Catching Up

This is a brief overview of the last month of our lives. It has been a busy one.

Thanksgiving at our house with friends.

A ballet recital


















Playing in the fall leaves with friends.


A trip to Bethlehem (Ok...the parking lot of the 7th Day Adventist Church...but still, the kids are convinced they've seen where Jesus was born)

Decorating and eating Christmas cookies.

A tea party with friends.

There it is. The month in review. My camera is empty now and ready for Christmas.

Mistakes

Sarah, age 4 on making mistakes:

"I used to make mistakes when I was a little girl, but now I don't."

I can see that my work as her mother is finished...on to perfecting the other two (hahaha)!

Fun, Sun, Sand and Surf

Here are a few shots of our weekend trip to Morro Bay. The girls are crazy about the ocean, Rob is crazy about surfing and I am crazy about spending the weekend watching the four of them have so much fun.

Germ Warfare!

I was listening to Grace and Sarah while they were eating lunch today and I heard Sarah tell Grace with all the antagonism she could muster, "I'm going to give you my germs"...to which Grace replied, "Ok, if you want to". I'm not sure I want to know how Sarah planned to give Grace her germs, but Grace's nonchalant response put an end to the whole thing anyway.

Ballerina Girl

Sneaking Away to the Hotel

At the beginning of this last week, Rob reminded me that he had a conference in Anaheim on Thursday and Friday and suggested that maybe the girls and I go with him. So, I spontaneously decided that Grace, Sarah and I would tag along. I used to do that sort of thing with Hannah whenever I got the chance since things were so crazy at our house when the twins were really little. It was good for her and good for me too. This time I decided it was Grace and Sarah's turn. Hannah stayed home with her buddies so she didn't have to miss school and Grace, Sarah, Daddy and I were off to the hotel.

Grace and Sarah get very excited about staying in a hotel. There's something about riding an elevator (and pushing all the buttons), swimming in a hotel pool and sleeping in a hotel bed that is very exciting to them. The hotel was about a mile from Disneyland, but I managed to resist the temptation to make a spontaneous (and very expensive) trip to the Magic Kingdom. Instead we went to Downtown Disney for Christmas shopping and Build-a-Bear building. It was fun to spend some special time with them.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

Last weekend was my annual girl's weekend getaway with my two longest and closest friends from elementary school. We have been getting together every year since we went our separate ways in college. What a blessing to have such dear friends to share life with. Every year is a little different. We have been cruising, camping, to the beach, to the mountains and the last couple of years, to the City. This year it was a trip to the bay area to stay at my mom's (easy on the budget...thanks mom) and in to San Francisco for the hilarious "Beach Blanket Babylon" and some great Italian food in North Beach. The only draw back is that we can only manage to do it once a year. I'm already looking forward to next year.

Happy Birthday Hannah

We have officially had a 6 year old in our house for almost two weeks now. I am behind on posts, but we celebrated open house style with a small gathering of family and friends. Here are some pictures from Hannah's special day.

Happy Halloween!

Here are a few shots of the girls all dressed up. Grace and Sarah are dressed as our favorite children's book character, "Fancy Nancy" and Hannah is dressed as Kala from Tarzan. We saw a children's theater group do Tarzan over the summer and she has had her heart set on dressing just like the lead character. She was so tickled this morning. It didn't matter one bit that no one else would know what she was.

The parent group at Hannah's school sponsors a Halloween Parade every year. The kids all march through each other's classrooms and then around the quad a couple times ending with class pictures, doughnuts and milk. I am thankful she is at a school that still lets the kids cut loose and have fun on special days. I hope she will have lots of fond memories of these fun times.

Pumpkin Heads

Weekend Getaway

Last weekend we Cobbs enjoyed a weekend getaway. Rob and I attended a beautiful wedding at Stanford that my sister was in and the girls spent the weekend playing with their Papa Mike and Grandma Kris. Everyone had a great time.

A Sister and a Friend

32 years ago today I got the best 3rd birthday present a girl could ask for...a baby sister. Time has turned that baby sister into a treasured friend.

Happy Birthday Kel!

I Wanna be a Rock Star

Well...not really. But my toes got the rockstar treatment today compliments of my buddy Liz. She got hers done too. They are so pretty and sparkly I can't stop looking at them. I haven't bumped into anything yet, but I'm sure it's coming. Props to Mandy who can take 10 of the ugliest toes you've ever seen and turn them into sparkly little disco balls.

Clearing our Lungs

Last Sunday we spent the day in the mountains breathing some crisp clean air and enjoying the scenery. We had the opportunity to chaperon a field trip sponsored by the Outdoor Adventure club at the high school. We drove the van up with all three girls and two students. All in all about 25 students, several adults and some of their kids made the 5 mile round-trip hike to the Needles fire lookout. Certain that the girls would end up on our backs and since there are three of them and only two of us, we opted for a much easier walk through the Trail of 100 Giants and met back up with the group in the afternoon. It was a perfect day.

Semi-formal Attire Required

We are going to a wedding next month for a good friend of my sister's. When the invitation came in the mail, I noticed that the fine print at the bottom read "semi-formal attire". Hmmmm...what exactly does that mean? I think I know what it means for me, (I'll have to wrestle myself in to a pair of pantyhose...maybe), but what about Rob? A tie? A coat and tie? A suit? A tux? If I didn't know, I was certain Rob didn't.

Praise God for Google. After searching, "what is semi-formal attire for men?", Wiki.answers.com told me that:

"For men, semi-formal attire means wearing a full suit, with vest optional. A tie, either bow or straight, should be worn, and the shirt should be a simple button down. Suit fabric choices are primarily wool gabardine or cashmere. However, a wool blend will do. Linen or seersucker suits are not formal enough for semi-formal attire. Dress shoes like oxfords are worn. It is not necessary to wear a tuxedo, and one might be considered a bit overdressed for a semi-formal event showing up in a tux."

You can be sure Rob has never owned such garments. Men's Wearhouse here we come!

Rob was a pretty good sport about the whole thing. We went big and got the shoes, socks, belt, two shirts and even the "suit preservation kit" (I know...suckers!). Rob would have much preferred a new one of these suits...


But instead he got this...

Doesn't he look handsome?

The Fair(est) of Them All

Yesterday Hannah's class set off on a field trip to the Fair. We managed to mostly avoid the main fairway which was cluttered with the usual junk food establishments and souvenier kiosks. We enjoyed fair skies and had a fair amount of fun watching the judge fairly determine the fairest swine of them all. But, our favorite was petting the rabbit which I am fairly certain was an angora.

Here are some pictures of the fair fun.

A Weekend Away

This passed weekend Rob took a road trip to Carpinteria for a wedding. We stayed in a great little Bed and Breakfast which was walking distance from the beach and lots of cute shops and restaurants. It was a much needed break from our hectic lives and the hot valley weather.

The Princess and the Worm

Diggin' for worms in your best gown...where girly girl meets earthy tomboy!