What's been going on.... Mainely

June has been quite the whirlwind of a month. It began with a big summer trip to Alfred, Maine. The trip was planned around the wedding of Derek's cousin, Joel Wagner (Saxon's brother's son). We were able to rent a beautiful lake house near the Wagner family's house that we shared with Duckie and Pap Pap and Aunt Joy and Uncle Charles. The house came with a fire pit, 4 kayaks, a canoe, a pool table, dartboard, and even a few baby things.

 During our trip, we had the opportunity to visit one of the oldest commissioned lighthouses still operating in the US at Cape Elizabeth. We also got to visit "Old Port" Portland, do some shopping, and see some of the other Maine sights. While we were there, our baby, Della, turned 4! I can hardly believe she's 4 already. We celebrated with chocolate cake and Derek's cousin Asa's family. The kids played in the lake and on the bunk beds with glow sticks after dark. They had a blast!

Cora showing off her dance moves and her new boots - Della and Cora got a matching pair!

Derek and I had the opportunity to go on a date trip to New York City for one night. We stayed right in Times Square and got to see the World Trade Center Memorial (which was phenomenal and very humbling), take the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty a little closer, see a Broadway show (Newsies - and Derek even got out seats upgraded to BOX SEATS!!), take a carriage ride in Central Park, be on the set of a segment of the Today Show (you could see me for a second and Derek's red hat in the back) and see Rockefeller Center (where Derek worked during his internship with NBC). It was a very jam-packed but great time. The girls got to spend a little extra time with Duckie and Pap Pap and Uncle Charles and Auntie Joy. Duckie had packed a special "bag'o'tricks" for the girls so they got surprises every so often.

 Derek and his folks went golfing on one of the later days on the trip so I was able to take the girls to a children's museum in Portland which is one of the best I have seen. We had a really fun experience!

This cow is much shinier than Pake's cows!

What is this thing?? Cora quickly caught on and said "hello"?

It was my first time to the Northern part of New England and now I know why the pilgrims settled there. It really was beautiful.

In other news...
As I haven't posted a blog for some time, an update on the girls is overdue.

Della just turned 4 and has moved up to the Fours preschool class at Small Wonders. Her new teachers are Miss Terri Lynn and Miss Raeanne. She has been learning so much and can write just about anything that she can get help with the spelling on. In her class, they are working on lowercase letters, letter sounds, patterns, and more advanced scissor and art skills. I am constantly amazed by Della's knowledge. She loves school and also loves her days home with Mom. Recently, we started reading the Little House in the Big Woods and Della is immersed. I have such fond memories of reading these books with Dad (Pake) and want to pass this on to my girls.

We are now wrapping up swim lessons for both girls and Della is swimming like a mermaid/fish/big kid, etc. Daddy has taught her how to do pencil dives and cannonballs. Our weekends and many weeknights are spent in the pool. Swimming has become some really special time for Derek and the girls.

Cora is also doing really well in her swim lesson. She is able to swim in the water, roll to her back, and then swim again to a safe place (the edge of the pool, an adult, etc). Next week, she should perform her checkout skills which has her do these skills in winter clothes, pajamas, and summer clothes on consecutive days. We couldn't be happier with these swimming lessons and are so glad we invested the time in teaching the girls to swim.

Cora is now nearly 20 months and is such a joy!  Each day, she is learning new words and sounds. She loves to play with her big sis and is developing her own personality. One of her favorite things to do is to spin around in circles until she gets dizzy at which point she will stop and say "Whoa"; regain her balance, and start over, laughing the whole time. She did this while we were waiting in the Boston airport for Derek to get the rental car and drew a little audience of people who thought she was adorable (of course). Cora is a big helper and can find just about any toy or missing item and bring it to you. This is really nice when I have misplaced something or we can't find her sippy cup.

Two days ago, we took away Cora's pacifiers (plugs) so she has been less than thrilled but it was time. Now every time she goes down for a nap or sleep she says "Pug? Pug? PUUUGGG??!!" until I tell her they are all gone :( This is never a fun process but she is doing great with out it.

As for Derek and I, we are staying busy with work and the kids. Just a week ago, I was promoted to Audit Supervisor which was a little unexpected as I am one of the first "in-charge" levels they hired on a part time basis. Good thing I was raised with such a quality work ethic. Thanks for all the training in washing barns Mom and Dad :)

Derek continues to get good feedback from his peers, bosses, and agents he works with. He has been golfing with a couple groups of men that he really enjoys.

All in all, life has been good here in Bakersfield.

Disneyland!

As we have been living about 2.5 hours from Disneyland for over a year and a half now, we figured it was time for a visit. Della is to the point where she knows most of the princesses through her friends or Disney movies we have watched and she knows Mickey and Minnie Mouse from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Cora, on the other hand, likes whatever her big sister likes so we knew she would be up for the trip too.

We decided to keep it a secret from the girls until the moment we pulled into Disneyland. We told Della we were going to Anaheim and that maybe she would be bored :)

Needless to say, we were not bored and the girls had a great time.

On Sunday, we woke up early and left our house at about 6:30 AM to try to get to the park by 9. We forgot to plan for extra time to check into the hotel and drop off our luggage so we wound up arriving to the park at 10. Our plan of action was to get Fast Passes for the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad and while we were waiting for our window of time to open to ride, we would head to Fantasyland. However, as most plans usually do, it got changed. As we were walking through New Orleans Square, we saw Pirates of the Caribbean only had a 10 minute wait so we stopped there. Della was a little scared of the skeletons but liked the ride itself. Then, we walked past Splash Mountain, and it only had a 15 minute wait so Derek and Della went on that next.


Again, Della loved the ride, but not enough to go back for a second time with Mommy. Finally, we made it to BTMR and got our FastPasses. While we were waiting, we visited with Pooh, Tigger, and Eeyore and rode the Pooh's Adventure Ride. Both girls thought that was pretty neat as we have a few Winnie the Pooh books.


We stopped for lunch at a café and then headed over to watch one of the live shows Disney puts on throughout the day - Mickey and the Magical Map. There were lots of characters to see in this performance - Mickey (of course), Rapunzel and Flynn, Pocahontas, Baloo from the Jungle Book, Sebastian from Little Mermaid, and Mulan. This was fantastic to see - both girls were amazed at seeing this live performance. After that, we headed back to the hotel for naps. We decided to stay on the Disney property at the Paradise Pier hotel for this very reason. Both girls crashed for about 2 hours and then we headed back into the park.

 

 

After we got back, we walked past the big Mickey Parade and rode a few rides. We had dinner reservations with Goofy and his friends at Goofy's kitchen (one of the perks of booking with Costco - this came free with our reservation). While eating dinner, we were visited by Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Chip and Dale, Princess Aurora and Princess Jasmine, and Pluto. Della was so excited. She had a little etch a sketch that she drew pictures for each characters before they came to our table.
After the dinner, we rode the carousel and watch Fantasmic which is one of my most favorite Disney memories. Finally, after a long day, we headed to our room. Once we got to our room, we found that we had an overlooking view of the pier where California Adventure puts on their World of Color show which is a water/light/music show that was really neat to watch from above.

On Monday, we headed to the Califoria Adventure park which seems to be more of the Pixar side of Disney. First thing we did, was beeline to the new Radiator Springs Racers ride and waited 20 minutes in line to get a FastPass! That was pretty crazy but the ride was well worth it. We had the opportunity to meet Mater from the movie Cars and right before this picture was taken, Derek told Della to be careful so she didn't get eaten... hence the sad face :(

 

 

 Next we went on the Junkyard Jamboree which was one of my favorites - it is set up with tractor's pulling wagons and you sit in the wagon part and kind of get crazily pulled behind the tractor. Both girls had a blast on that. One of the rides we went on that morning was called Grizzly River Run which was a raft ride that got you pretty wet - good thing we had our rain coats. I think this was one of Della's favorites - she was so excited to go again with me.

 After a couple more rides, Derek got in line with Della to wait for the racer's ride. Their wait, even with the Fast Pass was more than 20 minutes long, so I grabbed lunch with Cora to eat later. The nice thing about going to Disney with little ones, is called a Rider Switch. This allows one parent to take the older kid/kids on the ride, while the other parent waits with the little ones. When the first people are done riding, the waiting parent gets to go on the ride along with the older child again. This means, that for most of the rides that Cora could not go on, Della got to ride twice.

In the afternoon, we went to another live show called Disney Jr. which was a compilation of all the TV Disney Jr. shows such as Mickey Mouse, Doc McStuffins (Della's favorite) and a couple others. This was a puppet show that was very interactive and geared towards 2-5 year olds. After this, we tried to attend the Aladdin live show, but partway though the performance, Aladdin fell while trying to get the lamp and the show was promptly cancelled. As the show got out early, we tried to get both girls to sleep in the stroller. We were successful with Della but Cora did not sleep at all. During their naps (or rest time for Cora), I got to meet Jessie from Toy Story.

 

 In Radiator Springs, they had a store called Luigi's Casa DELLA Tires so of course we had to get a picture there :)

After doing a quick walk through Downtown Disney, we headed back to see the net showing of Aladdin - apparently he didn't fall too far (either that or one of the other 7 Aladdin's on the cast filled in). Cora did not quite make it all the way through the performance - her and I left right as the Genie made his big appearance. As we exited, we were on the third story of the theater so I had a bird's eye view of the Pixar Parade lining up. Right as it started, Cora and I found a spot right in front to see this parade. After the Aladdin show was over, we packed the girls up and headed home. Cora was asleep in less than 10 minutes in the car. If there is anything such as Too Much Disney for a toddler, she got that.

All in all, it was a very fun trip with lots of new memories made. That being said, I do not think we will go back again until Cora is just about three.

We've got a walker!

As you most likely guessed from the title, Cora is walking! So far it is just a few steps between me and Derek or between couches, but she is off!

With the holidays over, our lives have slowed down just a little bit. The girls have been busy playing, learning, and growing like crazy!

 

In mid November, our friend Emily stayed with us for a couple days and the girls and I took her to Santa Monica beach. It was such a beautiful day!

 

 

For Halloween, the whole family dressed as the cast of Peter Pan. Derek was captain Hook, I was Peter Pan, Saxon was Wendy, Clay was Smee, and the girls were Tinkerbell and Tinkerbell in training. Of course, Dutch got to play along and was the Crocodile! Clay and Saxon had the opportunity to stay with us from late October until mid-November. They broke up their trip here and visited Joy and Charles and also some cousins of theirs in Southern Oregon. We really enjoyed having them stay with us.  

  

Cora as Tinkerbell in training

Our two fairies!

The whole Peter Pan crew

Finally some piggytails

Cora has started to explore her speaking abilities and can now say Mommy, Dada, Del-da (Della), Dut (for Dutch), more, no (she does that one very clearly :), up, and down. She can roar like a lion, make elephant noises (along with the trunk motion), squawk like a monkey, and say ruff ruff for a dog. She loves to play with Della and Della has really been enjoying Cora more now that she isn't so fragile and can interact more fully. At her last appointment, Cora was 33% in weight, 90% in height and is growing 6 new teeth - all of her canines and two upper molars. Yowch!

.

Fun on the swings

 Della is in a very imaginative stage where she plays, teacher, mommy and a baby very well. She even has certain shoes and clothes that make her a teacher or Mommy. Our piano has many preloaded songs that Della loves to dance along with, but her recent favorite is the wedding march song. I explained the significance of the song, so now she likes to get dressed up and grab some flowers and "walk down the aisle". Sounds like we better start saving our money now! She continues to constantly surprise me with bits of information that she picks up and is developing into a sweet little girl.

Learning to pump those legs!

My little love bug

Beep Beep - Taxi coming through

Checking out the stars... during the day :)

Cora with Auntie Em

Love those toes in the sand.

What a great day at the beach.

A beach day always includes ice cream with sprinkles, right?

Making music

Best friends

 Over the Thanksgiving holiday, we got to spend time in San Jose with the Bokma family. It was such a wonderful time. Shannon had tons of great crafts to do with the kids - they even got to decorate gingerbread houses! Della got caught sneaking pieces off of hers after I told her not to eat the candy. She promptly let me know she wasn't eating the candy, only the white stuff (the frosting). Guess I need to be more specific next time. Louis and Shannon were a great team in the kitchen and the Thanksgiving meal was great! After Thanksgiving day, we got to go to the Hoppy Hollow amusement park. It really was a great vacation.

Driving around at Hoppy Hollow with the Bokma Family

Opening special matching PJs! Thanks Louis and Shannon!

How'd you get in that box Cora? And a better question, how are you going to get out?

A Princess Treasury! A new favorite.

At California Living Museum - A zoo with animals only native to California. We visited to see the Christmas lights they put up every year. It was very special and the girls both loved it!

For Christmas, we made the long drive to Idaho. Both sides of the drive went really well. We have been getting books on CD to listen to on the way which really takes your mind off the length of the drive. Pake and Beppe had the house decorated so beautifully and welcomed us with dutch pancakes. We were able to visit lots of places while we were there - the Canyon rim, the Shoshone falls, Papa and Grandma's house to hide gifts and then again on Christmas Day, Flora and Harry's house for Ollie bollen, and last but not least, the new Twin Falls hospital.

Derek played racquetball with Andy and Mark Koopman and Chris and Julia. It was all fun and games until the wall ran into Derek's should causing a shoulder separation. The good news was that Derek was winning! He was in a sling for about 2 weeks but is recovering quite nicely.

Our friends, Rick and Heather Henderson were able to drive up from the Salt Lake City area to visit while we were in Idaho. They brought their two kids Caroline and Jack who were very enamored by farm life. While they were here, we got to explore Twin Falls and the dairy. Caroline got to milk a cow, all of the kids got to let the calves suck on their fingers, play in the cottonseed and even see Pake and Tyler deliver a calf. Jack was not ready to leave the cows...

Beppe treating Della to a manicure - how special!

Thinking out side the box.

Froggy went a courtin' he did ride, uh huh!

At the Snake River Canyon in Idaho.

Who's the queen of the cotton seed? DELLA!

Getting ready to work.

Caroline Henderson and Della checking on the cows.

Feeding the ducks at a park we stopped at on our way home from Idaho. It was across the street from the popular Eric Shaatz bakery which was a great recommendation from Harry and Flora.

Wrapped up like two little burritos.

 

2013 wrapped up really well with God continuing to bless our family. We know 2014 has some great things in store for us!