While Mommy was away...

...the children and daddy played!
They took a trip to Loch Lomond in Santa Cruz and had a BLAST!  Ethan was so excited he could hardly tell me what took place because he was talking so fast!  See for yourselves!

They rented a motor boat!  They were so excited!

They headed toward an island...

and docked.

I love this "Von Trapp" family photo opp here!  hee hee...

And they are off!

Exploring is their dream when going anywhere....

And exploring they did!

They noticed that someone was here on their paddle boat....

Love the lost look here!

What a time they must have had!  What a view!

And after an hour or so, they headed back to their boat.. and it was still there!  Phew!

Back on...

Can you tell why he's so happy?!

He could not tell me enough how "the duck was behind me and I did not feed them, Mommy.  I holded my drink and I did not share!"  It was so cute to hear him talk about his trip and how much fun he had.

Daddy even packed snacks!

They had a blast and I look forward to going so they can show me what they did while I was away.

One more photo for mommy!

Just Moms...

and only moms!  7 moms came together for a few days of rest, relaxation, and laughter -- LOTS of laughter!!!

I have known these 4 moms for 2 years now -- from left to right (the original 4 moms include Kelly, Melinda, myself, and Astrid), Liz was also in "that" kindergarten group.  Then, this year we dragged in 2 new faces, Shelley and Colleen.  Lisa is absent from our trip because she had to attend her aunt and uncle's 50th anniversary party.  We hope she can join us next year!

Anyhow, we needed some time to just relax - children free.  Astrid has a cabin in Mi Wuk. Isn't it beautiful??

We put the 2 together and we had this:
Mornings full of  "spirits:"

relaxation:

friendship:

funny moments

outdoor adventures to Astrid's "murky" pit

gangsta style...  (oh brother, Shelley!)

Outdoor hikes (sorry you are covered by that darn branch Liz!)

that led to some interesting choices...

Some chose the high road

Others chose a more "freshing" path!

Either way -- we all made it to this breathtaking view!

All that work in the afternoon made this spread well worth the wait!

Our last morning there deserved a few more group photos in this beautiful meadow:

Followed by another delicious breakfast!!!!

Although I missed Vince and the children very much (I texted Vince every morning and every night!), it was so nice to get away and spend time with these wonderful women.  We stayed up late talking, laughing, watching this movie, this movie, and this movie.  We didn't finish the last movie... so I will have to rent it later. So it looks like we may have an annual gathering.  No matter where we are in a year - we plan to get together again to laugh some more.  Because laughing is SO good for you!

Astrid, thank you for a wonderful weekend!  It was a BLAST!!!

Happy Hollow Park and Zoo with some boys

and boy, are boys full of energy!!!!  Some of MD's classmates from his preschool class decided they wanted to get together for an outside event (outside of school, that is)  So we emailed and decided to meet at Happy Hollow Park and Zoo -- because we've NEVER been! ;)

They touched this snake at the entrance -- pretty cool, huh???

They climbed the fence to see the wallabies:

The last time we were here (a few weeks ago!) he was really scared to climb this part of the play structure.. now look at him go!

E was having so much fun with these "older" boys!

They finally stood still for ONE decent photo while waiting in line!

This was so hard for him to maneuver, but he tried his darnedest to move it!  You basically need a lot of arm strength and the ability to maneuver using your feet and arms.  He tried and tried... I gave him a few kicks to start him off and he had so much fun trying to keep up with his brother and his friends!

MD is sitting with Matthew S.   He really wanted to sit with DJ though, so that is why he looks a bit grumpy!

He loves this swing ride!  But we also discovered today --( actually, so did he!) that he really likes the roller coaster ride!!!!  We went twice in a row and he still wanted more but we had to move on.  I am so proud of him!  He used to be so scared of it and would not go on after the few times I took him with me. 

On our way out -- we discovered this in the zoo area... a real beehive!  Uncle Jim should see this!

It was fun today, but I am exhausted running after these boys!!!!

This weekend I am going away to the cabin with my friends from MG's school -- the school moms.  I am so excited!  More details once we return -- IF we return!  Haha!!!

FINALLY -- it's OUT!!!!

During her last visit to the dentist on January 12, 2010 we found out her two top front teeth were loose.  By Easter Sunday -- yes, April 4, 2010, we were certain it would finally come out.  But it did not come out.  So she wiggled, she jiggled, she tugged,and she pushed with her tongue to the point they were getting blisters and canker sores!  We were all getting frustrated -- SHE was getting frustrated!

We joked around with her that we should tie her tooth to the door and slam it shut.  Or tie her tooth to the car and have her run after us as we drove away.  She kept laughing at us and screaming, "NO!!!!"  So the last couple of nights, I have been brushing that particular tooth really hard after dinner.  Then I would wrap gauze around it and wiggle it some more... nothing happened!

Tonight, May 13, 2010 while wiggling it with gauze, I asked her if I could just try tying a piece of floss to the tooth.  (Like her friend Cassie's dad did with Cassie's tooth - with little success I think)  She agreed!  We went to the bathroom, she sat on the sink counter, I tied the tooth with floss and tugged.. NOTHING!
Well, there was something... her screaming at me!  "Ow, that hurt!"

Then she giggled...so I asked if I could give it one more try.  She agreed!  Wow, she was agreeable tonight!  She kept her lips tight for awhile though....  So knowing that this was my last chance tonight, I gave it my all -- and guess what?  It went flying out of her mouth, out of the knot of the floss(!), then  landed in the sink, and went directly DOWN the DRAIN!!!!  We all watched it -- MD, MG, and I!  I screamed -- NO!!!!!!  But it was too late.... it went plink! and then was gone!  We were shocked it happened...  It never crossed my mind that it would happen like that.  I assumed that it would stay on the floss!

So she was disappointed that her tooth was "lost", but she was glad to be finally rid of that darn tooth!
Here's one happy girl:

You can see that her adult tooth is already making its way out!

Then she promptly sat down and wrote this:

I can't figure out how to turn this...  She wrote:

"Dear Tooth Fairy,
I lost my tooth tonight.
But it fell down the drain when my mom pulled my top tooth out.
Love, Morgan Quach"

The reason why she felt it "necessary" to state that it was her top tooth was out was because she was "told" by some source (Melinda!) that the top teeth gets more money from the tooth fairy.  She was going to write, "please, may I have $2 since this is my top tooth?"  I suggested she not write because getting money from the tooth fairy is a treat and a good surprise.  So she ended the letter immediately!

So, that's that!