Happy 4th of July

Cooper's 1st Sparkler







Ciarrah loved these

Mysterious Bird

Yesterday when I was outside with the kids I noticed a baby bird walking around. So we went back inside to not make the bird nervous. I went out to check to see if the bird was still there and I didn't see it, so I let the dog out. Of course the bird was blending in with the shurbs near the tree and Collin saw and it and attacked. He broke its wings and then wanted to play with it, but it was very spunky and fought back, even though it was hurt. So I went next door cause the neighbor had caught a bird like this one before and I wanted her to see if it was what she had, and it was. We thought it was a crane. So we called the game warden and they came out to take a look. The thought it was a crane as well. They told me they were going to put a call into the biologist out here and have them come take a look.

This morning at around 9am, I heard a knock at the door. They actually came and quickly, which is unusual for the army lol. The man went back and looked at what we have in the tree. We have 3 green heron nests in the tree. He told me they look like they are getting ready to leave the nest and that is why they are running on the ground. He told me that it is very rare to find them so close to humans. He told me that this may be a once in a lifetime experience. Then I told him that they were here last year and I had no idea what they were. He then asked how long we will be here. I told him at least til 2012. He then asked me if I could give him a call next spring so he can come back and take a look at them. He seemed pretty excited.

To me they look like ducks, but that nest in trees. I had no idea that they were herons. It is really cool that they are in my back yard.

Ciarrah's Last Day of School

She sure has changed a lot since the first day. She has become a big girl. I had no idea what they would teach her in pre-k. But she really learned alot. In just 9 months she has learned how to write her full name. And you can actually read it :) She was learned how to write all the letters of the alphabet. She can count to 100 with very little help. Yesterday she counted to ten in Spanish, didn't know she could do that. She uses a very broad range of vocabulary. She has learned about weather and all of the basic stuff. She is recognizing words in books, so maybe by the end of the summer she will be able to read a little. I was amazed at how much she is learning.

And she gets to do it all over again next year. Yep, she has to do another year of pre-k, because her birthday is not before the 1st of September. I am hoping that by the time school starts next year she will be able to read a little too. That is my goal this summer, to teach her how to read. The best thing about school next year is, we can walk to school. Its about 3 blocks from our house. This year we had to go to another district for pre-k and that was about a 30 minute commute twice a day. I am going to be so happy to be able to walk her to school next year. On top of the closeness, they start school at 8am instead of 730! Which means we can sleep til 7 instead of 615!! Thats great news!!

We hope everyone has a great weekend and bring on the summer!!

Parent's Visit

We were unsure if my parents were going to come down after their best friend died the day before they were suppose to leave. Since he didn't really have family they were needed to help with the funeral. But all of their friends told them to go that he wouldn't have wanted them to miss seeing their grand kids. So they left around 2 pm on Thursday and they arrived around 2 pm on Friday.

When they got here mom and I went shopping for the weekend. They couldn't believe how much Cooper has changed in 6 months, as he is now walking. Ciarrah has changed alot since they last saw her she is a big kid now!

On Saturday they wanted to go to the Harley Shop we have here. It's called Horny Toad Harley Davidson. They have a bunch of cartoon toads with names and they wanted to see them. While we were there it was there 2 year anniversary, so they had a band and a bunch of cool stuff. It was a fun afternoon. That night we bbq and played in the pool.

On Sunday, we went to the beach. We took Collin with us as well. We came to find out that he was not allowed near the swimming area. This lake has only one area where you can swim and they have lifeguards and all that. So we didn't stay too long. Poor Collin was having a blast in the water too and didn't want to get out. Now we found out that there is a different lake that they don't have these silly rules, so that is where we are going this weekend!

After the beach we came home and started getting ready for our bbq. Michael was making Korean Ribs and rice. We had potato salad and deviled egss. My friend Amanda and her family came over too. Everyone loved the ribs. Its him mom's recipe and now everyone wants it! It was a great bbq.

Since my mom and step-dad were leaving the next morning, Ciarrah was pretty upset. We took pictures of them with the kids and we did a family picture, minus my brother. We even got Collin to sit in the picture too! It was a great time. We put the kids to bed pretty late like around 9 or so and their bed time is 7. But it was the last-night that they were going to be with them for awhile.

We had a great time and it was sad to see them go. I am hoping that around August before school starts we can go for a visit, not too long of course, but long enough.

Been Crazy

It has been a while since I have posted. We have been super busy. Lots of family time on the weekend and lots of cleaning during the week.

Last weekend we went to Rabbit Fest. It was a lot of fun. Ciarrah and Cooper rode on the ponies. At first Cooper didn't like it, but he came around. When it was time to get off, he didn't want too. Ciarrah LOVED the pony ride. I remember having to walk around with her, and now I don't have to!! Its a little sad to think that she will be 5 this year, where did the time go. Anyways back to the festival stuff. Ciarrah and I rode on every ride that she could. She got to go on quite a few of the big rides. We rode on the ferris wheel and this ride that goes really fast forward and backward. Its crazy cause she wasn't scared at all. Then we went on this ride that goes around in a circle, you can feel weightless for a moment, she loved that. A little girl next to us asked if she was my sister, that was kind of cool!! That little girl was scared and Ciarrah wasn't. We walked around and saw lots of vendors and stuff. It was a blast. It reminded me of JCF Days back in Fremont. I am sad that we will miss that this year :(

After we got back from Rabbit Fest, we put the kids down for a nap, while we set up the pool!! I am so happy to have the pool up. It was very quick and easy to put up. Sunday, Michael mowed the yard and he and Ciarrah got in the pool. It was quite cold for me and Cooper, but they had a blast! Everyday after school as long as Ciarrah gets a happy face she gets to get in the pool. I got in yesterday, it is a little cold at first but after a while its not so cold.

Collin is doing great. We talked with our vet and since he tries to escape the kennel she recommends that he not be put in the kennel. He's doing well with it. He hasn't chewed anything up all week. The only thing he does is pee on my chair, ugh. But at least I can clean it with bleach and water, so its all good.

We are excited for next weekend. My mom, step-dad, brother and his gf are coming down for a visit. I am so excited I can't wait. Its been since Christmas that I saw them. We are really looking forward to them coming. Ciarrah has no idea, she is going to be sooo excited.

I hope everyone has a great week!!

One Week

Yesterday we hit our one week mark, and we finally have adopted Collin. They give you a week to make sure things work out and if not they take him back. Well he is working out great. We are just waiting on our paper work for him, so we can go register him with the army.

The first time I left him alone was not so great. He shredded my curtains. Then he managed to lock himself in the laundry room, and he must of panicked. He shredded the brand new 42 lb bag of dog food. Then he decided to pull the vent out of the wall and eat the dry wall. Let's just say it was not a great welcome home present. But we got him a kennel and he is doing really well in it. He doesn't go in it on his own, we just have to "help" him in there. Other than the first day I left him alone, he hasn't really ruined too much stuff. He DOESN'T touch the kids' or really chew anything that he isn't suppose to.

As for him and Cyra the cat. They are doing alright. As of right now she stays upstairs and he stays down stairs til its bed time. We have baby gates at the top and bottom of the stairs. When she feels good she comes down and will sniff him. He just gets too excited for her and she runs off. Today she came all the way into the kitchen and she was doing okay until he got excited and she ran, then he chased her. I mean for him only being here a week, I think we're making great progress. I am confident that maybe in a few months we won't have to worry too much about them.

The kids have been doing great. Cooper can now climb on to every piece of furniture we have. Ciarrah is doing well. We only have just over a month til summer break. We are getting ready to put up our swimming pool. Once we have someone come out and level our back yard a bit. We tried to put it up today and we found out that it is really uneven.

New Addition

Yep that's right, we got a new puppy. Well he's more like the size of a horse lol, but is super sweet. We picked him up yesterday from Dallas, TX. He was in a great foster home and he's really sweet. His name is Collin and they think he's about 1-2 years old, but they are not completely sure. We have a 10 day trial period to make sure that he is the right fit for our family, they he will become officially ours :)


When we talking to the foster mom she made him sound like he was a really hard to get along with dog. She says he chews everything and he doesn't really care for guys. Also that he has a lot of energy. When we picked him up yesterday he didn't have too much energy. We took him on a mile walk last night and after the walk all he did was lye around. Today we took him to the lake and ran with him and all he has done since we got back is sleep. I am thinking that maybe they just didn't exercise him enough?? But who knows.

They also said that he has REALLY bad separation anxiety. I guess its a good thing that I am a hermit lol. She said he has a tendency to chew lots of stuff up when he's left alone, so we will see I guess.
He is very gentle with the kids. He sometimes knocks Cooper over, but he will hopefully learn. He can sit, shake and lye down.

The only thing is he likes our cat, but our cat doesn't know what to think of him. She tends to stay upstairs and will occasionally come downstairs to the gate where she will let him sniff her. If he gets too close she will hiss and run away. So for now he stays downstairs and she stays upstairs. At night though she gets locked in the bathroom until they learn to get along.
We are very pleased with him and we are very glad that we have the chance to adopt him.