Our Little World

Naomi Hospital Aug 2011

2011-08-11T19:33:00.000-07:00

Pre op Naomi was doing great. Once we had to walk back to the O.R. things got sad. She didn't want to go anymore. I was allowed back with her. But we had to hold her down and put the mask on her to get her to sleep. :(

Post op she did really good. She was a little sick to her tummy for a bit, but finally ate some food and was good to go. What a trooper.

Darren's Surprise 40th Bday Party

2011-08-09T20:32:00.000-07:00

It was awesome. He was so surprised. He thought we were hosting a ward function at our home, but when he came back we all jumped out and surprised him. It was a great time. We played a little Michael Jackson experience, ate a lot and laughed a lot too. Happy bday baby!

Welcome Home Uncle Jeff

2011-08-08T21:24:00.000-07:00

My sisters husband Jeff joined the Army and just got back from bootcamp. So the kids got together and helped make a welcome home banner.

Summer Swimming at our Pool 2011

2011-08-01T21:16:00.000-07:00

A few of our friends came and swam with us this summer. The kids had a blast.

Beach Days with our Friends

2011-07-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

Beach Fun 2011

2011-07-25T21:30:00.000-07:00

We had a lot of fun at the beach this year. Our kids are really getting to the ages where they enjoy it and we can enjoy it with them. Cassidy literally jumped for joy.

Black Friday Shopping 2010

2010-11-26T10:10:00.000-08:00

My girlfriends Mechelle, Rebekah, Gena, and I met at Toys R Us to hit the sales. Gena got there at 9pm the store opened at 10pm. We were in line til midnight. They only let 50 people in at a time so it wouldn't be madness. We finally made it into the store only to find it was not restocked and nothing was left on the advertized sales. Not doing their store ever again.
The line was forever long. I think it's because it was the only store open Thanksgiving night. The line went all the way around the parking lot and back again. It was crazy!

Thanksgiving 2010

2010-11-25T11:56:00.000-08:00

Our fantastic 5.
Cameron was so funny he keep putting my shoes on and walking around.

Liberty and Cameron playing in the car.

Sina and Grandpa holding Paulie and Delaney who are 3 months apart.

The Drago cousins!

Sina and Paul get Sealed

2010-11-13T08:45:00.000-08:00

Sina, Paul, Sophia, Samuel, and Paul sealed as a family for eternity.

Naomi and grandma Nancy Profancik.

The kids flock to Grandpa.

Vernetta and Alexis Jessop

Uncle Doug and Auntie Helen flew in from Samoa for the sealing.

All the family that came to the temple.

Malachi's Baptism

2010-11-06T08:33:00.000-07:00

Malachi and Darren right before the baptism.

Our family after the baptism. Oops baby didn't make the shot, but she is in the carrier! \"/ What a very special day. We had an amazing turn out the chapel was almost full. We are so blessed. Malachi is a special boy and such a strong spirit. We're so proud of him.

Delaney Comes Home From The Hospital

2010-09-10T12:33:00.000-07:00

Delaney came home from the hospital on the 9th. She was so tiny. She lost a little weight and was 5 lbs 8 ozs when we left home. Such a peanut!

Delaney Victoria Drago Has Arrived!

2010-09-07T09:00:00.000-07:00

My beautiful family!
Malachi holding Delaney.
Naomi holding Delaney.

Libby got to hold her too, but it was so cute the kids took turns being in the "sick" bed and pretended that they were getting taken care of in the hospital.

Cassidy holding Delaney.

Fresh out of the tummy.

So tiny born at 5 lbs 15 ozs.

It's over! I had my last kid and it feels great to know all is well. I had to have 2 surgeries while pregnant. I had stints put in to open my kidneys due to a large kidney stone. That is why the baby was induced 3 weeks early. Had an amnio to make sure baby's lungs were developed. So after baby was born I had lithotripsey done on my kidneys to break up the stones. It was a journey, but all is well.

She is so precious and such a peanut!!!

Delaney's Baby Shower!

2010-08-29T09:20:00.000-07:00

My girlfriend Beth and myself
Bridget Johnson and myself

Jen Clake and myself

Beth, Me, and Rebekah Naylor

Me and Crystal Carlson

Diane Stahl and Me

Me and Becky Robles

Me and Ursula Little

Me and Kim Anderson

Erin Thompson, Me, Rebeckah Naylor, Gena Atwood, Tracy Young

Kelli Jenson, Me, and Mechelle Welsh

Me and Carolyn Gonzalez

Melissa Bostwick, Me, and Crystal Martin

One of my favorite gifts my girlfriend Danielle made it's a cute tutu

Mechelle Welsh made my cake it was awesome!

Malachi is a Cub Scout!

2010-08-25T09:18:00.000-07:00

Malachi started Cub Scouts and is so excited about it. It's so fun to do the projects together and watch him grow.

First Day of School 2010

2010-08-20T10:26:00.000-07:00

Malachi and Naomi going to school 2010-2011.

Malachi is a 3rd grader.

Naomi is a 1st grader.

All 4 Drago kids ready to head to school on the first day.

Naomi lined up in her 1st grade line for Mrs. Hughes class.

Naomi and Rocky 2 peas in a pod.

Naomi, Rocky, and Alexandra 3 little buddies!

Mills Family visits the Dragos

2010-08-19T14:28:00.000-07:00

Cassidy, Addy, and Colby Mills swimming in our pool.
Cassidy and Naomi swimming with Rigdon.

Wow sure hate seeing myself that pregnant and swollen. Me with my friend Colby who I went to high school with.

Colby and his wife Charlene with their 3 cute kids.

Our Drago kids with the Mills kids.

My friend Colby from high school came to visit San Diego with his family so they meet up with us. It was a fun time.

Malachi Turns 8!

2010-08-15T15:02:00.000-07:00

Malachi turned 8 and on Sat had a swim party with his friends and got to open his presents from his family on Sunday his actual birthday. He is so excited to get baptized.

Naomi Learns To Ride Without Training Wheels!

2010-08-06T14:48:00.000-07:00

Naomi learned how to ride her bike this summer without her training wheels. Cassidy and Naomi went for a ride together and had a blast.

Remembering Uncle Lou

2010-04-22T09:05:00.000-07:00

The Kelly Family Naomi, Cassidy, Jaden, and Sophia

Allie, Katie, Melissa, Danny, and Kathy Drago

Naomi, Sis, Cassidy, and Dave

Marie and Al Drago

Malachi and Grandpa Steve

Darren, Liberty, Samuel, and Sina

Drago kids and cousins. (Naomi is in undies due to her falling into the pool)

After Uncle Lou's funeral and luncheon the family went back to his place and watched a great video of picts of his life. We'll miss you uncle Lou!

A Very Unmerry Unbirthday!

2010-04-11T21:07:00.000-07:00

Being pregnant this was my first weird craving for this pregnancy. Usually it's corn on the cob. But today I woke up after a nice Sunday nap wanting cake. So I went downstairs and started making cake. Then the song from Alice in Wonderland came to mind. "A very unmerry unbirthday". So I pulled out the Disney version of Alice in Wonderland and put it in for my kids to watch while the cake cooked. As we watched the movie I realized why they had not seen it before or for many years. It's just plain weird. They didn't like it and in Cassidy's words "I don't like those 2 boys." (speaking about Tweedle Dumb and Tweedle Dee) After the cake was done we frosted it got out a candle and sang A very unmerry unbirthday to all of us and had our cake and ate it too. The kids liked that part. The singing I mean, my kids don't really like to eat cake, but they had some.

We're Having A....

2010-04-06T18:49:00.000-07:00

Yes another Girl! We couldn't be happier. Truthfully the boys were routing for a boy, but with how cute our girls are we are thrilled! Yet another head of hair to tearfully brush though the curls!

Sleepy Days In Arizona!

2010-03-30T18:04:00.000-07:00

Both Liberty and Aubrey conked out while on the couch with Gram.

By the morning Cassidy, Porter, and Naomi were all squeezed into the middle of the bed.
Cassidy and Naomi: lights out!

Baby Liam on his blessing day.

Malachi, Porter, and Naomi all snuggled up.

Taking The Dog For A Walk

2010-03-29T18:33:00.000-07:00

Kim and Jeff have 3 dogs. The kids loved to take them for a walk so my brother Nate and I took Cassidy, Naomi, and Porter out with Nibbler the dog. The girls each got a ride from Nate and even used all their strength as a train to hold on tight to the dog leash.

Being Nudy When You're 1 Is OK!

2010-03-29T18:17:00.000-07:00

Libby loves to make a run for it when she gets out of the bath.

Easter Egg Hunt In Arizona!

2010-03-27T19:10:00.000-07:00

Everyone gathered together ready for the egg hunt.

The kids started bringing home rocks to us because they some how got the idea that Darren had a rock collection. So all the kids started searching for rocks to bring home to our rock collection. Luckily they got distracted with the egg hunt and forgot all about the rocks.

Naomi using her imagination was playing explorer.

While in Arizona my Brother in Law Jeff's family put together a big Easter Egg Hunt for all our families. It was by far the best Egg hunt we've ever been on. We couldn't believe the amount of eggs, goodies and treats scattered around the park.

Fun With Family In Arizona

2010-03-26T19:38:00.000-07:00

Nate, Porter and Aubrey

Our animal lover Naomi fell in love with Kimmy's dogs.

Malachi was in 7th heaven playing Wii with Uncle Jeff.

My brother Nate and I.

One of the kids favorite parts of the trip was taking turns holding baby Liam.

Kimmy holding Liam before the baby blessing.

The cousins before church.

For spring break we took a trip to Prescott Arizona to visit my little sister, her husband and their new baby Liam. They had his baby blessing while we were out there. My little brother Nate, his wife Jenny, and their 2 kids Porter and Aubrey flew down from Montana as well. It was so much fun for us to hang out and our kids to play together.

Meeting Baby Allen!

2010-03-20T21:14:00.000-07:00

Sonny, Darren's younger brother and his wife Alma had their first baby in January. This is the first time we got to see baby Allen. Here is a picture of all the Drago cousin's (minus Samuel who would not get in the picture)

Naomi and Cassidy holding baby Allen.

Liberty playing in the baby pool.

The Kelly family came by for the bbq. Uncle Lou found out late last year that he had cancer. Unfortunately it has spread and we're told he doesn't have long. So we were very grateful to spend time with him.

Sonny holding his son Allen.

Temecula Special Games Year 2

2010-03-13T18:56:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to volunteer for the 2nd year in a row at the Temecula Special Games. I helped run the basketball shot. It was a blast! The smiles on the participants faces were priceless. We meet some really neat athletes including the 2 guys pictured above. My girlfriends daughter Corey was also a participant pictured above shooting some hoops. It was a wonderful thing to be a part of.

Crazy Hair Day At School!

2010-03-11T20:38:00.000-08:00

For school spirit day we had Crazy Hair Day. I think we did a good job in participating.

Cassidy wanted to get in on the picture so she tried on some crazy clown hair. Look at the excitement in Malachi's face. He obviously loves stuff like this.
Libby got crazy hair for a bit.

Malachi finally got into right before school started. Does he not realize that the mullet was so cool for 2 weeks in the 80's?

Naomi's always game for whatever. She loved her wig.

Darren is just crazy period.

TVCS Silent Auction 2010

2010-03-05T20:21:00.000-08:00

Me and a few girlfriends at the dinner.
Darren with a few Co-workers

A large amount of the TVCS Staff

Cassidy Turns 3!

2010-03-02T20:58:00.000-08:00

On March 2nd Cassidy turned 3. So we had a little birthday party with her friends. She had a great time. She is old enough now to know that they are singing Happy Birthday to her and she had a blast playing with her friends.

Naomi's first Award

2010-02-27T20:54:00.000-08:00

As a kindergartener Naomi excells. She is doing so well in school. Her teacher said she is at the top of the class and ready for 2nd grade. \"/ She loves to read, learn, color, paint, draw. You name it. This was a fun day because the kids don't know they are getting the award. Her face lit up and she ran on stage. Look at her as she eagerly looks on to what the principal has to say. Her teacher Mrs. Hooton did a really nice write up on her. We're really proud of Naomi and her hard work!

Liberty Earns Her Indian Name!

2010-02-18T11:54:00.001-08:00

On November 20, 2008 (check my archive for full details) I listed our families Indian Names. We have this little tradition in our family. So through Liberty's first year the kids keep trying to come up with Indian names for her. Some that they thought would be a good fit for her were: spills milk, perfect sidekick, so patient... As nice as those all were they just weren't her name. Well after the much deliberation with the Drago council her name shall be: LAUGHING TONGUE. Liberty laughs at everything. She laughs just because your laughing. If she hears someone laugh she joins in. So laughing seemed her. Tongue because she has the longest tongue. She also can twist it around in crazy ways. She keeps resting it on her bottom lip. Maybe getting some teeth will fix that. An so she is Laughing Tongue!

Sweet Valentines!

2010-02-14T13:43:00.000-08:00

Naomi has such a tender heart. She wrote up her Valentines to her class, then turned them over and started writing a special message to each friend in her class. I let her do the ones above, but she was taking a while doing it since she was putting much thought into each one. It was bed time and I had her finish with what she did. I then started reading them and they were the cutest things on earth. They are pretty phonetic, but here is what they say left to right:

Mrs. Hooton's: You are the best teacher I ever had in Kindergarten.

Rocky's: You are a special friend because you are the first friend.

Mindy's: You are fantastic at doing this stuff, that is awesome, you are amazing.

Avreeana's: You have feelings that make me happy.

Alexandra's: You are a great friend, you make me happy.

Naomi turns 6!

2010-02-08T12:02:00.000-08:00

Naomi turned 6! I can't believe how fast time goes. We had a fun birthday party at the park. Naomi had a great time and spent it with great friends and family!

Sooo Sleeeepy!

2010-02-01T11:43:00.000-08:00

I set the girls on the couch together to watch a cartoon while I got their lunch ready. I guess they had an eventful day up to that point, because when I was done with their lunch they had conked out together (which is a rarity).

Girls With Curls!

2010-01-31T11:46:00.000-08:00

I love my girls crazy hair in the morning! So cute!

Surprise Beth!

2010-01-30T13:27:00.000-08:00

I planned a fun day away for my girlfriend Beth as a baby shower. We went shopping at Tai Pan, ate at Cheesecake Factory, and saw the movie When in Rome. I flew her sister out and her mom came too. We went with a few friends and had a blast!

School Celebrity Dance!

2010-01-29T11:48:00.000-08:00

Our school hosted a family "Celebrity" dance. Everyone could dress up like celebrity's and come and dance. The girls were really excited for this. They dug through their dress up clothes and found some sparkly outfits. They had a blast. Cassidy really shook it out on the dance floor. We don't call her dancing monkey for no reason.

Under Water!

2010-01-28T11:26:00.000-08:00

Our park down the street from our house was so full of water that the 5 foot fence on the right was nearly covered with water. On the left is this giant dirt hill the kids love to climb and play on. Now it looks like a bump.

The water was so high that the water was half way up the baseball fence. If you see at the top of the picture people started rafting in the park. (Red boat)

All the fields in our town are water run offs. So they slope down from this grass hill about 6 or 7 feet. This is a picture of the middle of the park. As you can see the water fountain is barely above water. It rained heavily for days and the water collected in the park. It was a crazy site!!!

I Made It My Shelf!

2010-01-25T11:35:00.000-08:00

I was cleaning out our playroom one day and decided that our closet needed to be more effective. We have tons of games on the top shelves, but they are filled to the brim. We have costumes hanging, but decided that we could consolidate them all to one side of the closet. So what we needed were a couple small shelves to store more stuff. I looked at the top shelf and told Darren that we could probably just make some like the ones above. He said it would be too hard. (Darren has many talents, but handyman is not one) So I said I was going to make them. After cutting, nailing, painting a few pieces of wood ta-da. My 2 little shelves that I'm ever so proud of!

Where Are Her Teeth?

2010-01-18T10:28:00.000-08:00

We are still waiting for Liberty to cut her teeth. She has six teeth on the verge of breaking through, but holding out. What 12 month old has no teeth? I'm still breaking her food up trying to keep her from choking. Every day I check for them. When I say "teethies" she says ahhh and I look. We've got that down to a routine.

Little Buddies!

2010-01-17T23:14:00.000-08:00

With Malachi and Naomi in school Cassidy and Liberty have a little more time together alone. It's really cute how they are starting to interact with one another. Libby likes to do her own thing, but still loves to hang with her sister Cass.

The Saga Continues...

2010-01-14T22:20:00.000-08:00

Cassidy is my child that loves to get into things. Not only does she get into things, but she hides when she's doing it. So when she's quiet I know it's panic mode and time to search the "popular" hiding spots. We usually find her covered in lotion, polish, makeup, bag balm, mentholatum, baby powder... This time it was desitin. All over her hands and the bottoms of her feet. Trying to keep as calm as I could I said "Uhhh I'm going to kill you." She said "Don't kill me mommy!" Needless to say I will never use that phrase again.

I Love Her Being One!

2010-01-11T22:50:00.000-08:00

What a fun little girl Liberty is. She is really starting to become a little person. She plays with all sorts of different things. Knows how to climb on her little bike, lays down to drink her bottle wherever and is up and running again. Gotta love it.

2 Sister Clarkes!

2010-01-09T22:48:00.000-08:00

We were eating dinner and Malachi states that he doesn't know who he's going to marry when he grows up. Naomi chimes in that she knows. Malachi said, "I know you're going to marry Rocky, but your last name won't be Drago anymore." (Rocky Clarke is Naomi's little buddy) Naomi replies "I know it will be Clarke then there will be 2 sister Clarkes." (Rocky's mom and her) How cute!

Matching Girls!

2010-01-04T22:56:00.000-08:00

Seriously how cute are they in their Gymboree matching clothes? Thanks Auntie Jenny and Uncle Nate. Great Christmas gifts.

Star Wars Lives On!

2010-01-01T22:59:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while my kids will get the Star Wars itch and start playing it. They busted out the dress up and even got Liberty to participate. Her and Cassi looked so funny with the big masks on.

New York New Years!

2009-12-31T23:18:00.000-08:00

Cassidy and Liberty loved the party favors. I loved their jammies. These are long johns from the Cracker Barrel. My mom got them for Malachi and Naomi when they were those sizes. Libby's has ruffles on the bum. I was digging out a bunch of boy clothes for my sister while she was here and found them. So glad I did, they are great.
Our kids are usually in bed early so keeping them awake til midnight would be a stretch. So we decided to celebrate a New York New Years. So we let the kids stay up til 9 and celebrated New Years with them on t.v.

Darren helping the kids pull the popping party favors to celebrate New Years. We did this about 7pm so they could enjoy it then relax and watch a movie, that way if they fell asleep they didn't miss out on the fun.

The kids all cuddled up as we watched Night at the Museum 2, which by the way was hilarious!!!

The 2 little ones couldn't make it to 9pm.

We had such a busy Christmas with family in town staying with us and hosting both Christmas Eve with the Drago Family and Christmas with the Tollefson family both at our house that we decided to take it easy New Years Eve. We just had our family over that morning for Liberty's birthday so we were ready to jammie it up and have a movie night to ring in the new year.

Liberty Turns One!

2009-12-31T23:05:00.000-08:00

My little New Years Eve baby. I say if you are going to have a December birthday, what a fun day to have it. She gets a party every year. We just did a family party this year. She missed her nap so by the time she had ate she was so tired she fell asleep in her chair for the first time.

Ice Skating!

2009-12-30T22:25:00.000-08:00

Naomi loves the movie "Twice upon a Christmas" a Disney one with Minnie Mouse and Daisy Duck ice skating. She pretend ice skates in the house constantly. So my girl friend Beth calls us and wants to go ice skating with our families. The girls were thrilled when I told them.
Kyle and Beth Kuzma with Darren and I.

Need I say more than the sign? We had a number of spills. While I was helping Malachi skate he lost his balance. I was able to help him stay on his feet for the most part, but one time his skate caught mine and we went down, down hard. We ended up taking out two other skaters that were coming by us. It was pretty funny. No one was hurt (til the morning).

Naomi and Malachi edged around the outside rail of the rink for balance. I took Cassidy around the rink. I skated and she just glided along. After a few turns I would have her take a break with Darren and I would take Naomi around a few times then Malachi. Needless to say I was a little tired at the end of the night.

Me skating Cass around.

Darren didn't want to skate so he hung out on the side with Liberty, which worked out good.

After lots of fun we headed off to find some hot chocolate.

The kids waiting patiently for the dads to bring the cars around. What a great night!

Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs... And Losing Your Wallet!

2009-12-29T23:12:00.000-08:00

We went with our friends the Clarkes to see Cloudy with a chance of meatballs. I rather enjoyed it and thought it had a Madagascar-esk humor to it. We had a great time and after the movie headed home. When Darren got home he realized his wallet was missing. It had fallen out at the theatre. We called them right away and they said there was none to be found. We went back down there and searched the theatre. Gone! So we figure after we went back home that someone probably took the cash and ditched the wallet. No credit cards were used so that was good. The irony in it all is 2 weeks prior I lost a wallet full of gift cards. I even had my name and number in there, but no one contacted me. I'm sure someone found it and said "Merry Christmas self, free money!" So as a new year resolution we are going to be more mindful of our money in more ways than one.

All Tuckered Out!

2009-12-27T22:10:00.000-08:00

The kids have been so busy playing with Christmas toys, spending time with family, enjoying daddy being off work that when nap time came today to 2 little ones went down. They cuddled up to daddy in our bed and had a long winters nap.

Christmas was AWESOME!

2009-12-25T21:49:00.000-08:00

Libby loved anything and everything she opened. It was so fun to see her on her first Christmas!
Malachi can die a happy man. He now owns his new favorite soccer game!

Naomi had a friend over to swim this summer and she had a brown puppy like this. They swim in the pool it's pretty cool. So since then that's what she's wanted and the waiting if finally over. She loves it!

Cassidy is our dress up queen right now. If anyone knows us they know we LOVE costumes. Cassidy especially loves purses and dress up shoes. She was one happy chick.

This was really cute. Liberty and our nephew Cameron are 1 1/2 months apart in age. Liberty is yet to confuse Darren with his twin Derek. However Cameron keep wanting Darren to hold him. Liberty wasn't getting why???

Can I say this was the best gift yet! Santa brought this giant horse which my kids can't get enough of. Naomi got it and played on it 3 days straight. No need to entertain.

Christmas morning!

Cassi was fun this year. She understood opening up presents and that there was stuff inside.

Malachi and Naomi opening their stockings.

Libby loves babies, isn't that cute how babies love babies!

Spreed the Love!

2009-12-22T23:27:00.001-08:00

My siblings and I buy gifts for our nieces and nephews at Christmas. Well I feel like they get so much on Christmas Eve with the Drago side and Christmas day with the Tollefson side that when they get a package in the mail from my brothers I let them open it. This way they get to enjoy the gift instead of opening it with all the other gifts they get. My brother Seth and his wife Ari sent these really cute pajamas. My kids LOVE pj's so tonight we put them on and they are all sleeping with visions of sugar plums in their heads.

Christmas Caroling!

2009-12-21T23:16:00.000-08:00

Naomi loves Santa.

Cassidy is growing fonder of Santa. She actually got close enough to touch him.

We go Christmas Caroling every year around our neighborhood. This year we had a special treat. Santa came and gave the kids goodies. It was a blast. The last house we did was the best. They even got their cameras out and took pictures of us! What a fun time.

Santa's Reindeer

2009-12-20T23:22:00.000-08:00

Naomi cracks me up. She orchestrates Santa's sleigh by putting Reindeer antlers on and a Santa hat on Cassidy's head. She gets her jump rope and away they go. Naomi's the Reindeer and Cassidy's Santa. Well Malachi sees how much fun their having and demotes Cassidy to Reindeer and hijacks the sleigh as the new Santa.

Family Photos 2009

2009-12-19T23:37:00.000-08:00

All Ready For Christmas!

2009-12-19T15:08:00.000-08:00

The kids all dressed up for our ward Christmas party

Cassidy fell asleep on the way home from church. We have church from 2:30-5:30pm. Since she skipped a nap she took one before we got home. Needless to say we didn't get a picture of the kids all together in their Christmas Sunday dress.

The rest of the kids in their church dress.

Cassidy putting the star on.

The kids helped decorate our Charlie Brown tree. We've had this tree since Darren and I got married. We decided that we need to get a bigger tree since we have 13 foot tall ceilings in our living room area. Malachi got to plug the tree in, Naomi got to put the first ornament on and Cassidy got to put the star on this year.

Toon Town!

2009-12-18T22:58:00.000-08:00

They tried and they tried, but no one was strong enough!

Our kids drive all the time, drive us crazy that is! \"/

Our passes were going to block out for the Christmas break so we decided to go to Disneyland on the last day we could. It was packed!!! So we did a bunch of odd things and had a blast. I stood in line for the princess fantasy fair while Darren took the older 3 on the train ride around the park. They loved it. We spent a lot of time in toon town as well. It was a great day at the happiest place on earth.

BELIEVE!

2009-12-17T22:18:00.000-08:00

The students at our school wrote letters to Santa. For each letter written to Santa Macy's is donating $1 to the Make a Wish foundation. They are calling this BELIEVE. So our school had a few student council members and 6 other kids that got to ride in a limo and deliver them to Macy's. Malachi's name was pulled and he got to go in the limo ride to the mall to drop them off. What a really cool experience!!!

Santa with the student body president holding the check to Make a Wish foundation for $1045.

The Limo

Malachi with all the kids that got to ride in the limo to Macy's.

Our Reports Are Finished!

2009-12-15T15:21:00.000-08:00

Malachi in front of his report.
We had a lot of fun putting this report together. I say we because I have to look up all the information with Malachi, type it with him and put the poster together with him as well. His report was the Megalodon shark. It was actually pretty interesting. We had a bath shark that we put on to compare it to the size of a great white shark. The thing was massive.

Naomi was given a gingerbread man that she had to disguise so the fox wouldn't recognize it and eat it. Naomi and her imagination. First idea she had was to decorate it as a polar bear, than a tiger, finally she came up with a princess. As we looked for accessories we found an old swimsuit of hers. We decided to make her a beach girl so she could float on a pool raft across the river so the fox wouldn't eat her. We used the back of the swim suit as the top and cut the bottom of it off and made it into a bikini. (even though I had to remind my girls that we don't were "belly swim suits in our family) She did a great job.

Drago Family Christmas Party 2009

2009-12-14T15:33:00.000-08:00

This is the Drago Family's 12th annual Christmas party. The whole group of us!

Santa stopped by our family party and surprised the kids.

Malachi and Santa.

Naomi and Santa.

Cassidy was very hessitant towards Santa.

Liberty's first time sitting on Santa's lap.

Dominic, Suzie, Nicole, Gina, her boyfriend Will and Suzie's dad Paul.

The Kelly Family and Unlce Lou.

Derek, Alyson, Jaden, Cameron, and Alyson's mom Marva.

Sina, Paul, Sophia, and Samuel.

Steve and all his grandkids and kids minus Sonny and Alma.

Our little family: Darren, Sarah, Malachi, Naomi, Cassidy and Liberty

Cassidy is Potty Trained

2009-12-11T00:49:00.000-08:00

All it really took was a little effort. At 2 1/2 she picked it up pretty well. She's pretty good at going on her own. A few reminders here and there don't hurt. Now we move on to reading. I think we'll start out with something simple like War and Peace. \"/

Lots of Firsts!

2009-12-09T00:39:00.000-08:00

This month has started out busy already. I winged Liberty from nursing so she is now a bottle baby for her first time. She's actually taking it pretty well. She also started walking at about 11 1/2 months. She says a few words: da da, ma ma, ba ba, bye bye... She's getting into a really fun stage. She's such a happy little girl, we just love having her.

LA Clippers Game!

2009-12-05T14:27:00.000-08:00

The gang watching the game.

Us girls at the game.

Malachi brought his buddy Kadin Kuzma to the game with us.

We had pretty good seats. The girls are standing by them.

The Clippers won the game!

It was really cool to go to the Staples Center. This is where the LA Lakers play as well.

The outside was decorated so beautiful with lights everywhere.

We had the chance to go to a LA Clippers game as a family. A school we do a lot of charity work for called Oak Grove had a # of tickets donated to them to the game. They sold them as a fundraiser for their school. We invited Malachi's friend Kadin and went. It was a great time. After the game were were ready to rest on the long ride home.

Cousins

2009-11-29T00:36:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving day we tried to get a cute cousins picture together with the Drago kids. Needless to say taking a group picture of 8 kids under the ages of 7 doesn't always go so smooth!

Thanksgiving break!

2009-11-26T00:14:00.000-08:00

All cuddley and cozy the kids got up early and snuggled up on the couch to watch cartoons. Love the holidays.

It's Official!

2009-11-24T00:28:00.000-08:00

That's right folks, I am a high school basketball official. I completed my training and passed my test with a 97%. I wanted to get back into coaching so I coached the school JV volleyball team. It took a lot of time away from my kids as much as I loved it. So I thought if I was a ref I could still participate, but not dedicate as much time. Unfortunately volleyball is the same season as soccer and with my kids in soccer there was no way that I could do both. So my friend who has been officiating basketball for 15 years talked me into basketball instead. It's been pretty fun, great exercise. It's just funny to think back on all the crowd chants we used to have, "Open your eyes ref, you're missing a good game" or "Nuts and bolts nuts and bolts we got screwed". We'll see how the season goes. I've done 6 games and like it so far.

Oops I did it again.

2009-11-22T00:22:00.000-08:00

So almost exactly 2 years ago I had 13 inches of my hair chopped off and donated it to Locks of Love (an organization that makes wigs for cancer patients). Well my hair was getting pretty long again so I decided if I grew if a little longer I could donate it again. Well that's what I did. I had another 13 inches cut off and went short. It's the shortest I've ever had it. I like it, just have to get used to it. Glad I could give it to someone else.

Lucky Ducky!

2009-11-20T22:39:00.000-08:00

So Malachi got a Wii last year for Christmas. If you know Malachi he LOVES video games. Even though we limit him to playing 2 days a week he talks about his video games as if he's on them 24/7. So this year he starts saying that he wants an Xbox 360 for Christmas. I tell him that he needs to be grateful that he already has the Wii plus his old Xbox.

Well our school had a carnival and one of the booths you put tickets in to win an Xbox 360. So of course Malachi wants to keep putting his tickets in there. It was time to go so we let him put the rest of his tickets in the Xbox drawing where at the end of the day they would call the winner.

Well the day came and went and he didn't get a call and was a little disappointed, but we as parents knew odds were he wouldn't be the winner, and didn't really want him to win it.

Well Friday came and the school holds their morning assembly. So I called my girlfriend who's kids also attend the charter and she answers the phone congratulating me. I asked what for? She said Malachi won the Xbox 360.

They decided to do the drawing at school for fun in front of everyone. So they took the big bag of tickets and pulled a big handful out then the Principal pulled a ticket out which said "Malachi Drago". My girlfriend described it as: "Malachi ran up there like he was on the Price is Right."

So he got his Xbox 360 funny how things work out for that kid. It's almost like he willed it to happen.

Halloween Night 2009

2009-10-31T23:57:00.000-07:00

We went trick or treating with our friends the Clarkes. The kids had a great time. The dads brought them around the neighborhood and Jen and I passed out candy.
Malachi and Jackson

Naomi and Rocky

Cassidy and Savannah

Liberty

Libby walking w/ her toy stroller

Liberty after a long night of trick or treating!

Halloween Party 2009

2009-10-30T23:38:00.000-07:00

The girls!
The guys!

Can you not say AWESOME costume!

My girlfriend Beth and I.

We went to a couples Halloween party. It was fun to see all the costumes and nice to sneak out w/o the kids.

Rock Star Naomi!

2009-10-15T01:22:00.000-07:00

Funny little Naomi goes into the playroom and comes out a rock star.

Fall Soccer 2009

2009-10-02T00:58:00.000-07:00

This season was a world of difference for Naomi. She scored 7 goals this season and was actually going for the ball. Malachi was amazing and scored 28 goals this season. Cassidy was the #1 fan. She wore Naomi's old jersey and cheered on her siblings. She's going to be amazing once she gets a chance to play!

Nurse Naomi

2009-09-20T23:15:00.000-07:00

My mom was watching the kids for us while Darren and I were at the temple. Naomi and Cassidy started playing with my moms medical supplies. Naomi totally wrapped Cassidy's leg up put a fake breathing tube in and started her on medications. The funny part is Cassidy laid there like she truly had to be tended to. Good times!

Disneyland With the Clarkes!

2009-09-16T00:40:00.000-07:00

We went to Disneyland with our dear friends the Clarkes. Naomi and Rocky are inseparable. Naomi brought her poster and got selected in Jedi training to fight Darth Vader. It was a lot of fun. Our friends the Youngs also meet up with us for a few rides.

Scootin' right along!

2009-09-10T21:24:00.000-07:00

Cassidy started scootering this week. Her older brother and sister ride theirs all the time so Cassi just decided that she's gonna do it too. She picked it up right away. We went for a family ride and she keep right up.

Catch Up Photos!

2009-09-09T00:23:00.000-07:00

Liberty crawling.

All cozy in our robes.

Liberty wearing the dress my mom knitted for me when I was a baby and all 3 of my girls have now worn.

Cassidy got on a bike and started riding. Way to go girl.

Naomi loving her new shoes.

I haven't posted for so long I decided to put a few in just for fun.

Men's 30 and Up Soccer League

2009-09-07T22:21:00.000-07:00

Our kids were like honorary team members.
Naomi was so excited over the trophy. She has watched her brother bring home trophies from his soccer league and coveted them. So when she got to hold the trophy for the men's league she didn't want to let it go.

Ted always gives the trophy away at the end of the season. No one really wanted it this time so he came over to Naomi as we were leaving and gave it to her. She slept with it all the way home. For days we had to keep it on the kitchen counter so she could look at it.

Darren played in a Men's 30 and up soccer league this summer. He played with his friend Ted who he's played with for years every summer. He also got his brother Derek to play and his friends Dan and Todd. We had fun going with the kids to watch the guys play. They ended up taking 2nd place in the league. They were tied with 2 seconds left and the other team took a wild shot that went in. It was so disappointing. But they had a fun season.

Princess Paint!

2009-09-06T22:06:00.000-07:00

Cassidy's friend Savannah had a birthday party where they got to make their own princess hats and have their faces painted. They went dressed up as princess. Naomi got to tag along since her beau Rocky was going to be there as well. They looked adorable.

I Like Them Big, I Like Them Chunky!

2009-09-03T23:37:00.000-07:00

For those of you who have seen Madagascar 2 it has become a Drago family favorite over the summer. Moto Moto sings this song as he's coming out of the water saying, "I like them big, I like them chunky, I like them big, I like them plumpy. I like them round with something something..." Since Libby is such a chunky monkey we started singing it to her and she laughs when she hears it. So it became her theme song. Now Cassidy walks up to her and says "You huge girl!" It's fun for now. Wish that being chunky was cute at my age!!!

Super "N"!

2009-09-02T23:29:00.000-07:00

Hands down Naomi is one of the most imaginative children I know. Did I mention she is so stinkin' cute too. She busts out her giant drawing pad and starts taping and cutting all this paper. She's putting stuff on the wall and then tapes this sheet of paper to her. She then asks me to tape one to her back. It's her cape. She told me she is Super "N" and this is her costume. (Like we don't have any of those in the house) but she wanted her own "real" costume. So she made it. I love it and love how she is so artsy/craftsy.

Beach Camping 2009!

2009-09-01T00:23:00.000-07:00

Marley, Kyleigh, and Naomi having a blast.

Poor Cassidy was so scared of the water since last time we were at the beach she fell in the water. She finally got over it.

Malachi was being taught how to surf by Kyle Kuzma. Here is a picture of him getting up on the board.

We keep Libby in a little pool to keep her safe from the sand.

Malachi and Kaden built their own little island in the sand.

Kyleigh and Naomi keeping eachother safe in the water.

Vaughn, Collin, and Cassidy playing on the beach.

We went beach camping with our friends the Kuzmas and Naylors. It was so much fun. The kids had a blast. We stayed up late and played hard. Can't wait for next year!

First Day of School!

2009-08-30T23:20:00.000-07:00

Malachi in Mrs. Perales' class

Naomi on her Kindergarten playground.Cassidy was so excited for Naomi to get to go to school. It was really sweet.

Naomi with her best buddy Rocky in the same class.

Naomi came home with her first Cougar ticket and little hand print. She had a fabulous first day and was so excited to finally be at "Chi's school".

Messy Munchkins

2009-08-30T21:14:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when you let 2 little buddies loose with fudge pops at night. Cassidy had a blast with her friend Mason.

Paul's Baptism

2009-08-21T00:10:00.000-07:00

Paul and his home teacher Mike Pierce.

Drago Family.

Our brother in law Paul got baptized on August 22nd this year. Credit goes to his home teacher Mike Pierce. It's an amazing story. Mike keep stopping by every month as a home teacher and finally got in the door. My sister in law and brother in law started taking the discussions. Sina came back into activity and Paul decided to be baptized. We couldn't be happier and are sure that Darren's mom is thrilled. The baptism was awesome!!!

Summer Swimming!

2009-08-20T21:40:00.000-07:00

Avery, Cassidy, and Naomi

The girls had a great time together!

My girlfriends Tina and Andrea came to hang for the day!

The Drago, Allen, and Profancik kids!

Novelino's and Thompsons.

Naomi and her buddy Collin in their snorkle gear.

Joel throwing Malachi.

Heaven on Earth Food Drive

2009-08-20T21:18:00.000-07:00

Some of the food we collected.

I've been going to Interfaith Council for Temecula/Murrieta area. They had a speaker there talking about the Heaven on Earth Food Drive. There has been such an economic hardship in our area lately that the food banks were near empty. So they had people organize food pick ups in their neighborhoods and drop them off on August 8th to fill the food bank. So I did one in my neighborhood and also with in my ward. We got a good amount of food and I dropped it off to the location above. It was great for my kids to participate and realize the blessings we have in our lives.

Malachi Turns 7

2009-08-15T00:04:00.000-07:00

This year for Malachi's party we had a swim party. It was a lot of fun. The weather was perfect for it. The kids swam, ate pizza and icecream bars. After the party Malachi got an Orange smoothie he had been asking for. He loves smoothies. Can't believe my boy is 7 already!

Liberty turned 7 months!

2009-08-01T23:14:00.000-07:00

What a sweet mild mannered child she is. Such a happy smiley girl. Such a joy to have around.

Wiggles Concert!

2009-07-30T23:43:00.000-07:00

So we're driving to San Diego and I turn on the radio and they announce caller 10 gets Wiggles concert tickets. So I pick up my phone and call in and I'm the winner. Now my kids have not watched the Wiggles for years, had it been 4 years ago they would have been so thrilled. We had the dvds, cds, slippers, toys... you name it they loved them. So I have these tickets and we're going back and forth should we go should we not??? Well I decided to take them since they've never been to a concert, and they loved it. It was fun, we had good seats and Murray came into the crowd. The kids got to go up and give him a 5. I got a shot of each kid enjoying the moment. It was a great time and I'm glad we had the experience!

Summer Homework!

2009-07-20T21:36:00.000-07:00

I really wanted the kids to keep busy with learning this summer so everyday I made a homework assignment for each kid. It wasn't always ABC's or 123's. Some days it was learning about the planets, some days we did letter writing, or math, but some days we learned about the prophets, how to tie our shoes, table manners, gentelman/lady like behavior, presidents, maps, how to use the scriptures... It was a great time and Cassidy was able to get involved as well. We loved being able to have this special time together every day and made it a fun time for them.

Cassidy's Big Fever!

2009-07-11T21:25:00.000-07:00

Poor sweet little Cassidy. She had a cold that was really getting to her so I let her sleep in my bed while Darren was gone at a late soccer game. She woke up shivering with the chills. Darren had got home not long before so he took her downstairs and we wrapped her in a blanket to get her chills to go away. I felt her head and she had a fever, but it didn't feel that warm. Still something told me to check her temp. So I took her temp and it was 106.3 and still going. I called the doctor right away and we tossed her in a cool bath. I took it again and same thing. The nurse called and told us to get to the hospital asap. I took off with her and had them get her in right away. I had already given her motrin and when they took her temp an 1 1/2 later it was still 103.5 so they gave her more meds to bring it down. When the doctor saw her he checked her and said she had an ear infection. I couldn't believe that her temp would be that high just from an ear infection. I had them run blood work just to be safe. She was fine, besides the ear infection. Poor girl got a shot of antibiotics, and her blood taken. She was amazing. Such a brave little helper. I was so proud of her. We got home at 5:30am. Just in time to feed the baby. I was just so grateful she was ok.

Darren Drago Soccer Camp Year 3!

2009-07-10T20:59:00.000-07:00

Naomi totally came out of her shell at soccer camp. She was making goals, taking the ball down the field and really became a little soccer player.

Cassidy had a blast, she was more into it than some of the kids there.

Malachi had a great time scrimmaging.

Naomi loved taking water breaks to see Liberty.

Poor Libby, she had to get 4 shots at the doctor and yet here she is smiling happy as a clam.

San Francisco Trip

2009-07-05T14:54:00.000-07:00

Darren's grandpa passed away at the end of June so we went to San Francisco for the funeral. Even though the reason for the trip was not the best we had a great time with family. We stayed at the Embassy Suites which the kids loved! It had a separate living room area so we could hang in there and then sleep in the other room. The little ones slept in the beds with us and Naomi and Chi enjoyed sleeping on the pull out couch. Who knew that would be such a treat to someone? Darren's brother and sister got hotel rooms next to ours too so we got to spend a lot of time together.

Libby sitting up

Naomi and Liberty matcher's!

Libby has gone in our hot tub, but not in a pool yet, so this was her first time in a swimming pool. She looks excited!

The Drago Family swimming at the hotel.

She did so good!

Sophia and Cassidy after swimming.

Naomi sitting in front of the Bay bridge.

We went to the Fisherman's worf pier 39 for a day. The kids had fun climbing the giant guitar at the Hard Rock.

We meet up with the Wiley Family our friends who live in San Jose. It was so nice of them to drive up to see us. We went to school at SDSU together. Our kids loved playing with them.

Cassidy made instant friends!

Naomi and Bella on the Merry go Round.

Our family on the pier in front of Alcatraz.

The kids with their Great Aunt Sis and Great Uncle Dave. Naomi LOVED being with Sis. She calls here Sissy now. I told her it's just Sis. She said "Sis told me I can call her Sissy!"

Cassidy at dinner w/ olive fingers!

Our little family!

The kids w/ Grandpa and their cousin Jaden.

A park next to our hotel was named after a firefighter Jack Drago. Pretty cool!

On our way home to San Diego we meet up with our Friends the Fetherolf's who used to live in Temecula with us. He is now the Chief of Police in Salinas. It was a great visit! We miss them.

After our visit with the Fetherolf's we went to Uncle Sonny's and Auntie Alma's house outside of Salinas.

Cassidy got a chance to hold Liberty. She kind of liked it!

The Strange Sites We Saw.

2009-07-05T00:08:00.000-07:00

No this was not the Dukes of Hazard set. However we do believe this was a functioning police car. Seems a little lost in the 80's to me!

A fake Buffalo.

Some old farm contraption.

Our Indian friend.

Libby decided she wanted to drive the rest of the way. Ok not really, but it looked funny!

Bringing out the Walker!

2009-07-03T00:04:00.001-07:00

We decided it was time to bring out the old walker and let Libby give it a whirl. You can tell how much she liked it!

Bringing out the Walker!

2009-07-03T00:04:00.000-07:00

We decided it was time to bring out the old walker and let Libby give it a whirl. You can tell how much she liked it!

Supergirl!

2009-07-02T23:54:00.000-07:00

So Cassidy decides one day to bust out Malachi's Superman costume and put it on. She was running around the back yard in it like she was saving the day!

This goes to show you can dress for business, yet still show a softer side of your self!