Week in Review with the Tran kids

Today I will say goodbye to my favorite Asian munchkins in the whole wide world...the Tran kids.  I was fortunate enough to spend an entire week with them while their mom left for boot camp.  Surprisingly, the two hardest parts of the whole trip were being sick and having to still maintain their schedule, regardless of how I felt (I guess that's where my motherly instincts kicked in), and the second thing was of course saying goodbye to them.

During my stay we shared a few tears, tons of laughs, lots of cuddling, but more than that it was about creating memories.  I kept thinking to myself, if only someone could've taken pictures of our time together so I could cherish those memories forever on paper, but I'll just have to cherish them well within my heart.

I feel like after this past week I could write a book on kids saying the darndest things!  Ethan seriously said the cutest things all week, as well as his sisters, who for the most part just speak mumbo jumbo with occasional real words & sentences.  Some of the highlights of the week and what the kids said to me are as below:

Ethan...
- "Auntie Natalie thank you for watching me and my babies while my mom is away."
- "Auntie, I love you" (he said this probably on the hour, sometimes more)
- "Auntie, you are so good to me and my babies."
- "Auntie, I really hope you get better.  I wanted to get you a watermelon, because that always makes my throat feel better."
- "Auntie, if you make red soup (aka top ramen), that always makes me feel better.  You should try it!"

*My favorite thing he said to me came last night as he was playing his Wii sports game.  He was playing as 2 players with one remote in each hand.  Somehow my Mii won his Mii and so he said, "Auntie, you beat me again! I know how much you love beating me when we play the Wii!" It was the gosh honest truth coming out of his mouth and so adorable because for the first time he wasn't getting mad at me.  You see I'm beyond competitive...yeah you heard and read correctly, I don't even let my nephew or anyone else for that matter just win, because it's the right thing to do.  I know it sounds harsh, but losing builds character and why not start them out young?  I've finally proved my point with Ethan, that as long as you're having fun, it doesn't matter if you win or lose (for now that is...) =)

The few words/sentences the girls, Ellie & Avery could muster up all week that were so cute to hear were...
- "Auntie, I fall down!" (Avery)
- "Auntie, love..." (both girls)
- "Mommy, airplane" (Avery)
- "Kisses" (both girls)

We had such an incredible time at various parks, the mall, and of course at home.  I'll definitely miss my Asian munchkins, I'm just simply amazed at how fast they are growing.  I'm glad that I continue to have so many opportunities to be with them and help guide them along their way.  My life would not be complete without them.

Below are a few...ok maybe more than a few images from our time together.

 

 

Downtown Fullerton

My munchkin aka nephew Austin

This little guy warms my heart every time I see him.  He's my first legit nephew and I love him to pieces!  This past weekend my sister-in-law hung out in San Clemente and had a blast.  Austin definitely made us laugh the entire day!

Some of my memorable moments of this weekend that he did were:

- While playing with Austin he happily says, "Auntie you funny!"
- After giving him a sip/try of my orange bang drink, he paused and said, "Yummy! More!"
- As I was coming out of the restaurant (with more orange bang for the little guy) he says, "I found you Auntie!"
- In his stroller he shouted, "I happy!" (for no reason at all, adorable? YES)
- Once Austin woke up from his nap, he walks over to the hallway, lies on his back with his legs up and says, "haha I funny!"

Here are a few of my favorites I took of Austin for his Christmas present to his Great Grandmas...

Kaila & Charlie Bigani

Over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, I got to spend 2 of my 4 days off with one of our favorite friends, the Bigani's.  I not only love Jess & Rich, but their girls Kaila & Charlie are probably in my top ten of favorite kids to hang out with!  The girls are such a blast to be around, Kaila is so sweet and Charlie is so incredibly funny.  While I was helping Rich with their Christmas lights, Charlie kept saying, "Natalie can you swing my Mayflower (aka her boat she made with a plastic bin)!"  =)

Here are a few images from this weekend...

Payson, Arizona

This past weekend I flew to Arizona to spend the weekend with a dear friend of mine.  While I was there, she decided to take me up to Payson, Arizona for a day of antiquing.  The day was full of fabulous finds at the antique shops, great conversation, delicious food, and best of all a GORGEOUS sunset!

2nd Annual Wives Wine Tasting Weekend

These girls are amazing, hilarious, real, and genuine friends.  They each bring something unique and different to our clicka aka group.  Anytime we are together, we laugh like nobody's business to the point of crying!  The bond we have is beyond words and I believe we bring out the best in each other when we're together.

This past weekend was our 2nd Annual Wives Wine Tasting Weekend in Temecula.  It's a tradition we started last year on the 2nd weekend of November and will continue to do so, for years to come.  Here are some highlights of our trip.