The Best Getaway EVER

Did you hear that? That's the sound of silence. That's what we relished in on our 9th Anniversary getaway. Dan and I escaped for 4 days to Park City where we stayed in a beautiful home at the foot of the mountain. We shopped our hearts out at the Park City outlets, went to the movies, rented movies, slept in, stayed up late, sat by the fire, went out to eat, met up with great friends, went to the shooting range,



played Foosball and pool , and saw some close family members.
It was by far one of the best vacations I've ever had. The amount of quiet we experienced was priceless. I forgot how quiet it used to be before having kids. I felt like my brain was able to just rejuvenate. Spending time with my best friend, just having fun together and hanging out helped me realize really just how much I love him. There was snow in the mountains but not really much on the ground....until the last day we were there. In two days, it snowed about 3 feet. It just dumped on us. It made it kinda romantic sitting in a cozy warm house drinking hot cocoa, just talking and enjoying each others company....and enjoying the quiet. After that experience, I think we might have to make it an annual trip!
When we got back, we went out to dinner on our actual anniversary. I love this man!

Candy Day

We begged and begged to have a trunk-or-treat last year for Halloween. We got the shaft. BUT! We were promised one this year, due to the day falling on a Sunday. These things are the best. Dinner (that I don't have to cook), lots of candy in a short distance, with people I trust. Sounds pretty perfect to me! I wore my Jeanie outfit I made a few years ago before I had Kaitlyn, and Dan borrowed an Airforce uniform to be my Major Nelson. Allison was easy to please with a cheap witch costume, which I then had to enlarge the opening of the hat for day of. Cole went for the pirate costume, and Kaitlyn perfectly fit the giraffe costume I bought a year ago on clearance. We had Allison's school Festival the Friday before Halloween.....which she looked forward to and asked about almost weekly since the day after last years'. Then, we had the trunk or treat at the church which I was in charge of with the activities committee. That night before Halloween, we went to a Halloween party and I got a pretty good ab workout from laughing. I'm pretty sure Dan added a bruise or two to the thigh, and I contributed to a huge dent the the wall--doh! Needless to say, we had a pretty freakin' good time. The costumes were great, the company was even better, and it was topped off by my least favorite movie. The Ring. *Shiver* The next day (on Halloween) we had dinner with the whole family at Kari's house, and we played games and the kids handed out candy to the trick-or-treaters. Shannon and I might have gone to see a haunted house or two in the neighborhood. The kids overall were really great about not going out that night and almost had more fun handing the candy out!

A Walk in the Park

We got a flier from some new church coming into town...and they were having some sort of kick off party at the park with a bounce house, free popcorn, cotton candy, and snow cones. I'm all in for free fun on a Saturday so we headed over. The kids had a blast....but it was blasted hot that day. Kaitlyn had her first taste of cotton candy


and the kids tongues were blue from Snow cone overdoses. I had a nice chat with the lady who was starting the new church with her husband. She made some comment about the house they just moved to and how she thinks the previous owner must have been Mormon because of how many rooms there with the add-ons. She then added that she thought maybe they didn't believe in birth control. I chuckled and added that they do....and by "they" I meant "we." She then took her foot out her mouth and tried back peddling a little. It was pretty funny. That is one thing I love about living here in Temecula. There are so many family-oriented and God-believing people, I feel really blessed to be able to raise my kids here. So if you're thinking of moving and don't know where to go? COME HERE!! We love it....especially on beautiful weekends like this one.

Shiny Happy People

There is many a morning when I feel like my kids just take pleasure in teasing and torturing each other. So when I see moments like these....I feel like there is still hope. Dan and his sister, Shannon, have always been really close. I always hope for these two that they can have that kind of relationship. On Saturday mornings, something strange and wonderful happens. It seems like fairy dust has been sprinkled on the two and they go downstairs and play together for hours....no fighting, just letting us sleep in. It is the BEST. And that's when I think, "I'll take it." But then on weekday mornings, I want to hide under my covers and disappear. But I guess, for now, I will keep freezing moments like this one and hoping there will be many more like it to come...and maybe not so far in between!

Mud spelled backwords is dum

So our friend Chantel brought up a great idea to do a mud run. It was brought about in an effort to work towards a goal and to do it together with friends. I got on board and Shannon did too....and no one else got on the bandwagon. For the days leading up to the event, I started regretting signing up. But after getting there, I was glad I was trying something new for once! I had been runnning on the treadmill here and there, seeing how long I could run straight without stopping. I made it a mile the first time, and maybe almost 2-ish the second time. I was a long way away from the days in cross-country where a 45 minute run was the usual and it felt really good. My endurance after 3 kids and no training was pitiful. But when we got there, we started at a good steady pace. I had an advantage with my long legs (I'm refraining from calling them lurpy...oops, I did it) There was hardly any mud for the majority but the end made up for it. They made you crawl on your stomach through a pit of mud at the end....and I may or may not have flung some mud behind me just in case the other girls weren't taking advantage of the mud puddle. At the end, we bathed in the lake to get all the mud off. When we finished, I was really really glad I did it and it makes me want to do another one. Now, if they could just pay ME to run it instead of me paying them! Thanks Chantel for the great memory to add to my book of life!!!

One of MY Happiest Places on Earth

Sometimes I watch my kids play with their friends....which are my friends' kids, and I wonder where we will all be 10...15 years down the road. I mean....look how cute these two are together??!! It doesn't get much better than this...amazing weather, great company, and 13+ kids all getting along in one place! Unfortunately, this was one of very few warm beach days we had all summer...and this one happened to be a the beginning of the school year! I can only get away with it like this while Ally is in kindergarten though...hopefully we have a warmer summer next year so we can soak it in!
Ally and Crew gettin' sandy.Moseley sporting Cole's sunglasses...that kid can make anything look good.
Carl has taught Jax well.....rock on!
Let me interpret this next one....."I'm freed from the pack 'n play!!!"
Best buddies...Carmen and Kaia

Danny and Crew.


Diggin holes at the beach is as fun as playing in a cardboard box at home-if not more so...it entertains them for hours!

The line up....this was hard--and quite hilarious to arrange
(Moseley, Drew, Milo, Carmen, Ally, Danny, Crew, Kaia, Madison, Adriana, Cole, Jax-- Behind the Scenes- Kardiff, Gavin, Kaitlyn)

1st day of school

Allison's first day of school went smoothly. It was a nice morning and we discovered as we walked together, that we can walk to school easily within 5 minutes.
Ally was way more stylish than I was on my first day of Kindergarten. (I kinda wish I had her shirt!) I guess anything is better than the black washed denim overall-dress I wore on my first day at Kindergarten. It even had different colored cordoroy pockets...two on the sides and one right in the front. Sweet. This gal looked so cute on her first day of school!



She wasn't too nervous, but she did have her shy face on.
She seemed fine and I didn't want to ruin that with my own tears so I had to swallow them down a couple of times. Her teacher couldn't be a more perfect match for our Ally. I feel so blessed to have gotten her as Ally's teacher. Ally needs someone who can meet her needs emotionally when she's having an off day and Mrs. Breen is just the teacher to do that. Luck of the draw had it that Ally and her buddy/cousin, Drew ended up in the same class! I think this made the transition even easier for her. The first day was pretty low key with it being only about an hour long. She even got to play on the little playground...I have a feeling this is where she'll be for most of her recesses.

We are bummed that her good buddy Danny isn't in her class but she does get to hang out with him at recess and I foresee a lot of fun play dates together after school!
Allison is more than ready for Kindergarten. I know she'll do great. I can't believe I'm a mom of a Kindergartner!