15 Years

This month John and I celebrated 15 years together! The view across the table has changed a little since our first date 15 years ago. 3 more smiling, goofy faces! And a man more handsome than the day we met. I love this view. 

The view on my desk of the 15 orange roses he sent was pretty swell as well. What a sweet surprise. 

Christmas Time

Holy moly was this Christmas a whirlwind!! With the kids getting older, each event is more fun.  We are able to just hop in the car and do things on a whim. But, a lot of times, when we get places, they find friends and off they go. Its amazingly cool, and a little sad. But mostly great. 

We did get to see Santa at my work one night. Sadie insisted she wasn't going to cry. When we got up there, she did so good. She spoke to him and told him exactly what she wanted. She didn't get much choice on sitting on is lap because he just scooped her on up!

 We did the Margarita tree lighting as always with the Hammers. It is one of my favorite events, even though this year there was no soup. But we ended up with sushi, so we really can't complain.

 There was a lot of sitting around, enjoying our new home. It really does well with a tree in the living room. John also outdid himself on the outside, but of course, pictures can not do it justice.

 Christmas morning the kids were up early, happy, excited and sweet. They loved all their gifts.

 Especially the bunnies Santa brought them. Sadie named hers "Charlie Brown Snowball."  Julie's is "Colors" and Andy's is "Snoopy."  They are great fun and have a nice little home in the living room. They might be a bit spoiled.

After a bit we had some nice time with Memere and Grandpy before all the rest of the family showed up. Sadie loved her umbrella!

 Grandpy got the kids tool boxes. They loved them. Sadie made sure to wear her protective eye gear while working with her tools.

 This year we had some extra visitors! Cousins Lauren and Jemma were here for Christmas! Of course with Justin and Audrey too. They came in on Christmas night. We had all the family over for dinner. But I was cooking, talking, eating, so I didn't get any pictures. Darn! But it was wonderful having our home filled with family for the holidays.

 We spent the rest of the time just hanging out enjoying each other. It was a busy Christmas season, but many great memories were made.

Sadie Turns 4!

For Sadie's 4th birthday, we had a big party at our house. It was the first big bash we have thrown in the new place. I have to admit, I was more than a little bummed when it rained most of the day. But, we are fortunate our house can handle a bunch of people!

And, the birthday girl was happy to lend a hand helping out.

 I didn't get too many pictures because we were all having too much fun. There were kids everywhere!!!

But we all got to sing happy birthday to our sweet princess. She loved her party and her friends and her cupcakes.

 And, of course, her presents!!!

 She couldn't wait for the rain to stop. As soon as her friends left, she was begging me to go outside and try out her new big girl skooter!

 On her actual birthday, we took her and the big kids out of donuts before school. The loved the treat and Sadie thought the milk was "so cute and tiny!" Of course she looked pretty cute in her princess dress and crown (yes, these pictures were 2 days apart, but her dress was washed in between, at night when she was asleep).

 It worked out that night too to take them all to see the new Peanuts movie. She kept telling people she was going to the movies for her birthday, and it just happened to work out, spur of the moment. Good call, Sadie!

 So happy birthday to our littlest big girl. We love you and your 4 braids and your princess dress and silly self.

Halloween!

Our Halloween was pretty quiet this year. It started out how it does every year, with the annual Cut 'n Gut with Chris and Kayla. Every year gets a little more fun as the kids can actually carve pumpkins, come up with designs and do it themselves.  This year was super fun and messy!

We dressed up for the big kids Halloween Dance. It is my favorite school function and this year we closed the joint down! And not just because we were on the clean up crew.

We had one cute little owl. She looked at a ton of costumes, but decided all she wanted was to wear this one Memere had gotten her a few years before.

 I had made Julie a different costume, but at the last minute she decided she wanted to be a rock star. She put the costume together mostly on her own and I think it came out awesome!

 Andy was a Pokemon character that none of us really knew, but he loved, and all of his friends got it immediately. So that's cool. He was a happy guy.

 Our work theme this year was 80's. So with just a couple thrift store finds, I was set!

On Halloween, the kids did a little trick or treating, but ultimately decided that handing out candy was way more fun. So we sat on the porch while they handed out candy to all their neighborhood friends. It was a great night. After we ran out of candy, we snuggled into our bed and watched Charlie Brown's The Great Pumpkin. Couldn't ask for a better end to the night!

Vegas Baby!!

Last week John and I had a chance to get away for a couple days (thank you Memere and Grammy!!!) and take off to Vegas!

 We had a blast walking all over the town, exploring the casinos, window shopping, and of course, eating! The people watching was pretty awesome too.  We hung out by the pool too, chatted and read. It was wonderful.

 We really enjoyed hanging out at the old strip, it was a little more our style and would like to stay there if we get a chance for another get away!

Thanks for the fun time babe! 

Monterey

The kids didn't have school on Monday, so we decided that it was the perfect time for a little family get away! We drove up to Monterey after a full weekend of soccer, basketball and a half marathon (for mom and dad). We stayed at a cute little hotel within walking distance of everything!

We went to a delicious breakfast place that had HUGE pancakes!! The kids shared this chocolate chip one. I helped them out quite a bit, but we still didn't make a dent in it!

 When we got to the aquarium, Sadie was anxious to see some sharks. But she was happy with the sardines while we made our way over to the deep tank.

 The jelly fish were pretty awesome. We had not been to the aquarium since Sadie was about 3 months old, so it was all new to her. And the big kids were happy to show her around.

 The wave tank was a huge hit. All three kids loved hanging out in there. We finally had to drag them out so other families could have a turn.

 But not before we took a family picture!

 The kids are getting a little big for the play area in the aquarium, but it was still lots of fun. We are very excited to go back again soon, especially since we got an annual pass!

After the aquarium, we walked down to Dennis the Menace park and played til I thought Sadie would pass out from exhaustion. She is determined to keep up at all times.  We walked a total of 9.5 miles each on Monday. Even Sadie. It was such an adventure walking all over a new city. 

Andy turns 7!! (WHAT?!?!)

Our sweet handsome boy turned 7 this month. I know. 7. I can't believe it either.  He started the day with soccer and fun with his soccer buddies. He played a great game and had fun telling everyone it was his birthday.

 On his birthday evening, we had his grandparents, aunts and uncles over for a little family celebration. We had pizza and cake.

 He got lots and lots of love from his sisters. They even picked out a very special gift for him, a Pokemon binder to keep his cards in. Julie thought of it all by herself.

 Happy Birthday Buddy!

 Oh yeah, of course there were presents. This kid is so loved.

 The next day we had a party at the skate park with a bunch of his buddies. This is the only picture I got. But! That just proves they had so much fun. I couldn't get pictures of them zooming all over the place on their scooters!

So happy birthday to our boy. I can't believe what a smart, sweet man you are and that you are all ours!