Why Me?

Poor Boots! How does a small scratch on the neck turn into a large infected wound requiring a $200 visit to the vet, lots of medication, and a cone?? My poor little guy wasn't so happy about this!


This is what I have to deal with for the next 10 days!






Dogs...they bring so much joy to our family, but these are the things I just hate dealing with!

Fall is Here! Time for Apples...

At the beginning of Fall each year, we head up to Oak Glen for an annual apple picking trip with a couple of our neighbors. Unfortunately our friends Gene and Michelle weren't able to make it this year, so it was just us and our friend Brian with his two girls Haley and Bella. It was such a beautiful day with crystal blue skies. We started off walking around Los Rios Ranch on a few short hiking trails. The scenery was beautiful and the trees were amazing. They have a whole area of Redwoods to walk through.
We came across a small pond which had a huge catfish that the kids just couldn't get enough of looking at!
We walked over to one of the many u-pick farms and started picking raspberries. This is the end of raspberry season, so we really had to search and find the last remaining ripe berries. They were so delicious though; it was hard not to eat them all before filling our basket!

It was time to move on to the apple trees. This is the beginning of apple season and after a little bit of searching we found some great trees with yummy gala apples! The kids had fun twisting the apples off the branches and filling the bags.
After all of our hiking and picking we were all starving. So we headed to the village for a BBQ lunch. Afterwards the kids played in the village and got dessert.We always have so much fun on this day trip. I love this time of year!!So at the end of our long day, it was time to come home and make homemade caramel dip to go along with our bag of freshly picked apples. Yummy!!

Karate Ceremony

Today was a very busy day of work and then off to Zoe's Girl Scout Picnic. I didn't get to stay too long and got no pictures! :( But she had a great time and the girls were excited to kick off their girl scout year!

Tonight was Cooper's karate belt ceremony. They are changing the program so it was a large group of kids all moving up together. It was a great night because Cooper and his friend Mitchell got to go together and will now be on the same track moving from the Little Ninja program to the Little Champions.

(Running in to get their spots)

(Ready for teamwork testing)

(Receiving his new belt: Yellow/Orange)

(Cooper and Mitchell with their certificates-you guys are awesome!!)

Cooper is so excited to be starting this new program. He works so hard at Krav Maga and can't wait to get more self defense practice. Cooper we are so proud of your achievements!

Today we celebrated cousin Jax's 7th birthday at Strike in Orange County. We had so much fun bowling, playing arcade games, and eating! These little guys are all so close to each other. I love watching them together and seeing how much fun they have. (Jax and Cooper ready to bowl)

(Cole and Zoe)

(Zoe waiting for her turn)

(Joe & I deciding on lunch...
BTW, I won the first game and Joe won the second)

(Grandpa & Zoe)

(My brother Jeff with his boys, Jax and Cole)

(Cooper riding the motorcycle game...his FAVORITE!)

Happy Birthday Jax!

Zoe is Student of the Month!

We were so excited to learn that Zoe was getting the Trailblazer of the Month award at school!

Her note from Miss Upshur said: "Zoe Sommers is on the pathway to success for her enthusiastic attitude toward school. Zoe is a fun student who loves to laugh and make others laugh too. She works hard and is never in a bad mood. I can always count on her to cheer us up! It is my pleasure to award you as our Trailblazer of the Month!"

We couldn't be more proud of you Zoe!

they made it all night...

After the soccer game yesterday the kids decided to set up all their "camp" stuff in the BACK yard this time. I have to say I honestly didn't think they would go to sleep out there by themselves, but they did it! They slept all night and woke up so excited and happy! Even now as I enter this post they're still outside just talking and giggling in their tent...

(Getting ready to sleep)

(Even Boots joined the fun!)

It's Viper Time!

Cooper had his first soccer game of the season today. Their team is the Vipers and he is number 2. Unfortunately they lost the game 3:4 but they all played really well! Last night before bed he was getting very nervous. He doesn't have much confidence about his soccer skills, and he's a bit frightened about getting hurt. So we spent a lot of time talking about just trying your best and working hard! Cooper has definitely improved over last year and it was fun to watch him out on the field.

(Getting ready to start the game)

(He even got to do a throw-in)

(Finally getting some ball time!)

(Heading off the field, ready for some water! This heat is awful!)

Good job today Cooper! We are so proud of you!

camping kids...

So this is what the kids are up to when I'm not paying too much attention...

They set up their little play tents that they've had since they were toddlers...

They bring games to play...

They pack suitcases full of clothes, pajamas & robes, and several pairs of shoes, along with a cooler full of drinks and snacks...

I'm not sure exactly how long of a camping trip they were planning with all that stuff, but it's taking a while to convince them that they are just not old enough to sleep in the FRONT yard by themselves...

Labor Day Weekend

We had a fun and busy weekend filled with sleepovers, bbq's, friends and family...

Here are a few shots of the kids being thrown in the pool by our friend Matt. They loved the feeling of flying!!























Sunday we headed out to Newport. Since Grandma & Grandpa are moving soon (only a few minutes away from where they are now), this is probably our last time there for a little while. We had fun playing at the beach, eating, having heated political discussions, and laughing too!


We spent the last day of our weekend being pretty busy. We started out visiting the kids great-grandpa who had taken a fall earlier in the middle of night. He's doing better, but has a pretty big lump on his head. We spent the rest of the morning at a huge tent sale at Sport Chalet getting snowboarding gear for our trip to Mammoth that is coming in December! It is hard to imagine in this heat and humidity that we will ever be in the cold snow, but who can pass up 65% off! Then we came back and spent the afternoon at the beach. The kids had a blast playing with Grandpa. He was throwing them in the waves and Zoe was riding her boogie board. They are so lucky to have the best Grandpa in the world!












We did spend a lot of our weekend watching the news too. With Hurricane Gustav hitting land just 3 years after Katrina, we were all a bit nervous. My brother Greg and his wife just moved to New Orleans last month, so this is not a very good time for them. They evacuated to Arkansas for now, so at least they are safe, but we are all praying that they get to go home soon and not have to face devastating loss.