LA Fair

Yesterday Blake's 2nd grade class went on a field trip to the LA County Fair and I got to go too. It was a lot of fun! We got to see a cow milking demonstration, pig races, lots of farm animals and a lot of other cool things. Luckily the area we were in didn't have any rides near it, since that's what he wanted to do the most. I told him maybe we'd go back next week before it's over. There is a lot to do and see there. So that was our fun adventure for the week. Last week was Blake's birthday and we had a little party for him with my family. The kids played games and had a good time! Lauren also decided last week that she was going to put lip stick under her eyes. She was awfully quiet and I asked her what she was doing and she said, "I'm making my eyes pretty." I knew she was into something. When I saw her I thought her eyes were bleeding at first then she showed me what she used. It was a lip stick/gloss from my purse. She actually did pretty well and didn't get any in her eyes. Oh well, it could have been a lot worse, like Becky's couch and carpet. :)

This cow loved him and kept licking his shirt .

Here's Blake practicing his roping skills.

Blake's 8th Birthday!



He still loves Star Wars!

Lauren was making her eyes pretty!

I found this picture of Rebecca Clark (from church)
with my girls in Lauren's bed. I told her I was

going to send this to her friends. She didn't think

that was so funny!

Legoland

Every year now we have been going somewhere "fun" for Blake's birthday. We used to have parties with friends when he was younger, but now that he is older he would much rather go to an amusement park or other exciting place for his birthday. This year we went to Legoland. He wanted it to be a surprise, but he let us know in advance that he really liked both Knotts and Legoland a lot. So the morning that we left, he had no idea where we were going and he was very surprised and happy when we got there. We spent all day there and the kids had a blast, especially in the water area.
The kids also started school last week. Blake is now in second grade and Amanda is in Kindergarten. They both really like there teachers and enjoy going to school (minus the homework for Blake). There is now only Lauren and I at home for a few hours, enjoying the peace and quiet. Yea!
Baseball and soccer have started up and our schedules are busy again. Blake practices on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and has soccer games on Saturday and baseball games on Sunday afternoons. We enjoy our busy schedule and we all love the sports. They are a lot of fun to watch! Hopefully someone will be starting a Daisy Troop in Amanda's Kindergarten class soon (not me). She would like to be in Girl Scouts and I think that she would have a lot of fun in it. Oh well, we shall see.

These were like big teacups.

Lauren had fun in the little kid area.

Crazy Amanda!

What a good driver.

Blake's favorite ride. It flipped you all around and upside down.

First Day of School.

End of Summer Fun

The past week has been busy with friends and cousins. My uncle Scott and his two kids(Matthew and Ethan) came out for a few days to visit. We went to the beach with them, Blake went to the movies with them and we had dinner at my parents one evening with them while the kids played and had a good time. That particular evening we also had the Austin girls, Delaney and Carley staying with us while their parents were at the hospital with Greg's dad. Thankfully, he is o.k. now, but it was quite a scare for all of them. So that day and night we got to have the girls stay with us. They are such a pleasure to have around and our kids love them so much!
Last week we also went to see the Walking with Dinosaurs show at the Honda Center. We went with a family at the preschool who have two little boys who love dinosaurs and with Princeen (my boss), her husband and their son Brady, who my kids adore, especially Amanda. That night was fun and the kids had a blast.
School is starting on Thursday. Hurray! I can't wait to get back to a normal schedule again. Amanda is excited to be starting Kindergarten at her "brother's school" and Blake is going to be going into second grade. Blake on the other hand isn't too excited and doesn't understand why it is so important that he go to school. I don't think he is looking forward to doing all the work again, even though he does so well at it. Oh well, such is life. He will have to get over it. While the kids are at school, Lauren will be at home with me enjoying the peace and quiet for a few hours (until Amanda gets home at 11:40). We will still be squeezing in naps, homework for two everyday, going to soccer and baseball practices and having games during the week. I am ready for another fun and busy year.

Delaney, Carley and Amanda playing on the tire swing.

The kids in the sandbox, minus a couple.

Blake, Ethan and Matthew at the beach.

The boys at Walking with Dinosaurs

Camping at San Clemente

We went camping at San Clemente State Beach last week and had a blast! It was our family, my parents, and my sister's family. My kids have been counting down the days since April, so they were so excited when it came time to go. Packing up for a trip is always fun. We crammed everyone's stuff into our trucks and we were off and ready to go. Blake and Matt had walkie talkies and it was a good thing because Matt and Kaylee were losing cups out of the back of their truck, so we all had to get off the freeway. They had a little more extra room in the back of their truck so we had to reposition stuff and make sure the light things were strapped down. Nobody wanted to drive behind them after that. :) When we got there the kids went right away to explore and play in the dirt, which they were covered with the entire time we were there, no kidding! Don't think you can keep young kids clean while camping, it's not happening. The guys got the tents up and the girls watched the kids and helped put stuff in the tents. We then walked down the hill of all hills to get to the beach. This is the one I tried to put my sister into labor with last year. (Ask her about it, if you don't already know.) I don't know why I thought I could keep my kids out of the water, I should have just put their bathing suits on. The kids were soaked, especially helping my dad look for sand crabs (they were using for fishing). That night went great for us. Kaylee will tell you more about her view on the night :) The kids had so much fun the entire time! We went to the beach everyday, played around camp, rode bikes, flew a kite, played with other kids around camp, got manicures from grandma, ate smores every night, roasted hot dogs, went surf fishing and ate a lot! At least it felt like I was eating all the time with all the snack foods around. The guys went fishing a few times and caught some fish. They even caught a few leopard sharks. We also saw a couple skunks and rabbits around. One night I heard something outside my tent, so of course I get up to see what it is. I crawl halfway out the tent and see something black and white messing with our trash bag, which we forgot to throw out. I realize it was a skunk so I try to throw a stick at it and it didn't move. I tried a rock next and it runs away. I then hurry back into the tent and realize I just threw a rock at a skunk, Bad Idea! Luckily he didn't spray, that wouldn't have been pleasant! Anyway, the camping trip was a blast and we all had a lot of fun. This will leave us and especially the kids with a lot of fun family memories.

Lauren and Emily

Getting down and dirty!

Monkeys in the tree

Fishing with Papa

Roasting hot dogs

Cousin's Parties

We had a fun week last week with both Emily and Jack's birthday parties. Emily's party was at Chuck E Cheese and Jack's was at his house. Chuck E Cheese was a lot of fun and my kids really enjoyed the firetruck that came to Jack's party. It was a lot of fun!

Amanda and the Birthday Girl!

Lauren loves cake as you can see.

Amanda taking Lauren for a ride!

Cool Firetruck

Driving with her toes

The Birthday Boy!

First Post!

Well, I have finally joined the world of blogging, thanks to my sister who has pestered me enough to make one of my own. It has taken me awhile to figure this out but I think I got the hang of it. So, there is nothing really new around here, just the same busy life style as usual. The kids have been having a great summer. We have tried to keep them busy. They took swimming lessons at the beginning of summer and are now swimming pros. Blake has swam well for awhile now, but Amanda hasn't had as many lessons. She is now swimming great! I don't have to worry about her at all in the water! Lauren on the other hand isn't too fond of the pool, so she doesn't have much interest to go in it.
This summer we've been to the beach, storytimes and shows at the library, museums, movies, circus, fun waterslides and activites at the preschool (I work at), play days with friends, and lots more. So the kids have kept busy. We are going to Vacation Bible School at our church next week and the following week we are going camping in San Clemente for a few days with my family. The summer is coming to a close and school will be starting up again the end of August. It will be sort of sad when summer is over, but will be nice to get back to a regular routine and schedule again. Well, that's all for now, the kids are calling!