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Finally

Middle of July. That's when the beach is FINALLY warm enough to really enjoy. It was the perfect weather. The drive there was quick (took exactly one hour) and everyone had fun. We'll be going back again soon.

I love this picture of my cute kiddos. Too bad Brandon wasn't in it. He spent a lot of time at the edge of the shore playing in the water. They were all really good and it's getting easier and easier to go.

Especially when I have these three cute girls with me. I told my favorite babysitter (Callie, the one in the middle) that I'd take her to the beach with me if she wanted to come. I thought she might think it was lame to go with a mom of four little kids, but she jumped on the chance. I guess when you're 15 and can't drive, any ride to the beach is a good one. She brought her sister Bridgette along and we picked up their friend Christie also. All three girls are in our ward and all are just so cute and sweet. Plus bonus for me, they were quite helpful getting to and from the car. I told them they could come with me to the beach anytime! 

And here the kids are digging a big ole' hole. Deveon started this hole, but after a while everyone jumped in and was helping make it bigger. 

We could only stay a few hours, but that was plenty for me. We drove home, got Ashlyn to ballet class and then hit up Subway for dinner. It was a great day, but by the time I got the kids ready for bed, I was exhausted too and was asleep by 9pm. But I guess that was good cuz 5:30 am came early and I was up and at 'em for my weekly spin class. 

This morning we went to the pool with Brooke and her kids. Now it's time for a little peace and quiet. And possibly a shower too! Leah has her last gymnastics class this afternoon (until it starts again in about a month). We may or may not have to hit up McDonald's for an ice cream cone! ;-)

Another trip to Magic Mountain

SO, I was going to take the kids to the $1.00 theater today, but then my friend sent me a last minute text to see if I wanted to go to Magic Mountain for a few hours. Being with friends is ALWAYS more fun, so we decided to bag the movies until next Wednesday and head to the theme park. After all, the weather wasn't too bad and seriously it's the middle of July. I never thought I'd be going to Magic Mountain in the middle of July. It did warm up by noon, but we got a couple good hours in before the heat set in. We left the park around 1pm and stopped at Wendy's for some lunch. I didn't realize how thirsty I was. I think I drank three cups of water before inhaling my burger (ok, I guess I was a bit hungry too). 

It was a fun outing though. Carter fell asleep on the way home of course, so I tried to transfer him to his crib thinking SURELY he's exhausted enough to stay asleep. Well, he's currently crying upstairs. *sigh* I'll give him a few more minutes before I concede to his ruined nap. Man naptime is hard in the summer with the other kids home all day. I know he needs them, but to be home by noon everyday is tough when there are all these fun outings to go on and friends to hang out with. (I know...my life is so rough huh!)

We got there a bit early (we thought it opened at 10, but it opened at 10:30). Did you know if you have a discover card you get to go in a special SHORT line? Sweet huh! 

They even let us in a few minutes before everyone else. We rushed off to a big roller coaster so Becky's little boy, Dewy, could get a fun ride in for the day (and lucky me got to go with him.) 

Carter got to go on quite a few rides with me today. He's getting big.

Right before we were about to leave we found this water play area. I think the kids could have stayed there for hours. I admit I got a little wet too. It felt so good. Carter dove right in and was soaked. Lucky for him I at least had a change of shorts for him. His shirt actually dried pretty quickly.

Brandon will use any excuse to take his shirt off. Funny boy!

The girls got a little wet, but not too bad. Ashlyn's shoes got soaked, which she wasn't thrilled about, but I'm sure it helped her cool off.

AND, good news. Carter stopped crying. We'll see how long his nap lasts. Hopefully long enough for me to lay down for a few minutes too. 

Chuck E Cheese

I must say we are doing QUITE well checking off items from our "summer fun ideas" list. Today was suppose to be a trip to Hurricane Harbor, but the weather wasn't so great (it actually rained a bit this morning) so we decided to hit up Chuck E. Cheese instead. The kids were SO excited. We only come here 2-3 times a year I think. So when we do it's a special treat. 

Carter was pretty good too. I had to follow him around some, but I also put the older kids in charge of him for short periods too. Hey....they gotta earn their tokens after all. Brandon even played with him some and they all had a fun time. We got pizza, the kids cashed in their tickets and we still got home in time for Carter to get a couple hour nap before heading out for Leah's gymnastics class. 

And so while I should be folding laundry, I am instead blogging because let's face it....that's more fun!

Now this little tike is ALL over the place. He wakes up saying "go, go". He always wants to be going somewhere and doing something. He literally throws fits if I don't get moving fast enough. Good thing he's a fourth kid. Life wasn't nearly as exciting when I just had Ashlyn. 

This is what he did while I was trying to get ready this morning. Climbed up on to the counter and splashed his feet in the sink water and played with Paul's toothbrush. He even stuck his mouth under the faucet a couple times for a quick drink. Seriously, where did he learn that! Oh....maybe from Brandon who does that to our water dispenser quite often. YUCK!

He's a cutie, but don't let him fool you. He's getting close to his terrible two's. He throws fits when he doesn't get his way, he is demanding, and he literally walked up to a little boy at Brandon's soccer class this morning and pushed him. REALLY!!! This poor little boy was totally minding his own business and BAM... It wasn't a hard push, but still. Carter of course, immediately corrected it with a hug. He's a smart one and he's testing the water. 

A little bit of summer

We've been having fun around here. The girls have had a couple of play dates, we've been here, there, and everywhere, and occassionally we slow down and have a day at home. I've been getting up early almost every week day morning to go exercise. I've decided two-three times should be my max cuz after that I feel like a walking zombie. But I gotta take full advantage of my yogaworks pass I have, so I gotta stick it out a few more days. I have enjoyed yoga though. I'll miss going. Too expensive for a non cardio workout. 

Anyway, I took the kids to the beach kind of on a whim the other day. I've decided I can handle it by myself pretty well. The hardest part is definitely getting the kids half way cleaned up and back to the car. At least at zuma the car isn't too far away and I can even make trips back and forth if I need to. I can't say I have any super strong muscle helpers, but I can count on the girls to watch Carter while I wrangle the heavy stuff. So that's nice. 

Carter got a bit tired while we were there and decided to just lay down right there on the sand. He didn't really sleep. Just rested for a little bit until I came over and disturbed him by taking his picture. Oops.

My sweet Ashlyn.

I can always count on Leah to strike a pose when there's a camera pointing in her direction.

I guess when Brandon's in the mood, he strikes his own kind of pose. Usually involving some kind of weapon.

Sweet Siblings. Carter was pretty good while there. I had to follow him around some, but he stuck with the kids pretty well and played around me too. I'm thinking next summer (when Carter is close to being 3) will be the easiest summer  at the beach since having kids. I'm not gonna lie. I'm looking forward to it. 

These two like to confiscate my bed. The older one gets kicked out eventually. Can't say that much for the younger one. So much for saying I'd never let my kids sleep in my bed all night. 

Oh well. It won't last forever. 

We had Tyler and Audrey over this morning for a few hours while their mom had a work meeting. Audrey sought Leah out first off. She found her painting a picture and quickly joined her. 

And after lunch we all had snow cones. Thanks to my friend Tina who reintroduced them to me. My snow cone machine was packed tightly away in my cupboard. Now it is out for daily use. Boy I need to get some more flavors. YUM!

I should try putting a scoop of ice cream at the bottom first. 

(What?!! Isn't that why I exercise? So I can eat more. Oh....that's not how it's suppose to work? Oops!)

And lucky Ashlyn got to go to work with Daddy the other day. A VERY rare occurrence. Actually besides "take your kid to work day", she's never done it. But I was lazy and didn't want to drive her down to Paul's work that night so he could take her to a special presentation on Space down in Beverly Hills. LUCKY girl! She had such a wonderful time. When I asked her if she liked it or loved it, she said she LOVE LOVED it! 

Her and Paul happened to sit about 15 feet from Buzz Aldrin. Ya know....the second person to step foot on the moon after Neil Armstrong. Pretty awesome huh! She thought so. She also saw a real mars rover and told me all about the next one that was launched this past Thanksgiving and how we can go on the internet and watch it land on Mars on August 4th (I think. I better double check my dates with Ashlyn. She has a better memory than me.)

Ashlyn said she was the only kid there!

That's it for now. I have a Relief Society meeting tonight I'm looking forward to going to. A motivational speaker with treats afterward. (boy I'm not doing so good in the treats department. Or actually, you could say I'm doing REALLY good. haha). Tomorrow Brandon has soccer and then we are heading to Hurricane Harbor. Then, Paul and I get to go on a date Saturday night. I'm definitely looking forward to that. It's been a busy week. It'll be nice to get to relax and have dinner together. We saw Spiderman last week and loved it. 

A little exercise

Carter's been coming to boot camp with me. Can you tell? I found him outside the other day with the back door mat pulled out doing the "superman" pose. I think he does it better than me. He was also doing some darn good push ups too! Hahaha.....

Fun on the Fourth

Fourth of July was so much fun this year. I started the day out with an awesome barre class at yogaworks (from my spreebird deal pass). Then my friend Beth generously offered to watch my kids so Paul and I could go on a date. We decided, since I was in exercise clothes, to go hiking in Placerita and then finish up at Panera Bread for lunch. 

Later that day we met up with lots of wonderful friends for fireworks. This is our third year at the same location and we always have lots of fun. The kids run around and play together while we parents watch them and chat it up amongst ourselves. Shortly after dark the fireworks start. It's late for all these little tikes, but they were troopers and it was worth it to get to celebrate the Fourth of July together. It's such a great holiday and one of my favorites (although I think I say that about most holidays). But really this one is up at the top of the list. We sang patriotic songs all the way to the park where we watched fireworks. Brandon told us to stop because it was "too boring for him". Haha...oh well. It probably had something to do with my very loud (not so wonderful) singing voice. But whatever. It got us in the mood to celebrate the wonderful country we live in. With all it's imperfections and problems these days, it's still the best country in the world and I'm so grateful to have been born in it.

A quick photo of me and Paul hiking around Placerita. We were only there for about 45 minutes, but it was still lots of fun. I'm excited to go back again. Can't believe it's literally the next exit off the freeway down from our house. I love where we live.

Okay, now on to pictures of that evening.

These cute little guys just had a blast playing together.

Tina, Lauren and me

Becky, Tina, Brooke, Lauren and me 

Some of my most favorite girls!

A rare family photo. Too bad Brandon wasn't in the mood to cooperate.

He was being a stinker here too.

But then he decided it would be fun to have his picture taken. As long as he got to make a funny face. 

Some friends hanging out eating dinner.

 Tyler, Audrey and Leah

Tyler and Ashlyn. It's Leah that is only be three days apart in age, but it's Ashlyn that is best buds with him. 

Once again Brandon decided to not cooperate.

But my little Ashlyn is always ready for a photo op with her mommy. 

I happened upon this photo op and snagged one on my camera too.

Adam and Beth with baby Cole. Our new neighbors!

My honey and my baby!

It was a pretty cold evening. We were all bundling up and trying to snuggle in every blanket we had. Next year we will definitely bring more. Of course, then it will probably be way hot!

Audrey and Leah

I find myself taking a lot of pictures myself. It's pretty much the only way I get in photos most of the time. And I must document that I am actually everywhere my children are. Plus even though I don't usually like the photos I'm in, I think someday I'll look back and think I actually looked good. 

Dewy, Tyler and Ashlyn. All first borns and all best buds. 

Leah watching fireworks and almost falling asleep. Poor girl was beat!

The only shot of the fireworks that even half way turned out. But it's a good place to end on. Happy Birthday America! We sure love you!