Caleb and Gillian

Here are my sweet babies all ready for church. As you can see, still no hair on gillian but.......I gathered together just enough to clip a bow on top of her head. Trust me, this is nothing less than an amazing feat! Not only doe's gillian lack a lot of hair, she doesn't want to have "prettys" in her hair. In gillian's own words......"No, no Mommy! Me no want a pretty in my hair!"

Cross Country

Garrett started running Cross Country this year. He runs 3-5 miles everyday and is doing pretty well at his "Meets". He seems to enjoy this new sport of his and has a great team and coach. Garrett has been a good influence on Gary and me. We have been trying to run at 5:00 each morning but can only seem to complete about 2 miles. The other kids are showing some interest too. We are hoping to run together as a family in one of the beach runs in Cayucos early next summer. Garrett is our hero!

Disneyland or Bust!

We just got back from our semi- annual Disneyland Trip with our very good Friends, the Watson Family. Every January and September like clock work, we plan out a 2-3 day Disneyland party that none of us ever wants to end. We think we have been doing this for at least 7 years so that would make 14 trips together. It is so much fun that we keep going back.

This trip was a celebration for Mary's 40th birthday. I made matching t-shirts for both of the families, we stayed at the Disneyland Hotel, we decorated the Watson's room with birthday balloons and lot's of Mickey goodies. Mary said that her family was so excited to see all the stuff we had put in their room that they all started jumping up and down. She said, and I quote, "It looked like Mickey Mouse threw up in our room!" How is that for appreciation! tee hee.

The little kids all tried out for Jedi Training and made it. Yeah! We rode all our favorite rides and even found a new favorite.....Toy Story.

After several trips hoping that we would win something...........anything from the Disneyland Dream Giveaway, I am sooooo happy to say that we were greeted by not one but two Dream Give Away Employees when we got off of Pirates of the Carribean who told the Watson's oldest daughter Clara that she had just won a tour of Walt Disney's Personal Apartment over the Fire Station along with a dinner for 14 at the Plaza Cafe. The computer in Chicago had chosen that ride that day at the exact time that we boarded to be the grand prize winner. We also learned that that particular prize will only be awarded to 10 groups this whole year! It was a prize with a one in 6,000 chance of being won. Thanks Clara for sharing your prize with us and thanks Gary for forcing us on the ride. We almost passed it up.

Disneyland is the place "where all your dreams come true!"

Thanks Watson Family for another super fun family trip!

Grand Prize Winner and Company!

Caleb getting the better of Darth Vader during Jedi Training!

Walt Disney's Apartment!

Labor Day Weekend!

Another Trip to the Beach, hanging out with good friends, a few more pics of the ocean........what can I say, it is our home away from home. We just can't get enough of the coastal lifestyle!

"A PIRATE'S LIFE FOR ME!"

We finally had Caleb's 4th birthday party. He thought it would never get here. I think it was worse for him than waiting for Christmas. ha ha.Caleb chose to have a Pirate Party so I set about gathering pirate paraphernalia. It really turned out cute. I bought some things, made a few things and borrowed a lot. We had everyone dress up and we took individual pics by the Pirate's Booty. I love gillian and Caleb's sweet pictures . Pirate children they be!

We Don't Want the Summer to End!

Gary had an Administrative Retreat recently so it was a good excuse to head to the beach again. The only thing that we could find last minute was this little cottage a few houses up from the beach. It was old and a little cramped but we had a great time! The boys had a little bedroom and bath out behind our main house so they were in heaven. Gary had to work a lot of the week that we were there but the kids and I made the most of our time.

The whole driveway along our little beach cottage was lined with sweet peas. I took several pics of gillian in front of them. It got so everytime we went outside she thought that she needed to pose in front of the flowers before we did anything else. My little sweet pea!

A Record......4 books in 10 days!

O.K. so I have been waiting to read the Twilight series over the summer and a few weeks ago while we were vacationing in Cayucos, I realized that the 4th and final book was coming out on Friday and I needed to get started before the summer was over so........I drove into San Luis and picked up book 1. The next day I drove back into San Luis and picked up book 2. On the 3rd day I made another trip to San Luis for book 3. My family knows I love to read but they are like, "Are you kidding me?" We got home on Saturday and our neighborhood was having our annual "Hot August Nights". Our boys were playing in the band so after unloading, starting the wash, breaking down and setting the drum set up in the park then hanging out with the neighbors all night, it was time for bed and we had very few groceries in house. I was way too tired to go out and I needed to start reading again. We made it thru Sunday but by Monday morning, my cupboards were bare. At church, one of our friend's asked Gary, "is your wife reading that vampire book?" Gary shrugged and said, " yes" and I'm guessing they rolled their eyes at each other. Unga went on to say that all his wife does is read, "we don't have any groceries, she isn't cooking, she isn't cleaning, watching the kids, etc." Gary told me that all he did was laugh but I'm sure he had more to say than that. After church, Gary related the story to me and the boys and we all laughed...........knowingly. I promised I would get groceries on Monday. I went to bed around 2 that night breaking my "only read church books, scriptures, lesson manuals on Sunday rule" and got up around 6 and started reading again. Gary came up the stairs around 7:15 and said, "I'm going to work now. My house is a mess, there is about 8 loads of laundry left and I had the last morsel of food left in the house for breakfast." I asked what he had and he said, "A hamburger bun!". I died laughing. I yelled after him saying something like, "Why don't you call and ask Unga if he needs breakfast. He might appreciate a hamburger bun." I told my friend Chris the story and today when I got home there was this cute card with a note inside saying, "Since you are otherwise occupied, we thought you might need dinner tonight" I asked griffin what Sister Spencer had brought and he pulled out a bag of hamburger buns. Sooooo funny. Priscilla, if you read this, tell Unga that we have left overs. These books are the best! I gave the first book to one of my teachers and she is as obsessed as I am so we pour over the youtube videos and trailer teasers drooling in anticipation of the movie. I am starting back on book three so I can converse with Jenna (my teacher) about everything. If you haven't read them.....do it!

Gillian Grace

Gillian turned 2 on July 11th. Where has the time gone? Out of all my kids, gillian has grown up from the baby stage the quickest. Looking back on her very first picture in the hospital all hooked up to monitors in the I.C.U., and seeing her now so beautiful and strong I am and will forever be thankful for her and the joy she has brought into my life and all my boy's lives. We love our gillian more than words can express! Happy birthday sweet girl!

To the Beach Again!

We went over to the beach for a few days to spend some time with "the cousins" as all our kids like to say. We had a great time! There are .......count them.......9 boys and 1 baby girl that round out this crew. What a great group of kids!

A Mud Fight?

Gillian and Caleb had a mud fight which had to be broken up by the older brothers because the little ones were showing no signs of ending the dirty battle. This is what I saw once it was over. Can you tell who won?

The Yentes Boys on the Water!

All in a Summer's Day!

Summertime is such a busy time but in a way a slow and lazy time too. At least that is how I like to look at it. We all fill our calendars with pool parties, lake trips, beach trips, BBQ's, camping trips, Fireworks, etc. Yet, when the party ends and we have time to relax.......we do. I never feel guilty in the summer for not doing all "my chores" but I would feel guilty if I didn't take the time to relax with a good book, stay up way to late hanging out with the boys, taking long walks on the beach, taking a nap, or sleeping out on top of the houseboat watching the stars in the sky. I love summer!

We have had a wonderful summer so far. So much has happened that I'm just throwing in a few pics of a few of the events. Some things I don't even have pictures for. My camera is on it's way out so it has been difficult getting all those great shots but even without pictures, we won't soon forget the memories we have made this summer and the time we have spent with fantastic friends and family. We hope you are having your best summer ever too!

Summer Fun!

Houseboating at Lake Don Pedro with our friends The Bell Family. Gary and Garrett tried barefoot skiing. Crazy!

Which Princess Are You?

I saw this on several blogs and thought it would be fun to do. Try it and see if it matches you.

http://www.greatestjournal.com/quiz.bml?Q=16354"> size=+1>You Are Pocahantas!

Free-spirited and wise. You have a strong passionate spirit that touches and changes all who know you. The wisdom and common sense that you have is really what guides you through life. Even so, you also have a very playful side that loves adventure and excitement.

Which'>http://www.greatestjournal.com/quiz.bml?Q=16354">Which Disney Princess Are You?

Memorial Weekend at the Beach

We just spent 3 days in Cayucos eating, sunning and having lot's of fun. The weather was beautiful. Gillian loves the sand. She spent most of her time laying down putting her face right in the sand and saying "ooohhh". Caleb dug and dug and dug. I gave him a disposable camera and let him take lots of pictures. He was in heaven. The big kids boogie boarded, played football and wrestled dad on the beach. We stayed up late, watched movies, went to our favorite parks, rode the trolley and enjoyed each other's company.