WARNING: ZOMBIES AHEAD!!

Obviously not a zombie but we couldn't forget to post about Ryanne getting her braces off! And a lady bug retainer to boot!

I'll keep the anticipation rolling for a second longer; this is the sunset the other night from my living room....

I loved watching the fog roll in as the sun was setting...it was MAGNIFICENT!!

Morgan's performing group has been working for two months on their Thriller dance. They finally got to perform it twice this weekend....here we are transforming the little ballerina into a monster.....Dan said it shouldn't take much since she's about to be a teenager. Ha!

She decided to be a prom queen zombie so it was really fun to put together. Thrift shop dress my mom picked up, a little dye bath and some driving over it with my car and Ta-Da!

Ratting out her curly hair was SO FUN!!!

The girls all really got into it and the crowd loved their dance. Really a fun group of kids....I mean zombies..I mean ballerinas.....well, it depends on the day. :)

OK kids, now pretend you are going to eat Ryanne and Dylan....it will be so hilarious! I think we may have scarred the poor two year old for life. The look on his little face is priceless.

Meet Dylan. Morgans birth mom and brother came out and spent the weekend with us to watch them dance and spend time with the girls before they move back east. Kari's husband got a new job so sadly they will be leaving just as they are getting ready to welcome a new little girl into the family in March.

Dylan dressed up as Indiana Jones for the festival....

Morgan and Kari. So a fun weekend was had by all but we are glad to have our pre-teen "de-zombified."

More Fall Fun....

OK so this part is NOT Fall fun. I was running and running as fast as I could but a darn chest cold caught me anyways and before I knew it I had full blown bronchitis. I will spare you the details of the stuff I was coughing up. Yup' I'm nice like that. I try to never take antibiotics unless it's life threatening so I have had to just stick it out and suffer through...NOT PLEASANT!! We are now on day 10 and I think I'm finally on the mend.

Being sick in our house is not really an option since life just seems to keep on moving regardless. Crazy how that happens right? Morgan had a performance and her group did great!

I like to look up quotes from famous people and update our classroom chalk board on a regular bases....I'm a dork like that.

My brother (FINALLY) got married this past weekend to his lovely fiance Sarah. It was a sunset wedding on top of a hill at a winery. Really beautiful.

These lined the walk way from the outdoor ceremony to the reception room.

The cousins.....they partied long into the night. We had to drag Ryanne off the dance floor.

OK I am realizing this dress on me is not flattering in pictures. Yikes! Anyways, this is my aunt and my cousin. Notice I'm the only one without wine.....helpful when you have to be the one who knows the way home. :)

We were waiting for appetizers.....

And apparently were very excited when they came around......

What? Are you lookin' at me?

Mike & Sarah's sign in table...

The venue was very quaint and personal feeling......Morgan and her daddy

Sisters rock!

Home school recess.....

Ry got her braces off and got a lady bug retainer.....

Dan's aunt and uncle came up from Santa Ana and we went with them to Oak Glen for some apples and other treats.....Happy Fall!

Free!!!!

Are you ready? This is free. Not gonna cost you anything. I'm in the mood to be generous so it's your lucky day. I figured in honor of my brothers upcoming wedding this weekend I would give you a gift. Yup' that's right it's free advice. Here it goes; when you get the chance to go on a date with your spouse even if it's just a quick cup of coffee put your phone away. Set it to vibrate and ignore it. Look at the amazing person across from you and focus in on them. Nothing and I mean nothing on Facebook, twitter, Pinterest, or a text is more important than the person God gave you to love and cherish till' death do you part. N-o-t-h-i-n-g. It makes me cringe to walk through a coffee house or restaurant and see a couple each with their phones pulled out not talking to one another. I guarantee your marriage will suffer. Guarantee it. You're not promised tomorrow so don't waste today. There it is. Ta-da!

Time to Regroup.......

After my little "eh-hem" melt down a couple of weeks ago I got some good advice from my ES. She said,"Christy, you need to stop and remember why you home school." Sounds simple enough but when you feel like your drowning in chaos called life it's hard to remember why you chose to do something. She also told me to take a deep breath and spend the rest of the week doing "fun" learning.

I called my girlfriend and asked her if she wanted to "fun learn" along with us. So we headed to the Living Desert Zoo. It was a beautiful day. Nobody there, sunny and 80 degrees.

I think there is a great lesson to be learned on a carousal wouldn't you agree? I mean we learned that I cannot ride one anymore due to the going in circles part of the ride and that Ryanne looks super cute riding a goose. 

The animals seemed a little bored that afternoon but we still enjoyed them....

I took a few minutes to be thankful for evenings at home with my family. I am certain this was the 10 minutes right after dinner and right before we had to bolt out the door for dance. But I was thankful none the less. :)

We decided at the last minute that a cold rainy day was the perfect excuse to drop school and head to the pumpkin patch....

"See, lots to learn here mom!" Like how family and sanity are priceless.

Like how breathing in your kids scent and enjoying them before they are gone are more important than fighting over a math book.......

Personally, I think we make a very cute couple.....

Poor Dan had to basically lay on the ground to get into this one. Ha!

I love the intensity here. The great pumpkin debate has been known to take so long that I see a shiny light and wander off...

Sisters are the best......

I grabbed a few extra pumpkins and painted my moms address on them for her porch....

My mom and aunt live a few doors down from each other so I made them both some and then sneakily put them on their porches....

I woke up at 2am on Sunday morning with the worst chest cold....Dan and the girls went to church without me but they made sure the dog was at least comfortable before leaving. This is what I stumbled out of bed too....nice to be below the dog on the food chain. :)

 

Something we have come to terms with is that Ryanne really really struggles with OCD. I mean like really. So much so that we don't like to tell her stuff until right before we do it because she can't focus on anything besides that. I feel badly sometimes because she will say,"What? Nobody told me we were going to Disneyland!" She focuses in on one thing and it makes the rest of the day really hard. We have been trying to find ways to keep her body and mind focused but on something she loves.

Ryanne loves to run and ride. She loves to do triathlons. Funny because that takes focus. But it also takes lots of energy and drive both of which Ryanne has LOTS of. We signed her up to start riding with a kids riding club that rides twice a week after school and Dan went a bought her the smallest rode bike we have ever seen.

This weekend alone she rode 15 miles. Then when Dan was done riding she kept riding around our neighborhood "practicing" with her new gears, breaks etc. So we are hoping this is something she can put her energy into and helps her focus on the positive. She is also running another 5k in Loma Linda soon. We just want her to feel encouraged, supported and loved. Doing races is something she and Dan can do together which is another plus. I love how Ryannes rode bike is the smallest frame you can buy and Dan's is the largest. So cute together. :)

Confessions Of An Out Of Control Home School Mom......

Just so there are no misunderstandings about my life, I decided to fill you in on what has been taking place in one of my many realities called "homeschooling my kids." Now don't misunderstand me, I love having my kids home and as trying as it is I would NOT trade it for anything. BUT, these past 5 weeks of school have been r-o-u-g-h! Why? Well for starters I have been in denial. There I said it d-e-n-i-a-l. It's a nice place to visit but not live if you know what I mean. I think God is teaching me so many lessons about myself through raising our girls (see there, all about me again ha!)Seriously though, and I'm certain this applies to parents that don't home school as well but it's rough raising two human beings who are entirely different in nature; who have different wants, needs and talents etc. I mean I can barely figure myself out and usually when I think,"Ha! I've got that down!" God shows me otherwise. By nature Morgan is really self driven. She sets a goal and works toward it. She's neat, organized and on time without being prodded. Those are all great qualities right? Of course, but the challenge with a personality like that is that life is not always neat, orderly and controllable so she struggles with not being perfect all the time at EVERYTHING! The upside is she has an amazing heart for the Lord and is easily corrected. She has a sweet, sensitive spirit that wants obedience. This makes home schooling her pretty easy. 

Oktoberfest In September......

Morgan's performing group danced at Oktoberfest this weekend....she is the "boy" farthest to the right. Yet another down side to being the tallest in a dance group. ha!

The girls...ah-hem, I mean boys danced some German dances and had some fun sporting the facial hair in the process...

When Morgan was first cast as a boy she was pretty indignant but she got over it and had fun.....she gets to be a girl the rest of the year..yahoo!!

Her dance partner Maddie.......

She got her German groove on..........

To top off the weekend we attended a friends play at the Little Playhouse in Yucaipa...Montana was in Snow White and she was one of the dwarfs. She did great and we really enjoyed watching all the kids. It was a crazy busy weekend but all fun!