Zachary's turn

Yes it's now my second son's birthday. Yes already. Between Darien's birthday and Zachary's is only two weeks, so it really doesn't giving much time to get ready for the next after finishing the last.

Favorite toy : Magic kit
Favorite thing to play : Magician
Favorite thing to eat : Tacos
Favorite TV show : Phineas and Ferb
Favorite color : Blue
Favorite place to visit : San Diego
Favorite book : Captain Underpants
Favorite movie : Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Favorite Video game : Mario Kart 8

I have a 12 year old in my house now

Yes it my oldest son's birthday. I really can't believe it. I know I say that every time my kids have a birthday. :)

Favorite toy : Legos
Favorite thing to play : Also legos
Favorite thing to eat : Pizza
Favorite TV show : Mythbusters
Favorite color : Green
Favorite place to visit : San Diego
Favorite book : Harry Potter and the Deadly Hollows
Favorite movie : Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows part 2
Favorite Video game : Minecraft

FanGirlHairDos

So... I'm doing youtube videos now... How did this get started?

Well I have a God given talent for doing hair, and I wanted to share it with the world, but in my own way. I love Mindy from Cute Girls Hairstyles, and she is such an inspiration, but I didn't want to copy her, and look like I was trying to be in competition with her (because I would lose). It was my husband's idea to do something nerdy, and pick hairstyles of characters that are more on the nerdy side. I didn't like the idea at first, because I felt like it may limit me. "How am I going to come up with a different character hairstyle every week?" Jeremy's answer to that was "Well eventually you wouldn't have to, because if you get enough people to watch your videos, they will make suggestions for you." Yes my husband is a very smart guy, and I'm lucky to have him. The next question that we asked each other was, "Where were we going to film it." After a little brain storm session, I remembered that there was an empty corner in the school room, that we could dress up and make nerdy. That's how we came up with this...

It was fun decorating. As you can imagine we already had most of these nerdy things in our house, we just had to pull them all together, and buy some more to full it in (because why not?). Once that was together, and once we had a list of hair styles to start with, there was nothing left to do but film.

This is our first video, where I demonstrate the Katniss braid from the hunger games movie.

My daughter has beautiful hair, and is the ideal model for me... if only she wasn't so wiggly, and if only she was as excited about this as I am. She is only four however, and I'm hoping she'll come around.

Here is a preview for next week, where I show you how to do heatless waves over night :)

Thank you, and be sure to check out the video, if you haven't already. If you have any suggestions please leave a comment on here or on the youtube video. :)

Down and Up the West Coast

Yay, we are home. That was an awesome vacation, and one of the big pluses was, no stomach flu. If you remember last year during our Disney World vacation we all ended up getting the stomach flu at some point, and it was just awful. We did end up coming home a few days early and skipping the hiking days, because at that point we were tired of living out of a hotel. We missed our stuff and our cats. Well here I go, I'm going to tell you all about it.

Jeremy and Olivia had been passing around a cold for the past week and a half, before we left. My hopes were that I would not catch it, or if I did I would catch it early and be over it by the time we left. Well of course I catch the day before we leave. That night we were double checking the drive time, and the once 5.5 hour drive to crater lake, had turned into a 7 + hour drive because of the snow they were having. So instead of leaving around 7am, we decided to leave at 5am the next morning.

Wednesday (the first day) our alarm was set of 4am and of course I wake up a 3:30, and didn't see any point of going back to sleep. Our drive is peaceful and normal until 10 miles outside of Porland, and we hit some heavy traffic. From there it was smooth sailing until we hit the mountain roads. There was snow everywhere. It took us even longer the get to Crater Lake because of the snow. A lot of the roads were closed and we had to take the long way around the mountain. I myself was very excited to see the snow, Jeremy was nervous (he was the one driving), and wondering if we should have put snow chains on our mini van. Once we finally made it, the snow was coming down, and you couldn't see the lake at all. We still had fun at the visitors center, and the kids loved playing in the snow. When we finally made it to the hotel it was a wonderful feeling.

What surprised me about our driving thursday (which was our second day), was that we still had to do some mountain driving. By this time, my head cold was at it's peek, and the popping of my ears (because of the altitude) didn't help.

We were heading to San Francisco that day, and I was super excited, because I had aways wanted to visit that city, for two reasons. One Alcatraz, and two, that Mythbusters lived there (not that me going there would mean that I would get to meet them). We gave ourselves plenty of time to drive just in case of traffic. We had pre-paid for tickets for Alcatraz online, and couldn't under and circumstances be late (or so said the tickets). We ended up getting there really early, which was fine in the end, because we just walked around the city a bit. There were a lot of people there, in the city and taking the tour for Alcatraz. The island was great, but really hilly. You have to climb a steep hill to get up to the cell block. The view from the island was wonderful, and I really enjoyed myself, and I was glad that we plained this crazy trip.

Our hotel that night was super nice. One of the nicest hotels I've ever stayed in. I booked all of the hotels on Expedia, so I really had no idea how they really looked. I was most concerned with price and weather the rooms were big enough for all of us.There were fountains and waterfalls in the lobby with koi fish in them. It was the Embassy Suites in San Rafael. After dinner we took over the indoor pool (thats what you do when you have a family of 6, even when you don't mean to). We ended up playing tag in the water. That was so much fun. I noticed that night that I had some sunburn on my face. :( I guess I should have put on sunblock. 

That night was a nightmare. I had a hard time sleeping because of it being a strange place, and because of my cold. I didn't sleep much at all, and I was making up for it here and there during the drive the next morning.

That dive was also no walk in the park. We hit a lot of traffic. First there was Oakland and then their was LA. I really felt bad for Jeremy. A 7.5 hour drive turn into 9 hours thanks to traffic in verious places.

When we finally made it to San Diego, it was exciting. Our hotel was in Mission Valley, which I was excited about, because I feel it's a great part of the city to be in. Our room had a view of the highway, which really isn't ideal, but I'm one of those people who likes highway noise, so it worked out. That night we got dinner at Pick Up Stix in Murphy Canon, our old stomping ground. Just being there made me wish we could move back there again.

Saturday, was wonderful. We met up with our old friends Jessica and Justin with their 4 daughters. I'm not kidding it was us 4 adults with the 8 kids. We were a sight. We meet up at 10, and walked through the creation museum in Santee. Olivia was so excited to see other girls, and would say every so often, "Look it's girls! Hey girls." It was so cute. We next went out to lunch. Yes all of us, in a sit down place if you can believe it. We went to Mimi's, also in Santee. This is when I noticed that the kids had all paired off. Darien was sitting next to and chatting non stop with Claire. Zachary had become fast friends with Veronica. Nathaniel and Rachel were two peas in a pod, they even ordered the same thing, and giggled about it, and Olivia was attached to Zoe. I'm glad Zoe didn't mind, and actually enjoyed the extra attention. Lunch was great, the food was okay (well on my end, I know my husband loved what he got), but the company and conversation was awesome. I enjoyed myself despite the fact that I couldn't really talk. My bad cold had turned into a bad cough, and my vocal cords were swollen at this point, and I sounded like a chain smoker. Were all big nerds, so yeah like I said, awesome conversation.

Next we went to Balboa park. It's one of my most favorite places in the world. The all of us hung out at the play ground for a while, for the kids of course. Jeremy had his camera and took some awesome pictures. The kids were having so much fun, and that really made my day right there. We next walked over to the fountains. The last time I was in San Diego, I had Justin take pictures of Jess and me at and in the fountains, so of course we had to do it again. 

Last time

This time

We go some of the kids too...

The koi fish were next. Olivia loved this part. She loved how big they were, and she love that they all were different in colors. At this point Olivia only wanted to hold Zoe's hand, and walk with Zoe. Yeah she had a new best buddy. We walk through the botanical gardens and the art gallery. I'm not sure the staff at the gallery was use to so many kids walking through it on a non field trip day, but the kids were doing awesome at this point. They were all hand in hand with their buddy and it was so cute. When it came time to leave, it broke my heart to see them all say good bye. Olivia was really upset about leaving Zoe. When we got back in the car it felt really weird to only have the 4 kids, and mostly boys for that matter. Yes their girls always leave me feeling like that.

That night we ordered in pizza, and I finally got a full nights sleep. My cold had finally let up a little, and I feel asleep while everyone was watch tv.

Sunday was the San Diego Zoo. To Olivia's great disappointment the Samuels (the friends who we visited with the day before) weren't going to be joining us. She didn't find this out however until we were in the parking lot for the Zoo. She hopped out of the van and looked from side to side, then asked "Where are the girls? My girls?" Yes my heart broke all over again. Once we were in the park, we checked out the reptile room first, Olivia loves snakes. We then took the sky tram up to the polar bear exhibit. Darien was nervous about the tram at first, but once it was over, he said that he rather ride that all day. His logic was that when you are on the tram, you still get to see the animals, and great views of the city, and the big plus is you don't have to walk. San Diego is a hilly city, and the Zoo so no exception, so walking it in some parts can be a real workout. Luckily there are a lot of different ways to get around if you get tired. They have the bus tour which goes around the outer rim of the zoo, and starts and ends near the entrance. They have the Kangaroo busses that you can hop on and off at various places in the park, and the sky tram. We were dead tired and left the zoo a little after 1pm. We got some lunch then went to the Cabrillo National Monument. I love the views of the city from the monument.

I have been praying for some time now, that we would get sent back there. I love San Diego, and wouldn't want to live anywhere else. It may be a far fetched idea that we would get transferred anytime soon, but I'm going to keep praying for it. 

Monday was Seaworld. We were given 4 tickets for free because of my husbands wonderful service to our country, and I was more than greatful for that, but little did I know that we would be given another wonderful gift not to long after entering the park. We were on our way to the Atlantis ride, when a cast member stops us. She asks us where we are from, the if we knew that the San Diego Seaworld was celebrating 50 years. Since it is a big celebration, they are giving out free gifts to random families. Yes we were just in the right place at the right time. She gave us free meal vulters. So yes not only did we get 4 of us into the park for free, but we also ate for free, both lunch and dinner. I was of course blown away.

As far a weather goes there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Sunblock was a must and even with SPF 50 it didn't seem like enough. Seaworld has little shade, so we were feeling it by the time we got back to the hotel. We saw 2 of the 4 shows, we had fun on the rids, and we saw a lot of awesome animals. Olivia's favorite were the pigeons. She could have stayed there all day, and that would have been fine. I like the Walrus myself... see 

Look it's Jamie Hyneman...

If you are a fan of the Mythbusters you'll get it.

Zachary loved the new Mania Ray. Jeremy and I both agree that it was an awesome coaster.

We loved the Blue Horizons show, but thought the One Ocean show (the Shamu one), was a bit of a disappointment. You could tell, the whale were not willing to listen, and the trainer were a bit frustrated with them, but still carrying on.

Olivia fell asleep on the ride back to the hotel. Yup the 5 minute ride was just to much for her. While she slept Jeremy took the boys down to the pool, and I packed our room up a bit. After swimming and Olivia's cat nap we went to the mall and got ice cream. We were sitting outside (mission valley mall is an outdoor mall), and Olivia says out of the blue. "I love San Diego. I have a lot of fun in San Diego." This was our last day in that wonderful city. Yes it's was a little sad. Beside that though, I felt like at this point I had already had a great vacation, and it wasn't over yet.


Tuesday... Our first day in Disneyland... I'm not even sure where to begin with this one. The park was very crowed that day, we'll start with that. I'm not sure why, it was late April, and school wasn't out yet. The other bad thing was a third of the rides where closed... good rides like Pirates and jungle cruse. The rides that were actually open kept breaking down, and had extremely long lines. At one point Jeremy actually said "I hate Disneyland!" This coming from a guy who is one of Disney's biggest fans. I do feel bad complaining about it, since we had such a lovely time at seaworld, and the reality is, you really can't always have a good time. We had a great vacation, and I didn't want to let this one day ruin it for me. So out of the few rides we did get to ride Olivia liked Winnie The Pooh, Splash Mountain, and the Buzz Lightyear Blaster one. She was scared and clinging to Jeremy during Haunted Mansion (despite the fact that she rode it last year and loved it) and the Rodger Rabbit ride in Toon Town. The Rodger Rabbit ride... yeah about that one... We saw that the line was 35 mins long, but decided to stand in it anyways. It was hot and the line was inside (I think our logic was sound). We stand in the line slowly making our way to the front, and we are almost there when the ride breaks down. YUP... We kept our spot in line though, because like I said it was hot out, and the park was packed, so why go back out there. They had it fixed in about 15 mins, and we did finally get to ride. We when back to the hotel around 4, played in the pool, and ordered pizza.

The next day at Disney was much better. We when to the California adventure park. It was less crowed, and more of the rides were working. They did have a few closed due to the winds. The Stanta Anas were blowing really hard that day. We did get to ride Soarin, the big ferris wheel, and the Triton Carousel as a family. Jeremy and Zachary went on California screaming, I took Zachary on the Town of Terror (Zach likes trill rides more than our other boys), and Jeremy took the boys on the Goofy coaster. The new Cars ride had a 60+ wait on it all day, so no we didn't ride that. On our way out we stopped by Down Town Disney. We got some dinner, and let the kids build a bear.


I got so much sleep that night. I fell asleep at 8:30 and woke up at 6:15, yes I must have been really tried from everything that we did that day.

The Last day, we went back to Magic Kingdom. Olivia and I went around to different characters and Jeremy and the boys rode the rides that didn't have to big of lines. This day went better than the first day at Disney, but not a good as the second. The lines to see the princesses (which is Olivia's favorite part), were crazy long, especially the line for Anna and Elsa which was 4 hours long. Needless to say, we didn't stand in that one.

I'm so glad we got to go on this vacation. It's something I will never forget. I hope and pray that someday I'll live in San Diego again, so I can hang out with the Samuels on a regular basis.


Here are our links to our vacation videos :)
Crater Lake and San Fran
San Diego
Disneyland
Extra stuff

Nathaniel! It's Your Birthday

He is turning 8! I myself can't believe it.
Nathaniel is a very imaginative and creative boy. He loves to draw and make incredible things with his legos. He is interested in so many things, and he is extremely easy to buy for. I look at my four kids and I feel extremely blessed.



Nathaniel's current favorites...

Favorite toy : Chocolate the bear
Favorite thing to play : Legos
Favorite thing to eat : Cake
Favorite TV show : I DON'T KNOW!
Favorite color : Red
Favorite place to visit : San Diego
Favorite book : Green Eggs and Ham
Favorite movie : Lego Batman
Favorite Video game : Lego Batman 2

Comic-Con Crazy

Hey everyone! Can you tell what I'm writing about from the title? That's right yesterday we went to the Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle. It was our first ever con, and the four kids were in tow. Yikes!

A few days before the Con, our plain was to walk there, meaning that we would walk from our house to the Bremerton Ferry, ride the ferry to Seattle, then walk from there to the Convention center, all in all it would have been a 2 mile walk (about). Then we found out it was going to rain. It's not the end of the world really, I mean it's rains all of the time here, but when you factor the long walk and the fact that we were going to be wearing costumes, well it was just a bit much. So yes we decided to drive. We reserved a parking spot through the Con's web site in a garage that was about two blocks away. If I had know the trouble we would run into with that garage, I would have gladly walked in the rain. More about that later.... So who did we cosplay as?...

Well I was Katniss Everdeen

Darien was Darth Vader

Zachary was The Hulk

Nathaniel was Link

And Olivia was Hello Kitty

Yes I made the hat, this is a better picture of it a few days before the Con.

And no, Jeremy did not dress up.

So we get everyone ready, pack a lunch and head out, but 30 mins into the drive we remember that we forgot the passes to the Con it's self. Yeah, of course we do. We have everything else under the sun, and we forget the one thing that gets us into the place. Yup so we go back, hoping we don't get there to late and miss the pictures with Michael Dorn, John de Lancie, and Dwight Schulz.

So the parking garage... Oh my... Keep in mind that I had not seen the garage before I booked it. My thoughts were, "Okay lets pick a garage not to far for the Convention Center, that doesn't cost an arm and a leg... Oh look here's one." Yes it was just like that. The parking garage was the worst I have ever seen (this coming from a person who has been to many city parking garages). The ramps in the thing were not wide enough for two cars, and that would have been okay if there was a light to help people take turns, but there wasn't, so I have to back up a lot, before I could even find an empty spot. Then I find one that looks big enough for our mini van, but my first few attempts to get into it fail, and by that time, I have myself in a some what stuck position. Luckily Jeremy was there to take over and park for me, with me guiding outside the car. Eeeeek!

So we made it, and we begin our walk to the Con. Not a single drop of rain has fallen yet, making us both think, that we would have been better of taking the ferry. Once we get to the Convention Center it is complete chaos, because there are just so many people there. We grab our kids hands and make our way to the 4th floor taking in all of the awesome costumes. We get our lanyards, then find the line for the pictures with the celebrity guest. We were lucky, we didn't miss them, and we didn't have to wait long.

I don't think they see a family of 6 wanting a picture often, because all 3 of them were surprised. They were so nice, and commented on the kids' costumes. John de Lancie (AKA Q), even had his hands on my shoulders, and Dwight Schulz (AKA Mr. Barclay), had his arm around Jeremy. I love this picture, I  love Michael Dorn's smile and I love Nathaniel's blank expression.

We made it to the kids area as well. They had a super hero mission there, and if you completed it, you got a free T-shirt, mask, and coloring book. They also had face painting and balloon animals, with princesses and fairies.

The balloon animals were $2 and the face painting was $4, I didn't mind paying for that at all.

I also ran into an old friend...

Katie and I went to church together as teens, yup in the good old state of Maryland. I found her again on facebook about 5 years ago noticing that she lived in Washington. Little did I know that someday I would live there too. When we both found out we were going to Comic Con, it seemed like that best time to meet up. I have forgotten how awesome her hugs were. We hadn't seen each other in over 12 years.

After that we walked the floor a lot, braving the crowds and went to see the Lego display

Nathaniel really liked this, the only down side was once again the crowds. I was really hard to move in there, and didn't see as much as we would have liked.

Luckily at the end of the day getting out of the parking garage wasn't as complicated as getting into the garage, well that is after we sat in our car and waited for 3 stuck cars to finally figure out who is going first and then work out how to make that happen. This gave us a chance to just sit back and eat our lunch (which by this time was a very late lunch). We got home around 4pm, ordered pizza, and chilled for the rest of the evening. I was glad I got the picture with the Star Trek peeps, I was really glad I got to see Katie again, and I loved seeing all of the costumes, and those things made it worth it for me. The crowds were really crazy though, and the parking a nightmare, but we'll remember that next time.

Well I do have tips if you are ever going to go to one of these, and if you are taking your kids

1. If your kids are going to wear a costume, make sure all of their accessories attach to their costume, if not they will be carrying them, meaning you will be carrying them.

2. Pack a lunch. They have food venders there, but the lines are always long and the food is expensive. They don't look though your bags at any point, or say anything about outside food, so just bring some. Even if it is just a snack.

3. Beware of the parking. See if you can ask around for a safe and non expensive place to park.

4. There are crowds and a lot, so remind your kids of what to do if you are separated. The staff at this Con had bright green shirts on, so it was easy to point them out to the kids.

5. Look at the schedule before you go, and decide what you are and are not doing. If you want signatures or pictures, get to the right spot early, and beat the lines.

6. Warn your kids before hand that they may see some crazy and scary costumes, but that is all in fun. If your kid is really scared of some costumes though, you should probably avoid going.

7. Bring cash, because not all of the venders accept credit.

8. Bring a bag. This was something that we had wished from the beginning. When you get there you are handed a schedule and info on the con along with a free comic book, for each of your party members. It would have been nice to put them in a bag, and not have to carry them around everywhere. We were told that they sold canvas bags at the main merchandise vender, but when we finally made our way back there, they were all sold out.

Thank for reading, and if you ever go to a con have fun and take in all of the awesome nerdyness.

Is it still Monday?

Last Monday (the 10th), started just like every other Monday. My husband woke early so he could go to the gym with his division, and I woke up a few mins before 7am, just as Jeremy was coming home from working out. Everything was ordinary. My sons grumped at each other while passing the milk around, and I sat on the couch wondering when Olivia was going to grace us with her presence. Jeremy showered, shaved, and dressed quickly so he could walk to work, just like every other morning. I remember him giving me a kiss, and I remember locking the door after he left. The snow was almost all melted from the day before, and a light mist had started outside (yeah it's Washington).

About an hour and a half after he left I received a call from a fellow sailor in his division saying that he hadn't show up for work yet, and they were worried, because this was very unlike him. Well if they were really worried just think how worried I was at this point. I was told not to panic (a nice suggestion but at the time it didn't sink in), and that he may have arrived at work, but no one had seen him yet. Well 15 minutes later I get a call from Harrison Medical Center, saying that he is there, and they wouldn't tell me much else over the phone. The person over the phone also tells me, that I don't need to rush over there because he's in good hands (Yeah right, like I'm going to stay home and just chill out now).

While the kids and I are getting ready to go Jeremy's cell phone rings, and it's another sailor from Jeremy's division. I tell him where Jeremy is, and he tells me that he was re-tracing Jeremy's walk, and he was almost to our house and wondered if I wanted him to come with us. At this point I thought it couldn't hurt, and that it was really nice of him to offer. This really helped when we got to the hospital because there wasn't any parking in sight, so while the kids and I went inside to find Jeremy, he parked the car for us.

After finding him, the doctors told me that he had either black out, or fallen down and hit the sidewalk really hard, and he may have a mild concussion. He was awake but not very responsive. It wasn't until after they decided to transfer him to the naval hospital and admit him, that he started coming around and acting more like himself. Thats when he asked me why he was in the hospital and if it was still Monday. After I explained he asked if his chief knew. "Yes everyone at work knows, in-fact a few of them are here, and Doc is on his way." A sarcastic wonderful was all he said to that.

When the ambulance came to transfer him, the kids and I stopped back at the house, to get our school books and iPad, before meeting Jeremy at the naval hospital. From that point things seemed to be going well. The boys did their school work, Olivia played in the iPad, and Jeremy and I chatted and joked around (just like we do at home). At lunch the kids and I went downstairs to get subway (yes this hospital had a subway in it), and when we came back Jeremy was sleep, so I woke him. He opens his eyes makes a confused face and asks me once again "Why am I in the hospital?" Yes I got the honer of telling him all over again, and also worrying if he was going to forget and ask every time he woke up. "Is it still Monday? Did you tell my chief?".... .... "Yes dear, it is still Monday, and no need to worry everyone from work knows you are here." I'll have to admit though at this point I had to also ask myself if it was still Monday. I told the doctors about the lapse in memory, but they didn't seem worried. That still didn't make me feel any better.

By 4pm Jeremy was insisting that I take the kids home and get some rest. He assured me that he was in good hands (yeah right). I didn't want him to fall asleep and wake up without me there. Who else would explain to him what happened and why he was there again. However the kids did need to eat soon, and I was very tired at this point. So yes I went home and basically crashed (on the couch, not in the car :)  ).

Apparently while I was home "CRASHING" Jeremy's doctor on the boat and the doctor at the hospital were having a discussion (right in front of him) on weather he'd be more relaxed at home or on the boat. She (meaning the hospital doctor) was under the impression that with four kids in the house no one would ever be able to relax, so she thought giving him time off would be useless. I later told Jeremy (after he told me about this conversation), that she better be glad she didn't say that in front of me. I'm sorry but I can't stand people judging our family and my kids especially when they don't know us, and don't know how incredible awesome and well behaved my kids are. Luckily Jeremy's doctor from the boat and his XO insisted that he stay at home until they figure out why he black out in the first place. Which was another conflict with the hospital doctor because she believed that Jeremy had just tripped and fell. The problem with that theory was that Jeremy had no abrasions on his hands, and if you are in the process of tripping and falling, you are going to put your hands up to stop yourself (yes at this point Jeremy still couldn't remember what happened, in fact he couldn't even remember getting up and working out that morning). Needless to say I didn't really like his hospital doctor.

The next morning I got to the hospital at a little after 7:30pm. Jeremy seem to remember everything after lunch time from the day before (thank goodness). He tells me that he had visitors last night, some friends from work, Doc, and the OX. The OX was super nice and brought him a bag of snacks. I was touched, and felt like crying. The doctor came in not long after I had gotten there, and told us that they were getting the discharge paperwork together. I was like, "Awesome I just got here, and now I get to take him home." ... ... Yeah we ended up waiting two hours for paperwork. That's hospitals for you. Once I got him home though, we had a wonderful day. Jeremy and I reading and napping on our couch, while the kids played downstairs and watch Sofia The First.

Jeremy's doctor from the boat made a house call that next morning to check up on Jeremy and tell him that his first day back would be Tuesday (today), but that he would be put on light limited duty for a few weeks. Also good news.

I want to thank everyone for their prayers and for your calls and messages, all of your words of encouragement were wonderful, appreciated, and needed. I'm glad he is safe, well, and okay.

it's my little girl's 4th birthday

It's here again, my daughter's birthday. Does she have to grow up so fast?

No matter how crazy your life is, or how much work you have to do for your kids, they grow up too fast, and you're always a little sad every birthday. God has blessed me with wonderful children, that I'll never fully deserve. Happy birthday my very sweet and only daughter, my 4th wonderful gift from God, given on this day 4 years ago.


Olivia current favs
Favorite toy(s) : Her 2 bears Cinnamon and Nutmeg
Favorite thing to play : Princess
Favorite thing to eat : Chicken Nuggets
Favorite TV show : Lazy Town
Favorite color(s) : Pink and Purple
Favorite place to visit : the play ground
Favorite book : Fancy Nancy and the Sensational Babysitter
Favorite movie : Tinker Bell and the Secret of the Fairy Wings

Hanging at the Y

Hey everyone, sorry about the gap in post. We have been keeping ourselves super busy, so I haven't had much time to post.

We re-joined the YMCA and the kids have all started swim lessons on Tuesdays and Thursdays. My sons are really lucky, we were able to sign up for a swim class that starts at 11:05 am on both of those days. It's a class that is set aside just in case there are homeschooled kids. My sons are the only ones in that class, so they get the instructor all to themselves. They love that, and she has them jumping in the deep end right now. During the boys' lessons I take Olivia to the child care. She loves it there, they do classes like yoga and dance, and she gets to play with other kids. This gives me some time to myself (30 mins... SWEET). I usually jump on the elliptical or run on the track, but last week I brought some hot tea, and I read my kindle (that was awesome). I was like a guilty pleasure, because I should have been working out :).

Olivia's swim class isn't until 4:35 pm, and during that time the boys do fit kids. Fit kids is like a gym class, they play tag, dodge ball, red rover,... The boys really enjoy it, and it also has some advantages for me, because if they don't finished their school work in-time, I can make them miss it :). Nathaniel and Zachary (mostly Zachary), like to goof-off during school work, so they end up taking all day on something that should have only taken them an hour. So if they don't finish on time, I make them take their work with them, and I make them do it while watching Olivia's swim class (hehehehehe) (it's like a school work motivator). Olivia loves her swim class, but I am starting to feel sorry for the teacher. Olivia is convinced she can swim, but she can't keep herself completely up yet... but she still thinks she can. Olivia spends most of the class trying to sneak pass the instructor, so she can swim on her own. I think I ended up apologizing quite a few times during the first class. I really hope she use to this, and doesn't think Olivia is to much of a handful.

Olivia is turning 4 this Saturday (yikes). I find this really hard to believe. She can't be 4 already, can she? Time really does fly when you become a parent. Your kids grow up so fast. She has requested rainbow cupcakes for her birthday, which is great because they are pretty easy, and look awesome. I'll post some pictures on my Facebook of the cupcakes. We got her a Merida bow (from the movie Brave, she already has the dress), and a Little Mermaid dress up outfit for her birthday (I still need to wrap them). I am also going to post pictures of her presents on Facebook.

We are also planning for another vacation in May. It's going to be a trip down the coast of California. We are going to be Stopping in San Francisco, Anaheim, San Diego, Sacramento, and the red wood forest. I don't have all of the details yet or the dates, but I will keep you guys posted. I'm really excited!

Currently Crocheting...

Hi guys, so this is just a post to catch you guys up on my current crochet projects, and the ones I have just completed.

Back in September in my Co-op has started again post, I told you about the blankets I was making for my four children, and how they pick out all of the colors themselves. Well I am happy to say that they are finished!

This is Darien's, he wanted Slytherin colors (yes he is a big Harry Potter fan, and yes he is a Slytherin)

This is Zachary's. Zach is our crazy child so these colors really go with his personality

 This is Nathaniel's, his favorite color is red, and he picked that and two colors that go well with it.

This is Olivia's, she is currently crazy for all things purple and pink.

As much as I enjoyed making these for them, I'm so glad they are finished. :)

This whole blanket for each of them started after I made a blanket for myself...

Okay yes I know, not everyone like these colors, but I do. :)

I have done a few blankets before, in the past, and they are always the ones everyone wants when it get cold.

So when my kids asked me to make them each a blanket, I thought why not.

Right now I am working on a granny squares blanket. I've never done one before, and it looked like fun. I learned how to do the granny squares by watching this video. This is what I have done so far...

Yes it's going to be rainbow. Why? Well I've always loved rainbows (my fav show when I was little was Rainbow Brite), and my daughter really likes rainbows too, so why not right?

I'm also still working on a blanket for Jeremy (my husband). After I started making the kids blankets, he decided that he wanted one too, but I've only gotten this far...

Jeremy also picked out his colors (yes he likes purple :) ). I wish I could have finished it sooner for him.

Well there they are. I'll let you guys know when I'm finished with the granny squares and Jeremy's blanket. :)