Ethan's Kindergarten Graduation! :)

Our amazing Ethan graduated kindergarten this morning, Friday, June 10, 2011. He was so excited to get in his cap & gown. He was excited to see his friends & teachers, and he was excited to share with us the songs & performances he had been practicing for his big day. The performance was wonderful & he was smiling the entire time. It has been a wonderful year for him. Now he is off to 1st grade!

Ethan is definitely ready for 1st grade. He has gotten straight A's the entire time in kindergarten. He is the reading champ & sight word champ, and now his Mommy is trying to work on multiplication with him :). He is so smart, but he is well-rounded too. We love you E & we are so unbelievably proud of you each and every day!

Last Day of Kindergarten Luau!

Ethan's last day of Kindergarten was on Thursday, June 9, 2011. He had a truly memorable day! It was a Luau with yummy snacks, water balloon toss, limbo, & playing with friends. It was hard for him to say good bye to his teachers. He hates to cry, but he does get emotional. He gets that from his Daddy. His teachers are truly the most amazing kindergarten teachers that I've EVER seen. We have been so BLESSED. Ethan has had an amazing year!

End of Season t-ball bowling party!

Ethan had his end of the season t-ball bowling party on June 8th. It was sponsored by his Poppa & Amma :). We all had a great time. Ethan won his lane with a total of 108, and Reid won his lane with a total of 93. :) Ethan loved baseball so much that we will be signing him up for pony league tomorrow :). We are very proud of you E!

Ethan's Unbirthday Celebration!

On June 3rd, Ethan celebrated his birthday at school. His teacher is so awesome, and even though it wasn't Ethan's birthday for another 2 months, she wanted him to have a special day. Ethan had a wonderful time celebrating his 6th unbirthday :). He requested donuts & pirate party favors for his friends. The photo above is of his two friends he chose to sit with on his special day Rider & Landon. Happy Unbirthday Ethan! :)

Oh the Joys of Living next to the Cleveland National Forest

This is the second time in 6 years that a fire has been to close for comfort. This time we were not evacuated. Streets were closed off, but the firefighters (so far) have pushed the fire back up the canyon. It got a little scary for an hour. I packed a small bag of clothes, photos, and files in the car just in case. Hopefully it will be fully contained soon.

John's Incredible Pizza

It's incredible: pizza, games, & rides. It is a kids' paradise (not quite mine though). The kids had a blast. This was the funniest photo of the day. Reid terrified of this frog ride. It probably didn't help that his parents were laughing hysterically at his misery the entire ride. It was funny because he is normally such a thrill seeker :). We will be going back I'm sure this summer!

Daddy Donut Day :)

Daddy Donut Day was June 1st at E's school. Jon & E had a blast. Jon was thrilled to get coffee and donuts. E sang songs, showed Jon around the room with all the writing about Dad, and then they played outside for the morning with an airplane glider. I love these 2 boys :)! I am so glad they had a wonderful time together. Great memories!

New Ariel Ride!

Tuesday morning was just another average morning in the Monroe house. We woke up at 6 got dressed, got the kids ready, and Reid left with me, and Ethan left for school with Jon. Jon wasn't at work for more than an hour when he got a phone call saying E was sick and needed to be picked up. It was my last day at work, and I was in and out of my room all morning and didn't hear the numerous phone calls from Jon and E's school (I know I know), so Jon left work and picked up E. After get the whole story, it was more like E got sympathy sickness when he saw his best friend get sick in the bathroom. He does have a weak stomach. Jon sat around for about 2 hours, and then I got a phone call. He said that he was taking E to Disneyland. They were going to make the best of it and enjoy the new Ariel ride, since it was a sneak peak day for pass-holders. They had a blast just E & Jon. I guess there was a plus side to getting sick at school for E :).

Angel Game: Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

On Wednesday, we had the opportunity to go to the Angel game courtesy of Jon's work. We were 6 rows away from home plate. It was lots of fun. The boys each had their gloves just in case...we did come close once to catching a ball. We also got free hats too. We ate hot dogs, ice cream, and peanuts. Ethan was really into the whole thing, since he is now on a team, and Reid loved to shout, "Run, run, run," through-out the game just because. When we were leaving, after the 7th inning stretch, Reid kept saying "bye ba-ball," and waving until we were half way home. Reid was so excited that he stayed up the entire car ride home (even though it was 10pm) because he was so excited. We will have to go again before the season is over for sure :)!

Ethan the Sports' Star :)

Ethan has loved playing sports this year! He started the year playing hockey at the Anaheim Rinks & this spring he started playing baseball. He seems to be a natural in both sports & he is LOVING it. He always has a smile on his face, and that is what it is all about. He is having a blast!

My Crazy Boys

I love them more than anything! & they are loads of fun too!

Mother's Tea with my E

On May 6th, I had the wonderful opportunity to join Ethan in his classroom for Mother's Tea. He had been excited all week. He knew that it was going to be special, he had been working very hard on the songs & gifts, and he knew that I would be taking the day off all for him. When he walked out of his classroom to greet me, he was grinning from ear to ear. He walked me over to my special sit where I was greeted with tons of gift made by him. All the kids sang songs to us. Ethan saw me getting teary eyed & started getting teary eyed too...so I stopped for him. He then served me my lunch & made sure that I got lots of vanilla cookies...apparently he really loves them and he ate all 6 of them. It was so wonderful to spend the afternoon with my E. He is such a sweet gently soul. I love you to the moon & back my Baby Love.

Monkey Bread

One day in October Jon & I decided to take the kids to Tom's Farm to get some popcorn, since that is one of Ethan's favorite snack foods. While we were there, we decided to pick up some ingredients to make monkey bread. Ethan put together almost all the ingredients, rolled all the balls, and rolled them in cinnamon. The monkey bread came out so yummy, and Ethan was so proud of himself for making it.

Farmer Day at Preschool

In October Ethan had Farmer Day on his preschool. They were to dress up like a farmer. No problem I thought. He just needs overalls and a flannel shirt, right? I found that this was easier said then done. Overalls for a 4 year old is almost impossible to find. I went to Target, Kohl's (which I never shop at), Old Navy, Children's Place, and nothing. I then began looking on-line and it kept popping up that Target had 5T overalls...what? Where? So I called my Target again and they had one pair of 5T overalls in the entire store. I ran down to Target and picked them up and also found a flannel.

The day of Farmers' Day he looked like the cutest farmer. At school, they learned about farming and played games and also made applesauce...Wow, doesn't that just magically come from jars and Mott's containers.

He had a wonderful day and all his teachers loved how he was dressed...score 1 point for Mommy.

Ethan's Special Day with Taylor Rose

In October, Jon was still home transitioning from one job to another and had the opportunity to keep Ethan another day. On this very special day, Stacey was able to drop off Taylor at our home early in the morning. The kids ate breakfast, played, acted, made puppet shows, and went to see the movie Toy Story 1 & 2 in 3D. They were super excited to see it in the theatre even though they each have seen the movie a zillion times over. Ethan loves Taylor, Taylor loves Ethan. They each say they will marry each other some day. They both also say that Taylor will wear pink and Ethan will wear red on their wedding day. They both have different ideas on where they will live. Taylor says New York, while Ethan says Texas. They are simply adorable together. This was the last big day Ethan & Taylor had before the big move to Houston. The kids loved every minute of it. I hope that even though they are now farther apart they still remain the best of friends.

Crafts and Pumpkins

Halloween season means Halloween crafts. This year Ethan wanted to make a pirate pumpkin just like Pirates of the Caribbean at Disneyland. We ran to Michael's and picked up all the supplies, and Ethan worked really hard on the pumpkin. It was fun to make it and to now keep it in our Halloween decor year after year.

Oh and who could resist this little pumpkin too? I sure can't.

Preschool with Uncle Jay

In October Ethan's class invited family to come and visit the classroom. Since Mommy was working in her own classroom that day, Daddy was able to go and Uncle Jay was also able to go, which made it extra extra special for Ethan. Ethan got to show them what they did during the day, and also just got to hang out and play with his Uncle Jay. As you can see Ethan really enjoyed having Uncle Jay visit his classroom. We love you Uncle Jay!

Our Disney Halloween!

Early October we went with the Garcias' to Trick or Treat Night at California Adventure. It was Ethan's second time coming to this event and Reid's first! Even though it was not Halloween yet, it is custom to wear your costume at the park for the event. So Jon & I took our little monkey and Donkey Kong to this great event! We met the Garcias' some were dressed as Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse at McDonald before hand and had a very healthy dinner (wink...wink...) & then we were off to California Adventure.

The kids had a blast collecting candy...some more than others, dancing to music (again some more than others), riding on rides like Soaring (which was Taylor's first time) & Toy Story Mania.

They enjoyed being silly and goofy. It is always fun seeing my introverted child (wonder where he gets that...) being so fun and loud.

It was also a very special trip to Disneyland because it was our last trip to the park with the Garcias' before they moved to Houston. They have been our Disneyland buddies through the years and we will always remember the many memories and adventures we had with them. And I'm sure we will make plenty more too!

Going Wild!

During the early part of October Jon had the opportunity to take Ethan to the Wild Animal Park on a school day (this is simply unheard of.) Since it was going to be Ethan's first time at the park, we decided to have him go on an excursion. He and Jon were two out of 14 on the excursion and they got to get up close to many wild animals including: lions, cheetahs, and giraffes. Ethan had a blast and so did Daddy. Ethan got a gorilla shirt and mask to remember their time there...gorillas being his favorite animal right now....(Donkey Kong is a gorilla you know.)

Thank Goodness for Amma

"Ethan what do you think you want to be for Halloween?" I asked.

"Donkey Kong!" Ethan shouted with excitement.

I looked and looked and googled for a Donkey Kong costume and nothing. I told my mother of my problem and of course she offered to make a Donkey Kong tie that would go with any monkey costume...problem solved! Thanks Mom. Ethan was thrilled when he saw the end result and cannot wait to be Donkey Kong for Halloween!

Future Chef?

Oh how I love this picture for so many reasons: 1. Ethan loves that his brother wants to be a chef which is one of the things Ethan would love to be someday. 2. That Reid may love chocolate and yummy sweets like his Mommy & Daddy...Ethan is like his Amma. 3. How I hope that Reid can enjoy yummy foods because so far he seems to be allergic to everything under the sun...However, time will only tell right? But for now, I love this fun picture of my little monkey.

Good-bye to my dear Malibu!

On New Years Day 1998, I received my very first car...my Malibu...a gift from my parents. This car got me to college, my first job, my second job, countless trips to Vegas, trips along the coast, etc. After having Ethan, the Malibu became Jon's mode of transportation since I was the primary driver to Ethan. The Malibu was a very good car, but it was on its last leg. We finally said good-bye to the Malibu in September. I almost had the car for 12 years. Ethan made sure we took one last picture with his first car too. He is sentimental like his Mommy.

Reid's very own Ears!

On our latest trip to Disneyland while Jon & Ethan were on Autopia I ventured to the hat store nearby and got Reid his very first Mickey Ears! He actually wore it the first few minutes...I don't have any pictures of it because well I was holding him waiting for my other boys to com off the ride. Ethan loved seeing his brother wearing the hat; however, it did not entice him to wear his. He is not into wearing his ears...Well, 50% isn't bad.

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs!

Ethan had some quality Daddy time this weekend seeing Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs in 3D. Ethan & Jon loved the movie. I'm glad Jon took E because this was one of my favorite childhood picture books of all time, and I knew that it just was not going to be the same. Ethan came home and the first thing he told me was that a pancake still landed on the school! I had to laugh at that. I am glad my two older boys had a wonderful time together.

Trips to the Grocery Store...

never will be the same, but I wouldn't have it any other way. I just love taking these two to the grocery. One will make sure that I'm getting red apples, and grapes, and cookies, and the other is just enjoying the ride. I love these boys to pieces!

Reid is 6 months old!

Reid is growing up so fast! He is the fastest 6 month old crawler that I have ever seen. He is babbling all the time. Mama, Dada, Baba, & Baber. He is standing up on his own. He is trying so much to catch up with his older brother. He is an amazing little boy. He is ahead of the curve in all areas...that is except for sleeping through the night, which we discuss every in the middle of the night feeding. He is the happiest baby and we are so happy he is ours.