Clearance!!

So due to the fact that the costume party was such a hit I decided to check for Halloween costumes on clearance. I was thrilled when I found costumes for 75% off! I was at toys r us forever deciding which costumes to get. Unfortunately I also needed diapers so I had to limit the costumes to 2. I was really bummed out because I found a Transformer costume without a pricetag. I scanned it at a price check and it said $19.99 and was excited that it was on sale for $5.00. Then I found out that $19.99 was the CLEARANCE price and the costume originally cost $80.00!! Yikes! Anyway Nik loved his Obi Wan Kenobi costume (even though he can't pronounce it). It's a little big so he'll be able to enjoy it for years to come.

Robbie wasn't a fan of his costume or the camera

Trying to get a group shot

His true identity revealed

Check out his cute buckle "shoes"

This cracks me up because Robbie kept on chasing Nik around the house. It reminded me of one of Chris's favorite TV shows, Deadliest Warrior. It takes warriors of history, i.e. Apache Indians and Gladiators, studies their moves and enters them into some database that determines who would have won. All I could think of was an idea for their next episode "Jedi's vs Pirates".

Halloween

For those of you who don't know I'm not a fan of Halloween. However when Nik found out that Sophia was having a party at school on Oct 30th he got understandably upset. So at the last minute I threw together a costume party. The only problem with the party was the fact that only Nik had a costume. So during nap time I threw together costumes for Robbie, Brady and myself. Who else could throw together costumes at the last second but "supermom" which is what I dressed up as.

Yes the "s" is homemade. Oh and my cape is a pillowcase.

Braedon went as a little brother (not a far stretch)

Robbie was a Bear's fan (again not a far stretch). I did also have games and candy prizes and Robbie attempted to play them.

Below are pictures of Nik doing Spiderman poses. This one is him climbing up a wall.

Shooting a web.

DisneyWorld

In early September we went on vacation w/Chris's family to Orlando. My mother-in-law has a timeshare w/Marriott and we were able to stay at the coolest place, Marriott Harbour Lake. It had a pirate theme, and 2 separate pools with their own interactive water play areas. We really didn't have to leave this resort to have fun, since it offered free and cheap activities for kids and families all day, everyday. The first day, Sunday, we got there they had free balloon animals and face painting.

Below is a picture of our favorite part of the pool (from the website, not my kids in the pic)

My little dinosaurs Nik and Kassidi

Sophia (on right) and her cousin Che Che

On Monday we went to Animal Kingdom and got baptized by fire w/the Florida heat. Animal Kingdom tends to be the hottest of all the park due to all the trees that don't allow breezes. It was in the 90's everyday and we NEVER needed a jacket, even at midnight. I was worried about how the boys would handle the long days and the heat. Braedon was only 2 mos and Robbie 17 mos, but they both did FANTASTIC (except for the day when I forgot Robbie's pacifier and I literally passed it back and forth from Braedon to Robbie, whoever needed it more!!).

We ate at Yak and Yeti which was an Asian restaurant and it was a little hard to accommodate Robbie's allergies. As you can see french fries were a hit. The only time Robbie was really crabby was when we were waiting for food. I don't blame the kid though, he was hungry and he didn't want to waste time and miss out on his favorite, Mickey.

Silly face boys. Notice me and Braedon (in sling) in the background. That sling was my lifesaver and Brady's sauna!

Can we say sugar high?

On Tuesday we had a day of rest and we all did the timeshare presentation thing. Hey for 25 Marriott dollars and 75 Disney dollars I'd listen to just about anyone talk! Wednesday we were back to the parks at Magic Kingdom. We were so blessed by how empty every ride was. The kids were able to jump on ride after ride after ride. Niklas and my niece Kassidi (who are exactly one week apart) were anxiously waiting to ride the Goofy rollercoaster. When they finally were able to ride we couldn't get them off of it. They rode it at least 5x and was by far their favorite.

Robbie and Chris on Dumbo

Look at my cutie in his little hat!

Kass (and Nik behind her)

On Thursday we went to Epcot. They have really changed the park a lot since I've last been there and spent the whole day in the FutureWorld part and only went to the WorldShowcase for a wonderful dinner in Japan.

Robbie in front of the tank at the Sea.

He loved looking at the fishes

On Friday we went to Hollywood Studios and Sophia experienced her first upsidedown rollercoaster, Rockin Rollercoaster. She didn't like it. She also went on Tower of Terror and was scared but rode it a second time anyway. My 91 year old father in law also joined us on Tower of Terror. I was a little worried about him riding as we were breezing through the lines and I kept on seeing these warning signs about the ride, but he survived.

Characters galore at the Hat!

Robbie loved the characters, when he was carried. He didn't like them towering over him.

On Saturday we enjoyed our resort and had a wonderful BBQ dinner outside. It was a fantastic vacation and my kids keep on asking when are we going back.

So long summer!

This summer the "heat" never really hit and was altogether pretty mild. However I've been very grateful that, except for a week here or there, we have had an indian summer, until now. Goodbye flip flops and light jackets, hello boots and down coats. Even last week we hit 70! So it's with a sad heart that I post these pics as a farewell to summer (it is the middle of November so I guess it's been a good run). Sadly this summer we also had to say farewell to Kiddieland. Kiddleland was a great amusement park for kids. I used to go there when I was a little girl. Chris had his first job working there when he was 15. I am very sad that Robbie and Braedon will never visit there. Fortunately for Nik and Soph, my sister Tricia took them, along with my niece Kara. They spent all day there and Chris and I were able to watch them ride "The Scrambler".

Here they are in line, Sophia and Kara are in matching pink and brown outfits.

Sophia was tall enough to go by herself, while Aunt Tricia took the others

Here's pictures from our block party. Robbie was a little small for the moonjump but liked others bouncing it.

It's amazing how much the word "picnic" dresses up a sandwich.

I'm back!

Hello Blog,

I know it's been a long time (almost 2 months) and I don't blame people for not even checking it anymore, I don't even check it. But since my little guys are napping at the same time, a rare occasion, I thought I would attempt to bring this blog back to life. Fair warning, there will be no pictures attached.

I'm back to work at Alaska Airlines, and I've switched to nights so Chris and I have the tag team parenting thing down pat. Chris started a new job at Opticote (pronounced opti-coat) which coat glasses and he's enjoying making up new colors and coating ANY eyewear he can get his hands on. Wait til I post the goggles he did. One of the great things about his work is that it is 3 stop lights away from my parking lot, seriously right on my way to work. So in the morning he leaves me the van (I'm totally a soccermom, minivan and all and I LOVE it!) and I switch cars on the way to work so he can have the van at night.

We recently acquired a "new" laptop compliments of my soon to be sister-in-law Nicole, thanks Nicole! (There's a second hand store by us that's called "New to You" and I think it's the greatest name.) I could care less if this laptop's been used, actually I'm glad it's used cuz it came with games like Bejeweled, Bookworm, and Mall Tycoon. The only problem is that our wireless router needs a power cord (irony I know) and until then Chris hooked up our laptop internet in our room. Enter clueless techie me. This explains why I can't post any pics on my blogs. All my saved pics are on our PC and I can't figure out how to load my camera on this laptop.

But there's great pics in store. We went to DisneyWorld is Sept and I can't wait to share all the magic and fun! So in true Disney fashion TTFN Ta Ta for now!

See ya real soon!

Anna's Wedding

On July 19 my cousin Anna got married. I was very worried that I would still be pregnant on this day but thank goodness Braedon was fashionably early. It was a beautiful outdoor wedding (even though it was kinda chilly and overcast). The reception was wonderful and a lot of fun. Robbie mostly enjoyed eating (for 2 hours straight). Then he decided to work off some food by getting down on the dance floor. Braedon was an angel and got passed around from person to person the whole day. My joke to my sisters that day was "If you had to guess, who would you say is holding Braedon".

It took a while for Chris and I to get ready for the wedding so Robbie thought he would practice some piano.

The highlight for Robbie was when Steve (the groom) gave Robbie a ring pop. Surprise, he loved it! After a couple minutes Anna found me and asked if it was ok Robbie had it. Normally no, I'm against suckers (sticky doesn't even begin to describe the mess) and Robbie having that much sugar. But how can I say no to the bride?

It was a very long day and I had hoped to get a cute picture of the boys in their cute outfits. Robbie wore the same outfit he wore to our wedding (June 2008) and Braedon wore a Build-A-Bear outfit. The pictures didn't turn out so well.....

Braedon Joshua

So it's been almost 3 months since my last blog....but I have excuses. First our camera was lost for a month and I think blogs are better with pics. Secondly and most importantly on July 2 we welcomed Braedon Joshua Roco into the world. He was born at 11:35am, weighed 6 lbs 13 oz, and was 19 inches long. He's a better sleeper than Robbie however it's the not sleeping part that's the problem. He can keep me awake for 3 hours in the middle of the night straight. Thank goodness for TiVo and my new favorite channel, Gospel Music Channel. They show reruns of Christy and Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman, and I'm totally addicted. Everyone's adjusting pretty well to the new baby. Robbie loves touching Braedon and is always concerned when he's crying (which is often). It took Robbie about a week to start saying "Braedon" and his faces lights up whenever he sees his little brother. Nik and Soph love Braedon and do a wonderful job of entertaining Robbie by themselves. We haven't really been able to enjoy the summer because Braedon doesn't really like the stroller. Robbie loves (and always has loved) going for walks and I'm not ambitious enough to carry Braedon in a sling, push Robbie in a stroller and walk. To be honest I get exhausted thinking about it....hopefully in another month.

Chris just started a new job working for a company that handles mosquito control. His hours are 6am-2:30pm which are great except for the long commute. However we're very grateful for this job and the steady hours. Well that's all for now since I need to take to the boys the table I spend most of my time at, the changing table. I have much appreciation for my mother raising the twins....

Minutes after Braedon was born.......

Suddenly my little Robbie didn't seem so little :-(

The following pictures were taken by my extremely talented cousin Sherah.

Check her out at SherahGPhotography.blogspot.com

Summer

Our family LOVES warm weather (well I'm not too sure about Robbie but I'll speak for him and say he does). Nik just told me today that he wishes he could live in Hawaii forever, cuz it's so warm. Sadly our vacation to Branson, MO wasn't as warm as we would have liked. It was hard coordinating all my sisters', parent's, and family's schedules and so April was when it had to be (largely due to my pregnancy and the 9 hour drive). Despite the weather, which we had warm days, we had a ball. We stayed at a very nice Marriott and enjoyed just being together, and the kids LOVED having Kara around all the time. Here are some of the highlights.

This is my dad's favorite spot. It's a Trout Hatchery. You can buy a cup of fish food, (for only 25 cents!!) feed the fish and watch them go crazy over the food, and learn WAY too much about Trout from an "educational" video. Robbie really isn't into releasing yet, so he just watched but the kids loved it.






It almost looks like Nik is sharing with Kara but no, he's stealing from her. Poor Kara, feeding one pellet at a time, while Nik dumped the whole cup in!! Boys will be boys...


Branson is home to the "Wild Woody". Basically a wooden Go Kart track that has a 3 story spiral climb. The only people who couldn't go on it were me, Robbie, and Nana (my mom). We just watched the excitement in their faces (and raindrops). There's been some discrepancy about who really won, I was watching the whole time so I know. Christina and Kara, and Erin got an extra lap for being in the front. Christina and Kara reached the extra lap first so they won, but my kids will tell you differently ;-)










Robbie seemed pretty content with his ride at first, after 10 seconds he basically had it figured out and gave me a look that said "We could have fed fish w/that quarter!!"




What would vacation be w/o food?! Robbie's favorite part of vacation was meals.....not surprised.