October 27

Oct. 27 is Grace's actual birthday. It's an Isaac family tradition to visit the pumpkin patch every year on her birthday. This year, Jeremy got into the excitement, and both kids enjoyed exploring and finding the perfect pumpkin.

After the pumpkin patch, we headed home for Grace's special birthday dinner. She had requested macaroni and cheese, and since I wanted to make it "special," I decided to make it from scratch, rather than from the box. Unfortunately, she really had wanted the kind from the box! Well, now I know! After dinner and Grace's soccer practice, we headed to Coldstone for ice cream (she chose a berry yogurt ice cream with gummy bears).

To finish off the day, Grace got to open up a few more gifts. Since her shining debut as a rockstar at her preschool's Open House performance last spring, Grace has been wanting a guitar.

Happy 5th Birthday, Grace! (pictures are in the slideshow on the right side of the blog)

Grace's Baking Party

For several weeks, Grace has been asking for a baking party to celebrate her 5th birthday. Now that we have a bigger kitchen, we thought, "Sure, why not!?" We invited all of the girls in her class (there's only 8 of them). Each girl arrived to find an apron, chef hat, and rolling pin ready for them . They rolled out dough for sugar cookies and decorated them, rolled out dough for pizzas and topped them, played a game, opened presents, and ate a "pizza cake." For party favors, the girls took home their cookie creations, and in addition to their hat, apron, and rolling pin, they also got a cookie cutter. I was amazed that the kitchen wasn't messier than it was after everyone left! We are soooo grateful for Jill & Adam, and De for all of their help during the party. We wouldn't have been able to make it through the night without them!

We feel so blessed to have so many people in our lives that shower our kids with love and attention. Today, Mrs. Karen and Mr. Darrell (we consider them to be the kids's adopted grandparents) took Grace home from church for a special birthday afternoon. Even with that, there's still so much in store for Grace's birthday this week- treats for the class on Tuesday, our family's annual trip to the pumpkin patch, Grandma's going with Grace and her class to the pumpkin patch on Wednesday, and a family get-together with Grandma, Auntie Jen, and the cousins on Sunday. So many celebrations for our special sweetheart! More pictures in the slideshow on the right side of this blog!

Happy Thanksgiving!

We have been talking about it for many years, but we finally did it! We celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving this past week here in Fresno! We planned the get-together with the Bergens, who we also celebrated Canada Day with this past July. Some other Canadians from church were able to join us- Vern and Hedy Pletz, John and Lotti Dick, Jed Carpentier, and Deanna Lenzmann. Marcy, Jed, and Jason were honorary Canadians for the night. It was great to share a meal and spend time together. It wasn't a traditional meal, but it was wonderful- we had ham, mashed potatoes, corn casserole, sweet potato dish, salad, and rolls. For dessert, Hedy made 2 delicious pies (apple pie and pumpkin pie), and some treats for the kids. Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, everyone!

Happy 2nd Birthday, Jeremy!

Jeremy's birthday is actually October 11, but we had a small party for him today. We were so glad that Grandma, the Wiens family, and McCreary family were able to join us (we missed you guys, Micah and Jackson). Jeremy is completely obsessed with anything that has wheels, so it was easy to go with a "Cars, Planes, and Trains" theme. We met at Roeding Park for lunch, ate cupcakes, and opened presents before walking over to Storyland. From there, we took the train to Playland where the kids got to ride the Cars and Helicopter rides. Jeremy had a lot of fun, though I don't think he fully understood that everything was about him today. Below are a few pictures from today. There are some more in the slideshow on the right side of this blog.
We are so glad to have Jeremy as our son. We love everything about him- his jibberish babbling, his sweetness, his curious personality, his laughter, his hugs and kisses, his sparkle when he smiles, his playfulness, even the fact that he can be high maintenance- the list could go on and on... We just love this kid so much! Happy Birthday, Bear!

Fall Sports

We had a busy day of sports yesterday. First off, Grace played her first game of soccer! She plays for the Kratt Kickers! We really had no idea what to expect of her, whether she'd take off and be a natural, or whether she'd be one of those kids daydreaming on the field as the ball went by. In her league, there are only 3 kids on the field at once and there is no goalie (and there are only 4 kids on her team, so they'll all get plenty of playing time). The coach is also on the field with them, giving directions as they run after the ball so it lessens the chance of kids just standing around. It did take Grace a little while, but when she figured out what to do, she was right there in the mix of kids, trying to get at the ball. The final score was a tie, 2-2. She didn't score either of the goals, but she could definitely be given credit for assisting. Grace played so well, and we're pretty sure it's only going to get better from here. I think it's all going to depend on her coach, who also happens to be Jason! Someone else coached her team yesterday since Jason was busy coaching his girls' volleyball team at Hoover High School's volleyball tournament. This leads to another reason why we were so busy yesterday. Jason's team plays in this annual tournament, and it is a highlight of the volleyball season. This year's team advanced to the championship bracket, and were knocked out in the quarterfinals. I absolutely love watching Jason coach- he is really good at it and I am so proud of him for what he's able to teach his teams. He is patient and passionate, which really helps the kids to enjoy the sports. Thank you so much to Jason's mom for coming to Grace's soccer game, and then watching both kids so I could go help and support Jason. Great job yesterday, Jason and Grace!

Grace's First Field Trip

Grace went on her first field trip today to Storyland. I'm so thankful that Christa watched Jeremy for me so I could help chaperone. I was actually one of 13 parents (for a class of 20) who went- I was kind of surprised by the turn out! It was nice because I was only responsible for Grace and one other girl. They both enjoyed themselves, and I appreciated the chance to get to know some of the other parents. I would have to say that Grace's highlights for this trip were riding on the bus and her juice bar snack!

God Made Dirt and Dirt Don't Hurt

I'm posting these because I think they're hilarious! We went over to the Macks's home a few weeks ago for dinner, and boy did our kids enjoy themselves! While the adults sat and chatted on the patio, the kids played in their backyard. Considering how dirty they got, we actually had to bathe them in the Macks's tub before heading home! Yikes! Who are these kids?!

Family Time

The long weekend officially marks the end of summer, right? Why are triple digits still in the forecast for later this week?!

After church on Sunday, we drove to the family cabin at Shaver Lake to spend time with Jennifer and her kids. I stayed at the cabin with Jeremy while he napped, and Jason took Grace to meet Jennifer at the lake- some of her friends own jet skis and they were kind enough to share. It was Grace's first time on one, and she came back saying how much she loved going "so so fast!" Jason let her sit in front of him, and I guess she got plenty wet. We spent the night up there and relaxed, letting the kids just play. We returned yesterday around noon.

I think it was good for Jason to be with family this weekend, particularly since yesterday would've been his dad's birthday. It's a day we still celebrate! During his stay in the hospital before he passed on, he mentioned to Jason one day about how he wished he could go to "that place where they cook in front of you." Well, over the last few years, it has somewhat become a tradition to go to teppanyaki on his birthday.

Jeremy was with us last year, but he was too young to really react to anything. This year, he insisted on holding Jason's hand the entire time, particularly after the chef lit a fire on the iron plate!
After the meal, we headed back to our house. Each of us released a balloon into the sky, a tradition that started when the kids said years ago that "it's not a party without balloons" and since Grandpa's in heaven, "that's where we should send them". This year, each of the kids drew or wrote something for Grandpa, and we taped them to their balloons. With the extra weight, it took a while for some of the balloons to float off.The evening ended off with dessert from Coldstone. It was great to be able to spend such an important day together. We love our dad and grandpa so much and miss him tremendously.

Jeremy

High maintenance, demanding, fussy, busy, active, temper tantrums, needy... These words describe our son, Jeremy! I don't know if it's just because Grace's early years were so much easier, but Jeremy sure keeps us busy. Add to that the fact that he doesn't know a lot of language yet, so he gets easily frustrated when we don't understand what he wants. To be honest, I was really wondering what it'd be like to be alone with him this year. I imagined him constantly in time-outs and me constantly exhausted. To my surprise and delight, I have absolutely loved being with Jeremy while Grace is in school. He is a completely different kid when she is not around, and it's unfortunate that I'm only now discovering this. Jeremy has been incredibly endearing, cute, silly, sweet, fun, happy, lovable... In fact, in these last 2 weeks, I have only had to put him in time-out once during our time alone together. Contrast that with his usual three or four time-outs when he and Grace are at home together. Once she gets home, his "other" side emerges, and I'm back to being a referee. Jason has only gotten glimpses of this "good" side of Jeremy. Unfortunately, when Jason gets home, it's usually in the middle of Jeremy and Grace fighting over something, and the end result often involves tears and time-outs. Hopefully, I will be able to influence him and that'll impact how he relates to his sister.

I love knowing that I'll get to spend quality time with Jeremy this year- I'm so looking forward to making great memories and forming a strong bond with my wonderful son.

(These pictures are from a trip to the zoo last week)

Focus

Well now that the school year has started up again, I don't have a lot to update on this blog! Many have asked how my transition has been from teaching full-time to staying at home full-time. Well, to be honest, I've been feeling a little guilty for having so much more time! I feel like I should be doing something so much more than playing on the floor, coloring, and reading books. I know, making memories like these with the kiddos is of utmost importance, but for years, I've been used to a really crazy and hectic lifestyle. I used to feel like there wasn't enough hours in the day... Now, I feel like I have nothing but time. I'm not complaining- just sharing! It's a very strange thing to get used to.

This year, my focus is entirely on my family.

For Jason, I am committed to being a little bit more domesticated. Since school started, I really have had dinner ready for him when he comes home! I've been experimenting with different recipes that I wouldn't have tried last year due to lack of time. For example, tonight we had Crispy Fried Tofu with Vegetable Stir-Fry on Rice. It was really time-consuming to bread each tofu cube, but so worth it in the end. Since I have time to clean during the week, Jason hasn't had to really pitch in as much on the weekend (as was the case in previous years). I've also been able to do some baking, and I know he loves that!

For the kids, aside from the time that we get to spend together on a daily basis, I am working through a journal called, "A Mother's Legacy: Your Life Story in Your Own Words." It is so neat! The journal asks questions that I am able to reflect on and write about. My hope is to give my kids this journal when they are older so they can learn more about who their mama is. Obviously, I hope to be able to personally share things with my kids as they get older, but I think the written word can be a real treasure.

I am also focusing on myself this year. I look at this year off of teaching almost as a sabbatical, a year to get rejuvenated and renewed. I would really like to "grow" this year, which means I need to work on treating myself better. One of the ways I've decided to do that is by joining a gym. I was thinking that this was more like a decision to torture myself rather than treat myself, but I'm going to trust that it's not. I just want to commit to living an active lifestyle. Hopefully, I will be able to follow through...

Thanks to everyone for your kind thoughts and encouragement these last few weeks!

Grace's First Day in Kindergarten!

Grace started her first day of school today! She is a kindergartner at Kratt Elementary School in Mrs. Butler's class. I actually taught with Mrs. Butler's daughter last year at Harvest and we had talked about the possibility that Grace would have her mom for her teacher. I have heard wonderful things about Mrs. Butler, and am looking forward to Grace having a great experience this year. We went in last Thursday to meet her, and Grace immediately greeted her with a hug. I take that to be a good sign, for Grace to already feel so comfortable with her. This morning, Jason dropped Jeremy off at Christa's house so that I could drop Grace off without interruption. There were parents and cars everywhere! Grace immediately picked out of the crowd her childhood friend, Shannon, who is actually in another kindergarten class. They were so happy to see each other!

Mrs. Butler welcomed everyone, did a short orientation, and then the parents left. I was expecting to cry, but held it all in! I quickly said goodbye to Grace, who was sitting with her class on the circle time rug. I noticed that she did wipe her eyes several times. Later, she told me that her eyes were wet when I left, but that she knew she'd be ok because she had her teacher. I have felt emotional all day, but no outpouring of tears!

So what did I do today? Jeremy and I hung out with Christa and her kids, and then we left to go grocery shopping. How weird it was to only have Jeremy all morning! It was exciting to hear about Grace's day when we went to pick her up. Mrs. Butler had a gift for them which she quickly opened when we got home (hmmm... notice the scissors... Grace and scissors... j/k! By the way, did you notice that her bangs are long enough for us to put back?!).
Funny story... I asked Grace whether she wanted a PB&J or a grilled cheese sandwich for lunch. She said, "Well, I guess a girl cheese sandwich... But how come we never have boy cheese sandwiches?"

Today was wonderful- what a great start to our year, and to Grace's school experience!

The Happiest Place on Earth

Jason and I decided a long time ago that to celebrate our kids entering school, we'd take them to Disneyland. We think it's a big deal- going to kindergarten is an important milestone! Well, Grace is starting school this year! We asked Jason's mom to come with us to help with Jeremy, since we wanted all the focus to be on Grace (and as you know, Jeremy often hogs our attention). We left on Saturday after lunch and returned on Tuesday night. We expected to make it to Anaheim by dinner time, but L.A. traffic certainly welcomed us, and we ended up not getting to our condo until 7pm. It was a long travel day! The kids went to bed later than usual, which wasn't good, considering we wanted to catch our shuttle at 7:30am the next morning. Well, waking up the kids turned out to be easier than we thought- they were just so excited, it didn't take long to get ready and out the door. We arrived at Disneyland at 8:10am. There were no lines! First thing we did was make our way to City Hall to get the kids their "1st Visit" badges. Rather than give a detailed narrative, here are some highlights...

Jeremy's Most Memorable Moments (chosen by Jason & Jane)(in Toon Town)

-It's a Small World (he went twice)
-Playhouse Disney, Live on Stage (he was squealing and clapping the entire time)

-Heimlich's Chew Chew Train (he went twice)
-the cars in Toon Town
-Disney's Electrical Parade
-Enchanted Tiki Room (no one else seemed to enjoy this but him)

Grace's Most Memorable Moments (chosen by Grace)

(meeting Belle at the Princess Faire)

-Astro Orbitor
-Dumbo the Flying Elephant (first Disneyland ride!)

-Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

-Heimlich's Chew Chew Train (why, I don't know... it seemed so babyish for her)

-Disney Princess Fantasy Faire

Jason's Most Memorable Moments

(on Donald's Boat in Toon Town)

-Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters

-watching the kids' excitement
-going on the Matterhorn Bobsleds with Grace

-Fantasmic

Jane's Most Memorable Moments

-Jeremy did sooooo well! (we only broke out the Elmo leash once and that was because we waited over an hour in line at the Finding Nemo ride)
-did I mention that Jeremy did really well? His disposition made it easier to enjoy the whole trip, and to focus on making Grace feel special. I really enjoyed spending time with her and seeing her get excited about the small things.
-I really enjoyed the "productions:" Disney's Aladdin was excellent, the Electrical Parade and Pixar's Play Parade were fun, Playhouse Disney's Live on Stage was really cute (I loved watching Jeremy- he was hooked!), Fantasmic was amazing, and the fireworks were great!
-Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters (we had so much fun... I would've gotten back in line to do that one again if we had more time)

Things we'd like to forget:

-how frustrating it was waiting for shuttle buses... we'd miss each one by a few minutes, then have to wait a half hour until the next one
-how much we paid for our meal at Ariel's Grotto (that was a splurge in honor of Grace)

-the Storybook Land Canal Boats

-Casey Jr. Circus Train

-Enchanted Tiki Room

-L.A.'s traffic on Hwy 5 (getting to Anaheim)

Overall, it was a great trip! We thought that Sunday would be much more crowded than Monday, but we were very wrong. We experienced so many things on Sunday because there were minimal waits for rides. Monday was packed with people! We waited over an hour for Grace to meet and greet with princesses at the Princess Faire. Luckily, the one princess she was anxious to meet (Jasmine) was there. In fact, we met her twice that day! On Monday, we left the parks after lunch for the kids to nap. Good thing, because we ended up staying at Disneyland until midnight! Jeremy fell asleep, and so Jason, his mom, and Grace were able to do a few more rides.

On Tuesday, we decided to take a side trip before heading home. We went to Santa Monica to visit the beach. Can you believe that this was Jeremy's first time?! I know, he's been deprived! He didn't enjoy the water too much because it was cold, but we had a wonderful, relaxing time playing in the sand.

We want to thank Aaron and Christa for lending us their Sit & Stand stroller. We're grateful to Jason's mom for joining us on this trip. She was an incredible help, and we wouldn't have had as good a time if she hadn't been with us. Thanks, Mom!
That wraps up our busy summer of travels! I can't believe it... our Grace is starting kindergarten on Monday! (lots of pics in the slideshow on the right)