Black Friday

Black Friday this year happened to be on Riley Jo's 3rd birthday!! Black Friday happens to be my all time favorite shopping day because I love to shop for all the deals. My sister-in-law Jeannine and I had planned since last year to go to the outlets in Vacaville to start our Christmas shopping. They open up at Midnight. Plus, it is our tradition to go with my brother and Jeannine to Old Town Sacramento the day after Thanksgiving. So Jeannine picked me up at 10:30 pm on Thanksgiving night to drive to Vacaville. We checked into our hotel and took our bags into the room. We then set off to the Outlets to wait in line outside of KB toys. We then went around the different stores until 4:00 a.m. The line was worst at KB, after that we had to wait to get into GAP but we didn't have to wait in line to check out. Then we drove to Kohls where we had to wait in line for about 30 minutes to check out. By then it was 5:30 so we headed to Circuit City to do our shopping there. Again another long line to check out. We shopped for 5 minutes and waited about 45 minutes to check out. Now at 6:30 I've been awake for a full 24 hours falling asleep standing up, plus my back and legs are killing me! But we aren't done yet. We still have to go to Target. We decide as we walk into Target that now would not be a good time to get caffeine because we would want to go to sleep after this store. So we go into Target and are totally excited that it seems there is no line to check out. So we get our shopping done, a little bit slower checking our list twice to make sure we got everything we needed and head to the front to check out. To our surprise there is an extremely large line wrapped around the entire store! We must have been too tired to notice that line right! Did we forget it was Black Friday. Who misses out on this shopping day? So we finally leave the store and get back to the hotel at 7:30. Our husbands and my kids were meeting us at 10:30. Yes I only got 3 hours of sleep. I called Riley Jo while I was in line at Target to wish her a Happy Birthday because I knew she would be up. I decorated her room Thursday night before I left after she went to bed so she had a surprise to wake up to since I wasn't there. Then we went to Sacramento for the day. We rode the Santa train, went to the train museum, and ended our day at Candy Heaven as usual. Riley Jo said she had a really good birthday. I was asleep before we left the garage and slept all the way home. Then when I got home I slept for another hour and a half. I am sitting at this computer right now falling asleep. Good thing there is spell check and a delete button because WOW it is time for me to sleep.

Thanksgiving 2008

Thanksgiving morning we woke up with every intention of going to our Wards devotional. Unfortunately we didn't move as fast as we needed too so we were too late to go. So I went and got my newspaper so I could start planning on my shopping trip for the next day. My sisters came over for appetizers and games. We played a new game called Phase 10 Twist. Then we all headed off in separate directions for Dinner. We headed over to Chris' moms house, Bobbi made a traditional turkey in the oven and Chris' brother Tim BBQ one. They both were GREAT! We played games after dinner which was a first, and we had a lot of fun.

Tyler turns 12!!

Friday November 14th Tyler turned 12. We started the morning off with pancakes and milkshakes and sent the kids off to school. That night Tyler had his birthday party with 7 boys. We went to see Madagascar 2 and then we came back to our house for cake and presents and the boys stayed the night. They had a fun time hanging out and playing games till 3:00 in the morning when we finally told them it was time to go to sleep. It got quiet very fast. However when you have 2 young kids who go to bed on time, they wake up early in the morning. So the boys were all up by 7:30 am. I made them all pancakes and they jumped on the trampoline until they got picked up. On Sunday November 16th Tyler was ordained a deacon and He recieved the Priesthood by Chris. Then on Sunday November 23rd Tyler passed the Sacrament for the first time and gave his first Sacrament Meeting talk as a 12 year old. So many firsts so fast, I think he is already broken in. He has gone to Mutual twice now and enjoys it a lot! He is even going on an overnight in a couple weeks and he is excited for that too.

Halloween

Since it was raining on Halloween night we couldn't do a backyard dinner so we started the night off with some friends at the church. After we ate the kids played a few games, hit the pinata (It wouldn't be a party without one), and went trick or treating. We only went around for about 45 minutes. And about 15minutes was spent at the Clayton Fire Station. Then we went to another party in Pittsburg. My Sister-in -laws neighbor had a big party. We had a ton of fun playing musical tombstones (Riley Jo won!!!), Pumpkin shuffle board (Tyler was in the finals!!!), eating donuts hanging from a string, seeing how many candy corns we could drop into a tiny pumpkin (we were standing up and the pumpkins were on the ground, Chris won!!!), relay races, and we even bobbed for apples. All in all, we had a blast. We didn't leave untill 11:30pm and I couldn't believe Riley Jo stayed awake the whole time!

Pre-School Halloween

On Thursday October 30th we celebrated Halloween at Riley Jo's school. She was able to go to school dressed up, and they trick or treated through the Senior Center.

Then they trick or treated the parents through the park.

Then we went back to the Senior Center where the kids took center stage to sing some Halloween Songs to the parents. It was very cute!!

Field Trip to the Pumpkin Patch

I took Riley Jo on her field trip on Tuesday October 14th. This is her Pre-School class. First stop on the trip was playing at the play yard. Guess they figured the best way for a bunch of 3 year olds to listen was to wear them out first. I was surprised Riley Jo actually went through the hay maze. It is pretty dark in there.

Riley Jo even milked a cow! She thought this was really fun.

Then she was able to grind the corn.

Then we picked out a couple pumpkins. We had a lot of fun and were ready for a snack before we went home.

Riley Jo Sings the ABC's

Riley Jo will be 3 in about 5 weeks, she has been going to school for a month now and here she is singing the ABC's. She goes around the house singing all day long, and last Sunday at church during the Sacrament we couldn't get her to stop either. We may have an addict on our hands!

Tyko

Last night our dog was attacked by out neighbors dog in our own backyard. Our kids were outside playing while I was cleaning up from dinner, and all of a sudden I hear screaming going on and hearing "Oh, No, No, No!" I got scared thinking one of the kids got hurt and ran outside. The kids are all standing by the fence screaming. Michayla came running over carrying Riley and I ask what's wrong. She said "Hunter (Our neighbors dog) has Tyko's paw in his mouth and he won't let go. Hunter's owner was on the other side of the fence trying to get Hunter to let go, but Hunter wouldn't listen. Hunter finally let go and I pulled Tyko away from the fence. His paw was hanging and cut bad. We had to take him to the pet hospital and he had to get stitches. Tyko had to stay over night because of the anastesia. I went and picked him up this morning to bring him home and his leg is all wrapped up and he looks so sad. We fed him and then when I put him out to get water, he grabbed a ball and wanted to play. When I told him No again, he just came back inside and layed down. Kyle brushed his hair for him and was singing to Tyko as he brushed his hair. It was so cute!

Prop 8

Next month we will be voting on Prop 8. I will be voting Yes, to help preserve marriage between a man and a woman. "Our Church’s teachings and position on this moral issue are unequivocal. Marriage between a man and a woman is ordained of God, and the formation of families is central to the Creator’s plan for His children. Children are entitled to be born within this bond of marriage." (http://www.preservingmarriage.org/) I hope that you if you live in California and are still on the fence about which way to vote on November 4th, please read the following 6 Consequences if Prop 8 should fail....hopefully this will help you to Vote Yes!
Six Consequences If Proposition 8 Fails
1. Children in public schools will be taught that both traditional marriage and same-sex marriage are okay. The California Education Code already requires that health education classes instruct children about marriage. (§51890)
Therefore, if the definition of marriage is changed, children will be taught that marriage is a relation between any two adults. There will be serious clashes between the secular school system and the right of parents to teach their children their own values and beliefs.
2. Churches will be sued if they refuse to allow same-sex marriage ceremonies in their religious buildings that are open to the public.
3. Religious adoption agencies will be challenged by government agencies to give up their long-held right to place children only in homes with both a mother and a father. Catholic Charities in Boston has already closed its doors because of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Massachusetts.
4. Religions that sponsor private schools and which provide housing for married students will be required to provide housing for same-sex couples, even if it runs counter to church doctrine, or lose tax exemptions and benefits.
5. Ministers who preach against same-sex marriages will be sued for hate speech and could be fined by the government. It has already happened in Canada, one of six countries that have legalized gay marriage.
6. It will cost you money. A change in the definition of marriage will bring a cascade of lawsuits. Even if courts eventually find in favor of a defender of traditional marriage (highly improbable given today’s activist judges), think of the money – your money, your church contributions – that will have to be spent on legal fees.

Tooth Fairy

The Tooth Fairy is working overtime at our house right now. I hope she is done for a little while though. Last week I posted Kyle lost his tooth that wasn't loose and he had two very loose front teeth. Well, Monday while jumping on the trampoline again, he lost one of his teeth. We tried to convince him to let us pull the other one out too because we couldn't see how it was even attached to his gums. He wanted the tooth to come out by itself, so that it wouldn't bleed. This morning I went in to wake Kyle up and when he opened his mouth his tooth was almost out. I asked if I could pull it because it looked like he was going to swallow it. He again said "no, I don't want it to bleed. Let it come out by itself." I said Ok get dressed then. So at breakfast, after his first bite of his waffle, he lost his tooth. My poor kid has lost 3 teeth in a week and 2 days, and his bottom teeth haven't come in all the way either, so he looks like he was punched in the mouth. He will be singing "All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth" this Christmas.

Concert in the Park

Today I took Riley Jo to the park to see Daryl Worley. It was a free concert put on by 95.7 the Wolf, a country station out of San Francisco. It was so much fun! Riley played at the park and danced with me. It was a fun way for us to spend the afternoon. When he sang his song "Have You Forgotten" a local soldier was up there with 2 policemen. It was cool.

Our New Toy

My sister has had a 14 ft. trampoline sitting in storage for about a year now still in the box. We decided that we would set it up in our backyard. The kids absolutely love it! They come home and do their homework without fighting just so they can bounce on it before it gets too dark. Riley Jo won't get off it unless we climb up there and pull her off. Well, it's been up for two weeks now and we didn't put a lot of rules on it. We just expected the older kids to watch out for the younger kids when they were all on it together. Some friends came over tonight and were a little too rough. We had our first injury tonight. Kyle got knocked down and his knee went up to his mouth and nose. He lost a tooth that wasn't even loose yet. OUCH!! After a call to the dentist to make sure we didn't need to go to the emergency dentist office (is there such a thing), he said everything should be fine. Luckily at 7, he's only lost 2 teeth, now 3. Funny thing is, his front top two teeth are both VERY loose, and neither one of them fell out. And tomorrow is picture day.

Chase Update

Last Thursday I took Tyler over to see Chase. We haven't seen him in about 2 1/2 weeks. He was really excited to see Ty. We stayed for about an hour and half, Tyler played Wii with Chase while I got an update from his mom. Chase's dads co-workers at Chevron pooled money together and bought Chase the Wii for something to do over the coming months. Chase started Chemo Monday September 8th. He was able to go to John Muir in Walnut Creek as an out-patient. He went Monday-Friday and then finished this round on Tuesday the 16th. He did experience jaw pain, joint pain, and loss of appetite. He even had to go to the hospital on Saturday and Sunday to get IVs. On Thursday night while we were there he seemed himself. It was so nice to see him happy, laughing, and joking around. He was supposed to be admitted into Stanford today for the entire week for Phase 2 Chemo, but because of a cold over the weekend his white blood cells were too low and they couldn't keep him. Hopefully his numbers will be up on Wednesday when they check again and they can start the Chemo on Thursday. They also found out today that there are two more lesions on the back of his knee. Apparently they were on both of the previous MRIs but somehow didn't get mentioned until today. Chase's mom told me that they are still growing too. They also know they are not the same thing that is on his leg, they have to do another biopsy to find out exactly what it is and what they are dealing with. They would like as many good thoughts and vibes sent their way.

Labor Day Tag...Sort of

I am about 3 weeks behind in reading your blogs and I just came across this one and thought it sounded fun!
We all love to share our war stories of Labor...and delivery. I found this post on a friend's blog and thought I would do the same.
How Long were your labors?
#1-8 1/2 hours
#2-2 1/2 hours-I think this was a scary delivery for me!
#3-I was induced at 8:00 or 9:00 and she was born at 1:51 pm

#1-Tyler was born 4 days early at Walnut Creek Kaiser. Yes Epidural/stitches/tearing. The epidural worked so well that I couldn't feel a thing. I didn't even know when to push, the doctor had to tell me. I even had to have my mom holding one leg and my sister hold the other leg.
#2-Kyle was 5 days early at Walnut Creek Kaiser. I went in to the hospital and I was at a 4 told them I wanted the Epidural. I had the Epidural with in 45 minutes and feeling great. They decide to break my water, I think I am at a 5 now. Instantly Kyle's heartrate drops and they can't find it. They flipped me from side to side, there were so many doctors in there I just rememer praying my baby was going to be alright. They rush me down the hall to OR, I was on my hands and knees praying the whole way their that I wouldn't need a C-Section. They prepped me for the C-Section and right as they were about to cut, Kyle's heartrate was going back up and they said I could deliver naturally. Good thing they didn't cut because I actually had the sensation I needed to push and they were shocked I could feel it. Yes Epidural, 1 stitch. #3-I was induced 11 days early. My body kept going into labor but they kept giving me shot of morphine to stop the labor. Finally my 3rd trip to the doctors the next morning they were getting ready to release me when Riley Jo's heartrate started dropping. After the 3rd time in 15 minutes they said they needed to induce me. I was induced at 8:00 or 9:00 (I forget) I got the epidural about 11:30 (I'm a big baby when it comes to pain). Riley Jo was crowning about 1:40 they saw that my water hadn't been broken yet so they broke my water and Riley Jo came out with it. Little miss 6 lbs. 5 oz. It was the easiest delivery and recovery for me.

Birth Stats:
#1 7 lbs 8 oz. 20"
#2 8 lbs 5oz 20"
#3 6lbs 5oz 19 3/4"

Trip Down Memory Lane

Lets play a memory game? Here are the instructions:

1. Leave a comment on my blog of a memory that you and I had together. It doesn’t matter if you knew me a little or a lot, anything you remember! Since this is our family blog, feel free to leave a memory about any of us. This will also let me know who is out there that is reading my blog? I’d like to know how many of my friends have found me on cyberspace?

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It’s actually pretty cool (and funny) to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I’ll assume you’re playing the game and I’ll come to your blog and leave one about you too.

Birthday at the Lake

We went to the lake with the Crawfords and Dolls for my birthday. We had so much fun. Tim brought his sister and her husband and Tara brought her brother, his wife, and their baby. The weather was perfect and there wasn't very many boats on the water near us. We had lots of fun watching everyone on the tubes. Chris loves to torture Tim and this time Caden had a little torture too. We took a ton of pictures and videos because lets face it, sometimes a picture doesn't give it enough justice. Enjoy the pictures and videos.

Labor Day Camping

I took the kids camping for Labor Day while Chris was at a race. My mom, Cindy, her boyfriend Frank, and her two girls, Steve, and Jeannine all came with us. We decided to go to Placerville KOA because it was close and they had a lot of fun activities for the kids. We spent a lot of time at the pool and the KOA had an inflatable bounce house and water slide set up on Saturday. We didn't get up there until 8:30 pm Friday night because of traffic and stopping for dinner. So, setting up the tents in the dark while keeping track of the little kids was a fun experience. Especially since our campsite was right next to the playground, they weren't very happy when we told them the playground was closed because it was dark. So Saturday we swam and played on the inflatables. We played card games, the kids played at the park, we ate, and swam some more. Then Sunday morning we packed up and headed home. It was a short camping trip but we were all tired and had a lot of fun. All the kids slept on the way home!

RIley Jo Starts Pre-School

Riley Jo started pre-school on September 9. She goes to school 2 days a week from 9-11:30 am. So now for 5 hours a week I am kidless. I took Riley Jo on September 4th to meet her teacher and new friends, I think she was concerned when we got there and realized that none of her friends were there. She had been so excited to start school until then. Riley Jo's teachers name is Miss. Honey. Friday the 5th Riley Jo told me she was not going to go to school. Riley Jo seems to have a shoe fetish and I know that I can get her to do just about anything for a new pair of shoes. I need to watch out for this as she gets older. Riley Jo has started to grow again (just barely) but enough to need a new pair of shoes. So of course she was all over getting the new shoes and she hasn't complained about going to school since. When I asked her what her favorite part of school was, she said it was holding onto the rope to walk back to the classroom from the park. I showed up early this past Tuesday to watch her play at the park, and as soon as Miss Honey told the kids to line up, Riley Jo ran over to her so she could hold onto the rope!

Back To School

Michayla, Tyler, and Kyle all started school On August 26. Michayla started the 7th grade at Stanley Middle School in Lafayette. Tyler started the 7th grade at Sequoia Middle School in Pleasant Hill, and Kyle started the 1st grade at Wren Avenue here in Concord. `I am fortunate that I only have to pick up the older kids in the afternoon so my morning schedule is really easy but the afternoons are LONG! Michayla is enjoying her schedule and goes to each class everyday. Tyler's school has block scheduling where they go to 4 classes each day. He is not enjoying the schedule very much but is enjoying his classes. He has 1 day of 2 electives, PE, and History, and 1 day of 4 academic classes, at least he has 2 days to complete the homework! Both Michayla and Tyler are taking Spanish this year. Hopefully they will be able to help each other with their homework over the coming years. Kyle was lucky to have both his best friends from kindergarten in his 1st grade class again so he is really liking 1st grade so far. His teacher must not have known they were such good friends because she sat them all by each other. At back to school night I asked how Kyle was doing (it was on the 5th day of school) and she told me he was doing good but he turns around and talks to Porfi and Joey a lot. Big surprise there! My kid talk? I don't know what she is talking about. Kyle still gets pulled out of class for speech and Occupation Therapy. The whole class goes to different classrooms for English. They are separated by different levels and it not only helps English as a second language but helps with vocabulary. Hopefully this will continue for reading groups.

Tyler's Friend Chase

On Friday August 22nd we found out that Tyler's best friend Chase has cancer. Chase is like an extended member of our family. The boys have played baseball together the last 4 years. Kyle and his sister Lu-Lu were on the same team too just so we could help each other out with getting the kids to and from practice and games in case they were at the same time. 4 years ago we happened to move next door to Chase's grandparents. Chase is over there every Monday during the school year and at least 3 times a week during the summer. He would often be at our house because the boys were unseparable. They had been running a lot of tests on Chase's leg becuase he found a weird bump on it one day. Chase told Tyler on Friday that it was in fact cancer. I talked to his mom and dad and they said the cancer is growing and no matter what he will have to go through Chemo. He grew his hair out and just donated 13 inches of his hair to kids with cancer. He was supposed to start middle school yesterday and today he started a whole new round of tests to find out if the cancer is anywhere else in his body. Other than the cancer being in his body he is a healthy boy, so it should help him to fight off the cancer.

George passed away

On August 25th Chris' stepdad passed away. It was the kids last day of summer and I was wanting to do something fun with them. I also needed to help my sister move a BBQ and bike from her apartment in San Jose up to Martinez. So, I loaded everyone up in the truck and headed down to San Jose. I found what looked like a fun park and zoo to take the kids to first and then we would go to my sisters. On the way down I decide it would be fun to stop off at the Great Mall to do some final school shopping. The kids agreed so we went in. I decided to only go to a couple of stores so we ended up going to one, getting some cookies and got back in the truck to head the rest of the way to San Jose. Shortly after we got back in the car I received a call from Chris that he was on his way to his mom's and he would call me back in about 15 minutes he thinks George might be dead. So I continued on to San Jose, and when we got to the park it was closed. I decided to call just to make sure, and sure enough it was closed for construction until Fall of 2009. Every other park and fun thing to do was closed on Mondays. I got the call from Chris that George had in fact died, so I decided the best thing to do was to go get lunch, go to my sisters, load up her stuff, and go home. Well it took about 2 hours to eat lunch and load up her stuff. Because I decided I would pack as much stuff in my truck as I could. I told the kids about George and we left San Jose and talked about it on the way home. We dropped Sheri's stuff off at her house and we went to my mother-in-laws to be with the family. It wasn't really the way we planned to spend our last day of summer, but hey life happens. We did go out to dinner with the family and the kids enjoyed that.

Santa Cruz

On August 15 we went down to Santa Cruz for our annual trip. My cousins band plays every August on the boardwalk and we go to see them. We went down early and played all day on the rides. Riley Jo finally went on some rides and enjoyed them. She liked the race cars that whip you around the corners and the Ghostblaster rides the best. I even took her on the little roller coaster because her cousin Shawna was going on it. She really hated that ride. Kyle's favorite ride was the bumper cars of the future. He was finally tall enough to ride them. We went on those like 5 or 6 times. Tyler and Michayla finally went on the Giant Dipper. They both really enjoyed that ride. And Tyler joined me on my favorite ride. The band was good too, they had a new set of songs this year. We all love to sing and dance a long. Can't wait for next year!

Fairyland

On August 1st I took Tyler back to the airport to go back to Pennsylvania again. So since I had to take him to Oakland this time, I decided to take the kids to Fairyland. We had never been there before. It was pretty cute. It was all storybook themed. We bought a "magical key" that you could insert in special story books in the park to listen to the story. They had slides and little rides for the kids too. They also had a few animal for the kids to see. There was a yellow brick road you could follow to the castle and all around the castle were all the characters from The Wizard of Oz including the flying monkey. It had the head cut out of the characters so the kids had fun being a different character from the movie. Then at Alice in Wonderland there was a slide you could slide down the rabbit hole. They also had a fun time playing on the island and in the sand.

Old Borges Ranch

I was watching my niece Brittany for the week that Tyler, Michayla, and Brittany did a volleyball camp with my brother. I wanted to go do something fun with the kids but we had to be in Walnut Creek by 3:45. So I decided to take them to Old Borges Ranch. I haven't been there since I was in High School. My ward growing up used to have Daddy-Daughter camp outs there. Plus, my friends and I used to camp out there too. We went up to the ranch to see the animals, there were a lot of chickens, 2 sheep hiding from the sun, a goat, and a rabbit. Riley Jo thought the animals were fun. She was chasing the chickens with Kyle, and even pet the goat! Then we ate lunch, in the car because of all the bees. Then we went for a little hike up the hill. It was very hot so we hiked about a half mile and then turned around and hiked back to the car. When I was in high school some friends and I had carved our names into a bench so the kids wanted to hike up there and see if the bench was still there. They put a new bench up there so the kids were pretty disappointed.

Kyle's B-day

Kyle turned 7 while I was at Girl's Camp. He was pretty upset that I missed his birthday but I had Jeannine take him and Riley Jo to Pixieland on his birthday. We celebrated with friends at the pool after I got back. He had a great time swimming with all his friends. It was also the easiest birthday party for me, I only had to entertain during the 2, 15 minute rest periods. The first rest period we ate some fruit salad, and the second we did cake and presents. Same time same place next year!

Girl's Camp

I had the opportunity to go to girl's camp this year with the Walnut Creek Stake Young Women. I had a blast. I always enjoyed girl's camp as a youth and was excited to go back as a leader. I was asked to be an assistant Level 1 leader. I was able to go as Michayla's leader. We had a great group of girls (26 girls to be exact), and there wasn't any drama the entire week! My sister-in-law Jeannine and my mom split the week watching my kids so that I was able to go. I wouldn't have been able to go without them so I am very grateful to them for being willing to help me out. Michayla and I woke up 6:00 for the Polar Bear Swim. It was very cold! I figured since I was in the water why not swim across the lake. So a few of us leaders swam across the lake. Wednesday night we were the only campers in camp so the first years got to dress up the big sisters in funny outfits and they the big sisters entertained us. It was very funny! I even won the Hula Hoop contest. They called up all the Level 1 leaders, our Brethren, the camp director (Sister Hopkins), and the Stake Young Women's President (Sister Jones). We hiked to Blue Lake on Thursday, it was a nice short hike. It was very hot but the water was very cold. Michayla didn't last long before her lips were very blue and she was shaking and had to get out of the water. Me, 2 big sisters, and 1 girl swam across blue lake. We all got very sun burned and I had to float for a long time on the way back because I was getting very dizzy. Friday everyone came back to camp. We played games and finished crafts and quilts. I won a quilt that night too. I hope I am able to have another opportunity to go again!

The attack of the Tree Branch!!!

Four years ago, shortly after we moved in I came home from dropping Tyler off at school to find one of our trees laying in the middle of the street. I was very happy their weren't any cars in the street when the tree decided to fall. It was a huge mess and expense to have someone come over to clean up the mess from this tree. Well, tonight I come home from Mutual to find a Huge Massive Tree Branch leaning up against my house and taking up my spot in the driveway. All these images came flashing back in my mind. The wind isn't even blowing that hard I can't believe it fell. Of course it would too, because my husband left today to go to Vegas until Friday. I knew I couldn't leave this mess for him to clean up because the lady across the street from us hates us, and if it waited until Friday another anonymous note would appear in my mailbox about how I need to be considerate of my neighbors. So, at 8:45 I grabbed the clippers and started clipping and was able to get the entire Branch cleaned up. Except for the last 6 Ft. because it was too thick to cut with the clippers and it was too tall for the garbage can. My husband can finish the job. Sorry I forgot to take a picture.

Blog Vacation!!!

I didn't realize how long it had been since I last blogged. So, I will do a long entry to catch things up a little. We went camping over the Memorial Day Weekend. We went to Lake Don Pedro with Steve and Jeannine. The weather report wasn't looking very good, (it said it would rain all weekend) but we took the boat hoping the weather would change. It didn't. The water wasn't bad, but because of the wind once I got up on the wake board I was frozen. Then getting back on the boat was torture. So I wasn't so brave on Sunday when we went on the boat. We literally spent maybe an hour on the boat each day. That includes launching the boat and walking back up to our campsite. We all still had a great time. We all stayed in the trailer because there wasn't a good tent site for Steve and Jeannine to pitch their tent. We played a ton of games, hung out, roasted marshmallows, made s'mores, and made hot chocolate. The kids didn't even get stir crazy. It was still great to get away!
June 7th my brother Chris came from Colorado to pick up his truck. It was supposed to be a quick trip but ended up being an extended weekend so we took him out on the boat for some water skiing. We went to the delta and had a good time. We went with our friends and watching JM and Jeremy Evans jump the wake on the wake board was amazing. Now I want to learn how to do that.
June 8th we celebrated Chris' 36th birthday! During dinner Kyle lost his first tooth. We were eating tacos. His other front bottom tooth is loose and he keeps asking for tacos so it will come out. He was so excited to get money from the tooth fairy. He was equally excited to go out on Monday and spend the money.
June 14th was the end of baseball season! We were all ready for it. By the end even Kyle wasn't wanting to go to the games. We will see if he plays next year. The boys did have fun and they both improved a lot. Tyler was the starting second baseman for his team and was able to pitch a couple of times and impressed his coach a lot. Kyle was able to hit the ball further by the end of the season.
June 15th was Father's Day and the kids thought it would be funny to get Chris a Hannah Montana wig (since he is lacking hair on the top of his head!) He actually pulled it out of the box and put it on his head. He looked like one of the Nelson Twins.
June 16th Kyle started two weeks of swim lessons. He really enjoyed them and it was great because there was only 2 other kids in his class. He even got thrown off the diving board and he didn't hate it (I threw him off because he wouldn't jump).
June 18th our play group went to Contra Loma to go swimming. The kids all had a great time splashing around, playing in the sand, and playing with their friends. We spent about 3 hours out there.
June 19th I finally received my mother's day present. Wii Fit. I made the mistake of not pre-ordering it because I thought their would be plenty. But, there wasn't. Of course it didn't help that I had the wrong release date because I could have gotten one at Costco otherwise. Luckily a few people who did pre-order the game didn't pick them up on time and so I was able to buy one of theirs. We all enjoy playing the Wii Fit and exercising is so much fun!
June 25th we went on another field trip to the Oakland Center for Art & Science. The kids had fun in the science room looking at all the animals. Then we went across the street to the botanical garden and walked around it.
Somewhere in there we also went to the drive-ins a couple of times. We saw Kung-Fu Panda, Ironman, W-A-L-L-E, and The Incredible Hulk. Ironman was a good movie and I fell asleep during Hulk. But Tyler really enjoyed it.
July 1st Tyler flew out to Pennsylvania to visit Marc for two weeks.

On July 2nd Cindy, Brittany Doll, and I took the kids to the SF Zoo. It was a free day so it was a little crazy busy. The animals weren't very active but they loved to watch the penguins.
July 4th we started a day as usual by riding our bikes to the church for the annual pancake breakfast. Then we had the bike parade. After the breakfast we took Kyle to the Go-Kart track so Kyle could drive his Go-Kart. I haven't been able to watch him drive yet so I was really excited to see him drive. He did really good and he has so much fun driving. He even spun out once. Then we went to a friends house for a BBQ and to swim and ended up at Concord High to watch the fireworks. It was a long fun day! Then we woke up early the next morning and went to New Hogan Lake to take the boat out. We had a blast and again went with friends. Our friend Tara was able to borrow a banana tube from her boss and it holds 8 people. We all had a blast riding it.
So as you can see, we have been a little busy! So I hope you can forgive me for such a long post, but I didn't want to write like 10 in one day.

Say Bye to the Long Hair

That's right, I finally cut it ALL off! I got tired of the long hair and decided to go against my husbands wishes and cut it. I went to the salon and took Riley Jo with me. I then met Chris and the kids at Tyler's baseball game. Chris didn't recognize me at first because he has never seen my hair this short. In fact, my hair hasn't been this short since High School. It took him a couple hours but since the parents at the ball game approved, I think it was easier for Chris to like it. I may never go back to the long hair! It takes me longer to do my hair now because I actually style it, but it's a lot cuter now.

Disneyland

We took our kids to Disneyland in April. We had a blast. I was a little nervous about the drive down since Riley Jo is potty trained now. But she did amazing. We stopped twice each direction. That was for our older children as well though. We got down there on Saturday afternoon and went to Disneyland. We walked through the gates just as the Parade of Dreams was ending so we were able to watch. Riley Jo seemed to like it the most since all the Princesses were there. I thought that was a great way to start our trip. We then decided to start in Fantasy Land and went on the Snow White ride. Riley Jo didn't like it too much. Then the kids wanted to go on Pinocchio so Chris took the older kids on that and Riley Jo and I went to stand in line for King Arthur's Carousel. She didn't like that ride either. In fact she wasn't thrilled over any rides except for Buzz Lightyear so she could shoot the gun. The kids all had a great time and the lines weren't bad. We also went on the new Nemo Submarine ride and everyone liked that. Kyle even rode Hollywood Tower of Terror twice and says he will ride it again. Michayla and Kyle both rode Space Mountain and loved it! Kyle's first time on Space Mountain he had his hands up the entire time! Tyler, Michayla and I stayed every night until close and Chris took the two younger kids back to the hotel. We were able to see Fantasmic and ride extra rides since there wasn't a line. It was so nice to get away and have some family time together.

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Riley Jo's First Haircut

We've reached another milestone with little Riley Jo. After 2 years and 4 months she got her first haircut. She did so good. Kyle and Tyler have gotten their haircut twice recently and Riley Jo wanted hers cut too. She kept saying my turn for my haircut. When is my haircut. So Saturday afternoon without my husbands permission we went and got her haircut. After we walked into the salon she started to change her mind. But I told her I would be there next to her so then she was fine. Especially once she saw the car she was able to sit in while she got her hair cut.

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Utah Adventure!

We had a blast in Utah. The drive wasn't bad either. We were able to walk around temple square, Take a tour at the Humanitarian Center and Welfare Square. We went to BYU and did a scavenger hunt, ate at Cougar Eats, shop at the BYU Bookstore, and watch a Men's Volleyball game. It took all five games but they finally won. The girls all really enjoyed the game. Then on Saturday morning we all just hung out and played pool and ping pong. Then we drove back to Salt Lake where we were able to go to the grave sites of some of our past prophets. We then went to the Conference Center for the Young Women's Broadcast. I have never been inside before and I couldn't believe how big it was. We were all sitting there quietly talking and taking in the surroundings when all of a sudden everyone was quiet and we all stood up. The President Monson and his two counselors walked in to the room. It was an awesome experience to see how many young women, their mothers, and leaders were there and it was completely silent. The Broadcast was great and that night at our devotional everyone was able to say what their favorite part was. On Sunday we woke up to find it was snowing in Salt Lake. The cars were a little covered, enough to write on the windows, but it wasn't sticking to the ground. We were able to watch the Spoken Word at the Tabernacle before our drive home. I have never been inside the Tabernacle either, so again I was impressed by the amazing building. This is an experience that will last for a long time. I am so glad that I was able to go on this trip with these amazing Young Women and leaders.

St. Patricks Day

Green Eggs & Green Potatoes

In honor of St. Paddy's Day we had a green dinner. Our spread included: Green Eggs, ham, Green potatoes, and bacon. Kyle thought it was so cool that I made green eggs and ham like the book! He was the most excited when I told him what we were having for dinner. He wanted to help me stir the eggs so he could watch them turn green. It took a little prodding for Riley Jo to eat though. Kyle threatened to eat it if she didn't, so she tried it and liked it. This will be our new tradition on St. Patricks Day.

Opening Day of Baseball

Basketball season is over and Baseball Season has started. Wow! On March 8th we had opening day, the big parade, pictures, and inflatables. The kids had fun and the sun was out, thank goodness. Both boys have had games already. Kyle is playing coach pitch this year and is on the Giants again. He loves it. Tyler is in AAA and playing on the Red Sox this year. His coach is very competitive but I think he will learn a lot. So far they are undefeated. Tyler has been playing well and he enjoys being on a winning team. He hopes they can keep it up.

My New Niece

Abby Paige Proud Uncle & Aunt

My sister Sheri delivered a baby girl Friday February 22, 2008 at 7:58 am. It was a long labor. She went into the hospital at 11:00 pm Wed. night and was at 1cm but, because the heart rate kept dropping they kept her. They started potosin at about 11:00 am Thursday morning. About 4:30 pm they stopped the potosin because Sheri's blood pressure and the babies heart rate were both dropping.They gave Sheri some medicine and put her back on the potosin where everything went back up to normal. They broke her water at at 2 am, by mistake. They were trying to put a monitor on the baby and broke her water in the process. She was at 3 cm, she quickly went to 7 and got the epidural. Then Abby was born at 7:58 a.m. weighing in at 9 lbs 5 oz. 21 inches long.

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Presidents Weekend

For Presidents weekend we took the kids to our friends cabin in Arnold. Every year the kids look forward to going to the snow. This year with Tyler playing basketball and both Kyle & Tyler playing baseball we only had one Saturday off between the sports. Yep, Presidents weekend. So we had to go to the snow that weekend or we would miss a game, or miss the snow. Luckily, no one was using the cabin so we were able to use it. We went up on Saturday and came home on Monday. Kyle was so excited about the snow that he actually started looking for it with his binoculars when we were still an hour away. Saturday we played at the cabin. We made a snowman, made snow angels, had a snowball fight, and even made a sled run down the drive. We all had a blast. Sunday we went up the road and found a fun hill to go down. And then played in front of the cabin again. Monday we packed up and left, hoping to beat the traffic.

My new Calling

At the beginning of the year I was called as the Beehive advisor in Young Womens. I was very excited for this calling. I teach a great group of girls and Michayla will be joining us at the end of March. We have decided to take the entire Young Womens group to Utah for the Young Women's broadcast at the end of March. We will be going to Utah for 4 days. The girls are very excited for this trip and so are the leaders. We thought it would be awesome for the girls to be in the conference center when our new Prophet, President Thomas S. Monson spoke to them for the first time as the Prophet. We are going to do baptisms for the dead in the Salt Lake Temple, go to the Spoken Word Sunday before we drive home, and we are planning other fun stuff while there. We are hoping to go down to BYU and catch a Volleyball game or something. Since that is Michayla's birthday weekend she is able to come with us and is looking forward to going too. I am also planning on going to Girls camp in July. That will be the longest I have ever been away from my kids since Kyle was born and in the hospital for 12 days. But I was able to see them during that time. Anyway, I am very excited to go though and I will be a 1st year leader so I will be with Michayla. She was excited about that when I told her.

The Company of Good Women

I recently read a book titled "Almost Sisters." It was a great book and I had a hard time putting it down. It's about how 3 strangers meet at BYU education week and become life long friends. I think I enjoyed the book a lot because it's about these 3 friends who live in 3 different states and manage to keep an amzing friendship going. We have that with our group of friends too I think. Like us they get together at least once a year to see each other. Now that we have some friends who've moved away we try to do the same. Well this book is a trilogy and right after I finished Almost Sisters I bought the second one, "Three Tickets to Peoria." Well now I've finished that one too and thought I could get the third one. I went online last night and to my surprise, the third one is not due out until Spring. AHHHH!! I am left hanging for a few months. If you haven't already read these books, I totally recommend them. These are great books and they mention in the books that it's hard to find really good close friendships, and to hold on to the ones you are able to find. I feel truly blessed to be surrounded by you great women and that I can call you my friends!

Happy Valentines Day!

Monday I went to the church bookstore to get a couple CDs and while I was there decided to look at a couple of books. One I found was perfect. It's called Traditions. It has at least 6 ideas for every single holiday to choose from. I've been trying to figure out traditions for our family for holidays because we don't have any and I wanted our kids to look forward to family holidays. So we started a new tradition this morning and I hope it sticks. Chris and I decided to use one of the ideas in the book. We woke up early and made Red pancakes, Heart shaped toast, and bacon for breakfast. This is a rare treat for our kids, they are used to having frozen waffles or cereal on a school day, so they were really excited when they woke up this morning. Happy Valentines Day to all.

Kyle and the Powers that be!!

I've been watching my friends son for about 6 weeks now and last week was a rollercoaster of sickness around our house. Friday I was in the shower and I thought I heard Chris get up and answer the door. Kyle came in to use the bathroom and I asked him if Tara came to drop off Ethan. He said "No, Tara's not coming today she's sick." I asked if Tara had called to say she was sick and he said "Tara just called me and she's sick and not coming today." So I got out of the shower and asked Chris if Tara had called and he said no. So I told him what Kyle told me. So we went ahead and got dressed and I came out to help get breakfast for the kids, Tyler was playing with a toy and it sounded like a knock on the door. Kyle said "Tara's here." I said "I thought Tara was sick?" I told him it was Tyler. A few minutes later there was a knock on the door. I said "maybe that's Tara." It was Tyler's ride to school. I came back in Kyle said "Tara?" I told him it was Sam. Kyles response was "See I told you Tara wasn't coming." In a very matter of fact tone. About 15 minutes later (an hour after Kyle told me Tara had called him) Tara called to say she was sick and I wouldn't be watching Ethan. I had to explain to her how Kyle was Psychic and had already told me! We all had a good laugh.

Our Anniversary

Wednesday January 30th was Chris and my 4th year Sealing anniversary and Saturday February 2nd was our 7th year Wedding anniversary. So to celebrate we went out Friday night. I planned the whole evening as a surprise to Chris. I made dinner reservations, booked the hotel (yes, with a jacuzzi tub), and bought movie tickets just in case. I hid clues and goodies around the house for Chris to do a fun scavenger hunt before we left. I made him a CD of love songs, then he had to go to one of my dresser drawers and collect the bubble bath and massage oil there, then he had to go to the mailbox and that's where the dinner plans were. We went to Ruth Chris, a steakhouse in Walnut Creek for dinner and we enjoyed a free dessert since we were celebrating our anniversary. Halfway through dinner I told Chris that his last clue was in his jacket pocket and he found the hotel key and movie tickets in case he wanted to go to a movie too. He didn't, once he found out there was a jacuzzi tub he wanted to go straight to the hotel. We did end up renting a movie off the T.V. at the hotel, we watched August Rush. It was a good movie. We had a great night out and enjoyed the peace of being able to talk without being interupted.

Knee update

The MRI showed my ACL is completely fine. There is No tear and appears not to be overstretched either. I was very relieved to find out that I would not need a surgery. I do have tendinitis but am able to exercise again! I need to strengthen my quads and muscles behind my knee to relieve the pressure and pain caused by the tendinitis.

Kyle cracks me up!

Friday Kyle came home from school and told me that he hasn't been the birthday boy yet. I thought he was telling me this because we were celebrating my mom's birthday on Saturday. So, I told him he was right, he hasn't been the birthday boy for 6 months but in 6 more months he would be the birthday boy again. He got a little frustrated with me and said, "NO mom, I haven't been the birthday boy at school yet." I explained to him that he would never be the birthday boy at school because his birthday was in July during the summer. He wasn't happy with that answer so he said "I'm just going to change my birthday to January." He's been working on problem solving in Occupational Therapy, it's made him look way outside the box!

Ding Dong Ditched by Santa?

On Christmas Eve about 9:00 pm Chris and I were watching T.V. We receive a knock on our door and Chris got up to answer it. He said "probably someone dropping off more cookies." He looked through our spy glass in the door and saw something on the porch and said, "yup more cookies." He opened the door and to our surprise their was a wrapped box and Riley Jo's name on the card. We were totally surprised and opened the card to see if there was some clue as to who left the present for Riley Jo. The note read: My Dear Sweet Riley Jo, I found this extra present in the bottom of my Christmas sack and thought that you would be the perfect little girl to give it to. I know how much you love Disney Princesses and thought that you might like to add Cinderella to your collection. Have a wonderful Christmas and know that I am always thinking of you. Love, Santa Clause. So we put the card back in the envelope and put the present under the tree for the morning. When Riley Jo opened the present we thought it was going to be a stuffed Cinderella doll, or a Cinderella barbie doll. To our surprise it was a beautiful porcelain doll. Thank you to Riley Jo's Santa Clause wherever you are.

Christmas

We had a very good Christmas this year. Santa brought our family Dance Dance Revolution for the Wii, which is a lot of fun, Sing It, which is a High School Musical sing a long game, Kyle got a CARS racetrack, and Riley Jo received Disney's Princess toddler bedding. We went to my mother in laws in the morning so the kids could open their presents and see their cousins. After Christmas, dinner we went over to a friends house who got the new Rock Bank game for the XBox 360. We had so much fun playing the instruments and singing along. At one point we had an all girl band, we ROCKED!!!