10 years!

Ten years ago today, Nate and I got married. I thought I could not possibly love him more than I did on that day. But, I love him more and more every day. Is that possible?

In the passing years, we have grown, our family has grown, and our love has grown right along with it all.

Happy anniversary to my sweetheart! I can hardly believe it's been ten years! On the one hand, it feels like we were dating just last week. On the other hand...haven't we ALWAYS been together?

It's been a wonderful ten years and I'm looking forward to many, many more; an eternity, even.

I love you Natey!

Happy 10th!

Partying "Grad"

I'm a little behind in writing about this, but here you have it...
Julia's last happenings at school, as a Kindergartener.

I was able to attend her "end of the year luau." Fun was had by all! There were crafts, games, and even a water balloon toss! The kids got to decorate their very own t-shirts with sponge paints (they wore them on the last day of school). They played a "hot potato" style game, but with a pineapple, of course and "Memory" Hawaii-style.

The fruit salad we brought was a big hit with kids and Moms alike. They also had other yummy treats like cookies, chips, candy & such. I was so glad I was able to be there!

Liliana, Simon and I all got to go to Julia's Kindergarten graduation. I can't believe I have an "official" first-grader now.

They played the "graduation march" as the Kindergarten kids came in to the cafetorium. Then, they had them line up by class and called them forth by name, one child at a time...even pausing for photo op's after the child shook hands with the principal and was handed a diploma by his/her teacher. They also sang "First Grade, First Grade" (tune of New York, New York). {FYI: Julia said she did NOT like that song.} :) It was all so cute! Then, they had snacks for kids and parents afterward.

Congratulations, to our Kindergarten graduate! We love you Julia!


The day after the last day of school, all the afternoon Kindergarten families had a swim party, complete with snacks, drinks and pizza (too bad Julia doesn't like pizza). :)

The kids LOVED getting to swim with all their friends. It was so much fun!
What a delightful way to celebrate the end of the school year, and the beginning of summer vacation! The pool is where we'll be spending most of our summer days, after all!

Woo-hoo!

I'm tickled to see you!

Isn't it great when Daddy gets home?

We all love Daddy/Nate to pieces (some more literally than others)!




Doesn't he have an addictive laugh? :)

As you can probably tell, Simon was a little concerned about his Daddy. So sweet!

Happy birthday Andrew!

Being that today is my "baby" brother's 23rd birthday, I just HAD to give him his very own post on my blog...

I love you & happy birthday!

Hello, new friend!

A week ago this past Saturday, my life changed.

And just it makes me happy that we can park it there,
I'm including a picture of our new minivan,
IN THE GARAGE! :) Isn't it great?

I just LOVE our new minivan.


It was worth the wait.

I asked the kids what we should name the car. Lili thinks "Bobby" is a good name. Julia likes "Susie." Nate's only recommendation is "Helga." The girls say Simon's vote is "Matador." I'm not sure yet. I'll let you know what we decide. ;)

The Host

Have you read Stephenie Meyer's new book yet? I picked it up a couple weeks ago and, once I got in to it, I could not put it down. I stayed up 'til 1:45 last night finishing it. I would go so far as to say, I loved it! It was truly a great read...real thought-provoking and image-inducing. I enjoyed the whole thing, but I was "able to put it down" for the first 100 pages or so. After that, I really got hooked in to it and didn't ever want to put it down, though I HAD to, of course (it is a 619 page book, after all)!

I highly recommend it. I also enjoyed (will enjoy the rest of) her "Twilight" series. Just know, they are nothing alike. I wasn't expecting them to be, so that was just fine with me, but I've heard some people were a little disappointed because of that.

So, if you haven't read it yet, and you're looking for a good read to start of your summer vacation...you should check out, The Host!

Paid back, with love (mu-ah-hahaha)

Sorry to the innocent bystanders. I just HAD to! Okay, maybe I put one video on here that wasn't required in pay back...but it sure is fun to watch anyway! Love to you all! ;)

Xela..."Uptown Girl"


Stacey & Rebecca..."Eye of the Tiger"


Raleen & Mel (maybe they should be "Dance Stars" too)...


They dance AND sing!
"99 Red Balloons" go by!


Xe & Raleen..."Material Girl"

More fun with "the girls"

This past weekend, we all had a chance to get together to celebrate! One of our friends had her birthday! She got a big surprise (that we could all enjoy)! Our dear Maureen, who moved away a little over a year ago, came back for a surprise visit! We all enjoyed dinner out and desserts at Stacy's house. It was so much fun and SO GREAT to see Maureen again!

Of course, we got to play SingStar again! Great fun!

Do you see a common theme in these pictures
(well, a common person anyway)?

We love and miss you Maureen! It was wonderful to see you again!


*Hey Mo, I have a great idea...let's use this post as a test to see if you're reading the blogs yet. Comment away my friend, comment away.*
:)


A special thank you to Nate...I was out for several nights in one week & he stayed home with the kids without complaint! Thank you sweetie!

"Raspberry Sailboats"

This past Saturday, I made a fun treat for the kids. I mixed up some cream cheese, sugar, vanilla & a touch of milk for a filling and put it inside raspberries. The kids tried it and LOVED them! They were yummy, after all! :)

I asked Julia what she thought we should call them. She said right away, "Raspberry sailboats." I think it's the perfect name!

Red Hot Season Champions!

The Red Hots were victorious!

We ended up being the champions this season, and boy did it feel good! Especially when we beat the smack-talking, not-so-nice, foul-mouthed, mostly made of 20-somethings team who had at least a few who played in college! It was especially sweet, that I managed to score a goal in this game! :) We won 3-1!

Thank you to all our friends who came to support us! It was great to hear you cheering, and to look up in the stands and see you!

And going out to Cheesecake Factory afterward was such a fun treat! Hey, if you're going to go to a nice restaurant all sweaty & smelly, it's definitely better to go with your friends! :)


I'm already looking forward to the next season we play!

GO RED HOTS!

Rooting for Mom

We (the Red Hots) had our last two games last week. Nate and the kids came to one of them. It was a special treat for them because we play late (9:10 at night and it lasts about an hour). I was so glad to have them all there!

Some of the other moms brought one or more of their kids too. They all had a blast cheering for their moms and playing together in the stands.

Trying to watch a soccer game and three kids at the same time is not easy. Nate missed seeing me score a goal! Oh well, that's okay...Lili said she saw it! :)

Thanks for bringing the kiddos Nate. I know it wasn't easy, but I really appreciate y'all being there!

Just "play"ing around...

The girls enjoy putting on their own little plays from time to time. The other day, they had the best time putting on a whole series of them.

Here's one of them (I particularly like Julia's costume choice). ;)

Memorable Day

Last week we celebrated Memorial Day by attending our church BBQ/swim party. It was conveniently located at our very own neighborhood pool/clubhouse. We had a great time! The girls, Simon and I swam and swam. Nate? Oh, he spent most of the day, in his element, grilling. He loved it, even if it was super HOT!

The food was yummy, the water felt great & being with friends was, as always, the best part.

Of course, on a more serious note, I haven't forgotten the true reason for Memorial Day. I'm full of gratitude for our military service men/women who put their lives on the line so I can enjoy freedom. Thank you!

Staying in with friends

While Nate was out camping with the kids, the other Dads & their kids, the other Moms and I, along with our remaining children, all got together for dinner, visiting with each other, and, of course, a late night rental movie.

We had the BEST time. It felt like all my favorite memories of a sleep over (without the sleeping over part). We got curb-side Cheesecake Factory and brought it back to eat while we talked, let the kids play, talked some more & eventually watched the movie we had rented ("Bella" - it was good, I liked it). Of course, we also enjoyed lemon bars for dessert, and popcorn during our movie.

Thanks ladies for a fantastic evening!

Camping with giants

Guest Post by Nate:

Wow- first off, it's an honor to grace the pages of this blog.
Last weekend I went camping with my two oldest kiddos
(along with 2 other dads with their two oldest) to a great state park. This park is famous for dinosaur footprints that are found in the bedrock. During the summer, most of the prints are exposed. However, during the late spring, the prints are actually under water. It's already hot around here, so finding the prints underwater was a welcome proposition.

As you can see we had a great time. Favorite memories: When you stood still in the river, little minnows would come and suck on your feet. We saw an "alligator fish" - probably a pike. James rerouted the river to make a chute of rapids for the kids to go down (we spent the whole 2nd day there.) We saw 2 river snakes and a huge snake climbing a cliff. And finally heading over to Myrtle's Burgers for a fantastic on-the-way-home pit stop.

Biggest surprise: No injuries bigger than band-aid reparable ones.

Thanks for reading, ladies.
I hope this is up to the blog-mafia standards that have been set so high.
Be kind in the comments.