My Day

I got spoiled by my family with the sweetest, most thoughtful gifts. I'm one lucky lady.

(And yes those Mentos were Luke's gift to me...he was quick to remind me it's more fun to share).

Loved that box Jake and Luke gave me. It was filled to the brim with strips of paper that said why they loved me.  Doesn't get better than that. Bree got me a spool of thread for my sewing machine and a Walmart gift card with her hard earned money.  And Jer raced home from Vegas to spend the day with me & even brought me some new workout clothes.  So thoughtful!

And as if that wasn't enough, last week I had the most generous friends treat me to lunch and spoil me with presents and the kindest words.  It was the best!  Thank you everyone!!

Guys Reunion in Vegas

Takes a big event to get me to post my first blog on the Cam domain, but this past weekend deserves it.  We had our annual trip to Vegas with the guys.  Had a pretty good turnout this year with 8 from the old gang able to get together.  It was sure good to see everyone.

Troy, Mick, Pat, Steve, and Nate at the Bowling Alley with the styling shoes.

The crew in action.  You'll note that we were the only ones at the bowling alley as we began.  I guess most folks don't go to Vegas for the weekend and go to the bowling alley for some fun.  It was just good to be hanging out with the guys.

Troy, Mick, Nate, Mike, Pat, Steve, and Ed

My Bro, Mick, Pat, Nate, Ed, Steve, Mike, Me

IHOP was the frequent breakfast stop.  Got to love it and I didn't even ask the waitress to hold the cheese on my omelet to save the extra buck.  I've got to break free of my cheap reputation.  It was so great to see everyone and hopefully next year a few more of the guys can come.  We were so lucky to have such a great group of guys growing up.  Can't wait until next year.

Blades of Grass

 They were long....

 much to Luke's liking...

but Jer didn't like them so much.

I love how he reminds me to delight in everything!

Kickin off March

 Game night with the Murdocks....

those stacks of circles we are holding down are the points we earned for their new game, Fact or Crap. 

The girls ran away with it.

I really liked that game:)

Matt demanded a re-count but the winner was pretty clear:)

 Amber and I took the boys to Chinobandito for lunch. 

They had tried to go without us, but we put an end to that.

 Mine was delish.  Missed the chips and salsa but that snickerdoodle more than made up for it.  

Ooohh it was good!

 Mother Goose time. Luke got lucky number 7 again.

And the warm weather is officially here to stay. 

At least that's what Jer and I declared today.

Yeeehaw!!!

Swimmin' and Stottin'

 Only one way to cure those winter blues.... 

 Luke didn't even hesitate. 

 Putting his face in was another story. 

 After that strenuous dip in the pool we feasted at Olive Garden. 

It was this good.

Sweet fake-out by James! This might be the closest he's ever come to a vegetable.

 Then we went to the Stotts for a little rock band.

 The party was all about Kendra and Brian.

It was fun to see them, it's so sad they moved away!

 I scored ZERO on the drums. 

Nobody there knew that was even possible.

We girls got the mosh pit going and were dancing and singing like crazy.

Those Stotts do RockBand like no other.

If you don't believe me, check out the back stage passes around the girls' necks and the custom made Stottfest concert T's all the VIP's were wearing.  It was serious biz.

Kendra we miss you.

Move back.

This night was full of one mighty hilarious dinner, thanks in large part to James' quick wit at my expense but that's ok because he's still looking for our van at Arrowhead.  Then there was the free soccer meal that I worked my tail off raising money for, no free meal for Ri's late dinner, Jon spotting the V's parking spot, signals, sign language, and a sweet cuddle with Zack!

Lunch Escape and Brady's Big Day

 I snuck away with Jake for a quick lunch today and it was so fun to get some one on one time with him. My favorite thing was listening to his top picks for eating out and having them change all throughout the lunch.  He's my picky eater, but when he likes it, he likes it.

Here's how it ended:

6. Rays Piza

5. Subway

4. Taco Bell

3. The Spot

 (you Carpinteria locals know what I'm talking about)

2. Le Beau's

(Bear Lake)

1. Miracle Mile Deli

 Luke got a little raspberry on his head at preschool today. 

 That shiner on his cheek....just a bit of leftover lunch he's saving for later.

After preschool, we went to the park today to celebrate Brady turning the BIG 5!

 Gorgeous Weather.  Favorite Friends.

 And eat 'em up whole cupcakes.

(who looks this cute while stuffing her face with a cupcake? honestly!)

 Kind of looks like the moms are all praying....it was a little brisk under that ramada.

 But when that sun came out it was all smiles.

Loved today!

(Only thing that would've made it better was a bathroom:)

Happy Birthday Brady!!!

Payday Letdown

Life is hard. At least that's what my kids were feeling tonight. After a few weeks of chores, it was payday.  Both of my kids were excited, they felt like they'd worked hard and were expecting big payouts.  So we figured how much each had earned and then we subtracted savings, tithing, and then some extra for something special that we have been working together on and this is what was left: $0.

I'm not going to lie and say they both took it like champs. One felt completely robbed. How could all that work have been for nothing? There were tears. It was sad. A big part of me wanted to just say, don't worry about savings this month, don't worry about the special project, we'll hit it next time.  But at the end of the day, I didn't.  And Jer didn't. And I think it was a good thing. Hard but good. It reminded me of my first big paycheck and being so excited about all that money, only to realize that after taxes, tithing, and living expenses, there was not much left.  I want our kids to learn that now while the lesson is easy. That money is something that you have to work hard for and after you do, sometimes it still doesn't stretch quite as far as you hoped it would.  So you make due. Then you pick yourself up and find that determination to work even harder the next day.  

And a good night's sleep always helps:)

Our Adventures with Flat Ellie

We've had a special guest in our house these past few weeks and we've been taking her out on the town. Too bad she is due back to the real Ellie any day now. 

The kids have loved having her around...gives us an excuse to do more fun and crazy things:)
Now if we could only get the real Ellie to bring her family here for a visit....

Preschool Valentines

We went a little heavy on the hearts this week and it was nothing but good!