The Ahlgrens

First Day Back To School

2018-01-03T22:27:00.000-08:00

This morning was rough. There was a lot of whining, crying, and general unhappiness. I carried Austin out to the car kicking and screaming, not even the grandma bus helped. I am so glad that when I picked them up from school they were in much better spirits. A little hot chocolate also helped.

It seems Austin’s unhappiness this morning was because he ran out of time to build his BB8 robot before school. We built it when we got home. Happy Boy!

Use the Force!

2016-07-26T10:37:00.000-07:00

We were back at the beach today. The kids were so funny, they were trying to use the force to keep the tide from coming in. Haha!

Ethan exclaimed that they had found a dinosaur bone and that they were famous because they were the youngest people ever to find one. They worked so hard to dig it up but unfortunately their force was just not strong enough to keep the tide out and their "bone" was once again buried.

Ethan gave boogie boarding a second chance but ended up taking a little beating in the waves and came in. Then Austin insisted on going out in the ocean so armed with his life vest and a boogie board he went out to play with Dave. With daddy's help he caught a wave and rode it all the way in before being tossed at the very end. Whoops!

We also had fun playing with Ali in the sand. She was so cute just exploring how the sand felt between her fingers and toes and in her mouth...Yikes! I looked away for one minute.

We ended the day by going to see Pets and eating dinner at Denny's. Their pancakes are delicious!

San Clemente!

2016-07-25T23:22:00.000-07:00

I just love coming to San Clemente! I love spending time with family. Going to the beach. Going to the pool. Walking up the street to go get yogurt/ice cream or visit Rocket Fizz.

Today we hit the beach and had a blast! The kids played in the sand and in the surf. Ethan and Lincoln both gave Boogie Boarding a shot and did great. The waves turned out to be a bit more powerful than they were comfortable with so they each did a few runs and were done.

They also spent about an hour just screaming at the waves coming in. Hilarious.

Oh and another exciting thing...Payton spotted dolphins just off the coast. Really cool!

Peaches

2016-07-22T22:02:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we got a bunch of peaches from my grandma. Dave LOVES these peaches and looks forward to them each year. I think he eats 2 or 3 every day.

This time I thought it would be fun to make some jam with them. Today my mom came down to help.

What an adventure! We ended up having to find a recipe that did not use pectin because after visiting several stores we could not find any. We ended up using every pot I own. And I burnt the palm of my hand grabbing a pot handle, oh boy that hurt and still is hurting.

When all was said and done we ended up with 2 pint size jars and 3 half pint. I sure hope it tastes good. 😆

Other news for the day...I took Payton in to the doctor for a lingering cough and it turns out she has Bronchitis and possibly a touch of pneumonia. Oh man, I am so glad I took her in and that she is now on medication to help her get better. Thank goodness for that!

A Lunch Date in Santa Nella

2016-07-21T23:00:00.001-07:00

Today we had plans to meet up with Grandma Vella for lunch at McDonald's in Santa Nella. Grandma was making a special delivery of peaches from her tree. 😀

Before we got to Santa Nella, Grandma called and asked if we wanted to meet her at the San Louis Resevoir. The kids had a great time exploring and learning that the lines around the Resevoir show how high the water levels used to be.

Austin is so stinking cute! Haha!

These two are good for a laugh as well. 😀

Payton was also VERY interested in getting a 4 generation picture. She got so irritated with the boys jumping into the pictures.

Austin's version of the picture...

We continued on with our lunch at McDonald's. I always remember going to McDonald's with Grandma and LOVING it. Making memories with the next generation. Haha!

The Rainbow Looms have returned!

2016-07-20T21:27:00.001-07:00

The kids have recently pulled out their rainbow looms again and have been going to town making bracelets, rings, and even competing on who can make the longest rubberband rope.

Today we went to Michael's for replacement bands and found the FingerLoom party pack. It came with 9 finger looms and we found a bunch of game ideas to use with it. The kids have pretty much been using their fingers to make their projects recently and I thought these would make it easier for them to set down their projects and then pick them up again later. They were so excited to use them and HAD to try them out before bed tonight.

Now to figure out the different kinds of bracelets we came make on them!

Pumpkin Patch

2015-10-10T23:50:00.001-07:00

Everyday on our way home from school we drive past the Pick of the Patch Pumpkin Patch. The kids ask everyday when we are going to go there. It is full of bouncy houses, a HUGE tiger slide, and an inflatable obstical course with a huge dinosaur on it. Who wouldn't want to go there. Haha!

Last week we told the kids that we would go today and they have been looking forward to it all week. Michelle has been telling us that Lincoln talks about it everyday. And everyday Austin asks if we are going "this day".

They had a blast! They LOVED the tiger slide, it took Austin a bit to find the courage to go down it but he did. They also enjoyed the obstical course, Austin wasn't sure about the part where you have to "squeeze through" but with some coaxing from Lincoln he made it through.

We had a great time! These are the pictures from my phone. I will have to take a peek at the ones on my camera.

On the mend.

2015-10-09T23:34:00.001-07:00

Payton has been on antibiotics for 24 hours now and boy do antibiotics make a difference. She is feeling so much better. Thank goodness!

She took a nice long bath this morning. Her rash still looks pretty bad and is pretty itchy. We love Benadryl! So thankful she is on the road to recovery.

Strep with a side of Scarlet Fever

2015-10-08T20:49:00.001-07:00

Payton has been home sick all week with a low fever and a sore throat. Poor thing.

Last night she developed a little rash on her chest and back. Then this morning while we were waiting in the waiting room to get my blood drawn her rash started spreading and within an hour covered her whole body.

Fortunately, the doctor was able get her in quickly. It turns out Payton has Strep Throat AND Scarlet Fever! Yikes!

So grateful that she can be treated with antibiotics and that the doctor predicts she will be back to normal very soon.

Love our little girl.

Spider Hat

2015-10-06T22:06:00.000-07:00

I just love these spider hats, I wish I would have kept Payton and Lincoln's from when they were going to Busy Bees Preschool. Maybe I can track down the pictures for a comparison. So cute!

Austin Strikes Again

2015-10-04T21:57:00.000-07:00

Austin decided to try standing on a ball and fell face first into a table. OUCH!

The good news is that he didn't knock a tooth out and that he didn't break a tooth. The bad news is that his lip wasn't huge and scraped up meaning that the force of the fall went full on to his gums. Now we are in a waiting game, will his teeth stay white and normal or will they turn dark? If they turn dark the Dentist recommended root canals. Yikes!

I am hoping they just stay white. :o)

Halloween Decorations

2015-10-04T21:38:00.000-07:00

Halloween is right around the corner and the kids were so excited to decorate.

Lincoln insisted on buying a bag of spider webs and spiders and then Austin insisted on another bag of spiders. Haha! We decided to put all of that fun stuff together with Lincoln's old spider costume to spookify our entry.

The kids had a blast throwing spiders into the webbing and trying to get them to stick. There ended up being a handful spider hanging from a single thread.

Lion King

2015-10-02T21:03:00.000-07:00

At the beginning of the summer Payton heard an advertisement for Lion King being performed in San Jose. It was then she started begging for us to go. Which led to Lincoln begging. Which then led to Austin begging.

In true Kimberly fashion, I procrastinated buying the tickets until the week before the last weekend. Guh! I think the internet actually laughed at me when I entered that I was looking for 5 seats all together. It turned out that there was only one show with seats all together and the seats were EXPENSIVE. Dave and I decided to go ahead and get the tickets.

The seats were awesome! We had 2nd row seats, when the giraffes bent forward they were right in front of us and when the animals walked down the aisles we were right there! The kids LOVED the show. I am so glad we were able to go and spend that time together as a family. It was great!

Austin has a friend!

2015-10-01T20:52:00.000-07:00

Austin had a play date today with his buddy Everett. They talked and played the entire time. It was so cute!

A Day of Lasts

2015-06-03T14:11:00.000-07:00

Today was Payton and Lincoln's last day of school and the ACS Carnival. What a fun way to end the school year!

There were lots of carnival games, face painting, a balloon person, and karaoke. Plus popcorn, snow cones, and cotton candy. Can you say sugar coma? The kids had a blast!

In case you were wondering about Lincoln's choice in face paint, he was either Olaf or the snow monster depending on when you asked. Haha!

I can't believe the year is over. I can't believe that Payton will be in 2nd grade and that Lincoln will be in Kindergarten. Crazy!

Lincoln and Payton both had such wonderful teachers. Ms. Gomes was wonderful with Payton and Mrs. Lasher and Ms. Day were a perfect combo for Lincoln. I feel so blessed to be able to send them to Almaden Country School.

Today was also the last day of soccer. Lincoln is super sad because he loves to play, Payton is thrilled because she doesn't like to play, and Austin is really indifferent about the whole thing, I think he actually loves it but his class was the last of all of them and he was always tired by the time his class started. Haha!

Cohasset House Progress

2015-06-02T14:48:00.000-07:00

This past weekend we moved from our old house to our new house. I wish I could say that we were able to move seamlessly into our new home, however the remodeling to our new house is not yet complete. So we moved our things into the garage and bedrooms and moved ourselves into Hotel Ahlgren.

Here are some pictures of the progress that has been made.

Iowa's welcome...

2014-08-23T14:03:00.000-07:00

Coming from an area in a record drought, imagine my surprise waking up in the middle of the night to the biggest thunder and lightning storm that I had seen and heard in a long time. Then to further my surprise imagine coming down in the morning to find out that the basement had flooded and had over 12 inches of water in it. Yikes!

It was quite fun getting to watch my dad and Uncle Richard work together to get the pump set up to pump the water out of the basement.

Once they turned the power to the house back on, I hurried to get in the shower and get ready so that we could get to the family reunion. Well, the first thing I noticed is that the water pressure in the shower was REALLY low. I figured maybe it was normal because the house is older and that is just how it was. Well, as soon as I got the soap in my hair I heard the water start to sputter and then all of a sudden the water turned brown and then stopped. Uh oh...

Called for Dad who was already on the way out to check the well so all I could do was wait. With dripping wet hair. With shampoo in it. Haha! After about 5 to 10 minutes my grandmother came back and told me to give up on the shower as it didn't look like they were going to get the water back on, at least right then. "Hmmm, hey grandma do you have any water bottles?" Yep, rinsed the soap out with bottled water that felt like it came straight from the fridge. It was invigorating!

Turns out the pump to the well had become water logged. So glad it was working again by the time it came to giving the kids baths after the reunion, they were filthy.

The reunion was fun. It was at a park, which was nice because the kids could run around and play. There were lots and lots of people I didn't know and lots and lots of people I hadn't seen in a really long time. It was so nice to see and visit with all my dad's brothers and sisters (except Aunt Betty, who wasn't able to make it.)

Mom, Dad, Aunt Chantel, Uncle Richard, Grandma, Uncle Dean, Aunt Karen, Aunt Mary, and Uncle Kenneth.

Nice to see our cousins too! I had fun getting to know them and their families again. Talked to my cousin's wife about healthy eating for quite a while. Very interesting!

My Grandma, her children, and their children, and their children... Haha!

Cousins! I wish I could find a picture of us all standing together when we were little. It would be funny to see how old we are all getting.

Jennifer, Jeremy, Paul, Melanie, Tammy, Austin, and me.

Road Trip!

2014-08-22T13:51:00.000-07:00

Road Trip!!!

It is no secret that my sister and I are horrible drivers when we are tired. So it was understandable why Dave, Andy, and other family members were concerned about us making the drive. However, I think we did great!

The original plan was for us to take turns driving while the other was napping but no one ever napped, except for the occasional child. Haha!

We decided to put the girls in the very back despite Caeden's tendency to get carsick because they were the lowest maintenance. This was probably the best decision. Caeden never got car sick and they pretty much got in the car and disappeared. They were content visiting with each other, watching movies, and eating. The boys on the other hand were very high maintenance. "I am hungry. My Nook isn't working. So and so took my... etc." They were really good it was just that the passenger was turned around half the time.

Pit Stop!

Dave had to say, "Hey, you should take a picture of Lincoln by a sign that says Lincoln." in response to one of our text updates letting everyone know where we were.

Well, we finally found one that wasn't on the freeway but saw it as we were passing the exit. So we turned around to get the picture. I am not exaggerating when I say that as soon as my sister opened the door to get out it started to down pour. They were both soaked when they got back in the car. And if you hadn't already called it, it stopped raining as soon as they got back in. Haha!

We were on the home stretch. Almost there. Then just like that the road the GPS had us taking closed. Detour. Well this detour was going to add another 30 minutes to our drive time. So we decided to check out an alternate route to get us back on course.

Yup, we did. We took the road. Haha! And our adventure continues. Fortunately we made it safe and sound to our destination. A and G's pizza. So nice to finally be there.

Prepring for the Road Trip

2014-08-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

Today was spent preparing for our 12 hour road trip to Iowa. Caeden and Maddix went to school and the rest of use ran errands so that we would have all that we needed for the trip, like snacks. :o)

The kids did really well being shuttled all over the place, but we had hoped to spend a little more time letting them run around and play.

We went to a wonderful restaurant called Wholley Strambolli (not sure how to spell it). It was delicious. The food was seriously so good.

When we sat down they gave all the kids packs of sticky sticks. I had never seen them before but the kids had a blast molding them into different shapes. I thought, what a great change from the usually crayons. That was until Payton somehow got two of them stuck in her hair. Oh well.

Flying to Colorado

2014-08-20T13:21:00.000-07:00

Today starts our journey to Colorado, with a final destination of Iowa. This is going to be quite the adventure.

Mommy is flying by herself with three kids. Yikes! This is really only a big deal for me because I am a very nervous flier. Fortunately, so far, it seems the kids have taken after Dave and show no anxiety when it comes to flying. Keeping my fingers crossed that this doesn't change on this trip.

The flight was alright. The kids were pretty good, thank goodness for electronic devices. I am convinced that Denver is THE WORST airport to fly into if you are a nervous flier. You know it is going to be bad when the captain comes on and says, "I have asked the flight attendants to pick up the cabin early and get to there seats as it is going to get bumpy. So the rest of you buckle up and hold on." Oh wonderful...

We were all excited to see Jen, Andy, the kids, and even Anthony stopped by to say hi.

Before bed Jennifer set up a little activity for the kids. I personally thought she was crazy. Painting on the walls?!?! She said, "Eh, it's washable right?" The kids had a blast. Maybe I need loosen up and let them do this in our house...nah, I will just let them do this at her house. :O)

Sunday

2014-08-10T22:18:00.000-07:00

I love Skype! When Dave is away traveling for work, I like that we can still see him and keep in touch. The kids love talking to him even though they do get a little crazy. OK a lot crazy.

Had a wonderful dinner over at Ralph and Michelle's. Pulled pork and mashed potatoes. Yummy! And after dinner at the request of our littlest we went on a walk over to see the chickens, bunnies, and turtles. The boys love going for walks and being outside, unfortunately, Payton is not as big a fan and refused to come. Oh well.

I love that we get to see so many animals, we almost always see deer. The kids love it and are getting really good at spotting other animals too.

Austin's Birthday

2014-08-08T21:42:00.000-07:00

I can't believe my baby is 2!

He is everything BOY. He loves running, climbing, exploring and does his best to keep up with his older brother and sister. He will not be left out of anything.

Since Austin loves anything with wheels we decided to make the theme of his birthday party Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (and boats). Instead of having organized games we left it a play date feel. We had an area with cars and a ramp, an area with trains, little planes, and wading pools with boats.

My little helpers were having a grand old time getting everything set up and ready for the party. Lincoln and Austin were helping to fill the wading pools and somehow ended up drenched. Hmmm.

As always I learned how to do some new things on my Silhouette and was really excited about that. This time I learned how to weld objects, which basically means taking several shapes and making them one shape. This was great because it gave me the ability to create a basic silhouette of a car, boat, plane, and train without having to glue a bunch of pieces together. I really liked how it turned out.

In the past, I have enjoyed being clever with naming the lunch items. However, this time I decided not to. Partly because all the cute ideas I had or could find involved a lot of work and effort that I figured would be wasted on a bunch of 2 year olds that wouldn't have even realized the fruit they were eating was put together in the shape of a car. Haha! So I settled for car, plane, and boat cookies and cupcakes with fun transportation toppers.

We made sandwiches for the kids (which I did cut into shapes) with fishy crackers, pretzels, watermelon, and yogurt. Then made Chipotle style burrito bowls for the mamas. Funny thing was that a majority of the kids chose to eat the beans and rice over the sandwiches.

The kids seemed to have a good time. They played with everything we had out to play with along with all the other toys in our playroom. The only child who seemed disappointed was our little friend Gage who was upset about me not getting our toy guns out. :o)

After Austin's birthday play date we had just enough time to clean up and get the birthday boy a nap before we had family over for a little dinner celebration.

In addition to our normal family we were also excited to have Kristen's sister, Kira, over. She was so nice. Even let Payton teach her how to make rainbow loom bracelets. We also were lucky enough to see Uncle Anthony. He just happened to be in town this weekend. What luck!

It was a really nice day and I think Austin loved being the center of attention.

Happy Birthday Buddy!

A Busy Day

2014-08-06T23:14:00.000-07:00

Today was a crazy busy day. We started by taking finally Payton to the Dermatologist. She has had a muluscum rash since February. Originally our pediatrician said not to worry about it, because she only had a few warts but she has gotten a lot more and they are not getting better.

I love the dermatologist, she was great. Payton even liked her. The dermatologist described muluscum as a virus on the skin that the body builds up an immunity to. I guess it is kind of like chicken pox. After talking to one of the parents of the kids in her class I found out that several of the kids had it during school around the time Payton first got it. Unfortunately, Payton has not yet started to build an immunity to it so the dermatologist has prescribed a cream that will help her to develop to immunity so the rash will go away. We are all excited to see if it works.

After our doctor appointment we headed over to have a playdate at Dorie's house, one of Payton's friends. We had so much fun. I thought we were just going over to play in the sprinklers but they had so much more planned.

A wonderful lunch, sandwiches, homemade soup, snacks. It was delicious.

Sharon, Dorie's mom, also planned to has the kids decorate T-shirts with puffy paint. I love how creative the kids are. Although, I will say that standing next to a 2 year old using puffy paint can be dangerous and to only stand close at your own risk. Haha! Paint goes everywhere.

For dessert, they planned ice cream sundaes. So good!

After the playdate, we came home to prepare for Papa Ralph's birthday dinner. It is so nice being close to family so that we can celebrate together so often.

Cartwheels

2014-08-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

Payton is loving gymnastics. I love that she loves it.

She is so excited to learn. She wants to be able to do a cartwheel so bad. Today one of the lead instructors was teaching a new instructor how to coach a child through doing a cartwheel. Payton was one of the kids they chose to be an example for the new coach. She was so excited, this was perfect because she has been working so hard to get the hang of it. They worked with her for about 5 to 10 minutes. The one on one instruction was great, she still can't so a cartwheel by herself but she is definitely getting the feel for it.

Bravery

2014-08-04T22:00:00.000-07:00

My little boy is so brave, every time we go to gymnastics he surprises me with doing something new. This week he attempted doing a seat drop by himself. It was awesome! He has never jumped off the mat before without holding someone's hand and today he went for it. Very exciting!