October 2015

Us Olsons are very big on traditions.  We love to create new traditions for our family that our boys can look forward to all year long.  Many of our traditions take place in October which means that October is one of our favorite months of the year.  At the top of our favorite traditions is making a trip to Big Bear every fall.  The boys talk about it all year and so does mom!  The boys and I took a trip to the pumpkin patch with James' preschool.  I had a Barnes and Noble reading in Los Angeles and we celebrated Halloween.  It's a good thing October has 31 days because we needed every single one of them for all the fun we had.

Big Bear

It is not a lie when I say that I planned an hour by hour itinerary for our Big Bear trip at least one month in advance.  And planning the trip might have been the happiest hour of my life.  We hit up our favorite eateries like Get the Burger, Saucy Mama's, Big Bear Manor Cafe and of course the Sweet Shop.  And we visited some of our favorite spots like The Big Bear Zoo, Main Street, 5 mile walk along the lake and for the first time ever, we golfed at Cosmic Golf!  As much as I loved doing all these things, some of my favorite moments were spent cooking and baking at the cabin next to a fire and a movie.  Just being with the family in the peace and quiet of the mountains is always a nice escape from our scheduled lives.

Pumpkin Patch

We had been talking about the pumpkin patch for about two weeks prior to going and wouldn't you know it...Foster threw a tantrum the entire time.  But that's life right?  And even though the afternoon was a bit more stressful than I wanted it to be, when I look back at the pictures all I remember is having a wonderful time with my boys.  This explains why people say their kids never threw tantrums...you forget the tantrums!!!  I do love that out of all the pumpkins to choose, Foster chose the smallest one he could find.  Beauty is in the eye of the beholder!!!

Barnes and Noble Reading

I had such an amazing opportunity to read and sign copies of James the Brave at Barnes and Noble Santa Monica. We sold out of all of the copies in the store and it was a wonderful weekend. I went up early with Ani, Tess and Joe and we stayed right in Santa Monica. We had a yummy dinner the night before the reading and then we were joined by Meridith at the signing. It felt so nice to be surrounded by so many people I love for such a special event. 

Halloween

It is no joke how much I love celebrating Halloween with my boys. We visited the Halloween shop at least three times just for fun, the boys carried skeletons around with them the entire month and we were watching Halloween movies in September! We love it! This year the boys were Iron Man and The Hulk. I can no longer choose their costumes for them, they have very serious opinions of their own now. We had a wonderful night at trunk or treat with carnival games and dinner. We decked out our trunk as usual and the kids went home with plastic pumpkins full of candy. 

The night of Halloween, I made chili and had the family over for dinner and trick or treating. It was a magical night for the boys as it always is! 

Honorable mentions:

1. It was farmer day at James' school and he was so excited.

2. Took the boys to see Hotel Transylvania which was a blast. 

3. Our boys bring us so much happiness. Scott and I feel so lucky to be their parents. They are everything. 

September 2015

September

The month of my birth.  A glorious month that not only celebrates yours truly but is the beginning of the best four months in existence.  The month was BIG for us.  James started preschool. We went on a Disneyland vacation with the Olsons and Taos. Scott got a pair of new shoes (okay, maybe not the most important event of the month) but he did go on a Mancation!  Did you hear that Sugi?  And yes, I celebrated my birthday, did I mention it was my birthday? To top if off I had my first ever Barnes and Noble reading and book signing.  It was a darn good month.  

Preschool

I have been nervous for James to go to preschool since the day I signed him up for preschool.  I was so afraid his anxieties would kick in and he would not have a good experience.  Boy was I wrong (that is the first time that has ever happened by the way).  So the first day of preschool came and went and James has been a happy boy ever since.  He loves his teacher Mrs. Turner and asks repeatedly if she can come to his birthday party in January.  Does this mean I have to throw him a birthday party in January?  Everyday he comes home with new stories of what he learned and the friends he is making and it makes me want to cry for joy.  I love watching the social-side of him grow.  He is happier since starting school and that is all I could ask for.  

Disney

We had an amazing trip visiting Disneyland with Grandma Olson, Pop-pop and the Tao cousins.  Disneyland is our favorite place after all and it was even better experiencing it with family.  We were there two days, two very HOT days but luckily the first day the park was so empty we could pretty much ride whatever we wanted without waiting in line.  And another positive is Disneyland offers about 8 slushy flavors which came in handy.  It was so fun to stay in a hotel and watch Disney fireworks from the hotel window.  Nothing better than watching fireworks while in one's jammies.  On our second day at Disney the crowds were back for all of the Halloween decorations which were put up the night before.  This meant we got to ride the Jack Skellington ride of course which is now the boy's favorite Disney ride.  And after two years of being pass holders, Scott and I finally got to ride Radiator Springs Racers and it was so amazing, we loved it.  Before I close our Disney adventures I have to give a special shout out to my Ghirardelli chocolate malt that I purchased on my second day.  It may have been the most delicious thing I've ever tasted.  Thank you chocolate malt. And also a big thank you to Rob and LeeAnn for making this amazing trip possible!!!

After Disney we headed up to Santa Barbara to attend Davis' baptism.  It was so special that we got to be there for the baptism and spending all day Saturday in Santa Barbara with family was so wonderful.  Can't wait to go back!

Scott got new shoes

Mancation

Finally Scott got to get out of town without any responsibilities, just a pack on his back.  He went backpacking up the Kern river with some friends from work and even though it was a short trip he loved spending time outside.  Even if it meant catching no fish.  It's just a reason to go back.

My Birthday

My birthday was wonderful, Scott took me to dinner downtown and I bought some new shoes.  Really September was all about new shoes.  If you remember nothing else, please remember that.  But I have to say, the best part of my birthday was waking up to breakfast and a beautiful serenade of Happy Birthday from my boys.  Foster still says "Happy Birthday mommy" which I let him because really, I should be celebrated all year.  

Barnes and Noble Signing

It was an incredible day. I read my book and signed books and people actually came and bought my book!!! It was a high point for me and I'm so grateful to be doing this whole book thing. 

As an added bonus to this post I will include some photos of our first Padres game as a family. Now if that doesn't feel like a reward, I don't know what does.

And as a bonus to the bonus, I will add a photo of my new haircut because I have not posted a glamour shot in awhile. 

Okay, I don't know about you but to me September felt a bit long-winded. Like it just keeps going on and on and on and on and on and on............the end. 

August 2015

I have waited so long to post about August that I have almost completely forgotten what took place in August.  But as I look back at pictures from August, I'm remembering that August was pretty great.  It was also pretty normal, no vacations or announcements just regular life in the Olson household.  So basically, it was awesome.

Cousin Visit

We were so lucky to have Stan, Monika, Isabelle and Ian come for a week long visit in August.  James and Foster never get to see these cousins and they had so much fun getting to know them better.  James asked if he could see them everyday for a week after they left.  While they were here we had a pizza party, did a lot of swimming at our pool and went to the zoo.  We are so excited to be traveling to Arizona for Thanksgiving so we can spend more time with our much loved cousins!

Beach Days

We spent many days at the beach in August because it is so hot inland that we can't do anything outside.  And also because we love Saturdays spent at the beach.  It is the perfect way to do the weekend and when Scott is there he does all the heavy lifting, builds sandcastles with the boys and lets me sit with my diet coke and watch them.  I really am so spoiled.

Soccer

Soccer started in August which makes sense because it's only as hot as the surface of the sun so it's a perfect time to run around outside.  Despite the 100 degree weather, the boys are really loving soccer. James is doing so well and loves his teacher, Foster has a little bit of a "too cool for school" attitude but we are working through it.  Basically he acts like he's going to fall down on the ground when they ask him to do anything.  He does really like building a cone tower and using the ball to kick it down and he likes throwing and kicking the soft balls as hard as he can.  I guess the rest seems like "kid stuff".  We have signed them both up for the next season of soccer and Scott and I are having so much fun watching them grow into these little unique and funny humans. 

Regular Life

Mostly we did our normal stuff like went on walks, spent Friday nights at the mall eating at Nordy's Cafe and letting the kids play on the mall playground, and enjoyed being together.  These are my most favorite moments that life has to offer.  I'll take more of these please.