Bishop Farms 2014!!!

Last year we discovered the wonderful pumpkin patch that is Bishop Farms. We had so much fun, that we had to go back this year (a couple times!). I didn't think that Bishop Farms could get better! But, they really stepped their game up even more!! They now have pony rides, a merry go round, and a zip line! We got so many great photos this year, thanks to Mrs. Gabby Adams!!! Oh and I can't take credit away from Jason because he did have the skill of getting the kids to cooperate with jellybeans! As you can see in most of the pictures they are looking up...that's because the jellybeans are located there! LOL

We had so much fun just playing in the pumpkins!!! The kids, especially the babies, loved touching them and balancing near them! I love the upper left photo! It totally looks like Brayden has his arm around Tessie, oh young love! LOL

My dad got to come with us this year! I think he was a little exhausted after, lol! But the boys loved having him there! We rode the train a couple of times, which Jacob of course loved!! My dad also loved it because there were all kinds of old cars and tractors to look at on the ride. Jacob found his pumpkin after much searching by my dad. He is quite excited for his pumpkin and has even slept with it! He often tells me that he loves his pumpkin! LOL this kid!!!

 

There is an awesome tractor ride out the acres and acres of pumpkins. The boys really liked it! I will give myself props though too, because I breastfed on the tractor, which was a skill!! LOL

 Oh these cute boys!!! Brayden seriously would not sit down and face the camera! He only wanted to touch the pumpkins!!! I swear he loves October as much as I do!!!

So, I think this was my favorite thing that we did at Bishop Farms. Gabby bought a ride for both Memo and Jacob... well, Jacob refused to get on, so I looked at the sign and the minimum age was 6 months. So. Brayden got to ride a pony!! He was definitely uneasy at first, but once he realized it was a rocking motion, he was super happy!!! Notice the black spot on his chin... I think he ate his weight in dirt that day! LOL!!!

Summer Time...

Wow this summer flew by!!! I can't believe Mike went back to school this week and the boys are going back to daycare!!! CRAZY!!! I feel like I have so much to catch everyone up on that I don't know where to start?!?!? I guess the beginning is always a good place ;0)

So we had July fourth and the World Cup this year...it was quite the patriotic month!!! It was so fun to teach Jacob about soccer and about our country.  I think he was chanting U-S-A for the whole month of July. So I had to of course work on the 4th, but we still went to Gabby and Jason's house to celebrate. Jacob definitely didn't care for the fireworks because they were "too loud!", no surprise there! However, Brayden was fascinated by them.Thanks to Gabby we had many projects and themes happening...including waffles, cupcakes, make your own flag (it is quite possible that Memo and Jacob have never seen an American Flag based on their replication lol).

I thought these facial expressions were priceless!!! So funny watching them blow these out...oh and they were trick candles too! (Gabby's idea!!)

They obviously enjoyed the cupcakes too!!

Here is our patriotic breakfast!!

This summer there was a lot of swimming!!! Between us finally joining a gym1(yay to getting healthy!) and going to Tahoe, and other various swim places; Both Jacob and Everett are getting more comfortable in the water!!! As you can tell by the lower left picture, Brayden has no issues with water lol!

Jacob also took up a new sport this summer...

He really likes to golf...however, I believe the golf club went into the garbage after someone was hit in the head...lol!!! (Yeah, my dad gave him this!)

We have also had some good times with Everett and Kiki!!! We had a few sleepovers and lots of play dates!! these cousins love hanging out with each other!!

As I look over the spelling of this post I am realizing that there is a lot about Jacob LOL. Brayden has accomplished so much this summer too!!! I feel like this post is getting a little long, so my post tomorrow will be all about Brayden!

It's Tea Time!!!

As a mother of boys, I never thought I would see the day that we would have a tea party!! Thank goodness I have a friend like Gabby, who thinks of these things!! For Valentines Day, Gabby hosted a tea party for Memo and Jacob....another thing that happens when your BFF is a girl.  I must say it was a genius idea, and probably one of the cutest things in the world!!  Their tea was really apple cider, which helped wash down mini pink cupcakes, fruit, and chicken nuggets.  All appropriate tea time snacks (I'm sure the Queen Mum would even approve).

As you can see Memo was a lady with her tea drinking....and well Jacob lets just say the picture above and below is the most refined moments during the eating process.

About halfway through tea time, Jacob stopped using his manners...

I don't know where he learned to eat like a dog or drink tea with a spoon, but he sure was having a blast doing it!! I'm just glad he hasn't brought this new skill set to the real dinner table.

 These two are just too cute!!

Tea time was not complete without a little crafting!! Gabby set up an awesome craft for the kids to do... decorating a sticky heart with all kinds of things.  (Again something I would never think to do!)

They are obviously very focused and take their crafting seriously!

 

As much as it looks like the babies weren't there, they were. They did great tolerating our toddler activities.  And of course we tried to do a photo shoot with all four of them...and this was the best we got!! LOL I think there is room for improvement...

Jacob may look back at these photos a little embarrassed with what he used to do with Memo, but he truly is enjoying himself.  He keeps telling me to look at his hair and then he says "Pretty hair?" LOL!!!

Sacramento Children's Museum

 So you know it was a great experience when I come home from an adventure and all I want to do is blog about it!! Our adventure today consisted of the Sacramento Children's Museum. Both Gabby and Mike were skeptical about this place and its price ($7.00 for anyone over the age of 1). Let's just say it was so awesome that both Gabby and I came home with memberships! LOL This place was AMAZING!! Although the word museum is kind of a misnomer, I honestly don't know another word to describe this place. It had everything from music time to painting,to a ball vacuum, to water tables, to a post office, and a grocery store!! The kids had a blast and we actually did too!

I think the painting was my personal favorite.  It was so cool to let the kids just have at the paint (minus when Jacob wanted to eat it). The middle picture is Memo and Jacob's final masterpiece. Obviously Jacob got my painting skills and not Tutu's. It was so funny in this station to see the innate difference between boys and girls. Jacob was getting the paint everywhere and Memo would say "oh no" if she got a little on her hands.  It just cracked me up.

 

Jacob's favorite station was the water station...I'm not sure if he liked drinking or playing in the water more. It was pretty nice cause they had water smocks to protect clothing (I'm not that kind of mom) and life jackets (which Gabby and I have no idea why, lol).  There was a wooden boat there too, which Jacob and Memo had a blast playing on.

There was a little section for 3 and under only, which I found a little odd since majority of the kids fell into that age group. Anyways, that's where they rode the cows and found this seesaw! We didn't even need to show them how it worked... they just knew!! They're getting so big!!

Here's a close up of Michelangelo at work. I love the focus he has in this photo.

It was honestly a great day...minus that both kids barely napped afterwards!! We are blaming it on the Panera mac n' cheese because that's what we had for lunch.  I can't wait to go back!!! (To the Children's museum, not Panera)

Ice Cream Time!!!

Thanks to Jacob's Auntie Gabby and Melo...he experienced chocolate ice cream on a cone for the very first time. Surprise, Surprise it was a huge hit!! Jacob kept saying, "More,More."

 Here is the start... it looks pretty contained...

Then the digging in  began...

"No mama, I will not be sharing this with you"

Super happy boy!

"Auntie Gabby are you getting me more?"

I love this hungry monster of a kid!!! Although I am seeing a pattern that at Gabby's house he gets treats that he normally doesn't, so no wonder it takes him for ever to leave their house!!

Jacob's a Guppie!!!

Jacob and Melo officially graduated from swim school yesterday!! They are now "experts" in blowing bubbles, jumping off stairs, floating in rings, and dunking their heads. I think I am most impressed with the head dunking. Instead of being upset after Jacob comes up from being dunked, he laughs!! I'm so excited that he is starting to love the water!!

They start another session next week, which they will return to guppy status, but I don't think they mind.

I love this photo and how happy Jacob looks, but what also cracks me up is the face that Mike is making...Jacob makes the same face all the time!!

3 Months Old!!!

I can't believe he is already 3 months old!!! I feel like over this last month he has really shown his personality.  He has started talking a lot!! And when I say talking, I mean he speaks baby very well, in fact he has about a 5 minute conversation with me in the middle of every meal. Other accomplishments this month are he discovered his hands (which are his favorite toys), he has learned to take naps in various places, he also discovered his tongue, he went in a kiddy pool for the first time (I will blog about that later), and finally the most exciting is he saw basketball being played in real life and seemed to really like it! I almost forgot!! My most favorite accomplishment of his this past month, his laugh!! It cracks me up!!! Again I will post a video of his laugh later to.

Jacob also went on his longest trip in the car this past month.  We went to visit Gabby and Melodie in Sacramento!! He did great in the car, thank goodness.  Watching Melo and him interact was pretty funny... Jacob tolerated her better when she was restrained, but her screeches did alarm him a bit.  I do think he secretly loved it though because he did not want to nap that day at all.  Anyways, Gabby did a wonderful photo shoot for us.  So enjoy all these wonderful pictures...

He is such a happy baby!! Although he mostly silent laughs, it's great when the giant giggle sneaks out!

This photo is showing Gabby's artistic side...I think there is a new calling in her future!!

Jacob and his favorite toys!!

LOL... Melo's bear suit!!! Jacob's arms were a little long for it and it was at the end of the day... so let's just say that we don't have very many photos of him in this outfit.  The worried look in this photo explains it all.

 Here is my latest collage of him growing up... 1 day old to 3 months old!! CRAZY!!!

I Finally Met...

Baby Sweet!!!  And she is the cutest baby ever!!! Gabby and Jason are adjusting very well.  And Gabby of course looks amazing!! Baby Sweet, aka Melodie, is a very calm baby.  She just let us hold her and cuddle her, pretty much as long as we anted until she got hungry.  Here is a picture...

I know you can't see her super well because Mike and I decided to take pictures as we were leaving (so organized as we are...lol). So you will just have to trust me on the cuteness factor.  This of course made me even more excited for the arrival of Baby Kirby.

We finally made it to New York!!!

It is hard to believe, but after two years of talking about taking a vacation to see Gabby and Jason in New York... we finally did it!!!  Thanks to a wonderful birthday and wedding gift from Debbi, Dayton, Matt and Kim!  We could not have timed it better!!! Jason was on his spring break, we got to see Gabby preggers, and we spent another vacation with Jeff and Rondee!! (According to them, 3 out of the 4 kidless vacations they have taken, Mike and I have been on...lol).

It was the first time Mike has ever been to the East Coast (in his words... "Florida doesn't count cause it doesn't snow there"). We went into this vacation saying whatever we see is fine... no real plans or anything.  Well turns out when you say things like that, you tend to see everything.  We were non-stop going for the five days we were there.  We did everything from going to a Ninja Restaurant to Ground Zero to Boston to seeing a play on Broadway. The show we saw on Broadway was "How to Succeed in Business Without Even Trying," with Daniel Radcliff.  It was super good and I got to see Harry Potter in person!!! That was pretty awesome!!

We spent a whole day in Boston... which was probably my favorite part of the trip.  Boston is amazing (almost as amazing as weddings). There is a trail that goes through out the city called the Freedom Trail, and it shows you all the historical places in Boston.  It was so cool seeing everything from Mother Gooses grave to the site of the Boston Massacre.  I just really enjoyed everything about this trip... thank you Gabby and Jason for being such great hosts!!! And thanks Jeff and Rondee for letting us crash another vacation of yours ;0)  On the left is a picture of us following the Freedom Trail... it is so cool!!!

The boys at the Ninja Restaurant... oh how they loved being Tum Tum, Colt, and Rocky from the Three Ninjas.

And of course we went to Fenway... for not being super baseball people we sure went to a lot of parks.

Gabby's Welcome Home Dinner

In true welcoming home fashoin we went to sushi and frozen yogurt!! The sushi place we went to is Kane in downtown Danville, its soooo good!! The rolls are freakin huge, with the greatest names... like the Skank roll...lol.  Everyone came to welcome Gabby home, well for the week that she will be visiting.  The people who came were Molly, Alfredo, Kenny, Blaise (no Z), Chris, Dusty, Nate, Kim, Matt, Mike, and I.  So it was quite a big group.  After we walked over to the yogurt shack... the best place on earth to get yogurt cause they charge you based on how much your bowl weighs.  Molly and Alfredo took the cake on that one ;0). In fact I don't think I have every seen Alfredo eat so much in my life!! I swear we put anything in front of him and he just ate it... lol!! But I think he started getting mad once wfigured it out and played tricks on him. Here are some pictures to enjoy from that night... 

It was nice to see everyone... we hadn't seen each other in a long time.  Also everyone got so dressed up, so it was kinda weird to see people without their soccer stuff on!!