A week after spring break and the entire family is trying to get back in the swing of things. The kids are prepping for the standardized tests...Joel this week and Cori next week. I have been catching up on my reading. The weather has been great and summer is starting to form. We have been at the pool for the last 3 days and will be back out there this week. I took the kids and some friends to see the movie Rango....not a good movie by the way. I actually read on my kindle thru most of the movie. The boys sat in the row in front of me and the girls sat in the very back of the theater. It is not cool to sit with mom anymore.
Cori has had a boyfriend for a month and a half now, Nick. For their 1 month anniversary....he gave her $10.
Cori has been off center this week. She was sad about family leaving and making a bad grade on a test. She bounced back and is ready for the weeks to come. Since we were going to the pool for a few hours, I asked her if she wanted to invite her boyfriend Nick to swim with us. She was so embarrassed that I would even ask her this. She said why would I want to do that, I see him all the time at school. Apparently they are not as "in love" as I thought if they do not want to see each other out of school. This is all fine with me, actually made me fill happy inside!!!!!!
After Last Wednesday's Tornado's that went through Alabama, I am thankful that all of my family and friends are okay. A few with little amounts of damage but nothing too bad. I was surprised how many people stopped me to ask about my family in Alabama. It was really quite moving actually. I even had a few guest at the restaurant who are regulars stop me on Thursday to ask about my family and let me know they were praying for us when they saw the news. It is amazing to watch God work through our lives across the country.
Today my car is getting new "much needed" brakes and oil change. The car repair shops just try to sell you everything under the sun to fix on your car. I hate taking my car in for minor things because I feel like the shop is going to rip me off on something else.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Spring Break ~ Part 3
Thursday was a Beach Day! The weather was really nice the entire week but never above 70 degrees. This meant that the beach was not very warm and the water still Very cold. We took the family out to the beach for a couple of hours. Joel swam in the 50 degree water with NO problems at all. He takes after my brother this way. The guys threw the football and the girls sat in the chairs and read.
After a quick change and dinner, which Nate's mom cooked .... all week. Thanks Mom! We all went to the Aquarium in Long Beach!
Friday was our rest day! We sat out on our patio and brought out extra chairs and blankets and enjoyed the morning. We went to the pool in the afternoon, where Bryce loved to splash in the ho0t tub (pool was way to cold to play in). Matt and Jen wanted to experience YogurtLand, so off we went to get some frozen yogurt. Friday evening was dinner by Nate's Mom again, and board games for the adults. Mom just listen to us play games, while she cleaned my microwave (YEAH!) and gave Bryce a bath in the sink (YEAH from Jen).
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| Joel is the little dot out in the ocean |
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| 1st time at the beach |
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| Loved the sand...digging a hole with Uncle Nate |
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| More Sand! |
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| Everyone pilled in the van |
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| Petting sharks |
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| Scuba diver cleaning behind me |
Saturday was the hardest day so far.....Everyone packed up and headed home. Nate and I knew it would be hard to say goodbye but we were not prepared for how hard it really was. When you have 5 extra people in your house all week, and then you are back to the normal 4 it gets really quiet and lonely. It was a blessing to not have to work on Saturday because I kept bursting into tears all day long.
Don't get me wrong, we loved having everyone visit and it was a GREAT week of fun, laughs and memories but saying goodbye is hard! We also do not have any more trips planned or visitors coming so we are looking forward to summer and the kids finishing school.
Spring Break ~ Part 2
Monday of spring break the family all went to the San Diego Zoo and then dinner at Hard Rock Cafe. Cori got her first Hard Rock t-shirt at the Cafe. It is red and also in my size. We all had fun spending time together all day and then Nate and I took turns loving on Bryce!
Tuesday was girl shopping in the morning, while the boys stayed home and played a bunch of Black OPS. Then we all went to the street fair at the Huntington Beach Pier. We bought FRESH strawberries (my fav) and funnel cakes to share!
On Wednesday, Mom, Dad and Bryce went to Palm Springs to visit Aunt Lynn and the rest of us went to America's oldest amusement park, Knott's Berry Farms. We rode a ton of roller coasters and rides. I got air sick on the swings and had to go find some medicine. We paid WAY to much money for lunch. And laughed and played together ALL day! After we got home from the park, the adults went out to enjoy an relaxing dinner and the kids were happy to control the TV for a hour or so!
Up Next ..... Part 3!
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| Grandpa and Joel trying to solve the problems of the world.... |
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| Every time we all went to look at an animal, everyone would start making all types of noises to get the animals attention. |
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| Aunt Val and Bubbas |
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| Everyone finally stayed on the hippo for the photo |
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| Congo Line! |
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| Some animals should not be in a "glass" cage all the time.... |
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| Uncle Nate and Bubbas (in his new outfit from us) |
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| Everyone at Hard Rock....Food Good, service not so much! |
Tuesday was girl shopping in the morning, while the boys stayed home and played a bunch of Black OPS. Then we all went to the street fair at the Huntington Beach Pier. We bought FRESH strawberries (my fav) and funnel cakes to share!
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| Only Group Photo all week ! |
Up Next ..... Part 3!
Thursday, April 28, 2011
What was she thinking?
Cori asked last night is she could go to the movies with a friend on Friday. Would I take them to the movie theater and the friends mom pick them up. I said yes, and what movie is it? She said "Paul". I said okay. Cori makes her plans. In my head I am thinking, I have never heard of this movie, I better check it out. So tonight I Google the movie and see that it is rated R. I immediately tell Cori she can not go see a R rated movie....period. She thought it was PG-13. What was she thinking? This is not my first time around the block and I am not going to let my 12 yr old just randomly go see some movie without checking it out first. So needless to say, we are going to watch Rango instead.
SERIOUSLY!!!!
SERIOUSLY!!!!
Monday, April 25, 2011
Spring Break! ~ Part 1
After Cori's birthday weeks...yes weeks from the week of her birthday to the weekend her friend spent with us...we moved on to getting ready for Spring break week and the family coming for a visit. We cleaned the house, worked extra shifts at the restaurant, and cleaned the house, did some redecorating, some more cleaning....etc. So we got everything ready for the week of FUN!
Last Saturday evening, (4/16), Nate's parents, Jen (Nate's sister), Matt (Jen's husband) and their 6 month old son, Bryce descended into our house. Nate and I cooked a mexican dinner and the family sat around and talked all evening. We took them around our complex and neighborhood to give them a feel for where we live and what we do in our free time. Mom and Dad chose to stay at a hotel about 5 mins from us....we would have squeezed them onto the couch or in a closet if they had wanted to stay with us. Matt, Jen and Bryce took up residence in Cori's room and Cori moved her mattress and clothes into Joel's room.
On Sunday, we loaded up the vehicles and went into LA. We went to the LaBrea Tar pits and later on to Hollywood. Cori got tar on her favorite shoes...which we later cleaned off. Joel added 3 or 4 crushed pennies to his collection. We had a great time laughing and enjoying the beautiful weather.
On to Hollywood, (Nate and I have been many times but it was the first time for our kids)...Joel and Cori with the Harry Potter cement slab. Joel with Darth Vader and our group with Shrek.
After the long day in LA, we came home and Mom made dinner for us. Which was SO super nice.Thanks Mom! Then we all hung out, played some games and I snuggled with Bryce till he fell asleep in my arms.
This was just the 1st Day! more to come about the rest of the week. So much to tell you about and so little space on the blog. And I am a little OCD and want to split it all up nicely!
Last Saturday evening, (4/16), Nate's parents, Jen (Nate's sister), Matt (Jen's husband) and their 6 month old son, Bryce descended into our house. Nate and I cooked a mexican dinner and the family sat around and talked all evening. We took them around our complex and neighborhood to give them a feel for where we live and what we do in our free time. Mom and Dad chose to stay at a hotel about 5 mins from us....we would have squeezed them onto the couch or in a closet if they had wanted to stay with us. Matt, Jen and Bryce took up residence in Cori's room and Cori moved her mattress and clothes into Joel's room.
On Sunday, we loaded up the vehicles and went into LA. We went to the LaBrea Tar pits and later on to Hollywood. Cori got tar on her favorite shoes...which we later cleaned off. Joel added 3 or 4 crushed pennies to his collection. We had a great time laughing and enjoying the beautiful weather.
On to Hollywood, (Nate and I have been many times but it was the first time for our kids)...Joel and Cori with the Harry Potter cement slab. Joel with Darth Vader and our group with Shrek.
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| Love this little guy! |
Monday, April 11, 2011
Cori's Birthday ~ Part 2
Cori's best friend Chloe, was not able to be here the weekend of Cori's birthday so we planned something for this past weekend. Cori wanted to go to the skating rink. So I took off work, and Chloe spend Saturday night with us. The girls played, went to the park and did squeakily little girl stuff until it was time to go skating. When we got to the rink, I pulled out my roller blades and the strap- broke. So there was no skating for me. After paying and going inside, we found out that this rink did not offer roller blades, only roller skates. Cori does not know how to roller skate and did not want to take her birthday evening to learn. So we got a refund and went to find something else to do. We ended up at the mall for an hour and then getting some mexican food.
After getting home, the kids went swimming in the hot tub and pool. The weather was 53 degrees, the hot tub was 102 degrees and the pool was 55 degrees. I was wrapped up in a blanket with a cup of tea while the kids spent an hour having fun in the water.
Next came the scary part of the night. The girls wanted to watch the movie "Scream". Joel wanted to be a part of the movie too. So the girls piled up on my bed with Joel on the floor. Joel made it 20 mins into the movie before going to his room to watch "Kung Fu Panda".
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| Dinner |
After getting home, the kids went swimming in the hot tub and pool. The weather was 53 degrees, the hot tub was 102 degrees and the pool was 55 degrees. I was wrapped up in a blanket with a cup of tea while the kids spent an hour having fun in the water.
Next came the scary part of the night. The girls wanted to watch the movie "Scream". Joel wanted to be a part of the movie too. So the girls piled up on my bed with Joel on the floor. Joel made it 20 mins into the movie before going to his room to watch "Kung Fu Panda".
Then the girls stayed up till 4am. I made breakfast the next morning and the girls played for a while. I took Chloe home around lunch. Both girls were very appreciative of their night together and thankfully for me there was NO DRAMA!
Hard to believe is is 12!
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Cori's Birthday
Cori's birthday was Friday. Her party and celebration is being broken up into 2 weekends. This weekend was about family and our friends next door. Next weekend her best friend from school is coming over and we are taking them roller skating.
Friday morning I made Cori muffins for breakfast. My mom called Cori before school and got the tears going first thing. Joel and Cori had a brother/sister moment when Cori was still crying after my mom called. They hugged and Joel comforted Cori before she got ready for school.
Saturday evening we went to a mexican restaurant for dinner and then invited some friends over for dessert. Nate and Joel worked together on Friday and made 2 cheesecakes for dessert. One is plain and the other had strawberry swirl. Both were VERY good.
Cori and her friends played the Wii and enjoyed the dessert for the evening. Cori also opened all her presents and cards from the family. She has enough money to buy her iTouch on Monday. We also gave her a water hula hoop and a scooter (which she rides around the house constantly).
Friday morning I made Cori muffins for breakfast. My mom called Cori before school and got the tears going first thing. Joel and Cori had a brother/sister moment when Cori was still crying after my mom called. They hugged and Joel comforted Cori before she got ready for school.
Saturday evening we went to a mexican restaurant for dinner and then invited some friends over for dessert. Nate and Joel worked together on Friday and made 2 cheesecakes for dessert. One is plain and the other had strawberry swirl. Both were VERY good.
Cori and her friends played the Wii and enjoyed the dessert for the evening. Cori also opened all her presents and cards from the family. She has enough money to buy her iTouch on Monday. We also gave her a water hula hoop and a scooter (which she rides around the house constantly).
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| Presents! |
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| Scooter |
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| Cheesecake |
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| Singing! |
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| Time to eat |
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