Eric, Courtney, Ty, Mason & Luke

Disneyland!

2012-02-17T12:00:00.000-08:00

I took the day off yesterday and surprised the boys with a trip to Disneyland. Julie joined us and it was such a great day! It's so nice that they are at the age where we can just load them in the car and go. And what made it even nicer is that they were great to each other too. (most of the time)

A stop for treats.

Testing out their strength in Mickey ToonTown.

The classic jungle cruise. I know it's blurry, but I love the his cheek and the sun coming thru the trees.

My mini Chip-n-Dales. Mason asked them if they were twins, 'cuz we're twins too' he added.

Our glasses at the new 3D Star Tours ride, my very favorite!!

The two cutest ewoks ever. Thanks J for the tickets and the great day with my boys!! The whole day truly made my heart happy.

Biking & Skating

2012-02-14T07:49:00.000-08:00

On Saturday the boys and I biked down to drop Ty off with his after school group to do the 5.4 mile Tour de Palm Springs. He was so excited and proud that he did so well. He had a great time and after I picked him up it was straight to DHS for his last soccer game of the season. Just in time since baseball practice started on Sunday. Eric also rode in the Tour, he did the 65 mile on his new road bike and had a blast. He claims the 100 mile is next.

After the game on Saturday the boys came home to a surprise gift package from Emily & Iven, they were so excited!!!

They spent the next few hours coloring.

Sunday it was off to the Ice Castle in Cathedral City for Peyton's 10th birthday party. It was fun, and chilly!!!

Mace really enjoyed the blue cake.

Peyton and Ty went 56 laps...as fast as they could, Ty's pretty good for only skating 3 times ever.

Luke and Mace got a bit more adventurous this time and really had fun, they can't wait until next time!!!

Ty, Yummy and my shadow.

2012-02-06T20:54:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mention how excited Luke and Mace were about the science project. So proud of their big brother, they even drew their own fish pictures to include...now if I can only save that enthusiasm for when they are in 3rd grade...

Ty had 2 soccer games in DHS on Saturday. It was a beautiful day and the kids has so much fun at Coach Mike's house in between games, lost both games but going into the last game of the season this coming weekend with optimism. I still can't get over the background with I take pictures and see the beautiful mountains in the background, I really do love where I live.

Luke did a photo shoot with Mason of Yummy Baby and Fetch when he stole my camera. He LOVES that baby of his. I washed Yummy this weekend and Luke dissolved into tears, he hates his Yummy 'yucky' and I like his 'Yucky' to be yummy, we'll never agree on this one. (Does it look like my floors are that dirty? Sorry. I think it's just the pavers.....right....)

Luke and Mace can always amuse each other, on Sunday morning they got out the craft box and made themselves headbands with feathers, Mason made one for Sledder and Luke made Fetcher a mask. Cute boys and hours of entertainment for them making them and playing in their room, twins really are a built in best friend.

Ty had a track meet at school on Wednesday. He qualified for the 400 meter. He got ready in the morning with eggs (dad told him they would make him go faster), a tank top and mohawk for aerodynamics and a really big ego. That's my boy.

He really impressed me by coming in 3rd out of 9 for the 3rd grade boys. He looked like a runner to me. And super grown up...***sigh***

And this is what I see when I leave home every morning, a fluffy, 11 year old love sleeping on my side of the bed, my shadow, she is my scotch tape, I stumble over her at every turn but I wouldn't trade her for anything!!!! I do love my baby girl Cali. Anyone want to Cali/house-sit for 10 days in June?????

Keeping busy & Boxing

2012-01-30T07:48:00.000-08:00

THe aftermath of Ty's first experience boxing.

Ty had been bugging Eric for weeks about boxing, so they finally went to check it out. Ty loved it but it's a big time commitment, we'll see if he still wants to do it after baseball season.

Our (Ty's) science project. We tested the rate that a goldfish breathes in different temperatures of water. We called it 'One fish two fish hot fish cold fish' although we should have called it 'One fish two fish three fish dead fish'. We picked up some replacements the night before the presentation.

And we (Ty) got 2nd place!!!!

Another typical night at Fisherman's Market.

On Sunday Julie and I took the boys out to the Empire Polo grounds for some wine tasting, croquet and bocce ball. It was a beautiful day and so much fun, can't wait to go back to see some actual polo!

What's up....

2012-01-23T21:04:00.000-08:00

Ty's team over all tied for 2nd for the year and then went undefeated for the first two weeks of tournament on Saturday morning lost 2 games in a row, 3rd place for the year and they go to area on Fed 4th, still more soccer for us!!

Saturday night my good friend Courtney had a housewarming/40th birthday party with her boyfriend Ryan. I have to say, one of the best parties I have been too....taco truck, beer truck and tons of fun people. The theme was fuzzy and buzzy.

D, me & Court

My bookends, D & Sanya,

And the next day Tash and I took the kids to the streetfair in Palm Desert, the park and then on to Court's to pick up my car.

We decided to stay for a few hours and help finish the party supplies. Lucky that I brought a bottle of clamato with me....kinda like lunch.

The kids had a blast, played foosball and Ryan broke out the bobcat, first giving Ty an awesome lesson, letting him drive & dig. Then on to Zach and all the little one wanted a try too. He was so patient and they loved every minute of it.

Mason's turn.

The awesome chainsaw from one of the cakes, Ryan let Ty take it home, nice.

Luke and a bobcat. An awesome weekend with fantastic people. Have to say Court and Ryan are two of the most fun and sweetest people ever, great to have great friends like them.

Sunny California

2012-01-05T09:27:00.000-08:00

Over break we did lots of outdoors activities, enjoying all the sunshine and warm weather we could. Eric and I took Luke and Mace to the Indian Canyons the day after Christmas for a hike while Ty was enjoying Carlsbad with Roman.

My little billy goats.

The day before Christmas Eric, Jon, Ty and Julie went to Thermal to hike the Ladder Canyons. One of my favorite hikes.

Ty loves the ropes and ladders that connect the canyons.

Along the way they found some geocaches, this one was called 'Duck under'.

New Years day Eric and I took the boys to The Living Desert. Another beautiful day.

Safari Park and some riding

2012-01-01T15:55:00.000-08:00

I took the day off of work on Wednesday and took the boys to the San Diego Safari Park for the day. Julie joined us and it was a beautiful day.

Eric's buddy Jon visited from Minnesota the week before Christmas and they got to spend an afternoon riding.

Christmas-ing

2011-12-30T12:02:00.000-08:00

One of Ty and the new longboard he got for his birthday. A super cool webiste where he could design it himself. He loves it.

Our attempt at a gingerbread city. By the time Christmas rolled around it looked a bit sorry with all the candy slowly picked off, but the boys enjoyed every bite!

Annual Christmas dinner with the Posa's.

The kids enjoying their gifts, I love that we have been doing this since Zach and Ty's 1st Christmas and that we still do it 9 years later.

Tash had a little get together while her dad and his wife were visiting from England, had to squeeze in a picture of us!

Lukey

The boys wrote a note for Santa and left him a little gift. So sweet of them.

Look what Santa brought me!!!! LOVE!

Out of order, but Mason at Christmas Eve service at Desert Chapel. They could not wait for the candle lighting part of the ceremony.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and wish everyone and safe, happy and healthy New Year in 2012!!

The 9th Party

2011-12-13T18:50:00.000-08:00

On Saturday Ty had 6 boys and 2 girls over to celebrate his 9th birthday. So cute that he has some girls he wanted to invite, and they all played together so well! He wanted a movie party so we did dinner and the popcorn machine and watched Gremlins.

Willow, Ty, Nic & Lexi checking out the snake, Zeus.

Lego time, Ty loves them.

Singing to my boy.

And the hit of the party, the popcorn machine.

Festival of Lights Parade

2011-12-08T07:21:00.000-08:00

Saturday Eric and I loaded up Luke and Mace and went downtown for the annual Christmas Parade. Ethan had a big RV down there with plenty to eat and drink, a place to get warm and a bathroom, a perfect situation for all of us!

The kids got the best view sitting on the roof.

We all had a great time!!!

Ty was at a birthday party sleepover and missed out on the fun, and we missed him!

Tobin J

2011-12-03T08:52:00.000-08:00

Right before Thanksgiving we got the lovely treat of Jill and Jon coming to visit with the boy's newest cousin Tobin J. The boys were a little obsessed with him, constantly wanting to hold him, soothe him, snuggle him. I don't blame them, he is a cutie and I had to fight for my time to hold him!!

See....a little obsessive, had to be by him at all times and make sure he's ok.

Ty loved him just as much, so darn cute. I asked Ty if he wanted us to have another baby and without skipping a beat he said 'No, because there's a 50/50 chance it would be a girl and I'm not willing to take that risk'. Funny boy.

He loves his Uncle Jon.

Saying goodbye....

My little pilgrim.

Roman turned 9 on the 28th and Ty was a little bummed that the week went by so fast with them here....so on the morning of Roman's birthday the poor thing had an apendectomy (sp??) so they are still here and Ty's happy and Roman's doing great. I did find Ty crying in his bedroom Sunday night because Roman was in the hospital and he was sad Roman was hurt and sad that Roman would be going back to Carlsbad soon, he loves his Roman!!!

Today I'm loving this face

2011-11-27T09:13:00.000-08:00

in my face, every morning at 6:30 am, I love the way he snuggles close to me, wraps his skinny arm around my neck and whispers in his little boy-ready to turn big boy deep voice 'I love you mommy'. And I love you Mace.

Jill & Patrick 11.19.11

2011-11-23T13:10:00.000-08:00

Last weekend Eric and I flew to Chicago for Jill's wedding and good times with some girls I love.

Eric, John, Gina, Katie, Jill, Bobby and Monkia having some fun after the rehersal dinner.

The beautiful bride.

She looked amazing and lucky for me I got to see her before the wedding so I could get my tears out of the way!

My college Besties.

It was a fantastic weekend with the greatest company I could have asked for. Can't wait to do it again in May for Monika & Bobby!!

Catalina Island

2011-11-09T07:28:00.000-08:00

On Sunday we took the Catalina Flyer from Newport Beach to Catalina Island for the day. What started out a dreary day in Newport turned out to be a beautiful day on the island. We went geocaching and found 4 on the island. Ty got 2, I got 1 and Luke was very proud of finding his first one.

The boat took 75 minutes and was super choppy on the way over, we are very lucky no one in our family gets sea sick!!

Very few cars on Catalina, most people get around in golf carts.

We rented a golf cart for an hour and made a big loop around Avalon. The kids loved it!

Geocache #3.

A perfect day.

A few more and some camping.

2011-11-04T07:56:00.000-07:00

Mason got his groove on at Niko's.

Mason showing off his treats, lots of bowls of candy laying around our house these days, not good on the willpower.

The weekend the girls came to visit Eric and Ty went camping with about 25 others out by the Chocolate Mountains. Eric took the dirt bikes and Ty had a blast riding around and 'getting air'. Good thing I was not around to witness that.....

Eric's good friend Bryce came out and joined in the fun, always good to see him!!

Eric and Zolt in their cool riding get-ups.

A fun weekend for everyone!!!

A Halloween Party

2011-10-30T16:52:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Niko put together our 2nd annual Halloween block party. We invite all the neighbors and our friends for an afternoon of fun, games and costumes. Mine were a swamp monster, Scream & a navy seal.

Roman, Ty and Super Mario Peyton.

I got into creative mode and made mummy fingers.

The monkeys...

The required pic of Vern & Me.

The kids getting ready to eat the donut on the string, by far the funniest game I have ever seen!!

Cute mother daughter costumes.

Thanks Niko for hosting another great Halloween party!! And for coming home for the weekend and giving us our dose of Niko, Kerri, Roman & EQ. Love you guys!!!

Jill's Weekend

2011-10-25T21:35:00.000-07:00

I was super lucky to have Jill, Kim & Monika fly out from Chicago for Jill's bachelorette party!!!! I had a little party on Friday night with my fave girls and fun stuff at my house and on to more fun at the Spa Casino for some dancing.

Court brought over some 'girl' party appropriate candy.

Vern broke out the mustaches...

And Jill got in the spirit!

A little dancing...

This one is out of order, Saturday we went to the boys soccer game, laid by the pool, watched a movie and went out for a yummy dinner at Lulu's.

A tasty shot...

Jill and Kim enjoying a treat after our hike on Sunday morning. Seriously one of the most fun weekends ever, these 3 girls were a blast and I enjoyed every minute!! Lots of good food, wine, a little exercise squeezed in there and tons of laughs. I can't wait until the wedding in November!!!

Bring on Soccer Season!!

2011-10-19T21:07:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the first game of the season and they looked so darn cute. Ty is on the Eagles and the twins are on the Gators. They got up at 6am asking when it was time to go to their game, so excited!!

Eric is coaching Luke & Mace's team, they love having daddy as their coach and it is so cute.

Santi tried to psyche the other team out, it worked, they ended up winning 10-1. And they were so modest.....'we winned them 10 to1' they told everyone they talked to after the game.

Luke running full steam ahead.

Ty is in U10 this year, they have goalies and much more organization. His team won their first game too.

Lots of sweaty boys after playing for an hour in 104 degrees.

That afternoon we went to the skate park for a professional exhibition. They love it there.

There was even a DJ.

Fun in the sun in Palm Springs!!1

On a side note, I did Zumba for about the 4th time tonight. Man, I am the most uncoordinated person out there....is it wrong I love it so much????

Cabo

2011-10-16T09:25:00.000-07:00

Two weeks ago Eric was lucky enough to get to go to Cabo with Kerri. The ultimate vacation with golfing, fishing and good people.

He caught a big Wahoo that ended up quite tasty on our dinner table!!

Eric's idea of heaven.

Oak Glen

2011-10-11T07:26:00.000-07:00

On Saturday Eric, Julie and I took the boys to Oak Glen for some fall fun. We picked strawberries, I was glad to see the boys had their Aunt Missy's work ethic with eat, eat, pick......they were so sweet and yummy and long gone by the time we made it back to the car.

I think Mason thought the perfect one would just magically appear without searching too hard.

Luke found the perfect resting place on Julie.

The boys enjoyed hard core 'boy' time rolling around in the grass tackling each other.

All in all, a fun family day in our beautiful sunny Cali.

Fun with my boys and another Baby!!!

2011-10-02T20:05:00.000-07:00

Last weekend Ty had a sleepover at my parents so Eric and I took the boys to sushi downtown, so fun and super yummy!!

They took the date seriously and got all dressed up on their own.

This weekend Tash and I took the kids to Big Bear for one night to get out of the heat.

Today we went to the new ice skating rink for Drew's 6th birthday party. The skating was a little sketchy at first but they all loved it and have asked quite a few times to go again.

The adults even got into it!!

And afterwards, super stylish with socks, flip fops and frozen toes. I was making fun of my look and glanced down and saw Tash had the same idea.

The birthday girl got to ride the Zambone.

And the most exciting news of the week, a new cousin for the boys!! Jill and Jon welcomed Tobin J Rossi on Thursday, September 29th. 5lbs, 11 oz, a little peanut and so cute. We can't wait to meet him!!

And then they were 6....

2011-09-19T21:46:00.000-07:00

My babies turned 6 on Sept 15th, I just can't believe how funny they are, smart, still want to snuggle me, happy and sweet at the right moments. They make us so complete in the way are both are, the same and yet different in the every way. We had a great thunderstorm last week and they ran out to catch the drops.

Watching TV and having a snack at the bar durning the rain.

My parents took them to Knotts Berry Farm for their special day. They are such lucky boys!

Birthday dinner complete with Cokes made with the real cane syrup from Mexico. They learned to love these at Zack and Jessi's this summer in Minnisota.

Ty's school was on TV for winning the Blue Ribbon award in their district. Ty made sure he DVR'd his part!!!

Skateboards from Emily & Iven, a huge hit!

The birthday treats for the party.

I had a luau for them and found the best stuff, including these candles. I think I had more fun planning and shopping for the party than they did at the party!!

Vern and Me, she came over early to make sure everything was ready and to help....and make sure the Mai Tai's tasted ok. What a great friend!!

My party girls.

Birthday boy Luke. We sang to both individually, they loved it!!!

The mess that was the present opening....

Tash brought us coozies. Like!!

And what's a party without a Shotski???

Sunday morning Eric went flying with Ethan.

One more of me and the birthday boy Mason!

The past 2 weekends and a baby!

2011-09-13T07:23:00.000-07:00

Labor Day weekend we headed down to Carlsbad to the beach, a much needed break in the midst of school starting and me starting a new job.

Luke did some writing for me, how sweet is he???

The neighbors all chipped in and had a great dinner together on Saturday night, so much fun!

Kerri and Eric took Ty and Roman go cart racing Sunday morning. Ty had no fear.

This is what Cali does all day.....

And the biggest news.....My sister Melissa and Jonathan had a baby girl on Sept 6th. Sydney Blair Benjamin, so super cute, I can't wait to meet her and squeeze those cheeks!!!

This past Saturday we celebrated Julie's birthday with dinner at Lulu's and then headed to Ace Hotel, such a cool spot.

And another one of my beautiful niece. Lots more to come I'm sure!

What's been going on...

2011-09-05T18:39:00.000-07:00

Since Ty has become obsessed with skateboarding lately, Eric got these two quarter pipes and rail on craig's list. Turns out they were a former student's so we promised to give them lots of use. And then we made sure our insurance was up to date....

I took my boys and Roman to the water park the week before school started. They loved it and were so good for me.

That night Roman and Zach joined my boys for a sleepover, always a summer fun activity!

Eric was out of town that weekend doing some of this. He calls it 'Providing for the family'.And then he made the boys some of this.

And they snapped up every last bite.

I took Luke and Mace for back to school haircuts and got this picture of the before and after side by side.

Ty on his first day of 3rd grade. He has a great teacher this year and most of his friends are in his class and that makes it much more fun for him. He makes me so proud with his grown up attitude and how smart he is!

The rest of the week in Chicago!

2011-08-19T08:21:00.000-07:00

Wednesday I went out to Wheaton to meet my sweet friend Sue and her boyfriend Tracy. We had a great time catching up at lunch and I really enjoyed meeting Tracy, they are good together. If only my boys had behaved a bit better.....

Next off to the Popcorn Shop where I would ride my bike to as a kid to get candy. We stocked up and got some of my fave corn and headed to the movies.

A short stop at a park in Glen Ellyn before the movies. It was such a beautiful day I wanted to spend more time outside.

That night we headed down to the beach after dinner and met my high school friend Cherie, her husband Brian and their 3 adorable kids!!!

Kennedy, cutest thing ever!!!

Me and Cher and our 6 kids. Ty and Davis became fast buds bonding over skateboarding and stuff.

Thursday morning my dad and I took the boys to Shedd Aquarium for some sea adventures.

I have always loved the Beluga whales.

The beautiful Buckingham Fountain.

Ty and I headed to the make up Cubs/Nationals game on a gorgeous Thursday afternoon.

4th row seats behind the visitors, could not have asked for better seats or better company!!! We had so much fun together, got lots of treats and stayed through to see the Cubs win and sing 'Go Cubs Go'. I love Wrigley.

Ty wanted to take the 'L' home from the game and the station was packed so we stopped for a quick drink.

Friday we met up with Cher and her family again for a trip to the skatepark. It never gets boring for boys who love to skate.

And when I say fast buddies, like Davis wanting Ty to come spend the weekend and Ty asking if Davis can come live with us for 2 months.

Kennedy had some fun bashing up the big kids and the little boys and Lucy played patiently waiting for them to skate it up.

Friday we met Jill, her nephew Jake and Monika at Lincoln Park Zoo.

What a great week!!! And even better, we get to go back in November for Jill's wedding!!! Can't wait!

Sweet Home Chicago (part 1...)

2011-08-15T21:49:00.000-07:00

Last week I spent 6 wonderful days in Chicago with my family and my parents at the place they rented in Chicago. I had not been back for about 5 years and it was wonderful!!!! The place my parents rented was right on Lake Shore Drive with a great view and perfect distance from the beaches.

The rooftop view. We got to see the Navy Pier fireworks on Saturday and Wednesday, amazing!!

North Ave Beach.

Jumping in!!!

Sunday we went to Jill's in Tinley Park to see all my girls, a perfect day with friends I miss every day and am lucky to have. Jill got engaged the night before so that made it extra special for all of us to be together!!

Me and my college roomie, Monika.

Me and my girls, love them so much!!!

Mason on Navy Pier enjoying his first Cheezeborger from the Billy Goat.

The boys and the P's at the pier.

Monday we went to Wrigley for a game, great time at dinner and onto the game to walk in and....cancelled due to rain!! (Ty and I made up for it later on in the week!)

View of my Fave city from the water.

Eric at Oak Street, fun with a beer and some ceviche.

More to come....

The last of Minnesota...

2011-08-11T05:57:00.000-07:00

My big fisherman up at the cabin.

Grandma took the boys to a cool park called chutes and ladders.

Ty and Will did a skate camp the last week of their trip. Ty is now obsessed with skateboarding, skinny jeans, skate tees...even more so than before, kinda cute!!

Two very sweaty boys after the park!

Playing at the Rose's house with Nadja. I think she held her own with this crew.

Luke at the Minneapolis airport doing his best Viking impression, pretty good I think!

Next up... CHICAGO!!!!

More Minnesota & other things!!

2011-07-29T18:27:00.000-07:00

I can't believe I didn't put this picture up!!! And it's a good family one, these don't come around too often & I love it!! This was at Mall of America.

Jake built a climbing wall in Will's room, the boys took full advantage!!

Eric and I on the day we rented bikes and rode around the lake, so much fun!

The boys and grandma up at her cabin.

All 3, tubing together. I'm so glad they get to experience the Midwest summer.

How cute is Mace???

Feeding the ducks at sunset, this is going to be blown up and framed!!

My karate kids. Eric and Zack spent the day cutting down trees up at the cabin and the kids found a way to enjoy their work.

Eric and Zack went up to Grandma Nelly's cabin in Walker Minn for some big boy fishing and fun.

The day I flew home (by myself!!) Kerri, Niko and Roman picked me up and we headed to Del Mar Race Track. It's on the way home.....

Love them!!!

When Eric came home from Alaska we did the Seaport Village thing again. Boys love the street performers!

Alone for 2 weeks! Had a fun night out with my girls Court, Sanya and Devona. Bob joined us and I got some good pics.

Minnesota Summer Fun

2011-07-26T06:58:00.000-07:00

Last week was my Minnesota week. It was super hot but we managed to have the best vacation yet!! Ty and Will did a lego camp and Luke and Mace did Star Wars camp for a few hours in the morning so Eric and I got to get in some good exercise each morning and act like tourists. Thursday afternoon was beach day at Lake Calhoun.

Before the twins and I got there Grandmas took the boys to the zoo.

Of course we made a trip to Mall of America and the Nikolodeon amusement park.

Eric and I did stand up paddleboarding one day at Lake of the Isles.

We had one great date night with Jake and Kari while the boys had a date with Grandma. We ate at Bar La Grasa in Minneapolis and the food was amazing, as well as the wine Jake brought.

Friday afternoon was spent at the pool.

Friday night Jake and Kari hosted a party and lots of Eric's high school friends came, it's always great to see them and now some have kids which is so fun to see! This is Mason and Archer.

Mace, Chad, Archer & Eric

Jake making killer pizzas on the grill.

Eric setting up safe kid activities, with the help of Chad. Uh oh.

Eric, Jeff, Chad & Zack.

Biba, Nadja & Jeff.

Me with Kari & Jessi, those girls always make my trip extra fun!!!

Saturday was a little rainy so we went to a place called Sky Zone. A huge indoor area with about 200 trampolines. I think my boys enjoyed it...

Saturday night we took the boys down to the lake to play at the park and for dinner at Tin Fish. It was a fun night and afterwards we headed to Zack and Jessi's for some more fun for us!!

I love this one of me & Mace, had to squeeze it in.

A wonderful week, an amazing family and great friends. We are lucky. Thanks to everyone who made it so special!!!

Alaska!!!

2011-07-19T19:38:00.000-07:00

Eric went to visit Rob for 10 days in Alaska to do some fishing and having some fun. He enjoyed every day, fishing or beer tasting!

Bonfire on 3rd of July.

He had an amazing time, bonfires, fishing, beer tasting, crab racing....Alaska is Awesome!!!

Guess where we went??

2011-07-12T07:33:00.000-07:00

Saturday I took the boys down to the tidepools in Ocean Beach for some crab catching and a picnic by the beach. They never get sick of looking for crabs and a sunny day at the beach.

Watching the waves come in and splash our feet, we sat there for a while enjoying the view.

Saturday night Kerri, Niko and Roman came to our hotel downtown, we picked daddy up at the airport from Alaska and had a great dinner at the Fish Market.

A beautiful San Diego sunset.

What's a trip to downtown San Diego without a ride in a pedicab??

After we dropped Eric and Ty off at the airport in the morning to head to Minneapolis, Luke, Mace and I drove up to Carlsbad to hit the beach with Kerri for a few hours before coming home to the heat.

Last night we went to dinner at Yardhouse with my parents to celebrated my dad's birthday, always a good time with them. Happy Birthday Dad!!!!

Our 4th

2011-07-06T19:01:00.000-07:00

Carlsbad for the 4th! Just me and my boys with Kerri, Niko & Roman. Eric is in Alaska, pictures to come of that!

Of course had some beach time on Saturday, Ty is loving handstands lately.

Niko and I on a walk to the lagoon.

Kerri and the boys doing some fishing....or at least trying to fish!

Sunday night I took the boys to a movie in Oceanside and then we walked out on the pier, they loved watching the people fishing and the surfers close up.

On the 4th, back to the beach! Kerri got 2 beginner surfboards and the boys could not wait to try them out. Ty got rolled and decided he wasn't so excited anymore.

Kerri's neighbor Ulysses took both boys out to ride the board in, they loved every minute and looked so darn cute.

Playing some Bey Blades with the boys from the block.

Block party for the 4th on the Chinq. All the neighbors came out and grilled and hung out, it was so cool.

Last week Eric and I went for a date and ran into Troy, Niko and Beka at Wangs, always a good time!!!

San Diego County Fair

2011-06-28T06:56:00.000-07:00

On Saturday we took the boys to the fair in Del Mar. The weather was great, the boys were awesome and we had a great day!

Mason came out of this ride covering his eyes.

I still get a little queasy looking at this ride, the boys loved every minute.

Of course we got to feed the goats...

And pet the cows...the best part for Eric and I besides the look on the boys faces after rides was the people watching, good stuff.

Checking out the new hammock at Kerri and Niko's.

Lukey even got a little fish down by the lagoon.

Another amazing dinner by candlelight in the backyard at sunset. I don't think Carlsbad will ever get old to me.

And what would a weekend in Carlsbad be without a perfect day at the beach. 5 hours...I love that they love it, we could have been there longer!!

Ty getting ready to get tossed by some waves.

My besties.

On Sunday when Julie and I were about halfway home I realized I had Eric's car keys. So after work on Monday I headed back down to the beach, we made the most of it by going to dinner out on Oceanside Harbor.

Last Thursday, dad of the year taking the boys to Fisherman's.

And dad putting them to bed in Carlsbad Friday night, before I arrived, again, dad of the year!! Love you!

Lucky me!

2011-06-22T20:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I celebrated my 39th birthday with my boys. I am one lucky girl to have these boys to call my very own. We had dinner and then went downtown for ice cream.

On Saturday morning I took the boys and met Tash and her kids at Splashtopia at the Rancho Las Palmas Resort. Leslie was out visiting with her kids and we had so much fun, an added bonus that Sabrina works there!

Saturday night we had a party, part beginning-of-the-summer party, part birthday party. It was an added bonus having my dad there to help me celebrate. We missed having mom there too, she was in PA with her family. Uncle Cork passed away that morning and he will be very missed. She was glad she had been there for his last week and for Stacy.

As always, had to take some pics with my girls!!

Tash 'made' me a beautiful cake which Niko added some extra bunny love to.

The boys.

I got spoiled at work as well as by friends, again, lucky girl.

Cali turned 11 on Monday and the boys had to sing her happy birthday with treats dangling above her head. Not so sure that was fun for her, but we really love that girl!!!

Another weekend in Carlsbad and stuff.

2011-06-13T22:12:00.000-07:00

Date nite with Tash and Zolt, as always, so much fun!!!

And super yummy!!!

Ty got to go to Knotts with Eric and the 8th graders for a special day, he loves hanging out with Daddy and the big kids.

Tash and I did a road trip to Phoenix for a work trip, always worth it when she's involved!!!

Luke and Mace went to Auburn with Emily for 9 days, she came to visit and wanted to take them home, they went will bells on, they love their time with Emily and Iven and I miss them so much but know they are having the best time!

Auntie Jill and Jon have puppies and they spent some time with them so we kept getting the 'i want this puppy' text. Super cute but nope.

Happy boys...poor puppies!!

Eric celebrated the last day of school with the guys that he started out in 1998 teaching with. They are so fun and by the time I dropped them off my face hurt from laughing so much, love them!!!

And on Friday we went to my new favorite place, Carlsbad. We did some beach time on Saturday then took the Coaster down to the Padres game. Amazing time and so much fun with the big boys and great friends.

Yum!!!

Not enough to win but fun for us!

A perfect Sunday at the beach. I couldn't ask for more.

2 very happy boys. Love them!!

Our new fave place.....Carlsbad!!!

2011-06-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

We spent Memorial Day weekend at Kerri and Niko's new place in Carlsbad. A block from the beach, a block from the lagoon, perfect little house and great friends...what else do you need???

Saturday morning Eric and I took Luke and Mace to the LIttle Italy Mercado in downtown San Diego. Four blocks of food and even better, samples!! I was in heaven!

Later we met up with everyone else for some ride at Belmont Park, lunch at the Wave House in Mission Beach and even a little swim in the ocean, in their clothes.

THey all wanted a big ice cream, so I got them that while Eric took them to play at the beach.

They went all in, got freezing cold and still insisted on eating their cold treat. Looks like fun right???

Just in case you wondered where the best vacation photo is...

The house from the front.

An awesome seafood dinner out back.

Monday was a full day at the beach, a beautiful day.

Ty tried some boogie boarding.

Someone was a little pooped by the time we headed home.

A perfect family/friend/fun weekend!! I can't wait until next time!!!

On to Kindergarden!!!

2011-05-27T07:22:00.000-07:00

My babies are now in kindergarden!!! We had their end of the year show on Wednesday and the performed like champs. Luke's partner was Lola and Mason's was Marianna. They had do much fun and did so well remembering the dance. I guess I should start calling them my big boys :)

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!!

Our first Bar Mitzvah!!

2011-05-23T06:59:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning we headed to Temple Isaiah in Palm Springs to Chasen's Bar Mitzvah, a first for all of us. Ty was really good and patient (most of the time) thru the 2 1/2 hour service and then it was on to the party at Spencer's!!

Ty and the man of the hour.

Ty was in heaven sitting with all the 7th grade boys in the kids section. He followed the pack all day and had a blast, the boys were so good to him too!

After lunch the DJ started with hoola hoop contest, dancing, a limbo contest and glasses for the 'kids'.

Ty and his buddies.

Ty won a prize in the limbo contest!

After a short time at home after the Bar Mitzvah, we headed down to the park for Ty's end of the year baseball party.

Jody did a great job planning and we all had fun with a kid vs. parent game. I think the kids won!

Rich added to the neighborhood toys.

Thursday we went to Fisherman's for dinner and we had to send one last picture to my parents as they were at the airport headed for Russia for 3 weeks.

Weekend Fun!!

2011-05-18T07:29:00.000-07:00

We went with the Posa's on Thursday night to the PSHS baseball game at the stadium, we always love watching Joey play!

Friday night we went to Kobe's with my parents.

The boys loved feeding the fish,

the flames, food & of course

my parents!! It was such a fun dinner!

Saturday was hot so the boys broke out the slip-n-slide.

Bryce, Jackie and Odin came out to visit which was so great, they are so fun to be around and laid back.

The boys had some fun in the jumpy Sunday morning while the big boys recovered from the night before...

We went downtown for a walk around and some lunch and lots of wishes in the fountains.

I took Ty and Roman to school at 5:50am this morning for a field trip to Sea World, they were up and ready to go!!!

And this was waiting for me in my bed when I got home.....and awesome start to a Wednesday!!

What's been going on...

2011-05-11T07:13:00.000-07:00

The best Mother's day yet!! Ty got up at 7 and started making me breakfast....I managed to get him to go back to bed until 8:30 when they all got up and made me breakfast in bed and cleaned the kitchen. It was a great day and they really spoiled me. I am a lucky girl to have these sweet boys.

Girls Champagne Day happened again, back at Vern's this time with a fantastic day of great friends and champagne.

Ty got some new gel for his mohawk, so good it even works when wet!

My dad and Luke sharing a toast on Easter.

Luke and Mace enjoying Paul's climbing wall at the street fair in Palm Springs.

A little Cinco de Mayo treat at Armando's!!

Flowers and wine from my fabulous guys at work!!

Ty and his bestie Roman with their matching mohawks!

Ty and Roman in Carlsbad on Sunday. We can't wait to spend more time down there!

Luke has had his 'baby' since he was a baby and he calls it his

'yummy baby', however, I call it 'yucky baby' because he sleeps with it every night and drags it everywhere. I finally convinced him that yummy needed a bath. He agreed then spend the entire time he was in the wash crying and watching him. When he was all clean and dried I gave him back and he told me yummy was now yucky. Funny Lukey.

Look at this!!!

2011-04-27T22:33:00.000-07:00

Random stuff from the past few weeks... Mason ripped his two bottom teeth out pulling a toy out of the sand at school, took a day for us to hear the whole story....but he was happy when the tooth fairy came!

My sister is having a girl!!!! Huge news! The first granddaughter and sure to be spoiled! Bring on the pink!! She sent me flowers from my niece to tell me, too cute.

Ty has been pitching like a pro, love it and his excitement, his games are so much fun.

Daddy brought home a new 'toy' for the twins...

Luke took a ride in the back yard and ended up 2 feet from the pool, not my favorite new toy. But they love it!

This is what my dog does when I leave to go to work. Is she mocking me????

Carlsbad

2011-04-21T07:21:00.000-07:00

While daddy was away climbing, I took the boys to Carlsbad/Oceanside with Kerri, Niko and Roman. We had dinner by the harbor at Rockin Baja Lobster, yummy food and margaritas while checking out the boats and awesome sunset.

The weather could not have been better and in the morning Kerri and I took the twins to get coffee then we all went to breakfast than back for a day at the beach. The boys had a blast digging and we had some fun relaxing.

On the way home we made a stop at Stone Brewery in Escondido. A favorite spot of mine!!

Mt San Jacinto, steepest climb over 9000 feet in North America

2011-04-18T21:34:00.000-07:00

17.5 miles, 21 hours, 10,834 feet. Eric finally did the climb he's been training for with Paul. The pictures are out of order...

Dawn, day 2, Eric still sleeping!

Chalkstone/waterfall. 5500 feet, just below the snowline.

Day 2, breakout the ice axe at 6500 feet.

Photo break.

Just about to summitt.

They did it!!!!

Day 1, a long way to go.

The start.

San Jacinto

Striking a pose.

Still working on his pose.

Ice axe photo op.

Lunch break at 8000 feet, day 2. So proud that he did it and had a great time. A few blisters and a very sore body but came home in one piece. Did he love it? Yes. Will he do it again? Nope.

Easter Party .....Year 6

2011-04-12T19:18:00.000-07:00

Another Easter Party and another super fun day! The kids had such a great time doing the egg hunt, games and just playing with each other. This is them waiting for Eric to give them the go ahead for the race.....

3 flights of sack races. We had to re-do this race since Nic lost a tooth mid race!

Luke, Quinn, Amelia and Mace. Not that great but I wanted to get some pictures of Tasha's England family in there.

The food, demolished at the end of the night!

My girls...Vern & Tash.

Tash and her brother Justin. They come out every few year from England to visit, hopefully soon for good!!!

Me, Zolt and Beka, I love my friends!!!

Ty and Grace. He's not into girls at all but before the party I told him he needs to shower and he wasn't having any of it...until Mace mentioned Grace was going to be here...then he ran full force to get cleaned up. Gotta love those English girls, I think I know someone else who may be happy if they move here!!!

Niko and her cuter than cute friend John. All in all, another wonderful party make perfect with our friends!!!

Family Weekend in San Diego!!

2011-04-03T16:20:00.000-07:00

We got to escape the heat and go check out San Diego the last day of Spring Break. We hit up the Wild Animal Park in Escondido first since we have memberships. It is such a cool park, lots of open spaces and lots of stuff to keep kids entertained!

Then on to Downtown SD where we stayed at the Hyatt across the street from Seaport Village. Ty checked in with me and very sweetly asked for the highest room and we got it, 31st floor with views of SD, Coronado and the ocean. Lovely and not a cloud in the sky!!!

We had a great dinner at the Fish Market and the kids were wonderful, the kind of wonderful every parent wants and gets complimented by others around us!! Even the long day and 1/2 hour wait didn't make them crabby!!!

Saturday morning we went to the Midway, the kids have been asking to do this every time we come down here so this time we did, although I wish we would have had my dad here to make things more interesting and answer some of the questions the kids had that we couldn't!! They loved every minute and hurried from exhibit to exhibit to check them all out. 2 hours was not enough for them!

Ty got into the Jr. Midway program listening to descriptions, trying things out and answering the questions.

Luke doing his Top Gun impressing and Eric looking super excited!!

They loved this part.

My Top Guns.

A favorite San Diego event for us, the pedi-cabs.

We ended Saturday night with a bbq at the Posa's with her brother and his family visiting from England. Hopefully I'll get more pics in the next few weeks of their adorable kids. This is 6 month old Daisy, she has learned very quickly where to hang out during a bbq!!! Labs are the smartest!!!

The Vegas, Family & Fish

2011-03-30T17:55:00.000-07:00

Last week I was lucky enough to go stay with my sister at the Wynn while she was working. We had a great time eating, gambling, and sampling wine (me, not a pregnant her), it was a great break for me!! Thanks Miss!

Over the weekend my dad's sister Jeanette was in visiting from Minnesota to celebrate her 80th birthday and his brother and sister in law Dale and Peggy were in from Denver. It was great to see them all together. We are lucky enough that Jeanette lives a few miles from Eric's mom in Bloomington, MN so we get to see her every summer.

Dale, Dad & Jeanette. I'm alway amazed when I see Dale how much he and my dad look alike!!

Eric took the boys to do some fishing at the club and finally caught the monster he's been after for years!!! I think his Minnesota friends referred to it as 'cheating'....

Lovely SoCal Bass!!!

What's going on with us.

2011-03-23T06:52:00.000-07:00

Luke lost his first tooth last week, with a little help from daddy and the pliers!!! Eric put the video on youtube, pretty funny with Ty doing the talking while Eric was pulling.

We took a wonderful family bike ride to see a Palm Springs High School baseball game, the park and frozen yogurt. I think the twins just about fell asleep on their bikes on the way home!!

I tool all 3 boys for haircuts on Sunday, they were all so overdue and they all wanted 'mohawks'.

A few weeks ago Eric and Julie did another tram hike, a different way up but with way more snow this time.

We took the boys to a crab/shrimp boil on Friday night, they love to eat their seafood!!!

Tash and I got to enjoy some Saturday afternoon wine tasting at Jensen's with Mike Grgrich. It was lovely.

As for me, off to Vegas for a few days with my sister!! WooHoo!!

(and Mason asked me to get him a cork gun, and if I can't find one, then he wants something that's really awesome, I have my work cut out for me!)

Cubs, champagne and more baseball

2011-03-16T07:21:00.000-07:00

My parents took Ty to AZ for a Cubs/Whitesox game last weekend. It's the second year they have taken him to spring training and it has turned out to be a special time with Mimi and Poppa.

Eric went to Vegas to visit with Tony so I had the girls and the kids over for a girls champagne day. We managed to have a blast, just like always!!!

The kids enjoyed the warm weather and each other.

They played some good card games with Julie, I love the ages they all are and how well they all get along.

Ty's second game. He has been alternating between catcher, pitcher and 3rd base. He has a pitching lesson tonight and he seems to be getting it down good so that makes it more exciting. He actually told me he doesn't like catching because he doesn't have arm pads and got hit in the arms last game. :(

My dad took this picture at the Cubs game. The Cubs were up 3-0 and the Sox scored 2 so he got a little anxious, my dad described it as sullen, but he was happy in the end since his Cubs won!!! A Chicago boy at heart!!!

We also went to go see Peyton play at Big Leagues, he is in a division above Ty and on the Cardinals.

My boys checking out his dugout...love that I have baseball and football fans!!!!

Baseball, Dinos and a Party!

2011-03-07T18:18:00.000-08:00

Baseball has officially started and Ty is on the Cardinals this year. Eric is coaching and Ty has already made some new friends. He's pitching this year so it should be fun!!

Ty and Roman at the opening day carnival waiting for their helicopter ride. I told the twins you had to be 7 to go....I just didn't want to go!

Last weekend we had a date night at Armida's birthday party and the Sickenberger's joined us in the festivites which involved a taco truck! Muy Bueno!!

Eric and I took the boys to the La Quinta museum to see the dinosaur exhibit. A small museum but super cool stuff for the kids to see and do.

The boys enjoyed the videos too!

And of course digging for fossils.

And the lovely park across the street on a beautiful day!!

My Sis and her Shorty's!

2011-03-01T19:54:00.000-08:00

Missy came to visit last week to work and she brought Ethan and Drew with her. The boys and I got to spend lots of time with them and enjoyed it so much.

We went to our neighbor's 6th birthday and played some army games.

Enjoyed some yummy army food and drink!

My army boy tried to eat a jug of cheese balls afterwards....

We got to have Ethan over for a sleepover one night and I think he had a lot of fun with the boys!

My mom and I took the 4 younger boys to the Living Desert for a beautiful morning.

They loved the trains and petting the lovely goats.

Mace always loves the giraffes!

2 very sleepy boys on the way home. Thanks Miss for the great visit!!!

Girls Day!!!

2011-02-22T18:47:00.000-08:00

Had my best girls and their kids over for some fun while Eric was away fishing....can't think of a better way to spend a sunny Saturday!!

We managed to entertain ourselves with the masks Zoe had made with her nanny....

The kids enjoyed the jacuzzi, the front yard with toys and playing a big boy vs. little kids & Julie soccer game in the back.

I even tried out the toys!!!

And what's a sunny day with the girls without some Champagne to liven things up?? I think that's the champagne talking....

Zoe decided to chill out in the sprinklers. (She is wearing a leotard!!!)

Snowboarding!!!!

2011-02-10T21:25:00.000-08:00

We took the boys snowboarding for the first time last weekend and it was so great!!! They did so good and were totally into it. Ty got to go up the lift twice with the (cute) instructor and even went off a jump, loved it!!! That kid had no fear.

Luke and Mace loved it too and held their own, wanted to do another lesson but were too sleepy to take another run.

New goggles and all.

Going up the lift.

We were there for almost 8 hours, so much fun, for all of us!!

Thanks Tash and Zolt for the cabin and Troy, Mindy, Niko and Kerri for all the fun!! What a wonderful weekend!!

Peyton's 9th birthday at the skatepark

2011-02-08T21:44:00.000-08:00

Peyton turned 9 and had his party at one of our favorite places, the Palm Springs skatepark. The kids love this place and where better to have a party??

Skaterade....

Ty chose Peyton's gifts, can you tell?

Two of my favorite peeps!

Can you see the hooligans in the background?? Where I went to high school we called that 'the pit'!

Thanks Mark and Vern for the great day!!! Pizza, cake, fun and all!!!

The climb before the climb...

2011-01-28T21:39:00.000-08:00

Two weeks ago Eric and Julie summited San Jacinto from the tram in snow shoes with 3 feet of snow...9 miles or something crazy like that...5 1/2 hours. Yikes!!! I admire that they did it, I know I couldn't!!!

Julie ended up sliding down this on her bootie, apparently very steep, more so than it seems on pictures.

Eric's training before he climbs the North face of San Jacinto in March, a crazy hike from snow creek in the desert off the 10 to the summit....

The Tram and a birthday party

2011-01-24T06:59:00.000-08:00

Eric and Kerri took Ty and Roman up to the tram in a bit of a snow storm. They loved every minute!!

Nic turned 6 last week and had a party to celebrate. The whole neighborhood was there to help!

Grandma's photos

2011-01-17T14:50:00.000-08:00

On Christmas day we all went hiking and Julie took this picture of all 14 of us.

Bowling fun!

Jake and his favorite quality beer. Nothing but the best for him!!!

New pool toy from Angel View!

Trying out the Christmas toys.

Our new jacuzzi got lots of use those two weeks everyone was here!!!

The Living Desert

2011-01-12T20:45:00.000-08:00

Grandma Karen was with us for one more weekend and she watched the boys all weekend while Eric and I got to spend the weekend away. I think everyone had a great time!

On Saturday she took them to the Living Desert which is one of their favorite places. They got to ride a camel, pet butterflies and goats, ride a tram and see all sorts of cool animals, all while getting spoiled by Grandma!!!

Thank you for the wonderful weekend Grandmas!!! Love-all 5 of us!!!

Family & NYE

2011-01-09T16:00:00.000-08:00

Karen bravely watched all 5 boys so the 6 of us could go out for a nice dinner. We had a great meal at Zin with yummy wine and the best company.

New Years Eve, Luke and Zoe sharing a toast.

My cooking skills came out with a lobster cocktail, turned out great!

The twins got tattoo guns for Christmas and the big kids had a blast tatting up their faces & arms!

More of the day

2011-01-01T16:38:00.000-08:00

We all went hiking at Indian Canyons. It was great to get out and enjoy the sunshine!

The water was flowing hard from all the recent rains so Eric & Jake took turns carrying us all across..... numerous times!

Kerri and Niko gave us our very own shotski for Christmas!

Jon taught Luke the rules of golf and humble pie.

A house full of fun!!!

2010-12-27T17:12:00.000-08:00

Christmas morning came with all 14 of us unwrapping gifts, grandkids all in matching jammies and a super fun day.

Jon loves scrabble and got the Russian edition.

Cali even got some cool gifts!

The boys got into some riding and Julia has decided she wants a dirt bike. My kid loves to tear it up...scares me silly.

A little Christmas Eve beer pong.

Leaving the reindeer food out. Mason wanted a trail to his bedroom so they could come lick his face.

Wonder where the finger mustache idea came from??? Finger puppets too!

3rd visit to the emergency room in 2 weeks. First Ty, then Will with what they thought was strep coming back then on my watch on Thursday (all the visitors went to the street fair in Palm Springs and Eric and I kept the 5 boys at home) Nate ran into our coffee table with his face (actually he and Luke were fighting over a pillow and Nate lost.....) One tooth thru the lip, a very torn up inner lip and one stitch on the outside and he was all better!!! At least I'm up on the other sister in law....she had to take Will for 11 stitches when Jake & Kari were in Italy!!!

Last day of Soccer and visitors

2010-12-24T15:25:00.000-08:00

Luke and Mace finished out their first season of soccer a success. They loved it and had so much fun!!

Ty also had a great time and a great team.

The boys cousins are here from Minnesota and we have been having fun playing games and I have been corrupting them with annoying orange on youtube.

Our friend Jon and his girlfriend Melissa came to visit for a few days and Jon gave Lukey some soccer tips.

Having dinner on the first night with all 14 of us.

Eric took the big boys on a hike in a break from the rainy weather we had been having.

We (successfully I hope) took family pics with all 14 of us out at Indian Canyons Golf Course.

Last night we got to ride an old school fire truck down Candy Cane lane. I think everyone really enjoyed it, the adults as much as the kids!

Another break from the rain, some basketball. I think it is safe to say we are all pretty happy the rain has stopped!!!

Ty's Skatepark 8th Birthday Party

2010-12-18T08:01:00.000-08:00

This year Ty chose the Palm Springs skatepark as the location of his party. It turned out to be a beautiful day and the kids had to much fun. It was nice spending the outside.

Even the parents got in on the fun trying out their moves.

Some moves a little different than others...

I got some Christmas crafts at Michael's for the smaller kids.

Zoe & Mace

Drew finding a good spot to eat her cake.

Lukey learned how to tic tac and kept wanting to show off his new skills.

I used all of my crafty skills and made a skateboard cake complete with chocolate donut wheels and lots of candy decorations.

Ty and ZachyZolt got Ty a really cool knife at Big 5, Ty has been asking for one and after 5 boundary waters trips we thought it was ok for him to have his own. Unfortunately, a few hours later Ty and Eric were in the emergency room with 4 stitches for Ty. He was a brave one, no tears but super upset with himself for not being more careful. All in all, a super fun birthday!!!

The week....

2010-12-12T08:45:00.000-08:00

Ty got math student of the month on Friday, so excited for him. He's doing so well this year and we are so proud!

Roman had a super cool Star Wars birthday party complete with Jedi training.

I attempted Christmas photos, just ended up using ones from the year...

Our neighborhood had a surprise birthday party for Shirley.

They boys helped me decorate the tree.

We got a gingerbread house from a woman I work with and they had so much fun decorating it (and eating the decorations along the way!)

The complete project.

My parents came over to celebrate Christmas and Ty's birthday and we had a great time opening gifts and had a great dinner!!

Ty and Dean, together at 8 years old. Today I am having a skateboarding party for them at the skate park. I have a photo of them at 2 days and 12 days old sitting next to each other...I'll have to put that one up too!

November

2010-12-04T16:17:00.000-08:00

Ty had his team pictures and is continuing to enjoy soccer. He has a great group of kids on his team and he is really getting into it this year.

Daddy took his 3 boys up to the tram one more time before the snow hit, they always love the tram!

We went camping in the Chocolate Mountains with about 40 people mid November and had so much fun. It's the middle of no where and the kids love exploring, staying up late and getting dirty!

Emily and Iven came to visit for Thanksgiving and Luke right away assumed his position of being Iven's scotch tape. He loves Iven!!

We went to my parent's for the day and had some great food and better company. The desert is so pretty this time of year.

Eric's main job during camping is giving the kids jeep rides, again and again and again!!

A Halloween Par-Tay

2010-11-05T07:39:00.000-07:00

This year we had a halloween block party and it turned out great!!! Niko did a great job putting everything together and everyone contributed. The kids had so much and I think the adults did too!!

Tash organized a donut eating contest, big kids on one side, little ones on the other, it was so funny!

Most of the kids, loved the sniper in the middle.

Our wonderful block!!

Eric even brought out Cali's Vikings jersey!

Elvis & my Galactic Space Defender. Thanks Niko & Jill for his costume, he loved it!!!

You gotta love it when you can still fit in your high school cheerleading outfit!! Go Tahacapi!!!

Getting ready for trick or treating!!

Phoenix!!!

2010-10-28T22:11:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we had the great opportunity to join my sister and her family at an awesome resort in Phoenix. It had a waterslide, lazy river, putt-putt golf and tons of sports. Perfect for our boys.

The boys loved the waterslide and kept getting in trouble for going head first...

Ty hit if off with his youngest cousin Drew and loved taking care of him and being in charge. Drew loved him just as much.

Missy's boys are too cute and we had so much fun with them.

Mimi brought the face paint and they all got to pick their faces, Luke a spider, Mace a bat and Ty....well....looks a little nacho libre to be but he added the fake blood..thanks Mimi for the fun!

Drew kin of resembled a drunk clown when we got done trying to wash him up.

Friday night I told Ty I would give him 5 dollars to keep Drew happy at dinner and occupied. He did such a great job. So Saturday night he asked for his 5 for that night and I asked him if he was doing it for the money (he's saving up for a DSi since we won't buy him one) or because he enjoyed it...he was honest. He said both. I think he really enjoyed it!!!

Monday night we carved pumpkins. The loved scooping out the insides and helping me cook the seeds.

More soccer and a beautiful wedding!!!

2010-10-21T19:18:00.000-07:00

Game #2, they still love it as much as the first game. They get goofy and play their hearts out. They lost this week but claimed they really all won because they all got ice cream.

Eric ended up coaching Ty's team and did a great job. I love that all of the coaches are so positive.

Saturday we went to Devona and Greg's wedding in PGA. It was beautiful and the home they had the reception at was amazing. I had such a great time with Eric and my girls.

Luke & Mace played next to Zoe this week so they got to hang out and the big boys chilled with ice cream on the bleachers.

Soccer & some basketball!

2010-10-18T07:31:00.000-07:00

Soccer started last weekend for all 3 boys. Ty is on the Diamondbacks and the twins play with two of their friends from school on the Galaxies.

This is Luke & Mace's first year and they loved it!! Every time Mason scored a goal he was quite vocal about it and proud of himself. The ear to ear grins are too cute. They especially loved snack time.

Saturday night we went to the see the Dallas Mavericks play the Phoenix Suns at the Indian Wells Tennis Gardens. We had lots of friends there so the kids were super entertained & loved it.

Ty and Peyton got exceptionally into it, calling out to the players & cheering like crazy.

Sunday Ty and I went on a shopping/lunch date and daddy took Luke & Mace up to the tram.

Chuck E Cheese & Drew

2010-10-12T07:22:00.000-07:00

Last weekend we got to help Drew celebrate her 5th birthday with a party at the ever popular Chuck E Cheese!!!

Super yummy pirate cupcakes from Clementine's in Palm Desert.

The boys were obsessed with touching Chuck's mouth, nose, anywhere on his face. Yuck.

Thanks for the great party Drew!!!

The Superhero Party!!!

2010-10-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

We had a super cool Superhero birthday party for Luke & Mason's 5th birthday. They had all their friends, a big stinky , a pinata as big as them and tons of fun!!!

Coolest pinata ever!!!

Jumpy and a slide...good job Daddy!!!

The morning after...

They told me it was their best birthday ever!! Makes me so happy!!!

Their Day!

2010-09-29T07:19:00.000-07:00

On their actual birthday we did their party at Kiddie Kollege. They got special crowns in their favorite colors...at least they have been consistent for the past 3 years!!! They got lots of cute gift from their friends and totally enjoyed being the center of attention. I stayed as they ate lunch and we had cupcakes afterwards. Too cute!

That night we had their special dinner they requested-steak, noodles & salad. They also waited patiently to open their gifts and they got lots more great stuff. And by the way, the Moon Dough is NOT great stuff....messy!!! I was not too sad when it got 'lost' after they left it out back the first night they played with it.

They got 'Iven' hats from Emily & Iven and had fun posing and asking us to take pictures and send them to Em and I to show them. They look so adorable in the hats and have been wearing them constantly.

I don't know where the finger thing came from, pretty sure we don't do that...

They also 'helped' me make brownies. I love that they love being in the kitchen just as much as I do.

Knott's Berry Farm!

2010-09-21T19:19:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday Niko and I took the boys to Knott's for the twins birthday. It was a beautiful day and the park was empty!! We got to go on so many rides and the rides we liked best we just stayed on and went again!Checking out the big roller coaster!Sunday we celebrated their birthday at my parents..they got lots of good stuff and my mom made them cupcakes and a great dinner!

Happy Birthday to my Darling Boys!!!

2010-09-15T10:42:00.000-07:00

My sweet boys turn 5 today!! So much fun, great sense of humor and best friends! More to come of the birthday week celebrations!

Big Bear & a night out

2010-09-12T15:34:00.000-07:00

Labor Day weekend I took the boys up to Tash & Zolt's cabin in Big Bear. It was a beautiful weekend up there and lots of our friends were there too. They guys rented a boat for the afternoon and took all 9 kids for a few hours. We could tell which boat was ours from far away...the one with all the orange!And while the daddy's were with the kids the mommies had some fun on the beach!!!Tash played a little tug of war with a guy 3 times her size...and won! It's all about the brains.Sunday morning Red & Ty lined up a bunch of cans and made good use of the bb guns. Ty's a pretty good shot already for 7 years old.Tash, Zolt, Beka and I took 7 kids to the alpine slide, I have never been before and it made me nervous for Ty to go by himself with his lack of fear. I made him go on the slow side and promise to not go too fast about 100 times.Labor day we hung out with the Sickenbergers at their new pool. The kids always enjoy hanging out with them so much, good thing we do too!Friday we went out to celebrate Julie's birthday. We started out at Tropical downtown and headed out to Agua later on to meet up with some friends. It was a very fun, very late night!!

Some Fun Stuff

2010-09-09T19:58:00.000-07:00

1st day of School, Ty in second grade at Katherine Finchy and Luke & Mace in Miss Suzy's Class at Kiddie Kollege. Mason has said for the past year that he won't learn how to ride a bike 'until my five' but he made it about a month early. We even biked to breakfast at Taco Asada last weekend, what a trooper!!!I got to have lunch with some of my fave girls-Vern, Tammy & Lisa at Mission Hills CC where Vern's husband Mark is Executive Chef. Two really big thumbs up!!! The five of us also went to the water park one day. Not the same for me when Eric is a bit out of commission with his knee jacked up. I realized I don't like water slides and being drenched so much.Ty and I got to hang out at the pool party at Agua Caliente a few weeks ago for their Friday night party, lots of friends and fun involved!!! Ty had a friend at summer camp that had a birthday...he wrote her a note and wrapped up a bracelet he had made for her. "Happy Birthday Emily. I like your funn (supposed to be funny) laugh. And you don't smell like my feet!" I can see where he gets his mad romance skills from.....I love that kid and his sense of humor!!!!!

More Auburn & Shaver

2010-09-06T15:14:00.000-07:00

In late July we went up to Auburn to visit Emily and Iven and ended up staying at Em's mom's place. A happy place for kids with raspberries to pick, chicken's to check for eggs and cute little pigs to feed. Auburn is part of the Placer County wine trail so we got to visit a few wineries Friday afternoon and then headed down to the Auburn fairgrounds for Fast Friday-dirt bike races without brakes-a classic Friday activity!!!Saturday we hung out by the American River. Thanks Em & I for a wonderful weekend! Heart you!We ended up leaving Luke & Mace with Emily & Iven for the week and I went home while Eric and Ty went back to Shaver lake for the weekend. Kerri and Eric had lots of fun exploring with the bikes to remote lakes and doing some fishing.

More Shaver Lake

2010-08-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

After the road trip of Eric, Luke & Mace we all met up in Shaver Lake again for some fun! Julie joined us and we went to the lake and enjoyed the beautiful weather. On Sunday the twins, Cali and I headed home for a few days only to come up again on Wednesday for another round of fun!Ty got to try out the motorcross but dad would only let him ride if he could get it started...much to his disappointment it started, but would not stay that way so he agreed to a ride with dad instead. I was happy about that even if he wasn't! At night Eric let them all do some sparklers in the driveway that he had picked up on the road trip.After I left they did lots of hiking and fishing, enjoying every minute!!!