Happy Birthday Mom

Happy Birthday Mom! Thanks for teaching me how to knit/crochet. Really, much more than that. Thank you for being such a great grandma to my kids. Can't come anywhere near summing it all up in a few sentences so this picture will have to suffice - ha ha.
(I have another picture to add but need to get your permission to use it first so we'll be in touch)

We're Moving!

We're moving! Chris and I have been trying for a long time to shorten his commute. We are going to rent a house in Tustin while we rent ours in Riverside. Ahhh, Riverside. No words can express. Well, there are some things I will miss very much and others, not so much - ahem, train whistle.

THINGS I AM GOING TO MISS MOST ABOUT OUR HOME:

1. ALL of the memories with my kids. I brought home 2 of my three babies to this house.  We moved in when Hadley was only 2 months old.

2. The shady maple tree that shaded our driveway and gave us leaves in the fall.

3. The big windows in the living room so I could watch my kids play out back from inside.

4. The pomegranate tree! Seeding pomegranates with friends and making jelly or eating a big bowl for breakfast.

5. The infamous windmill that is cemented down and is fairly common in Riverside backyards (I know of at least two others) so I always knew the direction of the wind. (see below)

6. The original oven that works like a champ.

7. Our nice neighbors, especially Jeanne, who Vincent has a certain fondness for - and her cat and turtle.

8. How perfectly my favorite two pieces of furniture fit into the house that I bought with one of my best friends, Kristi (well, actually she bought the bookshelves for me at an auction, but I paid for them:))

9. The kicking surround sound system that we used maybe once and couldn't figure out how to turn off by not just pulling all the plugs and throwing out some of the speakers. (Chris and I are not very tech savvy but apparently this was a major selling point to guy we bought the house from - I think he felt it wouldn't get used so he threw in a dvd player with the house b/c we didn't have one - we're talking 2004 here, who did have one?)

10 . Our $40 washer and dryer - seriously, 20 bucks each and work great except for dryer door that had little mishap with the garage door. (We're leaving them here for our renters b/c Chris apparently thought I wouldn't need them because we're getting a maid or that is what he is asking for for his birthday?)

THINGS I WILL NOT MISS:

1. TRAIN horns in the night! (Did I mention our new house has jets flying over it? C'mon, can't a girl catch a break?)

2. Give me a break - since when does it matter which direction the wind is coming from?!? I've hated that windmill since we bought the house (paint helped a little.)

3. The peach tree. Smelly, rotten, bug infested peaches all over the ground. They only came one of the four years we lived here (the only year I watered it.)

4. Trains.

5. Thirty-five year old trick-or-treaters carrying Stater Bros. grocery bags.

6. Toothpaste (and gel) colored tile in the bathroom. Is there any style of decor that goes with that?

Hadley's Book-Exchange Birthday Party

We threw an early 4th birthday party for Hadley since we'll be moving this weekend (last minute plans called for a change of date.) It was a lot of fun. It was a book-exchange party where every guest brought a new or used book and we exchanged them so everyone got to open a present and go home with something (not to mention, I didn't have a bunch of new toys/clutter to pack or clean-up).

We played with water balloons, egg on a spoon races, made layered-sand necklaces, and of course, had cake. Thanks A. Molly for coming to help, providing decorations, decorating the cake and reading stories for the kids (pretty much everything a good mom should do).

Victoria Gardens

We made an impromptu trip to Victoria Gardens to meet grandma, grandpa and A.Laura. We went to the puppy store, played on the playground, went to the Thomas store, played in the water fountains and, of course, rode the Choo Choo Monga train. All of this mingled with shopping and a last stop at Jamba Juice.

August Reunion

Saturday was our annual August Family Reunion in Ventura this year. The cousins had a blast on the Banzai water slides! (thanks A. Sharon for fixing it just in time!) Hadley probably went on it more than a hundred times - we were surprised she was so fearless. Vincent made an attempt with Daddy that didn't go very well and from that point on, he was glad to play in the kiddie pool with Landon or swing.


The grandkids and Aunt Laura.

The month of July

For the Fourth of July we went with A. Molly to downtown Disney for breakfast and browsed the fun shops. We were tempted to go into Disneyland and renew our season passes but were told it was going to be very busy and was already hot! We can't wait until the end of August to go again.

After Disney, we went to Upland but left before the fireworks We squeezed lemons for my mom for lemonade and learned Vincent loves to suck on raw lemons!
Mid-month we got to see Kali and Devor visiting from Philly and Betsy and Brett were here with Cameron and Carolyn. The kids all enjoyed playing for a few hours. Carolyn enjoyed holding Lauren while the rest played - such a mommy.
I finally got my chubby baby! Lauren is by far my chubbiest baby even though she is pretty average on all the charts. I've always wanted a chubby baby though and I love these pictures because they make her look the chubbiest.
Love the rolls!Aunt Molly spent an evening with the girls while Vincent and I went and met daddy coming home from San Francisco. This is Lauren sucking on Hadley's thumb while they were reading books.

Happy Father's Day (a little late)

Hadley and Vincent singing "Daddy's Homecoming" b/c that is what they were singing or sang in church (I don't remember if this was before or after church but I do know that Vincent wore pants to church). Vincent practiced the song so much that when the primary children went up to sing he insisted on going too. Hadley kindly took her brother up there and walked him back afterwards. It was very cute!

Things to watch for:

1) Hadley's moves on the phrase "glad as I can be" (worth watching again for)

2) The delayed motions by Vincent. He gets clap, neck, pat, at cheeks throughout the entire song.