Night out for Mom

Every year for Emily's birthday we always do the most fun things. I don't know how she always manages to think of awesome activities, but she does. She's just cool like that! This year was go cart racing and then to a super yummy burger and fry place called "The Counter" in Burbank. Seriously the yummiest sweet potato fries I think I've ever had. And the parmesan garlic weren't too shabby either. Especially with some ranch. YUM!

Anyway, back to the go cart racing. So it wasn't a long ride. Basically you get 16 laps around the track and then they tell you your fastest time. Wish I would have known that before hand. I thought we were racing each other. But really we are just racing ourselves. It was so fun though. I loved it! And totally can't wait to plan a couples date night there.

Beth and Emily. I've known these gals since Ashlyn was about 18 months old. Emily was my first friend when I moved into the Encino Ward. She was so nice and welcoming. We went everywhere together. It was a refreshing change from the ward we had come from.

Beth, Emily, me and Brooke. Jackie had to come later. Renee is always missed!

Had to put this sock head picture in here. Although I'm sure I'll hear about it from someone. Haha...

 Ready to ride.

 That's Brooke incase you can't tell.

And Beth. Doesn't she look thrilled. 

At the restaurant where Jackie met up with us! Such a fun night. Thanks for the good times. So glad we still get together to celebrate birthdays. I always know I'll see them all at least a few times a year. Well, now that Beth moved up here by me, I get to see her LOTS more. Plus Brooke's been a staple up by me for 3 years. Now just to work on Emily and Jackie! 

First Day of Summer Break

First day of summer break and we went to the beach. What a kick off. It was actually not as hard as I had anticipated. Carter was pretty scared of the water, and if it wasn't for the very chilly day, it would have been perfect. Despite the wind and cold, the kids had a pretty good time. Caught lots of sand crabs and ran around with friends. We only stayed a few hours, but it was worth the trip. I'll definitely go again this summer. Just gonna wait till it's warmer out there. 

I think this is Darby with a whole handful of sand crabs. The girl has no fear. She once killed a black widow in their backyard that I didn't want to get close to.

Carter was having fun in the sand. He stayed pretty close to me at first, which was nice, but eventually got braver and started venturing out and around. So I had to follow him pretty close. I kind of let him do his own thing. Like I stayed a safe distance just to see what he'd do and where he'd go.  He definitely still needs constant watching. At one point he was at the edge of the water and then way back behind us, and then finally found his way to the parking lot. I love the beach we went to though because parking is pretty close to the shore so it's not a huge hike out to the sand. I could even make quick trips back and forth. Seriously, with four kids in tow, that's a HUGE perk.

Leah got brave enough to hold some sand crabs too. But just the little ones.

Cute little Brandon. The beach is a boys paradise. 

He was digging and playing all day. He definitely came home the dirtiest. 

Ashlyn wasn't TOO terribly into it. She likes her temperature to be "just right", so after walking around for a little bit, she found a comfy spot in my chair (of course) and snuggled up with her jacket and towel the rest of the time.

Leah got pretty cold after a while too and opted for the other chair I brought. She plopped right down and proceeded to eat a whole bag of grapes.

And to prove that I was indeed there, here's a shot of me and my little guy sitting in the sand. I stayed wrapped in a towel most the time too. Wish I would have thought to bring a jacket for myself and not just my kids.

A few random pictures

Just a few random pictures I want to remember.

Ashlyn bridged from Brownies to Juniors in Girl Scouts the last week of school. Her leaders put on a nice little ceremony at Placerita Canyon where the girls actually "bridged" (i.e. walked across the bridge). It was cute. Then we had pizza and cupcakes and the kids ran around for a while.

A lovely story to remember though. Right as they are starting their bridging and are all lined up at the beginning of the bridge with their "brownie" sign, Brandon comes running up to me in a VERY loud voice saying, "Mommy I have to do stinkies RIGHT now". Seriously, it was SO embarrassing. Especially since I'm already the only mom there with FOUR children (most have two) and I'm definitely the only one that still has young children. Like the second youngest ones are still older than Brandon. So of course the ONLY bathroom close by is where? On the other side of the bridge. Which means I had to grab Carter (who didn't want to come with me) and walk through the girls RIGHT during their ceremony. I told Ashlyn's leader to continue on with out me, which she did. But which meant I missed basically the entire thing. By the time I got back they had already crossed over and were finishing up their "Junior" sign. Lovely right?! I guess that's just my life right now.

On a more fun note, I got to take the girls to a screening of Madagascar 3 the night it opened. Paul took the boys while we were in FL, but Carter being the 20 month old that he is, didn't sit very well in the theater, so Paul ended up out in the hall with him most of the time. Poor guy. He's now the only one in the family that hasn't seen it. Good thing he at least didn't work on this one. He'll have to sneak out one night to go watch it or something.

This is a bit of a trip down memory lane. I got out some old photo books a week or so ago looking for a picture for my cousin and ended up having a great time looking through all of them. Haha...This top one is my second year at "Ricks College", now known as BYU-Idaho. Obviously it was Halloween. I had really short hair so my roommates thought it would be fun if I was Cruella De-vil. It took hours to get my hair to look all crazy. And it didn't even stay very long. I think it had even fallen by the time we got this picture taken. We used egg whites on the black part and some kind of white hair goop on the other side. I don't know what it was. I just remember my hair was REALLY sticky.

This is me and my sister when I was four.

Ok, back to the present.

Here's Brandon in one of his random "MOM, take my picture" moments.

And on a slightly scary note. I thought I was doing a good thing when I sent Paul's two church suits to the cleaners one day. And I thought I had emptied out the pockets carefully. But apparently I didn't because that night Paul says to me, "Did you take my suits to the cleaners?" To which I proudly said, "Yes, aren't you glad I finally remembered?" To which he said, "Um....there were 30 dodger tickets in my coat pocket. Did you happen to get them out?" Uhhhhhhhh......Say what?!?!?!?! Oops. I was pretty nervous we weren't going to get them back and even more nervous we were going to have to pay for them (They were for Mormon Dodger night and were purchased by our Stake). Anyway, luckily (as the lady at the cleaners told me), no one at that store was a Dodger fan. I guess I'd have been in trouble if they were. But there they were in a little baggie with a baby spoon. I texted this picture of them to Paul to reassure him I wasn't a complete idiot!

On the last day of school Leah made a "Kindergarten Quilt". And since I'm not very good at keeping every single paper my children make, I took a picture of it. Leah still freaked out and insisted she get to keep it. But incase it "accidentally" get's thrown away at some point before she moves out of the house, here is proof that she actually made it.

The night school got out Paul took Brandon on our ward "Father and sons campout". When they got home on Saturday mid morning, they were beat from the very restful sleep everyone gets camping (uh...not), so while Carter napped I took the girls to Hurricane Harbor to kick off the summer. That way Brandon and Daddy could take a good nap too!

And for a final random photo. I made Paul's favorite for Father's Day. Texas Sheet cake. But since he is trying to be good and not eat a ton of sweets (me too. But I'm only half way successful), we ate a couple pieces each and then sent the rest to church with Paul on Wednesday night for the Young Women to enjoy. I can't stand to see yummy food go to waste. 

Last Day of School and Ballet

I got to go to Leah's year end party. They mostly played games outside, made fun visors, and had popsicles. I just supervised some games and helped where needed. I was glad to be there one more time. Plus I got this super cute picture of Leah with her Kindergarten teacher. I like to always take one on the last day of school. Unfortunately, I missed getting one with Ashlyn and her teacher. I'm sure I'll regret that someday, but oh well. Too late now. Her teacher won't be teaching at Valley View next year. 

On a positive note, I FINALLY got Ashlyn into a ballet class that I really like. We've tried a few places around town and nothing seemed too impressive to me. Go figure this one is just a class through our local park and rec center. But the teacher is so nice and is really starting the kids off at the beginning, which I really appreciate. Ashlyn needs to learn the basics. All the other classes just seemed to pick up in the middle of nowhere. 

Here Ashlyn is practicing flexing and pointing her toes. Her teacher must have told her two or three times what an amazing arch she has. 

Then she learned how to sit and stand like a ballerina.

TOO cute!

And how to do a plie. She's working on keeping her booty in and her tummy tight. Ballet is hard stuff.

Look at that amazing arch. She was born for ballet.

I mean seriously, look how happy she looks. I love it!

Afterwards she said it was super fun, but that she was tired. And her legs hurt. Haha....this is only the beginning for little miss ballerina.

Florida Trip DAY 6

Another fun filled day in FL. We started out swimming at the hotel pool for a couple hours then headed up to our room to get ready for the day. Today was the day me and my mom and my girls were going to drive out to the house I "grew" up in. The one my dad started building when I was just three years old. That he practically built by himself (with the help of my mom) on five acres of land on a dirt road called "Chicken Farm Road". I'm not even joking you. That was the name of the street. It was AWFUL! I guess it got it's name because LONG ago there was actually a chicken farm down at the end of it. But that was long gone before we moved there. I was always so embarrassed to tell anyone my address growing up that I always gave them our P.O. Box number (because being that far out there was no mail man that came to our house anyway.) I mean my goodness, we couldn't even get pizza delivered. Wow....this post could go on forever telling story after story about my adventures there. I'll try not to go into TOO much detail. We'll see how it goes. 

After my trip down "memory lane", we met up with my sister at her dance recital and got to watch her dance in two tap and one ballet performances. She still goes to the same studio we went to when we were kids. The same two ladies own it and are still dancing strong there. It's incredible! My sister did such a good job and it was so fun to actually get to see her in action. She loves to dance. It's always been a passion of hers. I'm glad she's able to still take classes and do what she loves. My girls were just loving every minute of the almost three hour long recital. The look on their faces made me want to run home and put them in every dance class I can find. I hope we will always be able to let them take at least one activity that they love. It's so important to me....and I'm sure to them too.

This is my old elementary school. I went here all through elementary (K-5th grade). We were the first class to start at this school. It was BRAND new. And very exciting since before going here my sister went to school in a small one room white building that was kind of dilapidated looking (and which reminded me of "little house on the prairie").

The sad thing is that back in 2008 (I think) they tore the entire school that I went to down. All the way to the ground. And rebuilt the whole thing. So it was bittersweet coming here. I hardly recognized anything. Even the playground moved and obviously got upgraded. I walked the entire school grounds (which was VERY large. Especially compared to the school my girls currently go to). But it was worth it. Because when I got to the back of the school I finally found something familiar. The old running path that we use to run every day in PE. See, you may not believe this, but I was once a very good runner. I could outrun every boy in my class. I loved it. We always ran along this fence line and through the trees in the next picture. You can see where there use to be a path that isn't really there anymore. They obviously don't use it anymore. They have an actual "track" now. (spoiled kids....Hahah). 

The track went all the way around the back of these trees and back around. I remember in fifth grade, my teacher, Mr. Bowman (strange man) set up a Hawaiian luau in the trees there complete with a FULL pig that was cooked underground. It floors me that the school let him do this, but they did. I still remember that day. Once the pig was roasted, they dug it up and cut off it's head. He placed it on a big 'ole plate and handed it to me and my friend. Then told us to take it to the Principal's office, which we did. Because we were obedient little kids (who were kind of scared of him). I don't remember her reaction. I just remember the VERY long walk to her office hoping that thing wouldn't fall off the plate. Because then what would I do with it? Pick it back up. NO WAY! 

After stopping at the school, we drove down the road and past some of the buildings I use to drive by every day. Seems so silly, but I had to take pictures of them. I don't think I EVER went in any of them. But they were our land marks. What told us that we were almost home. 

Skip's boots (western wear).

Old Baptist Church.

Foxhead Lounge (Definitely never went in there.) It was a big hang out during bike week. So many motorcycles in the parking lot you couldn't even count them. 

Our old post office (where we got our mail cuz remember we had no mailman that came to our house). It's not even a post office anymore. It's an electrical service shop. The guy inside probably thought I was weird for stopping to take a picture of it.

Some dumpy old building that has been empty forever. Across the street was the feed store I use to go to get feed for my horse. 

My bus stop. A GOOD mile from my house. Because we lived on a dirt road with no turn around. Buses couldn't come down it. (They have since paved the one road leading to my house, but not the road my house is actually on). 

Cross street at my bus stop.

The barbed wire fence that me, my sister, and my friend Stephanie wrecked into when I was in 7th grade. It doesn't look like they have ever really fixed it. Just propped it back up with a few sticks. It was crazy when I got out of the car to take this picture, it smelled SO much like "home" that it practically hit me in the face. Ok, so maybe it was the cow manure that I was smelling, but that was the smell of "home". Crazy huh! 

Anyway, I broke my shoulder in this four wheeler wreck. Cut up my head real bad and my knee (still have a few scars to prove it). It was the only time (and hopefully will always be the only time) I have ever ridden in an ambulance to the hospital. Very scary. I think the cop still gave us a ticket for not having helmets on. Haha...little did he know we weren't even suppose to be on the darn thing. We "borrowed" it from my friends family and were a good few miles away from it's home. I don't know what ever happened to the four wheeler. Or if my friend ever got in trouble for taking it without permission. 

And here it is! My old house. It's pretty run down. Sad to see actually. My dad put so much blood, sweat and tears into building this for us. Stinks to see people not care about it like they should. But I guess it's not the same for them. It use to have really nice landscaping in the front with a round driveway. Someone tore it all out and put a pasture in the front yard. Pretty stupid in my opinion. There's a HUGE pasture in the back. How many do they need? I only saw one horse back there. I think it's changed hands a few times since my Dad sold it though, so who knows what it's been through.

The property goes clear back to the trees and there is a barn in the back that my Dad also built (that is also falling apart). Hopefully the inside doesn't look as bad as the out. 

It was still fun to show my girls where I grew up. They probably don't care that much, but it was important to me.

This was our next door neighbors "home". Actually I think we are the only HOUSE on the road. Everyone else has trailers. Well, maybe there is one other house, but I think that's it.

See! I told ya. Chicken Farm Road. That sign wasn't even there when I lived there. 

Lucky people can't even claim it as a "nameless" street, like I use to try and do. Haha....

This is the beginning of the road that leads to my road. Murray St. It got paved a while back. Made it feel really different driving down it. It was crazy how much was the same. It was like walking back in time. There were only a couple new houses that weren't there when I lived there. I can guarantee a lot of the same people still live in the homes they did when I was young. It was a fun trip down memory lane.

On the way back to the hotel we had to stop at the Dairy Queen that we very often visited when I was a kid. Mostly for family night. It was a good 15 minutes or more from my house, but it was the closest ice cream shop to us. 

I use to stand on the ledge there just like my girls are and would order a chocolate dipped cone. It was my favorite!

Here's the dance studio my sister still goes to. I took a tumbling class there for a while, but had to quit when my teacher wanted me to advance to a real gymnastics gym. It was too far away and too expensive so I never took classes again.

Whew! After that trip, we headed over to the dance recital that was held at a high school over by my sister's house. 

A few shots of my sister dancing, which I wasn't suppose to take. That's why they are blurry. I couldn't use my flash.

She's third from the left if you count the lady that is half cut off.

This was her ballet routine. She's only been taking ballet for a couple of years, but she did a really good job. Tap is her main love!

After the performance. It was late. REALLY late. We all headed out to get dinner but by the time we pulled up to the restaurant, it was 10:45 pm. Leah just couldn't handle life anymore. The poor girl. She really was a trooper for as much as I drug them around everywhere. So my mom went in with Ashlyn and the rest of the family and I took Leah back to the hotel for some sleep. 

The next morning was Sunday and time to pack up. It was a fabulous trip, but by then I was really ready to go home to my boys. I was missing them like crazy! We hung out for a few hours at my sisters house and then headed back to the airport. I missed my exit, but we still got to the airport in plenty of time. There are so many toll roads in FL. I'm not use to them. I think I spent a good $20.00 or more that week. Glad I don't have to travel on them on a regular basis.

Over all it was a fabulous trip with great memories for me and my girls. It made me very excited for the day when my boys are old enough to take on family vacations and it actually be enjoyable for me and Paul (instead of just work). There is really no way my boys could have handled all that we did. So even though I missed them a lot, I'm glad they were able to stay home with Paul. And that he was so kind enough to take four days (five including Memorial Day) off from work to be with them. I know they had some fun daddy/son bonding time too. Paul took them all over the place. To the park, to the zoo, to Magic Mountain. He played swords and guns and built towers out of blocks. He's a really good Daddy. I hope they realize one day how lucky they are to have him!