Mellons in NYC

Well yesterday we took a bus trip to NYC with the four boys, and it was an adventure. We began by taking a subway ride to Battery Park where we hoped on the Staten Island Ferry and got a great view of the Statue of Liberty. We then walked to "ground zero" and saw St. Pauls church. We ate lunch at a little Deli and took the subway back to Time Square. We went to the Toys R Us store that was insane. We took the kdis to the M&M store, where they got to find out what color of M&M they were. We also bought a few M&M's there. We then headed down Broadway with all the people and went to Rockefeller cener-INSANE! We went to St. Patrick's cathedral, and then headed to Central Park when we ran into the Disney Store, we spent a little time there and then headed back to our bus. It was a great trip Presont walked the entire day.






Jakes quote of the day....when we saw Santa taking pictures near Rockefeller Santa Preston wanted to go see him. When I had to pay him to take a Picture Jake says, "He's not the real Santa, he wouldn't charge you!"

Jake in the Spirit of Christmas

Jake went outside to make a snowman. Half way through he decided it was looking more like Mary and baby Jesus, so he decided to finish his masterpiece that way. He was very excited about it. We got another snow storm last night so his sculpture is currently another pile of snow, but he is anxious for it to warm up a bit so he can go outside and dust it off.

SNOW and this time I welcome it!

Well we had a real good snow storm yesterday. It started at around 10:00 am and snowed until about 10:00 last night. The snow was beautiful, light and fluffy....not so wet like last year, although I am told it will get that way. I finally let the kids go out at 4:00 (they had to finish chores and homework). Well it gets dark around 4:30 but the kids did not want to come in. I think that they will have a blast this winter with all the snow we are expected to get. Preston was playing with his friend Jade, while Chandler was busy making snow angels.

No, I am not a terrible photographer and your eyes aren't playing tricks on you ....It was still snowing when I took these pictures.

Mellon Boys Just Because

Just an updated picture of the four boys. This is about 3 weeks old, just before church. How hadsome they look, I know I am a bit prejudice. I am just thankful for each one of them. It is amazing to have 4 boys that come from the same family but have such different personalities and behaviors.

How to determine what your present is.....

Well I must say kids say and do the strangest things. I can remember doing a lot of the same things when I was a kid. But I have a new one for you all. This year we decided to try something different, to put the Christmas presents under the tree with name tags on them (in the past I have disguised them and don't put them out until closer to Christmas). Anyways the kids are excited and looking at which ones are theirs and trying to figure out what they are. Well Preston tells me, "Mom, I know what that big present is." I asked him what it was (and to make a long story easier to type) He says, "Lincoln Logs." I asked him what made him think that....he said...."I smelled them." He was right!

Bah Hum Bug

Chandler Played Scrooge in his school play this year. I know yoyu are all thinking wow....well it was really a play on the life of Charles Dickens so his part was very minor.....but he did a great job. He also got to play the part of the anonimous show host. I think this is one of Chandler's many calling in life. He loves to perfom, he loves to have people watch him, he will be a star. He is a star, mine!

We are getting ready for Christmas. We will definetely have a white one this year as we have 2 storms preparing to hit this week. It is cold. Today's high will be 22. I have three pairs of socks on, 2 shirts and a sweatshirt. Mom, I turned my air up 2 degrees.

For Mom!

This is for mom. I know that you wanted to see this picture and it is easier to post it here than to email it. And for those of you who are curious.....this is me and Terrie at the Vicarious Visions Holiday Social Gathering. I do have a picture of Geoff and I but we both agree it should be deleted. Mom you can leave a comment and tell me what you think....

Who is this masked man?

Hayden gets a hold of a marker......he was extremely proud of all of the artwork. The face was a last minute thought. When I told him I didn't think it would come off he said, "Don't worry mom, it's Crayola." Well he then asked what day we had church. Well today is Saturday and although it is Crayola it didn't completely wash off, we will have to see what it looks like tomorrow, but I think people are going to think he has a couple of black eyes.

Winter Update!

Well it is cold here. We got snow on Sunday and a lot of sleet and ice on Monday morning. School was delayed by 2 hours. It looks like we might get our first White Christmas. It definetely helps get you in the holiday mood.

Yesterday I did spring cleaning, my dad asked if I had mey seasons mixed up. I explained to him that in the spring you want to get outside, you have been trapped in your freezing house all winter. In the winter you have to find things to do, inside your house.

Well I wish I had something more exciting to post. Just watch though...in 10 days we will be taking the boys down to NYC...should be lots of fun!

Suprise Riley

Well I just returned from California. My Brother in Law Brian had a 30th Suprise party for my sister. I think she was suprised. It was a good visist and so good to see them. They will be moving to Phoenix the begenning of the year so I don't expect to get back to San Jose again.

I arrived on Friday night and stayed with my Mom and Cary and Steffani at a hotel. We couldnt let Riley know we were there. It was hard not to see her but great to spend time with the others since they would be leaving the next day. We went to the Winchester Mansion, very bizarre place, doors that open to nothing or to the second floor below, and stairways that lead to nowhere.

I got to spend a bit of extra time with the Palmers (my sis). Madison is a crack-up she let me sleep in her bed. She also likes to show you her naked bum. Riley and Brian both look great!

Extra! Extra ! Read all about it. Chandler cuts his Hair!

Well I must say that I was a bit sad to see all the hair gone. I liked the longer hair, but he was ready....I think he really wanted the shock factor. It took me over 45 minutes to cut it. He has a lot of hair. So here we have a before and after (the before is actually a few days earlier-but will work). He really didn't want me to take his picture so he kept making ugly faces so I decided to choose one of those ugly faces to share. What a mom I am. I know!

Jake turns 9

A big event at your house Jake has turned 9. Actually it was a pretty easy one this year. Jake didn't want to do much and he really didn't want much. He had 3 friends over to spend the night, he wanted to make pizzas and have rootbeer floats. The boys all had sports the next day so the last one left at 7:45 am. I took him shopping on Saturday and pretended that I was PAPA cause thats what my Dad would do with them for their birthday. Sunday was his real birthday. We went to church and then the Balogs, Derricks and Helsoms came over to help us celebrate. We had stuffed shells cause that is Jakes favorite. All he really wanted was Webkinz and puzzles so that is what he got. I think he now has 6 Webkins. He carries them all with him.

You didnt know I had princesses.

What cute little princesses....I always wanted a girl. Okay real story for Halloween I was Galinda from Wicked...well kinda and Terrie was supposed to be Elphaba....well anyways she wouldn't paint her face green, so I bought her a Tiara and a wand (as a joke). Well Preston and Hayden opened the gift and proceeded to dress themselves up. They had a lot of fun, and looked so cute. Geoff wasn't so thrilled with the cute pictures but I thought that I should share anyways. I hope to save these to share with their girlfriends.

Halloween

Well Halloween is here. We have been busy. I think that Halloween may be the craziest Holiday. The kids had Monster Mash at school on Friday night. A big party at the local Fire Station on Saturday. Today Preston has his preschool party. Tomorrow is Trunk or Treat and then of course Wed. is Halloween. So we will have plenty of pictures. These are from Friday.

Chandler wanted to be Fudge but their wasn't much to a costume so he was a Jedi. He called himself RanDom the Jedi (random....because he wasnt anything specific) it was really cute. Ever since Hayden was 2 he has wanted to be something scary. This year I asked him if he wanted to be a Dr. (I bought the costume last year - cheap) He said only if he could be a vampire Doctor. But we had to stick to Dr. blood for school. Jake is a Zombie, and he stayed in character all night long. Preston of course was Diego. He says he wants to be Diego every year he says. He looked so cute.

Geoff carved this really cool pumpkin. It took him almost 5 hours. Next year we should have quite the display. Trick or Treating was fun. Preston started having problems breathing so Geoff took him home. On Our way home Jake went with a friend and his bag broke. He found some of his candy but was disappointed in all his hard work. The kids have been trading candy. I am trying to stay away.

For Diana-A Wonderful Person

Okay just in case anyone else is wondering...some friends of mine are doing a scrap exchage to make and I SPY quilt. So the fabric is cut but I still want to find a few really "OH WOW" fabrics so this is proof that I am there, that I do have it....it is cut.....it will be mailed on Monday. Linda are you still in and Lucinda too....I have fabric for you too!!!!!!!

If you want a larger image...click on it!

On the way to Halloween-Mom!

Well it is almost Halloween and we are getting ready. We have known that for a long time Preston would be Diego. He has been in love with Diego for awhile. I thought he would out grow it but he hasn't. The only Diego costume I could find was so "cheesy" and at 29.99 I wasn't going to buy. So I am attempting to create it. Not that it is that hard...Well I sew but usually just quilts. I have never made clothes, but I did make Jakes first Halloween costume. So this is where I am at. I have made the vest and I think it will do fine. I just have to add the logo.

Liberty Ridge

Well thank goodness they rescheduled Haydens fieldtrip to the farm for today. It rained all day yesterday but today was another beautiful sunny day, although it was a bit chilly (not like Monday). This was a huge farm with a lot for the kids to do. The biggest corn maze I have seen, actually they have 2, the second one the estimate takes about 45 minutes to get out of. We went on the first one and ended up needing a tour guide.

Hayden played in what was called a rat race. He looked like a hamster getting exercise. There was also a really cool underground slide. I must say that upstate New York has some really great pumpkin patches. And the scenery is beautiful, this farm was just off the Hudson River it had it's own break-off river from the Hudson that runs by the farm.

Sunnyside Gardens is Sunny

Well today Preston had a fieldtrip to Sunnyside Gardens. Todays high was 78. So nice and sunny. I was wearing Capri Pants and sandals. I feel like I should be in Arizona, except that it is so beautiful here. We went with his preschool but more importantly with his best friend Jade. She lives next door and Preston is very protective and possesive of her.

Anyways the fieldtrip was a lot of fun. It was the cutest pumpkin patch. We want on a hayride that went into the woods, and the woods were all decorated.

There were at least 40 different cutouts the kids could stick their heads in to take pictures, and Preston loves the camera. There was also a corn maze, and a big giant haystack for the kids to play on. There was a train ride and they got to pick a pumpkin. They were able to go into a butterfly place, i cant remember what they called it, but Butterflies live in their year round. It was cool to see them flying all over the place. Preston was exhausted and he fell asleep on his way home. It was a lot of fun.

Soccer

Well the three older boys just finished up soccer for the year. This is the first time Chandler has played since we left Arizona. He did pretty good after he remembered how to play. He ran really fast and loved to kick the ball. His asthma didn't always cooperate, but he pushed on. He says if he can't play basketball next year then he will play soccer again.

Jake and Chandler were actually on the same team this year. It sure made it a lot easier on us parents. Next year we wont be so lucky. Their team color was Cranberry, altohough they called themselves purple. Jake loves to play soccer. Well sometimes. Sometimes he just likes to run around the field. He loves to play forward and get in witht he action.

Hayden is ready to step it up a notch. He currently is playing what had been referred to as "beehive ball" see all the kids swarm the ball and just kick. There are no rules, no outs just 2 goals at each end of the field. The first game he scored 5 goals in a row, we told him not to be a ball hog and well he kinda backed off for the rest of the season, unless occassionally he felt like it. He would charge the ball, kick it and then just stop. Maybe it was because of the tam name....Chocolate Thunder!

I think Preston is ready to play. Watch out next year!

Preston had his tubes removed. We walked into his recovery room and he was so calm and quite. Not at all like the other kids and what the nurse warned us we would experience. The red popsicle was dripping down his face, like he had forgot that it was hanging out of his mouth. Red drool covered his mouth and his chest. Nothing was better than the smile we received, we then knew he was okay. Aren't kids just the best. I can't imagine life without them.

Mom and Pee-Wee's Papa

My mom and Cary just left. We had a great visit. Well everyone but Preston...Why? Well because he doesn't like being called Pee Wee. He was ready to pack Cary's bag, although he said that he can come back if he doesn't call him Pee Wee. We had good weather, despite the initial weather predictions. Again, we had a great time at the Apple Orchard and although the Gala's weren't available this year, we found that the Empire's were great.

Dad is back in town

Well if it isn't one thing after another. Actually a few months ago Dad sends me an email asking for a list of dates that I would be busy. So there was really only one at that time, Octover 3rd-well Dad gets here on the 2nd. But all worked fine cause he really jsut wanted a place to lay his head so he could go on a real trip to Niagra Falls and Palmyra. Just Kidding.



Upon his safe return we soaked up so good ol' NY weather in Lake George, we were waiting for it to clear up so we could enjoy a nice little boat ride. Little did we know how enjoyable the rain would be, considering we were up in the 80's on Saturday, which made for a warm day at Soccer and even warmer at the Apple Orchard, which is normally a Mellon Favorite.

Grease is the Word

Okay how much fun is it to watch a reality show....Lots and it is even more fun to watch it in action. Grease was so much fun. Terrie, the sweet friend that she is bought me a ticket to the broadway play for my birthday. Four months later we celebrate. What a blast. Just a silly time.

The wax museum was a riot. We met a lot of famous people. I think one day Terrie and I could be a tag-team comedy act, at least I know that we could crack ourselved up! If you are ever in town ask to see my Superman movie. You just might be impressed.

West meets East in NYC

Well Casey and I went to NYC. There was a lot to do and not a lot of time to do it. We walked and walked, we figure about 15 miles. We saw the Statue of Liberty, The World Trade Center, A really cool church next to the WTC...lots of WTC memorials. We walked and shopped through China Town and Little Italy, we ran from the Pizza guy. We hung out in Time Square, ate and saw the Naked Cowboy. We took the escalator all the way to the top of Macy's and then the subway to Central Park. We saw St. Patricks Cathedral. We shook Al Rocker's hand, and although we didn't make our Today Show debut it wasn't from a lack of trying.

All and all it was a great time 2-Old Friends in the Big Apple!