum and had a great time. No pictures, just 3 videos of some of the fun activities Hannah did.

When the bowling ball drops, it launches a tennis ball into the air

Bubble Table

Kindergarten Easter Egg Hunt

2011-04-15T19:15:00.000-07:00

Emily and Hannah

This year Hannah's kindergarten teachers organized an Easter egg hunt. Each family brought in a dozen eggs, and then a few of the parents "hid" them in the field. If you look closely you can see a multitude of colors laying on the grass.

Here's about 90 kindergartners running to find eggs!

Julie's Vegas Visit

2011-04-06T16:00:00.000-07:00

Michael, Makayla & Hannah

Julie and her kids came to visit us this past week. We had lots of fun...

Riding the Gondolas at the Venetian

Standing with the Living Statues

Posing at the waterfall

Watching the water show at the Bellagio

Visiting Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay

and making a baby blanket!

Shears to the Sheep Dog

2011-03-29T22:15:00.000-07:00

Doesn't he look like a Sheep dog?

Poor thing can't even see...

well, maybe a little.

Off to the groomers with Rex!
Now he can see :)

A Visit From Uncle Chris

2011-03-27T19:59:00.000-07:00

Chris and Hannah

Jeff's brother came to visit for a few days and we ended his visit with a trip to the Bellagio. We love the water show and the conservatory. The theme this month was a carnival.

Ferris Wheel

(picture by Hannah)

Carousel

and of course lots and lots of flowers

(Picture by Hannah)

Military Ball 2011

2011-03-19T15:42:00.000-07:00

Takeshi in Dress Blues

Corsage for Sarah

Sarah and Takeshi

Walking to the restaurant... and later to the Ball

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

2011-03-17T10:43:00.000-07:00

Big 12 Trip - March 9-13, 2011

2011-03-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

At the Big 12

This past weekend Jeff and his dad (Howard) flew to Kansas to watch the Big 12 Tournament. They had a great time, which was made even better when Kansas won the tournament!

They had great seats! That's coach Bill Self surrounded by his team.

Kansas wins it all!

They even ate at Oklahoma Joes which was featured on "Man vs Food".

Jeff said it was the best thing he's ever ate!

Gone are the Glasses

2011-03-09T10:52:00.000-08:00

in are the contacts!

Our "New" Dishwasher

2011-02-28T17:09:00.000-08:00

He's cute too!

Wizard of Oz - Missoula Children's Theater

2011-02-20T21:02:00.000-08:00

Evil Magic Flower

The Missoula Children's Theater came to Hannah's school for the production of Wizard of Oz. Hannah was so excited and tried out for the play, along with 119 other kids. Everyone was in a group and auditioned together. No one tried out for a specific part, but were told what parts they received at the end of the audition. Kindergarteners who were picked were "Evil Magic Flowers", First Graders were "Winkies", Second & Third Graders were "Munchkins", Fourth were "Magicians" and Fifth graders were the lead roles. Not everyone was picked, so Hannah was thrilled that she was chosen, although she was a little sad she didn't get the role of Dorothy.

At the tryouts, this is what the kindergarten children did.

They were looking for children who had loud and clear voices, could follow directions and were animated.

(Hannah is on the end)

Hannah and her friends are "Evil Magic Flowers"!

Wizard of Oz T-Shirt!

Of course half the fun is getting everyone to sign it!

Favorite autographs - Wicked Witch

...and Dorothy!

(Hannah had been wanting to get Dorothy/Lily to sign her shirt, but she was always surrounded by kids or rehearsing, so it was quite a challenge. Finally before the final performance I saw Lily and asked her if she could find Hannah and sign her shirt. She was the *sweetest*, and once she found Hannah she said "I've been dying to sign your shirt!" Talk about making Hannah's day!)

Tryouts were on Monday and practice started right after the auditions. Cast members practiced every night from 3:30 to 8:30. The play was on Saturday, so they only had one week to practice! "Evil Magic Flowers" were the only exception. They only practiced Wed-Fri from 3:30 to 5:30. That was a good thing, because that is a long day for 5 year olds!

The "Evil Magic Flowers" and their decorated bags.

(bags were to hold their costumes on the day of the performance)

"Evil Magic Flowers" were in three scenes, and on Wednesday they learned all three scenes.

Here is Cavanaugh (the director) teaching them their parts.

You can see it come together when they practiced on stage with their fellow cast members.

Rehearsal - Scene 2

Rehearsal - Scene 3

None of the kids saw their costumes until Saturday morning. Hannah doesn't look too thrilled here, but she does love her costume, she was just tired of me taking pictures ;)

Program and tickets!

Daddy came to see you in the 3:00 show and the boys came to the 7:00 show and I stayed for both

Set

All made up and ready for the show!

Final Performance - Scene 1

Final Performance - Scene 2

Final Performance - Scene 3

Bye from the Evil Magic Flowers!!

We'll see you next year in a new play!

A Message from Hannah

2011-02-18T16:16:00.000-08:00

5 years, 10 months and 6 days to get her first loose tooth!

Video Disclaimer: Her tooth is just a tiny bit wiggly, so she had to feel around for it first!

Hello Hotmail

2011-02-18T11:29:00.001-08:00

Please give me my account back!

Court of Honor - Ernest

2011-01-19T21:00:00.000-08:00

Mother's Pin

Ernest earned his 1st Class rank in Scouts tonight! He also has all the requirements for his Star, but just needs time to pass before he can receive that.

Springs Preserve

2011-01-17T15:00:00.000-08:00

Bunny (named Nap Nap) went on this trip with us

This was our first trip to Springs Preserve and it was a lot of fun. First we watched the bird show, which I liked more than Hannah did.

Then Hannah played at the "old town" where you could design your own buildings. Here she is working away...

and a finished section!

We ended our visit with a trip to the children's play area with dinosaurs to climb on and sand to play in.

A New Look for A New Year!

2011-01-08T16:11:00.000-08:00

Shorter hair AND bangs!

Hannah was extremely tired of her hair getting wildly tangled each night. She was equally tired of me insisting that she put her hair up every day (I couldn't stand to see her hair falling all over her face). So... after years of growing her hair out, and growing her bangs out, she reverted back in a few short minutes!

The start...

not short enough...

cutting off even more!

..the final result! I love it and so does Hannah!

Happy Birthday Ernest!

2011-01-02T20:00:00.000-08:00

14 Years Old!

Ernest* had a great birthday. He received lots of cards with money and kindle gift certificates, but Hannah was determined that he would get something that was "wrapped up". She even made a list for Ernest of all the things that he would like. The fabric was for a pillowcase that Hannah made for him, which was Ernest's wrapped present!

Ernest also picked out his Birthday dinner menu which consisted of Penne pasta with red sauce and dinner rolls (I added a salad to this menu as well). Dessert was Chocolate Cake with vanilla frosting for dessert.

*the boy who would only let me take one picture for his birthday!

Ghillie Suit

2010-12-31T19:10:00.000-08:00

Notes for Tanner

Takeshi worked for days and days making his Ghillie Suit. When he was done he made these notes for Tanner. He planned on hiding in the bushes outside of Tanner's house with his Ghillie Suit on.

One day I'll get a picture of the actual Ghillie Suit!

Rex (our 2010 Christmas Puppy)

2010-12-29T14:46:00.001-08:00

Sign on Rex's cage at the pet store

Right before Christmas we decided to visit our local pet store.... which ended with us bring home Rex! He is a super sweet Shih-Tzu who's about 10 weeks old. He only weighs 2.5 lbs, but I think most of that is fluff :)

Where you can usually find him:

Sleeping on Hannah's blanket...

Sleeping on his blanket...

or trying to sleep on my feet!

Christmas 2010

2010-12-25T20:00:00.000-08:00

A Christmas tradition... getting to open one gift on Christmas Eve!

This years Christmas Tree

Stockings hung with care

My favorite Nativity

Santa's Key - Just to make sure he can get in the front door!

Build a Bear Santa

New decoration this year, Hannah's hand print wreath

Our little Christmas girl

(the boys were at their dad's house this year for Christmas morning)

Hello Kitty Toothpaste!!

The AMAZED look when she pulled this out of her stocking...

Still in shock!

a REAL camera!

...and a personal letter from Mr. Claus

It was a great Christmas!

Merry Christmas Vegas Style

2010-12-25T08:00:00.000-08:00

Vegas Wonderland

Palm trees sway, are you listening

In the pool, waters glistening

A warm sunny day

We like it that way.

Living in a Vegas Wonderland

Gone away is the blizzard.

Here to stay is the lizard

A warm sunny day

We like it that way.

Living in a Vegas Wonderland

In the desert we will have a picnic

Cactus, sand, and rattles snakes and sun.

Hot Chocolate is replaced with lots of ice-cream

And we don’t shovel snow, THAT'S NOT FUN!

Later on we’ll perspire.

As temperatures rise even higher

A warm sunny day

We like it that way.

Living in a Vegas Wonderland

December Hawaii Trip

2010-12-23T19:43:00.000-08:00

Stefanie and Aliyah

Hannah and I were lucky enough to take a trip to Hawaii this month to deliver Kaya to Stefanie and to see her new baby! Aliyah was also blessed the Sunday we were there.

Stefanie, Aliyah and Mom

Here's the two (main) reasons we went...

Aliyah (cute baby girl) and Kaya (vicious dog)

Aliyah also met Santa for the first time! What a cutie!!

Hannah decided to leave Twyla at home on this trip.... BUT when we unpacked the suitcase in Hawaii, Twyla was inside!! She decided to stow away. I don't blame her, I know a few other people who wish they could have come too.

While at the mall (the only mall in Hilo, I might add), I found out that my dad is in the "Big Island Sports Hall of Fame". This HUGE display is on the wall right outside Macy's department store.

#28 - My dad is a Physician and has done all the Boxing Physicals for years and years.

Just a random picture, but I just had to take a picture of my dad's freezer. It is FULL of ice cream!

...and of course, we also went to the beach!!

Piano Recital - December 7, 2010

2010-12-08T16:20:00.000-08:00

Sheet Music - I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

Hannah had been practicing (and singing) her piano piece for weeks! The night of the recital came and she started listening to the other children perform. She realized that no one else was singing along with their piece. Hannah leaned over and whispered "I don't want to sing while I play". Oh NO! She was so CUTE singing her piece, but I didn't want to force her to sing. I snuck up to Sis Daines (her piano teacher) and whispered "She doesn't want to sing!!" Sis. Daines said "Tell her she'll get extra points* for singing". Hannah still didn't want to sing and ended up just playing the song. Afterwards many people came up and said "Oh, why didn't you sing!" or "I was looking forward to you singing!". This is the first year she didn't sing with her piece.

Since she didn't sing AT the recital, I made her play it (and sing it) at home for me.

*She gets points for practicing, performing, etc. When she reaches 500 points, she gets a prize from Sis. Daines treasure box.

Sorry Game...

2010-12-04T14:42:00.000-08:00

...with Twyla

Happy Birthday to Daddy

2010-12-01T16:16:00.000-08:00

Kaya's 1st Haircut

2010-11-24T13:01:00.001-08:00

Before...

Seriously! How can I let my sister see her dog this way?

After!!

Much better!

Kaya even had a cute hair bow in, but that didn't last long! I took it out before she got it could get it and chew on it.

First UNLV Game!

2010-11-20T21:26:00.000-08:00

At the game with Daddy

(in a one-of-a-kind dress made by mommy)

Student of the Month

2010-11-17T14:13:00.001-08:00

Congratulations to our Student of the Month!

Yesterday Hannah came home and told us that she was "Student of the Month". She had been worried since school started, that she would never be picked as Student of the Month. She said there were so many kids in her class and only 12 months, so only 12 kids would be picked. (I didn't bother telling here that there were only 9 months, therefore decreasing her chances even more!) She was SO excited (and relieved) when she found out that she was the November Student of the Month!

Hannah with her special lunch ticket and her friends Emily and Anna

She ate a Dominos pizza lunch and sat at a special table with balloons!

She also gets her picture taken and put on display for the entire month.

She'll probably be wearing her pin every day as well :)

Soccer - Fall 2010

2010-11-13T20:58:00.000-08:00

We had our last soccer game today and Hannah scored a goal and almost scored 2 others. Here's her "goal scoring" kick!

Each time she scores a goal, she will turn around and give us the thumbs up!

Right after the game she wrote a letter to her Papa and Nana

"Dear Papa and Nana. This is for soccer I scored one goal today Saturday November 13. I almost scored other goals too. I passed to Rachel and Audrey. From Hannah"

I think it's safe to say that Hannah loves Soccer.

We are so blessed to have a great team and a great coach!

Spring Soccer here we come!

Veterans Day 2010

2010-11-11T19:12:00.001-08:00

Takeshi 2010

Today we dropped Takeshi off at the 2010 Veterans Day Parade. We parked the car and then headed to the street with our chairs and blankets (it was cold!!). Since Takeshi had to be there at 8:30 and the parade didn't start until 10:00, Hannah and I waited patiently for the start of the parade (we did have my iPhone and her DS).

The parade started right at 10:00, but we had to wait until 11:30 to see Rancho coming down the street. We were so excited!

Rancho stopped a few feet in front of us and Hannah and I ran down to get pictures. Hannah kept calling "Takeshi! Takeshi!" She was sad when Takeshi wouldn't look at her. I told her the rule said he had to look straight ahead at all times. I think she was ok with that.

Here's Rancho coming down the street. Takeshi is 1st on the right.

I am so grateful for all the men and women who serve our country. Here are some things that touched my heart during the parade.

Those walking with pictures of fallen soldiers.
The POW display "We Will Never Forget"
A woman walking up to a older solider in a wheelchair, grabbed his hand and said "Thank you, Thank you!"
My own son, walking in the parade with such pride. How did he grow up so fast?

New Pictures

2010-11-06T12:11:00.000-07:00

Stephanie took our family pictures on October 30th, and did an amazing job!! I've updated the header and sidebar with new pictures. Her website Roses in December shows off some of her other great shoots!

School Picture

2010-11-04T15:58:00.001-07:00

Hannah's Kindergarten Picture

Welcome Aliyah!

2010-11-01T12:37:00.000-07:00

Aliyah

November 1st 4:56 am

6 lbs 9 oz

19 inches long

My sister Stefanie went into labor on October 31st and had her baby a little over 24 hours later. Both are doing great!!

Someone has issues...

2010-11-01T08:00:00.000-07:00

or they just want some privacy ;)

Hannah decided she needed triple protection for her door!

Happy Halloween!!

2010-10-31T08:00:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween from our Court Jester/Joker/Harlequin

(made with love by Mommy)

Megamind PreScreening

2010-10-30T19:21:00.000-07:00

Special Screening Pass!

Jeff (aka "The Best Daddy in the World") saw a special Megamind PreScreening Event on the LVRJ.com. He entered and received 2 tickets to watch the movie in 3D a week BEFORE it's release in theaters. The screening was at 10:00, so we showed up at 9:00 thinking we were plenty early...

...this is who were behind (and lots more!)

Daddy and Hannah waiting patiently in line.

Since there were only two tickets, the plan was for Jeff and Hannah to see the movie while I walk around the shops. I decided to wait with them in line, since there were SO many people in front of us, we weren't sure if they would get to see the movie or not. Closer to 10:00, a movie staff member walked down the line with the 3D glasses. He offered one to me, but I said we only had two tickets, and I was just waiting in line with my family. The girl behind us, said she had an extra ticket and her boyfriend ran to the car to get it for us!! Now all three of us could see the movie! Thanks Chelsea!!

As we were near the front of the line,

I took of a picture of all the people behind us!

Amazingly everyone was able to get in and watch the movie! Hannah and I loved it, but Jeff didn't (silly guy). Now we need to take the boys when it opens on November 5th!!

Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-29T22:25:00.001-07:00

At the Pumpkin Patch

This morning Hannah and I went to the Pumpkin Patch. She had LOTS of fun!

Sliding down giant slides...

and running out to try it again!

Jumping the in bounce house.

Riding rides.

(not as fun as Disneyland, but still cool)

Petting the animals at the petting zoo.

She said the petting zoo was her favorite thing about the pumpkin patch. It was mine too. We also bought food to feed the goats, which was lots of fun!

Riding the swings.

Hannah also played one carnival game. She totally missed ALL the milk jugs, but the worker sitting next to them, quickly swiped her hand across the milk jugs, knocking them all down for her! Hannah picked a iridescent purple play trumpet as her prize.

After the pumpkin patch, we went to Sweet Tomatoes to eat... Hannah's favorite eating place!

Hannah's World

2010-10-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

Fashion Statement 6/2/10

As we are walking in the mall Hannah exclaims "I'm walking fast, so I can lose weight." "Look! There's a pound on the floor." She turns to me and asks "Are you losing weight?" Then as she pats my belly she says sadly "No, you're not..."

To Jeff (looking at his armpits): "Daddy! You've got lots of fur under there!"

Hannah's Uncle Chris came to visit, and was sleeping in Hannah's room. Hannah said (speaking about the baby moniter in her room) "Uncle Chris... if you get scared at night, you just yell "MAMA!", and my mom will come and help you"

During the beginning of the summer, it was getting to hot for me to stay in the car during Hannah's piano lessons, or too expensive, if I kept the air running. I told Hannah I would stay inside during her lessons, but she wasn't too fond of that idea. I suggested that I could drop her off and then come back later to pick her up. Hannah was thrilled with this idea, but I told her that I'd be a little nervous leaving her and asked her, "Are you SURE you'll be ok?" She looked at me and said so seriously (about her teacher) "Mama, they're good people!"

Hansel and Gretel in Hannah speak = Handsome and Grittle

Hannah: "When you have a baby do you get to pick which kind you want?"

VIP of the Week - October 11 to October 15, 2010

2010-10-15T13:24:00.001-07:00

Our VIP

Every week in school a child is chosen to be VIP of the week, and Hannah tells me every week which child was chosen. She was SO excited on Monday, that she was able to say "I'M the VIP of the week!"

She brought home Chester (the puppet dog) and his backpack filled with dog books.

She also made a poster filled with pictures of her (and one of me?... she insisted).

Today (Friday) she gets to stand in front of the class with her poster and they get to ask her questions about the pictures and what she likes to do.

We all made a big deal about Hannah being the VIP, and she loved it!