Three Toads and a Princess

Merry Christmas

2010-01-10T18:28:00.001-08:00

This has got to be the best Santa picture ever! Max did not hesitate to jump on Santa's lap this year and tell him about the race car track he wanted for Christmas. This was very suprising since he has been the one to cry at the sight of Santa for the last few years. Now Chloe wanted nothing to do with sitting on Santa's lap AT ALL! But she was very eager to write him a letter telling him about the Barbie cash register she wanted and she drew him beautiful picture of a Christmas tree.
Our family traditon on Christmas Eve is to open one present of Mom's choosing. It is always new pajamas for everyone in the family. This year Chloe and Baby Chloe got matching PJs.

Max is crying here because he doesn't seem to like this so called family tradition. One present? New PJs? What about all those other presents under the tree??? It's okay Max, you are not alone. Cole and Jack have always cried for the same reason on Christmas Eve. You are not alone!

Merry Christmas to all from the Harding Family!!!

Who would have thought taking a picture for a Christmas card could be so difficult?

Central Section Football Championship

2009-12-13T21:30:00.000-08:00

I Love this poster that some of Cole's fans made for the game. The Buffalo incident will forever be a classic story that Cole with be razzed about for years and years.

Centennial High School Football team made it to the Division I Central Section Valley Championship. We are very proud of our Golden Hawks! They entered the playoffs seeded eighth out of nine teams. They caused quite an upset when they beat No. 1 Clovis-Buchanan 26-24. Then turned around and beat their biggest rival here in Bakersfield No. 5 Liberty 21-14. The team they went up against for the Championship was Fresno's Bullard high school seeded No. 1 with a record of (12-0). Bullard happens to be the high school that my sister Gina's kids go to in Fresno. So we had quite a fun time watching the game with Gina, Brooke and her kids in the pouring rain! Bullard won with a score of 42-31, But I have to say Centennial played a great game! It was very close until Bullard pulled away in the last quarter with 2 touchdowns.

Here is Cole and Jack after the game. Jack is a soon-to-be Golden Hawk and will follow in his brothers footsteps and play football for them next year.

And best for last, here is Cole with his cute little girlfriend, Morgan who came to the game to help us cheer Cole on in the freezing cold and rain. I have to say she is a very good sport to hang with us since she goes to Liberty, Centennial's biggest rival!

Itsy Bitsy Spider

2009-12-06T17:48:00.000-08:00

This was filmed in Max's office. We spend alot of time here each day reading books, singing songs, playing cars. This was just too cute I couldn't resist filming him singing Itsy Bitsy Spider.

Chloe's Dance Commercial

2009-12-06T17:34:00.000-08:00

Chloe's dance class was filmed in a commercial for the dance academy she dances with. I know this is crude video taping off my tv, but you can at least get the idea. Chloe is the one wearing black with a bright pink tu tu.

Halloween at the Harding House

2009-11-01T18:11:00.000-08:00

There is no shortage of superheros at our house this Halloween!

The beautiful Belle with Batman.
(We tried to get Chloe to be Batgirl but after seeing the princess Belle at Disneyland there was no question about what she was going to be for Halloween this year.)

You are never too old for halloween. Even our kids were suprised to see mom and dad dressed up as Vulcans. I think Rob makes a pretty good Spock don't you?

Disneyland Trip

2009-11-01T16:45:00.000-08:00

Chloe's inspiration for her Halloween costume

Max gets to meet Lightening McQueen in person. He loves this car! Notice he is holding it in his hand. He has this car in his hand everywhere we go.

A couple of weeks ago we were able to take Chloe and Max to Disneyland. It was their first time and it was so fun to see them experience the magic of Disneyland for the first time. Chloe absolutely loved "It's a small world" and Max is not to sure he likes pirates anymore after riding "Pirates of the Caribbean" but he loved the "Peter Pan" ride.

Happy Birthday Max

2009-11-01T16:30:00.000-08:00

Max just had his 3rd Birthday! He is the sweetest boy ever!!! He is so easy going and lovable and he always keeps us laughing at his funny comments. Ha Ha Just today we were eating dinner at the table and Chloe got her foot stuck in the chair legs and fell over chair and all. She was crying mostly because it had scared her. Max seeing Jack sitting next to her said, "Jack pushed Dowie over! Jack you busted!!!

Football Season

2009-11-01T15:56:00.000-08:00

Ahhh it's football season and we aren't finished just yet. Jack and his Cyclones are headed into playoffs next week. Jack has had a great season and seems to be the Jack of all trades. He has played middle line backer, center, offensive guard, defensive tackle, kick off return, kick off, kicker, punt team, punt return and full back. Got that? I don't. When people ask me what position he plays, I don't know how to answer.
Cole has had a great season playing Varsity for the Golden Hawks. It has been fun watching him and his team play this year there have been some really good games. Cole plays Right Tackle on offense and defense. He has two more games left then he will head into playoffs for the valley championship. GO G-HAWKS!!!!!!

Happy Birthday Jack

2009-10-15T20:20:00.000-07:00

It's a milestone birthday for Jack! Happy 14th Birthday. It is official, Jack will be able to go to Stake dances now. Cole is looking after his brother by teaching him how to dance with the help of some very cute girls. Lucky for Jack, Cole has connections.

Preschool

2009-10-11T17:37:00.000-07:00

Chloe and Max have started going to preschool two mornings a week. They are loving every minute of it. So is mom! I have about 5-6 hours of free time a week wa-hoo!!! They do lots of fun crafts and activities and are very proud of everything they make. they are so cute!

Cole gets HOOKED!!!!

2009-10-11T17:03:00.000-07:00

Cole had a little mishap this past month. He was working for his Granpa Reno at his place mowing grass and doing yard work. Grandpa has a little herd of cows and one buffalo named Buffy Lou. The herd needed to be moved to a pasture so Cole and another employee opened the gates to the patures and waited for the herd to move to the new pasture. They have done this hundreds of times and the cows know exactly where to go as they usually run to the next pasture where the tall green grass awaits them. This time though, as Cole stood in an open space the buffalo stopped to eat some grass. She then looked up and saw Cole (he was standing about 30 feet away) and charged him!!! He ran to jump up on the nearest fence but not before she hooked him between the legs. He was very lucky because although he had injuries in a very sensitive area no vital necessities were harmed. He did have to have some stitches and has a long scratch on the back of his thigh about 18 inches long. He had called me after this happened because he knew he needed medical attention. He said to me, "Mom I've been gored in the _______ and I'm bleeding what should I do?" I thought he was playing a practical joke on me so I didnt belive him! He was very calm and matter of fact about it. It took a little while for him to convince me he wasn't joking. Then I felt so bad when I realized it wasn't a joke. Cole has since recovered but missed a couple weeks of football practice. He walked bull legged for a while as well and endured much teasing and nick names from the foootball team and friends at school. They called him Buffalo Bill, Rodeo Clown, and Buffalo Balls.

San Clemente Beach

2009-09-13T20:01:00.000-07:00

We spent a week in San Clemente this summer with the Wagner family. We spent a few days soaking in the sun and enjoying the cooler weather. It is so very hot in Bakersfield July and August. We took the time to go to Sea World and Lego Land. It was so much fun! Great times!

I just love this picture of Max watching the beluga whales through the window!

Chloe and Max are exploring the tide pool sea life at Sea World.

May the force be with you Max!!!

Even teenagers can have fun in Lego land. It's just a little disappointing the rides can't go a little faster huh Cole?

Now this ride is definitely for the big guys. It's called the King's Tournament. Cole and Jack call it the "Nut Cracker"

Chloe's 4th Birthday

2009-09-13T19:17:00.000-07:00

Chloe celebrated her 4th Birthday this summer. She had a flower party with all of her little friends. We painted faces, planted flowers, made flower necklaces and played pin the spot on the lady bug. We had a blast! It was girls camp this week so I didn't have my usual helpers for the party. Instead I enlisted Cole, Jack, and Riley to help. We had 8 kids including Chloe and Max and we were hoppin! A couple of little girls were quite smitten with my helpers too!

Summer Vacation

2009-08-09T18:48:00.000-07:00

If it looks like they are up to no good, your right. Cole and Jack bought all their fireworks at Valley of Fire in Nevada. You know, the kind that are illeagal in California and just about everywhere else. But since we are at the ranch out in the middle of the country we let them have their fun. Just one word of warning, if they catch the haystack on fire, they will be dead!

This is the first time I have ever had to bundle up on the fourth of July! It's always so hot in Bakersfield!

We went to Sun Valley for Independence Day celebrations. We watched a parade and went to a kids carnival. Mom went to an antique show. We didn't stay for the fireworks because Cole and Jack had their own firework show planned.

This was Chloe's favorite part of the parade. Pretty girls on horses.

Checking out the carnival games

Of course we take our dogs on vacation with us!!! Idaho is doggie Heaven. We even rented a trailer to pull our luggage behind the Yukon so that Snickers could have the back of the car all to herself. This is a bird that Snickers hunted and killed all by herself. I wish I had filmed Fritzi-girl killing the squirrels as Jack and Cole flushed them out of their holes with the hose. It was hilarious. Fritzi-girl has a new nick name, "Killer".

We visited a new fishing spot this year. It was Bayhorse Lake. It is a peaceful lake up in the Sawtooth Mountains. We explored a the mining ghost town of Bayhorse on the way up to the lake. We took note that there are lots of ATV trails around the mountain ghost mines. We may have to explore this next year.

This is Cole, Chloe and Max enjoying a snack at Bayhorse Lake.

Chloe caught this good size fish. I had to hold it for her because she didn't like the way it wiggled on the hook. Notice the pink Barbie fishing pole. We caught lots of fish on this pole.

Max catches his first fish.

Nice fish Cole but...........................................

Now that's a BIG fish. Jack caught this huge fish at the fish hatchery pond and it was a beauty. Too bad Cole wasn't there to see it. He was hunting squirrels. The funny thing is we had just run out of worms and Jack pulled this old and I mean really old stink bait out of the tackle box and baited his hook with huge wad of it and caught this huge trout on it! It was unbelievable!!! We did release it so hopefully it will still be there next year.

Jack has been riding quads for quite a few years but this year Grandpa Reno taught Jack to drive his tractor and pick up truck. Jack was loving it! But after Rob, Cole and I rode with him on two separate occasions we decided that there is a good reason 13 year olds don't drive. THEY CAN'T SEE STOP SIGNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We spent the rest of our vacation at the Reno Ranch in Idaho. This is Chloe and Max riding "Flash".

This is a picture of the grandchildren and great grand children singing for Grandpa Harding. Chloe is in there wearing the purple lei. She loved running around with all the kids.

We started our vacation in Utah to surprise Rob's dad with a surprise party for his 80th Birthday. It was so fun to see the whole family and meet all the new additions. Our kids met lots of cousins they didn't know they had.

Swim Lessons

2009-06-22T12:45:00.001-07:00

Chloe just finished swim lessons and she is really learning to swim! With a little more practice she will be on her own! Big difference from last year when she cried every day! Now She loves swim lessons so much she pretends to be "Allie" her instructor. She will pretend to give her friends swim lessons in the pool and in the bath tub. She will even ask me to be "Allie" and tells me to talk to her the way Allie does. Now Max is another story. He dropped out after the first day. We decided to focus on potty training which is proving to be more difficult that I expected of him.

Cole's 17th Birthday

2009-06-22T12:36:00.001-07:00

Here is Cole on his 17th Birthday! In this picture i love how everyone is smiling because... just after I shot this picture Jack blew out all of the candles... and lets just say Cole was NOT happy. For his Birthday he got a new phone and we went to dinner at Akiras, his favorite.

Dance Recital

2009-06-09T20:28:00.001-07:00

This is our little "Baby Doll". Last night Chloe had her dance recital. The theme was "Toys in Toyland". Her dance class were the Baby Dolls and danced to the song "Baby Face." They did a fantastic job! They were adorable!

Mama Mia

2009-06-09T20:05:00.000-07:00

Moments like these are priceless. Chloe and Mom love the movie Mama Mia. This is one of Chloe's most requested movies to watch. Cole and Jack hate it because they are surely to get one of these songs stuck in their mind and they are likely to get caught singing or humming a Mama Mia song. Ha Ha!!

Max's Masquerade

2009-05-17T19:53:00.000-07:00

This is our favorite. BATMAN!!! Max loves this cape. He wears it everywhere we go, to the grocery store, Target, the park. He gets alot of compliments from strangers. When they comment on his cape he will say, "I'm Batman!" It is the first thing he looks for in the morning.

Handy Manny

Yee Haw Cowboy!!! Unfortunately for Max, these kind of pictures are bound to go public when you live with a princess like Chloe. He is subjected to playing, house, babies and tea party on a daily basis. I have to say he is a good sport about it!!

Tire Swing

2009-05-17T19:33:00.000-07:00

We have a very big tree in our front yard and we just got this GREAT tire swing! Chloe and Max love it! I ordered it online and made sure that they made it with a heavy duty chain knowing that Cole and Jack would not be able to resist even though they were told it was for the little ones. And wouldn't you know it, we had it for only three days before Jack and his friends broke it! ARGHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Daddy promises to fix it. Please Daddy fix it soon!

The Love Affair with "MIMI" continues...

Prom 2009

2009-05-17T19:00:00.000-07:00

As a junior in high school, this is Cole's first prom. He went with his good friend Jacquie and they went with the tye dye look and they looked Awesome!!!! Or as they called it, They looked "SICK"!!! For all of you who may be feeling a little old like me thats the newest term for awesome, cool, hot, fresh.

Sweet Ride!!!!!

Friends get together for pictures to make their mom's happy before they leave for their big night.

The guys definately thought their shoes were "FRESH" compared to the girl's shoes!

Easter

2009-04-12T20:36:00.000-07:00

Chloe spots the Easter eggs hidden in the back yard right away but Mimi attracts Max's attention first. He finds many of them in the early morning grass. There were even Mimis sticking to the Easter eggs! YUCK!!!

Chloe and Max Easter morning. Chloe has been waiting weeks to be able to wear her new Easter dress. She loves getting dressed up to go to church and she just could hardly wait to wear her new dress and shoes! Max is only interested in the batman he got in his Easter basket!

Max and Chloe are coloring Easter eggs. Chloe took charge of the pink and yellow dye and Max as you can see took control of the blue and green dye.

Flow Rider

2009-04-12T19:46:00.000-07:00

On Spring break Rob took thje boys and some friends to the McDermont Field House in Lindsey, Ca. They spent the day playing on the flow rider, laser tag, indoor soccer, golfing, rock wall climbing, and the arcade. It was really fun, they had a blast!

Formal

2009-04-12T18:39:00.000-07:00

This is new territory for us! Cole is a junior in high school, he is driving and dating and doing all those things teenagers do. Well, hopefully not everything. This year he went to his first formal dance. Here he is with his date Macy. They had a great time on their night out on the red carpet.

"Mimi" The Snail

2009-04-08T15:38:00.000-07:00

Max loves to play with snails. It is a mystery to us as to why he names them all "Mimi". So don't ask because we don't know why. If you talk to him he will give a long story most of which you won't understand. But he will go on and on about Mimi the snail. He will hold Mimi in his hand and will giggle and tell you, "It tickles!" He also will push the antennae and watch it retract back and forth and laugh. Mimi will slime all over his hands and he just doesn't care because he is so fascinated with her. Every time he goes outside he will look through the plants until he finds Mimi! Unfortunately for Mimi, when he is finished playing with her or he is called to come in the house he just drops Mimi on the spot and gives her a quick stomp of the foot and the game is over for now. Good for Max there seems to be a never ending supply of Mimi's at our house. It saves me the trouble of putting out snail bait!

Elmo

2009-04-08T14:54:00.000-07:00

Chloe and Max viewing Elmo and Dorothy on the new TV. It appears that Elmo is as interested in them as they are in him.