UPDATES!!!!

BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND!!!!!!
It has been a while since I have posted, so I felt it was time to update all of our readers on our lives....

First....
Trent took a job in San Francisco and started working in downtown San Francisco in January. His new office is right at the gate to China Town on Bush Street and he lived in a studio "apartment" just 2 blocks away. He learned how to live in a small space (maybe 250 sq ft) and how to share a bathroom... dorm style! He was able to come home on weekends to see the kids. After trying my best to be a 24-7 single mom of 3 kids ages 5 and under, I gave in and took my parents up on their offer to rent out our house and move in with them for a few months, until Dylan finished kindergarten. Having their help and support for the last 3 months was a definite blessing.

Second....
After 5 months of living apart, our family has found a house near San Francisco to live in TOGETHER! We recently have moved out of Visalia and are the newest residents of Hercules, CA. It is a super tiny town 20 miles north of San Francisco. It will certainly be an adventure!

Now for the picture updates for the last 5 months...

Easter 2010


Madeline, Liam and I joined Dylan for his kindergarten class's Easter Egg Hunt. Madeline and Liam were THRILLED to participate.

The kids helped Dylan sort his eggs and he was EGGsellant at sharing...

Madeline admiring her selections...

DISNEYLAND 2010

Madeline and her new American Girl Doll (that is her twin). She LOVES her new baby!

KNOTTS BERRY FARM!

EASTER!!!!

Because we are cool like that, we didn't let staying in a hotel in Anaheim stop us from partaking in all of our usual Easter festivities.

We colored Eater eggs in the room....

And the next morning we were excited to see what the Eater Bunny brought us.

(yes, he does find you when you are traveling.... whew!!!)

Then we went to Goofy's Kitchen for our breakfast on Eater Morning!!!

This car was a big hit.

Madeline loved the animals

But was not so excited about the princess competition....

(you can't see her face, but it was red and screaming)

Thanks to Alice for being so understanding!

Then, next on the agenda.... JEDI TRAINING!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We took our Jedi costumes (ahem...uniforms) to ensure that we would be picked.

Anxiously waiting.......

Unfortunately........

Only one of our Jedis were picked.

Here is Dylan training!

It was a serious travesty. Liam was not chosen and Dylan was. We were told it was because they don't choose the little ones because they assume they wont be able to handle it. Well... OBVIOUSLY they don't know OUR 3 year old. He would handle it better than any other Jedi out there. 

The only bonus was that our devastated 3 year old caused enough sympathy that we scored front of line spots for the Nemo Submarines!!!! The lady working the Submarine line was so concerned for Liam that she put right to the front of the line because he said it was his favorite ride.

Family Picture

And here's to another MAGICAL Disney day...

hugging our Buz Lightyear Blaster in our sleep while waiting for the fireworks....

Giants Baseball Game

We took so many trips to the Bay Area to look for a place to live that we had to start turning them into family vacations!!!!!!

P.S. The Giants WON!!!!

Swim Lessons at Jan Thomas Swim School

This was our 3rd year at Jan Thomas Swim School

But it was Madeline's first year taking lessons!

She learned to swim, kick and grab the wall to pull herself out of the pool.

She is an amazing swimmer... with NO floaties!!!

Here she is learning how to stand herself up in a kiddie pool in case she falls down.

Excellent life saving skills!

And here are our champions!

Dylan perfected his skills with freestyle, backstroke and breaststroke.

Liam advanced fast for his age group and learned strokes well before the other kids his age. 

Stay tuned for videos of the boy's swimming... coming soon!!!

Liam's last day of pre-school and 

our family says goodbye to Stepping Stones!

Both Dylan and Liam attended Stepping Stones Pre-School and this was our last year there because of our move to San Francisco.

Both boys had Mrs. Lobb as their teacher, Dylan for 2 years and Liam for 1.

We will miss her SOOOOOOOO much!

Mrs. Lobb was kind, loving, funny, understanding and possibly the best possible teacher for both boys.

She knew how to bring Dylan out of his box and help him get past his shyness.

She knew how to deal with Liam in the exact opposite way by being understanding with his "outgoing" personality and finding a way to discipline in a firm but loving way.

We are SO sad Mrs. Lobb will not be our pre-school teacher anymore and we are considering bussing Madeline back twice a week when she turns 3!!! :)

Mrs. Zapasnik was also Liam's teacher this year. 

We will miss her, too!

MOVING!!!!!!!!!

After 5 months of house hunting in every possible town within a 20 mile radius we finally found the PERFECT house for us in a tiny town just north of San Francisco.

Hercules, CA is where we now call home.

Here are pics of our house and our neighborhood....

We will miss all of our friends and family in Visalia, but we are really excited for this new chapter in our lives.

Stay tuned!!!!