A day to celebrate...

DAY TWO...

OK, today was a much better day. After a quick sleep (we finally got the kids to stop giggling and talking at about 2am!!!), we headed up the road to my big sisters house in Laguna Niguel...it was a perfectly gorgeous southern California day. We BBQ'd and swam in their amazing back yard before heading to the beach house for some fun and sand between our toes. My brother-in-laws family is always so gracious to let us crash their 4th of July beach house get-togethers and we feel like we're part of the family now! =)

The beach house and the beautiful view!
There was time for football, baseball, board/card games, more BBQ, S'mores, sitting around the fire pit and finally it was time for the fireworks! From the San Clemente beach we had a perfect view of 2 different fireworks shows, San Clemente Pier to the south and Dana Point to the north.
Sisters....SOMETIMES they're BFF's!
My big sister Kim with her first grandbaby - my little great nephew - Dallen!

It was a truly great day and I had plenty of time to reflect on the reason for all the celebration...we are so blessed to live in this amazing country and to enjoy the liberty's that so many sacrificed to provide for us.

They sleep again! Busy kids turn into exhausted kids!

Tomorrow....whatever we feel like!!!! =)

Summer Vacation 2009

DAY ONE.....

Well, Day One got off to a slow start as we couldn't leave town until Rich got off work on Friday =(... so we got the car loaded and hit the road by 6pm. We got to our paradise by the sea at just before midnight. Our arrival at the beach was somewhat anticlimactic....oh well...tomorrow - THE BEACH!!!!

Parker lost a tooth!

FINALLY!!!! Parker has had a wiggly tooth for what seems like forever and today it FINALLY came out! He has worked so hard on that poor tooth, everyday wiggling, turning, wiggling, I can't believe it held on as long as it did! He's so super excited to see what the Tooth Fairy trades him for his FIRST tooth! My little boy is growing up =(

Some catching up to do....

I can't believe I've let so much time slip by without posting some of the great things that have been going on around here! Well, here's a little catch up for you all....I say all like there are so many people even reading this! Ok, so it's an update for all 3 of you that even read this anymore!

Say what you will about the Clark County School District, but I think one of the best things they do for our kids is put them through the D.A.R.E. program in 5th grade - just in time to start Jr. High when all the fun problems seem to start. This year it was Courtney's turn and she graduated with flying colors! The best part is that so far, all 4 of our oldest kids have had the SAME D.A.R.E. officer - and he happens to be a good friend of Rich's. So, anyway, we are so proud of our Courtney for taking a stand against drugs, alcohol, and smoking! We love you Courtney!

We also recently had the pleasure of having my little brother Billy come through town and stay a day with us. It was nice to see him, I only get the opportunity to do so about once every coupla years because he lives quite an adventuresome life! Well, he was in town with a friend of his while they were traveling through the western states performing their music at some small venues to help pay for their travels. The two of them call their band the Dela Project, and I hanve to say it was qutie enjoyable. He is so talented - still not sure what happened to me - I'm still looking for my talents! Anyway - I'll post a video at the end for you to listen to if you wish. It was a great visit and I was very happy to have him here - especially since he was able to come and watch Parker's Kindergarten graduation before they left town! Love you little bro!! Hope your travels are adventurous and safe! Brendan and Hailey really loved listening! They are forever fans!!!

Let Them Be Little...

Another school year is coming to an end. It seems that each year goes faster than the one before! Last year I cried as Elissa walked to receive her High School diploma and this year I cried as my little Parker received his Kindergarten Completion Certificate! It just doesn't seem possible that the little tiny boy I once held in my arms is so big already! On to the 1st grade and gone from his mommy for 6 hours a day next year! What will I do without him? I know I sound crazy, most parents relish at the thought of this newly found free time, but I just know how fast these next years will pass and before I know it, he'll be ready to leave home as well.
OK, so enough boo-hooing and onto the celebration! His elementary school put on a great program. All the morning Kindergartener's were on stage and sang us an array of songs they've learned through the school year, including their rendition of "Celebrate". Then it was time for a couple of slide shows, which started the water works for most of the moms, especially me, and then it was the distribution of Completion Certificates. They were all dressed up in their Sunday best and were so great! I'm so blessed to live in the boundaries of such an amazing school! I've posted a couple videos of their songs, so enjoy!!! And the best part of it all was that my little brother, Parker's Uncle Billy, just happened to be in town for the big event and he joined us at the celebration! What a special treat! (I'll post more about Billy's visit soon! What a great musician he is!)

Here we go again...

Well, Mom always said that if you're going to do something, you'd better do it right!! Parker must live by this mantra as he has broken yet another bone! I sometimes worry about this fragile little man, this happened while riding his bike. Another boy - a bigger boy - collided with Parker head-on, smashing his little hand between the bigger bike and Parker's little bike. I can't get angry and point the finger of blame, it was just an accident after all, but sometimes I get frusterated with the bigger kids who don't watch out for the smaller ones. =( So once again we were off to the ER to take care of my broken little boy =(

This picture was taken yesterday after sitting in a hard splint for 4 days...sooo swollen and bruised =(

OK, so maybe I should've warned you that it was an ugly break!! It was broken AND displaced! After going through all the trauma of having needles poked in it to numb it in the ER to set it, he had to have it RE-SET at the Ortho's office yesterday - with NO anesthetic!!! He is such a big brave man! My heart was breaking for him! The Dr. measured about a 12% angulation still left after setting it, but said as he grows it will straighten.....you'd think with all the modern technology available today, we wouldn't have to be left with crooked fingers!!! =)

So after all was said and done, he got to have a cool looking cast - he chose black for some odd reason. He was a champ through it all and we took some metallic markers to school today so all his friends could sign it for him!

P.S. Just so noone thinks I'm a bad mom, he is being referred to a specialist to make sure that he doesn't have a condition that is causing his bones to break more easily than most peoples....believe me, I've worried about it myself!

Lest We Forget...

As we go through our day, bar-b-queing, spending time with friends and family, may we take a few moments to remember the reason we are enjoying this beautiful day off of work and school. May we take a few moments to give thanks to those brave men and women who have laid down thier lives so that freedom may prevail. Without their sacrifices we would not be the truly remarkable country that we are today. In the words of our former Commander in Chief "May God continue to Bless America!!!" Memorial Day Poem

By: Kelly Strong

I watched the flag pass by one day,

It fluttered in the breeze.

A young Marine saluted it,

and then he stood at ease.

I looked at him in uniform,

so young, so tall, so proud,

With square cut hair and eyes alert

He'd stand out in any crowd.

I thought how many men like him

had fallen through the years?

How many died on foreign soil,

How many mothers' tears?

How many pilots planes shot down?

How many died at sea?

How many foxholes were soldiers' graves?

No, freedom isn't free.

I heard the sound of Taps one night,

when everything was still.

I listened to the buggler play

and felt a sudden chill.

I wondered just how many times

that Taps had meant "Amen".

When a flag had draped a coffin

of a brother or a friend.

I thought of all the children,

of the mothers and the wives,

Of fathers, sons, and husbands

with interrupted lives.

I thought about a graveyard,

at the bottom of the sea.

Of unmarked graves in Arlington,

No, freedom isn't free!