Palm Springs

In June, right after school got out, Kate and I took all the kids to Palm Springs. (You heard me!) That's right, a 9-hour drive with 5 kids...it actually turned into and 11-hour drive but we made it! We stayed in Drew's uncle's time share at the Palm Canyon Resort & Spa and had such an awesome time! The kids are still talking about it and trying to convince their daddy that he shoul go with us next time.

We went to the Children's Discovery Museum of the Desert, Joshua Tree National Forest (where the kids were disgusted by the amount of bugs) and hit the resort's spectacular pool every day. The girls especially liked the hot tub. Go figure.

Emma's birthday

We had Emma's party at Fashion Fo Paws in Lincoln. Crystal, the owner, puts on a great party! The kids had a blast, and everyone went home with a pile of Webkinz.

Recent pics!

A few recent pictures from some of our road trips we've taken with the kids. Enjoy!

This one was to the PG&E Sierra Discovery Trail up near Emigrant Gap. Great trail! Awesome creek and waterfalls. The kids had a good time. We'll definitely go back to this one.

July update

I know, I know.
I still have pictures on my camera from May. Been busy! I've gone back to work, and we've been doing summr activities with the kids. I PROMISE to get those pictures off my camera, and post some new blog entries. Possibly this weekend.
In the meantime, let me know if you want to go look at any houses, sell your house, or find out what your neighbors sold their house for! Check out my boss' website at www.jalone.com
Have a great week!

Potty training part 2

Evan is doing so well! He peed on the potty this morning, and his night time diaper was barely wet! I credit using cloth diapers, and, of course, my genius son. ;) I used cloth diapers with him, so he has always been able to tell when he was wet. This was one of the reasons I chose cloth for him.
I'm not saying we are done with potty training, of course, but he "got it" much faster than my girls--who wore disposable diapers. Another tip of mine is to wait until your child is three years old. Tried at two years old with my girls, but it was so frustrating for them and me that I ended up stopping and waiting until they were three. Seems much easier at three--the kid is able to pull the undies up and down, they are better at communicating their needs, and muscle control is more developed.

Potty Training!

Operation: Destroy the Carpet
Yesterday was the first REAL day of potty-training. We had talked about it for a while, and Evan sat on the potty a few times in the past, but we said "bye-bye" to diapers during the day.
Yesterday was a bummer...Evan peed on the floor in the bathroom of his preschool while I as signing him up for this fall, then he went on the floor at the doctor's office while I was getting his shot records, and he also christened various spots on our carpet at home.
Today, though, was so much better! He went in his chair at breakfast, but in the afternoon he peed on the potty for the very first time while we were at Daddy's work! And, at dinner, he left the table all by himself and went #2 in the potty!
THANK YOU POTTY-TRAINING GODS!!
At night we have been using our Bum Genius and Thirsties cloth diapers but I will have to find someone to give those to when we finally get to that point. I am now on the search for nice kids' underwear...if anyone has any tips let me know!
Have a great weekend!

Boating with the Garcez family

Below is a link to Chris and Stacey's blog. They were nice enough to invite us out on their new boat. Such fun! Next time, however, Folsom Lake needs to be warmer than 74 degrees! The kids got in the water anyway (of course) and Evan loved looking out the back of the boat at the wake. We saw some jet skis doing crazy stuff, and a speed boat going super fast. Chris dropped anchor and we ate some PB&J sandwiches. The kids' favorite picnic ever!
Thanks Garcez family!!
http://sillybonzos.blogspot.com/2009/06/boating-with-steens.html