Wrapping Up Summer......

This last week has been really fun as we wrap up our summer and get ready for another fun school year. The girls circus coaches have been doing a circus show down at the San Diego Zoo all summer so we took my mom and went down for the day!

Did I mention we took "made" my mom go on the sky tram and she is terrified of heights. Opppsss! Probably not one of my stronger quality's; sheer pleasure in having someone do something that scares them so they can feel that adrenaline rush that keeps us alive. Ya' I know it's a sickness and my mom was at our mercy cause we were hootin' and hollering the whole way!
"Grandma, look at that plane over there and the Coronado bridge!!"

I think she enjoyed the bus more.

This is how you know you have run your kids to much during summer and they are ready for school to start. :)

"Umm...Miss can I help you?"

Both girls got called up to be in the shows which they thought was so fun. What a treat to get to perform in front of everyone. I think they caught the bug. ;)

Morgan resting on the moving sidewalk.

Oh I love this furry dude!

Then it was home to make cards for our exchange student who was on her way. The girls were so excited they were busting at the seams.

Graph has arrived safely and I think we are getting her caught up on her sleep. The girls are a great help in getting her used to things in our home and making her feel welcome. Ryanne talks way to fast for her but it's cute none the less. Morgan loves having a big sister in her room with her and has really helped Graph get settled. I figured I would give her a few days before I start documenting her every move and putting pictures of her on my blog. :)

Last night was Ryanne's medal ceremony for swim team. The younger kids on Star Fish only swim May-Aug. unlike Morgan's team who freezes all winter.

It's really very cute. They have them line up and march in to the tune of the Olympic theme. I'm gonna tell you something but it's not really public knowledge. I get choked up every time. Now it could be the patriotic tune that as an American just gets me or it could be that 3 years ago I NEVER though Ryanne would be able to swim all by herself.
(See previous post of Ryanne jumping from the pool, screaming and running through the parking lot with all the coaches chasing her and me crying.)

Not this year though. She is strong, confident and LOVES the water.

We are so proud of you Ryanne. I know swim team is NOT your favorite thing to do every summer but you rocked it out this year girl AND you were a great example of a loving, kind considerate kid to your coaches. I love you!

The Last Week

The last week has been crazy busy fun for us. We have gone out of town twice to the beach. Our time was spent visiting a fire museum.............

Laying on the beach in Coronado.................

Meeting up with family in Little Italy and being treated to yummy authentic Italian food......

The girls LOVED this place..............

Walks on the beach with daddy................

Hiding sister's in the sand...............

Watching the sun set over the San Diego bay with daddy.........

Long crazy bike rides through down town Coronado...............

Swimming with my nephew Nate...................

Running in a ball like hamsters..............(that's Morgan in there)

Sharing my sweet nephew Tyler's 3d birthday.................

Boogie boarding in Carlsbad with friends...........

Good times......................

Braces And Goldfish And Exchange Students Oh My!!

Our sweet Morgan got braces on Tuesday afternoon. She was all smiles and did great!

OK I know I am bias but doesn't she look so cute with braces?

So we let the girls go with friends to VBS this week at another church and this is what Ryanne came home with as a prize. Yes you are seeing that correctly, it's a goldfish. Meet Goldie. Now I will admit that at first I wasn't happy with the fact that someone sent my kid home with a pet without asking me. But $40 dollars and an afternoon later I am seriously pulling for this thing to live or Ryanne will be crushed.

On a more exciting note, we are hosting an exchange student from Thailand here in two weeks. A few years back we hosted two girls from Japan and fell in love with them. So this year AFS was in a pinch and needed a couple more host families so I prayed, made the call and then prayed over the profiles and here we are. The minute I saw Napat's (Graph is what she goes by) I had this sense of peace wash over me and I knew she was supposed to be in our home for the next year. If her parents approve I will post pictures of her with our family when she arrives. Can't wait to meet her. Please pray God would give me wisdom as I love on another little girl in our home.

So here is the score so far: 2 kids, 2 cats, 2 birds, a goldfish and 1 exchange student! :)

The BIG 4-0!

It's Dan's 40th birthday today! Sunday I threw him a party with lots of friends, and both of our families. My aunt and uncle let me use their backyard so the 17 kids could swim! :) We had perfect weather and lots of fun with everyone.

The kids LOVED being in the water all day.

I hired the Taco Guy to come cook and boy am I glad I did. It was sooooo good! :)

It's not very often you get both families, church friends, guys from work etc. all in the same place so this was really fun and special for Dan.

I put up a little kid pool for the nieces and nephews and they LOVED it!

Thanks friends and family for driving so far to be with Dan on his big birthday.

I love you Dan. You are a great husband, friend and dad. I can't wait to see what adventures this next year brings us. I could get even more sappy but I don't want to embarrass you too much. I will just end by saying I am the blessed one here and I adore you. Love your wife

Happy 6th Ryanne

Man oh man I'm not sure how it happened but it did. 6 years passing that is. Ryanne turned 6 yesterday and informed me this morning that she really doesn't feel any different. ;)We got a room down at the beach for a couple days to help celebrate her birthday. It was very relaxing. We rode bikes and ate at some fun places while we were down there.
Fresh chocolate covered strawberries, oh yaaaaaa!
The night we got home we made some home made pizza, opened her gifts and then topped it all off with some cupcakes and homemade peanut butter ice cream.
Ryanne, I know God has great things planned for you. Your heart is as big as the moon. You would give the shirt off your back to someone even before they asked you for it. You anticipate peoples needs and try to serve them before they ever think to ask. I love that about you.
Never in my life have I laughed so much or cried so hard all in the same day. You push me to my very limits and yet at the same time remind me of what it looks like to truly have pure unbridled joy in the Lord. You LOVE life. You are a free spirit that struggles to keep your feet on the ground so you can see what God would have. You adore people and when you meet someone you make them feel important and loved by talking to them, knowing their name and investing time with them. Everywhere you go people love you and remember you. God has big plans for those gifts my sweet. You are small in size but mighty in spirit. You soooo want to do the right thing all the time but the ornery, thrill seeking side of you often calls and you just can't help yourself. I could write an entire book on things I should NEVER have to say out loud that I often hear myself telling you.
I hope this year brings lots of fun new adventures your way and we thank God daily that we get to tag along with you and be part of them. :)

Fun Few Days Away......

We have been trying for sooooo long to sneak away to Fresno to visit some friends who moved there a couple years ago but being that both husbands are firefighters & we all have kids it makes for a difficult scheduling time. We finally were able to set a few days aside and make it happen. We had a great time with Brian and Yvonne (also affectionately called Frank & Wanda by our children)
It was Yvonne's birthday so getting to love on her and help her start off another great year made it that much more special. Happy Birthday friend. God really shines through you and I can't wait to see how he will use you this next year.

The girls swam TONS and Ryanne took a BIG KID step and went off the diving board. These legs of course belong to our fish Morgan.
But once Ryanne jumped she was hooked and

Oh so proud of herself. :)

Yvonne had the great idea to leave the kids with the dad's and head over to this place called Oceans; they do reflexology on your feet. If you have never had this done I encourage you to try it out. Because I have such bad arthritis and circulation in my feet it is a life saver. Thank you for the treat Yvonne, my feet are still super happy and pain free. :)

We decided last minute to take a quick detour through Hanford on the way home to visit with some old friends who we have known FOREVER! The funny thing is that some other friends were in town visiting them as well so we got doubly blessed!

It's funny because we have all been friends since before we were married so to sit in the living room while all 8 kids ran around, played and screamed was kinda funny. I think we were all remembering a time when we would have late dinners and game nights just the 6 of us. Not so much anymore. Now it's more like controlled chaos. ;) Thanks for the fun visit Bruce, Rhonda, Chris and Melissa and all their cute little off spring. :)

(Oh and Diana if you read this I was so bummed we didn't get a chance to meet while I was at Rhonda's, next time for sure!) :)

Happy Belated 4th...........

I am going to apologize in advance for not having photos of our day but it just never left my bag and I realized it after the fun was over. Bummer.

We started our 4Th of July by celebrating our "real" freedom worshiping and fellow shipping at church. Then we ran home to get the 3 flavors of homemade ice cream (all dairy free of course) we had made the day before. The girls and I then headed to the fire station to be with Dan and his crew. We stopped on the way and loaded up on lots of chicken, beans, rice, tortillas, and chips and salsa. Gotta feed the hungry firemen.

We ate lunch, had some dessert (I think the coconut blueberry was the favorite flavor) and then took a ride around town on the fire engine. I swear, I am 36 years old and that NEVER gets old. I don't know if it's talking in the head sets or just being in the big huge Engine that is bigger than everyone but something about it is just F-U-N!!

We then headed outside where the guys thought they were going to let Ryanne help wash one of the trucks. Let's see, Ryanne + hose= water fight. SO the water fight began and by the looks of it Ryanne and Dan's medic got the worst of it. The rest of us ran for cover.

When we left the girls were sad to leave Dan behind but I reminded them that he is doing what he is called to do and what he loves. After we talked I got to thinking of the funny memories the girls are going to have from their childhood. Riding around town on the engine talking in the headsets, running through the fire station, getting into water fights and having to wear old department t-shirts home because they were soaked to the bone. I hope when they are sad missing their daddy they remember all those fun things.