And so it begins...

I guess the family blog needs to include the bad with the good. Well today Joe started the long process of his liver treatment. After spending the day at Cedars Sinai hospital, he came home with a big bag of medications, along with a calendar and list of dates/times/dosages, etc. It will be a long haul, but hopefully with good results at the end. Stay strong honey!

Bet you didn't know...

It's National Pancake Day!!

In our house this is a big deal. Cooper could (and would, if I let him) have pancakes for every meal. So after a long day at work, then to karate, we headed to IHOP for FREE short stacks of pancakes! All we had to pay for was a few drinks, and we made a donation to a children's charity. At least I didn't have to cook!

Snowboarding Fun

We were lucky enough to get free lift tickets to Snow Valley today, thanks to Barbara, my mom's dear friend. So the kids and I headed up at 6:15 this morning and met my parents with Jax and Cole. We were a little worried about the weather, but decided to go anyway. The dark clouds loomed, but most of the day was rain free. The snow was mostly fresh powder and there were no lift lines!

(Heading up!)

(Grandma & Grandpa brought donuts; time for a break!)

(Grandpa watching the storm coming)

(Cooper took a pretty hard fall on his belly, so he needed a quick rest)

(Zoe just loves to be on the slopes!)

So overall we had a great day! We got sprinkled on sporadically throughout the day, but we avoided a big downpour. I think we left just in time. Everyone is getting better each day; Cooper even learned out to do a jump today and he is now completely self sufficient on the lift and doing his own bindings. He even rode up by himself a few times! Thanks Mom and Dad for meeting us there and buying a great lunch and hot cocoa!

A sweet little guy...

We have had Zippy for almost 3 months now. He really has turned into a great pet and a good addition to our family. Some days the 3 dogs literally make me want to pull my hair out, but moments like this seem to make it all worth it. The kids just adore him...

Patriotic First Graders

The first graders have been learning a lot the past few months about our country and American symbols. Today they all got up in front of the school at flag salute to sing "Your A Grand Old Flag" while each holding a flag they had made in class. Cooper was in front and had a good time, but got a little embarrassed by the end. He definitely isn't my "show" kid!

a LOVEly day...

We had a nice Valentine's Day! The kids got to celebrate yesterday at school with fun parties and crafts. With today being Saturday it was relaxing to be able to be at home, not rushing off to school for the day.
The kids couldn't wait to open up a few presents. Grandma and Grandpa had given them a few things, including gift cards to Target. We exchanged a few things too. The kids loved their Love Monkey and Love Frog Webkinz. I got lots of chocolate and Joe got cologne. The kids also made us the sweetest cards and little gifts...

Our holiday breakfast was chocolate chip pancakes. The kids added whipped cream to theirs too!
The rest of the day was spent organizing closets, a great lunch at California Pizza Kitchen, and doing some shopping at the mall and Target.

For dinner we all went around the table telling each other the things we loved most about each other. We got answers like "because he's cool, because she's nice, because you're unexpected, because you're weird, etc." It was silly and fun, but also very sweet. We also started a tradition last year of doing chocolate fondue for Valentine's dessert. I must say, I definitely look forward to this one!
Happy Valentine's Day to all!!

International Fair

Zoe's Girl Scout troop participated in the International Fair today. Each troop chooses a country to represent and sets up a booth with information about their country, a food sample from that country, and something small to giveaway to each of the girls. Zoe's troop chose China this year. We were lucky that Brook's dad travels to China a lot , so he was able to bring back these beautiful silk shirts for the girls to wear, and 300 sets of authentic chopsticks in silk bags to give away, along with a ton of Chinese artifacts . The girls had so much fun handing out the chopsticks and cups of rice, and they loved going around to visit all the different countries to see what they could sample. Zoe's favorite booth was Greece! Maybe we'll have to visit the real thing one day!

3rd Grade Field Trip

I got to go along with Zoe's 3rd grade class to the Santa Rosa Plateau. It was a beautiful day without a cloud in the sky. We had a great guide named Rob who took us for a 1 1/2 hour hike teaching the kids all about the reserve, animal prints, rocks & minerals, the vegetation, etc.
We took a break for a picnic lunch under some huge oak trees. Afterwards it was time for some learning inside the visitors center. The kids were paired up and had to answer a bunch of questions while looking at different stations set up. They loved this part!

(Zoe and Kayla)

By 1:30 it was back to school on the bus!

BMX Show

We made it back from our field trip just in time for the BMX show assembly. The show was fantastic! They gave a great message about being drug free, focusing on school, and always being safe. They did some amazing tricks and the kids loved it! Cooper even got a poster with the riders autographs on it. He was thrilled!

Super Bowl Sunday

This Super Bowl was the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Arizona Cardinals. Our house was split down the middle. Cooper's favorite team in the NFL is the Steelers, so he was thrilled that they were playing. I wanted nothing more to see him with a smile on his face, so I was supporting his team all the way. Joe and Zoe were rooting for the Cardinals, who have never won the Super Bowl before.

Matt, Teri and the kids came over to hang out for the game. We had a nice afternoon of watching, talking (well mostly Teri & I), and doing a ton of eating!! The kids had fun playing and running back and forth to check the scores.

(The kids watching the final few seconds of the game)

The last quarter of the game was very exciting! At the very end it looked like Arizona was going to take the win, but with only 35 seconds left the Steelers scored and won the game. Cooper was beyond excited and immediately started jumping up and down while screaming and hugging Marley and Mitchell. It was cute to see him get so excited!