President's Day

Last year we went hiking with the Osmond's on what we think was President's day.  It didn't turn out so well because we couldn't find the right hiking spot, so we decided to give it another go this year. I'm happy to say after a slightly bumpy start (we went to the wrong trail at first and ended up walking in a circle) we found the right trail and did a nice 3 mile hike to a lake. The kids did really great as long as we took breaks in the shade every so often and I'm happy to say it was quite a fun day. After our picnic lunch and hike to the lake, we headed down Las Virgenes canyon to go to Malibu beach. We didn't bring swimsuits or anything, but the kids still had fun playing in the sand and getting wet enough. Luckily I did have a change of clothes for Brandon and Carter, so that we could hit our favorite hamburger spot on the way home. 

Glad to be having these little traditions with friends starting to take shape. 

These two are just so cute together. I love it! Although Carter often tells me he is going to marry Ellie. He seems to have a greater attraction to Baylee whenever we get together though.

All eight kids. Growing up together will be so fun!

The littlest ones did have a hard time walking the entire time. Becky put Baylee on her shoulders and Baylee decided to use Becky's eyes as her gripping point. It was pretty hilarious so I snapped a picture.

I think this shot is my favorite!

Isn't this lake so fun! I must admit it was quite a breath of fresh air to see water in CA. I never see lakes, rivers…even a little stream. It's pretty sparse. The kids spent a good half hour throwing rocks in it. 

The hike wiped Carter out on the short drive to the beach.

Me and my cute guy!

Carter got his pants so wet that we took them off. Love the underwear booty shot. Haha…not sure he'll like it in the years to come.

And yum! Dinner time. I like that they have tables outside so we don't have to worry so much if the kids get up and move around. 

Valentines Day

A low key day turned into an unexpected surprise for me! 

Pictures are sparse, but we started out the day with little gifts to each of the kids for Valentines Day. We made pink pancakes and then hung around the house for a lazy morning. Early afternoon I finally got my act together and took the kids out to the fish hatchery to feed the fish. We usually wait until Spring Break to do this, but the weather has been so warm, we decided to go for it. On the way home we stopped at Wendy's for a frosty and then the kids all got their swimsuits on and hit the pool for an hour. I wasn't too interested in swimming, but they sure were excited. 

Callie was suppose to babysit for Ty and Heather over night and then was going to babysit for me and Paul on Saturday night. Tyler called me at the VERY last minute (actually 30 minutes after he was suppose to pick her up) to tell her they had to cancel their plans and didn't need her for the night after all. I called Paul and in a whirl wind conversation and within less than 15 minutes, we had a hotel booked and were taking Ty and Heathers "place" for the night. It was quite the unexpected surprise. I got to packing right away, made dinner for the kids and within the hour Paul was home and we were off. I almost couldn't believe it. We stayed in town since it was so last minute. And since we had no reservations for dinner anywhere (every place we called was booked until 9:30pm), we decided to get take out and eat at the hotel. It was so nice. Totally laid back and relaxing. We didn't leave the hotel the entire time and I loved every minute of the little break we had from daily life. 

And of course the ONLY picture I took was of my breakfast the next morning. haha…I'm starting to see a trend. It was quite delicious and delivered to my door by my handsome hubby who went down to get it for us. It was a great little get away and a super fun Valentine's weekend. The kids did great with Callie while we were away and I told Callie I might have to use her again a time or two before she heads off to college.

A few random pictures

Our lovely girls at New Beginnings. We may be small in numbers, but we are big in Heart. I just love these girls! 

Callie had her senior recognition night for Basketball season. Her parents walked her across the stage, but I was glad to be able to be there to watch it.

Look closely and you will see a nasty raccoon walking in my neighbors driveway across the street from my house. There were two of them.YUCK! And what's even worse is that they were in OUR backyard later that night and scared me half to death when I opened the back slider to throw away some garbage. Paul threw some balls at him and he ran up the tree and up onto our back hill. I'm sure this wasn't his first or last visit. Ewww….I do not like raccoons.

A first for Carter

Carter had his first Dentist appointment this morning. He was excited because usually he has to just wait around while the other kids got their teeth cleaned. But now he's a big boy and gets to join them. He did really well considering it was his first time. They were really good with him. Slow and steady and explained everything so he wouldn't freak out. He was happy as a clam….until the electric toothbrush came at his mouth. Then he freaked out. But he calmed down and even though they didn't get a super thorough cleaning, they were able to do a pretty good job, floss his teeth, "count" them, and take a few xrays. So I consider that quite successful. AND….no cavities. Best news of the day. 

The girls got a clean bill of teeth health too. Brandon on the other hand is not so lucky. He has two cavities and has to go back next month. He's my hardest kid at the dentist. Has to have laughing gas to calm him enough to let them clean his teeth. And even getting him to breath it in enough to get him calm is always a challenge. But it's getting a bit easier every time, so I'm hopeful that one day I won't have to pay the extra $40 for the laughing gas, which insurance doesn't cover. 

And on an unrelated note, I got flowers for a baby shower I had at my house earlier this week and decided they made a nice Valentine week center piece. So even though I bought them myself, I think it still counts! And they smell good.

Leah's 8th Birthday Party

After much deliberation, Leah finally decided she wanted her BIG 8th Birthday celebration at Hugo's Gymnastics. We waited a bit too long to plan it and ended up having to celebrate two weeks early, but I don't think Leah minded too much. That just means her day gets spread out even more. 

She selected her guest list and we got all the arrangments made in just one weeks time. Whew. It was a whirlwind of a week prepping, but it all turned out perfect and Leah and her friends had a blast. There was no other party going on that afternoon so her and her 14 other guests had free reign of the whole gym. It was pure heaven. The kids ran from thing to thing playing and jumping and flipping around. Callie even got in on the action and did some fancy cheerleading gymnastics down the long tramp for us. It was fun to watch her. 

After an hour and a half of play time, we headed into the kitchen area for pizza and cake. Leah wanted a Frozen theme (what little girl doesn't right now?!). There was a DEFINITE shortage of Frozen themed items around town, so we luckily were able to borrow some figurines from Dewy's parents. Leah was a happy girl!

And this is to document that Brandon in fact ate FOUR pieces of pizza. I'd like to say this is not a normal occurance, but really it is. He can easily down four pieces and still have room for cake. Definitely a growing boy!

                                        

More Birthday fesitivities to follow on her actual day coming up in one and a half weeks.

Love you Leah Peah!

Valiant Viking

Almost forgot to get a picture of my Valiant Viking in front of the school by her name! Woohoo Leah. Way to go girl!

Lately

Carter still LOVES to help me cook in the kitchen. Doesn't matter what I am making. If he sees me, he pulls his chair up to "help". He is getting rather good at flipping pancakes though. Now we are working on getting him to EAT the things he helps me make. So far…..not so good.

Brandon and Carter were pretending to cut each others hair one night while in the bath. I guess I should have expected this, but I was still shocked when a little while after getting out of said bath, Carter finds a pair of scissors and cuts his hair for real. Off to the barber shop for him.

Ashlyn got an award for "Excellence in ALL academic subjects". Way to go Ashlyn! SUPER proud of that girl of mine.

Had an impromptu playdate at the mall last week after I attempted to take Carter down to OT and traffic was seriously at a stand still. I guess a semi was blocking four lanes of traffic. It took Paul almost an hour and 45 minutes to get to work. So I was glad I called to cancel OT and headed to the mall instead. 

Here's an after shot from Carter's hair cut. You can still see where he cut it, but it's not as noticeable and hardly at all when I spike it up. I just couldn't bring myself to buzz his head. 

We went to watch Callie cheer for her school's basketball team. They were playing Golden Valley High, which is where my kids are zoned for, so it was weird to think that someday we'll be on the other side of the bleachers cheering for the "other" team. 

Caught this SUPER adorable picture of Carter and Ashlyn hugging. Sure love these cuties.

And this is the best shot I got of Callie. But hey, at least I got one. They mostly sit in the stands to cheer at basketball games, so I wasn't at very good angle for pictures. Ignore the random cheerleaders booty in the picture. She leaned over at exactly the wrong time. 

I took the girls out for a much needed mommy-daugther date night to Chilis. Leah had a free meal from some award she got at school, so even though it wasn't exactly one on one time, I still think the girls had a good time. And they got along really well, so it was a really fun night together. Leah suggested we play truth or dare during dinner, but once I started asking her questions she didn't like, she all the sudden decided she didn't like that game too much. 

After dinner we headed to Target and the Dollar store to get ideas for her birthday party this weekend. We are having it a little early but oh well. It'll just make it seem to last longer. 

Paul comes home pretty exhausted from church each week. He's not too much of an early riser anyway, so having to get up early for his meetings, is pretty painful for him. He fell asleep pretty quickly after getting home. Carter took the opportunity to come and snuggle with him. Awake or not.

AND super exciting news around here. LEAH GOT VALIANT VIKING AT SCHOOL FOR THE SECOND TIME!!!!! When I asked her if she was suprised, she said, no….I expected to get it. 

Wow…ok. I guess the girl is confident. Nice for her that she didn't have to be disappointed.

Either way, I'm really proud of her.