Happy 5 year Anniversary To Us

Go 9ers!

Polar Express

I have been a fan of the Polar Express book since I was a kid and my kids are fans of the Polar Express movie with Tom Hanks.  For those reading this who don't know the plot of the movie, scroll below the pics. 

This year a friend told us about the "Polar Express" train ride in Old Sacramento.  We had to wait until opening day to buy tickets and thanks to my sister were able to get them before they sold out (in ONE hour). 

The day of the train ride, which was at 5 pm, we made the long 2 1/2 drive up to Sacramento in our jammies and hung out at the Train Museum for a few hours.  If you are a train nerd (i.e. calling them locomotives not trains and hardly cracking a smile when you see 3 adorable kids in their jammies), the museum its absolutely amazing!  We aren't, so it was pretty cool, but long....

We grabbed dinner in Old Sacramento, which is always great.  We got in line around 4:15 and met up with our friends while we waited for the train to come into the station.  The ride itself was fun.  It was an hour long and  they had dancing waiters, hot chocolate, Polar Express movie music, a reading of the story and a ghostly hobo like in the movie.  We were supposedly going to the "North Pole", but Nathan was too old to be swayed....He had many MANY questions on the ride up.  "Why is this train going so slow?" "Why isn't there any snow?" "Don't we need to go faster to get there?" "Why aren't we going up hill?" "Why doesn't the conductor punch words into the tickets?" etc. etc.

When we arrived at the faux "North Pole" you looked out the train window and saw a large 'set' with Santa and Elves....Big Elves....More questions..."Why are those Elves so big?" "Why can't we get out?" "Where is the snow?" etc etc ETC!  Then Santa came aboard and gave us all the first gift of Christmas, which is a bell from his sleigh.  The ride back was fast we deboarded (is that the right word? a train nerd is probably cursing me under his breath....) and went home. 

Huge train....ahem...Locamotive in the museum

With the boy from the movie

Here we go....

Waiters & Conductors



For those who don't know the plot of the movie:

A young boy on Christmas Eve is hoping for belief in the true spirit of Christmas. He suddenly hears some noise from downstairs and runs to investigate. Seeing a shadow of what appears to be Santa Claus, he soon discovers that it is his parents. He runs back to his room and looks through magazines and encyclopedias for confirmation of Santa Claus and the North Pole, but to no avail. Hearing his parents coming, he runs back to bed and pretends to be asleep while his parents whisper about how he had once stayed up late listening for Santa Claus. About an hour after they leave, a fantasy magic train called The Polar Express pulls up in front of his house. He is invited aboard by the train's mysterious conductor to journey to the North Pole. Though he initially hesitates, he boards the train after it starts to move.

On the train, the boy encounters a group of other children who are on their way to see Santa Claus, including a young girl, a know-it-all and a lonely little boy. The boy also encounters a mysterious hobo, who lives on the top of the train, as well as the engineer and fireman . They must all overcome a variety of obstacles; at one point, a herd of caribou block the tracks. Later, the cotter pin holding the throttle together breaks. The train, now out of control and with the Hero Boy, Hero Girl , and the Conductor standing on the front, then reaches "Glacier Gulch," an area with steep downhill grades. The three must hold on tightly as the train speeds through Glacier Gulch and onto a frozen lake. The train tracks are frozen under the ice, and as a result, the Conductor must guide the engineer and the fireman towards the other side of the lake as the ice breaks up behind them.

They then reach the North Pole and find out that the lonely boy named Billy (played by Jimmy Bennett ), riding alone in the observation car does not want to see Santa because he has come from a broken home on the bad side of his hometown; he says that Christmas does not work out for him. The boy and girl run back to try to get him to come along with them, but the Boy accidentally steps on the uncoupling lever and the car speeds back. The three of them travel from section to section of the North Pole's industrial area, first visiting the Control Center, then the Wrapping Hall, and finally a warehouse before they are airlifted back to the center of the city via air ship. As they watch the final preparations, one bell falls off Santa's sleigh. The boy picks it up and shakes it, remembering that the girl could hear a bell earlier when he could not. As before, he can not hear it. The boy then says he believes in Santa and the spirit of Christmas. He then sees Santa's reflection on the bell; he shakes the bell again and hears it at last. He gives the bell back to Santa.


The boy is handpicked by Santa Claus to receive "The First Gift Of Christmas." Realizing that he could choose anything in the world, the boy asks for the beautiful-sounding silver bell (that only believers can hear) which fell from Santa's sleigh. The boy places the bell in the pocket of his robe and all the children watch as Santa takes off for his yearly delivery.

The children return to the train, and the conductor punches letters into each ticket. These letters spell some form of advice (such as "Learn," "Lead," or "Believe" for the Know-it-All, Hero Girl, and Hero Boy respectively.) As the train leaves, the Hero Boy discovers the pocket of his robe torn and the bell missing. His friends suggest they go back outside to find it, but it is too late. He is saddened by the loss of his bell, but is happy when he sees that Santa had already visited Billy; as he is holding up his present at his doorway. When the train arrives at Hero Boy's house, he says his goodbyes to all of his friends, and waves from the doorway of his home as the train pulls away. On Christmas morning, his sister finds a small present hidden behind the tree after all the others have been unwrapped. Hero Boy opens the present and discovers that it is the bell, which Santa had found on the seat of his sleigh. When the boy rings the bell, both he and his sister marvel at the beautiful sound; but because their parents no longer believe in Santa Claus or Christmas, they do not hear it. The last line in the movie repeats the same last line from the book:

"At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed, it fell silent for all of them. Even Sarah found one Christmas that she could no longer hear its sweet sound. Though I've grown old, the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe." “

A Video Message From Santa

I got this little gem from a friend of mine.  Its fantastic!

Nathan:
http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/guest/Vg3sbayzP8CKiiFQZnAX2Q

Cheyanne:
http://www.portablenorthpole.tv/watch/guest/5B-pSIoXZcvO9f4NaK9wNQ

Tooth #2 - Gone!

Its been on its way out since Halloween when the first one fell out, and at dinner last night - out it came!  Tooth fairy wasn't quite as generous this time and only left $1.50.

Nathan 5 Year Stats

The end of the year is always a big rush for us.  This year seems so much busier.  It starts on Thanksgiving and doesn't end until after Nathan's party.   We have so much to celebrate this year, I feel like the party is non-stop.  With that in mind, we made Nathan's 5 year check-up appointment early, just to get it out of the way.

Here are his stats:

47.8 lbs (88%)
Gained 7lbs over the last year!!
(I'd be worried, but I had to hold him down to get shots, and that kid is solid muscle...)

43 3/8 inches (3ft 7in) (61%)
Grown 2.67 inches.

He is in perfect health.

Austin 6 Month Stats

Austin had his 6mo. check up today.

Here are his stats:

21lbs 8oz - 97%
Gained 3lbs since 4 month check

28.25 inches long - 97%
Grown 2.25 inches since 4 month check


He is in perfect health and EXACTLY the same height and weight as Nathan at 6 months.

Thanksgiving 2010

Thanksgiving is usually up in the air for us, meaning we have no set plans from year to year.  We like it that way.  If we had the money, we probably would have spent it in Seattle, but that wasn't feasible this year.  So we decided to spend Thanksgiving in SF at Pier 39 with my sister and Tom. 

It was freezing but clear and not crowded at all! It was great. We ate fresh crab, seafood salad, explored the old fashioned arcade and made a visit to the sea lions. For our turkey dinner we went to the Rainforest Cafe. The food was 'eh' but the place itself was fantastic! We, with the exception of Cheyanne, loved it. They had gorillas, snakes, fish, elephants, butterflys and jaguars! They had thunderstorms every 30 minutes when the animals went crazy. It was way to expensive and we probably won't do it again but it was totally worth it, this one time.

Paying the "drum guy"

The "Laughing Sal" with My Sal

Yes they are holding hands

they say it was part of the game.....

We begged Shy to be in this picture,

but she didn't want to be anywhere near that elephant.

The Bar

Typical up the nose, Sal shot

The feast

During a Thunderstorm

Birthday Interview - Time Capsule

Recently I got the idea from a book my friend Kim has to create a "Time Capsule".  Its pretty similar to the concept of the "Mom Interview".  I've come up with a list of questions that I will be asking my kids every year on/close to their birthdays.  Here are Nathan's answers (verbatim).

Nathan - January 1, 2011 - Age 5

Favorites:
Animal?
"Jaguar"
Color?
"Green"
Vegetable?
"Green Olives"
Dessert?
"Ice Cream"
TV Show?
"Spongebob & Cat and the Hat"
Song?
"Sweet Home Alabama"
Book?
"The Great Fuzz Frenzy" [by Janet Stevens and Susan Stevens Crummel]
Movie?
"The Incredibles"
Food?
"Lunch....Salami"

1. What do you want to be when you grow up?
"A Firefighter"

2. Where do you want to live [when you grow up]?
"With Mommy....I love you mommy."

3. Who is your best friend?
"Niko"

4. What is your favorite dinner that mommy makes?   Least favorite?
"Paella....Chicken Pot Pie"

5. If you could eat anything in the world for breakfast today what would it be?
"Lollipops. Oh, I mean ice cream. Ya. Ice cream."

6. How will things be different now that you are 5 years old?
"I'll be growd up. I will go to kindergarten."

7. If you could change your name what would you change it too?
"Ethan"

8. Tell me 5 great things about yourself.
"I have eyes that change color."
"My teeth are clean."
"I nicely helped do the Christmas tree and presents."
"I like turning off the lights on the tree when its time."
"I drink lots of water."

9. What is the grossest thing you can think of?
"Figs....No. No. Dog poop."

10. Finish this sentence - "On my birthday I. . . .
"eat cake"

Kid Cutie

Cheyanne: "Mom, I love you a billion one hundred.  That means I love you bigger than a house"

Tiny Tot Thanks....Round 2

Since Cheyanne is in the same class that Nathan was last year, we are having a lot of 'round 2's' these days.

Anyway, her teacher gave out a sheet of paper titled "Tiny Tot Quotes November 2010".   The question was "What are you most thankful for?"

Here are some of the answers:
Snow White
Dragons
Leaves
Ladybugs
Sister

Cheyanne's answer was "I love mommy and daddy and my brother and my big brother"

In case you were curious about Round 1 Tiny Tot thanks - HERE it is again.

Kid Doodles

"an Elf"

"Me on time out after I just hit Shy"

Nathan Lost His First Tooth

Nathan lost his first tooth!
He lost it on Halloween Day.  We all freaked out when it was hanging by a thread and he just pulled it.  It was so cool!

Pardon the boogers- We are getting over colds around here.

Halloween Weekend

The day before Halloween we carved pumpkins.  This was the first year (for whatever reason) I wasn't really into it, so I painted mine.  This was also the first year Nathan carved his pumpkin 100% on his own.  It came out really really good, despite the hair and ears he added on a whim.

She helped paint Austin's pumpkin

(that we grew in the backyard all summer)

Nathan's, Daddy's, Cheyanne's, Daddy's, Mommy's & Austins

The next day was trick-or-treating.  My mom came down and we went all over our neighborhood. 

Pre Halloween Celebrations

This year for Halloween Nathan was Buzz Lightyear, Cheyanne was Dorothy and Austin was a Monkey.  Well, Austin was the man of many costumes.  We had a long list of celebrations and Austin is prone to poop explosions and spit up.  Plus he had a cold and is teething so those two things on top of major drool and snot lead to many outfits in one day.  I didn't want to ruin his Monkey costume before Halloween night, so he wore one of Cheyanne and Nathan's old baby costumes.

First we had a party at Cheyanne's Tiny Tots that Nathan was invited to join in.  All the kids wear their costumes to school, decorate goodie bags and march to the office (followed by adoring parents taking pictures and video taping every moment) where they trick-or-treat.  Then they all parade into a room and sing a few Halloween songs for the parents.  It was adorable and I loved that they let Nathan participate.

 

Before we left for school

Tigger!

(an old nathan costume)

Tiny Tots 2010

Cheyanne & Lola

Nathan, Miss Gina, Cheyanne

Our next celebration was at Cheyanne's Ballet Class.  The girls all dressed up in their costumes and pranced around and did "funsies" instead of learning ballet and tap.  She loved it.  

Miss Rachel & Cheyanne

 

 

Our third celebration was at Nathan's school.  He wasn't allowed to wear his costume,  but was allowed to bring it and put it on for the last 2 hours of the day.  Sal took the day off work and went to volunteer at Nathan's class for 2 hours.  When it was time to walk to pick up Nathan; Sal, Cheyanne and Austin wore costumes.  It was great!  For whatever reason (I can't come up with one) Nathan's teachers didn't dress up, so for Sal to show up in his full Pirate outfit, was really cool!

Tootsie Roll (an old Cheyanne costume)

Andrew, Nathan, Hunter & Daddy



 After nap that day we went to downtown Campbell for dinner followed by trick-or-treating.  All the stores on the strip participate and hand out candy.  The costumes were so cute!  We saw a lot of Buzzs, Ladybugs, Batmans etc.  But we also saw Broccoli, a Camel (2 person costume), and Max from 'Where the Wild Things Are'.

Monkey!

During a Candy Break

Random Guy - why, just why?

We bumped into the kids I used to babysit for

Nathan, Austin, Cheyanne, Ej, Sophia & Simon