A Star Wars Dream Come True!!!

All of Diego's Star Wars dreams came true today! As part of a Toys for Tots drive our local toystore, Magical Moon, invited some Star Wars characters to take pictures with the kids. All the money donated went to children in need. We were glad to support the cause and Diego was amazed to meet Darth Vader, Darth Mal, Storm Troopers, and Anikan Skywalker. There were others present but his mom doesn't know their names. At first he was scared to death and said, "Mom, it's ok, I can see them from here. We can go now. " Then I offered to be in the photo. You think that mom would have made it ok but it was Darth Vader that calmed Diego's fears. As Darth Vader noticed Diego clinging onto me for dear life he waved at him. Then I said Diego Darth Vader is waving, wave back. So he did. It didn't stop there. Darth Vader made his way through the crowd and came up to Diego and gave him 5. Diego was thrilled and said, "Mom, he is a nice guy!" It was life changing and Diego pressed forward through the line and had his picture taken. He is still talking about it!

All I Want for Christmas . . .

Tonight was our ward Christmas party. Diego and I were patiently awaiting our turn to meet with Santa Claus. I asked him what he was going to ask Santa for. Of course, his answer was Star Wars. Then he wanted to know what I wanted for Christmas. He thought maybe I would want a Barbie doll or maybe Cinderella. I told him that all I wanted was to be happy. He asked, "Well, mom, how are you going to get me in christmas box? I am too big." He truly is my happiness! I love his guts!!!

Diego Discovers Finger Painting!

Diego got an artist easel for his birthday and he has enjoyed creating various art projects. Recently he has discovered the joy of finger painting. For awhile it was all he wanted to do. As soon as he got up in the morning he would ask if he could finger paint right when he got home from school. He is quite the budding artist.

He has found that finger painting is a great way to practice the letters that he is learning at school. He recognizes the letter B for Batman, J for Joker, R for Robin, T for Two Face, C for Catwoman, J for Jedi, Y for Yoda, S for Stormtrooper, and D for Darth Vader and Diego. As you can tell he loves everything Batman and Star Wars. He is doing great with recognizing the letters and their sounds and also writing them. Go Diego Go!

What can I say . . . I am a genius

Well, I like to cook and bake and usually Sunday is the only day that I do that. Today for dinner I went with Sesame Honey Butter chicken. It turned out great! Diego loved it and so did I. As the chicken was cooking in the oven some drippings spilled on the burner and made the house stink a little. So, after Diego was in bed I thought I would surprise him by making peanut butter cookies. (it would serve a double purpose because I was trying to rid my house of the smell.) So I put the cookies in the oven and went about my life. Little did I realize that I did not pay attention to the fact that the oven was set on broil still from dinner. I caught the cookies on fire and my house immediately filled with smoke. Diego was sleeping and surprisingly slept through the smoke detector and the funky smell. I am now freezing my toucous off trying to rid my house of smoke while the burning cookies are on the porch. So much for a lovely smell in my home. Oh well, I thought somebody might get a kick out of it.

Legoland Crazy Picture

Legoland

As our grand finale my sisters and I decided to take the kids to legoland. Great fun was had by all. It was amazing to see what they could do with legos. Diego loved the dragon ride. It was a miniature roller coaster. There was a water park the kids could play in. We brought their bathing suits and let them have at it. There was never a dull moment and it was not very crowded. We were the very last ones to leave the park because Cameron got stung by a bee. Great times were had by all!

Diego got to drive his own car, no tracks

they even got a drivers license to prove it

You gotta love the legos! What an adventure!

California Continuation . . .

Lucky for me, my older sister, Kelly, arrived in California on Monday. She drove with her kids from Arizona. Diego was so excited to have any more cousins to have fun with! We got the sisters and cousins together and Kami treated us to a taco and sundae bar. It was fun just to hang out and be ourselves. Here are some pictures of the fam . . .

We had a GREAT time! Thanks Kami!

While in California, of course, we had to spend a day at the beach. We piled in the car and headed to Newport Beach and let the kids hit the waves and dig for sand crabs. Great fun was had by all! The waves were ginormous and crashed on the shore. It sounded like thunder.

That same day we decided to rent a party boat and tour Balboa Island. The kids were excited because the sea lions were out. I was elected captain of the boat and am proud to say there were no accidents involved. We ordered some pizza and ate on the boat while cruising around the harbor.

We finished the day off with a jaunt on the Balboa Island Ferry and of course, the famous Balboa Island Ferris Wheel! It was a day to be remembered! Thanks for the memories mom! It helps to take me to that happy place!

California . . . Here I come!

October 16 and 17th was UEA so Diego & I decided to jump in the car and head to California. He is such a trooper in the car. For those of you that know him, he is quite the yapper and had so many stories to tell. We left Friday at around 4 and headed to Las Vegas. There we met up with my old roommate Brookie D. We stayed the night at the Hotel Demitropoulos. (Thanks Brook!) We grabbed breakfast and headed to Romoland where my little sister lives. Diego was so excited to see his cousins! He kept saying in the car, "Don't worry cousins, I am on my way!" We made it to Romoland Saturday afternoon and we just hung out with cousins! It was so fun to be at Kami's house. My little sister Logan joined us and we watched the kids play their guts out and jump on the trampoline. Diego loved doing tricks! Can I just say that I love being with my family! It makes me so happy! The next day we headed to Bates Nuts Farms Pumpkin Patch! It was amazing! There were pumpkins galore and a whole lot more.

Here's a shot of Diego and I getting ready to pick a pumpkin. The rule was that you had to be able to carry your own pumpkin. There were some rather large ones! Here are some more photos of the cousins having fun that day...

Abby, Diego, Isaac, Logan, & Chloe

Diego and the perfect pumpkin

We sure had a lot of fun! I think that will be all for now. . . I will continue to post the rest of the trip later!