OC Zoo

Who knew Orange County has their own ZOO now?!?! Im sure most of you have been, and its a mini zoo to say the least, but perfect when you have a 3 year old and a one year old who need to get some ya-ya's out!(Luke hates that phrase haha) Landons mom Wendy, had asked me if we wanted to go last week, and I knew it existed but I had never been. So of course we were all for it. We picked the boys up from school and I followed her to Irvine. Drove through some taco Bell for lunch and brought it with us. We sat outside the Zoo entrance and had lunch at the picnic tables. We are all sitting there eating our tacos where out of nowhere this HUGE bird comes walking along beside us... eyeballin our taco bell.... damn bird. I thought the thing was going to attack for a bite of my bean and cheese burrito. This wasnt just some crow or something, it was a full blown PEACOCK! The thing was HUGEEEEEEEE! And literally came right up to our table. Dont believe me, look at this picture of it right over Landons shoulder.... no zoom on this peacock i promise. It was freakishly close. Scared the hell outta me, I wont lie. Anyways, after leaving the peacock infested table we went to the Zoo... its so small its literally $2 a person to get in. I know expensive huh :) There was some cool stuff though, lamas, big black bears, owls, mountain lions, deer, coyote, leapords, beavers, porcupines, and of course your friendly petting zoo where I managed to see the craziest goats of all time. Probably took us 30 minutes to walk through the whole thing. It was perfect! After we left the zoo part we went over to the train, yes! they have a train. Its a little mini railroad with a train that goes around Irvine park.... very cute, and extremely fun when your 3 and 1!! Landon and Jack sat up front and the whole way they were so amused we never heard a peep out of them! After the ride we picked up some icees from the snack window and sat the boys down to drink them before getting in the car to FALL ASLEEP! They were wiped. They had so much fun... Jackson LOVES hanging out with landon and its cute to watch them together... they get so goofy and have these little things that only the two of them do. Too cute... We got in the car and both the boys fell asleep immediately, which we all know what that means... it was a successful day!

Jackson, Landon and Wy looking for porcupines

Jackson and the lama...

Wyatt climbing the fence like the big boys.... this kid scares me... im so screwed!

Feeding the gross sheep. They seriously make me wanna gag..Wyatt and Logan waiting for the train!Riding the train!Wyatt and Logan ridin the train...

The end of the day...

My Fun New Toy

So on saturday Tannaz and I went to BabiesRUs to buy shower presents for Lindsay, well I found this strolller i absolutely LOVED. We have been wanting to get a new stroller for Wy because the ony ones we have now is our huge double limousine that Jack doesnt even use anymore or the tiny umbrella stroller which Luke complains everytime cuz its too short and hurts his back (old fart). I just wanted a midsize lightwieght stroller for Wyatt. This one was it... and it was sooooooooooo cute. Its by Wendy Bellissimo who I love and matched my old camo diaper bag which now I wish I had kept. I know these strollers are new cuz I didnt see them when I went shopping for Kristyn a month ago (trust me, I always browse EVERY aisle in that place!). And Miss thrifty shopper Tannaz had a $20 off any stroller coupon so I knew it was meant for me. I called Luke who told me to send him a picture haha. Such a girl, who gave me "permission" to buy it.... It was $99 then with my coupon came to $79, i was pumped. Anyways its soooo cute and Luke pushed it all over the spectrum on Sunday cuz he liked it so much, he was just excited it was so tall and didnt hurt his old man back! My new fun toy, sad when you become a mom something as simple as a stroller can get you so excited! LOL

Friday Game Night

Friday night we had people over to have a usual game night (we sound so old).... but hey, it was raining and cold and we had the kids, probably a million other reasons we can think of but i dont mind sounding old! We put on a fire, i made some strawberry shortcake (people think im the best cook EVER when I make this stuff-I fooled them, its on the back of the bisquick box, DUH!!!) and when I finally put the kids to bed (ps. do you see the picture that shows my kids at the counter with a bottle of vodka, whip cream, a wine opener, a beer bottle and catch phrase-my poor children, Im a bad mom! LOL!) we pulled out Trivial Pursuit Pop Culture. Hardest game of all time, I didnt know the answer to one question. Allison was sitting next to me and I think we finally just had full on coversations cuz we were so bored. Thank God for Lindsay who finally spoke up and said "this game sucks, we can play catch phrase"..... DITTO! I think most of us girls felt that way. It was sooo hard. Poor J, he had just went to buy it and brought it over to play so he was kinda bummed, haha. So we pulled out catch phrase instead. Waaaaay more fun. We played guys vs girls (like always) and the girls KILLED the guys this time. KILLLLLED!!!!!!!! We play with each couple going at the same time. For example, Luke and I sit up front with the little machine and have people guess. I give my clues and the girls guess, and then I pass it to Luke and he gives clues to have the boys guess. Whoever it lands on when the timer goes off loses. We all get pretty into it... so into it that Caley decided to tape it on her phone and download them.... so these videos are compliments of Caley.... I just about died laughing listening to these. May not be too funny if you dont know who is talking (they are kinda dark too) but here is a glimpse into our game nights.

***WARNING***

Videos may contain vulgar language, obscene gesturing, arguing, yelling and alcohol consuption!!! However it is all in good fun!!! Rated R.

Enjoy!

Ps. Dont forget to pause the music on my page for the full effect!

Jeff and Lindsay and Jeffs four year old temper tantrum haha. (and Dustin sitting at his feet!)

Greg and Nicola and Gregs vulgar descriptions LOL

Dustin and Ambra (boys cheating again!)

Me and Luke... he lost!

So You Had a Bad Day

Notice I added the Bad day song to my playlist... thats for you Jackson!! Today I went to pick Jack up from school and when I got there and Miss Amanda told me Jackson had a rough day. There was an "Ouch report" in his file and she said he got hit in the mouth with a toy car and busted his lip. She said they put a wet cloth on it and gave him some TLC and he was fine, she even said he was tough. Then at playtime he hit his head on something at the playground. Well after hearing about his accidents we walked out to the car with Landon and his mom. They boys started running down their usual little strip of grass while Wendy and I talked. Well during the 10-15 minutes we were out there Jackson must have fallen (whether it be on purpose or accidently) close to 15 times. Once he skinned his knee and freaked out about that. And it was muddy. Then he had "a bug in his eye" and was freaking out cuz he couldnt see. Finally after "the bug flew outta his eye" he continued playing with Landon then took a nose dive straight into the mud. He was covered, shoes, jeans, WHITE tshirt, hands and even his head along with a huge red mark where he hit the ground to go along with it. I decided it was time to go home. I stripped the kid down in the parking lot cuz there was NOWAY i was letting him get in my brand new car like that. He was soooo embarrassed, so of course was crying, again. Luckily by that time us and Wendy were the only ones left in the parking lot. So we get home and I start making the kids lunch. Jack wanted to go upstairs and put clothes on. Well he came down in Wyatts shorts and crying because he got the "wrong shirt" (Wyatts shirt). So i sent him up to get a new one and he comes down with a new pair of pants on, backwards might i add, and a sweatshirt haha i just let it go. So hes eating lunch and spills yogurt all over himself and immediately starts crying. Then notices his pants, that are covered in yogurt, were on backwards and is in hysterics by this time. He finally looks up at me while im wiping him clean and says "Mom Im having a really bad day." Priceless......

Weekend Recap!

I love long weekends.... I feel like it was productive. Always good. Friday night we started the weekend and had a bunch of friends over to play cranium. You are all probably wondering if the guys beat the girls AGAIN. We played 3 teams of three this time, co-ed haha. However when we pulled numbers Luke, J and Greg just HAPPENED to pull the same numbers. Soooo not fair. So yes, they won, but not by much. My friends Justin and Lindsay just moved into Ladera and had been at Beachfire when they called me to hang out. Well i didnt get there call til about midnight when wee were done playing so I called them back and they came over at 1230 haha. Luke went to bed shortly after but Linz and I stayed up til they left at 330am. I woke up with quite the wine hangover. So nice to catch up though.

Saturday morning we headed out the door to Gavins 2nd bday party. As always, the kids had a ball with pizza, cake, bounce houses, party favors and when we got home at 2pm they passed out. Just in time for Kelly to come sit with them while Luke and I went car shopping. Yup, time to turn in the Pathfinder.... so you wanna know what we got.......... TAADAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Thats right, bet u cant tell them apart. They are identical. We got another pathfinder. Of ocurse its an 08, and not an 05. But really, they are identical. We got a great deal too so this is what we ended up going with. I wanted something other than white so I felt like I had a different car but this was the only color that had everything we wanted. This one is alot nicer than our old one though. Lots of upgrades on this one we didnt have before, including a back up camera which i need (more a front one then a back one but ill take what I can get!). this one has a sunroof which Jack LOVES. He keeps saying "mom i wanna see the sky!" Even this morning when I took him to school and it was raining!! So anyways, were happy. We went to Jeff and Lindsays for tacos and taught them how to play Joker and i got to see all the babies new furniture! So cute... cant wait for Maddie to get here.

Sunday we actually dropped the kids at my bros and went to sign papers and pick the car up. Then we all headed to my parents for my sister in laws birthday. So while we are on the subject... To one of the strongest people I know who can get through absolutely anything with her head held high.... Happy Birthday Jenny!!! We love you and hope your day at Disneyland was a memorable one! Heres to many many more!! Unfortuantely I didnt have a pic of her but heres a great one of Parker wishing Mom a happy birthday!! HAHA! Another cute Erwin!

We went to the bluff for awhile and my dad, Luke and the kids played a little football/monkey in the middle. However it was freezing so it didnt last long haha. After dinner, cake and presents we had a Joker tournament, Marc and I were killing it, til the last game when the "Champions of the world" (thats what they call themselves) AKA Luke and my dad, decided to reunite and conquer once again. Boooo!

Jackson, Hunter and Kylee playing football....

Jackson and Parker Brandi, Marc and Wyatt freezing to death.... Daddy and Wy skateboarding! My dad, Hunter and Jackson playing monkey in the middleMonday was VERY productive. Luke had the day off and we spent it cleaning the garage while the kids played out front. Well eventually it turned into a block party. All the neighbor kids were playing out front with them by the time we were done. Even the dads were challenging them to some hockey! We cleaned the house, did laundry and then made crab legs for dinner! Sooooooooo good! Long weekend but it was a good one! Now here comes a busy week!

Meet the Goblins

So after 2 months of trying to locate a missing xmas package it finally arrived! Luke's Uncle Dave and Aunt Allison had sent us out a package for xmas. Well they sent it to the old address and apparentely the people there who dont speak English, kept it for quite awhile. We went over there a few times last month, knocking on their door and what not but no response. Finally uncle Dave called Luke and said it was returned to his store. So he resent it to our new address. We were so happy to finally get it cuz the boys LOVE their gifts (as do i, my outfit was VERY cute!!) We pulled these out of their bags.......

............. they were HILARIOUS! Coolest goblins ever. They came with a big book about them too. Well Jackson decided on his goblins name, rather than taking the name from the book (which was really hard to say). He named it PUMIN!!! WHAT?!?!?! Dont have any clue where a name like that would pop into a 3 year olds head but he thought it was cool im assuming. And Wyatts is named Blendon the Smudger so we call him Smudge for short! They are the coolest little guys, the boys love em. So here is a big Xmas thank you to Uncle Dave Aunt Allison and Jordan for the super cool gifts!!

Calling You OUT!

Ok so I just wanted to call a few people out on my recipe tag blog. KRYSTAL my dear cousin..... ASHLEY and her new camo shoes..... and CALEY my recipe wizard friend (best new find by the way)! Get on it you three.. I need some new recipes, as do the rest of these people! Thanks...Love you guys!!!

Sneaky Pete

Jack did something the other day that amazed me... more something I could picture Wyatt doing. Jack has never been too sneaky or mischievious. He always been suprisingly good when it comes to stuff like that. Well on Friday he came up to me with his hands behind his back and a big grin. I asked what he had and he pulled out two tootsie rolls. Apparentely getting into the pantry and stealing Halloween candy is a new hobby of his. So i said he may have a HALF of one of them and I hid the other two in my room. About an hour later we are upstairs cleaning the playroom when Jack decided he needed to go poo. So he ventured down to his throne. About five minutes passed and I knew he still wasnt pooping so I called his name and he said he was hiding. Hmmmmm, hiding huh? So i waddled on downstairs to see what he was up to. I get to the bottom of the stairs and said "Jack where are you?" I hear a little voice answer with "Im hiding dont come in here!" Yup, definetetly up to something. It was coming from the bedroom. So I go to the bedroom and say again "where are you..." "IM HIDING!" I look under Wyatts crib and there is Jackson, mouthfull of tootsie roll and the evidence in his little hand. LITTLE SNEAK! So funny I had to laugh at him......

Our Valentines Day

So you all know once you have kids Valentines Day isnt filled with fancy dinners, or romantic evenings...... hardest night EVER to find a sitter and you definetely dont wanna take them to a restaraunt to wait for hours on end. At least we dont. Not to mention, like Ashley :), I think Valentines Day is really such a lame holiday. Why one day outta the year we are supposed to tell that special someone we love them, it should be happening everyday. I dunno... never been a Vday fan. So Luke wanted to make the kids and I a big crab legs feast that night (our favorite dinner to go to is at Fishermans in San Clemente and we get the crab feast, really only a special occasion meal cuz its so expensive). Well I decided to go do something fun instead and take the kdis to the one place we knew wouldnt have a wait on vday! Yup, Chuck e Cheese's. Jack was so excited. And cranky Wyatt did a 180 as soon as we got there and was the happiest kid ever. Ahhhhhhhhhhh, the magic of Chuck E. Even as much as Luke hates going there (so he says) he always has a great time. I always catch him playing all the games by himself if he sees Im occupying kids. Too funny. We won a TON of tickets in the short time we were there. Jacks favorite thing now is feeding the tickets through the ticket counter. Luke showed him how on the first little bit then he wanted to fly solo. Anyways, it was a fun night, the kids were beat. We came home, put them to bed, opened a bottle of wine and died laughing at Rob and Big, literally we were both crying during this episode. Love that show. So all and all a Valentines Day that fit us well.....

Day at the Beach

So Tuesday was the nicest day we have had here in a long time. Monday night I called Ambra and Andreal to see if they wanted to meet at the beach after the kids were outta school. So after I picked up Jackson the boys and I headed to baby beach in Dana Point with our packed lunch. It was soooo nice (HA Ashley, you arent the only beach goer in February haha-wish mine lasted longer than a day!). The water was freezing but the kids didnt mind. I love that beach cuz there are no waves and its so shallow where the booies mark off the swimming zone so its perfect for the little ones. We layered them in sunscreen and watched them play for a few hours. Wyatt had a ball. I have never seen a kid love playing in the sand as much as he did. It was EVERYWHERE! The kids were exhausted by the time we left! Made for some sleepy kids and long naps!

The five of them digging their hole...

Jack, Mason, Wyatt, Dylan and Brooklyn (missing Camden, she wasnt a fan of sand!)

My little sandy man in all his glory...

Fell asleep right after we left the parking lot! Success!

14th Day!!

I HEART........

...... Jackson Reyn, my tiny mutant ninja turtle. He is quite the character and honestly can make me laugh easier than anyone in this world. He smiles and bats his long eyelashes at me and I cant help but to smile back at him. He is always on the go and has more energy than I sometimes know what to do with. He is daddys little man. And he is a lover... my gosh... since he was a tiny baby he has always had the tendency to just mold to you and smother you with hugs and kisses and I love yous, totally out of the blue.

........ Wyatt Kane, my over achieving, attitude bearing, smile and hes got me, little man. He is way more grown up than he should be at 1 and half and will try anything his "brudda" tries (and then some). He knows how to push my buttons, as well as dads and Jacks. He can get himself out of almost anything, all he has to do is look at me with those big brown eyes and smile that big gap toothed, one dimpled smile and I just melt. His laugh is more than contagious and I could listen to it all day long. And he is my mama's boy! That kid loves his mama...

......and Luke, my main man. I dont think I could have picked anyone better to spend every day with. He is the best.... he loves us more than anything and does everything in his power to make sure we are taken care of and happy. Everyday that goes by I just love him more and more. He is the best dad in the world and the boys are so lucky to have such a great man to look up to and follow in his footsteps. I couldnt be any luckier..... (ok well maybe if he just lost the outfit!)

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!!!

Ive Been Tagged!!

Thanks Lauren!
This ones kinda fun....Lauren tagged me and now i have to share two recipes that are yummy and can be made in under and hour, then tag three poeple and they need to do the same.


Garlic Cheddar Chicken (from the kitchen of Brandi Erwin)

1/2 cup butter
4 cloves minced garlic
3/4 cup dry italian bread crumbs
1/2 cup fresh grated parmesean cheese
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp dried parsley
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp salt
4 skinless boneless chicken breast

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter over low heat and throw in garlic. Simmer for 3-5 minutes. In a shallow bowl mix ingredients. Dip chicken in butter then in crumb mixture. Put in baking dish and top with remaining crumbs (probably not all the reamaining crumbs-way too much). Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Heres one for all of you who wanted some crock pot stuff.... love this one.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless ck
15 oz can of whole tomatoes
10 oz can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion-chopped
4 oz can green chiles
1 clove minced garlic
2 cups water
14.5 oz can chicken broth
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 bay leaf
10 oz package of frozen corn
1 TBSP dried chopped cilantro
8 corn tortillas
veg oil

Boil chicken 30 minutes (or until done) and let cool then shred. Mix all ingredients in crock pot and cook for 6-8 hours low or 3-4 hours on high. Preheat oven to 400. Lightly brush both sides of tortilla with oil and cut into strips. Put on baking sheet and place in oven til crisp. Sprinkle soup with cheese and tortillas strips.

And Lauren yelled at me cuz she did tortilla soup already.... so heres another. I really like this one. Luke adds Tapatio to it cuz he loves spicy and I hate it.

Tostada Pie

1 1/2 cups chopped onions
2 tsp veg oil or olive oil
2 lbs ground beef
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt
2 cloves minced garlic
16 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup sliced balck olives
soft margarine or butter
8 corn tortillas
4 cups shredded Monterey Jack

Saute onions in skillet in hot oil. Add ground beef, chili powder, cumin, salt and garlic. When beef is brown, stir in tomato sauce. Heat through and then stir in olives.

Cut three 18x3 inch strips of foil and criss cross them so they look like spokes of a wheel. lay in bottom of crock pot so that the ends are sticking out and are able to fold over top of pot. Lightly butter one corn tortilla and lay buttered side up in the middle of foil strips. Spread with meat sauce and layer of cheese. Repeat this with all 8 tortillas and finish with layer of cheese. Cook on high for 1 hour. Lift out using foil strips, put on serving dish and cut into wedges (We just dig in with a spatula cuz its too messy to cut into wedges). Serve with sour cream and green onion.

I now tag..... Krystal, Caley and Ashley

Boat!

So Wyatt was just sitting here looking at my blog after I was done posting my river love post... and he came up with another new word... he said "boat!" So cute... cant wait to get him on the boat this year...

Day 13...

I L-O-V-E the river. Seriously one, if not THE one, of my favorite places to be. I love it. I love being with all our freinds, doing what we know best-having a good time. I love having our own place to take family vacations and our own boat to make memories with our kids. I love every part about it. I love waking up at 730 to get our butts on the water by 830am. I love playing mom on our boat and organizing everything the way I want it while we wait in line to launch (people think Im a freak, I am very paticular about packing our boat!). I love the slow cruise with the music blaring while we layer on sunscreen til we hit the booies. I love the ride out to our paticular beach thats so far out there no one else EVER goes to it. I love stopping halfway there to jump in and cool down. I love setting up chairs and games when we first get there. I love popping open the first beer of the day at 9am when its already 100 degrees outside. I love when there are over 50-60 people there with us (mind u, these are our closest friends) and I also love when there is just 10 of us out there. I love playing botchie ball all day and challenging people to bets haha. I love tubing, even when Jen Badraun kicks my butt every time. I love floating in my life jacket diaper. I love when we have the kids with us and they play all day never expressing an ounce of crankiness cuz they are having way too good of a time. I love watching Luke take the kids on the jet skiis and watching their faces when they come in from a ride. I love when its almost dusk and we pack up and head back to the docks. I love when the kids fall asleep in their life jacket on the way back. I love going to Casa Serrano for dinner and getting maragaritas galore. I love piling the kids into one room so an under age one can watch them while we sit at the tables all night with EVERYONE. I love when Mac Fitch keeps putting money in front of me when I lose haha. I also love winning at those tables which doesnt usually happen but Ill write it anyways :) And I love starting all over again the next day. Seriously nothing beats the river. I love it.