Chuck E. Cheese

Chuck E. Cheese is a very hard sell for me. I am not into the germs, video games, or the fact that it is in Fairfield. Caden r-e-a-l-l-y wanted a party there. The only way I could get on board was if it was on a weekday and right when it opened. We were in line waiting for the doors to open at 11. Caden was able to bring his best buddy Wyatt, Dominic, Wesley, Baby Wyatt, Addyson, Emmeline, and Jack. We all survived the pizza and 400 tokens. At the end the kids each had about 400 tickets and came home with candy, bouncy balls, and other trinkets, but they had a blast. The highlight was the birthday boy and girl were able to go in the ticket tube blaster where they had a chance to win the golden ticket worth 1,000. Neither of ours caught it as it just happened to be stuck on the floor and you are not allowed to grab off the ground. Hmmm.... do you think Chuck E. Cheese has that rigged with it being a slightly thicker paper that doesn't fly????  Now we can cross CEC of our list and not do that again. Next year I am hoping we are back to home parties or at least joint parties. I am thinking camping or science would be a fun theme for both!!!

Seven

Holy smokes - How can I have seven year old twins???? I still am in denial. Today we celebrated their big day with a birthday party at Build A Bear, frozen yogurt, and then a family bash at home. It was still very weird for me to not have a big party at home and I was waiting for one of them to get upset about the party situation after they really understood it and guess what... I was right! After birthday donuts Caden was upset that "his" party was the next day. We managed to squelch the frustration and move on.
Emmeline brought her bestie Addyson, her cousin Esther (Ruth was there, but was much more into sleeping), Layla, and then the boys Jack, Caden, and Wyatt were there. They all had a blast and it was much cuter than I thought. Emmeline and Addyson had to pick the same thing and it had to be the weirdest, wildest stuffed animal I have ever seen. We left the mall headed for fro yo and then we celebrated with our family. Emmeline and Caden had all of their cousins there.We have yet to get a photo of all of them together, but we will get one of these days. The kids had a blast playing with all the family and friends and eating their dinner choice tri tip, hot dogs, and mac n cheese. We ended the night with dessert and boy was there a lot to pick from. Emmeline REALLY wanted a rainbow cake. Which after just coming home from vacation and the 100 degree heat was not an easy task. We managed to get the layer cake done. I can not even begin to tell you how much sugar and butter I used to frost that thing. Caden was in heaven I made chocolate cupcakes and then he had his favorite Grammy's Oreo pie. It really is everyone's favorite and so easy. Thanks Gram for making it for him.
After that sugar high we managed to get them in bed to rest up for Chuck E. Cheese the next day!!!

Good Bye

Today we said good bye to one of the sweetest families I know.

We have only known them for a year, but I feel like they have been around forever. We are sure going to miss seeing them at church, school, and CFA. I know they will do amazing things in Japan while they are there. Thanks to amazing technology the kids are very excited to Skype with them and type emails. It was sad to say good bye and for the kids to not really understand how far away they will be. Caden had such a sweet connection with Eli that he hasn't made with anyone else at church. I pray they can keep up a long distance friendship. 

At bedtime I tucked in my kiddos and we said good bye to my six year olds. When they wake up in the morning they will be 7!!!! How can that be? Every moment of that day is still fresh in my mind. It was a day that changed me forever. 

Normally at this time I'm running around doing finishing touches for their party. Tonight I was finishing the never ending like of laundry and vacation stuff. The twins decided they didn't want a big at home birthday party. I'm kind of heartbroken. It just doesn't feel the same. I drew the line and said no to store bought cakes. I could only give up so much. Fingers crossed they want a home party for #8! 

Cookies and Cards

Today we went and visited some very special people. We drive around to the 3 fire stations that showed up to our house and helped put out the fire. I'm not really sure what is a fitting way to say "thank you for saving our house", but we thought cookies and a card might be nice. Next we headed to thank Michael Borge for being outside and observant. The firefighters told is any longer and it would be a different story. So what do you get a college student??? We figured some food gift cards and thank you card was the least we could do. 

Structure Fire

Yesterday afternoon was a whirlwind! We had many moments we hope to never have again. Never did I think we would be on the Vacaville Police Facebook page . Wow, the number of texts after they posted the picture of our house was unreal. And I hope to never get another call from VVFD telling me they are at our house and they are putting out a fire. The whole event still doesn't seem real. My caller ID was showing Ryan calling. When I answered he told me he was at my house. I wasn't surprised because his kids were coming over for a play date, but he then he told us he was at our house for work. I think we assumed the hills were on fire.  I'll never forget his next words... We stopped it, the house is okay. I think I was slightly sick to my stomach. We hit every red light getting home. I just couldn't picture what we were going to see. We approached our street and i knew it wasn't good. Seeing police blocking the street and then 3 large fire trucks wasn't good. 

We walked up to a scene that left us speechless. We will forever grateful to Vacaville Fire Department and the neighbor boy who called it in. They told us today that it was about 30 seconds from being all bad. Windows were blown out, paint on the house it bubbling, blinds  and curtains were singed, and then there is a mess of melted trash cans, sheds, and charred fence. It smells like a campfire in our house and we have boards over our broken windows, but we also have a roof over our head. It could have been so bad.

It's easy for Chris and I to understand all of this, but it's a little harder for the kids. Emmeline is very emotional and scared. She is afraid the fire will come back. Caden is afraid that his toys and teddy will burn even though the fire is out. I'm not sure if it's the smell or since they can see the mess out back that they think the fire can come back? Breaks my heart. Then there is Jack. He loved seeing all the trucks in front of the house. When the firemen were there he asked when the fire would move in the house. I was telling the guys that he wants to be a firemen. That statement then led to an interegation. They wanted to know where was and if he ever goes back to that area. Oh geez... Good thing he wasn't home and has an alibi. We are still waiting for the official report and for insurance to come so we can clean up, but we are so thankful! We are not taking for granted how it so quickly could have had a different outcome. 

Lemonade Stand

I am a very proud mom of 3 crazy kids. Today I was so proud of Emmeline. She came home from Vacation Bible School on fire to serve others. I was so moved. We were throwing around ideas and she decided that she really wanted to make something for kids in hospitals. We were thinking of what we could do and then I remembered the dolls we had in the NICU when they were born. I explained the concept of the scent doll and how I would wear it on me while we were in the NICU or bring one home and sleep with it and swap it out when we returned the next day. The nurses would then put the dolls on babies or in the isolate when the moms would leave. She loved the idea of making those for the babies in the hospital and how special that it is something she had when she was little.   She even helped me sew up a mock one to show. I wasn't sure how much she was listening and if she really understood the concept, but she did so amazing. I was so proud of her explaining to people what the dolls were going to be used for and how she was going to use the money to buy fabric. She worked so hard at her stand. We cleaned up and went over the money collected and she made enough to make about 34 dolls possibly more if fabric is on sale. I told her I would match each doll we make. It looks like we better get sewing and stuffing!!! I love her heart and I was thinking I would like to expand on her idea and add a little journal and hand lotion to the bags to give the moms. I remember having a million thoughts and questions and it was nice to jot them down. I also remember my hands feeling like sandpaper from all the sanitizer and hand washing. I good lotion was   a must. Her goal is to get these all done and delivered by her birthday so it looks like I will be doing a lot of sewing and very little blogging. So proud of you Emmeline Grace!

Mary Poppins

Today we decided to schedule a special day with just Caden. I was a little worried the other two were going you be upset until they saw who was watching them. Miss Madison showed up and was a real life Mary Poppins. She showed up not with a bag, but a box full of games, books, and crafts to do with the kids.

We had so much fun with Caden and we loved getting these fun pics of the kids having a blast with Madison. 

Introducing....

Last night the kids stayed the night with Nonie and Papa and the sleepover fairy made a stop at their house. The kids were very excited to show us their new friends. Emmeline has a sweet white kitty named Snowball and Caden has the cutest chocolate lab named Harley. And then there is Jackson. I will let you hear the name from Jack. I have no idea where this kid gets this stuff. We are amazed that he says the name the exactly the same every time. And don't try and shorten it and say Sparkle or just Bowser - you will quickly get  corrected.

Napa here we come

Today we headed off to Napa sans kids with some of out favorite people. We didn't have a lot on the agenda but to relax and enjoy some great wine and food.

We started out the adventure getting massages. I'm pretty sure that was Chris's first and last. I kept hearing the person tell him to relax. 

Next, we were on a mission to find lunch. Yelp reviewers didn't let us down at our first stop Boon Fly Cafe. The donuts were TO DIE FOR followed by watermelon mimosas and a delicious lunch!

After a super yummy we lunch we were off to find some delicious red wine. And our first stop had a beautiful view and probably the most comical wine labels and decor. We happened to stumble upon the only Asian winery in Napa and it did not disappoint for a good laugh. The blue bottle was pretty good, but it is just hard to get past a guy who plasters his picture EVERYWHERE. I wish I would have snapped a picture of the bottles!!! Chris and I already decided that Gabe is getting a bottle of it every Christmas from us. After some wine we headed to the hotel to enjoy the hot tub and relax before we started our progressive dinner.

After even more wine and drinks at Bottega ( can you tell from the picture above we clearly were enjoying the wine?) we headed to Lucy and ultra modern hotel in Yountville. The food disappointed, but the grounds and the bathrooms were AMAZING!!! You almost have to go to Yountville just to experience the bathroom. It was very European.

After  a few  a lot of wine and drinks we ended our progressive dinner at  Bouchon. It was AMAZING! There is a reason why we could only get 9:15 reservations on a Sunday night. That place was hopping well after 11. Everything was delicious! And do you see the wine on our table? Yep, Gabe just had to bring a bottle of Mr. Hoang with us to dinner. I am guessing Bouchon doesn't see too many of those bottles.

Mt Everest

Last week at our VBS the kids studied creation and had a Jurassic Park theme with lots of dinosaurs. They studied creation and dove into the scripture debunking evolution. It was awesome!!! This week the kids "climbed" Mt. Everest at VBS. They learned all about "holding on" to God and his word in all situations. The kids loved it!!!  I missed not working this one, but it was sweet to come at the end and hear a recap of what they learned and see them rocking out. I'm not going to lie I think I teared up every night watching them sing their hearts out and give me a recap of what they learned. Sweet Caden would do every hand motion and sing his heart out and Jack and Em were always up on the stage. I pray that they keep the messages they learned the past two weeks in their heart. When things get hard I pray they remember who and what they can hold on to.

Golf with The Lady Bulldogs

Because we don't seem to know how to teak during summer we hit the golf course early before we melted. Caden did such a great job out there. He is getting pretty good with controlling his putter and I'm not going to lie he was hitting the ball farther than some of the girls. It was so cute for me to take him and see all the high schoolers come up and talk with him. He is pretty clueless to the girls right now, but I will have to remind him of how all the girls think he is the cutest thing.