Happy Birthday, Duckers!

The ole number 37! Yes, Dave is inching closer to forty, but looking good the whole way!

Our resident party planner, Emma, decided to throw him a Cars 2 themed birthday party!

Just what every grown man wants to see. But as Duckers came in the door from work to hear "Surprise It's Cars" and the Beatles playing Birthday in the back ground, he did not seem to mind a bit!

We love him for being such a great Father, Husband and Friend. We hope that a little birthday dinner, skype with Mimi and Gramps and Birthday cake helped him know how loved he is!

Happy Birthday, Dave!

Move me up to KINDERGARTEN!!!

Yes, Emma is now officially a KINDERGARTNER! I can not believe it. I know I keep saying it and people tell me all the time, but time really does fly by!

Ms. Perry could not have planned a better way to say goodbye to Jr K, than a beach themed party at Bounce Town!

Emma had a blast, what kid wouldn't. She bounced and snacked. They sang a song with sign language, titled Move me up to Kindergarten, to the tune of Take me out to the ball game. Too cute!

It was then each child's turn to come and get their certificate and tell the group what they want to be when they grow up. Emma, for the first time ever said" Nurse". Not sure when the change from Astronaut and Rock climber came in, but I am happy to see she is open to new careers.

I have to mention a few of the others, " A regular guy with tats", " A face painter", " A Vet", " A Ballerina", " A Firefighter" and " A football player".

I have to say,as I have in many posts before, that these past few months at Golden Hills School have been such a positive influence on Emma. It has given her confidence, friendships and challenged her in the way she needs to be challenged as a 4 year old. She is the second to youngest to be in Kindergarten, next year, but I am confident she is going to do great. and for Dave and I we have met some of the nicest families, which has been great for us being new!

Emma and Ellison hit the park after the party for a little Fairy Bike riding

fun and later it was a trip to Macaroni Grill for a celebration dinner with Dad.

A great day!

I have a little tear in my eye as I write this thinking how special she is. How many 4 year olds like The Food Network, love going on family adventures, have a special liking for snakes and now Birds of the Rainforest( our new 5th birthday theme). She loves to dress up but also look for bugs and play pirate. Her imagination has no end and her memory is like that of an elephant. SHE DOES NOT FORGET ANYTHING!!!! She is loving, kind and thinks about others. I could go on and on as her Mother, so I will stop. I just LOVE her!

Weekend in Review

So for some reason Dave and I are exhausted on Friday nights. It could be the 5AM wake up time that is now our everyday norm. How Dave transitioned to that I am still in awe, or it could be that we are just getting older. But now, we do not think our weekend starts until Saturday morning and this is how it started off.

I loaded up Ellison into the Jog stroller for a little, "run off your growing rear end ( thank you wine and more wine)", run and when we walked outside of our garage to make a right, this is what was waiting for us.Now, I know that most people would freak out, which I had a momentary gasp, but I was rather fascinated. #1 I sell the rattlesnake antivenin to all the Northern California Hospitals, so I have come to appreciate them for my livelihood and a job and #2 I thought this would be a good learning opportunity for Emma to see what one looks like up close. I keep telling her to watch where she steps, puts her hands and look inside her toys before playing with them outside. She keeps saying, "I know Mom. You do not have to keep telling me."

Thankfully, our community association comes and removes the deceased rattlesnakes from your property or, should you ever find a live one, you can call the Fire Department. Welcome to Rattlesnake Country! I hope this is my one and only sighting!

From that I took Emma to get a hair cut. She has requested that her hair grow long like Rapunzel's. So just a trim.
Why is it that a 10 minute kids haircut costs $18? Is it the price of sitting in the cool chair?

So the rest of the day we spent running errands and playing which included a trip tothe park before dinner. On our way there we noticed several of our neighbors with chairs and coolers headed to the Block Party! Now I m not one to shy away from meeting people, but I am trying

to be more relaxed and go with the flow since moving here. Dave on the other hand, Shockingly said, "We should go. how are we going to meet any new people if we do not try." So looking beautiful from running and wiping snotty noses we packed up the wagon and

cooler and headed to the Block Party! It was a blast and we met some neighbors!

Sunday, was a windy day and for the first time we flew a kite! Really flew a kite. There were many attempts in GA, but never super successful. Dave to the rescue!

Monterey

Hello Monterey!!!!! Can you say GORGEOUS!

The Losinwalds decided to head to Monterey, California for a little Spring Break 2011 trip. We were not expecting what we encountered. It is breathtaking and quaint. I still can not believe that all of this is in the USA. I feel like I am in a foreign country when we visit some of these places.

As far as our trip..... Day 1. We made it to our hotel, The Monterey Hotel, which is located right on Cannery Row and the water. It was perfect because we parked the car and did not have to get in again until we were heading home.

Our hotel in the background
Emma made us op and take pause for her "dance performance". There was music playing and she busted out some really good moves!
The fountain in the courtyard of our hotel

We decided to check out Old Fisherman's Wharf. On our walk there we spotted seals and sea otters in the marina. You could also hear the seals barking for some fish.
This picture reminds of the days I was in GA, after Ellison was born, and I would take a walk every night with the kids and Gretta. How I managed all of that I still have no idea.
Seals sun bathing
Duckers and Emma on the beach

While at the Wharf, Emma decided to have her face painted....Purple Pirate style, of course!

There were plenty of trinket shops (or as I like to call them, Shops for suckers like Dave) where you can buy cheesy souvenirs. We left with a purple Ninja sword. Go Figure! They also had clam chowder on every corner with samples for you to try. Dave thought he was at Costco on Sample Saturday! But at the end of the wharf was the "bird man". Both Girls got a little taste!

Ellison taking a little snooze with Nelda

Day 2 we made plans for a trip to the Aquarium. I was a little worried that it would not live up to our expectations of an Aquarium because we were so spoiled from the one in GA. But we were all surprised. They offered so many things that we have not seen before that are indigenous to CA. First was the large Kelp Forrest tank. These kelp forest can be seen just outside the Aquarium in the bay.

Nemo, are you in there?

Please note that I do wash my children everyday. Emma just insisted that I keep the pirate face on for one more day. So fair warning, she looks a like a partial purple pirate!

Emma thought this bird was hilarious and wanted a picture with it. Thank goodness it did not poop on her head!

After the Aquarium, Dave and Ellison went to take a nap and Emma and I hit the beach. I use the term beach loosely. It is not the white sand you find in Destin or even the nice temperature of the Atlantic. It is the gritty Pacific Beach with cold water on your toes. They do have rocks for the Emma to climb and check out the tide pools. So that is what we did.

After a day of fun, it was Giant margarita time for Dave!!! Seriously as big as his head!
I am not a professional photographer, but I do believe I got the next photo contest winner shot of Ellison at the Ghiradelli chocolate shoppe!

We now call this look "the face". She will make this face on command!

Day 3, I had to work in the morning, so Dave and the kids went to Dennis the Menace Park. Apparently, the creator of the cartoon Dennis the Menace is from Monterey and he donated funds for this amazing park. If you are ever here with kids you need to stop and check it out.
Day 3 was also Day3 of Pirate Emma minus the face painting, but we did manage to pick up some pirate loot in one of the "Shops for Suckers".

We also decided to do something that the Big Kid in the family wanted to do.... 13 mile drive! The morning is not the best time of day to go but we had no other choice. We needed to get home and I had another hospital to get to. So we hope to come back, just Dave and I and see it again. We happen to get a look at The Lone Cypress near Pebble Beach and have lunch by the 18th green. No to shabby!!!!

Duckers and Ellison by the 18th green. Definitely a keeper!

Could they look any more alike?

We had a great trip and now Emma wants to go back this summer..... We"ll see. We still have a lot of California to cover.

Johnny Garlics

Emma has a new obsession, to say the least. It is the Food Network. She loves Guy Fieri, Bobby Flay and now Rachael Ray. She likes to watch it every night before bed and in the morning. This had led to many "Bobby Flay" recipes in my kitchen. She likes a big mixing bowl, wooden spoon, garlic salt, water, flour, sugar, ground ginger, cumin and pretty much any other spice any of them mention on their show that day. She mixes it up and gives it to puppy.

Thankfully for us, Guy has a restaurant here in Sacramento called Johhny Garlics. So on Saturday, after a trip to the mall, where we rode the Carousel, played on playground, rode a bear in circles, shopped for the kids and, oh yes, I got a new outfit for work, we hit Johnny Garlics.

On a side note, as I have gotten older, I do not enjoy shopping. It could be because I most likely have 2 children with me at all times, or that I do not think anyone has good customer service anymore, or that I am getting run over by the teenagers, or that I do not like crowds. But whatever the reason, I just really do not enjoy shopping. Has this happened to anyone else? I am hoping to out grow this.

While at the mall, Ellison needed some new PJs, so Dave picked out a pair. With no little boys in the house he has to get his kicks somewhere. Hence the Octopus PJs. Very cute might I say.

I also have to mention that our beautiful California weather has been a little cray lately. Lake Tahoe got snow this past weekend and we were under a Winter Advisory. It is May 15th and still snowing. The girls and I got caught in a hail storm at the Nugget and Dave tried to play golf in this beautiful weather. A high of 43 degrees and this is what our backyard looked like.

They say by Friday it should be 80!

Mother's Day Weekend 2011!

So as anyone who reads this knows I am behind. I am going to apologize now for the length and number of posts to come. The Losinwalds have been busy these past few weeks and I can not wait to share it with our loved ones.Starting Backwards..... Mother's Day 2011!

First, Let me start by saying Happy Mother's day to two of the most important ladies in our lives. Happy Mother's Day Nana and Mimi! You two set the bar for being Mothers. Thank you for all you do.

Second, Happy Mothers Day to the other ladies in our Family, Great -Grandma EJ, Great Grandma Flo, Aunt Erica, Aunt Tammy, Aunt Nancy ( the gang would not make it without her!) and my Aunt Karen! We are so blessed to have some many wonderful Mothers!

To all my friends who are Mothers... Happy Mother's day. I love you and hope this was your best one yet!

My Mother's day, I still can not believe I can say that, started out on Friday, with a Mother's day Royal Tea at Emma's School. I was greeted at the door by my beautiful daughter who

escorted me to the photo booth for a picture then to my table where I was presented with a flower, picture frame and hand made book. Her class then sang several songs for the Moms. ( Thankfully Mrs. Perry had tissue boxes located at my table). Emma has really come out of her shell since starting school here in California and she sang the loudest and proudest I have ever seen her do. Way to go Emma!

Emma outfitted me from her "clothes shoppe"

Saturday, I got a shocking surprise. Emma told me she wanted to go and get her toenails painted with me. WHAT?!?!?! My pirate girl wanted to go get her nails done! I was all over it. Made a lunch date with her friend Finley at the Purple Place and then nail

appointments for the 4 of us at Monica's Nail Salon.

I am still in disbelief that she wanted to

A.) do something with me that I enjoy doing.

B.) Do something Girlie and

C.) she enjoyed every minute of it.

She even asked me not wash her feet so that the paint will not come off. Not sure I can follow that request, she may turn from Awesome Emma to Stinky Feet Losin.

From the Nail Salon we hit the road with Finley, Nica and Alina to go to Danny's 5th Birthday Party! All 4 girls from Emma's school and me. Yes, 4 car seats, 4 girl conversations and one Justin Beiber to oodle over ( he was not in the car but he was on one of the girls ipads and so for the first time Emma asked "who is Justin Beiber and what does he do with his hair?")

Danny's party was at a Gymnastics place and Emma showed her skills.

I think the boy who helped with the party had the same hair cut I did in the 8th grade. I just hoped mine feathered the same way!

Did I mentioned it was pirate themed!

We then headed home and I realized that 4 kids is too many for the Losins because we would have all girls and the drama and conversations would send Dave to the crazy house before he turned 40! I loved being the bus driver for the day!

Sunday was another day of surprises, this time from Dave. He got me my favorite flowers,

a certificate for some new clothes( I have not gotten really any new work clothes since before Emma was born)

cooked me my favorite breakfast, eggs Benedict,

burned his hand (worth it for the amazing breakfast...just kidding. the breakfast was amazing he even poached the eggs in water like the food network but I did not want him to scald himself on the handle of the pan)

We then spent the day playing with the kids and towards the end of the day we got out the bounce house and the girls and I played while Chef David prepared dinner.

Another favorite of mine, Spaghetti Bolognese.

This Mother's day was wonderful and I am grateful for my family and my many blessings!