Frozen

Hey kids,

Daddy here.  This weekends activity was Izzy's first ballet recital and since it's the holiday season, they went with Frozen for the theme. Izzy and Mackenzie were the cutest little snowman I've ever seen.

The boys got lucky, and didn't go to the performance. Corey and I, not so much. Not that I didn't want to see your sister dancing ballet or anything, but three hours of dancing is a bit much. Your sister was on stage for maybe 20 seconds and it was the best part of the whole thing. After the three hour long ordeal, Mom, Kristin and I took Izzy and Mackenzie to ice cream to celebrate. Mackenzie commented that it was the best night ever. Suddenly, it was totally worth it. I'm so proud of you Iz. I can't wait to see all of the rest of your performances, however long they may be. I'll always be there, no matter what. I love you guys,

Daddy

Penance Service

Hi kids,

Daddy here. Tonight it was time for penance service at Church, so we all went to unload our sins. Another thing I am grateful for is the gift of the sacrament of confession. For the penance service, they always bring in a bunch of extra priests from the different Catholic churches in our area.  Izzy does not get to do it till next year, so she played with Joanna. Jake went to Farther George. Al went to Father Phil. Mom went to Father Mario, I think and I went to Father I can't remember his name. I was in line for a really long time and had a very nice chat with Mary Jo. Finally I line-jumped to the guy I went to. As I expected, he was very nice. We all got cleansed of our sins and headed home to rest easy and try to stay in a state of grace until Mass. Good luck to us all. I love you guys,

Daddy

Decorating

Hi kids,

Daddy here. We got all the homework done early today, so mom said we could decorate the tree.

This is just another one of the reasons I love the Christmas season. I love you guys,

Daddy

Weekend Wrap

Hey kids,

Daddy here.  This weekends Al went to the annual Town Tour with the Boy scouts. Saturday, the rest of us went to pick out our Christmas tree. The last few years we have gone to the FFA lot and gotten our tree. In a shocking turn of events, Mom picked literally the first tree she saw! The first tree! We tied it to the van and headed home to get it all ready for ordaments (as Izzy says). We didn't have time to decorate that day though, as the Reagan's holiday party was that night. So we prepped the tree and brought it in, and then head over to the party. I am so glad we are friends with them. It's a very special gift to have friends like them in our lives. Kristen and Cory and Mom and I all get along so well. Mac and Iz get along.....most of the time.

I picked up a bleary eyed Al the next morning after he pulled an all nighter. After Mass, it was time for family pictures. We had Mr. Vu from church take them. I'll tell you what, that guy is awesome.  When mom and me pick the photo that we're using, I'll post that one too. However, Mr Vu wanted to take a picture of us taking a selfie.

That's a good looking family.  I love you guys,

Daddy

Black Friday

Hey kids,
Daddy here. Our plans for Black Friday included all whole lot of nothing except recuperating from Thanksgiving. Mom had to go to school and do some stuff in her classroom so we just stayed home and chilled. Jake and Iz road bikes in the front for a while.



We had a pretty fun day of relaxing and kicking back. I nice long, easy weekend. I love you guys,

Daddy

Thanksgiving

Hey kids,
Daddy here. Thanksgiving time at the Mansfield house means dusting off the book 'Thanksgiving at the Tappletons'. That has to be one of my favorite books to read. We all have so much fun reading it together. No one else is allowed to say Tapplestons or they face the penalty of a tickle! This year we had an unexpected surprise in that our water heater blow up! Luckily, Papa was around to save the day. So, on Thanksgiving morning Mama took you guys to the Turkey Trot and Papa and I put in a brand new water heater.  Later that day, we made our annual trip to Grammie and Papa's for dinner. This year, Seth and Jula decided to raise their own bird. Not knowing how this would turn out, Grammie also prepared a bird. Grammie made a 26 pound turkey. If you don't know, that's pretty good size. Seth and Jula's bird came in at a whopping 40 pounds! Papa said it barely fit in the oven. Seth dared Al to eat a drumstick for dinner, which he did. And nothing else!

 After dinner,  we fell asleep on the couch watching the Forty Niner game. Which I'm glad we did since they got killed by Seattle. We took a bunch of leftovers home and went home to sleep, never to eat again.

Pictured:Heaven on a plate

The thing i am most thankful for is you guys and Mom. I so very happy for my many blessings. I love you guys,

Daddy

Halloween

Hey kids,
Daddy here. Halloween is here again. Time for candy and fun times. This year Alex was Ghost-face,  Jake was Spider-man and Izzy was a kitty cat. We once again went to the Fig's neighborhood for the company and the good candy. We met the Palmers there and the Moms stayed in and Mr. Palmer and I took you guys out. There were lots of great decorations out and we had a great time.

Outside the Haunted House

Eventually Mr Palmer had to take the little ones back to the Fig's and I stayed out with the older kids. Brooklyn got a wild hair and decided to throw something at a car passing by and like an idiot, shouted "Hey guys watch this!" The car slowed down and she threw something at it, at which point i had to yell at her. Seriously, what is that girl thinking?! Anyway, we made it back safe and sounds with a ton of candy.
The next day, we got up and headed down the the Clickner's house for Lily's b-day celebration. Mom had to stay home because she had a bunch of school work to do. I can't believe that Lily is already 2 years old, but then again I can't believe that Al is 13! We hung out and you guys jumped on the trampoline and we all had fun and caramel apples that Yaya made, woo hoo!

The next morning we went to Apple Hill and got their apple fritters. They are without question the best apple fritters in the world, sssssooooo goood.

We hung out and had our fritters and cider and on the way out I bought a 2014 Giants World Series beer stein for me and a 2012 World Series wine glass for Mom. We went back to the Clickner's and hung out for a bit, but we had to leave early so we could be home for Mass at 5:30. We picked Mom up at home and all went to Mass. What a great way to end our weekend together. I love you guys,

Daddy

Game 7

Hey kids,

Daddy here. So, last night the Giants played the Royals in game 7 of the World Series! In preparation for the game, the boys and I hadn't washed our Giants shirts since the postseason began. Suffice it to say, we were plenty stinky. As the game ws set to begin, we all took our spots, even mom and prepared for the game. Alex asked me earlier who I thought would win and I said, "It's game 7! Crazy things happen in game 7, I wouldn't be surprised if a cow ran across the field while on fire!" Spoiler alert: that did not happen.
After 2 innings, they were all tied up at,2. Mom wanted some pizza, so Al and I headed up to Papa Murphys and got the or new steak pizza. We paused the game when we left and I was proud of Mom that she didn't watch one pitch without us. We started the game back up with Pablo "Panda bear" Sandoval up at the plate.  He got a hit and Hunter Pence knocked him home and the Giants took 3-2 lead. At the end of the 5th inning, they brought in Madison Bumgarner,  who had just pitched a hell of a game 5. The Royals threw their best pitchers in and there were not many hits on either side. Finally, in the top of the 9th inning,  the Giants got their 3rd out with no more runs and a one run lead going into the bottom of the 9th. Game 7, bottom of the 9th, there can no more pressure.  Bumgarner gets to 2 outs and Alex Gordon is up. Silence fell over the house, we waited with baited breath for the last out and our chance to scream. After a few pitches, he hits a fly ball to left field.  Gregor Blanco misplayed the ball and it went past him. Juan Pérez kicked it and Gordon turned a short infield single into a triple! With the winning run at the plate, Sanchez,  the only guy to homer off Bumgarner the entire postseason is up. Bum pitches him high and at this point Mom, Al, Jake and I are about to have a heart attack. Sanchez pops up and the ball is foul, but easily catchable. Panda bear lines up underneath it.....AND MAKES THE CATCH. GIANTS WIN , GIANTS WIN. Their 3rd World Series win in 5 years. The boys rip off their shirts and run around the front yard screaming. What a thrilling finish.
After the game, Mom says, "Well, that, was exciting! " Hahaha. She watched the whole thing with us.
That has got to be one of my favorite sports memories of all time. I'm so glad I got to share it with you guys.
I love you guys,

Daddy

Fall Festival

Hey kids,

Daddy here.  This year's Fall Festival was this weekend. Mama had catechesis class all day, so it was Daddy getting costumes ready while the boys did homework. Izzy and I went out to target to pick up all the stuff and found exactly what we were looking for: a Spiderman costume for Jake, a Ghostface costume for Al, add a kitty cat costume for Iz. We went home, picked up the boys, and headed to confession. After we cleansed our sins, we took moms car to get gas in it and go get something to eat. We decided since the Giants were playing in the World Series that night, to go over to San Francisco deli. We got two hot pastrami sandwiches and they were awesome! By the time we were ready to leave, it was absolutely pouring down rain. Undeterred, we headed over to the Fall Festival. Mackenzie's dad Corey and I worked the snow white booth for a while while we listened to the baseball game on the radio. You guys got tons of candy and had a great time. When Mom was done with her class, she join us and we partied for a few hours. After the fall festival was over, we headed home to watch the end of the Giants game and the Reagans joined us. After the Giants won, we switched over to the USC game. Jake asked who we were going for and I said, "We're going for whoever plays against USC. I would cheer for ebola before I cheer for USC." Utah ended up winning the game, so we loved it.
The next day, after church,  headed up to Cohasset for Violet's 2nd birthday party.

Oh, Uncle Seth

The boys and I played baseball in the backyard for a bit, and afterwards Jake and Izzy pushed Violet on the swing.

How cute is that?

So, all in all, it was another great weekend for the MansClan. I love you guys.

Daddy

Weekend Wrap

Hi kids,
Daddy here. Mama was out of town this weekend so it was daddy day care around our house. Friday night was the annual  Results Radio family night at Hawes farms, but since Mom wasn't there, we decided to bring Gabe with us. You guys all had a blast doing your individual activities: Alex and Gabe did all of the scary stuff. Jake had a great time riding the rollercoaster and Izzy jumped on the jumping pillow all night long. We met up with some friends from school and went to shoot zombies. It was just as awesome as it always is. We ended up leaving way later than we expected but we all had a blast.

on Saturday, we needed to get the tires rotated on the van. Not terribly exciting stuff. But, we turned it into a geocaching adventure. I told you guys that each geocache counted for 20% of a treat, so we had to find 5 to guarantee a treat. We did find our 5 and racked up a total of 12 thousand steps in the process!

Pretty girl & a pretty flower

We ended up having a late lunch at Jack and everyone was in a great mood. I just love spending time with you guys so much. We headed home and Izzy wanted to watch Kickin It on Alex's tablet while the boys and I settled in for a night of agents of shield and arrow.

Sunday morning the boys were both altar serving and I was lector one at Mass. You guys did such a great job.  I'm always so proud when you stand up there and serve. After Mass, we headed home because the house needed to be cleaned up a little. Gotta keep it clean when moms away. After we got our chores done, we headed out for a little bit to try to find a few more geocaches. Once again, we found 5 and went to get a treat.

This nasty little bugger was located by the Steve-Man. Great find, dude!

At Target, are designated treat store we found our treats and Alex and Izzy got a special treat: a San Francisco Giants shirt! We need all the luck we can get heading into the World Series. Since it was Sunday, after we got our chores done it was time to watch football.

Mom got back later that evening, we had dinner and a nice evening together. Everything's back to normal now, but this weekend is the Fall Festival. I can't wait to see what kind of adventures we will have this weekend. I love you guys,

Daddy

Steve Drives

Hi kids,
Daddy here. So, the other day I had to pick you guys up at school and bring you back to the radio station with me. When we left it was after closing time so there was hardly anyone here, so when we drove up Charles Dr, I decided to let Steve drive a bit.

Izzy, and Alex also got a chance. Izzy,  on my lap, and Al by himself. I can't believe how fast you are all growing up. I love you guys,

Daddy

Monster Weekend

Hi kids,
Daddy here. I've begun to think over the time of this blog that maybe Monday isn't so bad after all. When I come in and start to type out what we did this weekend, it makes me realize how much fun we have and lucky we are.

This weekend was once again time for a Mansfield family tradition. THE WEST COAST MONSTER TRUCK NATIONALS. "Uncle" Matty Funnlecakes picked us up at about 6:30. We drove down to the Tehema district fairgrounds cracking jokes and laughing the whole way. When we were almost in, I asked, "When do you guys think we'll see the first thing that makes us say 'WOW'?" No sooner did I ask that when Al pointed out a guy walking with his six year old daughter, and the guy was smoking. "How about that?" He asks, "I mean wow dad, just awful." We paid for parking and got into a spot and began the walk into the arena. Once we got checked in we headed off to the right to the VIP area as we always seem to get the VIP tickets. We got settled into our seats and waited for the show to begin. They were loud and awesome, like always. We screamed and yelled and had a blast. Jake asked me if he could go look for food. I said, "Sure. Just don't go over the bridge and out of the VIP area." He comes back like 5 minutes later excited as can be exclaiming, "They have Oreo shakes!!" "Here?" I asked. "Uhh..." Really Jake?! The one direction I gave you was to stay here. Ugh. So the boys come back with their shakes just in time to see the Jet Fire Engine. It does not sound that impressive, but check this out, how sweet is this?!

Pictured: The definition of awesome

All I wanted to see all night was a Monster Truck flip over, and after the final race, the drivers came out and did some freestyle stuff. The Patriot made a huge jump and went up on his front tire. I stood up and prepared to scream and holler. He eventually rolled back down on the back tires and the entire crowd let out a audible, frustrated sigh. That sucked. Still, flip or not, we had an absolute blast, just like every year. I hope you guys will go with me when you're old and I'm older still. I love going to that event with you guys. I really love how we all just get so excited by silly stuff like that. Boys rule!

On Saturday, mom took Izzy to Ava's birthday party which worked out really good for us boys ad the Giants-Nationals game was on. The Giants had won the first game in DC and were looking to win game number two and take a commanding lead in the series. When mom and Izzy got home from the party, it was the top of the 9th inning and the Giants were down 1-0. I told mom we'd go out to Wildcard and have a beer as soon as the game was over. Then, Pablo Sandoval hit a double and Joe Panik scored to tie it up. The 11th inning came and went, as did the 12th, 13th and 14th. I realized (with Alex's help) that if I wanted to have a beer with mom at Wildcard, we had to go. So, the boys recorded the game for me and we headed out. We had a very nice, quiet time. When we left, we remembered that you guys had not yet eaten so we white-trashed it up and bought Hot Pockets and pot pies on the way home. I could not believe that we made it all the way home with no one spoiling the end of the Giants game for me. When we got home, the boys asked if we could watch the end of the game. We put Izzy in bed and started where we left off, which by the way was the bottom of the 14th inning. When the game reached the 16th inning I made the comment that I had never seen a game go on that long. When the game reached the bottom of the 17th, mom asked how long it would be possible to go on for. "Until they get a damn winner." I said. "They will keep playing all day and night until those guys are physically no longer able to walk or stand." In the top of the 18th inning, Brandon Belt (the baby giraffe) hit a solo home run and the Giants took a 2-1 lead. They held the Nats off and won the game, after 18 innings of baseball! It was the longest baseball game in terms of time ever in the postseason and tied for the longest ever i the postseason in terms of innings. It was crazy to watch and I loved that we got to be a part of history in the making, a little. I mean, it's not like we were there, we just sat at home on the couch, but still! Totally awesome, I'm so glad we all watched it together.

Sunday: Mass at 9, as per standard, and home to get things ready for football. Oh, and mom had a jewelry party. The boys and i watched the 49er game. When the other moms came over for the jewelry party the kids came down stairs and watched the game and horsed around with the boys and I.

 The 49ers made us sweat near the end, but ended up winning, whew. After the game & jewelry party it was time to head to Captain Kissyface's Halloween party.  Alex stayed home to get some homework done, so Mom, Izzy, Jake and I headed over.

While we were there, Jake hit Kevin in the face with the football and knocked his tooth out. Thanks, Jake. His dad's a highway patrol officer and his mother is an Assistant District Attorney. As it turns out, Jake made a perfect pass and Captain Kissyface just missed it. Also, his tooth was already loose, but still, of course Jake knocked his tooth out with a football. How Jake is that story!? Classic Steve. I love you guys,

Daddy

Airshow 2014

Hi kids,
Daddy here. This past weekend was the annual Redding Airshow and Results Radio had our very own booth! Mom had some stuff to do in her classroom so just you guys and daddy went to the Airshow. There was food and drinks and ice cream and airplanes. It was awesome. Maybe the best thing that happened were when Alex asked, "Cagle, do you want to get on my shoulders?" or when Izzy stood on a chair and said, "Cagle, I'm as tall as you!" and she was, lol. Anyway, we had a great time once again and missed mom. I know she loves the airshow and loves hanging with us so we need to make sure we support her with all her hard work she's doing on her classroom. I am constantly reminded of how much fun we have in this family, and I hope you guys grow up remembering all the laughs and fun things we did. I always try to remember the good times when life gets us upset. Sometimes I loose that battle and sometimes I win. We just have to keep praying that we remember to be thankful and laugh. We are very blessed to have each other. I love you guys,

Daddy

Izzy's Weekend

Hi kids,
Daddy here. I told her not to. I was very clear. That dang ol stinky was not to get any older, yet despite my constant asking, she did. Izzy, my sweet little girl, somehow is six years old now. I was just commenting on how fast the time goes, and I know 6 seems pretty young, but I remember the day she was born like it was just a few weeks ago. The boys remember a time before there was an Izzy for pete's sake. But here she is, six years old. So, while daddy will lament the fact that my little girl is growing up too fast we will party to take my mind off of it. The Clickner clan made the journey up for the party and visit so that's always a good thing.

Grammie & Papa were out of town so we headed over to their house to party. There was a bunch of construction, so it took us waaaaay longer to get there than it should have. We did make in plenty of time tho, so the girls got to decorating and Doc and I cracked open a few cold beers. The boys swam for a bit but we decided to head back to the house and let the girls have their run of the space. Mama threw Izzy a baking party.

I'd say she loved it. I had to go work at the Beer & Wine Fest for a few hours and afterwards the Reagan's came back and hung out for a bit.

Sunday morning the Clickners headed out and we headed to Mass. We wrapped up a nice weekend of partying with our friends and prepared for the week ahead. Happy Birthday Iz. I love you guys,

Daddy

Mac's Party

Hi kids,
Daddy here. This past weekend we got another chance to party with the Reagan's. Izzy and her best friend Mackenzie have their birthdays two days apart so Mac had this weekend and Iz will have hers the next weekend. We went out to Mac's grandparents house for the Frozen pool party. The pool was not frozen, that was the theme, hehe. We had a great time. We are very blessed to have such great people in our lives. I love you guys,

Daddy.

1st tooth!

Hi kids,
Daddy here. Izzy lost her first tooth!

It started getting wiggly a few days ago. This weekend while she was eating breakfast it popped out. When we prayed before we ate lunch, Izzy said, "I pray I get $100 from the tooth fairy." She did not. She did, however, leave a very nice note for Maxine and got $3 since it was her first tooth. 

She's so proud of her lost tooth. Now she's working on the new wiggly tooth. Don't be in such a rush Iz, it'll happen when it's ready. I love you guys,

Daddy

The most wonderful time of the year

Hi kids,
Daddy here. So today was the first day of school! Wahoo! Al begins his 9th and final year at St Joes. I can still remember the kindergarten ice cream social when we met the Vara's. That seems like only a few years back. It's crazy to me how fast time flies. People always say how fast it is with your own, but I never believed it till I watched you guys grow up. That's one of the reasons I started this blog, to remember your lives and to not let myself or any of us get caught up in the rat race so much that we let our lives pass us by.

 Also new this year, mom began her first full-time teaching job and she got a job at St Joes! She got the 5th grade class, which means that Jake will be in her first class. I love that this happened so much. It's such a great opportunity for the both of them. I know mom will be a perfect school teacher and for Jake to have her in his class is just awesome.

As for Izzy, she's out of Kidergarten and officially in a grade now. The stinky, Mac, and most of her kindergarten friends are now with Mrs. Thornton in the first grade.

I'm so glad that we get to live here and are able to send you guys to guys to Catholic school. I pray you study hard, make great friendships and get closer to the Lord. Good luck this year! I love you guys,

Daddy

Doc turns 40?!

Hi kids,
Daddy here. Well this weekend was another busy for the MansClan. Doc turned 40 (bout time!) and so we headed to Oroville for the celebration. After a brief visit, Doc and I headed to Chico to see Guardians of the Galaxy. We stopped at one of our favorite spots, Spitteri's Deli where I saw a Ferrari!

We ended up at Doc's dad Ron's house in Paradise for the big surprise and had a great time. I sometimes forget that I've known this guy for the better part of the past 30 years. I hope one day you guys have a friend as good as I do with Doc. As I've said many times, I don't have any brothers but I feel about as close to that guy as a brother must. It's rare to be friends with somebody that long, but totally worth it. I've known him even longer than I've known mom. It has been one of the great pleasures of my life to call him my friend. I love you guys,

Daddy

Aloha to Maui.....for now

Hi kids,
Daddy here. Well the alarm went off waaay too early today, but it was time for my final early morning beach walk, so mom and I shook off the sleep and went out.

We really did not want to leave, so the boys and I took a little something home with us.

Proof we were there! After a few more dragging our feet, it was time for our final walk through.

So we sadly headed out. We grabbed a quick breakfast at McDonalds and had a Taro Pie, a uniquely Hawaiian treat. It was awesome. We got to Aloha rental car and dropped off Tutu and the car and said out final aloha.

We then took the shuttle to the airport and Tutu headed home. The driver told us all about the hurricane that was coming in, but sadly, we didn't get trapped in Hawaii (boo). We eventually got on the plane and started our long flight home.

These boys do not want to go home

But, eventually we settled in and started talking about what a great time we had.

We hope to be back next year! We love Maui and Tutu so much and are so blessed to be able to as often as we do. I love you guys,

Daddy

Hawaii pt 7

Hi kids,
Daddy here. Today is gonna be a big day. We have the rare opportinity to spend the day at the Grand Wailea. The fanciest hotel our family has EVER seen, let alone stayed at. Tutu knows someone who works there so we were able to get a chance to spend the day and night there. First though, we had our last early morning walk on the Kamaole sands beach. Mom and Al chose today to walk.

After the walk and the many laughs, we had to take one last look at Ariel. This sculpture got progressively more and more intricate. This was the final result.

He did not sculpt that, btw.

We headed back to bid a fine aloha to our condo at the Kamaole Sands. I tell ya, it's getting to the point where I really feel like checking in at that place feels like home. As such, checking out is always bittersweet. We always have such a great time, but it's always sad to leave. As per standard, when we check out, we always have a final walk through.

 

Aloha Kamaole Sands, till next time. Our Hawaiian vacation was not yet over, however. As We moved on down the road a mile or two to the Grand Wailea for a day of awesomeness.

Seriously, this place is crazy! We left our luggage and headed to the pool area.

King Steve of the Pool Kingdom

The adult pool, notice the hibiscus on the bottom.

The kid pool i.e. where we spend the whole day. Notice the cabanas.

The world's only water elevator.

So, there was a rope swing too, but I didn't get a pic of that, as after this pic was taken, we went swimming all darn day long. There were seven pools and a water-slide to lead to each pool and then down to then next. There we two big scary water-slides that the stinky could not ride because she was not tall enough. The boys and I, however rode them over and over again. We swam and rode water-slides all day long and it was one of the best days we've ever had. This is one day I'll remember forever. We all had so much fun, and did not get too sun burned this time. Tutu asked how much is was to rent a cabana and the guy said $400!! We decided to pass, lol. We got some food and kept on swimming. We sat behind a cabana and Alex asked me what the safe was. I told him it was a safe so people could lock up their stuff and he didn't believe me. I asked what he thought it was and he said, "A microwave."

Pictured: Not a microwave

After a whole day of relaxing and having the best time ever, we headed to the room. Or should I say, rooms!

The Kings and Queen of Hawaii

Epic Selfie

Ya know, just in case

We got all cleaned up and you guys stayed with Tutu and Mom and I headed down for dinner. The resturant at the hotel was also fancy, and totally awesome, albiet expensive. What can you do?

When we got back, you guys were asleep, so we snuggled into the comfiest bed ever. We did not want to go home tomorrow. I love you guys,

Daddy