It has been a while...

Well, it has been a long time since I have had enough time to blog. We had a great time in Utah all summer, and were able to spend a lot of time with our family. When we arrived home, we were greeted by a family from Switzerland that would spend two weeks with us. Although, I was a bit apprehensive (seeing that their children did not speak any English) we had a great time. We spent a lot of time at the beach and the kids spoke the universal language of the Wii. Tanner and Abby were sad to see them go, and hope that someday soon we will be able to go and visit them.

A few days later, my brother was in town, and then my sister for a week, followed by the Grizz(my mom) and dad(for the weekend) and my mom for 2 weeks. I have loved having all of the company. I have felt quite lonely this past week, but look forward to Ryan's parents coming this week to celebrate his mom's birthday! 

It has been a busy fall with school, soccer (ry coaching both teams), homework, scouts, and Tanner's 9th birthday (which he opted for cash in lieu of a party thank goodness!!!) We are just trying to get in the groove, of structured life again. Hopefully now that Abby is in school I can find a little more time to blog, and spend a little time on the tennis court!

"Is this really July at the beach???"

It was a little chilly at the beach last week, but the boys showed how tough they were by braving the cold temps.

Aquarium with the the cousins

Last week Ryan's brother Daren came to Cali with their family! We had a great time. My kids loved having cousins at their house. Daren has 5 kids ranging in ages from 15-7. With twin 9 year old boys. It doesn't get much better for Tanner. We went to city and rode trolley cars, ate at the wharf, went to the beach and froze a few times, visited Stanford, saw all of the fish at the aquarium, ate yummy food from the farmer's market, and saw a Giants game. I hope they make this an annual trip, because it is a lot of fun to enjoy a big family for a week. We got some pretty funny comments and looks from people around the area that are  not used to seeing such a big family! I loved it!!!!

Hey Dude...

We just got back from spending the week at the Kingfisher Bend Ranch! My kids have been looking forward to this for weeks. It is the trip that they talk about all year. We had such a great time. I love that the kids get to roam around with their cousins and enjoy nature. We spent the week bird watching, horse back riding, playing with kittens, roasting marshmallows, floating the river, playing in the lake, basketball, reading, and just enjoying the scenery company. A big thanks to uncle "G" for organizing such a fun trip. It is so fun for my kids to be able to get to know their cousins with out the distractions of electronics!

Tanner was especially excited to see a pair of sand hill cranes, a great horned owl with her baby, and finally add a belted king fisher to his list.  

Fairy Fun!!!!

Happy Birthday Abby. We had so much fun planning this party. Abby helped me with every detail.  We made invitations,  wands, fairy dust, big flower balls, blueberry wands, and cupcakes! The party started with all of the girls receiving their wings and a little fairy dust. Then they colored a flower fairy. After that they went on a jewel hunt because the jewel fairy came to our back yard. Then,  a real fairy came to teach them how to fly and find a treasure in our back yard. Then on to dinner and cupcakes. It was so fun! I think this is such a fun age to do a party like this. I wanted to do something fun since this is my last chance to do a big fantasy party. She is getting so big! :(

Love this Butterfly...

Abbs wanted to have her pic taken in her new favorite shirt. Zara has got to be my favorite place to shop for little girls (they have some pretty cute stuff for the big girls as well).

5 More days and counting!!!!

We are counting down the days until school lets out!! Can't wait.... I think we  have hit serious burn out.  We are also counting the days until we are able to see the Grizz, and G-PA B.. Less than 30 days for you guys. Yeah, it seems like it has been 10 years that you have been away...