Cabo San Lucas

Nothing was going to stop us from getting to Cabo this time...not even a sick toddler!!!! We dragged poor little Remy to Mexico with the flu. The resort house keeping was not too thrilled about all the laundry coming out of our suite the first three days but we made up for it with good tips :)

Unfortunately we didn't get as much family time as we were hoping for but we got some great memories and good stories to last a life time!!!!

Thanks everyone for an amazing trip, great fish dinners and lots of laughs :) xoxoxoxox

My Avon Walk for Breast Cancer

 What an amazing event this year! I trained hard and it all payed off in the end. I was able to reach my goal of going the entire distance of 26 miles on Saturday. I must have really been walking fast because I ended up #176 to reach the Wellness Center out of 2000 walkers.

After a little trip to the Medical Center to heal my wounds and a little bit of dizziness, Mike and I decided I had met my goal and I should should be proud of my accomplishment and head home for some much needed rest and ice soak.

It was amazing having Mike meet me at the finish line, I had him come solo since I knew I would need all his help. I missed the girls a lot but along the path I picked up lots of little keepsakes for them and it helped push me along.

Going alone this year was a little intimidating at first but right from the start I met some really wonderful women. The first lady Lucy, was walking not for breast cancer but for her father that passed of colon cancer a few years ago. The second lady I met was a cancer survivor and cancer free for 6 months, first time walker and solo. The third solo walker was another cancer survivor, cancer free for 11 months and first time walker. The woman who came across the finish line with me had made a commitment to do 8 walks a year. She must have been in her mid to late sixties and has no personal experience with cancer, she just loves the cause....an amazing woman!!!!!

So many stories of survival, perseverance, dedication, endurance and passion for the cause. I am glad to announce that I am already signed up for next year in Santa Barbara. I can't wait to do it all again :) 

Thank you to everyone that supported my efforts in this years walk :) I love you! 

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

Thanks Kay for putting on a wonderful party for dad. We had so much fun visiting with the family and celebrating dads 75th birthday...is this the age that the clock starts going backwards? lol!!!! 

The Happiest Place on Earth!

It really is and we had the best time with Bruce, Jenn, Aiden and Aubrey! Mike and I planned a little surprise visit to Disneyland and the look on Bruce's face was the best :) Jenn was in on the deal and was great at keeping Bruce and the cousins on time so we could get a full day in at the park. For a holiday weekend it was surprising how fast we got on the rides and with the Fast Track deal it was really cool! Mike scored us some vip passes that put us at the front of the line for two rides. It was so fun having all the cousins together to share such a wonderful day. Aubrey is a roller coaster champ, only 4yrs old and did Space Mountain twice with her hands up the entire time. Aiden loved, loved the Pirates of the Caribbean ride and Macy and Remy totally enjoyed Its a Small World. Great memories to last a life time!!!!!

Time to celebrate...

Mike passed his Real Estate exam and we could not be more proud of him! 

Congratulations baby, we love you!!!!

Remy is climbing the walls!!!!

Artists/Gardeners in the making...

Another fun thing I planned for the girls this weekend was painting and planting their very own flower pots. Macy loved to mix all her colors up and Remy loved to see how much paint she could get all over her body! They did a really great job with the painting and the planting :) What little monkey doesn't like paint and dirt!!!! 

Lets Make Cookies!

With Papa at school for his last push to pass his Real Estate Examine on Saturday, the girls and I had endless hours of play time. I thought it would be really fun to have the girls decorate cookies. I never thought that they would eat all the decorations before they made it on to the cookie. Never the less it was really fun watching them get all messy!!! 

Weekend Reads...

Macy loves the gossip magazines just as much as papa :) 

Wheely Bugs!

Nothing is more fun than scooting around on your wheely bug with a diaper hat on!!!!

Beach Day, our Sunday

Nothing beats being with your family at the beach enjoying the simple things in life...sand castles and laughs. Papa and mama worked hard at building a large moat around the girls sandcastles to keep them from being washed away with the ever approaching tide. It was fun however when the tide did finally reached us and we could see all our hard work, work!  

Cribs

The cribs that lasted about an hour in their true form. Macy and Remy got these super cute cribs at Christmas but I put them away until a few days ago and good reason...the girls destroyed them within an hour. Now they are more like chairs...poor little cribs had no chance!!!!

Peek-a-Boo!

A Weekend with the Walkers

Last weekend we were invited to join Amanda, Randy and London in Idlewild. Amanda was teaching at a music summer camp and had rented a perfect house for all of us :) The girls had a blast playing with all of London's toys. London was a true gentleman and never argued one time with the girls about his stuff.  It was a perfectly relaxing weekend with wonderful company, pool time and quiet evenings. Thanks for having us up! 

Our LIttle Angel!

Remy thought it would be a fun idea to take a little dip with all her clothes on. I am so glad Papa had the camera at arms reach :) 

At first glance I thought Remy was going pee standing up! Thank goodness all she was doing was sucking all the toothpaste out of the tube!!!

 Again, thanks to papa's new affection for the camera we are getting some amazing shots of the girls doing what two year olds do :) 

Santa Monica Pier Arcade

We love taking the girls to the pier. They are so into the arcade now it is hilarious! But what is even more hilarious is what the car has written on it, lol!!!! I didn't even see that when I took the picture. We are looking forward to the day we can actually get the girls on the real roller coaster. 

Sweet Little Girls

I love, love these dresses Grandma Suzanne got for the girls. They are so vintage looking and got lots of compliments at a friends birthday party. Macy and Remy will hopefully be wearing these for years to come! Thanks Grandma :) 

Beach Day

We had a great beach day with Ron, Angela, Dylan and Delanie. It was so much fun having the cousins together. It reminded me so much of the times I had spent with my cousins when I was their age. Such good memories :) we can't wait to do it again before summers end. 

Weekends

What a fun filled weekend we had with family.

My Friday started out with a date with my twin brother Bruce. We went and saw the new Harry Potter movie. It was amazing. Usually Mike and I have "Friday Family Fun Night" but since my brother was in town and staying the night I could not resist the opportunity to see a movie with a true Harry Potter fan :)

Saturday morning my mom aka Grandma Suzanne came over for breakfast and a little visit with the girls. She brought some goody bags for the girls that have entertained them all weekend. They were spoiled in the wardrobe department this weekend. They got some super cute stuff form Nana earlier in the week that they wore over to Grandma and Grandpa Ostermann's house and Grandma Suzanne bought them these ridiculously cute dresses that I can't wait for them to wear next weekend :)

Saturday afternoon we all headed out with Uncle Bruce to Grandma and Grandpa Ostermann's house. Grandpa had surgery Monday on his arm and was ready for some company, he looked great! The girls entertained as always, never a dull moment with them! Papa D and the twins took a little dip and enjoyed the new $3 dollar big wheel we scored from a garage sale down the street, thanks Uncle Bruce and thanks Grandma Kay for taking such good care of Dad!

A few weekend side notes...keep an eye on your child when small pools of water are available on a hot day, clothes or no clothes...ferns make really cute headbands...and no beach house is complete without a super cool outdoor shower, Remy and Papa can't get enough of the out doors suds me down, don't think Papa has showered indoors in a week!

Inspired by the sea...

After our trip to Costa Rica we decided it was time to give Remy and Macy a room makeover. I had this idea for their room since I was pregnant but alas we are almost there. The girls really love it and it was fun putting it all together, thanks papa :)

The New Ride...

Papa D has a birthday coming up and he wanted a new board but not sure he is going to get it away from the girls. Remy can't seem to get enough...she has spent more time on the board than her papa. Happy almost B-Day papa :) We love you!!!

The First Day of School

That's right...the girls are school girls now. We found a wonderful Montessori School in Culver City and Macy and Remy seem to be really enjoying it. There are three other children that were enrolled from their daycare and the girls are loving having their friends there. I can't wait for the arts and crafts projects to start rolling in :) 

Look who is getting married...

Jamie is getting hitched and we had the honor of being there for her bridal shower. Macy and Remy are going to be the flower girls and it was a lot of fun having them meet the wedding party. It was a great party and can't WAIT for the big day :) Luv you Jamie!!!! 

Happy Birthday Pops!

It is always a blast hanging out at Nana and Pops house. The girls had so much fun running around with all their cousins and lets not forget about the cake :) Happy birthday Pops. 

The end...

Our journey has finally come to a close. What an amazing trip we have had. We learned a lot about ourselves as parents and friends. The girls may not remember this trip but we will try our hardest to keep some memories alive for them through stories and pictures. Thanks to eveyone that has stayed in touch with us while we were gone and we look forward to seeing everyone soon!

This last post was from our stay in Manuel Antonio, my favorite spot to date. We finally got our up close and personal meeting with the monkeys and the slothes :)

See you all for the 4th!

xoxoxo - The Castillo's

Monte Verde, Costa Rica

Our trip to Monte Verde was eventful. As we left the Four Seasons the girls had not napped, papa tried yet again to get Macy a Choo Choo ride at the golf course but we got rained out. Within 10 minutes into the drive the girls were passed out and slept the entire trip to Monte Verde. It rained nonstop the whole way. Poor papa had white nuckled it for about 4 hrs straight! Thank God they slept, Remy gets really car sick and it is really twisty! As night fell the entire sky lit up with lightning, it was such an amazing show...true entainment, we don't get anything like this at home. I tried to get it on video but had no luck.

Just to back track a little we never made any reservations to any of our locations except for Four Seasons.

As we twisted our way up these small rained out dirt roads into Monte Verde I feverishly read over our travel books to find a place to stay. We have learned that we 1) can not stay on the second floor 2) we can not stay anywhere with hardwood floors 3) with less that two full size beds 4) other occupants...with that it was a lot of stopping and reveiwing our options.

We finally came upon a place called Hotel Heliconia, a Swiss Tavern. It was the only place we could find in the dark that had 1) no other guests 2) a seperate unit 3) large beds. It was perfect. we checked in and unloaded the car and ....I have never in my life heard squeaker floors!!!! It was crazy! But we musterd through and the girls actaully slept the entire night for the first time since we have been here! It was great :)

After a little monrning adventure to the humming bird exhibit and the entrance to the Monte Verde Cloud Forrest we headed back to HH for lunch...but not before Macy got toally car sick...poor baby but held her head high and got sick into a bag...no mess, just the way she likes it :)

After we got back I noticed that one of the best units for viewing was open and I had to take a look...well needless to say as I type this Mike and I are sitting in a covered patio looking out over the mountains as it rains. It is so wonderful...oh and the best part, the girls are taking a little much needed nap, heheheh
Today while I was putting the girls down for a nap Mike took and Coffee tour, so don't forget to ask him some coffee trivia :) Tonight I am going solo for a Night Tour of the Rain Forrest to see all the nightly little creatures :) I can't wait!

The Four Seasons, Costa Rica

The Four Seasons...not much you can say accept it was pure luxury!!! We had the greatest time and so did the girls, especially since we had the run of the place.!!! I think Macy and Remy had the best time with the baby sitters! We booked two full days with a sitter so Papa and Mama could get a little break. It was amazing but I have to admit that the last few hours of the second day without the girls I didn't really know what to do with myself...I missed the little monkeys :)

I want to give Beth a BIG "Thanks and XOXO" for getting us the most amazing deal and working out all the details. We really felt like we were on top of the world!!!

I have to just mention the "Choo Choo Train", that is what Macy calls the club cars. And eveytime we tried to schedule her a trip something came up. So we owe her big time the next time we have a golf card within reach. She was very cute about it. Another really funny thing we are discovering about Macy on this trip is her interest in transportation. She wants to ride on or in anything that moves. It is the craziest thing. Remy could care less what is moving her as long as it is moving and moving FAST! Like the water slides in Arenal :)

As I post this we have moved on to Monte Verde, Rain Forest and internet access is limited....to be continued

Canopy Tour/Zipline

OMG...if you ever get the chance to Zipline I HIGHLY recommend it!!!

Mike and I had an amazing day today celebrating my birthday and kid free :)

We dropped the girls off at the most wonderful child center I have ever seen at 9am this morning, compliments of the Four Seasons. We started our day with a little high flying through the rain forest and finished the day with a full body massage at the spa. We are finishing the day with a movie and dinner in bed with the girls.

Just to note...when I went to check on the girls at the child center they didn't even blink an eye. I guess they needed a break from us as much as we needed it from them, xoxoxoxo

The Dora Show

Dora, Dora, Dora...she is the explorer and has run off a few times. Thankfully there are some good local folk that have helped us keep an eye on her. Bad things would happen if we lost Dora :)

Between having Dora with us and several DVD's of Dora, all we hear from the back seat is "Where's my Dora!" Papa and Mama will have several episodes of Dora totally memorized after this trip. Years from now people will ask us what we remebered the most and we will go into song..."Dora, Dora, Dora the Explorererererer"...Good times!!!!

Day 7/8

A lot of driving has taken place in the last few days. We have basically driven across Costa Rica...from the Caribbean Sea through the rain forest to Volcan Arenal and to the Pacific Ocean.

This is where we have been so far:

We landed in San Jose and had to drive through Puerto Limon, the main port, down the coast to Puerto Viejo where we stayed the first three nights. A bit further down the coast we took day trips to Manzanillo, a super small village (the farthest point before Panama). After our stay in P.V. we headed North back up the coast to Cahuita, found some amazing places to stay and eat. After a few nights completely cut off from you we headed to Volcan Arenal, the drive was amazing!!!! The girls slept most of the 5 hour drive and did really good except Remy got totally car sick but totally pushed through and was a champ!!! We spent the night at Baldi just under the volcano, the coolest place for kids and adults. I forget how many hot spring pools they had but every corner seemed to have a little hidden hot tub. Remy and Macy even went down the water slides, with us of course :) After our one night stay there we continued our journey across Costa Rica to Peninsula Papagayo where we are staying at the Four Seasons for five days. It is so nice and we feel completely spoiled with the service and the beauty! There really isn't anyone here and again it seems that we have the run of the place!!! After our stay here we will be heading back to the rain forest to Tilaran for some monkey spying :)

Day 5/6

We made it for five days and still counting. We were basically kicked out of our last place because of the girls. It was not really set up for small children and the girls were not sleeping well at night, basically keeping up the entire place!!!! It pretty much sucked. We packed our bags and were ready to call it quits! But low and behold we found the most spectacular place where we were the only guests!!! We had a really secluded cabana with thick rock walls, hahaha and the pool was all ours. We actually stayed an extra night. We were so happy that we found this place..Cabanas Malu. It was also right on the beach. We got in a lot of beach time combing it for amazing drift wood and shells. Found some great stuff and can't wait to get it home :)

Costa Rica Day 4

I have finally figured out how to post pics to our blog without photoshop....oh and the few minutes a day without kidlets pulling on my pant leg!!!!

These pics were taken on our morning walk today. We can not keep the girls out of the water...who can blame them when it is as warm as a bath!

More blogging to follow.

The morning after...

After a good night sleeping off the cake and ice cream the girls were ready to open their birthday presents. 

Macy was the fastest at opening up the gifts. I think she was more excited about being able to rip something than most of the gifts...she loves to rip at her books and gets into a lot of trouble. So this was totally ecstasy for her :

Remy was a little confused about her new big girl panties...she thought they looked pretty good as hats :) 

Macy and Remy were both really excited to see their new baby dolls had tattoos like the ones they got at their birthday party. 

We had so much fun playing with all the fun gifts and spent the entire day in our pj's and in the jumper. We are going to cry when we have to give that back...thanks Ron and family :) 

The Big 2!

I can't believe another year has passed! It seems like just yesterday we were filling the time capsule with treasures! 

The girls have obviously grown a lot since then and we are at a really fun time right now. Tantrums and sleepless nights aside we are extremely fortunate to have such beautiful and healthy girls. We are looking forward to some great family vacations this next year and preschool is right around the corner. My little babies are all grown up...well they would like to think they are, hehehe. 

Thanks to everyone that helped us celebrate the big day and we look forward to many, many more laughs with all of you!  

Mothers Day Weekend

Macy and I had the run of the house while Remy and papa were in Seattle. We were really busy with shopping, walks, park and of course all the Mothers Day festivities! We started our mom day celebrations with Mike's side of the family on Saturday night. We had a great dinner with everyone at Olive Garden. Macy impressed everyone with her consumption of food...she can really put down a meal if she likes what she is eating. She finished her meal off with a LARGE bowl of ice cream! We had a blast and it was great seeing all the moms :) 

Sunday was busy right from the start. My mom came over for a late breakfast and some backyard water fun with Macy, she loves the hose and can entertain herself with it for hours :) It was a beautiful day and it was great catching up with my mom after Macy settled in for a nap. In the afternoon after Macy woke from her slumber we headed to T.O. for Mothers Day dinner with Kay and family. We had a nice visit with Alison and Alan in from out of town and lots a great music compliments of Uncle Brian, hehehe. Macy loved being the center of attention and even more the dessert. She had a full serving of red velvet cake with insane frosting...she didn't go to sleep until 10:30pm...eeeek!!!! 

We had a wonderful weekend with family as always and can't wait to see everyone again soon :) 

Remy & Papa Solo to Seattle

Mike and Remy had a great time going solo to Seattle. After two vacations back to back mama was not up for another trip and I was going to miss all the Mother's Day celebrations. It all turned out for the best and Mike and Remy had some great bonding time! They got really lucky on both flights, they had lots of extra seats to spread out! One of my biggest fears of flying with the girls was to have them on your lap in a full flight!!!!! 35lbs of biggness on your lap for 3hrs...YIKES!!!! Papa D has some kinda luck and Remy was on her best behavior.

They visited our great friends Julie, Andrew, Max and Maya. All the kids had a blast and from what I heard Mike and Remy had some great naps and lots of wonderful walks around their neighborhood. It is so beautiful up there! The best part of their trip for me was their return :) Macy and I missed them so much. I had to remind Macy every few hours where Papa and Remy were. It was really sweet. 

Funny Faces

We had a good time making funny faces with this really cool all organic putty ecokidsusa.com. 

I think Papa D wins the "Most Creative" award :) 

New Hats

My check book is in trouble because of this new hat store that just opened on Abbot Kinney. I could not resist getting the entire family a new hat! 

What happened to Sweet Macy????

We are officially in Temper Tantrum stage with Macy. What Macy wants Macy gets.....not really! That is why it was recommended by my friend Jesse to take pictures of her while she is throwing a tantrum. It worked... after a few flashes she stopped. My friend said her mom has an entire photo album of her crying, so hilarious! Thanks for the great advice Jess! 

Macy and Remy just got over another really bad flu. Macy always gets a really high fever, she peaked at over 103. I felt so bad for her but could not resist taking a picture of her all bundled up like a little burrito, so so cute. 

Macy loves her purses, especially one that Grandma Suzanne gave her. She insisted on taking it with her to San Diego and had it on her arm the entire trip down. 

Another shot of hand cleaning. I think I am going to dedicate an entire blog just with pictures of the girls cleaning their hands. It cracks us up and even the daycare was surprised with it....they think it is strange :) 

The Comedian

Remy has this really funny side to her and is always doing the silliest things for attention. We are convinced she is going to be the class clown! 

When Remy isn't trying to make us laugh she is getting into something she shouldn't be. No surface is safe and all the really cool toys like the one she is standing on all live outside now! 

Another really crazy thing is both Macy and Remy hate having dirty hands. I try and get them to do finger paints but as soon as they get their fingers in the paint, painting is over. 

Not sure what we are going to do about the "getting naked" thing. Any opportunity for the girls to get naked they take it! ps .... the seat did get a good cleaning, hehehehe

Swine Flu Plan B

Plan B: to get as close to Mexico without crossing the border. Not really, it just worked out that way. As everyone knows we had to cancel our much needed and anticipated vacation to Cabo. It was decided that it was not safe to travel in fear of either getting sick or getting stuck. In the end it all worked out just fine and we got in an amazing visit with family and friends.

Jamie and Ryan came to visit us at our hotel for lunch and to play with the girls. Macy LOVES Ryan as you can see from the picture. Remy is all about who will run around with her :) It is amazing how much Jamie and Remy look alike, so cute!  

We have come to the conclusion that vacations are the best when they extend the "Three Day" weekend rule. It took us until the last day to really relax and get into the groove. Our trip to Sea World was by far one of the most enjoyable days I think I have ever had with Mike and the girls. Everyone was just having fun, the way it should be but far and few unfortunately. But I think we are getting around that corner and looking forward to more family fundays!!!