Holidays in NY

I was very busy the week before we left for NY making 50 packages of "Snowman Soup" for the teachers and co-workers.  I thought they came out cute though!

We got to visit Joshie at his office on the way to the city.  Jenn and I had a great dinner while the boys went to the Ranger game and we all met up after at the Rockefeller tree.  What tourists we were!!

There are MANY more pics from our trip but too many to share on the blog.  You can check them out at http://picasaweb.google.com/rytymom1/Holidays2008?feat=directlink

We like to MOVE IT!

Can you tell we're a bit behind in our posts?  Thank you Robyn and Kev for the BOXES of goodies!!  We are all enjoying our surprises.  Please don't quit your jobs...we're really enjoying the perks!

Haulin' A@#!

Thanks to our Lowe's connection (Grandpa Howie), the boys had some tool time with daddy (a couple of weeks ago)!  They did a great job constructing their Lowe's trucks/racecars and were so proud of their creations.  

They grow up so fast

Ka Mo and Jo rockin with the Rekdals

Ka Mo on the mic

Ethan rockin the cello

T-man on drums

Jo on guitar and of course Scott needed a turn on mic.  

I believe this was the show tunes part of the night.

The little ones took advantage of the distracted adults 

and got into the bag of marshmallows

Domestic diva Karen showing off her skills in the kitchen.

Reeeeeee-gah-tony anyone?

Diane braved a full day of walking with me and her 8 month pregnant belly (nice job Diane!!) to see Giada and the exhibitors at the Metropolitan Cooking show in DC.  We had a fun day and enjoyed a cooking show with Giada and a nice lunch in Chinatown.  My pictures are terrible but here is a video clip of the dishes Giada prepared.  You can bet we'll be sampling these recipes in the next week...

Trick or Treat

We spent another fun Halloween night with Angel, Michelle and Gabriel.  We visited some spooky houses..

found a Princess Leia for our Star Wars men

listened to the men rocking out

and thoroughly enjoyed Michelle's AMAZING Halloween cake.  It truly put my school bus cake to shame!  How cute is that?!

Teacherly Treats

Although my lighting is terrible, you can trust me when I say these treats are cute.  I made cookies and pumpkin fudge for the teachers at Kindercare and Ryan's school.  And despite Ryan's opposition (he thought the teachers might be insulted by the implication of mints), I also made some little tic tac cases for his teachers.  He's a pretty sensitive kid, huh?!

Quill and Scroll

Ryan's creative story was chosen for the monthly "Quill and Scroll" at his school Thursday night.  Luckily we remembered the camera this time and got to capture his reading of the story.  For some reason it's not letting me upload the video now so I'll try again later.

Friday night was "Monster Mash" at Ryan's school.  Our Boba Fett (Ryan) and Darth Vader (Tyler) hung out with buddies Darth Vader (Andy) and Spiderman (Matthew).  I was the ticket lady, selling tickets for games and food, while Scott wrangled the boys.

Who You Callin' Pig Nose?

The story of the pig nose: We went to Belvedere Plantation yesterday because as we all know, one pumpkin patch per season just isn't enough. So, while we were there they had their pig races where we sat on bails of hay and cheered for the little piggies as they rounded the corners of the track. Ryan volunteered to be a "pig pal" and was selected to wave the green flag for his pig, cheering him on. (note: he was probably chosen because he took his sweatshirt off and furiously waved it in circles over his head until he was picked) Anyway, Ryan's piggy made Ryan proud and also made him the winner of the lovely pig nose prize. He proudly wore it around for the rest of the afternoon.

To view some more pictures of our day at Belvedere (including the zip lines, slides, rope swings and pedal cars, click the link below. http://picasaweb.google.com/rytymom1/BelvederePlantation?authkey=MQPB33v2pM0#

And a couple of quick videos from our day: The first is Ryan on the zip line and the second is Tyler enjoying some music in the car on the way home...

We had a fairly good time in San Francisco...

How's that title Robyn?  Actually we had an amazing time and were sad the trip had to end.  As I sort through the 1000+ photos we took on our 5 day trip, I am having a very difficult time coming up with my favorites to post.  Once again, I've uploaded just a FEW of my favorites (only 200 something..) to Picasa.  Just click the picture below and it will take you to the album.

Link to Picasa pictures

Just a quick recap of our awesome trip..

Day One: We left for the airport at the ungodly hour of 4:30am.  It was Tyler's first flight (Ryan's 5th...he's an old pro).  Here is a clip of Tyler on the plane.  Don't mind my recently botoxed voice.

   

When we landed in Oakland, Alamo upgraded our rental car to a Sebring convertible (same car we had on our honeymoon but different experience BK - before kids).  Scott and the boys were pretty excited about that.  Yeah, I guess I enjoyed it too!  We drove to Sonoma and checked in to the beautiful Sonoma Hilton where we ate lunch outside, overlooking the beautiful scenery.  We met up with the family later that afternoon and had a nice dinner together.  After dinner, we hung out at the bar with the out of town guests who came for the wedding.

Day Two: We drove (top down, of course) about 15 minutes to Healdsburg for breakfast and some exploration of the small town.  What a great little place!  Then we headed back to the hotel, hung out with Josh and Carrie by the pool and got ready for the wedding.

 

Day Three: We had brunch with the out of town guests at the hotel and headed to the Hotel California in Union Square for the rest of our adventure.  We spent the afternoon/evening at Robyn and Kev's house.  

Day Four: We explored Fisherman's Wharf, the Embarcadero and Lombard Street with Nanny and Grandpa.

Day Five: California Academy of Sciences with Robyn, Kev and Kev's family.  Dinner with Jenna. 

OK, now go check out the rest of the wedding pics on Picasa!

FINALLY!

All 7 of us (would baby in utero make it 7-1/2 or 8?) were healthy and free of plans for the day and happy to finally get together!

Andrew loved playing with the Wii controllers and Tyler loved playing with the same toys he has at home but won't touch in our house!  And despite Dean's excellent photography lesson (ISO, F-stop, aperture and many other confusing terms), we left without many good pictures!  I'm really looking forward to our girl's day out at the Metropolitan Cooking Show in DC!!  I'll be sure to practice using the zoom so we can get some good shots of Giada=)

Next Stop - The White House

Ryan decided he wanted to run for class president. He thought it would be great to represent his class in the student council.  Today he gave his speech and presented his poster to the class. (Try and guess who created the poster!)  HE WON!!!  We are so proud of him.  There were 7 candidates and he and another little girl were chosen.  We're not sure exactly how the speech went because we weren't there to see it but here is his draft...

"Good afternoon!  My name is Ryan.  It would be my honor to represent this third grade class.  To help you make your decision, let me tell you a little bit about myself.  I am caring and can make lots of things happen.  Also I will make sure your opinions are heard.  I will help you if you need help.  Vote for me, Ryan Rekdal."

We let him choose his favorite restaurant to celebrate his victory!  

I guess you could say he's a cheap date!

P.S. A BRIEF conversation with Tyler (in his new Steelers PJs), 

recorded after his birthday party.  

Fall Festivities

We had a great day at Cox Farms in Fairfax with nanny and grandpa Saturday.  It was opening weekend and the weather was perfect!  We loved the rope swings, slides, hay ride, farm animals and the FRESH apple cider and kettle corn...YUM!  I'm just posting a few clips of the rope swing for you to enjoy.  Maybe it's genetic but Ryan and I are a bit clumsy and seem to forget when to let go.  My shirt decided to stick to the rope so I treated the crowd to a scary sight!  Luckily the video clip is from the back!!  Since I had so many pics to post from the weekend, I decided to upload most of the Cox Farms pictures to my Snapfish account.  You can follow the link to check them out:  http://rytymom.snapfish.com

We celebrated Tyler's 4th Birthday today at Chuck E Cheese with 16 of his friends and their families.  The kids left with full bellies and tired bodies and smiles on their faces (for the most part)!

 

I think the parents had fun as well.  I know I did!