Why I love Fall...

Trick-or-treating. This year I was Kiki from the Fresh Beat Band. I play the guitar and dance pretty awesome!

Dressing Up! This is my costume...mom made my hoodie (actually she just cut the arms off of a sweatshirt we bought at the thrift store :)

Getting into character...

Pumkin cookie party!

Decorating pumpkins...

Field trips to the pumpkin patch with my preschool. Aubo is still my fave friend to hang with.

My preschool pals.

Mom and Dad got to come on our fieldtrip too!

September

Every year we meet Joe's grandparents for the Vacaville Jazz Festival. Here are some pics of the annual icecream feast at Fenton's that follows the music. This has been a tradition for 4 years! The 1st time we all went Lily was just 4 mos. old. This year we watched a military big band. They were great and ended with the most amazing rendition of American the Beautiful I've ever heard.

Lily AFTER icecream. She just crawled under our table and layed down.

Here are the 1st day of school pics I promised. Look at that BIG girl!

What a poser! Remind you of another Goldbronn?

I think this bathing suit has seen it's last Summer, though Lily still loves to wear it. Her little pot belly is so sweet.

Lily's 1st Days of Preschool!!

Lily started preschool last week! There are 11 3-year-olds in her class. I've probably been more nervous about the whole thing than she has. She has been nothing but excited to go each day. This is the outfit she picked out at Target for her 1st day of school. Note: she has worn it every day since -"Mom, I have to wear my school outfit." I have better pics of her whole outfit with her new backpack...but Joe hasn't emailed them to me yet...so I'll post those later.

Lily, her friend Aubo and another friend (Lily won't tell me her name) outside the fire station.

The whole class outside the fire station. Don't they look cute in their little school shirts!

There's Lily and Joe and the rest of the group listening to the fireman talk about safety and such. I wonder if Joe had more fun than Lily? Here you can see her braid; she asks for me to braid her hair every school day.

The whole class on the fire engine. Lily had a lot of fun, except when the fireman put his mask on. Joe said one of the kids cried and then she got pretty nervous.

Summer Road Trips

We had 2 long road trips in a row these last few weeks. I dragged the family with me to a couple trainings I did in Bakersfield and then San Luis Obispo. So smart to schedule those just a week apart. We are pretty tired of the car now! Of course we forgot our camera pretty much everywhere we went...but we have some fun memories still.

Road Trip #1: Bakersfield, CA

Yes, we visited Bakersfield on the hottest day of the Summer. I think it got up to 110 the day we were there. But, we got to visit our great friends, the Williams' family, who are now +3 in the kiddos department. Lily had so much fun playing with Emma (the gymnastics queen) & Cole (the computer whiz) and swimming in their pool. We also had fun getting to know their newest addition, Natalie. I sure miss my good friend, Tami. We've been friends since college. It's always nice to have another crazy mommy RD to chat with (no offence, Tami, you know what I mean, we are 2 peas in a pod :)

Road Trip #2: San Luis Obispo, CA

Lily LOVES hotel rooms! She gets SO excited to "live" in a new place for a few days. And finally, she sleeps really well in hotels now too (only took 3 years to get here :) After the boringly long drive to San Luis, it was such a pretty place to visit. We went to Avila Beach where the fog lifted just in time to let us enjoy a nice afternoon by the water. We walked the long dock and spotted a ton of sea otters out swimming. Then we came across a local guy fishing off the dock. He pulled up a HUGE starfish that he let us see up close. We also got to see a squid and watch it "ink." Then we went to the farmer's market in San Luis and it was lots of fun. Good food & music. As you can imagine, throughout this trip, Lily showed off her dancing & singing skills ("feel the beat, fresh beat...na na na na na na") for just about anyone around us. This kid is a performer to the core. Watch out!

Joe is officially an ironman!

We had quite the adventure this weekend as Joe competed in Eppie's Great Race, Sacramento's local triathalon. That's right, Joe not only signed up for a triathalon, he completed one! And, he beat his goal time finishing all 3 legs of the race (run, bike, kayak) in 2 hours 14 minutes. Unfortunately Lily and I were so busy running/driving around being the "pit crew" that we didn't actually get any pictures :) but the race itself will be posting tons of pictures of everyone soon. It was exciting, fun and motivating!! I am thinking about recruiting members for my own Eppie's team for next year's race! Anybody want to run or bike or kayak with me???

YEAH JOE!!!

Goodbye, Milo :(

Baby Milo

Our beloved dog Milo lost his battle with a sudden illness Friday. He was a very special dog and our first "baby." He was born at My Dad and Lori's house, so all of us have known him since his birth. He came to live with us right after we moved into our house here in Carmichael, 6 years ago. He loved playing Frisbee and tennis ball, anything that let him run. He was a very cuddly dog and had his little quirks too. We called him "scaredy cat" because he was afraid of EVERYTHING: balloons, loud noises, the wind, etc., etc., etc. When he was little and we would take him on walks, he would jump into the nearest bush everytime a car went by. He was always great with his human sister, Lily, and the past 2 weeks Lily was a HUGE helper with taking care of her Milo. We're so lucky Joe was home too, to keep an eye on Milo, and take care of him during this hard time. In Milo's last moments

he was loved and hugged by me (Jen), Joe, Lily, Papa Tom, Papa Joe & Gigi (Joe's mom), who made the last minute trip just to say goodbye. Milo's real sisters Bonnie & Tootsie are still close by. Tootsie next door :) and Bonnie at Joe's parents, so a part of Milo lives on. We will miss him so much, but pray he is chasing tennis balls somewhere in doggy heaven :)

Our Princess' Party

ONE of her favorite gifts...ever the momma
Opening gifts...she had LOTS of help from friends for this part

Blowing out candles on her triple chocolate princess cake...a girl after our own hearts

"Patiently" waiting

The Los Feliz Way Girls

Party girl in her pretty princess dress (SHE picked out herself - her 1st shopping experience - watch out mom & dad!)

Not a lot of commentary to give today on the party...we're all pretty pooped, but it was AWESOME!!!!!!!


P.S. Thanks to our friend Christine for taking these fabulous pictures!

Timy Dancer - Part 2

This is PROOF that Lily did indeed wear the tutu I made her...once in public. Dance class was very fun while it lasted, and gave mom quite the workout as well, but we had a little talk after the last class, and according to Lily, she would rather try soccer now than do dance again. So, this Summer, it looks like we'll be trying her 1st real sport! Soccer mom? Oh dear no...it's daddy's turn I think :) I'll watch from the sidelines sipping my iced tea.

2 weeks until D-day...or B-day!! Wow, our "baby" will be 3!
Get ready for a FABULOUS Princess (and Prince) Party!

Lily is one excited little (big) girl!!!

Spring at Fairytale Town

First, this picture captured the mood of our 2-year-old this beautiful Spring day at Fairytale town. Luckily, her mood improved :) Actually, she was sad in this picture because on the horse next to her was a crying little boy that didn't want to have to ride the horse. She's still a sensitive little one.

First stop...the pirate ship, where Lily took hold of the steering wheel (after we pushed off some 10 year old boy. Hello - Fairytale town is for LITTLE kids)!

Probably the highlight of the day - running the cooked mile. This is Lily at the little crooked house. This year it was pretty fun because we we could read all the fairytales together and Lily really got the stories. She was esp. excited to see "Mary had a little lamb" and ride on Cinderella's coach.

Sliding down the beanstock.

Driving the "little engine that could"...with ATTITUDE (and sound effects)!

Wow, Dad looks BIG on the little engine! Is this a preview of Dad teaching Lily to drive?

All in all it was lots of fun...Lily and I were just recovering from stomach flu so still not 100%. Earlier in the week we were supposed to go to Fairytale town with our good friends, Trish and Reece & Bryce, so I think Lily was a little disappointed that it was just Mom and Dad for this trip :) It was nice to spend time together - just our little family :)

Tiny Dancer

Lily started her 1st dance/gymnastics class last week with her friend Aubrey. We made tutus and everything...though Lily's tutu at least has not been worn to class...yet. Lily has loved dancing since she was a baby...private dancing at home. In public, she has been a bit shy to show off her moves.

Here is Lily practicing the dance moves she learned in class. She LOVES to wear dresses right now, especially this one from Gigi with princesses on it.

Practicing listening to teacher Allison.

Her FAVORITE part of class...the trampoline!

My 1st Valentine's Party

Happy Valentine's Day! Yesterday I went to my first very own Valentine party with my church playgroup friends. I was so happy when I saw Aubo especially. We had fun running up and down the basketball court and playing with the soccer ball (practicing for Daddy & Me soccer in the Spring!) Then we exchanged special homemade valentine's with all of our friends. Summer made us each a very cute Valentine mailbox (mine was a kitty!) to hold our Valentine's. Then we shared pizza and treats. We played the piano and danced. I also got to hold Mady again :) Whenever I talk to Mady I use this almost ethereal little sweet voice (definitely not my normal voice). Mom was so proud of what I big girl I was playing with the smaller kids. Mom says I will be a GREAT big sister someday.

Coming soon: My 1st Dance Class!!

Welcome Mady & The Wizard of Oz

One of Lily's favorite Christmas gifts was a Wizard of Oz dress-up box. Above Lily is playing the part of Dorothy. Below, Lily & I were lucky enough to meet and love Aubrey's new sister, Mady. This 1st pic is a little mischievious :)

Lily asked to hold Mady several times (like every 2 minutes while we were there) and was very loving to her, kissing her head and holding her fingers she would whisper sweet things to her. Maybe OUR BABY is ready to be a big sister. And now, over a week later, Lily talks about Mady daily. Tonight, she was walking around with "Mady" in her play carseat feeding her a bottle. Mady also went to bed with her tonight. One cool thing: Mady is so small that she fits in the palm of our hand, and we never misplace her because, well, she's invisible. Lily's imagination is in full bloom, and it sure is fun to watch! We have promised to go back to Summer & Aubrey's to get a real Mady fix soon though.