4th of July Weekend

We had a jam-packed 4th of July and it was so much fun! We first started the weekend off on Friday night with a nice night out for just the two of us. We wanted/needed some time away since John had been so busy with work lately. We first went to our local mall to walk around. I love walking the mall and not feeling rushed or having kids with me. It is relaxing in a way and a CAN be a cheap date if you just window show like we usually do. In our case, it was until we stopped at Pottery Barn Kids to buy Piper's bed I had been eying for a while. It was a great sale, almost half off, so it was a perfect time to get her big girl bed with potty training and all. So, we bought her bed, but since we didn't have the van, ended up picking it up the next day.

After the mall, John took me to dinner. He had it all planned out and I had no idea where we were going. We went down to downtown San Jan Capistrano and walked around the picturesque streets until it was time for our reservation at this beautiful place.
The Vintage Steakhouse is a really fun place. We had never been before and had no idea what to expect. John found a groupon for it a while back and wanted to surprise me with it. I kind of felt like it was our anniversary because it was so nice. This place was an old train that they converted into a restaurant. You could sit in the cable cars or in the dinning hall part, which is where we sat. This picture is pretty much the view we had from our table. It also had a live Jazz band playing songs from Sinatra, Dean Martin and the likes. They had a female and the male singer trade off with songs. Our favorite was the guy. He was like this 80 year old man and sounded so similar Sinatra. The lady was kind of over the top and not as good. The best part was watching the regulars out their dancing it up. Other than maybe two other couples our age, we were by far the youngest in the place. It added to the charm of the place.

Our food was great too. I went for the filet and John had the rack of lamb. After we were done eating, we wanted (or rather I wanted) a picture of us. Our waitress took it and wanted to make sure we had the rose in the picture. She was a bit eccentric, but still very nice. It just wasn't our best picture that is for sure. It was still a night to remember and a great time out with my hubby.
On Saturday, we woke up early and went walking around Mission Viejo lake. I used to go running there all the time, but with school out it has been hard to over there. It has also been difficult doing things like this as a family with work being so busy for John, but when we do, it is my favorite. After our walk, we went to the Spectrum to return some things and walk around, then we stopped off at the other mall to pick up Piper's bed. She was one happy little girl after we got it all ready for her.

Monday was the best. I just love the 4th of July, definitely one of my favorite holidays. We started out our day with our annual neighborhood bike parade. My neighbor Carolyn told me it was definitely worth going to if we were here. All the kids in the neighborhood decorate their bikes and themselves and ride around the streets, while other neighbors cheer from the porches and sidewalks. Here is the kids with their bike and scooter all decked out just before heading over.Piper was so excited for the parade. Mommy and Piper ready for the fun to start.

Here's almost all the neighborhood kids. We have quiet a bit for our small neighborhood, which makes it so much fun for us. This parade was pretty well orchestrated. They had an iPod blasting patriotic music and a full on banner in the front of the group. It was pretty awesome.Once we passed our house, I hurried to switch out her scooter for the stroller. It was pretty painful waiting for Piper or pushing her at snail's pace on her scooter. She was pretty much done by then anyway and got to the hold the flag and pinwheel, which made her happy. Oh and my stroller was even patriotic!At the end of the parade, they had a sno cone machine set up for all the kids to enjoy. We all thought that was pretty awesome and some had a hard time waiting their turn in line. Brody. . .We love our neighborhood and the fun things they do. I am sure this will become a tradition for us until the kids get too old; they had a blast.After the parade, we cooled off since it was already getting way too hot and got the food ready, and we then headed up to John's parents' house to join the rest of the family for a BBQ and pool party. Steven and Becca had flown in for the weekend, and Meredith and Brian were still in town, so we got to have almost all the Browns there. It made it that much more fun. Piper and I also got to hold baby Kate for a bit, which made us both very happy. Here is me and the CA granddaughters. We need to boost up our numbers some more. :)Brody and Preston had fun playing catch outside together.We had some great BBQ and the kids were all pretty happy.We all carnitas and bbq pork sandwiches. It all looked and smelled so good that I had try some of each and that proved to be a mistake. I was way too full after.The pool had never felt better than that day. It was perfect for swimming. Brody was an animal on the jumps and slides. He is a pro this year at swimming in the deep end and loved every minute of it.There he goes!Piper is a different story. She was still getting used to the water and recuperating from swimming lessons the week before. She felt safe, though, with Grandpa and the noodle.Becca and Steven swimming it up and looking great.Great Grandma and Grandpa were there also and John's aunt Carol and uncle Steve stopped by too from Vegas. We had a full house and it was great.Piper and DaddyWe celebrated Ethan's birthday too, who just turned the big 6 a week or two before. Pretty cool dinosaur cake you got there Ethan, Brody was jealous.Piper devoured her piece of cake.What, is there something on my face?
The boys loved the rocket launcher and see how high they could make it go.Later that night, we went to the our spot at the Claremont Colleges to watch the fireworks and tried to get a family shot of us, but the kids weren't cooperating. Better luck next year.Look at that handsome Dodgers fan!

Licorice and silliness makes for good times and memories.Miss Sweetilicious!Fun with the cousins! Ethan, Brooke, Brody, and PrestonFavorite Aunt Becca was out there playing soccer with the kids. . .And playing catch with the boys.While the big boys played catch and paddle ball.Ethan is the sweetest boy! We miss you guys already!We pulled out the glow necklaces and the kids went crazy for them.Piper showing off her pink and purple necklace.Steven once again wins favorite uncle award with his cool toys.And the best and last picture of all goes to some of my favorite people in the world. It was a perfect ending to a wonderful day and weekend. Happy birthday America!

Adventures In Potty Training- Piper Style

The Wednesday before the 4th of July weekend, we started potty training. Wahoo! I actually didn't plan on doing it, it just kind of happened. We had been go go go and enjoying our summer so much that we needed a day to relax and clean the house. So, we stayed home that day and ended up pulling the potty out to see if she would sit on it. Up until this point, she would refuse to sit on the little potty. We would read our potty book, talk about it all the time, and had our new big girl panties all ready to wear, but still no interest from Piper. Brody was great about trying to help me get her excited about it. We did lots of silly dancing, singing and jumping up and down to get her to sit on it and it worked! She was just as happy as we were.

Then, as promised, it was potty treat time! Yay Piper for sitting on the potty!! This time around I just went straight for the treats. With Brody, I had all sorts of fun stuff he could choose from like little animals, stickers, suckers, and pencils and such.After her potty treat, we did a lot of waiting. I was committed at this point and needed to see some success after coming this far. It was difficult keeping her on the potty. She loved trying on her new princess pull ups. . . . And trying out the potty seat as a hat. . . or as a necklace.

Then it happened. . . . I was in the kitchen for a minute taking a break from the potty party and she walked right over to the potty and sat down. I was watching her from the corner of my eye and heard something familiar. I was beyond excited and I even think I shocked/scared her a bit. We did a lot more dancing and singing and potty treats! Then we called Daddy at work to keep up the excitement and fill him in. Then we called Grandma Pitta to tell her the exciting news.

The rest of the day she did great with 2 more trips to the potty on her own, but we did have one accident. I was so thrilled and hopeful for the next few days. Then, the next day came and she woke up and it was like everything that happened the day before was a dream. We had a really hard day with several little accidents and a lot of changing clothes. She didn't want to the sit on the potty, but still wanted potty treats. Her stubbornness came through in refusing to do either. It wasn't until we called John in the late afternoon to have him talk to her about it. After we talked to Daddy and she promised to sit on the potty, 10 minutes later she sat on it and pooped. What?!? How do Daddy's have this kind of influence over kids? She got two potty treats for that one and from then on it was much better.

John stayed home from work on Friday for the holiday weekend and he was a huge help in getting her to keep with potty training. She did progressively better as the weekend went on. We strapped on a diaper for church, though, and through the night. I felt like I was holding my breath waiting for her to regress, but it never happened. I was pretty amazed. It seemed much harder when I potty trained Brody two years ago. On the 4th, we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house and only had one little accident all day. She was getting there!

The following week, she was doing it mostly on her own at home without much prompting from me, and even went for the first time in the big potty at the movie theater when we went to the summer kids movie. Now, she is going on the big potty at home, church, and stores. I take the little potty with us when ever we are out for convenience. She has had a few accidents over these past few weeks because she can't get there in time, but overall, she is pretty much potty trained. It is so wonderful and I really can't believe that I will not be buying any more diapers anytime soon!

Once Brody was potty trained, we promised him a Thomas train set that he had been dying for. So for Piper, John and I, on 4th of July weekend, went out and bought her a big girl bed! It turned out to be a perfect time to keep the momentum going of transitioning into a big girl. It was kind of rough the first few nights, but she is great now and loves her new bed. I'll post pictures once her bed it all ready. My mom and I are making the quilt for her bed when I go up to Utah in a few weeks.

We are so proud our BIG GIRL PIPER!! We love you!!

Cars 2

We took the kids on opening weekend to see the movie Cars 2. It seemed like we have been waiting for this movie forever! The kids have been so excited to see it. So, during the day on Saturday, we went over to Wal-mart first to pick up some candy for the show and then went over and waited for the movie to start. Just after the previews, they showed a new Toy Story short. It was great and pretty funny. Totally worth seeing just for that. Now on to Cars. I would like to say it was great like the first, but not so much. It was still entertaining, though, and had lots of action to keep kids entertained. The storyline seemed a little too old for kids to understand at times. The talked a lot about green energy gas that even went over my head. It was also more like the shorts you see on the Disney Channel called Mater's Tall Tales with, Mater as the main character rather than with Lightning McQueen as the lead. That wasn't a bad thing because Brody loves Mater's Tall Tales, but I just wasn't expecting that.

The kids weren't the best they have been at a movie either. Brody had a major meltdown when his sucker fell on the ground and we wouldn't let him have it back. There was a hair stuck to it! Gross! John had to take him out because he couldn't calm down. And then there was Piper. . . . She definitely reminded us why we don't take 2 year olds to movies. About halfway through the movie when the snacks were all gone, she was all over the place. She tried climbing over chairs, pushing peoples' chairs with her feet, talking loud, and trying to stand up on John's legs. I had to take her out for a bit and stand on the ramp, so we could still kind of see, but she was still too disruptive with her loud talking and demanding to go back up to watch. That is probably why two year olds are free, because no one wants to bring them!

I am sure that contributed to our not-so-great experience. Luckily, though, we had gotten two free movie tickets for buying some Blu-rays, so that made it all worth it. I would definitely take your kids if they want to see it. Our kids did have a great time, despite the meltdowns, and Brody was pretty much glued to it.

More Beach Club Fun!

Just count on us being here A LOT this summer, so I wont be posting every time we go, just sometimes. :) We were here this day with friends from my old ward. It is hard to see Piper so grown up when I see her in pictures. She still feels like my baby! She is now interacting and playing with her friends more. It is very cute to see. Here she is with her friend Irelyn.This was interesting to watch. This little boy came over and was being rough with Piper and trying to take her toy. Irelyn was getting mad at him trying to tell him to stop. Then he hit Piper on the head and Irelyn really got mad then. At that point, I intervened as Piper's lip was frowning and on the verge of tears. Don't know where his mom was. It was just funny to see Irelyn being such a great friend and defending Piper.

Here is one rare appearance from Brody as he loves to spend forever in the water playing. It is literally a fight to get him out of the water after hours of being there.

Here is Piper's other friend Ashelyn. I don't know what they were talking about, but they were sure having fun.Piper finished out the day playing with her friend Tyler.

We're So Glad When the Grandparents Come. . . . .!

My parents came into town the Monday after Father's Day and stayed with us for a few days. They had been at Lindsey and Brandon's house watching their kids all week while they were vacationing. So, after being with two little ones all week, they were ready to rest and relax. Here are a few highlights from their stay.

Celebrating Father's Day for my Dad
On Monday, we wanted to celebrate Father's Day for my Dad, as he didn't get much of one the day before. We made him a home cooked Mexican meal of chicken taquitos, lime cilantro rice, and a salad. It is a new family favorite for us and one my kids love. I found it in my new favorite cookbook, "Our Best Bites". There are a lot of delicious, healthy, easy to make recipes in there which I was looking for. Anyway, the dinner was a success and, after John got home, we gave Grandpa his gifts and had brownies and ice cream, as he requested, for dessert. The kids were so excited to give him their card they made and we had a lot of fun seeing their reaction for his gift. From all of us kids, we are sending them to an ABBA revival concert next month and he got a new Nike golf shirt too. The kids also gave him a jar of pistachios that Piper pronounces the cutest ever by calling them "stashos". She knew what they were without any prompting. She is too cute!

Beach Club
We took my parents for their first time on that Tuesday. It wasn't too busy since it was our school district's last day of school. It definitely got busier as the day went on and as everyone was ready to party now that school was finally out. I think we all found it pretty relaxing and since my parents were there to help me watch the kids, I was even able to bring a book and read! This is a shot of what the lagoon looks like. It is a great alternative to the real beach, especially when you have little ones. They can play with their sand toys and still get in the water, all while watching them from your lounge chair. Piper always wants me in because she wants to practice swimming. That is great, but since its deepest parts are only to my waist, it makes it hard to practice. We are so glad, though, that we have access living here in this area.
In N' Out
After the beach club, we got cleaned up and went to In N' Out for dinner. It was a perfect night and, of course, packed, so we sat outside to enjoy our food. While waiting, Piper and Grandma played and I took a few pictures. They both loved their hats they got.

Pretty Piper!

Brody was even more excited about his chocolate shake that he was able to get.

Sight Seeing
Wednesday morning, we drove over to the Mission Viejo Lake and walked around. It is about a 5k all the way around and it is usually full of people exercising and pushing themselves on its great hills. Piper and I used to go there and run a few days a week after we would drop Brody off at school. Since school has been out, it has been a bit harder to get over there and get back into our routine. It is still a place I love to go.
Later that day, I took them through Coto De Caza, the gated community right by us. Most of our ward at church lives in there and so that is how I was able to get us in. We had a great time admiring all the multimillion dollar homes and surroundings.

Cheesecake Factory
After our site-seeing trip and driving Brody to absolute boredom, we meet John over at the Spectrum for dinner.

It is such a fun atmosphere there and it was a very pleasant evening. The kids were surprisingly great, unlike the last time we had been there with them. Then we all headed home for some ice cream and watched and laughed hysterically to Kevin James's standup routine. It was an old one, but still so funny.

My parents left early the next morning to conclude our fun week with them. Brody got up too as everyone was up leaving (John too) at around 5am. He stayed up the entire day without a nap, so, needless to say, he was pretty tired that day.

Thanks for coming down Mom and Dad, we love having you here!