peek a boo

silly kira. who knew playing in the hamper could be such fun.

summer bucket list

my sister christina had a good idea before school got out to make a summer bucket list. a list of all the fun things we wanted to do this summer. well, here we are with only six days before school starts and i have a whole list of unfinished things. how sad. i think i will have to extend the summer list until the end of the season. even if school has started it still is summer. right?

one of the items on the list was a picnic in the tree house. so today we did just that!

here is the list i made:

1. sew puppet theater
2. go to the movies - see monster university - done
3. go swimming at christina's - done
4. go to the river - done
5. go to sea world
6. read 5 books - have 4 done
7. go for a walk to the top of our street
8. explore the neighborhood on foot
9. teach mason and dahlia to play basketball
10. make a lemon pie
11. go cherry picking - done
12. have a picnic in the tree house - done
13. go to the beach - done
14. go to the aquarium
15. go the natural history museum - done
16. go to pretend city - done
17. paint my toenails - done
18. read a chapter book to the kids - in progress
19. build a sand castle - done
20. sew a summer blanket
21. buy a popsicle maker
22. make sorbet
23. eat sushi
24. grill pizza outside

movie night

miles bought a new projector so we could watch movies outside. it is so cool. we brought it with us to the river and the kids had fun watching movies on the side of the motorhome.

we decided to test it out at our house tonight. the kids wanted to watch arrietty. they loved watching the movie outside but it was a bit cold and miles ended up with some mosquito bites. not exactly ideal but i think it would be fun for a party.

new cast

we went to visit jen and ray today after school. bodhi has a new cast. much smaller and cuter than the temporary cast. they said he can walk on it so hopefully things will get easier for jen and ray.

worst babysitter ever

yes it is true. i am the worst babysitter ever. ugh. jen and ray called me yesterday to tell me jen was in labor and could i please watch bodhi for them. yes, yes of course. so i drove down to santa monica, picked him up and brought him back to my place.

mason, dahlia, bodhi, and connor were all playing outside on the swingset and i was outside watching. for some reason bodhi decided to jump off the top platform of the swingset to the ground. when he landed he was crying that his leg hurt and so i picked him up, took him inside and cleaned him up. there was no visible injury to his leg so i guessed he was tired and sat with him on the couch while we all watched tv. he soon fell asleep and had a long nap. after he woke up he was still saying his leg hurt. hmmmm. i was starting to get worried that he was really hurt.

miles soon came home and checked him out. no bruising, no swelling, no problem moving the ankle around. miles thought it wasn't anything serious. i talked to jen and ray to let them know what happened but we didn't think he was hurt bad. i did not want them to have to worry because jen had just given birth a couple of hours ago. they had enough to worry about.

so this morning when he was still saying his leg hurt and wasn't walking on it. i really started to panic. i called ray and told him he should see bodhi and maybe take him to a doctor. i kept mason home from school and took all the kids with me to their house. ray met me and decided to take bodhi to their doctor.

while ray was with bodhi, i had to go with all my kids and pick up jen and baby kira from the hospital. man, what a day. it took me a hour to get her and then i very carefully drove them home.

poor ray had to take bodhi for x-rays where they found he had a hairline fracture of his tibia. super. he then had to take him to the emergency room for a temporary cast. man. i feel terrible. i can't believe i only had to watch him for a day and he broke his leg. i realize it isn't my fault and jen and ray were very nice for not blaming me but geez. why me? now poor jen and ray have to take care of a newborn and a three year old in a cast.

a new niece

my sister jen and her husband ray had their baby girl yesterday. they named her kira fay. she was born at 3:00 pm. she was 6 pounds 14 ounces and 20 inches tall. so cute.

i didn't get to be there for the birth but was very excited to pick jen up from the hospital today and meet the precious little girl. she is so cute and so tiny. congratulations jen and ray!

family game night

we have started a new tradition at our house this month. game night. i am so excited about this idea. i love playing games with the family.

the kids are really young and their game playing skills are limited but there are a few games that i think they can handle. we started out by playing candy land. so fun. i remember this game when i was a kid. i loved it. for some reason we were missing the red piece when we played (we found it under the table the next day) but mason improvised with a lego man. he was very excited to play.

don't be fooled. it sounds easy but candy land is a tough game. we kept getting sent back to the beginning with all the special cards. in fact, we finally had to call it quits without a winner. the kids had pretty much had enough. i think next week we will play chutes and ladders. hopefully it will go a little faster. game night was a big success though. i can't wait for the next one.

connor's baptism

connor got baptized. yay. i have been looking forward to this day for a very long time. we had him baptized at the wayfarers chapel where we were married. all three of our children have been baptized there. it is so nice to go back there and think that seven years ago when miles and i stood up by the altar there were only two of us and now there are five. so crazy. i love that we seem to return there every two years to baptize a new baby and remember the vows that we exchanged that day. although i think this tradition is coming to an end because we don't have any plans for more babies.

connor cried during his baptism and this really bummed me out. he is such a happy smiley baby that i didn't worry that he might cry. just one more reminder of how unpredictable kids are. it was still a sweet ceremony and i am so grateful that my all of my family was there to share it with us.

the baptism was at noon and we all went back to our house afterward for a party. we ended up celebrating the july birthdays at the same time. we had carne asada and salmon tacos. i served a pitcher of margaritas and made it a real summer time celebration. i made four homemade cakes for all of the birthday people so they could each have their own. susan, ray, bob, and jon all have their birthdays in july. zena also has a july birthday but she always gets her own party. it was so fun to have the whole family together. summer parties are so relaxing. the day went by way too quickly just like all fun parties seem to. thank you to everyone who helped us celebrate.

cherry picking

my mom and dad invited everyone to go cherry picking with them this weekend. we loved it. i remember them stopping by my house two years ago after cherry picking with a huge box of cherries for miles and me. i was so surprised that they would drive so far and pick cherries for fun. the whole idea intrigued me so i was excited to be included this year in the cherry picking festivities. i completely get the fun now. it is so addicting. i could have picked far more cherries than we brought home. miles, mason, dahlia and i picked almost six pounds of cherries. this is obviously not enough because we have eaten half of them and it is only tuesday. jen and i are making plans to go pick some more next monday. the picking season is very short and we need to get moving.

my mom loves to pick cherries. she was so cute telling my dad that he has to take her cherry picking every year until she is unable to walk. they had a blast and picked almost ten pounds between the two of them and my niece zena. we even got my sister christina to come along. she was a very reluctant cherry picker but i think she had a good time. she kept making jokes about how she usually picks her cherries at ralphs.

we picked our cherries from villa del sol sweet cherry farms in leona valley. they are not crazy cheap. they cost $3.00 per pound. they are so good though. really. mmmmm. i really was thinking i would have enough to make a cherry cake and maybe a cherry pie, but they are so good to just snack on that we haven't cooked anything with them. that is why i can't wait to go back. thank goodness i have my sister jen and mom more than willing to come along.

a sidewalk

friday was fun. i took the kids tricycle and big wheel to my mom's house so they could ride. we live in the hills so we don't have any sidewalks for the kids to enjoy. at our house they ride their bikes around the bricks on the patio but it really isn't enough room. i thought it would be fun for them to get to ride on a real sidewalk. they loved it. mason was so fast on his big wheel and dahlia did a great job keeping up on her tricycle. i have done this a couple of times now and it is so cute to see them play. the first time bodhi and zena joined us so we had a big group. i think this will become a regular thing for us. it is so easy to just throw the bikes in the back of the car and take them on the road. it makes taking a walk even more fun and i love not having to push a double stroller. who knew you could miss having such a simple thing as a sidewalk.

new puppy

my sister christina got a new puppy. we were so excited to meet the little girl. we drove down right away to see her. she is a puggle. a puggle is a cross between a beagle and a pug. she is so cute. my sister bought her online and had to pick her up at the airport on friday. they named her roxy stella. she is of course adorable. she will only get to be about 15-20 pounds. right now she is soo tiny. we all fell in love immediately. cheers to the newest member of the family.

a retrospective

grandma and grandpa camping


showing off her cute swimsuit


grandma and grandpa with my dad

my sisters came over and stayed the weekend so we could put together a video and program for the funeral service. they brought all these amazing photographs of my grandma. they found a drawer full of them from her house. many of them i had never seen before. miles was so nice. he did all the scanning of pictures and assembling the video. it turned out so great. here are some cool old pics from it. we had the service on monday. it was very nice. my sisters and i got up and did a speech. that was hard, but i am happy we did that for her. i wanted everyone to know how much she is loved.

i love you grandma

my grandmother fay passed away on tuesday morning. she was 91 years old. she still lived by herself and was spunky and healthy until her last day. the whole family has been shocked and devastated by the news. i knew she wouldn't live forever, i just thought we would get a little bit more warning that it was her time. i miss her. we have a very close family. now that she is gone, i feel like there will always be something missing. the empty spot on the couch that was "grandma's seat." she lived about 10 minutes from my mom and dad's house. she came to every birthday and holiday celebration. things will not be the same without her here. i know she had a good long life. i am happy that she never had to suffer. i just miss her.

granny plays guitar

miles' mom came to visit us yesterday. it was so great to see her again. we missed her. she brought her new guitar that she is learning to play. we got to hear her play a little. it was so nice to hang out in the backyard relaxing. i love that she is learning to play guitar. how cool. i would love to learn to play an instrument. i will just put that on the list. the long list of things to do. we had such a relaxing day. we will be out of town next week so it was nice to see her now. i didn't make dessert. i am trying to be good because a bikini is waiting to be worn next week. yikes.

baby's baptism

dahlia and bodhi were baptized this morning. we woke up at 6:30 to get ready. we had to be at the chapel at 9:00 am and it is about an hour drive from our house. miles' mom and friend jake showed up at 7:00 to caravan with us. we were all still in our pajamas. my sister christina and her daughter zena stayed the night last night to help us make all the food. that goodness she showed up to help me. i never would have got it all done.

the ceremony was at the wayfarers chapel in rancho palos verdes. it is where we got married almost five years ago. i love to go back there. it brings me back to my wedding day and the vows we exchanged there. it was a perfect day. a little chilly in the morning and a warm sunny afternoon.

i was so proud to be standing up by the altar with my little daughter and husband by my side, and my son in my arms. we are a family. i love it. it is so strange to think that there was just the two of us up there five years ago. dahlia and bodhi were so good. they did not cry at all during the short but sweet ceremony. i love that they were baptized together. mason was baptized with his cousin zena so it has become a bit of a tradition to share the occasion with a cousin.

we went back to the house for brunch with the family. everything was so good. all the food was delicious. i enjoyed a bellini with fresh peach juice. mmmm. i also made a blackberry and peach trifle for dessert that is irresistible.

everyone was so tired after brunch. we sat around and talked. there were a few gifts for the kids that we opened. it was a perfect get together. i feel so thankful to have such a loving family willing to get up at the crack of dawn to see my daughter baptized. thanks to everyone that was there.

buncle ray

we had a fun weekend. ray and jen came over with bodhi and stayed the night. it was bodhi's first sleepover. mason loves his uncle ray. he was having so much fun playing with him. he was running around the house singing the uncle ray song. it sounds like buncle ray. so funny. it was so nice to have them over again. we missed them. they are such cute parents. they have fully embraced all the stereotypes of new parents. this includes talking about their kids poop at the dinner table. too funny.

the happiest place

we had such a fun weekend. saturday i left mason with miles and went shopping with my sisters. it was so nice to shop with only one kid. dahlia was so good. i got to try on clothes! it was pure bliss. i bought five shirts for myself. i also got some bath products and a some clothes for the kids. i bought the cutest swimsuit for dahlia. i can't wait to put her in the little portable pool in our yard. jen left bodhi with ray so it was just the girls this time. so fun.

sunday christina and i took our kids to disneyland. it was dahlia's first trip there. it was so hot out. i think it got up to 95 degrees. good lord. we didn't get on too many rides. we went on monsters inc. and the caterpillar ride. we also watched the muppet 3d show to get in the air conditioning. mason screamed the whole time so my sister took him outside. dahlia didn't do much better so i threw a blanket over us and breastfed her during the show. i think they make the sound on the shows and rides way too loud. do they think we are all deaf? we let mason and zena run around in the water in bugs land. they got so soaked. it was funny. at four o'clock we decided to leave. we were all so tired and hot. thank goodness for annual passes. i never feel bad about leaving after 3 or 4 rides.

after disneyland we went to my mom and dad's house. jen and ray brought bodhi over. miles drove down to meet us and all my brothers and sisters came over. we grilled dinner. it was so fun. we had a feast. it was like a birthday party without the cake and presents. i really love that my family is so close. i love to hang out with my parents and siblings. it is so fun to have a big family.

tuesdays

i go and visit my mom and dad every tueday. my sister christina and i hang out with the kids. she has a 6 year old daughter named zena. i started going to their house on tuesdays after mason was born. it was a way to get out of the house, and hang out with my sister. i really like the 45 minute drive there and back. it is so nice and relaxing. the kids usually fall asleep and i get to have 45 minutes of peace and quiet. i don't even play the radio lately. silence is so nice.

most tuesdays my mom will cook dinner. i get to be a kid again. three of my siblings still live at home with my parents. it is so fun to be in a house full of activity and chaos. it is exactly like when i was little. i just love it.

this tuesday my dad showed mason how to put a penny in his gumball machine. mason thought that was just the best thing ever. he spent the rest of the evening asking everyone for a penny. i don't think he really understands the concept of chewing gumballs. i think he must have swallowed some. i was trying to get him to spit them out, but i am sure i missed some.

granny visits

we had a fun weekend. granny came to visit on friday and stayed the night. she will be visiting more often now that miles' grandma charlotte is living with his aunt. she used to have to take care of grandma charlotte and didn't get to visit much. we had a fabulous dinner of salmon with lentils. i also made a lemon cake for dessert. yum.

on saturday we went to a birthday party for miles' cousins son. he was turning one year old. so cute. he has just learned to walk. mason had so much fun. they have a ton of toys. he was in heaven. it is funny though, he plays by himself for the most part. he doesn't interact much with the other kids. dahlia was a big hit. everybody thought she was adorable. we were so tired when we got home. we just chilled on the sofa. so nice.

sunday we went to visit jen and ray and bodhi. this turned out to be a bit of a nightmare. mason cried the whole time. he did fall asleep for an hour or two, but then started screaming again when we woke him up. we had to leave right after dinner. ugh. i was worried that he was getting sick again, but no. he was just exhausted. he fell asleep again on the way home. i am actually glad it is monday. the weekend was a bit exhausting.

visit with bodhi

today i went with my mom to visit jen, ray and bodhi. they are still at the hospital. my mom and i wanted to see the baby again so i drove an hour to pick her up and then we drove another hour to the hospital. it was a lot of driving. whew. luckily my kids are great in the car. i thought we would have to leave my kids in the waiting room and take turns visiting. instead, we just sneaked in. nobody seemed to mind. little bodhi is having trouble breastfeeding. the baby just won't latch on correctly. there was a lactation consultant there to help when we arrived. jen and ray seem so happy being parents. we didn't stay too long. i finaly got someone to take a picture of me with my nephew.