First Day of School 2012

I have a love-hate relationship with the first day of school.  I hate that the summer is over and that I will not have the option to just be lazy and hang with my girls if I want to.  I will miss watching them play all day and will miss hanging out with them. I will miss just deciding to do something fun anytime of day.  I am sad for Natalie that her sisters will be gone a major chunk of the day. I love the first day of school because of all the excitement of a new school year.  I love that it means that fall is right around the corner.  I love a bit of peace and quiet around the house.  I love watching my kids learn, grow and work hard at school.  I love getting Natalie all to myself.  I love settling into a routine with a set bedtime.  I am pretty sure this debate could go on in my head for ever. Overall I think we are all excited for what this new school season will bring!

 

 

 



Annual Mountain Charleston Visit

A couple of my good friends and I have started a bit of a tradition, taking the kids up to the Mountains for one good play day before the end of the summer.  Last years trip was kinda crazy with all the yellow jackets we had to deal with but this year went off without a hitch!  The weather was amazing, which is good since that is the best part about going up there.

Along with the weather my other favorite part would be watching the kids play in nature, they were rock climbing (some of the boys were so brave), throwing rocks, playing hide and seek and basically enjoying each others company.  I love that not only were the boys so brave, they were such gentlemen helping the girls climb over the rocky terrain.  Maybe they all just like holding hands but it was really, really cute to watch! 

After everyone got their fill of fresh air and all the Mom's got their fill of pictures we headed back to town.  On the way we stopped at Cafe Rio and let all the bigger kids sit outside to eat.  My girls were excited, they felt like big girls.  I was going to make them sit inside with me be decided that I need to cut the strings one day so I let them go.  Right about the time all the kids were finishing up with their meals rain started to pour down.  Not sprinkles but crazy flash flood kind of rain.  While we finished up eating the kids played away in the rain.  What a fun way to end the afternoon!

Cousins

We tried to make the last week of summer a good one even if we were crazy busy trying to get things done in order to be ready for school.  On one of our last days we headed over to our new favorite park right my my Mom's house and met our cousins there for a good cooling off in the water.  The kids had a great time and it was fun getting to catch up with my sister who I have hardly got to see this summer.   

Phone Photo Recap

I am glad that I have my phone as a backup camera when I forget to bring my real one or when I don't really feel like lugging around a giant camera.  Here is a little bit of what we have been up to since our trip to California.

 The girls have been spending lots of time outside, especially on the overcast days playing with their new swing set that Zach's buddy gave us.

 Zappos, where Anna works, hooked us up with some free tickets to an awesome professional soccer game and I got to go with these two lovely ladies. 

 Zachary has really grown up since the school year and has been doing some babysitting for us now that he is old enough.  He is so good with Natalie and this is how we found them when we got home one evening.

I moved Maile's bed into Natalie's room hoping to solve some of our bedtime issues.  Maile won't have to get in trouble because of her naughty twin sisters and now Natalie will have someone in her room to keep her company.  Win win. This picture was the first night, Natalie must have decided Maile's bed was better than hers.

My cousin's son Oliver turned one this past weekend and she threw a really fun party, we all had a blast!

 Summer equals not having to do anything if we don't want to.  We have had many days just lounging around the house.

Four moms, eighteen kids, water balloons and a huge water slide make for one fun play day.  My friend Chrissy is so very kind and brave for letting us come over and play.  The best part about these kids is that even though there are so many, there is hardly a squabble between them, if there is it is usually between siblings.  That makes it so easy for us all to get together!



Maile's Birthday Trip Day 3

On the last planned day of our trip we were heading back out to the beach only this time we were wearing our suits and brought all the gear to stay and play for a while.  It was really fun watching the kids at the beach now that they are older, they were all much more brave than in years past.  Zachary even decided that he liked the beach and ocean and tried out the boogie board.  I wish the waters were not so rough that day, he probably would have had better luck!  Natalie also finally warmed up to the idea of sand about half way through and that made the afternoon much easier since we no longer had to carry her everywhere and hear her whine about it getting on her. 

I am struggling with believing how grown up my Maile is getting.  I am so very lucky to call this girl my own!

What a fun trip!  We packed a lot of fun into four days and I couldn't have done it without the help of my Mom and my Aunt Lezlie.  I always wish Zach didn't have to work in the summer so that he could be with us on these trips but I am glad for the extra time I got to spend with my Mom, especially since she has been working so much.  Overall this was trip was a success, Maile had a great birthday even if we didn't throw a huge party.  Pretty sure she will remember this much more!

Happy Birthday Maile (Day two)

On Maile's actual birthday we went to Knott's Berry Farm for the day.  All the kids (Natalie not included) were on their very best behavior and were so good about all the walking and standing around in line.  The weather was nice and the park wasn't too packed.  Maile has already decided that she wants to go back again for her birthday when she is tall enough to ride more rides. 

After a long day we came home to California Aunt Lezlie and Uncle Kevin's house, had dinner, sang Happy Birthday, ate ice cream and watched Maile open her presents.  This is not the first time that we have crashed Aunt Lezlie's for a birthday party and she is always so helpful in making it such a fun time.  We are so lucky and Maile sure did have a great day!

Maile's Birthday Trip Day One

 Maile had a birthday last week and I decided to coincide our annual California beach trip with her birthday instead of having to throw a big party.  I am always happy when I can get out of throwing a kid birthday party.  Don't get me wrong, I love celebrating the birth of my children, it just gets hard trying to figure out the most fun, most cost effective, less of a headache thing to do 5 times every other year! 

Anyhow we drove up to Newport Beach where my Aunt lives and went straight to the beach.  Our timing couldn't be more perfect, we arrived just as the sun was beginning to set.  I love a good beach picture, made even better the light from a setting sun.  This was a great way to start off our trip.  The water was pretty warm and the kids ended up putting more than just their feet in.  I had four very we little girls at the end of our little stop but they had a blast.  The two older kids Zachary and my sister Samantha are smart enough to stay mostly dry! 

Playing in the Rain

Like most Las Vegans, my kids get pretty darn excited when rain starts to fall.  It doesn't happen often but when it does, we take advantage of the opportunity to play in it.  I love watching them have so much fun, especially Natalie since she really has had limited experience with the rain.  Super cute seeing Zachary push her on the scooter with the rain pouring down around them.  Something about changes in weather that have me feeling all cozy and nostalgic inside. 

California Pizza Kitchen Tour

 This is such a fun free thing to do around Vegas.  The kids get a tour and a chance to make their own pizza.  After the pizza is done everyone can enjoy their own pizza with some lemonade.  On the way out they give you a little prize for another free kids meal and some stuff for the kids to take home.  Such a good deal! ( I did tip the waitress/tour guide, she was really helpful with the kids!)

My girls with their favorite triplets the Grubb boys. 

Feeling Better

Today is the first day that we are all feeling better finally after passing around the flu for almost two weeks.  Really sorry to all those who now have the flu because of us but just think, your immune system is going to be that much stronger now!  Anyhow, what better thing to do when the temp is a whopping 115 degrees than to go swimming and eat popsicles.  At first I declined the invitation since I actually woke up and fixed my hair but I changed my mind and I am glad I did.  The kids had fun as usual and are now nice and tired from playing.  Yay for a calm afternoon! 

This picture is so true to form at least for Maile.  Notice my little ice cream maniac is pretty much done with hers and everyone else is just getting started.  Proof she must be feeling good!

Field Trip Friday

Drama Queen

Yesterday little miss Natalie was playing with Maile when apparently her loving big sister decided to yank her off a blanket by her hand.  Natalie cried and whined and started babying her left wrist.  She wouldn't use it at all and I started to think it may be sprained or worse case broken.  However the other day she got a little scrape on her thumb and for days  after it was healed she would cry and fuss about it so I figured she might just be acting a little dramatic with her arm.  I decided to make her a little sling and then wait until the morning to see if she was still as hurt after a good night sleep.  My intuition was correct.  She woke up using her left wrist completely and hasn't mentioned it since.  I told the girls to not ask her about it and I quickly hid the sling, I don't want anything to trigger her memory, I am afraid she might milk her "injury" more.  She is a funny girl, just slightly on the dramatic side, she seriously didn't use her arm for the entire night and now it is perfectly fine.   I am not saying it didn't hurt at all but I think she played into all the sympathy and attention we were all giving her!

July 4th 2012

 All dressed up, they sure don't look sick do they!

Pretty sure we had everything working against us this year. First off, my kids were throwing up the day before and still pretty under the weather the day of the fourth.  Second, our down stairs air conditioner went out for a good 4 hours so we were sweating for a bit.  Next my blow dryer gave up after 3 good years of service but did not last long enough for me to finish my hair, bun day was decided.  And I would say the weather was a pretty good reason for concern, thank goodness the rain let up in time for a great firework display in Boulder City.  We scrapped all our usual plans this year so no parade and no BBQ, we just rested in order to feel good enough to go watch fireworks.  When we finally got out to Boulder City the weather was absolutly beautiful, thanks to the rain storm and we were sitting in the grass enjoying the cool breeze watching the kids play.  The fireworks were awesome as usual so big and pretty and right over our heads.  The only hiccup was the fact that Natalie threw up all over me about one minute into the show.  Oh well, there was no way we were going to have a happy ending with all the bad omens we were having so I kinda knew it was coming! All in all even with all the bad, I will probably forget all of that and the 4th still can be considered one of my favortie days of the year and I hope I am building enough excitement for my kids so they love this day as much as me one day.