Doss Family

Holiday Show

2011-02-26T11:26:00.000-08:00

Landon did a Holiday Show and did so good! It was very cute.

Alyssa did one too, except I was unaware that she was having one until she was already at school. Pink is a Christmas color right? Oh well. It's just pre-school. She was definitely into her songs and was one of the loudest ones. Not shy like me at all :)

Annual North Pole Trip

2011-02-26T11:21:00.000-08:00

I forgot to post about our Annual trip to the North Pole (aka Irvine Park). My kids look forward to it every year and it's always a lot of fun with Grandma & Grandpa, Aunt Haylee, Aunt Melissa, Uncle Drew and their 3 cousins. One day we will get Uncle Seth & Aunt Holly to join us. Jack didn't love Santa so much, but the other kids made sure to tell him what they wanted for Christmas.

The reason I've been so busy

2011-02-26T11:05:00.000-08:00

I feel like I've been running around like crazy lately and it's because of these 3 crazies! Landon started Basketball & Baseball the same week. So let's just say I'm driving around to Practices & Games all week now. He loves it though. Couldn't be any happier. (sorry for the blury picture)

This little girl is just crazy! I can't handle all the drama that comes with a little 3 year old girl. It's just too much sometimes! I think I'm happy with 1 girl :)

And this little boy is my busiest by FAR. Every time I turn around he's on top of a table, my counters or getting hurt outside. He loves him some fruit loops as you can see. Apparently I don't feed him enough! And I think this is why he fell asleep on my floor the other morning at 10AM. He just wears himself out with all the trouble he gets himself into. Jack is the little brother you didn't want. He is always bugging the other kids, turning off the tv, the Wii and sitting in the middle of whatever they are doing. He knows exactly what he is doing too and he loves it!

Day after Christmas

2011-02-26T10:41:00.001-08:00

The next day was spent at my parents house so we could all be there together. Grandma and Grandpa of course gave the best presents. Alyssa a Barbie Escalade, Jack a fire truck, and Landon got a basketball hoop (no pictures because we had to put it together)

Christmas Finally

2011-02-26T10:35:00.000-08:00

Yes we did have Christmas at our house! I have just been SUPER busy and feel like my life isn't going to slow down anytime soon. Here is Christmas Morning at our house. We invited my parents and sister over in the morning to open presents.

Thanksgiving in Big Bear

2010-12-16T00:45:00.000-08:00

This year for Thanksgiving my parents wanted to rent a cabin in Big Bear. So we went up Wednesday and stayed until Sunday. Lucky for us it snowed and the kids had so much fun! We found a hill we could walk to and bought some sleds and the kids couldn't get enough of going down the hill. It was too cute! And they loved the big bath tub :)

Jack turns 1!

2010-12-16T00:42:00.000-08:00

Back in October Jack turned 1 and we had a small family birthday party for him at the park across from our house. It was pretty mellow and he enjoyed his yummy cake :)

Disney World

2010-10-18T23:46:00.000-07:00

First night of our trip! The kids were exhausted after a red eye flight and getting settled in the first day!

First park was Magic Kingdom!

The kids didn't know who Pinnochio was, but why not get a picture?

Of course we needed some Pirate Mickey Ears!

Pluto

Daisy Duck (in the rain)

It rained often...and hard!

Waiting for the parade!

Landon couldn't handle it...he fell asleep.

They loved the parade...even Jack!

Alice

On Landon's Birthday we let the kids dress up and walk around the Magic Kingdom as a Princess and a Pirate. They loved every second of it! Here is Alyssa getting ready to be Ariel.

They even do their hair, make-up and nails. She was so excited!

And they take pictures for you!

Daddy joined in a little too...Landon loved ALL the attention he got that day with his Birthday Button and being all dressed up as a Pirate!

We ate at this great place called Chef Mickey's. It's actually in one of the hotels in DisneyWorld. Each character comes to your table and Alyssa really came to life each time one would come by. She was so excited for them to sign her book :)

Alyssa finally got to meet Ariel. She loved that they were dressed alike!

That night we did some swimming at the hotel for Landon's Birthday...Ordered Pizza Hut (since they had one AT the Hotel and I made Magic Cookie Bars (by request) for his "cake".

We ventured to Gator Land one day to check out all the Gators.

Alyssa didn't mind sitting on an alligator...but Landon sure did. My mother-in-law has that picture, so I'll have to post it later! Frank wanted a turn too of course!

I took this picture because the alligator behind Alyssa is white! I asked if it was an albino alligator and they said no. Some different one that I can't remember now!

Epcot! Definitely worth seeing once if your lifetime.

Alyssa just woke up from a nap in the stroller, so she wasn't so happy. She wouldn't even take a picture with Jasmine & Aladdin or Belle...:( So Landon had too!

Animal Kingdom! This park was fun. Kids loved it!

Hollywood Studios! They had a big "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" Playground. They didn't want to leave!

Block Party Parade at Hollywood Studios!

Back to Magic Kingdom for some more rides!

Back to Hollywood Studios to get in line for the Toy Story Ride. The 1st day we came here All the fast passes were gone and the wait was like 70 min. So we decided to come back super early in the morning and be the 1st ones in. Ya well I guess some other people had the same idea. Gates open at 9am and everyone rushes for this ride. We did get on fast and it was a pretty sweet 3D ride. We went 3 times.

We got to eat lunch with Cinderella in her castle. Since Alyssa loved Chef Mickey's so much we tried to get a reservation for lunch somewhere with all the Princesses. This place is usually booked 1 year in advance. Crazy! Well I kept calling and randomly they had an opening on the last day we were going to be there. So we got in!

This last one is Jack on Tom Sawyer's Island. The place he could crawl around as much as he wanted to. I don't think he loves the stroller or car seat after this trip!

Kindergarten

2010-09-14T23:45:00.000-07:00

Landon started Kindergarten last week! Do I really have a kid old enough to be in school? Wow! He loves it! He goes every morning with the next door neighbor Eric. He is pretty dang tired though when he is done. Today he got in trouble for pushing a kid after the kid scratched him...woops! I probably would have done the same thing though :)

Angel Photo Day

2010-09-14T23:34:00.001-07:00

Landon had a chance to take a picture with Tori Hunter (below) and run the bases one day before the Angel Game. He was so excited he got to run the bases on a real field! This kid is going to LOVE baseball...I can just feel it!

Alyssa turned 3!

2010-09-14T22:40:00.000-07:00

You will have to forgive me because I have become the worlds WORST photographer! I don't take pictures of anything and when I do I'm not very good at it! Anyway, here is Alyssa's 3rd Birthday. We did a combined one with her cousin that was turning 1. We decided to do a CandyLand theme and I think it turned out pretty cute! We went all out with a candy table, bouncer & a Taco Man! It was so fun!

Pre-School Graduation

2010-06-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

Landon had preschool graduation about a month ago! He was so excited and it was the cutest thing ever. Here are a few pictures.

What we have been up to...

2010-06-09T21:34:00.000-07:00

Landon has been on a few field trips and finished up pre-school. (I will post pre-school graduation later)

Alyssa has been loving play group each week! She loves her friends and talks about them all week!

We colored easter eggs with Frank's family one night and went to Farrells for dessert.

This was opening day at Angel Stadium! Jack didn't last very long, so we left a little early.

Jack has been growing so fast! He is trying so hard to crawl and getting so frustrated with it. I can't believe he is already 8 months this Sunday...crazy!

Funny story. Landon thought he should write with permanent marker one day while I was upstairs all over the concrete, window trim, trash cans and our gate. We made him scrub it off 2 times a day for 30 min each time. He forgot to do it one night, so pajamas and in the dark he scrubbed for 30 min. He slept good that night and hopefully he won't want to do that ever again!

Landon's new favorite thing to do. Ride the ramps!

Funny Alyssa

2010-06-01T22:39:00.000-07:00

I know I put these up on Facebook, but never put them on my blog. So here they are. I was introduced by a friend to this photographer who was doing a project on people with Albinism. He wanted to photograph Alyssa, so I said sure why not. These turned out awesome I think! I love them :) He was such a nice guy. Anyway, I wanted to document these and something Alyssa said the other day that cracked me up. Frank was chasing her around the house and she had on some "princess" underwear and just a shirt. Frank told her he was going to spank her princesses if she didn't do something. So just messing around her spanked her bottom. She looked up at him and so seriously asked, "Are they crying Daddy?" I was dying laughing. She has the best imagination it is just crazy!

Kids Pictures

2010-05-07T18:25:00.000-07:00

I finally got the kids pictures taken on my Bday! I have been looking for a photographer for a while that wasn't SUPER expensive like all the ones around my area. I finally found her and I think she did an amazing job! She charged me just $45 for a 30 min photo session and gave me all of these on a disc so I can print as many as I need! It was such a great deal I couldn't pass it up. Here's her website if anyone is interested! www.sarahhullphotography.blogspot.com.

Soccer & Jack

2010-03-04T07:27:00.001-08:00

Landon started soccer a few weeks ago. He has only played 2 games since it keeps RAINING every Saturday. I don't think he loves it so much. He just runs around with all the kids and doesn't care to much about getting the ball. He got pushed down by another kid and he got up and turned to see if we saw and had the biggest smile on his face...it was pretty funny.

Jack is 4 Months - Almost 5 Months now. He is such a good good baby! I love him to pieces. He sleeps 12 hours every night and I have to wake him up each morning! It's so nice to have all that time to do other things and have breakfast with just the 2 other kids. He absolutely loves when people talk to him and he gets the biggest smile. The other day after church we were walking to our car and Landon sneezed and he thought it was hilarious and was just cracking up. I love when they start laughing! Landon LOVES his little brother and Jack you can tell loves him in return. He watches his every move and always smiles when he walks by.

New Years 2010

2010-01-20T19:18:00.000-08:00

For New Years this year we decided to head down to San Diego and stay at the Marriott right on the water. We had awesome weather and used our annual passes to Sea World & the Zoo. The kids had a good time celebrating New York New Years in the hotel room. Our hotel had this HUGE party and there were a million people there...it was Crazy!! So we decided to just stay in our room for the night. Alyssa tried really hard to get everyone to wear their party hats. We enjoyed the Richard Walker Pancake House just across the street for from the hotel in the morning and the New Children's Museum that was across the street as well. The kids loved it.

This is looking at our hotel from the kids museum.

Landon on the rock climbing wall.

Jack enjoying his ride

Landon thought he needed to paint his hands too!

Alyssa was very into painting...she did not want to stop and decided to paint her hair too!

This is supposed to be a big whale.

Christmas 2009

2010-01-20T18:44:00.000-08:00

We took the kids to the Irvine Park Railroad where they got to take the train to the "North Pole" to see Santa Claus. Alyssa was all about seeing Santa until it really was her turn and then she wanted nothing to do with the guy. Landon on the other hand was very serious about telling him that he wanted Transformers for Christmas. My parents came and it was a good time!

Santa Claus

2009-12-12T11:27:00.000-08:00

Santa Claus came to visit at Alyssa's school. She was so excited about it and then when she went up to get her present she wouldn't sit on his lap and she started crying. Too bad I was holding her so I couldn't get a picture.

Here are some of the kids in her class with all their toys.

Knotts Berry Farm

2009-12-12T11:24:00.001-08:00

We went to Knott's the other day with my parents and it was fun this time since Landon & Alyssa could go on all the rides together now. This 1st picture isn't so good, but I love Alyssa's face. She loved this ride.

The Airplane Ride

Landon really got into his funnel cake...he literally licked his plate clean!

Landon & Grandpa on the balloon ride

Alyssa & Grandma on the balloon ride

Zoomars

2009-11-21T21:55:00.000-08:00

Landon had a field trip last month with his pre-school class to a local petting zoo. They were all so cute and he actually rode the horse...Alyssa too, and I wasn't even near them. I thought that was pretty amazing since my kids have this fear of animals! The picture below is of Landon & his friend Briggs. Landon is the one in the back...they look a lot alike.

Halloween 2009

2009-11-21T21:43:00.000-08:00

I know this is SUPER late, but Jack boy has been super gassy and fussy these past few weeks, I haven't had much time or energy to blog. So here is our Halloween almost a month late! Alyssa was Princess Belle and Landon was Batman. Seth & Holly were so kind to bring us dinner one night and it just happened to be the night we were going to carve pumpkins. Holly ended up drawing the outline because she is an amazing artist and Seth was the lucky guy to carve them out! They were awesome for doing most of the work for us!

Seth & Holly's Wedding

2009-11-08T22:34:00.000-08:00

Jack Doss

2009-10-16T22:35:00.000-07:00

Jack Doss was born October 13th, 2009 at 6:48 AM. He weighed in at 6 lbs 10oz, 18.5 in long. We are so happy he is finally here!

Pretend City

2009-10-16T21:56:00.000-07:00

Monday we took the kids to Pretend City here in Irvine. The kids loved it! It's this made up city for kids who get to pretend to do grown up jobs. A doctor, work at a restaurant, construction worker, fireman, police officer, etc. Here are just a few pics!

T-Ball

2009-10-16T21:52:00.000-07:00

Landon started T-Ball last week and loves it! It was so fun watching him out there trying to figure out what to do. We are super excited to get to watch him every Saturday!

Landon Turned 4

2009-10-16T21:45:00.000-07:00

So Landon turned 4 back on Sept. 25th. On his actual b-day he went to the Angel game with his cousin Bradley. The next day he had a party at Scooter's Jungle, an indoor bounce house place that does b-day parties. He loved every minute of it! Thanks to everyone that came!

1st day of Pre-school

2009-09-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

Landon had his 1st day of pre-school today. He was pretty excited until he got in the car and we started driving. Then he said he wasn't getting out of his car seat. But eventually he went in and loved it. Alyssa wanted to go so badly and get a backpack too! She is her brother's shadow for sure!

Seth FINALLY got married!

2009-09-14T14:36:00.001-07:00

I'm sure many of you know that Seth (my oldest brother) got married on August 22, 2009. It was an AMAZING wedding and here are the ONLY pictures I have so far of the wedding. My camera stopped working after the ceremony.

Orange County Fair

2009-08-14T15:02:00.000-07:00

A couple weekends ago we headed to the Orange County Fair with the kids and our nephew Bradley. Landon & Alyssa were in heaven on rides their size and could actually do by themselves. It was a good time!

Swim Lessons

2009-07-17T08:29:00.001-07:00

Since I've gone back to work for just a couple weeks, my WONDERFUL mother has taken my kids to swim lessons every day for the past 2 weeks. Landon has definitely warmed up to swimming and actually enjoys it now. He's not so fond of the diving board, but we'll slowly work him into it. Next week he will do a class with other kids and his cousin Bradley and Alyssa is going to to a Mommy (grandma) and me class, so I think they will enjoy that too. My little Albino has to wear such a lovely outfit in the pool, but it's worth her not getting burnt!

Alyssa's 1st Angel game!

2009-07-14T19:24:00.001-07:00

The night before the Angel game we were driving home and Frank asked Landon who we should take to the Angel game tomorrow. So we named a few people...then Alyssa piped in with a "Daddy, you should take me! Take me Dad" We didn't even think she was listening to our conversation, so of course we had to take her. She looks a little like a tom boy with Landon's jacket on, but oh well. And Landon thought he needed to wear his camping hat to the game. She had a good time and lasted about 5 innings. Then we went home.

More Camping

2009-07-14T19:21:00.000-07:00

Frank wanted to do another camping trip, so I decided to go this time. We took his nephew Bradley again and all the kids had a great time. Alyssa thought she needed to wear the dirt though :) Everything was fine until we went to bed and Frank snored SOOOO loud right next to me and I had no where to go. Ya, didn't sleep much.

4th of July

2009-07-14T19:15:00.000-07:00

4th of July was low key for us. We stayed at home and enjoyed our community events. Landon started out the day with running in the 1k. He took this seriously and ran the entire way...I was pretty impressed. He even got a medal and t-shirt. He was very excited. Then we decorated his bike for the big parade, but I didn't get any good pictures of that. The last picture is of Alyssa watching the parade. We ended the night listening to a great band and BBQ'ing at the park and of course watching the fireworks at dark. Alyssa wasn't too fond of the fireworks and kept crying "I don't like it" the whole time.

We are having another....

2009-06-15T21:26:00.000-07:00

BOY!!!!!

Alyssa turns TWO!

2009-06-14T15:46:00.000-07:00

Saturday we celebrated Alyssa's 2nd birthday at the park across the street from our house. We got a bouncer and the kids of course loved it. My mom made the yummy cupcakes (aren't they cute?)! Alyssa got some awesome presents - loves the jewelry and her new babies :) Thanks for everyone who came! She crashed that night at 7pm and woke up at 8am the next morning. She was pooped!

Camping

2009-06-14T15:42:00.000-07:00

On Alyssa's actual birthday (friday) Frank took the kids Landon & Alyssa...and his nephew Bradley, camping up where they ride the motorcycles. The kids loved it, but it probably would have been a lot more fun if he had remembered to bring matches to start a fire :) (Not the greatest pictures)

Spring Sing

2009-06-14T15:39:00.000-07:00

Landon had a Spring Sing at his pre-school and got to sing a silly song for everyone. I got it on video on my little camera and then when we went to lunch he was looking at the pictures and erased it! I was so mad because he was really getting into it and it was kind of shocking!

Alyssa's favorite too!

2009-06-14T15:35:00.000-07:00

Alyssa LOVES the motorcyles too! When you start one up, she goes crazy and can't wait to get on. It's pretty funny actually. She wants to be just like her brother! The last picture just cracks me up!

Landon's new favorite hobby

2009-06-14T15:30:00.000-07:00

Landon loves riding "motorcycles" now. Frank found a place about 40 min up Ortega Hwy where Landon can practice riding this dirt bike we borrowed from a friend. Can you believe this kid is only 3? I am scared to think of what he will be doing when he is 10! He has been having a great time with his daddy! And of course he needed some donuts on the ride home. :)

Angel Game

2009-05-28T10:25:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night we took Landon and his 2 cousins Bradley & Noah to the Angel game. They each got a ball at batting practice and then got 2 autographs! They were very excited!

The Ranch-Memorial Day Weekend

2009-05-26T13:45:00.000-07:00

This weekend we spent it at my grandparents ranch in Southern Utah. My cousin Kelli & her husband and kids were there too! It was a fun weekend of quads, horses, shooting, finding skulls, the Fort and anything else a kid can think of to do on a ranch. Landon had a blast and was VERY sad to leave! I think it might become his favorite vacation.

Alyssa loved riding the "motorcyles". She only liked going with Daddy and would tell him to go faster and again when he went over the jumps at the track!

Landon rode his quad by himself this time and even did the jumps at the track by himself. He was very proud of himself!

We had an afternoon of shooting guns before we left. Alyssa even got in on the action, but Landon was just a little scared of the guns so he stayed away!

I love that my Grandma rode her quad out and came shooting with us!

Landon had a blast with "his friends". They played for hours outside in their fort and looking for bones, skulls, sticks and whatever else!

My mom bought a kite for the kids and it sure came in handy on Sunday afternoon. It was a perfect day and the kids loved it!

Easter...a little late

2009-04-30T13:56:00.001-07:00

Yes I know I'm SUPER late. Oh well. The easter bunny (grandma & grandpa) came on Saturday and hid easter eggs out front. And below are pictures on Easter Sunday. The kids were not very cooperative with picture taking. :)

Annoucement

2009-04-07T07:39:00.001-07:00

We are pregnant with our 3rd child. Baby is due November 2nd, so hopefully late October this baby will make it's arrival!

Landon's new Love

2009-03-16T21:42:00.000-07:00

THE SKATE PARK! He loves this place. He asks to go everyday and never wants to leave. I think he is becoming addicted. He is getting braver and braver each time. He now likes to go in the pools and ride around in there too. He slides down on his knee pads and then Frank slides his bike down to him to get in. It's pretty funny. He does it a couple times just because he likes it so much!

Whale Watching in Dana Point

2009-03-16T21:31:00.000-07:00

Today I got to take Landon whale watching out of Dana Point Harbor. It was really a good time. We saw tons of dolphins, sea lions and 1 whale. He loved hanging out with his cousin Brinley and his buddy Briggs. We took them to Burger King afterwards for lunch.

Update

2009-03-12T13:34:00.000-07:00

Alyssa had her 3 month check up with the Pediatric Ophthalmologist yesterday and everything is going great. He is still amazed at how well she can see for having albinism. He still thinks she may have 20/40 or 20/50 vision which is awesome. Her eyes were crossing last time we were there and now only her left eye is crossing just a little bit. So that is good to know it has improved. Maybe she won't have to have surgery for that. I told him she hasn't worn her glasses for a few months and he said it was no big deal since her prescription wasn't that strong. So maybe later? I am interested in her getting surgery for her nystagmus (shaking of the eyes) and he said she should probably do it when she is going to be in school, so maybe when is she is like 5 or something. It's not permanent so it can definitely come back which is a real bummer. I think she is doing great and can see very well. The only things I notice her doing is holding books really close to her face, watching TV (elmo) on my computer so she can see better, and she is very cautious when she goes off a curb or if she goes from cement to grass. Her depth perception is definitely not the best.

Home Depot

2009-03-09T16:37:00.000-07:00

Saturday we headed to our local Home Depot to pick up a few things and we discovered they have a kids workshop the 1st Saturday of the month. Landon got a Home Depot Apron (vest as he calls it) and made a race track with help from Dad. He LOVED it. He thought it was the coolest thing ever and he wears his apron everyday and to nap in.

Tide Pools

2009-03-09T16:35:00.000-07:00

Friday we went to the tide pools in Laguna Beach with Grandma & Aunt Haylee. I thought it was going to be cold, but it was super nice! The kids even took their jackets and shirts off to play in the sand. They loved it!

Baseball

2009-03-09T16:33:00.000-07:00

Frank bought Landon a helmet so he can start practicing T-Ball with it. He became attached really quick and wanted to sleep with it. I told him probably not.

Sea World

2009-02-12T19:44:00.001-08:00

A few weekends ago we took Landon, Alyssa & Bradley (our nephew) to Sea World. We have passes and this was the 1st time I've been since I was little. The kids LOVED it. The new Sesame Street part was great and I highly recommend it! The boys had a great time. I can't say so much for Alyssa.

New Jeep

2009-02-12T19:29:00.000-08:00

So Landon's gator didn't last very long. The back wheel kept spinning so I would have to push him every time which came a bit irritating. So Frank returned it and they told him there was only 1 left in Monrovia. So he loved it so much we decided we would drive out there and get it. So they told us to come Saturday after 2pm and it would be all put together. We were driving to my parents that day anyway and so it would just be a bit further. We get there and they tell us they don't have anymore! What? We were more than mad! I just drove from Mission Viejo to Monrovia for this gator. So long story short, we ended up with this jeep that goes much faster and Landon loves it!

Mommy & Me Time

2009-01-29T06:46:00.000-08:00

Every Tuesday after I drop Landon off at school I take Alyssa to a Mommy & Me class in Dana Point at the Exceptional Needs Facility. It's from 9-11am and they have singing time, snack time, PE and free time. She loves it, but we are working on actually sitting in one spot for singing time. There were only 3 kids last Tuesday but usually there are about 8-10. Here are some pictures from her little "school".

Wild Animal Park

2009-01-29T06:43:00.000-08:00

Monday we took the kids to the Wild Animal Park. My mom and sister came and we took Brinley too! The weather was perfect and nobody was there. It was awesome!

Monster Jam

2009-01-29T06:39:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday we went to Monster Jam at Angel Stadium. We went with Frank's sister, husband and little boy Bradley. Landon absolutely loved EVERY minute of this thing. At one point he turned to me and said, "Mom, can you take me down there so I can drive one of those?" He was dead serious. I couldn't help but laugh. He watched the entire thing and hardly moved.

Gator

2009-01-23T08:17:00.000-08:00

This is Landon's absolute favorite gift he received on Christmas from his Grandma & Grandpa Fenn. As you can see he takes it very seriously with his Bob the Builder tool belt and he puts on his "work boots" like Daddy and goes to work everyday at the tree in front of our house. I'm getting concerned he is going to be one of those kids that finds my car keys and is going to be driving my car down the street when he is like 5. And just a random shot of Alyssa that day :)

Palm Springs

2009-01-23T08:11:00.000-08:00

For New Years this year we decided to take our little family on vacation to Palm Springs. We really enjoyed doing nothing and relaxing for 5 days! We brought one of Landon's Christmas presents...this 400 piece roller coaster that Frank put together. Landon really liked it, but maybe we'll just keep it until he can actually do it himself.

Landon went golfing with Uncle Seth and Frank all day and fell asleep at dinner that night at about 6:30 and didn't move until 6:30 the next morning. I think he needs to golf a little more!

My brother Seth & his girlfriend Holly came up to golf. Me & Holly did some shopping.

Uncle Seth and Alyssa. She really loves him.

Rudolph

2009-01-23T08:07:00.001-08:00

This is Landon's little pre-school where he got to go around to different classrooms and sing Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. I was surprised he actually stood up there and sang! So now his favorite Christmas song is Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. And he likes it really, really loud. :)

Recap

2009-01-12T20:20:00.000-08:00

I know it's been forever since I've posted anything, but I have good reasons. For some reason I can't get my pictures from my camera to computer. I think I let Landon play with it too many times. The holidays have been crazy and we went to Palm Springs on a little vacation with just our family for New Year's. I'm sure everyone knows by now, but I had a miscarriage in December and had a D&C on Christmas Eve. So that was something I wasn't planning on. We will try, try again! Frank turned the big 34 on January 10th and we celebrated with his family at Outback Steakhouse and had tostados for dinner at my parents. I bought him, Landon & I tickets to Monster Jam on the 24th at Angel Stadium, so that will be fun. Hopefully I can get some pictures of that. Anyway, those are my excuses for not posting anything.

Below are pictures from Grandma's house. This is my mom's house and she sure lets the kids have fun when they came over. Alyssa got to dress up (notice her hammer) and they made mud pies in the backyard! I'm pretty sure they both loved it.

Family Pictures

2008-12-19T10:36:00.001-08:00

My family took family pictures this year on the beach. They turned out pretty good. Alyssa was a pain of course...but here they are:

The whole family!

My brother Seth and his girlfriend Holly.

My brother Drew, his wife Melissa & daughter Brinley. They are expecting a little boy anytime now!

My family of course.

My little sister Haylee.

Brinley & Landon

Brinley, Landon & Alyssa

Landon

Alyssa

My parents and their grandkids!

Messy

2008-12-12T09:41:00.001-08:00

This is what Alyssa looks like after every meal...she's not a neat eater! Darn it!

Santa Claus!

2008-12-12T09:10:00.000-08:00

We went and saw Santa last night at Irvine Park. We got to ride the train to see Santa. It's our favorite place to see him! And going on a Thursday night early in December is great. There wasn't a long line for the train and we waited about 5 minutes to see Santa. It was perfect. Of course we had to end it with some bounce house action. We went with Drew, Melissa & Brinley and my parents.

The Dentist

2008-12-12T09:07:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Landon had his teeth cleaned for the first time. He was definitely scared, but he let them clean his teeth. I was pretty surprised!

Play Date

2008-11-27T21:50:00.000-08:00

Wednesday I had two mom's come over who have kids with Albinism. The one on the left is Amanda and her son Adam is 17 months old. Akiko is in the middle and her daughter Coco is almost 6 months, and of course me & Alyssa who loves to take pictures. We shared our stories and let the kids play. It was fun and I hope to see them again soon!

More News

2008-11-19T20:23:00.000-08:00

We are pregnant with baby #3. He/she will be here sometime in July 2009. We are super excited!!!

It's Confirmed

2008-11-19T20:09:00.000-08:00

It's confirmed that Alyssa has OCA2 (A form of albinism) Here is the definition: Oculocutaneous albinism type 2 (OCA2 or P gene albinism) results from a genetic defect in the P protein that helps the tyrosinase enzyme to function. Individuals with OCA2 make a minimal amount of melanin pigment and can have hair color ranging from very light blond to brown. Not that this really matters, but we thought we might as well figure it out. I also learned that Frank possesses this mutation called S788L which they have never seen before. So I told him he was the weird one! Landon is also a carrier and our siblings have a 50% chance they are carriers as well. There is still a 25% chance our future children can have albinism.

Should I be worried?

2008-11-18T09:30:00.000-08:00

I'm really not worried, just thought it was funny. Landon's newest obsession is blow drying his hair like mom and putting clips in his hair like Alyssa. After he puts it in his hair he says, "pretty, pretty" just like I tell Alyssa.

My little climber

2008-11-17T15:19:00.001-08:00

A couple weeks ago Alyssa attempted to climb up my shutters thinking it was a ladder. This morning I hear her walking down the hall and I didn't get her out of her crib yet! This afternoon when she woke up from her nap I stood in front of her crib and she very EASILY climbed out! She's only 17 months...crazy!

Trunk or Treat

2008-10-25T14:16:00.003-07:00

Last night we had our annual Trunk or Treat at our church. Here are just some shots of the kids in their halloween outfits. I'll try and get better ones on Halloween!

Landon was Handy Manny.

Alyssa was a butterfly!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-25T13:59:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to the pumpkin patch this past week. Landon has been begging to go and we just haven't had time. He of course didn't want to leave and could stay there forever. Alyssa was so excited to be able to roam free with all the pumpkins!

Alyssa ready to get out of the stroller!

Landon would have done this ride all day long! He had this little smirk on his face the entire time!

Alyssa thought the pumpkins were some sort of obstacle course I think.

And she desperately wanted to go on this boat ride.

Landon a little afraid of the swings, but ended up loving it.

And I couldn't resist taking a picture of my albino baby with the albino pumpkins!

Yes on Prop 8

2008-10-14T14:02:00.001-07:00

YES ON PROPOSITION 8 in California

You've been tagged. PLEASE READ THIS no matter what state you live in.

Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt children. If gay marriage remains legal, public schools will put it on equal footing with traditional marriage. Children will likely receive “age appropriate” information about sexual relations within heterosexual and homosexual marriages.

Failure to pass Proposition 8 will hurt churches. The court’s decision will inevitably lead to conflicts with religious liberty and free speech rights. Society will become more and more hostile to traditional beliefs about marriage and family.Over time, greater acceptance of nontraditional marriage will be demanded of all people. This could impact the ability of any religion to teach and practice its beliefs. Including adoption agencies.

A YES vote will not hurt gays. In California, the law provides for marriage-related benefits to be given to civil unions anddomestic partnerships. Proposition 8 does not diminish these benefits.

For your information:

On Friday, October 10^th, 2008 a first-grade class took a field trip to witness a lesbian wedding in California.Click Here for the article from the San Francisco Chronicle.

A father in Massachusetts was frustrated when his twin kindergartners were taught about homosexuality at school by the teachers. He insisted he be notified in the future before such things were discussed so he could pull his boys out of school.He was taken to jail.Click Here for the story.

A Catholic adoption agency In the UK closed their doors because of the Government's new homosexual equality laws.The Equality Act forbids discrimination in the provision of goods and services on the basis of sexual orientation. The law was forced through Parliament last year despite past Prime Minister Tony Blair's recommendation that Catholic adoption agencies be exempted from the rules. Click Here for more info.

Earlier this month judges in Conneticut overturned the state law (just as the judges in California did) to legalized gay marriage. This is not just an issue in California. We voted years ago to keep traditional marriage as the only marriage recognized in the state of California, 4 judges overturned our vote…and we need to fight back. That is what this Proposition is about. This is happening everywhere and the leaders of the church and others have warned that the outcome of California’s vote will affect the way the other states vote. So PLEASE…even if you don’t live in California, put this on your blog or email this on. The internet knows no state line. You know contacts in California that I don’t…and so do your friends. Please pass this on as it could eventually have an effect on everyone!

"Occasionally discouragement may darken our pathway; frustration may be a constant companion. In our ears there may sound the sophistry of Satan as he whispers, "You cannot save the world; your small efforts are meaningless. You haven't time to be concerned for others." Trusting in the Lord, let us turn our heads from such falsehoods and make certain our feet are firmly planted in the path of service and
our hearts and souls dedicated to follow the example of the Lord." --Thomas S. Monson

Click Here for excerpts from the Broadcast given by Elders M. Russell Ballard, Quentin L. Cook and L. Whitney Clayton.

A good resource mentioned in the broadcast:www.preservingmarriage.org

October 20^th: Last day to apply for an absentee ballot if voting out of state. Click Here to get one.

October 27^th: Last day to apply for “Vote by Mail” Click Here for info.

November 4^th: Election day. Polls close at 8:00pm.Vote by mail must be received by this time and can be hand delivered if necessary.

Knotts Berry Farm

2008-10-01T14:31:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we went to Knotts Berry Farm with Frank's family for Landon's B-day. Here are a few shots I got...the last one is priceless.

Birthday Cupcakes

2008-09-25T15:11:00.003-07:00

These are the cupcakes I made for Landon for his birthday at school today. The kids were so excited and Landon was so embarrased when they sang him happy birthday. He takes after his mom!

Landon turns 3

2008-09-25T15:00:00.000-07:00

Today my little buddy turned 3. Crazy to imagine it's been 3 years already and he's in pre-school. Here are pictures of how much he's changed.

Glasses

2008-09-25T14:58:00.001-07:00

We went and got Alyssa's glasses today and she hates them of course! But she looks so cute in them.

Good News...Finally!!

2008-09-12T15:25:00.000-07:00

I decided to take Alyssa to see another Pediatric Ophthalmologist since the one here in Orange County isn't very sure on what he is doing. The next closest one in Kaiser is in Riverside, so that is where we went today. He read in her notes that we saw Dr. Borchert (the guy in Children's Hospital in Los Angeles who diagnosed her) and said he used to work with him and he taught him a lot of what he knows. So that made me feel better right away. He said she has GREAT vision for having Albinism. He said probably 20/30 or 20/40 which is amazing I thought. A lot of people with albinism are legally blind or have like 20/200 vision. She is farsighted so he said we could try glasses and see how that goes. He was willing to bet she would be able to drive when she gets older and not have a problem with most things. He was super nice and was wondering what the heck the other PO in Orange County was thinking. I'm FINALLY glad that we have gotten some good help! I'll be posting pictures of Alyssa with her new glasses when we get them.

Shasta Lake

2008-09-08T21:01:00.001-07:00

This past weekend we went to Shasta Lake up in Redding, CA with my family. We rented a house boat and jet ski and took up the boat for some wake boarding and tubing. It was super hot but the water was pretty cold. Landon found some dirt that he could play in and Alyssa loved playing in the water and going on the jet ski. Except for the SUPER LONG car ride, it was a good time.

1st day of Pre-school

2008-09-08T20:54:00.000-07:00

Landon went to his 1st day of pre-school last week. He was pretty nervous to go and he cried when we left him, but we went to pick him up and he didn't want to come home. So I think he's going to like it.

New Garden

2008-09-08T20:49:00.000-07:00

We decided to re-do our little side yard so I wanted to post before & after pictures. We planted a garden too and Landon loves it!

Alyssa - 14 Months

2008-08-26T14:08:00.000-07:00

These are Alyssa's 1 year pictures although I didn't make it to Sears until she was almost 14 months. She is such a talker now which was so different than when Landon was this age. She can say Mama, Dada, no, yes, shoe, outside, inside, grandpa, hi, bye bye, ball. I'm amazed that she can already say so many words. Maybe it's just that she's a girl and talks a lot more. She is getting cuter and cuter everyday and is walking all over the place.

Good Morning!

2008-08-05T07:50:00.001-07:00

San Vicente

2008-07-27T11:09:00.001-07:00

We spent Saturday at the lake with my family. The weather was great and the water was so warm! Landon loved getting towed on the tube (of course, no pictures of it).

My parents and Alyssa swimming. (my little albino loves the water!-go figure.)

Brinley passed out on the boat.

What cookies are you talking about Mom?

2008-07-27T11:05:00.000-07:00

Beach

2008-07-27T11:03:00.000-07:00

Las Vegas

2008-07-14T06:42:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went to Las Vegas to attend the Albinism Convention. My parents and sister came and I learned a lot about albinism. It was very informative and I learned a lot from other parents.

Saturday Night Banquet

Dancing...Landon tried to break dance...quite comical!

This is Mandy and her 1 year old son Adam who lives in Oceanside.

Landon loved his bubble bath.

Future Janitors

2008-07-14T06:40:00.001-07:00

5th of July

2008-07-06T19:47:00.001-07:00

Saturday we went to the Wild Animal Park. It was a lot of fun. I don't think I've seen Landon have that much fun in a long time. His favorite cousins came Brinley and Bradley, so he was super excited.

Alyssa turns One!

2008-06-23T15:00:00.000-07:00

Alyssa turned one and we celebrated with friends & family at the park by our house! Thanks for all who came! She loves her new toys!

Baseball, baseball and more baseball!

2008-06-23T14:12:00.001-07:00

We recently took a trip to Chicago with just us & Landon. It was so much fun! We got to see so many things and it was just an awesome trip! Here are some photos:

Getting ready for the big airplane ride!

Our first night we went to a Chicago Cubs game. We took the train to the stadium and this place was packed on a Wednesday night. Crazy Cubs fans everywhere! We had I think the best seats you could buy. They were pretty amazing. Landon wasn't feeling the baseball game though and was super tired. So I took him up to walk around and ended up in first aid (the only place to sit). By the time I left the game was over and people were flooding the stadium. I could barely walk anywhere. How was I going to find Frank? I didn't even have my cell phone on me. I was the last one in the stadium crying and looking for my husband. This super nice girl sees me and lets me use her cell phone to call Frank! It wasn't the best night of my life.

Our awesome seats!

The ferris wheel on the Navy Pier in Chicago

Downtown Chicago

Me & Landon on the ferris wheel.

We of course had to see the stadium where the Chicago Bears play!

Looks like he is modeling here...

The White Sox game!

Love the tongue

We drove down to St Louis and went to a Cardinals game!

Frank & Landon outside the stadium

After the Cardinals game we walked to the Arch and Landon set himself up some tee ball with some cones...

We then drove to Frank's Uncles house in Otterville, MO. (The middle of nowhere)

Landon loved riding the Gator

This was some site where Jesse James jumped onto a train or something...

This was part of the Katy Trail

We did a little fishing...I think Landon is a little to impatient for fishing

He was excited about his tackle box however, and all the worms inside.

We love Sesame Street!

2008-06-06T14:00:00.001-07:00

Wednesday my mom wanted to take Landon & Brinley to the Sesame Street Show in Anaheim. They loved every minute of it. Then we went to yummy Cheesecake Factory! Thanks Mom for a great day!

These 2 crack me up! They have a love/hate relationship :)

Bob the Builder

2008-05-25T20:07:00.001-07:00

Saturday we went to the Discovery Science Center to see the Bob the Builder Exhibit. Landon is LOVES Bob the Builder so we had to go! He loved it!

Scoopy

Muck

Rolly

Scrambler

Daddy & Landon building a wall

Landon pumping some water

This was Landon's favorite part actually. It had nothing to do with Bob the Builder. But he could pull himself up in this chair with the rope. I think he did it about 15 times before he felt like his arms were going to fall off.

Alyssa & Benny

Landon sliding down the big dinosaur tail.

St George, UT

2008-05-25T19:58:00.001-07:00

A few weekends ago we went to Southern Utah for my cousins wedding. We visited my grandparents and played at their ranch. We rode horses and quads. It was a fun-filled weekend and we were all tired by the end of it!

Landon on his quad!

Landon & Brinley doing some team work with the rocks!

Landon on his Grandpa's horse Duke.

They love to wrestle!

This trip wore Alyssa out!

Angel Game

2008-05-19T08:55:00.000-07:00

Saturday we traded Alyssa for Landon's cousin Bradley and took them to the Angel game. It was like 95 degrees, but I at least got a little tan. They had so much fun!

My Birthday Weekend

2008-05-06T13:47:00.001-07:00

This past Sunday was my birthday. I turned the big 26...ya I know so exciting. Frank took me to Palm Desert and we stayed in this fabulous resort. My dad's cousin works for Marriott and she got us the friends & family rate. So normally this hotel would be about $375/night. When I booked it, the F&F rate was $169.00. So I was super excited. When we got there, the rate had dropped to $89.00/night. I was so excited! This hotel was amazing and we had such a good time.

This is inside the lobby!
The wonderful pool area!
We also attended the Stagecoach Festival in Indio. These were the best seats we could get. There were probably about 50,000 people there. It was pretty crazy, but really fun! I got to see so many country singers including Carrie Underwood and Tim McGraw. It was a fun weekend!

This is Frank's nephew Bradley.

Beach Day!

2008-04-27T15:39:00.001-07:00

Saturday we did a beach day with Drew, Melissa & Brinley. We headed to Aliso Creek Beach for a day of fun & sun. Alyssa just wanted to eat sand and pretty much cried the whole time. It was her first trip to the beach and I think I did a pretty good job of keeping her out of the sun. Landon & Brinley had fun playing in the little lagoon there. Of course there is no picture of me, since I am not ready for pictures in the bathing suit just yet!

Alyssa eating all the sand she could!

Landon and his cool new chair

Frank just hanging out

Of course we had to have tractors at the beach!

The Fenn family laying out!

Brinley & Landon

Brinley climbing up the sand!

10 Months

2008-04-21T14:09:00.000-07:00

Well Alyssa is 10 months now. These are her 9 month pictures, but I couldn't get my scanner to work for the longest time, so you get to see them now. She is finally full on crawling (she did the army crawl for a while) and pulling herself up on everything she can. I'm not pushing her to walk yet, because who wants 2 kids to chase after? One is good enough for me for now. She is cranky as ever these days because all her teeth want to come at once. So I may not be in the best of moods if you talk to me lately. She is such a sweetheart though when she is in a good mood. She loves to play and follows Landon everywhere.

Swimming & Grandma's

2008-04-14T08:54:00.000-07:00

This weekend we headed to the pool for a B-day party. Landon actually liked the pool and it was Alyssa's 1st time. I knew she would love it, because she is so happy in the bath. It was such a nice weekend.

Drew helped with Alyssa...Thanks!

Landon & Brinley...they sure love each other!

Alyssa loving the water! It was hard trying to keep her out of the sun at the pool!

Sunday night we headed to my parents for dinner. We had yummy Enchiladas and some Strawberry Cake! How am I supposed to stay on my diet when my mom cooks that?

Landon's favorite thing at Grandma's House...DIRT!

Landon & Brinley in the hammock!

Grandpa trying to calm crazy Alyssa!