Fashion Queen

I think we’re going to be in trouble with Ainsley!!! She changes her clothes a few times a day and won’t wear anything I suggest. It took weeks to finally get her to wear socks and I had to hide her Capri pants because she wouldn’t wear any warm clothes. She still wears her swimsuits and gym suits around the house like it is summer! Her room is ALWAYS cluttered with clothes she’s tried on and taken off….I guess that is payback since my room was like that in high school! Her latest is shopping around the house. She fills my reusable shopping bags/Reggie’s snack bags/empty shoes boxes/her purse with all kinds of things and puts them in her shopping cart and wheels them all around the house. It is quite funny, especially when she starts explaining everything to me. Here’s a clip:

Christmas Program and Live Nativity

Ainsley had her Christmas program on Thursday and I charged the camera battery and forgot it in the wall :o(. Sarah took some pics, so I’ll upload them later. She looked great and did a good job with the movements, but forgot about the singing part, which is so funny because we’ve been hearing the songs for several weeks! I suppose part of it is her age because a year seems to make all the difference.
Last year, Reggie didn’t do much participating in his Christmas program and this year, he sang and moved!!! He still looked a little uncomfortable at times, but WOW, he did such an amazing job :o). He was pretty proud of himself afterward (probably because we were clapping so loud and cheering for him). It was really cute when we got in the car and Ainsley leaned over and said, “you did a weally good job singing Reggie.”

Here's a video:

After that, we decided on the fly to check out the live nativity that is at a church just down the street. I was excited because there appeared to be no line. As soon as we drove up into the parking lot, we realized we were going to be there for awhile. Since we were parked most of the time or moving very slowly, we let the kids get out of their seats and I think they actually enjoyed waiting. Moving all around the car and sitting in the front seat is REALLY cool. There were 6 scenes in the nativity and the kids were glued to each station. Reggie thought it was the neatest show ever! Ainsley just wanted to see baby Jesus! I’m glad we stayed out a little past bedtime because it was a good reminder of what the holidays are really about :o).

Grandma Peggy/Uncle Dustin visit

Well, it’s time to rewind the clock….my mother (Ryan speaking) and younger brother came down for Thanksgiving to visit. It was great to finally have Dustin here so that he could see where we lived. They got in late Monday night and stayed through Friday afternoon. Tuesday we hung out most of the day, but did plan a shopping trip so that Grandma Peggy could get Reggie a birthday present. Ainsley was able to jump on that bandwagon and scored some new sparkly shoes from Grandma. That night we went to my mom’s favorite restaurant “Sweet Tomatoes.” Dustin almost put the place out of business as he ate and ate. We enjoyed the all you can eat soup/salad and bread and topped it off with ice cream. Thanksgiving approached quickly and Mom put in a turkey with all of the fixins. We enjoyed a wonderful meal and then made our way to the Bliss’s place to hang out with them that evening.

During their stay we organized a trip down into the city of San Francisco. We planned an Alcatraz tour and wow, the weather cooperated. We bundled up thinking that we were going to freeze and once we got down to the city we started to peel off the clothing. It was 70 degrees and beautiful (Nov 25th are you kidding me!!). We really enjoyed the tour and learning a little history. By the time we left, I think Dustin could have been a tour guide! It was lunch time and we lucked out having a Taco Del Mar right down the street from the pier. I hadn’t had Taco Del Mar in months, so it was on. We grabbed a bite to eat and headed back home to pick up the kids (thanks to the bliss family + Grandma Kate for watching the kids!). Friday morning, we celebrated Reggie’s birthday at the bowling alley (of course, we forgot the camera!). If you ever want the bowling alley to yourself, go the day after Thanksgiving. It was great. My mom felt really old, but she got into a groove toward the end. The bumpers saved the kids and Dustin!

Enjoying the warm weather at the park :o).

Dustin taking a beating :o).......I still got it!

Dustin found someone he could pick on:

Last couple weeks

Reggie was student of the week a couple weeks ago and had a different activity to do everyday and share with the class. We celebrated his birthday and he shared Oreo cookie dippers that all the kids have been talking about. The last day, he had to lead an activity. It was torture for him, but he did a good job showing the class how to make art by tracing your hand. Reggie’s party was last weekend and he invited his best friends– JD, Michael, Caleb, Jason K, Tommy and Colin. He was so excited to have his friends over, but I’m not sure having 7, 6 year olds, running around the house with light sabers was such a good idea. It was very loud for awhile, but they calmed down after going in the bounce house and got some energy out! It was a bit crazy, but Reggie had a wonderful time and enjoyed his party. He got a Lego garbage truck kit and put it together all by himself…I have to say, I am pretty impressed :o).
I can’t believe Reggie is 6….that sounds so old.

Go to http://www.arrtwade.blogspot.com/ to see video:

Funny story
Reggie has his Christmas program this week and I have been trying to find him some khaki pants at the thrift store and haven’t had much luck. I finally found some, along with a button up blue shirt and some nice brown shoes. I got them all washed and had him try everything on. He absolutely loved it! He said to me, “mommy, I look just like a dad….can I add these to my dress up box?”. To which I replied, “you can wear these clothes whenever you want!” It was pretty cute and this weekend he went to a birthday party and wore his grown up pants. I guess I might have to look for some more, since he seems to enjoy looking nice :o).

325,000 lights
We visited Deacon Dave’s house in Livermore last week and it was amazing…he had Christmas scenes, a huge Christmas village, the nativity, complete with doves, waterfalls and 325,000 lights! We all loved it and walked through it twice :o). Ryan is out of town tomorrow night and I’m going to load up the kids and drive around to look at all the lights. It is such a beautiful time of year and I’m excited to slow down and just enjoy it. I’ve started to get a little stressed about packing and getting everything done….we only have one week until we’re back home and there’s a lot going on between now and then!!!

Decorating our tree, 125 lights

Reggie and Ryan are at our 3rd birthday party of the weekend. We had Caleb’s yesterday, along with the Veggie Tales Christmas movie at church, Michael’s this morning at Chuckee Cheese and JD’s this afternoon at Party Palooza! We were only home for 10 minutes yesterday, so we’re looking forward to a quiet evening tonight with an early bed time.

Ainsley and Sam at Chuckee Cheese:

Happy Birthday Big Guy

Dec. 1st:
Reggie had a great day. It started out with a scavenger hunt around the house, getting pictures of transformers, batting gloves, and a color book only to finish it off with a cupcake in the play kitchen! A cupcake for breakfast…what could be better :o). His good friend Michael came over for a morning play date and then we headed to school. He chose to go to Red Robin for dinner and we had a fabulous time. Reggie opened a Star Wars book from Ainsley, so we read that during dinner :o). Ryan has been on a health kick this week, so eating out wasn’t nearly as fun. As I took down a bacon cheese burger Ryan ate a Boca burger wrapped in lettuce… I felt bad for about 1 second, until I remembered that I always eat good! We got home and let Reggie open his gifts and it was the year of the Lego’s and he has been possessed with building since! I think next year we might do presents earlier, since he didn’t want to go to bed that night and was up bright and early the next morning.
I love my child! What a good boy he is :o). He is wise beyond his years…when I was sad about my cousin, he wanted to do something nice, so he put on a puppet show for me. He saw Ryan on the couch this weekend asleep and wanted to show him a craft, but found me instead because he didn’t want to wake him up. He saves the girls at recess from the other boys (I think he’s going to be one popular guy!). He helps his sister with crafts and plays baby’s with her (some day he’ll kill me for sharing that). He respects adults and knows his boundaries. It is amazing to see how much he has grown up since last year.
Milestones this year:
Training wheels came off
Started Kindergarten
Got his tonsils out
Learned to swim
First loose tooth
Grew: He is 48 inches tall and weighs 51 pounds

Things Reggie likes:
Holidays and decorating for Christmas
Arts/Crafts!!!
Waking up early-thankfully, he is quiet and plays and eats his breakfast without disturbing us :o).
He loves playing
He loves getting presents!
Stickers over a lollipops (not sure what genes this came from!)
Ice cream - As you can see above.....

Parent/Teacher conference and trip to Seattle

Reggie’s teacher’s conference was scheduled for Monday afternoon but sadly, Scott Lui (Trina’s cousin) was called to the Lord and Trina had to fly back to Seattle for the memorial. She flew out Monday afternoon and the kids and I started our “Disneyland journey.” The kids and I managed to only eat in once and enjoyed every other meal out. We also pulled out the Christmas decorations and put up frosty.

I had to keep their minds off of their Mom being gone (they missed their mommy). Trina was gone for just a couple of nights. She enjoyed seeing her extended family as all of the cousins were there. The circumstances weren’t ideal, but the company was a blessing from God. It was nice for Trina to get away and spend quality time with her family without the kids. Once she got back we settled back into our routine and before we knew it Reggie’s conference was here. We knew we had a sweet boy, but when you hear it from his kindergarten teacher, it just re-confirms it. Reggie is making great progress in school as he’s learning his “sight” words (the, and, it, we, etc..) along with hand-writing, and basic math. His teacher Mrs. Pierson tells us that all of the boys in his class fight over who gets to sit by Reggie, eat by Reggie, and play with Reggie. All in all, he is right where he should be with all the things he is learning and is a joy to have in class. I’m so thankful to God that Reggie is the way he is. Remembering back to my childhood I dreaded going to school and was never very good at it. I can tell that most of it will come easy to Reggie (must be the Norwegian genes) and that he’ll enjoy going to school. Hopefully his sister will follow in his footsteps.

A very late Halloween update

Oh, the fun of Halloween! Reggie dresses up a lot at home, but the week of Halloween, he got to wear his costumes out in public! His school had a fun parade and class party which he thoroughly enjoyed. His eyes were darting everywhere, looking at everyone’s costumes and he was really excited. Ainsley dressed up as Bell and was met by her "friends" in kindergarten. She plays with a couple girls who hang around after their morning class and they were excited to see her.

Here's a clip of Reggie at his school parade:

Ainsley's class doing a Halloween craft:

Sat. was Halloween and Reggie woke up with the sniffles. He still hasn’t gotten over the cough from his first cold, so I was bummed he was getting another. Ainsley got his first cold and we were up many hours of the night for about 3 days trying to get her to stop coughing. She coughed so hard, she threw up a few times. Thankfully, the days are much better for both of them. Anyway, Reggie wasn’t feeling well on Halloween night (wouldn’t even eat dinner!), and we were at Bill’s house (Ryan’s boss), so we decided to go up and down the street and call it a night. Ainsley was having a lot of fun because they have 3 girls and they had their friends over. She wants so badly to be a big kid! I think she would have been fine with us leaving her to go with the big girls! Reggie fell asleep in the car at 7:30 and had a great night of sleep, so he was a different, happy kid on Sunday. And the best part was we didn’t end up with much candy!!! We were home in time to give out ours and we were left with only 1 candy bar :o).

Visit from Aunt Liha and Maggie

We had a great visit!!! It was a little more challenging to find time for fun activities with school and preschool, but I think we found some fun things to do.
Reggie had his school carnival/walkathon on Sat., so I was able to help in the classroom on Friday. The carnival is put on by the PTA and I volunteered with another mom to be our class PTA rep., not really knowing what was involved. Let’s just say, it was good there were two of us and good my sister was in town, because we were pretty busy! The Kindergartner’s were in charge of decorating cakes for the cake walk (it is kinda like musical chairs) for our class game on Sat. We had an abundance of cakes because the morning classes gave us their extras and some people brought 4 cakes, so each kid decorated 2. It was quite the sight and we finished just in time!

Liha had a really bad cold and a migraine, so things started out a bit rocky, but everyone finally slept on day 3 and she started feeling lots better. All the kids went to the carnival on Sat. morning. Reggie walked laps (he was coughing so much that he couldn’t run) and the girls played on the playground. They had all kinds of carnival games, so we ended up with lots of stickers, spider rings and candy! They had a bake sale and Aunt Liha got them a decorated Halloween cupcake, so they had their sugar for the week! They also were raffling off class theme baskets and some were really cool. We did a Christmas theme basket that Libby and I put together….making those baskets look nice is quite the task! I only mention the baskets because I won one….the one we spent so long putting together!!!

Thank you everyone for supporting Reggie and his school for their walkathon!

Sunday we went to church and then headed for Six Flags. They had a new tiger show, so we watched them dive for dinner. It was super cool to see the tigers swim and dive. The kids rode a few rides and then we watched the sea lion Halloween show. It always seems like we are there for a long time and don’t get to do enough, but as usual, the kids had fun. It was dark when we left and they had “smoke”, along with crazy dressed people scaring those walking around, so it was kinda spooky.
We didn’t have much excitement after that. The kids played and played….I’m not even sure what they did, but there was a lot of giggling going on with intermittent shrieking! We took a few trips to the park and the kids played outside in the sandbox and yard because the weather was so nice. And we had to go to Sweet Tomatoes and get bagels for Aunt Liha. For some reason, there’s a lot more bagels shops here.
The night before they left, Livermore had a downtown Halloween festival. Usually, the kids trick-or-treat through the local businesses, but they decided to switch it up this year. It was o.k., but similar to Reggie’s school carnival, except with really long lines. It was kinda chilly, so we didn’t stay long. Colds aside, it was a great visit and we’re bummed they won’t be back for a long time…why did Liha have to go and get knocked up???? It will be exciting to meet the new little girl/guy at the end of April :o).

Cousin Scott

Today is a sad day. Scott lost his battle with pseudomonus, aspergillus, and some mystery fungus in his one functioning lung. He was on life support for almost 3 weeks and had his ups and downs, but took a turn this week. They decided to let him go and he went quickly. I can just imagine he ran to God without having to stop to catch his breath, excited to be rid of his sickly body. Praise God!!! I’m happy for Scott, but sad for the rest of us who will miss him. Please pray for his wife, Kristin, and daughters, Stella and Ruby, along with his parents and brothers and all that loved him.
He’s been the cat with nine lives, surviving his transplant and numerous infections and hospitalizations. Although this day was inevitable, somehow, I think everyone thought he would pull through yet again. Funny how it comes as a surprise when the day is actually here….wow…I can’t believe he is really gone :o(.

Visit from Mom and Dad

My mom and dad came to visit a couple weeks ago and it went by way too fast. Now that Reggie is in school, our flexibility isn’t there, but we made the most of our 4 short days. Not enough time to get the yard cleaned up :o(!!
We got right into our normal routine on Friday and got a nervous grandma on a bike and rode to Reggie’s school. She did fine and we had a nice mellow day. Ainsley got to spend some one on one time with Grandma, which never happens! Grandpa was off to the store to get a paper and do his daily drive. We sure noticed a difference in Grandpa from the spring visit. He was in a lot of pain and not able to do much during their last trip here. This visit was great because he was playing a lot with the kids and they loved it! Reggie and Ainsley love take-out and running around and they had some good fun with Grandpa. Everyone was happy that night when we went to Sweet Tomato’s, our favorite restaurant :o).

Sat. morning Dad and Ryan went to the men’s breakfast at our church. Of course, my dad, found some other old farts who shared his political frustrations, so he had a great time! They also met a retired NASA guy, who owns a couple small planes and flies from Livermore to Sammamish…small world! I think mom and dad should hitch a ride :o). Sat. afternoon grandma and the kids built a gingerbread house. It seems to be the yearly tradition for them. The look of concentration on their faces was priceless and they did very good keeping the candy out of their mouths. They did such a good job decorating that it fell down from the weight of the candy and grandma had to tie it together while the frosting hardened. Later, we went to the park and ran around. Everyone is a bit gimpy, but between the adults, we had the kids running like crazy. Tag is a new favorite game and it is one I enjoy, so I had a good sweat going.

Sunday was a very busy day! We went to the pumpkin patch and had great fun. Mom and Ainsley went on the cow train and I just missed winning 10,000 on America’s Funniest Home Videos because I wasn’t recording my mom’s entrance into the tiny cart. Let’s just say they weren’t made for people with long legs :o). They all had fun running through the hay maze and playing in the corn. Ainsley had another successful ride on the pony, so I think she’s conquered that fear! Reggie and Ryan rode on some pedal cars and that was pretty funny too and I guess a pretty good quad workout. That night we went to a pumpkin carving parting and barbeque through the parks department. It would have been hard to do without mom and dad because, making dinner and carving pumpkins, while containing the kids is a bit challenging. I was able to score on the pumpkin seeds and we did sing some Halloween songs around the campfire, so I think everyone had some fun.

Grandpa, lost in the hay tunnels! Where are those kids???

Only God

It was an emotional weekend that started Sat. morning with news that my cousin, Scott, was on life support due to pneumonia and staff :o(. The poor guy has overcome so many obstacles with his Cystic Fibrosis, lung transplant, infections and has been waiting for a new lung for 2 years (since only one is working). In the midst of that, he had twin girls, who are now almost 2. I just felt sick and helpless. Of course I prayed and I decided to fast. Crazy, huh??? I’ve never fasted before, but have heard people talk about it. It isn’t something that I really want to write about, in fact, I felt silly telling Ryan that is what I was doing. I was well out of my comfort zone…but, isn’t that when God speaks to us??? I share this because, how can we encourage one another, if we don’t talk about the amazing things God is doing in our lives?
I pretty much prayed constantly for Scott because my mind was so focused, as my stomach reminded me every few minutes of what I was doing. My mind was at battle with good and bad thoughts and I just kept getting reminded of the power of God. I’m doing a Bible Study right now on believing God, so I had a few scripture fresh in my mind. God can do anything if it is His will!!! For goodness sakes, he parted the Red Sea and raised people from the dead! It was an amazing day for me in my walk and I would encourage you to fast if you are having a hard time connecting with God because he will be at the front of your mind!!! Scott has improved, but he is still in critical condition and on the ventilator, so please continue to pray for him :o(.
Then, the coolest thing happened this morning at Church when Pastor Steve was reading some verses in Acts. He was reading about FASTING!!! Ryan and I kinda looked at each other strangely….he went on for a good 20 minutes about why we should fast. If you are interested in listening, it is the first half of the sermon on Oct. 18th (probably won’t be posted for a few days), http://livermore.cornerstoneweb.org/Livermore/MediaGrp/MediaArchive.aspx. Then he quoted a Psalm that I had read on Sat. Coincidence…I think not! Bottom line is that God hears our prayers and he wants us to know that. As small and insignificant as we feel, he loves us so much! How awesome is that!!!! Our prayers might not always be answered, but, hopefully, we will be changed through the process. I’m not sure what will happen with Scott, but I know God is there :o).

Eeek, has it been a couple weeks already??!! We’ve been getting into a routine with school and everyone is doing great. Not too much to highlight over the last couple of weeks, but Ryan took the kids to an open house at the small airport in our city and they got to sit in a rescue helicopter and old war plane. They seemed to really like it, but it was super hot, so they didn’t stay long.

The next day, we went to the Children’s fair in Pleasanton. It was good we went, but I doubt we’ll be going next year. It was super expensive (like $3-4 per ride, per child!), but we enjoyed meeting the movie characters and watching a retired circus clown. The kids laughed and laughed at Mr. Diaperpants :o). It was close to 100 degrees that day, so we were happy to head over to our friends open house/pool party. Their pool was pretty chilly, but Reggie didn’t seem to mind…he just loves the water so much! We’ve already made some good friends from kindergarten :o).

Ainsley's first successful pony ride!!!

Hugging all the characters:
If you can't view the video, go to www.arrtwade.blogspot.com:

We also had a celebration BBQ for the Governor’s Fitness Challenge at his school. Several of the kids from the school that we donated the fitness money to, came and sang the kids a song and showed their appreciation. Rancho (Reggie’s school) also announced that they were able to get $5,000 toward the building of their track, so they should be breaking ground next spring! The kids are super excited about this. Reggie has a big foot now, so he’s ran 10 miles! At the BBQ, Reggie was kicking the ball around with some older kids and it was amazing to watch. Maybe we’ll have to try soccer again.
This last weekend, we went to the 3-D Toy Story movies. I haven’t seen a 3-D movie in a long time and they sure have improved. The detail was absolutely amazing. There’s one scene where it snowing and you could almost reach out and touch it! Now that I think of it, maybe that is where Reggie picked up Pink Eye :o(. We’ve had a few colds and I’m still trying to figure out what to do about the H1N1….shot or no shot….that is the question????