Make a Smilebox slideshow

Well, it's time to go back to school! Lauren and Jacob just finished their first full week and Zac had his first full day of preschool yesterday. Danny had his first day at home with mom...his first in a long time! Everything went well, and we're excited about a new year of friends, fun and family. Here are a few photos from the week...

May Highlights

This month has seen many things wrap up. We've finished bible study, celebrated Mother's Day at school with Zac and Lauren got braces! Although it seems like time for school to be out, we still have three weeks left. We both have such fond memories of Memorial Day weekend, which arrives tomorrow. We plan to head down to the beach and spend time with friends, but will miss our family weekends at the Lake in Texas and family trips canoeing on the Big Piney.

Lauren and I had our first date in a long time....Eric and the boys went to a Nascar style racing event and left us home alone for an entire evening. We had a great time getting pedicures, going to dinner, dressing up and taking a bubble bath! Lauren was such a little lady, and I caught a glimpse of what the future holds with a "big" girl!

Eric and Jacob traveled to VA over Mother's Day weekend to say goodbye to Eric's grandfather and grandmother. They were both special to us, and will be missed. We will be traveling to Arlington National Cemetary in August for the burial of his grandfather, and will stay for a week in DC/Yorktown, VA to see the Frailey family.

The kids started piano last month, and are enjoying their crazy teacher and fun class. We go on Thursday afternoons. We also joined the YMCA, and are really enjoying our time there working out, swimming and playing with lots of other children! We work out while the kids are having fun with their friends in an outdoor play area, and then we meet up for swimming. The pool is very warm, 88 degrees, so that makes it very fun to swim! It was really fun when Daniel had diarrhea in his swimsuit and they had to close the pool for two days! Duck and run!

Spring 2009

Here are a few photos around here over the last few weeks! We had a great Easter and participated in many festivities. We went to church on Saturday afternoon, and spent Sunday relaxing as a family in San Clemente on the beach.

Jacob is missing his two front teeth...just in time for his seventh birthday! We celebrated with a Movie Night party in the back street, and then Eric and Jacob went to Knott's Berry Farm the following day!

Lauren is getting braces in two weeks, and is actually excited about it! She and Eric just returned from a fun weekend at the Calico Ghost town where they had a country/western dance, went hiking in caves and enjoyed time together.

Zac is my little "cuddlebug." Every day, he calls me his cuddlebug and tells me at least 25 times how much he loves me. He is such a sweet boy. He loves school, and is very social and outgoing..He's never met a stranger!

Danny is getting bigger every day, and does everything he can to keep up with the rest of the family. He is talking in complete sentences most of the time, even though you can only understand 50% of what he says. The kids love figuring out what he is saying! They all love him to pieces.

That's about all this month in our family! We're looking forward to our big trip this summer to OK/TX in July. Let us know your schedule so we can make time to be together!

Our Family Vacation to Lake Tahoe

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Our Family Vacation to Lake Tahoe

Make a Smilebox slideshow

Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year!

Here are a few holiday photos I thought you might enjoy....Eric and the kids on our new sofa (Finally!) getting ready to go out to look at lights...we dress up in our PJ's and Santa hats, pop some popcorn, and go for a drive while listening to Christmas music! We also love to go to Disneyland to see all of the beautiful landscaping and decorations for Christmas. The photo of Daniel and I was taken at Disneyland, and is the only photo of me for the last few months! Lauren is learning to take photos, so this one is to her credit!

We had a great time decorating the tree and celebrating the birth of our Savior. We were blessed with a "white Christmas" the week before...snow covered the mountains behind our homes! But, it was still 55 degrees and sunny, so we enjoyed the snow from afar...my kind of snow! Running around the lake in capris and a long sleeve t-shirt, looking at the snow covered mountains, and not having to shovel any of it! We're about 90 minutes from Big Bear, which is fun to go skiing.

I've also posted a few photos of Nana and Papa with the kids...it has been quite some time since we last saw them, so it was great to spend 8 days together. The kids really enjoyed it. I also had fun designing our Christmas cards, and those of a few friends. The digital scrapbooking is much eaiser for me right now instead of traditional stuff...no room for all of that stuff any more!

The Hesters Visit!

We had a great Christmas this year with Mom and Dad visiting. I picked them up at LAX on Christmas Eve, and we were so happy to see them. We made it to the Christmas Eve services at Saddleback at 5 p.m....we only had 16 services to choose from! We spent the week playing games, working on projects around the house, going to Sea World, and playing Wii! Papa and Zac loved bowling, and Eric has had fun trying to beat the kids at their own games.

Mom made curtains for all of the downstairs windows and covered my dining room chairs. We found a great deal on fabric, so that made it even more exciting! We also tackled projects like painting the chandelier black instead of yucky brass, hanging many different things around the house, and just working on our honey do list! It was a little cold, but hard to complain about 60-70 degree weather on New Year's Day!