Kidspace and other stuff

So this morning we had the house to ourselves and the kids to ourselves which was awesome. So Nathan and I took the kids to the Kidspace Museum. It was the best children's museum I have ever been to. There were 16 stations and you just rotate through them as many times as you want. When I say stations I mean outdoor/indoor sections...the museum was huge. We spent a little over two hours there and it was freaking fantastic! They had a room for 6 months to 4 years and that was everyone's favorite part. Here are some of the pictures...




The room was set up like a preschool room, and they had a story time that Lucas and Bridget both loved.
After the preschool room we went into the insect room...


There was a jeep to drive and a ton of little exhibits just for kids under 4. Then they got to climb underground and see how ants live! They had a beehive and a ton of other animal habitats to climb and explore. This was Nathan's favorite place...except for the rock climbing wall outside...

After the insects we went outside to the bike races...LUCAS LOVED the HELMET! He wanted pushes from Nathan but rode pretty well on his own. He has been asking for a bike for weeks now so I guess the bike we got him for his birthday was a good buy! After the bike races we did the water symphony and this station we came back to several times...Lucas shot the water guns at Bridget and she was so happy! They has a gold panning station with a water wheel too!




There was a thorn climbing area too. The kids (especially Nathan ) liked this station. Lucas got stuck!



It was a great place that we will be going to for years to come. The only fighting we did was over who was going to drive Joyce's car!
Then we came home to nap, and Grandpa made a delicious dinner and then we went for an evening swim. Lucas was begging to go to the pool all day so it was nice after the sun went down to go for a swim. Whew! What a day! I know the kids will sleep
good tonight!

In other news...my handsome Uncle Jon was in a newspaper/internet atricle on Bloomberg! Here is the link...his name is Jonathan Horn. (all my uncles are handsome by the way)He is the one in the photo with my beautiful Aunt Elyse and their two strapping boys Sam and Aiden! Take a look the article is really interesting too!

Aahh the Beach

...and our day of relaxation. We are so lucky to be home with my family because its air conditioned, nice, open and QUIET. They have the most quiet neighborhood in Southern California I swear. When I say that we are lucky for the air conditioning I mean it because today it was 100 degrees. We chilled at the house and Lucas got to open one of his birthday presents that I had sent to my parents house so he could play with something new. We found him these awesome blocks...

They are foam but look like wood. They are so cute and quiet. Ahh I love the quiet!


(personally I think Nathan liked them better than everyone else) they built towers and knocked them down, and Bridget was squealing with delight the entire time. Then we ate lunch at 11 so we could stay on Colorado time! We napped and then we met the Sanders Family for dinner in Redondo (Beach) The temperature was significantly cooler once we got there!

We ate at HT Grille and I must say that my Salmon was better than Nathan's Pork Loin!Here we are the Horn ladies and the Sanders girls...Me Joyce, Sophia, Isabella, Bridget, Cynthia, and Lauren.

I love the Sanders', they are the coolest people! I am going to explain my hair...we were on the beach and it was crazy windy and humid people...okay done. :)

After dinner we walked the beach. Lucas was collectiong mini seashells for Cynthia (Sanders mom) and everyone got to walk and talk and enjoy the beautiful beach weather, smell and feeling. Aahh the beach!






Lucas wanted to run/walk/and swim! but we only let him run and walk. He had a great time and in the end just wanted to be with Grandpa! (and Ken, Sanders Dad)

Planes, Trains, Buses and Dampa!

Well it's official...Lucas had the day of his life and we hadn't even landed in California yet. We rode a bus to the airport. Lucas was sooooo excited. Bridget loved that she wasn't in her carseat!


Then we got to the airport and the kids went through security and the no shoes thing was fun for Lucas. The security people all hi-fived him and let him see the baggage x-rays which he thought was pretty cool. Then as things were coming off the rollers after the x-ray Lucas was assisting the other flyers by attempting to hand them their bags.

Then it was off to the train, to get to Concourse C where we were taking off from. Lucas was all about the train. He thought it was a ride so he put his arms up and enjoyed all of it. Then we went to our gate and Lucas and Bridget were getting comments left and right about how well behaved they were and of course how cute they were.

We waited for our plane to come and Lucas still didn't quite understand that we were going on a plane until the people came off the plane and we were told to line up. then Lucas put on his backpack and was ready to go inside. We had to wake up Nathan and Bridget because they had fallen asleep.

Once we got inside Lucas thought it would be okay to go in and check on the pilots and make sure that they knew what they were doing. They let him sit in driver seat and push a few buttons. He thought that was pretty awesome. Then as we were heading back to the seats Lucas was calling out for "Dampa" I think he thought that we were going on the plane with him instead of going to see him. :)

We got ourselves situated and then the plane took off. I am such a freak about schedules that as soon as the plane took off...my kids fell asleep. Their entire naptime was on the plane! Yea me! They woke up for landing where I made Lucas look outside and his words exactly were "Hey I ha dat car!" " Ha dat truck too" I think he thought the trucks and cars were matchbox cars! :) Once the plane officially landed we then went to Grandpa's house.

Lucas immediatley walked in and was happy to see everyone and get the attention :) Grandma read to Lucas (which he loved) and then he headed outside to the water for a nice swim. That was our first day in Cali...beautiful.

Packed and Ready...

...TO GO!

My son has been talking about seeing the planes all week. Probably since we haven't left the house since last Tuesday. He knows we are going to Grandpa's house but he doesn't understand that in order to get there we need to get on a plane. He thinks that all of this packing is crazy since we are just checking the planes out. Bridget on the other hand is just excited to have her own backpack. She won't let me take it off of her.

Lucas has been warning Grandma and Grandpa all week about our arrival by calling them and leaving scary messages on their answering machine..."Twee mare dayzzzzz...K...I laaa you...bye." I don't know if they are fully prepared for what is in store for them. Hahahaha I have sent 2 of Lucas's birthday presents in advance to my parents house so that he will have something fun and new to play with while we are there, but I have a feeling he will want to be with Grandpa the whole time. I personally am excited to go swimming in their backyard and see all of the new stuff that they have done back there. Nathan is excited to just be on vacation, he has been working 50+ hours for about 3 months so the time off is welcomed.

Here are some pictures of the kids packing...

Gosh Bridget looks so much like Stephanie it's crazy! Look at her pucker up! :)

I am going to try to keep up the blogging, but we will see how that goes...See y'all later!

Side Note...Lucas is much better, Bridget is well...starting to get the cough so hopefully we can keep it under control while we are gone.

STIR CRAZY!!!

Being a stay-at-home mom is great, except when you have to stay at home. I mean literally we are basically under house arrest until Lucas gets better. So not being able to leave has made us a bit...STIR CRAZY!!!

So we made cupcakes! To celebrate umm...our vacation next week...umm yea!

If food is involved Bridget is happy...as you can see!

She was very involved. In fact Lucas my serious baker was so mad that she was trying to help I had to put her on the floor.

Obviously that didn't work out so well. She climbed almost all the way on top of Lucas's chair.Lucas learned on Ace of Cakes how to make sure your batter is ready. This is him testing it. (Lucas loves Duff) (He also likes America's Best Dance Crew but that is another entry for another day)

This is how they turned out. Did I mention we made mini cupcakes? They are so cute! Lucas wanted one to be for Noah but we can't give it to him because we are stuck here for time and all eternity....Just Kidding. :)

After I told Lucas we couldn't save one for Noah, he ate his and one extra for Noah! That way he could tell Noah all about it later. Bridget thought she would eat one for Elijah...it's only fair right?

Let the countdown begin people T minus 8 days!!!!!

Meet Eloise

She is very shy but once you get her going she is hillarious!

Today was one of those days, Lucas is still having a hard time being sick, and poor Bridget just keeps climbing on him to play. He then cries and then we have to distract him or her from each other so they don't get each other upset. This was our attempt to make Lucas happy. I used to do this to Ali all of the time when she was little. Everyone has an opera singing belly button...didn't you know? We read the Belly Button Book and played with our belly buttons. We blew up balloons, because balloons have belly buttons too! Bridget thought it was funny to have us talk to her tummy and Lucas loves Eloise. It worked out for both of them. Man I never realized how hard it was to have a sick toddler and a curious baby! Whew! I am tired!

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This is Eloise after a meal...full and almost sick looking! Hahaha

You should try it sometime, its cheaper than making puppets! Hahaha. I love the last one at the top...Eloise is screaming for help because the metro-train is about to squish her! AAAH!!!

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This is my Bridget looking so grown up! Could it be beacuse she is wearing 12 month clothes? maybe...

I am so glad she is willing to do whatever it takes to help make Lucas happy! :)