Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Empire Mine

A couple weekends ago we went to visit an old mine up in Grass Valley. It is called Empire Mine. It was really neat to see how things worked in the mine. It is no longer a working mine and is now a state park. The kids really enjoyed exploring all over and were really excited about all the equipment that was displayed.
It really was neat to see. The equipment they used was so big. Kaeryn liked hearing the history part and Tristan was so excited about all the equipment. He would exclaim "You got to see this!" It was very fun to watch the kids.
This is looking straight down into the mine. They have it blocked off so you can't go down any further and that was fine with me. But It was amazing to look down into it. We couldn't imagine going down there each day. I would miss the sun to much. It made me grateful for the job Ron has and that i'm able to always know what's going on when he's away. It was a very good learning experience. And a place I can see us going back too.
Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Happy Birthday Ron!

Ron's birthday was actually a couple weeks ago. We were in the middle of moving and he was also away for work, so we celebrated it this weekend. Because Ron really enjoys playing video games I made him a cake with pokemon characters. I know he and Kaeryn have played pokemon games so I thought this would be a fun cake to decorate.

I did forget to make the rice crispy treat trees earlier so they would be hardened and would stand up. But other than that we thought it turned great. Ron was very excited. Especially since I made him his favorite (my banana chocolatechip cake).
He was very excited about that. I also made him homade peanut clusters because he loves those also. For his special dinner I grilled chicken and made another favorite homade mac and cheese. I love to see him smile.
Kaeryn and Tristan each wanted to choose a gift for him. Kaeryn choose a pirate action figure because she knows that daddy likes pirates. They also have fun playing pirates together. Tristan choose a transformer for daddy. He like to play with daddy also. They were very excited to choose their own gifts for their daddy.
Jaxen and I gave him a video game. It's a game for the wii. He was excited because it was a game he had been looking at for awhile. He's had fun with it so far and it's been really cute. Each time he sat down to play Jaxen came right up and sat in his lap and watched him play. It's a role playing game so it tells a story. I think this will be the start of daddy playing video games with Jaxen. He has done so with both Kaeryn and Tristan and now he will start with Jaxen. It's so fun and just prescious to watch. I also got him a travel case for his psp since he travels alot for work. He likes to bring that with him so he can play a game and unwind before bed when he's away. Venezuela has a drink called toddy. We love it and we love it when Ron makes it for us. I know he enjoys making it also. So when I saw this milk shake maker I thought that would be a fun way for him to make toddy. Ron thought that was a fun gift also. He made us some yummy banana chocolate shakes! They were very good and I think he is looking forward to trying new things with it. I love to see have fun! We love you Ron! You are the best Daddy! You are the best Sweatheart ever! I love you so much and feel like i'm the luckiest to have you! I look forward to sharing another wonderful year with you!
Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, September 2, 2008

What next?

So you know how they say that babies and toddlers are like scientists, always exploring and experimenting with everything they see. Well, our Jaxen is no exception. That's exactly what he loves to do. Explore and experiment. Whether it's rocks in the dirt, rocks in the pool, rocks in the mouth. Dirt and sand in the air. How fast a sippy cup will fall. Hands can be drums on the table, floor, boxes or whatever you can find. Really, the list could go on and on. His latest experiment......what else can you do with vaseline?
A couple weeks before we moved Kaeryn and her friend had come in to ask me something(I can't remember). I was working in the kitchen. They came in and stopped at the hallway and stopped talking. Then Kaeryn asked why did Jaxen have stuff all over him. I went over to see what she was talking about because I was pretty sure all I had done was change a diaper and put clothes on Jaxen. To my suprise there was Jaxen completely covered with vaseline. I started laughing! I actually could not stop laughing. I went straight for my camera. Jaxen just looked at me and said "Cheeze".
I love my little scientist. It's so great to see him explore. Even though some of his little experiments don't always go as planned, I love him and I love to see him learn.
The end result of this little experiment..........Vaseline does not come out of hair very easily. Infact, it takes about a week or so for it to finally wear off. So the lesson learned......mommy needs to remember to put it away after changing Jaxen's diaper.
Posted by Picasa

Our newest family members!

On July 31rst our Kimahri had 4 kittens. They are so cute! It was such a neat experience for me to be a part of it. She was in labor pretty much the whole day and didn't want me to leave her. She actually wanted me to hold her and snuggle. Poor thing, she kept looking up at me and would wimper. She definitly was a trooper. I had made her a bed area in our walk in closet in Ron and mine's room. There were some corner shelves that actually were perfect for her. so she had a bed on the floor, her basket and then the corner cubby. Finally, around 3:30-4:00 the first head started to pop out and she kept trying to make a brake for the litter box. But since I wouldn't let her she kept jumping from her cubby shelf to the floor bed. So the first baby was actually born in mid jump. Once she came out Kimahri totally changed and immediatly started being a mom and taking care of her little one. She stayed in the same place after that. Finally after two more hours the other 3 had been born. It was so neat for me to see it happen. I love the miracle of life. First came a little black kitten( a girl). We named her sophie. Next came a grey tabby(a boy). We have named him Braska. 3rd came another grey tabby but he(also a boy) has some rusty coloring around his face. He was born breach and gave Kimahri a bit of a work out. Kaeryn choose him as her own and named him Calcifer( a character from one of our favorite books). 4th was also another boy and another little black kitten. He has some white and grey whispy hairs around his legs. He was also breach and was the hardest and longest to come. He gave us a little scare because once he was out he made no movements and was appearing not to breathe. Kimahri let me move him closer to her reach and started licking him and finally all at once he started moving around(and hasn't stopped since). Tristan choose him and named him Oliver after one of the Thomas the tank engine trains. We are so happy they are here!
This is Kimahri after the kittens were born and she had finally finished cleaning them all off. Poor thing was so exhausted and hungry she couldn't get up to eat so I put a handfull of her food next to her and she looked at me and meowed and started eating. It was so sweet!
After a long rest, that night she was able to get up and get some water. The little one's just all snuggled together. It's just so precious. I just love babies of all sorts!!! On the outside is Braska. His name comes from a character in one of our favorite video games we played together. Kimahri actually is from the same game. In the middle is Sophie. Her name comes from one of our favorite characters in a book calles "Howl's moving castle". Next is Oliver. His name is from Thomas the tank engine. Tristan absolutely loves the Thomas trains. Laying sideways is Calcifer. His name is also from "Howls moving castle". As you can see we like to name our pets after favorite characters from books, games and movies we share together. Aren't they just so prescious!

This is Calcifer. I love watching the newborns sleep. It is one of the most peaceful things. We love our little kittens and welcome them to our family.
Posted by Picasa