Our monkeys meet their favorite monkey!

Since we are so near to Atlanta we decided to take advantage of all the city has to offer! Our first stop was the Atlanta Children's Museum. They currently have a Curious George exhibit and the kids loved it!

There were many activities for the kids, here are just a few they really enjoyed.

Riding a John Deere tractor & shopping in a mock grocery store

Playing dress up

Playing with cousin Kaitlyn in the moon sand & of coures playing trains!

Fishing & playing with the ball exhibit

Deck the Halls...

Little by little we have been putting up Christmas decorations. Uncle Dean & Aunt Angie started the outside stuff last week which appeased the kids for the week while Dean was out of town for the week but by Friday Logan was begging to put up more "dec-or-ations" (3 very distinct syllables! YOU GO LITTLE MAN & YOUR BIG WORDS!).

This is the 3 kids "watching the show" as Logan called it. Uncle Dean & Aunt Angie were working on putting lights on the front porch & the kids were content to sit inside & watch so we let them!

The evening brought that part Logan has been looking forward to ALL week. The Christmas tree! He was SO excited when Aunt Angie brought in the box with the tree in it!

This is a few shots of the kids decorating the tree! Uncle Dean was "the hook store" where they went to get hooks put on their ornaments & then they hung them on the tree. We did have to move many up further as they could only reach the bottom foot of the tree but they had a blast!

The almost finished product. Aunt Angie was still working on refurbishing Nana's angel that she has had for our entire lives.

This is proof that the Christmas season has arrived. Freckles has been a fixture under our Christmas trees for the last 13 years!

Like, BBRRRR, and stuff!

We may have only lived in California for 2 years but we are definitely very used to our warm climate! It's getting colder & colder here in Georgia and I finally realized I cannot keep the kids cooped up all winter because it's too darn cold to be outside. because after all I was born in Minnesota & I spent many a day that was much much colder than today playing outside for hours....

So I layered & layered the kiddos for 40-something degree weather & they headed outside to play while Uncle Dean & Aunt Angie worked on hanging the Christmas lights.

Here's the kiddos all bundled in their winter best. Logan had a hat too but he was refusing to wear it. And after all, it wasn't THAT cold!

And all that cold weather gear didn't stop the girls from having some fun! Here's Cousin Kaitlyn on the left & Peyton on the right sliding despite their many layers!

Peyton's Gymboree Birthday!

Since we have been home we have been busy spending time with family I haven't had a chance to blog! But I just had to share Peyton's birthday with the world! Our little Explorer turned 2 on December 3rd. Because we aren't home, mommy took the easy way out & called the local Gymboree!

We went with the Dora theme as it is one of Peyton's most favorite cartoons and she always refers to her as "my dorly." So as I always do, anything & everything theme related was there! Here's the cake table complete with Dora napkins, plates, and cake! We love our "dorly!"

For those who don't know, Gymboree is a great place for smaller children to play & develop motor skills. This activity they called the "birthday blaster". She walked up the tube & the teacher bounced it & we helped her jump off onto a mat below. This was by far the favorite activity of the day!

The kids also had many chances to just play on the equipment. Here's Peyton crossing a bridge. She's such a big girl now!

And no birthday celebration would be complete without making a huge mess with the cake! Peyton was licking the Dora & Boots figures that were on the cake and she was getting it everywhere! YOU GO GIRL!

This is Peyton with her Grandma Annie whose birthday just happens to be 2 days after Peyton's! The birthday girls had a blast at Gymboree!

Road Trip Day 6 - Tuscaloosa, AL to McDonough, GA

YAY! We made it!!! We left Tuscaloosa VERY early, at least by our standards and arrived at Grandma & Papa's house before noon! It was a funfilled day of play with grandparents & new friends Little Logan & Jayden! Unfortuantely I did not get any pictures as I was exhausted from the week long trip!

I would have to say after 6 days in the car, that although the kids were tired, they did AWESOME! All in all very few meltdowns on the road, they were great when we stopped & when it was time to load up again. I know you all know this, but my kids are the best in the whole world!!! :)))

Now we are gonna enjoy our time with all of our family. Passing the time until daddy gets home - 1 month down; 6 to go!

Road Trip Day 5 - Kilgore, TX to Tuscaloosa, AL

<---BIG ASS TEXAS FLAG we saw!

Well one thing is right, everything is BIGGER in Texas! Like the interstates, 750 miles of them from El Paso on the west to the Louisiana state line. I have to say that has to be the BEST thing first thing this morning, Welcome to Louisiana!

A long long day, 4 states & well over 450 miles. Kids were troopers. No meltdowns just very antsy to get out, but can anyone blame them?

Once we arrived in Tuscaloosa, we went swimming to wear off some energy & then to Ryan's for dinner where we celebrated 1 more day with ice cream cones!!

Road Trip Day 4 - Abilene, TX to Kilgore, TX

We decided to make day 4 a short day because hotel prices jumped in Shreveport, LA and so we could get to a hotel and do some laundry as we were all running out. But our short day somehow was just as long as all the others! We stopped at Cracker Barrel for lunch. Nothing says "welcome to the south" like Cracker Barrel! Oh, how I missed it!! Here's some shots of our lunch!

My Diva & My Goofball!

How can I get those home to San Diego??

Road Trip Day 3 - El Paso, TX to Abilene TX

Holy COWS! Literally! Everywhere, cows & oil dereks! Nothing says Texas like cows & oil dereks!


We left out of El Paso 2 hours earlier than we had because we knew this day was gonna be a long one. Not only were we trying to go over 450 miles but through part of the most BORING parts of the country! Nothing to look at, no where to stop (or pee for that matter!). Although, Graham & I being the dorks that we are, were very excited about seeing Odessa & Midland & all those other places they mention in the Texas highschool football movies! I was looking for James Van Der Beek (Dawson from Dawson's Creek - he played one of the heroes in one of those movies...)!! But to no avail, only cows, oil dereks, & a lot of wind turbines - which Logan called windmeals!!




All in all an AWESOME day! A lot of road covered, only minor meltdowns occured, and the kids are adjusting to the time changes very well. Hoping that tomorrow we have the same luck!!

Road Trip Day 2 - Tucson, AZ to El Paso, TX

Today was a short day. Only a little over 300 miles but you either stop in El Paso or you drive another 250 miles to find a town big enough to stay in! We lucked out at the last minute and were able to get a room at the Fort Bliss Lodging (military hotel). Not top end or anything but cheap and safe & that's all I really care about. They had a little playground for the kiddos & they loved it!

Road Trip Day 1 - San Diego to Tucson, AZ

Kids did really well considering they were confined for about 6 hours today. Traveling with a potty trained kid is a little harder, we had to make a couple extra stops. All in all a good day, hoping the rest go as well! Here are a few photos of the cutie-pies!

Peyton takes her art VERY seriously, had to pick the exact right picture to color

And to think mommy thought she was smart getting the twistable crayons so they wouldn't break them...

At the Holiday Inn Express in Tucson, AZ - Always love a ride on the luggage cart!

Dreaming of a White Christmas...

Or at least a cold one! I was packing this morning & realized I had yet to pull out the kids winter hats & gloves. As soon as they saw them they needed to wear them! Here are my So Cal babies in their winter gear (FYI, it was like 85 here today...)

Dora, table for two!

The kids and I were out shopping for things for our upcoming road trip. I was desperately looking for juicebox holders for the car. So I decided to check out Babies R Us. Unfortunately I was unable to find juicebox holders but we did find an awesome deal! We have been looking to get the kids a table to play/eat at but everything was just too expensive in my eyes. As we were walking through Babies R Us, we walked past a clearance section of playroom type furniture with a few tables & chairs. Peyton RAN to the Dora one and sat down & refused to get up! Once I saw the price I was sold! $24.99 for a Dora table & 2 chairs! It sells for $49.99! And since Peyton's birthday is going to be Dora themed, I justifed it as an early birthday present. Too bad she won't be able to sit at it for her birthday! This morning the kids both ran to the table, sat down, and Logan said "mom, I want dinner." So here they are eating their breakfast this morning, LOVING the Dora table!

We LOVE United Through Reading!!

United Through Reading is a program to help deployed service members stay united with their children by recording the service member reading a book to their children. Today we received our first DVD of Sean reading 2 books to the kids. I wish I had had the camera ready when I pushed play because from the beginning Peyton kept saying "my daddy, my daddy". They were both talking to him, showing him toys, and very excited to see daddy for the first time in 2 1/2 weeks. Here are the 2 video clips I caught. Mostly Peyton because in true Logan style he was "taking it in" before he showed a lot of emotion. We have now watched the video 4 times in less than 4 hours! Truly a treasure in our eyes!!

Fall is in the air

At the last minute today I decided to take the kids to a Fall Festival that was hosted by our housing company. The kids did GREAT while we waiting 45 minutes for it to open & then many other times to get food, play games, etc. And Logan was such a good helper. He carried out bag out & held his sister's hand all the way to van. He truely is stepping up to be the man of the house!

Bouncey House!

And what fall festival is complete without yummy food!