Waiting for the Parade

Kristi and Lexi love Play House Disney! When Tan and Lexi saw each other they gave hugs and snuggles. I don't know how to teach your child to love, but when I saw them hugging it made me think that Tanner is learning what loving means. That makes my heart swell with joy!
Kristi and Lex had to leave to pick up Haley so Tan and I stayed to enjoy the afternoon. We were saving a spot to watch the parade. Main Street, USA is in the background as we waited for the parade to start.
Oh Mom.
Look at that cute Mickey shirt. Thank goodness for hand-me-downs!
Drink and softie, I'm ready for this thing to start!!

Old Friends are the Best Kind of Friends

For 5 years Kristin and I were roommates and had some wonderful memories. This past weekend her family came out from Az. for a visit. She and Rick have 2 boys Isaiah and Tyler and a baby girl on the way.
On Friday we went to San Diego Zoo all day and then went to the beach in the evening. It was so hot that we blamed Kristin for bringing the Arizona heat with her.

Tanner was so tired from a hot and busy day. He still finds time to snuggle mommy.
Isaiah and Tanner were fast friends. He was so good with Tanner and Tan loved holding his hand at the zoo. Tyler is just a year older that Tanner but they got along pretty well too. I know I won't have another child with a T name. I got so confused all weekend with Tanner/Tyler.
Kristin, Rick, the boys and baby girl. Kipp and I were really impressed with what amazing parents these 2 are.
I love you Kristin. Come back anytime!!

Let's Hear It For The Boys

Tanner was helping Kipp do some yard work. We are learning as parents that everything needs to be a game.
It was a hot day so Kipp took his shirt off to do the yard work. I took Tanner's shirt off and gave him a matching tattoo.
Kipp's means: Santa Cruz
Tanner's means: San Clemente
Or maybe they both mean Sarah's cool!

My Mother's Day

Tanner gave me a wonderful card and balloon on Sunday morning. He looked so cute walking towards me with his gift. After church Tanner and I took a nap while Kipp cleaned the floors. Then we went to North Beach with the fam.


Our beautiful day turned cold fast. Grandma gave his snuggles to keep him warm!
A legacy of love! Happy Mother's Day to all of you!

Happy Mother's Day to the BEST MOM!

Happy Mother' Day Mom!
I love you so much.
You have loved and raised 3 kids and it is amazing to me the way that you continue to love and support us. For example, when I started working at church you became my BEST volunteer.

I love that you held me and loved me when I was little and now you are doing the same for my son.
Halloween
Making Christmas cookies!
At the ball game.
Here's to many more memories together. Happy Mother Day. I love you mom. Thank you for always being a loving example to me.

100% BOY

Trucks, Soccer and Skateboarding! What a boy. Tanner is 14 months old now and he is running and climbing all over the place.

Tanner loves skateboarding with his daddy. He thinks it it so much fun. Yesterday Tan and I were in a store and he was playing with a skateboard. When it was time to go and I picked him up he started to cry. He didn't want to leave the skateboard! I think this might be a sign of what's to come. We love our little guy!

Kipp's New Surfboard

Kipp's 30th Birthday was in January and our friends and family pitched in to buy him a new custom made surfboard. On Saturday we got to go and pick it up as a family. I love how Tanner is holding the board too! It was fun for me to see how excited Kipp was to get his new board.
Tanner is wearing a shirt that says "My dad surfs better than your dad!"
Kipp and Tan were like kids in a candy store.
Tanner is a surfer in training!!
This is where his board was made. Doc, who made the board, signed it the same way that he signs his team rider's boards. So it looks like Kipp is a Pro!
We all went to T-Street later in the day so Kipp could ride his new board. The only down side of this week is that the surf is less than great. He went out this morning even thought it wasn't that big. He just wants to play with his new toy!

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???