call family

Kirtland, Ohio...

2010-08-26T13:31:00.000-07:00

Steve was able to take some time while away in Ohio for business and visit Kirtland, Ohio. He really enjoyed seeing and learning about this important place in our church's history. While it is not owned currently by the LDS Church it still holds significant value and importance to many of the things we still believe today. Joseph Smith received many personal revelations while the saints stayed in Kirtland, Ohio and spent time here translating the Bible and other church doctrine. I too have enjoyed learning about the places in the pictures he brought back and wanted to share them. I have copy and pasted some info from the church's website to give specific info about the places you see. I though it so enhanced the pictures to know things that took place there. I hope to some day get our whole family out that way to see it in person as well!

The saints began construction on this temple in 1833 and it was dedicated March 27, 1836. It is currently owned and maintained by the Community of Christ Church.

Across the street to the north of the Kirtland Temple is the Kirtland North Cemetery. In the 1830s it was known as the Kirtland Mills Burying Ground. In those days a Methodist meetinghouse stood on the southeast corner. It was the practice of members of the various congregations at the time to be buried near their churches. Among the earliest burials on record is Philo Ingersoll who died in 1827.

Early members of the Church also buried some of their dead there, including Jerusha Barden Smith, first wife of Hyrum Smith; and Mary Duty Smith, Joseph Smith's grandmother. Other well-known members include John Johnson, the parents of Newel K. Whitney; Oliver Cowdery's father and the parents of Isaac Morley.

LDS vistors center just down the road from the Kirtland Temple

Newel K. Whitney Store-Built in 1826 this general store was an important gathering place for the community. Whitney provided rooms inside for church meetings, offices and a home for Joseph Smith and his family during part of their stay in Kirtland, Ohio.

General Store-called as the second bishop of the LDS church Whitney used rooms in his store to organize goods to help the needy.

This was part of the prophets family's living quarters.

The Prophet Joseph Smith and his wife Emma lived in the Whitney store for about 18 months. And it was there that Joseph worked on translating the Bible. The Prophet also received numerous revelations in what is known as the Revelation Room above the store.

Next to the Revelation Room is the room where the School of the Prophets was held; it’s Adam Jones’s favorite place in Kirtland. Adam, 17, from the Stow Branch in Akron, Ohio, lives about an hour’s drive from Kirtland. “I really like the School of the Prophets Room,” he says. “I like the spirit there. There’s a peacefulness that testifies of what the Saints went through and what they accomplished in Kirtland to help the gospel go forward.”

Visiting the rooms where the Prophet taught the early missionaries and where he received so many important revelations—such as the oath and covenant of the priesthood (see D&C 84) and the Word of Wisdom (see D&C 89)—has strengthened Adam’s testimony of the Restoration. “Being here helps your faith and helps you understand about the history of the Church.”

Clark Haymond, 17, of the Solon Ward in Kirtland has a personal connection to the School of the Prophets Room. “I was able to be ordained to the priesthood there above the Whitney store,” he says. “It was really special because prophets studied there. It was a very spiritual and touching experience.”

This is where the Prophet Joseph Smith and his family slept while staying at the Whitney Store in Kirtland, Ohio.

The ashery was an important industry that helped the Saints raise funds to build the temple and other Church buildings. Consecrated to the Church by Newel Whitney, the ashery is where potash and pearlash were made. Both of these ingredients were used in making items such as soap, paper, gunpowder, cloth, and glass.

Beautiful scenery all around it!

Dad's trip to Ohio made for beautiful pictures...

2010-08-26T13:26:00.000-07:00

Lots of NEW posts!

2010-08-25T22:52:00.001-07:00

Well I am finally caught up on posting-mostly. My nice Nikon camera needs to go back to the shop AGAIN so we have been having to use our blackberry phone cameras for pictures which is convenient but the quality is not so great. I am glad to have these events documented but can't wait for a real camera again! Enjoy!

Chase is too darn cute!

2010-08-25T22:36:00.000-07:00

I just love that boy! Could he be any more adorable!

Our First family Dodger Game...

2010-08-25T21:13:00.000-07:00

We were so lucky and scored 4 free tickets and free preferred parking to a Dodgers game last week from one of Steve's old friends he knew in his single days in the singles ward at church. The boys were so excited to go and asked all day if it was time to go yet so mom was happy when 5 pm came around and I could finally say "YES!" Shane was all smiles and Chase was really into the plays in the game and they especially loved that it was "bobblehead night" so we came home with 4 Matt Kemp bobbleheads-2 of which are still in their packaging and in one piece LOL! We all had a blast and now they say its time for an Angels game next! I kinda think so too!

Castaic Lake Trip

2010-08-15T21:31:00.000-07:00

Some friends invited us out on their boat at Castaic Lake a few weekends back and it was so much fun. Chase wasn't too sure he liked going fast on the water but once we anchored in a cove and they could swim around and play on the inflatable monster truck and enjoy lunch and exploring he loved it. Shane loved everything about the lake-the water, the speed, the swimming and of course the food! Fun was had by all and we were wiped out by the end of the day and have many fun memories we talk about often!

Chase climbin back in the boat!

Shane and Riley riding in the monster truck-Shane loved going fast!

Shane swimming around!

Our friend Marin-love her!

Chase enjoyed swimming all over-he did great for a 3 year old!

Batmobile! Just for FUN!!!

2010-07-01T22:31:00.000-07:00

Park Playdate with a friend!

2010-06-29T22:41:00.000-07:00

Chase and I enjoyed a great day at the park with one of my friends Wendy and her son Micah-the boys played so well together! Hope to do it again soon!

Toy Story 3 Opening Morning!

2010-06-18T22:42:00.000-07:00

I scored free tickets to the first showing of Toy Story 3 at the El Capitan Theater on opening day-the only catch was that the movie started at like 6am so we were up before the sun standing in line and then enjoying soda and popcorn for breakfast watching the movie the kids had been dying to see since first seeing the previews! Out behind the theater they had a huge Tpy Story Funhouse with all kinds of games and rides and things to enjoy after with our special wristbands we got for being at the screening! SO MUCH FUN!!!

California Science Center

2010-06-15T22:37:00.000-07:00

Yay for another outing with dad while mom enjoyed some quiet at home to get some cleaning done with no kiddos under my feet!

Adventure City!

2010-06-01T22:32:00.000-07:00

Aunt Amanda and the cousins Gwen and Jonah came out to visit for the weekend and we decided on a trip to Adventure City! The kids all loved it and they were all over that tiny amusement park. Jonah especially liked the Thomas area and I think the train was one of the favorites of all the kids! So fun having cousin time!

Daddy got a NEW BIKE!!!

2010-05-29T23:12:00.000-07:00

Steve was so excited to finally get his first road bike! His friend Jay helped him put it together and it was definitely love at first site haha! he is loving his new hobby and getting tons of great exercise!

Tour de California

2010-05-22T22:24:00.000-07:00

Steve decided to take the boys up to see the Los Angeles leg of the Tour de California. The boys got dressed up in their Shrek jerseys and had a blast spending the day with daddy waiting to the see the bikes finally come riding by! The boys even ended up getting their picture posted on the website of one of the local papers-was cool to see them on there site!

Tour de Long Beach 2010

2010-05-04T22:18:00.000-07:00

Steve really wanted to go to the first annual Tour de Long Beach this year so we packed up a picnic lunch and headed down t see the action. There were lots of bikes and fun things for the kids to do! They enjoyed the free samples and crafts and came home with many new treasures! I'm glad we got to enjoy this as a family!

Edelbrock Car Show 2010-Rev'ved up for Kids!

2010-04-25T22:15:00.000-07:00

Once again we made our way to the annual charity car show for Steve's company that benefits a children's charity that is local to our community. Chase was ecstatic to see the "Batmobile" and "Bumblebee" from Transformers there! Talk about the highlight of his day!

Happy 9th Birthday Shane!

2010-04-12T10:13:00.000-07:00

Shane turned 9 on Sunday and we had a small birthday dinner for him! Was fun to keep it small this year and just make him feel special! I forgot my camera so I just had my phone which means crappy pictures but at least I got something. He was so happy and full of smiles!

We love you buddy-you make us so proud every day and we love watching you grow and learn and be the best you can be!

Farrell's Rocks!

2010-04-11T10:04:00.000-07:00

Steve informed Shane Saturday morning that we were going on a surprise trip for him since it was his birthday weekend! He was so excited and so we all got dressed and set out on the road down to Mission Viejo to go to the new Farrell's. I loved this place as a kid and they used to be all over but had closed up and not been around for many years. This place is loud and pretty much every table has a birthday or celebration going on of some sort so there was lots of singing and noise! Our food was yummy and Shane was thrilled to have them sing "Happy Birthday" to the theme of "We will Rock You" while he enjoyed his birthday clown sundae! The smile on his face was all worth the long wait to sit down and it is a place I'm sure we will return to soon!

Fun with Cousins

2010-04-09T09:47:00.000-07:00

We decided to make a short trip out to Blythe to visit the cousins since it was spring break. The kids had so much fun playing together and were even asking to go see each other the first day after we had to leave. We had sleepover time on the family room floor, frosted and decorated cupcakes, lots of park time, and went to the Colorado River Fair where the kids enjoyed giant icees! We are hoping to have them come visit this way in a few weeks! Nothing better than cousins!

Yay for movie time!

Auntie Amanda and Gwen

Shane was so proud of his work!

Chase loved decorating and was so precise in his choice of placement haha!

Jonah is just the cutest!

Gwen and Chase trying to figure out what was in each hole by feeling the objects and not looking!

Shane was doing great at the ring toss!

Jonah loved the icee just as much as the older kids!

Gwen got a butterfly painted on her which was great to watch since my boys won't let anything be painted on the face, arm or anywhere unless they do it themselves when told not too LOL!

My Lemon Easter Cake

2010-04-05T16:58:00.000-07:00

I decided to attempt a cake from scratch for Easter yesterday and so I adapted a recipe from Trisha Yearwood in Redbook magazine for a Key Lime Cake and made it into a Lemon Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Chase wanted a "green cake" so we did that and added coconut and jelly beans to make it a bit more festive for the holiday! While it wouldn't win any awards for being a "pretty cake"-it tasted yummy and I got no complaints from those eating it!

The Easter Bunny stopped by...

2010-04-04T12:34:00.000-07:00

The Easter Bunny made a visit to our boys this morning-it is the best laying in bed and hearing their responses to what they find in their baskets. Chase was excited of course to have anything super heros, transformers, and I think his favorite was the Bakugon! "I've been asking for one of those!" was his happy response to seeing it LOL! He was also pretty stoked about the Batman plate he found in there! Shane was a bit more tricky for the Easter Bunny as he is in love with I-carly and the bunny had a very difficult time finding gender neutral things. He managed to pull it off though with a mini calendar, notebook, and a back pack clip as well as a drawing pad and some pencils since Shane loves to write and draw!

I think the Easter Bunny did good!

Coloring Easter Eggs

2010-04-04T12:27:00.001-07:00

Last night we colored eggs with the boys and they could hardly contain their excitement to do their eggs! The loved dropping them in and then seeing the results as the lifted them out. Who knew something so easy and quick could be such great entertainment!

All smiles-read to get started!

"Check it out Chase!"

Dad making silly faces at the camera while being a photographer!

Yay-pretty colored eggs! We added gold later but I forgot to get a photo before they kids ate some and the rest got turned into deviled eggs!

Shane's Day at the Hospital

2010-03-24T12:07:00.000-07:00

Shane went in for a eye check-up under anesthesia up at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. The eye doc does this every year or two to check his eyes for glaucoma since he won't let him use the pen tool on his eye ball in the office-can't say I blame him! Well he came away with a new train toy and was happy to get out of there after a rough waking up from the anesthesia. Shane didn't want to take the "happy juice" medicine as he usually does and boy did he wake up on the wrong side of the hospital bed. Poor guy was all confused-thought he hadn't been asleep yet and was crying "I don't want to go to sleep!" I had to warn the nurse she'd have to take the IV out ASAP or else he'd be ripping it out on his own-he hates IV's and they put it in after he's asleep. He didn't even want a popsicle and he never turns down a popsicle. Yay for not having to go back for a few years we hope!!! Good thing a trip to McDonald's made it all better right after we left-amazing how that place does that ha ha!

"Is it my turn yet?" We heard this about a hundred times!

He got to watch "Bee Movie" on a portable DVD player while waiting-YAY!

Anxiously waiting-I can tell since he is chewing his fingers-poor guy!

PTN Easter Egg Hunt 2010

2010-03-21T18:36:00.000-07:00

We made our way once again to one of Shane's favorite events of the year-The Annual Easter Egg Hunt put on my Pediatric Therapy Network. Shane looks forward to this every year and this is I believe his 4th year going. We always come away with plenty of eggs, treats and smiles!

Lake Tahoe

2010-03-01T13:26:00.000-08:00

Some good friends invited us to join them on their vacation to Lake Tahoe in February and we were thrilled to join them. The boys had a blast with their 2 kids and their was plenty of time for snow activities, movies, wrestling, using the hot tub and relaxing for the adults! We got lots and lots of snow while we were their and were lucky enough to have clear days on our trip up and back since we didn't have chains for our car. So fun to get away and just leave the real world behind us for some much needed family fun! Thanks Coveys for the invite!

Yay-Snow in Lake Tahoe!

A huge icicle we saw hanging from someones roof!

So much snow one of the days we were there!

Lots of time for pillow fights and wrestling!

Shane-love that boy! This pic so captures some moments with him haha!

Snow Chicken according to Chase-he and daddy made it!

Go mommy and Shane!

Hot tubing during a huge snow storm! Yes we were that nuts haha!

Chase-so handsome!

Go Shane Go!

Go Chase Go!

Daddy and Shane rippin it up!

Daddy caught some major air.....

...and then ate it pretty good!

Snow Day at Chase's Preschool

2010-02-15T19:25:00.000-08:00

Every year at Chase's preschool they have their "Snow Day" and they bring in a huge truck that blows out snow and fills one of the areas on campus for the kids to enjoy sledding, snow ball fights, and lots of other fun snow activities. This was Chase's first encounter with snow and he LOVED it-couldn't get enough. He simply could not throw the snow balls fast enough LOL!

Christmas 2009

2009-12-26T13:19:00.000-08:00

Gingerbread House Time!

Chase enjoying present opening time!

Shane can't open fast enough!

Steve and I-one of my favorite recent pics of us!

Lucky for me I received a few pictures taken from my bestie's camera of us at our Christmas gathering at my moms-I didn't remember my camera and have pretty much no pictures from this year :(

We did have fun eating dinner together and opening the mound of presents under grandma and grandpa Hartmann's tree. The mound of presents seems to double every year and no one goes home empty handed! Family and new presents-how can you go wrong!

Yummy Burgers and Christmas Lights-Hooray!

2009-12-15T13:06:00.000-08:00

Shane enjoying his coloring page!

Steve and I-this is a cute one!

Chase and mom!

With my bestie Heather!!!

Jason and I-bestie's hubby and my great friend even all these years since high school!

Love my boys-enjoying their new presents!

We got together with our good friends Jason and Heather and their boys to try out a new burger place close to home and drive around to see the Christmas Lights which is always fun! Everyone loved their yummy burgers and giant chocolate chip cookies for dessert and then we were off to see lights-so much fun for all of us!

Hartmann Family Pictures

2009-12-01T20:17:00.000-08:00

My brother Eric LOVES to feel my hair-one of his favorite things.

The whole family-this shot is classic, so captures the craziness that is a family gathering with Eric!

All the siblings!

Eric with mom and dad!

My handsome Chase!

Shane is the man!

We decided to get together with the Hartmann family for a family picture with my brother Eric. We just never know how long he'll be around and didn't want to miss an opportunity to capture a group shot with all of us! We met up at the beach and got some great shots with everyone and the weather made for some beautiful shots. I LOVE my family-they are one of the most important things to me and time spent with them is time well spent in my book!

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-30T20:02:00.000-08:00

Before heading to Grandma Call's for Thanksgiving dinner we decided to take a bit of a drive as it was a beautiful day. We stopped off at a great spot with a view in Palos Verdes and the boys threw rocks over the side of the cliff and mom got some cute pictures. They are just the cutest when they play together, gotta love having a brother to pal around with. We were also lucky to have our cousins from Mesa, AZ come to visit this year for Thanksgiving! The kids had a blast and among the many activities for the day was rolling down the hill on grandma's front yard and for the 3 little boys-story time with grandma which is always a treat! Love making great memories with family!

Nothing better than a warm sunny November day spent at the beach......

2009-11-25T15:47:00.000-08:00

My best friend Heather and I decided to pack up lunches and head to the beach this morning since the kids were out of school for Thanksgiving break and I'm so glad we did. We had expected it to be cold and windy but it turns out today was an 80 degree November day before Turkey Day! It was so nice to feel the warm sun and let the kids run around and have a blast. We even had a nice surprise with a few families from church showing up at the same spot at the beach so the kids had even more friends to play with!

I am THANKFUL-Post #4

2009-11-23T14:02:00.001-08:00

This post is for my hubby-my other half in the world! I am so lucky to have a husband that works so hard every day to provide for and take care of myself and our two boys. He is a great dad and wrestling/baseball pitcher to our boys daily as this is their favorite nightly activity as of late! You can find all three boys in the living room every evening pitching to each other with a nerf bat and soft hand ball having loads of fun cheering each other on and yelling "Strike" and "Run home".

I am so proud of him for having the courage and drive to go back to college to finish his degree. He will be finishing in February-1 1/2 classes left and he will officially be a College Graduate! What an accomplishment while still working full time and trying to make time for other things at home! Amazing is the first word that comes to mind!

We've gone through so much over the last almost 12 years of marriage-both challenges and great memories and been blessed with 2 crazy boys who keep us on our toes and running after them both. Can't imagine having it any other way!

Love you Steve-thanks for everything you do!!!

I am THANKFUL-Post #3

2009-11-20T23:36:00.001-08:00

I am beyond thankful for my parents-without them I wouldn't be anything close to the person that I am today! They have worked hard my whole life to show my siblings and I what unconditional love is and we all know they are there for us no matter if they agree with everything we do or not. It is so awesome to know that I have a mother and father who I can go to at any time and talk to them without judgement and with my best interest at heart always! I have the best example of a mother-someone who will do anything/say anything needed to fight for her children! My mom has been such a great strength for me in being a mother to Shane as I have her to go to knowing she has been there and can help me do and get the best for him. Mess with boys and not only am I gonna be mad but Grandma will be right there too! What lucky boys I have to have a grandma like her. My dad is always working as hard as possible to provide for and be the head of the family! I love him for helping make memories in my childhood whether they cost money or not, some of the best ones are just being with my dad and hanging out at parks, the beach and on road trips! He is always there for us and my boys LOVE their grandpa-its a special bond they can only share with him! I thank my Heavenly Father for placing me with my parents as I know they were specially chosen for me and I couldn't have asked for any better!

I love you mom and dad!!!

I am THANKFUL-Post #2

2009-11-17T15:43:00.000-08:00

Today's post is about one of the most special people I have been blessed to have in my life-my brother Eric! He was born with special needs and despite all he goes through and all the things in life he has not been able to do or have-he is one of the most happy people I know-loves music and life and is always in a good mood and ready to smile. How can you not just love and adore someone who thinks bringing him a milkshake or chocolate milk is like winning the lottery. The easiest and smallest things make him completely content and beyond grateful. If only more of us could think this way! I count myself as lucky to have him as my brother and in our family. I truly believe we are better people because we have had him to teach us just how precious life is and how to really appreciate even the smallest things. You never know what you truly can do or become until you have to put others ahead of yourself and in helping care for him over the years-I have come to learn just what really is important!

I love you Eric-more than I could ever say!

I am thankful-Post #1...

2009-11-16T12:15:00.000-08:00

I am gonna post about some of the important people in my life over the next few weeks since this month is a great time to reflect upon the things we have and how they enrich our lives. Hope you enjoy reading about and learning a bit more about the people I consider myself super lucky to have in my life!

One of the most special people in my life is my sister. She is an amazing woman and has grown to be one of those people I most look up to for her talents and drive to achieve her goals in life. She is a super awesome hair stylist and has worked hard to get where she is in her career since high school. Hair and the ability to style and cut it is truly a talent she perfects more and more each day and I admire her for her hard work and perseverance to be the best she can at it. She is also one of the most thoughtful people I know-always thinking of others around her and what she can do to help those in need and to make their day brighter. She is the best auntie ever to my two boys and they love their Auntie Adelle more than I can even put into words!

Love you Adelle-couldn't have asked for a more wonderful sister!

Lowe's Build and Grow Garage and Race Car...

2009-11-14T20:23:00.000-08:00

I took the boys this morning to Lowe's Home Improvement center for their free kid project through the Build and Grow Program-they each made a garage and race car! It was fun watching them hammer away in their little aprons and they were both excited to see their finished project! This was our second time doing a project and I'm quite sure it won't be our last!!! I highly recommend this to anyone with a Lowe's close by and small children when you have Saturday mornings free!

Dinner out with my favorite people in the world...

2009-11-13T21:58:00.000-08:00

We took the chance to get together and enjoy a meal out with the whole family after a long day at the Apple farms and decided on Ruby's since they have yummy food and its kid friendly! I had a blast sitting next to my little nephew Jonah handing him food and watching him use everything as a cell phone-he loves cell phones. It was the cutest thing ever!!! It was picture time after we finished eating since we are rarely all together at the same time!!!

Hi there Joe!!! Can you find him?

My sister-in-law Amanda with Steve-awww!

Jonah was a hoot at dinner-he had my dad picking things up off the floor left and right!

Grandma Macho with all her great grand-kids!

My brother Joe's family with my grandma!

Our family with my grandma!

A four generation picture-love this!!!

My whole family minus my little brother Eric-we all sure missed having him with us!

Oak Glen for Pumpkins and Apples....

2009-11-13T21:34:00.000-08:00

A few weekends before Halloween we headed out to Oak Glen, Ca to meet up with my whole family and visit some Apple Farms to pick pumpkins and enjoy Apple everything...one of my favorite things about fall!!! We enjoyed apple cider(Shane's favorite), caramel apples, and bought apple butter to bring home. We also took a big hike up the hill to pick out our pumpkins and then had to hike back down the hill to the car to put our pumpkins away-man the wagons I saw people with sure would have come in handy! My grandma was in town visiting so she came along as well and it was super fun to have all the cousins running around enjoying each other!!! This was year two of an autumn day trip that I have a feeling is gonna be a new tradition in our family for years to come!

I found this face sitting there staring at me while on our hunt for the perfect pumpkin and just had to have a picture haha!!!

Our little family minus Shane!

My lovely sister with Steve-what a handsome hubby I have!

Shane trying to decide if this was the one!

My super cute niece Gwen:)

My brother Joe and sister Adelle-they like each other so much more now that they are grown-haha!!!

Steve and I in one of very few pictures we have of the two of us-I need to remedy that!

Shane with his great grandma Macho!

My mom with both her girls!

Adelle with my super adorable nephew Jonah!!!

Fun baby photos of Chase with his cousin Gwen....

2009-11-13T18:43:00.000-08:00

25 Days of Christmas......

2009-11-10T16:29:00.000-08:00

One of our boys most favorite parts of the Christmas season is the holiday music and Christmas movies. A few years ago-we started watching and keeping an eye on the schedule for ABC Family's "25 Days of Christmas". This has become a fun tradition of sorts for our 2 boys and I wanted to share this so maybe your family might be able to enjoy great wholesome family movies throughout the next 2 months! Grab a nice cup of hot cocoa and some popcorn and make some memories enjoying these with your kids!

Here is a link to a printable version of the schedule for the next 2 months-it starts tonight and we are printing it out and putting it up for Shane to enjoy seeing what's on each night! This for us gets rid of the never ending question of "What's on the schedule for tonight?" and "What time is it on?"

http://a.media.abcfamily.go.com/abcfamily/standalone/pdf/25DOC_P_Guide_Sponsor_2009_web4.pdf

We're Elves Once Again......

2009-11-10T11:55:00.000-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

The kids just think these videos are the greatest thing ever! We sat at the computer cracking up for quite awhile with the boys saying-"Play it again, play it again MOM!!!" ENJOY and make some with your family! They are a hoot!!!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-03T17:16:00.000-08:00

Halloween was so much fun this year. Each of the kids had Halloween Parades at school and dressed up and got to show off the awesome costumes they had thanks to Aunt Rebecca and her costume business. We met up with our good friends the Castillo's and had pizza and cupcakes before heading out to "Trick or Treat" on Halloween night. Chase made it about a block before he was done and wanted to check out his loot and Shane drug dad all over the neighborhood before coming bag with a HUGE bag of candy. We now have candy to last us till next Halloween...ok maybe not that long but boy did they make out!!!

I am so behind in posting.....

2009-11-03T16:27:00.001-08:00

Here are a bunch of pictures from the past 4 months or so-yikes time flies and I have been horrible at getting these up! Included in these photos are pictures from a date night we enjoyed at The Block at Orange with our good friends Heather and Jason Castillo. I also have one from our girls night BBQ in July I believe it was at Heathers house! So much fun with my friends!!!

Lowes Kids Club Project Saturday!

2009-10-30T17:07:00.000-07:00

We decided to try out the free kids projects they have at Lowes Home Improvement Centers a few times a month one Saturday in September. Both boys made a cute ball toss game and had a fun time hammering their little hearts out to put it together. We will definitely be going back to try another project soon!!!!

Land of the Free...Home of the Brave!!!

2009-10-15T17:11:00.000-07:00

Steve went down to San Diego a few weekends ago to attend a "Tea Party" Event taking place down there. I loved seeing the pictures and all the people peacefully standing up for what they believe to be right! Here are a few pictures I enjoyed as well as one of my grandma we took while visiting in July from the Tea Party" event she attended awhile back! GO Grandma!!!

Legally Blonde the musical....

2009-09-30T17:02:00.000-07:00

My sister and I accompanied my Uncle Ed and Aunt Judy to see Legally Blonde the musical at the Orange County Performing Arts Center in August and after waiting months for it to be here-we LOVED it. So awesome and such talented actors and actresses! We also enjoyed a super yummy dinner before at Maggiano's!

First day of school for both boys.....hear the quiet, I do haha!!!

2009-09-10T10:03:00.000-07:00

Haha-Chases face is hilarious!
Chases new preschool
"Mom I'm busy here!"

Shane and Miss Wilson-his one on one aide!
Brothers on the first day of school 2009

It was back to school this morning and after not too much trouble waking the boys up and some breakfast and cartoons, we were off to Chase's first day at preschool and Shane's first day of 2nd grade. Both boys were excited and so off we went to take Chase first...he was so ready. I pretty much got a "Bye Mom" and he was off and playing! Shane and I were then ready to go to his school. They have a later start time this year so its a change but all worked out smoothly since Chase has to be there earlier. Shane went right back to his little routine at school and was busy fixing the calendar in his class before I left-he is the official calendar monitor haha well at least according to him! He even had to fix the calendar in Chases preschool class. It was his preschool class too so he felt right at home I guess hehe!!!

Chase and Moms birthday weekend....

2009-08-28T16:54:00.000-07:00

The weekend of Chase and my moms birthday Joe and Amanda and the kids came out for the weekend to visit and we had a blast as usual! Chase had a shark themed swim party at my moms pool complete with yummy shark cupcakes and food from Rascals which included Chinese Chicken Salad and Terriyaki Chicken and Beef! Everyone had so much fun swimming and helping Chase celebrate his 3rd birthday! We also went to dinner for grandmas birthday at Red Robin with the cousins before they headed out to go home Sunday afternoon! Cousins are so fun!!!

Disneyland with Daddy on his birthday...so fun!

2009-08-24T13:43:00.001-07:00

We had just picked up the camera from the shop and the batteries were low so Steve didn't get too many pictures but here are a few I liked!
Chase and daddy!
HIs new favorite ride and he also loves this movie-watches it almost daily...its second in line after Peter Pan!
In line!
Going down the rabbit hole....
I am strong!
Uh oh... dynamite!
steering the ship!
He had a blast and stayed till the fireworks finished and fell asleep about 2 min after he got in the car! He chose as his souvenier a small pizza planet truck from Toy Story and a twisty sucker to which for both he made sure daddy included buying one for Shane.. didn't want him to be left out, what a good brother!

I am so behind

2009-08-20T13:48:00.001-07:00

Sorry...more coming soon....I need to catch up-camera has been in the shop, AGAIN!

He's already 3?

2009-08-20T13:47:00.001-07:00

My little man Chase is 3 today...its all gone by so fast. Its hard to believe the baby of the family is 3 already. Chase and Steve(daddy) went to Disneyland today of course to get his birthday button and free day at Disneyland. He is having a blast I am sure and Steve already sent a picture to me which I will include in this post!

Happy Birthday to my little man!

8-20-2006

8-20-2007

8-20-2008

8-20-2009

Time goes by too fast! He'll be off to pre-school in a few short weeks...oh my!

Our vacation over 4th of July in pictures!!!

2009-07-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

We always have a blast on our yearly trek to Gig Harbor, WA for 4th of July. This year we brought along my sister Adelle and made stops on the way to and from Washington in Auburn, CA to visit with Grandma Macho and enjoy the beautiful backdrop this city provides for awesome pictures! Enjoy the scenery-we did, especially the awesome fireworks show put on by Steve and a few good friends!

Pictures for fun and a self portrait...

2009-06-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

I rarely post pictures of myself especially self portraits so this is a rare treat for some of you so actually see my face haha!

Chase is so cute!

Meeting new friends!!!

2009-06-18T10:49:00.000-07:00

We got to meet Brittany and Miles(and Lance too) a few weeks ago when they came down for a trip to Disneyland. We met online through a mommy community I joined when pregnant with Chase for mommies due in August 2006. I can't believe all our babies will be 3 in the next month or so-SCARY!!! Anyways, we enjoyed a dinner at Coco's and the boys had a great time playing on the playground at their hotel. So fun to watch them interact!!!

Girls Night BBQ and WII night....

2009-06-18T10:42:00.000-07:00

Heather, Kyle, and I looking comical!!

In May our girls night out was at Heathers house and we enjoyed burgers along with yummy mac n cheese, salad, chips and super yummy smores for dessert. We also chatted up a storm and I tried out the Wii for the first time. We played a mind challenge game and it was pretty fun and hilarious to watch others play! We even had a newcomer-Lisa Vorrell who went to Sonora with us back in the day. I Love my time with the girls!!!

Princess Gwen!

2009-06-18T10:35:00.000-07:00

In May we went out to Blythe for Gwens birthday. She received every girly princess dress-up you can imagine-she was so cute, I had to take a picture. We enjoyed the swim party and spending a few days with Joe, Amanda Gwen, and baby Jonah!!

Park Day with Natalie and Avery

2009-06-18T10:29:00.000-07:00

So one day last month Chase and I joined Natalie and Avery for an hour or so at the park and the boys had fun chasing birds, playing with their handballs, and digging in the sand. Were it not for some slightly older snotty girls who were not into our boys playing with them at all-it would have been perfect. Oh well-girls will be girls, just wait till they hit the age when boys are not such an annoyance anymore haha!!!

Art Class-Jackson Pollack inspired!

2009-05-15T17:51:00.000-07:00

Chuck E. Cheese

2009-05-15T17:40:00.000-07:00

Haha-I told Shane to smile and he made a huge cheese face with his eyes closed so I told him "No, with your eyes open!" and this is what I got hahaha!!!

My sister and I took the boys to Chuck E. Cheese the other night. I hadn't been in I don't know how long but the boys had a BLAST and Chase was like a kid in a toy store. He didn't know what to ride next and then proceeded to go back to my moms after and eat 3 pieces of pizza since he was way to busy for eating while there of course!!!

Grease is the word!!!

2009-05-15T17:36:00.000-07:00

Steve and I joined my parents at a performance of Grease at The Orange County Performing Arts center last Saturday-it was fun to have a night out without the kidlets! Steve snapped these shots right before someone came on the speaker and of course said "No cameras, video recorders or cell phones in the theater" haha-oops! Taylor Hicks even starred as "Teen Angel" in the show and then played one of his new songs after the show-I guess he has a new album coming out!

Dinosaurs and Play Dough and Blocks-Oh My.....

2009-05-05T13:01:00.000-07:00

Chase went to Aunt Natalie's Art Center this morning for play time with his Cousin Avery. They had a great time with play dough and dinosaurs, blocks and cars, and lots of other fun stuff. Its so cute to watch them play together as they are off and going as soon as they see each other-its so fun to have a cousin the same age so close to us! :)

California Adventures-just the boys...

2009-05-04T11:29:00.000-07:00

Steve and Shane had 2fer tickets from Shane's birthday last month and decided to use them them this weekend as they are only good till the 11th or so...and since Chase is still 2-he's free!!! So it was a boys trip to the park-they had a blast and the boys slept like logs after a busy day-I even had to keep Shane home from school today as he slept in till 10 am haha!!!! Didn't think that the teachers would appreciate a super sleepy/grumpy Shane! They spent most of their time in either "A Bugs Land" or the "Redwood Creek Challenge Trail" and Steve said the boys had the best time climbing, sliding, and being boys in the challenge trail area! They both loved the Caterpillar ride and also rode Monsters Inc. a few times!!! Chase was in heaven as he loves the movie "A Bugs Life" right now-funny though-he's terrified of bugs in real life haha!!! They finished off the night with the fireworks show and then I picked them up and brought home a tired bunch of boys-off to bed they went! Oh and I spent the day getting some much needed rest and pampering which included a facial and a pedicure....ahhhh!!!

Edelbrock Car Show

2009-04-27T16:51:00.000-07:00

WHAT the heck kinda car is this-haha!

Edelbrock had their annual charity car show that helps a local school for special needs kids on Sunday. Steve had to take video for work so the kids and I came along and enjoyed the sunshine and cool cars! The kids made friends with some other kids there and played cars, colored in Edelbrock coloring books, made crafts and enjoyed yummy food and great music!!!

A Day Out with Thomas

2009-04-27T16:41:00.000-07:00

Shane got tickets to "A Day Out with Thomas" for his birthday from grandpa and grandma Hartmann. The kids had a blast-they had Thomas everything from trains to hats to whistles and backpacks. They got to of course ride on Thomas and take pictures with Sir Topham Hat, play mini golf, and watch Thomas movies and listen to Thomas book story times!! Its was super fun even for the adults-Shane also got a special passenger car that was made only to be sold at this particular event. Chase got "Lady" and loves his girl train haha! Thanks for the cool birthday gift grandma and grandpa!!!

Angels Vs. Mariners and Fireworks

2009-04-27T16:28:00.000-07:00

I didn't bring my camera so here are some phone shots-had to have something from our drama filled baseball game-stupid stuck up season ticket holder lady behind us ruined the game!!! I hate people who think they are gods gift and better than everyone else who paid for their seat as well! The kids had no idea though and had a blast-especially at firework time!!

A Krispy Kreme Birthday!!!

2009-04-19T11:55:00.000-07:00

Shane turned 8 last Saturday and spent the day with dad at Disneyland but yesterday was his little party for friends and family at Krispy Kreme and everyone had a good time! The kids got gift certificates for a free dozen doughnuts as part of their party favors along with whistles, mazes, and colored pencils and hats. Haha-the manger even tried to send all the kids home with a half dozen each but lots of parents snuck out-haha, can't say I blamed them :) Lots of doughnuts, a few games, and lots of fun later-everyone went home dreaming of doughnuts I'm sure!!!

A PARK DAY!!!

2009-04-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

Yay-we discovered a new park!!!!

There was lots of climbing...
riding...

...and sliding!!!

PEEK A BOO MOM!!!

Japanese Garden FUN!!

2009-04-14T13:45:00.000-07:00

Chase has a new class we went to today called "Creative Movement and Music" and while it took him a good portion of the class to warm up, he finally had fun enjoying the star wands and parachute fun!! We also spent some time visiting the fish and turtles in the Japanese Garden next door-so beautiful!!!

Oh and my new camera is sadly in the Nikon Service shop already-AARRGGG!!!!! I hope it is good as new so I can get back to better pictures-these are from our old camera:(

Egg hunt at Grandma's!!!

2009-04-13T15:51:00.000-07:00

Grandpa andGrandma Hartmann invited us over for lasagna dinner for Easter and the boys arrived to find an egg hunt waiting for them-they had a lot of FUN!!!

Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!

What's a birthday without a trip to Disneyland with dad!!!

2009-04-13T15:43:00.000-07:00

YAY FOR DISNEYLAND ON YOUR BIRTHDAY!!! Shane got to enjoy a free Disneyland birthday trip with dad this year! He even got a 2fer pass for free so he can go back another day to do California Adventures as well-HOORAY!!! They had a blast and he even made it all the way till 12:30AM and still wanted to keep going!!! Happy 8th birthday Shane!!!

Trolley in Toontown
With DAD!!!
new MONORAIL-isn't it cool looking!!!
My little driver!
Don't touch the apple-oh no!!!

MMMM...sushi!!!

2009-04-13T15:37:00.000-07:00

So Friday night Adelle and the boys and I went out to dinner-Shane requested Hometown Buffet since he saw a commercial haha but there was quite a wait-so we opted for sushi since it was in the same parking lot. Shane was less than thrilled but after much coaxing and a ton of edemame(which was all he ate) he was happy to be sung to and dance around for his birthday. The owner brings out her tambourine and dancing around but tonight she let Shane do the tambourine and he though that was GREAT!!! He sure didn't mind eating the yummy green ice cream and she even lit the candle twice for him to blow it out. He was thrilled! We followed it up with a trip to the Amtrak station to watch some trains-his Friday night couldn't have be better!

Art in Nature class

2009-04-09T11:48:00.000-07:00

Chase was invited by Aunt Natalie to try out her new art class for kids at her new creativity center for children called AveryBoo Arts (www.averyboo.com) We were so excited to give it a try since he's too young for the art class Shane is in on Tuesday afternoons. Well since its spring break this week and Shane was home-he got to give it a try too. Many thanks to Aunt Natalie for letting both of them come and try it!!! The kids loved it-they learned about rainbows and colors in nature, read some books, and made rainbow suncatchers out of fun colored wheel pasta. Chase was so precise in making his just right and Shane went for the creative unique look with his. My boys are so talented:)
Chatting with cousin Avery
Shane painting his heart out!
Chase loved his rainbow project!
"Look mom-I'm making circles and colors!"-he was in the middle of a sentence HAHA!!!
Shane working on his "patterns" as he called them!

ART CLASS WAS A BLAST!!!!

Dinosaur Playdough-thanks cousins!!!!!!

2009-04-08T14:59:00.000-07:00

Shane had a box with his name on it waiting on the doorstep after our little afternoon drive today. His 8th birthday is Saturday BUT he couldn't wait-so he enjoyed an early birthday present from his Arizona cousins. He could hardly wait to get it open and you could hear the excitement in his voice as he tried to get the box open. Finally after what seemed like forever to him although it was about 2 minutes-he succeeded and got it out of the box-HOORAY!!! Dinosaur playdough? It was a toy that needed immediate trying out. He and his brother Chase had a blast! Many thanks from Shane to all the cousins!!!!

PTN's 3rd Annual Easter Egg Hunt

2009-03-30T09:22:00.000-07:00

Once again we had a blast at the annual easter egg hunt. Shane had been talking about it for weeks and counting down the days. We came armed with our big easter buckets and the boys left with many great memories, tons of treats, and smiles on their faces. We always have fun at this event and are so thankful to have the opportunity to attend each year. The hold the hunt at the park right next to our house so we don't have to go far and always run into some of our therapy friends and enjoy the great spring sunshine.

And one extra from our trip to The Spaghetti Factory this weekend with Auntie Adelle!

J. Paul Getty Villas

2009-03-30T09:03:00.001-07:00

Steve, Chase and I went with some friends from Gig Harbor who were visiting California to The Getty Villas in Malibu. Shane was on a play date with Aunt Adelle. He had a blast and informed her her was ready for another play date. It was a beautiful day-sunny but not to hot. Chase could have cared less about the inside exhibits but he loved the gardens and various fountains so we spent most of our time outside while the others made their way through the inside stuff. The fountains were gorgeous and the whole place seemed so serene and was wonderful to enjoy with a happy curious 2 year old!

The grow up so fast....

2009-03-24T17:58:00.000-07:00

Chase got his first big boy haircut a few weeks ago-he was not a fan of the clippers so its a bit rough but super cute with gel and hopefully-he'll be a trooper next time and e can get it a bit tighter on the sides-what happened to my baby?.....He's gone :(
Before....

After!

My new toy-where are you?

2009-03-23T13:30:00.001-07:00

I decided I needed a new camera so Steve and I did a little research on point and shoots and after a few visits to see and try some out-this is our latest toy on its way to our home! RED-cute huh-I LOVE it! I can't wait to take pictures and figure out all the bells and whistles and get some great photos up on here of the family. Couldn't be more perfect timing as we are headed to The Getty Villas this Saturday with some visiting friends fro our old stomping grounds in Gig Harbor, WA and now we can take some great photos-can't wait to share them with all of you!!!

We are around-really!!!

2009-02-27T11:04:00.001-08:00

Who doesn't love spaghetti right?

I have been a horrible mom lately in the picture taking department and the blogging department for that matter!!! I have it in my purse but forget to get it out or am just so busy chasing two boys that I don't get the chance. They always seem to be going 100 miles an hour.

We've been busy lately with school, art class, My Gym, and weekend trips to San Clemente beach and Shane's favorite place "Joe's Italian Ice". He has fallen in love with the pier down in San Clemente since it combines his to biggest loves-the BEACH and TRAINS!!! He loves to sit on the swings facing the tracks and wait for Amtrak trains or Metrolinks to go by. He also has started a collection of white rocks and shells from the beach he hope to add to on each trip!! Chase is just happy to follow along and pick up any rock that looks "big!" For those who haven't heard of Joe's its a must try-you'll love it!!!! Its on Harbor Blvd just a little south of Disneyland and its a real treat!!! Its good anytime but especially on a summer night when its still hot after dark!!!

I am looking forward to warmer weather this spring-its been a rough 2 months since Christmas for our family and colds/sore throats etc. Poor Chase I think had it the worst-luckily he's not school aged yet so he could just chill with mom at home. Shane has had the least of it which I am so glad about since he is in school and has the weaker immune system in the family. Hasn't stopped them from keeping me busy chasing them though...HA HA!!!

Just for FUN!!!

2009-01-13T10:47:00.000-08:00

I got a kick out of this on someone's facebook and had to post it just for my own amusement-even if no one else finds it amusing. And yes I know its totally not that time of year but-WHO CARES!!! Apologies to anyone whose offended by this!

Merry Christmas from our home to yours!

2008-12-21T18:20:00.000-08:00

2008-12-21T16:02:00.000-08:00

We have been around-busy getting ready for Christmas and taking some pictures along the way. Here's what we've been up to the last few weeks!!!

In the beginning of December Chase and I met up with some friends at Downtown Disney for lunch and to play for a bit. The boys were super cute together and I just loved Corey in his Peter Pan outfit. Chase had to check out the lego store before we met up with them.

This is the big Christmas tree in the hotel in Downtown Disney-its super beautiful and HUGE!!!!
Chase and Corey
"Don't feed the bears!"
Chase got to meet this bird on our way back to our car-he was saying all kinds of cute things!

My mom and I took the kids to see a live presentation of the Nativity and the kids loved it-they had real animals and beautiful music and picture opportunities after. They also had many different nativities inside to look and while we enjoyed cookies and hot cider or cocoa! It was quite a thing to experience:)

Chase loved the animals and of course Shane wouldn't go near them!

Christmas always brings many nights of cruising around to see the lights for our family. Here are some of the more unique or favorites we've seen!
Aliens!
Monster Trucks?
Shane's favorite
My favorite-its JACK!!!

Gingerbread Houses!!!

2008-12-21T16:01:00.001-08:00

We all went to decorate a gingerbread house yesterday morning and had a great time. We even ended up with a nice family picture-a first since Chase has joined our family-sad it took us that long!!!
My Boys!!!

Chase's favorite part was eating all the candy he could!

Ahhh....all of us together and smiling!!!

Elf Dance

2008-12-18T20:09:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

I voted

2008-11-04T15:51:00.000-08:00

What a nice surprise this morning as we went through the drive-thru at Krispy Kreme as part of our early morning airport drop off tradition as made up by Shane-we received star shaped doughnuts with red, white and blue frosting as a FREE sample!!! What a great way to feel patriotic on voting day-having a patriotic doughnut for breakfast!

The calories don't count right when its for a great cause!!!

Its just that time of the year!!!!

2008-10-29T11:32:00.001-07:00

With Halloween fast approaching-we've started on the pumpkin festivities! Shane and I carved our pumpkin the other night we got from the Apple Farm we visited-we actually picked our pumpkins from a real patch!!!
He wanted a happy silly pumpkin!
And in the dark!

Shane made a small pumpkin at Art class yesterday afternoon! He did an awesome job!

We still have our own small pumpkins to paint before Halloween!!! More pics to come!!! I have to get pictures from my sister from our Apple farm trip on Saturday....Steve was taking video and I was helping the kiddos so my sister was the picture taker! It was a blast!

Catching some ZZZZZZ.....

2008-10-29T11:31:00.001-07:00

Chase was playing peek a boo with the camera and pretending to sleep. I had to share the cute photos since they really show his fun personality!
Snoring!!!! Haha!
Ok mom...maybe I was faking...
You caught me!
He's so much fun!!!

Prop 8

2008-10-09T16:59:00.000-07:00

I know this is a hot issue for many and everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I think this video gives a good example of one of the side effects that people may not realize or understand. Every parent has the right to monitor the things your child is taught when concerning morality. If I'm not mistaken-we had to have parent permission to even get sex ed in grade school, why should this be any different! Its a scary world out there without schools/teachers having the right to inform our children on these types of things without even informing parents. What else will be allowed to be taught without parental knowledge?

I stand for families!!!

Funny kiddo!!!

2008-10-07T10:33:00.000-07:00

Chase did the cutest/funniest thing last night.

We often play this game where we steal each others parts off our faces such as noses, mouth, ears etc. Well last night Steve was doing this with Chase and he pretended to steal Chase's nose. He then pretended to stick it in his mouth, Say "YUCK", and then spit it out. Chase was so funny-he ran across the room, pretended to pick his nose back up and stick it back on his face. Steve was dying of laughter.

Pretty smart kid I thought!!!

2008-10-06T12:16:00.000-07:00

We got a gift card for Christmas last year and had been trying to get to the Kidspace Museum in Pasadena for a few months and we finally made it. It was so fun-even Steve commented on how much fun he had!!!

And on to the pics!!!

We had a great time getting wet and exploring. Next time well make sure to bring water shoes!

A little too tired!!!!

2008-10-06T12:07:00.001-07:00

Chase was exhausted friday and feel asleep in the car on the way to pick up dad. He was pretty ticked off when I woke him up to bring him in the house and cried at me while sitting at the table for about 10 min as I was making dinner. All of a sudden it was quiet and I looked over and saw this!!!

Lets play catch up.....

2008-09-24T13:31:00.000-07:00

Lets see-where to start...

School is now started and I think we are finally settling into a bit of a routine with all of that. Shane gets on the bus at a very early 7:05 am and returns home much later at about 4:00 pm. He is on the bus A LOT but says he loves it and always asks about the bus over the weekend and we remind him he gets to go on again Monday morning. We've still got art class on Tuesdays and physical therapy on Thursdays for Shane but life would be boring if it wasn't super busy-right? Now to find some clsses for Chase.

Here is a picture of Shane on the bus the first day. Haha-he looks to be holding on for dear life even though its not moving. He was a bit nervous the first day but is a pro now.

The boys have made friends with the neighbors kitty and they love Smokey to pieces. they call for him at the window and he is often in the window waiting for the boys when our car pulls up from being away. He's too cute:

Shane got invited to a birthday party last weekend and it was at a karate place. Steve says he had fun-a little lacking on the attention span thing but fun none the less. His hand placement cracks me up in this picture!!!

Wow this was a pretty boring update but wanted to get some of these pictures in here so hopefully I'll have something more fun to post later!

Day at the Zoo

2008-08-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

So I decided since school starts up again next week I'd take the boys to the zoo with our zoo pass for a fun morning trip-man it was fun but way too hot! There were bees all over the place-people were fighting them off all around us. I think we'll wait till fall when its a bit cooler and when I get a double stroller to go again. Any tips on a double stroller that I can fit in my car trunk but can carry the wait of a 35ish pound 2 year old and a 42ish pound 7 year old. Shane just gets way to tired with all the hills and walking. I'd love a nice double jogger but I'm not to sure it would fit in my trunk. I'll have to find something though-the boys fight over who gets to sit and I have to always kick Shane out for Chase to get a chance to sit:)

Well on to the pictures!!!

This is Reggie! He has a great story behind him being at the zoo!(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggie_(alligator))

Chase loved the goats at the petting zoo-Shane on the other hand just sat by the gate and waited for Chase and mom to be done:)

more goats:)

A sheep!

The sea lion was sun bathing which Shane found to be pretty amusing-we went by him later and he was taking a dip to cool off!

They have a rather new and excellent Gorilla exhibit complete with misters to make it seem real(Shane loved the misters!) and we saw about 5 gorilla including a 3 year old gorilla up close who was happily eating leaves and was the cutest little thing!

Zebras are so cool!

Moms favorite-the giraffes!

Playground time-the kids favorite part!

Chase liked chillin on this hippo!!

Shane with an elephant:)

And last but one of our favorites-an elephant. They are so hard to catch outside when its hot. This one was taking a bath which we watched and then snapped a picture right before he snuck back inside!!!

Shane has a Crush!!!

2008-08-22T15:49:00.000-07:00

I had to share this picture of Shane with "My Sarah!" as he calls her. He has talked about here non-stop for the last three weeks. She was one of the leaders in his group at camp and she was definitely his favorite. He had to always say bye to her specifically when he left and give her hugs and tell her how much he'd miss her. Over the weekends he'd tell me that he missed Sarah and was so excited when monday came so he could "go to camp and see Sarah!!!" It is the cutest little crush ever!!!

Happy Birthday Chase and a little bit of catch up!!!

2008-08-20T12:01:00.000-07:00

I can't believe that 2 years ago today I was holding my precious new little man and feeling astonished I had pushed out a 10 lb 12.4 oz baby in about 5 pushes-he was really ready to join his new family. He has grown and changed so much in the last two years and is truly his own little person now. He spends his day exploring new things and soaking up as much as he can about his favorite thing right now-animals! He especially loves sea animals but will spend hours talking about and asking questions about any animal he sees or hears.
Here he is with his big brother checking him out-he was about 1 day old in this picture!

Here he is a few day ago dropping off his big brother at summer day camp!
I made the mistake of not making his 2 year well child check up early so now he won't have it till October-not sure why it takes so long to get in but I guess we'll just have to wait till:) I might try to figure out his stats myself to see how big he is now!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LITTLE BUDDY!!!

In other news....

Shane has been in summer day camp the last 3 weeks which has been so nice. He went last year as well and had a blast so he has been asking about it ever since and was thrilled to go this month(it was finally August again!) They have had the mobile aquarium, zoo mobile, a petting zoo, a carnival day, various sports activities, the rocket man, a magic show and many other things. Wednesday is water day with giant inflatable water slides and tons of other water play things. He gets to do bikes first each day(his favorite) and even ends each day with his group being assigned to be in yoga to end their day at camp. It is so funny to walk in and see about half the kids asleep on their mats and the other half looking so relaxed. Its a great station to get him calmed down before I take him home. He sleep like a rock each night. He has decided that one of the leaders of his group is his favorite(Sarah) and he has to say Bye to her every day when he leaves and talks about her all weekend and says how much he misses her! He has a "buddy" as each child at camp does which is basically a teenager assigned to them to help them do things, keep them with the group, etc. and Shane has been lucky enough to keep the same buddy(Christopher) all three weeks this year and he has had so much fun with him. Here he is with his buddy:
His buddy is so great with him.

Sunday afternoon we took the kids to an outdoor kid concert at the botanical gardens which we had scored free tickets for and they had a great time doing bubbles, eating our picnic dinner, and dancing along to the fun music.
Chase eating "Pirate Cannonballs"

Oh-I finally found Shane's glasses after tearing apart the house the last 3 days. They had been missing and I was not looking forward to him having to start 1st grade with no glasses-would not have been very fun for him! Amazingly this is only the second time they had been missing like that at least for days since he started wearing glasses at 2 years old. Considering his glasses cost about $700 I am more than thrilled we have always found them eventually! He's very good about taking them off at night and setting them on the dresser by his bed but this time he had I guess laid down on my bed on dads side of the bed and taken them off and stashed them in the bookshelf next to the bed out of view! AARRGG! I was going crazy!

I guess thats all for now!

Summer days=Lots of Swimming!!!

2008-08-04T09:36:00.000-07:00

I think my kids are quite literally half fish. They just love the water and are probably the most happy when over at Grandma Hartmanns in the pool. We tend to make it over that way once a weekend to get wet and cool off during the summer months. This outing usually includes Grandpa making BBQ and lots of happy tummys and lots of fun family time!

GOTTA LOVE FAMILY!!!!

And now for Summer camp...Shane has day camp for the next 3 weeks at Camp Escapades! He is so excited-could hardly wait to get there this morning!

Welcome to HOLLAND!!!

2008-07-29T15:05:00.001-07:00

I often go through months or days/weeks of time just going through the motions of being mom to a disabled child forgetting how different it is to the every day life of most families. The schedule is crazy and yes-things slip through the cracks at times but my kids are most important in life.

Then there are the days I feel isolated and lonely in the crowd knowing my child will never be just like all the others and watching friends/peers outgrow whatever stage in life we are in. I need things like this story to help me realize that I'm not the only one and also that even though our journey is different, its beautiful none the less!

WELCOME TO HOLLAND - BY EMILY PERL KINGSLEY

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a
disability ? to try to help people who have not shared that unique
experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this?

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation
trip ? to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful
plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You
may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting.

After months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your
bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess
comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland."

"Holland?!?" you say. "What do you mean Holland?? I signed up for Italy! I
am supposed to be in Italy. All my life I have dreamed of going to Italy."

But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and
there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven't taken you to
a horrible, disgusting, filthy place, full of pestilence, famine and
disease. It's just a different place.

So you must go out and buy new guide books. And you must learn a whole new
language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never
have met.

It's just a different place. It's slower-paced than Italy, less flashy than
Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath,
you look around?and you begin to notice that Holland has windmills?and
Holland has tulips. Holland even has Rembrandts.

But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy?and they're all
bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of
your life, you will say "Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's
what I had planned."

And the pain of that will never, ever, ever, ever go away?because the loss
of that dream is a very, very significant loss.

But?if you spend your life mourning the fact that you did not get to Italy,
you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely
things?about Holland.

2008-07-29T12:18:00.000-07:00

I HATE EARTHQUAKES!!!!

5.8 epicenter-Chino Hills!

That is all...

Goofy's Kitchen

2008-07-27T09:40:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we took Steve's mom and my sister to a character breakfast in the old Disneyland Hotel called Goofy's Kitchen. It's basically a nice buffet where the Disney character came around to your table to visit and take pictures. They also did a bit of dancing and entertaining. Shane loved it-all that yummy food and characters to bug. Chase-not so much, he was ok with the characters who looked human like Aladin and The Mad Hatter but was terrified of Baloo and not so fond of Goofy, Pluto and Chip and Dale. He did very well considering and enjoyed his food and pointing from afar as long as they didn't get too close. They sang Happy Birthday to LaVerne and Adelle and they got birthday cupcakes and a birthday button. We then all wondered around and saw the koi pond, waterfalls, went on the tram, window shopped an even got a glimpse at the new Monorail!

It was a fun afternoon for all!!!
GOOFY'S KITCHEN
CHEESE!!!
Pluto decided he was hungry and wanted to join us for some food-Chase wasn't too fond of that idea!
"Alright Goofy-you can go NOW!!!"
Happy Birthday MOM!!!
Shane loved all the characters-he practically followed them around giving them hugs!
AWWWW.....Goofy loved Adelle, birthday hugs!

Longest Train Ride EVER!!!!

2008-07-09T16:39:00.000-07:00

Well we are back-got back late Sunday night and are now trying to get back in the groove of things with summer school, summer camp coming up, and getting ready for 1st grade in the fall.

Our trip went well, the train ride was two days each way and we spent a small fortune on food and the food wasn't even that good. We packed what we could-fresh fruit, crackers, fruit cups, juice etc. but you can't pack for 6 meals so we had to eat in the dining car a number of times. On the way up we figured out dinner in the dining car sucks for the price you pay so we opted to do lunch both days on the way back since they had a build your own angus burger on the menu for $7.25 which wasn't too bad. The kids had fun although sleeping in a reclining chair sucked and getting Chase to sleep on the way home took hours. Lots of great things to watch from the train and about a million train depots to stop at along the way. Steve says no more train trips like that again and he doesn't even want to visit the train station for a month at least!!!

Seattle was fun although it was kinda humid which sucked. There was a chance of rain on the 4th which didn't happen but it did keep the weather pleasantly cool and we enjoyed our traditional BBQ ribs along with many yummy side dishes and lots of friends and fireworks. In the evening we headed over to our friends parents house for the night fireworks show put on by Steve and a few friends. Every year the crowd grows and the show gets better and better as the years go by. I'd say there were easily 100 people who came to watch including church friends, extended family and any neighbor who wanted to join. Shane even found a little girlfriend to spend the day with named Peyton and according to Shane she was "SO PRETTY" and he wants to write and send here some letters now. Sadly Steve didn't download all the pics from the train so my camera was full but hopefully we will get some photos emailed to us from friends.

I got to spend a day with my friend Sarah and her three kiddos while there and we had fun having lunch, making a Walmart trip, going to the park, and ordering pizza for dinner. We even introduced her kids to my kids favorite-pineapple pizza-which was very well received. It was fun meeting her youngest who was born just weeks after I saw her last year on our trip!

We visited Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium while there and I got a few pictures on my cell phone since our camera was full. I'll have to post those once I email them to myself and get them up. Chase had a blast seeing the sharks, turtles, and tiger and Shane loved the kiddy playground which had just opened and the show they had in the amphitheater with a whole ton of animals in it!

I always love vacation but have to spend a few days recovering as a moms job is never done and still has to be done even on vacation. Luckily Steve took Monday off too so we had a day to spend together at home. We all slept in enjoying our own beds, visited Downtown Disney, got Shane glasses adjusted, went out to lunch and then went over to Grandma and Grandpa Hartmann's house and had dinner!

Fireworks, Friends and FUN......

2008-06-27T10:31:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow morning we are off to Seattle! I am looking forward to seeing some friends and having Steve off work for a week. I am hoping to take the kids to Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium since it's half off with our LA zoo pass so we'll see. There will be lots of BBQ, fireworks, swimming/water play and two very long train rides. If Steve and I don't go crazy on the train rides, we should all have a blast!

Union Station

2008-06-24T13:37:00.000-07:00

We took the boys to see Union Station as we will be leaving from LA for our annual Seattle trip for July 4th. We are taking the Amtrak this year and Shane is super excited. Both boys love train and this will be a long ride-35+ hours each way. I'm sure we'll have quite the stories after this trip!!!

Check out this cool fountain-anything with water in it ROCKS!!!

Is that the train we are taking?