2 little fishies

guess who's three months?

2010-08-30T10:17:00.000-07:00

my little Vann. he's just the sweetest little baby. loves to be held, loves to be cuddled, prefers to be alone with mommy, likes peace and quiet, and gets shuttled around wherever his big brothers need to go. We are lucky to have him in our family!

the culprit.

2010-06-22T09:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday i found.....

A soda bottle filled halfway with water and a handful of M&Ms

An apple juice bottle filled 1/4 with apple juice and a box of Hot Tamales

A glass full of milk with 7 Oreo cookies inside (well, the cookie part was mush with 7 disks of Double stuff creme patties)

An empty box of Mac and Cheese filled halfway with water (it used to be totally full, but i guess cardboard doesn't hold water....but the floor does)

An entire tub of butter with a packet of Fun Dip sugar dumped into it....along with 5 Jawbreakers thoughtfully stirred in.

All thanks to this sweet face!

Good thing he is cute.

guess who's one month?

2010-06-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Me, that's who!

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-15T10:54:00.000-08:00

I just can't believe that Christmas is just 11 days away! I guess time flies when you are feeling sick. There is so many more things that I still want to accomplish before Christmas day arrives. And I actually am slowly marking them off my list. We did manage to get my sister Michelle to take a rather spur of the moment family picture of us. Hopefully, I will finish my Christmas cards today, and then onto finishing my shopping!

Anyways, we wanted to take a moment to make sure we wished all of our friends and family a safe and wonderful Merry Christmas! Hope you all have some time to take a moment and enjoy this special time of the year.

Love,

Chad, Jill, Jack & Kyle

Our News!

2009-11-20T13:00:00.000-08:00

just letting everyone know that we are expecting a baby! We can't believe that we will have three kids, but we are very excited. Especially Kyle, because he will get to be a big brother. Only 5 months to go.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-16T18:42:00.000-07:00

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

My big boy.

2009-07-27T08:46:00.000-07:00

I got this picture of Jackson taken when her turned 6. Isn't he so handsome. His big brown eyes just melt my heart. I love him so much.

Spring Pictures

2009-07-20T21:07:00.000-07:00

These are the picture I had my sister take of the boys for Easter. I just love how they turned out!

Happy Fourth.

2009-07-04T11:46:00.000-07:00

Have a

Happy

Fourth

July!

Feeling very blessed to be living in a free country! Thank you to all of those who have served our country.

xoxo,

mommy parkin

My Rockstars

2009-06-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

Now these photos are really supposed to be a secret Father's Day present for daddy, but I can't what to share them. My talented friend Tonya had a rockin' photo shoot with us. You gotta go to her amazing blog and check out her beautiful work. I knew she would totally rock some pictures for me. So here are a couple photos from the shoot. Head over to Tonya's blog and check out the rest. Rock on!

Up, up and away!

2009-06-16T17:13:00.000-07:00

Just thought I'd share some pictures my super talented sister took a couple of months ago that are kinda cool! I call them my big red balloon pictures. I am so lucky to have her take so many pictures of my kiddos.

Beachy Afternoon

2009-05-26T22:46:00.000-07:00

Took the boys to some art galleries yesterday afternoon. They are just so behaved in the galleries it always amazes me how interested they are in all the pieces of artwork. Here we are in front of the Wyland Gallery.

We even got to talk to one of the artists and the boys asked her a zillion questions. Why don't we do that more often? I think we will.

Mother's Day - Kindergarten Style!

2009-05-08T21:45:00.000-07:00

All week Jackson had been so excited for Mother's Day at Kindergarten. He got me up at 5:30 a.m. and told me to get ready. I had to wear a dress. At school, the mom's waited outside. Then this little cutie came out to get me...in a homemade tie.

He took me into the classroom and sat me down in his little seat. This was waiting for me. Kisses, a present that had framed picture of him, and a coupon book with things he would do for me.

He served me sandwiches and strawberries, and made sure to bring me a chocolate chip cookie. And if this wasn't enough, the whole class sang songs for the mommies.

Two words...ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE!

I love you Jackson!

Love, mommy

Super Reader!

2009-04-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

Guess who is a Super Reader? Jackson, that's who! We are so proud of him.

twas the night before Christmas...

2008-12-24T23:29:00.000-08:00

And all through the house, everyone was sleeping except me of coarse. My sweet little angels all snug in their beds, have visions of sugarplums (and Star Wars and Monster Trucks) dancing in their heads.

Santa, we know you're on your way. We have left you some cookies and food for your reindeer.

We love you Santa.

We do BELIEVE.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!

{ Waiting }

2008-12-24T15:01:00.001-08:00

We've got two little boys over here waiting anxiously for Santa Claus. They've claimed to have seen reindeer in the backyard. Maybe they did, I think I heard some jingle bells.

Microwave Jingle Bells by AKQA

Merry Christmas!!!

2008-12-20T22:36:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

{ We're Back }

2008-12-19T22:41:00.000-08:00

Yup, this blog has been very neglected, but I promise to be posting about all of our adventures that we have been on in the past months! This year has sure been crazy, but we are hanging in there. Stay tuned...we are excited to be back in the blogging world.

Jill ; )

10 seconds of fame!

2008-06-26T08:06:00.000-07:00

Jill Parkin Designs got a small spot on the "Good Day LA" for winning the 2008 Hotlist. They came and took video of all my invitations and some of me holding up invitations. I must not have done a good job because they cut me out! At least my invitations did good. Watch here.

happy father's day

2008-06-15T20:12:00.000-07:00

Dear Daddy,

We made you this tie to wear because we love you so much!

You are the best daddy in whole wide world. You play with us everyday. You take us camping and build tents for us in the backyard so we can sleep under the stars. You read us stories and tuck us in at night. You take us to the donut store and always make sure we get our favorite donut. You cook us dinner and help mommy with the housework. You always make sure we have clean pj's and that our fishy gets fed. You take us to Target to look at the cars, legos and Star Wars toys, and we always get a yummy slurpie on our outings there. You take us to the library to get a new set of books each week. You teach us many things; to ride our scooters, to play baseball, to do what is right and to be mommy's big helpers. We could never ask for a better daddy than you. Happy Father's Day daddy, we sure do love you!

Love your sweet boys,

Jack and Kyle

the fathers in my life

2008-06-15T20:10:00.000-07:00

To my husband,
Chado, words cannot express how much I love you. Thanks for being the greatest father in the world to my boys, you mean the world to them. You are so good to us.

To my daddy and Chad's dad and grandpa,
Thanks for all you have done to help raise us up in this world. You are the best and we appreciate all the love, support, help, advise, stories and wisdom you have given to us. Thanks for being there.

Happy Father's Day.

With love,

Jill

stylin' packages

2008-06-01T22:26:00.000-07:00

How cute is this packaging tape. It sure beats plain brown or my hubby's fave DUCT TAPE! Oh, but look at all the cool things you can make with it....

guess who won????

2008-05-29T17:44:00.000-07:00

So honored and excited to have won Fox La's Hotllist - Best of Orange County for Invitations!!!!! Thank to all who voted for me. Luv Ya!!!

cute & red

2008-05-24T22:45:00.001-07:00

I bought these today.

afternoon out.

2008-05-23T21:14:00.000-07:00

Chad and I went to see this movie today. It's been out for a while, but the time was right and it looked kind of funny. Yep, it was funny.

Now, this is just wrong!

Thanks "G" for watching the boys.

{ cravings }

2008-05-23T08:58:00.000-07:00

I have been craving these for a weeks. So I made some.

IMO my sisters and I make the best chocolate chip cookies. Don't believe me? Ask them. Okay, so we're biased, but if you are so lucky (tooting my horn right now) to have tried them, you'll agree.

So if you want to make some too, use this recipe. It's the best. But to make them like I do, you have to use Butter Crisco instead of butter, and imitation vanilla. And when they are cooking, you have to take them out of the oven BEFORE they brown, they should only have slight browning on the edges. And leave them on the cookie sheet to cool. I don't put the walnuts in either. Trust me, they're YUMMMMMMMMY!

Now go make some.

raining

2008-05-22T20:39:00.000-07:00

Today the weather was yucky, can't believe it rained (did I say rained? I meant poured and hailed). It was 100 degrees on monday, what's up with that? So we went here! We love this place. Thanks for coming with us Aunt Amy, we will miss you when you leave to Arizona.

happy birthday Papa!

2008-05-14T10:28:00.000-07:00

Hope you had a wonderful day! We love you.

DREAMING: silly rabbit, silly uncle

2008-05-13T19:16:00.000-07:00

We heard that uncle Tony had an incredible game of one-on-one basketball the other evening! The game took place in dreamland, Uncle Tony v.s. The Trix Rabbit? Wow, Tony has some great dreams!!!!

If you are wondering who won, you'll have to ask Tony. Unfortunately we weren't able to attend that game. We'll stay tuned for tonight's game. Uncle Tony v.s. Toucan Sam, and if he wins that series he will go on to the play-offs, joined by Tony the Tiger and Lucky the Leprechaun.

Silly Tony!

{ brothers }

2008-05-12T22:19:00.000-07:00

"My Brother, My Friend

I love my brother, my brother loves me.

My friend, my hero, he always will be.

In sundry ways our uniqueness is clear.

He likes to go far, but I favor near.

He likes to play sports and being outside.

I prefer playing music and playing inside.

Sometimes we fight and scream at each other,

but he is my friend for he is my brother."

Jackson & Kyle

my beautiful mammas

2008-05-11T10:47:00.000-07:00

Wanted to wish you all a Happy Mother's Day!

To my mom, grandma and "G":

Thanks for all you do for our family. You mean so much to us and are priceless in our eyes.

And to my pals,

I often look at each one of you and wonder, "How does she do that? She is sooo amazing!" I see how you nurture and care for your little ones leading them on the right path in life. The joy you and your children share. I am fascinated by the many accomplishments you have all made.

And on those hard days, when you are just about to give up, take a minute and give your babies a hug! Dance around, forget about the housework, look into the precious eyes of your little one and see the sweetness. Remember how important you are to your little sweeties....the most precious things on earth. They love you unconditionally...you are their hero! And you are all mine.

Being a mommy is the hardest....and the BEST thing on earth!

You are all the best!

xoxo, Jill

gone fishin'

2008-05-10T22:03:00.000-07:00

If you could only see the faces on my boys as the returned home from a morning out fishing with daddy. They were all smiles from ear to ear! They enjoyed a morning with daddy, papa and their cousins at a local fishing pond where they were able to catch fish. Jackson caught a pretty big one, and little Kyle was as happy as can be just carrying a fishing pole around. Jack said that he wanted to go back right now and didn't want the fun to end! Lucky Boys!

{ my friends }

2008-05-04T18:05:00.000-07:00

"I don't remember how we happened to meet each other.

I don't remember who got along with whom first.

All I can remember is all of us together...always."

Author unknown

I wish you all success in life, and that all your dreams may come true.

I may seem busy a lot of the time, but I keep you all in my prayers.

I just wanted to take a moment and give a shout out to you.

You have truly helped me to know what is most important in life.

I love you all,

Jill

my bathing sweathearts

2008-04-29T22:57:00.000-07:00

Nothing melts my heart as much as these sweet smiles and playful spirits at the end of a busy day. Bathtime! A perfect moment to unwind for the day and enjoy what truly matters in life....these sweetie pies!

Now, time for bed...Sweet Dreams!

Love, mommy

summer has begun!

2008-04-27T18:41:00.000-07:00

At least in California! This weekend we got to go to our first swim party of the summer and we had a blast! The weather was perfect and the kids had a great time in the pool while mommy and daddy had fun chatting to friends.

Thanks Adornette Family for the invite, and Happy 5th Birthday to the birthday girl Samantha! May you get that birthday wish!

Love,

the Parkin Family

A tent, A daddy, two boys & a million stars

2008-04-25T10:30:00.000-07:00

Friday night the boys had a camp out with daddy in the backyard! Wasn't sure how Kyle would do, but daddy said everyone had so much fun and they even got a little sleep. The boys had a blast. They are soooo lucky to have such a fun daddy.

introducing...

2008-04-16T23:49:00.000-07:00

We've got a new baby to share with you...

Madeline Paige Nguyen

born April 12th, 2008

Isn't she precious! Good work Aunt Michelle and Uncle Tony.

We are so excited to have her in our family.

Party Day!

2008-02-19T10:02:00.000-08:00

This weekend we were able to enjoy a party with our good friends. It was our little friend Mia's first birthday! It was great to visit with our friends and Jack and Kyle had a blast playing, coloring, hitting the pinata and of course eating sweets!

Here is the little birthday Princess Mia and her mommy Queen Rose

Our little friend Robin getting her face painted

Jack with his friend Cory

Samantha and Julie (aren't they cute!)

We feel so blessed to have such good friends! You are all the best!

Valentine's....YUMMY!

2008-02-14T19:25:00.000-08:00

This blog thing must be working, because here is what I got for Valentine's Day from the hubby. YUMMY! Too bad I couldn't eat them all because I am on a diet, but I had a bunch of drooling boys that did just great at gobbling them up!

My Gymbo Baby

2008-02-06T14:47:00.000-08:00

We've enrolled in Gymboree! Kyle that is. And I am really having fun getting some one-on-one time with little Kyle. I appreciate getting to know this little sweetheart's personality and cute characteristics. He's determined, athletic, a little helper, a little shy, happy and full of giggles!

Here are some of his Gymboree tricks!

He can go up...

He can go down...

Through a tunnel...

Slam Dunk!

I sure love this little guy!

xoxo, mommy

{ daddy's home }

2008-02-01T09:06:00.000-08:00

My boys LOVE their daddy so much. And everyday Jack comes in and asks what day it is. He always says "I want it to be Friday because my daddy doesn't have to work." And during the week, they constantly ask when daddy's coming home. Towards the end of the day, the boys have a ritual.

Here is the Monday - Thursday ritual:

4:30 - 5:00: Kyle wakes up
5:00 - 5:30: Mommy, Jack & Kyle sit on the couch and read books or watch a show.
5:30 - 6:00: We hear the garage door open. Both boys immediately jump up, run towards the stairs and start making (I guess you could call them) elephant noises until daddy meets them at the top of the stairs. After daddy comes home, nobody wants mommy anymore.

My boys sure love their daddy....so do I!

xoxo, Mommy

{ smiles }

2008-01-30T21:19:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd share some smiles from a day out with our friends. Thanks for sharing!

MONSTER JAM!!!!!!!

2008-01-27T10:02:00.000-08:00

For Jack, Monster Jam is like Christmas morning. He got up in the morning asking what day it was, and when we said Saturday, you should have seen the smile on his little face. He just couldn't wait to go with his daddy to see the monster trucks. His all-time favorites are Grave Digger & Jurassic Attack.

Daddy, Jackson, Kyle, Grandpa Bruce, Uncle Billy and J.T. braved the rain and went to the Monster Truck Races. They had a wonderful time. Boys will be boys!

Gotta love that face!

dino discovery

2008-01-26T08:19:00.000-08:00

Today we made a discovery....

I want to help....

Here is our dinosaur!

chick flick

2008-01-24T19:55:00.000-08:00

"27 Dresses" Gotta see this movie, in theaters now. A great chick flick. How many bridesmaid dresses have you worn? I am at #5...not bad! Click here to see my latest!!!!

{ silly Kyle }

2008-01-24T18:39:00.000-08:00

You know how park playgrounds have these...

(if you aren't familiar, they are called "talk tubes," kids can communicate with each other on the playground, sorta like "walkie talkies.")

Well, here is what Kyle decided to use as a "talk tube."

I PROMISE....the car wasn't on!

{ hello }

2008-01-21T21:35:00.000-08:00

Today I let little Jackson answer the phone for the very first time. I had my hands full so I asked him to pick up and say hello. In the cutest little voice he said "hello..(in a puzzled little face)...mom, it's not my name! It's yours....Jill." Oh the sweetness of little children.

A day with my boys

2008-01-19T20:56:00.000-08:00

Today was a lovely day. Just me, and my three boys! Yes, I am definitely outnumbered and you surely won't find an ounce of pink in my house, but I have come accustomed to countless hours of playing with monster trucks, stopping by construction sites just to see a front-end loader and Jedi lightsaber wars. My boys...I love you to pieces.

xoxo, mommy

Here are some pics of our day out.

{ things you need to know }

2008-01-16T23:37:00.000-08:00

Well...maybe not, but they are fun to know anyhow!

1) No word in the English language rhymes with the words: month, silver, orange or purple.

2) A goldfish has a memory span of 3 seconds.

3) Our eyes are always the same size from birth, but our nose and ears keep on growing.

4) TYPEWRITER is the longest word typed with one row of the keyboard.

5) Cats have 32 muscles in each ear.

6) Dreamt is the only word in the English dictionary ending with "mt".

7) Snails can sleep for 3 years.

8) In the last 4,000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.

9) Leonardo Da Vinci created the scissors.

10) If the population of China walked past you, 8 people per row, the line would never end due to the rate of reproduction.

WOW! Now don't you feel smarter!

No Del Taco Bell!!!!

2008-01-14T18:59:00.000-08:00

Kids are the sweetest little beings...you can but smile at the cutest things they say. Tonight we told Jack that we were going to Del Taco, and exclaimed "I don't want to go to DEL TACO BELL...I only like Taco Bell!"

At least I thought it was cute...but then again, I am his mommy...everything he does is cute to me.

it snowed today

2008-01-12T21:24:00.000-08:00

here in sunny California.... okay, well maybe it didn't snow, but we did get to play in a little. And the kids were definitely happy with the little pile of snow brought down the mountain by a thoughtful neighbor. The kids could REALLY throw those snowballs hard. Yep...right down my shirt, and I couldn't get them to stop throwing them at me. So I am very grateful to live where is doesn't snow. I plenty happy with the wonderful year-round sunshine of Orange County that unfortunately, melted our small patch of winter fun.

{ things I love }

2008-01-10T00:44:00.000-08:00

Yummy!

Wicked

2008-01-05T11:46:00.000-08:00

Guess where I got to go (lucky me!!!!)...WICKED the Broadway Musical! What a fantastic Christmas gift from the hubby...he's so sweet. We ran through the pouring rain into the theater and enjoyed this wonderful play. And the 2nd row seats were to-die-for! Thanks Chado.

xoxo, wife

{ i do}

2008-01-03T23:11:00.000-08:00

really, really love this wedding that I designed the wedding stationary, menus, invitations, etc. Isn't it beautiful. I love the garden whimsical feel and the colors. I finally got hold of some of the photos...unbelievable! and worth the wait. By the way, Bleu Cotton Photography took the photos & Kathy Jo Peterson coordinated it. FABULOUS!!!

New Year's Day at the beach

2008-01-02T10:14:00.000-08:00

We are so lucky to live near to the beach...and what a wonderful New Year's day (except for the parking ticket we got) we had there. Joining us were our cousins, Sadie and Emmy. I took a ton of pictures of all the kids enjoying the sights. You can't but only relish in the amazing beauty of nature.

Jackson and Emmy

Swing high Sadie

I just love the colors in this pic.

A ferry ride.

And to top off a fabulous day....ICE CREAM!

2 little fishes DEBUT!!!!!

2008-01-01T00:00:00.000-08:00

Is it for real...am I finally finished!!! Yep, I actually have my very own blog page. What a fun and exciting commitment I have made for myself in the New Year.

This is my story, my life and spirit. My children and husband...the forever blessings in my life. May the days of 2008 be filled with the their laughter, the childhood innocense of little boys and the joy they bring to my heart each and everyday.

I love you Jackson...

I love you little Kyle...

and Daddy.

Happy New Year!!

~mommy~