Zac's Fourth Birthday Celebration

Zac turns four tomorrow. We had a great party today for Zac at home with a bounce house, Speed Racer cake and friends from school and the neighborhood. The weather was overcast and sprinkly, but it was fine. He has had a busy week with a performance at bible study singing Christmas carols, decorating the tree at home, and now a birthday party! You are a sweet boy, Zac!

Daniel and Daddy decorating the tree. Daniel loves to pull off the ornaments and lights, causing us much frustration. He loves the lights!

Lauren's Baptism Day

LAUREN GETS BAPTIZED!!!!

Yesterday, Lauren was baptized! What a huge moment for her and for our family. She accepted Christ into her heart long ago, but she was ready to get baptized. The weather was a little cool, but nice (about 70 degrees). She was baptized by our children's minister, Steve, in the outdoor pool. She was a little nervous, but very excited, because she has been wanting to do this for some time, but we had a hard time coordinating everyone's schedules.

Lauren, the angels are singing in heaven today! We are proud of you and love you so much!

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

September Fun

We had a fun family day yesterday at Disneyland...really California Adventure, Disney's sister park across the walkway! Jacob and Lauren are big fans of California Screamin, an upside down, very fast and furious roller coaster! Zac is finally tall enough to try many new rides, so it was a fun day for everyone! We have season passes, so it is easy to go .or 4 or 5 hours, instead of the entire day! It's a great reward for the kids, and Eric thinks it is relaxing......

Lauren and Jacob on the first day of school....Lauren was so excited because Jacob was put in her favorite teacher's class, Mrs. Pizzi! She has a weekly raffle for students to win a dollar, and Jacob has won three weeks in a row!
Lauren missed the second day of school to travel with her daddy to Catalina Island for a weekend of fun with Adventure Princesses. She LOVES her special time with her daddy...paddling the kayak was something she loved. She wrote in her scrapbook, "I love kayaking and Catalina, but most of all, I love my dad."

When Lauren and dad were at Catalina, I took the boys to church for the opening of our high school building. The boys LOVE Kyle Loza, gold medalist winner of the X Games, and he was performing his motorcycle EXTREME sports, and the boys loved it! (tattoo guy with the boys). They call him "church guy." He has grown up at Saddleback, and is very involved with the kids there.

The next weekend, dad and the boys headed south to San Diego to Camp Surf. Even Zac, age 3 1/2,and Jacob, 6, both got up on a real surfboard! They also did a rockclimbing wall, a treasure hunt, and fun camping on the beach. They are Pioneers in the Adventure Guide program.

I noticed a loose tooth in Jacob's mouth last week, and he lost it at school just five days later! He has also decided he LOVES salad with ranch dressing. He will eat a big bowl of lettuce with cheese, turkey or chicken, and ranch!

Daniel is quite a funny little boy. He is 19 months, and wears a size 2. He is very solid, and very strong, both in might and in will. He bites to defend himself, and loves to mess up any project the big kids are working on. He can be such a sweet, happy baby, too. He loves to run as fast as he can, and has quite an arm on him!

Happy Fall, Ya'll!

Well, school is back in session, and it has yet to cool off! We set near record highs on Wednesday with 104 degrees! I thought fall meant jeans, long sleeves, and maybe even coats??? Not in Southern California! And I do miss rain! We had our first thunderstorm in five years last week, and it lasted 30 minutes. But, we never have to worry about our plans being siderailed by rain, that's for sure.

Lauren scored her first soccer goal last week, and she was so proud of herself! She and Jacob are playing AYSO, and it's fun to watch them. I don't think this will be their life passion, but it is fun to be on a team and meet new friends.

Zachary started preschool, and is going three mornings a week. It has been quite an adjustment for him, but he is enjoying school and meeting new friends. Today he did such a good job listening, he was given an award! (he has gotten in trouble for plenty these past few weeks, so this was so nice to hear!)

Daniel is a funny little baby, and he loves to bite! He is trying to eat my toes right now as I type this note!He loves to laugh and play, but he also likes to get his way! I am amazed when I look back at the halloween photos from last year...they have all changed so much! We're excited about our costumes for this year....stay tuned to find out more!

Well, tomorrow is the last day of summer! I'm sad, I'm excited, and I'm ready! The kids are ready to learn and I'm ready for a few minutes alone! (well, with one at home!) Zac will start preschool in a week, and he will attend 3 days a week for 3 hours. Lauren and Jacob will both be at school from 8-2, so that will be nice not to have a kindergarten pickup as well.

We've had a super summer, with a fun family vacation to Yosemite and Mammoth, weekly trips to the beach, daily excursions to the pool and just time to be together. The kids attended a few camps, and we all enjoyed a fun week at vacation bible school. It's so nice to relax and not have a schedule, but it will be nice to get back into a routine. Soccer starts this weekend, and Eric and Lauren are heading out to Catalina early Friday morning for hiking, swimming, kayaking, snorkeling, etc. I wish I could go!

Tomorrow we are heading over to the nursing home to deliver cookies in the afternoon, then it's off to school to find out who the kids have for their teachers! I am looking forward to earlier bedtimes but dread homework and constant busyness.

I look forward to keeping in touch with many friends I've reconnected with this summer, and am excited to do more digital scrapbooking when time allows.

Enjoy your day!

Ok, I have to say I didn't know how much fun it would be getting on facebook! After prompting from a few friends, Eric and I both joined last week and we've had so much fun connecting with people from high school, college and everywhere else! It's funny to see who pops up on a daily basis...if you haven't tried it, you should!We seem to have a friendly contest going to see who "wants to be my friend." I guess it's time we joined the younger world.My energy from entertaining the kids for the summer is about drained, but I have one last hurrah in me. With only one week of summer left, we are celebrating with "Mommy Camp." I have a different outing planned every day and themed activities to go with it (thank you, familyfun.com). Yesterday was hiking in the canyon, going on a treasure hunt, identifying butterflies and leaves, and then root beer floats after dinner. Today is water day, tomorrow is Movie day, Thursday is "help others" and cooking day, and Friday will be beach day! We did this last year and the kids had a blast. I'll post photos soon.We went to Walking with Dinosaurs on Saturday (free tickets from Eric's co-worker) and it was pretty amazing. Life sized dinosaurs roamed the floor of the Honda Center in Anaheim (where the Ducks play). They told the story of the dinosaur, and were very realistic looking. All of the kids enjoyed it, and they really didn't get scared. When the t-rex roar filled the stadium, it made me want to crawl under my seat! That's about all in our world. I hope you are all enjoying the end of summer/beginning of school. Halloween will be here before we know it!