Another Beach Day

Beth wanted to do a family beach day for her birthday so we happily obliged. It was great weather and lots of fun friends came to hang out with us. 

And best news is that since it was a Saturday, Daddy got to come too. Him and Brandon did a lot of boogie boarding out in the ocean.

Leah and her little groupie of girls. Always having fun together.

Carter sun bathing. Warming up after a cold dip in the ocean.

Baylee being her cute silly self.

Brandon's always trying to dig holes and tunnels.

And Leah turned herself into a human sandcastle.

 And came out quite covered in lots of wet dirt!

Probably one of the last beach days for a while, so we stayed a good long time and really soaked up all the sun we could.

A fun weekend

Paul took the kids to the yearly Santa Clarita Family Fun day down at the Sports Complex and Aquatic Center. I can't remember the exact name of the event, but it's all free and it's awesome. The kids got their faces (or arms) painted, played a bunch of fun games and even won tickets for Free Ice Skating at the rink in Valencia. We'll have to take the kids around Christmas time. They've been begging to go for like FOREVER!

That night our ward put on the coolest Luau ever! There's a lady in our ward who is Hawaiian and she did an amazing job on everything. The entertainment was awesome. The food was delicious and there were fun activities for the kids to keep them entertained as well.

Leah's Activity Day group even did a cute little dance called "The little brown girl". Ashlyn wasn't too upset about having already graduated to YW at this point. She doesn't exactly enjoy the spotlight. ;-)

The hightlight of the evening was the fire dancer. 

It was such a fun night.

Canning

This summer I really dove in and canned….A LOT! Well, a lot for me. I probably did 2 1/2 full flats of strawberries, 40 pounds of pears and 40 pounds of peaches. My canning supplies pretty much stayed out the entire month of August. It was time consuming, hot and tiring. But definitely rewarding and I actually really loved it. Either that, or I am just really glad to have all those yummy canned jars sitting in my cupboards. 

Paul's favorite are pears. 

Mine are peaches. 

It's good that way. We don't have to fight over who gets the last in the jar. He he he.

All those jars and only one casualty. I call that pretty successful. I think I tried to pack it too full. Trying to fit the last of the peaches in one jar because there wasn't enough for two. Next time I'll just eat the leftovers. I guess sometimes we have to live and learn.

Now let's hope all those jars last us through at least the end of the year. 

The Party

For Ashlyn's 12th Birthday she wanted to have a party. Nothing huge or crazy, but she definitely wanted to invite some friends and go do something. I found this adorable cake and candy shop that does "chocolate pizza birthday parties". Ashlyn thought it sounded really fun so we booked a date and invited some friends. And darn it, but I forgot to get a group picture. I'm so bummed. But it was super cute. The lady who did it was just this sweet Grandma type lady who had the girls laughing and giggling up a storm. Ashlyn had a great time and so I think we can call it a success.

Haley, Ashlyn, Grace and Darby

Lucky Leah got to invite her bestie too. 

Lourdes and Haley

Suffice it to say, Leah ate a LOT of sugar this day.

Decorating some "gourmet" pretzels.

Darby and Ryan (with her hilarious photobomb face)

It was a smash the mommy type photo here.

Chef Ashlyn

Two best sissies, who even though they sometimes argue (not much though) they love hanging out with each other and I hope are one day best friends!

We all love you our sweet Ashlyn! Happy 12th Birthday. 

You are such a wonderful gift

to your family!

First day of school 2015

Big day for these kids. Ashlyn started 7th grade and Carter started TK. Leah started 4th and Brandon went into 2nd grade. You know what that means, I'M home alone all day. First time in 12 years. So what did I do? I cried most of the day and sat around and felt sorry for myself. Mostly because Carter had such a hard time being dropped off and it was sad. Very sad! Here's hoping it gets better soon.

I must say they all look rather adorable though!

And here was the big drop off for Ashlyn. Totally weird to just pull through valet and let her get out. No walking her in. No meeting her teachers. Nothing. I'm not sure I like this. Can't wait for Back to School night.

Parking the first day can be crazy, so after getting Ashlyn off, we walked the three other kids to school. It was fun. 

Leah found her best friend, Brandon went into class on the hunt for his favorite buddy with barely a goodbye to me or Paul, and Carter clung to Paul like a leach and had to be peeled away kicking and screaming. *sigh* Totally broke my heart. 

BUT, he came home happy and had a cute little bag from his teacher so it wasn't all bad.

Carter's first school project. 

And here's the difference between TK and 4th. From TK a cute little gift welcoming my child to the classroom. From 4th grade a very blunt letter explaining all the rules, things they can't do or bring and a paragraph basically telling me and my child to get to work (insert eye roll).

Can my kids just stay little forever?

The first day of school wasn't just any normal day around here. It was also Ashlyn's 12th BIRTHDAY! Yes, the poor girl had to start school on her birthday. She was a good sport about it and has a party planned for this Saturday so it wasn't all bad. We had tacos for dinner (her choice) and she opened some gifts and blew out her candles on her specially requested Cookie Dough Ice cream cake (That I had to go to three stores to find. Guess I should have planned better on that one and ordered it beforehand). 

Besides her phone, she got lots of money, clothes, jewelry, soaps and lotions and some other fun girly stuff. 

Love this sweet, wonderful girl! I couldn't have asked for a better oldest sister to pave the way for her younger siblings. She's the cream of the crop.

(Sorry, but Carter is on a underwear around the house wearing stage.)

My Aunt Brenda always sends the kids money in a cute oragami shape. This year Ashlyn got a heart. What a great Aunt!