A New Addition...

We've added another dog to our family! Zippy has been grandma and grandpa's dog for about 6 months now, but since they just moved from a house to a condo and are in the middle of major renovations, it was just too much. We decided to take him in. We started with a test run of a few days to see just how well he would fit in here, and it didn't take long to see that all would be well. It took a little time for Polo to adjust since he is the "alpha" dog in the house, but now they're all doing great. He loves to curl up on any clothes or blankets left on the floor, and loves to be wherever the kids are...
Welcome to your new home Zippy!

A Very Thankful Day!

Thanksgiving is one great holiday. For the past 10 years or so, I have hosted at my house and I love it. It can be a lot of work, but it is always worth it! Today was a great one filled with family, friends, and food...lots of food! Not everyone was able to make it today, but we are thankful for our many blessings. Zoe wrote down grace for our meal and did a wonderful job. We get so caught up in the day to day frustrations or problems, that it is nice to sometimes just sit down and remember all of the great things we have in our lives. We are so thankful for our family, the fantastic friendships we have, our home, the beautiful fall weather, our jobs, God, every day that we have together, our mistakes, our challenges, our gratitude and many, many more.

Great family and great friends!

The kids favorite part of the meal is their toast with their sparkling cider!

My favorite part of the meal...dessert! My signature dessert is always pumpkin cheesecake! I usually make 2 or 3 pies, and chocolate chip cookies (just because you can never go wrong with a good cookie!).

some things skip a generation...

One of my least favorite "chores" is ironing! I truly can't stand it. The funny thing is, my mom loves to iron. She irons everything and has for as long as I can remember. I guess it skipped a generation, because Zoe loves to iron. Maybe it's just that she's too young to know better, but for now, she can take over!

Day at Disneyland!

Today we got to spend a fun day at Disneyland! I just can never get enough of that place, especially around the holidays. I took Zoe and Cooper, and my nephew Jax. Luckily we got there early (before the crowds) and got on a ton of stuff right away. By late afternoon it was packed! The decorations were beautiful and I am finally starting to accept the fact that the holidays are HERE! Not sure when I'm going to get everything prepared and done, but at least I'm having fun in the process! Now if I could just stop obsessing over Twilight, I think I'd get more done this week!

(Sleeping Beauty's Castle, decorated with lights and snow)

(Thunder Mountain, our new favorite ride)

(The Reindeer Round-up was so neat, with actual reindeers and Santa and Mrs. Claus. We didn't wait in the long line, but got some great photos!)

(We found lots of treasure on Pirate's Island)

(My favorite childhood movie of all time is Mary Poppins, so I couldn't resist getting Zoe's picture with her!)

(Finishing our day with Hot Chocolate, and a hot dog for Zoe!)

Twilight is Here!!

What a wait it has been! I started reading the Twilight series almost a year and half ago (thank you Chessa!) and it has been a long wait for this movie to come out! We just couldn't pass up the opportunity to go to the midnight showing on opening day. If you know me, you know that I'm not really a late night person, so this wasn't easy! We got in line at around 8p.m., thinking that was pretty early. Who knew there would be people there at 6am! So around the building we went to get in the back of the line. We actually ended up in the theater by 9:30.

(Jenny, me, Chessa, Teri)

We got great seats but now had to wait out the next 2 1/2 hours. Luckily with great girlfriends, the time flew by. There was a lot of talking, laughing, card playing (that was my tired, delirious time) and eating (our smuggled in CPK and candy).
I thought I would be exhausted by midnight, but I was wide awake and ready to go! The movie was fantastic. It took a little while to get used to the differences between what I had pictured in my head and what was on screen, but it was amazing. That Edward is something else! I even wore my Team Edward t-shirt. What a fun night...

Long, Long Ago Day

Cooper's class celebrated Long, Long, Ago Day today! First grade has been learning all about how things were "a long time ago" and what it was like for the pilgrims. So today they dressed like pilgrims and did all kinds of fun activities. They learned to sew, they made butter and cornbread, made a feather necklace, drew with charcoal, learned about musical instruments, polished pennies, made paper sack pockets, made clay pots, and colored paper quilts. It was a fun day for all the kids (and parents too)!

Yumm...

Guess its time for banana bread!
Delicious!

Beautiful...

Fall is here and the skies have been so clear. Although the days have still been too hot for my comfort, we have had some amazing sunsets the last few days. There's even been a full moon. So Zoe took the camera out and got a few good shots...

A Night Out!

Last night Joe and I got to go see Carrie Underwood in concert. He had given me the tickets for my birthday last month, and I was so excited the night was finally here! Grandma took the kids for the night and they couldn't have been happier. We headed down to San Diego in the afternoon. Our first stop was IKEA to search for a new bed for Cooper. It's not really a romantic way to spend our day together, but hey, sometimes real life gets in the way and we just don't get down there too often. After that we had a great dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. We walked around for a while just people watching and had such a nice time. Then it was time for the show. Our seats were in the Terrace section, but we were the first row up there and to the side of the stage, so we actually had a great view. Little Big Town was the opening act and they were fantastic! Then it was Carrie's turn and she was amazing. That girl has quite a voice. It was a great night and nice to just have some carefree, fun time!

Last Soccer Game of the Season...

Well, we made it through the fall soccer season. And although I'm ready for it to be over, it was a bit bittersweet. The Vipers played a fantastic game (ending in a tie), and Cooper played the best game he's ever played. It was so fun to see them out there playing their hearts out.

(starting off the game as goalie!)

(took a pretty good hit to the gut!)

(starting off the 2nd half)

(Cooper gets a throw-in)

(Final Team Cheer! Way to go Vipers!)

44th President...

Last night, Barack Obama was elected the 44th President of the United States. It was an historic moment for our country and I must say, I felt very proud. Watching him speak I can feel that this will be a great change for America. And John McCain gave a very gracious concession speech. I couldn't tear myself away from the tv last night; it was exciting and moving. Even the kids kept running in asking who was winning. I was happy that they were interested in not only the results, but also the process.

VOTE!

Today is Election Day! It has been a very long couple of years leading up to this day. I woke up this morning feeling excited, and also a little bit on edge. I couldn't wait to get to school (my polling place) to vote. I must say, it felt very good to mark my choices. I truly feel that voting is a right that we should not take for granted. We live in the most amazing country in the world and we should all take the time to research our candidates and all of the propositions on the ballot. This has been a very divisive time for our country and our state. I'm looking forward to moving ahead!

I can't wait to find out the results: Obama or McCain for president? How will the propositions turn out? I think it will be a late night of staying up to watch the results!

Soccer Party

Tonight we celebrated the end of soccer season. Cooper's last game is coming up on Saturday, but due to the holiday weekend and scheduling, we decided to celebrate tonight. So Team Vipers went for pizza and cake. Coach Matt gave each of the kids trophies so they were very excited! Matt did a great job with all the boys this season.