A Walk on the Wild Side...

Where did Sam go...

2009-05-07T17:47:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I'm still here, even though I have disappeared for a month (or so!). Life has been crazy busy. We went to Disneyland, I had my girlfriend from Japan come and visit (miss you already, Manda!), it's recital season, so I have been going nuts trying to finish my routine, and Riley has been having a bit of a rough month. All in all, I'm about ready to ditch the world for about a week and hide in a hole. Preferably one with a spa! So, obviously, I have a LOT of blogging to catch up on! Here we go...

Riley's First Trip to Disneyland!

2009-03-16T19:44:00.000-07:00

This is Riley's first trip to the Disneyland Resort. He has been revved up for about a month now. We went in at 8 on Thursday night. As soon as we got our annual passes we shot into Disneyland. We got right on Star Tours and as soon as we exited the ride, the fireworks show was on. We had a great view of the Matterhorn with the fireworks right behind it. It was perfect. We left for the hotel because the park closed right after the fireworks. Riley loved the ride and kept calling it the Spaceballs ride. It was so cute! He rode everything in the park that he was tall enough to ride. He loves the fast rollercoasters! His favorite ride in the whole park was Thunder Mountain Railroad. He rode it three times. I have a little firecracker on my hands! I know that as soon as he is big enough to go on the loop rollercoaster he will. This was a perfect age for him to go. We have our annual passes so we will be going back many times this year!

2009-02-15T11:10:00.001-08:00

Riley went to the local grocery store to decorate a Valentine's Day cake. I have never seen a cake with jelly beans, but to each their own!

Snowman

2009-02-15T11:06:00.001-08:00

Riley and Daddy made his very first snowman!
Yes, that is a dog dish for a hat!

SNOW!!!!

2009-02-13T11:30:00.000-08:00

Since this posting we have gotten another three inches of snow! That's only in a couple of hours!
They say it will snow all day today and tomorrow also!

2009-02-13T11:18:00.000-08:00

Riley's Preschool class went to the post office and the pizza factory. He mailed De and Pop a Valentine's Day letter. (It was the only address I could come up with on the spot!)

2009-01-11T13:31:00.000-08:00

Riley had his first preschool Christmas program! The theme was a 50s Christmas. He was so funny! He came in with the four year old class, so he ended up in the top row. He became restless, so he got down and came to me. When the program started, he didn't go with the three year olds. He wanted right back up to the top row, which had no room for him in the first place. He ended up squished between a couple of kids while a girl held him up in the back. He loved it, though! Merry Christmas!

2009-01-11T13:22:00.000-08:00

This was Riley's first year in the nativity at church. He was a shepherd with his friend Noah. He was supposed to do it on the Sunday before Christmas eve, but as you can see in the first picture, he decided to stay in the nursery and play piano instead. On Christmas eve he decided it was time. He was the shepherd with the light up shoes!

Construction Zone...

2009-01-11T13:06:00.000-08:00

Riley had so much fun decorating his gingerbread house. I think he ate more icing than he used, but it was an awesome experience! This is definitely a tradition that will continue!

I Pink!

2009-01-11T12:57:00.000-08:00

What do you do when you have exhausted all of the fun of your toys? Riley has found my makeup! He loves to paint his face. He doesn't get into my everyday makeup, it's too dull. No, my stage makeup is much more exciting! Pinks, blues, purples... This knowledge would have saved me a lot of money at Christmas!

New Tap Shoes!!!

2008-12-05T15:45:00.000-08:00

Riley got his new tap shoes in today! He was so excited that he got a present in the mail. He went into the post office with me and gave the woman the pink slip from that mailbox. He was like a little bitty in the candy store. Thank you Auntie Rhon!

Thanksgiving at home

2008-12-05T15:35:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving rocked, even though I didn't eat that much. The food was all awesome!
Riley's new favorite activity is to take mommy's camera and snap some candid shots of the family, the cat, the floor...

Riley actually found some things that he likes to eat.

Poppa carving the turkey, as it should be.

Of course the kitchen is where everyone hangs out. What? You have other rooms in your house?

Thanksgiving with Daddy's family

2008-12-05T15:25:00.000-08:00

Riley had a blast hanging out with Daddy's family on Thanksgiving Day. He got to meet some cousins and play with other boys. He doesn't get to see this side of the family very much, so this was a great oppurtunity.

TWILIGHT!!!!!!!!

2008-11-29T20:34:00.000-08:00

So I finally got to see Twilight. I drug my poor husband because I was tired of being the last to see it. IT ROCKED!!! I want to see it like 5 more times. It wasn't exactly like the book, but it was still awesome. The characters were perfect. A friend of mine said it wasn't the best because she pictured it differently. I have been reading the books with the movie imagery in my head so it worked out. I am so ready for Full Moon...

Mornings...

2008-11-12T13:21:00.000-08:00

I awoke this morning to a rustling on my bed. Suddenly a little whisper entered my ear...
"Sippy cup"
Ha! I'm prepared just for instances like these. I reached over onto the night stand and grabbed the sippy cup I had prepared last night. Back to sleeping.
I just started to drift back into sleep when... WHAM!
What the... WHAM!
The whole bed was shaking.
WHAM!
WHAM!
WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!
I looked over to find my sweet three year old beating the life out of one of his baby toys.
"Riley, what are you doing?"
"Want music"
I reached over to grab the toy (which I had just recently put in a box in my room because he is too old for it) and showed him how to hit it with his hand to get music. He grabbed it back and continued playing. Back to sleep.
About one minute later I felt a heavy weight on my body, followed by loud music. I opened my eyes to see my lovely child sitting on my stomach hitting his toy and bringing it to my ear so I could hear it clearly. I gently lifted him off of me, taking a long awaited breath, and set him on the bed next to me. Just five more minutes and I will be ready to get up.
WHAM! BOUNCE! WHAM! BOUNCE!
What?!?!
I looked over and saw my son hitting his toy against the bed, then jumping up quickly to dance frantically with the beat.
Okay. I'm up.

Ridin' horses on a Saturday

2008-11-08T15:42:00.000-08:00

Here's Riley on Angel with his Auntie Rhon. This is one of five horses at home. We have Angel, Candy, Nevada, Valentine, and Sir is in Visalia right now for Bailey's riding lessons. I say we, but I don't ride a one of them. They're for Bailey. She's the awesome rider in the family. Riley's been riding since he was one. He loves to ride with his Auntie Rhon. He just melts into the rythm. Sometimes he looks like he'll just go to sleep.

Angel's mane is cut because Papa thinks the horses look better that way. (Yuck!) As long as he doesn't take his shears to my cat...

2008-10-29T17:46:00.000-07:00

Here is Riley's first School Halloween Party

Singing and Dancin...

and eating a crazy amount of sugar!

You Can Dance If You Want To...

2008-10-28T11:04:00.000-07:00

When we got home, Riley had dance the next day and they were tapping! He loves to tap. Here he is with his dance class. The one in the front of the line always grabs his hand at dance and in preschool.
Here he is with his dance teacher doing shuffles.

To Grandmother's House We Go...

2008-10-28T10:27:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at my mom's house. Riley played the whole time. He is definitely an ocean baby. This is the park at Shell Beach. Riley loved the dolphins and the dinosaur eggs.

Of course we went to our favorite place to eat, Klondike's Pizza. We always order the roadkill with reindeer. Riley loved that he could wipe the peanut shells onto the floor.

We also went to the Pumpkins on the Pier in Pismo Beach. It is so cute watching all the little bitties in their costumes. Riley loved the bounce house and the big obstacle course. He almost filled his pumpkin up with candy trick or treating around all of the shops. He also got to wear his super cool firefighter costume

Walking with Grandma on the beach. His favorite place.

We also went to the San Luis Obispo Children's Museum. He loved conducting the train. He also liked the water play table.

Riley sure had a blast at Grandma's, but he was glad to be home in his own bed.

Pumpkin Patch

2008-10-19T14:29:00.000-07:00

Riley paired up with friends through the day... And then became lost in the roar of the tractor during the tractor ride...
Then he decided to kill as many pumkins as possible
And finally finished the trip with friends snacking on cokkies and grapes.
This was an exhausting day and I had no idea that pumpkins were so heavy. They told them to pick ones that they could carry, not as heavy as mommy could carry. I guess that they he is still in that selective hearing stage. Guys grow out of that, right? Haha From now on daddy is coming on the field trips too...

A trip to the apple farm

2008-10-19T14:04:00.000-07:00

Here was Riley's favorite part of the tour - the tractor!
Riley stared at his first apple after picking it. *Apples are supposed to be shiny and have a little sticker on them, aren't they?*
He has this face because I made him pose for a minute while I turned the camera on and took a picture. =) *Come on Mom!*
It took a little convincing to get Riley to drink the murky brown fresh pressed apple juice, but he loved it after that
Here's Riley's preschool group. (It includes 3 classes)

A Day At The Zoo

2008-09-28T16:16:00.000-07:00

Here's Riley and Daddy lookin' cool at the zoo
Riley laughed so hard at these stupid birds. He thought they were hilarious.
What's up? I'm just hanging...How you doin?
Riley put his hands in the stingray tank only when there were no stingrays around. He loved splashing in the water, though!
Here's a stingray. (Duh!)

All in all, I think Riley had the most fun in the water. He liked the animals, but the water was the highlight. When we go to the really furry little monkeys, he was convinced they were squirrels. The rest of the day he wanted to go back and see the "monkey-squirrels" After the zoo we took him to the newly remodeled Playland. His favorite was this ride that spun us around and around. We both looked like we were going to puke, but it was fun. He also went on his first rollercoaster. I think I might be in trouble...

I cut Robert's Hair!!! Ooops!

2008-09-28T15:44:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I trimmed Robert's hair to save money. (It's really hard to get those darn sides even!) At least we'll save on shampoo for awhile! (Hee Hee!) Everyone at church kept rubbing his head today! Needless to say, he wants to go hat shopping next weekend...

2008-09-27T19:07:00.000-07:00

Here is Riley's very first Recital! He was squinting waiting for the flash. At least you can see his face here, not like when he was onstage with the teddy bear across his nose!

Riley's First Camp Trip

2008-09-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

Here are pics of Riley's first camp trip with the youth group. Needless to say, we were washing dirt out of his hair for days!

Welcome!

2008-09-27T16:02:00.000-07:00

Hey! What's Up? Here is my very first posting (I think!) This is a site dedicated to what is going on in the DuPree family. More to come...