Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Happy Anniversary - 11 years!!!


I still need to blog about our July road trip up the coast....but I know that is going to take a while to do. I didn't want to forget to post about our 11th anniversary this year and what a fun time we had together. We were so bummed when we realized that we forgot the camera.....but I wanted to write about it even if I don't have any pictures to share. I am so thankful for our moms who were willing to take the kids so that we could get out and have some fun.


I love David. I really do. We have been "together" since we were fourteen years old. Our old high school anniversary is October 12th, and on that day this year, we will have been "together" for 19 years!!!! That sounds RIDICULOUS but it is true. This is not something that I would recommend for my daughter....we were just very lucky that it worked out for us. He asked me "out" on a school bus on the way home from a football game, just as we were pulling in to the high school parking lot. (I think it took him the entire drive home to build up the courage to do it!) Since that night....we have pretty much always been together. (We had a little falling out our senior year....but I will save that story for another time - and it didn't last long!) The other night we got out some old notes that we passed back in forth in high school. We were pretty much laughing hysterically and trying to figure out how we ever stayed together. We were happy, but high school drama is pretty crazy. It was pretty funny to read what was SOOO important in our lives back then, when those things REALLY did not matter. We made it through a lot and had tons of fun back then. David learned about the church, was baptized our senior year, and then went off to college at Arizona State. I thought for sure he would find someone else in Arizona and I was worried I might want to date someone else at Chapman, where I went to school. But it never happened. Just before our senior year of college David proposed (I need to write that story down too so our kids can read it) and we were married on July 24, 1999.....2 months after we both graduated from college. That is the VERY short version, but it's great history.


We have been very lucky to have each other. I think we both build each other up whenever the other one needs it. We know each other inside and out and can pretty much read each other's minds. We have a lot of fun together. We bicker like no one else, but that's because we have been together for so long. We both are easy to let those moments go and move on....it works. I'm thankful for the hard times that have come since we got married, and how much we have both learned and grown because of these struggles. We work together as a team very well, and that can get us through anything. David is a great guy....I feel very blessed that his is my husband and the daddy to our kids. I know that we will be together for eternity....there is not a doubt in my mind. I know that more challenges will come, but we are both committed to each other and our family. I'm thankful for that.


We always do something for our anniversary, whether big or small. This year wasn't any different. On Saturday morning my mom took the kids and we headed to Knott's Berry Farm with our annual passes. We had so much fun without the kids, and were able to ride the roller coasters that we never get around to with little ones. I don't think I have actually ridden a roller coaster in probably ten years. It was so scary and so much fun! After that we headed over to Soak City (all with our annual passes) to ride the grown up water slides together (something else we can't do with the kids!). We had a blast playing in the water and I even went down a very scary slide, backwards, just because David wanted me to. It was great!


Next, we were off to our hotel in Costa Mesa. We arrived just in time to get all cleaned up and showered so that we could head over to the Orange County Fair to see David's self-proclaimed "girlfriend' Faith Hill!!!!! (I surprised him with the tickets!) There was a free shuttle leaving a block away from the hotel. It was so nice not having to pay for parking and deal with all of the crowds. I think she sounded the best that she ever has....we have seen her sing a few times. The ampitheatre was outside and the moon was shining down as she sang - it was AMAZING! We loved it, but it ended too soon! Next we headed over to see the hypnotist show which was hilarious, and we ended the night sharing a deep fried Oreo. Pretty good actually!


The next morning we woke up early, of course, but had breakfast and then went BACK TO BED!!!! Best day ever!!!! Once we were up we spent the afternoon at the beach, eating at Ruby's on the pier, and walking around Newport and Balboa Island. The weather was perfect and the sky was blue. It was hard to come home. I really do love our time together and look forward to our next night out. Life gets pretty stressful sometimes, and I am glad to have him by my side. Love you Dave.

Summer Swim Lessons

Right after recital ended - swimming lessons began! We were babysitting my nieces Gabriela and Natalie the first week and so the kids had an audience cheering them on every day! This was the year that we really wanted Chad to learn to be an independent swimmer. He gets kind of panicky and frantic in the water and so we were hoping that this would improve in swim lessons this year. Since the moment swim lessons ended last summer, he has been asking me when swim lessons would be next. Yes.....for the entire last year, at least monthly, he would ask out of fear. I was a little worried that he might freak out on the first day. His teacher Sam was great and we started lessons at La Sierra University this year which were much better than the city of Corona like we have always done in the past. Chad had only one other student in his class, and Kylie had her own private lesson every day! Chad did a fantastic job and moved from level 2 to level 3......and he is definitely a swimmer now. He was so proud of himself and is much more confident in the water. Kylie was already a swimmer and she moved up to Level 5, the highest they offer. She had the opportunity to learn to dive, and every stroke possible - freestyle, breathstroke, backstroke, and even the butterfly. We were very impressed and she loved every minute of it. Looking forward to next summer when it will be Cameron's turn to start!


Chad










Kylie









Our little cheering section for the first week!!!


Monday, July 26, 2010

Kylie's 6th Dance Recital

The last weekend of June is always special.....and busy! Kylie participated in her 6th dance recital this year and LOVED every minute of it. She is working so hard and loves to dance. I love to see her face light up on stage. This year she danced in ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, hip-hop, tumbling, singing, and acting. All of the scholarship students also opened and closed the show with an extra dance number. We were so proud - she did such an amazing job. I really don't know how she learns so much choreography each year and always remembers every step. It is very fun to watch her dance....she brings so much joy to the stage. Check out some pictures from each dance....there are alot!


Warming up and getting ready to go on stage






Ballet....






Tap....



Her own solo centerstage...can you tell she was happy?


Jazz.....the Can Can.....




Lyrical.....another little solo!







Hip-Hop.....



Tumbling.....

Singing.....





Acting......



Down time backstage.....




Kylie and her big sister for the year, Sabrina
Chad and Cameron were so excited to bring Kylie flowers after the show....so sweet!

Santa Barbara Train Trip

At the beginning of June a bunch of people from the charter school where I tutor were getting together for a day trip to Santa Barbara. David and the kids were already out of school so we thought it would be fun to take them to a place they had never been. The cost for the 2 hour train ride round trip to Santa Barbara was only $12.oo per person - how awesome is that? The plan was to meet at Union Station in LA at 9am. We left at 6:45 thinking that we would have plenty of time. The train was due to leave at 9:05am.

That was the plan.....unfortunately we had even MORE traffic than we planned for. Not even exaggerating - we pulled into the train station at 9:03am, had to find a parking spot, and ran for our lives. I felt like we were in a movie. David was carrying all kinds of stuff and leading the way, Kylie and Chad were running with their backpacks on, and I had my bag and Cameron in my arms. We ran into the station and asked the first person we saw where the trains were boarding and if she knew which gate was going to Santa Barbara. We were so thankful to know that she did. The only problem....our gate was the one furthest down the station from where we were. We thought FOR SURE that we would not make it....we kept telling the kids that we probably wouldn't. I think I said ten prayers within the next five minutes.

We ran all the way through the station - people probably thought that we were crazy. Cameron is not light...I was doing everything I could to keep running and at the same time keeping an eye on Kylie and Chad who were beating me to the gate. It was crazy and very funny now that I look back on it. Long story short.....we made it!!!! I don't even know how. We found the gate, got on, and within a minute the train left. It took us just a few minutes to find everyone else there waiting for us. The kids loved it and thought that we were awesome. And let me tell you....we are! Lots of good memories.

We spent the day hanging out at the beach, riding a fun bike along the water in Santa Barbara, eating some yummy pizza and visiting with friends. We rode the train home that night and arrived home at 11:30pm. We had a great day and would love to go again next year.


Finally settled on the train....

They all fit in the back of the bike!

Throwing rocks together.....

So many ladybugs on this beach....Kylie loved it? Can you see the ladybug?


Wednesday, July 21, 2010

I Love Summer!

My mom said that I could write my own post. This is Kylie. So...summer started out by going to Santa Barbara on a train. We went with mommy's tutoring school. We walked around, rented a fun bike, and went to the beach. Next, it was my dance recital. I do eight classes. I love to dance and had a lot of fun. The next thing we did is we went to Knott's Berry Farm and the Soak City Waterpark! Soak City was cool and we had a blast! There was a pink and yellow waterslide that gave me a headache. Knott's Berry Farm was very fun. My favorite ride is Jaguar. Then we went on a fabulous road trip. First, we went to San Luis Obispo. Then, we went to Monterey. Our hotel was right in front of the beach. Then, we went to San Francisco. We went to see a family that we know who has seven kids. We had fun playing together. We also saw the Golden Gate Bridge, a crooked street, and the place where The American Girl, Julie, lived in the book about her life in the 60's. Lastly, we went to Yosemite. We saw a funny show. We hiked to a waterfall and I got sprinkled on. We looked at the stars at night, and saw deer and lots of other animals. We went to a nature center and a campfire, and swam a lot! Thats the end. Keep looking at our blog for the first day of school!

Friday, June 18, 2010

Go Braves!!!

We just finished up Chad's first official year of t-ball. He has played with Corona Parks and Recreation the last couple of years, but this was his first REAL team. He loved it. He was on the Braves with a great group of boys and had an amazing coach. He learned a lot this year and during the second half of the season, the coach was allowed to pitch it to the boys to teach them to hit without the tee. Chad did great, and actually enjoyed this more than hitting off of the tee. It was a lot of fun to watch him play (Kylie didn't really enjoy it), but we did! Looking forward to soccer this fall, baseball next spring, and maybe karate in between - we'll see! Check out the slideshow and see if you can find the random non-baseball picture of Chad. Pretty funny!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Big Boy Bed

So the second school was out it was time for another transition....bye bye crib and hello big boy bunk bed! Cameron was very excited because we had been talking this day up for a while. The few days before he kept trying to talk me in to letting him sleep in the big boy bed and didn't want to sleep in the crib anymore. It was really cute, but I wasn't sure if he would really be cool once the crib was gone. We waited a little bit longer to change him to a bed than we did with the other kids, so I was a little bit worried. But....he was awesome and we were so proud. He even helped Daddy take the crib down and put it away!


Last Nap Sleeping in the Crib


Sitting in his new bed!

This was so cute....Chad giving some big brother advice on how to sleep in a big boy bed.

Just like in the crib, he was asleep within ten minutes! YAY!


Now on to potty training!!!! (After our road trip in July!)