Fishing at Strawberry

Kelly recently took Bailey, Noah and Sam fishing at Strawberry Reservoir. They got up at the crack of dawn, packed their poles, and headed to the lake. Amazingly enough, each of our kids caught their own fish! They all worked together reeling and grabbing the net, etc. They loved it! Kelly taught them how to put the worm on and how to handle the fish afterwords (the wack on the head). Sam caught the biggest one! We cooked the Cutthroat for dinner and it was soooo good! The kids felt great providing dinner and had many stories to tell. It was a perfect day!

Happy Father's Day!

Fathers are the strength, the protectors, the leader, the provider etc...in a family unit. In our family unit, Kelly is much more than that. He is "the fun Dad." He can take 4 kids to Costco on a Saturday and not go mad, he will take 4 kids (3 that can't swim on own) to Surf and Swim-by himself and other such madness. I, on the other hand, wouldn't willfully bring on this kind of stress. Kelly really is great with the kids. They love him, that's all there is to it! He is fun, yet he can be firm. He can teach them and he can adorably love them. One favorite past time is the traditional "Sunday Walk" which started with just Bailey and Noah back in CA. Now it includes all the kids, sometimes Mom, but rarely. Kelly takes them every Sunday-out into "the WILD!" This means hikes in the canyon near the house or just a nice stroll on the sidewalk. Another Sunday tradition is watching a "church movie" with the kids. Amazingly enough, the kids love this and don't get bored! This includes popcorn of course. Another fun thing for the boys is the fact that Kelly takes them to Scouting activities and camp outs on a regular basis. They can't wait to be Boy Scouts! The kids like to take turns standing on Kelly's hands while lifting them up and down in the air (while he's laying down.) This takes a lot of strength for Kelly-especially with Bailey, and a lot of balance on the kid's part! They have so much fun doing this! I love to watch Kelly as a father. He continues to amaze me and this makes me love him more everyday. I am so lucky to have an involved and fun-loving husband to help me do this enormous job of being a mother.

Landscaping Progress

Our latest project, and it is quite a project, is our landscaping. We thought we'd do the sod ourselves and save some $ but luckily our landscaper talked us out of that especially since we would have had to wheel the sod down to our property from the top of the long, steep driveway!!! Then we decided to have them put in the trees as well. So now we have a nice golf course look. I roped my family into helping us plant...everything else...which is a lot! We are planning on a "landscaping party" next weekend. I thought before, during, and after shots would be nice!

"Lost" Tooth

While we were in So.CAL we stayed a few days with some good friends. Noah had a loose tooth and was afraid to let anyone pull it out for him. After talking about it over dinner, Noah finally decided to give it a tug. Sure enough, that tooth was ready to come out! This was a big event because it was his very first lost tooth! He decided to wait till we got home to put it under his pillow. I put it somewhere safe and we forgot all about it. When we got home, Noah asked for his tooth. I looked everywhere and didn't find it. This isn't the first time a tooth got "lost" so we knew what to do. Noah wrote a cute note to the Tooth Fairy explaining his situation and that he'd still like to get a prize. He put it under his pillow and sure enough, it worked! He got a prize! He was so happy!

Where All Your Dreams Come True...

We finally took the kids to Disneyland!!! What an experience! I feel like I just ran a marathon! My legs and back are sore and my wallet is empty. We learned a lot and had a great time but with all good things come not so good things too! The kids had their share of injuries such as falls, and sick stomachs due to over consumption of cotton candy etc...But what a time! Kelly and I are sure we can now handle about anything as parents! We spent our first day in CA at, of course, Disneyland, one full day at Manhattan Beach (whew, that was NICE!) one day at Knott's Berry Farm where I took Bailey on an adult roller coaster that freaked her out for the rest of her life, (I will never go on a roller coaster again unless it is in the kiddy section), one day at Sea World, and two more FULL days at Disneyland. We are wondering how many miles we walked and how many hours we spent standing in line. The kids did reasonably well with the lines. I did observe that our kids were the loudest and silliest of all the kids in line. What do expect from four kids under the age of 9? Well, I have advice to parents who are contemplating a Disney vacation. Don't go until you have fully potty trained, no stroller needed, no naps needed, children. It will be so much more enjoyable for everyone! Jenna was a trooper though. She didn't fall asleep in her stroller once until the last day on the way back to our hotel. (See Picture) Besides the fact that I traumatized Bailey, Kelly traumatized Sam (5 yrs.), Noah (7 yrs.), and Bailey,(9) by taking them on The Tower of Terror!!! We had no idea what it was, only that it was the newest, greatest thing! Little did we know that for the remainder of the trip we'd hear stories about the Tower of Terror! We are still hearing about it! Way to make positive, happy memories for years to come!!! "How was your first trip to Disneyland?" reply... "Don't ever go on the Tower of Terror!!" We loved the Pirates of the Caribbean, The Jungle Cruise, the Peter Pan Ride, Buzz Light Year ride, Aladdin show, parade, Soarin California, Breakfast at Ariel's Grotto, meeting Mickey Mouse, and seeing Indiana Jones! But the highlight for me as a parent was seeing both Noah and Sam get picked for Jedi Training Camp!!! I had them sit apart so they would have a better chance being picked. Sam was in his own world, fiddling with his light saber while the head Jedi was talking to him and making jokes about him! It was hilarious! He was the smallest kid up there so when Darth Vader came on stage, Sam got to fight him first! Let me just say, his fighting skills are lacking but if he were fighting Noah at home, he would have done damage! Noah got to fight Darth Maul. SOOOOOOO cool! I was in heaven watching my boys fulfil their dream. It was definitely one of the best attractions there!