The Cup runneth over in So Cal

The energy, the noise, seeing your favorite hockey team raise the Stanley Cup above their heads...

It was quite and unreal experience. Jake, Owen & I were geared up for game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals. The Ducks were one win away from the most sought after trophy in sports history. We didn't discuss it, we couldn't, neither of us wanted to be the one to jinx it. The game started out good, up by two, but by no means were we comfortable with the lead. The game can change at any moment. Ottawa would score, the Ducks would score back. The moment I realized that the Ducks were going to win the Holy Grail of hockey was with 10 seconds left of the game. I was very grateful to be there. When Ducks Captain Scott Niedermayer raised the Cup above his head I got goosebumps.

Our house, Our team, our Cup!

Go Ducks Go!

The Roberts Family

A couple Sunday's ago I shot the Roberts family. I have known Julie since high school, but we lost touch a short while after. We met up again last November when a mutual friend set up a little reunion. Julie looks exactly the same since high school, it's insane. She honestly doesn't look like she has aged at all.

She now is happily married and has two beautiful boys, Miles and Jack. She wanted some pictures of the boys, along with some family shots. I know first hand that kids aren't going to look up and say cheese when commanded, so getting the perfect family shot is always challenging. The kids were great, Miles had fun chasing the quack quack's. I can't get over what amazing eyes both of the kids have too. Congrats Julie on your beautiful family!

Here's there slideshow.

Let's Go Ducks!

My husband has been a Ducks fan from day one. It's true! He's all about rooting on the So Cal teams, not matter how good or bad they are. So I can honestly say that I married into his love for hockey. It wasn't a sport I followed or even liked before I met him. He started me out slow with a few games a season. A few years later we found ourselves season ticket holders. It was a little overwhelming at first, forty some games in seven months. Doesn't sound like a lot at first, but when you are at the arena three times out of the week for a game, things get hectic.

We got our season tickets in 2003 when the Ducks were headed to the Stanley Cup. It was an exciting time, the Ducks were in the playoffs, and our son Owen was born. Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, Owen in tow in his Baby Bjorn, we went to the Pond to watch the game on the jumbo tron. They unfortunately lost, but the ride to the finals was fun. The following year we had great seats, and a very calm, very small Owen.

Two years later we now have a very hyper, very large Owen, and very high-maintenance, short tempered Emma. We have had to upgrade to four seats, but even those seats are tight. There is quite of bit of hitting, fighting, screaming, and I'm not talking about the game itself, but between my two kids. Needless to say I pay more attention to keeping them apart than watching the game, but the kids do have fun. Everyone comments on how well behaved they are, in my head I'm wondering if they are talking about the same kids.

Jake, myself and Owen (no Emma, I would like to watch one playoff game) headed out to the Honda Center on Tuesday to watch the Ducks win the Western Conference Finals. It was a very exciting game, Owen had fun booing and chanting, and the fireworks after the win was the icing on the cake for him.

Stanley Cup, here we come!
Go Ducks Go!

Owens' reaction right after they won the Western Conference Finals.

Like a sponge I tell you!

It's always amazing to me how much knowledge kids absorb. My son who is now four, is a walking animal dictionary. He can name the animal, tell you what it eats, it's habits, so on and so on. Beware, you can easily get caught up in a half hour conversation about a Triceratops diet, how tall a Parasaurolophus was (I had to look at the computer to spell it, it has taken me a good year to know how to pronounce it), the list goes on and on. If you would ask him how he wanted to spend his day, he would pick the Zoo, Sea World, a Dinosaur Museum.

Last week we took the kids the the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach. Like always, I had to document the journey with my tiny point and shoot (hence the quality). Owen was busting at the seams, he couldn't wait. He's in a completely different world when we visit, rambling on about sharks, giant lobsters, octopuses........you name it, he will tell you.

Of course I think he is the smartest four year old in the universe, but I'm sure other mothers can debate that. I just love looking at the world through his eyes, and because of him I now know things like why flounders have both eyes on one side of their body.

-Here is your Owen fact for the day: A flounder isn't born with both eyes on one side of it's body. It goes through a metamorphosis where one eye migrates to the other side of it's body, so both eyes are on one side facing up. They do this so they can lay flat and blend in with the ocean floor while eating crustaceans and small fish. (Yes he did say metamorphosis and migrate, I didn't even know those words were in his vocabulary!)

Here is Owen looking oh so cool on his way the the Aquarium


Here is Emma's idea of cool


This was the hit of the day. The kids got to feed the Rainbow Lorikeets.


I know this is blurry, but it makes me laugh for some reason.








Here, Owen was giving Emma a quick 5 minute session on the life of a ray.

How do you sign Disneyland.......

I don't get to spend much time with my cousin Denise, but when I do I enjoy every minute. I can't express how proud I am of the person she has become. We usually go months without talking, letting life get in the way, but when we reconnect we pick right up where we left off. She works at her local high school as a sign language interpreter for the hearing impaired. Every year we join her at Disneyland where they give her the opportunity to sign show that usually can't be enjoyed by the hearing impaired. This year she signed at the Aladdin's Oasis show, which is a huge hit with the kids. We are already looking forward to next year! Here are some pictures of our day.


Denise at work


Emma being her pretty self


Denise and Emma


My cousin Liana with Goofy


Denise and Owe. He loves his Nise





The kids were a little scared to take a picture with Captain Jack




I asked them to smile, and this is what I got




Owen posing with the freshly picked flower

Getting Older

It's so hard to deal with the fact that your babies are no longer babies anymore. Owen turned 4 on March 1st, and Emma is turning 2 on March 29th. I can remember bringing each one home from the hospital like it was yesterday. How time flies.

Here are some pictures from the party they had at Pump It Up. They had a blast.




Chantelle with Cupcake Creations (cupcakecreations@cox.net) made our cupcake cakes for us. They turned out amazing and tasted wonderful. I recommend the strawberry cupcakes.








All the kids had so much fun on the huge bouncers. Even the big kids like Drew and I had to try them out.

Even though Owen and I look like we are in pain, it was tons of fun.


Drew is going to kill me for posting this, but I love this picture. Emma's face is priceless.

Whale Watching........Kind of

On Sunday we took the kids whale watching. The weather was amazing! We sailed out of Dana Point with Captain Dave (http://www.dolphinsafari.com/) on the small but intimate catamaran. The boat was so rocky, back & forth, back & forth, so I was really leery about taking the kids up to the front. We headed out to sea for about 20 minutes and spotted the first whale. In the next 10-15 minutes the same whale was spotted another 4 times. I had yet to see anything. I was getting so frustrated. The kids and I were in the back of the boat, so all the spectators in front were blocking the view. We finally got a view of the whale and I managed to get one picture. Later on the trip we saw a few dolphins, so I was able to take some pictures. By the end of the 2 1/2 hour tour the kids were asleep and we were pooped. It was a great trip though, and would highly recommend it.

Here is the one picture I got of our whale sighting.


Owen looking so sad because we haven't seen anything.


Finally we saw some playful dolphins.


They came really close the the boat. The captain took a count on who wanted to stay with the dolphins and who wanted to look for more whales. I was out voted by the rest of the people on the boat and we stuck with the whales which turned out to be a bad choice. We would have gotten more action staying with the dolphins.


Sea Lion rock.


This picture has nothing to do with Whale watching, but I just had to post it. The picture is courtesy of Drew at http://www.drewbphotography.com, taken on Superbowl Sunday. Thanks Drew!

APPLE PICKING
I know October was SO last year, but I came across some pictures I loved and had to post a slideshow. We had a very busy October with our great friends the Bittels. First we went to the U-Pick pumpkin patch, then we went to the "First Annual Greene-Bittel Apple Picking Event". That was such a fun experience. The drive alone up to Beaumont was an adventure. It was so foggy and cold, but we all had a great time. Here is the slideshow.