Kate's Graduation Party

We traveled to Fairfield this Sunday to go to a graduation party for Bryan's cousin, Kate. I don't have any pictures to post, bummer there. It was such a nice celebration. Kate just recently graduated from San Francisco State. Bryan really enjoyed seeing people that he hasn't seen in about 8 years. We had a great taco bar to eat from and yummy strawberry shortcake...two of my favorites. We also stopped by Mema and Pepa's house to say hello. Aunt Sandy and Uncle Terry were there visiting for the day, so we caught up with them for a minute. It turned out to be a nice day. We weren't sure if we were going to be able to make it down, because of Bryan's work schedule and some other issues, but we were so glad it worked out. We are really truely blessed to be so close to so much family.

Wii Did It!!

Well, we have never owned any sort of game system until this weekend. I had been thinking about getting the Nintendo Wii for Bryan for Father's Day, but on friday we were at Target we saw they were onsale (and in stock). So we went home and talked about whether or not we should get one, and decided to go for it. It seems like we never splurge (sp?) on anything fun like this, but it was time. Saturday we went back to Target and purchased the Wii. It has been a lot of fun for the whole family...well for the ones that can hold the remotes and not chew on them or throw them ;) Even Emery told me that night that she was happy we could get one because it was something we could do together as a family. I didn't want to tell a lot of people, but I am already sore from tennis....shhh...too funny.

Brownies!!

Emery's activity day group from church had a little picnic for the families last night. I signed up to bring dessert and decided I would be make these brownies I had made awhile ago. They are super easy and very yummy. They are layered with brownies on the bottom, frosted with vanilla frosting next, and than chocolate chips melted with peanut butter and rice krispies all mixed together, and that goes on top of the frosting. If you would like the recipe let me know, they are worth trying once. Cambree was so excited for these brownies, being the food guru she is. She had to wait 2 hours before she could have one....that was a long wait for her ;)

North Carolina!!

Bryan has a lot of family that live in North Carolina and we have been lucky enough to travel back to visit twice since we have been married. We were both starting to think it was time to pay another visit. We love going back there, we have always have such a nice time. So my mom did some searching on the internet and we found tickets for only 220.00 round trip. We were so excited we couldn't say no. Even the flight times are perfect, leave at 8:00am in the morning arrive in NC by 6:30pm...nice. Yeah...now the hard part is waiting for September, that is when we are going.

Bryan and his Granny (Lila Collins). This was taken two years ago when we went back.

Last time we went Craig and Chrystina, Brad and Jeannette and even Bryan's Dad were there too. We had such a fun time. Kim, Bryan's cousin planned a huge family reunion for us, so we were able to see a lot of family and friends that the boys and there Dad haven't been able to see for a long time.

Animal Style

My kids have always loved this animal music to dance to. Brody has some pretty funny moves...check him out. I should have switched over to Cambree to see her snake, I'll bet that was pretty funny. Brody was funny because he would only dance when the music started up again...he wasn't sure what to do during the animal action part.

Buzzed!!

So just yesterday my sister-in-law Jeannette asked me if I would ever buzz Brody's hair. I said oh probably not, I like to have a little hair on his head. Well, looks like I'm going to have to change my answer. Stacey and I gave Brody a hair-cut tonight and I realized after we cut it and it was really short, that I used a #4 guard instead of a #7....opps. So now he has a buzz, and no I don't believe I will repeat this hairstyle.

Kelci growing up!

It's funny how sometimes it obvious when the oldest child in the family is growing up so quickly because they do everything first. Well recently it has really started to hit me how fast Kelci is growing and changing. The last two weekends Kelci has been invited to go to birthday parties, with friends from church and school. Both of which she has traveled to Grass Valley and Chico. I remember when she was little, probably about 2 yrs old, she wouldn't let go of my leg at a birthday party. This is her first year at school that she has really started to make friends and isn't afraid to go to someones house without me. Makes me sad to think I'm not needed in that way for her right now, but at the same time I'm so glad that her shyness is starting to allow her to reach out and have fun.

Sprinklers

It was so hot today...I can't believe it was in the 100's. The kids and I took Emery to her swimming practice tonight and it was tough to sit and watch Emery swim. We were hot and sweaty even in the shade staring at the pool. So when we got home we turned on the sprinkler to cool off. It was Brody's first time, he was lovin' it.

Woodcreek Field Trip

Emery's 2nd grade class took a field trip to Woodcreek Nature Center in Roseville today. Bryan was able to stay home with Cambree and Brody so that I could go along with the class. It was nice to be with Emery and watch her be so excited about all the things they were learning. We were so lucky that we had record breaking temperatures today....103 degrees. Despite being out in the direct sun for about an hour and a half all the kids did pretty well. It was sort of sad to see most of the ponds empty, we are definately in a drout this year. The kids were really concerned for the animals there, especially the beavers and otters.

Happy Mother's Day

I'm a little late posting this, but I had a very nice Mother's Day and felt it worth to post about. We got up early (that wasn't the nice part, but it gets better) and drove to Fairfield. Bryan took the kids to church with his parents and I went with mom and Stacey out to breakfast, which is a tradition for us. This year Keianna and Jenae joined us for breakfast which was nice, because I don't get to spend a lot of time with them without all of kids around to distract me. Here are a few pictures from our breakfast...you will see why I couldn't eat anything else for awhile.

After breakfast we had another gathering at Grandma and Grandpa Collin's house. It was a very nice lunch, of course I was too full to totally enjoy but completely appreciated. The kids just love getting together with cousins, it's fun to watch. Unfortunately Bryan had to return home in the late afternoon to work, so Karen and Jenna offered to drive me and kids home later. It was nice to have the extra time to hang out and visit.

I love being a mom and I love that I live close enough to the people I love to share this day with. My mom and mother-in-law are both great examples to me. I love my kids, they make me smile, make me try harder, and make me want to be better. Emery brought me a picture she drew for me at school that was so cute. Kelci handed me a cute bracelet, that Emery actually made....don't ask. Cambree was so cute, she came up to me and said, "Mommy do you want mine?" I said sure, of course. She ran to the girls room and grab something they had drew and handed it to me. Her heart was in the right place, and she was so sweet about it. I have the best job in the world!!

Yo-Yo Yogurt

I guess you can say Yuba City is officially growing because we now have a Yo-Yo yogurt shop. Well ok maybe not...that will be when we have an Old Navy, I miss that place sometimes. My mom came up a few weeks ago to visit and hang out with us for the day. It was a lot of fun. She thought it would be fun to surprise the girls afterschool and take them for yogurt. This place is cool because you get to fill your cup as much as you like and dump toppings like crazy all over it. When it's time to pay, they weigh it for you...yum yum. Thanks Mema.

Splash Time

Emery has decided she would like to try swimming now. For the past couple of years she has really enjoyed swimming and so I decided instead of swimming lessons I would put her on the swim team, FRAC (Feather River Aquatic Club). She gets a lot more practice time, and almost one on one instruction for the same cost as regular swim lessons. So far she is loving it and is glad that she is not doing gymnastics anymore. Now I'm just trying to encourage Bryan to try swimming too because they have it for us old folks!! It's a great way to stay in shape and exercise your heart without causing more aches and pains in other places...maybe I will do it.

Back to School Night!!

Tonight we went to the girls school for Back to School Night. They were so excited of course to show us all there work and where they sit, etc. Ok....maybe not, actually they were really excited to go because the eggs they have in their classrooms were hatching. Also the tadpoles are turning into frogs, and "Lizzie" the lizard is growing it's tail back. It's so fun to know that the girls have teachers who love to teach! They have learned a lot this year! Emery's teacher is especially passionate about science and Emery loves that.

Emery and her 2nd grade teacher Mrs. Ellinwood

Kelci and her 1st grade teacher Mrs. Hare. In the other picture Kelci is standing next to a drawing she made of herself...pretty acurate;)

My Sick Babies

Poor Cambree and Brody have been sick all week. Both of them have chest infections and ear infections. One is not eating...we know who that is, and one can't refuse a snack still. So at least I don't have to worry about Cambree ;) It is not easy having both of them sick. They both want to be held and are not on there usual nap schedules because they are not sleeping well at night. Brody went to the Dr. on Monday, than Tuesday we took them both to get a blood test done (iron levels being checked because anemia runs in the family, didn't think it was genetic both it appears that way over here). Wednesday woke up and decided to take Cambree to the Dr. Keep in mind she was poked with a needle the day before (and she was perfect for that, seriously no crying, I think it helped that Daddy was holding her). Due to the dramatic experience and pain she felt there, she was terrified to go to the Dr. again. Can't blame her and so I knew I was in for trouble. In the back of my mind I'm thinking what Brody might do. He didn't like the Dr. on Monday or Tuesday and he might think we are doing this outing again for him. It was funny because everyone was fine in the waiting room, than the nurse came and called for Cambree. I picked her up, she has already started to protest at this point and I called for Brody to follow. He proceeded to follow me up until we reached the door to go back to the hall leading to all the rooms. He stopped, looked at me with this very nervous, perplexed expression, and than broke down in tears. Oh geez I'm thinking, we could really use Daddy right now. Some how we made it through the appointment, I don't know who it was worse for, Me, Cambree, or Brody, but we made it. Than it was on to Walmart to get the prescription filled.

Cousin Fun!!

Our nephew Tyler (Craig and Chrystina's little guy) is staying with us for a couple of nights. The kids are just loving having him here. So of course it's not everyday I can snap a bunch of pictures of the kids with one of there cousins. (another good reason to use the camera;) Craig and Chrystina are going to the hospital to be induced and deliver there little tiny baby in the morning. At there 20 week ultrasound they discovered that the baby's bladder had not developed correctly and has caused several complications with the baby's development. The out come would surely be fatal after birth. But it is because of possible risks that can arise during delivery at full term to Chrystina, that they have made the difficult decision to go ahead and proceed with induction now. Our thoughts and prayers are with them...we love you!!!

New Car

The other night in the middle of everything else we decided to buy this car that was forsale just a couple of houses down from us. We have been without a little second car for a couple of months now and were in need of one. The truck that Bryan has been driving around has saved us, but it gets not so great gas mileage. So for $3000.00 this is what we bought, a pontiac grand am. It's a 2001 and is pretty clean inside and out. The engine runs good and even has new tires. We feel lucky to have found this, because it seems like there was never any time to go looking for a car. I kept telling Bryan I wish we could just find a private owner, who has been the sole owner of the car, that is honest and has taken good car of a car. That is exactly what happened. We are happy with it and of course the kids think it is great to have any new.

I love you Grandma...and your soda!!!

Grandma and Grandpa came up last weekend for a visit. The kids always get excited to see them. We planned a little picnic at a new park in town. The weather was perfect and we had a nice time hanging out and playing. Brody was not really into eating...teething is taking over his little life right now, but he really wanted Grandma's soda.