Tennis Anyone?

Paige started tennis on Monday night and couldn't be more excited. She can't wait to go out and hit some balls with her dad. I'm crossing my fingers that she keeps up with it - what a great way to get exercise?!? Plus, how cute is she in that tennis skirt? I'm dying to get her a white pleated one.

Post Dog...

... well it's been almost two weeks since we got Molly and our life has pretty much revolved around her and getting her potty-trained. We have been doing other things too and we've managed to still keep ourselves quite busy. Here you go...

Last Week

Paige was gone away at her cousins when we got Molly. Her aunt Nikki was kind enough to take her and a couple of her cousins for the a few days. They went to the zoo, the tide pools, shopping, the pet store and even got the see their cousin's snake eat a real live mouse... that must have been quite the experience. Paige had a great time visiting and getting to know her Camarillo cousins more.

Here is Paige at the Tide Pools holding a starfish - looks like more sea life then what we find down here.

Here she is at the zoo with Savanah and Skylar - you can't tell in this picture but when they went shopping they all bought matching shorts - cute hugh? We were so excited for Paige to come home and see her new surprise (The Dog) but it was less than exciting when she came home sick with an ear infection that later burst her ear drum... OUCH! Once she felt better she was really excited about Molly joining the family. Brock started to get all too comfortable with her too! Molly after a bath - she is so tiny next to John's big foot.
This video of Brock holding Molly cracks me up - for one if you listen closely you'll hear Owen tell me that she is "his best friend" and what kills me about Brock is how he just wants to get comfy with the dog and turn on the TV like he's some tired old man. Seriously though...



Last Weekend

This past weekend we were lucky enough to take a weekend away and head up to Big Bear with the Barbers and Hemeons. It was a crazy weekend with the kids running around but I think everyone had a good time. Here is the entire group with some wilderness folks that supposedly "live off the land" - they said that they make their own clothes out the animal skins and eat the animals they kill. Really? Then where did you get all that eye make-up young lady? Ok, maybe the Dad is more into it then his daughter.

The hike we took with the kids was paved, which make pushing strollers nice. These kids had so much energy - it was my goal to wear them out!
We did the toboggan slides and race cars - mine was of course the slowest... don't worry we still had a lot of fun. I think Owen enjoyed being in a giant race car.
Owen begged and begged and BEGGED to go bowling... look at how excited he is in this picture of him bowling his first round. You'd never know it from this photo that he was COMPLETELY OVER IT after this. What a waist of time and money. I couldn't believe it that he was done after this.
Lucky for us we had another child all to willing to bowl. Brocky loved it. He couldn't wait for his turn to roll that bowling ball down the lane. He would get so excited and point every time it went down - I think he got a higher score then me?!?
We ended our weekend with relaxing walks down to the lake and the kids enjoyed throwing rocks in the water. Good times guys - I don't think I've ever seen Brad, Marc and John laugh as hard as they did the night we played games. I have to say it's pretty funny how the later it gets in the evening the younger these guys act.
While we were away the dogs played. Molly got to stay at her cousins house. Sasha and Sadie were so sweet and inviting to her. I would have thought they would toss her around like a tennis ball, but instead they played and she enjoyed wrestling them. Too cute!

Meet Molly

Molly is the latest addition to our family. To tell you the truth I can hardly believe it myself that we have a dog. I knew this day would come, I just wasn't expecting it so soon. After loosing the last pup by only a couple hours I haven't been able to get my mind off having a dog. I felt so sad that we didn't act fast and I started to think that it was either now or 3 years from now and I didn't think I could wait that long. We went to dinner at the Spectrum last night and they got a new shipment of pups in. You couldn't hold any of the new pups till the vet checked them out and of course we were instantly attracted to Molly. The workers there said another guy was coming back first thing in the morning to look at her again and possibly get her. I didn't want to see another dog slip away so we put a deposit down. After a clean bill of heath, we took Molly home today. Paige just happened to be gone to her cousins today and won't be back till Saturday - so she has NO IDEA. We surprised the boys tonight with this fuzz ball. Isn't she the cutest thing ever? She is a "Teddy Bear" (her dad was a Bichon and her mom a Shih-Tzu). She was born May 14th. We can't wait for you to come by and see her.

Things I Learned This Weekend

I have learned that...
I love to dress up and even more I love the 80's. We went to an 80's Roller Skating birthday party for our friend Summer this past weekend and had such a good time. I absolutely love roller skating and I could have done it all night! Thanks Summer for a good party! (No, my hand is not on that girl's butt) One of my favorite parts about dressing up was all the 80's poses I could muster up!

John looks like a pervert with a mustache. He was a little confused on what 80's facial hair looks like. I told him one mustache Magnum PI like and he came up with this... lock up your children... right?? At one point during the night John was signaling to me across the room that he wanted a drink of my soda, all I could think of was "who is that perv trying to hit on me." (Oh, Honey!)
Brock loves to wipe his face after every bite. We went to Wahoo's the other night and he wiped his face after each bite... we thought he was so cute and we couldn't get enough of this little guy.
Not to get a dog out at a pet store unless you are looking to buy. I have told myself for years that I would wait to buy a dog till we were done having kids and I always wanted to do the Christmas Morning with a Bow thing... I can not tell you how close we were to purchasing this beauty. If the kids were behaving better we would have walked home with her that night. Instead we decided to sleep on it and I had full intentions of going back Monday night to get her. Isn't she adorable. John talked some sense into me about waiting... so, we are going to wait... (I'll admit, I'm still second guessing this decision). She is a Bichon/ Shih-Tzu mix, who is hypoallergenic and doesn't shed... and she was so calm and soft and loving and she looking at me with her big brown eyes and melted my heart... Ahhh.. the anguish I feel!
Singing Happy Birthday and eating cake a second time is just as fun as the first time... if not better! We got to celebrate John's birthday with the Lowry's and the kids loved singing! I think we blew out the candles at least 3 times.
I consider these things lessons learned!

Happy Birthday!

Happy Birthday to John - a wonderful Daddy and Husband! We wish you a happy birthday, and Happy Birthday to Jacqui (John's twin sister)! Happy Birthday you guys!

Happy Birthday Tracy (my baby sister) - We hope you have a special day with your new baby Milo.
This day is so special for us because there are so many birthdays today. Happy Birthday Summer! Welcome to your 30's.... ahhh... a milestone!

4th of July in Big Bear

Well we headed up to Big Bear for a fun 4th of July weekend with John's brothers and their families. I have to say that this was probably the best 4th of July we have had together as a family. We went out of Mike's boat everyday and on the evening of the 4th we headed out around sunset, anchored the boat in the middle of the lake (with 100+ others), watched the sunset over the mountains and waited for the firework show, which was probably the best show I've ever seen. The reflection over the water was gorgeous! Here are some snap shots we got from the weekend.
All the kids outside on the swing - Paige was uninterested in her photo being taken. The kids set off some simple popper fireworks outside the house, nothing that called for matches (half of Cali is already on fire) but they made a lot of noise and left a mess of confetti!
Brock was the only one who would pose for me... what a good little boy.
Here is our family.
We headed out at dusk to find our spot to anchor. Paige loved going out on the boat.
Here is Owen posing for a picture, seriously - the guy doesn't know how to just smile. He always has to pose in some bizarre way.

Brock wasn't quite sure why we were waiting in the dark out in the middle of the lake, but he tried to entertain himself by being the big boy at the front of the boat.
Paige and Fletch out on the tube. Paige was always willing to take a turn out there - this girl is a thrill seeker and loves to go fast.
When John jumped in the water Brock practically jumped overboard to get to him. He wasn't about to be left out of all the fun.
We took the kids to the local water slides... well they have 2 slides. Once again, Paige couldn't get enough.
Owen on the other hand wasn't too happy about it. The poor guy came around the corner crying "Daddy!" - luckily there was a life guard at the bottom ready to help him out. Owen isn't quite as adventurous as his big sister.
Whew! What a weekend! The kids had a ton of fun with their cousins. Now it's back home and off to the beach!

Showers & Shoes

Well, our summer is in full force. We have been hitting up either the beach or the pool almost everyday and trying to play with as many friends as possible. I wake up each morning with every intention of completely wearing out my kids. Some days are more successful then others - to tell you the truth I think they are starting to build up even more endurance and can last longer and play harder then ever before - am I creating a couple of monsters here?

This past weekend I was able to go to the bridal shower of one of my best friends from High School. I had so much fun hanging out with some of my oldest friends... it was a lot of fun!

I have known Gina since Junior High.

I had lost my camera for the past week and a half and I finally found it today... with the 4th of July coming up I was really getting worried that I would be camera-less and need to buy a new one. We all know that would kill John. Thankfully I found it today. I did however capture this treasure with my handy dandy iPhone the other day while getting ready. This little guy gets into my shoes on a daily basis... I think these are his favorites.