Slumber Party!

Los Tios had a wedding to go to so Bayleaf came over to our house to play. They were going to get back late so we decided to just have Bailey sleep at our house. Clarita thought that this was an excellent idea and spent all afternoon asking, "Bailey do you want to spend the night?" Bailey would say, "Yeah" and Clara would exclaim, "Oh you do, we're going to have so much fun!" Dada was off on his third 100 mile bike ride in three weeks (he's obviously crazy) but the kids and I had fun. I felt like I accomplished almost as much as him by cleaning the dishwasher (it was seriously the most disgusting thing I have ever seen and I am pretty sure it was not cleaning the dishes), shaving my legs (if you have kids you know how much of an accomplishment this is), and getting them all to sleep two hours at the same time!

What a big girl!

"Look at me Bailey, I'm cleaning!"

Watching Baby Signing time

Dada made dinner which included potatoes that every single person loved (nothing short of a miracle) and the kids and I went for a walk while he worked in the garden. Our walk ended up taking us to the park and little Bailey got so excited when she saw the big toy. She started pointing and saying, "that, that, that!" The girls had fun swinging and sliding, but Emmett had to stay in the carrier since my hands were full. He loves to be outside so he didn't mind too much! I was impressed with Bayleaf because she walked all the way there and back! Clarita insisted on holding one of Bailey's hands while I held the other and was very sweet helping her.

Feeding mint to Bailey

Bedtime was a circus (it always is so add one more and it got real loco) and poor Bayleaf was so tired that she started saying and signing sleep. I asked her if she wanted to go to sleep and she said, "yeah." Clara wanted them to sleep in the same room and against my better judgment, I agreed. By the time they were all in pajamas, teeth brushed, and read to it was 9:00, way past Bailey's bedtime. I was worried that the girls would wake each other up during the night but they managed to make it until 6:00 when we were woken up by Clarita yelling, "Dada, Dada, Bailey wants out!" Bailey was standing in the Pack 'N Play looking at Clara.

Nail salon time

Clara asked Bailey if she wanted milk...

...and she said, "Yeah."

So sleepy

Dada made blueberry pancakes (Clara insisted on chocolate chip and then ended up eating a few bites of those and choosing the blueberry ones) and once again we all loved them! Emmett was ready for a nap by 8:00 and the girls played and we got ready. Clara cried when I told her that Bailey had to go home after church. I had to wake Emmett up at 9:30 to go to church and I think we were all tired. Bailey did not make a sound on the drive to church and I thought she had fallen asleep (she hadn't). She was very excited to see her mama! We went to lunch after church and both girls had meltdowns. I think they were exhausted which means that the slumber party was a success right? I see many more slumber parties in our future!

Zombie Dada

So sad that Bailey has to leave

Snack time

Ready for church

Mama's Day

We had a great Mother's Day which began with Clara giving me the presents that she had picked out for me herself (and told me about a few days prior) and refusing to say "Happy Mother's Day" to me, but having a block say it to me instead (she's a strange one). Emmett took a short nap and I woke him up and we headed to church and then to Los Tios where Tio and Tia prepared a delicious lunch of seared ahi! We made pizookies for lunch and Clarita had to help prepare them. Everything was delicious and perfect! The Little Guy was super tired so I attempted putting him on a blanket on the floor of los Tios room to nap. He screamed, but eventually fell asleep. Alas both he and Bayleaf slept less than an hour. I think they didn't want to miss out on the fun! Unfortunately Tio Robert and Tia Erika were out of town celebrating their anniversary, but we had fun with Aba and Grandma Donna. We were so busy having fun that I forgot to take a single picture until right before we left (and the grandmas were already gone)!

Tia, Emmett, and Ava Sally Suemoto

They keep multiplying!

Our next stop was Tia Alyssa and Tio Rene's. Emmett fell asleep right before we got there and of course woke up as soon as we took him out of the car. Clarita did not sleep at all and declared that she was not tired. She immediately began playing with Teegee and Tristan while I tried to get Emmett back to sleep in the carrier. He refused but was super happy so we went with it. We had a delicious dinner complete with rum cake and homemade ice cream for dessert! The kids had so much fun playing together and Tristan sweetly entertained the girls and built things out of blocks when Clara requested him to. Clarita was also obsessed with wearing Teegee's shoes and kept going inside and putting hew pairs on. Emmett was content to snuggle and then play with Teegee's kitchen. The adults took turns shooting targets (I actually hit them!) and relaxing. The kids were exhausted and both fell asleep on the drive home. Neither woke up when we took them out of the car either! It was a great day and I am thankful for my sweet little ones that made me a mom as well as all of the other amazing moms in my life who help out with the kids and keep me sane! We are truly blessed!

Best friends!

Teegee caught a Clarita!

What a good big brother/cousin!

Note little Emmett playing in the background

Teaching the girls how to sling shot

Abuela Sheri and her babies

My sweet babies

Tour de Cure Napa

May 1, 2016 Dada and Fafa rode 100 miles in the Tour de Cure to help cure diabetes. They did a shorter version last year in Long Beach and decided to go big or go home in Napa this year. They both raised a ton of money (Fafa raised $2478 and Dada raised $1867) that goes toward funding diabetes research. It's a cause near and dear to their hearts since Abuela Sheri has had diabetes for over 40 years.

We decided to make a weekend out of the trip (all our vacations revolve around Dada's sporting events) and headed up to Napa Friday afternoon. Emmett slept for a good portion of the trip up, but Clara did not fall asleep until we were almost there. We had to stop three times, once to eat, once to go potty, and once to nurse Emmett and finally got there a little before 5:00. Fafa and Abuela Sheri got there right after us and we checked in, freshened up, and headed out to dinner. We ate at a little Italian place that had huge portions and was delicious. Clarita was in heaven because she got a lollipop after dinner with chicle in it! She had never had gum before and when I tried to tell her it was not for kids she explained to me that it was "kid's chicle" because it was in a lollipop and she proceeded to chew it. She didn't swallow it so I'll call it a win! After dinner we headed back to the hotel and put two very tired kids to bed. Clara loves hotels and was very excited about her bed. Both kids slept great and didn't wake up until after 7:00 the next morning!

Saturday we grabbed breakfast at Panera, headed out to wine country, and took a gondola ride up to a winery. Clara had chosen the gondola from brochures in the hotel and thought it was pretty fun. We went wine tasting (a very different experience with kids) and I was surprised at how many kids were there with their parents. Both kids were pretty well behaved and it was a success! We headed to lunch and Clara threw a fit because she wanted to go to the Jelly Belly factory and we told her that we didn't have enough time and would do it the next day. Luckily she got over it and fell asleep on the drive back to the hotel (Emmett did too so it was a nice, quiet drive!). Clara and Dada went swimming when we got back and Emmett and I joined them to put our legs in. Fafa and Abuela Sheri eventually come out and we enjoyed watching the kids splash around. Emmett absolutely loved the water and kept trying to jump in. The pool was still pretty cold so they went in the spa. We went to dinner at Fuddruckers which turned out to be a disaster because it took 45 minutes for our food to come. I think they must have misplaced our ticket because Fafa and Abuela Sheri got their food within 15 minutes. When I asked what had happened the manager was extremely rude. Clara was starving as almost crying because she wanted to eat. Luckily she was appeased with the promise of ice cream. We will not be going back there anytime soon! We all went to bed early after a long day!

Dada headed out before 6:00 AM on Sunday, but luckily the kids did not wake up until around 7:00. We packed everything up and got ready before meeting Abuela Sheri to go to the Jelly Belly factory. Clara was so excited about this and had studied the brochure. She wanted to see people dressed up in jellybean costumes like in the brochure and I warned her that there may not be any. Of course there weren't, and the factory wasn't running since it was Sunday. We still got to take the tour and there were videos but Clara was disappointed and not too into the tour. Emmett loved the little hat he had to wear and kept it on the entire time (he did sleep through most of the tour). Clara refused to wear hers until the very end, but was pretty excited about the store and the jelly bean sampling after the tour! After the factory I took Abuela Sheri on a little tour of downtown Napa and the hills since I go there for work all the time and know my way around fairly well. It was a beautiful day and a nice drive. Emmett slept most of the time and Clara fell asleep right before we got to the geyser. I let her sleep while the Little Guy nursed and she woke up pretty happy. We walked around the geyser (one of three in the world called "faithful" geysers due to their predictability. Dada and I had been there years ago and it had changed a lot! Clarita declared that she did not like the geyser because it splashed her, but she loved feeding the goats! It was hilarious listening to her talk to them, "Come here cabra. No, not you Mama Cabra, I want the baby one! Good job, you ate all your food!" Emmett loved the animals too and petted some goats amidst squeals of delight. We grabbed some lunch and headed to the end of the race to wait for the guys. We didn't have to wait too long before they rolled up. They managed to ride 100 miles, with quite a bit of climbing and we were so proud of them! Dada has done other century rides, but this was Fafa's first. I hope that I am in that good of shape when I am 68!

All made of jellybeans!

So impressive!

She was pretty excited about signing a car!

After they ate we headed back to the hotel so Dada could shower before hitting the road. We left a little after 5:00 with two tired kids. Emmett slept but Clara was wide awake. She was really excited about the windmills and the fact that they make energy. We stopped at Chipotle around 7:00 and both kids fell asleep for the rest of the trip. It was a great weekend and we are proud of Dada and Fafa for their fundraising efforts as well as their training in order to ride 100 miles!