Bressi Ranch Fall Hoe Down

Nothing says Fall like a good ole fashion Hoe Down, with all the fixings...BBQ food, Country Music, Pig Racing and Cow Milking! That is what we all got to enjoy at our communities Fall Event.  

Of course, the ultimate Host and Hostess, Eric and Jess put on the perfect pre-party for all of us. There were Fall games for the kids, art projects, tons of appetizers, beer, and the signature Hoe Down drink...Electric Blue Lemonade (with a hint of Vodka) for us parents.  

Skylar was missing Sophie as they hadn't seen in each in a couple days, so to say the least she was THRILLED to be with her and the rest of the gang. 

Our attempt at a group picture of the kids and T.J.  

The kids were getting antsy so we rallied the whole group together and headed to the Hoe Down.  If you can't tell the kids were leading the pack.

Pure joy on everyone's faces as we arrived.

The whole clubhouse was decked out with haystacks, food, drinks, games, and face painting for the kids.  The second they ran in the kids hit the dance floor to get their do-si-do on.  

After breaking in the dance floor it was game time.  These games they had at the event were awesome and a step up from the previous events.  Piggy Racers was a huge hit with the kids.  Madden was his sister's secret weapon to winning, as he would just stand on the side and push his sisters piggy to the finish line, not letting the pig move on its on.

Next on the agenda was the Hula Hoop contest.  Sadly, neither Sophie nor Skylar took home a prize in the contest, but they definitely put on their best effort.  With all that practice by the end of the night Skylar's hula skills vastly improved.  Madden even tried, but he was better at just swinging his hoop and almost hitting the other kids with it.  The DJ also put on a hula contest for the parents, to which I was eliminated immediately. 

Cowgirl Mama's!

Face painting time!  Skylar asked for a rainbow.  I hated having to wash it off only an hour later, but it looked cute on her while it lasted.

The cow milking races was something that really intrigued Madden.  He was over there for what felt like an hour milking the cow.  

The night, of course when by so fast since everyone was having such a great time.  Skylar wanted to end the night doing more hula hooping.  When I told you she got better by the end of the night, I wasn't lying, pictures prove it.

Hula hooping and throwing up the "peace" sign!

Even Madden got a little better.

The Hoe Down was a great way to welcome in Fall and the upcoming holidays.  

The Next Michael Phelps in the making?!?!

Last week Madden got a special treat (as did Mom who didn't have to get into the water), when Dad was able to make it to his swim class and participate with him.  If you can't tell by the huge smile on his face,  Madden loves swim class and I think he loves it even more when Dad is in the water with him.

Doing the "Humpy Dumpy" song.  Madden never waits for the parents to finish singing the song, he always jumps in mid song.

His most impressive back float by far.  Think he was showing off for his Dad.

Having a blast in the pool with Dad.  Mom sticks more to the lesson plan than Dad does.

Train game. The dive didn't phase him one bit.

One happy little fish!

Disney with her Bestie

Ever since Skylar and Sophie fastly became best friends we have been wanting to take them to Disneyland together. Jess has a annual pass and takes Sophie pretty often, so when they invited us on their next trip up I knew it was a must.  I was a bit nervous going with both kids, but between Jess, her sister Sam, and myself we were 3 on 3.  We thought the day after Halloween would be perfect and not to crowded, but to our surprise it was a lot more crowded then we expected.  Even after having nice fall weather earlier in the week, there was a heat wave and it ended up be really warm.  Either way we didn't let any of that affect us and we marched on.

Walking Main Street hand and hand!

First stop was to meet the princesses.  The girls were so cute telling each princess how they are best friends from Carlsbad.  For some reason Skylar loved telling each princess that she had a "S" in her name (kids say the randomness things).  Each conversation with the princesses was cuter than the next and it really was a special moment to watch.  Madden was pretty standoffish had no desire to take a picture with the princesses.

 

We hopped on the Tea Cups for our first ride.  I wasn't sure how Madden would react on the ride, but the second the tea cups started moving he was screaming and having a blast.  The girls would screech in delight while spinning, which Madden would mimic.   I loved seeing so much joy on his face!

Next Sophie wanted to take Skylar to her favorite show, Mickey and the Magic Map.  The show was great and Skylar and Madden couldn't take their eyes off it the whole time.  We then stop by Toontown and ate some lunch.  

We made our way over to California and did a bunch of the rides over there for the rest of the day.  We did Bugs land, Mater, Ariel, Monster, Inc., the Disney Junior Live Show,. and even manage to catch the end of a parade.

  We headed over to dinner in Downtown Disney where not too long after we ate the meltdowns started.  Either way, I didn't mind since the kids had been perfect the whole day and had a blast together.  I can't wait for Skylar and Madden to go back and I think a season pass my be in order.

  

Halloween 2013

I wish I could explain to people how big Halloween is in our neighborhood. I really don't think people understand until they actually experience it for themselves.  When I tell people we spend at least $100.00 on candy they think I'm crazy, but when you receive close to 1000 trick or treaters you want to make sure you have enough candy for all of them.  This year was especially busier for me because Jake had to be out of town the whole week for work and wouldn't be there to help out with the kids, so I knew I was going to have my hands full.  Lucky for me, I had my Mom, Dad and Uncle Chris (who has a huge love for Halloween and I knew he would get a kick of out Halloween in Bressi Ranch) came down to help out.

This year I kept up with the tradition (while I still can), that the whole family would dress up in the same theme.  Since Skylar, like any 3 year old girl, is obsessed with princesses I decided on "Tangled" as our theme for this year.  If you haven't seen the movie its based on the princess Rapunzel.  Madden was Flynn Rider, the thief/love interest to Rapunzel and I was Mother Gothel.  She is a witch who poses as Rapunzel's motherly figure, and is responsible for locking her in the tower.

Skylar was so excited about her costume and couldn't wait to get dressed.  She had a couple Halloween parties prior to Halloween but I wouldn't let her wear her costume as I knew she would spill a cupcake or something all over it.  I was worried about her and her wig, but she wore it the whole night and didn't break character all night.  Madden on the other hand was pretty overwhelmed by the whole thing.  The second I put him in his costume he took a turn and only wanted to be held by either myself or Papa.  I was planning on taking him trick or treating with Skylar and her friends, but after I saw how he was acting I figured it would all be too much for him and it was best to leave him at home with my parents.  If it wasn't for the sucker in his hand, I don't think I would of gotten any pictures of him.

With Uncle Chris sharing the same love for Halloween that we do, he brought down a costume to wear as he passed out candy.  His costume was a huge hit with the trick or treaters.  Kids would either be completely freaked out and wouldn't want to take candy from him or they would want to take a picture with him.  Poor Madden was pretty scared of him most of the night.  When he got his first glimpse at Uncle Chris he burst into tears.  Skylar on the other hand loved it.  She keep telling Madden that it was just Uncle Chris and that he was just pretending.

I invited a couple of Skylar's friends who didn't have a fun neighborhood to trick or treat in over to our place.  The kids and even their parents had a blast the whole night.  The kids led the pack running from house to house.  We did close to an hour an a half of of trick or treating when the streets were getting really crowded and I knew the kids had more than enough candy.   Once back at our house the kids poured out all their candy to admire and of course, eat.

 
 

Skylar and I helped Uncle Chris with passing out candy to the 900 or so trick or treaters we received again this year.  Skylar loved passing out the candy.  She would shout as kids walked up "Candy here!" "Happy Halloween", "Trick or Treat."  It definitely wasn't the same without Jake, but we still had fun.  I honestly couldn't of done it if it wasn't for my parents and Uncle Chris.  When I mentioned earlier that people don't really understand Halloween in Bressi until you experience, Uncle Chris was a prime example.  For someone like him, who is a huge fan of Halloween and has experienced it in many different places, by the end of the night he was still in shock by the whole night and the amount of people who are out.  He said it almost became like a job when passing out the candy for two straight hours.  I just hope he had enough fun to come back next year!

Crazy Hair Day

Instead of having the kids dress up in Halloween costumes, Skylar's preschool has Crazy Hair Day!  Skylar was very excited for it and had been telling me all week that Crazy Hair Day was on Thursday.  She had just one request and that was that she wanted three ponies in her hair with three bows.  Thank goodness that was a request that I could handle, plus I surprised her and put in some sparkles.  Our first Crazy Hair Day was a success!

Sophie & Skylar