Our Little Singer

Tahoe Fun

I know it's almost a week into December, but I am finally doing a little update. I have quite a few good ones, just haven't had the time. But we managed to go to Tahoe one last time with our friends the Hoskins. Not as much snow as last February, of course, but we did have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Plus it was great to get away and pretend we weren't moving in three weeks. UGH! Nevermind that... Thanksgiving dinner was delicious and so relaxing. Just what we needed. On Friday we did some scouting in hopes to find snow. We were a bit surprised to see that the area we went sledding last time was practically covered in bushes. We never even knew it since the snow was up over Will's truck. It was amazing. We did a day visit out to Virginia City, NV - which was where Mark Twain first started his writing. I have to say that it didn't look like much had changed! Population of 700 and mining was & is the way of life. Wow, talk about taking a step back in time. Connor got some sledding in over by Mount Rose, and had an absolute blast. On Sunday we packed up and headed home. Even splurged on some In N Out since our days are numbered :-) So glad that we got the chance to get away and relax. It was just what we needed.

Missing Dad... in a time of thesis

Everyone knows Will has been working on his thesis around the clock. Needless to say both Connor and Rocco have been missing the love. (I thought about asking to get on too but knew it wasn't for the best). They both went into the bedroom to get Will the other morning at 6am, after he didn't get home until after midnight. Last night he didn't come home at all, sleeping 4 hours at his office. I don't know how he does it... good ol Navy watch training, I think! I couldn't do it, but everyone knows that too. So here's to a kickin thesis, relaxing holidays with family & friends, and a new home somewhere to be determined :-)

MORE Drama...

It seems to be that time again where I start cursing the military... We got some good news and some bad news this week. The good news was that Will did his thesis presentation and it went really well. The bad news is that we may or may not be going to Hawaii now. Frankly, I don't care where we go at this point, I just want to move and get to our next duty station. I hate being in limbo. That being said, we'll be back East longer than expected. We'll be in Philly for the holidays then Will is (most likely) going to be working in DC for a few months. He'll be doing more research and planning related to his thesis. It's pretty exciting, especially when several people in high level positions think the research Will did is worth pursuing. So in all likelihood, he'll be pursuing and Connor and myself will be in PA with the family for a while. I am hoping that come March we are moving on to our next home, wherever that is :-)

The First Test....

A New Day!!!

We're officially in new territory.. 5 days with dry pants, no accidents!!! I never thought the day would come - but thank God it has! So in celebration, the new 'big boy' bike came out. Not only did it come out, but it came out BLAZING! Connor and Dad raced up the street for the first time as Dad went off to work again. News on the street from Connor is that he "Loves his new big boy bike, it's awesome!!"

Bye Bye Baby

It is with heavy hearts that we sold Connor's 'baby bedroom' yesterday (sniff, sniff). No more cute 'Malawi' animal theme... now he has a big boy bed (that he keeps telling us is "so comfy" so that's good!) and has a sports ball theme. What happened to our baby?!? He is definitely growing up too fast :-(

Bribery? Maybe...

Will took Connor to pick out his new big boy bike last weekend. It was a tough choice, there's a lot to choose from at Toys R Us! This blue and green "Devious" bike was the winner. But there's a small catch... Connor isn't aloud to ride it until he is 'accident free' for 5 days. We've made it 3 days in a row, but I'm wondering if we'll ever see 5 days in a row. Today I had serious doubts. I'll leave it at that...

Trick or Treat?!

Boy, what an exciting week of Halloween festivities we've had! This year Connor decided that he wanted to be a pirate. He picked out his very own 'Jack Sparrow' costume from Pirates of the Caribbean (although he wasn't fond of the bandanna with dread locks hanging from the sides!). We started off the celebrations with an outing to NPS where Dad works. They had a festival for the kids complete with crafts and snacks plus they got to show off their costumes. Then his gymnastics teacher had a Halloween party for all the kids at they gym, complete with decorations, scary costumes, a bounce house, and a goody bag for everyone. During the week we carved two pumpkins. Connor picked out a raccoon and an alien to carve into the pumpkins. I have to say they looked pretty good. On Thursday there was a party at school and Connor got to dress up with his friends & enjoy some great treats that everyone brought in. And of course, last night was Trick or Treat. Dad took Connor around the neighborhood with John & baby Teague as well as Connor's friends on our street... Toa, Gina and Giovanni. He had such a great time. I think this Halloween was a HUGE success!

Borchard Farms

We went out to Borchard Farms today to do a little pumpkin shopping. It was nice, no one was really there yet. Love being the early birds once in a while, though it doesn't happen often. Connor and Will did the searching while I went on my own little scout of the various selections. You name it, it was there, and every size you could imagine. Choosing just a few was tough! But we managed to walk away with a few keepers :-)

Summer Fun... in October

The past two weeks all the kids have had off from school, so we've been trying to keep them busy. We've been at the aquarium, swimming with friends, the beach a few times, and out enjoying the nice weather. The other day the Hoskins' and the Fields' came on over and the kids had a great time sliding in the pool, riding bikes & scooter, and playing. I think it's safe to say that everyone slept well that night :-)

GO 'IGGLES!'

Will and I went to the Eagles game in San Fran last weekend and had a blast. In true Philly fashion we busted out the camping stove and made some real good ol' fashion Philly Cheesesteaks. Let me tell ya how good they were! Complete with fried onions, cheese whiz, and ketchup. My belly is growling just thinking about them again. We also enjoyed a few beers in parking lot and then went in to the stadium to check out the Birds. It was a nail biter but we were pleased with the end result.... Eagles 40, 49ers 26. Great time! Thanks to Abbey, Josh, Hannah and Elliot for letting Connor hang with you guys for the day, we totally appreciated it!

On Your Mark! Get Set! GO!!!

Just about every morning Connor goes outside and HAS to say goodbye to dad when he heaves for work. It's just a morning ritual. The other part of that ritual is the race down the street; Will in the pickup, Connor on foot! I have to say it's pretty damn cute, and pretty funny!

First Mate Connor

Finally got the boat out yesterday! Connor enjoyed it, until we had to go out between the jettys! Waves were a little rough. I'm sure he'll get use to it though. "Plan B" did just fine in the high seas of Monterey Bay! Lots of great times to be had :-)

The 'Real' Pool Slide

The other day Connor was asking to get the pool out. I have to say it's seen better days, and I thought it was chilly. But what do I know? Will got it out, then proceeded to get the slide from the back yard and hooked the hose up to it. Dads are just way more fun than moms. Connor had a splashing good time in the pool with the slide. I think he was out there for hours! Crazy kid!

Poor Mangey

Seems fate is not on our side, or Rocco's side I should say. The mutt blew out his other knee two Saturday's ago and needed surgery. It's been a week and he's doing much better. But we still have to keep him under lock and key in a confined area for another 3 to 4 weeks. He's not digging it, but his legs need some serious TLC.

Not My Sleep Habits!!!

This was too good to pass up... Connor got in trouble today and was sent to his room. It sounded pretty quiet so I went to check on him 5 minutes later and this is what I found... hysterical (besides the fact he was at the top of the stairs)! I think it's safe to say that Connor has Will's sleep habits and can fall asleep anywhere. Not me!

Can you tell where we're from?!

Had to watch the Eagles play on Sunday.. and in true fashion, we all had our Eagles garb on, even baby Ava. She had a stylish Eagles cheerleader outfit on and looked so adorable! It's a shame her dad is a Cowboys fan, but nobody's perfect! I guess we won't hold it against him (too much)!

The Little Princess Is Here!

Will's sister Jannelle and baby Ava are out visiting us. Ava is 9 weeks old and made the trek to Cali just fine. And of course she's cute as a button! I'm snapping pictures of her left and right. The other day she had a cute outfit on with a bib that read "Green is the new black." LOVE her! Who could resist this adorable little face?!

Hooking Up With Friends...

On Sunday we got to meet up with our good friends, Terra and H, from San Diego. Will was entrenched in thesis work so Connor and I headed up the freeway to Morgan Hill. We had some breakfast at Betsy's and putzed around for the day. It was so great to see them!

Our New Baby!

In case you haven't seen her.. here she is... "Plan B" as she's going to be named. Quite appropriate, and we love it. After a short road trip to Oregon, some paperwork, a few dollars, she's officially ours. Once we get all the paperwork taken care of, we'll be heading out to test her on the high seas before we head to Hawaii in a few months:-)

Thank you!!

Hey gang, I was just talking to Will last night and I was saying how nice it was that you all go in and check out our blog. It takes time to put all this together (especially for the non-Martha Stewart types like myself!) so we appreciate you checking out our happenings. Thanks!!

Darn Cute Kids!

Are they related?! Seriously, two blonds with brown eyes... so cute. Erin and I went to Gilroy today to the outlets and this was a pic I took of Connor and Cambria on one of the rides (a trike) outside the stores. They were a lifesaver!

The Prize Scooter!!!

After searching long and hard this past weekend, we finally found a scooter that wasn't too wobbly or too babyish. Very important... at any rate, this is Connor's new prize scooter and he loves it!

i love 'scootering' mom!

Here's a good one.... Connor picked up Giovanni's scooter the other day for the first time. Of course I tried to help. That lasted all of one pass in front of the house. Then Connor told me he could do it all by himself, that he knew what he was doing. Well alright then! So I went in the house to get out the camera, and here's his first 'scootering' experience, as he likes to call it. What a piss!

Swim Lessons... a lot of footage!

OK grandparents, you wanted to see Connor in action at swim lessons so here you have it! Sorry I've been slacking on the videos... someone has been monopolizing both computers in the evening (Will)! So here he is with lots of kicking, splashing, floating and blowing!

First Day of Preschool!

Man, I don't know where the time goes... Connor started preschool yesterday. It's only Tuesdays and Thursdays for 3 hours. He absolutely loved it and came home with his first art project with triangles. Cambria is in his class, so he had a familiar face to hang out with, which was great. We celebrated with a little lunch out to Wendy's, complete with chicken nuggets, oranges and chocolate milk :-)

Connor's New Girl

This past weekend we went to our friend's, the Fields, to help celebrate Elliott's 3rd birthday. Connor noticed the girls had a Barbie Jeep in the front yard so that's where he spent most of his time. Surprise! At one point I looked out and Connor & Elliott were in the jeep and he had his arm around her shoulder, the music was playing, and they were jibber-jabbing about something. Of course I missed that picture. But when I asked them to pose, this is the picture I got. What hams!

Happy Birthday Connor!

Can you feel the anticipation of birthday cake with this picture or what?! We celebrated Connor's 3rd birthday on Saturday at the park around the corner from our house. Before we got it started, it was 'snowing ashes.' No joke. But it cleared up, the sun came out, and Connor had a blast with the kids. All his friends were there. We had a bounce house, plus the playground - complete with sand. Perfect! Then the following day we went to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and he road on all his favorite rides. What a birthday!

3 Loons on Vacation

We just got back from 9 days exploring up North. What a great time. We camped in Fortuna, CA - just south of Eureka. Spent 4 days in a little cabin and 2 days in our tent. Connor had a great time and found new friends at the campground every day. They had a playground (that we practically lived at when we were at the campground) and a pool. Lots of day trips. Got to see "Avenue of the Giants" that was incredible, elk next to our car in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, tooled around Eureka and did the harbor cruise, even crossed paths with a few breweries :-) Then we hit Six Flags Discovery Kingdom for the 4th and saw fireworks. Have to say that we're glad to be back home in our own beds though. But what a great vacation!

CHEEEEESSSSSSEEEEEE!

So, while Will was away this past weekend in Tahoe, Connor was hanging out with our neighbor, Max. Max is always out front skating and showing Connor all the new tricks. Max asked if Connor could go for a ride on his skateboard and I looked at Max like he was crazy. He said "No, no, I'll hold onto his arms and we'll just go on our street here, back and forth." Piece of cake. Well Connor tried that twice before he wanted to go down the HILL on our street! Crazy. I almost had a heart attack. Connor loved it and squealed the whole way. And of course we had to show Dad when he got home from his fishing trip :-)

Hawaii... anyone?!

So last week we were in Virginia house/school hunting. We've been researching the areas for months so we had everything narrowed down pretty well, plus we lived there when we were first married so it was nice to be back. We stayed with our friends, the Blacks, and scouted by day with the help of Kristi's mom (thank you Bonnie!). Even found us a really nice place in Chesapeake that I would have loved to make an offer on, although we're a bit early for that since Will doesn't graduate from NPS until the end of the year. Turns out that Will got an email last week while we were in Virginia and the job he was meeting/talking to everyone about is no longer.. it was already given to someone else who will be in Virginia in August of this year! Love the military. So it seems that the only engineering nuke job available will be in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Quite a bit off from Virginia, I think. I have to say that I didn't take the news very well. I know that Hawaii looks fabulous and that anyone who has even been there has absolutely loved it. If I had known that Hawaii was even a possibility for us, I don't think the shock would have been so great. And the whole point of us going to Virginia was to move back closer to our families and be in one place for 3-5 years. I can't tell you how much I was looking forward to that. And I am so bummed that Connor will be even further from his family. It's not like we can just pick up the phone any time we want and call family and friends back East. We have a hard time doing that now. Everyone keeps telling us that they are certainly coming to visit, and that's great. Our door is always open and we love having visitors. But I was really hoping we'd finally be a little closer to 'home' and have a house of our own. Guess that will have to wait :-(

California Surfer!

This pic was taken over the weekend at the Santa Cruz Boardwalk and Beach. What a great spot! The day before Connor was on all kinds of kid rides and loved every one of them... flying planes, riding boats, the Pepsi Train, Dragons, race cars, even the sky ride! So we invested in a season pass for him. Anyone want to go?!?!

Here Crabby, Crabby, Crabby!!!

So our friend Cyndi came out to visit us last week. The one day we went down to the Cannery and had some lunch. Of course she had to get her seafood fix taken care and ordered a nice platter, Dungeness Crabs included. She proceeds to go about her lunch and breaks a piece of crab off for Connor. I was certain he'd take two bites and spit it out, due to the texture. Turns out the dude has expensive taste. I was hearing the story of Jannelle in my head all over again, loving lobster as a little girl! So thanks Cyndi!! We had another seafood feast the same week while she was here, compliments of Phil's, and ordered two more crabs. Connor was all about cracking them and digging out the meat. Guess it's best he learns on the Dungeness variety and not the Maryland variety! Get a load of this....

Let's Do That Again!

Last weekend we went to the beach.. it was sunny, no wind, and in the 70's... perfect!! We had such a great time. Connor had his suit on, some suntan lotion, and he could actually play in the water a bit. Don't get me wrong, the water temperature was still in the 50's! The sand toys were out, holes were dug, castles were made. All in all, just a great day at the beach in Cali!

My Puppy, My Friend (and my pillow!)

The Boys in the Family

Getting everyone to look at the same time for a nice picture... priceless!

'Boy Toy'

So here they are today.. the boys and THEIR toy, the Nanner. Will has been getting some stuff in order so that we can hopefully sell it to a loving family. It has been parked in the garage and Connor thinks it is HIS toy. Today I asked him what he was doing in Dad's jeep and he says "Just sitting in Dad's jeep Mom, having a good day!" I just laugh. I don't know where he comes up with this stuff. But I can tell you this.. I don't know who is going to be more sad when the jeep is sold, Connor or his dad???

Fishing 4 Reel!

A Boy & His Fishing Pole...(and hot dog!)

You knew it was only a matter of time before we had to go and find real water.. This was taken down at Dennis the Menace Park the other day. Connor has been practicing his casting out front all week. Boy, what a difference a few days makes. Will was feeding him the hot dog because Connor wasn't about to put his rod down! He could have missed a shark (as he likes to say)!

Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy!

This is a good one.. Connor keeps telling us he wants to go fishing. So Will busted out the fishing rod we got for him last summer. Will thought it would be a good idea to do some 'practicing' before we hit the high seas. So we went out front and gave it a whirl. Will hooked up a rubber washer on the end so that no hooks were in hands (or anywhere else!). After a few lessons, the dude has his casting down! You should have seen him yesterday. But this is priceless...

VROOM!!!

a boy and his motorcycle

So the weather has been gorgeous the last few days and we've been outside a lot. The latest and greatest is Connor's 'motorcycle.' He can finally reach the peddles and really get somewhere, which you've seen by the last video. But the dude is crazy on this thing! He wants to ride around the neighborhood by himself, go up the street to see the kids, and thinks it's perfectly ok to play out front by himself. So we usually have multiple conversations every day regarding his age and the fact that he's too little to wander out by himself. He thinks I'm completely unreasonable and smoking something! If only that were true!