My Beautiful Life!

Swimming Lessons

2010-10-23T13:05:00.000-07:00

Since it's so dreary and dismal outside this week, I decided to relive the summertime fun of swimmimg lessons. This was Caleb's and Emma's third time around, but the first time for Sarah.

Emma loved the diving board, and she looked like she was flying every time she jumped!

As you can see, she wasn't exactly excited in the beginning, but she quickly warmed up to swimming and became quite a little fish...even jumped off the diving board!

Emma loved the diving board, and every jump looked like she was flying!

What this picture doesn't show is Sarah carefully walking to the edge, and then jumping UP instead of OUT. She landed on her bottom on the board, but miraculously, didn't get hurt and didn't cry. She even managed to get "dropped" off the end of the board by the life guard. Let me tell you, my heart nearly stopped when I saw all that happen through my camera lens...and I didn't even press the button to capture it!

So after that, she stuck to the side of the pool!

Caleb became famous for his high cannon balls and his front flips!

Yosemite

2010-10-09T14:52:00.000-07:00

Well, it may have been two and a half months since our vacation in Yosemite, but at times it still feels like yesterday...and since I didn't make much blog-progress this summer, I figured I'd backtrack a bit to share our fun times!

By far, our family's most favorite time together is spending it in Yosemite. I can't think of a more perfectly beautiful place on Earth. I admit, I haven't traveled much, but honestly, I know that not much can compare to the beauty of Yosemite, and I know the world agrees with me...because a good portion of them were up in Yosemite with us! Yeah, it was crowded, but that's about the only negative I can list.

Our vacation up there was just picturesque this year. The weather was PERFECT. The drive wasn't so long. The kids got along!! We had a great time every single day. And it left me with a feeling of peace and love and a heart just overflowing with gratitude not only for the spectacular place God created, but also for the love that abounds in our family. What could make for a more perfect vacation?

Seven years old

2010-10-09T08:22:00.000-07:00

How does it happen so fast? Emma turned seven two weeks ago. All summer long she'd been thinking about her party. She had decided on a "tea party without tea" because really, what seven year old acutally likes tea? So she invited ten friends over and we did crafts, had a dress-up relay, decorated cupcakes, beat the candy out of a pinata, and had a generally fun time. Of course it was during that extreme-heat weekend, so we moved everything inside, but nonetheless, I think it was a successful party, and her first with friends-only!

At the end of it all, we still went to Chuck E. Cheese for dinner! Guess 7 isn't too old yet.

The girls were sooo into the dress-up relay. But have you ever done a relay with excited kids before? It just keeps going and going! We couldn't tell who really won, because nobody wanted to stop taking a turn!

Sarah was excited about new Barbies for Emma...
which meant new Barbies for her when Emma was at school!

We made picture frames and I printed out this picture for all the girls to take home.

Father's Day

2010-06-24T17:38:00.000-07:00

So this Father's Day past, I asked Chase how he wanted to spend the day. And was I at all surprised? Nope. Baseball. So we all went to our park with the balls, bat, and tee, and had a fun, family game of baseball. The weather was perfect; the kids were happy; there were no crowds to fight. I have to say, I couldn't have asked for a better afternoon.

Sarah taking a swing....and running the wrong way to first!

Can you feel the love?

Warming up

Sarah, the runner, stole the ball to keep from getting tagged out (but Emma grabbed it from her and got her!)

She's a big girl now...

2010-04-07T22:03:00.000-07:00

My baby is no longer a baby. No more diapers. No more num-nums (pacifiers - and that's a big deal!). No more toddler bed.

Sarah Grace turned 3 last week, and she is proud to tell you that. I'm not sure how it happened so fast. I tried my hardest to savor each moment. And even though I did, she just kept on growing. She's such a good girl, always saying, "I'm sorry Mommy" and "No thank you" anytime the answer is just no.

A couple days ago she was playing upstairs with Emma and a friend. Chase and I were downstairs and I commented to him that she had been really whiny since giving up her num nums. Not a moment later I hear from upstairs, "I not whine!" I couldn't believe she'd overheard me.

Later that day we were walking home from across the street, her hand in mine, and she looked up and said, "Mommy, you hurt my feelings." I was taken aback! I told her I was so sorry I hurt her feelings, and asked her how I did it. "Cuz I don't whine" was her answer. Man, my heart just melted! I had no idea she could even put those feelings into words. I think that was when it hit me. She's a little girl.

But today she played out in the sun and water, even though she has a bit of a cold. And in the car on the way to dinner, she fell asleep. She slept on my lap through dinner, then some more back at home on my lap once more. And I couldn't help but smile. Perhaps there's a smidge of baby-ness left in her after all. I'll do my best to savor it.

Bunkbeds!

2010-04-06T21:38:00.000-07:00

Well, the time has come for bunkbeds. I have mixed feelings about this plan, as already heads have been bumped, but what other solution is there to three growing kids and two small bedrooms? Here's to good times!

Baseball

2010-03-18T21:52:00.000-07:00

Caleb's baseball season has begun, and I got my first taste of the tension that can be felt in the stands on Tuesday. His game was much anticipated, as half of his team from the fall plays on the Angels (opposing team) while the rest are with Caleb on the Red Sox (don't even get me started on his team name this year- it almost pains me to cheer for the Red Sox when he plays...but he's out there so I'm over it real fast!)

Anyway, the coaches of both teams are all friends and many of the kids are too, and there had been a bit of trash-talking, so the air was ripe with anticipation. The first two innings passed and nothing. Third inning comes along and Caleb's team scores! We all went crazy. Fourth passes - no scores. Fifth comes - wouldn't you know it, the Angels get a run. So it was tied 1-1 as they entered the sixth. Little League games generally last six innings or 2 hours. These kids had played their six in 90 minutes, and since it was still tied, they entered the seventh. Still, no score with 12 minutes left. So here they go into the 8th inning. The kids looked tired, but by this time, I think they really wanted to beat them. And man, that's what they set out to do. Caleb's team scored another run! Finally, the Angels are up at their last turn and our pitcher strikes 'em out. One down. The next batter came up and got two strikes.

Then all of the sudden, time's up and they call the game. Yup, one strike and one out away from winning, and the game's done. It was such a let down. All this anticipation of winning, by this point, had built up not just in the kids but in the stands, too, and I can't even describe how it felt to settle with a tie! I've gotta hand it to the kids, though, I think they took it better than the grown-ups!

All in all, it was a great game, and I'm glad they didn't lost. But I sure would've like to have seen the win! Oh well, they'll play again April 15th. I'll keep ya posted! (P.S. No pictures because I forgot I had my camera until the end of the game. I was all set for the cheering that takes place after a win...but that never happened. There was nothing to take a picture of at this point, hence, no photo.)

It's almost time!

2010-03-02T20:19:00.000-08:00

Never ever thought I'd blog about baseball, but I must admit, I miss it! Not just Caleb's games, but Angel games too. Somehow when baseball is on in the background, it just feels like home.

Caleb's opening day is on Saturday (pray no rain!) and his team this year is looking great. Sure hope they play great, too. I'm excited to watch my little guy (who doesn't always seem so little anymore) develop those skills even further. The only negative to this year is his team: Red Sox- How can I cheer for the Angels nemesis? Guess I'll just have to figure it out!

Down by the Beach

2010-02-10T18:09:00.000-08:00

Monday was a day for Chase and me. Just the two of us doesn't happen too often, but the big kids had school and I had the day off, so Laurie came over to stay with Sarah while Chase rode us down to Newport on his motorcycle. I have to admit that this time, it was actually fun and not so terrifying. The last two times I rode it was dark, and I much prefer the daylight (not so cold, either).

We rode down Jamboree (to avoid the freeway, mom) and hung out at the lookout over Pirates Cove. I took pictures on my little camera, but wished I had my big one. Actually, I held it in my hand and actually took a few shots while we rode through a neighborhood. It was pretty exciting.

I thought this image was super cool, I kept watching it the whole time we rode!

After awhile, we ate lunch at Ruby's. It was so nice to just spend time together. It reminds me to do it more often. It also made me think that someday we might actually have the freedom to do this any weekend we want, without making baby-sitting arrangements. That made me happy, but at the same time, I started a whole new set of worry that that day will be here too soon. Chase and I have entered a new stage of parenthood, one that does not require a diaper bag. It's freeing, but I feel a little twinge of sadness once in a while. Then that brings me back to the enjoy-each-day-while-it's-here mindset. And I guess that's the best way to always view life.

Just a regular Sunday morning

2010-02-08T09:21:00.000-08:00

It happens every week, but I always seem to miss it in the whirlwind of racing out the door to make it to church on time. All three of my children are dressed nicely, in clothes that match, with their hair combed. I know it doesn't sound like much of a feat, but it certainly is. And here is evidence that they clean up quite nicely!

Here's the "silly" shot.

What?

2010-02-06T20:01:00.000-08:00

Today at Target Caleb got some gumballs for a little gumball machine. They didn't fit into the machine, so he poured them into this bowl. Someone, who shall remain nameless but loves to chew gum, decided to have one. But we all know how gumballs lose their flavor right away, right? Check out "someone's" solution. Look carefully!

Sarah's First Haircut

2010-02-06T19:59:00.000-08:00

At two years and ten months, Sarah finally had her fist haircut. She wasn't really a willing participant, but it was time to get those ends tidied up, hopefully this will reduce some of the tangle battles we face.

Once she realized it didn't hurt, she calmed down and started to watch. Then she wanted to be "fancy." So she picked a new bow and all was well once more.

I don't know how this girl got so lucky, but her hair is so beautiful. Perfect color; perfect little curls. The only curls the stylist added were the ones in the little ponytail on top. Emma and I were both jealous!

But Sarah wasn't the only one with a haircut today. In fact, Emma has been bugging me for a while to get her hair cut, and she decided she wanted bangs. Isn't she adorable?

All in all, a successful trip!

Too much fun!

2010-01-12T19:55:00.000-08:00

I am so lucky.

First of all, I have a job. Second, I like my job (often love, but this year's a little...different). And third, my job give me some great vacation time. Like the three weeks I just finished off...bliss!

The first two weeks felt as if they were already filled with the flurry of Christmas preparations, the late night wrapping, the ripping of paper, the clean up of paper, followed by the frenzy of family, and finally the reality of the clean up.

But after all was said and done, we still had a good amount of time left, and we wanted to have some fun. Though neither of us is thrilled that Chase is still out of work, we like to make the best of things.

We had a gorgeous day spent at Irvine Park and the OC Zoo, which is such a fantastic little zoo! At the petting zoo, the kids were brushing goats. All three of them brought their cameras along, so we were stopping rather frequently for pictures of everything.

We packed the camping bbq and had some hotdogs for our "snick nic" as Sarah dubbed the picnic. The sun was shining, we played some catch (Caleb went easy on me) and rode on the swings.

The next day we visited Anaheim Stadium for a behind-the-scenes tour. The most exciting part for the kids was that Sarah got to go potty in the visiting team's shower room, in which only the players are allowed (when you're a potty training two-year old, they bend the rules a bit!) Afterwards, we rode some rides at Knott's.

Wednesday we went ice skating, Caleb, Emma, and me, which was not so easy. Sarah wanted to so bad, so we got her all ready. Two steps onto the ice and she was done. Thank goodness we had help! The kids had a hard time, but they were troopers and never complained or quit.

By then, I felt like I needed a vacation from my vacation! Emma and I had taken a trip to the library and found some good books, and I must say, I can't remember the last time I indulged in just reading for as long as I wanted! It was wonderful.

But, all good things must come to an end (or else we wouldn't savor them quite so sweetly). And so I've resumed my role at work. And I'm okay with that (but man, oh, man, that alarm clock sure does go off early!)

Our year in a nutshell!

2009-12-23T16:42:00.000-08:00

Dear Family and Friends,

Since I'm feeling a little bit guilty about not sending cards, I thought the least I could do was post an update of what's going on around here...but much of it I've already posted!

Each of us has had our own share of accomplishments this year, and I'm proud of them all, so I'll go one by one.

Sarah - Well, this is a big one...my baby girl is out of diapers!! Once she finally decided to do it, it was smooth sailing! Chase and I figured that between the three kids, we'd changed 8 years worth of diapers (we had one free year before Sarah, but one year when both Caleb and Emma wore them)! And the number cruncher in me couldn't help but figure out that about $42 a month x 96 months is over $4000!!

Besides that, Sarah is just blossoming in so many ways. She cracks me up with the words that come out of her mouth. When Emma started losing teeth, Sarah made sure to show us her "loose teeth" too. She loves to play dollhouse, babies, and pretty much whatever Emma does.

Emma - First grade has been great for Emma. She has become such a fluent reader this year. I am so proud of her school work. This year she had her first dance recital, but decided she wanted to try other things than dance. So now she's in Daisies (Girl Scouts) and will be in her school's play after vacation. Then she wants to try gymnastics. Or soccer. Or karate. It changes day-by-day.

You may have noticed some missing teeth there, too. She has lost five teeth in first grade so far, a record in her class! She's becoming such a mature little girl, but I think the best thing about her is the way she loves her little sister. When Sarah was born, I was worried that she might not have the bond that Caleb and Emma had, since the older two were much closer in age. But the 3 1/2 years between Sarah and Emma are nothing. Emma is Sarah's best friend, and sometimes, I think Sarah is hers too.

Caleb - Baseball is his life. He played two seasons this year, and was invited to play on a tournament team with some of the best players. And he held his own. He has a head for baseball, and the skills to go with it. He's become quite a strong pitcher and an awesome first baseman.

But that's not the only place he succeeds. He's doing incredible in school. Things just come easy for him, and I'm grateful. I try to make sure it doesn't go to his head, and for the most part, I think he understands that.

Chase - Chase has developped a new passion for motorcycles. He got a new one this past summer and has even named it (you'll have to ask him what it's named!) He passed the safety course and got his license...and finally convinced me to take a ride on it last week. And although I was really scared, I have to admit it was kind of fun.

You probably have heard that he lost his job in the fall. We were both so disappointed, not just for the sake of money, but because he had finally found something he was really passionate about. With the state's budget the way it is, pickings are slim all around right now, and education is taking a particularly hard hit right now. We're hoping that things will turn around soon, but in the meantime, his job future is in God's hands.

Me - Well, I'm still in second grade, same school, though I'm proud to say we're the highest achieving elementary school in the Anaheim City School District! It didn't come easy, but I'm proud to be a part of it.

I still enjoy taking pictures, scrapbooking, and blogging, but it sure is hard to fit it all in! This year, I've tried hard to enjoy life, make more time for the kids (which means less time cleaning =), ) and just make sure that my kiddos, particularly Sarah, don't just sprout right before my eyes. I feel like I've done okay with that!

Overall, we've had a tremendously blessed year. Despite the job loss, when I look at all we have, the beautiful neighborhood we live in, the wonderful school the kids attend, the family that is close by to us, the church we've become a part of, and the support we have all around, I feel overwhelmed with gratitutde to God. I hope that you can find these blessings in your own lives as well this year!

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!!

Love,

Carrie

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-23T13:44:00.000-08:00

This Christmas, I really wanted to make the year enjoyable. I wanted to have time to spend with the kids, just doing nothing if we chose. To do that, though, I had to scale back a bit. So I haven't baked quite as many cookies as usual. And I didn't write Christmas cards. And I bought a few less gifts (well, that was the planned, but there's a mountain hiding in my closet!) And I did most of my shopping online, which really saved a lot of time.

It worked, though, and I haven't felt the need to run around crazily during this last week's rush. Last rainy Saturday we had fun in the house, and even took a rainwalk.

We spent a day at the snow. We cuddled up and watched Elf together. Emma and I saw The Princess and the Frog, and yesterday, the girls and I went to Disneyland. So I'd say my plan worked, but I'm still feeling a little bad about the whole cards thing. So I decided to write my "Christmas letter" here, and even add a few pictures to go with it! I realized in doing this, though, that those of you who actually read my blog have really been able to keep up with us this whole year, and in that case, the letter's not even necessary.

Nevertheless, here I go!

Let it Snow, let it snow, let it snow!

2009-12-14T20:01:00.000-08:00

We don't get to sing that song very often, but after a very rainy Saturday, we (well, Chase) decided to head up to the snow for the day to let the kids have some fun. I must admit, I was dragging my feet a little, okay, a lot. I just didn't want to be cold and wet, particularly with Sarah newly done with diapers (yay!). But, I'm glad Chase made me do it, because we all had a wonderful day!

I couldn't believe Sarah. After one trip down the hill with me, she was ready to go on her own! She slid down on that little orange disc and just flew! By then she was done with me.

We made a little snowman, had a few snacks, and before you know it were heading home. The girls were cold and tired, but they'd done really well. All in all, it was a great family day!

All I Want for Christmas is...

2009-12-11T16:21:00.000-08:00

my two front teeth!

Emma has been working on these two teeth for about six weeks, and was hoping they'd both be missing right about now, just so she could sing the song! Her wish came true.

Isn't this the cutest thing you've ever seen?

2009-11-25T06:48:00.001-08:00

Last year I tried to put Sarah in footed pajamas but she would have nothing to do with them. I was surprised last week when she spotted some ballerina jammies in the store with feet and was incredibly insistent on buying them. (She had been just as insistent on buying some rubber ducks at the store before that, but I held a firm no on that one and just didn't have the strength to go through it all again, so she was already well on her way to new jammies!)

I tried to show her some cute top and pants style jammies, but all she wanted were the ballerinas. And when a two year old has made up her mind, don't even think about trying to change it, because it's purely wasted energy on the grown-up's behalf!

Anyway, she LOVES them and wears them everynight. And for one more winter I'll get to reminisce about when she wore those little tiny footed sleepers and she can be my baby for just a little while longer!

Thanksgiving Performances

2009-11-25T06:45:00.000-08:00

I love vacations! I was lucky enough to have this whole week off for Thanksgiving, so I got to participate in Emma's and Caleb's Thanksgiving celebrations at school. Emma was part of the 1st grade feast and I volunteered to help set things up. Then today Caleb was in TWO different performances,one for 2nd, and one for 3rd since he's in the combo class. Although going into yet another classroom is not always my first choice of how to spend my time off, how can I resist when it's my own kids' classes?

The first graders did a crazy relay and had a great time doing it. And the feast was filled with delicious treats!

But what surprised me the most was hearing Caleb actually recite some poems with his class! Speaking in front of others is not something that comes naturally for him, but he did a great job today!

Okay, I tried really hard to figure out how to post the video of him doing the poem, but am stumped, the video link is gone! So if you want to see it, you'll have to check on Facebook instead.

Trying something new

2009-11-14T21:29:00.000-08:00

So I've been experimenting with using Picasa by Google for my pictures, and I just wanted to try this way to upload my pics and see what happens. Here goes!

Fun, fun, fun!

2009-11-08T14:50:00.001-08:00

Last weekend my "little boy" turned eight years old! The same little boy who couldn't stand knit caps now has a collection of baseball caps. The little boy who had an arm to throw that pacifier with now throws pitches every weekend. The little boy who once hid behind a tree at the park and cried when I tried to introduce him to his new baseball coach now checks in with that same coach for pitching advice. And the little boy that I held in my arms late at night on November 1, 2001 now takes off out of the house almost before I can say good-bye.

That's not to say he's all grown up. He still can't keep his room clean or keep track of his clothing (though come to think of it, I think that's true with many grown-up men I know as well!). But he's flying through school at astounding speed, learning things left and right. All in all, he's a pretty good kid...and I'm proud to still be his Mommy, the one who still prays and sings with him each night. (And every night, I wonder how much longer it will last...)

Okay, now here's the fun stuff. On his birthday we had family over, and he got a hunting game for the Wii where you shoot ducks and other things on the screen. And guess who got the high score for Round 1....GRANDMA!! Here's are some of the reactions of that mighty accomplishment!

And I can't forget a few pics of the birthday bash itself!

Isn't he cute?

Testing...testing...Halloween!

2009-11-02T20:31:00.000-08:00

Well, we finally got it...a new computer! I'm excited to be able to sit down and blog and share pictures without it being an hour and a half ordeal that ends with frustration and hair pulling! Let's hope this works out.

Here's Daddy, already passing out candy!

So last weekend was one of my busiest yet. Caleb had his game Saturday morning, and of course there were Halloween festivities to follow, and the next day was his birthday which led to a trip to Disneyland followed by a family party. Whew! Didn't even get to the laundry or grocery shopping.

This Halloween Sarah and Emma decided back in September to be "Minnie Mice." Actually, Emma decided, and Sarah copied. Because that is what Sarah does these days. Luckily for her, Emma is still flattered (I hear these days may be numbered, so I will enjoy it while it's here!) Sarah would tell anyone who asked "Emmy big Minnie Mouse, I lit-lel one." Actually, she usually said Mickey Mouse, but she meant Minnie. (On a side note, she told Emma tonight she wanted to be Mickey Mouse when she grew up!)

I spent most of Halloween with the girls. We went to the church's Light the Night which was great fun for Sarah. She couldn't believe they were just giving her candy! After all the times I tell her no. Then we came home and hit the streets...while eating pizza between houses (I held the piece and she game back for "one mo bite" after each doorstep.)

Sarah's best friend, Hayden, and her brother Brenton, trick-or-treated with us. Too bad I didn't bring the camera then...would've been hard, though, with pizza in my hands! Though we were all exhausted, we made it back in one piece.

Family Time

2009-10-18T21:17:00.000-07:00

Last Monday I had the day off, and since Chase was home, we decided to surprise the kids and take them out of school at lunch time. We headed to Disneyland (along with tons of other people who must have had the same idea) for some family fun. Since it was so crowded, we explored some of the things we hadn't done before, including the canoes and Tom Sawyer's island. It was great!

One of these days I'm going to make an entire album of merry-go-round pictures.

Self-portrait on Dumbo!

Okay, I love this picture!! Love, love, love it! Sarah did not want to wear the life jacket that was required for her to go on the canoes, but we put it on her anyway. After a bit of crying, she finally stopped and attempted to enjoy the ride. I held up the camera and told her to smile. This is what I got!

Disneyland does a great job of fall decorating. Can't wait 'till Christmas!

And we can't forget Maggie the cow!

Sarah's 1st field trip

2009-10-18T21:02:00.000-07:00

During the summer, Sarah went to Miss Heidi's class. It was great, and I am glad that she's finally got something for her. Now that it's fall, she gets to go again, and part of the class included a field trip to the Fullerton Arboretum at CSUF. I love that place, in fact, it's where Chase and I got married. So last week, Chase got the opportunity to take Sarah to visit a place that we both love. And she was so excited!

I talked to her on the phone after she got home that day, and she told me about the "shishiesh" (fishies) in the bird's mouth, the "puckins", and the ducks & turtles.

Baseball

2009-10-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

So, Caleb is now playing in his fifth season of baseball. He started out in Pony ball when he was just five, still in preschool! Then he played in kindergarten, and liked it so much that he did fall ball in first grade. Then came spring ball again, and every season he's gotten better and better, but we wanted to make sure he tried out more than just baseball. So Chase had convinced him to give flag football a try, which he agreed to. After the first practice, though, the whole thing was cancelled (lack of $$) so he managed to squeeze back into baseball. And I'm so glad he did!

Although it takes up a good portion of each Saturday, I love to watch those games. I don't mean to brag, but he's great out there...and that boy can throw a ball! He's an awesome pitcher, mostly getting 3 strikeouts every inning. And the faces he makes...priceless.

And the past two weeks have been awesome, a home run each game!

Look at that running!

Those are Chase's legs, right in front of the daring slide into home. (I always ask Chase to move over, but this is what I end up with!)

Now I know that the chances of succeeding in the Big Leagues are slim, and the odds are always against you, but I would not be the least bit surprised if someday, Chase and I sat up in the stands of some stadium and watched our boy play ball!

Time to Catch Up

2009-10-18T20:32:00.000-07:00

Well, if you've been wondering why I haven't posted much lately, it's due to the ongoing battle between my computer and me. This summer, I attempted to "clean up" things on it so it would run faster. That plan backfired. It seems that it's dying a slow death, near it's last breaths. So I spent all yesterday afternoon backing up all my photos (thankfully, I had done that earlier in the summer, so there weren't too, too many) and preparing, just in case. And I managed to get some of my more current pics onto my flash drive, so I can post via my work laptop...yay! So here goes!

Emma's birthday

Our family came over the night before for some cake and presents.

MMMM yummy!

Emma decided last Christmas that she wanted to go to Disneyland for her birthday this year. So that's just what we did, and we had a great day. I truly find it amazing that she's already six years old. At the same time, she seems so much more grown up than that! She is quite the reader now, only two months into first grade. She loves to draw pictures and write stories. And she loves Disneyland...

To top it all off, we had dinner and her (and my) favorite restaurant, The Old Spaghetti Factory, and even Grandma & Grandpa came!

What a great day!

A Fresh New Year

2009-09-19T14:25:00.000-07:00

To me the New Year doesn't really start in January. It starts in September. (Well, August now since everything has backed up.) Every year I have the opportunity for a new beginning at work. A fresh new group of smiling faces (mostly smiling) always makes me hopeful that I can teach them something new. And now with Caleb and Emma in school, it's the time of year where they both move up at the same time. Birthdays are scattered throughout the year, and in January I feel more of that post-Christmas sadness that it's a whole year away till next Christmas, it's a fresh new start filled with resolutions.

So here are my kiddos on their first day of school, which I must admit I missed, as it was also my first day of school. They're both in combo classes this year, which is a backhanded compliment that says "hey, your kid is good and caught up so we're gonna let them work on their own" but I can't complain, because that's what I taught last year!

For you, Mom

2009-09-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

Since my mom was sad that I didn't post any pictures last time, I figured I'd better post a picture! We were recently treated a visit from the tooth fairy. That's right, Emma lost her first tooth last week. She'd been wiggling that thing for quite some time. And of course every time she did, Sarah would come by to show us her "loose tooth" too. Hers hasn't fallen out yet =).

Slacker

2009-09-16T17:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's what I am, at least when it comes to blogging. This page is set so that when I log on to the internet, the first thing I see is my blog. And everytime I see it I think, "Oh, man, I should update that." Then I move on to whatever I was looking for!

So here's a quick update with us, sans pictures, because sadly, I haven't taken many lately!

We've all been back to school now for nearly a month. Caleb is in 2nd and Emma is in 1st. Oh, and I'm in 2nd too- no combo grade this year =). Both of them are doing stupendously well. I couldn't ask for better little academians!

Sadly, Chase lost his teaching position last week. We're holding out for a bit of hope that he may get to go back, but that chance is thin. Not sure what our plans are there, but for now, he gets to be home with Sarah, so that's nice. Speaking of Sarah, she's just a crazy little thing! She talks so, so much, has a friend across the street, and is generally not a baby anymore. Except for the diapers, which she just doesn't want to give up. Lately, when Chase asks her for a hug, she hurries past him and answers, "No thank you." At least she's using good manners!

So there's a quick summary of what's going on here. Between baseball, homework, school, church, and that pesky little thing called housework, the days just roll on by before we can blink!

VBS

2009-08-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

I spent last week having a blast at VBS with the kids. This was the first time for any of us to go to VBS at our church, Calvary Church in Santa Ana. It was amazing! And huge! There were 957 kids there on Monday. By Friday, attendance rang in at over 1200! The kids brought in pennies all week to raise money to buy a forklift for an awesome ministry in Louisiana called Streams of Life. They give out tons (literally) of food each month to people in the area who are still dealing with lasting effects of Hurricane Katrina.

Even Sarah got to attend with us each day, though she was down in the nursery participating in "preschool" VBS. I think she might have been scared in the big church! The theme was called Crocodile Dock and all the pastors were in their best swamp attire all week.

It was great, I got to lead a great group of 10 first graders and had a few really awesome teen volunteers to help me. Thank you God, for the blessing!

Yosemite

2009-07-24T20:17:00.000-07:00

This past week we spent our family vacation tent camping in Yosemite. It was the first real vacation we've had in three years! It was so wonderful to get out there and everything was beautiful. Hot, but still beautiful. Thankfully, in Yosemite you can't go too far without some trees, so we had constant shade and we cooled off each afternoon in the ice-cold Merced river.

Undoubtedly, though, the best part of our vacation was a real bear encounter! The first day we arrived, we headed over towards Yosemite Falls. As soon as we started heading toward the falls, another couple were walking the other direction and told us they spotted a bear. We couldn't pass that opportunity, so we grabbed Sarah out of the stroller so we could walk quietly and headed the direction of the bear. We saw it! A smaller bear that was brown with tufts of blond sticking out of it. He turned around and started walking back the other direction, and he spotted our stroller. He was sniffing around it and smelled the wipes in the little basket in back of it. We saw him pawing at them, and after a minute or so, Chase started clapping loudly to scare it off (it was only our first day, we needed the stroller!)

Later that day, as I was changing Sarah, I grabbed the wipes case and noticed two little puncture marks on it! The bear had bit through the wipes case! What an exciting first day of vacation!

From the mouths of babes...

2009-07-16T15:18:00.000-07:00

Today was Sarah's second time in "Miss Heidi's class," a parent & me pre-school type class that both Caleb and Emma were a part of a couple years back. The summer's theme is farms, and today the children were learning about cows. Miss Heidi brought in a large plywood cut out of a cow with a glove filled with water attached to it (the udder). She talked with the kids about the parts of a cow (ears, eyes, tail, udder) and told them they could "milk" it later, but to try to get it in the bucket.

Sarah had fun squeezing the fingers of the glove and laughing when the water squirt out of the little pin holes in the fingers, and a little made it to the bucket.

Later, Emma asked Sarah if she had a fun time today. Sarah's answer, through giggles, "Cow peed in bucket!"

Showing off her cow stamps.

Sarah and Emma hiding under the parachute.

letting go...

2009-07-07T00:33:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here in the dark, late at night, fighting off a fit of coughing, and thinking about my old couch. We've had it since Chase and I got married, actually a few months before we married, which makes it over eleven years old. I think that's pretty old for a couch, at least from what you hear about "quality not being what it used to be." It's withstood a lot. I've spent a lot of time on it, two pregnancies (got through the third with a new recliner...my back was just so achy!), three babies, two rounds of potty training (working on round three!) and plenty of movie nights.

One side of it is so smushed down (Chase's spot) that the kids and I would sink in if we sat there. The back cushions are held together with fishing line and safety pins (my attempts at repair work). The white stuffing is leaking out of the back. It's a bit small for a family of five, always someone complaining of being squished. And there are so many crumbs deep down there that I imagine a flock of birds could feast for a month!

And yet I was sad as the delivery men yanked our our old couch and left it in front of the garage, then graciously unloaded the huge new sterile sectional that will take over the role as family gathering place.

I can remember like yesterday one quiet evening just before Christmas, Caleb was about six weeks old, laying on that couch in the light of the Christmas tree with this sleeping newborn, and treasuring the moment. I can remember a late night when Emma, about 8 months old, wouldn't go to sleep and she climbed all over Chase. who was laying on the couch. And most recently, though already two years ago, I can still see Caleb and Emma squished together on the middle cushion as they shared the boppy which contained their new baby sister.

As I saw my old couch being replaced, I was almost ready to tell the delivery men to take the new one back and put everything back the way it was. But I didn't.

This new couch is quite big. It takes up most the front room. Much of our playing space on the floor is gone. BUT, all five of us can comfortably sit on it, which is very important on Survivor night. Sarah is not so content to be on someone's lap anymore, so we really did need a place we'd all fit on. And today, while Sarah slept, Caleb, Emma and I sat on the new couch and I taught them how to play rummy. The kids love the new couch, with plenty of room to sprawl out; no sentimentality wasted on them. And I know there will be new memories.

But I think I'll sneak out to the garage and save a bit of that stuffing that's poking out of the hole in the back of the cushion!

Dancing Queen....

2009-07-05T15:59:00.000-07:00

Emma had her first dance recital last weekend! She was so excited to get all dolled up and ready to go out into the spotlight. Her number was a Western Medley to the tune of Yellow Rose of Texas. She did a great job, always keeping her smile on and even remembering all the steps!

She had been talking of quitting dance for quite some time, complaining that her ballet shoes hurt her feet (no cushion!). I was a little sad to hear that, but as long as she's trying something, it's really up to her.

Then she had decided that she would do dance a little longer, just in the fall, so that she didn't have to do the recital next year.

Of course after the recital, all had changed. She told me "I think I'm going to do the recital again next year, too." Guess the glitz and glam of the big stage can reel you back in!

Odds and Ends

2009-07-02T15:08:00.001-07:00

So I've nearly finished my first two weeks of summer vacation. Last week was great, the kids did a VBS, we went to the park, saw the Electrical Parade at California Adventure, and bought a waterslide that has been great fun. My modem went out and I was webless for a full week. You don't realize how much you use the net everyday until it's down! But, thankfully, AT&T provided us a new modem for free, so I guess that made the wait worthwhile.

Saturday Emma had her first dance recital, in which she was awesome!! But then that night Caleb got sick. And it has only gotten worse since then. I'll spare the details, but let me say that I currently have two that are coughing nearly all the time, and all three have pink eye! I'd post a picture, but really, who wants to see sick kids? It's disheartening! Sadly, we were unable to go to Sarah's first mommy & me class today, and Emma had to miss her art class =(. We're hoping (really bad!) that everyone is better by tomorrow so we can all enjoy a happy 4th of July.

In the meantime, here's some fun from last week!

I've learned something new!

2009-06-22T19:12:00.001-07:00

I made this for dinner! And it tasted DELICIOUS!!
And these are the best dinner rolls ever. All thanks to my new (to-me) breadmaker. Mmmm...now let's just hope my pants keep fitting!

The Dads in my life

2009-06-21T15:28:00.000-07:00

Happy Father's Day Chase! You are the greatest dad our kids could ever have. I've never seen a dad spend more time playing with his kids than you. From baseball to hairstylist, butt's up to wrestling,

you show your girls and your son just how much they mean to you every day. And I can't tell you how much that means to me.

And to my own Dad. Thank you for being the best dad ever. I can remember those super early morning when you would drive me to swim practice in the dark in your big truck with the obnoxious horn.

And those family vacations fishing off the dock at Lake Berryessa using bread as bait, and catching more carp (the junk fish) than we could keep up with! Thank you for always making time for me. Even more, thank you for still being here, being a faithful attendee of my own childrens' activities. Thanks Dad!

"Big Gul Bed"

2009-06-20T14:34:00.000-07:00

Bye, bye, crib!

Hello, new bed!

Here it is, our now thrice used toddler bed, new to Sarah, which officially moves her status from "baby" to "big gul." We made the switch last weekend, and she was so excited. Actually, all of them were super excited for her.

When bedtime rolled around, she climbed in and let Caleb and Emma spread out her covers.

Then Caleb read everyone a story.

And she was ready to sleep, right next to big sis Emmy.

Finally lights were out, and Sarah's words were "No, want Mommy bed." And now begins the up and down time, getting babies, dropping her num-num (pacifier, yeah I know, she should be past it...one step at a time here) and retrieving it, and peeking out the door looking for Daddy. I had to sit next to that little bed, in the dark, putting her back into bed, for about 45 minutes, but finally, she fell asleep.

Before I went to bed I snuck in to snap a picture, but darn those little cameras, I couldn't get anything without the flash, and with it it looks like daylight! But trust me, it was 11:00 at night in this one, Perhaps I'll turn on the nightlight and try with my other camera, but it seems a lot of work to snap one picture of two girls sleeping in bed.

Ride 'Em Cowgirl!

2009-06-18T20:05:00.001-07:00

Howdy cowgirl!

Emma's big day is coming up the weekend after next. Here she is posing for me before we went to have "real" pictures taken. (Though from what I saw, these are just as good!)

This girl is one of a kind. She loves to draw and do art work. In fact, she started an art class today that's all about learning how to draw. She seemed to do quite well...but that's not what this is about. Look at that charming smile. What a girlie girl!

She seemed to have so much fun in her dance class and made a couple good friends, really nice girls, yet she wants to quit because "the ballet shoes are too hard on my feet." I'm not sure if I'll be able to coax her into staying with it or not, but I hope so, because it's so good for her to be involved in something.

The last day of kindergarten was last week. I can't believe that I now have two children past kindergarten! She's reading, really reading, and I couldn't be more proud of her school accomplishments. I am so lucky that school has come pretty easily for the first two. Of course having a great teacher like Miss Lawson helped!

It still amazes me just how quickly they change. My first baby girl has turned in to a big-sister-mommy, true helper, little reader, mostly charming young lady. I am so blessed!

Oh, I found this one on my sister's facebook profile, from her wedding. It just seemed like it would fit here with this little description of Emma...we've come so far!

No, I have not fallen off the face of the planet!

2009-06-17T19:30:00.001-07:00

I'm still here!! But man oh man, life sure can keep you busy. And it's not like it's things I don't enjoy, except for maybe laundry, but so many good things have just filled me up lately...so here's the quick rundown...pictures will have to follow later.

1) I'm almost out of school! I was so looking forward to a nice, calm summer, but somehow, our calendar is already quite filled up. Between swim lessons, baseball camp, VBS, Yosemite (yay!), art class for Emma, mom & me class for Sarah, and of course the library & D-land, I don't think we'll have a dull moment.

2) Sarah is sleeping in a bed! HER bed, not mine & Chase's!! 'nuff said.

3) Caleb played in two baseball tournaments, one back on Memorial Day and one last week. The first one his team placed 3rd of 16, and the second one they took 4th of 30!! Not to brag, but he is one awesome 3rd baseman!

4) Emma graduated from kindergarten!! Yay for my little academian.

5) Emma is gearing up for her first dance recital...can't wait to share those pics.

6) I am becoming much more adept in the kitchen. Homemade lasagna, dinner rolls and cinnamon rolls (thanks to my new breadmaker) are so yummy!

7) We have become a money-saving family. We've made a few changes and I'm amazed at how much we've been able to put away each month! Last month we had our lowest electricity bill ever!! Now that may not be exciting to you, but it was a real family effort to make sure we all conserved.

8) Daddy will be home for the summer! Yes, I'm trying to make this one a postive. Chase has become another victim of lovely state budget cuts. Now you can understand why #7 is such a big deal for us!

9) I think I just ran outta steam...what else can I think of? Caleb is reading chapter books? Sarah can pedal her trike herself? Emma can do her own ponytail?

10) I have the BEST family ever!!

Glad to be back! Now that school's out (almost) I'm going to try to practice my photo-taking skills and attempt to post them up here...we'll see what happens!

What a day!!

2009-05-17T13:46:00.000-07:00

Today was a day of big accomplishments! Today Caleb played in his first "play-off" game, where they actually kept score. Though his team lost, they still played an outstanding game. Caleb was right on with his plays (coming from a proud mommy!)

Rounding first....and he makes it home! (no, it wasn't a home run, he made it home on someone else's hit...but who cares, he scored the first run!) And there's Coach Daddy with a high 5!

I absolutely love what this shot captured, and there's no way I could've gotten it without my big camera.

Makes the play....

"yes...another out!"

As for Emma, she's been begging to have the training wheels taken off her bike. So I took them off for her on Thursday, but couldn't quite keep up hanging on (Sarah kept wanting to chase her into the street!) So yesterday, we all headed down the path near home, and Emma just took off!! She did so great! Now she has to master starting and stopping, but she's got the riding down.

Not quite able to smile while she's focused so hard!!

Working on that start!

There's that smile!

Spring Break...

2009-05-08T14:55:00.001-07:00

Hmmm...where to first?

We did have so much fun during those two weeks off in April, that I never got all my pictures up! So here are a few from Disneyland when Sarah met her first goat...which she called a "doggie."

Update!

2009-05-08T14:52:00.000-07:00

I don't know why, but I feel that I must always include pictures if I blog. So sometimes, I won't add anything just because I don't have time to decide which pictures to include~ so sad, huh? So even though I have no "matching picture" to add this, I just have to share how proud I am at the moment.

Caleb was invited to play baseball on a tournament team over Memorial Day weekend! He actually got noticed by a coach we played against, who happens to be coaching the team. Isn't that great? Of course to the girls, it just means more games to sit through!!

Tonight we're going to the Angels game...hope they do better than Wednesday's 13-0 final score!! It should be fun, there are a ton of kids from our kids school going, so I know they'll see people they know. Oh, and fireworks, too!

It's my Birthday!

2009-04-16T14:57:00.000-07:00

and I went to Disneyland! (for a whole two hours =)

It's true, you really do get in free on your birthday. And if you have a pass, and you're lucky enough not to be blocked out on the day of your birthday (and all of us were lucky!) you can receive a "Birthday fun Card" (giftcard) for 69 bucks! (59 for the kids, but hey, that's awesome!!)

So Sarah and I went this morning to claim our gift. We got it and rode a few rides, and had to leave so soon to get Nemmies from kindergarten. Nevertheless, we had fun, just two of us, on Casey Jr., Small World, and the Carousel.

Tonight, it's dinner at Rubios and Baskin Robbins ice cream cake! Oh, and check out the beautiful birthstone necklace I got from my loving kids and hubby!

Friends

2009-04-15T20:14:00.000-07:00

Our family is so incredibly blessed to be living in the great neighborhood we do. There are so many families with kids just the right ages to match up with ours, even Sarah. And now, she is getting old enough to actually enjoy spending time with another little girl who lives across the street.

A couple of weekends ago we got out the Bounce House (Bow How, as Sarah calls it) and invited the neighbors across the street to come bounce to their hearts' content...the little neighbors, not the big ones! Sarah had so much fun, and then she decided to drive. In Emma's jeep. So we were going round and round in a big circle and the two little girls were so giggly...it was priceless to watch a two year old driving with her little friend!

Yesterday her friend's daddy said that it was cool watching them play together, and that they might just grow up to be best buds...I hope so!

Yippee!!
Are you buckled up?

Golfing

2009-04-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday, we went golfing with Grandma and Grandpa (poor Daddy had to work). This was a first for Sarah, who did pretty good carrying around her "stick" and picking up the balls for everyone! Grandma and I let her have some turns hitting our balls, but mostly she preferred to kick them or drop them in the hole (much easier, don't you think?) The three musketeers at Camelot.

Here's Sarah's creative way of holding the ball.

Grandma and Emma having some fun...notice Emma's new haircut?

Thanks for the pic, Emms!

I think he was pretending to be the Easter Bunny!

"Hole in one!! Hole in one!!"

Spring Break!

2009-04-10T21:41:00.001-07:00

Did you know we nave wilderness in the OC? This is taken from a high hill in Santiago Oaks, where we spent a beautiful day today!
How did they get so big so fast?

My "big" two year old!

Today we went hiking at Santiago Oaks. The weather was overcast and cloudy (which it seems to be every year on Good Friday) with a prediction of rain, but it turned out to be an absolutely perfect day for a hike. Even Sarah made it quite far! (Though my back was aching when she couldn't make it...even with trading off with Chase!)

We don't often think of the OC as being "close to nature" but we were out on the trails and it was so quiet and peaceful, well, except for the animal sounds our children were making!! We spent nearly three hours hiking and playing around, throwing rocks into the little streams, and just spending time together.

Sarah and Caleb at the top of some "deps."

The end of a fantastic family day!

Monkey girl!

2009-03-29T09:24:00.000-07:00

Emma was so proud of this accomplishment! She had been working so hard for so long to get across those bars, and when she finally did it, she couldn't wait for us all to see!

Don't see this too often!

2009-03-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

It happened a few weeks ago, as I was driving to school. And I was able to keep it in sight the whole time and snap a picture. Five minutes later, it was replaced with rain, all day long, rain. But it was a beautiful reminder of God's promises for the morning, that lasted, for me, the whole day long!

Way too fast

2009-03-26T20:54:00.000-07:00

So here's my baby...almost two. She loves to help now, whether it's putting away groceries or making dinner (well, she doesn't like to help put away toys!). I can't believe that she'll be two next week!

YAY!!!!!

2009-03-15T07:12:00.000-07:00

We're going to Yosemite!!!!! This summer, I actually managed to get a reservation!!! So today, the early bird got the worm. Couldn't be more excited!

Mini Vacation

2009-02-21T07:01:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago Chase and I had Feb. 9th off work, and Chase always feels a little pain when a 3-day weekend passes us by and we don't do anything different with it. So, we decided on an overnight stay at a new Anaheim resort near Disneyland. We checked in Sunday night, with next to zero luggage, and started our "vacation" by checking out the resort.

It was pretty nice, althugh we were quite shocked to find out that there was nothing covering the windows when you opened them...and we were on the 7th of 14 floors! Tell me, do you find that disconcerting, or is it just me? My sister seemed to think it was no biggie that the windows opened with no screen or anything to block any curious children that might be exploring, but I was a little rattled by that discovery. Yes, the windows locked, but I still maintain that a lock is not much of a challenge to a curious child.

Anyway, we had dinner out, then visited Downtown Disney's Build-a-Bear and LEGO shop, where the kids had fun splurging just a little. Even Sarah got into it when she made her Scruffy dog!

(Rubbing the "heart" on her tummy...so her new friend never goes hungry!)

(Love at first hug!)

The next day we were headed to Disneyland....despite the pending storm! We had taken the kids out of school, so we were determined to do D-land anyway. With high hopes of no lines, we set off. As soon as we exited the parking structure, we were pelted by rain! No worries, though, the kids were loving it. And that began our drenching day at the Happiest Place on Earth.

Although we were soaked up to our knees, there were hardly any lines, and we had a great day. It continued to rain on and off all the way until 3:15, but we really only got caught in a downpour once.

We got home feeling like we had actually done something fun with our three-day weekend. And that's what it was all about!

I love this shot of Emma on the old-fire cart.

Here's one worn-out baby!

I've got some competition now!

2009-02-05T19:14:00.001-08:00

So not too long ago I got a new teensy camera to keep in my purse, so I passed along my first digital to Emma, who had been asking for a long time when she could have her own camera. Check out some of her very own images!

I must say I'm quite proud!

Disneyland....again!

2009-01-20T18:51:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I learned how to get this video on to my blog successfully, but I also learned you can't shoot video vertically! Oh well, just turn your head sideways, cuz this girl is awfully cute!

Yup, you'll probably be seeing a lot of Dland pics this year, taken on my new ultra-tiny camera that I bought mostly just for it! I decided to try out the movies, and it was pretty cool!

Me & my girls (yes, Chase finally handled the camera!)

Caleb's big stunt.

Thanks for the cotton candy grandma!

In Tomorrowland they were having some music Sunday night. It was late, around 9:00, and Sarah was going strong, even with no nap for hte day. We had a blast dancing, well, Caleb didn't (I'm a boy, I can't, was his excuse) and eating cotton candy. And, we stayed until 11:30 that night!

Tearin' it up on the dance floor!

On the way home....

Sunday, Sunday

2009-01-11T16:52:00.000-08:00

Today was our normal Sunday, went to church, ate lunch (at home today), cleaned up the house, went to the grocery store...nothing too exciting. But I did get a new camera last week that excites me, just a little one that I can keep in my purse. So I didn't miss my opportunity this morning to take some pictures at church on the playground! Oh, and I'm really having fun dressing Emma and Sarah in new coordinating outfits! Too cute...if only they'd stay little for longer.

(She's kneeling, it's not a super long dress!)

Emma helping Sarah off the end of the slide.

Oh, and Sarah has entered a new stage now. The stage of "Why?" I thought 21 months was too young to be there, but every time she's told to do something, we get the "why?"

On my mind...

2009-01-09T16:46:00.000-08:00

Well, today is the last (official) day of my three week long Christmas vacation (I know, I know, my job is too easy...just try it yourself sometime and you'll see why teachers have those vacations!)

Anyway, I had a wonderful three weeks with my family celebrating Christmas, seeing a good friend from Idaho, visiting DISNEYLAND, and even just taking my kids back and forth to school this week, a task I usually miss. It was all great. And it just reminds me how lucky I am to have all that I do. I love my family. I have thee BEST kids and the #1 husband. I have a secure job...and I love it, too! Chase finally seems to be out of jeopardy of his job being cut (though we can never be sure...). It's all just great.

So I didn't make any resolutions. Actually, I gave that up a few years back, because I found myself struggling to make myself do something that I really didn't want to do or that I just couldn't keep up with, and it just caused me more stress...so what's the point of that?

There are some things I do want to accomplish this year. I definitely need to get more regular at reading my Bible again. Quiet times have just been pushed too far aside. I want to continue to pursue my new photography hobby and get better with the great camera I have. I'd like to read a few books for pleasure...and maybe even one to learn something new! And I'd like to know a little more about world events going on me. On that last one, I've always told Chase that I prefer to live in the bliss of my ignorance regarding world events, but perhaps it's time I wake up and know a bit more about the world I live in. I'll make it my goal to look for the good, though, otherwise, it's back to my bubble (although I'm afraid once I come out of it, it's not possible to go back in.)

So I know this isn't my usual post with pictures of the kids, but I thought it was a good place to share my thoughts.

Oh, and just for laughs, we were going to Disneyland the other day and Caleb was reading all the signs around the parking structure entrance. Then he shouted, "Whoa, Mommy, don't get in that lane, it's the slow one. (The yellow diamond SLOW sign was just beside it!) Cracked me up!

Oh, and I posted an album of Christmas pictures on facebook. I think this link takes you too it, if I did it right! http://www.new.facebook.com/photos.php?id=1547361722

The Bike Parade

2009-01-09T13:15:00.000-08:00

I can't believe I forgot to post pictures of this! We live in the greatest neighborhood. The weekend before Christmas, Caleb was playing with one of his friends who asked Caleb if he was going to be in the bike parade. Caleb asked us if he could, and we were thinking "sure, you and your friends can parade up and down the street."

NOT!

This was a full-blown Christmas-lights-on-the-bike parade! Not one to be outdone, Chase quickly raced to Michael's in search of battery-powered Christmas lights (then raced to the drugstore for batteries- which ended up costing more than the lights!)

He and Caleb decorated all of our bikes, including the bike trailer for Emma and Sarah. What a sight! Now, the pictures don't really do it justice, as it was dark and I had my older camera with me (couldn't ride my bike with that big one around my neck!) It was awfully chilly, but everyone had so much fun. We rode through the neighborhood and stopped at several houses for treats. It was a great time to meet even more of our neighbors.

Here's Sarah trying to take baby Jesus from someone's display!

Like I said, I love our neighborhood. The people here are so friendly, and I can't remember ever living somewhere before where I knew so many people. We are so richly blessed!

What you've all been waiting for...

2009-01-08T23:38:00.000-08:00

I've been waiting on this post because I wanted to do something exciting, being that it's a new year and all...but sadly, what's exciting in my life is not so exciting to others. But I thought THIS was EXCITING! And it's something new for the new year!

Yup, my kids washed and dried the dishes. I think I should record that in the scrapbook under "milestones," don't you?

So there it is, Happy New Year!

(By the way, we were out of dishwasher soap, that's why they were actually doing it!)

Disneyland!

2008-12-31T11:44:00.000-08:00

Wow, so much time has gone by since I last sat down to share. We all had a wonderful Christmas and received so much more than we could ever need. We are so blessed with so much family who thinks of us at Christmas.

Anyway, Emma had been asking to go to Disneyland for the last three or four months. So, after much debate and thought, we finally decided to get the family annual passes to Disneyland.

So yesterday, with full knowledge that the crowds would be as thick as could be, we went to Disneyland and had a WONDERFUL day. And I mean great! There was NO crying!! Can you believe that?

Emma and Caleb both rode the Mattercorn (as Emma likes to call it) although Emma decided that once was enough for her. Sarah rode her very first Carousel. She was full of "Whoa!" and "Oohhh" and she was trembling! I'm not sure if she was scared or excited, but she wanted to do it again! We got to go on the revamped submarines and experience Nemo's adventure. Chase took Caleb on Space Mountain, another first which he loved, while the girls braved the line for the Christmas decorated Small World.

We actually sat down to watch the parade, which was great. Every time a float would pass by, Sarah would turn and ask, "More?"

We had planned to leave and get some dinner, but they were having so much fun that we stayed (even though it was quite chilly) all the way to the fireworks. (We did view them from the parking structure, though, where it was much less crowded and we avoided some serious crowds down Main Street!

All in all, it was a WONDERFUL day at the happiest place on earth. We can't wait to go back!

Our first attempt at a family self-shot.

A little better...

We asked someone else to take one for us!

The Santa Train

2008-12-06T22:06:00.000-08:00

Tonight we rode the Santa Train. Every year Irvine Park Railroad transforms into a beautiful Santa's Village and this was the third year that we've gone and visited Santa there. The line's a bit long, and the price is a bit high, but this is the only Santa Caleb and Emma know (can you believe it...they've never seen the mall Santa!) And tonight was Sarah's turn to experience it. She was there last year, but she was asleep. Not that she'd likely remember it anyway. Well, she did decent. She wouldn't go up to him, but there were no tears, so I'm okay with that!

She wanted that candy cane, but big sister Emma had to cross the threshold for her.

Emma's private moment with Santa.

Although he's 7 now, he still believes. I love the magic that their innocence brings.

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2008-11-24T18:26:00.000-08:00

I know it's not Thanksgiving yet, but I have Decked our Halls anyway. Normally I've never done it this early, but I just felt the urge to get ready for Christmas and I decided to go with it. (Besides, by the day after Christmas, I'm ready to put it all away, so I might as well get as much time as I can with it!)

Sometimes it seems like a lot of work to decorate all over, but this morning Emma looked around and said something that stuck with me. She said, "I bet it makes Jesus happy when he sees how much we decorated for his birthday." I love that she said that. Simply put. And just a reminder to me that despite the commercialism that surrounds us at Christmas, her young heart has not been mislead.

So take a look at how we've decorated for Jesus' birthday this year!

This last one is my very favorite. It's a plush Christmas tree, but the ornaments tell the story of Jesus' birth. The kids love to take them off and tell the story as they put them all back on. Such a great reminder for us all!

We all had to do it

2008-11-24T18:14:00.000-08:00

Do you remember Thanksgiving in elementary school? It hasn't changed much at all. Today Caleb's first grade class celebrated the annual Thanksgiving Feast and everyone was dressed as either a pilgrim or an Indian. I'm sure it's probably not politically correct, but it's tradition nonetheless!

Most of our nights look....

2008-11-17T20:40:00.000-08:00

like this.

Now that the time has changed and it's dark by 5:00, we've fallen into a new routine. When Chase and I get home the kids are begging to go outside, so usually they head over to a friend's house or we all go out to play. But before you know it, it's getting dark, so we come inside, work on homework as I cook dinner, then settle in to play dollhouse, read books, or video games (mostly for Caleb and Daddy). By 7:00 it's bathtime, teeth time, and bedtime at 8:00. (And then I collapse on the couch and doze off, pretending to watch TV!)

Tonight Chase was at a baseball game and the kids were all in the same room playing dollhouse. This dollhouse was a Christmas gift for Emma last year and has been played with every day since last Christmas. She loves it so much! And Sarah has become quite fascinated with it now, too, watching Emma play and learning how to make the people interact. I love watching how she makes the people move and play, carefully maneuvering each one into the correct spot and getting so frustrated when her little hands just can't make the doll do what she wants it to do.

As we were all playing, Caleb wanted me to read the Jingle Bells book, and before I knew it, an impromptu round of Christmas caroling ensued!

As we were singing, I just knew I had to catch it, because I know how fast these days go by, and I'm trying my hardest to savor them.

Yes on 8

2008-11-03T19:55:00.000-08:00

Since tomorrow is the big day, and my friend Julie's blog inspired me to vent a bit, there's just something I've got to get out there. It is driving me crazy hearing those commercials out there by CTA that say "California teachers are for equal rights...that's why they say vote no on prop 8." Well I am a member of that union. I am a California teacher. I do support equal rights. But I think the definition of marriage is a man and a woman. I don't think that denies anyone rights. I think it simply keeps marriage as what it was intended to be. But that's not my point.

My point is, why is my union, whose dues I pay into, promoting a proposition that has nothing to do with education. True, if it does go down, there may be some stories in books that talk about a dad and a dad, and that's not what I want my kids exposed to. Nor is that what I want to share with my students. In fact, chances are, if that story were in my text book, I'd skip it. Simple.
But still, I digress.

Why is my union using my money to promote something that not only do I full NOT support, but that they have no business being in anyways? They tell us that our dues only go to political support if we request them to go that way. But then they blanket all teachers under their campaign.

So I just had to get that off my chest. And I want to let you know that when the next school year comes around, I am leaving my union. If they're not representing my point of view, then I don't need them!

I'm Alive!

2008-10-31T22:26:00.000-07:00

Cinderella, Obi-Wan Kenobi (from Star Wars, mom), and our little puppy (we tried to make her piggy tails look like ears since she didn't like the hood.)

I have missed sharing my pictures with all of you! I know everyone gets busy, but man, it makes me sad when I can't even do the things I enjoy. It just seems that by the time everything settles down at night, I'm just so exhausted that I doze off on the couch, and then I can't even focus on the little things around me, let alone try to blog.

Mason (a wrestler) and Caleb (aka Obi Wan Kenobi)

Our little puppy doesn't talk...but she can bark!

But tonight we had some fun and I've gotta share it. And tomorrow, well, tomorrow my first "baby" turns seven. How did that happen? Just know that time goes fast for us all. Last night at dinner Emma said to me, "You know, my life is just going so fast. I can't believe tomorrow's Halloween!" Chase and I could only look at each other in silent agreement. Too fast, too too fast.

Makena and Emma...

We had lots of fun trick or treating tonight. Didn't take Sarah long to pick up on this concept. I can just imagine her thoughts..."What...go ask them for candy...okay mommy, but you always say no!"

Happy Birthday Dear Emma!

2008-10-04T14:49:00.000-07:00

It still amazes me just how quickly time passes. Last week we celebrated a day that happened five years ago: the day we met our first little girl, Emma Kylie. I don't feel like I'm much different than I was five years ago, but I know she certainly is!

September 27, 2003

Emma decided she wanted to celebrate at Build-a-Bear with her cousins, so we did, and it was a great day. She woke up early and we were opening presents before eight in the morning!! After a yummy breakfast, we went to the hair salon so she could look "fancy" because after all, you only turn 5 once.

Then we went to lunch with our family, our cousins and their mom, and Aunt Nani at Red Robin. Now that was an exciting lunch!!

From Red Robin we headed to Build-a-Bear where the girls created their lovable companions, complete with new outfits as well.

(First we stuff them, then we fluff them! Even Sarah was excited to fluffy up her new doggy!)

Soon, everyone was tired...and the crazy bus (aka our Sequoia filled with 5 children and 3 adults!) made it home.

Finally, we ended the evening with cake and ice cream and grandparents...and of course more presents!! I think this was her best birthday ever.

Family Pictures

2008-09-07T19:12:00.000-07:00

Sunday mornings, though they're busy, are when we all look our best. It seems like a good time to try to get a few cute pictures. Of course there's hardly ever time for that, but this particular Sunday, we were running early for once! Just wish I was in a couple of them!

Back to Baseball

2008-09-06T22:36:00.001-07:00

(Love the Gatorade mustache!)

Caleb is playing baseball again. Fall Ball has begun, and it's been another new experience for us. We signed up a while ago, but discovered there was no coach for the team he was placed on. When we reached the point that the team was starting to disintegrate, Chase and Tommy (our coach from spring, whose son wasn't even on our team!) were able to step up and be the coaches for the kids. So the Bees were able to play ball today, having their first game just a day after meeting each other for the first time.

And they did AWESOME!! Although there's no scoring in fall ball, the kids played great. This is kid-pitch baseball, and the first time that any of them have pitched. Caleb was out there first and he was so excited. A little nervous, too, I think, to be on that mound. But he did his best. They're not allowed to pitch over 40, so I (the team mom by default) got to be the counter. And I kept track on one of Emma's coloring pages until another mom offered me her notepad!

Emma and Sarah were really good. They seem to know the routine now for sitting through baseball games, and Emma comes prepared with her coloring book and crayons. Sarah had more fun stomping on the bleachers. I'm going to find her some Bee wings so she can be the team mascot!

Another beautiful day!

Beautiful

2008-09-05T20:43:00.000-07:00

Isn't she? This little girl just lights up our household. Even Caleb and Emma smile a bit more when Sarah's around, being her usual silly self. She still isn't talking much, but she certainly knows how to communicate. Caleb was trying to figure out what she wanted the other night in the bathtub. "I just followed her point and kept trying until she got all excited" was how he figured it out...what a great brother.

He truly is patient with her and shares our excitement whenever she accomplishes something new. Today it was going down the slide while sitting up without tipping back and bonking her head.

Don't you wish your days were filled with accomplishments like that? Actually, they probably are if you look closely. Today, as the team mom for the first time, I met parents of other little leaguers on Caleb's team and helped us get organized. Not a huge deal, but a little accomplishment.

Emma, too, is an incredible big sister. Though she has little patience for me, she never gets mad when Sarah continually pulls furniture out of her dollhouse. She nearly always scoots over to let Sarah play, and even lets her pick which people to use (I think she's realized that Sarah will end up getting what she wants, so it's not worth the fight!)

I am so blessed to have three such wonderful (most the time) children!

First Day of School

2008-09-04T20:57:00.001-07:00

My middle baby started kindergarten last week. She was so eager to go and had such a great time. In fact, when I asked her how her day was, she said it was good, "But I just wish I could stay longer!" So do I!!

Caleb is doing great in first grade. One of his good friends from the neighbohood is in his class, so he was pretty excited about that. And boy, he's starting to take off in reading! I'm so proud of him and the fact that he has such a desire to read. Last night he read every one of our 10 phonics beginner books...good thing I have easy access to lots more!

Sarah is just as crazy as ever! She's getting bigger and more feisty. Her hair is getting longer and wilder. And she got new shoes tonight, in fact everyone got two new pairs. (Thanks Payless and your BOGO sale!) She liked them so much that she wore them both home: one of each! Wish I had a picture to share of that one!

I know I haven't been posting so often lately, but going back to school has kept me so busy, and tired by the time I reach the end of the night.

Last week we were dealing with a sick baby. Last Wednesday Sarah had a fever, but I thought it'd pass. The next day she was a bit listless, and that night she was burning up. It reached 104.8! I've never seen a temp that high before, so I called the nurse line. She reassured me, but warned if it got any higher, we needed to go to the ER. Thankfully with some motrin, it was down to 103 a couple hours later. But Friday it was back, it was just off and on over the next day too, and then Saturday she had a rash all over her face. Early Sunday we went to Urgent Care, to be told only that it was an ear infection, and the rash was from the fever. Poor baby...it looked so bad. It took until Tuesday for her to really look normal again, but thankfully now everything's better.

Well, it's time to wind down for me. Enjoy!

What a fun night!

2008-08-26T22:40:00.000-07:00

We had a great time tonight at the Angels game, and I must thank my good friend M and her husband for giving us their awesome seats to the game tonight! The kids loved being so close, and I loved the cushioned seat! Not to mention, they won 5-0!! I braved bringing my camera, which is pretty tough while bringing Sarah, and bringing dinner with us (thanks Wienerschnitzel, for getting the order right!) and I had fun trying to take some motion shots of Angels.

Oh, Sarah's crying because the game was over and she didn't want to go home...(okay, really she was afraid of the few fireworks that go off when they win!)

Here's Gary Matthews Jr. rubbing his head after being hit with the ball. He staggered a bit, but seemed okay.SAFE!Lackey was pitching, and he did a great job...no runs!!

Where has it gone?

2008-08-15T20:42:00.000-07:00

Nine weeks ago I was so excited about having weeks and weeks to relax, sleep late, and do whatever I pleased! Well, it didn't quite work out that way, but pretty close. And Thursday it all came to an end...but also to a beginning.

I had so much fun with my kiddos this summer. We visited parks, swam, played at Soak City, read at the library, road bikes, went to movies, played at Big Bear, and sometimes just hung out at home with neighborhood friends. What more could I ask for? I got to practice taking pictures with my new camera, celebrated my 10th anniversary, and overall had just a blast!

On our last day together we decided to go to the park once again, so here are some fun times at Pioneer Park, aka Wagon Wheel, aka "the other water park" because they have fountains you can play in.

I entered this picture in a contest for kids at play...think we'll win?

It's coming to a close

2008-08-05T14:42:00.000-07:00

I know that technically we are smack in the middle of summer, since it officially doesn't end until September 21st. But for me, the summer feels almost over. I go back to work in one week and I feel like I must scramble to squeeze in as much "summer fun" as possible these last few days with the kids. I feel like it's time I will never have again. Next year they'll all be a year older and things just won't be the same.

Caleb said softly to me last night, "I can't wait to start first grade," and the smile that hid behind his eyes just melted my heart. I am so glad to have a boy who loves school, loves books and reading, and is just so eager to learn. He is really such a sweet, sensitive kid, despite the mean streak that reveals itself every now and then (and who doesn't have that side now and then?)

Emma, too, is incredibly eager to go to kindergarten. She's trying so hard to read already and is so frustrated because she can't. I have a feeling she's going to be one of those quiet little girls at school who are always pleasing the teacher.

And Sarah? Well, at least we still have some time with this little baby before we need to think about school. First she's got to learn to talk! We hear a constant babbling of "uh-oh" and she knows ma-ma and da-da, (though she prefers to say da-da) and we think she's talking to Misha when she says da-gu (doggy?)

A Beautiful Day

2008-08-01T21:25:00.000-07:00

Hasn't the weather this summer been unusually great? I have been so pleased with these beautiful, sunny 80-degree days. I always used to say that we seemed to miss that fabled California weather...we went straight from June gloom to the July Heat Wave that lasted through September. But not this summer!

So today we went to Irvine Park, aka Pony Park in our house, one of the most beautiful parks I've seen in Orange County. We rode the train and the ponies, had an icee, played on the playground, watched birds and butterflies, and even made some new friends. What more could you ask for on a summer day?

I think Sarah was worried that the train would leave without me when I got out to take the picture!

Caleb was fascinated with these birds he spotted. One of them was taking a bath in the over-filled drinking fountain. The one above was actually pulling bugs out of the tree to eat. It was really pretty cool to watch.Which swing should I use?Sarah being silly!

And to Mom, hope your day was as good as ours! Happy Birthday!

The Greatest Show on Earth!

2008-07-31T10:01:00.000-07:00

Last night Chase and I took Caleb and Emma to see the circus for the first time. First off, I must say that I felt terrible leaving Sarah, but I thought she might get overwhelmed and cry, and then I'd miss most the show. So instead I got to hear her cry and cry once she figured out I was leaving. We're going through a terrible bout of separation anxiety, and it's as hard on me as it is on her, especially with the start of school right around the corner.

Anyway, back to the circus. Caleb and Emma were absolutely mesmerized by the whole experience. There was a "sky-rider" on a motorcycle that rode on a wire right above us, and I have to say that I was pretty astonished as well. Then there were the motorcycle riders that rode around in a sphere cage of steel. They fit seven bikes in this cage and it was so incredible! I mean, one second off on the timing and these guys (and one girl!) were in huge trouble. Caleb's eyes were "gi-normous" (his new favorite word).

I was wishing I had brought my new camera, I'm certain I could've gotten some awesome shots, but I didn't know if cameras were allowed inside and I didn't want to get to the door only to be told I couldn't bring it in. So, I'll just have to do with these pics I found on the internet.

Oh, I have to add that I think the most stressful job out there was that of the guys shoveling the mess the elephants left behind. And there was a ton! You'd think they could hold it for the ten minutes they're actually out there, but no, just like a kid, as soon as they can't go to the bathroom, guess what. You got it. I don't know if there was a single elephant who didn't leave a little "gift" for those shovelers.

And last, to say that my house is like a three-ring circus is no longer accurate. There's only one ring, and I think our house is much more chaotic!

So until next year, ladies and gentleman, children of all ages, enjoy each day and live your life because you are a part of...the greatest show on Earth!!

Big Bear

2008-07-29T08:06:00.000-07:00

We had a fantastic weekend in Big Bear! Even though it was short, the kids made the most of their time by hanging out in the pool. They managed to go swimming five times in less than two days! We never even left the resort.

I think my favorite part was playing hide and seek indoors. Caleb and Emma love to hide and find each other, but when Caleb quit on Emma, I filled in for her. Only every time Sarah couldn't find me, she'd cry. And when she did see where I was hiding, she'd stand in fromt of the spot, point, and squeal excitedly. So then I tried to hide her with me, but she couldn't stop giggling and squealing, so it was pretty much a bust for me to hide.

Caleb has a new-found passion for playing basketball, and yes, that shot went in!

Emma had lots of fun jumping in, over, and over, and over!

Anyway, even if this was our only vacation, it was really nice to get away and just have family time without worrying about needing to do laundry, go to the grocery store, or clean up this and that.

I can't believe how quickly the last six weeks have passed. I only have two more weeks before I go back to school. I know it's going to be super tough on Sarah. She has definitely become attached and very clingy to me. We'll just have to adjust....poor girl!

Swimming

2008-07-23T08:03:00.000-07:00

Mmmm...refreshing!

The kids had a fun afternoon playing in the little pool last week. The day felt like it was just what summer should be: relaxing, warm, and playful. While they played in the mini pool I was able to read a bit while Sarah napped.

What's better than popsicles in the pool on a summer day? Not much!

I'm a little sad that we didn't get take a real vacation this summer, but we are getting away this weekend to Big Bear. Looking forward to that! Then we can all go swim in the real pool!

A Slow Week

2008-07-17T22:49:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm very lucky to have the summer off, I know. And this week was just a slow, uneventful one. We went to the movies on Wednesday and saw Shrek the 3rd. I remembered why it's not a good idea to take a one-year-older (as Emma calls her) to the movies. It hadn't even started yet and she was kicking to get off my lap. Half way through, Emma was bored. We sat in many different seats, and the trip to the bathroom was actually a welcomed break. No more movies for a while!

Playing with friends...yes, that ball is dropping from the net!

Most afternoons we just spend hanging out, playing in the front yard, playing in the water, and the kids see their friends. They made some new ones this week, who, coincidentally, have an awesome new play set in their backyard. One of those wooden kind that are really cool.

Whoa! That slide just tossed me!

Some good news is that Sarah's mouth is healed and she still has her pretty little teeth! They look almost like they did before her fall, so that is great. Thanks for the prayers, Mom.

(I found Mommy's glasses!)

Great Grandma's House

2008-07-12T23:44:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday we visited my Grandma, the kids' Great Grandma. My cousin, who lives in Texas, is out here on vacation with her four kids and no husband! Can you believe she drove from Texas, with four kids, the oldest 14 and the youngest 3, alone!! I can barely handle driving mine for forty-five minutes, let alone twenty hours!

Anyway, Caleb really had fun with his cousin Shea...or second cousin, however that works out. And it was fun to get all the kids together for some pictures.

Emma was helping Sarah walk through the yard. Sarah was feeling a bit overwhelmed by all of the unfamiliar faces, I think, so she was clinging to her big sissy.

Grandma has an orange tree in the backyard and it still had oranges on it. I thought that was strange, since oranges are usually a winter fruit. Well, the kids picked some off and one of them peeled it...and there was this tiny little shriveled up piece of orange in there! (As I type this, I realize all of the great pics I could've taken with my new toy...Grandma...the orange tree...the shriveled up piece of orange!!)

Sarah stuck her thumb right into the middle of this thing, it was so soft and mushy!

Anyway, though it was a bit crazy with 7 kids and an immobile grandma (she hurt her leg and can't walk right now), it was great to see everyone.

I love you!

2008-07-11T23:25:00.001-07:00

Happy 10th Anniversary to my Wonderful Husband!!

Thank you for ten years...two cars...three kids...great home...and a wonderful life! I love you!

Spaghetti Night

2008-07-11T00:57:00.000-07:00

I think this is probably a classic baby picture. I know I have the same shots of both Emma and Caleb, but they still never get old!

It was so messy when she was done that I had to scoop her up to keep the remains from scattering all over the floor and shake her off outside!

Needless to say, Misha enjoyed dinner that night, too!

Summer Night

2008-07-08T17:14:00.000-07:00

Isn't it great when the sun stays out late? The kids have been having so much fun playing, having dinner, then going out to play some more. And it's so nice not having to worry so much about bedtime (particularly for me since I don't have to worry about mine right now either!). This is really our first summer "vacation" since Caleb has finished his first year in school, and we're living it up.

Sarah was practicing her artistic talents...

...and making some interesting culinary choices!

Kind of by accident, we ended up signed up for nothing this summer. We were too late on swimming lessons, and Emma's art class got cancelled =(. But we've been having a lot of fun at Soak City and just hanging out with the neighborhood kids and kickin' it at the park.

I love the look on her face as she "flossed" with this string from our plants.

And yes, I do have two other kids, but they're never around for me to take pictures of them! Next time!

Fun on the Fourth

2008-07-06T14:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, if this post is up, then I've accomplished something. I really know nothing about using Photoshop, but it was the only way I think I could look at my new pictures (since the resolution is so big) and I learned how to organize and resize them tonight! Yay! So now I guess I've got another goal for the summer...to work on using Photoshop as well.

Perfect belly-flop form!

And some perfect jumping form!
Getting caught sneaking into the cooler.

My baby's smile is healing, and she's getting into as much mischief as before.

For some fun on the fourth, we all went to Grandma's house for swimming and bbq. The kids had a great time in the pool and Caleb and Emma were really doing some fabulous jump stunts as they entered the water. Sarah is doing well, but she doesn't seem to enjoy the pool too much.

Scott, my brother-in-law, bbqed tri-tip and it was delicious. As Emma put it, "This is the best chicken I ever tasted!"

I got to test out my new toy, too. Still working on all the settings, but I'm having fun experimenting! Only now my photos are huge and they're taking forever to upload! Hmmm, I'm sure there's a way to adjust that...just gotta learn how! (update...I learned how!)

I love this picture of Sarah and Grandma.

Just testing out my new-found options!

Mommy's New Toy

2008-07-03T14:23:00.001-07:00

Everyone else has gotten new toys lately, so I finally decided it was my turn. So here it is. Now I just have to figure out how to use it!!

the ER

2008-07-01T22:32:00.000-07:00

We had our first scary trip to the ER on Sunday night. Long story short, Sarah fell (Emma was trying to carry her) and there was lots of blood. When I could finally look in, I noticed her teeth were not where they were before...and I was scared. SO we left the kids with a neighbor until Laurie could get there and headed to the hospital. My poor baby was in so much pain and there was nothing I could do, especially when she was strapped into that car seat, probably wondering why in the world I was making her go "byebye" when she was hurting so badly.

After the ER doctor (late late Sunday night), the pediatric dentist (the next morning) and the pediatrician (this morning) we have the outcome of a pretty big gash across her lower gums, which separated the two middle teeth from the one next to them, a small fracture in the bone under her gums, bite marks on her tongue from her four top teeth, and a scraped up chin. If we're lucky, her baby teeth will stay in, but they're not in the same place they used to be.

I know in the grand scheme of things, this is probably pretty mild, but it just hurt my heart so much to see my baby in pain. I felt so helpless for her. And to credit her, she was tough. Sunday night was pretty crazy once we got home, but she was resilient. And when the dentist told us no pacifier, no bottle, no sippy cup, no straws, I wondered how on earth this girl would get any comfort, but she made it through (the first day anyway. Today I let her have a bottle before her nap and before bedtime...sometimes mommy's gotta go with her best instinct). Still, we've had no sippy cup and no pluggie, and she has been so good. Today finally felt normal, and she slept on her regular schedule. She and Emma enjoyed coloring together outside. (Her mouth must have been feeling better, because she still kept trying to eat the crayons.)

So my baby's smile might not look like it used to, but she still had that grin that lit up from ear to ear and made those eyes twinkle...along with a lot of extra drool!

Looking out at the World

2008-06-27T15:20:00.000-07:00

We were getting ready to go somewhere the other day and I looked out and saw all three of them sitting side by side on the porch. It was too cute to pass the opportunity for the pictures.

Then half of Sarah disappeared as she bent down for a leaf!

And no, I didn't do her hair that way intentionally. She just likes to pull out her piggy tails.

Misha

2008-06-26T19:48:00.000-07:00

We got our dog Misha from the pound just before Christmas. We had promised the kids whenever it was that we moved, we'd get a dog. Well, the move came suddenly, and we were able to get a dog. Not a family to mull things over, we started looking before we even moved and found Misha at the pound. She was calm, but we thought it must have been because she had just been spayed the day before. I wanted a dog that would be good with the kids...and that is just what we got! She's calm, stays when she's told, and she let's Sarah do anything she wants. Perfect dog for a baby.

Here's Sarah feeding Misha dog food, one piece at a time, and Misha being patient enough to take it, one piece at a time. Notice all the little bits on the floor? Thanks, Sarah!

Happy Father's Day!

2008-06-26T00:14:00.000-07:00

I forgot to post these earlier. The kids were so eager to give Daddy his present that they did it on Saturday night. We got him a new phone so he would be able to go wireless when that new law starts on July 1, but then we decided to fill a bag with things Daddy would like or needed. Caleb suggested beef jerky (because he likes it too) and Emma really wanted to get him flushable wipes (which they use) since he didn't have any...she sure cracked herself up as she gave those to him!

They sure do love their daddy...and he sure loves them back.

Here he loves them enough to let his girls do his hair. This used to be just something Emma liked to do, but last night Sarah came out with the brush (which she likes to chew on) and started helping out.

Mostly she was just smacking him in the head with it, but hey, the love was there all around!

Big Sis, Lil Sis

2008-06-26T00:12:00.001-07:00

Thanks Aunt Christine for our beautiful new bows!!

Swimming

2008-06-25T23:38:00.000-07:00

Now that summer's in full swing, we're enjoying lots of water time...sprinklers, water park, grandma's pool. The kids love it all! Well, the bigger two especially. Today we went to Soak City again, and Caleb got brave and went down one of those tube slides on an inner tube. Emma was so upset that she was too short to go that we almost had a little tantrum right there next to the sign that measures your height.

A couple of weeks ago we went to Grandma's pool and had a lot of fun. Sarah was a bit timid in the water, but man, Caleb was completely No Fear...and even though he can't really swim yet, he sure loves jumping in!

Chitty Chitty Bing Bing

2008-06-23T09:00:00.000-07:00

Or is it Chitty Chitty Ding Dong?

That's the movie Emma wanted to watch this morning. Since they've been hooked on Annie for a couple of months now, Grandma Laurie thought they might like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. They didn't have time to finish it at her house, so we brought it home, and now we've got the new Annie. I have to say it is a lot more pleasant to listen to these movies over Dora for the umpteenth time. I think we'll go buy Mary Poppins next...any other suggestions?

I still do love this movie! I remember watching it as a kid, where my sister could sing every song and say every line before the characters did! It all came back to me as we watched it over and over. One night Chase even joined us and it was family Annie night. I love the part where they meet with the president and discuss the New Deal...the things that I never got when I was little!

Friday all three of them were watching Annie again, and even Sarah had her little lips in an "o" shape and was "singing" when they did The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow. It was too cute!

Where did the week go?

2008-06-21T22:29:00.000-07:00

What was I thinking when I thought I'd be able to sit down and post every day now that I didn't have to go to work? Summertime is here, and it is in full swing in our house! Now for all those of you who think that I don't have a real job since I get a nice amount of time off, well let me tell you, it's not really time off. True, I don't have to get up quite so early and I don't have to leave the house quite so soon, but with three kids excited to have me around, it's certainly not much of a break!!

Now don't misunderstand me and think I'm complaining; I'm not. We had a blast this week. It's just that there was very little downtime to consider it a "vacation."

So just what did we do? Well, we got season passes to Knott's Soak City, aka the Waterpark, and all the three kids and I had a great time there last Monday. Tuesday they learned a new vocabulary word: errand. And we topped it off at the library. Wednesday they got to spend some $$ at Toys R Us (that bought me a break for about an hour, during which I battled a sleepy 1-year-old who did not want to nap.) Thursday was back to the waterpark, this time without Sarah so we could have some "real fun." And Friday, lucky me, got to visit the dentist once again.

It was a busy week, and it left me asking myself, what do I really want to get out of this summer? I like not having structured lessons monopolozing all of our time, but I don't want to feel like I "wasted" my weeks. So I figured that what I really wanted was to
1) get closer with God. I really need to build myself a quiet time so that I can be more consistent and make this happen again.
2) I want to have some real dates with my husband.
3) I want to enjoy my kids.
4) I want to learn more about photography.
And 5) I want to use some time to work on my scrapbooks.

It sounds so simple, so that's what I want to make sure I do.

Oh, and here are some highlights of our week:
Posing before church.

And Sarah likes to "push" the recliner down and "pull" it back up.

And who can resist checking out what's under that chair?

Dads

2008-06-15T23:48:00.000-07:00

What does it take to be a good Dad? Patience and a good sense of humor. Love. Fun. A little bit of discipline. A lot of faith. And that's just the beginning. I see it every day.

Chase, thank you for being just the right daddy for my our babies. I watched Emma climbing all over you today, and I could see the love that was right there. And when Sarah needs something, she marches right over to "dad-doo" and grunts until you figure out just what it is she's trying to tell you. And you're never one to turn down a game of catch with Caleb.

You've inspired that boy to love baseball beyond what I could have ever imagined. And when he talks too much, you still listen.

I love you. I love watching you with the kids, throwing them around, tickling, wrestling (yes, even with the girls, even though it usually leads to someone crying!) letting Emma comb your hair, letting Sarah wake you up by a smack in the face (What she meant was Happy Father's Day, you know.)

Thank you for doing whatever it takes to take care of this family...jobs, school, never knowing what's coming next. We love you! I love you, Chase.

And there's another Dad I know who had many of those same qualities. Dad,

thanks for working so hard at home to give us so much. Thank you for watching all of those dance recitals, even when we were only on the stage for a combined total of 10 minutes! Thanks for making sure we had been to so many campgrounds in California! Because of you, I know how to tie a knot on a fishing line (it may not be right, but it'll get the job done), how to check the oil in my car, how build a toybox and use a table saw, and how knock out a wall (good to know, just in case!)

Thank you Dad, for always putting us first, even still. I know that whenever I call, you will be right there, eager to help. I love you, Dad.