Keeping Up With The Killmers

November 2011

2012-01-10T20:49:00.000-08:00

November was a very special month! Not just because of Thanksgiving, but our little girl was born and turned 4 this year!! I was due on Thanksgiving with her (the 22nd), but she was 3 days late. Last year her birthday was on Thanksgiving, but this year it was on Black Friday! We had made a tradition the last couple of years to go to the beach for Thanksgiving, but this year we decided to stay home and plan a party for our sweet little girl! She wanted a Rapunzel birthday, so that's what she got! Aunt Amanda did her cake and it turned out amazing!

Of course, the day of the party it was SUPER cold!!! And we were having her party at the park! I ended up going home and getting a bunch of blankets. The kids had a blast regardless, but the grandmas were pretty cold! :o)

She was like this the whole time!!

This little girl has been the most difficult thing I have EVER had to deal with!! She is so stubborn and can be mean at times. She gets something in her head and HAS to follow through! She is a little on the daring side and will eat just about anything (especially if it's not edible!) She has gotten into so many things that are dangerous and has done so many things that are dangerous and I've always said if she makes it to 5 it will be a miracle!! (One more year to go!) BUT, aside from all the challenges she brings, she is the sweetest, kindest, most sensitive little girl and she melts my heart daily! (When she's not raising my blood pressure!) I love her to death and wouldn't trade her for anything in the world! Happy Birthday my little 4 year old!!!

I also wanted to put this picture of all my parents grandkids. My dad LOVES "grandpa" shirts, so for Christmas this year, I bought shirts for all the kids and used iron on transfers in which order they came in, took their picture and put it on a shirt for my dad that read "Grandpa's Lucky Seven!!"

Starting with #1: Jordan, 8, Jarom, 6, Michael, 5, Aaron, 4, Emma, 4, Abby, 2, Brock, 7 months.

Disney On Ice & Halloween

2011-11-21T21:17:00.000-08:00

WE took the kids to see Disney On Ice Toy Story last month. We got a pretty good deal on tickets so we decided to go. The kids loved it! We went out to eat at Juicy Burger before for dinner then headed over. The funniest part was afterwards when we were walking to our car and there were some guys trying to sell light up products which included light up Minnie Mouse bow headbands of different colors and the guy was asking the kids "what's your favorite color?" Of course, Emma said "my favorite color is pink!" and walked over to the guy. When we told her we weren't buying her one (especially after spending way too much money inside!) she started to cry! Poor deprived little girl! ;o)

This year for Halloween the kids dressed up as Captain America, Rapunzel & Mickey Mouse (not pictured!) Usually when the Costco costumes come out (2 months before Halloween!) we buy one. For some reason Michael wanted to be Captain America. It was the ONLY one left when we went to pick one out. He originally picked spiderman, but as we were looking at all the others, he pointed to this one (which we didn't see) and said he wanted it! We told him that they didn't have a Captain America, and after a brief back and forth argument, we saw it buried amongst the others! Weird! Emma choose Ariel, but when we got the costume home, we found a tear in it. When we took it back, she changed her mind to Rapunzel. I bought Brock's costume back in July when we went to the Disney Store in Valencia. I was afraid as it got closer that it wouldn't fit because he was so small, but it worked out okay and he looked so cute! I took pictures on my phone and I haven't downloaded them yet. Halloween day was pretty crazy for me! Ron went in to work early that morning, I got Michael up and to school, got Emma ready for preschool and took her, then went to Brocks Doctor's appointment where I found out he needed to see a GI specialist and that he had a hernia (sp?) and would need surgery! (More details on a later post!), After the appointment, I took our new van that we had just bought the Friday before back to the dealership because the A/C in the rear was only blowing out hot air! Of course, they needed to keep the car, but gave me a rental car to drive in the meantime. After getting that mess all sorted out, I picked up the kids from Amanda (who was awesome and picked up/took care of my kids for me while I ran around), went back to my house and got the kids dressed in their costumes, went to my moms work where they did some trick or treating, then it was off to Grandma & Grandpa Shmeesh's to show off the costumes. After that it was back to my parents house to help out with my dad's spooky house and go trick or treating! It was a busy day, but we survived!

THIRTY!!!

2011-10-30T22:51:00.000-07:00

This year was my BIG 3-0!! I had been telling Ron for the last 2 years that I wanted to go on a trip for my 30th. However, I had a baby that I'm nursing so it was either take him, pump, or don't go. I kept thinking of all the things we could do and thought maybe I could take a short trip and then a bigger one later. I was racking my brain, even though I didn't want to plan anything (I couldn't help myself!). I then started thinking that it might be fun to go to Disneyland for a couple days, just the 2 of us and get a hotel and go on the rides that the kids can't. He wouldn't tell me ANYTHING as my birthday got closer, so I figured he wasn't planning anything! About 4:00 am on my birthday, my cell phone rang and it was my parents house. I thought "Why would they be calling me this early to tell me happy birthday?!" I answered the phone and I hear these Mickey Mouse songs. Then, my mom got on the phone and said "Get up, we're going to Disneyland! I'll be there at 5!" Emma had come in our room and was sleeping on the bed, Ron was still sleeping, and so were the other kids. I immediately started thinking, "who do I need to wake up to go?" So, I asked her who was going and she said it was just us. I asked if Ron was going, and she said to ask him. At that point, Ron's alarm went off, so I asked him and he said that he was coming, too. I had to decided whether to leave the baby or not. Ron said I would probably have more fun without him, so I decided to keep him here. And just like that, we were ready and the 3 of us headed down! It was so fun, but so weird to be there without kids. I had been there several times before without kids, but it seemed like we ran out of things to do. Maybe because it didn't take forever to go from ride to ride! There weren't a whole lot of people there and we only had to wait about 20 minutes for most of the rides. I went in to this neat baby center room to pump about every 3 hours. Thanks for the fun trip!!

Kindergarten Visit and a Trip to the Fair

2011-10-30T22:40:00.000-07:00

Michaels actual birthday fell on a Monday, so I arranged to bring in some cookies to his class. It was fun to go see him in his classroom. The kids were nice and said thank you when I handed them their cookie.

Emma's preschool class took a trip to the fair for preschool days. They had a lot of fun looking at all the animals. We found this fire truck and put all the kids on there. We then found the firefighters that went with the truck and asked them to be in the picture. But.....
.....half the kids got scared and wanted to get off the truck (including my daughter!)

Michael Turns 5!

2011-10-30T22:05:00.000-07:00

Michael turned 5 at the end of last month! He was pretty excited for his birthday party! He chose a "Super Kong" theme this year. Super Kong is the "super guide" for the Donkey Kong Country Returns Wii game. He's not an actual character you can play. Michael was VERY specific that he did NOT want a Donkey Kong party, he wanted Super Kong!! I'm pretty sure the ONLY reason he wanted Super Kong was because Super Kong wears a blue tie, as opposed to the red tie Donkey Kong wears, and blue is his favorite color right now.

Here's the food setup, complete with bananas!

Had to put this picture of Grandpa giving the thumbs up!
Michael with his cake that Aunt Amanda made!

SEVERAL months ago, Michael had asked for the Donkey Kong Country Wii game. The game is $49.99 and rarely on sale. I had been putting off buying it and kept telling him he could "put it on the list of things he wanted for his birthday." Everytime I went to Target, however, I would check to see if, by chance, it was on sale. One day, while the kids were in school, I had to go to Target. So, I went by the games and decided to check. I saw a sign on the game saying that they were substituting this game because another game they had for sale was out of stock and it was only $19.99!!! I couldn't belive it!!! I wanted to buy a whole bunch of them, but only needed one! :o) I took it to my parents house and wrapped it and it had been in my closet for quite some time! Last minute, I put the wrapped game inside another box, wrapped it, then put it in a bigger box and wrapped it. It was pretty funny to watch him open it.

Here he is with the original box.

He sees that it's an air mattress box! Disappointed!

Hey, another wrapped box!!

Alright! Capri Suns!! NOT!!

ANOTHER WRAPPED PRESENT?!?!

DONKEY KONG COUNTRY!!!

He was SOOOOO excited!! He started beating his chest like a gorilla!

We played "Pin the Tie on Super Kong", and I made blue ties for all the kids as favors! He had JUST learned how to ride a bike without training wheels (finally!) so my parents bought him a bigger bike! Thanks to all who came and made his day so special!

Emma Starts Dance!

2011-10-30T21:54:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to put Emma in dance class for awhile now. I was going to start her last year, but, for financial reasons, wasn't able to. So this year we did it! I put her in the dance studio that I danced for as a little girl all the way up until I was 6 months pregnant with Michael! It was neat being back in the studio and seeing her have so much fun! She goes for 1 hour one day a week. It's a tap/ballet combo class and they have their first performance in the beginning of December! I thought she would like tap better, but she seems to like ballet more (I think it's because they pretend to be princesses and "go to the ball"!)

Road Block!!

2011-10-12T22:27:00.000-07:00

For those of you who actually read my blog, I thought I'd give a quick update! There are so many things I need to post about, like Emma starting dance, our anniversary, Michael's birthday, my birthday and all the other things that are happening around here. However, I just got a new laptop over the weekend and all my photos are on my old laptop which has died and I can't charge it because the cat chewed up the power cord! So, until I can get a new cord & get my pictures transferred, the blog remains the same! I am loving the new computer, though! :o)

Kindergarten!!!

2011-09-11T23:02:00.000-07:00

My little boy started kindergarten this year! It seems weird now, because we've gone the last 5 years doing what we want when we want, but now it will all change! Now we have to worry about school being in and all that comes with it! It's not as overwhelming as I thought it might be, but it is an adjustment to get up early and get him to school every morning! I did pretty good, too. Not too many tears. I teared up a little at the orientation they had the Friday before school started, and got a little choked up the first day of school, but no tears! The night before Ron gave him a father's blessing, and then he had to leave. He wanted to play in a mid-amatuer golf tournment and the only one he could sign up for was the first day of school! Ron was pretty bummed he missed it, but we all made it through okay! The morning of (and the whole week!), Michael requested eggs, waffles & strawberry milk!

All ready to go. I drove him and picked him up the first day of school, but from then on, he's been riding the bus.

His desk.

This was him when we picked him up.

He loves to ride the bus with cousins!

I had my aunt take pictures for back to school! :o)

Floating Down the Snake River

2011-09-11T22:43:00.000-07:00

I took my camera on the river, just in case we got wet I didn't want my phone to get ruined. Ron's grandpa has family that have a boat so we took it out on the Snake River. Ron's grandpa has fished up and down this river for YEARS! He stopped a couple of times to cast, but didn't catch anything. After he took us out (minus Brock) for about an hour, Emma and I went back to Aunt Onda's house to get ready for the bbq and the boys stayed out to do some fishing. I didn't really pay much attention to how we got to the river from Onda's house, because I didn't realize I was driving back by myself! Luckily, I was able to find out how to get back without getting lost! Go Me! :o)

Michael was NOT happy about wearing the pink life vest! He almost decided not to go because of it!

Emma driving the boat with Grandpa!

Michael's turn!

Idaho/Wyoming Trip August 2011

2011-09-11T20:31:00.000-07:00

We went on our 2nd annual cabin trip again this year, only this time Ron was able to go! Since we had Brock, he was able to take some boding time and we were able to go on a 2 week excursion! We decided to head to Idaho Falls first for a few days where his grandparents have a condo and stay during the summer. Ron used to spend the summers with them as a kid, so it was fun to go spend some time there with his grandparents and other family members that live there. I had never been to Idaho before, so it was nice to go somewhere different. I took a bunch more pictures, but I didn't want to post them all! Also, they were taken on my phone. I took my camera, but failed to bring the charger, so I had to pick and choose when I wanted to use the camera.

This is Emma a couple days before we left. She said she was all ready to go to the cabin!

Michael didn't want to be left out.
We left at 9:00 pm Sunday night, drove through the night and got in to Idaho Falls at around 2:30 pm Monday. Ron's grandpa put us up in a hotel for the time we were there that had a pool and free breakfast every morning!

One day we went to the local zoo. It's pretty small, but they have several interesting animals! It has this lion drinking fountain. It was cute!

Grandpa's condo is right accross the street from the golf course (of course!) so he took the boys golfing for 9 holes. Brock, Emma & I tagged along in the golf cart. I posted this picture on facebook and Ron made the comment that not very many people can say they golfed with their grandson and great grandson, the pleasure was all his. I thought that was really sweet! He loves his grandpa!

Love this boy! This was taken at grandpas brother's (who passed away last year) house. His wife is still alive and was kind enough to have everyone over for a nice bbq! It was a nice change since we ate out pretty much every day! The bbq was SO good! And the company was even better!!

The reason they call it "Idaho Falls".

Idaho Falls Temple

We left on Saturday the 6th to drive to the cabin in Wyoming and drove through Yellowstone. I'd never been there either, so that was REALLY neat! We didn't want to spend all day so that we wouldn't have to go up the mountain in the dark, so we picked about 3 things we wanted to see. First stop, Old Faithful! We got there at the perfect time. We were able to take a potty break, and get in a good spot just before the geyser went off! After that we stopped at fishing bridge and then the "grand canyon" of Yellowstone. We made a few other stops along the way to see the hot springs (which smelled pretty bad)!

It took quite awhile, but we finally saw some buffalo! After we saw one, we saw a whole bunch!

Just before we left for a hike to Medicine Wheel. Ron's mom bought everyone bandanas. Emma didn't want to wear hers, so I just got a picture of my boys! Aren't they cute?!

A beautiful sunset on the Big Horn Mountain.

We did a TON of fishing!! It rained and hailed quite a bit while we were there, so I didn't want to chance too many scary hikes with the baby. The kids REALLY enjoyed fishing. At Bear Lodge, they have a kiddie lake full of fish! The kids caught a fish at basically EVERY cast! The kids also did a ton of swimming in the indoor pool at the lodge!

While some of the group were fishing, the kids found the horseshoes and grandma taught them to play. Of course, there were a few finger smashing incidences, but nothing too major!

We also did some shooting, but the kids kinda freaked out, so I took them back to the car. Michael decided to blow hot air on the window and draw faces!

My little princess! :o)

We had a GREAT time! It was a long trip, and Brock was NOT having his carseat by the end of the trip, but we were glad we went! We hope to go back next year, but his brother is possibly planning a wedding for that time of year, so we'll see what happens!

Abby Spends the Night & Rolling Over!

2011-08-18T23:05:00.000-07:00

Ryan & Amanda took the boys to an Aquabats concert down in San Diego a few weeks ago and they asked if I could watch Abby. Since the concert was going to go late and we had church the next day, I offered to have her spend the night. The kids had a blast playing and having fun with their cousin! I did take a picture of all the cousins in the bath, but Abby wouldn't sit down and I didn't think I should post it for the whole web to see!

I'd been trying to get Brock to roll over for awhile. He turned his body waaaaay over, but to no avail. He FINALLY rolled over Wednesday, July 27th while I was at work and Gabi was watching the kids! Of course! He rolled over from back to front and front to back! He didn't do it for me when I got home that night (of course, again!) but finally did it for us Thursday night! We got video, but it's on our phones!

Rice Cereal!!

2011-08-18T22:45:00.000-07:00

Brockers turned 4 months on August 2nd, but we were going to be on vacation, so I thought I would try it before we left on our trip. It wasn't too bad. He didn't care for the texture much, but I was able to feed him most of it. However, when Ron had the kids and tried it, it was a fail. I didn't feed him much cereal while we were gone, but when we got back he had his 4 month check up and we found out he was under weight! He weighed 11 lbs 10 oz and was 24 1/4 inches long, which put him in the 1.1% for weight! I was pretty shocked since he was such a big baby when he was born! He does eat every 2-3 hours during the day and sleeps ALL night long, but he does spit up quite a bit after he eats, so he doesn't retain much food. The doctor decided to hold off on tests for awhile (yay!) and will check him in a month to see if he's gaining now that he's on cereal. I've found that he likes the cereal best when I mix it with breastmilk, so we are trying to feed him the cereal 2-3 times a day to see if we can get his weight up a little! I went through the same thing with Emma, so I'm hoping to not have to go through all the tests with him like I did with her!

He looks SO cute when he sucks his thumb, but I'm trying to break the habit now before it gets out of control!

Messy boy!

"I got this, Ma!"

Swim Lessons

2011-08-18T22:34:00.000-07:00

I signed the kids up for swim lessons again this year. You just can't beat $5!! I have a feeling that if we had a pool, or had better access to a pool, the kids would be swimming already. But we don't, so they aren't (very well, anyway!). They both are comfortable in the water and don't have a problem with going under the water. Which is VERY nice! This year, however, the lessons paid off! While on vacation, we swam A LOT and Michael was swimming by himself for quite a while!! He even got into the deep part and was able to get himself to the side (after giving everyone a scare!). Emma isn't quite there, but she's getting better every year!

Basketball Camp

2011-08-18T21:57:00.000-07:00

Last year we put Michael in a basketball camp because it seemed more interesting for him (and me) than T-ball. He loved it! So this year, we put him in again. It's every day M-F for one week. They teach you the fundamentals of basketball and on the last day they play a game between the two teams. This year, Aaron joined in the fun and he and Michael were on the same team!

Tough Guys!

All Michael wanted to do was shoot the ball! He didn't want to do the warm ups and threw a little tantrum the first day because he didn't want to do the jumping jacks! We made a deal that he didn't have to do the jumping jacks, but he had to do everything else. He LOVES sports and LOVES to play basketball!! Pretty soon, he'll be able to be in a golf academy and he'll be in HEAVEN!!

Happy Birthday!!

2011-07-24T22:46:00.000-07:00

Ron had his 32nd birthday last month. We didn't do a whole lot. He was able to get the day off work, but, unfortunately, I had to work all day. His mom was in town so she & Gabi helped watch the kids so he could play golf with some friends. They played almost 2 rounds of golf that day in the super hot weather! He's crazy! Afterwards, we met up with some family at China Bistro for some yummy chinese food that his mom treated us to and then back to our house for some cake. Ron's request was a "Ruben Gutierrez" cake. He's the one that made our wedding cake and they are DELICIOUS!! The BEST cake EVER!!! I didn't think he was making them anymore (especially something small) and even if he was, I thought it was going to be expensive. But, since that's what he wanted, I gave it a shot and called. Luckily, he agreed to make one for us!! I didn't tell him any specifics as to how to decorate, I just told him to make it masculine. When I saw it, I noticed he did a golf theme!! Perfect!!

Happy Birthday, honey!! I love you tons!!

A Mini Vacation

2011-07-11T22:24:00.000-07:00

Ron was supposed to have a golf tournament the beginning of June that he had gotten swaps for at work, but the tournament was postponed to the end of the month, so he switched the dates with the guys that were supposed to work for him to the new date. However, when it got closer to the end of the month, they ended up cancelling the tournament. So, since he had already switched dates, he decided just to take the days off. I wanted to do something fun, so we bought tickets for cheap at Costco and headed to Universal Studios! We hadn't been since we were dating and thought we'd give it a shot! We had a blast! Here's Emma & Brock in front of the sign!

They had a Curious George section that had 2 parts. One was a splash zone that dumped water EVERYWHERE! There were kids in swim suits!! And then they had a "dry" section that was indoors and you could shoot foam balls all over the place! Emma really liked it! (I think daddy did, too!)

This was the ONLY character all day she would go near! She was SOOOOO excited to see him! We even saw Dora just before this and she wouldn't go near her!

Waiting in line to go on the studio tour. Ron and I both love this movie! It wasn't very big, but we still quote it and will watch it when it comes on! "I'm like a tornado of anger!"

The Dalorean (sp?) from Back to the Future

Jaws....AHHH!

The crash scene from Tom Cruise's movie "End of Days" (I believe)

The Great Outdoors house. You can see a giant blue screen behind the house. They use that to digitally put scenes in the background. If they shooting a water scene, they fill up the front of that screen with water, or if they're filming a desert scene they'll fill it up with sand and then put the appropriate image on the screen.

We saw Scooby and gang (See? She didn't want to go near them!)

The Mystery Machine

We watched the animal actors show. It was cute! They showed how they train the animals for the set. They did some neat tricks! I wonder if they would train Lola for me? :o)

I thought there wouldn't be much for Emma or Brock to do, but we were able to watch several shows and other things with everyone. They do have a few rides that they couldn't go one, but they have a "child switch" option where one parent waits with the kids, while the other rides the ride and then you can switch without having to wait in line again! They have little areas and rooms where you can wait with TV's, so it beats having to wait in line! (For me, anyway, not really for Ron! :o) ) The Studio Tour has a new King Kong area that's in 3D that was REALLY cool! I thought Emma would get scared, but she actually liked it! When Michael gets home, we plan on going back!

May Happenings!

2011-06-19T23:27:00.000-07:00

Brock was on the verge of smiling for a little while, but would never do it when I got the camera. This was the closest I got! Of course he's a smiley baby now, but most of my pictures are on my phone that I haven't sync'd to my computer yet!

Jordan had his 8th birthday this year! It's a big one for him because he was baptized the beginning of June! We are SO proud of him and his decision to be baptized. He has been preparing for this day for quite some time now! For his party he invited a ton of kids to have a "Food Fight" themed party! They made sculptures out of colored mashed potatoes and animal crackers, ate spaghetti without hands, ate donuts off string, and in the end had a massive food fight with all the leftover food! They even got sodas involved! My kids are not into being messy with food, so they didn't participate until they threw water balloons and Michael joined in! I've been trying to get Michael to stop wetting the bed at night and we've cut off drinks before bed to help out, and the night before he wanted a drink. I told him he wasn't allowed to have any, but he insisted. I told him that if I let him have a drink and he had an accident, he would have to participate in ALL the games at Jordans party! He agreed, and had an accident that night! Just as I was about to say "nee-ner nee-ner", we were loading up in the car, I wasn't paying attention, and he got his fingers slammed in the car door! So, I figured I wouldn't force him to participate!

The night of Jordans party, we headed over to a friends house who, every year, throws a huge summer kick-off party at his beautiful home! He usually does some elaborate theme. This year was a safari theme ad he had a giraffe & zebra in his front yard!!

There was a baboon (who will be in the movie "Zoo Keeper" when it comes out)

A Porcupine

A Sloth

A Baby Leopard (this thing was ADORABLE!!)

A Toucan

And this other bird (I can't remember what it was)

There were a few more animals and the trainers talked about them and a few of them did tricks! They had good food, and a couple snow cone machines that you could get whatever you wanted all night. They also had a local high school choir come out and sing a few songs about Africa. We had a BLAST and hope to go back again next year! :o)

Brock's Blessing Day

2011-06-07T22:17:00.000-07:00

Brock was blessed on Sunday, May 1st. Prior to the blessing, Ron had asked me my thoughts on whether he should have his Grandpa Smith bless him. I thought it was a little weird at first, and then he explained that he had been thinking about it for awhile and wanted to do it because his grandpa wasn't able to bless his children and he thought it would be a nice gesture since he and his grandpa are really close. I just explained to him to really think about it, because I didn't want him to regret not blessing all of his children one day. He gave it lots of thought and talked to his grandpa and felt that he wanted his grandpa to do it. When it came time, the counselor announced that Brock would be blessed by his dad (because I forgot to tell them otherwise). I'm sure a lot of people were suprised by the switch, but both Ron and his grandpa bore really nice testimonies and explained a little as to why he did it, so it all worked out. I talked to the bishop later and asked if that was ok to even do (since it all happened so fast I wasn't thinking) and he said it was fine, he just felt bad that they didn't announce the right name. Whoops! The circle included Great Grandpa Smith, Grandpa Pitts, Daddy, Uncle Ry Ry, and Cousin David. Grandpa Killmer wasn't able to make it from Washington, but Grandma Killmer and Aunt Mary came down for a visit to be here for it. I did take pictures, however, I forgot my little camera that I keep with me all the time and didn't check my good camera's batteries and they were both dead, so the pictures I got are on my phone and I haven't sync'd (sp?) up my phone to the computer yet. The outfit Brock wore was made by my Uncle Kevin's wife, Lucy. She is super talented and made all 3 kids' blessing outfits. I was just going to use Michaels, but she offered to make this one and it turned out really cute! The blaket was made by Ron's mom when we blessed Michael and I reused it for all the kids.

Relay for Life!

2011-05-10T23:24:00.000-07:00

Saturday, April 30th was Relay for Life! I look forward to going every year. It's my chance to celebrate the fact that I still have my mom here with me! I know not everyone is able to say that, but I'm SO grateful that I can! This event is HUGE!! It is THE largest in the nation! This year they raised over $2 million to contribute to finding a cure for cancer!! They have booths upon booths set up by various groups/businesses with raffles, food, crafts, etc! It's such a great event and I recommend going! Plus it's for a good cause! Ron had planned to come with me since I had to leave pretty early in the morning and didn't want to fight 3 kids, but he woke up in the middle of the night sick, so I was able to get myself AND the kids ready all by myself and get out of the house by 7:30am!! I was impressed! The event had been held at CSUB in the past, but they changed it this year to this place off of Old River & south of Taft hwy!! It was a long ways, but a lot larger than the school. There just wasn't as much shade! Luckily, it was a pretty cool weekend, so were weren't burning up!

They always have a "Survivor" lap to kick off the relay first after some stories and introductions. The young children diagnosed with cancer pile on an old firetruck and go first, then the rest of the group goes. If you can't walk well, they have people driving golf carts so you can participate.

LOVE that sea of purple! All the survivors!!

Our surviors! My mom and my Aunt Teresa!!

I thought this was funny!

They also have a kid area where you buy a bracelet and they have a bunch of bouce houses, slides & obsticle courses. Emma had had a long couple of days and was pretty tired, so she was crying over EVERYTHING! We didn't stay in the area too long, mainly because they had to use the restroom and they were too tired to stay much longer. They both fell asleep before I pulled out of the parking lot and I had to wake them up to go to Costco to get stuff for Brocks blessing, which was the next day! Michael is usually pretty good, but Emma was REALLY upset and cried throughout Costco! LOUD! I finally was able to calm her down so I didn't get as many people staring!

I LOVE YOU, MOM!!

Fishies & Baseball!

2011-05-10T22:26:00.000-07:00

Ron's mom and sister came in to town for Brocks blessing and while they were here, we went to the Long Beach aquarium and then to a Dodger game! We had a lot of fun! Before we left to go down, Ron had a chiropractor appointment and needed me to run an errand for him, so while he was there, I ran over to Target and picked up Dodger shirts for everyone. Michael was so excited and changed his shirt right away! Here is Michael's new face when taking pictures!

This was a sign above one of the shops at the aquarium where a pigeon set up camp!

They have a bird exhibit you walk into and you can buy nectar to feed the birds. We decided not to get any because we figured the kids would get scared, but this little guy decided to hang out on Mary's shirt, and then started to bite it! So Ron and his mom tried to get him off and he bit them! He even drew blood!

Someone left an almost full cup of nectar, so we grabbed it to feed the birds. I can't believe she didn't get scared!!

The shark tank! We were there when they fed the sharks, also. I thought it would be cooler than what it was. I think we should've stayed down in the underwater viewing area, because we couldn't really see the sharks where we were. They also had a HUGE ray in this tank! It was like 5 feet wide!!

Here's Brock watching the fish!

The whole family!

Grandma with her grandbabies!

A tank full of Nemo's!!

I checked out Stub Hub for our tickets and got pretty decent seats for only $19 a ticket! They are normally $30 something!

Me & my girl!

And what's a Dodger game without a Dodger Dog?! Ron had one, Emma had one, and Michael had one!

The souvenier we bought...It was $8!!! Ridiculous! (We only bought 1!)

Apparently every Friday home game they have fireworks! You can go on the field and watch them, but I think our seats were better for watching them!

We had parked quite a ways away so we wouldn't have to pay for parking, but when we got back to our car, Ron had a parking violation ticket for not having his front license plate on his car! It's pretty ridiculous since they make vehicles that don't have a place for it, but whatever! It was a $25 ticket, but they said if we send a picture of it on, they'll reduce it to $10. Dumb!

Easter 2011

2011-05-10T22:05:00.000-07:00

We had a great Easter this year! I planned a little early and boiled eggs Friday night and we colored them Saturday morning since last year I (the Easter Bunny) did it all by myself because we ran out of time! The kids had fun coloring eggs! The directions were really weird and didn't make sense. I probably wont buy that brand again last year. It worked regardless, but the color wasn't very bright.

The finished product!

That afternoon, we met at my brothers house because the Easter Bunny had hid some eggs over there!

Easter morning, the kids got up and came into our room. I hadn't planned on getting them dressed for church before the hunt, but it just worked out that way. They loved their baskets! Brock got an outfit & socks. Emma got an outfit, Tangled movie, Tangled purse with makeup/nail polish, Alice in Wonderland socks, and some fruit cups goldfish and juice. Michael got a new basketball, basketball net, NBA wristbands, spiderman socks, and the same foods Emma got.

It's Only Hair, Right?

2011-04-20T23:05:00.001-07:00

Since Ron had to go back to work, he had to shave off the beard he'd been growing for 2 weeks! Here's the before:

And during...He was having fun with the razor!

He ran out of ideas after this one and then just shaved the whole thing off. He normally keeps the mustache because that's the only thing he can grow for work, but I HATE the mustache and asked him to shave it all! I love kissing him when he's just shaved! :o)

On top of him shaving his beard, he asked if I would shave his hair (which I normally do). Michael was due for a hair cut, too, so I had him come out, too. He did NOT want his hair cut! He says it hurts. I think he just doesn't like the feel of the clippers on his head. Normally, I like his hair a little longer on top, and shaved on the sides. Since he was throwing a fit, I told him he could choose between me cutting it, Ron, Grandpa (my dad) or I was going to take him somewhere, but he was going to get it done! He finally decided he wanted daddy to cut his hair, but he was still throwing a fit and Ron started on the top with the clippers!! He ended up shaving his whole head the same length! I don't like it, but he does! You can't tell he likes it in the picture because he was still upset about having to have his hair cut!

A Day in LA!

2011-04-20T22:42:00.000-07:00

Last Tuesday we took the kids to my Aunts to get some Easter pictures taken of the kiddo's along with some pictures of them in their big brother/big sister/little brother shirts. After the pictures, we headed to LA to go to the newly remodeled Temple Visitor's Center. We hadn't been yet and I've been meaning to take the kids. It was nice! It's been so long since I've been to the old visitor's center, but the new one is awesome! they have a kids section where you can color and watch short videos. We watched a movie, "Finding Faith in Christ" and it was really nice! I cried (of course!). The kids, for some reason, were scared to go in the room and watch it. Emma tried to escape several times. The movie finally started and they sat still for awhile, but it didn't last long. Plus, Brock was really fussy! But, I still got a lot out of the movie and really enjoyed it.

I love these glass etchings in the windows!

After the visitor's center, we headed to The Grove. We've been here a couple times before and loved it! It's just so nice! It's an outdoor mall with just about every store and restaraunt you can think of! We spent most of our time in the Apple store so Ron could work some stuff out with his phone. They have some computers set up for kids to play around on, so I spent the time reading books to the kids. After we left there, we headed to the Cheescake Factory. I don't think I've ever eaten there. It was pretty good! Of course I had to order a slice of cheesecake and went with the Adam's Peanut Butter Cup Fudge Ripple. It was REALLY good! We had a lot of fun and it was to spend the day with my favorite people!

Pismo!

2011-04-19T22:25:00.000-07:00

When Ron got back, he had another week off work, so we took advantage! His brother and girlfriend came to visit so we took them to Pismo! Our first stop was Morro Bay to the little aquarium they have. I have been going there since I was a kid, and I've kept that tradition alive with my kids! It's like $2 for adults and you can get some fish to feed the seals for like $0.50.

Uncle Chris with Michael in front of Morro Rock!

Catch of the day!

Emma wanted to take her picture with "Ariel"

After Morro, we headed to Pismo and walked along the pier. It was pretty windy and cold. I always get so nervous with the kids on the pier! I imagine them climbing up on the rail and falling in the ocean, or running around, tripping on the boards and then falling inbetween the rails and into the ocean, so it's not as much fun for me, but I try to overcome my emotions so we can have a good time! The kids watching the surfers.

After we walked along the pier, we stopped at Splash Cafe (my FAVORITE place for clam chowder bread bowls!) and had some dinner! Mmmmmm!! Me and my boys! (I hate when it takes forever to take a picture! My smile always ends up looking like "hurry up and take the picture!!!")

Brotherly Love!

Daddy's Home!

2011-04-19T22:12:00.000-07:00

Ron was supposed to come home the Friday night after I had Brock, but they had been staying at a friends condo and they had to do some laundry and clean it up, so he ended up not leaving until Saturday morning from Palm Springs. He got home around 2:30 pm and we were all SO happy! He hadn't seen Brock since the day after he was born! The kids immediately bombarded him with books to read, so he assumed his position in his chair and read some books to the kiddos! We went to dinner to Olive Garden later and just enjoyed having daddy home!

Michael took these pictures.

Ron making the face Brock was making!

I took this picture. I wanted to get one of his dark hair before it all rubbed off!

Getting Ready for Kindergarten!

2011-04-19T21:49:00.000-07:00

I called the school awhile ago to find out the time frame of when I could get Michael registered for school so I could get things started before the baby was born. They told me that they didn't have the packets ready yet, but it would be sometime in April. Great! Luckily, Amanda was at the school when our friend was putting together the packets for Kindergarten, so she grabbed one for me. I filled most of it out and then we were just waiting for baby. I took Michael to the dentist the Tuesday before I was due, and was hoping to have the baby so I could take them both to the doctor at the same time. We were able to make it just under the gun, however, when we got to the appointment, we found out that the kids' medical records hadn't transferred over from the old pediatrician to the new pediatrician even though I had filled the paper out for them to do that over a month prior! They asked me if he had his 4 year shots, which he had, so they just did a TB test. He freaked out over getting the shot, but did great on the eye & hearing test! A couple days later, I had to take him back for the TB reading and they STILL hadn't sent over the kids' records! I finally called to the old pediatrician's and they said they would fax over the shot records. When the new pedi's got it, we found out he needed 3 more shots!! I was SO mad because he HATES shots and I had been telling him all morning that he wouldn't have to get shots, that they were just going to look at the TB shot! I had to break the news to him and that did NOT go over well! But, he did it and lived, even though he wouldn't move his arms the whole day! He wouldn't even get in and out of the car without me picking him up! This was a day or two after the shots.

Look What the Stork Brought!!!

2011-04-06T21:38:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday was my doctor's appointment. I would've been 40 weeks Thursday. I really thought this baby would be early because of how low I had been feeling through my whole pregnancy! We had hoped he was going to come early because we had a ton of things we were planning that were on hold waiting for baby! Ron was supposed to play in a 1 day golf tournament to qualify for another big tournament, his brother was to be playing in a HUGE tournament to qualify for the Canadian Professional golf tour that he needed Ron to caddy for him, I also wanted to have the baby so I could take him and Michael to the pediatrician at the same time so he could get his check up and Michael could do his preschool physical, and I needed to turn his packet in next week. We figured that if it didn't happen, it didn't happen, but we were hopeful. So, when I went to my doctors appointment, I was hoping to hear that I had progressed from the last 2 weeks. But, no such luck! I was STILL dialated to a 2 and 50% effaced!! By this point, I was past ready to have this baby! So, when the exam was finished, she started talking about inducing when I was a week overdue. I managed to convince her to let me go ahead and induce that week. So, she called the birthing center and they were to call me the next evening (Thursday night). They didn't call, so I called them and after back and forth calling, there were no beds available, but maybe the next morning. Again, after some back and forth calling they finally decided I could come in at 8:30 pm Friday night. About 9:30, they inserted the cervidel (sp?) to get things going. I slept on and off that night and at shift change the next morning around 8, the nurse checked me and I had dialated to a 4 and was having regular contractions so there was no need to start pitocin! But that meant that it was time for epidural!! :o) After the epidural, the doctor came in and broke my water, removed the cervidel, and I told him that I go fast. Conference came on at 9, so we had that on. I could feel the contractions and was having pain on my right side, so they came in and gave me another shot of medicine and had me lay on my right side. After awhile, I got tired of laying on that side, so I switched over to the other side. When I did that, the monitors moved, so they came in to readjust. The nurse told me that when she put the monitor on it was really low. I asked if they would check me, so my regular nurse came in shortly after that and said "You're a +1 and can start pushing!" I was SO shocked because normally I feel my body pushing automatically, but I didn't feel that with this one! I just felt the pressure of the contractions. Before they checked me, almost everyone that was in the room had left to go do whatever they were doing, so we got on the phones and told them to come back! They got the room all set up, got the doctor and a few pushes later, out came Brock Aiden Killmer weighing in at 9 lbs 12 oz 21 1/2 in long! My biggest baby by almost 2 lbs!!! AND he has dark black hair!!! If the nurses had taken the baby out of the room, I would've belived he was switched at birth! He is such a good baby! He sleeps all the time and most of the night!

Dr. Gregory Klis, the on call doctor who also delivered Michael. My daytime nurse, Shari. She was SUPER nice!

Grandma & Grandpa Smesh and Grandma Killmer

Grandma Pitts

Grandpa Pitts

Michael meeting his baby brother. He was SOOOOO excited! He LOVES his little brother and doesn't want to leave him EVER!

He would NOT stop smiling!

Emma was a little more timid, but was VERY concerned about her brother and HATED to see him cry!

Cousins came to visit, too! The kids had spent the night with Ryan & Amanda and they brought them after the first session of conference.

First bath.

On the way home!

First bath at home!

This week has been pretty good, but a little hard at the same time. Ron ended up playing in his tournament the day I was to come home from the hospital, so my parents came to take me home. I went to their house because they were going to make Sunday dinner. After Ron was done, he stopped by to grab the suitcase we used at the hospital, went home to pack, came back to my parents house, said goodbye and left to go to Palm Springs to be with his brother. It's not the ideal way to start with a new baby, but I'm glad that he is able to be with his brother and help him out. Also, his mom has been here to help me and stay with me while I recouporate! I've also been fortunate to have dinners being brought in by the wonderful ladies in the ward and am set up through Friday! And so far they've all been DELICIOUS!!

A Little Bragging!

2011-03-29T14:38:00.000-07:00

As you all know, my son LOVES to play golf!! Usually we will take him to the park to hit balls, or if he uses soft balls, he can play in the house. When Ron's mom comes into town, she will generally take him somewhere so he can play and occasionally to Riverlakes to the driving range. They also have a little par 3 course that he can play that makes him feel like he's on a real golf course. (It's the same one he played at for his tournament he played in a couple years ago.) Anyway, Ron's mom has been in town waiting for the baby to be born and has taken turns with each kid to spend the day/night with her. Michael spent the night Friday night, so Saturday, she took him to Riverlakes to play the little course, however it was occupied with the Jr Golf Acadamy so they settled for the driving range and putting green. When they were ready to leave, she went over to the little course and was talking to a lady to get some information about the academy and explained that he was 4, but was pretty good. The lady told her that the kids needed to be 6 to sign up. Well, the coach overheard the conversation and asked if Michael was with her. She said yes, so he told her to have him hit a few balls so he could see how he played. So she got him out of the car, got his clubs and he went over to tee up the ball. He hits the ball and knocks it onto the green!! He does this consistantly for about 4 shots and the coach was impressed! He said that Michael was better than some of his 6 year olds and if we were willing, he would let us sign him up now! I'm so proud of my little boy! Now we just have to see if we can fit it in our budget! I also want to sign Emma up for dance, so we're going to have to do some crunching!

7 Days To Go! Pregnancy Ramblings...

2011-03-24T12:28:00.000-07:00

So, I'm officially a week away from my due date. I keep hoping everyday that "this is the day", but no such luck. I was a week early with Michael, and 3 days late with Emma, so it will be interesting to see what this one will be. (I'm hoping he takes more after his brother than his sister, though!) I've felt pretty good, most of the time. I've had a couple of days where I've felt SO nauseous it's hard to do anything! The first time I was at work and had to leave, it had gotten so bad! The second time I was at work again and went in the back to lay down for a minute. I started feeling better, so I stayed and was able to finish the day. However, that night Ron and I had gone out with my parents for dinner and a movie, and during the movie, I started feeling REALLY bad again! I got up and went to the bathroom and got a drink of water. That helped for a little while. The movie was almost over, luckily, and while we were walking out it started up again! It finally went away and I haven't gotten that bad since. Yesterday, though, I had eaten a late lunch and was heading to my parents house to drop something off and on the way, I got a nasty gas bubble in my stomach! It was SO painful! I just went in, layed down on the couch at around 4 and didn't go home until about 10:30! My mother in law has been in town and has been taking one kid everyday to spend time with and spend the night with her, so I only had Emma with me. Luckily my dad was home when I went there and he basically took care of her for me! He made dinner, fed her, and after I woke up from a short nap, she had been showered and was in her jammies! I'm feeling better today, but my back and hips are starting to hurt! I've lost a little mucus, but that doesn't really mean a whole lot right about now, but I'm still hopeful! At my first doctors appointment, she said that I wasn't dialated, but was really soft. The next appointment (with the actual doctor) a week later she said I was a 2 & 50% effaced, which gave me some hope! Then the next appointment, 5 days later, there wasn't much change. She said I was still a 2 and about 30-50%. That was a bummer, but I still have some time left. I have my next appointment on the 30th at 8 am, so I'm hoping I miss it so I don't have to go so early! Plus, Ron will be at work for a training class that he has to go to (that he would like to miss!) If the baby doesn't come before monday, that means it will be harder to get a hold of him at work if something were to happen. Plus, his brother is getting ready to qualify for the Canadian golf tour and wants Ron to caddy for him and that starts the first week of April! Everyone is fully aware that if the baby is not here, he's not going, but we're hoping that everything will work out! That's about it for now! Hopefully our next post will be announcing our new baby!!

Baby Shower

2011-03-15T22:44:00.000-07:00

I had my baby shower a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't sure if I was going to have one or not because I still had a lot of Michael's old stuff. There were just a few things I needed to get because I had gotten rid of some things or they were destroyed. I had asked my mom if she was wanting to do one, because if not, I was going to start collecting some things. She said she wanted to do one, so I held off on buying stuff. My mom & Amanda and several other people worked REALLY hard putting it together and making it so nice for me! We had a great turn-out and I got a lot of good stuff! :o)

These were the party favors that a friend of mine whom I hadn't seen in SEVERAL years made for me. We had reconnected on facebook and I've noticed all her crafty things she's done, so my mom contacted her and asked if she would help out making these little booties that we had seen done for another shower she helped out with! They were SO cute and made out of styrofoam cups!!

We had the shower in the morning and did a breakfast theme. We had muffins, fruit, quiches, breakfast pizza, french toast casserole, blueberry tarts, cinnamon rolls, hashbrown casserole & orange juice! It was SO good! Thanks to all who helped make it! :o)

This was the picture table that was set up when you first walk in. We had several pictures of my photo shoot & an ultrasound picture and the picture that we announced the pregnancy with.

My mom worked so hard and planned for all kinds of fun things! She even took Emma to Target and bought her a new outfit for the occasion...shoes and all! :o) She looked SO cute!

Grandma Smeesh (Smith) with baby Lincoln! (Lindsey's baby)

An intense game of musical bottle!

My sweet little girl helping me open presents. She helped with about half of them, but decided it would be more fun to play with Elyse! (The daughter of the hostess)

I had a GREAT time and am so thankful to all those who came to make it that more special! Thanks to all those that helped with the shower! I'm a lucky girl! :o) Now, I just need the baby!!!

Disneyland Trip February 2011

2011-03-08T23:07:00.000-08:00

Ron's not a big Disneyland guy. I have always loved going and now that I have kids I want to take them ALL the time! Unfortunately, it is SO expensive, ESPECIALLY with kids that aren't free anymore! So we have compromised to go at least once a year. Since I already planned on going, I used it as an opportunity to try to get Michael to stop having accidents at night time. It was getting pretty ridiculous, so I thought I'd give it a try! I told him that if he didn't have an accident for a whole week, we would do something really special (I didn't tell him what it was just in case he didn't make it!) Sure enough, he went over TWO WEEKS without an accident. He's not completely accident free, but he does MUCH better than he used to! I had been pretty excited to go this year and take advantage of the 2fer offer they usually do every spring.....except this year! Instead, they have a promotional deal for $99 for 2 days, one park per day. But times 4 = lots of money! We found out about this website that a friend from Ron's work uses where they rent out park hopper tickets for $55 for one day park hoppers. With much debate on whether it was legit or not, we went ahead and tried it out. I don't know if I'll use it everytime we go, but it was pretty nice to not have to spend a fortune! I had asked my mom if she wanted to go with us since my dad had school and had been with my brother a few months ago. I also thought it would be better to have another adult since there were some rides I wouldn't have been able to ride. As time got closer, Ron's mom and sister worked it out so they could come, too, and since Aaron still had a valid season pass, we brought him along as well! We planned to start out at Disneyland, since they opened earlier, but by the time we got there, California Adventure had just opened, so we decided to just play there for awhile. I immediately got in line to get fastpasses for the World of Color while everyone else went to find cool rides. We rode some rides, watched some shows, and as we passed Tower of Terror, we found that ALL the kids were tall enough to ride! I wasn't sure how they'd take it, but they all went on the "elevator" ride. I waited by the TV's to check out their picture! They didn't like the ride much, but none of them cried! After lunch, we headed over to Disneyland to check out some things over there. We were able to do the Jedi Training Acadamy that Michael was SO excited about. I didn't think he'd do it because when I showed him a YouTube video of it, he said he didn't want to fight Darth Vador. But a few days before we went, that's all he would talk about! I was glad he enjoyed himself. Aaron was fine up until it was his turn to fight, and he backed out. Emma even got a storm trooper and Darth mal (sp?) to jump in front of her to scare her! She was fine, though! After awhile and a few more rides, I stood in the super long wait line for the princesses while they took the kids to Toon Town. They brought Emma to me when I got closer and she was able to see Cinderella & Sleeping Beauty. She was in Heaven! The boys had gone to make their own lightsaber. After picking up the boys, we headed back to California Adventure to watch the World of Color. I hadn't seen it yet, and thought it was really nice, but it was about 1/2 hour long and after a long day of walking around, I was done with standing! When that was over we headed to Downtown Disney for some dinner. We ate at this Mexican restaraunt that was pretty good! As an added bonus, there was a guy there that was making balloon "animals". Michael got Spiderman, Aaron got Buzz, and we had him make an Ariel for Emma (she CRASHED and wouldn't wake up!) After dinner, we headed to our hotel, the Anabella (LOVE this hotel!!!) and had a good nights sleep! we were in no rush to get up and checked out at check out time. On the way home, we stopped at Ikea in Burbank and picked up a new TV cabinet for the playroom that was super cheap and I love it! Ron's Mom and Sister decided to drive to San Diego that night and went to Sea World the next day because it was his sisters birthday! We had a great time and I hope to do it again! I am just planning on staying a little longer! It's too much to try to pack into one day!

Make your own free picture slideshow

Maternity Photo Shoot

2011-02-23T20:49:00.000-08:00

My mom's been busy planning my shower and thought that we should have maternity pictures/ultrasound pictures/etc to decorate with, so I called up my aunt at hyestyleshots and had some photos taken of the kids and I. I tried to get Ron to come, too, but he wanted to go play golf and since he had been working so much, I let him. These are a few of my favorites.

He's Evolving!

2011-02-02T18:46:00.000-08:00

It's no secret that this boy LOVES sports! Golf and Basketball are his 2 favs! He's been playing both since he could stand. He got his first set of "real" clubs when he was just a year old and has been playing with them ever since (of course, now we have to go to the park because he's outgrown the house and front & back yards!) I took some video of him tonight because I thought it was pretty funny that after he hits the ball, he holds his position for a little bit and even lets the club slide through his hands! So cute!

Earlier, daddy was watching the recorded Laker game, so he (of course) ran to change into his Laker jersey and was playing basketball with the guys on TV. I noticed that he has pretty good form and is even using his wrist like he should! He mimics the players on TV really well! So, since I video'd the golf, I told him to go get his basketball to see if he would do it again! He's getting to be a pretty good little athlete! Who knows how far he would actually go in life, but I'm just glad that he loves it! (so far!)

Emma's First Haircut!

2011-01-26T20:19:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, she doesn't have much hair! BUT the hair that she does have is in all different lengths. I've been wanting to get her haircut for awhile, but it wasn't really a priority.

Saturday, Ron didn't put in for overtime in the morning, like he usually does, so that he could go play basketball with some guys from the ward. When that fell through, I told him "Let's go get Emma's haircut!" So, off we went to the kids salon. It was lined with video games and a play area with a TV and that was just the waiting area! They had a TV at every station where you could play video games or watch movies. Here she is before the cut.

(See her stringy hair?!)

Waiting to get cut! She decided she wanted to watch Ariel while she got her hair cut. That girls eyes were GLUED to the TV!

All done! They gave her a white bow to put in her hair that lasted a whole whopping 10 minutes! They also gave her a little "My 1st Haircut" certificate that you can put their picture on and saved some hair for me.

(Technically this wasn't her "first" haircut if you count the time at preschool that she took the scissors to her own hair and cut off a lock. Amanda saved some of that hair for me already!)

30 Weeks & Counting!

2011-01-21T21:23:00.000-08:00

I've never been one to do "belly shots" while pregnant. I did one at 20 weeks with Michael and that was about it and then I did one as we were entering the hospital with Emma just to say that I did one! So, I thought I'd start at 30 weeks, and if I happen to take anymore, great, if not, oh well! So here I am at 30 weeks and things have been going pretty good. For a preganancy update, I had my follow-up ultrasound appointment a couple weeks ago and everything was GREAT! The Choroid Plexus cyst was gone and the placenta has moved out of the way which means (as long as no other problems arise) I wont have to have a c-section!! I had kinda been preparing myself for one, just in case, and was actually getting a little excited that I would be able to pick the day! But, that doesn't look like it will be happining! I've been feeling pretty good, as well as pregnacies go. It's getting hard to tell my kids that I can't pick them up anymore and bending over.....yikes! I HATE dropping anything because I don't want to have to bend over! I also have been feeling the baby move quite a bit, but it seems that he is REALLY low! So low I worry that if I stand up he's going to fall out! We've also been debating names....A LOT!!! We both have a favorite, and like the other one's choice, but we like ours better. SO we picked 2 names and plan to just wait until the baby is born and then name him. My mom's not thrilled with that decision because she has her favorite name, too, but we all need to be fair about it and that's the only solution I can come up with thus far! 10 more weeks to go, let the countdown begin!!!

Jesus Wants Emma for a Sunbeam!

2011-01-09T22:04:00.001-08:00

It's official, I have no kids in nursery anymore! (Until the new baby is old enough!) Emma has been in primary for 2 Sunday's now and she loves it! She's already picked up on some of the primary songs! For her birthday, she got several dresses and I've been alternating them every week. She had 2 more to go, but insisted on wearing the dress that I made for her! I'm glad she likes it, but my OCD came out a little because she hasn't worn all the new dresses yet! I know, I'm crazy, but I did overlook it and let her wear the dress! This is her after church was over and I wanted to snap the picture before she ripped the clippy out of her hair and changed her clothes! She loves being a sunbeam, especially since her favorite cousin Aaron is in the class with her!

Golf Photo Shoot

2011-01-09T21:42:00.000-08:00

For Christmas gifts for the grandparents/great grandparents I try to give photo's of the kids throghout the year in some form. This year, for the grandparents I did a photobook, and for the great grandparents I got a collage photo frame and put a picture of Emma's tea party shoot from a few months ago, a picture of the kids from our last family shoot, but I didn't have any professional pictures of just Michael. So, I made an appointment with HyeStyleShots and headed to the golf course! Michael was SO excited for the photoshoot, until I showed him what he was going to wear! He didn't want to wear the hat or the vest! I had to show him pictures of golfers that wear those types of hats and vests and I told him that I just wanted a few pictures and then he could take it off and play golf for awhile. he was okay after that!

This is the one I had printed even though I like the one above better, but I needed a horozontal photo!

This is my FAVORITE picture, because it's the "famous" pose that Ron and his family always do at various locations! We need to get all the boys out and have them all do it, but I thought I'd have her do this one for now. Ron's grandpa's birthday was last week, so I printed this one out for him. He loved it! :o)

Santa Came!

2011-01-09T20:49:00.000-08:00

This year, our Christmas was a little different than years past. We've been pretty fortunate to have Ron home every Christmas morning with his work schedule. This year, he was off in the morning, but had to go to work in the afternoon, so we did most of our celebrations on Christmas Eve. A couple nights before Christmas, the kids made some sugar cookies for Santa. We baked them on the 23rd, and then decorated them Christmas Eve morning.

The result.

I forgot my camera for most of the festivities, so I don't have a ton of photos. My brother and his family were going to head out to Ridgecrest after they opened presents Christmas morning, so we had a Christmas Eve lunch with them and opened our presents to each other and our kids opened presents from my parents. Of course they got all kids of cool stuff there and we had lots of good food! After all the presents, we headed out to Ron's grandparents house where we celebrated with his family and opened lots more presents and ate even more yummy food! After some time, it was time to go home and wait for Santa to arrive. A tradition in both our families is to open PJ's on Christmas Eve, so we carry on the tradition in our family. This year, however, Michael had gotten some awesome Superman pajama's (cape included) from Grandma & Grandpa Smeesh that he had changed into while we were over there. The PJ's we got the kids were Christmas pajama's that I wanted the kids to wear for Christmas morning. Let's just say that Michael was less than thrilled to have to change out of his Superman jammies and into the snowmen playing football jammies! But after we distracted him with getting the table set up with Santa's cookies and milk, he seemed fine.

He cried a little! :o(

The table set up near the fireplace so that Santa wouldn't miss his cookies & milk. We also left a bowl of water for the reindeer! (I need to remember to get carrots next year!)

After Santa came...

Opening their stockings.

Santa brought Emma a princess bike this year! She loves it, but gets frustrated on trying to ride it. She starts out fine and then she thinks about it and says that she can't do it and gives up. We'll keep working on it!

Here are the kids all dressed up for Christmas Sunday.

We had a wonderful Christmas and the kids we spoiled (as usual!). We are truly lucky to have so many family members who love us so much! One of the highlights for me this year was listening to Michael sing the songs he's been learning in primary and singing it all the time! And, eventually, Emma picked up on the lyrics and joined in. He had learned the Children's Songbook hymn "Picture a Christmas". I especially loved hearing him sing it while we were out shopping! It meant that even though we talk about Santa coming and all the fun that goes with that, he is still learning the true meaning of why we celebrate this season. I sometimes feel like I don't talk about it enough, but I'm glad he is listening when I do, or he picks it up during Primary and it makes me feel so good! We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and here's to a very happy new year!

Knott's "Merry" Farm 2010

2010-12-29T21:24:00.001-08:00

As our tradition, we headed to Knotts again this year a couple of weeks ago. Since Ron started working for the state, we have gone every year since Michael was born (with the exception of the year Emma was born since she was born at the end of November!) However, Michael went that year with my parents. Every year, the kids are able to ride more and more, so it's been pretty fun! Ron's mom came in to town the day before we went, so she came along too! (which made it nice because there weren't a lot of rides I could ride!)

Ignore the fat lady in the picture! (I look awful!)

After the Charlie Brown stage show, the kids went on this ride. Lets just say that Michael was less than thrilled to be on the ride and didn't want to go AT ALL. Emma really liked it, but it doesn't really show in this picture! They just took forever to get the ride started since one of the kids freaked out and wanted off.

Ron's mom took the kids to the sk8 board ride and the next thing I know, Emma was on it, by herself, in the FRONT!! This is the first time she's been on this ride and I thought she would freak out, but she LOVED it! I thought she was going to fly out of the seat, but she didn't!

Michael & Grandma liked it, too!

On the train! Choo-Choo!

Don't they look like twins?!

Me and my baby boy! :o)

I don't think she likes him very much! ;o)

The Stagecoach

Michael and daddy got to sit up front with the horses!

After we left, we stopped at Fudruckers for dinner. I don't remember ever going there before. It was pretty good! The kids were exhausted and Michael even fell asleep in the booth! We had a great time! The weather was nice, not rainy, and it was not crowded AT ALL which makes it even MORE nice! Until next year!

Emma's Birthday Celebrations!

2010-11-29T22:34:00.001-08:00

Emma turned 3 this year & her birthday just happened to fall on Thanksgiving! I was due on Thanksgiving with her, but she ended up being 3 days late and this year was her year! I am bound and determined to NOT combine Thanksgiving with her birthday, because I feel like that is her special day and I want her to feel special. SO this year we had her party a week early and invited lots of family over to celebrate! Emma started out wanting a Princess party, then changed her mind for a couple of days to a Barbie party, and then finally decided on strictly an Ariel party! (I checked SEVERAL times before I started buying things!) She also insisted on having sandwiches, but "not peanut butter and jelly" sandwiches. So, we had a deli spread. I normally try to work the party around my work schedule and have that day off so that I can have time to prepare, but it just didn't work out. I had bought everything beforehand and left the setting up to Ron! He actually suprised me! He cut up all the meats/cheeses/breads and even hung up streamers that looked REALLY cute!! He did GREAT! When I got home, I helped with last minute set up, getting the drinks going, plates/napkins/utensils, etc. Amanda was in charge of the cake (again!) and she did an AMAZING job!! I gave her a little bit of direction and this is what she came up with! It was SO cute!!

My little 3 year old!

Brushing daddy's 'hair'.

Thanksgiving weekend was awesome! Last year my family started the tradition of going to the beach for Thanksgiving. This year, since it was Emma's birthday, we decided to venture to San Diego and take her to Sea World as her present. I found a decent hotel (Best Western) and made the arrangements. After making the arrangements, my cousin got engaged and had decided to get married that weekend! I held on to the reservations for awhile (mainly because the date was officially unofficial and because I had hoped we could change to another weekend since the hotel was already paid for). It was getting closer and closer and I finally just cancelled the hotel. THE NEXT DAY we found out that the wedding was to be postponed!!!! That evening, I searched and found the same hotel for the same price and re-booked! I was so relieved! So the plans were set for our family & my parents to stay in the same room and my brother and his family in another. However, the day before we were to leave, my oldest 2 nephews came down with strep pretty bad, so they had to stay home! I was able to cancel their room without a fee, but we sure did miss them! We found out later that my youngest nephew got strep, too! We drove down Thursday morning, checked into the hotel and then found a nice park to bbq at. We had taken down some meats, rice, beans, tortillas, and other fixings to have a nice bbq in the park!

And what would Thanksgiving be without pumpkin pie?! My mom makes THE BEST pumpkin pies, so she made a couple and we took them down with us! After our feast, we headed over to this little boardwalk area nearby that had rides and games, etc so the kids could play around a little. We then headed over to watch a movie, but the movies wasn't for awhile so we bought tickets and found a Boomers and played a quick round of mini golf, then headed back to the theater to watch Tangled. CUTE MOVIE!! After the movie, we headed back to the hotel, got the kids bathed and ready for bed and the search was on for Black Friday deals. We noticed that Toys R Us was to open at 10pm, so I told my mom that I would go with her to that, but I didn't want to go in the morning. So we were off. We got there around 10:30pm and the line was wrapped around the store and back to the front! It was insanely cold!! After waiting outside for 2 hours, we were FINALLY inside only to find that the line to the registers weaved in and out of the aisles to the back of the store!! BUT we were able to find some good deals and got most everything that the kids wanted. I'm just about done with my kids for Christmas and what I wanted, wasn't on sale there. We finally pulled into the hotel parking lot around 2:30am when Ron called to see where we were. Apparently Emma was having a rough night and had been crying for the last hour and a half for me!! When I got up to the room, I noticed that she was running a fever. Luckily I had packed some medicine 'just in case'. So, I gave her some of that while my parents went out and did more shopping. Ron was going to go, but he had gotten sick, too, and didn't want to go shopping.

The next morning we got up, got ready and headed to Sea World! They didn't open until 10 am and it was really close, so we didn't have to get up super early (although my mom didn't get any sleep!). We saw lots of different shows and exhibits and had a great time!

Emma was a little trooper, but she started getting really warm! I had forgotten the meds at the hotel, so we headed to the first aid center. It was like a mini hospital! They took her temp and it was 101, so they gave her some Tylenol. She started feeling better after that, but she was still SO tired from the day/night before!

This was one of the baby whales and he/she was spinning around on it's belly.

The trainers had them 'kiss'! So cute!

Shamu!

Look at the power of that tail!

Emma watching the baluga whales. They had a 5 mth old baby baluga there! It was cute and followed it's momma around everywhere she went!

This was the last show of the evening and the best picture I got!

The park closed at 7:30pm, so we went over to Chilis for dinner. Emma was so tired, she crashed before we made it out of the parking lot and didn't wake up until the next morning! We even took her into the restaraunt and laid her down in the booth and she slept the whole time! The next morning we got up, got ready, checked out and went out to breakfast at Ihop. After that, we headed home! We had a great trip and the kids are still talking about Sea World!!

On a side note, Michael was complaining of a sore throat while we were gone, also, so this morning when I took Emma for her yearly check up and to get Michael his 2nd flu mist, I had the dr check them both out and Emma ended up with an ear infection and Michael has strep! Which means, I have to take Emma back in for her vaccines when she's better and I have to call to have them both have their 2nd flu mist because they ran out! I'm STILL trying to get Ron to go to the doctor because I'm pretty sure he has strep also, but he's being stubborn. He swears he'll go tomorrow morning, but he'll have both kids, so we'll see what happens!

Family Photos

2010-11-28T21:05:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, we had our family photos taken by an AMAZING photographer (HyeStyleShots). We had a great time and got some GREAT shots!! I LOVE them!! There were also some individuals of Ryan & Amanda's family, but it took me forever just to post these!

Our Family. (I LOVE Emma's face!)

The group. (Again, LOVE Emma's face!)

The Grandkids.

My Babies!

Emma enjoying the leaves!

My 2nd Sewing Project

2010-11-16T21:12:00.000-08:00

My first project was Emma's Halloween costume. I started this project a litte while ago, but only worked on it a handful of nights. I pretty much did this on my own (with the exceptions of a few peoples advice & tips) and I learned a lot. There were things about the pattern that I didn't do, but should have. All in all, it turned out pretty well. It's not perfect, but I think she likes it! I don't think I'll make a habit of making all of her clothes, but I'm glad I've started to learn this skill just in case I get another urge!

This particular pattern came with a pattern for a matching backpack. I decided I would just stick with the dress for now! :o)

This Pregnancy

2010-11-14T22:26:00.000-08:00

Well, I've hit the halfway mark and thought I'd share some of my feelings about this pregnancy and things that have been going on. I don't normally share things like this, but I thought I'd give an update.
So far, this pregnancy feels like it's the first time. My first 2 were pretty similar and never had any problems (except the kidney infection I got with Michael at 6 months). Both deliveries were amazing, no complaints for any of it. This one, however has been slightly different. I've been a little more sick this time around (which isn't saying much, because I never got morning sickness) and have noticed more pains in various places than I remember before. I also have been feeling so scared to go through labor/delivery again! I watch birthing shows on TV and think "Oh my gosh! I have to do that again?!" As if I don't remember what it was like last time (which was pretty good compared to some stories I've heard!) I think most of the problem has been because we debated for so long whether to have another, plus it's been 3 years since I was pregnant last I don't remember much unlike when I got pregnant with Emma, Michael was only 5 months old! I'm sure it's just nerves and in just a few months, it will all be over! :o)
As far as the baby update, I went to the doctor on Friday for my ultrasound appointment. While in there, the sonographer found that the placenta was pretty close to my cervix which means that if it doesn't move out of the way, there's a possibility I will have to have a cesarian (sp?). She also found a dark spot on the baby's head and told me that it was a Choroid Plexus Cyst (CPC), but wouldn't tell me anything about it and said that the doctor would go over all of this with me during my appointment. That pretty much ruined the rest of the ultrasound for me and got me pretty worried. When I got in to see the doctor she explained that when they find a CPC, they usually check the rest of the baby to make sure everything else checks out (which it did) because if they don't, it's a sign that the baby could have down syndrome, but because everything else was fine, most likely the cyst would go away after time. So, that means that they will do a follow up ultrasound in a few weeks. Amanda sent me a link to an article about CPC and it said basically the same thing, that the cyst can go away by the 3rd trimester.
So, that's the update. The doctor seemed pretty positive that there's nothing seriously wrong at this point, so I just have to trust her opinion and trust that Heavenly Father will be watching out for our little guy. Even though I'm a little nervous about different things, I'm still SO excited for this little boy to be here so I can hold him and kiss him and love him!

Halloween Festivities

2010-11-03T08:30:00.000-07:00

The Saturday before Halloween, we had our ward party. I went a little early to set up the game Ron was in charge of & to help Amanda set up for the party. After that, we ran some earrands, went home & got ready, then it was back to the church for some last minute touch-ups. We had a great time at the party. Amanda & helpers did an awesome job with the party!

Here's Iron Man.

Here's 2 out of 3 Mario's & Iron Man. (He insisted on this pose every picture I took!)

Here are all the kids (minus Abby)

Here's my 2. Emma is Jessie from Toy Story (in the costume I made!) and Michael is, of course, Iron Man. Grandma Smeesh bought his costume from Costco.

Getting ready to Trick or Treat around the building.

Abby as Tinkerbell. This was Emma's first Halloween costume!

Emma posing! She LOVED her "Chessie" costume!! I originally bought her a Cinderella costume but she cried when I tried it on her. So, I got an idea that I would attempt to sew her a Jessie costume and it turned out pretty cute! I bought the hat & boots to go with it. It was probably more than what I paid for the Cinderella costume, but I know she loved it WAY more!

I bought some last minute costumes for Ron & I. My shirt said Happy Halloween and I bought the ears/bowtie/tail to be a tiger and bought Ron the mullet wig. He already had the John Deer hat & Cheeseburger shirt!

We've Been Busy!!

2010-10-25T22:13:00.000-07:00

I know we have awhile until the baby is born, but I figured out how I wanted to rearrange the bedrooms to create a playroom and to get ready for the baby. I figured why not do it now before I get too big, plus we've been doing a co-op preschool and I thought it would be nice to have that room as the preschool room. SO, we first worked on Emma's room by taking the furniture in the spare room and moving it into her room so she could be in the big bed. She actually had asked to sleep in that bed when it was in the other room the 2 nights before we actually moved everything. Her room looks so bare now because there's not much on the walls, the furniture is light colored as is the bedding and I moved ALL the toys out of her room!

Next was the playroom. We moved all of the kids toys out of their rooms and into the playroom. I tried to downsize, but there were a ton of things that I kept that I probably don't need. Some things I decided to keep for the new baby. I haven't decided if I want to keep the tables up or put them away yet, but I've got preschool on Wednesday, so they'll stay up for that.

I moved the rocking chair & hutch that were in Emma's room into the playroom for when the baby wakes up in the middle of the night and needs to be fed/changed. I need to get a small bookcase to go where the play kitchen is for all the kids books. The bottom drawer of the hutch is full of books and the top 2 bins Michael's toy bucket thing is full of books!

I wanted to have the TV right there, but I'm not sure there will be enough room for the changing pad, so I might look into getting a wall mount for it. We also plan to use the drawers for the baby's clothes since there's no room in Michaels room for 2 dressers.

This is the closet in the playroom. I need to either get a better storage system with more drawers, or try to get rid of more toys!!!

Last, but not least, the boys' room! We converted Emma's toddler bed back into a crib, moved it into Michael's room along with the dresser that matches. Michael has one that I had hoped to move into the closet, but after getting it in there, we realized that the drawers wouldn't open so that's when we decided to keep the newer dresser, put Michael's clothes in it and use the hutch in the playroom as the baby's dresser. The other dresser is still in the middle of the room and we hope to try to sell it or donate it to goodwill.

This was dinner I made for tonight. It was pretty easy and good!

Disney on Ice!

2010-10-25T21:42:00.000-07:00

We've been seeing the commercials for Disney on Ice for awhile now and Michael would get SO excited because Buzz came on for a split second. He would stare at the TV and say "here comes Buzz!!". We hadn't really had the funds to go, but I was able to get a coupon for $5 off each ticket for the Saturday Matinee or Sunday show. I called my parents to see if they wanted to come with me (since Ron has to go to work Saturdays) and they decided they wanted to buy all the grandkids (minus Abby) tickets, so I only had to pay for mine. We upgraded our seats a bit and I thought they were great! The kids' faces lit up when the skaters came out! They enjoyed all of it! I bought them each one toy. Emma wanted an Ariel doll & I got Michael a Buzz doll. He wasn't with me when I bought it, I just figured that's what he'd want. I was right!

Of course, Jack Skelington paid a visit for Halloween...

Captain Hook was there, too!

I know this is blurry, but they kept moving around. These are the princess with the Fairy Godmother. Emma LOVED this part!

Michael's favorite part...BUZZ! (I thought he looked kinda weird! He had this mask on that made him look funny!)

Emma also loved seeing "Chessie"

The finale!

Family Days....My Favorite!!

2010-10-23T21:33:00.000-07:00

After Michael's doctor's appointment, we hit up Target for a few items and the kids learned a new way to ride in the cart! It was fine, until Emma stuck her hand under the wheel! She was fine, just hurt for a little while.

Aftewards we headed up to Murray Farms. I saw an article that if you went during the week, it was cheaper, so we decided to go and have some fun! Emma didn't want to sit next to Michael, so I had to sneak a picure of her later.

We did the corn maze, got lost and SUPER muddy! It had rained the day/night before, so that made for some dirty shoes! I wish I would've thought to bring an extra pair!

On the hayride to the pumpkin patch. Michael makes this face a lot. It's his "serious" face.

Emma's pumpkin.

Michael's pumpkin.

My jailbirds!

Family photo!

I think Ron had more fun than the kids!

Okay, so I decided to get buried with corn, too!

The kids pumpkins. They had these Mr. Potato Head pieces for pumpkins, so I thought it would be a good idea instead of carving or painting & we have extra pieces for our potato's! Here's Emma's princess.

And Michaels Pirate. Arrgh!

I LOVE family days! The ones where we ALL spend the whole day together, just us 4! We don't get to do it as often as I would like, because I have to let Ron go play golf once in awhile so he can relieve some work stress, but when I can I take the opportunity!

THE RESULTS!!!

2010-10-15T21:45:00.000-07:00

IT'S A BOY!!! I honestly thought it was going to be a girl and was hoping only because we could agree on a girls name better than a boy, plus Ron was SO convinced it was a boy it would've been fun to see him wrong, BUT it IS a boy!! And I'm am still REALLY excited! We actually agree on one name, but it's not officially decided yet. We like the name Brock, but need to find a middle name. I like Brock Aiden, but we'll see. Anyway, there you all go!

Your Predictions!!

2010-10-13T22:18:00.000-07:00

Friday I go in for my gender ultrasound and wanted to know what you all think! Boy or girl? If it helps, Chinese Horoscope says girl, when I did the wedding ring test it said girl & both were right with the other 2. However, Ron is convinced it's a boy. I don't care either way, but I'm leaning towards girl (only because Ron thinks it's a boy!). Today I've been feeling boy, so it's all up in the air! You have a 50/50 chance, so get your predictions in by Friday @ 6pm!

Tigger

2010-10-11T08:58:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday Ron and I had to make the tough decision of putting my kitty Tigger down. She had started get sick and throwing up all the time. she had lost so much weight and her fur was falling out and didn't look healthy. I had taken her to the vet a month ago and we tried some medicine and some special food, but she just got to where she wasn't eating anything. She got really dehydrated and the vet said that he could hydrate her, but it would probably only last a couple of weeks and would just prolong the inevitable. So, we decided that this would be the best thing for her. It was a lot harder than I thought. I do love all my animals, but I've never had a real hard time when we've had to put any of them to sleep. Tiggs was the first animal, however, that I actually had to take down there myself, and I think that was the hardest part. I couldn't stay in the room, though. It would've been too hard. Aftwards, we had to pick the kids up from preschool and break the news. Michael took it the hardest because he's older and she was his cat. She's the one that would sleep in his room every night on his pillow. He loved her so much! We all did! That was pretty hard for us to have to do. The thought of him being upset even got to Ron! I teased Ron that if Michael cried and wanted another cat, he would be the first to take him to the pound to get another one! We will miss our little Tiggies, but are so thankful she's not suffering anymore! (This is how she liked to lay down on the couch. She also would lay down with her paws crossed and I always said she sat like a lady!)

Birthday Cupcakes & Doctors Appointments

2010-10-10T22:37:00.000-07:00

My birthday was last Monday (10/4!) and Tuesday I came home from work and my babysitter & the kids made me cupcakes! They were yummy! (Especially since they had my favorite--m&m's on them!)

Michael had his 4 year old check up. He had to do the hearing test & eye test. He did good on the hearing, and did okay during the eye test. He doesn't need glasses (phew!), but he did miss a couple things.

They also took his blood pressure. He looked so funny just staring!

When we saw the doctor, she immediately commented on his birthmark/mole thing he has above his left eyebrow. It has gotten bigger over the years and she suggested we see a dermotologist. After that, she mentioned giving him his flu mist (it goes in the nose like afrin rather than having the shot). I'm not against the flu shot, but I'm not real hip on the H1N1 vaccine. I didn't get them vaccinated last year because I felt that it was too new of a disease and that some people were blowing it out of proportion. Don't get me wrong, I understand that people have had major problems with this and have even died from it, but I just chose not to vaccinate for that for me and my kids. However, the doctor told me that now both the regular & H1N1 vaccine has been combined into one and that since they didn't get the other last year, they have to have 2 this year! Awesome! After the doctor left, the nurse came in with the vaccines for both kids (the flu one) and also his other vaccine (the shot). She did Michael's flu mist first so he could "show little sister how to do it" and he freaked out. We had to lay him on the table! Emma, however, had no issues whatsoever! Then it was time for the shot! I had to hold down his upper body while Ron held down his legs! But, sure enough, he lived and is fine and is up to date on his shots!

Love This Girl!

2010-10-10T22:25:00.000-07:00

Here's Emma & Daddy sharing the love at dinner.

I went to get the car washed and while I was vaccuming, I decided to vaccum the kids hair, but Emma's turned out much better than Michaels! I think she likes it!

Happy Birthday to Me!

2010-10-10T22:05:00.000-07:00

For my birthday present to myself, I bought 2 tickets to the Carrie Underwood concert. Ron didn't want to go (plus he had to work) so I invited my mom. We had a great time! The plan was to have dinner at Uricchio's, but we had to cancel since that was the day we had our accident and I was trying to figure out whether to go to ER or not inbetween work and the concert. (Long story!) Anyway, we ended up at Elephant Bar and split the teryaki chicken dinner, had some appetizers and headed to the concert. Billy Currington opened for her. I like some of his songs, but I'm not going to run out and buy one of his cd's. The only issue I had was the lady I was sitting next to would NOT sit back! We were on the side of the stage and she was leaning forward the WHOLE TIME! And then at the end, she was waving to Carrie Underwood as she left the stage! Yeah! Like she can see you! Duh!

Billy Currington & crew

Miss Carrie Underwood (I can't believe how good my pictures turned out, considering how far away we were.)

She got on this truck that lifted up and flew over the audience, so we got a closer look!

The Wreck!

2010-10-09T23:47:00.000-07:00

Last Wednesday (Sept 29) Ron and I had taken the kids to school days at the fair. Afterwards, we had some time, so we stopped at Sports Authority to pick up some binoculars that we owed my parents, plus my mom and I were going to the Carrie Underwood concert later and figured we could use them. On our way home to get ready for work, we were driving in the left hand lane on Ming and this kid pulled out, crossed over 3 lanes, right in front of us! We honked, slammed on our brakes, but ended up hitting him. The guy then decides he's not stopping and takes off. Ron immediately calls the police and starts going after him explaining what streets we were taking. The guy finally gave up and pulled into an apartment complex. After much talk waiting for the police to arrive, he explains that he has no license, no insurance, he's driving his girlfriends car, etc. After the police got there, they talked with us & then to him, the stories were the same because he knew he was in trouble anyway. The police did a background check and the kid (who's about 24-25) has a warrant out for his arrest! We left before they took him away. So now we are trying to get our car fixed, but have to wait for the insurance company to look at the vehicle before they will work on it. In the meantime, Ron's grandparents were kind enough to loan us their car! We also have to get new car seats (there's a law that requires you to get new car seats if you have children in them at the time of the accident). We will get reimbursed, which is nice, but we had finally gotten everything situated so we could fit 3 carseats in the back, so our shopping is limited now! Here's the damage done to our car.

It doesn't look too extensive, but when we turn the wheel, the fender scrapes the tires, which is not a good sign! (Especially since we JUST replaced the tires!)

Michael's Birthday Party!

2010-10-09T23:35:00.000-07:00

To save time and catch up faster on the recent events, I decided not to put all the pics from his birthday party which most of you have seen on Facebook. Anyway, Sept 25th we had Michaels party at my parents house. I wanted to do it outside, but my yard needs help, so I asked my parents if I could have it there, and they, of course, said yes! This is the first time we've invited more than just family. We thought since he's a Sunbeam now, we'd invite his Sunbeam class along with another friend's son. He had a great turnout and he had a blast! His theme was Buzz Lightyear/Toy Story. We played 3 games (Throw the Snake in the Boot, Help Buzz fight Emperor Zurg, & land Buzz into Andy's Room.) We had lots of food and he got lots of great presents! I made him a shirt that has a #4 on it, but he REFUSED to wear it to the party because he wanted to wear his Buzz shirt. I did, however, make him wear it after church on his actual birthday! He's since worn it a couple of times, so I guess it wasn't a complete waste! :o) Thanks to all the family & friends who made his big day special! He's already talking about his NEXT birthday!

The Best in the West

2010-10-05T21:40:00.000-07:00

These first two pics aren't of the fair, but I wanted to put them in anyway. We went to the "Spooky Store" with my parents. The kids don't like going, but we get them in anyway. The first trip they cried until I took them to the front where they had the bubble fog machine and the kids had a fun time popping bubbles. I also have to rush them across the store to the Toy Story section.

Here's Michael as Buzz:

And Emma as "Chessie":

We went to the fair the first Thursday with my parents and had a fun time. First stop was dinner! we got the kids hot dogs and I got the bbq chicken & Ron wanted to try the giant turkey leg. Emma also had a little taste!

We played a couple of games.

I convinced Ron to let the kids play the "Win a Goldfish" game since it was so cheap. 12 balls for $2?! You can't even ride once around the carousel for that! "What are the odds?" I told Ron...Well, we gave each kid 6 ping pong balls and let 'em go! Michaels first throw landed RIGHT IN THE BOWL!! It didn't even bounce! It just went right in as if there were a magnet involved! We ended up with 3 fish (2 were Michaels, and 1 was Emma's). So, we had to buy a tank!

The kids excited about their fish. Michael named his 2 "Jarom" & "Isaac" (after his cousin & friend) and Emma named hers "Emma" (SO original!). It's been almost 2 weeks and we are down to 1 fish. "Isaac" and "Emma" died, but we still have "Jarom". I actually don't mind having him. I swore that I would never have another fish unless someone else cleaned the tank, but this tank is pretty easy to keep up and the fish doesn't make too much of a mess. I clean his tank every 3-4 days. Not too bad!

We also let the kids ride a couple of rides. When they get older, We'll probably invest in the wristbands since the rides are $1 per ticket and the cheapest ride is 4 tickets! Ridiculous! (We convinced Grandpa to go with them!)

The kids LOVE the carousel!!

We also got some kettle corn & listened to Big Bad Voodoo Daddy Emma kept getting handfuls of popcorn and was dancing SO funny! I took video that I'll try to put up.

Four Years Ago Today....

2010-09-26T20:59:00.000-07:00

This sweet precious baby was born and made me a mommy! I love him so much and am so blessed to have him as my son! He is such a good kid and makes me laugh everyday! He is ALL boy and loves every kind of sport! He loves his cousins and gets SO excited when he gets around them! He loves his sister, even though they fight. He is so sweet with her when he wants to be. He usually doesn't give me too many problems, and when he does he's quick to correct it. He LOVES his daddy and takes every opportunity he can to play with him. Anything daddy does, he wants to do. If daddy is wearing a hat, he wants to, if daddy is wearing basketball shoes or flip flops, he has to do the same. He tells me constantly that I'm his best mommy and that he loves me! I LOVE being a mommy and I especially LOVE this kid! Happy Birthday Michael!

One Year Old

Two Year Old

Three Year Old

Four Year Old

First Day of Preschool!!

2010-09-20T21:51:00.000-07:00

I had intended on signing the kids up with Sister Ricks' preschool (where Michael went last year), but life happened and we were unable to afford both kids to attend, SO Amanda and I were talking and thought we would alternate weeks and have my 2 and her 1 in preschool. I would've preferred to send the kids to preschool so they would be with other kids and not their cousin that they see all the time, but what can you do? Since then, however, we've added 2 other kids and things are going pretty good. I'm glad to have the other 2 so that there are more kids to interact with. The kids are learning a lot (they especially love the songs!) and are having a good time. They usually ask me "Do we have preschool tomorrow?" Michael even got really upset last Friday when I kept him from preschool so he could go with us to the doctors appointment and hear the baby's heartbeat! (I thought he would LOVE it, but I guess he would've rather gone to preschool!)

I couldn't resist!!! :o)

Almost Home!

2010-09-13T21:59:00.000-07:00

We left Provo around 9ish to head home. I was anxious to just drive home, but we did make a couple of stops along the way. We arrived in St. George around lunchtime, so we picked up some KFC and had a picnic on the grass area accross the street from the temple. It was so nice, but pretty hot! After lunch, we walked around the grounds and visited the visitors center to cool off.

Can you see how tired we were?

After St. George we stopped in Vegas at the Excalibur so the kids could go to the "castle". We stayed a little longer than I would've liked, but we still had fun.

After we left Excalibur, we walked over to m&m World, MGM to see the lions, and then took the kids to Mandalay Bay to the aquarium. I hadn't been there before, and thought it was pretty neat! I didn't take my camera charger on the trip, so this was the last picture I was able to get before my batteries died.

We finally left Vegas around 8 and didn't make it home until just before 1 am. It wouldn't have been too bad, except I had to go to work the next morning! Oh well, I eventually caught up on my sleep!

Our Last Days

2010-09-12T22:57:00.000-07:00

The last couple of days we were there, the weather was pretty cold and rainy, so we went up to the Horsley's cabin (some family members who have a cabin just up the street) to learn how to do some leatherwork. Chris made a wallet, Mary made a bracelet for her and for Michael (Michael's was made out of basketball leather that he was SO excited about!), and I made a purse for Emma. We basically sewed these items together by hand how a sewing machine would work (if that makes any sense.) Uncle Ed & Aunt Charlene have served several missions and used their skills to teach people of poverty to be more self sufficient. It was kinda hard, but was nice to learn a new skill. We had lunch over there and then invited them over for dinner a couple of nights. It was nice to listen to Uncle Ed's stories, and boy does he have a lot! That guy has done just about everything!

The day we left, we stopped in Lovell, WY to visit Grandma K's grave. I decided to pick some wild flowers from the cabin and take them down to her. One of grandma's favorite places to be was the cabin, so I thought it appropriate. I wasn't able to make it to grandma's funeral, but I was so glad to be able to visit her. It's always been a tradition in my family around Christmastime we visit our families gravesides and clean them and put poinsettia plants on each grave, so this was a special treat for me. The headstone is a temporary headstone. She wanted a rock from the mountain brought down, so we are in the process of trying to find one. We miss & love you, Grandma!

We had a great time being up there and being with family! I wish Ron could've come with us, but we will be able to go soon enough! The downside....THE DRIVE! Although the kids did EXTREMELY well considering how long of a drive it was, it was just such a long drive!

Shootin' Guns & Boulder Jumping

2010-09-12T22:44:00.000-07:00

We took a couple of different guns up the mountain where no one was and took some empty soda cans/bottles & made a target out of cardboard. Emma had fallen asleep in the car, so she didn't shoot & Michael really enjoyed picking up the bullet shells.

I'm such a natural! ;o)

We took a drive to this river with lots of huge boulders that the kids really enjoyed jumping on! Emma still likes to jump from rug to rug pretending they're boulders she's jumping on.

Sibley Lake & S'mores

2010-09-11T09:03:00.000-07:00

The next day we went to Sibley Lake to do some bobbing fishing. We took a picnic and then did a little fishing! The kids really enjoyed it. Michael was able to do that better than the fly fishing. We would help him cast out and he would reel it in. Once, he was reeling it in and when the end came close, there was a fish on it! Not a big one, but a fish none the less! Beats my record, which is zero!

The kids were "fishing" with sticks. They looked so cute sitting there!

Michael got to drive home. (Not the whole way, just down the street to the cabin)

After we got cleaned up and dinner eaten (fish!), the kids cooked up some s'mores!

Michael didn't want to eat all of his (who's kid is this?!)

Emma grabbed the marshmallow and got all sticky!

More Fishing!

2010-09-09T22:20:00.000-07:00

We did some more fishing and I was lucky enough to get this video of the kids pulling out the fish and Emma getting smacked in the face with the fish!

Porcupine Falls

2010-09-08T22:36:00.000-07:00

The next day, we headed to Porcupine Falls for another hike. This one wasn't as long as Medicine Wheel, but it was A LOT steeper & more rocky! Which made for a fun trip! you hike down first, which made you have to be careful where you step because the rocks were pretty loose. On the way up was REALLY hard because it was so steep! But we all made it alive and had a great time!

Auntie Mudgers & Emma

The View

The group (Alyssa, Chris, Kate, Gina [that's not how you spell it, but it's how you say it], Hesston [the dog] Mary, Grandpa K, Michael, Me, Emma--Grandma K was taking the photo)

The kids and I in front of the falls.

Playing in the water.

Alyssa, Chris & Mary hiking up the falls.

Chris attempting to make a raft out of logs....Fail!

The Falls

The steep walk up!

Bear Lodge

2010-09-08T21:23:00.000-07:00

About 30 min from the cabin, there's a lodge called Bear Lodge with an indoor pool. So, after a little fishing, we took the kids down to go swimming. I didn't bring their swimsuits, so I just had Michael wear some shorts and I brought extra undies, a shirt & shorts for Emma. I decided to just put the shirt & undies on her, but she wanted to take off her shirt like Michael.

Shortly after, this is what happened. She didn't even get her undies wet before she took 'em off!

We conned Uncle Chris into getting in the pool with the kids! The water was pretty cold!

While we were swimming, there was a storm that came through.

Complete with a full rainbow! (I only got the one side because my camera wasn't taking good pictures.)

Gone Fishin'

2010-09-08T21:15:00.000-07:00

After dinner, we went to the little stream near the cabin to try our luck.

After awhile, a fish was snagged! They gave the pole to Michael so he could reel it in!

He didn't much care to touch the fish or be near it, but still thought it was pretty cool that he was fishing! I don't think he liked the fact that the fish was wiggling around so much.

MOOSE!!

2010-09-07T22:55:00.000-07:00

We were heading back to the cabin after Medicine Wheel and saw this guy on the side of the road! We were able to get pretty close! (Not too close--they charge!) It was pretty awesome!

Then, when we sat down to eat dinner, we saw this female moose right out the window! She had been there longer, but by the time I got my camera, she was running off!

Medicine Wheel

2010-09-07T22:21:00.000-07:00

On Monday, 8/9, we hiked up to Medicine Wheel. It is a sacred place that the Indians go visit and place things in and around the wheel. Apparently, you used to be able to walk on the "wheel", but they've since put up some rope so you can't walk on the grounds, but you can walk around it. The only people allowed are the Indians. There were lots of people that have hung some sort of material with other various items. It was pretty neat.

The group on the hike up.

Another thing Michael learned while on vacation. This is how he started out.

Deer.

And this is what he was doing by the end of the hike!

(I think I was telling the kids to look at the camera....)

A view of the Medicine Wheel. You can see the posts i the back that have the ropes with some sort of offerings on it.

The group. (Interesting fact: The guy who took this picture was from Bakersfield! Small world!)

On the way back, Chris built a Carin (sp?)

This is Michaels.

We Finally Made It!

2010-09-05T23:30:00.000-07:00

We finally made it to the Croft Family Cabin around 4 and the first thing Michael did was learn how to use a gun! This was one of the many things he learned on our trip!

The sign on the door.

The cabin.

The kids and I went for a walk around while the girls went on a bike ride and the boys went fishing for a little bit.

The beautiful wild flowers around the cabin.

On the Way to Wyoming!

2010-09-05T23:05:00.000-07:00

After leaving Provo, we were on our way! It was going to be another 10 hour drive, and we didn't leave until 5 pm, so we drove as far as we could and stopped for the night in Lander. We stayed at the Frontier Lodge. It looked just like it sounds! It was kinda cute with the log beds! It looked like a cabin from the outside complete with wood carved animals. Although, the color on the walls was a little strange....

This was the "free" breakfast we orded. It was in the "kids & light eaters" section! That thing was huge!

The next morning we headed to Worland where some family members live to get the key to the cabin and get last minute groceries. This picture was for Ron. (No, we didn't buy them!)

Beautiful scenery!

This was a rest stop of some falls that we stopped at. (I can't remember the name of the falls...)

Emma was grumpy and didn't want to get in the picture.

From Worland, it was only a couple more hours to the cabin.

Provo

2010-08-29T14:39:00.000-07:00

Since I had just found out I was pregnant, I didn't want to travel by myself, so I asked Gabi to come along with me since she has some friends and family that live in Provo. She agreed and we were off on a Friday. Ron's sister lives in Provo and his mom was visiting, so we were to meet them there, stay the night, and then leave the next day. When we got there, we transferred our stuff into the other vehicle, said our goodbyes to Gabi, and then got to hang out with grandma. Ron's sister was in Salt Lake when we got there for a dance practice she had. It was a practice before the tryouts the next morning for the dance team for the Utah Grizzlies (the semi-pro hockey team.) Saturday, while we were waiting for Mary, we ran some last minute errands, picked up some last minute things before the trip. When she got done, we headed out, but first stopped at a waterfall that's nearby (I don't remember the name, but a lot of people go). The first picture is shortly after we got into UT and I saw this crazy looking rain cloud!

The Announcements

2010-08-23T13:01:00.000-07:00

When I announced my pregnancy with Michael to Ron, I was just so excited and couldn't wait to tell him and had given him a pair of baby golf shoes that I had ordered online. I was even shaking when I gave them to him! For my parents, I made up some Cookies By Design and had the movie theater workers give it to them during a movie we had seen one night (all pre planned), for Ron's parents we sent them a Build a Bear. For Emma, I sent out cards to everyone to see who would get theirs first. For this baby, we had to drag the announcements out because I was going on vacation with Ron's family and wanted to tell them in person.

I told Ron first. He had a golf tournament that he said I could go to, so I made up a card that said "Congrats!" and on the inside said "On your third hole in one!" I put it where his golf balls are so he was sure to find it.

The next week we told my parents. I printed out the picture and gave it to them just before church started (hence, no pictures). My dad saw first because my mom was late to choir. When she finally came in, our choir director gave her the picture. Both were really excited.

That Friday was when the kids and I were headed to UT where my MIL & SIL were. My SIL wasn't home when we got there, so I gave my MIL a packet of photos of the last couple of months of the kids, included the announcment picture at the end. She was pretty suprised as well!

When my SIL came home, we did the same thing for her.

A couple days later, we met up with the rest of the crew at the cabin and showed them the pictures, too.

Everyone was so excited because we had been saying for a long time that we were done and weren't having anymore kids. But after a LONG debate of back and forth between the both of us, we decided that we'd like to have one more! SUPRISE! :o)

What Better for My 300th Post Than....

2010-08-17T22:10:00.000-07:00

We said it wasn't going to happen, but...... :o) We are so excited! I'm due March 31, 2011. I have my first doctors appointment this Friday, so we'll see how it goes!

Michael's FIRST Haircut!

2010-07-29T21:08:00.000-07:00

A couple Sunday's ago my dad was giving haircuts and Michael REALLY wanted one too. Although his hair is much thicker than what it used to be (which isn't much) it still has not grown in length. But I figured why not?! What would it hurt anyway? So I had him shave the sides and back and trim up the top. He LOVED it! In fact, that night after bath he checked himself out in the mirror to "make sure his hair was still cut!" AND the next morning he got pretty upset that his hair was going to grow back and it wouldn't be cut anymore. So I explained that he would just keep getting hair cuts from now on!

The finished product!

See! I TOLD you he had hair!!! (okay, so that's the 3 other boys hair, but still!) ;o)

Free Concert!

2010-07-29T20:57:00.000-07:00

My mom told me about a free concert KUZZ was putting on with American Idol runner up Bo Bice and wondered if we wanted to go. So, we accepted and went on a little date. My mom didn't realize that they opened table registration several weeks prior, so our seats weren't great, but it was still fun and nice to do something together.

Little Miss

2010-07-29T20:48:00.000-07:00

Emma has a tendancy of just playing when she's supposed to be sleeping. This is how I found her several nights in a row.

Swim Lessons

2010-07-28T09:08:00.000-07:00

I had heard that swim lessons at the same place they went to last year was having their 3rd & 4th sessions for only $5 per child (under 5)!!! So, I signed the kids up for both sessions! They go M-Th from 10:45-11:20 and they are loving it! They're in their 2nd session right now. They have 2 kids per instructor and Michael was able to have Aaron in his class with him. He's doing pretty well. He's not swimming on his own yet, but he sure tries! He keeps jumpin out to start swimming, but the teacher kept grabbing him before he could get too far! He's still got one more week, so maybe he'll figure it out by then!

Emma's doing really well, too. she loves to jump in the water and is not afraid to go under. She even tries to swim on her own as well. She jumps out and tries to swim, but doesn't quite move her arms and legs like she's supposed to. I'm just glad my kids aren't afraid of the water! Her first session she had a kid with her that did nothing but cry the WHOLE time! It wasn't until about the last 2-3 days that he wouldn't cry! She ended up with him again this session, but he's much better!

We also had Sarah there during mommy & Me with Lindsey, so the kids had a blast seeing all of their cousins every day!

And here's Amanda & Abby. This is pretty much how Abby chilled for most of the time! She did go under a few times, but this was the position of the 1/2 hour! She's such a momma's girl!

Just Us Girls!

2010-07-20T21:17:00.000-07:00

Emma has been going through a phase recently where she is almost unbearable with her tantrums! It's been so frustrating because it doesn't seem like anything works. We've tried being nice, we've tried being mean, and nothing! So, I thought that I would try some one on one time with her and see if that would help. (I am convinced that she needs to go back to taking naps, but I need her to go down early so that she's not up late, but it hasn't happened yet) I took Michael to my parents for my dad to watch him and then Emma and I went to Mac N Cheeza for lunch. I hadn't been there yet, and thought it was pretty good!

Here she is drawing on the giant chalkboard.

We shared some yummy mac n cheese!

Threw back a few....(okay, so it was strawberry soda, but I thought it was funny!)

Went to Build a Bear, and then saw "Despicable Me". I thought it was really cute! She liked it too, but had to go potty right at the good part at the end. By the time we got back, everything was fine and the movie was just about over. When we got out, I took her to the arcade area for her to play around (not actually play, just pretend.) They had a crane game with stuffed animals from the movie. She wanted to play, but I wouldn't let her. Then, a little boy came in to play (he was about Michael's age) and on the first try he ended up getting 2 of the same toy (a stuffed unicorn) and gave one to Emma! (SCORE!)

Here she is with her animals...(this is why she needs to take naps again!) That night we all went out to watch Ron's softball game.

I hope to make this a regular thing because I just think it's important!

Just Married!

2010-07-20T20:58:00.000-07:00

I have known Sonnet through church for several years. I've always found her to be smart, funny, and fun to be with. We went to seminary together, girls camp, and we've been in the same ward for the last few years. So, naturally, when she was spotted around with a new boyfriend, I was really excited for her! I teased her a couple of times just to make sure she knew where I worked! ;o) Christian lives in Tehachapi, so he frequently stayed at my parents house if he couldn't/didn't need to head back home. One evening, my dad called asking for general information about how much an engagement ring would cost. Long story short, he came in, picked out the perfect ring, she said yes, they came back to get his ring & a matching wedding band for her, and they were married a couple of weeks ago! We are so happy for the both of them and wish them the best of luck! Congrats you two!

This is a cake that Amanda made for their last YSA break the fast (on the 4th).

At the reception, Emma & Aaron cutting a rug!

Emma & Uncle Ry Ry dancing!

The happy couple!

Independence Day

2010-07-20T20:44:00.000-07:00

Saturday, the 3rd, we bbq'd at my parents house and then headed out to Shafter to see the fireworks. We set up "camp" in the park and had a good time! A couple of Ryan's co-workers and their families came as well, so we had a pretty large group. Emma didn't care for them much. She wasn't really "scared", just not interested.

He looks so big in this outfit & hat!

Best Friends!

Enjoying some Capri Suns.

Sunday, my parents hosted break the fast and bbq'd hot dogs, and when it got dark, we lit off a few fireworks. Monday wasn't filled with too much since it was just any other Monday (Ron has to work and I normally have Monday's off anyway!) We had a fabulous 4th and are so grateful for those who have fought for our freedoms! THANK YOU!!!

Basketball Camp

2010-07-19T08:18:00.000-07:00

I wanted to sign Michael up for T-Ball this year, but the dates didn't work out with our trip and I didn't want to pay the money for him to miss 1-2 games (out of 4), so I looked into some other options and found this Tot Basketball camp which I thought he would like MUCH better! If we were to rank his favorite sports it would go Golf ('cause of daddy), Basketball, Hockey, then Baseball. He does love to play all of them, but the others are played more frequently. He would probably play golf more often, but that's not something that he can play in the house much, so he is usually shooting hoops in our little tikes hoop (which he's outgrown!) This kid has been playing basketball since he was barely tall enough to shoot a basket when the hoop was on the lowest setting and he stood on his tip-toes! The class was only a week for 45 min a day and he loved every minute! They start the kids off doing jumping jacks (which was probably the cutest thing ever!), and some arm stretches and then they ran a lap around the gym. They learned how to dribble, pass, shoot, and play defense. Michael was probably one of the best kids they had, and I'm not just saying that because I'm his mom! :o) Most of the kids were pretty small and he just has a talent for sports!

Here he is getting hydrated.

After each practice, they huddled together while the coach talked to them with their hands in the circle....

...and then they would yell "Basketball" while they lifted their hands up!

Look at that form! He even got some air!

To keep Emma occupied, I gave her my camera to play with....

Almost Home

2010-07-18T22:43:00.000-07:00

When we left the zoo, the plan was to drive to Medford, OR and stay the night, and finish the trip the next day, BUT when we got near Medford (around midnight or so) we started calling for a hotel and they were all booked up for some soccer something. There were a couple of rooms, but one was a suite and the other was just more than what we wanted to spend for just a few hours. SO we just kept on driving. I drove from the OR/CA border till about Sacramento while Ron slept, and then Ron took over (it was around 5 am). Around 7:30am, just north of Tulare, I woke up to our vehicle sliding sideways and a big cloud of dust! We then did a complete 360 in the left lane of the 99!!! The car died, but Ron was able to start it back up and move over to the shoulder. We found the next exit so we could check out the damage (we borrowed Ron's grandpa's Yukon because we needed more room). The only damage was in the very front, but it wasn't good! The bumper was cracked almost all the way accross! I asked Ron what happened and he said that he was looking in his rear view mirror at a semi that was behind us in the right hand lane, and when he looked back at the road, the road had a right turn and the front tire hit the dirt and we started sliding, he tried to correct, but ended up putting both front tires in the dirt as we were sliding sideways, and an oleander branch hit the front which spun us the rest of the way around! We were just so grateful that Heavenly Father was watching over us and kept the car from rolling! Needless to say, we were up for the rest of the drive home. We ended up getting home around 8:30/9 am, but Emma had had a rough ride home and was complaining about her ear, so I made an appt to take her in that morning. So, after a few errands, filling perscriptions, and having some lunch, we came home and CRASHED! All of us! All in all, it was a fun trip and we had a great time visiting with our family! We love you guys!

Here's a couple pics of the damage!

Last Stop...The Zoo/Aquarium!!

2010-07-18T21:25:00.000-07:00

The day we left, we decided to make a stop in Tacoma at the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium. If you're ever in the area, I recommend this place! It was decent priced and had LOTS to do! Fortunately, Ron's mom was able to come too and spend one last day with us, and then just headed back up as we headed down south.

While we were buying tickets, Michael had to go to the bathroom, so the lady gave us our tickets real quick and I rushed him to the restroom. When we came out, we were greeted by this guy!

Emma decided to chase him around and backed him up into a corner....

....so he did this! We found out that they had a whole bunch of peacocks throughout the park. It was pretty cool to see them walking around with their pretty feathers!

First stop: The Lemurs! this little guy is a black lemur that was just kinda hanging out....

....while his cousins were all huddled up on the rock trying to stay warm! (And yes, we sang the "I like to move it move it" song!)

Grandma & Emma in the birds nest.

A cute little meerkat. He looks a little sad :o(

A wall of cockroaches....Gross!

Wallaby

They had a mock vetrinary office that the kids could play with.

We went to look at the elephants and I didn't even notice until my MIL said something, but I look over and saw this....(Enter your own thoughts here______)

And here's the exhibit we WANTED to see!

We found these glasses....."I'm too sexy for my shades!"

About 3 weeks prior to our visit, this mama tiger gave birth to a couple of baby cubs! They didn't have them out to where you could see them in person, but they had monitors on her. The daddy tiger was out and we could see him, however, he was pretty far back to get a picture and when we were there, one of the trainers came out to talk about them and answer questions and he said that they just recently found out that the daddy had a massive tumor which was causing some breathing problems. They started him on chemo treatments, and it seems to be helping, but they don't think it's curing. The tumor has shrunk immensely, but everything was still up in the air. He also mentioned that this particular breed (the Sumatran) is slowly depleeting and there are only a few left. They are trying to breed them using the ones that are already in zoos, but that is an iffy situation. At one point they tried to breed this female with the brother of the daddy and he tried to kill her. So anyway, they're really cute and it was interesting to learn about them.

Also new at the zoo were these cute Clouded Leopards. There were 2 of them, but when we got there, it was feeding time, and they fed them seperate. But after lunch, they had them both in there playing with the trainers. They were like oversized cats with giant paws. But, they don't get very big.

A cute little river otter!

This monkey just looked so sad. We decided he looked a little like grandpa smeesh! ;o)

These monkeys were "relaxing in style"

Sea Horses! (I thought they looked pregnant!)

The touch pools.

Sea Otters

These sea lions were so funny! They would swim toward the glass on it's back until it looked like he was going to hit it, and then he would flip on his stomach, swim to the other side of the pool, swim up and lift out of the water, and then swim towards us on his back again! He did that over and over and over!

A giant walrus! He was huge!

When we went to the car, there were peacocks in the parking lot! And they like Cheeze-Its!

A break in our trip for some funny conversations....

2010-07-14T20:35:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago these conversations happened in the same day:

Michael & Emma were play fighting and while Michael was pushing Emma's head into the couch he says, "Got any last words?!"

Then when daddy came home, Michael was playing basketball and was tossing the ball to Ron. At one point, Michael threw the ball at him, but he wasn't paying attention so it hit him in the chest. Michael goes over to the foot of the chair, looks him in the eye and says, "Daddy! Focus!"

Shortly after that, something hit Ron in his "sensitive" area and, while rolling around on the floor groaning, Emma says "Daddy, did you hurt your peanut?"

This happened a few days ago:

I was in blow drying my hair when Emma walked in with a frozen corn dog that she was eating. I found out that she had gotten into the freezer, pulled the box out, left the box on the floor and the door was still open, and decided to eat a corn dog! I asked her "Do you want me to heat that up?" To which she replied "No."

Just today:

Michael came up behind me while I was sitting on the floor and gave me a hug. Then he asked,

M: "Mommy, will you marry me?"
Me: "But I'm already married."
M: "Who are you married to?"
Me: "Daddy"
M: "Why did you marry daddy?"
Me: "Because I love him!"
M: "But you fart on him!"

These kids are so crazy, but I can't help but love 'em! They sure do come up with the funniest things!

There Is Beauty All Around

2010-07-12T22:35:00.000-07:00

Bellingham is absolutely beautiful! It is green everywhere! It rains a ton there, so you can imagine how green it is! There are nature paths everywhere, so we decided to head down the street (literally) for a little scenery/fishing.

It looks like Ron is hunting, but he's really got a fishing pole.