Merry Christmas Everybody!!
My year has run away with me and I'm afraid that I'm finishing the year with quite a bang. I officially forgot when Christmas was and keep thinking I have another few days to take care of business... as you can tell I'm writing to you on Christmas Eve. I am offically out of time. The shopping is done, and the cooking is started, but packages have yet to be wrapped. Today will be full of fun! Oh, and a great big Happy Birthday to Sean. We are hoping your mountain top adventure goes well!
We have SO much to be gratefull for and hope that the coming year will treat us all well. Our thoughts are with all of our friends and family,
Merry Christmas!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
NOT CYANNE!!!!!
The end of the first trimester has come. That means report cards have come home. All the kids did pretty well. Ressa is achieving many of her goals, Foster is slightly behind in his English skills (but is making progress), and Cyanne made the HONOR ROLL!
For the first time in her life Cyanne had all B's. She met all her reading and testing goals, and after a rocky start to the year has become quite the student. She loves being in Mr. Baskent's class and seems to be making some great friends.
As a reward she spent last weekend in Long Beach with Hannah (our old nieghbor). The girls had a great time running errands with Ms. Sharon and Mr. Jim, watching movies, going out to lunch, and just hanging out.
Cyanne is very excited to try to do better. Her competative drive has kicked in. She says she wants to have at least 2 A's next term, but straight A's would be better! We will see how that goes, but in the mean time she has surprised us all!
For the first time in her life Cyanne had all B's. She met all her reading and testing goals, and after a rocky start to the year has become quite the student. She loves being in Mr. Baskent's class and seems to be making some great friends.
As a reward she spent last weekend in Long Beach with Hannah (our old nieghbor). The girls had a great time running errands with Ms. Sharon and Mr. Jim, watching movies, going out to lunch, and just hanging out.
Cyanne is very excited to try to do better. Her competative drive has kicked in. She says she wants to have at least 2 A's next term, but straight A's would be better! We will see how that goes, but in the mean time she has surprised us all!
Monday, November 9, 2009
WHAT ARE YOUR BLOG ADDRESSES?
I'm disappointed to tell all my friends:
I have lost all your blog addresses. First our laptop crashed-- we have yet to fix it. Then my dumb phone crashed with all my contacts being wiped clean. Therefore, I have lost track of all my friends I like to peek in on. I remembered Kristin's just because the name is so her, but if any of you would leave your addresses either under the comment section or email it to me I would be grateful. We really miss everybody!
Tara
I have lost all your blog addresses. First our laptop crashed-- we have yet to fix it. Then my dumb phone crashed with all my contacts being wiped clean. Therefore, I have lost track of all my friends I like to peek in on. I remembered Kristin's just because the name is so her, but if any of you would leave your addresses either under the comment section or email it to me I would be grateful. We really miss everybody!
Tara
QUILTING... NEVER AGAIN
Foster's class decided to make quilts. Some of the moms know how to do it and all, but I have never done it before. Foster, of course, tells his teacher I can do it since I'm "an awesome sewer". Thanks Foster. All the kids took in their choice of material and then were given 20 squares from their classmates (did not get a square of their own). It is random, but I think turned out as well as can be expected!
This is the finished project of his class reading/picnic quilt. It took forever and I won't be sorry if I never do it again. Big thanks to Brandi's mom Genie who walked me through the process!
This is the finished project of his class reading/picnic quilt. It took forever and I won't be sorry if I never do it again. Big thanks to Brandi's mom Genie who walked me through the process!
HALLOWEEN!
As most of you know Halloween puts me in my element. This year we decided to go easy on my sewing (due to little time and our just settling in). We were a family of zombies. Brandi and I had WAY too much fun with this one, and are already brain storming for next year!
I went as a lifeguard, Nate was a business man, Brandi was a runner, Cyanne was a soccer star, Foster was Foster, Ressa was a sweet zombie, and Ammon was a beach going zombie. Brandi bloodied up the clothes with the kids and I did all the make up. We were rocking the trick or treating! We are thinking about framing some of these pics. Enjoy!
Family picture:
Stay out of the cookie jar:
Just a taste?:
Soccer zombie:
Foster zombie:
Sweet zombie:
Beach bum zombie:
Crazy dad zombie:
Me and Brandi:
Even little zombies like loves:
When we were done in the neighborhood we stayed out on the front porch to hand out candy. Next thing the masks were out and we were scheming on how to scare teenagers. Cyanne successfully scared a couple (wearing Nate's big scary mask)when she jumped out from behind his chair. The one threw his bag of candy on the floor and yelped, while another screamed and almost landed in my lap. It was a great night.
Ressa didn't get in on the scare fun, but she modeled the mask for us:
SHAUNTE SAID TO UPDATE... HERE I AM!
I spoke to Shaunte' this morning. The coversation didn't last nearly as long as needed to get all the details out, but it seldom does when you have kids at home. She checks in here often, as do some of the rest of you, and would love to have me update. Today is a relativley calm day so here I am!
We are all loving our house! The idea of us owning it has finally started to settle into our heads. We have begun watering the dead lawn (mostly to keep the dust down), Nate purchased a weed wacker and knocked down all the weeds in the back, we had our first Halloween in our new area, the kids are starting to meet new friends, and my sewing room is finally all set up (the bare bones were functional before, but now it rocks)! I still have to paint it. The walls are all stark white, but I haven't discovered what color or colors I want to use. Soon I hope!
Our next project is to plant grass in the front and back yards. Nate also has to get the sprinkler system working. I will be getting some rose bushes and planting them over the next few months. They always remind me of Grace so of course they are my favorite. This area is great for them and they bloom nearly year round!
Here is the shock that nearly dropped Jen to the floor... I finally bought a vacume! We have always has wood floors and I never owned one. Now that the whole house is carpet we broke down and got a canister vac. I am loving it! It is fantastic for the stairs because it is light. The kids are hating it though... lots of legos and barbie shoes have met their end by being sucked up.
We have been so busy getting the house unpacked and figured out we haven't done anything too amazing. I also haven't had too much time to get on the computer or phone. Check out the other posts, and eventually I will start catching up with everybody!
Hope everybody is doing well!
We are all loving our house! The idea of us owning it has finally started to settle into our heads. We have begun watering the dead lawn (mostly to keep the dust down), Nate purchased a weed wacker and knocked down all the weeds in the back, we had our first Halloween in our new area, the kids are starting to meet new friends, and my sewing room is finally all set up (the bare bones were functional before, but now it rocks)! I still have to paint it. The walls are all stark white, but I haven't discovered what color or colors I want to use. Soon I hope!
Our next project is to plant grass in the front and back yards. Nate also has to get the sprinkler system working. I will be getting some rose bushes and planting them over the next few months. They always remind me of Grace so of course they are my favorite. This area is great for them and they bloom nearly year round!
Here is the shock that nearly dropped Jen to the floor... I finally bought a vacume! We have always has wood floors and I never owned one. Now that the whole house is carpet we broke down and got a canister vac. I am loving it! It is fantastic for the stairs because it is light. The kids are hating it though... lots of legos and barbie shoes have met their end by being sucked up.
We have been so busy getting the house unpacked and figured out we haven't done anything too amazing. I also haven't had too much time to get on the computer or phone. Check out the other posts, and eventually I will start catching up with everybody!
Hope everybody is doing well!
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
WE ARE STILL ALIVE!
For most of you it has been forever since we have caught up. I know I have been bad about keeping everybody up to date, and am sorry.
It seems our summer started off in a whirl and we merged right into the school year full steam ahead. We moved twice this summer. First into a friend's rental house in Rowland Heights and then again when our home purchase in Lake Elsinore closed. We moved into our new home the day before school started so you know we were running! We also made a trip to Lake Powell with the Smith side of the family, went to a couple swim dates in Long Beach, attended a Dodger game, and have spent most of our time unpacking and fixing up our house.
HOUSE!!
We were lucky enough to be able to purchase a new home for our family. We could not justify the cost of Long Beach foreclosures and so decided on Lake Elsinore. We bought a very clean foreclosure that sits on a huge (by cali standards) lot. We now have 6 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and loft to our names!
We are loving our house. I spent the first week and a half covering all the shelves in the kitchen with vinyl flooring. It took some experimenting, but in the end I got pretty good at it!
Nate got out all his tools and hung ceiling fans in the house. Those seemed to be a hot commodity for the previous owners as they had taken them all out. The monster one in the living room was a pain to put up. We were laughing because on the box it said it was a "5 minute fan"... try 55 minute fan!! It looks and runs great now though.
Nate also switched out the kitchen faucet for me. The previous one leaked and looked like it had never been cleaned. I am loving my goose neck faucet now!
Our yard is dead, but that is okay with us for now. We have grand plans for the front and back yards, but will have to wait until it isn't quite so hot around here. The first couple weeks we were her the temps ranged from 102-111 everyday. We recently had a nice week in the high 80s, but as of today are back up over 100! When will it end?
Brandi, my best friend from growing up (also know as Aunt Brandi), moved in with us a couple weeks ago. She has been a lot of fun to have around. The kids love her! She is working over the Ortega in San Juan Capistrano in a medical lab. She plans to stay with us for a few months until she is ready for her own place.
SCHOOL
The kids school is incredible! Such a change from the Long Beach schools we are used to. Rice Canyon was just built 8 years ago. The classrooms are larger than the standard, and there are a few more kids in each class (mostly due to so many new families moving in over the summer) but the teachers and principal are fantastic. The teachers are really gearing the kids for the responsibility of middle school. The kids favorite details of the school are, of course; the huge grassy sports field, the fact that every grade level has its own computer lab, and the fact that they can actually bring home the library books that they check out. Like I said... way different to LB!
Cyanne is loving 5th grade. This is the first year she has a male teacher and she just thinks that is the coolest thing ever! He is very strict, but fair with the kids. I like his style! She is doing fairly well in his fast paced class.
Foster is in 3rd grade. He is struggling a little with the fact that there is daily homework as well as weekly homework. Over all though he is liking school much better.
Ressa started kindergarten! She is loving the half days of school and is excelling in getting her homework done. She is very motivated to do well. She has these little flower clips that she won't go to school without. Her teacher makes a comment everyday, and I hear about it every afternoon... followed by her princess giggle. Tina makes the clips and sells them online. I would suggest anybody with girlie girls check it out! http://www.princessjanesbows.blogspot.com/
Ammon is loving having the house and my attention to himself. We hang out every morning while Ressa is in school. He has gone on a couple mommy dates with me too. His favorite was the first day of school when I took him to IHop. We had blueberry pancakes and he was all smiles! He has also been getting into all kinds of mischief. He found a sharpie the other day. In the time it took me to use the bathroom, put on yoga stuff and put up my hair he had colored all over himself and one of the couches. Fun!
DOGS
Daisy had puppies when we were in Rowland Heights. They were adorable! Foster just loved that he got to watch them be born. He has told everybody about how cool and messy it is. It was the first time I have been part of that process. It was actually very cool. She was a great mom!! Her puppies left the house a week and a half ago. They went to friends of ours. They will be very happy girls!
The day the puppies went to their new homes we picked up the doberman puppy we were waiting to adopt. She is adorable! Her name is Jackie. She is all legs and with any luck she will be a big girl. Her parents were huge! She is really sweet with the kids and calm for her age (10 weeks this week). Ammon pals around with her all day. She mouths a little, but is really good not to bite. Sometimes I look out back to see his hand or diaper in her mouth and them walking down the patio... nothing like holding hands. This new addition doesn't have Gretchan too happy, but she is getting along just fine. Daisy enjoys her play buddy for the most part, but has definitely showed poor Jackie who is boss. Jackie loves to cuddle with the kids and Nate. She likes me during the day, but once Nate comes home she is all his.
I think that is everything this time. I will try to be better about posting now that we have settled in some. I owe a lot of you phone calls too. Will try to start calling this week. Finally have a home number so will be able to really talk instead of rush off the phone due to minutes. Hope everybody had a great summer and will chat soon!!
It seems our summer started off in a whirl and we merged right into the school year full steam ahead. We moved twice this summer. First into a friend's rental house in Rowland Heights and then again when our home purchase in Lake Elsinore closed. We moved into our new home the day before school started so you know we were running! We also made a trip to Lake Powell with the Smith side of the family, went to a couple swim dates in Long Beach, attended a Dodger game, and have spent most of our time unpacking and fixing up our house.
HOUSE!!
We were lucky enough to be able to purchase a new home for our family. We could not justify the cost of Long Beach foreclosures and so decided on Lake Elsinore. We bought a very clean foreclosure that sits on a huge (by cali standards) lot. We now have 6 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms and loft to our names!
We are loving our house. I spent the first week and a half covering all the shelves in the kitchen with vinyl flooring. It took some experimenting, but in the end I got pretty good at it!
Nate got out all his tools and hung ceiling fans in the house. Those seemed to be a hot commodity for the previous owners as they had taken them all out. The monster one in the living room was a pain to put up. We were laughing because on the box it said it was a "5 minute fan"... try 55 minute fan!! It looks and runs great now though.
Nate also switched out the kitchen faucet for me. The previous one leaked and looked like it had never been cleaned. I am loving my goose neck faucet now!
Our yard is dead, but that is okay with us for now. We have grand plans for the front and back yards, but will have to wait until it isn't quite so hot around here. The first couple weeks we were her the temps ranged from 102-111 everyday. We recently had a nice week in the high 80s, but as of today are back up over 100! When will it end?
Brandi, my best friend from growing up (also know as Aunt Brandi), moved in with us a couple weeks ago. She has been a lot of fun to have around. The kids love her! She is working over the Ortega in San Juan Capistrano in a medical lab. She plans to stay with us for a few months until she is ready for her own place.
SCHOOL
The kids school is incredible! Such a change from the Long Beach schools we are used to. Rice Canyon was just built 8 years ago. The classrooms are larger than the standard, and there are a few more kids in each class (mostly due to so many new families moving in over the summer) but the teachers and principal are fantastic. The teachers are really gearing the kids for the responsibility of middle school. The kids favorite details of the school are, of course; the huge grassy sports field, the fact that every grade level has its own computer lab, and the fact that they can actually bring home the library books that they check out. Like I said... way different to LB!
Cyanne is loving 5th grade. This is the first year she has a male teacher and she just thinks that is the coolest thing ever! He is very strict, but fair with the kids. I like his style! She is doing fairly well in his fast paced class.
Foster is in 3rd grade. He is struggling a little with the fact that there is daily homework as well as weekly homework. Over all though he is liking school much better.
Ressa started kindergarten! She is loving the half days of school and is excelling in getting her homework done. She is very motivated to do well. She has these little flower clips that she won't go to school without. Her teacher makes a comment everyday, and I hear about it every afternoon... followed by her princess giggle. Tina makes the clips and sells them online. I would suggest anybody with girlie girls check it out! http://www.princessjanesbows.blogspot.com/
Ammon is loving having the house and my attention to himself. We hang out every morning while Ressa is in school. He has gone on a couple mommy dates with me too. His favorite was the first day of school when I took him to IHop. We had blueberry pancakes and he was all smiles! He has also been getting into all kinds of mischief. He found a sharpie the other day. In the time it took me to use the bathroom, put on yoga stuff and put up my hair he had colored all over himself and one of the couches. Fun!
DOGS
Daisy had puppies when we were in Rowland Heights. They were adorable! Foster just loved that he got to watch them be born. He has told everybody about how cool and messy it is. It was the first time I have been part of that process. It was actually very cool. She was a great mom!! Her puppies left the house a week and a half ago. They went to friends of ours. They will be very happy girls!
The day the puppies went to their new homes we picked up the doberman puppy we were waiting to adopt. She is adorable! Her name is Jackie. She is all legs and with any luck she will be a big girl. Her parents were huge! She is really sweet with the kids and calm for her age (10 weeks this week). Ammon pals around with her all day. She mouths a little, but is really good not to bite. Sometimes I look out back to see his hand or diaper in her mouth and them walking down the patio... nothing like holding hands. This new addition doesn't have Gretchan too happy, but she is getting along just fine. Daisy enjoys her play buddy for the most part, but has definitely showed poor Jackie who is boss. Jackie loves to cuddle with the kids and Nate. She likes me during the day, but once Nate comes home she is all his.
I think that is everything this time. I will try to be better about posting now that we have settled in some. I owe a lot of you phone calls too. Will try to start calling this week. Finally have a home number so will be able to really talk instead of rush off the phone due to minutes. Hope everybody had a great summer and will chat soon!!
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
CYANNE'S SUMMER TRIP
As most of you already know Cyanne is spending a good chunk of her summer in Montana. She left Lake Powell with Jeff and Sandee. Spent a week in Salt Lake hanging out with their family, and then was off to Montana. She has been having a fantastic time with her Grandparents and two cousins that went. She has also been doing some hiking and spending time with my Aunt, Uncle and Grandpa Harry. I thought you may all like to see what she has been up to!
Cyanne being our soccer nut had a great time in Salt Lake. Besides spending her days in Jeff and Sandee's pool with Nick, Jeff took her to a real soccer game. It was Utah vs. Mexico. She had a great time! Jeff bought her a ball, and then arranged for them to eat dinner with the players and their families. She had no fear when it came to asking for autographs. She now has a ball with every player's signature... even got the coach to sign! She was on cloud nine!
Then it was off to Montana with Seve, Carla, Natalie, and Lexus. Heather also flew up this week to hang out with her cousins. They have been moving and shaking non stop since their arrival. The girls have gone to the water park there, gone fishing with grandpa, floated my favorite river in tubes (the Blackfoot of course!), and are soon to go camping on horseback in the mountains of Livingston!
When Cyanne isn't with the Smith's she has been speanding some time with my Aunt Denise, Uncle Jim, brother Sean, and has spent some time with Grandpa Harry. She has enjoyed hiking, movie nights, and swimming with them. I haven't gotten any pictures, but when I talk to her she sounds like she is having a great time!
Vacation isn't close to over for her so I'm sure I will have pleanty more pics soon! She won't fly home until Aug. 8. I will try to get more pics up soon!
Cyanne being our soccer nut had a great time in Salt Lake. Besides spending her days in Jeff and Sandee's pool with Nick, Jeff took her to a real soccer game. It was Utah vs. Mexico. She had a great time! Jeff bought her a ball, and then arranged for them to eat dinner with the players and their families. She had no fear when it came to asking for autographs. She now has a ball with every player's signature... even got the coach to sign! She was on cloud nine!
Then it was off to Montana with Seve, Carla, Natalie, and Lexus. Heather also flew up this week to hang out with her cousins. They have been moving and shaking non stop since their arrival. The girls have gone to the water park there, gone fishing with grandpa, floated my favorite river in tubes (the Blackfoot of course!), and are soon to go camping on horseback in the mountains of Livingston!
When Cyanne isn't with the Smith's she has been speanding some time with my Aunt Denise, Uncle Jim, brother Sean, and has spent some time with Grandpa Harry. She has enjoyed hiking, movie nights, and swimming with them. I haven't gotten any pictures, but when I talk to her she sounds like she is having a great time!
Vacation isn't close to over for her so I'm sure I will have pleanty more pics soon! She won't fly home until Aug. 8. I will try to get more pics up soon!
Monday, July 13, 2009
CRAZY START TO OUR SUMMER!
Our summer is off to a whirl wind start!
HOUSE:
The kids were out of school mid June, but unfortunately we were busy right off with packing up our house. Our lease was up and it is time for us to buy a house. We are working on that ultimate goal, but in the mean time moved into a friend's rental house (as of June 26). We are now in the community of Rowland Heights!
Rowland Heights is a great community with lots of beautiful parks. It is hotter here than in Long Beach, but is not too far from our old home so we can still get together with our old friends. We love that! We have had a few funny moments already...
Our friend, Victor, had teased us that we would be the token white people here (Rowland Heights is mostly Asian people). We thought he was kidding!
1.The second night in the house we decided to go out to dinner. Victor refered us to a great little cafe that serves Asian food- Maxim Cafe. When we drove into the lot we noticed that there weren't any American made cars. Ours was defiantly the biggest and most American model in the entire lot. What happened next was like something out of a movie! As we walked into the cafe, all the customers and staff stopped what they were doing and watched us. Yup, we were the ONLY 6 white people in there... probably in all of the shopping mall! The waiter seated us and first thing he said was, "so, how did you hear about us?". We told him our friend had sent us in. Victor was right; the food was amazing! The waiter gave us coupons for Victor and our next visit when we were done. He was great, and we will definitely be the "token white people" when we visit again!
2.The same night we went out for dinner the girl from next door came over to "warn us she was having a party to celebrate her graduation. When she said it might get loud we had no idea how loud it was going to get!! Apparently they had hired a professional DJ and when he started up the music our house was shaking. Somehow the kids managed to sleep through it and Nate and I managed to get a couple hours sleep after everything shut down at 2:15am. We left for the family reunion at Lake Powell the next morning at 4am. More to follow on that one...
3.I have decided that fruit smoothies should make a re-appearance on the menu. That said I went out and bought tons of fruit for them. Yesterday morning I was making them with my nifty hand blender thingy (my 25.00 special that I apparently expect to do wonders). I got the kids soy smoothie done and moved on to one for Nate and I. About 1/2 way done the stupid mixer starts billowing smoke! I hurried and turned it off, but it was too late! The whole inside had melted! My little hand blender had blended its last drink...
Nate came to the rescue and bought me a new Kitchen Aid blender. A very fashionable red one! Smoothies in this monster are fantastic. Dump everything in and bled for about 30 seconds and enjoy. Now I am just trying to figure out what other things I can blend up in it!!
4.This morning I went out to push the garbage cans to the curb, as the truck was coming already. Normal enough right? As I moved the recycling bin a lizard ran across my foot and into the rose bush. Of course the normal person would have jumped and then moved on... I screamed and then continued to yell at the lizard. The neighbor came out and asked if I needed help. I said no, but am sure he thought I needed some kind of help!
FAMILY REUNION
Two days after moving we raced to Lake Powell with a part for Jeff's house boat. We made it just in time for the mechanic to fix the boat so we could all hit the lake. Jenn, Matt Holste and family were next to arrive. We set up in our assigned sleeping areas and waited for the rest of the family to make it to the marina. Everybody arrived around 10:30pm. That first night we stayed in the slip... that means all 25 people were on the boat. It was fun!
We left the dock in search of a campsite. Justin with Luke, and Matt S. with Carter on the wave runners accompanied Jeff and all the middle nieces and nephews went in the ski boat. They were off ahead of us to scout out beaches for us to use. Steve did a great job of driving the houseboat with all the younger kids and us parents. A few hours later we caught up with Jeff. Sandee jumped in the boat to see what Jeff had found. We settled into a campsite that was near a sandbar that formed a little swimming cove. Jeff managed to park the house boat in a way that would give the smaller kids a swimming pool that was protected from other boats. It was really cool! Then we set up 2 tents on the sand bar and a play area for the little kids.
The rest of the days were filled with nothing but water sports. Jeff and I went out skiing every morning after breakfast. The water was all glassy and his new ski rocked!! I was so excited to see that I have not lost all my skiing ability. Actually felt like I was doing pretty well by day 4.
In the mid morning, until the sun went down, we took turns on the boat and ALL the kids go to ride on the tube! Even the little ones took a couple rides. Ammon was funny because the entire time on the tube he was waving and saying, "hi mom!" Ressa went on a couple times, but on one trip she found out what it meant to wipe out. She was on with Lex and Jax. We hit a wave just right and the side that had Jax and Ressa on it popped them up in the air. They came down together, and I thought they would be okay, but suddenly Jax's survival kicked in and he was on Ressa's back pushing her down. She started crying, but I think it was because she was scared of being pushed under. They were both fine and ready for another run a couple hours later.
Nate, Holste and Justin were very entertaining on the tube! Sandee managed to flip them 3 or 4 times on the way to get gas at the marina. They are all so competetive that it was hilarious to watch. Nate also did some knee boarding, but seemed to just like being on the boat.
Cyanne, Heather, Natalie and Denise were fearless on the tube! Sandee is a crazy driver and on her runs we managed to launch the girls into the air. We even flipped some of the girls with Jenn, and the brothers. I went on the tube with Carla and Jenn... so I couldn't get killed. It was okay, but I think i will stick to skis!
Cyanne was the only kid to get up on skis!! She was frustrated because it took her 4 tries. Once she was up though she was pretty stable. Keeping her arms straight was the only thing that she needed to work on. Next year... crossing the wake!!
Cyanne was also a fearless knee boarder. Big surprise as she is our natural athlete! She and the older girls would have knee board wars. That was always entertaining! The last day she took a huge spill. She and Heather were having wars and she caught the tip of the board just right. Next thing we all knew she was tumbling through the water. She hit so hard she lost one of her earrings!
Foster went on the tube, but didn't seem to like it too much. He was more than happy to play on the beach, swim and jump off the house boat. He had no interest in the water sports or the boat... how did that happen? Anyway, he had a great time!
Ressa enjoyed jumping off the top deck of the houseboat as well. She thought it was great fun. When Drew gathered up all the older girls to go cliff jumping she was wishing she had gone! She kind of surprised me... under all the layers of princess seems to be a dare devil!
Ammon just loved to go on the boat! He was happy as could be watching the tubing and skiing. He adored going over the waves in the boat and was the first "baby" in the water during swimming times. He was great about wearing his life jacket all day as long as he was able to cool off in the water. He would just run off the side of the boat. He and Carter really hit it off I think. They would play together, throw rocks together and swim together.
All in all it was a fantastic trip. Elements from every family. Matt and Justin both just had new babies so their wives stayed home with the younger kids and Jeanne stayed home with Grandma Mettie. We missed them, but had a great time with thier families!!
the girls all sining to Lady Gaga
HOUSE:
The kids were out of school mid June, but unfortunately we were busy right off with packing up our house. Our lease was up and it is time for us to buy a house. We are working on that ultimate goal, but in the mean time moved into a friend's rental house (as of June 26). We are now in the community of Rowland Heights!
Rowland Heights is a great community with lots of beautiful parks. It is hotter here than in Long Beach, but is not too far from our old home so we can still get together with our old friends. We love that! We have had a few funny moments already...
Our friend, Victor, had teased us that we would be the token white people here (Rowland Heights is mostly Asian people). We thought he was kidding!
1.The second night in the house we decided to go out to dinner. Victor refered us to a great little cafe that serves Asian food- Maxim Cafe. When we drove into the lot we noticed that there weren't any American made cars. Ours was defiantly the biggest and most American model in the entire lot. What happened next was like something out of a movie! As we walked into the cafe, all the customers and staff stopped what they were doing and watched us. Yup, we were the ONLY 6 white people in there... probably in all of the shopping mall! The waiter seated us and first thing he said was, "so, how did you hear about us?". We told him our friend had sent us in. Victor was right; the food was amazing! The waiter gave us coupons for Victor and our next visit when we were done. He was great, and we will definitely be the "token white people" when we visit again!
2.The same night we went out for dinner the girl from next door came over to "warn us she was having a party to celebrate her graduation. When she said it might get loud we had no idea how loud it was going to get!! Apparently they had hired a professional DJ and when he started up the music our house was shaking. Somehow the kids managed to sleep through it and Nate and I managed to get a couple hours sleep after everything shut down at 2:15am. We left for the family reunion at Lake Powell the next morning at 4am. More to follow on that one...
3.I have decided that fruit smoothies should make a re-appearance on the menu. That said I went out and bought tons of fruit for them. Yesterday morning I was making them with my nifty hand blender thingy (my 25.00 special that I apparently expect to do wonders). I got the kids soy smoothie done and moved on to one for Nate and I. About 1/2 way done the stupid mixer starts billowing smoke! I hurried and turned it off, but it was too late! The whole inside had melted! My little hand blender had blended its last drink...
Nate came to the rescue and bought me a new Kitchen Aid blender. A very fashionable red one! Smoothies in this monster are fantastic. Dump everything in and bled for about 30 seconds and enjoy. Now I am just trying to figure out what other things I can blend up in it!!
4.This morning I went out to push the garbage cans to the curb, as the truck was coming already. Normal enough right? As I moved the recycling bin a lizard ran across my foot and into the rose bush. Of course the normal person would have jumped and then moved on... I screamed and then continued to yell at the lizard. The neighbor came out and asked if I needed help. I said no, but am sure he thought I needed some kind of help!
FAMILY REUNION
Two days after moving we raced to Lake Powell with a part for Jeff's house boat. We made it just in time for the mechanic to fix the boat so we could all hit the lake. Jenn, Matt Holste and family were next to arrive. We set up in our assigned sleeping areas and waited for the rest of the family to make it to the marina. Everybody arrived around 10:30pm. That first night we stayed in the slip... that means all 25 people were on the boat. It was fun!
We left the dock in search of a campsite. Justin with Luke, and Matt S. with Carter on the wave runners accompanied Jeff and all the middle nieces and nephews went in the ski boat. They were off ahead of us to scout out beaches for us to use. Steve did a great job of driving the houseboat with all the younger kids and us parents. A few hours later we caught up with Jeff. Sandee jumped in the boat to see what Jeff had found. We settled into a campsite that was near a sandbar that formed a little swimming cove. Jeff managed to park the house boat in a way that would give the smaller kids a swimming pool that was protected from other boats. It was really cool! Then we set up 2 tents on the sand bar and a play area for the little kids.
The rest of the days were filled with nothing but water sports. Jeff and I went out skiing every morning after breakfast. The water was all glassy and his new ski rocked!! I was so excited to see that I have not lost all my skiing ability. Actually felt like I was doing pretty well by day 4.
In the mid morning, until the sun went down, we took turns on the boat and ALL the kids go to ride on the tube! Even the little ones took a couple rides. Ammon was funny because the entire time on the tube he was waving and saying, "hi mom!" Ressa went on a couple times, but on one trip she found out what it meant to wipe out. She was on with Lex and Jax. We hit a wave just right and the side that had Jax and Ressa on it popped them up in the air. They came down together, and I thought they would be okay, but suddenly Jax's survival kicked in and he was on Ressa's back pushing her down. She started crying, but I think it was because she was scared of being pushed under. They were both fine and ready for another run a couple hours later.
Nate, Holste and Justin were very entertaining on the tube! Sandee managed to flip them 3 or 4 times on the way to get gas at the marina. They are all so competetive that it was hilarious to watch. Nate also did some knee boarding, but seemed to just like being on the boat.
Cyanne, Heather, Natalie and Denise were fearless on the tube! Sandee is a crazy driver and on her runs we managed to launch the girls into the air. We even flipped some of the girls with Jenn, and the brothers. I went on the tube with Carla and Jenn... so I couldn't get killed. It was okay, but I think i will stick to skis!
Cyanne was the only kid to get up on skis!! She was frustrated because it took her 4 tries. Once she was up though she was pretty stable. Keeping her arms straight was the only thing that she needed to work on. Next year... crossing the wake!!
Cyanne was also a fearless knee boarder. Big surprise as she is our natural athlete! She and the older girls would have knee board wars. That was always entertaining! The last day she took a huge spill. She and Heather were having wars and she caught the tip of the board just right. Next thing we all knew she was tumbling through the water. She hit so hard she lost one of her earrings!
Foster went on the tube, but didn't seem to like it too much. He was more than happy to play on the beach, swim and jump off the house boat. He had no interest in the water sports or the boat... how did that happen? Anyway, he had a great time!
Ressa enjoyed jumping off the top deck of the houseboat as well. She thought it was great fun. When Drew gathered up all the older girls to go cliff jumping she was wishing she had gone! She kind of surprised me... under all the layers of princess seems to be a dare devil!
Ammon just loved to go on the boat! He was happy as could be watching the tubing and skiing. He adored going over the waves in the boat and was the first "baby" in the water during swimming times. He was great about wearing his life jacket all day as long as he was able to cool off in the water. He would just run off the side of the boat. He and Carter really hit it off I think. They would play together, throw rocks together and swim together.
All in all it was a fantastic trip. Elements from every family. Matt and Justin both just had new babies so their wives stayed home with the younger kids and Jeanne stayed home with Grandma Mettie. We missed them, but had a great time with thier families!!
the girls all sining to Lady Gaga
Saturday, May 2, 2009
WHERE'S AMMON???
Ammon has this funny habit of emerging from his room after nap or whatever, standing against the wall and peeking only one eye around the hall corner. He has convinced himself that as long as he is in this very stealthy position we can not hear or see him. We sit in the living room saying "Where's Ammon?", "Can anybody see Ammon?", or even "Do you hear Ammon?" and he stays stick still convinced we can't see him. Once in a while he lets out a silly giggle, but still doesn't think we can notice. When he finally decides to reveal himself he jumps into the room and screams "Ta-Da!" He is just goofy!!
Thursday, April 30, 2009
HAPPY BIRTHDAY RESSA!!
On the 18th Ressa turned 5! Hard to believe that our little bean will be heading off to kindergarten next September. She think being 5 is the coolest thing ever.
On the day of her birthday we did lunch at Chic-fil-A with Nate, picked up the earings and sunglasses she was wanting, made birthday brownies, and had a quick celebration with our friend "uncle Palmer" who was in town. Then it was off to Brad's house for a BBQ.
I know what you are thinking... could we get a bigger candle? I had bought candles at the store, and then left without them so we improvised.
The 22th is Ressa's best friend's birthday. We called her to wish her a happy birthday and to finalize plans for the joint birthday party we were doing at Cheryl's house.
On the 24th we threw a party for the girls. They had picked "icecream" as their theme so we ran with it. I picked up pizzas and made "icecream cone cup cakes". Cheryl picked up a pinata, balloons, and put together an icecream sundea/banana split station for the kids.
I didn't frost the cupcakes. We let the kids decorate their own with frosting and spinkles of all kinds. They had a blast!!
Cheryl helped the kids make their icecream treats. As expected a few of them got a bit carried away on toppings.
Luke was the lucky one to break the pinata. He was definatley the most agressive hitter there. Something that was to be expected in a sea of girls!
Eventually party time turned into a snail hunting expedition. Everybody got in on the action!
On the day of her birthday we did lunch at Chic-fil-A with Nate, picked up the earings and sunglasses she was wanting, made birthday brownies, and had a quick celebration with our friend "uncle Palmer" who was in town. Then it was off to Brad's house for a BBQ.
I know what you are thinking... could we get a bigger candle? I had bought candles at the store, and then left without them so we improvised.
The 22th is Ressa's best friend's birthday. We called her to wish her a happy birthday and to finalize plans for the joint birthday party we were doing at Cheryl's house.
On the 24th we threw a party for the girls. They had picked "icecream" as their theme so we ran with it. I picked up pizzas and made "icecream cone cup cakes". Cheryl picked up a pinata, balloons, and put together an icecream sundea/banana split station for the kids.
I didn't frost the cupcakes. We let the kids decorate their own with frosting and spinkles of all kinds. They had a blast!!
Cheryl helped the kids make their icecream treats. As expected a few of them got a bit carried away on toppings.
Luke was the lucky one to break the pinata. He was definatley the most agressive hitter there. Something that was to be expected in a sea of girls!
Eventually party time turned into a snail hunting expedition. Everybody got in on the action!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
