Always Loving Life

What We Have Been Up To

2010-05-14T10:47:00.000-07:00

We have been pretty busy around here lately. Last week Emma had her dance recital. It is a pretty big deal around here, there is 70+ dancers and it seems like half the town comes to show their support. We were very proud parents!

Most of the pics are actually from the dress rehearsal, look at her go.

This year they had two dances to perform. Here the girls are back stage waiting for their turn.

Kaitlyn had her junior prom this year. Her and a couple friends stopped by so I could take some pictures. Becky,Ian, Kait and Tim.

They all looked so nice.

You are beautiful Kaitlyn!! Love you!!

Watch out today is crazy hair day!! Emma has been so excited for this day.

I think we got it crazy enough.

Of course Jacob wanted in on the action.
Well that's all for now, hope everyone is doing well.

A Chilly Easter

2010-04-07T10:31:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter Everyone!!

Of course we had to decorate eggs. Jacob only cracked 4 eggs this year :) Every time he would drop one he would say "it's okay, Mom, it's okay." He is such a stinker.

Hard at work.

Easter morning started with Emma getting up at 6:30 scoping out where all the eggs were. Needless to say she had to go back to bed until a more appropriate time. Then we re hid the eggs so it was more fair.

Then it was off to Grandma and Grandpa's house for Easter dinner. MMmmm just thinking about it makes me hungry.

I was in charge of desserts , I went with fruit pizza and some chocolate cookie nest.

Last year we had our egg hunt outside in our summer dresses, this year it was a little different. We actually got snowed in and couldn't leave until Monday afternoon. Crazy weather.

Jacob didn't mind, he would have played in the snow all day and night if we would have let him. Hopefully everyone had a wonderful Easter!!

Father-Daughter Dance

2010-04-01T18:10:00.000-07:00

Emma had her first dance this past Saturday. It was a father daughter dance that the high school juniors put on every year. It was very special to both Alex and Emma, Alex said he had a smile the entire night and Emma told him that this was her "best night ever." Hopefully this will be the start of a new tradition.

Bike Ride Along the Coast

2010-03-21T10:49:00.000-07:00

The kids had this past Friday off of school, so we headed to the ocean for a bike ride. The weather was beautiful. I think it was about 75 degrees which is really nice for the coast. Our first stop was glass beach, where a long time ago it was a dumping ground (can you believe that) and now there is tons of glass left.

The kids thought we found treasure!! It was really pretty!

This was the bike trail which was right along the coast. This tree grew to the side because of the wind.

Photo op under the tree.

Time for lunch.

There were sea lions out on the rocks. I swear it was like National Geographic, we saw ducks, a goose, some other cool birds that walked on water, snails, a snake and some really cool looking mushrooms.

Before we left, the crazy kids wanted to take a dip in the ocean...it was cold!! Ah, to be a kid with no worries in the world. Emma kept saying that "this will be a day I will always remember." Me too!!

Sunshine

2010-02-02T10:23:00.000-08:00

It seems like it has been raining for weeks, which has been really nice but it means we have been indoors alot. Last week we had some clear sky's and took advantage of it. The kids and I met Aunt Kaitlyn at the park and the kids were able to get some energy out. It was a really nice day. Today and for the rest of the week we are back to rain.

Jacob's 4

2010-02-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

On January 29th our baby turned four years old. We just had a small party with Grandma, Grandpa, Kaity and Brandon. Jacob wanted a Wall-E cake, so that is what he got. I think he had a great birthday!

We are so proud of you Jacob, everyday it seems like you are learning something new. You are such a big boy now! We love you very much!

A Very Merry Christmas!

2009-12-30T09:44:00.000-08:00

This Christmas we stayed in California and celebrated with my family. It was extra special because my Grandma from Canada was here. It has been many years since we had Christmas with her.

A week or so before Christmas we were at the mall to do some shopping and got to see Santa himself.

On Christmas eve the fam came over for dinner and my Grandma, mom and I went to church. It was really nice.

Looks like Santa came.

This is all Jacob wanted for Christmas, he would have been happy if that was all he had gotten.

We got to my parents around 12:00 for round two.

My sweet, sweet Grandma!

Emma was the one behind the camera. It is a tradition to open crackers and wear the hats during dinner.

Santa got us girls all matching p.j. pants.

I love this picture...great times, great memories, WONDERFUL Christmas!

Funny Faces!!

2009-10-16T08:22:00.001-07:00

This was the first day of preschool for Jacob. He was super excited, I had to get a picture.

This is a picture of Daisy and Bella (my dog and my sisters) in their matching sweaters. I know stupid but sooo cute!!!

I went to pick Jacob up from preschool yesterday and instead ended up taking home spiderman. We went to the farmers market on the way home and he was a big hit. It's big news around here when a superhero comes to visit :)

Last weekend Emma went to a fairy princess birthday party. She also got her face painted and had ALOT of fun. She is still doing great in school and just started her third year of dance. Her recital is in May if anyone wants to come watch, hehe.

Happy 6th Birthday Emma!!

2009-08-30T16:21:00.001-07:00

So our little girl just celebrated her 6th birthday...you heared me right, she's six. We can't believe it. We had her party at K.O.A. campground which was wonderful. They had a bouncy house, water splash park, petting zoo, climbing gym and the list goes on and on. The best part of all is they provided the food and cake and we didn't have to clean up. Woo Hoo.

Emma and her friend Alyssa.

They were covered in sand. It was everywhere.

Happy birthday our sweet girl!

Now it's off to the water.

Some of the girls, the kids were everywhere.

Jacob and the kid from Jerry Mcquire,haha it's just his buddy Jack.

Present time. Emma is a very lucky girl to be surrounded by such great friends. We had a wonderful day.

Emma it is hard to believe that you are a six year old 1st grader. We hope you have a great year, we are so proud of you and love you very much.

Disneyland

2009-08-30T15:30:00.000-07:00

This is way overdue. We went to Disneyland in July with Alex's sister and her family. We had a great time. We stayed 4 nights in a hotel and went to Disneyland two days and the ocean for one day. I don't have any pictures of the ocean because I broke my camera (thank goodness it was on the last night in Disney) We have tons of pictures so here are a few of my favorites. Enjoy!!

Our Little Graduate

2009-06-14T10:51:00.000-07:00

Our little girl is now going to be a 1st grader. Last Thursday she had her kindergarten graduation. It is crazy how fast this year flew by. We were so blessed that Emma had such a wonderful teacher and has meant so many great kids.

Grandma left work for a bit to come see Emma's big day.

This is the best family picture we could get. ( it was hectic )

Look at him go!! Jacob can't wait to be in school.

After school we went out for lunch at our favorite sushi restaurant. It was yummy!

Emma had some presents waiting for her when we got home.

Her first collectible.
Hopefully 1st grade will go as smooth as kindergarten.
We are proud of you Emma!!!!!!!!!!

Emma has been a busy Girl.

2009-06-09T13:17:00.000-07:00

The last few weeks have been pretty busy. Emma's class has gotten to go on some field trips. They have gone to KOA ( a camping ground with a water park), the high school to look at some 4h animals and the ballet which I was able to go with her class. It was so cute to see how the kids have all formed some tight bonds.

They also had crazy hair day, Emma said hers was the craziest.

A few weeks ago Emma participated in her second dance recital. She was so cute. She made sure she was in the front the whole time, and was so into it that the audience was laughing and cheering for her. We were so proud.

And last week she finished T-Ball. She was definitley not into T-Ball like she is dance, but she tried (most days). I don't think we will be doing that again.

Stay tuned because Emma is graduating Kindergaten this Thursday so I will be putting some pictures up of that.

Poor Jacob isn't in to many activities yet, but his time is coming. I don't know how we are going to keep up when they are both in school and sports.

I had to put this picture of Jake in. He is like yeah I'm cool :)

Sweet Surprise

2009-05-02T10:46:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went to San Fransisco to meet up with my sister in law Gina for a much needed girls only getaway. We had so much fun, all we really did was SHOP!! It was really nice to get away and have some time for ourselves.
When I got back home on Sunday, Alex said that even though he and the kids had a great time he was ready for me to come home. He also let me know that he appreciates all that I do. Over the next couple of days I had some surprises arrive at my door step that showed me he really does appreciate me. I hope he knows just how much I appreciate him and all that he does for us. He truly is the man of my dreams, sometimes it just takes a little time away from the chaos of life to remember just how important your loved ones really are.
This package was delivered on Tuesday....let me tell you, they were as good as they looked and didn't last long.

The flowers came the next day. It was such a sweet surprise. They were from Emma and Jacob and Emma even knew and didn't say anything for days. I am such a lucky wife and mother, I wouldn't change my life my anything.

Happy Easter !!!!

2009-04-13T12:35:00.001-07:00

Hope everyone had a wonderful day. We had a great day at my parents, hunting for eggs, playing badminton, and of course EATING!!

Opening Day in Willits, CA

2009-04-05T18:08:00.000-07:00

Recently Emma started playing T-Ball. Saturday was opening day for all the teams. We had to be there at 7:45 in the morning, which was very early and cold. It was only 27* when we got to the field. Brrr.
Jacob was being so good. He was as happy as could be playing in the dirt with his trains.
Emma with the two other girls on the team. They are the Texas Rangers.
Here is Emma listening to the National Anthem. So cute!!
As you can see Emma is one of the littlest ones on the team. My petite little girl.

This was a couple hours later, getting ready to play their first game.

I tried forever to download a video of Emma up to bat and running the bases but I couldn't get it to work. It was a really good day, it ended up being really sunny and warm out in the afternoon. We are so proud of out little girl. She may not be the next Derek Jetter, but she is always going to be number one to us.

Beautiful Lake Tahoe

2009-03-03T10:03:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago the kids had a week off school so my mom and I took the kids to Lake Tahoe.
It was snowing when we got there which the kids just thought was so cool. Unfortuanatly Jacob got sick the day we got there with a fever and cough, so I didn't get to ski. Emma went to ski school and loved it! We were able to watch her and she did so good. There was a couple times she was down and I didn't know if she was going to get back up but she figured it out.
The last day we were there Jacob started feeling better however I woke up with the worst case of pinkeye ever. I tried to ski, but it was awful, I could hardly keep my eyes open.

Just a couple days ago Alex and I went back without the kids. We went with our friends Joel and Lisa and her little boy Grant. I was much more relaxed this time. The boys skied two full days. One day was enough for me, I enjoyed playing roulette while the others skied the second day.
We had alot of fun. It is nice being so close. I hope our kids love to ski as much as their dad. We had Brandon with us and he did so well. He is really good, he even went on a black and didn't even fall. We want to get back up there with the kids at least one more time this season.

I know it has been awhile...

2008-12-06T12:35:00.000-08:00

I know it has been awhile since my last post, I guess life just gets a little busy sometimes. Everyone on this end has been well. Emma is doing great in school, she just got her first report card and it was very good. She is in dance again this year and just loves it. Jacob is FINALLY talking alot more. He started telling people his name but he says yeahcob. He cannot pronounce his J's that well. He is such an awesome kid. He makes me laugh everyday.

A few weeks ago we went to a birthday party at a jumping castle place. It was so much fun, even for Alex and I. I think Emma may be having her next party there. I love the idea of no cleanup!!

This year was the first time I hosted the Thanksgiving dinner. With a little help from my mom everything turned out just perfect. The turkey was so moist and flavorful and all the sides were so good. I could eat this meal once a week actually maybe not if anyone watches "The Biggest Loser," you must have heard how many calories this meal has. :)

Here is the table before it was full of wine and food.

My Dad and I.

Brandon pretending to be drinking. (what are we teaching him :)

After Thanksgiving Alex, my sister and I went to brave the crowds and go shopping. My mom took the kids to town to ride the trolly. They also went to the park and out to lunch. Thank God for my mom, she is such a great Grandma.

Weekend in Phoenix

2008-10-23T19:47:00.000-07:00

Finally the family is complete!!

This past weekend I made a long anticipated trip to Phoenix to meet my newest nephew (and may I say he is one of the cutest babies ever). He has come all the way from Guatemala to join our family and I have been waiting for over a year to squeeze those chubby cheeks. I had such a wonderful visit just hanging with baby Alex and Alicia. Of course it was a very short trip so I had to try and get all the hugs in I could. I miss everyone so much already. Hopefully Christmas will come fast.

Oh my gosh, just look at those eyes.

Alex is one of the happiest babies I have ever been around. He is so precious.

On Saturday morning Gina surprised me with a day at the Spa. We went to one at the Chandler Mall (I forget the name) and got one hour massages and then we got spa manicures and pedicures. It was so what we needed. We got to totally relax and catch up with each other. We have decided we need to do that ALOT more often. Do I have the best sister-in-law in the world or what???? Love ya Gina!!!! After the spa is was off to the mall to do some shopping.

There is another new member of the family and his name is Aiden Bennett. He is a little over two months old and so perfect. We had a family get together over at Aunt Lori's, and of course the little ones were the star attraction. These kids are going to be spoiled in this family. It was so great to see everyone, it has been a long time.

(me holding Aiden)

(Grandma and Alicia, I love this pic)

(Three generations, we just need Julie and Aunt Lori to make four)

Thanks for everything Gina and Juan. Love ya's!

A very busy week full of great memories

2008-09-03T20:36:00.001-07:00

Stef, my best friend of 12 years came to visit us. She was able to come up by herself without any kids so we thought what better time then to do a girls night out in San Fransico. After I picked her up from the airport we went to our hotel by Pier 39, otherwise known as Fisherman's Warf and starting having fun. We spent the entire day sightseeing and shopping and then at night Stef treated me to a very nice dinner at a little Italian resturant in Little Italy and then we checked out a couple bars. It was such a great trip...we always have the best time together whether it is sitting in bed talking or out on the town.

(Stef in the front of our house)(this is us trying to take a pic with the camera's timer)Well Stef was visiting we celebrated Emma and Kaitlyns b-day (they share a birth date).
We just had a small get together with the family. We cooked the usual, hamburgs and hotdogs and had some yummy icecream cake for dessert.
And the most exciting event this week was that our baby girl started kindergarten. I don't understand how she is already five, seriously where does time go? I was pretty emotional on the walk to school but Emma was very excited. She started school the day she turned five so we got to bring cupcakes for the whole class. I was thinking that may score her some brownie points with the other kids :)

The birthday girl

Saying goodbye to Mrs. Kirk. Emma had a great first and second day but by the third day she didn't want to go anymore. It was heart wrenching to leave her at school crying. When I asked her that night why she didn't like school she said "it was to much work." Oh boy, we may be in for a long 18 years. She has been doing great this week...we shall see.

Oh Canada

2008-09-03T15:10:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Emma and I went to Canada with my family to visit my Grandma and some great friends. Unfortunately Alex and Jacob had to stay home this time. (Girls have all the fun :) I was born and raised in Ont. Canada but have lived here for almost 15 years...wow. It is always great to go back and visit and reminisce. We went by my old house and school to show Emma, I don't think she cared very much :)

(Carol,mom, Kait,Casey,Emma)

We went to the beach ( Lake Huron ) where I spend many weekends. Of course we picked the one day that it was cold and windy. The kids didn't seem to mind. Brandon got in the water and Emma and Kait jumped the waves.

This was all of us with my Grandma and Aunt Shirly (Dad's sister) out at our favorite resturant, Swiss Chalet. They have the best chicken ever and it comes with an awesome dipping sauce...YUMMY.

(Grandma and Dad)

My Grandma turned 90 this year and is just as beautiful as ever.

Me and Bran sipping on some milkshakes.

These are two of my oldest friends. Brian and Lynette (the picture in the back was painted by Brian). We can go years without talking and when we get together it as though we have never been apart. We had a great Vacation, we spent alot of good time with my Grandma that I will cherish forever. We had some great family photos taken of my whole family but of course they were not on my camera.

This and That

2008-08-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

I thought I would just post a couple pictures from what has been going on lately. A few weeks ago Brandon was in a swim meet. It was pretty cool, school's from all over came and camped out at the pool. It was quite the event. He did really well.
A few days after that the family went to the community pool to cool down.
Emma had a play date with two of her friends from dance. They had a lot of fun. Hopefully she will get at least one of her friends in her kindergarten class.
Last weekend we went to the Lake with Kaitlyn. The kids had a blast. They surprised me by swimming in the water because there was icky seaweed in some places, it didn't faze them. Jacpb mostly cleaned the drift wood up and chased the geese.
The last picture is of a bear, it is hard to make out but the glowing dot is his eye and you can see the outline of his body if you look close. This bear has been getting into our garbage almost every night. At first it was pretty awesome to see a bear in the front yard...now it is just a huge pain in the butt. One night he ran with one of our garbage bags in his mouth and we had to hike down a hill to clean it all up in the morning. Alex put a vice grip on the can to keep it closed, so far it is working.
Anyways sorry this blog is a little choppy but I just wanted to get a couple pictures up. Hope everyone is doing well.

Cooling off at the river

2008-07-20T09:40:00.000-07:00

This Friday my mom and I took the kids to the river to cool off. It is such an awesome sight. To get to the river you take a short walk through the biggest redwood tree's you can imagine. The water was just perfect. In some of the pictures you can see how smoky it still is from the fires. We had a couple clear days and just recently the smoke has returned.
Anyways we had a great time and hopefully we be going back alot this summer.

I just have to say how incredibly amazed I am by my brother Brandon. As most of you know he had to have his foot amputated recently because of a birth defect. Well let me tell you it doesn't stop him from doing anything...as you can tell by the pictures. He climbed the rocks and jumped off just as well as the other boys. I am so proud of him, he is a true inspiration.

Guess What ?!?!?!?

2008-07-15T21:01:00.000-07:00

Today I meant up with my mom and she had just come from looking at some Shih tzu puppies. She kept telling me how cute they were and that I needed to see them. As most of you know I have been researching and thinking about getting a puppy for about a year. ( I am an indecisive freak ) So I said I would go peek at them while she watched the kids at McDonalds. As soon as I walked in I was in love, they were the cutest furballs I had ever seen. I talked to the lady forever and left thinking they are cute but we will never get a shih tzu. Alex called on the way home from work and I mentioned the puppies and how cute they were, he was going to drive right past the salon where they were so I told him to stop by...thinking he would say no. Well he did and to my very BIG surprise he brought the little girl home. I couldn't believe it, he said it is my B-day present. So to make a very long story short, we have a new addition to our family and her name is Daisy Mai. She is so sweet and so far seems to be very good mannered. Here are a few pictures...

Arizona Vacation

2008-07-06T19:59:00.000-07:00

We just got back from spending ten days in Arizona. We had a great time with family and friends. Of course we wish we would have had more time to see people, but we did what we could. The kids enjoyed spending alot of quality time with Nana and Papa. We made alot of special memories.

We went to Tucson to spend a couple nights with Stef and Lucas. On the second day all the girls and kids went to get our annual pictures taken...that was quite the experience. There is now eight kids, so getting all the kids to look at the camera at the same time is almost impossible.

That night Stef through a little party for everyone to get together. We had so much fun just catching up with each other.

We stayed with Nana and Papa for the rest of the time. We spent alot of time in Aunt Gina's pool and just hanging out with the family. Thanks for letting us move in for awhile :) We can't wait to come back.

Dan and Megan are expecting their first baby (boy) in December.

Emma's Preschool Graduation

2008-06-13T10:03:00.000-07:00

Emma has graduated...from preschool that is. Her school had a little ceremony where the younger kids got certificates and the kids going to kindergarten next year got diplomas and wore graduation hats. They all stood on stage a sang songs. So cute. Emma has been keeping us busy lately with all her events. I can't imagine how busy life is going to get when both of the kids are in school and playing sports, brownies, boy scouts, ect.

Jacob had fun too. After the ceremony they had a bar-b-que, which was yummy, and the kids played and played with all the outdoor toys. Another fun day!!

Benbow Art's Festival

2008-06-02T10:44:00.000-07:00

This Sunday we went to an arts festival in Southern Humbolt county. It was right along the eel river. It was so pretty and the weather was perfect. Shortly after we got there Emma noticed some kids on stage singing children's song, so she was gone and performing in no time.

Check out that hair!!! We decided to go down to the river to cool down. Emma and Brandon walked accross the whole thing. Brandon even went swimming with the currant.

Jacob was happy throwing rocks into the river.

Emma couldn't wait to get into the jumping house and then she wouldn't stand up. We had a lot of fun. They had food from all over the world, lots of artsy stuff to buy, an entire area just for kids and of course music. I got super sunburned but everyone else just got some nice tans going on. Needless to say the kids slept very well that night!!

Emma's Dance Recital

2008-05-31T22:39:00.000-07:00

After a lot of anticipation Emma finally had her first dance recital. She did so well and looked so pretty. Her group was the first to go on and she was not shy at all. At the end of her dance she kept bowing even after the other girls were leaving the stage. She is going to be our actress/dancer. At the very end of the all the dances everyone came out for their final bow. We were unable to use a flash so many of the pictures of the actual dance did not come out.

Their teacher Kathleen talking to them before the dance.

It was a really special night. We are so proud of our little girl.

Catching up

2008-05-18T18:09:00.001-07:00

Nothing to exciting has been happening on this end. Emma did have her kindergarten orientation and next week we will go and actually register her. She is very excited. I told her I was worried about her finding her own classroom and she said "don't worry mom, you could just draw me a map." She is really growing up. Gosh time really does fly. Jacob has been Jacob...all boy. He keeps us busy, that's for sure. His new thing is not wanting to sit in the shopping cart, he wants down so he can run around the entire store and give his mom an anxiety attack :)
We are coming to AZ June 26th, can't wait to see everyone.
Enjoy the random pictures...

Mendocino Lake

2008-04-18T14:07:00.001-07:00

Last weekend we went to the lake, which is only 20 minutes from our house. We didn't think it was going to be so warm out so we didn't bother bringing swimsuits...mistake. The kids didn't seem to mind, they got in the water anyway. You should have seen how big Jake's diaper got :) Mason even got in the water. We had alot of fun.

Emma even caught a fish (haha it is a plastic fish she found). Her and Jacob thought it was the coolest thing.

Alex was afraid his head was going to get sunburned. He is so cute XOXO.

After a long day of play the kids were exhausted. Play hard...sleep hard.

Enjoying the weather

2008-04-11T16:25:00.001-07:00

It has been so nice here lately. Emma just got her first bike so we took Jacob and her to the park. They had so much fun riding around like crazy.

Home sweet home

Let's keep in touch.

2008-04-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

We thought creating a blog would be a great way for us all to keep in touch.

An update on us... It is hard to believe that we have already been in California for 7 months. We are settling in over here nicely. Things are going really good for Alex and work. He is enjoying spending more time with the family. Emma just started preschool a couple weeks ago and of course is loving it. We have her kindergarten orientation coming up, which is just crazy to think about. Jacob changes daily. He is turning into such a little man. He surprises us with new words all the time. As for me I am really enjoying being closer to my family. It is really beautiful here. Northern Ca. is so green and there are wildflowers everywhere.
Hopefully we can figure this blog thing out and keep on updating and sending pictures. We miss you all.