So, lately I have reading others blogs reporting about their Christmas Decor and hot cocoa by the fire and pictures of their homes looking spiffy and nice. Our tree is small, our ornaments are few, my living room is half painted, my husband just fixed a leaky roof in the garage, and I look around and think...hmm, this is not spiffy and nice. I wish it was. I then attend church and come home remembering who sacrificed his all for us. Everything we have is because of him. Big or small I need to remember what I have is great!

December Sun!

It is December and my kids are playing outside in the sun and swinging on the back porch. Gotta love California!

We celebrated my friend Shaun's 29th b-day at the country club. Great food!!! I love going "Home" and seeing the beauty that surrounds me. The flowers are my dad's at work. Jacob spent the day at Carmel Beach with the twins while Ellie and I got pedicures with my mom. Wish everyday was a vacation! Loved watching Jason at therapy. He is standing in a "stand frame" now for about 20 minutes. It's great to see him on his feet. Thanksgiving was filled with food and family. Now, it is time for christmas parades, hot cocoa, and enjoying my children play with the nativity sets. Our lives can be stressful, crazy, and hard but when your with the one's you love, life is easy.

Pic of the Day

Here is a pic of Jacob and Cooper. I am loving my Mac and new camera! I edited this photo and love it! Can't wait to practice some more. Love these guys:)

Halloween is over?!!! We started our festivities with a trunk-or-treat on friday @ church. Saturday carved pumpkins and played outside in the beautiful weather!! Trick-or-treated around the block, the kids were done, and wanted to go home to answer the door for all the trick-or-treaters! This is always the best part of Halloween for our kids. Answering the door! We got the most trick-or-treaters this year and it was a lot of fun. Once again Ellie was a cheerleader, last year she will be able to wear that costume, brothers were superman and batman thanks to Aunt Buffy's skills with the capes! We ate candy in the living room and sorted out all the loot! At the end of the night Jacob made the kids try a sour warhead and then he had one himself. Can you tell?!! Love him:)

Cooper

Here is a pic of cooper I took at the park today. Got a new camera from a friend at work to borrow and I think I might just have to buy it from him! I am no professional but the quality is def better than my camera. Love this boy!

2 wheels+2boys=Fun!!!

Guess what the brothers learned this week?!! Riding their bikes with no training wheels! It has been so fun to watch them fully enjoy riding a bike. No offense to Ellie but she doesn't ride her bike a ton and it is not really her "thing". So...with the boys it is a different story! They can't get enough of their bikes! Since the twins were little we did lots outside. It went from stroller rides, to trike rides, to scooter rides, and now bike rides. I took them to the park that has cement wrapped around it so they could get the hang of it. Now, they are in the front yard wanting to show off to all the neighbors! It is funny because they have been riding their bikes with training wheels for about a year now and now that there are no training wheels I guess it is that much better! I love being outside and enjoying the sun and fresh air with these guys! Ellie on the other hand, will have no problem watching Hannah Montana all day wrapped up with a blanket and a cup of hot chocolate. I did not have time to watch t.v. at Ellie's age. I asked my mom if I wanted to watch movies and shows at Ellie's age and she said no! I was busy with school and gymnastics. Which Ellie just passed to Level 2 in gymnastics and will be going 2 days a week now. I think it is genetic. Ellie and Jacob could watch movies all day while me and the twins would be out riding bikes all day! Not sayin one way is better than the other just different, you know what I'm sayin? I better stop talking now. Later.

Football games, reading, Jay comes

My brother Jason came to town for the weekend! Ellie had her primary program at church and my parents and Jay came over for it! Ellie did awesome! She had 3 sentences to read with big words and read it so well! Her reading has really taken off. As you can see she reads to the brothers all the time. It is nice because then I can just sit back and watch! I am glad she is enjoying reading. We have been busy this month so not much posting. I was sick for a good week with pneumonia!!! Well that's what they say it was but I was out for a week in bed mostly! Not fun! Our neighbors/babysitters had their homecoming game and Rachel got Princess! We went last year and her sister Leah got princess! This is Ellie's highlight of October. She is in her element at these games. We sit next to the band, we are down in front near the cheerleaders and she dances to every song that is played! Fireworks are set off after we score a touchdown and we scored a few so that was fun! I found James pumpin' some iron on Jacob's push up bars. It was so cute! He really had good form and was trying to be like "Dad"! When do your kids stop trying to be like you? Oh how I wish I could freeze the twins age right now. I hope they keep their innocence and love for us forever! Love this time of year and we are off to the pumpkin patch tonight! Loved having my parents and Jay in town. I miss them!! Ellie has been telling her class that she is moving to the beach after Christmas...hmm that would be nice! Someday:) I gave my little brother a pep talk about "giving mom and dad a break" I asked him if he wanted to live at home for the rest of his life and he said, "No way!" He is progressing with something every time I see him. I just wish he could be all better today! So, in our culture patience is truly a virtue because we all want it "now" and for Jason his now is going to come... just not "now".

Did you see it?

Nie Nie on Oprah today! Did you see it?? If you look on my fav sites you can see her blog. Her story is amazing and makes you appreciate your life and your struggles. As my struggles are different than hers I see a lot of me in her. A mother, a wife, a friend to many and one who enjoys her children and loves to write about them! I think of her and her family often.

October is Here!!

I can't believe it is October already! The weather is great, the colors are fabulous, I switched to my Orange purse and my fall clothes are slowly creeping into my wardrobe again! I think my house is turning into an "Orangefest" but I love the color! Last night I got to spend some alone time with Cooper while Ellie and James were already in bed. With having twins it is easy to always have the two of them with you at ALL times. Lately, we have been trying to spend one-on-one time with them and it is so fun! I asked Cooper what he wanted to be when he grew up and he said, "Homework"! ha ha! He sees Ellie doing homework and he always wants to do homework like her! Maybe he will be something that entails him being in school for a very long time! So, those of you that have more than one child out there try this "one child" thing it is pretty fun! I love my kids and being a mom! Each day should be enjoyed and not endured! They are only little once, right?!! p.s. Loved the picture of the pumpkins I took last year!

TARGET!

I don't know if you are a Target fan but if you are go ONLINE NOW! They are having great deals ONLINE ONLY. Their shoes are buy one get one HALF OFF! Needless to say I just checked out with 6 pairs of shoes, 2 for me, 2 for Ellie, 2 for the boys, we are set! Plus FREE SHIPPING! SALE ENDS SEPT 19th! SHOP NOW! Have fun!! p.s. they have some super cute furniture too! Those chairs with no arms, fabulous!

Paint Color!!

Ok so I am going crazy with paint swatches all over my house. We are looking for a light brown, taupe, neutral, go everywhere color. What are some good ones out there?? I do not want anything in the pink hue category. I never knew paint color could be so difficult! There are so many! Let me know...Thanks:)

"Sparthenian of the Month!" Put ur hands together...

Here are just a few faces that were so proud of Ellie!! She got Student of the month at her school! It is the highest honor and she got it her first month of school! We were very proud of her and wanted to make it a big deal by having GG and Papa there as well as my Aunt Gaye and cousin Michelle. I think it is important to make these things a big deal. Although there will be many more awards ceremonies between Ellie, Cooper and James we hope we can acknowledge them and make them feel special and proud of themselves each time! Ellie's school is the Cowboys, so of course the new Hannah Montana movie soundtrack is perfect for their Rally's. The cheerleaders were dancing to this song as they walked into the cafeteria. Ellie stared at them and then did some dance moves in line. Nice. I bought her the Hannah Montana movie for a job well done and it is a way cute movie! Even Jacob and I loved it! Way to start first grade off Ellie!

Lake Nacimiento & a 1st grader!!

So, we ended our summer with a trip to Lake Nacimiento, which is near Paso Robles. We love it there! This is the lake I fell in love with my husband even more! We would take lake trips all the time at this lake in College and it is always a good time! We went with Weir and Amanda who are expecting a baby girl in January! The kids did great, being this was their 1st time tubing and being on a boat for 5+ hours! Weir introduced us to surfing behind the boat! "skurf"! So fun! I of course couldn't let go of the rope, but Jacob did awesome! Ellie got knocked off the tube once. Yeah that was pretty much the end of her tubing days for this year. Pics to come. The boys loved holding the flag up when someone fell and sitting at the tip of the boat like the "captain". I think Weir and Amanda are a little scared to have a child now! ha! Just kidding. After spending 2 days on the lake with us and our 3 kids! You never know what might happen:

-James eating it on his scooter down a hill, denting his helmet.

-Stayed up till midnight watching the new Hannah Montana movie. Ellie asked to rewind every part!

-Ellie telling everyone she didn't get a good night sleep because her Dad was "tooting"

-Kids staying up way past their bed times

-Kids having growing pains during the night

-Feeding the deer, and then letting the dogs out of the gate, scaring them away! Aughh!

-Sitting on the golf cart wishing and hoping one of those buttons would make it go!

-Crying, laughing, giggling, cheering, chasing, Chill out!!

Needless to say they were excited to end our summer with the lake.

Now we have a 1st grader!!! Ellie had her first day of school today and she did great. Me, not so much. I thought school ended at 3:15, no 3:00. Oops! I really hope this is not a theme this year! My goal is to not be late...as much. It is a bad habit and I guess casually late doesn't count in school. The brothers and me had a great day together. I never had 2 kids, but I really liked it. We were all happy to see Ellie at 3:07.

My new Office

Ok so here is my new office...still in progress so give me some tips? I want to change the faceplate on the switch, it is off white, doesn't go, I think I want to put pulls on the drawers that match the kitchen, and I will try to find a before pic, because it looked like old man office with wood and it was way too dark! What do you think? I am going feng sheui?! Not sure how to spell, but love how there is no clutter?!! I do!!!

Summer lovin

This summer I think we have spent only a few days at home. Jacob and I at the Fray concert, me and the kids at Beauty and the Beast, Swimming at the Burnetts house everyday, the twins with GG on their B-day! She bought them a vacume and a bunch of balls! This picture turned out a little blurry but I liked it! And...going to the beach a lot! Here we are in Avila with all the cousins. They were burrying Uncle Andrew. It was fun, the kids got in the water!! Burrr! But it was fun! So, school starts this month and I am going to have a 1st grader! Well, now that we are home we are hitting the pavement. Boys have their 3 year old check up, shots, the whole enchilada! So, off I go to being a mother, friend, wife, housekeeper, cook, taxi cab, and just a little crazy, not much though.

Park Day?

Ok Friends who are in town, what day(s) is good for a park day? I want to start one at 9:00 a.m. for summer. I am out of town a lot just like you but whoever is in town can get together! School is around the corner and then we can get more serious about it. But, in the meantime: I am going to go to the new park on Clovis and Alluvial with the spiderman thing you can climb on. And the park has those covers over most of the park! Bonus, for my toe heads. So, I will be there Friday morning at 9:00 a.m. if you want to come. Great set up, bring a snack, water, and all your kids.

Fourth of July 09

Our Fourth was spent at my parent's house! So fun! Weather was awesome, Jacob played golf, we ate outside, it was not your traditional "fog fourth" in Pebble Beach! We did our own fireworks because there were not any in Monterey this year. It was just as good because the kids had so much fun with the sparklers and poppers. We then watched the Washington fireworks on t.v. Ellie spent two weeks with Grandma and now wants to move in! So, we are all back under one roof together. Ellie and my little bro Jay are so cute together. She loves spending time with him! It was nice to cool off so now back to the heat!

Could it be? 3?!

The brothers turned 3 yesterday!!! Wow! Can't believe it! We had a great day with just them. Ellie is still at my parents house and I enjoyed just 2 kids! We went swimming, ate pizza for dinner, then went to ice-cream, then went to toys-r-us. Although the baby stage is precious, sweet and tiring I am glad we are moving on to a new chapter in our book! Cooper & James, you came into our lives tiny and sweet and today you are growing boys full of light and love! Thank you for making me a mommy of twins! Who would have thought! Me, with twin boys??! You are awesome and bring so much joy to our lives. Happy Birthday!

Ellie's a 1st grader!

Well Ellie is officially done with Kindergarten! The kids were all excited for this day. Ellie was excited because she got to sing on stage. Let me tell you, Ellie on stage is a riot to watch. She becomes shall I say...Sharpay from High School Musical. Really, she is quite the performer. Comments like, "Is that your daughter?!" I am proud of her confidence and all that she has learned this year. Cooper is in the yellow. He is always ready. He is the first one up usually, wants to get dressed and ready for the day, and is always excited to go somewhere. James on the other hand, is usually the sleeper-inner, and the first thing he says when he wakes up is, "I want to eat." I loved this picture of them!

Here are some random pics, I have really been slacking on my blog! Cooper is driving the golf cart at Jacob's office. They have golf carts to get to and from places at his storage unit/office. They look so "golferish". Cousin William and Ellie are both missing their top two teeth! How cute! Ellie talks a little funny, and I love listening to her. We went to this town called "Exeter" near Visalia where Jacob grew up. We went with his sister Missy and family and his parents. It is a great place for pics! I am taking the kids back there and doing a photo shoot. Really cute town. They have all these murals painted on the walls. The kids loved looking at these, and posing in front of them. Can you see Ellie? Yeah she is quite the poser. Anyhow, good times, we had fun. School's out for Summer this Friday! Woohooo!!