Here we go!

The first day of school always evokes a mixture of emotions for me. Excitement and sadness are the most prevalent. It's SO fun to start a new school year... I asked Noah what he was doing in his room yesterday and he answered, "Just thinking about tomorrow!" Austen danced around all day yesterday counting the minutes until bedtime. (seriously!) And Ellie would just grin whenever anyone mentioned "Kindergarten". She can't WAIT to follow in the path of her siblings.

It was SO adorable the other day... I had to talk to Ellie about the "No Tolerance Policy" for school... no drugs, weapons, etc. She actually had to sign something that we had spoken about it. Later that night, Corey asked her if she was all ready for school. She answered and said, "Yes! And I know what NOT to bring." Corey was curious and asked her what this was. She answered, "Guns...and knives." She really was listening!!

I am so excited for them, but it also makes me a little sad to send my babies off to school knowing how fast the year goes and that they'll soon be yet another year older. Since there's nothing I can do about it, I guess I will enjoy a MUCH quieter home (and MAYBE a LITTLE cleaner), a little extra computer time (not to mention time for the 15 million things I SHOULD be doing!) and most importantly, one on one time with my little buddy Aidan. He's begging me to play with his train RIGHT NOW. Here we go....

Spoiled Rotten

I love birthdays!! I try and go as crazy as possible when planning the day for my kids, and I try to remember as many friends and family birthdays as I can. I am sometimes a little late, but I try. Well, this year, MY birthday was extra special. It was one of the best in a LONG time... Many friends and family members wished me a happy day, called, emailed, and even dropped off VERY nice birthday wishes. You don't realize how much this means to me!!! THANK YOU!!!!!

My dad came by to visit and my mom surprised me with the yummiest pie I've ever had! Mom, you could open a store up with that one!! Corey went ABOVE AND BEYOND. He took me to the Mac store the night before and told the salesguy he was buying me a laptop. I just laughed and said, "No way!" Then Corey pulled out CASH and the guy handed me a laptop!!! WHERE he got ALL that money I really don't know. WOW! This is a VERY exciting present for me... I hope Corey realizes what he's done! I can take my iphoto/digiscrapping/imovie/blogging/etc. activites ANYWHERE!!! I think he did it so we don't have to fight over the Mac anymore! :) Anyway, I just really wanted to say THANKS for an incredible day!

Cousins Rock!!

We were lucky enough to have three cousins come and visit this week! Lola, Maude, and Kalee flew in to play and we had a "rockin' awesome" (Austen's new favorite saying) time. We went swimming (of course!), played on the waterslide (of course!), went to the movies, and drove up to the children's museum in Oakhurst. They have had non-stop fun for days!! We have loved having them and hope they can come again soon! We sure wish they lived closer!! (click on the pages to see all the smiles!)

Summer at Shaver

Our bi-annual weekend at Shaver was a grand success. This was our fourth summer going to the cabin in Shaver with our dear friends. We all have such a blast. We ate like kings, laughed for hours, and played for three days on the beach. The kids are busy as can be together. Wow, it was fun! We look forward to this all year long!! Thanks for a great time!!




































As always, I went a little crazy with the camera!

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Weekend of Fun

We headed over to San Ramon for a weekend with the cousins. As always, we had a blast. The kids love to be together and I think this is a beautiful thing. I used to adore playing with my cousins and I am so happy my kids can have similar experiences with their many awesome cousins!! We spent the weekend swimming with friends (thanks, Annie!), going to the park, and venturing into San Fransisco for a gorgeous afternoon in the city. I think the highlight of that day were the cream puffs Clay got us all from Beard Papa! We can't wait until next time! Thanks, guys!




























We went to Berkeley for the evening. We got some super yummy pizza and headed over to a park for a picnic and a cement slide... everyone LOVED the slide, except for Aidan. Poor guy... right when we got there and were getting dinner set up, I saw Aidan wandering over to the slide. The slide was HIGH and I thought that he probably shouldn't be doing that alone. I also didn't think he would actually go down by himself. Well, I was right and wrong... he shouldn't have done it alone, and he DID go down himself. He got some serious road rash to match his daddy's...(Corey's been riding his mountain bike a lot!) He's just fine, though, and did go down several times with Auntie Britt after dinner.















































Check out the slide show for more of our adventures! :)

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Wild Water

I tried this new site to post a couple of pics. Not too sure about it, but the pictures are cute, so I'm posting them. We have had passes to Wild Water for 6 years! The kids LOVE it... It's especially fun this year because Aidan is super into everything. They all run around and smile, although poor Austie has grown out of the kiddie slides. (and she's a total pansy and won't go on big rides!!) Good times... it's what you do in Fresno in the summer!

More pics from Washington

We arrived home last night from Washington. We had SUCH a good time there, as always. We got to hang out with family and old friends, eat yummy food, and enjoy the cool weather and beautiful surroundings.

Corey, his dad, James, Eric, Duane, and John all worked together to replace the roof on Corey's parents' house. They worked SO hard. We cheered them on and kept the kids busy. The kids actually did help a little one day...

The kids had SO much fun with their cousins!!! We were sad to leave!! (and also happy to get home.. we've logged 4,000 miles already this summer!!) The kids were SO good on the drive... they are TROOPERS!

The last day we were there, we took a trip to see Mount St. Helen's. We haven't been for several years, and the kids loved learning all about volcanos. It really is a fascinating display.

Thanks for everything, mom and dad! We can't wait to come back!! :)

Make an on-line slideshow at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Guess what...

Ellie has been begging for a haircut for months now. She has SUCH pretty hair that we really didn't want her to cut it... but it IS her hair, so Auntie Molly gave her a haircut... she was SO excited when it was done and wanted to show EVERYONE. She looked in the mirror and said, "I don't even look like myself!" She still looks as sweet and pretty as ever..

Enjoying Beautiful Washington

Wow, it's gorgeous here! Everytime we come back to visit Washington, we marvel at the scenery. Corey's parents house is SOOO pretty. We just can't stop taking pictures here! And the temperature here is such a treat compared to the heat wave we left in Fresno. We are enjoying every minute here!

We had so much fun already! The Jan cousins were a blast to play with. The kids played in the creek, ate yummy smores, and played hide and seek. We were sad they had to leave for home so soon!!

We are also happy to see Corey's brother and family, although their oldest is home going to school. Noah's happy to see one of his few male cousins and they had some wii bonding time.

Tonight some old friends joined us for dinner. We met them over 10 years ago when we lived in Vancouver. We've kept in touch over the years, and were so happy to be able to see them again. We've certainly "multiplied" since then... back then we just had little Austie. Now, we both have 4 kids each! The kids got along SO well!! It's so fun to reconnect with old friends, although it makes us miss them more!! Hopefully it won't be SO long before we can see them again.

Happy Independence Day!

We had an awesome fourth! I love the holiday because it's usually such a relaxing and fun day. It's all about celebrating our freedoms and blessings, family, and friends. And of course, FIREWORKS! Aidan is STILL talking non-stop about those!

We started the night before with the fireworks show at Wild Water. The kids and I had SO much fun swimming, and then watching the entertainment. (Austen's favorite part was the Elvis impersonator... NOT!) I bought "glow" bracelets for the occasion. That was definitely one of the best dollars I have ever spent!

The next morning we attended the ward's Fourth of July breakfast. I decorated the wagon and 2 scooters so the kids could be in the parade. They looked adorable racing around the cultural hall. We then headed over to the Christensen's to swim (again!). THANKS!!! :) We love going there. The pool and company are fantastic!!

We concluded the day having a delicious feast at mom and dad's. She always goes all out and we are the lucky recipients! They have the total hook-up for fireworks at their house... we can see the local high school's show from their front yard! Lots of friends joined us for the show and we ate treats and oohed and aahed. Aidan was awestruck! It really was a great show... we were all a little wowed! A perfect end to the day.