Avacoda Festival

We took Tanner to the wonderful town of Fallbrook where we were married almost 6 years ago. Grandma and Grandpa Lyons and Derek and Jakie came with us to enjoy our day. There were tons of people and tons of food!
We loved walking around the cute main street.
Tanner said hello to the famous avocado. He ate guacamole, a mango freeze, and everything that his dad and grandpa bought.
Now I know where Kipp get it! When we go to the Fair Kipp is all about eating and his dad is the same way!!
Grandma bought Tanner this cute hat! What a fun day. We will see you there next year!

Sea World on the Hottest Day of the Year!

Mark and Kristen went out of town for the weekend and the kids got to stay with Grandma. On Saturday we all went down to Sea World on one of the hottest days of the year. With tones of sunscreen on we braved the crowds and saw some amazing animals. We touched a starfish, saw seals, whales, a polar bear and penguins. The penguins were the favorite!!! They were the most friendly looking to all of the kids. Grandma was in a giving mood so each kids got to pick a little stuffed penguin to take home. There was a 4 feet one that Jafta really wanted but he settled for this one.

Jafta ended up loving his.
India couldn't stop giving hers kisses on its beak.
They both brought their new friends to church on Sunday.

All day in the hot sun with no nap, having fun with his cousins and a new stuffed animal. Another great day.
I am lucky that Tanner is a go-with-the-flow kind of kid, but here is how the day ended...

Here is my new friend.

Oh he is soft.

He is out for the count. Now he gets to sleep with penguin every night.
Thanks Grandma for the fun day!

How Do You Measure A Good Day?

If you have read my blog even once you, know that I love being the mother of a little boy. At the end of the day with Tanner, I often look at my little guy and wonder if he had a good day. Here is the evidence that I look for...

1. How dirty is he? Does his shirt need to be presoked and scrubbed? If yes--good day!
2. How greasy is his hair? How many times did I have to rub sunscreen in his hair? If the answer is more than 1--great day.
3. How many times did he cry because he totally ate it? Today, the answer was two times. One time because he climbed up on the toilet , then up onto the the counter of the bathroom. I know what you are thinking; what good mom lets her kid do that? But it was super cute because he put his face to the mirror and was giving himself kisses. Well, then he fell. He cried for about 1 minute. He is so tough!

The second time he climbed up his crib to try to get his Softie.
(Side-note: You already know about Magenta, his favorite pacifier. Well Softie is a light blue blanket with a tag that Tanner loves to suck on and rub on his face. He loves it, and when he is tired he HAS to have it!)
So Softie was in his crib and he needed it. He had taken his bath and we were getting ready for bed. He climbed up his crib, stepped onto the bumper and reached the top of the crib with both hands. Then, I think he realized he that he was 1 and he had to let go and fall to the ground. Again, in tears.

That's my dirty, greasy, tearful, no fear little boy having a great day!

Sarah's New Friend Jack

So Sarah and I headed out to Coachella on Thursday night and stayed in a nice resort that KROQ hooked us up with. We were only 8 miles from the venue which came in handy the next morning because we had to wake up at 5:15am for our Breakfast with Jack Johnson. We arrived at the venue at 6am and waited for the other winners to arrive. There were about 20 winners including us, so we knew it was going to be really fun. On a side note, I do not know why KROQ calls it "Breakfast" when it was pretty much bagels, granola bars and muffins. It should be called "A Breakfast Snack with Jack Johnson." I guess I can't be too picky since it is free, and I do not like to turn down free food.


We headed in, and there sat a very small stage in a beautiful garden with a pond around us. There were no chairs, so we sat about two inches away from the stage on the grass. Jack came out and performed about 6 songs, and in between commercial breaks talked to everyone and played a few melodies.
**I did not use zoom in this picture. We were really that close**

At one point, he played a song called Do You Remember. He told us that it had been over 2 years since he played the song, and could not really remember the words (kind of funny since the song has remember in the title). Anyway, he was singing, and forgetting about 80% of the song. Meanwhile, Sarah was smiling from ear to ear singing along with him. He kept looking at her and she would help him out by singing the words. He kind of stopped and asked Sarah to join him on stage and sing the rest of the song with him. She immediately turned bright red and said no, and he asked her again. She declined and was a little embarrassed. I took a video of the song, but I stopped it right before he started talking to Sarah.



We still can't believe that we saw Jack Johnson with 20 people. We are still in shock and Sarah is still smiling from ear to ear.

A Full House

Tanner and I had the joy of having India and Jafta at our house all day last week. For those of you who don't know, Jafta is my 3 year old nephew and India is my 1 1/2 year old niece who live in Costa Mesa. It was so much fun. The kids played so well together it ended up being an easy day for me. India taught Tanner how to put him mouth on the dirty screen door. Thanks India!
After Tanner skipped his morning nap because he was so excited we had some water fun in the backyard. It was a little tricky getting 3 kids ready. They all do have sunscreen on. Yea for me. Here is what you maybe didn't notice, Tan had no rash guard or hat and India's top is on backwards.
I thought several times that day, "They are safe and having fun, so no big deal."
After water play and a picnic lunch in the backyard all three kids took a nap at the same time! Three rooms, three fans, and three CD's playing sleepy time music. Jafta woke up first so he and I snuggled on the couch and watched The Backyardigans. Soon after Tanner and India woke up happy and ready to play.
Next it was snack time. More strawberries from Farmers Market. I made a whole plate full but Tanner ending up eating most of them. India just held on to hers and Jafta was too interested in the toys.
After snack India and Tanner finished snack and there were off on another adventure. These two are only 5 months apart and really enjoy spending time together.
I was blessed to be an aunt before I was a mom. I feel like Alex, Caleb, Jafta and India taught me how to love a child in a different way. I take such joy with Tanner being close to his cousins.
I love being a mommy and hope that Tanner will have a sibling of two down the road. This day having 3 kids around made me feel excited about the idea of having a growing family.
Thanks for the play date cousins!

Farmer's Market

Tanner and I took a trip to the Farmer's Market. He loved walking around and looking at all the people. There were tons of samples and he tried a lot of new things. He had a mango, flat bread, and strawberries.

He loved the strawberries as you can see. He ate every bit of them! He handed me the stem when he was finished. It was such a fun day and we will definitely do it again.
Come and join the fun. SJC tomorrow afternoon! We'll be there!!!

SO I CALLED INTO KROQ THIS MORNING AND........

Kroq will be sending me and a guest (I think I will take my wife) to the Indio area on Thursday night (April 24). "Why is Kroq sending you there?" you ask. Because, the next morning Sarah and I will have breakfast with Jack Johnson. At this point you are probably thinking "Kipp, you are so lucky and you are always winning things". Well, there is more; we get to spend all day at the opening day of the Coachella Music Festival, which Jack Johnson is headlining. I do not know how I do it, but I think I will be buying a Lottery ticket today to test my Luck.

P.S. Isn't he dreamy???

Tired Beach Buddy

The other day Tanner and I spent the evening at the Beach with my friend Jamie. He played so hard with a bunch of big boys. He shoveled sand and while doing so, put tons of sand down his back and diaper. Finally, it was time to go home. He was asleep in his car seat before we had even left the parking lot.
When we pulled into the garage, Kipp came out to see us. As he pulled Tanner out he didn't move. He was sooo tired. I had to take their picture because I love the way Tanner is just draped over his daddy. Kipp and I had a conversation about skipping a bath, but there was no way, he brought the beach home with him.
He woke up as we started taking his clothes off. After he had been dead asleep he woke up to play in the bath.
Side note: Check out Mr. Mustache
Finally clean and ready to go to sleep after a great day.

Gymboree Is More Than A Store...

Tanner is a boy who loves to climb and have fun. Kipp and I were able to take him to a Gymboree class. He was able to climb, climb through tunnels, and play with beanbags. I thought it would be like going and playing at a park, but it was so much better. Unlike parks where most parents sit while their kids play, at Gymboree all of the parents we excited to be there. All parents and kids where playing together and encouraging each other. Tanner and the rest of the kids had name tags on. We would hear the other parents saying, "Good job Tanner." We were all friends by the end of the hour. Tanner loved it and Kipp and I were smiling from ear to ear.

Here are a few of the games that T played...
Push the bean bag through the hole.
Walk on the parachute as the parents shake it up.
Push the big tube. TEAMWORK!!
Climb on the tube, with a little help from mom!
Tunnel time.
We won a free month of classes that we are going to use this summer when I'm not teaching. Tanner had such a good time and I can't wait to take him back for more fun.

Little Skater Boy

Sarah took a break from the old blog, so I decided that I would take a shot at it. The other day I thought that it would be a great idea to take Tanner for a ride on my skateboard. Well, it turns out he LOVES it. What have I done? If he is anything like me, he is going to start wrecking himself on this thing in a couple of years. I think my next gift to him will be a helmet and some pads; I mean it is the least I can do for introducing him to this curse on four wheels.
Look at the smile on his face. He is so happy playing on the skateboard. If you do not believe me, click on the video below and see the joy in this little boys face. I have created a monster!!



He has no fear, and truly enjoys riding his board.

Pool Party

Tanner and Carson in the backyard.
Tanner misses Carson everyday and they had so much fun together.
It was a beautiful day and the boys look so cute with their rash guards on.
If these boys get any bigger we may need a bigger pool!

Easter Pictures

Jafta got to dye easter eggs after church on easter Sunday. I know it was a few weeks ago, but we have been pretty busy. Jafta took his shirt off so it wouldn't get dirty.

Grandpa and Tanner hunting for eggs in the Grandparents backyard.

Tanner tasting his plastic egg. He looks so cute in a hand me down shirt from Jafta!

Tanner got these cool glasses in his basket!

Tanner and India are looking at all of their colored eggs. India loved walking around and putting the eggs in her basket. We had a wonderful day with the Howerton Family. Happy Spring everyone!

Let Me Tell You 'Bout My Best Friends

Somethings change...
Somethings say the same.

We have been so blessed with amazing friends. Kipp and I started college in the fall of 1996 and we met some great friends. 12 years later we are still close and now we are raising a new batch of Best Friends.

Kipp and the boys went to Vegas for March Madness and we had a little Madness of our own at our house with all the moms and kid!

We spent a day at Disneyland. We got to meet JJ's super cute girlfriend Rachel and the little girl that she nanny's for named Lucy. All together we had 7 kids and at one point there were 19 of us all! With all those people you might think it would be too much, but it wasn't! It was perfect! It was one of those days when you know while it was happening that you would remember it forever.

The kids in Toon Town!

Tanner, Carson, Lexi, Haley, Kenadee and Carlee

Best Friends Forever Tanner Michael and Carson Michael in matching PJ's.
These boys had so much fun together the last week.
Carson would wake up saying, "Tanner awake?"
They truly love each other and I am so glad!