Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Vegas, Baby!


Mia & Daddy held their 2nd annual weekend before Xmas trip to Vegas!!  Mia is in love with the town and couldn't wait to plan this second year trip.  We went ice skating on the roof of the Cosmopolitan, saw La Reve, did some Xmas shopping and then the grand finale was the Knights of the Round Table jousting show and dinner on Sunday night!  It was so great to get a little quality one on one time.  Mia is such an amazing little girl to hang out with, and it's so fun to expose her to new things and teach her about all that the world has to offer...  Truly an amazing weekend!



La Reve!




Mia got to see her first Cirque du Soleil show while in Vegas!  La Reve, at the Wynn, was spectacular.  Daddy was a little worried that it might be a bit much for her age, but she really enjoyed herself...

Thursday, December 19, 2013

Teddy Bear Tea!


Stacy has a holiday tradition of taking the kids to Teddy Bear Tea at the Ritz. They absolutely love it!  Unfortunately, Mia couldn't make it this year, as she is in school full time now...  The twins had an absolute blast.  Especially since Big Boy loves teddy bears!


Christmas at Disney!


Because our children are so disadvantaged, Stacy decided we needed to take them for one final trip to Disneyland before the new year!  We shot over for a quick weekend and were amazed by what we found...  Disney at Christmas is truly amazing.  One night, after an amazing fireworks show and parade, we began wandering down Main Street heading back to the hotel, and all of the sudden it began snowing!  It was so well done, and surreal, that the children truly believed it was snowing for real... I guess for a couple kids living in the desert, it's not too hard to fool em!  It really was a magical experience for the whole family!


Rain Delay!!


After a long rain delay, Daddy & Mia arrived to save Big Boy from his Princess hell...  It was awfully strange to run around Disney in the rain, but a blast for the kids!



Princesses!


Our friends, the Timberlakes, brought their beautiful little girls to Disney for their first visit!  Georgia & Grace loved meeting all of the Princesses with Aubrey at Ariel's Grotto...  Unfortunately for Brandon, due to a rain delay, he got stuck at the princess lunch for a bit too.  Poor boy!


Night Time at Disney!


It was surprising cold at Disney!  The kids were absolute troopers and even played long into the cool evenings...  Here we are waiting patiently to get into our favorite Disney pizza joint.  And of course there's Big Boy, the class clown, hamming it up for the ladies!


Twinkie Love!!


It's amazing what a year of growth can do... Not only were the twins able to ride a whole bunch of rides that they were too short for last year, but they actually seem to enjoy being around each other now! All joking aside, they play really well together these days.  Here they are mugging for a photo with Baby Sheepy!


Morning Cookie!


Nothing like waking up from an afternoon nap and having a Mickey cookie in your mouth before your eyes are even fully open!  Big Boy sure is committed to his sweets...


Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Happy Hanukkah!!



The kids could hardly wait to open their Hanukkah gifts each night!  Momma would place a gift under a big wrapped box and we would do a countdown.  On the last night the kids got new iPads and were very excited...  The holidays are such an amazing time of year to see their unbridled joy!

Saturday, November 30, 2013

Thanksgivukkah at the Beach!




This year we made the trek to sunny San Diego for Thanksgiving & a few nights of Hanukkah!  The kids were absolutely thrilled to spend time with their cousins, and a little beach time never hurts...  Any quality family time is an absolute party at the ages the kids are.  We ate turkey, lit the Menorah and hit a few surf shops!  Perfect combination to make the kids smile.

The Snail Monster Returns!


By now I'm surprised they don't stop us at the border and immediately arrest Aubrey on site!  She has such an all encompassing obsession with snails it's not even funny.  During this visit it rained a bit in Cali, which made for prime snail hunting conditions.  Here is sweet little Aubs with an entire bucket full of prisoners... Papa was a real sport and accompanied her on her daily snail hunts while at Aunt Caren's and Uncle Pat's. 



Snuggle Monsters!


Momma has a routine whenever we're in Cali.  She gets up early with the twins and sneaks out of the room so Mia & Daddy can sleep in...  The twins are definitely morning people, like Momma!  Here they are dancing along the shore in their new monster sweatshirts one morning.  Kinda fit their personality, huh?!



Monday, November 25, 2013

Skater Chick!


As has been clear from day 1, Mia is no ordinary child.  She excels at everything she does, and just has a super cool vibe to her personality.  Thankfully, she is not a traditional child.  She loves to race dirt bikes, work on cars and has decided that her new calling is to be a professional skater chick!  As you can tell, Daddy has no hand in any of this...  So Mia had her first skate boarding lesson tonight at the local skate park.  Her instructor, a teenage boy, couldn't believe how quickly she picked it up and was riding the ramps.  Mia almost cried when it was time to leave and was begging for her next visit.  It's so amazing to be able to see how cool she feels when she succeeds at something intimidating and challenging...  That's one cool chick!


Mrs. Chaos!


I swear this girl has 12 different personalities...  And they rotate every few minutes!  She is an unbelievably sweet and loving child.  She's also amazing fun & inquisitive.  That said, we're going to have our hands full in a few years...  Ugghhhh!

Handsome Man!


Brandon has entered the cutest phase of wanting to be like Daddy.  So the other morning when Mommy was getting the kids ready to go to the Children's Museum, Brandon decided he needed to be stylish.  He insisted that Daddy blow dry his hair and 'do it cool'.  Then he wanted to use Daddy's mouth wash and get a spritz of Daddy's cologne.  He topped it off with a tie and was ready for the day!  After a few hours at the museum Mommy asked Bubbies why the long face, and he lamented that no one had told him he looks handsome...  Such a sweet little guy!

Gingerbread Houses!




This week we decided to have a Gingerbread House competition!  Here's how it went down. Brandon dumped all of his icing in a big pile and then smashed his face into it and at it as quickly as possible! Aubrey made a few patterns, whined for more of whatever she didn't have, melted down, then smiled and ate all of her candy. Mia spent close to two hours perfecting a professional grade house design, complete with drawings and plans... Then executed with amazing detail and craftsmanship. Yep, pretty much tells you everything about their crazy divergent little personalities!


Sunday, November 17, 2013

Spring Time!!




Spring has finally arrived!  Or at least our version of spring...  The heat has broken and the kids can't get enough of playing outside.  Here they are turning our street into a constant party.  Once the toys start coming out, the kids congregate from all over and the party begins! 

The Family Mutt!


It didn't take long for Mr Marshall to ingrain himself in the Lovell home!  He is an amazingly smart and sweet little guy, with the perfect temperament to deal with Aubrey's incessant harassment...  It only took about 2 weeks to housebreak him and, short of his constant stalking of the kitty, he's just about perfect.  We can't imagine life without our little Marshall. 

Hot Tub Season!


Now that the heat has broken and the gorgeous holiday weather has set in, the kids are living in the hot tub!  Nothing like a dip in the tub followed by smores around the fire to make for an ideal evening...

The Little Chef!


Every Friday night is family night.  We let the kids choose what they want to do.  Sometimes we stay in for movie night, others nights we head out to Dave n Busters, or some other fun establishment.  This past week Mia announced that she wanted her & Daddy to make dinner, from scratch, for the family. So we created a menu, generated shopping a list and got after it...  Pizza from scratch, an amazing salad, and some world class spaghetti made for one hell of a family meal!!  She was very committed and never lost focus. Then, of course, there is the mandatory class clown in the back ground.  Bubbies is always entertaining with his silly little personality!  At the end of the night, Mia proclaimed this was the best day she ever had... 



Underpants Girl


Aubrey decided to proclaim herself 'Underpants Girl' and ran around the house insisting I take pictures of her!  Yes, she's quite the ham...  The kids are all going through such amazingly fun ages.  We're past the challenges of diapers & cribs, and onto the party phase of child rearing!!


Thursday, October 31, 2013

Annual Halloween Party!


This year marked our 7th Annual Halloween party at the Lovell abode.  Every year it gets a little bigger, and a lot more fun!  The kids love having the whole neighborhood over, and Momma loves cooking for the whole city...  This was the first year that the kids were big enough to run house to house without being carried, or whining.  An absolute joy!


The Duo!


These two little clowns have really blossomed into some fun and entertaining little people!  They are so animated, and have a natural humor that never ceases to amaze us...  Here they are enjoying one of their dozen or so Halloween costumes!



Natural Beauty!



Momma snapped this picture of Mia worked diligently on her pumpkin.  Her natural beauty is astounding...

Pumpkin Carving!


On Tuesday night we had a family pumpkin carving contest!  As expected, the twins just wanted to play with the pumpkin guts while Mia painstakingly spent almost 2 hours carving a scary face...  She was the clear winner!  Halloween gets more enjoyable every year...


Happy Halloween!!


Happy Halloween from Hef & his Angel...  She sure is pretty!


Friday, October 25, 2013

Halloween!!




Mommy & Daddy dug out some old Halloween costumes tonight in preparation for an adults costume party on Saturday night.  The kids had a heyday seeing Mommy dress up as an angel, then Super Woman, and even a Playboy bunny!  Daddy was prepping his old Hugh Hefner costume and the kids thought the glasses and pipe were the best.  Here they are all doing their best 'old man' look...  Silly!

Disney Cruise!!



We spent last week cruising the Caribbean with our good friends the Pagano's, and Grammy & Papa! It was an amazing week with non-stop quality family time, and a treat to spend time with Grammy & Papa who are always so amazing to be with...  The kids claimed this was their best vacation ever, and can't wait to do it again!  Daddy's best memory of the cruise was sitting in the pool at midnight, eating pizza and watching 'Mary Poppins' on a 25' movie screen at midnight, with the kids!!  Nothing like throwing all sense of time and decorum out the window in favor of unbridled fun...  Children are amazing, and a wonderful family makes life worth living!

Princess Meets the Princess!


Aubrey had a hard time wrapping her head around meeting a real live princess!  She was so excited...  This was definitely the highlight of our little princess's trip!!


Castaway Cay!



After a quick visit to Key West, we spent the following day lounging on the most amazing beach at Disney's private island.  The sand and water were amazing, and the weather was absolutely perfect! The kids spent their day playing in the sand, chasing fish and having a blast.  Mia & Daddy even tried a little snorkeling...  A few cocktails and a long day on the beach made for an early evening!


Atlantis!




Our final stop was in Nassau, Bahamas, to check out Atlantis.  Ironically, this resort was the first place Mommy & Daddy ever vacationed together after dating for a few months! Hard to believe that was over a decade ago...  This was by far the most highly anticipated stop, as the kids knew for weeks that they were going to be swimming with dolphins!!  After a few hours playing on the water slides and the over the top lazy river, we visited Dolphin Cay.  The kids were mesmerized by the interaction with the dolphins. Although surprisingly, Mia was completely freaked out and wanted nothing to do with the dolphins.  An amazing experience!

Welcome Home Mr. Marshall


Mr. Marshall sure has made himself at home!  While we were on our cruise, he went to sleep away camp at a friend of ours, who is a dog trainer.  The trainer sent us periodic videos during our trip, along with requests for us to let them keep him...  He's an awfully loveable little fella!


Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Suitcases Packed & Ready for Disney!


Our annual October visit to Disney has been supplanted this year with a Disney cruise!  The kids can hardly contain themselves in anticipation...  Momma started packing the family last night, and the kids climbed in the luggage and announced they were ready to go!!  Gonna be a fun one...


First Puppy Bath!


Mr Marshall got a little stinky, so it was time for his first tubby!  The girls loved bathing him, and like everything related to this puppy, he was easy and well behaved...  He's the best!  A perfect addition to our family!


Monday, September 23, 2013

The Dog Whisperer!


I'm not exactly sure if Aubrey should be called the Dog Whisperer, or the Dog Terrorizer!  One thing I am sure of is that Mr. Marshall has an amazingly calm temperament.  Aubrey not only carries him around all day, but she curls up in his dog bed with him and literally smooshes him with love & kisses!  We watch very closely for fear of some type of snapping from Mr. Marshall, but he just seems to love the constant attention and affection.  Hopefully she'll figure out at some point that he's not a stuffed animal...  No doubt the love he has brought into our loves is a great complement to the already amazing children we are so lucky to share our lives with!


Happy 6th Gotcha Day!!


Hard to believe it's already been 6 whole years since this crazy beautiful child came into our lives...  Sept 17th was Mia's annual Gotcha Day celebration.  Mommy made her a special chocolate cake, and Grammy & Papa came up for a visit as well.  Mia decided she wanted to go out for pizza, and end the night with some ice cream and games at the Sugar Bowl.  Another awesome and rewarding family day...