October 2007 - Nicole Turns 5

Yep, Nicole has made it to 5. She was so excited for this birthday, probably because she was the last one to turn 5 in her Kindergarten class. She even told me one day that she couldn't go to school any more because everybody is 5, and she is only 4 :(

We had her party at the Color Me Mine Pottery Studio, and she had a great time creating with her friends. They all did something Princess-related...or course :)

Happy Birthday to our FAVORITE 5 Year Old!!

October 2007 - Happy Halloween

For Halloween this year Nicole was Elina from Barbie Fairytopia,

Tyler was a driver for Lightning McQueen from Disney/Pixar's "Cars"

October 2007 - Disneyland Halloween

Halloween is so much fun at Disneyland! They decorate the place up with a halloween theme which just adds to the fun! Kathy and I took the kids there to see the halloween stuff, and we decided to be completely NUTS, and wait for the fireworks which only start at 9:30pm. When your kids usually go the bed at 8pm, stretching it an hour and half is CRAZY! We threatened to just leave a few times, but we kept each other strong, and we did it! The fireworks were truly worth it!!

This picture doesn't do it justice, but here is a glimpse of Main Street, with the Mickey Pumpkin at the end.

Nikki and Zoe waited patiently in the stroller, and goofed off a bit :)

Tyler and Colin hung in there too!

October 2007 - The Pumpkin Patch

The fall would not officially be here without a trip to the Pumpkin Patch. Mike, my Mom, Nikki, Tyler and I took a drive down to Orange County to see a pumpkin patch with our friends Victor & Kristen.

We took a ride on the train

The kids got their faces painted

And Tyler tried to show off how strong he is :) It was a fun day!

I got Tagged

I was recently tagged by my friend, Karen. After finding out that it meant to be "tagged", here are 6 Habits/Facts about me:


1. I LOVE cars! I am not into classic cars, or engines, just what the latest and greatest ones on the road are. When we lived in the Bay Area, I would so look forward to the Auto Show around Thanksgiving weekend that we attended every year we lived there. The LA one is okay, but I miss the Moscone Center!!

2. I am very organized! I believe that there should be a place for everything, and everything should be in its place! Desite having children, I have not been broken...yet. I kinda hope that I hang onto this habit though!

3. I cannot type.

4. I love yellow cake with cream cheese frosting! It is my ULTIMATE comfort food! It makes everything better!!

5. Even though I fought bitterly with my two brothers growing up, they truly have turned out to be two of my best friends in the world! I am trying to convince Nikki that she needs to be nicer to her brother, but I guess that it is still early days!

6. I used to be an avid ballroon dancer. I have medaled in Bronze, Silver and Gold Standard Ballroom, Latin and Social Dance and Bronze and Silver in Country Western dancing.

I now tag Nicole Guerra in Novato, and Mindy, my favorite sister-in-law :)

Sept 2007 - Last Time at Disneyland

Our dear friends the Nuttall's moved this month, but we snuck in one last time at Disneyland with them! The kids had a great time! We miss you guys!!

Sept 2007 - Tyler with a Power Tool

Tyler seems to have a knack for the family business - power tools...uh oh!!!

Sept 2007 - Washing the Car

It would not be the end of Summer without giving the car a last wash before it gets too cold to do it ourselves. Mike decided to wash the cars...with the kids helping, it took a LOT longer than it normally would have :) Afterwards Mike said that it was worth paying to take it to the local carwash :) Ha ha ha!!!

Sept 2007 - Tyler in the Sprinklers

Tyler is such a little boy - I cannot take him anywhere with water, because look what happens...

Sept 2007 - Granny and Grandad

Granny and Grandad are FINALLY living in the US! Here they are with the kids on a break at Temescal Canyon.

Aug 2007 - The Varkie's at The Grove

What monthly post would be complete without a picture at The Grove ??? ;) Here are Grandad, Mindy, Matty, Granny, Nikki & Tyler on the Tram.

Aug 2007 - Princess Jasmine

Nicole has loved Princess Jasmine (from Aladdin) since she was 2, it still amazes me that Princess Jasmine is STILL her favorite - but here Nikki is again, dressed as Princess Jasmine at her friend Rachel's Birthday Party

Aug 2007 - Cool Dudes

Tyler "helped" Uncle Ryan to look cool by sharing his pair of Nemo sunglasses - needless to say, he put them on Uncle Ryan's head for him ")

Aug 2007 - The Cousins

No visit with the family would be complete without a picture of the cousins. Here are Nikki, Tyler and Matty!

Aug 2007 - Sleeping Beauties

Our dear little Tyler is what you could call a "snuggle bug". He loves to cozy up next to a warm body, and take a nap. When Ryan and Wynne were visiting, they decided to take a nap on the couch. Tyler decided to join the party I guess, he hopped onto Ryan's lap, made himself comfy, and went to dreamland with them :)

Aug 2007 - Young Love

Nicole has a new boyfriend, his name is Cameron Simpson, and she has it all worked out. They are going to get married, have 4 kids (2 girls, and 2 boys), and they are going to live in Idaho, because "Idaho is good for kids". I had to laugh when she told me that Cameron doesn't know where Idaho is, but she will show him - good thing seeing that they are going to live and raise their family there :)

Aug 2007 - The LA Zoo with Baby Addison

On August 1st we got together with Mike's cousin Briana, and her adorable little gril Addison and we went to the LA Zoo. It was pretty warm, but it was a great visit. This was the first time that Tyler has taken such an interest in the animals. We will have to do this again!

July 2007 - Our Family

We never really get a chance to sit down, and get a family picture taken. This one is not perfect, but here we are.

July 2007 - Tyler on a Pony

Well, miracles NEVER cease. Tyler is slowly but surely getting over his fear of animals. I had Mike put Tyler on the Pony, if I had triend I probably would not have succeeded, but he did it!!

July 2007 - Adventureplex

I took the kids to an indoor play area in Manhattan Beach called Adventureplex. The kids ran and ran and got all sweaty, but it was a great way to get rid of some of their never-ending energy!

July 2007 - The Circus

On July 21st we took the kids to go and see Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus. I went to the circus as a kid in a big, hot, dusty circus tent. The Staples Center is DEFINITELY the way to do it!!

Here are Daddy and Tyler after the fun! Nikki wanted to stay all day!

July 2007 - More Good Times at The Grove

We went to the Grove AGAIN! We had lunch with Colin and Zoe, yummy Pizza at Farmers Market

A trip to The Grove would not be complete without a ride on the Tram :)

July 2007 - Dad/Grandpa Muir Turns 60

One of the reasons that we went to Idaho was to celebrate Dad Muir's 60th Birthday. Happy Birthday Grandpa! Here is the whole family.

July 2007 - Camping Fun ????

Mike's Mom and Dad decided that it would be fun to go camping. We spent 2 days up in Palisades. It was pretty hot, but we all had a good visit.

The kids were getting pretty rowdy, so Mike came up with the idea for the cousins to make "soup". That kept them busy for quite a while!

July 2007 - Hanging with the Cousins

Nikki and Tyler are really lucky to have 2 cousins very close in age. They had a lot of fun playing with Kennedy, and Mason.

July 2007 - Rexburg Water Park

A trip to Rexburg, Idaho would not be complete without a day at the water park. Nikki and Tyler had a lot of fun there!

July 2007 - Visiting Craig, Mindy & Matthew

We took a trip to Utah and Idaho at the beginning of July. Our first and last stops were to see my brother Craig, his wife Mindy, and cutie cute cute son Matthew.

Here are My Boys - Tyler and Matty :)

Isn't he the CUTEST!!!

June 2007 - New Backpacks at The Grove

Nikki will be starting Kindergarten on September 4th - I still cannot believe it! We were at The Grove, one of my favorite shopping places in LA (http://www.thegrovela.com/), and they were having a sale at Pottery Barn Kids. They had the cutest backpacks on sale, so I picked up one for both Nikki and Tyler. It is always good to be prepared!! Here the kids are in front of the dancing fountain, they always love to stop there first when we arrive at The Grove.

June 2007 - Getting Ready for Fathers Day

To celebrate Fathers Day, we went to Build-a-Bear and built Mike a "Cody Maverick" from Surf's Up! Here the kids are giving Cody a "bath".

June 2007 - Griffith Park Train

Trains and ponies are always great fun for kids, so I took Nikki and Tyler to Griffith Park to ride the train and ponies there. We rode the train together, and then Nikki rode on a Pony. Tyler is still not quite ready to ride on a pony, despite being so excited to see and touch them.

June 2007 - Tyler's First Day of Pre School

Yes, my baby Tyler is all grown up, and he started pre school at the beginning of June. He is going to the same school as Nikki to make the transition a little easier. He was great the first 2 times I left him, and then the excitement wore off for a while when he realized that mommy was leaving him for a while. He is doing much better again, thank goodness!!!

Surf's Up Mike!

Mike worked on Surf's Up, an animated feature that was released in June. Here he is with a poster that his mom found :) You can see more at www.surfsup.com