The Wonderful World of Nick, Monique, Joaquin & Izzie

Photo Book

2011-07-31T09:45:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Cousin Fun!

2011-07-11T23:12:00.000-07:00

We had Hayden & Collin over for some cousin fun, we had a picnic at the park, played on the playground and tried to feed the ducks but...they weren't the least interested in food.

Half Dome...FINALLY

2011-07-10T19:05:00.000-07:00

Nick finally got to ascend to the top of half dome. Weather has prevented him from making it on two previous occasions...I guess the saying is true, third times a charm!

Astronaut Ice Cream

2011-07-06T23:09:00.000-07:00

Even though it looks completely unappealing Joaquin & Izzie were completely thrilled to eat food like the astronauts do!!

Hangin' w/ Kolten

2011-07-06T23:04:00.000-07:00

We were hanging out with Kolten for a few days while his mom went to classes at Mira Costa, the kids loved having him around and even though the picture doesn't show it he loved it as well!

San Diego County Fair @ Del Mar

2011-06-29T22:59:00.000-07:00

Can you believe I just called it that, I can't! Joaquin and Izzie were way into the rides this year at the fair and Izzie decided that she was going to be ultra brave on this day and she was a little dare devil! Fun time had by all and no fried Kool Aid, thank goodness :)

Mad Scientist Birthday Party

2011-06-25T22:54:00.000-07:00

We went to Max's Mad Scientist Birthday Party. The scientist (who fit the bill for Mad Scientist perfectly) conducted a number of very cool experiments that included all of the birthday party attendees. It was a blast, Happy Birthday MAX!!

Joaquin IS SWIMMING!!

2011-06-24T22:49:00.000-07:00

Joaquin is officially a swimmer! Way to go Joaquin <3

Legoland :)

2011-06-15T22:40:00.000-07:00

We had a blast at Legoland for Emmi's 5th birthday! Happy Birthday Emmi, we love you :)

Yosemite

2011-05-28T21:44:00.000-07:00

2011-05-28T21:42:00.000-07:00

HUGE Fig Tree

2011-05-27T09:41:00.000-07:00

On our way up to Yosemite we stayed at my Aunt Sandy's house. She has this cool and HUGE fig tree in her yard!

Walk-It Challenge

2011-05-22T11:35:00.000-07:00

Myself, Brian & Minnie went on a Weight Watchers Walk-It Challenge. It was not much of a challenge but good to get out and take a walk on a Sunday morning!

Lost Abbey 5th Anniversary Party

2011-05-14T21:31:00.000-07:00

We attended Lost Abbey 5th Anniversary Party. It was awesome, enough said!

Hiking @ Cleveland National Forest

2011-05-08T11:27:00.000-07:00

We went on a Mother's Day hike in Cleveland National Forest. All had a great time and it was beautiful!

Padres Beer Fest

2011-05-06T21:09:00.000-07:00

A friend and I went to the Padres Game/Beer Fest. Breweries from all over the country were represented and you could sample beers until game time! I will definitely be attending next year, thanks Nanci for thinking of me :)

Mother's Day Tea!

2011-05-04T16:34:00.000-07:00

Joaquin & Izzie worked very hard in their classes to make sure that my Mother's Day was perfect.

Joaquin came and got me from the door of the classroom and escorted me to a seat. He then sang a few songs with his class.

Lastly he served me lemonade, strawberries and cookies and gave me my wonderful Mother's Day card and pin!

Izzie also came and got me from the door and took me to a table where she served me fruit and lemonade. She also made me a lovely card and a flower pot with an Izzie flower growing out of it!

Old Friends (Maybe Friends from the past?)

2011-04-30T20:29:00.000-07:00

And yes, on the same day as the baseball game and the birthday party (I am telling you this because I am wearing the same outfit of the staple red shirt to support Joaquin & the Cardinals) we went and saw some old friends.

Clowning Around!

2011-04-30T14:26:00.000-07:00

Clowning Around with my dad at Collin's birthday party!

Catcher Joaquin!

2011-04-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

Joaquin wanted to put on this "outfit" all season long. He told his coach one game that he wanted to be catcher and vwalla, he got to put on the "outfit." He was sooooo excited! We told him he needed to tag people out but he didn't really understand what that meant so he would just stand on home plate and tag people with his hand as they came in...the ball would be in play in outfield. He didn't understand the rules, but he had a great time, and in t-ball that is what matters!

Easter Egg Hunt x 2!

2011-04-24T15:51:00.000-07:00

We had two gigantic Easter Egg hunts this year. Joaquin & Izzie finally get how an egg hunt works so they were all about finding those eggs!!

Peep Carnage

2011-04-24T15:41:00.000-07:00

As you can see Nick & Dan had a great time with the peeps...

Iron Mountain

2011-04-23T12:50:00.000-07:00

What a great hike, cool and cloudy until we made it to the top, thank goodness!

Fashion District LA

2011-04-21T21:43:00.000-07:00

Minnie had her niece in town from New Hampshire and wanted to take her some place fabulous so we went to the Fashion District in L.A. Ashley, Julia, and Symone liked all of the fashions and Minnie & I had a good time seeing them have such a great time. On the drive home we drove along PCH, it was a gorgeous day!

Hiking with the Girls

2011-04-20T19:42:00.000-07:00

Hiking with the girls at Daley Ranch :)

Easter Egg Extravaganza!

2011-04-19T15:30:00.000-07:00

Joaquin & Izzie LOVE to dye eggs, take a look for yourself!

Game Ball

2011-04-16T15:25:00.000-07:00

Joaquin got the game ball, yahoo!

Monte the Python

2011-04-15T22:22:00.000-07:00

Joaquin & Nick got to hold Monte, Richard & Annie's python. Joaquin loved it as you can see :)

Night Out on the Town!

2011-04-09T23:16:00.000-07:00

We adults got to go to downtown San Diego for a rare night out on the town! We went to Yard House for dinner and then dancing (which for those of you who know me, know I hate dancing). It was fun to hang out with friends and experience a bit of night life :)

Sea World Fun!

2011-04-07T19:47:00.000-07:00

We also went to Sea World when the Alinejads were in town! Fun, fun!

Art Soup

2011-04-06T10:59:00.000-07:00

We got invited to a really cool place called Art Soup for a birthday party, the place was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast. Here they are going crazy painting a VW Bug!

Opening Day @ Petco Park

2011-04-05T22:54:00.000-07:00

We went to opening day at Petco Park with the Alinejad Family. The kids all got to run around and we got to "watch" the game. We had a great time :)

Preschool Fundraiser @ Stone

2011-03-28T22:52:00.000-07:00

How great is that?

Izzie's Special Day at Preschool

2011-03-22T15:41:00.000-07:00

Izzie celebrated her Birthday at Preschool as well! She was so proud with her Birthday crown on :)

Joaquin & Molasses

2011-03-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

Each child in Joaquin's class gets a week to take home Molasses the dog. During this week they can take Molasses with them on outings and then they report back to the class about where they chose to take the stuffed dog and then as a class they map where Molasses has been in San Diego County. Joaquin had been waiting to take Molasses the entire year and finally his name was pulled! He took Molasses to Petco Park and to Mt. Helix! He was so excited and proud to share his pictures and adventures with his class :)

4 Year Old Izzie!

2011-03-20T22:36:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Izzie!!

2011-03-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Izzie Cont.!!

2011-03-19T10:24:00.000-07:00

We celebrated Izzie's 4th Birthday at Legoland, per her request! We had a great time :)

St. Patrick's Day

2011-03-17T10:15:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patricks Day!!

Rock Stars!

2011-03-13T22:12:00.000-07:00

My little rock stars!

Ears Pierced!

2011-03-11T22:01:00.000-08:00

Izzie asked to get her ears pierced for her 4th birthday! She was such a brave girl, as you can see in the video :)

Play Ball

2011-03-05T11:51:00.000-08:00

Joaquin is officially playing baseball!

Gearing Up for Baseball!

2011-03-02T17:44:00.000-08:00

Joaquin started baseball practices this week which means we are that much closer to games. Can't wait to see the team in action :)

Dance Class :)

2011-03-02T16:32:00.000-08:00

I know, I know...there are way too many pictures from dance class!

RAD Kids

2011-03-01T20:55:00.000-08:00

R.A.D Kids! Yea :)

Izzie's Haircut :)

2011-02-20T23:15:00.000-08:00

Izzie got a new haircut, and she is a little sassy with it, I am sure you can see the sassiness in the picture!

Pliny the Younger

2011-02-19T23:04:00.000-08:00

Nick and I have wanted to try a particular beer now for over a year. The beer is made by Russian River Brewing Company but is only released in kegs to bars during the month of February, which of course, makes it a pretty exclusive beer. Anyways, we found a bar serving it at 5pm the Saturday after Valentines. We got to the bar at 4pm, waited in line for an hour until the tapped the keg. We got our 12oz glass (for $9.99 each I might add) at around 5:30pm. Well worth the time, effort and cost...we had a great "date" night!

Big Bear Vacation!

2011-02-17T22:32:00.000-08:00

We went on our very first family vacation to Big Bear! The weather was perfect, warm and sunny the first two days and snowy and cold the last two days. We got to experience the best of both worlds. On day one we took the kids to Snow Summit for their first ever shot at snowboarding, they did really well and had a great time. On day two we visited the Big Bear Discovery Center where we learned about local birds and animals and then went on a hike from a trail that started at the center. On day three we went sledding during a snowstorm, while at the sledding place we built a snowman as well!! Day four was our last day, we played in the snow and then drove down the mountain to our home. We had a wonderful time hanging out by the fireplace, eating Jiffy Pop (yes, the old school kind that has its own little pan that you cook it in over an open flame), playing in the snow and just enjoying each other :)

55th!

2011-02-04T22:26:00.000-08:00

This is what my dad did on his 55th birthday, pretty cool, huh?

Tide Pools & Cabrillo National Monument

2011-01-29T22:18:00.000-08:00

The kids, Nick & I and Uncle Dan went to the Tide Pools & Cabrillo National Monument for the day! We arrived a little late for full low tide but still got to walk around and explore for about an hour until the tide started rolling in. We saw hundreds of anemones, lots of hermit crabs, crabs and a HUGE sea slug. After our wonderful time exploring we went over to the light house and then to Corvette Diner for dinner, what a great day!

Monster Jam

2011-01-22T22:58:00.000-08:00

More Monster Jam...

2011-01-22T22:53:00.000-08:00

Grave Digger

2011-01-21T14:37:00.000-08:00

After school on Friday the kids and I went to see Grave Digger at the Big O Tires in Carmel Mountain. Because we were going to watch Monster Jam the next day it really got the kids excited about Monster Trucks!!

Pajama Day 2011

2011-01-19T20:20:00.000-08:00

The kids had pajama day at school, tons o' fun!

Dance Class x Two!

2011-01-19T07:41:00.000-08:00

Joaquin joined Izzie's Dance Class!! He has been watching for five months and they recently opened it up for his age so we decided to give it a try, he absolutely LOVES it!

Exploring San Diego

2011-01-08T20:09:00.000-08:00

We had a day free of birthday parties and other commitments to we left our house wanting to explore our very cool city. We ended up at Mt. Soledad and then headed down to La Jolla Cove where we walked on the sea wall, visited the seals on the beach and then watched as Joaquin ran back and forth with the waves for a really long time.

Great Minds at Play!

2011-01-06T20:15:00.000-08:00

One of the great things about working at the preschool that the kids go to is that I am on the playground at the same time as Joaquin and I get to see his mind at work! One day a few of the children from his class decided that they wanted to get water from one part of the sand area to another, they asked for rain gutters and went to work for the entire hour we were outside. Here is what they came up with all on their own without adult interference, so awesome!

Happy New Year!!! Welcome 2011 :)

2010-12-31T11:59:00.000-08:00

Here is a look at how we rung in the New Year!

Otter Visit...and no, I am not talking about the aquatic variety

2010-12-27T23:54:00.000-08:00

This holiday break we visited with a few different groups of old friends, one such group was the Otters! Nick & Billy were in the military together and we have kept in contact with them over the years. We have known them since their children were one and tree years old so it was a bit of a shock when we saw these two really tall kids walk up! They were visiting California from Kentucky so we met them at Venice Beach and then scampered over to Olvera Street in LA.

The New Children's Museum

2010-12-26T19:46:00.000-08:00

We met up with the Alinejads to go to The New Children's Museum in Downtown San Diego. The museum was fantastic and featured a rain house, a rock climbing wall, clay to be molded as well as a loooong bouncy tunnel. It was great to connect with old friends and let our children enjoy each other. Can't wait for our next visit!

Christmas Evening

2010-12-25T21:28:00.000-08:00

After the morning excitement wore off we dashed to Grammy & Papa's house for some more fun!

Christmas Morning :)

2010-12-25T09:17:00.000-08:00

Christmas is here!!

Not a Creature was Stirring Not Even a Mouse...

2010-12-24T21:02:00.000-08:00

After the festivities of the evening we came home and Joaquin set out the cookies and carrots for Santa and his reindeer. After a bit...Santa ARRIVED!

Christmas Evening

2010-12-24T20:22:00.000-08:00

The evening before Christmas we went to Grandpa David & Nana Alma's house for Tamales! Joaquin, Izzie & Emmi had a great time :)

Christmas Eve - HO, HO, HO

2010-12-24T20:03:00.000-08:00

On Christmas Eve we spent some time at Grandma Yvonne & Tia's house, while there we saw Grandma Shirley, Ty, Lindsey & Aunt Rhonda. Joaquin & Ty played guitars, Izzie roller skated across the floor and Lindsey Squealed with delight at the sight of her new Justin Beiber CD. We had a wonderful Christmas visit!!

Sugar Cookies

2010-12-20T08:51:00.000-08:00

The kids and I made sugar cookies to hand out to all of our neighbors for Christmas.

A Very Woody Birthday!

2010-12-19T20:46:00.000-08:00

Joaquin had a "Woody" party from the movie Toy Story. The party was held at the Escondido Children's Museum and Joaquin was dressed as Woody for the entire party! Even with the rain I think everyone had a great time :)

Happy 5th Birthday Joaquin!

2010-12-17T20:32:00.000-08:00

Disneyland

2010-12-13T22:28:00.000-08:00

The Del Pegos & Grammy went to Disneyland!! It was only the second time Joaquin & Izzie had been and the first time was almost two years ago. There were many firsts this time around. Joaquin got his first pair of ears went on Splash Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Haunted Mansion and watched Captain EO for the first time. Izzie got her first pair of ears as well, princess ears, and rode Matterhorn, Pirates of the Caribbean and also went to the Haunted Christmas Mansion for the first time.

More Disneyland :)

2010-12-13T22:15:00.000-08:00

Truffles Galore!

2010-12-11T20:13:00.000-08:00

The annual truffle party was a success, we ended up with 1,556 truffles!

Santa House of Poway

2010-12-10T22:06:00.000-08:00

Pictures of our annual trip to the Santa House in Poway. We walked through the whole house, saw Santa and enjoyed hot cocoa & cookies. We had a great time with the Furlanos and Coglianeses!

Decorating for Christmas

2010-12-09T19:59:00.000-08:00

The kids love to decorate the tree and our house for Christmas, here are some picture of them decorating!

Thanksgiving Dinner x TWO!

2010-11-27T23:24:00.000-08:00

We had another Thanksgiving Celebration on the Saturday after Thanksgiving with Nick's family, a great time had by all.

Thanksgiving Dinner

2010-11-25T23:18:00.000-08:00

We were so excited to celebrate with such a large crowd!

Making Pumpkin Pie

2010-11-24T11:14:00.000-08:00

The kids and I were in charge of making the traditional pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving dinner, yum!

MUD :)

2010-11-20T11:11:00.000-08:00

Sadly this is STILL our front yard, the only upside is that it makes an excellent mud pit when it rains.

Thanksgiving Feast

2010-11-17T04:15:00.000-08:00

Joaquin & Izzie had a Thanksgiving Feast at preschool. For the feast their classes baked muffins, made butter and the children made their very own Thanksgiving necklaces!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T17:11:00.000-07:00

Pumpkin Carving

2010-10-31T11:04:00.000-07:00

We went to Grammy & Papa's House for pumpkin carving fun!! Aunt Sandy was down for the day and Kyle & Ashleigh came over with Hayden & Collin. It was lots of carving for Halloween!

Halloween Paty Take 2!

2010-10-30T23:53:00.000-07:00

Halloween Party with Nick's cousin Clorinda. We had a great time and the kids did too.

Adult Halloween Party

2010-10-29T23:49:00.000-07:00

Nick and I went to an adult Halloween party this year. Can you guess what Nick is?

2010-10-27T21:44:00.000-07:00

At the costume parade at Joaquin & Izzie's preschool the children parade in front of all of the other classes and then that class joins in on the end of the line. Once everyone has hooked on to the chain they parade their costumes for parents. Joaquin & Izzie wore many different costumes this Halloween, these are the costumes they chose for the parade!

Pinery Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-26T11:32:00.000-07:00

Nick took the kids to the Pinery Pumpkin Patch with Izzie's preschool class. They learned about different varieties of pumpkins & gourds and about how they grow. They then took a tractor ride around the farm, went through a corn maze and got to pick out their very own pumpkin at the end!

Nature Walk with Daddy :)

2010-10-25T11:27:00.000-07:00

Izzie had an assignment from school. She was supposed to go on a nature walk with her family and collect some of the things in nature that she finds! She then took her bag back to class and shared what she found. What a great home/school activity!

Hayden's 4th Birthday!

2010-10-23T21:23:00.000-07:00

Our Neice Hayden turned 4, hooray!

Bates Nut Farm

2010-10-17T11:11:00.000-07:00

Brick-Or-Treat

2010-10-16T21:00:00.000-07:00

We went to Legoland for their annual Brick-Or-Treat celebration. The kids got to go inside of a giant lego pumpkin, ride a few rides, and most importantly build with legos!

Happy Halloween :)

2010-10-11T09:50:00.000-07:00

Miramar Air Show

2010-10-02T21:45:00.000-07:00

Joaquin & Izzie had a blast at their first Miramar Air Show experience. They got to climb in and out of all sorts of military vehicles, watch a dinosaur/monster robot on the runway and saw a semi that had jet engines attached to it "fly" down the runway.

Perks

2010-10-01T09:19:00.000-07:00

One of the perks of working at the same school that the kids go to is that I get to see them on the playground hard at play :)

Silver Strand SB

2010-09-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

Here are pictures from our camping adventure with the McDonalds at Silver Strand SB! We couldn't have picked a better weekend with temperatures in the upper 80's! Fun was had by all walking along the beach collecting shells and playing in the sand :)

Go Chargers!

2010-09-19T09:28:00.000-07:00

Here's hoping for a great Chargers season!

Preschool!

2010-09-09T16:10:00.000-07:00

So seeing as I missed a picture on their 1st day of school here is a non-looking one on their 3rd day!

Back to School

2010-09-07T08:29:00.000-07:00

Today was the first day of school for Joaquin & Izzie!! They had a great day and can't wait to go back tomorrow...on another note their overwhelmed mom forgot to take a picture of their first day :( Maybe we will have a first week of school picture!

Surf Meets the Turf @ Del Mar

2010-09-05T21:17:00.000-07:00

The kids had their first experience at the races! We parked at the off-site lot and took a double-decker bus to the Del Mar Racetrack for Family Funday, there were activities for kids all for free...they had bouncies, face painting, pony rides, a magic show and caricatures. The adults placed their bets and the kids played in between races. We even came out $2 ahead on betting, awesome day!

Fire Station #33

2010-09-01T12:10:00.000-07:00

Along with some friends we took a tour of Fire Station #33 in Rancho Bernardo. We toured the station including the kitchen, work-out room and sleeping quarters and the kids got to shoot a real fire hose!

Joaquin's 1st Soccer Game

2010-08-28T21:04:00.000-07:00

Joaquin had his first soccer game today!! So exciting and he was really excited and happy throughout the whole game. He even scored a goal, woohoo Joaquin (he is #4, btw), we are all very excited for the rest of the season!

Vegas

2010-08-23T20:52:00.000-07:00

We had a great time on our Vegas vacation! Nick had a business trip to Las Vegas and the whole family tagged along for the Journey. The kids loved all of the shows, we saw the water show at the Bellagio, the Volcano at the Mirage, and the Sirens of TI at Treasure Island! We also hung out with one of my friends from high school for a wonderful BBQ. We played hard and slept very well. We can't wait to go back to Vegas :)

Beach w/ Littles

2010-08-18T20:42:00.000-07:00

The Littles were in town and we got to spend a lovely afternoon with them at Oceanside Beach!