Balboa Holiday Tour

One of my besties, Jennifer called me a week ago on a Sunday, and asked if I wanted to go look at rich people's houses on Balboa Island.

"Sure," I said. "Let's go get Depressed." LOL.

It was fun, HOT, but fun.

Thanks for the fun day, Jenn.

an awful Snow Day

One of the shopping centers in our area thought it would be smart/fun to bring in 25 tons of snow...well, there were just a few snags in the plan...
1. 85 degree day in so cal.
2. they ADVERTISED on the NEWS. lines were crazy long...
3. 1 security guard
4. no gated off area
5. adults were allowed on the ice too...
meaning....
Toby (my 4 year old) got hit in the eye with an adult's SMART idea of throwing snowballs! poor baby.
This pic was taken right before the INCIDENT.
but it was a picture moment. LOL

And the WINNER is....

It only took about 15 shots to get this, the best one of the bunch. pretty good. I printed them up for our Christmas cards, which didn't turn up very clear, I don't know why...but it looks pretty good here.

so Merry Early Christmas....

Brynnes first solo

Brynne plays the bells in advanced band in her elementary school. Hard to believe this is her last year. She did great. I shouldn't mention how nervous she was, so I won't.

My lil ones first performance

Toby had a cute lil program with all the Busy Bees for Christmas. They recited a poem called Whats in the Box, then sang 4 Christmas songs with parents singing along on the last 2. He had a shy expression throughout the entire time, but his concentration was so impressive. He loves school. Good job, Tobes.

This Mama is BUSY...

3 Christmas programs in one week, making or buying 6 teacher gifts, baking cookies,getting the imperfect, but not to be reprinted Christmas cards into the mail,  on top of the laundry, cleaning, and regular cooking...wish me luck.

The ways we keep busy in December

My kids are funny. They go through phases of being crafty. December is definately a craftier month. Toby begged me if he could paint today. I really wanted to say "no" because the baby I sit was awake, and he would def try to get into the paints. But, I said yes and I'm so glad I did. What he ended up painting is adorable.

Puppy Love

Our Cute and Very Cuddly puppy, Copper, is 7 months old now. Seems like we got him just yesterday, but it was in fact 4 months ago. He is getting SO big. I thought I'd post a baby puppy pic and then the most recent cute photo taken, to mark for myself how big he is at this stage. *They say that puppies are about 75% of their total weight/height at the 6 month mark. Here's hoping.

this is in July when we could carry him. LOL

Here he is now, cuddling atop his fav toy, Penny from 101 Dalmatians.

* I heard this on "It's Me or the Dog" with Victoria Stowell.

Not sure if it's true with Basset Hounds, though.

my Big Girl!

Every day I'm amazed at my girl. she can be so young and innocent, and then at the same time I'm seeing her grow into such a cute young lady. She still has her VERY young moments, like fighting with her brothers over NOTHING, or throwing little tantrums, but those are fewer between than they used to be.

Today, she got braces. She chose to get them. It was kinda funny. She kept saying things like,
"you can't make me get out of this car..." and I'd reply with, "You're right. You don't have to have braces."
and then she got out of the car. This went on a few times, in various places...but she chose to get in the Dr. chair and get braces.

She looks pretty adorable, and picked Purple, her fave color, as her band color.

Way to go, Brynne. Your Dad and I love you!

it's all about me!!!

ok, so i normally pick a background that suits my fam along with my taste, but since November is MY month, I chose a background that speaks to me. This is sooo me! I couldn't find a vintage enough background, but i love the color yellow with teal or green and reds and oranges. i wish my couch could be this pattern. LOL.

So, happy November to me!

My Son, the Math Wizard

ok, maybe not a wizard. But, he's come so far this year.

With a new Diagnosis of ADHD, after months of struggling in the 3rd grade,

we finally landed on a medication that works great for him, and he's improved

so much, his teacher gave him the option for his award.

He could have the Math award (his fave subject) or

he could have terrific kid...he chose Math.

Good job, Dusty!

First Flag Ceremony

kinda funny...

These girls have been in Girl Scouts for 7 years, and had never done a Flag Ceremony.

They did great, and had a good time. (They were so nervous.)

Good job, girlies.

An impromptu bike ride

We're in a hard stage right now with Toby. To go on a real

bike ride he has to be in the baby seat. He is amazing on his trike, but

of course, he can't keep up with the big kids and Mom and Dad.

soon enough, though. I'm not wishing him to grow up. I love the stage

he's in right now.

Tricks and Treats

Here's a few Halloween pics from this year. we had a great Halloween, and scored huge amounts of candy. thanks to our friends, the Sesmas, for letting us ding dong with them.

our spooky jack o' lantern pics.

right after our Del Taco Halloween Ritual. lol

the whole crowd. the Sesmas, Carpenters and Shumways.

Big Waves @ Balboa Beach

we Lalalove to go to the beach. we really like to go on Sunday mornings before the crowds set up thier camps and leave before traffic gets too bad. I usually don't take this many pics but it was such a fun day. The waves were HUGE, though the pictures are not much proof of that. We had a great time with the Carpenters.

Bridging on the GOLDEN GATE

Coit Tower.
I had the awesome opportunity to take Brynne to San Fran with her Girl Scout troop to Bridge on the Golden Gate up to Cadettes. She is growing into such a sweet young lady. These are just some of the best pictures...there are really too many to upload. lol

Lombard Street                                                                                        

Before the Big Walk. It was pretty cold, but the sun was a shining! Yay!Cable car at Fisherman's Wharf.

My BIG boy! (sniff sniff)

Toby is getting so big. He started Speech Therapy this month and is doing so well. His therapist is kinda blown away at how well he listens and is totally responding to her. She made a comment about him yesterday...saying that as he gets older he is definatley going to be the CLASS CLOWN. this is so true. He loves for people to laugh. He is such a happy kid.

absence from blogging, but not from my life...

Our fam has been extremely busy lately, and it has been fun and CRAZY.
So GLAD girl scout cookie time is OVER! (did you hear my scream?)

We did sell a lot though, so my girl earned enough money to go to San Fran in May for the big bridging on the San Fran Bridge. She's really excited, as am I to get back to the North. wish we could all go, and stay longer than 2 nights. :(

I started babysitting the cutest baby (next to my own, of course) just about full time and the kids love having him around. We get to cuddle and hold, and feed and change diapers 18 days out of the month, and a little money is pretty nice.

I got to spend a day with one of my high school friends recently, and before the day came we were doing a lot of catching up...she shared with me that she'd been embroidering...and this interested me. So, I ran out to Joanns and spent 10$ and started it myself. and boy have I found a fun craft. I really enjoy it, and my kids have lined up what I'm doing for the next year. LOL!

I've made a few cute things for my mom for her Bday, and this cute little napkin/tea towel for my sis in law, Jo, and a few other items. Really loving it. It relaxes me...

Well, that's my little update...
hope your life is Crazy good right now, too.
thanks for sticking with me...lol

Happy 2010!

my 3 trying to light their sparklers off of Dads'.

Hope the year is an exciting and happy time for us all.

Toby LOOOVED the sparklers. so much fun.

i promise we had christmas, i just don't have a camera...lol

The plate with goodies left out for Santa,

with a cute note left by Dusty, in what I have

to say was his nicest writing.

The drink of choice....

as we're getting ready for Christmas, I have bought a few grocery items that we don't usually have in our home...like marachino cherries. My kids LOVE cherries. especially in thier cokes.
But this morning as I was making Toby's lunch he asked for cherries. So I threw one in some 7up. and 2 seconds later, the drink was gone.
I couldn't figure out if he drank it quickly because it was good, and he liked it, or because he wanted that ding dang cherry?....lol

gotta love my cute kids.

Check me OUT! I'm domesticated!

I asked for the turkey carcass on thanksgiving night,

and this is what I did with it. I boiled it in water and

spices and veggies to make homemade turkey broth...

yummmm. made the house smell so good today.

and this is the amount of tender turkey that fell off the
carcass. isnt it incredible? I think it's enough to make
turkey enchiladas and have some good amount of
turkey in some turkey soup this week.
thanks, Mom, you're the best. I'd like to have the
carcass every year, if no one minds?

a few things i picked up at my local
Salvation Army on Black Friday...
I'll post a new pic of the update projects
in just a few days. All projects should be
done by the end of the week...wish me luck
:)

A 2.2 mile walk

We can do this....

we walked to what will be the kids new school in a few weeks, to see if

we could really do it. It was fun, and the kids did great. there were no

fights, and no whining.

Good Job, guys.

On the way home, we all found a big walking stick...

My kids prove that there's nothing better than that...

Thanksgiving Hike...

On Friday, we took our kids to the park, and there are some huge rocks you can hike up to...the boys asked to go up the hill, so we obliged. it was so fun. I got to hold Toby's hand all the way up, and Ry got to hold Toby all the way down....

the view was beautiful, and the kids had a great time. Dusty would have stayed up there all day if we would have let him...
















I asked Dusty after the picture,
"What's up? Why you throwing signs?"
It's so funny...where do kids pick up these things.
Ry and I have never thrown signs...ever...except
maybe an "I love you" sign...now that I just
looked at the blown up version...he's just
doing thumbs up...kids are so fun.

My OFF TRACK ANGELS...lol

My off track ANGELS...cuddled up on my bed.
watching pink panther on (our fav...HULU)
then not two seconds later................................

we have the REAL off track ANGELS...

being as silly as ever, funny faces, trying to

annoy each other and Toby giggling the

WHOLE time.

gotta love being off track.

Toby's sleigh ride...lol

so while at Disneyland on Friday (we went with

some friends, so fun, my kids had a blast) the

big kids went on Thunder Mountain, and since Toby is

about 1/4 inch too short we had to find something

else to do. SANTA....I thought. When I saw the wait

I changed my mind, and we sat on Santa's sleigh

then went back to check the kids on the "Big Train".

He was so cute and patient while the big kids went

on rides that he couldn't go on.

Christmas pics ROCK!

Ry and I took the kids to this little rock formation in our complex. a lot of the

rocks, unfortunately have grafitti, but i was still able to squeeze out some

pretty ROCKIN' pictures, if I do say so myself.

Here's just one to prove it to ya...I can't post any more, cuz I can't decide

which one is the ONE for our Christmas cards...

leave a post, if you want a christmas card sent your way...

I'll do what I can...and let you know if I don't have your addy.

only 44 DAYS left til Christmas. Are you Ready??

We're Moving....Yay!

It's been quite the week this last week, and previous, I guess...trying to make a decision and do the whole "prepare to move" stuff.

But, it's official.

WE'RE BACK IN CORONA! Yay!

so stay tuned for cute pics...

Here's proof that we're looking into storage solutions

for everything including our Food Storage.

Anyone need any wheat?

Impromtu visit at Aunt Jo and Uncle Scott's

we had a quick trip out to Cat City this weekend.

unplanned, but had a blast.

the kids swam, ate and drank all the days long,

played with playdoh, read books, watched a little

TV, all while the grown ups visited and watched

Football. we had a blast, and are so glad to have

seen Jo and Scott. Thanks for the great weekend,

guys!

Fall is here!

It's official! Fall has arrived!

in all it's cool weather glory.

Just loving the change of weather.

yay for California's other season...Fall.

(we only have 2, summer and fall)

Brynne the Bride...hahaha!

Long story short, after seeing her Aunt Jo this weekend, Jo gave her

her wedding dress, which is I think about 25 years old, or so.

Brynne is having so much fun dressing up in it. She'll put it on, and

brush her hair for 10 minutes and then stand in her bedroom

watching tv or playing her bells. it's so cute how much she still likes to

play dress up. I think that's something that a girl just never outgrows.

love you, bug a boo.

Bug a Boo is 10!

on the train at Disneyland. we had such a great
time...no lines.






















striking a pose. looks like just right out of the
80's right? so cute...

opening up her presents. She's been

asking for heely's for 2 years, since

she grew out of her last pair.

She was excited to finally get them.

Happy Birthday, Bug. Love You!

we went camping for Labor day down to San Onofre

SB...and had such a great time. This is my fav

pic of the kids. they were saying "CAMPING!"