Happy Birthday Kelci!

Well...I can't believe my little Kelci turned 7 years old. It just drives me nuts how fast time flies sometimes. This year she really wanted to celebrate her hot August birthday in a pool. Thanks to her Mema and Pepa she was able to do that. We had a great time swimming at the local water park. Angela and Jeremy and the kids were in town so it was nice that they could celebrate with us as-well. After swimming for almost 2 hours we headed out to the picnic tables to have cupcakes and open presents. Of course being the superb party planner that I am, I should have had more food for people after swimming because everyone was starving...sorry everyone. There was a group nearby having a really nice potluck with hamburgers/hotdogs etc. Jeremy, Bryan and my cousin Mert were joking about acting like they knew someone over there and see if they wouldn't mind them having a nibble. Of course I also forgot to bring a candle for the cake, so we just told Kelci she had to make a wish and blow to see if she could make Tinkerbell move. It worked!! Mema sent a lot of great decorations for her party, we were just sad that she wasn't able to make it up herself....thank you Mema, we will see you soon. Enjoy the pictures.

Family Picnic

Since Ang and her family are taking off to Hawaii in a few weeks, we have been trying to get everyone together for a little family time. This is not always the easiest thing to accomplish with so many different schedules. We did however manage to pull it off this weekend. Stacey did a great job providing a ton of yummy food for the picnic, all I did was bring brownies and a bunch of children ;) The original plan was to head over to Lake Solano and play there, but we had Ang and Jeremy with us so things changed. I know that sounds mean and weird, but there is some truth to it (you know I love you guys). We drove all the way to the Lake about 25-30 minutes and found out you cannot bring dogs into the park area, so see it was there fault. But it worked out great, we drove back to Vacaville and found another park that was vacant pretty much. It was shady and made a great spot for a picnic even though it was quite warm outside. Everyone had a great time, even Lucy who turned into a red tomato quickly. Thanks for a great day everyone!!! It's still strange to think that Angela and Jeremy and family will be leaving so soon. I don't really like to think about it, it saddens me quite a bit. They are fun people to be with, always ready to do almost anything no matter what. I feel like we have been so lucky to have the kids spend so much time with there cousins over that last couple of years, they just love Kya and Lucy. These are memories my kids always cherish.

18 Months

Brody is now 18 months old, and he is just so full of energy. I just had to share a few pictures of this little guy in action. He is trying to say new words everyday. Usually every animal is a "doggie", but recently he learned "froggie" at his visit to his cousins house (they have some frogs). He constantly searches for Daddy when he is home, he knows to run to the front window around dinner time to watch for him, so cute. He recently surprised all of us the other day, when he walked in the room and saw what Daddy was watching and said, "Golf...Daddy...Golf." He jumped up on the couch and took a seat next to Bryan and loved his two minute moment watching with him. (He never sits longer than 2 minutes). Also I should mention that is you are ever around him and there is a ball nearby, or anything that resembles a ball, such as a peach, just keep your eye on him. I felt something hit me in the head on Saturday, it was a peach. Brody launched a peach at me that he found on the ground in someones backyard...not a toss...a launch...he has an arm already.

Brody loves the Wii, we usually give him the DVD remote and he really thinks he is the game. He has all the moves, it is great to watch. Just don't tell him his remote doesn't work because you might see this face.


We love you Bro Bro!!

One Week!

Wow, I really can't believe we only have one week of summer vacation left. A friend of mine asked me the other day if the girls were ready to head back to school. I commented that I know they are ready, but I don't think I'm ready. I have gotten use to having them here everyday! It's funny at the beginning of the summer, I often worry if the days will be long and boring, can I make summer exciting for everyone, so many thoughts usually race through my mind. But now here we are at the end and I can't believe it has gone been so quickly. I heard Emery talking to Kelci in the car the other day and she was talking about starting school. She was saying something about being excited, but that she was going to miss being with her family all day. Both the girls will be missed during the day. They help me out so much, they love playing with Cambree and Brody, and I know those two will be confused not having them home. Cambree thinks she is going to school as-well, poor thing. Change is always difficult for me, and even though this isn't a big change, the fact that the kids are going back to school and are another year older, reminds me that they are changing. Changing into little people now, it has really made me stop and cherish all the moments I can, because I know they won't last forever. Just today I was watching my cousins youngest daughter Emily, she was teaching Emery how to braid some yarn. Emery was so excited about learning to braid, and just couldn't get enough of it. Something so simple keeps her happy. I really have been feeling so blessed lately, I have four healthy, beautiful children who bring something different to our family. It sort sounds like I'm bragging, but it is my blog right?? The kids are very different from each other, but each of them have taught me something. Emery is so easy going, helpful and self motivated and has a great sense of humor. Kelci is shy & reserved, but spunky when she wants to be, she is opinionated and has a strong will!! Cambree is just so loving, she loves anyone who enters her world, she is passionate about food, she is always right with me in the kitchen these days helping make everything, Brody is my breath of fresh air some days, he makes me smile, he is FULL of energy and life, he loves to watch and take in everything...watch out world for this kid. I feel grateful to be there mommy.

Discovery Kingdom

We took a little day trip to Discovery Kingdom last week. Emery and Kelci kept asking all summer when we were going to go, so we thought we better try to squeeze this in. I was excited about taking them because they are so into learning about all the different animals, especially all the marine animals. We met Grandma Collins and Chrystina and Tyler there. It was a lot of fun. The kids didn't want to do any rides, so it was a very relaxed day of watching shows and looking at the animals. Grandma offered to pay for the girls to pet and feed a dolphin, which was so awesome for the girls. Of course I made the decision to leave the camera behind in fear that I might lose it....not really the best choice for moments like this. But Grandma was so excited about it, she offered to purchase a picture for the girls to keep. Brody and Cambree loved seeing all the animals and did a great job all day.

Lake Tahoe Slideshow