Family Photos 2012

It's always hard to chose when there are so many great options. Here are a few of our new family photos. It took me forever to get them scheduled (they are our first with Rosie and she is over a year and a half now) but I love how they turned out. I'll be making copies for the grandparents (hope you don't mind knowing what your Christmas present is) and for Randy's mom, just as soon as I pick my favorite. 

Summer, Day ?

So, I'm really far behind with posting and I don't even remember half of what we've done. I think I'll give up on the everyday post (it would start to get really boring anyway) and just post when I've got pictures or something interesting. Sounds good? Thanks
To continue with the vacation log, the next day we were supposed to go to a park with the cousins and play in the water feature there, but the oldest cousin and I weren't feeling very well. Instead we took it easy in the morning and then got together for dinner when everyone was feeling better. The kids had fun playing together, eating together, and just getting to know each other. It was a nice relaxing day.

Summer, Day 13

Our adventure today was to Black Chasm Cavern, a set of caves about an hour away from G&G. The tour was interesting and the rock formations beautiful, although I probably didn't appreciate them very well as I was more concerned with a wiggly toddler. I hope to go back in a few years when Rosie is older and they have developed the caves more. The caves have been open to the public for only a few years now and the trail only goes about 1/8th of the way in. The company running the cave tours has some great plans for expanding the tour.
After the tour, Grandma bought the kids a couple bags of dirt that we're seeded with some little bits if semi-precious stones so that everyone could try panning. Nathan had a really good time with his portion and he and his cousin even spent a bit of time going over every else's leftovers looking for little stones they left behind. Josh kept us worried by exploring the surrounding area with his youngest cousin, Camdan. And Rosie was happy just playing in the dirt.
On the way home we stopped at a place called Indian Grinding Rock, a traditional gathering spot for the native American tribe of the area. Unfortunately the museum was closed for the day, but we did walk around and see several of the outdoor displays. It was an informative and busy day.

Summer, Day 12

Our main plan for today had been to go to church with Grandma & Grandpa but Nathan ended up being sick during the night. So instead we stayed home and took it easy until Nathan felt better. Then we played outside and with Grandma's toys until the cousins came over for dinner. It ended up a nice day but we definitely needed to leave the house the next day. The kids were getting a little stir crazy.

Summer, Day 11

Going to Grandma's! We'd been looking forward to this trip for months. The only bad part was that Richard wasn't coming. He had to stay home to work. The trip there was nice and uneventful. We made only one stop for gas and a bathroom break and Rosie slept most of the way. We even surprised Grandma & Grandpa by being an hour earlier than expected. Not a bad trip.

Summer, Day 10

My fun summer activity today was dinner with my husband and two good friends. James was in town visiting family and Mezzie was acting as his chauffeur for the night. James, living in Kansas, hadn't had any good Filipino food in a long time so we went to Jeepney Asian Grill. So yummy. We had a great time talking and only left because the live music was getting a little too enthusiastic and making it impossible to keep a conversation going. I feel silly now that I didn't get a picture as we don't get together very often now.
Missed you Mishel.

Summer, Day 9

Today we got together with my sister in law and her two sons and visited Pirate Park. It's just a small little park behind a shopping district, but it's clean and cute. The kids all had a good time and we will definitely go back again soon.

Summer, Day 8

During the summer I tend to try to make sure that the people who live in my house try new things. If I can get a benefit, then all the better. Ryan (nephew from Texas) is with us again this summer. Both he and Randy are more than old enough to have some cooking skills so I declared that they would each be cooking dinner once a week. Ryan started us out with spaghetti. It was pretty good.

Summer, Day 7

I think that it really feels like summer for the kids now; we finally have water in our pool. Last year Richard decided that we needed to upgrade from the regular kiddie pools to a fairly good sized above ground pool. Not as nice as the pool I grew up with, but it's definitely better than nothing. Lastiojiioylo year it ended up with some holes in the bottom and by the end of the summer it was losing water at a slow but steady rate. I wanted to patch the holes before filling it this year and hopefully cut down on our water bill. There were a lot more holes than I realized. A lot more. Most of then were small and probably wouldn't have been that big of a deal but there were a lot of holes. A lot. It took me three days, a couple hours a day, to get it all done and Josh was not patient. It's all done now and we've got water in it. I still need to get the chemical levels just right, but otherwise we should have another fun summer.

Summer, Day 6

Today we went to the movies and saw "Brave" and then played on the playground at the shopping center. I liked the movie. I think the kids liked the movie although it's really hard to tell with Rosie.

Summer, Day 5

No picture today; you really wouldn't want to see it. It started shortly before 5 am when Nathan woke up, complaining of a stomach ache. This was soon followed by him throwing up and continued for the next five or six hours. I didn't even try to go back to sleep as I hate being woken up by a child puking up their guts. We stayed home from church. It was a weird day.

Summer, Day 4

Josh has been bugging us to set up the pool for weeks now and we finally started yesterday. Unfortunately there were a few holes in the bottom that need to be patched. He was really upset until he and Nathan started making a nest out there. They had wanted to sleep out there but got scared by themselves. We'll have to try again when Richard gets home. Camping out in the back yard isn't his favorite thing but he'll probably do it once for his boys.

Summer, Day 3

Over spring break, instead of going on vacation, Richard decided we should get passes to Knott's Berry Farm. He and the kids used them just about every day during the break (I still had work) but we have been too busy to use them very much since. He got the level of passes that also gets us into the water park. It's open only half the year so we hadn't used those passed yet either. Until the today. We only stayed a little over 2 hours and I didn't get any pictures inside, but we did have a great time. My kids are going to have great tans by the end of the summer.

Summer, Day 2

So, I forgot to post yesterday. But if I had, it would have been this picture, plus two boys, a couple pillows, some blankets, and snacks. Nathan and Joshua had a picnic yesterday. At first it just started with them and food on top of the table. The table was necessary to keep the dog away. But it started to get hot so they got down the canopy and started to but it up. They got pretty far by themselves; I was impressed. Then they wanted to be comfortable so out came the pillows and blankets. While getting down the canopy, they also got down the camp cot so they decided to set it up too. During all this we had a few accidents; Josh fell off the table and Nathan pinched his finger in the camp cot. But it was a fun way to spend an hour or so outside.

First Day of Summer (for Mama)

Let's see how long I can keep up with a picture and post a day for this summer. That's the idea at least. Yesterday was my last day of work so today is my first day of summer. My kids have been off for almost a week now and I've been jealous. Like every summer, I keep forgetting that today is Wednesday; it seems like a Saturday except that Richard is at work. It's been mostly quiet day yet I only got one think on my list accomplished. I'll get another thing accomplished if I want to go to sleep tonight. The pile of laundry on my bed is bigger than all three of my kids put together.
Nathan and Josh went swimming in Aunt Jessica's pool, while Rosie and I took a nap. I also wrote a letter of recommendation for a friend so I geuss I accomplished two things today. Yeah me.
While checking the sprinklers, Josh said he wanted to play in them so I left one on for a little while. They only played for a few minutes but it was enough to get this picture.
Have a happy summer!

Joshua's Kindergarten Graduation

Josh had his Kindergarten Graduation today. Both Richard and I called in sick so we could make it. We dragged Rosie and nephew Ryan along too so Josh had a decent sized crowd. All three classes sang several songs and I kept tearing up during the performances. I want to blame it on the nursing hormones (yes, Rosie is still nursing, and no, I don't know when I'll make her stop) or the quality of the performance. But I'm pretty sure it's just because I still think of Josh as being so young, even though he's a head taller than most of his class mates. Anyway, enjoy the pictures.

Park Pictures

A few months ago, during winter break, we had a play date with some friends. We played, ate snacks, and just generally had a good time. When it time to start cleaning up, my mom friend realised that she hadn't taken any pictures (she's a profesional children's photgrapher and is always taking pictures). She whipped out her camera and in about 5 minutes took a TON of great pictures, just while the kids were getting in a few last minutes of play time. These are my favorite.

Trouble with a Capital R

This little stinker has been walking for a month and a half now. This past week she learned how to climb  the step stool in the kitchen. I'm really going to be in trouble when she learns to push the stool around to where she wants to get to.

Rice is good.

Christmas 2011

OK, so these are a bit late, but I decided to post them anyway . I'm not sure if I'm trying to prove that I have children, that we did celebrate Christmas, or to show what our Christmas cards would have looked liked if we had ever sent them out.

But they are cute .