November Fun and Pre-Thanksgiving

 We have had such a busy 2 weeks since I last posted. I will start this post off with Axel's 1st Grade fall photo. Keith and I think he looks much more mature than just last year. He is more independent with all aspects of his life and our little boy is growing up into quite a good soul.

 Two weeks ago we headed to Walnut Creek to meet Grandpa Brian and Grandma Susan along with the Jolleys for dinner. Grandpa brought us our annual lamb that we purchase from a local farm in Grass Valley where he lives. Here is a really cute picture of Axel and Braylin.

 

And Phoenix and Daddy in the picture too.

 We tried to capture a family photo, but Daddy took the picture and not everyone was looking. It was worth a shot!

We had a really nice warm week so we were able to get out and enjoy the weather. Axel has really improved his skills in baseball along with his attitude and determination. I love the look of his face in the photo. 

 I wanted to show you a picture of Phoenix, who is our little fire ball, and always has a face of determination no matter what she is doing. It is great to see both kids having fun!

 Last weekend we had our annual pre- Thanksgiving dinner. It was a nice evening of visiting and food with our close friends. We don't get to quite socialize like we use to as the number of kids continues to grow.

 Luckily, I was able to come up with a few activities that helped settle the kids down. It was really fun seeing them all gathered and focused on their art projects.

 Late, late Saturday night Grandma Sonia and Grandpa Bruce arrived. Here they are on Sunday during nap time reading with Axel.

After nap time was Axel's baseball party at Golf Land. It was Pheeny's first time playing mini golf. I think she did great as the game was quite long with all of the birthday parties that were there playing and celebrating. 

Grandpa and Phoenix patiently waiting!

 Axel and his team.

Axel taking a shot.

Grandma giving Pheeny her first putting lesson.

 Coach Keith/ Daddy!

 Phoenix trying her best do implement what Grandma taught her. After several holes she figured out kicking and throwing the ball were more effective :)

Monday through Wednesday Keith and I had to work. Phoenix went to daycare, but Axel had the privilege of hanging out with Grandma and Grandpa. They went shopping, went to the movies and played, played, played. On Tuesday, Axel went to a camp so Grandma and Grandpa could get some Christmas shopping in, but otherwise it was hours of playtime for everyone. 

Here is a cute picture of Axel and Grandma during battleship.

And Phoenix and Grandma playing after I got home from work. 

 Grandpa and Phoenix....

 and Axel and Grandpa building with his new mixels (sp?) they bought him.

 On Thanksgiving day Grandma, Axel and daddy got out side for some fun baseball time. Grandma had a blast pitching and throwing to Axel and Axel had a blast hitting for Grandma.

 Here if you zoom in you can see Axel's great expression.

 Look at that determination!

I will continue on the next blog Thanksgiving dinner and the rest of Grandma/pa's trip!

The Jolleys come to visit!

Last Friday we finally had the opportunity to head to Jack Fischer Park for a morning of fun. Phoenix loves riding her pink bike that she got for her birthday. 

On Saturday we thought we were attending Axel's last soccer game, but he decided to do the tournament this weekend so he has 3 more games, 2 more which he will be able to participate in. After his game he was playing around with a balloon. Daddy caught him being silly with the balloon in his belly so he wanted to capture are bellies side by side. I hope mine doesn't look like Axel's for a long time!

On Sunday we were very happy to have Auntie, Uncle and Braylin in town to watch Axel's baseball game. The girls had fun together while Axel played. 

I think they ate the whole time! Just kidding, they played as well, but both of these girls love to snack and eat.

Axel played first base for the third time this year. He really tried and has improved so much.

 He also played short stop and catcher.

 Auntie was able to capture a very cute photo of Axel with the girls after his game.

Braylin was able to come over for another hour of fun. As you can see here at about 1:15 or so Phoenix had a total melt down. I had to put our pretty princess to sleep. Braylin was able to play on for another 30 + minutes before she started to need a nap as well. We had a ton of fun with the Jolleys and are looking forward to seeing them a few more times before the end of the year

 Axel had his soccer party on Tuesday. You can see his smiling face as he received his first trophy. It was a huge accomplishment for him to finish the season. The first half of the season we had to negotiate every practice and game. By the end of the season he really matured and pushed through with good spirits.

 Here is a group shot of some of the boys and Axel.

 Today Phoenix and I made it to Jack Fischer Park again. I just had to capture this shot of Phoenix riding her bike with her head band on like the 80's, her shoes on the wrong foot and her eating her sandwich. She is a girl after my own heart!

We have a very busy weekend with 2 soccer games, Axel's last baseball game, swim lessons, dinner with Grandma Susan, Grandpa Brian and the Jolleys as well as a playdate on Sunday afternoon. We are also gearing up for next weekend as we host 20 of our friends for our annual pre Thanksgiving dinner and anticipate the arrival of Grandma Sonia and Grandpa Bruce as they come for a week of fun and food!

Happy Halloween!

We had such a wonderful time yesterday with our action packed day. Here are the lite and carved pumpkins. 

 Here is our little Jedi and his dog side kick Jedi with our Captain America Princess. Daddy bought the costume big hoping she would wear it next year, but she loved it so much so had to wear it nearly all day yesterday!

 And finally hear is Daddy Darth Vader with the two littles. We prepared the house, pumpkins and candies and set off with a few neighborhood friends.

 Our two new neighbors have 7 year old daughters who ended up in the same class. Sophia, Evelyn and her brother Charlie joined us for a night of fun.

 Phoenix always waited patiently as she was the last to get candy at each house. All of the kids were very respectful and said Happy Halloween and Thank you at each house.

 Before the sun went down we were able to capture a few cute action shots. Here are the older kiddos.

 And now the littles joined their siblings for an action shot. Phoenix lasted nearly 2 hours until 8pm. Daddy took her inside and put her to sleep as his leg was just as tired as Phoenix. Axel met up with the other Axel and continued on for another 30 minutes. Axel and I decided it was good to head home when his pumpkin was filled to the brim. It felt very heavy to hold. Once home he did his candy sorting and counting for his school assignment and then headed off to bed. Both kiddos slept in until 7 am after the time change which would have been 8 am. Both daddy and I were thankful for the extra sleep.

Today has been filled with taking down all of our Halloween decorations and putting up Thanksgiving decorations. I was also able to take Phoenix to the doctor for her heat rash that never really went away. Apparently it was/is dermatitis. The mostly likely trigger has been her mini mouse sheets and pink warm blanket that I purchased a few months back for her big girl bed. They are made of polyester. It looks like her skin is just as sensitive as daddy's skin.

Axel had another baseball game today. It was a beautiful fall day. Otherwise we are gearing up for the next week. Axel has his first field trip of the year and I have a late 3 hour work night meeting. Next weekend is Axel's last soccer game, first swim lessons, Keith's yearly company party that is our one night out a year, and the Jolleys are expected to come watch Axel's baseball game. We are feeling blessed!

Birthday Fun and getting ready for Halloween

A couple of weeks ago we had a fun filled Sunday. Our neighbor Saif had his 3 year old birthday party in the park. Mickey Mouse was invited and brought a ton of fun filled activities with him. Here is Axel doing the Limbo. 

 And the Hockey Pokey.....

 And Phoenix climbing through a long tunnel.....

 And good old fashion fun, from when I was a kid.

 This party was over the top and also had the same huge slide that Rishaan had at his party last year. As you can see the kids had a blast.

 Last weekend was the pumpkin walk.

This is Axel's school's biggest fun raiser. They have tents, games, face painting and more. A true fun filled day. We headed over Axel's soccer game and Pheeny's nap for an afternoon of fun. Here is Axel and his friend Ezra.

 Axel has weekly homework. He is suppose to spread it out over the course of 4 days. He has math, reading, vocabulary practice and then something different each week, like working on maps. Here he is working on his vocabulary words. He has multiple ways he can practice them. Here he is practicing typing them on the computer.

 Phoenix wants to work on homework too. Here daddy is helping her with a fun sticker project in order to satisfy her need to do what Axel is doing.

Last Sunday Axel got to play on the Tee ball field again. One of the parents was nice enough to take a team photo and individual photos of the kids before the game started. Fall ball is very low key and doesn't offer pictures like in the Spring. I think it is nice that they will have a photo of their team so they can remember their teammates. 

 

Phoenix having a ball watching Axel play as usual. 

After the game Phoenix wanted to hit. I love this picture of Phoenix hitting off the tee and Axel fielding the ball for her. 

Last Sunday night Annika came over to say goodbye. She read them several books. She was home for a week for fall break. She spent Wednesday afternoon with the kiddos just because she wanted to. The kids loved spending time with her. They are looking forward to her return for Christmas break. 

Yesterday, Friday, Axel had his Halloween party at school. After school we prepared the pumpkins for carving. 

 Axel did all of the hard work preparing Pheeny's and his pumpkin.

 Here is the picture of the cat and happy face he chose.

 After baseball practice and when daddy was home we carved the pumpkins. I forgot to take a picture of the finished project so I have to make sure to capture that tonight before we head out trick or treating.

 This morning Axel had a birthday party before his soccer game. His classmate, Kabir, turned 7. He had his party at Jack Fischer Park. They had a blast playing several games in teams. One was a scavenger hunt type game. His team found 32 cards with Axel finding nearly 10 of the cards. The opposing team found 17. This is the first birthday party that has been low key without paid entertainment that was really well run and fun for the kids. It seems most families rather just pay for entertainment rather than try to entertain the kids with games like today. Hopefully we can do something similar this year for Axel's birthday.

Phoenix had a blast too, but she always does at Jack Fischer Park.

We are gearing up for a fun filled night so check back for another post of our Halloween Fun!