Kindergarten Carolers

My little girl spend the 13th caroling for Senior citizens. It was such a joy to watch her serve others!  I simply heart this little girl!

Halloween

This year we partied it up at our church's annual Light the Night Event.  JT and Jeff served in the 4th grade booth for 1 hour and the rest of the evening we enjoyed so many fun things!  The kids had a blast and it was nice to not worry about getting candy from strangers.  It was a great night and we had tons of safe fun while reaching out to our community.

*JT was a UCLA football player
*Cupcake was a Cupcake Princess
*Curly was the white ninja from GI Joe

Autumn is in the air!

I just love this time of year.  Pumpkins everywhere.  Pumpkin bread.  Pumpkin Spice Latte's.  Fall leaves.  We are enjoying a season I love so much!  I went on a field trip with cupcake yesterday to the pumpkin patch.  We had so much fun.  I love the colder weather.  Wearing my rain boots.  Wearing my headwraps and beanies.  I just love this time of year!

It's been a long two months! My little people started school on September 8th and I haven't stopped since!  We are settling into our new schedules, homework, playtime and familytime.   I often feel like I'm balancing a ton of plates while walking on a tightrope!  I'm exhausted these days.  But, I am enjoying this new stage of my life.

My work (leedomphotography work, that is) has been all consuming!  I am super busy trying to help lots of families get their Christmas Cards ready...I know, it's only October!  I am also trying to stay involved in the kid's school -  co-room mom for JT and Curly's class, I am website mom for all three kid's classes, I handle field trips for Curly's class, did the roster for all three classes, take my little people to Karate 4 times/week and JT is now swimming 5 days a week!  My life feels like a high speed roller coaster these days- lots of ups, downs, twists, turns and speeds that cause your head to spin!  It's oh so much fun, but makes me oh so tired!

So, now let's try to catch you up on our lives these past two months.....

Cupcake started Kindergarten.  Oh, I miss her so much during the day.  She breaks my heart each morning because she cries when I leave her!  I know she adores her teacher and I know she ends up having great days, but she cries so deeply and painfully when I drop her off.  I just love her so much and I am taking all this love in now (I know someday she may not love on me as much as she does right now).  She is pure joy to all those around her.  She is sweet and kind and gentle and loving.  I love watching her bloom into an amazing little girl.  She loves Karate and her friends.

What can I say about my Curly?  He is now in 2nd grade and doing amazing!  This kid never ceases to amaze me!  He loves his teacher. He is excelling so much in Karate and has the potential to do amazing in his sport!  He always gives it 110%.  During the walk-a-thon, he ran!  During Karate, he works so hard!  This kid loves his friends.  I can't believe he is turning 8 in just two weeks!  My, where has the time gone?  

My 10 year old...I look at him and realize he is still just a little boy!  He loves his teacher and has all his best buds in his class this year!  He has decided that swimming is his sport!  We love watching him swim and know he is going to do amazing at this sport!  

We are patiently awaiting the arrival of our newest family member, Daisy.  She's the cute pup!  She is due to come home to us in the next two weeks.  She's a golden retriever and she's been in Vancouver filming a movie.  The kids can't wait to see her again.  We are enjoying life these days even though we are so busy!  

On the Back Burner!

These past two weeks this blog has been on hold!  J was in China, the kids started school and work has been keeping me busy.  My emotions were all over the place and I was sure missing my guy!  I realized something while J was gone....I simply cannot live with out him!  Marriage is work and there are times when he drives me nuts...but the bottom line is I adore the guy and can't live with out him!  We all missed him so much while he was gone.  It isn't over and he's got lots more travel left this month.  So, for now, the blog will need to wait....I promise to update on my little Cupcake's first day of Kindergarten (which has been tearful everyday since for both of us)!  I love this little girl and sure do miss my days with her.  We had a date night tonight while our guys are at the UCLA game.  She just fell asleep and so I'm blogging!  I am truly blessed to have my little Cupcake!

Our little Bruin Bears....

My kids are huge UCLA Bruins fans!  My oldest has been a Football season ticket holder since he was 5 - he and J go together (with Tio Jon) and they tailgate ALL. DAY.

This past weekend, while I was celebrating my birthday (more to come on that later), J took all the kids to a scrimmage to watch our favorite college football team.

JT was first in line to have the Coach sign his replica helmet!  Cupcake was right behind ready for him to sign her poster!

Here they are with a player who is truly an inspiration.  Mr. Franklin is deaf.  He has overcome so many obsticles and his story is one that touches my heart!  

Curly was so happy to be there with brother and meet the players...he came home ready to play some football!

They were happy to be there meeting all the players!  

My kids had a blast and can't wait for the season to start!  JT will travel with Jeff next month to cheer on the Bruins in Texas!  

GO BRUINS!

Now, it's her turn

Curly and Cupcake started Karate at the same time, last March. Curly earned his stripes within 3 months and was able to test for his yellow belt in June. Cupcake had to wait patiently to earn her stripes and she finally did! We worked hard this summer and missed very little karate so that she could get the most out of the sport. She finally did it and on August 16th my girl tested for her yellow belt. She was so excited because she got to test alongside one of her best buds, AJ. The two girls were so darn adorable to watch.  Cupcake made sure she had yellow bows in her hair and yellow earrings!  I loved watching my girl and am so proud of her for this amazing accomplishment!  Congrats, Cupcake!

Capitola or Bust!

The first week in August, My baby sister, Nancy and I took a road trip to Capitola, CA.  It's a small sleeper-town just south of Santa Cruz.  We spent a few days together with our 5 kids in tow.  We enjoyed our 6 hour drive north and back.  We laughed a lot, played a lot of competitive dominoes (Pixar Cars dominoes to be exact), we watched our kids play together and enjoy the company of cousins.  We had a great time and the time went by so quickly that our kids (and honestly, us too) didn't want to go home.  Thanks sis (and Uncle Joe's Grandma Anna-Mae for letting us use your sweet cottage by the sea).

Here's my sis...isn't she adorable?


We had an impromptu photo shoot on the train tracks in the cool morning as we walked.  The kids were so happy that they  were able to get some nails out of the old track.

We drove into Santa Cruz and enjoyed the boardwalk with the kids (Tuesday evenings is $1 per ride night from 5-7 p.m.) We also enjoyed the tons of Sea Lions on the wharf. It was chilly and fun and we had a blast together!

It was hard for me to pick only a few to blog...so if you want to view the entire set in a slideshow format...click below and check them all out!

Summer Stuff

JT had hoop camp a few weeks ago and had a great time playing his favorite sport. He got ejected from a game for being too aggressive....Dad was proud but we had to remind him it was just camp and was for FUN!



We celebrated J's birthday with family and a few friends.  We devoured this amazing cake that my friend made...it was delicious and It was tax deductable!  She is heading to Africa in October with her son and she made me this cake as part of her fundraising!  Best money I've ever spent!  Want one?  Click on the link to your right titles "Kru's to Africa" and she can bake one for you too!



Our good friends gave us their ticket to the Angels game (vs. Seattle).  We arrived early to watch the players warm up and hopefully get a ball or two or three!



We had great seats as you can see....



Last Saturday my daughter asked if we could go antiquing...I, of course, was so excited!  We had a great morning together checking out the amazing antique stores right here in our hometown.





Saturday afternoon we went to the beach while JT was off camping with his Aunts.  Curly got his chance to surf for the first time, EVER!  He was so cute and I loved watching him have some special time with his daddy!



I loved hanging back and watching my girl play with her cousins!

The long weekend

It doesn't quite feel like a normal summer this year.  The weather is so much cooler, it almost feels like the end of fall when you wake up and there is a cold fog out in the air and it's misty and wet. Truly,  the only reason I know it is summer is that we've been taking advantage of sleeping in.  My little peeps have been sleeping 'til 9 and roaming around the house in jammies 'til it's absolutely necessary to change.  We don't have any big vacation plans set for the summer, just relaxing and waiting for the sun to finally come out and give us some warm summer days.

The 4th of July seemed a bit different this year for me.  I love this holiday and it's always so much fun for me.  A tradition we love is to watch the fireworks at Jeff's high school alma mater on the 3rd.   What was so disappointing for me this year was how darn cold it was!  I was freezing!  The best part was being surrounded by my friends and family that I love continuing this tradition with, but it was so cold, it's didn't feel like a summer night.

What was also different this year was that we had a baseball tournament for JT.  Although I love watching my boy play ball...I was sad to miss out on some of the other traditions on the 4th.  We missed the OPA parade, we missed the street party at our friend's house and we missed out on some good quality family time on the 4th.  It just felt like a very hectic day, nothing like years past.  I didn't even get a family picture on the 4th (boo hoo).  We did get to enjoy some family time in Simi with my sisters, but we spent a lot of time driving back and forth.  I just went to bed very blue about the weekend!

We were exhausted on Monday, so we slept in and then decided to head over to Peter's for a great hike.  We had a wonderful time and it was just what I needed to get me out  of my funk.


When we came walked up to this "star wars" house, Curly thought it was so cool!  This is him pretending to be Annakin!



JT got a camera from his Nana and Papa for his birthday, he had so much fun shooting all the wildflowers and bugs.  I'll be sure to post my guys photos in another post.  He is having a blast with the camera.



What can I say about this little lady?  She is so very attached to me. I am trying to savor every moment and enjoy every minute with her...I am really going to miss her this Fall when she starts kindergarten!



All in all, it was a fun weekend, just not what I had hoped it would be.  Summer seems to be going by rather quickly and I feel as though school is going to start before I know it and it's not even warm yet!  I feel like I'm in a funk these days, but I am trying my hardest to look at each day from a positive perspective and enjoy these precious days with my kiddos because they will be gone before I know it.

What We've been up to...

It's been a busy few weeks, or should I say months, around here!  Since returning from Europe, life seemed to be filled with stuff.  You know the stuff I'm talking about....sports, homework, finishing up the school year, lots of activities, starting up my business.  You know the stuff that keeps me from posting as much as I'd like to.  I have been so busy working on my website and blog for the business.  I've had a handful of clients and that work also keeps me busy.  I have enjoyed growing my small business these last few months, but juggling it with my first and most important job, mommy, has been tough.  The kids have been super active these past few months!  Between JT's travel ball, and Curly and Cupcake's Karate, we've been on the go.  Add into that the numerous end-of-year activities and you've got one tired mommy! I am thankful that Jeff hasn't been traveling much these days, although with his work-load and countless nights working on his lap-top, he may as well be, right?  So, I am going to try to fit most of what we've been up to in this post, so I apologize for the long post.  So....let's seen what we've been up to:

JT has been playing travel ball and it's been a blast to watch him.  It's been very tough on our family though. We were told that our team wouldn't be playing Sunday Mornings and that it wouldn't interfere with church...well that was a big crock of bologna!  We have missed so much church these past few months, I think my friends might think we've changed churches.  We've decided that we aren't going to be doing that much anymore!

(special thanks to LollyD for this photo):



My boy turned 10 on the 13th! Can you believe it?  I have a 10 -year old!  He's has grown so much over the last year.  It's hard to believe that we're half way through our years with him under our care.  I am savoring each moment with this kid.  He is precious and sweet and loving and kind. This is how God created him, with a gentle spirit and a heart of gold!
For his birthday - we had a moms vs. boys baseball game (moms lost 16-8 with a little help from the dads)


The last day of school:


After school got out, he left for camp (last week).  He was homesick on Tuesday, but ended up having an amazing time and said he can't wait for next year!


Curly has been taking Karate (what type?  Sport Karate which is a mixture of Karate and American Tae Kwon Do) now for 3 months and he recently tested for his Yellow Belt.  He is doing amazing and has found his sport.  I love to watch him do something that he is gifted at.  His Sensei's see his drive and are so proud of how far he's come in the last few months.


He's definitely my spicy one! He often will not back down from me...It is definitely challenging to parent a child like him, but he brings so much flavor to our home, I can't imagine our lives with out him!




My baby girl turned 5 this month!  Where has the time gone?  I feel like she was just born!  She is loving and sweet and spicy and moody!


She is also taking Karate and is so darn cute to watch.  She is so full of love, it warms my heart.  She cried buckets when JT left for camp last week and hasn't stopped holding his hand since he got home on Friday!  She will start kindergarten in the fall and I will be sad to not have my buddy with me.  She has been so strong about Lulu too.  We recently went to visit her and she said she was happy Lulu was in a good family. I was so proud of her.





This was our very last preschool performance.  It was sad for me to think that this chapter of our family is closing.  I loved watching my girl blossom over the last year...still very shy, she actually sang the songs and did the movements.  She did forget the 3 words ("So Will I") that she was supposed to say.  When I asked her what happened, she said, "Mommy, there were too many people!"


We've got some fun days planned ahead for the summer and I am looking forward to savoring every minute with my little peeps.  I love having them home and seeing them all day every day!  Let's hope I can be more on top of this blog thing this summer!

Happy Summer!