To the Village

Two weeks ago, we went to pick up Andy from school. And as we always do, we asked how he was today. His teacher replied, "Great, you never have to worry about him, he is such a good kid!"

Wow, that was nice!

This morning, when I dropped Julie off at school I was confronted by her teachers. Have to admit, I was a little nervous about what they were going to say.

But Mrs Noelle, the head teacher, started out with, "I can't tell you how wonderful Julie is in class every day!" Then she proceeded to go on and on about what a genuinely caring person she is. How she always wants to help everyone. How she is bubbly and happy all the time. And most of all, she gets along great with all of her classmates.

The whole time she was talking to me, the other teacher was nodding in agreement.

Yup, it felt great. Made my day.

All day I have been thinking about these nice complements and what truly amazing children we have. And especially, how they are becoming that way because of the amazing people they have behind them.

Its true, it takes a village to raise a child. And my kids have an awesome village.

Thank you village.

Summer

Apparently we have been having a super busy summer. So busy, that I can not remember what we have been doing!!

I know last weekend, we went to warm the Cisneros house as the threw their first (of many!!) party in their new house!

We hit the beach last Sunday. Had a blast, just the 4 of us. Well, ok, 5.

One night last week, after we had put Andy to bed, this is where we found him.
The kids got to spend the day at Beth's house, which they think is the coolest thing ever. And this is what happened when we got home....
This week included Soccer practice for Julie and both kids starting the "school year" in their new classes. Another night, this is how we found Andy.
I guarantee, they are asleep in all 3 pictures. And, they are all different nights, even though Andy is wearing the same Jammies. They are some of his favorites. They get worn often.

So we have been having fun. So much fun, the kids can't even drag themselves to bed!

Gilroy Gardens

Yesterday we had the most awesome day at Gilroy Gardens!! We had never been there before and didn't really know what to expect. We were so happy about everything we found!! We are definitely getting season passes next year! The whole park is geared towards smaller kids. Like 8 and under. I could have taken a thousand pictures, but I refrained.

We started out getting the kids face painted. Which ended up being not the best idea because there was water involved later on, but the were super happy about it.
Flying goldfish!!!!


Andy was so serious. He loved all the cars. I didn't get a shot of them on the fire engines, or the soaring strawberries.
The whole gang! We loved having Memere there with us! Everything is more fun with Memere!!
Yeah, the balloons were that fun!
On a lot of the rides, the kids got their own buggies, so they didn't have to compromise on the color. Obviously Julie picked purple! She is my daughter!
I was surprised that Andy wasn't that into the driving. But he enjoyed the ride.
Artichoke Dips!!
She wasn't scared to drive!!
It was a bit of a bummer I couldn't go on more rides. I did enjoy the monorail and the train was great!! But I really can't complain when this was the view I enjoyed while they were on all the rides!! This was the most beautiful park ever! All theme parks should also be botanical gardens!
It was such a great day! We were all exhausted! But there were no fits, no tantrums, no time outs. The kids ate their lunches without prompting and walked the entire time. We didn't even bring a stroller!!

Friends

John and I have always been so blessed by our friends. We have great people in our lives that we can just be with, support and enjoy. Friends that we can count on and have fun with.

But what is even better than that?? Our kids do too

Julie took some of these, wish there were more of her, but she was having too much fun with her friends.
Hooray for baseball!
Everyone loves a good wresting match.
And helping a friend out when they need a little "push"
Oh, and all these adorable kids who Julie and Andy call friends, have pretty amazing parents too.

Yes, we are one lucky family!

Inspiration

So I am getting ready to make a quilt for our new baby girl. I have only ever made one quilt before and that was for Veda. In order to get inspired, I pulled up the pictures of the blanket I made for her just a few months back.

I love the corduroy the best, it gave it a beautiful weight.

The binding also turned out really well. Thanks to some one on one tutoring from a great and talented friend.

Yup, will for sure do a similar trim and corduroy. But probably brighter colors, with more of a springy theme. She is going to be born in the cold, so something sunny would be good.

Thirty (that's 30!!)

My handsome, wonderful, sweet, loving husband turned 30 yesterday!! He didn't want a fuss, so I invited our friends and family to a local baseball game to just sit, enjoy each other and celebrate John.

The birthday boy with Lauren!! He was the first to scoop her up so he could have ample cuddle time on his birthday!Then it was Auntie's turn!! When did I shrink? Seriously, am I getting shorter?
The kids enjoyed the time with their Pop-pop.

Aren't these little friends adorable? They had a great time visiting and playing. Then Julie confiscated my camera, and she took the rest of the pictures that evening.
Andy making his move. Audrey loved on him a little, but in the end, he was left heartbroken.

Memere and Delma! They were doing their best to keep warm, but it was getting mighty cold. Luckily, it was a good game and we were having so much fun, it didn't even seem like an option to leave early!
Cousins Valerie and Ryan with Dave, and the birthday boy and Cory in the background.
Grammy and her bouncing baby boy! (remember Julie took these pictures, so Grammy got a little chopped, but still a great picture.)
And more buddies. Since he was shot down by Audrey, he ran to his Mommies lap.....or was he trying to make eyes at Lina? Either way, he loves his Arnold girls!
Julie missed out on taking pictures of Auntie Audrey, Aunt Arlene and Uncle Hal, Grandpa Mel and Grandma CC, Cousins Stephen and Sarah and Joe. But they were all there to celebrate and enjoy the evening with us. The home team won and great fun was had by all.

Happy birthday handsome husband. We love you so much.

A Few of my Favorite Things!

These are just a few of my favorite things lately.

• Andy putting on his own flip flops. They are on the wrong feet. And the wrong toe. But he did it all by himself. And he has the cutest toes ever.

• Julie asking if the baby is getting some of my cookie through her "umbilical plug"

• Andy saying, "Julie, you are my best friend!"

• And having my best friend and her family live so close that we can go on little road trips together.

I know the last on sounds silly, but if Christina still lived so far away, we would probably never get to do such awesome little outings like we did today. We met Christina and her adorable family at the Santa Barbara Zoo and had a great day. It included lots of animals, a picnic, duck-duck-goose, a train ride and fish food. My pictures don't tell the whole story, but its a start.

This boy loves his elephants!! He couldn't stop talking long enough for me to get a good picture!

Julie's favorites are always the giraffes. She was being a Grade A Cheeseball!

Julie worked on her big sister skills showing Everett how to feed the fish. We had pretty good success with no one going in the water and very little fish food in Everett's tummy.
And he got a sweet reward.
Yup, super happy our families get to be a part of each others lives. Can't wait for the next trip!