Kindergarten

Really has this really happened, already...Kindergarten....gulp...tear! My sweet little girl started Kindergarten already...yes year round school! She was absolutely SO excited to start school, but I am not quiet sure if I was ready! In some aspects I was, she is 5 1/2 right, I mean I know one day she would have to be out of my hands for 5 days straight and into the hands of a teacher that will have a big impact on her life and today was the day! We had a busy week with VBS this week and Taelor starting school the same week, but she was a trooper and did so well! My sweet friend Auntie Chela bought her a book, called the Night Before Kindergarten and it was the sweetest little book, I think I re-read the book about 10 times crying to myself that night after we tucked her into bed. The next morning was the big day and surprisingly I did well, no tears were shed from either of us! I met a great mom who's little girl ended being in Taelor's class and of course instantly they were best buddies. Kindergarten day is a few short 3 hours and 20 minutes so the day went by in a flash. Taelor loved it! She felt like such a big girl and was very excited to go back (that's a good thing in my mind). I still can't believe my sweet little girl, my first born is now in Kindergarten. I pray for her school year, that she will grow in friendships and that she will flourish in all that she does. That she has manners and is a good listener and most of all that she has a fun time! My sweetness, I love you, I love that you are a big girl now and you are ready to conquer Kindergarten! Here's to a great school year! 

San Francisco

Our summer trip this year was to the great city of San Francisco! As much as I am a beach, suburb kind of girl, I definitely enjoy a few days in the "city". Weeks before we headed up north we talked to the kiddos about San Francisco, showing them pictures of the trips the hubby and I had taken a few times over the years. We let them know what to expect in a "city"...tall buildings, cable cars, buses, busy streets, cabs, noise, lots of people walking, and everything else that comes with city living. They were SO excited and we were excited for them to see a city!

We braved a road trip with a 4 and 5 year old....and they were GREAT! We headed out in the wee hours of the morning and after an hour Ethan asks the dreadful "are we there yet?" which should have been a sign that it was going to be a long trip for him! Thank goodness he fell asleep for about an hour, but then woke up in a panic that we had already driven through San Francisco and didn't wake him up, then once he realized we still had miles and hours to go, he asked if we had to leave out planet to get there! I guess to a 4 year old 300+ miles might mean leaving our planet! Love a child's mind. Meanwhile Taelor sat quietly writing/drawing in her journal I bought her without much of a peep. We stopped in Santa Barbara and the kids remember that there are flowers in the middle of the freeway and that is about all they remember of our brief stop. Our next stop was Morro Bay to see the "big rock" and lunch time. It was chilly (just the way I like it!). Our next stop was Monterey...oh how I love this place! It was a brief stop and then we made our way up the coast to San Francisco! Exactly 12 hours later (yes I know, long, but that included stops and we drove part of the way up the coast) we were in San Francisco! An overcast evening was a perfect way to welcome us in (I LOVE a cold, chilly day).

After getting all snuggled in our hotel room, looking at the busy street below, I realized something was wrong with Taelor. No matter what we had told her what to expect in a city, it was very overwhelming for her! After many tears and a half an hour, she sniffled out these exact words " I thought it was going to be just like Palm Springs!"....I didn't know whether to laugh, cry or give her a hug! Sweet, innocent, real words of a 5 year old! After awhile she was finally OK, we were all exhausted and called it a night. The next few days we were up and out taking in all the sights the city had to offer. The Cable Car was by far the best thing the kids enjoyed. Just the look on their faces soaking up every sound and scenery around them was priceless. We walked Lombard Street and they laughed at me cause I was the one who was complaining and they had to keep waiting for "slow" mom...gees I just don't have the energy of 2 little ones! We walked and walked and they didn't complain once, I was so proud of them. They were in awe of the Golden Gate Bridge and how big it really was and of course they said "it's NOT golden!" We shopped in Union Square, ate chocolate at Ghiradelli Chocolate, had lunch at Sourdough Boudin (you can never go wrong with soup in a bread bowl in SF), we saw all fish and lobster down at the wharf, had some lemonade in the middle of Union Square and took a break. We ate on top of the Macy's building at Cheecake Factory and the kids loved the view! But most of all we had the BEST time! My heart was truly left in San Francisco.

On the way home we stopped in Monterey to drive the 17 mile drive, it was beautiful but we soon realized that from a 4 and 5 year olds point of view, looking at a "lone tree" was not something they found very interesting! We stopped at the beautiful Pebble Beach Golf Course, grabbed sandwiches at the little market and enjoyed a picnic lunch over looking the golf course and ocean. Even though the kids may not have enjoyed the scenery as much as we did, we still enjoyed every moment!

The best part of going on vacation is coming HOME to your own bed! And so, I left my heart in SF but we hope to be back again soon!

Until next time SF! Thanks for the great memories!

Love these two...

These two cuties have been friends since birth...Caleb's mommy is my bestie and so, for that reason maybe, just maybe these two will want to marry each other one day :) (in the far, far future)...

4th of July

Happy 4th of July! Our day started with red white and blue flag pancakes and the kids loved them! We headed to Aunt Debbie's house today for a fun day with the family, chatting, eating, swimming and just relaxing. We made it home just in time to see the fireworks at the Woodbridge Lake. The kids LOVE fireworks, even though Ethan was a bit tired and was just about to have a sleep deprived melt down but it was saved by the light show! It was a perfect day and evening. Summer has now officially begun in my eyes!

So this picture of our toilet papered house makes me laugh! What is so funny about this is that we had NO clue our house was toilet papered until my niece showed me these pictures! The nice maintenance crew in our neighborhood must have cleaned it up before we stepped out of our house in the morning...thank you! Thanks to my sister, Aunts and niece who have an annual toilet papering night on July 3rd, my house and my parents house were the lucky ones! Well they can do my house anytime, I am sure we wouldn't even know!

Hope you all had a great 4th of July! Happy Summertime!

Quiet rays of sunshine

I enjoy quiet time in my house especially in the mornings before the world (and the kiddos) are up. It's refreshing, the quietness and the sun shining in is a great start to a perfect morning. I hope you take the time and enjoy some rays of sunshine in your life. 

Happy Day! 

Preschool graduation

Really, is my baby girl done with preschool and moving onto kindergarten already?!? My sweet little princess that melted my heart over 5 years ago graduated from preschool and looked to adorably cute in her cap and gown and mommy of course was very choked up. In my eyes it's a big accomplishment, a big milestone, a big moment in her life and in ours as well. I don't think I am ready for everyday school, for her to be with big kids, for her to grow up, but I know it's a part of life and she and I will be OK. I mean I cried when she turned 1 and 5, what makes me think that I will not cry as she walked down the isle in her cap and gown graduating preschool and ready for kindergarten. She has made us so proud, her teachers say nothing but great things about her which reassures me that we are doing something right in our parenting. So tonight I sit with emotions of sadness and happiness, but most of all prideful of my sweet little girl who is ready to move into her next season of her life! Congratulations my sweet girl! We love you!

Father's Day...Palm Desert

For Father's day this year we headed out to the HOT desert for the weekend. It reminded me of being a kid as we always did this every year for Father's day and so we have started this tradition with our little family. We had a great time swimming for hours in the pool, we shopped, ate and most of all just relaxed (it was only 109 degrees!) The hubby deserved a weekend getaway and he enjoyed it very much. The kids are at a great age right now where they enjoy being away for the weekends, they love sleeping in hotels sleeping in the same bed, going out to eat and just being somewhere different. I am so proud that my kiddos have an amazing daddy who loves them so much and is the absolute best dad in the world. The laugh, play rough, have tickle games, play soccer, have lunch dates and snuggle with each other. He adores our children and they adore him. Being a father isn't easy, but it is sure rewarding and he should be a proud daddy for raising two little ones that show respect, love, kindness and are both silly as ever. Saul we love you, you make our world complete! Happy Father's day! and to Papa who means the world to our kids as well, you make being a Papa look like so much fun. We love you!

Thanks to little man Ethan we can actually have pictures taken of the two of us...he did a pretty good job, centered and all!

This is from Taelor....and her drawing of how Dad looks....so cute!!

And this is from Ethan...I love that his answers..."I don't know" and "very"

And yes, it was 109 degrees outside but we enjoyed every minute of it!!

Happy Father's Day!