Another summer day at the beach...

Truly, nothing makes us happier than spending time at Newport Beach. After spending the night at Grandma and Grandpa's, we walked to the beach and got to spend a few hours playing in the sand and surf. We took our annual beach picture of the cousins and they were off running. It was red flag out so we were extra careful in the water, but we all had a blast.









And after a fun afternoon at the beach, we were able to do a little shopping. So all the kids got new school shoes and we had a great dinner at the Rainforest cafe. What a day!

The O.C. Fair

Every summer my mom and I take the kids with my nephews to the Orange County Fair. The kids have so much fun going on all the rides, eating lots of junk, and looking at the farm animals. It is usually a hot and crowded day too; and this year was no different! I thought maybe with the struggling economy that the crowds might be a little less, but I was wrong. We still had a great day filled with lots of smiles!

Let's Dance!

Zoe was in her 4th Temecula Dance Company recital today. She did a jazz routine to Hannah Montana's "I Got Nerve". It was a great show and she did fantastic. I love watching my little girl on that stage and see how much she improves every year. All those kids are just amazing!




Grandma and Grandpa came to the show too! Grandpa gave Zoe some flowers and Grandma gave Zoe a star bracelet for being such a dancing "star". Congratulations Zoe! We are so proud of you!

Garage Sale & more...

After 3 years in this house it was time for a garage sale! We had a ton of things that the kids had outgrown and out used, plus a few other random items from our house. We had a driveway filled with stuff, and by 7am almost all of it was gone! People sure do love garage sales. So once I finally got the camera out, this was all that was left...
As we were winding down with the sales, the kids decided to get out the Slip-N-Slide. How fun is that? They spent the next hour or so slipping down the track giggling constantly.


















I love these smiling faces!

Is 3 months between car washings too long??

Thanks for all your help kids!! I couldn't have done it without you!

Moonlight Beach

We spent a great day with friends at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas. The kids had a blast playing in the water, playing in the sand, finding rocks, and eating lots of snacks. Their were some bigger kids digging a huge hole next to us, so the kids had fun watching them and finally getting the chance to all jump in.
What a perfect way to spend a summer day. I can't believe how quickly the weeks are going by. I am trying to cherish every moment!

Family Visit

We had a nice visit with some extended family today. My aunt Nor, cousin Becky, and her 6 month old baby Jak came to see us from Idaho, along with Poppe. It was great to see them, even if only for a few hours. We got to just hang out and chat, introduce them to the Wii, and cuddle with the baby.

(Rocking baby Jak to sleep...so precious!)

(Becky & Me)

(Cooper showing Aunt Nor how to play the Wii)

(Zoe just adored Jak, she was so good with him!)

Cousins make the best friends...

Jax is here to stay the night with Zoe and Cooper. They're having so much fun! Swimming, playing basketball, riding bikes, playing soccer...an endless amount of energy. I love watching them play together.

(Ready!)

(Set!)

(Go!)

july 13...

Happy Anniversary Honey! Joe and I were married 12 years ago today. We had a beautiful wedding in Estes Park, Colorado at the Stanley Hotel in the breathtaking rocky mountains. I remember so many details of that day and when I think back to walking down that I aisle I feel so much love. It has been an eventful 12 years, filled with lots of ups and downs and in-betweens, but I have cherished all of it and feel so blessed to have the family that we have created.

We decided to spend the day together as a family and went to Harveston Lake. We started out the morning on a bike ride around the lake and through the trails of that community. Zoe and I got new bikes yesterday, so we were enjoying riding around. Actually, Zoe loves her bike so much she was riding it in our neighborhood until 10 o'clock last night!


After a brief stop for lunch, we came back to the lake for some fishing. It was the first time the kids had fished, so they were very excited! I was amazed at how quickly they got the hang of it. They practiced their casting and reeling skills until they could do it on their own.
Daddy caught the first blue gill of the day, quickly followed up by Zoe! It took a while for Cooper, but he finally caught one of his own. It was such a nice, relaxing day to spend together...

Camp Grandma & Grandpa!

While mom was on the road trip (see below) and dad was dog sitting and working, Zoe and Cooper got to spend a few days at Grandma & Grandpa's house. Boy did they have fun! They went hiking with Grandpa, to the beach, to Wild River's water park, miniature golfing, went to the Rainforest Cafe, went to puppy school with Zippy, and played many hours of Uno. These kids were so spoiled! Thank you mom and dad for taking such good care of them!!

(Cole, Zoe, Cooper, Jax)

Girls Road Trip! (Days 1 & 2)

My friend Christy and I took off for a short adventure this weekend! She needed to fly to Colorado (where she lives) and drive her car back to Orange County (where she is currently working on a trial). She asked me to tag along with her and of course I said yes! I haven't been on a road trip in years! So with Grandma saying she would take the kids, and Joe staying home to work and watch the dogs, off I went!
We had a lot of recurring themes on our trip: dolphins, gnomes, Germans, Colbie Collait, and Cold Play...Everywhere we went we saw or heard these things. They provided us with a lot of laughs, although much of it probably doesn't make sense to anyone else but us! :)

Day One:
We flew from Orange County to Denver. I actually don't mind flying, except when it comes to getting air sick. Unfortunately, the flight into Denver can get pretty bumpy, and because of the typical summer afternoon thunder storms, we hit quite a bit of turbulance and even had to be re-routed a bit. My stomach definitely didn't like this; I was green and clammy for the last 1/2 hour of the trip. Boy was I happy when we finally arrived! Little did I know that the cab ride to Christy's house would be just as wild!
After a brief stop to check out her adorable house in Westminster, we decided to head up to Fort Collins. We stopped to pick up a new GPS unit (we named her Olga) and were on our way. On our way up there, we passed what we thought of as the ideal "Man Center". It was a Harley-Davidson shop located right next to a Hooters! What more could a man want! Once we made it to Fort Collins we were able to visit my alma mater, Colorado State University. Actually, Christy and I were roomates for our freshman year before she transferred to USD. We have so many great memories there. The campus looked beautiful; everything was so green! We tried to get to the bookstore before it closed, but we missed it by about 20 minutes (another recurring theme on our trip!)
We then walked around downtown which is such a charming area. There were a few things that had changed, but a lot that has stayed the same. Joe and I had our first date at Walrus Ice Cream so I was glad to see that it was still there! Christy and I walked in and out of the shops and had dinner at BeauJo's out on the patio. So many memories came flooding back! It was getting late and time to head back to Christy's house for a good night of sleep before our official road trip begins...

Day Two:
The suitcases are packed, the car is loaded, we have our maps and we're off! The first leg of the trip is by far the most beautiful. I just love Colorado! Once you hit the Rocky Mountains every view is breathtaking. You can even see buffalo on the side of the road.



We decided to take a small detour off of I-70 and head up to the Continental Divide and then come down through the Keystone ski area. It was so beautiful at almost 12,000 feet, and the village in Keystone was adorable...









Back in the car we headed to Glenwood Springs for a late lunch. We found this cute little deli/coffee place for sandwiches and shakes. Then we did a little more window shopping. Like I mentioned before, one of our themes for this trip was gnomes. They just seemed to follow us everywhere we went; Christy even bought one to keep on her desk at work.

Sadly, it was time to leave Colorado and head into Utah. It was also very hot (almost 100) by the afternoon. We were begging for rain showers, but no matter how close we came to the storm clouds, we just couldn't get there in time!

Once in Utah, we took the scenic route to Moab. One of the roads we ventured on was a bit desolate. We thought that maybe it wasn't a good idea to stray from Olga's directions. :) But she pulled us through and the result was pure beauty..After checking into the River Canyon Lodge we headed to Arches National Park to see the beautiful red rock formations. It truly is a magnificent sight! I can't wait to bring my family back and do some hiking and camping!
After driving through the park and seeing so many spectacular sights, we realized we were getting pretty hungry. We drove through the small town of Moab and found the greatest Italian restaurant ever called Pasta Jays. We had a great meal of spinach/artichoke ravioli in a tomato cream sauce and chicken cannelonni's. Yummy!