Baby + Blizzard + Baby Lizard = It's Just Another Week

Well, this week has definitely been a blur, but a good blur, for sure. We started off the week at a La Costa Moms event called Breakfast at the Park. It's always a nice time letting the kids run around while we eat yummy food. Ryan made some new friends, too! More on that later...

Monday night was my Bunco night where my Bunco ladies and I got together to enjoy some silliness. Liz put on a great party with a tailgating theme. As usual, we were being goofballs the whole night, but in a twist of fate (not at all because Mary whipped us into shape) we finished three rounds in record time! GO BUNCO!

Tuesday was a big day for the Roblees as Dane started piano lessons! I was a bit nervous as he's shown a lot of hesitation every time I mentioned piano. But when we arrived at Sean Whiteman's home, things got started off well. He let Dane explore the piano, ask a ton of questions and was so kind and gentle. It was cute to watch Dane get excited about the piano. He noticed the pattern of black keys, asked why the pedal made the piano sound different, and why his piano was so big (it was 9' long!). The questions went on and on and I loved every second of it. Perhaps the best part of it was the fact that there is a playground right outside Sean's door, so Ryan and Alana will be able to play during Dane's lessons. Yippee! It was just so much fun to hear the piano and to fondly remember all of the piano lessons my siblings and I took with Alan Devries through the years. It is fun to continue the tradition and to hear the music playing again...

Tuesday night, Mike and I headed to Back to School Night at Magnolia Elementary where we got to meet Dane's teacher, Mrs. Sanchez, and see the work they are doing in class. It is so wonderful to be able to send Dane to a public school that is such a close knit group of people. The parents, the teachers and the principal are all so committed to the students...the principal Mr. Hines knows all the kids' names! When we went up to introduce ourselves and told him Dane was our child, he smiled and said, "Dane just cracks me up...always bouncing as he's walking...he reminds me of a little kid named Murphy who used to go here and would just smile at everyone." Ah yes...our little goofball Dane:)

We got to enjoy some time with new friends as well. I met Kathy through La Costa Moms and she just recently moved with her family from Utah to Carlsbad. She's right around the corner! She has three grown children, but two young sons named Desmond and Judah who are a little younger than Dane and Ryan. The boys all got to spend quite a lot of time together this week. Kathy and I babysat for each other, allowing us to each have some alone time running errands. It was great!

The rest of the week was just more of the usual...soccer practice...bible study was back up and running (yay!)...Ryan got his stitches out...Dane's catching baby lizards...Alana and Blizzard play together...you know...same old same old. Dane is going to start Cub Scouts this Friday, which of course, has Mike extremely excited:)

Thanks for keeping up with the Roblees and have a wonderful week!

Playing at Aviara.

There's one of Ryan's buddies, Davan.

It's Bunco time!

There's Jillian being annoyed with me:)

Andrea, Erin and Mary looking like their ready for some footbaaaaaaaaaall! And wine...

Our lovely hostess Liz, Shekina and Jen!

Sarah was a little late to the game, but that doesn't stop her from sportin' the Ducks gear like a true fan...

And then there's Marlo. I always have to have a crazy Asian friend...it's in my blood.

Jordy is Alana's adopted aunt:)

I lost that round.

Representin' the west siiiiiiide! Or north? Or???

Awww, Bunco sisters...

Mary is my Bunco nemesis, so I keep her close to me.

I won!!! Well...third place...

Watching a little ipad in the morning...

Playing in the playground at piano!

There's Sean...I hope he decides to keep us around:)

Here we are at Back to School Night...so fun to see the kids' creations.

Mrs. Sanchez Room 7!

There's Mikey at Dane's desk doing our "homework."

Ryan was a little apprehensive about getting his stitches out. They weren't quite ready yet...

Playing with Des and Judah!

There they are enjoying a light snack:)

Alana was showing me how she sucks her thumb...with BOTH thumbs. She's an ambi-thumbsucker!

Hanging out with Des and Judah...the next day! HAHA!

Look at that hair!

Alana LOVES hanging out with Blizzard. It's so cute!

Dane caught a baby lizard and fit him into his bug catcher wrist watch thingy.

He was very concerned I was going to accidentally let him go.

Here's our little football watching Texas football with daddy:)

Happy faces!

The Week of Wine and Bruises

This week started off with a bang as my friend Marianne took me out on a friend date to the lovely Malibu and Vine Winery in...you guessed it...Malibu! It was such a lovely afternoon of stuffing our faces and enjoying fine wines. We had a lot to catch up on and I think we got our fair share of hilarious people watching, too! Thanks, my dear friend, for such a fun time and for the laughs. Whenever we get together it's always a great experience:)

We headed back to Carlsbad on Monday for a lazy Labor Day, spent at home with just our little family. It was so nice to relax and just unwind. I made some incredible shrimp tacos, if I do say so myself, and we hung out with the kids.

On Tuesday, Ryan had his first day of preschool! He was pretty excited until we got there, then his excitement went into overdrive. He immediately shot past me to the toys and started exploring. He was showing me everything and could hardly contain himself. Needless to say, he didn't have trouble adjusting.

Unfortunately, he had to miss preschool on Thursday because Wednesday night he decided to whack his head into the door jamb. His cute little naked booty was running to the bathroom and he just couldn't make the turn. He's had so many close calls at that door that I'd stopped even drawing my breath every time he ran by. But this was gross...the entire house shook so I knew it was bad. He came back out into the room with blood all over himself (and all over the carpet...yay). We got him patched up and Mike took him to the Urgent Care where he got 6 stitches. Dane was actually worse off than Ryan. He was so upset that he was hurt and was saying things like, "Are we gonna lose him?!" And "They're not going to put him down, right?!" Poor kid was beside himself. I was able to calm him down after a while, but he was pretty shaken up. Such a sweet, sensitive heart. So Ryan's stitch count is now at 9. My friend Shelly came up with the great idea of having a frequent flyer card at the Urgent Care. Maybe after two visits, we can get the third one free!:) Since our living room floor was covered in blood, I spent the better part of the day cleaning carpet. I had a group of moms from La Costa Moms coming over for our monthly Cooking Club, and the good news is, they all gave me the thumbs up on my cleaning job. Anyone need their carpet cleaned? For a fee, of course.

On Saturday, Erica came down to surprise Dane for his first ever soccer game! The Green Dragons had a fantastic time and Coach Rebecca lost her voice:) It was so hectic and fun...hilarious to see these kids learn the game and run around like mad. They tired themselves out pretty good, so we came back and had some nap time. Erica and I got to visit and enjoy the quiet time while they napped.

While we were visiting and the kids were napping, Mike went out to go spear fishing at Terra Mar. He hadn't been spear fishing in 20 years and was so thrilled. He brought back a lovely Corbina and was so excited to get that thing cooked up! After he cleaned it up, I salted it and threw it into a pan with olive oil and garlic. That thing was YUMMY! Way to go, Mikey! Can't wait for more tasty fish to delight our palates. :)

Thanks to all who keep up with our craziness. It's fun to share it with you! Please have a wonderful, safe week and enjoy every day. Love you all!

Enjoying my wine, I think:)

Slow down, Mern!

Alana stayed back at Casa Nocita and hung out with auntie Erica:)

Lazy Labor Day movie time.

Dana graciously came over to watch Alana while I took Ryan to preschool! Blizzard wanted that snack so bad...

"It's too bright, mommy!"

Dane found a caterpillar at the train tracks and brought it back. It formed a chrysalis and turned into a butterfly! It was so beautiful.

Here they are releasing the butterfly. Can you see it?

Taking Dane to school:)

In line for Mrs. Sanchez' class.

Tristan and Dane:)

Building a train! Shocking...

Ouch!

Sleeping with mommy and daddy:)

Dane wrote Ryan a note that is supposed to say, "Are you okay?" So cute.

At lunch the next day, Ryan requested a candlelit lunch, "like grampa."

Looking for a lizard in the bush. Dane suggested Ryan where a helmet.

I think he was a day too late on that helmet thing.

Cheer up, Alana!

This just melted my heart. Such a precious moment.

Dane decided Labor Day was gonna be his birthday so he could go to the desert. Apparently he can only go to the desert on his birthday:)

Go Green Dragons!

"Um....guys?"

Dane in action! Number 11!

Getting a pep talk from coach Rebecca.

Look at those legs!

Nice fish, Mikey!

Oh noooooo!

Yummy til the last bite.