Growing up WAY TOO FAST!!!

Friday, the girls had much overdue haircuts....Catie has been wanting to cut her hair shorter....well...short she went.....she hasn't had hair this short since we went to China for Meigan in 2004....she's been growing it since...long bangs now.....well, this new "do" is very Catie...and very grown up.....where did my baby go???

Catie, Meigan and Ella

just a few more pics of the girls with Ella.....she's the cutest 18mos. old that I know...though I'm biased as her Auntie, she's one funny kid with a fantastic personality.

2007 Christmas

Our holiday festivities started the 20th of Dec. with my parents arrival....school got out the 21st and holiday break began. My brother, Nicole and little Ella arrived the 23rd... We had a great visit, the girls loved having everyone here, and Brian and I LOVED having my Mom and Dad to babysit :)) Brian and I got to go to a party, and had nights without the girls while they stayed in the hotel with my Mom and Dad... :)) the visit was too short for us, and they left the 28th. But, we'll see them in Feb. when I take the girls to NH....yes, NH in February..WHAT am I thinking you ask?? I'm pretty much nuts I think...but the girls are dying to get to my parents house, play in the snow, and see my other brother Kevin & Family, and big cousin Dylan who is 13 now and little James who is almost 2. We haven't seen them since Christmas 2006...much much much too long...

CHRISTMAS EVE

On the moring of Christmas Eve, we met up with my cousin Michael, his wife Aggie and their kids Connor, Bella and Francesca and my cousin Deirdre (who's soon to be a Mom) and her hubby Martin. They live close by in San Anselmo and Sausalito but we hardly see each other with all the kids crazy school schedules. The kids always get along instantly and have a blast together...though this time, Catie & Bella were spitting at boys...what the *#*#*#*#*#???? I said...so we had to have a little time out at the park...the age of 7 1/2yrs. old is going to be a very hard challenge I fear......

looks like trouble to me............................

Cousins...young and old.....this is one of those rare photos to have...4 cousins together and kids...

My Mom's sister was here as well and they got to visit...it was a fun morning at the park...never mind it was in the 60's out and sunny....

By 4pm, I had the girls at church getting ready for their parts in the Christmas Eve play. Catie was an angel and Meigan was sheep...It was a really cute play, and the kids all did their parts perfectly.

Catie is the angel 3rd from the left....

and here is my little sheep....with her game face on....ready to crawl/baah her way down the aisle of church with all the other animals....

After church it was home to light luminarias all along our walkway, driveway and sidewalk, have dinner and get the kids ready for bed. In keeping with family tradition from when Ryan, Kevin and I were little, Christmas jammies are handed out Christmas Eve before bed and photos are a must!! and yes, that is Oreo in the background trapsing over the gifts looking for bows to tear off...

Here are Meigan, Catie and our little niece/cousin Ella who is 18mos old...this was the first time we'd seen Ella in a year...she was 6mos. old last time....

More Cute kitty pictures....

Just a few more cute pics of our new kitty and then I'll get to the Christmas photos.

The girls finally decided on her name..it took almost 2 weeks to come to agreement.....her name is Oreo...yes, like the cookie....it fits her, all black and white....she's still full of spunk and fiest and races around the house like a mad kitty....Catie said the other day "Mom, she's a freak"...and sometimes I agree...however, she didn't take down the Christmas tree as we feared she might, but she'd race around the tree, pick off bows and ribbons and pulled off ornaments..... we're looking forward to the day she mellows out....

Oreo decided to take a nap on my Dad...he doesn't know I snapped this picture...and since he doesn't have a computer, he'll never see this...heh heh heh.....

Introducing.......The Newest Van Weele

not quite sure WHAT Brian and I were thinking this afternoon, but we took the girls over to the Marin Humane Society...they've been asking for a kitten since their birthdays....and we've gone a few times this fall to see kittens, and play with them, etc.....

Brian and I weren't sure we wanted a cat again...our beloved Jake who we had for 12yrs. was put down over 3yrs. ago...but we thought "oh, how could we ever replace Jake"..he truly was the most awesome cat..ever.....

however, this afternoon, it seems that Jake has been reincarnated, in the female version....this little 3 month ball of fire, came into the house, raced around, jumped from couch to chair, jumped from a table onto Catie, leaped, climbed, knocked over stuff and scratched Meig in the face, all in the first few hours.....she's the perfect fit, and JUST like our Jake was...

we've not decided quite yet on a name for this little spitfire...but we have to say, she is CUTE, CUTE CUTE!!!!!!!!!

right now, she's sitting between the girls while they play a game of Trouble, and she's trying to hit the dice with her paw....SO CUTE!!

A Month passes us by....geesh time goes by fast...

My last post left us leaving for Cabo San Lucas on November 18th....hard to believe that so much time has gone by since then with no posting from moi!

i"ll recap Cabo to this weekend below...fun in the sun to cutting down a Christmas Tree in the cold wind and rain, to nice Christmas card photos of the girls....

Meigan will turn 4 1/2 on the 21st of this month...CRAZY! I just had to register her for kindergarten this week....even CRAZIER! how can that be....I remember our trip to New Hampshire to my parents in Dec. 04, when Meig was 18mos. old and she screamed half way to Boston, and half way back on the airplanes.....god, that was just awful...horrible.....how far she has come...though she can still have tantrums like those of years ago, which makes my gray hairs grow at the light of speed...

Catie, almost 7 1/2 (in January)..she's amazing...SO smart, reading well into a 3rd grade level, smart, smart....oh, and as of late... sarcastic, bossy, ignores her parents, rude, screaches at her mother, torments her little sister (finally, she's on the giving end of the torment, she's been tormented for 3yrs. by Meigan).....hmmmmmm.....this should be a "fun" winter season...... again, gray hairs growing at light speed!!

life is as it should be with 2 kids...never a dull moment...all are healthy, happy and just the most special gifts we could ever have in our lives!

OUR 2007 CHRISTMAS CARD PHOTO....

OFF TO CUT A TREE....

Last Sunday the 2nd we went up to Sebastopol to see Brian's oldes son Brian, his wife Karen and Maggie and Schye..who Catie and Meigan adore more than life itself...we had lunch and went in the windy, pooring rain to cut down trees...it was SO MUCH FUN! we hadn't cut a tree in years, and this was such fun.....here are Maggie, Schye and Catie & Meig infront of the tree we got....it was such a fun day...the girls ran throughout the tree farm getting sopping wet...it was fantastic!!

OTHER PICS FROM THE TRIP......

back at SFO....still smilin' though.....

This is the view off our beach...that's part of the Pedregal that you see..homes built into the cliff....ridiculous homes...BIG BIG BIG $$$$$$$ up there.....and one of those on the edge has a pool built into the rock, with a window so they can see out to the Ocean....just crazy...

one last picture before we left for the airport home.....

part of the big pool we hang out at...this is below our condo unit...and off in the distance, that's the Pacific Ocean with a gigantic cruise ship leaving...

Meig and Catie got hold of my camera and did a few goofy photos....they crack me up!

Meig needs to crash...doesn't matter which end of the lounge chair it is apparently...

awww....

Thanksgiving Day...Mexico Style....

we started the day with donuts, cheerio tricks, jumping in the pool a kazillion times during the day (that's Meig in the pink suit, airborne).. lots of fun drinks for Mommy and Daddy by the pool, a traditional (well, sort of ) dinner with our dear friends Bob and Amy at our fav. hangout in Cabo, Pancho Villas, some mariachi music and a whipped cream mustache... it was a fantastic Thanksgiving away from home.....

THE BIGGEST SHIRLEY TEMPLE....EVER!!!!!!!!!!

as you can see by Catie's face, this was like winning the lottery....we took off to San Jose del Cabo (a short ride from downtown Cabo San Lucas) to see this old style town...I was in search of an amazing restaurant that I'd seen on the Food Network (yes, I love the food channel)...we found the restaurant, but it was only open for dinner.....I was SO disappointed...but we found another amazing place for lunch..the Tropicana Inn...sounds a bit cheesy...but once inside, it's an old church, that was the most amazing place we'd ever been in...just beautiful with it's architecture, murals, etc...and top notch lunch...never mind the gigantic shirly temples the girls had....I remember being in Ixtapa, Mexico many many many many years ago, and having margaritas in glasses like the ones Catie had....

early morning sand castles on the beach....

Catie waits patiently for the phone to talk to Nana and Grampa before flying off to Cabo....

Meig calling Nana and Grampa in New Hampshire from the SF Airport while we wait for our plane to Cabo...

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

Here is where we'll be spending our week!

http://www.playagranderesort.com/

it's our week of the year to have nothing but FUN!!! and this year will include swimming with dolphins! we usually go the week before Thanksgiving, but this year, our week fell on the holiday week.....

we'll have lots of poolside margaritas.....heck we've earned them!

stay tuned for pics in a week!

Adios!

Kristin, Brian, Catie & Meigan

Beautiful.....

A dear friend took this photo of Catie a few weeks ago...she's a wonderful photographer who captures my kids in photos like nobody else....

growing up so fast our girl is....so fast....and just so beautiful....

Jack-O-Lanterns.....

The girls and I had some fun this afternoon.....both were Catie's designs, carefully drawn out on paper (including the one snaggle tooth on the one on the right).....mind you, it was almost 80 degrees here today...one would think summer was upon us...not Halloween......

some pictures need no words.......

however this one does...

anyone want to guess how many Trader Joe's stickers it takes to keep Meigan quiet??????????????

Soccer Season ends......

Catie LOVED her first soccer experience....they had a great team, named the Shoukas (after an orca whale at Marine World)....Catie had never played before this year, and she really had a great time (which is really what sports for 7yrs. is all about)...

The team got beat today pretty bad, but the girls kept up their fight....after the game we had a little party with cupcakes and snacks, and their coach gave them each a trophy and some photos! Our coach, was just amazing...so great with these girls she was...just fantastic!! (as we saw other coaches who just take 8 & under girls soccer WAAAAYYY to seriously...it is a kids game)...


here is Catie getting her trophy from Coach.... ready to start the game!!!

Trick or Treat Preview

Here are the girls this morning, on our way to the safe trick or treat that our town puts on every year....the kids walk along the downtown and all stores hand out candy....very very fun!

Bri, notice the cobwebs!! The girls were insistent on them, so we got some and put them up...the front of the house looks great.......

tomorrow we carve our pumpkins....

we miss you Daddy! hurry home from London!!!

Now You See it......Now you don't......

This HUGE tree, sat on the easement to our backyard, above our pool.....causing tons and tons if pine needles in our backyard and in our pool, jamming the pool equipment, and in the late summer blocking sun from the pool..........

The picture after....NO MORE TREE!!!
it was a very happy day here for us, as our neighbor behind us on the hill cut that big ole' tree down...so...bring on next summer and the loads more sun we'll have on our pool!!!!!

Brian..check this out....it's amazing! and just think, we didn't have to pay a penny for it to be cut down!!!!! which is good, because I think the dishwasher exploding under the kitchen sink, is gonna cost us some $$$$$$$$$$.......

hurry home from London.....:)

Daddy's in London...week 1....

Brian's been gone since the 21st....and as it stands now, he's due back Nov. 15th....spending time working outside London in Godalming...a very cute suburb or London....he has already found a great pub, and a record store (for those who know Brian well, you know he's hit paydirt with a record store in this little town).....

so, the girls and I have been solo for almost 7 straight days.....so far there has been the usual busy stuff with school, etc. during the week....

now, it's Saturday night, and at 7:30pm, my dishwasher blew a MAJOR leak under the sink, flooding out the garbage disposal AND the pipes....ANd the HD cable box went out, so I had to move the very large TV we have and the stand, and I think strained my neck and shoulders in the midst of that, rewired the cable to work now......and I've had no dinner...

however, I did buy myself a nice silver bracelet today, for my anniverary (Nov 11) as Brian will be in London then....I think I deserve that...

stay tuned...week 2 without Daddy starts Sunday.....we'll see what this has in store for us...

GO RED SOX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

All geared up in our house to cheer on our Red Sox.....Game 1 World Series...tonight!

as the girls chant " Go Red Sox, Go Red Sox, Go Red Sox".....

Another Month almost gone by....

Hard to believe it's been almost a month since my last post... seems I can't find time anymore to blog or even take pictures of the kids anymore....between flying between 2 schools, volunteering at each school, and dragging myself back to the gym and working with a trainer...I'm just too wiped to blog lately....

October is flying by....school, playdates, gymnastics, birthday parties, soccer practices and games, homework...blah, blah blah...and on and on it goes....

no pictures to share from lately (bad mother I am on that front)...but I'll have some next week after Halloween!

The Month of September

wow, the whole month went by and I didn't blog ONCE! how that happened, I'm not quite sure...but it flew by at quite a rapid rate! I'll recap best I can...

We spent Labor Day weekend out at Stinson Beach with friends who rented a house...FUN was had by all...and what a warm weekend it was out there...gorgeous...the kids were in the water for 2 days straight, and they learned to boogie board...even Meigan was riding the waves in...hilarious.....the adults sat and ate yummy food and drank wine on the beach and relaxed for 2 days...now, that is what I call a vacation!!!

after that, nothing much happened....Meigan wasn't in preschool until the 20th of Sept...then, that glorious day came, and off she went, lunchbox and all! She was so happy to start preschool again!!

We've been in soccer every weekend and Meigan has started gymnastics again every Tuesday.

Last weekend we headed up to Tahoe to do more cleaning out of the house (which isn't selling, by the way)...and it was CHILLY when we got up there Friday....well, by morning time...we had SNOW!!! and it was 28 degrees when we got up...the kids were so excited to see snow, and I thought "oh no, we have no snow clothes"...there was no snow in the forecast.....it was chilly, but it warmed up a bit in the afternoon and we went to an Oktoberfest at the Village at Squaw Valley where Catie and Meigan did kiddie bungee jumps, and Brian and I got a nice big stein of yummy beer! love those events that have something for everyone!!!

Pictures below capture the whole month of Sept...enjoy!!

Catie gets some air.....

Meig gets going....

all strapped in and ready to go!!

SNOW on September 29th????????????? yep....

All ready to go back to preschool....think she's excited???

surfer chick....she LOVED boogie boarding!!!

Catie became a pro....she was on that board for hours.....